Staff
- Jul 21, 2017

The Hulu Weekend Watchlist

Shelby Cadwell

Rick & Morty (2013-current) - With Season 3 of Rick & Morty premiering on July 30th, now is the perfect time to watch or re-watch the first two seasons on Hulu. This science fiction animated show from creators Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon is one of the best shows on t.v. right now, and season three promises to be just as darkly hilarious as fans have come to expect the show to be. Basically, the show follows the titular characters (loosely based on Doc & Marty from Back to the Future) as they have sci-fi adventures across multiple dimensions. The premise may sound simple enough, but the show is really an existential crisis doled out in 22 minute chunks.

Home Movies (1999-2004) - The OG of Adult Swim animated shows, Home Movies was a stepping stone for animation heavy-hitters Loren Bouchard (creator of Bob's Burgers), Brendon Small (creator of Metalocalypse), and H. Jon Benjamin (voice actor on Archer, Bob's Burgers, and many more). The show follows Brendon, Melissa, and Jason, a trio of 8 year olds who spend most of their time shooting amateur films. The premise is simple and the animation style (Squigglevision) might be off-putting to fans of more modern animation techniques, but the show remains a cult favorite for good reason – hilarious writing, great voice acting, and loveable (if weird) characters. Since I wasn't able to find an actual trailer for the show, enjoy this rant from Coach McGuirk - arguably the show's best character - instead:

Bob's Burgers (2011-current) - Sticking to the adult animation theme, I can't pass up an opportunity to recommend Bob's Burgers. It took me about 4 or 5 episodes before I started to really get into the show, but now it is one of my favorites. The show centers around the Belchers, a family struggling to get their burger restaurant to take off. Featuring some of the most talented voice actors and stand-up comedians in the business – including H. Jon Benjamin, Dan Mintz, John Roberts, Eugene Mirman, and Kristen Schall – this series is equal parts goofy and endearing. Although Youtube has a ton of good teaser trailers for the show, I wanted to share one of my favorite tangential Bob's Burgers related things - a music video that mashes up the show with a song from Sleater-Kinney!

Matt Linton

Dark City (1998) – I’m not sure what happened to Alex Proyas. His first feature was 1994’s The Crow (which is excellent) and his most recent is Gods of Egypt in 2016 (which looked unbelievably bad). In between those, he directed Dark City, which is sort of The Matrix if that film were inspired by German Expressionism, rather than anime, kung fu, and Hong Kong action movies. Rufus Sewell is great as a tortured amnesiac who may or may not be a serial killer, and Kiefer Sutherland’s weasely doctor is both odious and pitiable at the same time. The film is visually striking, moody, and unpredictable.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) – Okay, yes, there are some super problematic things with this movie, from the slightly racist caricature, Short Round, to the helpless and ineffectual love interest, and the way-more-than-slightly racist caricature of Indian culture. But, if you can look past all of that (and I realize that’s a big ask), it’s incredibly entertaining. Raiders of the Lost Ark is (arguably) a perfect movie, and this is not, but if I’m honest with myself, I like this one a little bit more.

Blue Velvet (1986) – I haven’t been able to finish re-watching Twin Peaks so I can move on to the new series, so in the meantime I decided to finally check out Blue Velvet. As has been said by many people (with the exception of Roger Ebert), this movie is brilliant. Kyle MacLachlan stars as a young college student who returns to his idyllic hometown and discovers, well, Lynch-ian creepiness. The film also features fantastic performances by Dennis Hopper and Isabella Rosellini. It might also be the most coherent thing David Lynch as ever done.