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
Video Game: “It Takes Two”
My husband and I have taken a very twisted journey through the three co-op games released by this company. We started with the prison break one, decided to skip/miss the one that actually won “Game of the Year” and then played the most recent entry, “Split Fiction,” this last spring. So here we are, finally getting to that acclaimed middle entry. It’s definitely been a fun ride! At this point, I think I mildly prefer “Split Fiction,” but part of that could come down to the fact that I can’t get past the fact that I feel like these two people are just terrible parents! There’s an entire mission where they destroy their kid’s favorite toy to make them cry! The game definitely is self-aware and leans into it all, so that makes it fun in the end. Plus, I’m sure it will end well. But either way, it’s definitely a blast as a couch co-op which is the most important part!
Movie: “Earth Girls are Easy”
You have Kate to thank (blame??) for this one! After the annual cooking making party, we all get together to watch some random movie. And this year Kate introduced us all to the absolute madness that is this movie, a real-life, actually exists movie that probably 99% of population has never heard of but that features a ridiculous cast of young up-and-comers, including Jeff Goldblum and Jim Carey. It’s too weird to even describe, but I’ll just say that not only does it include numerous shirtless-Golblum scenes, but it’s also a musical complete with plenty of singing and dancing. And, of course, said up-and-coming actors all dressed up as colorful, hairy aliens…so…yeah.
TV Show: “The Office: Superfan Episodes”
It’s probably been about 5-6 years or so since my last re-watch of this series and lo and behold! When I pulled it up the other day to play in the background while wrapping presents, I discovered that they had released new versions that extend the episodes by ten minutes or so! While I can definitely see why some of this was cut in favor of a more streamlined episode composed of the best parts, there are still some real treasures hidden in these deleted scenes. Grumpy, drunken Oscar during the Booze Cruise particularly stands out! I definitely recommend it if you’re hankering for a re-watch and have a “more the merrier” approach to things!
Kate’s Picks
Film: “Wicked: For Good”
It was my birthday at the very end of November, and my husband took me to dinner and then to see “Wicked: For Good”. Which was really the best present I could have asked for! As I mentioned when “Part One” came out, I was obsessed with “Wicked” in college, and still love the play and the characters, music, and themes. In the second movie, we have Elphaba on the run being demonized by the Wizard and Oz, while Glinda is working as his propaganda mouthpiece… And they both desperately miss each other. And while “For Good”, which adapts Act Two of the musical, has some of the same pitfalls of the source material (theater kids know that Act Two is a lot weaker than Act One), as long as you have good performers for Elphaba and Glinda it’s still going to resonate and succeed. And Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are such performers, Grande especially here (as Act Two has always been Glinda’s arc). I laughed, I cried, prevented myself from singing along lest Alamo Drafthouse kick me the hell out. And now I love that the film adaptation of one of my very favorite musicals is complete, fully intending to do a double feature when I watch going forward.
TV Show: “Heated Rivalry”
Yes, I’m on the “Heated Rivalry” train, call me predictable, that’s fine. It’s soapy, it’s sweet, it’s steamy, it’s emotional, and I’m really enjoying it (I haven’t finished it yet, I’m HOPING to get the last few eps in with David while he’s in town so I’m holding off). For those unaware, it follows two hockey players on rival teams, Shane (for Canada) and Ilya (for Russia) who are both rising stars in their own right, and who have a rivalry narrative building around them because they are both incredibly talented. But they also happen to be deeply attracted to each other, falling head over heels in a sports culture that may not understand their relationship. It’s also based on a book series, that became SO popular due to the show that the printed copies of the book basically ran out, leading to a scramble and a lack of books right at the fever pitch of the show. I THEORETICALLY have a copy on the way from a local bookstore thanks to Bookshop.org, but we will see how that shakes out. Regardless, it’s been an addictive watch.
Video Game: “Stardew Valley”
I KNOW, I KNOW. I have highlighted this game so many times here, but I’m back into a hyperfixation cycle of it at the moment, and I’m going to highlight it again. I’m still farming (this time really focusing on artisanal goods like jam and cheese), I’m still pursuing friendships and love (my farmer this time is romancing Haley, and that has been more rewarding than I anticipated actually!), and I’m enjoying building up my skills, my friendships, and strategizing when to get more animals and when to try and fix up the community center. Look, we have what is probably going to be a LONG time to wait for ConcernedApe’s new game “The Haunted Chocolatier” so if I want more super cozy and chill gameplay with thoughtful and familiar storytelling (familiar is key), this is where I’m going to be focusing my needs for the foreseeable future. And I’m also helping my daughter play her own game now, which is so adorable.
