The Suggestion Box #121: Time Loops, and Fungi, and Punk Rock, Oh My!

Posted on by Lauren

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.

Lauren’s Movie Pick: Superman – Look up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s the Superman shaped sigh of relief being dramatically expelled from my lungs because James Gunn didn’t biff it with this tentpole entry into the new DC cinematic universe about my second favorite Kryptonian! Third favorite? Sorry Clark, the chaos demon that is Krypto might have just knocked you to the bronze tier of the podium with his best boy (if you ignore all of his horrible behavioral problems) antics of heroism, stealing your movie right out from under you. What a loser, I say affectionately, as Superman gets back to his farmboy roots of campy cheesiness and earnest heroism, taking on Lex Luthor in a week from Hell. I mean Heck. A week from Heck, as Lex plots to show the world the “true face” of their alien hero, while also doing other various comic book villainy type schemes befitting a pompous egomaniac. Honestly if we ignore the underutilization of Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl and the abhorrent behavior from Jimmy Olsen towards Eve Tessmacher— shocking no one, I wanted more for the majority of the women of the cast in a superhero film, though I was very pleased with Lois Lane’s near equal footing to the man of something slightly squishier than steel (chef’s kiss to that interview scene) — Superman is a darn near perfect film befitting its titular character.

Ben’s Movie Warning: Until Dawn – In my mind, Until Dawn fails in two major ways. The first is as an adaptation. Aside from the look of a couple of antagonists and Peter Stormare (in a completely different role), this has absolutely nothing to do with the “source material”: the story, characters, setting, and tone are all drastically changed. Hell, I’d argue the time loop schtick is in direct opposition to one of the most impactful aspects of the video game that set it apart from most: if you made a poor choice people died and stayed dead. There were no do-overs, and the movie seems to not get or care about what made the game great. Secondly – and more importantly – it fails at just being a horror movie. None of the characters feel like actual people, therefore there isn’t much (or any) tension whenever they’re in danger. And while the time loop premise with different killers/monsters each loop isn’t in line with the game, it still had potential, even if the how’s and why’s of it all are left frustratingly vague. The result is a confusing, messy mash-up of horror subgenres.

Lauren’s TV Pick: Friendly Rivalry – I was too busy trying to fight off the descent into a k-pop rabbit hole post Kpop Demon Hunters that I got blindsided by another South Korean export thanks to the recommendation of a friend: the k-drama. Or Friendly Rivalry, specifically, a show that follows a group of scarily competitive girls at a prestigious high school as they prep for their SAT/ACT equivalent test that will make or break their collegiate careers. It had me, someone long past graduating college with a degree I have done absolutely nothing with, genuinely stressing about how poorly I’d do in the South Korean school system just watching. No wonder they’re all taking drugs to give them an edge, or blackmailing others for a multitude of sometimes convoluted reasons, or yearning with a sapphic passion. Ok the last one doesn’t really help with the schooling, but it and the constant plot-thickening reveals that keep the viewer off balance had me going from unsure if I was gonna watch more after the first episode to completely hooked trying to figure out everyone’s true motivation. Suddenly it was 6AM, I’d burned through 12 of the 16 episodes, and the only reason I was stopping was because I had a stress and emotion migraine thanks to the rollercoaster I’d just been on. There’s no denying that Friendly Rivalry is messy, but man is it addictive.

Ben’s Video Game Pick: The Last of Us Part II Remastered – I’m not sure what I can say about this remaster that I didn’t already say about the base game, as I didn’t really explore the new roguelike mode. But that wasn’t necessary for me to recommend this remaster; it’s the same game I played and adored in 2020 with (even more) gorgeous visuals, tense gameplay, and what might be the best story you can find in any medium: a painfully powerful tale of love, trauma, and the futility of vengeance that had me full-on sobbing all over again. It’s exceptionally rare to experience a story that can affect me nearly as deeply as the first time when revisiting it, but that’s what happened here. The Last of Us Part II Remastered is the optimal way to experience this genuine work of art.

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!

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