Wondering what to do with your upcoming free time? Well we have some suggestions for what you should be watching, playing, reading, listening to, etc.!

Lauren’s Comic Book Pick: Batman Vol. 2: I Am Suicide – Having finally accepted my invitation to what turned out to be the most disappointing wedding of 2018 thanks to the recent DC BOGO Black Friday sale over on Comixology, it’s time to look back to some of the happier times in this current run of Batman with my favorite volume for this post Rebirth title: Batman Vol. 2: I Am Suicide. Or what I like to unoriginally call “I am Suicide Squad” thanks to the team-up of Batman with some of Arkham’s less famous inmates: the Ventriloquist, Bronze Tiger, Jewelee and Punch. Oh, and Catwoman. Meow. As much as I loved most of the New 52 run produced by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, I Am Suicide made me realize just how much I missed the back and forth between the Bat and Cat. Unfortunately for this will they or won’t they pair, this vacation away from Gotham isn’t the most relaxing thanks to Batman’s mission: “Bane. I’ve come for Psycho-Pirate. I need him to save someone who needs to be saved. Turn him over, I go away. Refuse to turn him over…and I break your damn back.” Come for the Batman caper, stay for the humorous character dynamics, Mikel Janín’s sometimes overwhelmingly packed, but mostly invigorating, compositions and art style (and use of shadows and framing to hide Bane’s naked bidness), and some sweet and sassy romance.

Ben’s Movie Pick: Candyman – Jordan Peele, the man who brought us insta-horror classics Get Out and Us, is producing a remake of this 1992 slasher, and it’s pretty easy to see why he would be keen to do so; there’s no doubt in my mind that the former sketch comedy star’s initial entries in horror cinema were at least partially inspired by Candyman or other movies like it. As Peele would eventually do with his first two films, Bernard Rose weaves themes of frighteningly real social issues – which are still relevant today – throughout his urban myth flick. Candyman also features a haunting score, fantastic performances from Tony Todd and Virginia Madsen, unsettling but not gross-out gore, some of the best jump scares in any film I’ve seen to date, and one Hell of closing act. Here’s hoping that Todd – a man who was willing to perform that one scene using real live bees – returns for the title role. He certainly deserves it, and I don’t know who else could fill his shoes.

Ben’s TV Pick: The Mandalorian – I’m one of those people who wants to know absolutely nothing before going into a Star Wars movie, so I’ll stay light on the story details about its first live-action series. All I’ll say is that it’s easily my favorite space-western since Firefly, and is an absolute must-watch for fans of the mega-popular space opera franchise. Each episode reportedly had a budget of $10 million, and it shows in the cast, writing, and the visual effects. It almost feels like watching a series of forty-minute action flicks – each with all the Star Wars trappings you heart could desire – instead of a TV show.

Lauren’s Two Cents: B— Y—.

Ben’s TV Pick: The World According to Jeff Goldblum – I’m not big on docu-series normally, but there was no way I could resist watching Jeff Goldblum – who’s practically a living, breathing meme at this point – seek to satisfy his curiosity on a weekly basis. Be it about ice cream, sneakers, denim, or anything else, Goldblum’s interactions with his contacts and people he meets along the way are an absolute joy to behold. Considering that most of the shows I gravitate towards are fairly dark, it’s nice to shake things up with these little half-hour segments of wholesome fun. I was already sold on Disney+ because of its combined offerings of Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar, and the opening of the Disney Vault, and this documentary series was yet another layer of icing on the cake.

Lauren’s Video Game Pick: The Outer Worlds – Everyone hoping The Outer Worlds would be Fallout in space will be happy to know it is exactly what was expected. VATS might be missing from combat, and my go to sneakiness got a lot easier with the unfortunate lack of the surprisingly satisfying lockpicking and hacking mini games, but the rest is as familiar as can be. As someone who never finished Fallout 4 thanks to the burnout of being able to go in practically every building between mission waypoints, it’s probably pretty fortunate for me that The Outer Worlds’ scope is much smaller. And though no one can replace Dogmeat, my favorite engineer companion made fast traveling the worst way to travel. Seriously, cycle through the companions all you want (yes, even Vicar Max at least once to hear his murder taunts), but do yourself the favor of keeping Parvati in your party so you get to witness her struggle in her attempts to become friends with everyone. Not gonna lie, it’s hard for me to get too motivated in these games because I never really have a sense of self with my own character (I legit forgot my main motivation at one point), but you better believe I was going to do everything in my power to make Ashly Burch’s character happy. Parvati will succeed in love if it’s the last thing I do! And it’s because of characters like her (and the ships AI, ADA), and the character of this universe on the whole, that kept The Outer Worlds’ shortcomings from ever really negatively affecting my overall experience.

So what do you think about these picks? What content did we miss over the past two weeks while we were spending time with these? Be sure to leave a comment below letting us know about everything (both current and simply new to you) you’ve been consuming lately!

While you’re here, be sure to check out Ben’s reviews of Knives Out and Klaus, and our podcast episodes on 2009’s A Serious Man and the recent Terminator: Dark Fate.