Hey hey! I’m Nora, and I write the Screen Time newsletter, BuzzFeed’s weekly roundup of all the TV and movie news you need to know, the shows and movies you need to be watching right now, and much more. And if you’re saying, “Hey! I love all of that stuff,” then you can get Screen Time delivered directly to your inbox by subscribing here!
Here’s what the newsletter is covering this week:
Hazbin Hotel — watch for: The catchiest music you’ll listen to all year
Hazbin Hotel is easily one of the best animated shows currently airing. Created by Vivienne Medrano, and what started out as a pilot on YouTube, the show tells the story of Charlie Morningstar (Erika Henningsen), the crown princess of Hell, who is on a quest to find a way for sinners to be redeemed and allowed into Heaven. So, she comes up with the idea of the “Hazbin Hotel,” as a place where they can work on themselves, as Heaven threatens to exterminate souls due to Hell’s overpopulation. The voice cast for this one is STACKED with incredible actors, namely a lot of Broadway ones, because yes, Hazbin Hotel is also a musical.
So, not only is this show hilarious, but it also features some incredibly poignant plotlines, and it boasts some of the greatest music ever created for an animated show. You’ve got Broadway and acting icons like Henningsen, Alex Brightman, Christian Borle, Stephanie Beatriz, Kimiko Glenn, Jessica Vosk, Lilli Cooper, Jeremy Jordan, and more lending their singing talents to some of the catchiest songs I’ve ever listened to. If you don’t believe me, just listen to “Gravity” from Season 2, which has been on repeat for me for days.
Bugonia — watch for: An Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons acting face-off
Dare I say, this is one of my favorite Yorgos Lanthimos movies. Bugonia follows Teddy (Jesse Plemons) and Don (Aidan Delbis), two conspiracy-obsessed cousins who kidnap a powerful CEO (Emma Stone) after suspecting that she is secretly an alien sent to destroy Earth. This is Lanthimos’s version of a silly little alien movie, and I ate it up. For starters, Plemons is firing on all cylinders in another incredible performance. He fully makes you believe Teddy’s ideas, as you are locked into whatever is happening.
Meanwhile, Stone gets to do more traditionally comedic moments than she has in previous Lanthimos movies. It was so nice to see her be the comedic relief in scenes opposite Plemons. Basically, I hope Lanthimos, Stone, and Plemons never stop making movies together because I will eat it up every single time. If you can, I also recommend seeing this one in a theater because my theater was so fun as we went on this Lanthimos journey together.
Frankenstein — watch for: Guillermo del Toro getting to do what he does best
Guillermo del Toro, the king of fairy tales and Gothic stories, is back with his adaptation of Frankenstein. Based on Mary Shelley’s beloved 1818 novel, the movie follows the life of Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac), a scientist who experiments with creating new life in the form of the Creature (Jacob Elordi). Unsurprisingly, del Toro gets to really stretch his Gothic muscles on this one, and it reminds me a lot of Crimson Peak (2015), another del Toro film I loved.
Frankenstein is a visually stunning movie, which honestly might be why I enjoyed it. While the performances are good, Elordi gives my personal favorite; it’s del Toro’s visuals that notch this one to new heights for me. It’s actually the biggest crime Frankenstein isn’t playing in more theaters because it screams, “See me on the biggest screen possible.” If you watch on Netflix this weekend, I’m sure you’ll like it, especially if you’re a del Toro fan, but I think some of the magic is lost not in a movie theater.
I honestly never thought I would say these words, but Kim Kardashian played with puppies while answering questions. Yes, that’s right. Kim and her All’s Fair castmates, Sarah Paulson, Teyana Taylor, and Naomi Watts, did our Puppy Interview, and it was delightfully chaotic. Not many questions were answered, but don’t worry, Sarah did recreate her “HE’S ESCAPING” meme with the puppies, so I call it a win.
They talked about who they would love to see join them in All’s Fair, their childhood celebrity crushes, and much more. Is the show good? No, but the reactions to it are hilarious. Additionally, this Puppy Interview may have inadvertently landed me on an episode of The Kardashians next season, which is downright hysterical. You can watch Kim, Sarah, Teyana, and Naomi’s full Puppy Interview by clicking below:
View this video on YouTube
BuzzFeed Celeb / Via youtube.com
In the end, Danielle Fishel and Pasha Pashkov were sadly eliminated, and now we’re getting down to the quarterfinals. So, as always, here are the best reactions to this week’s episode:
There was a lot of movie news this week, but probably the most exciting was Jennifer Lawrence announcing on Las Culturistas that she and Emma Stone are producing a Miss Piggy movie, which will be written by Tony Award-winner Cole Escola of Oh, Mary! fame. As you can see, the internet reacted appropriately:
Which Disney animated movie do you think is underrated?
I recently rewatched The Emperor’s New Groove for the first time in YEARS, and I genuinely think it’s one of the funniest and best Disney movies that doesn’t get nearly enough love. I honestly think I loved it more as an adult than I did as a child because there are so many jokes that probably went over my head. Also, Eartha Kitt as Yzma might be one of the greatest voice casting choices of all time. So funny and just so good. The one-liners fly so fast in this movie, and I think it should be appreciated more.
Well, that’s all I’ve got for this week’s edition of Screen Time. Come back every week to get more TV and movie recommendations, find out which celebs we’re working with, and so much more!
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