STRANGE BEDFELLOWS
The new doc “Red Penguins” chronicles the incredible story of Russia’s Red Penguins hockey club, replete with halftime striptease, gangsters, and… beer-guzzling bears.
Nick Schager is a NYC-area film critic and pop-culture writer whose work also appears in The Village Voice, Esquire, New York Magazine’s Vulture, Maxim, Complex and The A.V. Club.
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YES DADDY
HBO’s “The Swamp,” premiering Aug. 4, trails a trio of Republican congressman—and captures just how much Matt Gaetz takes marching orders from Trump.
SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING
The six-part Netflix docuseries “World’s Most Wanted” shines a spotlight on the deadliest criminals that are still at large, from terrorist masterminds to drug cartel kingpins.
NARCOS
The new Amazon docuseries “The Last Narc” contains several eye-opening claims—including that the CIA may have helped in the killing of undercover DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena.
ART IMITATES LIFE
The movie “The Hater,” about an online troll who turns to violence, was delayed when it mirrored the real-life murder of mayor Paweł Adamowicz. Now it’s available to stream.
OUT FOR BLOOD
The six-part EPIX docuseries “Helter Skelter” features interviews with former Manson Family members, and may be the definitive TV examination of the murderous cult.
UNDERWORLD
Premiering July 22, this three-part docuseries examines how lawmen took down the New York City mob—and features an eye-opening cameo from one Donald J. Trump.
WAR IS HELL
The new documentary “Father Soldier Son” captures the toll—both physical and psychological—of the Afghanistan War on one military family plagued by tragedy.
HELL ON EARTH
Czech filmmaker Václav Marhoul discusses his controversial Holocaust-set drama, why it’s less violent than “Joker,” and how his upcoming Joseph McCarthy movie is a rebuke of Trump.
HAUNTING
“Pretty much all of the young men were abused in some way, sexually,” says Evan Rachel Wood in “Showbiz Kids,” a disturbing new HBO documentary premiering July 14.
