These days, we’re all searching for comfort viewing, which is a lot like comfort food without the calories, and fortunately, we’ve got options.
HBO Max is promoting a new TV series, Harry Potter, based on the Harry Potter books, slated to stream on Christmas 2026. It has also released a behind-the-scenes documentary, Finding Harry: The Craft Behind the Magic.
While some will be interested in the details of how the show was made, many more will tune in to get an idea of whether it is worth watching the series or if the new production is just an attempt to capitalize further on the popularity of all things Harry Potter.
While I loved the movie series, I think the idea of turning each book into a season-long show is, to quote Harry, “brilliant.”
The overarching plot of each book in the films was engaging, but there was much detail in each narrative that could not make it to the big screen in a two-hour movie. This is one major aspect that the series creators promise to address: They will delve into it all, so the documentary is expected to put the fears of most Harry Potter movie fans to rest.
It also features interviews with the casting directors who went through about 40,000 audition tapes for each of the main characters to find their cast.
It is nice to see very young children in the roles. John Lithgow, who plays the legendary Hogwarts headmaster, Dumbledore, also seems like an intelligent choice for this leading role, which was already played by two actors in the movies because Richard Harris died after the first two films were made and was replaced by Michael Gambon.
Lithgow is the biggest name in a cast that looks great in the clips shown in Israel, and it looks like we have a series to look forward to that could introduce a new generation to the story of the “Boy Who Lived.”
If you want to watch the films again before the new series comes out, you can see them all on HBO Max and Apple TV+.
Classic Rob Reiner film added to Disney+
If you've tried just about everything to divert your children’s attention, try the deliberately old-fashioned The Princess Bride, which was just added to Disney+ and is also on Apple TV+.
The movie, which the late Rob Reiner directed, is truly his masterpiece, and it’s a charming story that will entertain even the most jaded kids. It stars Robin Wright and features an amazing supporting cast, including Billy Crystal, Wallace Shawn, Mandy Patinkin, Carol Kane, Peter Falk, and Fred Savage
Also new on Disney + is Sleepless in Seattle, the beloved rom-com directed by Nora Ephron and starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.
This was one of several rom-coms the duo made together, and it’s unusual for such a comedy in that the leads spend the vast majority of the movie apart, but it is still a winning choice. The movie is also available on Yes VOD.
Jewish comedy shown on Hot Cinema
An offbeat, very Jewish comedy from two years ago, Between the Temples, will be shown on Hot Cinema 4 on April 17 at 10 p.m. and is already available on Hot VOD Cinema.
It stars Jason Schwartzman (Rushmore) as a cantor going through a career and personal crisis who reconnects and falls for his much older former music teacher, Carla Kessler, played by the iconic comic actress Carol Kane of Taxi. Carla has never had a bat mitzvah and wants him to prepare her for it, even though she is almost 70.
The soundtrack features classic Israeli hits from the 1970s and 1980s by Arik Einstein, Matti Caspi, and Boaz Sharabi, which work perfectly.
A new movie about a singer (Hugh Jackman) who makes a career of imitating Neil Diamond and falls in love with a singer who imitates Patsy Cline (Kate Hudson) – Song Sung Blue – is now available on Hot VOD Cinema.
The two leads give winning performances, but the script leans heavily into cliches, and the total effect is disappointing.
But if you are into Neil Diamond music, you’ll want to check it out. It will be available on the Yes Movie Store on April 24. Hudson received a Best Actress Oscar nomination for this role.
'Entourage' hit Hollywood satire with Jewish undertones
I've been going through the HBO Max library one series at a time. I put off re-watching Entourage, which I enjoyed when it first came out over 20 years ago, because I thought a show about four streetwise New York guys who go to Hollywood after one of them becomes a movie star would have become dated by now. Particularly so given everything that’s happened in the world, from #MeToo and the social-media revolution.
But I’ve never been happier to be wrong about anything, and Entourage is just as funny and sharp as it ever was. Yes, they talk about TMZ rather than TikTok, but the issues the characters faced are just as relevant today.
The series, which was executive produced by actor Mark Wahlberg and is partially based on his success story, focuses on the ups and downs of Vince Chase (Adrian Grenier), a gorgeous actor from Queens who hits it big, years after his older brother, an actor who goes by the name Johnny Drama (Kevin Dillon), had a minor hit on a TV show called Viking Quest in the 1990s.
Johnny becomes Vince’s cook as he tries to restart his own career. Meanwhile, Eric (Kevin Connolly), his best friend and the former manager of a pizza place, comes along as his manager. Their buddy Turtle (Jerry Ferrara), an amiable pothead, becomes their driver as they buy and abandon a series of luxury cars.
But the character who is probably best remembered from the show is Vince’s agent, the foul-mouthed, ruthless Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven, who won three Emmys for playing this character), who is said to have been based on real-life agent Ari Emanuel, the brother of former Chicago mayor and presidential chief of staff Rahm Emanuel.
One more regular character rounds out the cast and helps humanize Ari: His gay Chinese assistant Lloyd (Rex Lee), with whom he develops a touching bromance.
There is a lot of juvenile humor about the four guys and women, which some will find offensive, although the joke is not that the four heroes see women as sex objects, but how open they are about it.
What really makes this series a cut above is the Hollywood satire. Much of the early seasons focus on the making of three movies that Vince stars in – a black-and-white indie crime movie, Queens Boulevard; a superhero movie, Aquaman, directed by James Cameron, who plays himself; and an artsy biopic of Pablo Escobar, Medellin, for which Vince packs on the pounds.
The pre-#MeToo Harvey Weinstein is also portrayed as a crude, menacing egomaniac, played by the late character actor Maury Chaiken.
Cameron is just one of dozens of celebrities who play themselves in small roles and cameos, such as Larry David, Aaron Sorkin, Dennis Hopper, Kanye West, Scarlett Johansson, Hugh Hefner, Bono, Brooke Shields, Snoop Dogg, Tony Bennett, Martin Scorsese, David Schwimmer, Tom Brady, Mike Tyson, and Lenny Kravitz.
The series was quite celebrated when it was running, and everyone wanted in. Gal Gadot had a small role in one episode and later reported that she was harassed on the set.
One more aspect of Entourage worth mentioning is that, through Ari, it portrayed life in the Hollywood Jewish community. The Jewish theme was most prominent in two episodes, one of which features Ari’s daughter’s bat mitzvah.
Another, even funnier one, concerns a movie deal that has to get done on Yom Kippur, and Ari, without a phone, spends the day running between his own Reform temple and an Orthodox synagogue, where one of the producers is observing the holiday.