An Awful Lot of Screen Time

A small detail about me, I was born in 1990 and lived for the most part of my life in a big city in Spain. As a proper kid in the 90s, I spent a big part of my childhood summers watching and rewatching TV shows and movies whilst savouring strawberry sorbets.

Nowadays, I try to limit myself to one episode/movie per night. A nice story before going to sleep is by far my favourite way of concluding the day. Also, it helps me get sleepy.

As a consequence, not having anything interesting to watch creates a slight feeling of emptiness. I know there are great visual entertainment options out there, but I have noticed that some amazing selections are forgotten in the dark due to lack of marketing invested in them, whilst others go viral due to a successful campaign.

Let’s pretend that I am a professional researcher. You hired my services yesterday evening so that today you could have a long list of options for the week.

As you may have noticed from my previous post, my descriptions are fairly vague and extremely subjective. Remember to check the trailers of all the movies and TV shows mentioned before making your pick. My list will include a couple of shows that I didn’t enjoy that much but have decent reviews, so you may find them appealing.  Let’s start!

 

 

The Devil All The Time

A movie about really bad people. It took me a while to watch this one. Cowboys never got my interest and religion didn’t either. At some point I started to feel slightly interested, maybe because everyone was talking about it, or maybe because of the great reviews, and mostly because of the popular cast that participates in this movie.

It’s a good movie, but it’s not for everyone. I don’t think you want to watch this movie on a date night (don’t repeat the mistakes I made!). I feel this is the best option for those days when you are chronically upset, to the point where you just need to watch something that matches your emotions. It’s a dark movie with a lot of psychopathic people, guns, anger, and revenge.

 

 

Dancer

A documentary about Sergei Polunin, a ballet dancer originally from Ukraine that moved to London to further pursue his career.

Amazing archive with honest receipts of the reality of being one of the best ballet dancers. Sergei is incredibly honest with the ups and (especially) downs of his job, the reasons why he needed to be the best and the reasons why he decided to quit at some point.

Professional ballet is an intriguing job and a pretty secretive industry. We admire the discipline and hard work of the athletes but often fail to understand what’s behind the curtain. Totally worth watching if you are interested in ballet.

 

 

Soulmates

Every episode of Soulmates is an individual story surrounding a couple and their decision to take part in a DNA test that will introduce them to their genetic soulmate instead of going through the traditional process of dating.

If you are into utopias and love stories, you should definitely watch this one. You will recognise a few faces from the cast. The individuality of each story also gives you the opportunity of skipping an episode if it’s not for you and running onto the next one.

 

Industry

This HBO drama portrays a group of recent graduates trying their best to get a job in an investment bank company in London. They have a limited time in their position as interns to prove that they are worth staying in the role.

The hostility of the industry makes you wonder if the job is actually worth it. I enjoyed this one, the cast is great and the story is pretty entertaining. Also, there is an interesting plot twist at the end!

 

 

 

Run

A movie about a possessive mother who will use every type of behaviour to control her daughter. Another “Munchausen by proxy” story about a mother that will literally make her child’s life a living hell in order to have power over her.

It’s a great Saturday night option starring Sarah Paulson as the toxic mom, and that was enough for me to decide to watch this skin-crawling movie.

 

 

 

Brand New Cherry Flavour

I loooove this TV Show. It is the weirdest, most surprising (sometimes revolting) show I have watched in years.

The story follows an ambitious girl trying to become a movie director in Hollywood. After having her movie stolen by a millionaire producer, she makes a deal with a witch to get revenge.

I loved the originality of this tale, led by a very dislikable main character and random kittens appearing in very uncanny ways. Some parts will make you wonder: “How did the writer come up with this?”.

You may struggle to understand the arbitrary happenings at certain points in the show, and that can be frustrating. But I think that it will be easier to watch if you consider the entire series a metaphor of what is like trying to make a career in Hollywood.

After finishing watching this TV show, I can confirm that “Brand New Cherry Flavour” is not for everyone. However, it’s one of my favourite ones. I am actually thinking about getting the book, but the horrible reviews are taking me back. Do you think I should give it a try?

 

 

Inventing Anna

Apparently, a woman called Anna was charged after scamming thousands of dollars from hotels and banks with the intention of becoming a member of the New York elite. She pretended to be rich and the girl did a pretty good job until she got caught. Some people thought that was incredible, so they did a TV show about her. I am not impressed.

The drama describes Anna as an unreliable liar with a weird personality, relentlessly trying to be cool and rich. It also shows the life of the journalist who got obsessed with her and gave her recognition.

I started watching this show and after 3 episodes I literally forgot I was watching it. I don’t plan to go back to it. Who knows, it may get interesting from the 4th episode onwards! I just felt indifferent about her, what she did and how she failed.

 

 

Body Brokers

A movie about a recovered addict that joins a company following the success of his sponsor. He later finds out that the business is made out of a group of scammers whose job is to recruit addicts and make money out of their recurring addictions.

I enjoyed this movie a lot. Apparently is based on a real story, which makes it even more mind-blowing. I recommend it, it’s good to know how many scams and frauds exist in the form of legal companies whose only purpose is to exploit vulnerable people.

 

Dark

A movie about a vampire girl living in the woods who finds herself taking care of a blind boy after killing his kidnapper.

I have the feeling that this is one of the darkest stories about vampires in the market. It’s a strange movie, probably too much to make it suitable for everyone’s taste. If you decide to watch it you may get some “Let me in” vibes.

If you love tales about vampires, you will enjoy this one. There is not too much action, but enough realism to make you forget that vampires don’t exist.

 

Don’t Look Up

A fun comedy about a group of scientists discovering that a meteorite is going towards the planet hearth and has the potential of destroying the entire humanity. As the meteor gets closer, the media and politicians try to convince people to ignore the alarming news and continue with their normal lives.

This one would be a perfect option for a Saturday evening. I remember watching this movie on the evening of the 31st of December of 2021. The “End of the Year” feeling together with the “End of the World” vibe from the movie was a funny, bizarre experience.

 

Kevin can F**k Himself

Another great comedy finding. The TV show displays the traditional couple we used to see in sitcoms (90’s nostalgia) and exposes the misogynistic attitudes the wife would perpetually tolerate. After some accumulated frustration, she sets up a plan behind the scenes to kill her husband.

I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I watched the entire season in a week and am looking forward to the second one, whose release date still hasn’t been confirmed.

Have you watched any of these recommendations? Let me know your thoughts and feel free to recommend new ones in the comment section.

Thank you for reading and have a wonderful week!