It’s time for another batch of Staff Picks!

The End of Oak Street

For as much as I can enjoy a high-brow art film, sometimes you just want to see dinosaurs terrorizing people. While Universal’s Jurassic Park franchise has basically dominated the space, someone with access to a higher budget than The Asylum has finally thrown their hat into the ring. From writer / director David Robert Mitchell (It Follows) and starring Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor, this thriller sees a family’s entire neighborhood somehow transported back in time where they must learn to survive being at the bottom of the food chain. If the trailer is any indication many of their neighbors don’t fare so well. A full review will come soon, but suffice it to say this looks like a blast. – Sean Farrell

Lost Weekend by Phoebe Bridgers

While lead single “Lost Boys” may have created a misleading impression of what Phoebe Bridgers’ third album would sound like and even feels somewhat out of place among the surrounding material, it’s so utterly infectious that one can’t be mad about it. The rest of the record is mostly made up of dreamy, modern folk alternative, mostly mellow and lovely with the occasional rise in tempo, and all of it is perfect for a late Summer afternoon. This instantly enjoyable recording only promises further pleasures on repeat listens. – SF

Monsters of God

If you thought Joe Exotic was nuts, wait until you meet the host of illegal reptile traders on HBO’s Monsters of God. While they seem to universally suffer from delusions of grandeur they are far more dangerous than he was, often treating both people and animals with disturbing callousness. There are moments here that can be genuinely difficult to watch. That said, this is something that deserves to be brought to light, if only so people realize just how widespread and pernicious the problem really is. – SF

Nation’s Dumbest

It’s unusual enough to see a game show in which the objective is to be eliminated earliest, but it’s even stranger to see such an odd cast of contestants. With brat pack actor Anthony Michael Hall, one-time Presidential hopeful Andrew Yang, Steve-O from Jackass, rapper Ice-T, Napolean Dynamite himself Jon Heder, and singer JoJo Siwa among the players, this has to be some of the weirdest casting ever.

Each week host Jack Whitehall tasks them with solving logic problems à la the UK hit Taskmaster and answering general knowledge and trivia questions. It’s interesting to see people perform better and worse than you might expect and there is enough of a sense of fun to avoid letting the concept feel mean-spirited. Plus, who doesn’t want to watch a show that lets them feel superior to Dr. Drew? – SF

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Cover photo by Jimmy Conover on Unsplash.