Entertainment Wrap-Up With Movies, Books, and TV Shows With A Few Trailer

Much is going on in the entertainment area regarding books, TV, and movies.  

Here is what I have been watching and listening to lately. 

The YouTube Version

What am I reading?  

I finished two books last week.  Mary by Nat Cassidy and The Ghost and Mrs. McClure by Alice Kimberly. Both of the books were Audiobooks.  I DNF'd Mary even though I was at least 80% finished.  It was a good listen, and I am still curious about what happened, but it seemed to be going to a very dark place that I knew I could not handle.  The Ghost and Mrs. McClure was what I would call a cozy mystery, and I enjoyed it.

I am currently reading a middle-grade book called Double the Danger and Zero Zucchini by Betsy Uhrig.  It is about a reluctant reader named Alex.  Alex is invited by his aunt to critique the book she is writing, and she will pay him for his services.  Alex finds the book extremely dull and is taking on the mission of making the book more exciting.  Maybe through this process, he will become an avid reader and even a writer.

I am listening to Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough.  This story follows Emma.  Emma will soon be turning 40, and she is terrified.  Emma is afraid because her mother lost her mind when she turned 40, and she was told by her mother that the same would happen to her.  One of her mom's first symptoms was insomnia, and now Emma has the same problem. Yikes!

What Am I Watching?

TV Shows

I still consistently watch Master Chef and The Tonight Show. I have not watched America's Got Talent for several weeks, but I have the episodes saved in case I get in the mood to watch.

I have added a new show to my list, The Umbrella Academy.  

Here is one description I found

"Created for Netflix by Steve Blackman and developed by Jeremy Slater, it revolves around a dysfunctional family of adopted sibling superheroes who reunite to solve the mystery of their father's death and the threat of an imminent apocalypse."

The Umbrella Academy is an odd show, but there is something I like about it.  I like the strange characters, and I love the music that is played during the dramatic scenes. I plan on finishing the series.

A couple of shows I tried to like were Better Things on Hulu and The Bear also on Hulu.  Better Things was far too crude for my liking.  The Bear was confusing and rushed.  I could not focus on it, but I feel I may have to try it because I liked the main character.

Movies

I have watched a couple of older movies.  I watched Tremors, The Shining, and Dr. Sleep.

Tremors came out in 1990, and I have watched it several times.  There are so many familiar actors in this movie.  It was fun to watch it again.  It is the people against the slithering creatures under the ground.  The genre is comedy and horror and is described like this "Natives of a small isolated town defend themselves against strange underground creatures which are killing them one by one."  I enjoyed watching it again.

I saw mention that Dr. Sleep was a good movie, and then I learned it was a sequel to The Shining.  I have watched The Shining before, but it has been a long time.  I rented it for $3.99 on Amazon Prime.

Here is a description "A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future."  The Shining genre is listed as Horror, Psychological Horror.

Jack Nicholson is one creepy fella.  The little boy is adorable.  When I watched it in the past, I did not remember all the little things happening in the movie.  Did you realize that Jack sold his soul in the bar scene?  It was pretty subtle.  I did not like the ending.  It did not wrap things up for me.  I read on a blog that they had discussed an alternative ending.  I read that ending and wish they would have used that ending instead.  Overall a very good movie.

After completing The Shining, I went on to watch Dr. Sleep.  This was $3.99 to rent. It was so good yet disconcerting.  You don't have to watch the Shining first, but it does help you understand a bit more of what is going on in the movie...such as the return to the bar scene.  

There was one scene that was too much for me, and I had to fast-forward because there was too much detail. But other than that, this is a great horror film.  I liked it much more than the Shining.  To get the most out of this movie, I suggest you watch The Shining before watching Dr. Sleep.

That is it for my entertainment wrap-up through books, TV shows, and movies. 

What are you watching, reading, and listening to?

Have a great week!

KathieyV