Kareem's Weekend Boost (Jan. 21-23)
What to Watch, Read, or Listen to This Weekend
To paraphrase poet Carl Sandburg, Friday creeps in on little cat’s feet. Well, this Friday I’m switching it up a little bit by giving you an all-movie/TV Weekend Boost to bring out your inner binge monster. So much to see, so little time, so I’m going to help you out with some fun suggestions that I hope will entertain you.
WATCH (movie)
Scream
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become less interested in slasher films in which nice people get hacked, stabbed, or dismembered. I don’t seem to have the stomach for it anymore. Even though I know it’s all fake, I’m no longer entertained by watching people suffer for the sake of it. However, there are horror movies that manage to balance enjoyable characters with intense suspense and just enough humor to make it all fun again (It Follows, Cabin in the Woods). That’s what happens with this latest sequel in the Scream series.
Yes, people get stabbed. A lot. But there’s so much winking at the audience in referencing the horror genre and making fun of the previous Scream movies that you can cringe and laugh at the same time. In this version, sons and daughters of victims from the previous movies are being targeted by Ghostface, which means bringing back characters from those movies (just like in the most recent Halloween and Spider-Man: No Way Home). More victims survive than usual, which helps make this less bloodfest and more of a meta-mystery. Very entertaining.
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WATCH (TV)
The Book of Boba Fett (Disney+)
This origin story of a favorite Star Wars villain is part of The Mandalorian universe, both shows being written by Jon Favreau. As with The Mandalorian, every story is a variation of classic Western movie plots, especially The Magnificent Seven. That’s not a criticism because I love Westerns and shootouts between heroes and villains is enjoyable whether they’re using Colts or lasers.
While I like the brutish Bobba Fett, it’s Ming-Na Wen, playing a variation of her droll, badass character from Agents of SHIELD, that really brings a liveliness to the show. The sets and special effects are phenomenal, from the plucky droids to the towns to the space ships. While this isn’t as cuddly or intimate as The Mandalorian, its raw edginess makes it equally compelling.