SCREEN TIME
BEST TV SHOWS AND MOVIES TO WATCH INCLUDE ‘THE SUICIDE SQUAD’ WITH IDRIS ELBA AND VAL KILMER DOCUMENTARY
Here’s a collection of the best of what’s arriving on TV and streaming services this week.
‘The Suicide Squad’
The 2016 David Ayer-directed “Suicide Squad” may have been rock bottom for Warner Bros.’s DC Comics universe, but the follow-up/rebuild by James Gunn might be a high point. Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad,” which debuts Friday in theaters and on HBO Max, barely alters the title of the previous film and preserves some characters (Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller). But Gunn has brought an entirely new comic energy to the highly violent, R-rated comic book adaptation, along with the same surprising if demented poignancy Gunn showed to the two “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies. In “The Suicide Squad,” Idris Elba leads a heartfelt if extreme gallery of damaged souls on a dangerous mission.
Val Kilmer doc
For most of Val Kilmer’s professional life, he was documenting it, himself. The documentary “Val,” which begins
streaming on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, culls together the actor’s many boxes of tapes to give an intimate view of
Kilmer’s life, from “Top Gun” to “Batman Forever” to “Tombstone.” The movie is narrated by Kilmer but his words are voiced
by his son, Jack. (Kilmer, 61, has difficulty speaking after throat
cancer and numerous trachea surgeries.) The result, by directors Ting Poo and Leo Scott, is an unusually revealing documentary of an often hard-to-understand actor. Reviewing the film, the AP’s Mark Kennedy called it “a remarkably intimate film and a moving one, too.” In an interview by email, Kilmer told me he has no regrets: “I’ve lived and experienced miracles.”
“Vivo”
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s pandemic, movie-wise, has already been quite busy. The “Hamilton” recording was finally released; his “In the Heights” was turned into an acclaimed big-screen adaptation; and he featured in a string of documentaries, including “Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It,” “Siempre, Luis” and “We Are Freestyle Love Supreme.” In the new Netflix animated movie, “Vivo,” co-written by “In the Heights” scribe Quiara Alegría Hudes, Miranda is a voice actor and provides original songs. In the movie, which debuts Friday on Netflix, Miranda plays a singing kinkajou named Vivo.
“Hit & Run”
After a beloved wife’s death turns out to be no accident, her widower goes on the hunt for her killers and the secrets she hid. Netflix’s nine-episode action thriller “Hit & Run,” debuting Friday, stars Lior Raz of the popular (and controversial) Israeli series “Fauda.” The grieving spouse is joined in his international quest by, among others, an ex-lover who’s an American investigative reporter (Sanaa Lathan) and an Israeli police detective (Moran Rosenblatt). Raz and Avi Issacharoff co-created the series with Dawn Prestwich and Nicole Yorkin of the U.S. series “The Killing.”
“Money Hungry”
Kal Penn’s name is linked to a youthful passion for burgers courtesy of “Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle,” but the Food Network says his “smarts” about cuisine in general made him the right host for “Money Hungry.” Chefs, restaurant critics, cookbook authors and home cooks compete in speed-round tastings aimed at deciphering a dish’s ingredients. Guest panelists are on hand for each episode to offer “flavor favor” lifelines. The five-episode series launches with a sneak peek at 10 p.m. EDT Sunday before settling into its regular 10 p.m. EDT Tuesday slot.
“Professor T”
Jasper Tempest, a Cambridge criminology professor, lives according to the strict rules dictated by his obsessive-compulsive disorder. That’s until a police detective and former student talks him into joining a case that brings his emotions — and surreal moments — to the fore in “Professor T,” based on the Belgian drama of the same name. Ben Miller, who’s the unlucky Lord Featherington on “Bridgerton,” stars in the six-episode series streaming now on the PBS Masterpiece subscription channel on Amazon.