You've been working hard this year, now it's time to catch up on that great film you haven't seen or that TV show you've been missing. To make life easier for you, here are our favorite recent TV and film picks prime for Chinese New Year binge-watching. Head to a DVD shop or line these up in your streaming queue before the holidays are under way.


Westworld

If you haven't watched this yet, get on it. Blade Runner meets Deadwood in this adaptation of a 1973 cult classic by Michael Crighton. An immersive Wild West theme park populated with lifelike androids caters to the darkest fantasies of its guests. But an increasing number of the resident robots start to exhibit some potentially lethal malfunctions.


High Maintenance
HBO picked up this inventive web series by husband and wife team Ben Sinclair and Katja Blichfeld. In it, a cannabis delivery man (Sinclair) is the through line for the stories of his various customers. The result is an eclectic anthology of comedic character studies and a satirical look at New York society.


Sausage Party
From the bong resin-saturated mind of Seth Rogen comes this decidedly adult cartoon about food. After hours at the supermarket, the groceries come to life and fantasize about being delivered to the Promised Land by the “gods” (read: humans) who shop there. Frank the hotdog, however, learns that things aren’t quite what they seem.


Arrival

A “thinking man’s sci-fi” film with a stellar performance by lead Amy Adams, Arrival follows a top linguist who is recruited to liaison with an alien ship that’s landed on the Earth’s surface. The future Blade Runner director’s take on the alien invasion trope is thought provoking and complex—a much-needed parable for troubled times. (This one’s also out in theaters if you want the full cinema experience.)
 

The Birth of a Nation
Based upon the life of preacher Nat Turner, who incited the famous slave rebellion on a plantation farm in 1830s Virginia, this powerful period drama is getting Oscar buzz after winning two major prizes at Sundance last year. It’s a passion project by Nate Parker, who directed, wrote, produced and starred as Turner in the film.

 
Hacksaw Ridge
Gritty war film Hacksaw Ridge retells the true story of medic and war hero Desmond T. Doss (Amazing Spider-man’s Andrew Garfield) at the Battle of Okinawa. Doss was the first person in history to be a “conscientious objector”—a soldier who refuses to kill or carry his rifle—to then be awarded the prestigious Medal of Honor.

 

The Handmaiden

When director Park Chan-wook announced he was directing a “lesbian thriller,” fans could only expect twisted torture porn. But The Handmaiden is actually less thriller than period drama, though the story does have sadistic underpinnings. More surprising is how deftly Park weaves this sumptuous and weighty tale of love between two women.
 

Atlanta
A Princeton dropout returns home an aspiring music manager and struggles to make a buck promoting his cousin, a rapper on the cusp of fame. Created by multitalented actor, comedian and hip-hop artist Donald Glover, Atlanta delivers poignant drama and wry satire on issues of family, poverty and race.

 
Crisis In Six Scenes
Woody Allen crosses over to streaming television with this six-episode comedy, where Allen plays— shocker!—a neurotic author. He and his marriage counselor wife (Elaine May) lead a comfortable 1960s bourgeois life that gets turned upside down by the appearance of a pretty, young hippie radical (Miley Cyrus).

 
Ouija: Origin of Evil

This sequel to the universally panned Ouija was a surprise hit, praised for its scary and satisfying storytelling. In 1965, widowed mother and fortuneteller Alice unknowingly summons a spirit inside her house with an Ouija board. The spirit invades none other than her nine-year-old daughter’s body, and bone-chilling horror ensues.

 
I Am Not Madame Bovary
Feng Xiaogang directs this class satire about a woman (Fan Bingbing) who seeks legal retribution against her husband and finds herself faced with the bureaucratic inefficiencies of the legal system. Her reputation is in tatters, yet she still persists in trying to get back what’s hers.

 
Your Name

This anime earned director Makoto Shinkai the title “the new Miyazaki” from eager critics. It’s a tale of a city boy and a country girl, with a twist: the two young protagonists switch genders in their dreams. Set against the breathtakingly lush paintings that are his films’ signature, Shinkai treats his adolescent subjects with tenderness.

 
Medici: Masters of Florence
Game of Thrones alum Richard Madden stars in this period drama series recounting the exploits and intrigues of Cosimo de Medici, the famed Florentine banker and powerful patron of the Italian Renaissance. The prestigious cast includes Dustin Hoffman and Brian Cox in supporting roles.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople

From director Taika Waititi (What We Do In The Shadows) comes this uniquely hilarious story of a teenager and his foster father (Sam Neill) who live in the bush on the run from both child services and the police. A likeable cast of eccentrics and a touching message about family round out this enjoyable romp.

 
The Man In The High Castle: Season 2
Amazon’s adaptation of the classic Philip K. Dick novel continues. This is a world in which the Axis forces have won WWII, and Germany and Japan have split the US. But a network of dissidents are trafficking mysterious newsreels depicting an alternative history in which the Allied forces have prevailed.

Loving

This Oscar contender tells the true story of Richard and Mildred Loving, an interracial couple that was banned from their home state of Virginia because their marriage violated local legislation. They took the case to the US Supreme Court, resulting in a watershed decision that would legalize interracial marriage.