Othersode #26: Sometimes Dad Is Better / Pet Sematary

April 9, 2019 The Squad

Othersode #26: Sometimes Dad Is Better / Pet Sematary

Get unburied with the #BookSquad (and special guest Charlie, Emily’s dad!) as we come back from the dead to talk about the new 2019 film adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. We discuss grief, death and the big changes between the book (and the 1989 film) and the new movie. Plus, you get to learn a little about our childhood pets! Then we dig into some Captain Marvel listener feedback and tell you what’s on the #BookSquadBlog right now. Up next for our #bookpisode: Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi. Read along with us for that and for our next #othersode, where we’ll (probably) hate on Stranger in the House by Shari Lapena.

Click through for summary, table of contents, and show notes!

Summer Movie Anti-Preview: 10 Summer Movies Most Likely to Suck

March 30, 2019 Emily

We’re a little over a month away from the summer movie season, and you know what that means.

Summer movie trailers are in full swing. As an avid film watcher with OPINIONS, I have already made a lot of decisions about which movies I’m excited to see and which movies are most likely to disappoint. So of course, I am absolutely ready and armed to give you my full on summer movie preview.

But what’s the fun in being positive? We all know summer is the season where studios drop all of their big budget crowd-pleasing movies that will get butts in seats but aren’t likely to be winning any awards. In other words, most of these movies are going to be crap, my dudes. But which ones are the most likely to be terrible and/or disappointing? Well, here are my predictions, from least terrible to most terrible. And… go!

The Fyre Festival of Silicon Valley: Why I'm Obsessed with Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos

March 28, 2019 Susan

2019 is the year fraud documentaries assume the mantle formerly held by murder documentaries in 2017-2018. Fraud is having a real pop culture moment, and I, for one, am super on board. This month, HBO blessed us with The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley, a documentary about “innovator” and business founder Elizabeth Holmes and her ill-fated healthcare startup, Theranos.

Us vs. Us: Our Spoiler-Heavy Review of Jordan Peele's "Us"

March 23, 2019 Mary & Emily

Us is the sophomore follow-up to Jordan Peele’s highly successful critically acclaimed horror movie Get Out, which Mary and Emily both loved. So there was a lot of expectations and excitement over here at the #BookSquadGoals camp for this latest movie. Naturally, Mary and Emily went to see this movie the day it came out and had to get their thoughts down immediately.

With a movie like this, there is a lot to process and there’s a lot going on, so please keep that in mind. Were they better people, perhaps Mary and Emily would have been responsible and would have gone to see this another one or two times before committing their thoughts to the written word. But they’re both too eager for that. And as you’ll soon discover, we are all our own worst enemies.

Naturally, all of the spoilers are to follow. Enter at your own risk.

Othersode #25: What's a cat? / Captain Marvel!

March 11, 2019 The Squad

Othersode #25: What's a cat? / Captain Marvel!

The #BookSquad crash lands on planet C-53, aka Earth in the mid-90s, to talk about Captain Marvel, the newest origin story movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We discuss where this movie fits in the MCU, how it works as trauma narrative, the film's feminist themes, how it compares to other superhero origin stories, and — of course — Goose the cat! Plus, we give you a rundown of what's on the #BookSquadBlog (it's a lot of recaps!) and what's up next on the pod. Read along with us for our next #bookpisode on Fruit of the Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas Contreras. Our next #othersode will be on the remake of Pet Sematary, coming to theaters soon! Don't forget to rate, review and subscribe to the podcast, and send any listener feedback to us at thesquad@booksquadgoals.com. We want to hear from you!

Click through for summary, table of contents, and show notes!

Into the Dark's "Treehouse": A Campy Time

March 5, 2019 Mary

Last October, Hulu began a horror anthology series called Into the Dark, releasing one “episode” per month. They began with “The Body,” a Halloween themed episode that takes place over one spooky night, but I didn’t start watching until “New Year, New You,” and even then I didn’t fully grasp what the series was about, or why Hulu was producing it. “New Year, New You” follows a group of friends over the course of a New Year’s Eve party as they try to kill an old friend that has become Instagram famous and egotistical. The episodes are long, about an hour and a half, or the length of a short movie. They have good casts and production values, and they’re all campy. Very, very campy. (Spoilers for “Treehouse” to follow)

The Official #BSG Guide to the 2019 Oscars

February 23, 2019 Kelli

If you’re reading this, you’re probably more than aware that the 91st Academy Awards will be airing this Sunday evening at 8PM EST. The Oscars are always #messy, but this year’s ceremony has already been embroiled in a number of scandals, from its multiple nominations for a film who’s credited director has been accused of sexual assault against a minor, to the controversy surrounding comedian Kevin Hart, who was announced as this year’s host only to drop out shortly thereafter when homophobic tweets of his resurfaced online. Now, we have nobody hosting, a couple of truly Not Good films in the running for best picture, and a Queen tribute to ring in the ceremony, since we all know that The Music of Queen is one of 2019’s greatest cinematic achievements.

Basically, we’re off to a great start.

Looking over my predictions post from last year (which I would link to were it not still living in the archives of our old site, sorry), I am not at all surprised to see that I correctly predicted exactly half of the categories (6/12). For those playing along, that’s a 50% success rate, which is also considered an F. So, you know — maybe don’t bet a lot of money on my picks?

Full-On Dumpster Fyre: Breaking Down the Fyre Festival Documentaries

February 15, 2019 Susan & Mary

The week of January 14, I was anxiously awaiting the new Netflix documentary, Fyre, set to debut that Friday the 18th. But the Hulu gods helped me out and sneaky-dropped their own documentary, Fyre Fraud, four days before Netflix’s scheduled release of Fyre. Obviously, I watched it that night. My only complaint about the whole situation is that I couldn’t watch them back to back because, honestly, I could not get enough of this mess. I still can’t get enough, so here I am, forcing Mary to talk about both documentaries with me. (Spoilers for both documentaries to follow.)

How Dare You Do that to Bradley?: 3 Snubs of the 2019 Oscars

February 2, 2019 Matthew Germenis

The 2019 Oscar ceremony is going to be a joke for many reasons.

No one wants to host the damn thing. The back and forth of how many nominees for Best Original Song are going to perform. The fact that Bohemian Rhapsody is up for Best Picture. And more! But what follows is a list of things that I expected to be certainties. Instead, what I heard on the morning the nominations were televised was nothing but disappointment. Here are a few of those disappointments.

(Spoilers ahead for A Star is Born.)

The Particular Casual Horror of The Road Movie

January 17, 2019 Mary

Please bear with me as it is really difficult to find good pictures of this movie.

The Road Movie seems like it belongs on a late night A&E marathon, tucked between episodes of Live PD. The film, spliced together footage from Russian dashcams, doesn’t have a plot to speak of, yet editor Dmitrii Kalashnikov manages to bring together dissonant clips in a way that makes sense.