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It’s no secret, humans have always had a fascination with creatures that spawned from the dark recesses of their minds, and bringing them to life on camera has only gotten better with time.
Thanks to modern advancements, daring ventures into sci-fi and horror have been given the proper treatment by the film industry’s best and brightest to create a more dramatic take on what was originally seen as B movie fodder and often deemed as low-grade entertainment.
The barriers between geeks, cinephiles, and casual viewers have all but blended over the years with our streaming services or theaters providing us with cultural entertainment moments that swiftly become the only topic of conversation, which in turn leaves anyone who dares to miss a single thing out in the cold by a social standpoint no matter where you are in the world.
At this point, we can all agree that finding the right thing to watch among the onslaught of content is the true 2021 problem for everyone with too much time on their hands looking to spend countless hours in front of their TV.
So without further ado, this shortlist of binge-worthy weirdness is currently available for rent or on the listed streaming services, all of which gain the Westcoast Strange seal of approval (for whatever that is worth) and makes for bold entertainment with some epic grandness to watch at your leisure for an ambitious strange binge.
The Strange Binge
American Gods (2017-2021)
TV Series available on Amazon Prime
Even though this series was recently canceled after its 4-year run, it is still worth it to binge this show and feel the heartbreak that it delivers with a majorly dramatic finale that hits like a ton of bricks.
The dark brooding nature of the series is balanced well by hilarious characters and chaotic monstrous Gods, which makes for a watch that will keep you guessing from start to finish and it is almost impossible to predict what comes next unless you’ve read prolific author Neil Gaiman’s graphic novels which it was based on.
There is a lot to fall in love with in terms of performances and plots, and for the horror fans looking for blood, there is more than your fair share of it spilled from the bodies of Gods, humans, and a mix of oddities in between.
Additionally, there is some rumor of the series getting wrapped up with a TV movie, but only time will tell if that actually comes to fruition.
Godzilla vs. King Kong (2021)
Available on HBO Max and VOD
Full disclosure, there is not much to this film in terms of high-brow drama, but who the Hell needs it when you get to see Godzilla and King Kong duke it out for the first time in almost 60 years.
Now you may just think this is a big dumb monster movie with no substance, and that’s where you’re completely wrong…
It is a 100 feet street brawl filled with cheap shots and sheer disrespect, the proverbial gloves are off and both giant titans make for peak colossal fisticuffs best displayed on the largest screen you can watch it on.
Granted, skyscraper-sized monsters might not be your cup of tea, for those of you who were on the fence about watching it due to a handful of mixed reviews, trust me it is worth the rental just to see the final fight and epic surprise thrown into the latter half of the film.
The overall reception has been well-received and hopefully, this leads to a further expansion of the Monsterverse because there truly isn’t enough big monster-fighting coming out of Hollywood and the impossible mythos around it is always a blast to see explored with the magic level CGI we currently have to make it happen.
Superman and Lois (2021)
TV series available on The CW
A drama from The CW does seem like an off choice to put on the strange binge list, yet it is truly deserving to be here, due to the fact that so far it has been unbelievably well done and wonderfully wholesome on the family side of things.
With only 5 episodes out at the time of this article, it has managed to absolutely blow away any expectations or comparisons to similar shows on cable TV and I don’t just mean within the superhero genre.
It is a cut above in every department from action to the story, while somehow breathing new life to the Superman tale that everyone across the globe has probably seen 100 times over in various mediums.
Even if you are not a comic book fan, the series packs a lot of relatable family moments and the onscreen chemistry between Lois and Clark Kent (Superman’s alias) is not only genuine but heartfelt and incredibly admirable.
Did I mention the action scenes are on par with movies? No seriously, they are gripping battles that show off Superman’s true Godlike abilities and the mystery of the plot gives Lois Lane figurative superpowers of her own, which makes it not seem like a one-sided superhero drama.
Resident Alien (2021)
TV series available on Syfy or CTV
Alan Tudyk playing an alien should be a sell to absolutely anybody right away, after all, this man is a goddamn treasure and has been attached to everything from Aladdin to Firefly to Knight’s Tale and much more that would take too long to list.
Tudyk continues his grand tradition of giving us another character who is impossible not to love in this darkly hilarious sci-fi that may just be one of the best shows to come out this year.
Sure, that’s a grand statement to throw this series in the ring with all the top tier sci-fi that has or will come out in the next couple of months, but whatever, Tudyk playing an alien who is pretending to be a human is utter perfection and the actual mystery throughout the season is intriguing, then to finally top it off the entire cast are filled diverse hilarious scene-stealers.
Put this series at the top of your list, trust me, you won’t regret it.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)
Available on HBO Max and Crave
In 2017, Justice League came to theatres and…
You know what? Forgot about Justice League (2017), let’s all just straight-up pretend it never happened.
If you believe in second chances and have 4 hours to spare, this movie is an absolute must-watch for the sheer grandness of filmmaking.
Superhero geeks, film critics, interested others, it really doesn’t matter this is just something you have to see to believe.
It’s larger than life in both scope as well as what it means for the genre and there are some moments that easily stand out as unbelievable feats in CGI, imagination, and storytelling.
Even if the task of watching a 4-hour movie feels daunting (understandably) director Zack Snyder did break it up into parts, so if you want, there is the option to watch it like a miniseries.
A very expensive and gigantically ambitious miniseries…
Movies and TV with epic scopes, daring CGI, and absolutely bonkers plots have a special place in my heart for their ability to keep the dream alive that filmmakers have the ability to weave grand tales to life right before our eyes.
Happy Viewing!
