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
Netflix Show: “Beef”
This one has been on my watch list for a while, but I was never quite in the mood for what promised to be a show about kind of bad people doing distinctly bad things. And it turned out to be great (no surprise, I feel like it’s been widely praised already!). It was such an odd combination of quirky, horrific, comedic, and, at times, deeply poignant, addressing complicated subjects regarding depression and mental health. What could have been a ridiculous concept (indeed, it is!), ended up with some truly heart-wrenching scenes. And also plenty of scenes where you were just banging your head against the wall at the choices of these people!
Apple TV+ Show: “Sugar”
My husband and I started watching this on a whim really knowing nothing about it. And now we’re several episodes in and…still mostly know nothing about it. Stylistically, it’s definitely doing some interesting things calling back to noir private investigator films. But story wise? Let’s just say I came in hot with some wild predictions that, even more wildly, don’t seem that crazy as the show continues. It’s clear that it’s building towards some sort of twist, and my husband and I have dueling theories at this point, so we’ll just have to wait and see who’s right in the end!
Netflix Show: “John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in LA”
And, to round out this month’s weirdly-all-quirky picks, I’ve also watched a few episodes of this very strange talk show. Now, I’m missing the most important aspect of the show, which is the fact that Netflix is filming and streaming it live, so I feel like I’m perhaps missing a bit of its charm. It’s also incredibly local to LA with many of its jokes and references, so, again, much of that goes over my head. But Mulaney is simply a charming, funny guy and that’s honestly probably what’s driven most of the traffic to this show, myself included.
Kate’s Picks
Film: “Late Night with the Devil”
I’ve said it many many times on the blog, but I will say it again: I’m not super into demonic possession stories, unless said story has an interesting hook that goes beyond ‘devil bad, let God save you’. But reading about “Late Night with the Devil” really grabbed my attention, because TALK ABOUT AN INTERESTING HOOK!! This quasi-found footage horror film takes demonic possession and puts not only a retro twist on it, but also an examination of success and fame at any cost. Jack Delroy is the host of the second most popular late night talk show in the 1970s, but with his ratings slipping and his fears of cancellation overtaking him, on Halloween Night in 1977 he brought on a very special guest: a parapsychologist and her patient, a teenage girl named Lilly who is supposedly possessed by a demon. What should have been a ratings grab and TV gold turns into a devilish nightmare. I love the aesthetic, I love the way it’s mostly a talk show episode (with some glimpses behind the scenes), and I REALLY loved David Dastmalchian as Jack. Oh, and Lilly is a wicked hoot.
TV Show: “Interview with the Vampire”
When “Drag Race” ended, my friend David and I needed one more bit of queer media to watch on our waning Sunday get togethers before he went back into the archaeological field for the summer. I suggested that we give the new “Interview with the Vampire” series a try, because 1) we both liked Jacob Anderson (who plays Louis) on “Game of Thrones”, and 2) I had heard that it’s a bit more, shall we say, OVERT with the queer subtext of the original novels. And BOY WAS IT, in all the best ways. This is indeed the story of Louis and Lestat, but it has had some tweaks, all of which I loved. The first is that it updates the time period to the early 20th Century. The second is that it ups Claudia’s age to a teenager. And the third is that it tackles not only the Otherness of being queer, but also race in the United States, as Louis is a Black man living in New Orleans when he runs afoul his maker and lover Lestat de Lioncourt. What a messy romance it is. Oh, and LESTAT. WHAT A PERFECT CATTY BITCHY LESTAT SAM REID IS. We loved it. It’s the “Vampire Chronicles” I’ve been waiting for.
TV Show: “Conan O’Brien Must Go”
I have been a huge Conan O’Brien fan since I was in high school (as an elder millennial this probably surprises no one), and have been following him here and there for most of my life. I always greatly enjoyed his episodes where he would travel to different countries and cultures, and now his show “Conan O’Brien Must Go” takes that very premise and runs with it. Each episode has Conan going to a new country and immersing himself in various activities, cuisine, and exploration, with the usual Conan antics and a unique intro narrated by Werner Herzog (yep, not even joking) for each. What I love about Conan and HAVE loved about Conan is that he is not only a fantastic entertainer, he is also filled with so much earnest heart that he never comes off as cloying, pretentious, or mocking. I love seeing him steep himself into the cultures of Norway, Argentina, Thailand, and Ireland. And not only is the comedy there, but there are SO many gorgeous shots of the landscapes and city scapes of each country. Give this man limitless episodes of this show!!
The Library Ladies 