Hurricane Hilary: Movies, TV shows and more to hunker down with

By Los Angeles Times Staff

Aug. 20, 2023 5 AM PT

Hurricane Hilary is on a trajectory toward Southern California, and the area is under an unprecedented tropical storm watch. As the sunny skies turn to gray, many in the region are preparing to hunker down for the duration. With that in mind, we at The Times have made some recommendations of things to watch, read, listen to and play, some recent and some older, but all worthy of passing the time during the storm. Make sure to charge up your device batteries and download these titles ahead of time (in case your area experiences a power outage). And let’s all hope this extreme weather passes without severe incident.

Binge a TV series

James T. Kirk walks by a railing on a space ship.

‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ (Paramount+)
Speaking of deluges, there’s been a glut of new “Star Trek” in recent years, and not all of it has been good. But “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,” which just released its Season 2 finale on Paramount+, has broken out of the pack with a lighter focus and the episodic narrative format that made the franchise so culturally dominant between the 1960s and 2000s. A prequel to the original “Star Trek” series that starred William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, “Strange New Worlds” tells the backstory of the U.S.S. Enterprise as led by the suave-but-anxious Capt. Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), who has foreseen his own death. Ethan Peck — Gregory Peck’s grandson — shines as a young Spock, whose Vulcan half loves logic but struggles to keep his hormonal human side under control. More iconic “Trek” characters start appearing as the show progresses, and Season 2 hits new peaks with the episodes “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow,” “Charades” and “Those Old Scientists,” a crossover with the “Star Trek: Lower Decks” animated series, another well-regarded installment. — Matt Pearce, reporter

‘Wonderfalls’ (VOD, multiple platforms)
One of the treasures of early 21st century television, this 2004 series from Todd Holland and Bryan Fuller tells the story of Jaye (Caroline Dhavernas), a sardonic slacker with a philosophy degree from Brown who’s working in a souvenir store in Niagara Falls (note falling water theme). For no important reason, she begins to receive cryptic messages from inanimate animals (a wax lion, a lawn flamingo, a mounted bass, etc.) that lead her reluctantly to improve some stranger’s life. Though it lasted only a single season, its 13 episodes describe a satisfying emotional yet unsentimental arc that does not oversell any lessons that might have been learned along the way. (There’s romance too.) Although it’s not available as part of any subscription service, the series is available for VOD purchase from Amazon and the like, but — you didn’t hear this from me — also may be discovered in its entirety from multiple sources on YouTube. The high-powered supporting cast includes Tracie Thoms, Katie Finneran, Lee Pace and Diana Scarwid; the theme song is by XTC’s Andy Partridge. — Robert Lloyd, television critic

‘Good Behavior’ (Hulu)
TNT’s prematurely canceled crime series from 2016-2017 has been resurrected on Hulu. The story finds Michelle Dockery playing Letty Raines, a character so far removed from her Lady Mary role on “Downton Abbey” that even the Dowager Countess would be left speechless. An addict, thief and parolee, Letty can’t seem to stop taking what she wants, sometimes in well-planned heists but just as often in sly, in-the-moment wallet lifts or jewelry thefts. One such moment puts her in the path of hired killer Javier (played by Juan Diego Botto, who should be on every TV series). At first forced to help him with a hit, the two soon join together — in ways both steamy and calculating. Their chemistry is undeniable. Lightening the crime tension is Letty’s parole officer Christian (Terry Kinney), who, with his soft spot for her, soon gets pulled into her schemes. Letty’s son, whom she’s restricted from seeing, and Javier’s estranged Argentine family all come into play. With just two seasons, it’s an easily bingeable distraction from the storm. But you’ll be left disappointed there isn’t more. — Elena Nelson Howe, Envelope editor

