Couch Theater – October 21, 2021

#Middlebury #Movies

“The Way Down” – This three-part documentary exposes The Remnant Fellowship, a Southern megachurch that seemed to follow the Scientology playbook of brainwashing, intimidation and guilt-based money-grubbing. The church was created and led by Gwen Shamblin, a diet guru obsessed with weight loss and big hair (and money, and power). The film was well into production when Shamblin, her husband and five others from the church were killed in a small-plane crash in Tennessee in May 2021. As such, two more upcoming episodes will be released in early 2022 to cover the fallout of the loss of the church’s leadership, including pending lawsuits. (HBOMax)

Julien Bam in “Life’s a Glitch” (Netflix photo)

“Life’s a Glitch With Julien Bam” (16+) – Imagine being a wildly famous internet influencer when out of the blue, a “Back to the Future”-like car crash transports you and your best buddy to a parallel universe where you are now a big fat nobody but your friend is a world-famous rapper. Such is the plot of this four-episode German comedy series starring Julien Bam –an actual YouTube celebrity – and Joon Kim. While attempting to find their way back to their previous reality, the two gents encounter various misadventures from mistaken identity hijinks to an MMA beatdown. Premieres Oct. 21. (Netflix)

“Invasion” – A series of unexplained and seemingly random incidents, accidents and tragedies fall upon the planet. But the increasingly destructive events are soon determined to be interconnected, and their origin is not of the earth. Crashes, explosions, sickness, plagues; will it be the end of humanity? The 10-episode original series feels very “War of the Worlds ’05,” but it stars Sam Neill, so there’s still hope. Premieres Oct. 22. (Apple TV+)

“Behind the Music” – From 1997 to 2014, VH1’s “Behind the Music” was the ultimate weekend couch-vegging program. Every episode brought to light all of the darkest days of our favorite musicians. It seemed every musical act from Leif Garrett to Hall & Oates to Anthrax was featured, exposing their addictions, bankruptcies and broken relationships. It was awesome. And now it’s back! Eight all new episodes are currently available, some with artists who have been previously featured on the show. My episode recommendations: Huey Lewis and Duran Duran. (Paramount+)

“Dopesick” – In the mood for an emotional series about how corporation-encouraged opioid addiction has overtaken and destroyed America’s already financially depressed coal mining towns? Look no further than this original series based on a true story. In it, Michael Keaton plays Samuel Finnix, a local physician who believed the hype about Purdue Pharma’s painkiller, OxyContin. After widely prescribing the alleged miracle drug, he comes to realize he unwittingly contributed to the addiction and deaths of many of his patients. Dr. Finnix then joins the fight against Purdue alongside the U.S Drug Enforcement Agency. The cast also features Peter Sarsgaard, Rosario Dawson and Will Poulter. (Hulu)

© 2021 King Features Synd., Inc.