What to Watch/Listen to this Weekend
The Netflix limited series & a movie to binge. A new podcast series under Armchair Expert.
It’s officially cozy season. Whether you need a night in with the TV and some hot chocolate or a podcast to listen to while your noise-cancelling headphones double as ear muffs, I’ve got you covered.
If you want a heart-tugging, wholesome movie…
Watch Hunt for the Wilderpeople
A boy, Ricky Bake, ends up at his Aunt and Uncle’s house outside the bush of New Zealand after a childhood in foster care. Ricky quickly decides he will never return to the hands of Child Welfare. Eventually, he runs away and a national manhunt ensues for him and his foster uncle lost in the bush.
Director and Writer Taika Waititi crafts a heartwarming, real, coming-of-age quest. I laughed and almost cried multiple times. Beautiful. 10/10
If you like Historical Fiction…
Watch All The Light We Cannot See
A Netflix limited series based on Anthony Doerr’s novel of the same name. The story is a classic. A blind girl, Marie, lives in Saint-Malo, France in 1944 during the German occupation. She illegally broadcasts over the radio nightly while a young German soldier listens in, transfixed while tasked with tracking and reporting all illegal radioactivity in the town. The story flashes back and forth between before and during the Nazi occupation of France and the week of the American troops’ bombing and then the freeing of Saint-Malo, France.
Creator Steven Knight and Director Shawn Levy visualize a powerful story while lead Aria Mia Lobertie steals the show in her acting debut alongside Hollywood veterans Hugh Laurie and Mark Ruffalo. 10/10
If you like Cult Documentaries…
Watch Escaping Twin Flames
Another Netflix limited series (3 episodes) about an internet-based spiritual business scheme and high-control cult created by a couple (Jeff and Sheila Ayan) who claimed they could, through expensive coaching sessions, guarantee someone their “Twin Flame.” As many cults do, soon after gaining a substantial following, they turned into a high-control religious organization and began abusing and profiting off of their followers. The story is told through the eyes of former Twin Flames Universe (TFU) members and their estranged loved ones.
Twin Flames Universe is still operating today and continues to gain followers. Scary stuff! Gotta stay informed. Stay alert people! Be wary of the web… 8/10
If you like documentary-style podcasts…
and Armchair Expert…
Listen to Yearbook
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard’s new podcast venture hosted by Chad Sanders, former guest, and author, about his junior year of high school when his best friend was killed in a car accident. He travels back to his hometown of Montgomery County, Maryland to interview his loved ones and the loved ones of the deceased to reconstruct what happened that defining year in his life.
I am a huge Dax & Monica & Armchair Expert fan so I like most of what they come out with, regardless, this is a new series I am yet again impressed with. Very well done so far and an interesting and well-told (so far, only the first episode has been dropped) story. It is released every Wednesday on Spotify. 9/10