What to watch, play, listen to, and read this weekend
The show to watch
The Handmaid’s Tale
“Hulu debuted The Handmaid’s Tale last April with a three-episode block that was filled with more pain and despair than virtually anything else on TV… And this time, the premiere is made up of just two hour-long installments—but given that dozens of women are lined up on the gallows in the first five minutes, [Bruce] Miller and company aren’t exactly easing us back into the life of Offred. Everything from the photography to the tone is darker in season two; every moment of catharsis is quickly chased by another crushing blow. That makes a binge-watch as fraught a prospect as ever—but, aside from the occasional heavy-handedness and missteps in characterization, The Handmaid’s Tale remains a must-see.”
Read the rest of our review here.
The video game to play
The Swords Of Ditto
“This is the first game from a studio called onebitbeyond, and it plays like a modern reimagining of classic Zelda games, taking all the exploration and one-screen-at-a-time dungeon crawling and melding it with breezy cooperative multiplayer and a bit of roguelike randomization.”
Read about the games we’re playing this weekend here.
The podcast to listen to
Thirst Aid Kit, “The Evolution Of Michael Bae Jordan”
“Less than a minute into this episode and the thirst trap is set with a reading of some particularly salacious erotic fiction. The official intro from hosts Bim Adewunmi and Nichole Perkins leaves barely enough time to clutch your pearls before diving headfirst into the appeal of current blockbuster megastar Michael B. Jordan (‘the B stands for bae in this studio’). But this show isn’t just about singing the praises of certified hotties. Adewunmi and Perkins discuss how pop culture shapes who is considered attractive and the double standard of how men and women are allowed to express lust.”
Read about the rest of the week’s best podcasts here.
The comic to read
DC Comics, ActionComics #1000
“Action Comics #1 changed comic books forever when it debuted 80 years ago, introducing a new character whose wild popularity created the genre that became synonymous with the medium. Superheroes have since jumped off the page and become bona fide pop culture juggernauts, and Superman laid the groundwork, starting with comics before moving into highly successful radio serials, TV shows, and movies. Action Comics is the first American comic book to reach issue #1000, and DC Comics is celebrating this milestone with an 80-page prestige format special paying tribute to Superman with 10 short stories by a variety of creators. Action Comics #1000 is an emotional, exciting celebration of Superman’s evolution and the core tenets that have stayed constant through these changes.”
Read the rest of our review here.
The album to listen to
Grouper, Grid Of Points
“[Grid Of Point’s tracks are] bare and beautiful—each just a series of heavily sustained piano notes hanging in the air, [Liz] Harris’ delicate, multi-tracked harmonies floating through them—and they carry the same stilling, emotional weight. Grid’s abbreviated runtime (seven tracks in just over 20 minutes) doesn’t give you much time to linger in it, and some melodies simply prove too gossamer to grab on to. Harris’ lyrics, as ever, are more sensed than received. Yet it’s another uniquely immersive, meditative experience, however briefly it lasts.”
Read the rest of our review here.
The movie to watch
Disobedience
“Adapted by [director Sebastián] Lelio and co-writer Rebecca Lenkiewicz from a novel by Naomi Alderman, Disobedience seems at first glance to share a basic premise with A Fantastic Woman, Lelio’s Oscar-winning drama about a trans woman trying to grieve her boyfriend’s death in a narrow-minded world. But the director is after something more even-handed, and though the rudiments of his direction remain sensual—a world of touch, forbidden and otherwise—its floweriness has been stripped away. In lieu of the earlier film’s dreamlike expressive effects, Disobedience puts an uncommon faith in concisions of acting and editing (including a wordless, believable montage of grief), and in loaded moments and changes in point of view that would probably play differently on a second viewing.”
Read the rest of our review here.