nother week means another look at all the new and upcoming things that I think are downright neato. There's so much goodness on Netflix that we're gonna skip the podcasts and DVD releases this week and dive right into what's bingeworthy.
Bingeworthy:
Horror films are my drug of choice, and October is my favorite month because it gives me an imagined license to talk about all things spooky as much as I possibly can. I mean, I do it all year round, but I feel less guilty in October.
October's most exciting thing is the return of "Stranger Things" Oct. 27. Not much is known about the story, but judging from the previews everyone we love is returning and fighting something downright Lovecraftian. I've avoided most of the previews because letting the weirdness of this show unfold spoiler-free is kinda the whole point of binge watching anyway. I don't really care what happens as long as we get to see Eleven and Hopper team up, buddy cop movie style, and kill monsters.
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f "IT" got you in the mood for more quality Stephen King adaptations, Netflix has two brand new originals that both approach greatness. "Gerald's Game" follows a middle-aged couple at their lake house, trying to spice up their marriage. The husband handcuffs his wife to the bed before promptly dropping dead of a heart attack. What unfolds is 90 minutes of pure tension as she has to figure out how to get unattached from the bed before she dies from dehydration, the feral dog in her house or the tall misshapen man who watches her at night.
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ven more intense is "1922," a morality tale about a simple farmer and his terrible choices. This has some downright haunting imagery that will stick to your brain. If you have any sort of phobia involving rats, I would avoid this like...the plague. (HA) It's a good time to be a fan of the King.
If you're just completely over horror movies, Netflix has plenty of other pretty great stuff in its nooks and crannies. "Headshot" is a fantastically brutal martial arts flick from Indonesia that will drop your jaw. If you need something for the kids, there's a new "Cop and a Half" movie, but they've replaced Burt Reynolds with Lou Diamond Phillips. That seems like a fair trade.
You can also avoid films and TV altogether and just dive into some stand-up. Patton Oswalt's new special, "Annihilation," is his first after the sudden death of his wife, the true crime novelist Michelle McNamara. The special is heartbreaking, hilarious and life-affirming as Oswalt opens and closes the show with a beautiful quote about life from McNamara: "It's chaos, be kind."
