Another month of lock down in the U.K. The novelty wore off long ago.
I’m not watching many films, or reading as much as I thought I would, or developed a new hobby. I’m watching a lot of TV though. Here is what I liked on lock down in May.
Overcooked 2
It was about time I found a new multiplayer game I liked on the PlayStation. Overcooked 2 is every bit as addictive as everyone says. If you’re hoping to unlock 4 stars for the story mode, then it’s definitely not a game for kids. I break a sweat trying to beat the time. Endless hours of fun. I’ve just started playing it online with friends too.
After Life series 1 and 2
Soooo many people told me to watch Ricky Gervais’ series After Life and I didn’t listen because I find his stuff is either a big hit or a massive miss with me. After Life though did not disappoint. I loved the blend of tragedy and grief mixed with hilarious British comedy.
The show explores a man in his 50s who has lost his wife to cancer and attempted suicide, trying to continue living. It sounds bleak, and it is, though it’s also realistic and touching. I cried at every episode, but laughed just as much too. It’s brilliant and worth every minute.
Rain On Me
Rain.
On.
Me.
The joy of May. I am not bored of it yet.
Taylor Swift
I’ve always loved her, but this month my love has doubled. I adored the short but sweet City of Lover Tour on Disney+, featuring live performances from her incredible album Lover (which I’ve mentioned before, I adore). Hot off that, I finally watched Miss Americana, Taylor’s documentary on Netflix.
The documentary is perfectly made, so I would recommend it to everyone for that anyway. I’d recommend it even more though if you’re a fan of pop culture. There’s a lot discussed in the documentary, including: sexual assault, sexism, the time that Kanye interrupted her acceptance speech, double standards, standing up for what you believe in and admitting when you’re learnt from your mistakes.
Taylor comes across really well in the film, as expected seeing as it’s her own film. It’s made me love her more though. Hearing about why she finally starting talking about politics, after years of keeping quiet. Why she only asked for $1 in her sexual assault case. It’s also cool to get an insight into how she creates her music. I really recommend it!
Viewings
I watched only 10 films this month, which might be my lowest amount for a few years! I don’t know what’s wrong. I blame lock down. I have however watched a lot of TV, so it’s not all doom and gloom.
Normal People
It’s exactly a year since I read and fell in love with Sally Rooney’s novel, so safe to say I was looking forward to this. It’s taken the internet by storm, thanks to lock downs, and rightly so. What I liked most about the show was the casting. Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal were perfectly cast as Marianne and Connell, even though I didn’t picture someone like Mescal I thought they both got the characters right. I liked Lenny Abrahamson’s adaptation of Room too, clearly he is gifted as adapting well-loved novels. It didn’t shy away from the intimate scenes and the soundtrack is lovely.
Altogether it was a well adapted, brilliant series. With the love it’s received though, I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a series 2!
Dead to Me (season 2)
Oh boyyyyy this was good. Linda Cardellini, as always, is marvellous. All her outfits and her cute hairstyle! Plus I love Judy as a character. Christina Applegate is equally as good as Jen, though less likable. Even though almost all of the situations the pair end up is laughable because it’s so ridiculous, I enjoyed the twists and turns and even the predictability of it (the ending of S2E6 is so wild, I could not stop laughing but of course that was going to happen!).
I could easily have watched a 20 episode season of this. I hope there’s a season 3.
Ben Platt Live from Radio City Music Hall
The Lovebirds
Originally scheduled for a theatrical release but moved to Netflix due to covid-19. I liked the look of this because I like Kumail Nanjiani since I saw him in The Big Sick. The Lovebirds is a very simple set up and parts of it have been done many times before, however I really loved the fact the two leads were an interracial couple without one of them being white. It felt really refreshing to watch a film with a big budget (aprox. $16 million) feature a non-white partner interracial couple. I thought it was a fun movie.
