The World's Common Tater

It’s been more of a “watch TV” week than a reading week. If not for two graphic novels and the fact that I finished one book a few hours after last week’s post my reading this week would almost be nonexistent. Hopefully, my reading will pick up again soon. Here’s my week.

Movies

We watched two movies this week. The first was In the Heights on HBO Max. We finally got to it one day before it was no longer available. I was unfamiliar with the musical, so this was a new experience for me. I am a fan of Lin-Manual Miranda, so I was predisposed to enjoy this and I did. I loved the cast, the music, the story. It did not disappoint. My wife, who normally does not like movies like this also said she liked it.

My daughter and some friends chipped in to buy access to Black Widow on Disney Plus so we also got to watch it. I was surprised that the majority of the story took place immediately following the events of Civil War. It does start with Nat as a kid, but then immediately flashes forward. Nat is on the run after Civil War and is reunited with her “sister” and they decide to take down the organization that trained them. Florence Pugh steals the show as Yelena and I’m looking forward to seeing her in future MCU projects. David Harbour is great as Nat’s “dad” and Red Guardian. It is a mix of family drama and action/revenge movie. I liked it a lot.

TV

We watched the Loki finale Wednesday night. Loki is the best of the MCU TV shows so far. They did a good job with the story. They added some fun new characters to the MCU. It was funny. It had action and intrigue and the finale basically sets up the next phase of the MCU. I am happy that it will get a second season.

My brother keeps telling me how much he likes the sitcom, The Neighborhood, so I picked up the first season on DVD when I was at the library. I watched the first disc worth of shows this week. It is funny. I love the cast. I’m not sure I will make an effort to watch more of the show. There’s so much more out there and I don’t think it is good enough for me to take the time to catch up.

I watched a few episodes of the new season of Virgin River. I think I’m tiring of the show. It seemed a lot more soap opera-ey this time.

I’m still working my way through this season of The Flash.

Books

I finished four books this week.

The Last 8 by Laura Pohl – Aliens attack Earth. Clover survives and eventually makes her way to Area 51 after hearing a radio broadcast from another survivor. She finds seven other teens living there. She is annoyed that they seem content to live there in hiding than fighting the aliens and works to convince them to fight back. It was fine. It wasn’t terrible, but I don’t think I will read more in the series. I thought the characters were a little flat and a lot of it was too far-fetched, even for a YA alien book. I also thought it was ridiculous that Clover thought 8 teens should fight the aliens that had wiped out all of humanity and that they. eventually agreed.

Taproot by Keezy Young – A graphic novel about a guy who works in a flower shop and can also see and talk to ghosts. One of the ghosts, who is in love with Hamal, discovers that Hamal’s ability to see ghosts may be putting him in danger. Part love story, part ghost story. It was a pleasant story. The art was good. I enjoyed it.

The OC by DP Lyle – I got this one from NetGalley. You can read my review here.

Becoming Unbecoming by Una – a graphic account of the author growing up at the time of the Yorkshire Ripper in the 70’s. While everyone is consumed with the story of the Ripper, Una is sexually assaulted multiple times and blames herself. It is not an easy book. It is a tough topic, but an important one. I did think some of the text was hard to read and I didn’t really enjoy the art. I wish it had been better.

On Deck

I don’t have any specific movies on deck. It is possible I will not watch a movie this week. I have plenty of shows I would like to watch, but much of my viewing will be decided by my wife and daughter. The new season of Never Have I Ever is out but I’m not sure if I’m watching alone or with my daughter. I would like to watch the Turner and Hooch series on Disney Plus, but my wife says she wants to watch it so it will suffer the same fate as the still unwatched Mighty Ducks. I do know I will watch the finale of All American and the episode of Miracle Workers. I am currently reading Bath Haus by PJ Vernon.