Bill Nye: Science Guy (April 24)
As the (comparatively) pro-science Obama administration caved in to Donald Trump’s climate deniers, 1990s children’s television personality Bill Nye reconsidered his mission and audience, repositioning himself as an advocate and educator for older generations. Directors David Alvarado and Jason Sussberg chronicle this difficult career transition as Nye transforms from a harmless guy with a smile and a bow tie into a surprisingly polarizing political lightning rod. The results are just as insightful, thought-provoking, and often amusing as the man himself.
The IT Crowd: Series 1-5 (April 25)
Several budding international comedy stars – including Chris O’Dowd (“Bridesmaids”), Matt Berry (“What We Do in the Shadows”) and Richard Ayoade (“Travel Man”) – all made a splash with Clevere for the first time British office sitcom. O’Dowd and Ayoade play Roy and Moss, socially inept, know-it-all IT techs. Katherine Parkinson plays Jen Barber, her manager, who may not have any technical knowledge (much to her chagrin) but is personally savvy (much to her astonishment). Not dissimilar in tone and style to the original British version of The Office, it achieves a similar duality: while unmistakably local in its details, it draws on universal truths about work, class and life.
Ash vs. Evil Dead: Seasons 1-3 (April 28)
The new Evil Dead sequel, Evil Dead Rise, hits theaters April 21 but continues the dark, humorless style of the 2013 installment in the series. Those who prefer the zany, slapstick-heavy, smirking version of the franchise, perfected by director Sam Raimi and starring Bruce Campbell in Evil Dead II (1987) and Army of Darkness (1993), can turn their attention to this one Starz Original Series co-developed by Raimi, in which Campbell reprises his role as the hilarious, chainsaw-wielding, Book-of-Dead-fighting hero Ash Williams. The results are a bit inconsistent (the first few episodes where Raimi was most directly involved are the highlights), but fans of the films will love it nonetheless.
“Leap Year” (April 30)
This breezy, light-hearted romantic comedy wasn’t exactly well received when it was released in 2010, but time has been kind to it for a number of reasons, including the general lack of theatrical romantic comedy and the slow-burning charm of screenwriters Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont (whose “Josie and the Pussycats” has received a spectacular reappraisal from the public and critics). Perhaps most importantly, it’s an opportunity to see Amy Adams at her best, in stark contrast to her recent spate of Oscar nominations for a serious actress.
“Road to Perdition” (April 30)
This adaptation of Max Allan Collins’ 2002 graphic novel (which in turn was inspired by the Lone Wolf and Cub manga and film series) was only director Sam Mendes’ second feature film. Still, it feels like an elegy, a film about endings, mortality and what we leave behind. It was the final film by award-winning cinematographer Conrad L. Hall, whose vision of Depression-era America is breathtakingly impressive here, and one of Paul Newman’s last film appearances. The actor earned one final Oscar nomination for his work as the patriarch of a crime family caught between his irresponsible biological son (a pre-Bond Daniel Craig) and his beloved surrogate son (Tom Hanks, in a rare and poignant nonhero film). ).