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
Movie: “F1”
Look, I’m not super into car racing, but I do seem to enjoy the odd assortment of movies that Brad Pitt seems to choose. You never quite know what kind of character you’re going to get from him: the traditional, heroic sort of guy, or some complete oddball performance where you’re left wondering whether the character was written that way or if he just went off script. But this movie was kind of a mix of both! And, somehow, it managed to make a story about car racing compelling. Honestly, by the end I was on the edge of my seat worrying way too much about the time it might take to change a wheel on the car the next time it came in for a pit stop.
Netflix Show: “Seven Dials”
This is the kind of show that I knew I was going to watch the minute I saw the trailer. I love mysteries, and I really love historical mysteries. The cast is also incredibly strong throughout. While I feel like some of the actual mystery was telegraphed too clearly and then other parts never really made much sense, I still very much enjoyed it. What can I say, put the cast in period specific clothes and set the scenes on sprawling estates and I’m going to be in! That aside, this particular point of history, the 1920s, doesn’t usually get as much attention for stories like this, so that added a fun extra flair to affairs.
Documentary: “Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model”
Like pretty much every woman in my generation, I watched the heck out of this show for almost all the seasons that it was out. I looked it up, and I think I only fell off at the very end, missing the two seasons. So, naturally, the minute I saw this pop up, I texted Kate and arranged to get together to watch it. And it definitely lived up to expectations! But honestly, most of the shock value came from the time period more than anything really revealed in the interviews. Reality TV was such a new thing, and it’s clear watching this show how very different it was back when it started, both from the expectations of the contestants (nowadays reality TV contestants all are “in” on the joke, mostly there to get started a “career” as a reality TV star than anything having to do with show in question) and the approach of the show itself (a lot of focus was put on what the show chose to film, and it’s obvious that no one really had a clear understanding of what should and shouldn’t be filmed). And, of course, the unhealthy standards of modeling in general was the other primary focus. So yeah, a few new juicy tidbits specific to the show, but as a look into a particular point in “history” and culture, this was definitely a great watch!
Kate’s Picks
Film: “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple”
After loving “28 Years Later” I had intended to go to “The Bone Temple”, but by the time I had the time to get to the theater it was already gone. Which is a travesty because when I did sit down and watch it this month I absolutely LOVED “The Bone Temple”. We pick up directly after the end of “28 Years Later”, with Spike being recruited/abducted by the violent Jimmies cult. Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell) is the leader, who has told his followers that he’s the son of Old Nick (aka Satan) and has them do his violent biddings to anyone they meet by proselytizing a bastardized version of Satanism filtered through his father’s zealotry as an Anglican Vicar before the infection hit. Meanwhile Dr. Kelson has started making progress with Alpha infected Samson, actually making tenuous connections with him and tapping into his lingering humanity, which could lead to a breakthrough in understanding the infection as a whole. Both storylines were great. But it was the storyline between Kelson and Samson that REALLY worked for me, extending the themes of humanity, death, memory, and connection from the previous film. Also, the soundtrack has a lot of Duran Duran and is banging. It’s a great sequel, and I’m relieved the third got a green light so we can finish the story. Especially given the ending. If you know, you know.
TV Show: “Deadloch”
This was at the recommendation of one my friends, who told me that he binged it in a weekend and really enjoyed it and I would too. And he was right! “Deadloch” is an addictive and darkly funny murder mystery with an Australian flair. In the small Tasmanian seaside town of Deadloch, the body of a local washes ashore, shocking the town and creating a crisis for steady and dedicated Sergeant Dulcie Collins, who USED to be a detective but stepped down at the request of her overbearing wife. Reinforcements come from the mainland in the form of Detective Redcliffe, a brash and outlandish investigator who is the COMPLETE opposite of Dulcie. But the two women will need to team up to solve the mystery, as small town secrets start to bubble to the surface as well. It’s quite funny (even if it’s kind of morbid), and it has a solid mystery and a great cast of characters (my favorite is Sven, a quippy and somewhat ditzy member of the force who had me laughing out loud a lot). A good mix of humor and procedural (and also super queer)! And Season 2 started this month too! So you will probably see that in a near future Not Just Books post!
Long Running Comedy Bit: The Walker Texas Ranger Lever
So full disclosure from the jump: I did not like Chuck Norris. I didn’t care for his opinions about many things, I never found Chuck Norris jokes funny, and I remember my grandparents enjoying “Walker, Texas Ranger” on our visits to Iowa as a kid and I always found it very dumb. But I absolutely LOVED Conan O’Brien’s comedy bit “The Walker Texas Ranger Lever”, which happened when he was hosting “Late Night” when I was in college. The concept: there was a silly lever that Conan had at his desk and he would pull it and a random out of context clip of “Walker, Texas Ranger” would play and Conan, having not seen them, would react. Because, you see, this started when NBC and Universal merged (a harbinger of recent events if there ever was one) and they could play clips for free now. It was absolutely hysterical. It highlighted the absurdism and the cheesy earnestness of this ridiculous show with the most random bits of sappy sentimentality or over the top dramatics, and almost certainly explosions and roundhouse kicks. So I spent a good amount of time watching clips of it the day after Chuck Norris died. Not really in honor of Norris, but in honor of one of the most amazing comedy bits I have ever seen in my life. I have vivid memories of watching THIS clip as it originally aired and falling off my couch laughing, my then boyfriend now husband also crying with laughter. GOD it was such a good bit.
The Library Ladies 