Tag Archives: Pandemic Picks

Pandemic Picks

Pandemic Picks: The Nice Guys

Leave a comment

You will all have favourites out there, favourite actors, favourite directors, favourite writers. It’s natural that you gravitate towards certain people, with actors it’s because you probably identify with him or her more, or just that you like their performances. Directors and writers though are a little different, you don’t like the people themselves necessarily, but you like their style, their techniques, their voice. For me I love Shane Black and will watch anything that he does and for the most part I love everything he has written or directed. What really appeals to me about Shane Black is the way he can switch very quickly and almost effortlessly between hilarious comedy to serious drama. Not only that but he manages to subvert clichés by setting up what looks to be a cliché situation and then turns it completely on its head.

Continue reading Pandemic Picks: The Nice Guys →
Pandemic Picks

Pandemic Picks: A Simple Favor

Leave a comment

Paul Feig has become my go-to director for a good time. Spy is an all-timer for me, and last week, I clicked on his 2018 entry, A Simple Favor. It did not disappoint. This twisty-turny little mystery starring Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick does a great job balancing a solid mystery plot with a biting sense of humor. 

I love when a villain is just smart enough that I find myself rooting for them, and Lively’s Emily is the wry, well-dressed suburban mastermind of my cinema dreams. Although I’m no great fan of Anna Kendrick’s, she’s used here to great effect as Stephanie, an annoying, insecure single mother with a sordid past of her own. I enjoyed getting to know these women, flaws and all, and I like that their friendship clouded their judgment as much as their respective romances. The social web these two women manage to weave made the movie stick with me even after credits rolled. 

The movie is currently streaming on Netflix, and if you’re looking for a fun popcorn flick, you should give it a go.

Pandemic Picks

Pandemic Picks: The Big Nerd Pub Quiz

Leave a comment

A slightly different Pandemic Pick for me today. This is something I’ve been playing with some of my friends for the last couple of weeks. It’s a Pub Quiz that you live stream through YouTube and answer the questions in a Google document. Lots of fun and great for getting a group of friends together to participate in.

It’s run by Mark Hughes who live streams from his bedroom in Rostrevor Co Down, Ireland. So far there have been five of them, I missed the first one which I’ve heard was very nerdy. After the first one Mark took some feedback and it became a little more of a traditional pub quiz and less nerdy with a sports round and general knowledge rounds. The audience is growing with each quiz and the sixth one is scheduled for Saturday 11th April at 20:00 BST. On top of these there are also some specialist quizzes coming soon including a Star Trek and a Star Wars one. The Star Trek one I am most looking forward to as if you’ve read my previous articles on my trips to Star Trek conventions you’ll know.

Continue reading Pandemic Picks: The Big Nerd Pub Quiz →
Pandemic Picks

Pandemic Picks: Stargirl

Leave a comment

I first read Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli when I was in middle school. I remember loving it. When Disney+ announced that they would be adding a Stargirl movie to their lineup, I decided to re-read it. I initially couldn’t remember what intrigued me so much about this book, but as I read on, I remembered. Spinelli created something beautiful out of what could be any ordinary high school setting. The story is told from the perspective of a 16 year old, Leo, who is a perfectly normal kid. He observes the mannerisms of a new student in their school, who goes by the name “Stargirl.” I can’t put into words what a refreshing, beautiful, inspiring soul this Stargirl turns out to be.

Continue reading Pandemic Picks: Stargirl →
Pandemic Picks

Pandemic Picks: Airplane!

Leave a comment

Today’s Pandemic Pick is the classic comedy film Airplane! Surely I’m not serious… I am serious, and don’t call me Shirley. I promise that is the only time I’ll say that in this article… maybe. Airplane! is one of those films that everyone has either seen or at least knows some of the jokes from. It’s considered by many to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, comedy films of all time. But what is it that makes it such a great comedy?

The film is the brainchild of the writing team of brothers David and Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, they based the film on a real disaster movie that they had caught on late night TV called Zero Hour about the pilots of a commercial flight getting food poisoning and a ex-World War II pilot is forced to take over. Sound familiar? Because that is pretty much the exact plot of Airplane! It’s hard to imagine that there is a film out there with the same plot as this zany comedy that played it straight.

Continue reading Pandemic Picks: Airplane! →
Pandemic Picks

Pandemic Picks: Schitt’s Creek

Leave a comment

With the final season wrapping up, I hope that you are unlike me.  You, the clever viewer, have been watching and enjoying this gem of a show for years.  You’re not a crazy person like me. Schitt’s Creek is, of course, your favorite show. No?

