Not Just Books: November 2023

While we do love us some books, believe it not, we do have a life outside of reading. So to highlight our other pop culture interests, on the last Monday of each month, we each will highlight three other “happenings” from the last month. Big events on favorite TV shows, new movies we’ve watched, old movies we’ve “discovered,” etc. Pretty much whatever we found of particular interest outside of the book world during the last month. Share your own favorite things in the comments!

Serena’s Picks

TV Show: “Friends”

I’m sure I’m not unique in this, but it was terribly shocking to hear of Matthew Perry’s death, and the only natural reaction there seemed to be was to immediately begin re-watching this show. I tend to re-watch it sporadically. It’s the kind of comfort show that I would guess a lot of us simply stop at when scrolling around in a hotel or the like to have something on in the background (it helps that it seems to always be on some channel or another pretty much 24/7!). Familiar, low stakes, and always good for a laugh. But I hadn’t re-watched it in order from the beginning in some time. We’ll see how far I get, but I’m enjoying seeing some of the older episodes I haven’t watched in a while. And, of course, Matthew Perry is as charming as ever, and will be dearly missed by all fans of the show!

Documentary: “Beckham”

Even for those who aren’t big sports fans or soccer fans, “David Beckham” was definitely a household name during much of the 90s and early 2000s. Not only was he an incredible athlete, but he was also a good looking guy who married a famous woman (Posh from the Spice Girls). He had it all! But this was a great documentary in that it really dived into a lot of what was going behind the scenes during his tumultuous career. I knew most of the bullet points, but it really fleshed out a lot of his story. It also really hit-home just how rare Beckham is, not only as an athlete, but also as a man who, despite huge amounts of fame and media attention, still seems to be stand-up guy, both then and now. It’s a well-done documentary and definitely a must-watch for anyone who enjoys sports mini series!

Movie: “65”

I can’t remember what movie I was actually in the theater to see, but I do distinctly remember watching the preview for this one on the big screen, and man, was it effective! I know that this film wasn’t beloved by critics, but I’m honestly a bit surprised it didn’t find an audience! Personally, I had a great romp of time watching this film. It delivers on everything it promises: essentially Adam Driver vs. dinosaurs. It’s also incredibly tense at times and also had some nice (required) call-backs to the most famous dinosaur movie of them all, “Jurassic Park.” It wasn’t doing anything incredible on the writing front, but also, it barely has any dialogue, so I’m not sure why that should matter. Honestly, it’s just a fun, tense, action-packed thriller type movie, and if you go in looking for that, you’re sure to be happy with the experience!

Kate’s Picks

Film: “Talk To Me”

Right before Halloween (but after our October Not Just Books list was finalized) my friend Mark came over to hang out and watch a scary movie for the holiday. I asked him if he would be interested in taking a chance on one neither of us had seen, and I presented “Talk To Me” as the contender, and he was sporting enough to say ‘sure’! So we sat down to watch, and yeah! It was pretty freaky! Mia is a teenager who is still grieving her mother, who overdosed on pills not so long ago. When she hears about a strange party trick involving an embalmed hand and possession which has become viral in their school social media circles, she convinces her best friend to go to a party with her to see it in action. Mia tries it out, and is completely elated by the rush of a supposed spirit entering her body. But then strange things start happening. And she thinks that perhaps she is able to talk to her mother. But when something goes horribly wrong, it becomes less and less clear that she is seeing what she thinks she’s seeing. It’s intense and has some really gnarly moments!

Podcast: “Dateline Presents: Murder In Apt. 12”

When I took my solo trip to Duluth at the beginning of the month, I pretty easily ran through my usual podcasts during my travels. So by the time I was going to be driving home and had two and a half hours to spare, I needed to listen to SOMETHING. So I randomly picked one of Dateline’s special limited series, “Murder in Apt. 12”, figuring it was a case I wasn’t familiar with, and that Keith Morrison is always a gem to listen to. But what I thought was going to be an interesting but run of the mill case was actually far more about police incompetence, the court of public opinion, and how sometimes the legal and justice system are more inclined to double down on falsehoods rather than be embarrassed by the truth and their screw ups. When Nona Dirksmeyer is found dead in her apartment, police focus in on her boyfriend, convinced that he did it. But there was another man who lived in her vicinity, with a history of violence towards women, and filled with lies and deception when questioned about the case. But the police were positive they had their guy, no matter what evidence did come forward as time went on. It’s a very interesting, and disturbing, podcast, and it had me yelling at my radio as I drove home. But also hooting and hollering as Morrison matter of factly calls out one particularly smarmy cop on his bullshit. Man I love Keith Morrison.

TV Show: “The Gilded Age”

I enjoyed “Downton Abbey” when it was at its peak (for the most part; some things were a bit much but I won’t go into it here). I’m not certain why it took me so long to finally check out Julian Fellowes’s new historical drama “The Gilded Age”, but I finally did it this month and was pretty much sucked in right away, much like “Downton”. It follows two wealthy families during the Gilded Age in New York City, one of which is old money from familial wealth passed down, the other new money whose wealth has been obtained through ruthless business, robber baron tactics. While examining class and race divides as well as the social politics of the time, we see people trying to maneuver through a time of great wealth and opulence, as well as great hubris. And the cast is stacked! You have Christine Baranski, Audra MacDonald, Carrie Coon, Michael Cerveris, Taissa Farmiga, and more. SO MANY MORE! I am really enjoying the soapiness and the examination of the time period (I used to work in a historic house that was very much within the Gilded Age in the presented narrative), and the way it explores so many issues that still feel relevant today.