‘Star Wars Rebels’ (Disney+)
Even if the “Ahsoka” premiere wasn’t right around the corner, one of my go-to recommendations is “Star Wars Rebels.” This animated series follows a close-knit crew known as the Spectres who are fighting back against the oppressive Galactic Empire. The story is set between the events of “Revenge of the Sith” and “A New Hope,” and it shows how the Rebel Alliance comes together (events that run alongside those in “Andor” and “Rogue One” for those more familiar with the live-action side of the galaxy far, far away). The series is classic “Star Wars,” with plenty of action and interplanetary adventures. But the heart of the series is its characters, which includes street urchin-turned-Jedi apprentice Ezra Bridger, Mandalorian explosives expert Sabine Wren, Lasat warrior Zeb Orrelios, Twi’lek pilot Hera Syndulla, her beloved astromech Chopper and Jedi knight Kanan Jarrus. “Ahsoka” is set to pick up on some loose ends from “Rebels,” so it’s the perfect time to catch up. — Tracy Brown, reporter

Watch a movie that fits the climate

Men in tuxedos stand around a woman in an evening gown.

‘Gosford Park’ (VOD, multiple platforms)
Its action doesn’t take place on a dark and stormy night, and its emotional temperature — razor-sharp class satire shading into grief — doesn’t fit neatly with either cozy mysteries or noir. But there’s no film I turn to more often during a washout than Robert Altman’s 2001 upstairs/downstairs tour de force, set at an English country estate in 1932. Seen through the eyes of novice lady’s maid Mary Maceachran (Kelly Macdonald), a muddy, slate-gray shooting weekend becomes an autopsy on a tattered social order trending toward dissolution; against wrangling over investments and inheritances, lover’s spats and storeroom trysts, the murder (twice over) of the estate’s owner, former factory profiteer William McCordle (Michael Gambon), is almost immaterial. And though it’s buoyed by brilliant comic turns from Maggie Smith (as a gossipy dowager countess) and Kristin Scott Thomas (as a bored society wife), the dramatic fireworks between Helen Mirren and Eileen Atkins, as a buttoned-up housekeeper and her bawdy sister, suggest the depth of feeling the film sets against its farce. (I am incapable of watching Jeremy Northam’s Ivor Novello sing the elegiac “Land of Might-Have-Been” without crying.) Indeed, though not the filmmaker’s final film, it is his late masterwork and, I’d argue, his summative achievement: Beneath the surface of a perfect bauble, it contains a little bit of every Altman movie, and all his enduring themes, with a double gut-punch — human, historical — before the credits. What’s the point of loving movies if you don’t love “Gosford Park”? — Matt Brennan, deputy editor for entertainment and arts

‘The Exorcist’ (VOD, multiple platforms)
Nothing works better during a storm than a horror movie: Turn it up and double down on the anxiety. I’d recommend a return to William Friedkin’s immortal 1973 thriller “The Exorcist,” much celebrated two weeks ago after the director’s death at age 87. But when was the last time the power of Christ compelled you? Above and beyond the film’s supernatural elements, it also works unusually well as a stealth hug for frustrated parents: Why is my child swearing and vomiting and being so unruly? And why are these doctors so useless? Consider it research for this October’s reboot, “The Exorcist: Believer,” which brings back Ellen Burstyn and (it’s whispered) the original head-spinner herself, Linda Blair. It’s available for rent on multiple streaming services. — Joshua Rothkopf, film editor

‘Noah’ (Paramount+, Prime Video)
With a hurricane barreling toward the region, what better time to revisit Darren Aronofsky’s retelling of the Old Testament account of apocalyptic deluge and a floating ark? If you’re a glass-half-full person, you could watch, look out your window and think, “Well, this isn’t so bad.” If you’re more of a pessimist, consider it a how-to primer. Either way, there’s much to appreciate about Aronofsky’s daring action extravaganza, which boasts ferocious Russell Crowe eradicating all those Sunday school memories you might have of a kindly Noah ushering animals, two by two, onto a wooden vessel. “Artistic license” has indeed been taken, as the prologue’s disclaimer notes, but most of Aronofsky’s departures are inspired and thought-provoking. It’s the best kind of religious movie: one that makes you examine faith more deeply. — Glenn Whipp, columnist

‘Weathering With You’ (Max)
Japanese filmmaker Makoto Shinkai followed up his breakout hit “Your Name” (2016) with “Weathering With You,” a gorgeously animated teen romance centering a teenage runaway named Hodaka Morishima. While trying to figure out how to survive on his own in Tokyo, Hodaka meets Hina Amano, a fellow teen who is working to take care of her younger brother after the death of their mother. Hina, it turns out, has the ability to control the weather — a skill with business potential in a Japan that has been beset with increasingly excessive and unpredictable rain. While the film doesn’t quite touch on the reasons for its climate catastrophe, it is perhaps the most beautiful depiction of torrential rain that you will ever see. But this ultimately is a story about two teenagers finding love and a way to survive in a world where so much seems out of their control, which feels increasingly relevant right now. — Tracy Brown

Read a gripping book

Kara Goucher running through the streets of London.

