How we're spending our leisure time.
Everyone has a bit of quiet downtime once in a while. Whether you're sitting quietly at home or trying to relax on a plane or just giving your busy mind and hands a break, it's important to relax.
A good way to do that is to read a book, listen to some music or watch a movie or show. See what's caught our attention for the week of December 22.
Tom Westrick
This week, I'm taking a short break from my own library and checking out some Netflix originals that I haven't seen yet. Primarily, I've been watching The Ranch and it's...fine. The plot is mildly interesting — I'm from a small farm town so I've seen similar situations play out in real life. But the laugh track is obnoxious at best and Masterson's and Kutcher's accents are not very believable. I think I'll finish the first half of the first season before deciding whether or not to move on.
I also started watching The Office for what feels like the millionth time. I blame Hayato.
Ara Wagoner
Disney decided to pull Olaf's Frozen Adventure from Coco because getting kids to sit through a two-hour-movie is hard enough without a 22-minute opening "short". This is great news for those of us who love holiday specials, because they've now aired Olaf's Frozen Adventure twice, and they've released it on Digital, so you have something else you can download for your kiddies to watch on the way to grandma's house.
Olaf's Adventure is a little rushed, but the music is utterly adorable, and manages to give us just enough of Olaf's naivete and charm without making us want to impale his plushie. Also, I want that ice tree! I'm also going to dig out a Disney Christmas movie from the 90's with adorable music and a bit darker tone: Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas. Tim Curry plays the villain, a gigantic, evil organ, and Bernadette Peters plays a castle decorator that was turned into a Christmas angel. This film is a bit of childhood nostalgia for me, but also a reminder that no matter how dark and desolate your Christmas looks, "there always will be a time when the world is filled with peace and love".
Daniel Bader
From the fast-talking mind of Gilmore Girls creator, Amy Sherman-Palladino, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is one of the best shows to launch this year. Available to Amazon Prime Video subscribers, the story followers the titular character, a Jewish housewife in the early 1950s who, after her husband walks out on her, careens into a career as a stand-up comedian during a time of harsh penalties for "public vulgarity," especially by women.
Like Gilmore Girls, it's mainly a story of strong women, of family, and of very, very smart dialogue. I love this show. It's whip-smart and extremely binge-able, and best of all, it's really funny. Highly recommended.
Marc Lagace
This past weekend I saw Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which wasn't without its flaws but it's a Star Wars movie with freaking Luke Skywalker in it so definitely check it out if you haven't already. I won't go into any spoilers or details other than to say the quote from Luke in the trailer saying, "This is not going to go the way you think" was all too true for my experience watching the film for the first time. Will surely go see it again with different friends over the holidays.
Speaking of the holidays, it's about that time to dust off some of my favorite, less-traditional Christmas classics like Julian Casablanca's cover of "I Wish It Was Christmas Today" and the entirety of Twisted Sister's Christmas album. Just the best!
Joe Maring
Like a lot of folks this past week, I watched Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Although not my favorite entry in the Star Wars saga, it's still an incredibly good movie. The Last Jedi is quite a bit different compared to previous titles, but aside from a couple issues with the storytelling, it's just what the Star Wars universe needed. I plan on seeing the movie at least one more time, and if anything, it's made me even more excited for what Episode IX has in store.
On the TV side of things, I started rewatching Netflix's Master Of None. I watched season one last year, and while I made my way through a couple episodes of season two when it first came out, I ended up getting busy and never finished it. I decided to watch the entire series over again to make sure I can appreciate the story as much as possible, and boy am I glad I did. This is still one of the best-looking shows Netflix has ever kicked out, and when you combine that with top-notch acting, excellent writing, and gorgeous directing, you end up with some really special.
Hayato Huseman
Like every other week, I've been listening to a lot of Plini over the last few days. He's an instrumental guitarist from Australia with an incredible catalogue of progressive and sometimes jazzy metal that always manages to feel … adventurous. I absolutely love his most recent album, Handmade Cities, and — shameless plug — I even did some video work for him over the summer.
I've also been revisiting the hilariously long-titled album Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Vol 1: From Fear Through The Eyes of Madness by Coheed and Cambria, which was one of the first albums to really get me into progressive rock and conceptual music. It may just be the nostalgia speaking, but this still holds up as one of my all-time favorite albums — and yes, this is the album with the song from Rock Band.
Your turn
What are YOU reading, watching, or listening to this week? Let us know in the comments!
Update, December 22, 2017: This is a weekly series where we tell you what we're into, so check back every Friday or Saturday!
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