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

Ben’s Movie Pick: The Chronicles of Riddick Trilogy – Pitch Black, The Chronicles of Riddick, and Riddick aren’t masterpieces, but they each bring a few things to the table that make them extremely entertaining. Vin Diesel is effortlessly cool as the badass antihero Riddick in all three movies, and each film has at least two memorable supporting heroes or villains for him to play off of. The different planets in the series are interesting as well, offering up both cool monsters for Riddick and his cohorts to battle and great environments to explore. Diesel has made a career out of playing the same character archetype – along with the occasional talking tree – and in my opinion his time as Riddick is the most enjoyable to watch.

Ben’s Movie Pick: Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt: Bandit Flower – I recommended the film compilation of Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt‘s first season, December Sky, in our premiere Suggestion Box, and while the second season’s film isn’t quite as great, it’s still one of the Gundam franchise’s better additions in years. The new supporting characters aren’t as interesting as December Sky‘s, but they’re far from weak, eventually growing on me by the end. Bandit Flower‘s action takes place mostly on Earth instead of space this time around, which leads to some fun, explosive, and gorgeous giant robot battles on land, in the air, and even underwater. And even though Bandit Flower doesn’t really have an ending, that’s almost certainly because there’s a third film on the way, and I’m all for more Thunderbolt.

Ben’s TV Pick: Devs – Alex Garland knows how to make stellar science fiction, and is one of the most creative and talented minds working in the film industry today. Both of the movies he’s written and directed, Ex Machina and Annihilation, are easily two of the finest that the genre has seen in the last ten years, and according to Karl Urban, he was also the biggest creative force behind the cult-hit action flick, Dredd. With all that in mind, it’s no surprise that Garland’s television debut is also a terrific sci-fi tale. Devs is a techno-thriller miniseries that features futuristic technology, conspiracy, and asks some pretty heavy questions. All of that is given real weight thanks to the otherworldly performances from its cast, with Nick Offerman, Sonoya Mizuno, and Allison Pill in particular. I would share more, but Devs is best witnessed with as little insight as possible. Just trust me when I say it’s a must-see for anyone who calls themselves a fan of science fiction.

Lauren’s TV Pick: Fleabag – I believe it was during an interview with Stephen Colbert that Phoebe Waller-Bridge mentioned struggling with getting cast as an actress to the extent that she decided to write something for herself. And, as selfish as it is to say: good, I’m glad, because we got Fleabag out of it. What started as a charmingly unexpected comedy that has the titular character throwing sarcasm steeped looks and lines to the confidant of an audience with such ease that would make Deadpool jealous quickly evolved into something much deeper and honest than I was expecting as we explore some underlying, suppressed truths and guilt about who Fleabag was/is capable of being. And it’s this rollercoaster of a journey with herself, her family, and love in general that makes this short but sweet show as beautiful as it is. Phoebe Waller-Bridge is a genius.

Lauren’s TV Pick: Killing Eve – Speaking of Phoebe Waller-Bridge being a genius: we’ve come to the second of two brilliant PWB shows that I’ve finally gotten around to watching during this quarantine (both series two times through in the past week or two, if I’m being honest) with Killing Eve. To put it simply, Killing Eve has quickly become my favorite show currently on air, tied only with Brooklyn Nine-Nine for the top spot on my list. I’m sure the novellas that inspired the show are good in their own right, but I can’t imagine them being anywhere near as colorful and full of character as the TV series is. The chemistry between Sandra Oh’s MI5/MI6 agent and Jodie Comer’s assassin and their obsession with one another is as palpable as it is addictive, and as much as my moral compass demands I dislike Villanelle on behalf of all those she’s killed, the writing and Comer’s performance make it impossible to hold anything against this unpredictable character past not smiling at a dachshund that one time. Not. Cool. Even so, I want nothing but happiness for her, and she’s killed a kid. A KID. Theon Greyjoy would be furious if he knew that I loved Villanelle regardless of it all anyway…

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!

And while you’re here, be sure to check some of the site’s other recent content:

• A flashback podcast episode to 2010’s Predators
• Ben’s gaming review for the recently released Final Fantasy VII Remake