April media diet

3 Body Problem, S1 — Netflix | The marketing push convinced me to watch this, but let’s be clear: This is not “Game of Thrones” level stuff, despite co-creators Benioff and Weiss. It’s entertaining, but the puzzle box nature never really grabbed me, nor the idea that some very smart physicists would just immediately accept the presence of extraterrestrial life. Apparently it’s based on some Chinese sci-fi books, so curious to see where they go in season 2, which I presume they have to make, because these first eight episodes do not tell a complete story.

Culprits — Hulu | Carey heard about this one on some forum or another and we gave it a shot. I thought the candy-colored storytelling was cool at first, but it dragged after eight episodes and the actors just weren’t talented enough to really hold my attention. The plot centers around a mysterious heist that happened three years ago. When the criminals start to get killed off one by one, the ones still alive must come together again to figure out who’s hunting them.

Fleischman is in Trouble — Hulu | Heavier stuff than what I expected, but solid performances from Jesse Eisenberg, Claire Danes and Lizzy Kaplan, as they tell the story of a crumbling marriage and how families and friends all get sucked into the vortex.

You Like it Darker by Stephen King | A sign of our times, perhaps, but even Mr. King is getting more violent and in-your-face with his storytelling. Stabbings by random strangers on Central Park benches? Beatings with Louisville Slugger bats? Not enough heart in these stories for me. King’s best have always managed to temper the horror with heart.

The Future by Naomi Alderman | Bought this novel for Lincoln for Christmas, in part because I wanted to read it myself. The author is somehow both a technology cynic and booster. A lot of the plot rings true, with the Zuckerberg and Musk and other billionaire stand-ins behaving the way I imagine they will when their inventions hasten the end of the world. The question Alderman poses is how long the rest of us will continue to put up with it?

American Fiction — Amazon Prime | Treated myself to this while Linc and Carey were touring colleges. Not quite what I expected, but solid performances from all the actors and a story fit for our times. Kudos to actor Sterling K. Brown for the ab work.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire — Theater | Matthew Gilmore’s predilection for foreign films about cooking aside, this is the reason God made movie theaters. Radiation absorbing monsters doing radiation absorbing monster things largely and loudly. Terrible, fantastic stuff.  

Wicked Little Letters — Theater | We are committed to seeing more movies with our friends the Corbins at our local independent theater. This one is based on a true story and stars Olivia Colman as a woman in post-WWI England living with her older parents and chafing against the patriarchy’s silencing of women. When an Irish single mother with a potty mouth moves in next door, she puts her own dirty vocabulary to epistolary use and ignites a scandal.

Step Up: Revolution — Netflix | This is what we watch when Carey has the remote control. Ninety brainless minutes, but some sick parkour and other high-level dancing/acrobatics from 2012. There are three Step Up films preceding this one if anyone’s interested!