07/15/22
This week: Two can’t-miss TV shows, the period rom-com of your dreams, and the video game to stay inside with all weekend.
TRENDS THIS WEEK:
Youtube Harry Styles – LATE NIGHT TALKING
Letterboxd THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER
Spotify RUNNING UP THAT HILL (A DEAL WITH GOD) - Kate Bush
Netflix STRANGER THINGS
Twitter Skate
Trailer THE WOMAN KING
Shopify It’s Been A Week
Life & Culture
Okay I feel like I’ve been shutting out this news for a while, but this week I’ve finally had to come to terms with it…hand dryers are super germy. I was avoiding this fact because hand dryers are convenient, in pretty much every public bathroom even when paper towels are not, and I felt like I was doing a little something for the environment when I opted to use one of them instead of their more wasteful paper towel alternative. But this TikTok finally showed me the truth, and this article confirmed it. Hand dryers are apparently sucking up bathroom germs and blowing them out on all of our hands. Love that. So take this as a PSA that we should all be unfortunately wiping our hands on our clothes, I guess.
Emmy noms are out! And they made me reflect on all of the good TV we’ve had this past year. I was happy to see some of my favorite comedy series ABBOT ELEMENTARY, ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING, and INSECURE get a few noms. SUCCESSION pulled in the most nominations, followed by TED LASSO and WHITE LOTUS. And Jennifer Coolidge, Sydney Sweeney, and Chadwick Boseman are among the individuals receiving their first Emmy noms this year.
I feel like I’ve been consistently giving you all Wordle updates since the word game became uber popular last October. What’s new: there’s apparently a board game in the works. The New York Times is partnering with Hasbro to bring Wordle: The Party Game to our kitchen tables later this year. The concept is pretty similar to the online version, with one player coming up with a word and the other players having six opportunities to guess. And in more Wordle-verse news, on Tuesday Spotify announced that it purchased its first game acquisition in Heardle. In its current form, players have to guess a song after hearing a few opening notes.
I must admit I haven’t been spending too much time on my phone lately, but some of my favorite internet moments that I did see were this really beautiful depiction of the difference between winter and summer in New York, this video that highlights the coolest movie-watching experience I’ve ever seen, and this video that my roommate sent me of a turtle straight chilling while getting cleaned.
—Darlene Kenney, Digital Strategist
FILM
During a weekend packed with errands, I was able to sneak away to watch MR. MALCOM’S LIST (trailer here) and oh my, was I glad I did. Of course the Regency-era costumes were a delight. The stately country manors and chic townhouses…chef’s kiss. Revenge plots, high-society hijinks, and witty convos about Corn Laws? Yes, please. But what I absolutely adored? Ashley Park’s twice-widowed Gertie Covington absolutely owning every moment she was in with her amazing main-character energy. The giggles, the outrageous costumes, the amazing hairstyles, the everything!
—Rosemary Brennan, Marketing Consultant
TV
If you haven’t watched THE OFFER (trailer here), you’re missing out. Starring Miles Teller, Juno Temple, Colin Hanks, and Matthew Goode, it’s for sure one of the most fun limited series of the year. The plot centers around Teller, playing Al Ruddy, the producer of Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 cinematic masterpiece, THE GODFATHER. The show offers one of the most realistic (albeit in a very deus ex machina version) portrayals of how movies in Hollywood get made I’ve ever seen. Ruddy and his boss, Paramount studio head Bob Evans (played by a scene-stealing Matthew Goode), fight the studio owners, the Italian mob, and their own personal demons to bring Mario Puzo’s book to the silver screen. This all makes for a feel-good story in a vibrant 1970s Los Angeles. The cast works incredibly well together and Matthew Goode’s performance is mesmerizing. If you are like most movie fans and place THE GODFATHER up there on your all-time ranking, please give this a watch.
—Jackson Ingraham, Executive Assistant
There’s nothing better than a feel-good family sitcom, which is why I need everyone to add GORDITA CHRONICLES (trailer here) to their watchlist. Set in an ultra-nostalgic 1980s Miami, Cucu Castelli has just moved from the Dominican Republic with her parents, Victor and Adela, and her older sister, Emilia. At the heart of this story, the Castellis are trying to overcome the cultural barriers in America, while supporting each other to achieve the “American Dream,” but they quickly learn it’s not all it’s chopped up to be. I mean, learning about taxes is enough to kill the dream for Victor (rightfully so). The Castellis really stick up for each other in their times of need, which is why this family is so easy to love. Even Emilia and Cucu’s sibling rivalry (which, admittedly, is very similar to my own childhood rivalry with my older sister) cannot trump the loyalty they have to each other. Truthfully, Cucu is the kid I wanted to be growing up—not in the stereotypical sense of looks and popularity, but in the confidence she so effortlessly exudes. I forget at times that Olivia Goncalves, who plays Cucu, is only 12 years old. But, it feels so easy to be drawn to her character, whose wittiness, strongly grounded individuality, and a bit of naiveté seem to get her through all of her tween problems. This show really delivers some wholesome vibes, so I urge you to binge the whole season on HBO Max!
—Ellen Amare, Office Coordinator
VIDEO GAME
STARDEW VALLEY has been sitting in my library for about five years now. Originally purchased on a mean sale one summer evening, I had grand intentions of playing one of the most highly regarded games that still holds up today. A fan of MINECRAFT and other resource-gathering/village-building games, I knew it would be an instant hour sink. Or so I thought. There it sat, constantly begging me to commit to even opening the game. Still, I ended up either being too busy with other games, movies, or school, to bother starting something that seemed like such a commitment. In the end, it was the bond of two siblings sent across the country that made me open it up on my Nintendo Switch. STARDEW has a CoOp Multiplayer mode, and my sister convinced me to start a world together. Now, we live in different cities, but are able to work on our farm and help develop our village together. The game itself is endlessly addicting, pestering us with the notion of “we will stop after this day”. It is beautifully designed, with great artwork, fun characters, and really top notch music that keeps me wanting to finish that quest or make some more money. We have only recently begun our first Summer in the game, but I can tell we will be expanding our farm into quite the empire soon enough.
—Jackson Ingraham, Executive Assistant
SHORT FILM
I’d be remiss if I didn’t alert you all that our very own Neal Mulani (writer of many a passionate PS Weekly recommendation) has an incredible short film coming out this summer. The short, TELL ME SOMETHING I DON’T KNOW, is a comedy-thriller with a simple premise: “Cary, a meddling twink, brings his friends to the desert to celebrate his 25th birthday where he requests one gift: for them to tell him everything they hate about him. A reckoning ensues.” It deftly explores the intense social dynamics between Cary and his best friends by interrogating the question of what our closest friends really think about us. The tone is really fresh; it’s gripping and manages to continuously toe the line between thrilling and humorous. Neal leaves you spending the duration of the short second guessing what outlandish (or even violent!) antics Cary will pull next. Following a festival run that’s made stops at Frameline and Palm Springs International ShortFest, TELL ME SOMETHING I DON’T KNOW is finally premiering in Los Angeles next Saturday at The Ford, as part of the Comedy Night program at Outfest’s 40th Annual Film Festival—it’s gonna be a blast and you won’t want to miss it.
—Darlene Kenney, Digital Strategist
Have a great weekend! And as always, be kind, stay healthy, and stay creative. ツ
