‘Amazing Stories’ (2020)
Amazing Stories never had bite to it. It wasn’t the dark fantasy/sci-fi of The Twilight Zone, the mock/arch horror of Tales From The Crypt, or the nihilistic hours on Black Mirror. True to Steven Spielberg’s filmography — and the title — it was more about wonder and hope, the “wow” factor that is part and parcel with the wide-eyed moppets the director was associated with early in his career. Based on the first episode, Apple TV+’s Amazing Stories is more of the same, as Dylan O’Brien and Victoria Pedretti fall in love in a time-traveling basement. It’s pleasant and diverting; and perhaps that sort of nice take on fantasy anthologies is what we need today.