WATCH SCHITT’S CREEK

Continue reading Pandemic Picks: Schitt’s Creek →
Pandemic Picks

Pandemic Picks: Bon Appetit

Leave a comment

Bon Appetit was already the best YouTube channel, but forcing our favorite test kitchen chefs to work with what they’ve got in their own kitchen has both upped their creativity and their charm.

If, for some insane reason you weren’t already on the Bon Appetit train, the popular food publication has found new life by letting camera crews into its test kitchen and turning its staff of chefs into TV personalities. Because they were already writers, turning their kitchen experiments into easily accessible recipes for home cooks, it was a perfect marriage of old and new media, leading to charming series such as “Gourmet Makes,” in which Claire Saffitz attempts to recreate mass produced snack and candy, “It’s Alive with Brad Leone,” which follows the titular chef as he does fermentation experiments and learns where his food comes from, and other amazing regular programs.

Continue reading Pandemic Picks: Bon Appetit →
Pandemic Picks

Pandemic Picks: The Expanse

2 Comments

I’ll be honest, I was of two minds on whether I would do a Pandemic Pick on The Expanse or not because I know at some point it’s going to be the subject of one of my deep dives. Probably when it’s all over and I can do a proper retrospective on the series. However, this is what I am currently watching at the moment and I’m absolutely loving it, more so on the second viewing as well.

Whenever I recommend this show to anyone the first thing they ask me is, “What’s it about?” Well, that’s difficult to explain without spoiling it because the way the story unfolds is you are thrown into this world and are basically left to catch up with what is happening. I love that about a series though, it treats us like an adult, it says here is the world that you’re going to be in for this series but don’t worry you’ll catch up. The way the story unfolds sets up more and more of the events and situations that govern the world this story takes place in. It feels weird referring to it as a world when the series setting is the Solar System, not one specific world.

Continue reading Pandemic Picks: The Expanse →
Pandemic Picks

Pandemic Picks: Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms

Leave a comment

Hey guys, do you ever feel too flustered, concerned, or worried to do much more than click your mouse or tap on your phone? Does this pandemic have you unable to do much more than simple actions? Well, have I got a video game for you!

It’s called Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms and it’s a Dungeons and Dragons idle clicker game where all you do is click to get gold coins, experience points, and cool unlockable characters. You can engage with this thing as much or as little as you want and the game adjusts to your interest and abilities. Just want to click on baddies and make them burst into violent blood stains on the ground? You’re all set. Want to figure out which battle formation will yield the highest DPS so you can reach level 100 and possibly unlock a golden chest or a special new character? Yeah, the game got you, boo.

Lots of things to click and it’s glorious. Engage…or don’t. It’s fine!

Idle Champions is free-to-play, but the grind is part of the appeal. There are times where I don’t have enough in me to play a super complex RPG or get invested in my tasks in Animal Crossing. There are also times where I simply don’t have a lot of time while, like when I’m waiting for an appointment or I’m in line to get into Trader Joes.

Give it a try, it will help pass the time and will scratch your Dungeons and Dragons itch until you can get back to the table. Ahem, the virtual table. You can find this game on pretty much every platform except for those refrigerator and car operating systems…although that can still happen. Cheers!

Pandemic Picks

Pandemic Picks: Mating habits of the earthbound human

Leave a comment

Are you going stir crazy? Getting cabin fever? Maybe if you’re single, you’re really starting to feel the crunch of that sexless life right about now. Good news! I mean yes, Pornhub is giving away the store, but also, I have a Pandemic Pick that will remind you of why you don’t want to have sex right now. It’s called MATING HABITS OF THE EARTHBOUND HUMAN.

This 1999 classic, now available to rent for $2.99 on Amazon, is a fake documentary for a hypothetical alien species that would like to learn how humans mate. It stars acting legend Carmen Electra and Patty Duke’s non-Hobbit son, Mackenzie Astin, as a couple that should probably have nothing to do with each other but are still gonna give it a go. As they work through their toxic relationship issues, they also try to figure out contraception options. That’s right, this is a movie about birth control!

So quick, think about who’s the person you want to narrate a documentary about sex without procreation. I bet it’s David Hyde Pierce! I hope it’s David Hyde Pierce, because that’s who you’re gonna get. Is he sexy? No. Is he informative and whimsical? Yes.

Do you like to watch performances from actors mere moments before they became famous? You got it! Try Lucy Liu and Buffy’s least toxic boyfriend, Marc Blucas.

It’s also very important to know that the  Sperm characters are played by men in bodysuits. That’s right. This movie has sentient sperm.

If all of this information doesn’t entice you to watch this film, then I can’t help you. But if you want a very silly relationship movie that will teach you about the various forms of contraception while showing you lots of Carmen Electra pretending to orgasm from mediocre sex, this is the movie for you. You are fucking welcome.