New movies, new TV series and catching up with a binge-worthy TV show

Stars of David

By Nate Bloom, Stars of David Contributing Columnist

Editor’s Note: Persons in bold are deemed by Nate Bloom to be Jewish for the purpose of this column. Persons identified as Jewish have at least one Jewish parent and were not raised in a faith other than Judaism — and do not identify with a faith other than Judaism as an adult. Converts to Judaism, of course, are also identified as Jewish.

It’s still tricky to predict how many theaters will actually show a film set to open in July or August. I have omitted some films I know will not open in many theaters (small budget features and documentaries).

The animated film, “The Boss Baby: Family Business,” opens on July 2. The first “Boss Baby” film (2017) got good reviews and made mucho gelt. It was followed by a Netflix series in 2018. The premise is, frankly, bizarre (one of the two Templeton brothers, the star characters, is a baby with the mind and the speech of an adult).

In “Family Business,” the Templeton Brothers have drifted apart, but a new boss baby brings them together again. Lisa Kudrow, 57, again is the voice of the Templeton brothers’ mother and Jeff Goldblum, 68, is the voice of Dr. Armstrong, a business rival of the Templetons.

“Black Widow” opens in theaters on July 13 and starts streaming on Disney Premiere+ the same day. It’s another tale about Natasha Romanoff/The Black Widow [“BW”]. “Marvel Universe” fans know that “BW” died in “Avengers: End Game” (2019). However, this film is an “End Game” prequel, set between the events depicted in “Civil War” (2016) and “Infinity War” (2018). The new flick finds “BW” battling a serious conspiracy.

Once again, Scarlett Johansson, 36, plays “BW.” Oscar-winner Rachel Weisz, 51, costars. This is her first role in a comic-book inspired film. She plays Melina Vostokoff, a veteran member of the Black Widow organization, a seasoned spy and a mother figure to Romanoff.

“Hotel Transylvania: Transformania,” which opens on July 23, is the fourth (and supposedly final) film in the “Hotel Transylvania” franchise. The plot is pretty complicated. Suffice it to say that the “Drac Pack” is back — at least one more time.

Dracula is a main character, and Andy Samberg, 42, has a starring role as the voice of Johnny, Drac’s son-in-law. Fran Drescher, 63, has a supporting voice role and Asher Blinkoff, 12, voices Dennis, Johnny’s son. Asher’s father, Saul Blinkoff, an Orthodox Jew, is a Disney voice actor and director. Blinkoff, 48, often talks about his career and faith. In 2018, he lectured at the Jewish Education Center of South Florida (video on YouTube).

Many of you have probably already watched, and enjoyed, the highly praised HBO “dramedy” series, “Hacks.” The first 10-episode season ended on June 10, but you can binge-watch it anytime. After my previous column went to press, I found out that the series costar, newcomer Hannah Einbinder, 26, is the daughter of original “SNL” cast member, Laraine Newman, 69, and Chad Einbinder, 61, a comedy writer. Hannah, who is a real-life stand-up comedian, plays Ava, a struggling comedy writer who is hired by a legendary Las Vegas comedian (Jean Smart) to freshen up her stand-up act.

Newman became a practicing Jew shortly after her other child, Spike (born Lena) Einbinder, began attending a synagogue preschool. Spike, 30, is also an actress and is a regular cast member of the HBO comedy series “Los Espookys.”

“Monsters at Work” is an animated series that begins streaming on Disney+ on July 2. It follows up on two hit “Monster” films. In the first film, monsters powered their city with the screams of frightened kids. In the second film, they discover that making kids laugh powers their city better than fright. The series shows us the monsters’ transition to laughter power.

Billy Crystal, 73, reprises his star role as the voice of Mike, the partner of the Monster in charge of power. Ben Feldman, 41, (“Superstore”) has third billing as the voice of Tylor, a power plant technician, and Henry Winkler, 75, voices Fritz Fritz, Tylor’s nice boss.

“Mr. Corman” is a 10-episode series that premieres on Apple+ on August 6. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 40, created the series, directs it, writes it, and stars as the title character. It follows Josh Corman, a former musician who teaches fifth grade in Los Angeles. As the series starts, his fiancée has just moved out and is replaced by his high school buddy.

The advance publicity says: “He knows he has a lot to be thankful for, but finds himself struggling nevertheless through anxiety, loneliness and a sinking suspicion that he sucks as a person.”

Darkly funny, oddly beautiful and deeply heartfelt, this relatable dramedy speaks for our contemporary generation of 30-somethings — rich with good intentions, poor with student loans and yearning to become real grown-ups sometime before they die.”