Welcome back to my weekly blog. Thank you to those that read last week's edition and for the feedback on Twitter. I meant to drop this past Friday but life happens. I have no set number of things I need to watch during the week. Loki is really my only obligation. The U.S. Olympic Trials for Track & Field started this week and I implore everyone to tune in one night. It's every night on NBC and streaming on Peacock. I'm a former collegiate track athlete so I have a higher interest than most but even for the average viewer it can't get more emotional and exciting than seeing athletes trying to make it to the Olympics. It's simple, the top three in each event punch their ticket to Tokyo. At this stage, anything can happen. So far Sha'Carri Richardson has stolen the show, winning the women's 100m final in dramatic fashion. Also shoutout to Sinclaire Johnson and Krissy Gear, two former runners from Florida who are rising stars on the scene, who are competing at the trials. Also, the Trials are being hosted in Eugene, Oregon at the University of Oregon's newly renovated track... that cost $270 million. It's something. On to the rest of the shows.
Loki, episode 2 (2021) Disney+
I’m going to keep this spoiler-free but the further we go through the series, the spoiler talk will be essential. Loki episode 2 takes us further down the rabbit hole of the TVA, aka the time cops. We finally got some time jumping! The mystery of this strange organization is what runs the series. We get a little more action than the first episode but it was not afraid to slow things down. A majority of this episode was conversational which isn’t a bad thing because we want answers! Also not a bad thing when it’s Owen Wilson and Tom Hiddleston chatting about jet skis. They even touched on free will. Is there free will if there’s a predetermined timeline? I thought they handled it well. Marvel is proving their shows can handle serious topics well. On one hand, I thought Wandavision fumbled the bag on grief and depression but Falcon and the Winter Soldier defied expectations with their themes of race and modern-day America. This episode set the ball rolling and the action is picking up.
Invincible season 1 (2021) Amazon Prime Video
I was late to the Invincible craze but I’m finally here. I watched the entire 8 episode first season this week and it delivered! Invincible is based on a comic book by the great Robert Kirkman. Invincible follows Mark, the son of Omni-man and this universe’s Superman, as he gains his superpowers. Mark is trying to navigate normal teenage problems as well as not trying to get the shit beat out of him, which happens a lot. This show is incredibly graphic but that gives it the gravity of real comic books. The fighting is intense and the story varies from normal comic book clichés and goes in a completely opposite direction than you’d think. You’ll be stunned by the end of the first episode. In just the grittiness factor this series does what The Boys (another Amazon Prime superhero series) tried to do. The violent nature of the show works better in a cartoon nature, like Invincible. 4/5
The Devil Wears Prada (2006) Starz
You read that right. I’m a man of many tastes. I’ve wanted to watch this movie for some time now. For some reason, I thought this would be less of a comedy and more of a psychological thriller. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this movie. The Devil Wears Prada follows Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) plays an aspiring journalist who needs work and lands a job as an assistant to the head of Runway Magazine, Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep). Priestly controls Andy’s life with her hard demands but her position leads Andy to a life of glamour. It was a good change of pace. I also liked being thrown into the world of high fashion. Something I know nothing of. Fun Fact: This movie inspired the name of the infamous mixtape series, Hitler Wears Hermes, by prominent rapper Westside Gunn. 3/5
The Big Lebowski (1998) Netflix
The Dude. What an icon. Funny story, the night after I watched this I was playing trivia with some friends and one of the answers was The Big Lebowski. At that moment I felt like I was hand-picked by God for my movie knowledge. Every moment in my life had led up to this moment in time. This was my predetermined timeline. I digress, this movie follows “The Dude” played by Jeff Bridges as he gets himself caught in a hostage situation where he is left to do the bidding for a millionaire. The Dude might be the most chill guy to ever grace the big screen. He walks around town in a robe, sips on white Russians, and bowls. Coen Brothers know how to write idiots. 3/5
NBA Playoffs
Holy shit the NBA Playoffs are amazing. I know this doesn’t count as a movie or tv show but yet again, I make the rules here. I’m a huge basketball guy. I played JV in high school and retired before I could make my name known on the varsity stage. If there’s one thing the NBA does right, it’s how to be unnecessarily dramatic. At times I put more energy into staying up to date with NBA drama like a soap opera more than actually watching it. The games have been exciting and every team left in the playoffs has never won a championship before. Refreshing. Currently, I’m rooting for the Phoenix Suns. Their starting Point Guard, Chris Paul, is a veteran leader who has prolonged his career with his smarts and skill. But every time he is in the playoffs he hits a wall due to some witchcraft curse that leads to him being injured. His team just made the Western Conference Finals with Paul showing out in the last game. Come Wednesday, he tests positive for COVID-19. See what I mean? Soap Opera. Go watch. 4.5/5 (would be 5/5 if my Orlando Magic made it)
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