As the Philadelphia area braces for the second nor’easter in less than a week, the lucky ones among us have taken off work or had our plans canceled. That means one thing: We have to find something to watch.
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Awards season ended with the Oscars on Sunday, and with new shows set to start or end their seasons, now is a good time.
We’ve rounded up some picks for series and movies to check out during the storm. From the fish monster/romance flick (and best picture Oscar-winner) The Shape of Water to the Jenkintown-set The Goldbergs on ABC, there’s plenty to keep you busy in bad weather.
The Shape of Water
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Guillermo del Toro’s latest took home four Oscars, for best picture, best director, best score, and best production design, so it might be worth your time on a snow day. Cleaning lady Elisa Esposito (Sally Hawkins) falls in love with a supernatural fish humanoid she meets at her job in a secret government lab. Be warned: This is not one to watch with the whole family. “Guillermo del Toro’s strange new film, though pitched as a fable, earns its R rating. It’s candid about the sex lives of its characters, and delves also into racism, sexual harassment, and other adult themes,” movie critic Gary Thompson said in his three-star review.
Watch it on Amazon, iTunes, YouTube, Google Play, or Vudu.
This Is Us
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The second-season finale of what critic Ellen Gray calls “TV’s favorite weepfest” ran Tuesday night, but the storm should give you a chance to catch up on the rest of this year’s episodes, so no spoilers here. If you missed out on why everyone was angry about crock pots after the episode on Super Bowl Sunday, now you can find out. If you haven’t caught the first season, This Is Us follows the tragedies and triumphs of the Pearson family, from the 1970s to the present.
Watch it on Hulu, Amazon, NBC.com, or various cable providers’ streaming services.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
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Martin McDonagh’s film took home two Oscars, for best actress (Frances McDormand) and best supporting actor (Sam Rockwell), though it had been up for seven awards. It follows McDormand’s character as she seeks justice for her murdered daughter through a series of billboards questioning her local police department. Once again, not something to watch with the whole family: “This is not a movie you want to go to if you can’t stand to hear racial slurs, or words like midget aimed at Peter Dinklage,” Thompson wrote in his review. “But the vile language is part of the point — this is a movie about a woman literally advertising her anger. It’s about personal outrage in public spaces, vehement indignation, misdirected anger. It’s about good cops, bad cops, racism. It’s about Ebbing, Mo., Charlottesville, Va., or just about anyplace in America.”
Watch it on Amazon, YouTube, iTunes, or Google Play. Buy on Xfinity OnDemand for $15.99; Verizon Fios for $14.99.
The Goldbergs
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ABC’s sitcom The Goldbergs loosely follows creator Adam F. Goldberg’s experience growing up in Jenkintown, so a certain amount of Philly cred is to be expected. Lately, the show has kicked that element into high gear, with a Super Bowl tribute episode for the Eagles, and one highlighting Donkey’s Place in Camden as the place to go for a great cheesesteak. If you’re looking for family-friendly fare, this is a must.
Watch it on Hulu, Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, YouTube, Vudu, or various cable providers’ streaming services.
Dunkirk
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Christopher Nolan’s war epic took home three Academy Awards, for best film editing, sound editing, and sound mixing, so you might want to give it a little more aural attention than usual. It focuses on a group of Allied soldiers during World War II being evacuated from a French beach as German forces close in. The bigger TV screen you have, the better.
Watch it on Amazon, YouTube, iTunes, or Google Play. Rent on Xfinity OnDemand and Verizon Fios for $5.99.
Atlanta
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Donald Glover returned as Earn Marks last week for the second season of his critically acclaimed, hip-hop-centric FX series, Atlanta. If you missed out, no worries — you have all day to catch up on the first season and Season Two’s first episode before the next one airs Thursday. The second season premiere is even available free on YouTube.
Watch it on FX Now, Hulu, Amazon, YouTube, Google Play, Vudu, or various cable providers’ streaming services.
Get Out
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Jordan Peele made history Sunday with Get Out, becoming the first black writer to win an Academy Award for best original screenplay. The film explores race relations in America through the eyes of a black man who travels to his white girlfriend’s home to meet her family before realizing something more sinister is afoot than liberal racism.
Watch it on Amazon, iTunes, or HBO Go/Now. Buy it on Xfinity OnDemand for $15.99 or Verizon Fios for $14.99.
Sneaky Pete
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The second season of this hit show from The Good Doctor creator David Shore and Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston premiered last week, but now there’s time to catch up on the previous season. It stars Giovanni Ribisi as a lovable con man masquerading as his ex-cellmate, Pete.
Watch it on Amazon.
Blade Runner 2049
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The followup to Ridley Scott’s 1982 sci-fi classic Blade Runner, this Ryan Reynolds-starrer took home the best cinematography Oscar for Roger Deakins, who had been nominated 13 times without a single win. He deserved it; the film’s depressing, tech-focused dystopia is an ideal setting to melt away a snow day with a side of existentialism.
Watch it on Amazon, YouTube, iTunes, or Google Play. Rent on Xfinity OnDemand and Verizon Fios for $5.99.
Waco
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This Paramount Network mini-series focuses on what caused the violent deaths of nearly 80 people, including Branch Davidian leader David Koresh, in the siege on a compound in Waco, Texas, in February 1993. Friday Night Lights star Taylor Kitsch portrays Koresh in a transformation on par with Christian Bale’s change in The Machinist.
Watch it on Amazon, iTunes, YouTube, Google Play, Vudu, or ParamountNetwork.com.
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