Seen in January

Stranger Things cast take their bow, and their chainsaw,  stick with nails and dynamite etc.

It is in the deepest and darkest days of winter when we seek comfort. I know as a Canadian I should embrace winter’s wild winds, the caress of its cold, and the silence of its snow cover, but another way to appreciate winter's breath is to have gratitude for the hearth. This has been one of the coldest and snowiest Januarys in Toronto in almost 90 years. I'm fine hibernating. I feel no shame in it. I have felt the hot glow of the television, and this is what glowed from our screen.

Stranger Things S05
Netflix
Was the wait worth it? Well, I guess that depends on whether or not you cared for this show and its characters. I, for one, did enjoy the show and was surprised by how quickly I wanted to get back to the town of Hawkins. Other series that either delayed or divided the last season in two, such as Mad Men and Game of Thrones, lost a step or simply a lot of momentum. That wasn't true with Stranger Things. Despite the characters having aged significantly or having been forgotten about, the series picked up from its slumber and brought us back to the storyline with urgency. Also, the series ended with a definite win for the good guys and didn't somehow drag a character back from the dead like an unstoppable zombie, so there was a good deal of satisfaction. Even the slightly schmaltzy epilogue, which felt a little tacked on, didn't seem to create any schism of what we saw with what may have happened. It gave hope or perhaps a positive way to think of grief as a reminder of having lost a loved one, but at least you had a loved one to lose.

Agnes and William

Hamnet
Speaking of grief and loss, Hamnet is the story of how a man named William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) and his wife Agnes (Jessie Buckley) grieved for their son, lost as a young boy to illness. The premise is that Shakespeare pours his sadness into his masterpiece, Hamlet (the names "Hamnet" and "Hamlet" were considered interchangeable at the time). It's important to remember that this is a complete fiction, based on the novel of the same name, threaded together by what is known about Shakespeare and his life. Shakespeare and his wife had three children: a daughter and twins, a boy and a girl. There are some nice and (not so) subtle hints of the origins of Shakespeare's writing with twin siblings switching places, or of Agnes' "witchy" knowledge of natural remedies. While I felt all the feels of two people dealing with the loss of a child and the climax of Agnes realizing how Will has channelled his pain into his writing, it's not without its flaws. For me, Mescal doesn't really seem like the kind of guy who could write such poetry, and Agnes seems strangely supportive of her husband without really knowing much about poetry or theatre.

The Diplomat S1-3
Netflix
The fun part of this show is the fascinating geopolitical machinations of US Ambassador Kate Wyler (Keri Russell) and her husband, former American Ambassador, Hal Wyler (Rufus Sewell). The first two seasons are a series of worsening interconnected crises that are really the same crisis. The third season stalls with awkward and less interesting interpersonal dilemmas. We came for geopolitical drama, not "drama drama". Hopefully, season four can get back on track.

You can almost smell the glove from here.

This is Spinal Tap
Crave
With the shocking death of Rob Reiner, it seemed fitting to revisit one of the original "Rock Mockumentaries". Reiner is the director who also plays the director of the British heavy bass band, Spinal Tap, consisting of Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), and Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer). There are too many hilarious moments to list them here, but if you like faux-documentaries like The Office, Parks and Recreation, Waiting for Guffman, or Best in Show, then you really should pay tribute to the original and maybe the best.

Catherine O'Hara was possessed with immeasureable talent.

Beetlejuice
Crave
After losing Rob Reiner, Canada lost its Queen of Comedy, Catherine O’Hara, and so it was that we sought out some of that fine O'Hara comfort in the role of the interior design-obsessed, amateur artist, mom, Delia Deetz. The scene of her character, along with other dinner guests, temporarily possessed by the recently deceased couple Barbara (Geena Davis) and Adam (Alec Baldwin), is an all-time classic. Of course, Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice is the manic man-child lead of the film and spiritual father of Jim Carrey's Stanley Ipkiss in The Mask.

This short blends the tradition of stop-motion with newer CGI effects.

The Girl Who Cried Pearls
NFB
A Canadian Oscar-nominated animated short film about a poor boy who falls in love with the girl next door and makes a deal with an unscrupulous pawn shop dealer that will change his life. Voiced by Canadian stage and screen icon Colm Feore.

Catherine O'Hara: All of Us Shine
NFB
A short interview with Catherine O'Hara who reflects on her career and long list of collaborators.

Bad Seeds NFB
Animated short from Claude Cloutier that appears to be two duelling, morphing plants is a commentary on evolution and perhaps how we can often be our own worst enemies.