What to watch: Robert Pattinson! In! Space!
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Imagine a human printer that would churn out Robert Pattinsons every time you hit a button, like copies of a history term paper. Given his popularity, that thing would likely get a workout, and at the very least, it'd make one heck of a "Black Mirror" episode.
Alas, Pattinson is one of a kind. But he does play multiple iterations of the same character in "Mickey 17," a rather insightful sci-fi dark comedy from "Parasite" filmmaker Bong Joon Ho. Now that we're past the Oscars, we can get back to caring about new movies like the pro wrestling biopic "Queen of the Ring." If you dig Marvel superheroes, though, and already watched the new "Captain America," Disney+'s "Daredevil: Born Again" brings back the blind Hell's Kitchen vigilante – and the Kingpin of crime! – from the gritty and brutal Netflix series.
Now on to the good stuff:
See Robert Pattinson multiply in Bong Joon Ho's new sci-fi film 'Mickey 17'
Korean filmmaker Bong Joon Ho captured our attention with the Oscar-winning "Parasite," and his follow-up takes Robert Pattinson to space with the sci-fi satire "Mickey 17." Pattinson plays Mickey Barnes, a hard-luck guy who has a job that kills him over and over again, getting printed out again after every death. The 17th Mickey ends up surviving a harrowing situation and meets a very different Mickey 18 in a thought-provoking and proudly absurd adventure that explores colonialism, dehumanization and the power of empathy. (Peep my ★★★ review.)
I interviewed Pattinson and Bong about the assorted Mickeys and the human printer, which sports a nostalgic influence. The actor discussed his mindset playing different versions of the same person, and Pattinson was of the thinking that his character processes each individual Mickey as "a separate being to himself," he says. "It's just a way of him dealing with the sort of awful situation he's got himself in. Instead of saying, ‘Oh, my God, I'm having a total existential crisis,’ it’s like, ‘No, that was my older brother Mickey 3 who existed three months ago.’ ”
Stream 'Daredevil: Born Again' for a long-awaited Marvel reunion
Before Marvel superhero shows were on Disney+, they were on Netflix: "Jessica Jones," "Luke Cage," "Iron Fist" and the best of them all, "Daredevil." The show was known for its violent brutality – and many, many hallway fight scenes – and it's brought that flavor back with the new "Daredevil: Born Again "(the first two episodes are streaming now). Pitting blind lawyer/tortured vigilante Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) against ex-crime Kingpin/new New York Mayor Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio), the series is a worthy successor that juggles timely political themes and superhero broodiness – at least for me. TV critic Kelly Lawler was less enthused, writing in her ★★ review that "it doesn't feel quite as ambitious and exciting" as the old show.
Cox and D'Onofrio recently stopped by our New York City studio for a chat, where D'Onofrio told a fun story about why his co-star is a great Daredevil and Cox said they've kept the same approach to their morally gray roles from back in the day. “If you've just turned on the show in the middle of a season and you didn't know anything about these characters, it would not be clear to you who were the good guys and who were the bad guys," he says.
Revisit the life of a pro wrestling pioneer Mildred Burke with 'Queen of the Ring'
I've made my strong opinion about professional wrestling clear in this here newsletter before. (TL;DR: It's awesome.) As fun as watching modern-day WWE shows is, doing a deep dive into wrestling's weird, sometimes tragic history and carny origins gives you a deeper respect for how much wrestlers and the business have evolved since the early 20th century. The new biopic "Queen of the Ring" (in theaters now) digs into the life and career of Mildred Burke (played by Emily Bett Rickards), a champion grappler who started out competing against men in the 1930s and became a huge box-office draw across America for 20 years.
Rickards told me how she hit the gym to match Burke's musculature and trained for matches where she body-slams guys on screen. "I was lifting dudes three times my size!" she says proudly. "A lot of the time when you're picking up someone, they're doing most of the work. It's wrestling but it's an art form, and it's so cool."
Even more goodness to check out!
- The Oscars are over, and "Anora" won big. I had some thoughts.
- "Sing Sing" should have taken home some trophies but it's pretty heartwarming to read about the nominees' experience at their first Academy Awards.
- Prime Video's new "Picture This" aims to become part of the cringe-movie canon.
- I would be VERY down to see Jon Stewart interview Elon Musk. Make it happen, folks!
- We like Fridays here at Watch Party, for obvious reasons. And for fans of "Friday" movies, Mike Epps has some good news for you.
Got thoughts, questions, ideas, concerns, compliments or maybe even some recs for me? Email btruitt@usatoday.com and follow me on the socials: I'm @briantruitt on Bluesky, Instagram and Threads.