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.

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Lauren’s Movie Pick: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – I thought I was finally braced well enough for the gut punch of dealing with the loss of Chadwick Boseman / T’Challa; what I wasn’t prepared for was just how reminiscent this story would be to the themes of The Last of Us Part II, and how damaging the mishandling of grief can be as it evolves into something rage-fueled and violent. The humor of the “detour episode” that was picking up Riri Williams from MIT did little to assuage the burn of tears in my eyes — I cried 3 times, ok!? — as the rage soaked underwater king Namor asks the still reeling Wakandans to help fight off the encroaching land dwellers, or be wiped from the coast by the waves of his vengeance and weirdly winged ankles. This movie is 5% Okoye and Shuri having a good time visiting their favorite colonizers, 10% not being able to see anything cuz the night scenes are lit horribly, and 85% watching Dania Gurira, Angela Bassett, and Letitia Wright suffer. Oh how my heart broke. 

Ben’s Movie Pick: The Bourne Quadrilogy – Excluding the spin-off starring Jeremey Renner, the Bourne films make up one of the most consistently entertaining espionage thriller series that I’ve seen. Matt Damon is awesome as the series lead, and the supporting casts from each of the four films focused on the amnesiac assassin all make memorable marks in the world filled with programmed killers, cover-ups, and ultra slick, intense action. Speaking of the action, The Bourne films’ shaky-cam combat still holds up extremely well, remaining one of the best examples of how to use it effectively. Often imitated but rarely (if ever?) duplicated, the camera manages to give each punch, shot, or crash weight behind it, but never leaves you confused as to what’s going on. The original trilogy as a whole is great from top to bottom, and while the 2016 Jason Bourne doesn’t hit quite the same level of quality, it’s still a thoroughly solid adventure that I’m glad to have seen too.

Ben’s TV Pick: Breaking Bad – Breaking Bad is a thoroughly brilliant television series. It’s immaculate in almost every sense of the word, making it very nearly my all-time favorite show — right behind Hannibal. The five seasons that chronicle Walter White’s criminal escapades are laid out with such careful planning and attention to detail that one can’t help but be impressed. Every character, every revelation, every death, every power play, it’s all practically perfect. The cast is stellar as well, with performances that turned several lesser known actors (Aaron Paul, Giancarlo Esposito, and Anna Gunn) into small screen icons, and one from Bryan Cranston that is — no hyperbole here — one of the best that you’ll ever see. Walter’s transformation from down on his luck chemistry teacher to maestro meth cook to infamous criminal mastermind is unlike anything else I’ve ever seen. Even on a rewatch I found myself struggling to not hit “next episode” each time I had to head to bed at a semi-reasonable hour.

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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!