‘The Longest Race’ by Kara Goucher
In this memoir, co-written with sports writer Mary Pilon, the Olympic distance runner Kara Goucher recounts the journey from her childhood in Duluth, Minn., to running at the University of Colorado to the Nike Oregon Project, where she trained as a professional under coach Alberto Salazar. She shares her struggles with training, injuries, disordered eating and the doping scandal that engulfed the Oregon Project. But the truly jaw-dropping moment is when she reveals that she made the sexual assault allegations that led to Salazar’s lifetime ban from the sport. While it’s not the lightest of reads, it’s a compelling book that you will have a hard time putting down. — Maira Garcia, television editor

‘How the One Armed Sister Sweeps Her House’ by Cherie Jones
A burglary that goes violently wrong one night at Baxter’s Beach in Barbados brings the worlds of Lala, her husband Adan and a woman named Mira together in an intensely emotional, cannot-put-down tale about violence, poverty and grief. Lala, who is pregnant, goes into labor one evening as she searches for her husband while he’s “on a job,” robbing houses near the beach. When she presses the buzzer for a random house, it turns out to be the home Adan is in the middle of burglarizing — the house Mira shares with her husband and stepchildren. A chain of events in the weeks after the burglary leaves each character’s life and those in their orbit changed forever. It’s one of the best books I’ve ever read, with a premise and lyrical writing that left me speechless. — Marissa Evans, health reporter

Listen to sounds familiar and new

Elvis Presley singing into a microphone.

Elvis Presley, ‘Walk a Mile in My Shoes: The Essential ‘70s Masters’ (streaming)
I recently made my way through this out-of-print 5-CD set, now available to stream in its 120-track entirety, which makes the case that late-period Elvis, though reflexively thought of as an age of decline and jewel-encrusted overkill, in fact produced a wealth of beautifully sung, deeply felt music. Even hampered by his bad habits, Presley recorded more new music in those seven years than most pop performers today manage in twice the time. While there are nods to good old rock ‘n’ roll, this is primarily a time of ballads and blues, with the singer wearing his soul very close to his skin. Informal takes on Bob Dylan and the Beatles may make some think of what might have been, but what was is more than enough. — Robert Lloyd

‘The Scottie & Sylvia Show’ (streaming)
Scottie Beam and Sylvia Obell are back with a new podcast under Issa Rae’s Raedio. The weekly podcast launched in early July and is at once a balm and love letter to Black women that tackles friendship, finding purpose, pop culture commentary and what it means to survive and thrive as Black women. The show will have you laughing out loud one minute and in deep reflection the next. The hosts leave listeners with an affirmation every episode that gives you plenty to think about before the next. — Marissa Evans

Play an addictive video game

The busts of several characters from Baldur's Gate III before a blue backdrop.

Baldur’s Gate III
Anybody who’s a Dungeons & Dragons fanatic or regular role-playing gamer probably may not even know there’s a hurricane coming because they haven’t been able to pull themselves away from “Baldur’s Gate III,” the new fantasy epic from Larian Studios that’s already a front-runner for game of the year. How do you feel about smashing goblins with a massive sword? Or casting spells to talk to belligerent squirrels? Or getting seduced by a crabby, sexy vampire who hasn’t decided if you’re friend, foe or snack? The addictiveness of “Baldur’s Gate III” is that you could choose to do none of these things or you could do all of them. The game is available on Steam and PlayStation 5. The PC version requires more than 100 gigabytes of hard drive space, so start downloading now. Bonus recommendation: If you don’t do video games or tabletop games but are curious about why the game is such a cultural phenomenon, check out this year’s “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,” a whimsical cinematic introduction to the genre starring Chris Pine and streaming on Paramount+. — Matt Pearce