Watch List Weekly Recap 8/5/22

A heads-up for a frisky Spanish comedy starring Penélope Cruz and Antonio Banderas, plus a roundup of new films in theaters and on demand.

Watch List Weekly Recap 8/5/22

This is the Friday recap of Ty Burr’s Watch List postings for the week. If you’d like to receive this weekly email ONLY, please go to your account page and under “Email notifications” uncheck every box except “Weekly Digest.” If you’d prefer to not receive it at all, uncheck just “Weekly Digest.”


“Official Competition” is proof that not every movie coming out of Spain is directed by Pedro Almódovar — but may possibly star Penélope Cruz. Newly available on demand, it’s a frisky, chatty farce about pompous filmmakers and preening actors. Antonio Banderas has great fun playing what’s essentially a dumber version of himself.

Tuesday Streaming Pick: "Official Competition"
Note: I was on NPR and WBUR’s “Here and Now” with Robin Young yesterday talking about summer movies (the post it was based on is here), and the appearance seems to have brought in a lot of new subscribers. Welcome! You can find out more about the Watch List on the

For Friday, a groaning board of new releases in theaters and on demand, including Brad Pitt action extravaganza “Bullet Train,” Gen-Z murder comedy “Bodies Bodies Bodies,” Ron Howard’s engrossing dramatization of the Thai cave rescue “Thirteen Lives” (above), and “I Love My Dad,” a Patton Oswalt father-son farce to make you simultaneously laugh and cringe. Try not to hurt yourself.

What to Watch: Midsummer Night Fever Dreams
Happy Friday, and for once some of us can indulge leaning a little harder on the happy part. Good news came out of the Tuesday vote in Kansas, indicating that there’s a silent majority rather different from the one we used to talk about, and it’s mad as hell. The week’s award for

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