June was a crazy busy month, but it feels like it went on forever. Luckily that means we got to consume a lot of movies and TV so the June edition of Media Bites is full of stuff!
Movies
Booksmart – Really loved this movie. It was funny, current, and hit all the right beats. Including the ones about how old I am. These kids were born the year I graduated high school, and this movie takes place the night before high school graduation. Oof.
What We Do in the Shadows – After binging on the first season of the TV show I thought I should check out the movie that preceded the movie. It doesn’t tie directly in, but I love the people involved with it. I definitely found it funny, but not nearly as funny as the show. Perhaps I’d have a different opinion of the movie if I watched the show first, but I feel like the format of TV lends itself to the concept of the story better.
Always Be My Maybe – This was a standard rom-com, and I love Randall Park, so this was a no-brainer to stream – which Ali and I both enjoyed. My only real grievance with the movie is that the title makes no sense with the storyline.
Late Night – I’ve loved Mindy Kaling since The Office, and The Mindy Project was one of my favorite shows on television for a while, and this movie does not disappoint – except in the fact that I wish this was a series that could keep going. Emma Thompson was really great in the movie and played well against Kaling.
X-Men Dark Phoenix – This movie was not great, and I knew that going in, but I couldn’t let the last X-Men movie come and go without seeing it in the theater when I’ve seen the rest in the theaters. Someday we’ll get the X-Men movie we deserve within the MCU now that the giant media conglomerate Disney bought the other giant media conglomerate, 20th Century Fox.
Avengers: Endgame – Yeah, I saw it for the fifth time. Marvel rereleased it so I had to go back. I still love it, and it’s definitely the movie to beat for my favorite of the year. At this point, I don’t have much else to say about it, especially since I already wrote almost 3,000 words on it.
TV
The OA (Parts 1& 2) – We went into this series completely blind and strapped in for a wild ride. The twist and turns were great, and the overall story was great. It really opens up in the second season, and I can’t wait for the third season – I just hope we don’t have to wait three years between seasons like season 1 and 2.
The League – After seeing The League reunion panel at the ATX TV Festival Ali and I turned to each other and said “we need to do a rewatch” at the same time and it’s just as funny as I remember. We’re not fantasy football people or even football fans and you don’t need to be either to enjoy this show. The clip I linked to in the show title is not the best from the show, but it’s very hard to find something that was representative of the show because it’s full of little momments and gags that aren’t that funny on their own – however the whole series is streaming on Hulu.
Savage Builds – Adam Savage from Mythbusters is back on Discovery with a new show about him building ridiculous things. In the first episode, he built a real-life Iron Man suit that was bulletproof and could fly. Really. If you’re a fan of Mythbusters and Savage, you’ll like this one.
Life in Pieces – This was one of my favorite new shows when it premiered in 2015 and sadly CBS cancelled it after a half season order this year. While this season wasn’t as good as previous seasons it was still one of the funniest shows on TV, and I’m definitely sad to see it go.
Music
- Two Weeks by Grizzle Bear (Apple Music / Spotify)
- Time is Running Out by Muse (Apple Music / Spotify)
- Welcome Mats by Just Friends (Apple Music / Spotify)
- Tiny Planets by Remember Sports (Apple Music / Spotify)
- What More Can I Say by ’68 (Apple Music / Spotify)
- Cross Your Fingers by If Only, If Only (Apple Music / Spotify)
- Old Habits Die Hard by The Good Fear (Apple Music / Spotify)
- New Shoes by Micah Schnabel (feat. Thanks Buddy) (Apple Music / Spotify)
- Dance, Dance by Fall Out Boy (Apple Music / Spotify)
- 21st Century Boy by Bad Religion (Apple Music / Spotify)
- Worrywort by Radiohead (Apple Music / Spotify)
- UFOF by Big Thief (Apple Music / Spotify)
- Free by Taproot (Apple Music / Spotify)
- Tough Enough by Ex Hex (Apple Music / Spotify)
- Touch the Sky by Black Pumas (Apple Music / Spotify)
- Need Your Love So Bad by Nona (Apple Music / Spotify)
- Don’t Go My Way by The Toadies (Apple Music / Spotify)
Like I did for 2018, I’ve keeping both an Apple Music playlist and Spotify playlist updated that includes all of my favorite new songs from 2019.
Here is the 2018 playlist: Apple Music / Spotify.
Podcasts
I listen to quite a few podcasts, but a friend recently recommended that I listen to Conan O’Brien’s new podcast Conan Needs a Friend. I’ve always been a fan of Conan. His ridiculous and absurd sense of humor speaks to me like few others in comedy do. I highly recommend listening to any interviews of people you like, and especially listen to Michelle Obama, Ray Romano and Howard Stern (even if like me you aren’t a fan of Stern, it’s still a great interview).