The summer of streaming is here and Obsessed’s trend-spotters Taylour Chanel and Britt Ellis are ready to curate the top of your must-watch list.
The year 2020 has brought plenty of changes and sure, Hollywood’s blockbuster season looks a bit different, but the one thing we can always count on is streaming. We’ve got more time at home to tap into shows, films, visual albums, and even hit Broadway productions so, in this latest episode of Obsessed, Ellis and Chanel are breaking down the very best additions you need to add to your bingeing line-up, ones that deserve a second viewing, or a third, or a fourth, or a fifth, or … you get it.
Those probably (read: definitely) include Hamilton, which landed on Disney+ this July and continues to dominate the pop culture conversation. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s visionary reimagining of our founding fathers changed the game when it launched on Broadway a few years ago, but seeing it on our screens offers a different, still powerful viewing experience. According to Ellis, you’ll probably learn a lot about U.S. History, and according to Chanel, you’ll get to see a Broadway show use hip-hop music in a way that won’t make you cringe. Win, win.
Other picks from the hosts include Andy Samberg’s much-buzzed-about sci-fi tinged rom-com Palm Springs. It’s an inventive, modern interpretation of Groundhog’s Day, with Samberg playing a guy stuck in the time-loop of a dreamy Palm Springs-set wedding who reluctantly falls for Cristin Milioti’s misbehaving maid of honor. Ellis and Chanel think you’ll love the comedy, chemistry, and quantum physics of it all. Bonus: There are dinosaurs and a lot of cool things to discover even if this isn’t your first watch.
Rounding out this list of dope films that deserve a watch (and rewatch, and then yet another rewatch) is Beyonce’s Black Is King which lands on Disney+ at the end of the month. The peerless creative genius delivers another high-concept interpretation of her music, but this time, that bit of visual storytelling will focus on her soundtrack for the live-action Lion King remake. Ellis and Chanel are loving how the artist weaved the movie’s sounds with a gripping narrative that explores what it means to be Black and empowered in our world right now.
Check out the video above for more from Ellis and Chanel on these films.