Named of course after the line from the movie Gladiator, Are You Not Entertained? will be a segment of this blog where I will be listing the various things that I'm using to entertain myself during any given week. Now it says Week 1 because this is the first week that I'm doing this, however I doubt that I will have the time nor the motivation to follow through on making this a weekly feature (we all know how Netflix Pick of the Week went) so Week 2 could come next week or it could come in several weeks, maybe it will never come depending on how Week 1 is received. Maybe Week 1 will disappear into the graveyard of failed blog posts alongside G'Day Mate: Arguing in Defense of the Film Kangaroo Jack, and Top 3 Men in Black Movies. So for now at least enjoy reading about these things that are entertaining me, and hopefully check them out for yourselves so we can share in the entertainment.
HBO's Recent Programming
During the chore that was watching True Detective Season 2 I had one saving grace, and his name is John Oliver. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, since it began last year, has put together a consistent string of perfect episodes. Look here for some of the best writing on tv and to soften the blow of Jon Stewart leaving The Daily Show.
I'm also really into David Simon's (created The Wire and Treme) miniseries Show Me a Hero, starring Oscar Isaac, about 1980's Yonkers mayor Nick Wasicsko and his fight to provide low-income housing for African-Americans in primarily white neighborhoods. I have seen four of the six hour-long episodes that have aired over the past three weeks. The first episode is a little slow with several characters to introduce, and plot lines that drag a bit, but episodes two through four have all been great.
And the third HBO show I have been watching is HBO's Hard Knocks, the behind the scenes doc-series on the Houston Texans training camp. I've only seen bits and pieces of former seasons of this show, but this season has been great so far. The Texans were a great pick for this season with star players like Brian Cushing, J.J. Watt, and Deandre Hopkins providing just as much entertainment as the lesser-known players who are fighting for a spot on the team.
Screwball Comedies from the 40's and 50's about pretending to not be themselves
A very specific category of films that I happened to watch this week. Two films in particular have tickled my fancy, they are Ernst Lubitsch's To Be or Not To Be (1942), a hilarious film made in the midst of WWII about a group of theater actors trying to get the Nazis in Poland to leave the country. Trust me, it's funnier than it sounds. The other film is Billy Wilder's classic film Some Like It Hot (1959), about two musicians in the Prohibition era who impersonate females in order to join a female-only band and escape the gangsters that are after them. Both of these films are filled with some of the wittiest lines I've seen from a film of this era of Hollywood, and I look forward to eventually giving them both another view.
The album 'Let's Dance' (1983) by David Bowie
Starting with possibly my favorite David Bowie song, Modern Love, this short-but-sweet album is up rounds out my top 3 albums of Bowie's, alongside Ziggy Stardust and Hunky Dory. It has 8 songs, none of which feel like fillers. Containing some of Bowie grooviest songs, Let's Dance makes it hard not to dance. I'll never listen to this album in that Footloose town.
Film Podcasts
Podcasting has become so huge, that no matter what your interests are, you can probably find one for you. I found Filmspotting after looking for a podcast that talked about movies. As far as I can tell, it's the best podcast when it comes to reviewing films. In addition to that, the current co-hosts Adam Kempenaar and Josh Larsen reveal personal top 5 lists each week on various different topics ranging from Top 5 Best Road Trip Movies to Top 5 Movie Costumes. And those are just two of the many cool things they do on the show. Another thing they've done is introduce me to the other film podcast I'd like to plug in this post, You Must Remember This.
You Must Remember This is a podcast written, narrated, and edited by Carina Longworth. In it she goes into detail about forgotten or lesser-known stories from the 20th century of Hollywood. For film history nerds like myself, this podcast is like crack, and at only 40 minutes an episode you'll blaze through a lot of them in a short amount of time like I have.
D and K Podcast Instagram
https://instagram.com/dandkpodcast/
Above I posted the link to the instagram account called DandKPodcast. It is easily the best thing on Instagram, so if you ever want something to watch other than your friends pictures of the beach, take a gander at DandKPodcast. It's an account made by Dave McCary (D) who is a director of videos on SNL and Kyle Mooney (K) of SNL. Start from the beginning and watch through all of the pictures and videos chronicling the creation of the D and K podcast, with plot lines and story arcs rivaled only by some of the greatest films and television shows ever created. Do yourself a favor already and follow that link.
