Weekend Binge: shows, movies, and music to catch up on

Himali Thakur, Class of 2019

Hopefully, mid-semester submissions are over for you now, and the long weekend is what you’ve been looking for some respite from academics. If you’re not headed to Delhi and want a day to kick back and binge on Netflix or catch up on music, this is the list for you. From supernatural shows and heavy metal riffs to some 90s nostalgia, here is a list of things to watch and listen to.

1. BBC’s Requiem

Launched in February of this year, Requiem is a supernatural and psychological thriller now available for streaming on Netflix. The show follows a cellist, Matilda, trying to work through the grief of her mother’s unexpected suicide. While going through her mother’s memorabilia, Matilda finds compelling evidence that her mother is linked to the disappearance of a Welsh girl that took place over twenty years ago. Matilda decides to find out more about the disappearance, travelling to Wales, but finds that there are otherworldly forces that are lying in wait for her.

If you are someone who enjoys psychological thrillers, this is the show for you. It takes its cues from classic movies such as Rosemary’s Baby and The Innocents, as well as Gothic horror fiction like The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, to create an unsettling murder mystery. There are six episodes in the current season, each just an hour long.

Watch the trailer here.

2. Layla M.

Although released a while back in 2016, and subsequently screened (and much appreciated) at the Toronto International Film Festival, Layla M. has recently bounced back into the spotlight with its addition to Netflix’s catalogue last week. Layla M. is a movie about Layla, a Dutch-Morrocan teenager living in Amsterdam. She struggles with her identities as a Muslim and a woman in a world that constantly discriminates. From being a rebellious teenager, we watch Layla pushed towards radicalised Islam.

The movie has a deeply moving story told from a position that is empathetic to Layla’s point of view. Currently, the movie holds a 6.8 rating on IMDb.

Watch the trailer here.

3. Wild Wild Country

In the early 1980s, the small town of Antelope, Oregon witnessed the rise of another settlement in its neighbourhood, Rajneeshpuram. The town was built on the orders of god-man Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, more popularly known as Osho. The residents of Antelope weren’t too happy with the appearance of some ‘guru’ setting up such a vast and mysterious community next to their homes. Some even believed that Osho and his followers have Satanic powers. The residents of the two communities quickly descended into dramatic and horrifying conflict. Eventually, Rajneeshpuram collapsed . The documentary masterfully puts forth fact and rumours around the cult to create a documentary that keeps you on edge.

If you are looking for a big cult exposé, this is not the series for you. Wild Wild Country is more about what it means to be a part of a cult, featuring interviews with Ma Anand Sheela, the then-deputy of Osho’s program, as well as other prominent Rajneeshees (as residents of Rajneeshpuram were dubbed). The series has a 100% aggregate on Rotten Tomatoes and is the Official Selection of Sundance Film Festival 2018. With its compelling story of a utopia that rose and fell in five years, Wild Wild Country is a must-watch this spring.

The series is available for streaming on Netflix. You can watch a trailer here.

4. Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events: Season 2

Netflix’s adaptation of the much-loved book series returns for a second season on 30th March. For those not familiar with the series, the show (and the books) follow three orphaned children: Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire. After their parents’ deaths, the lives of the children become miserable as they bounce from foster home to foster home. Count Olaf (played by the inimitable Neil Patrick Harris), is a distant relative who constantly schemes to get his hands on the Baudelaire fortune. The pseudonymous author, Lemony Snicket (played by Patrick Warburton), narrates the story, saying that he has dedicated his life to tracking down the Baudelaire children and recording their, well, rather unfortunate events.

The first season, released last year, was fantastic in terms of its grim cinematography, a smooth adaptation of a wordy text, and brilliant performances from the entire cast — featuring perhaps some of Neil Patrick Harris’ best work. The second season will pick up with the fifth book of the series, The Austere Academy. From the initial stills and trailers, the sets and costumes have changed for a brighter tone, but the fate of the Baudelaires remains as dull as ever. If black comedy is your genre, this will be a great watch for you.

You can watch the trailer for the first and second seasons.

5. Firepower by Judas Priest

The legendary metal band’s eighteenth studio album was released on 9th March this year. Firepower is the much-awaited follow up to 2014’s Redeemer of Souls, and has received positive reviews. In the lead singles, “Firepower” and “Lightning Strike”, Richie Faulkner and Glenn Tipton deliver beautiful rhythms and raging solos on their guitars. Age has compromised much of frontman Rob Halford’s ear-shattering falsetto, but he replaces it with a lower baritone that is no less daunting. Other songs, such as “Traitor’s Gate”, stand out with strong riffs. “Sea of Red”, the last song on the album, is a ballad with haunting lyrics; its less aggressive style, compared to the headbanging songs that populate the rest of the album, will be more agreeable to listeners who are not used to heavy metal.

Firepower was released after the blow that was long-time guitarist Glenn Tipton’s departure from live performances due to the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. Regardless, Priest maintain their status as a genre-defining band, and give one of their best outputs; some are comparing Firepower’s success and style to their 1990 groundbreaking album, Painkiller. “Lightning Strike” is emblematic of this return to Priest’s older style.

The album is available in its entirety on Apple Music. You can also listen to some songs on YouTube.

6. Boarding House Reach by Jack White

After nearly four years, Jack White released the follow up to his 2014 album last week. Boarding House Reach has been described in various places as “weird”, but it is also wonderful — like most of White’s other work. The album flits between blues, jazz, funk, indie, and alternative. White brings a refreshing sound with songs like “Ice Station Zebra”, where he even slips into rap. “Connected by Love” and “Corporation” are closer to White’s previous sound. “Over and Over and Over”, the second single from the album, features a buzzing guitar sound that listeners may either find ‘eargasmic’ or just downright annoying.

Boarding House Reach has critics divided on whether the album is really “new”, or Jack White just running out of ideas. The listeners seem to have decided their answer; the album is well on its way to being White’s third album to top the Billboard Top 200 chart.

Boarding House Reach is available on Apple Music. You can also listen to the songs on YouTube.

7. Everything Sucks!

This Netflix drama was released a month ago, but the critic and audience response means that it deserves a place on this list. Everything Sucks! revolves around members of the A.V. and Drama clubs of Boring High school, as they hash out their differences and go through the motions of growing up in the 90s. So far, it sounds both like a typical Netflix high school drama and a typical Netflix nostalgia series. However, Everything Sucks! stands out when you realise that the main character is not some angsty teen, but a quiet, isolated teenage girl, Kate Messner, coming to terms with her sexuality. Peyton Kennedy, who plays Kate Messner, is the undisputed star of the show. The often dramatic episodes in the life of the teens are juxtaposed with the surprisingly more simple joys of the relationships between grown-ups.

The show is very short, with only ten half-hour episodes. It doesn’t rope you in with cliffhangers, dark background stories, or cliched setups that are meant to go wrong; rather, it’s the humorous yet sensitive take on its protagonist’s struggles as a gay teenager in a small town that keeps you watching. If you want a light, yet thoughtful, romantic comedy, this is the show you need to watch now.

You can watch the trailer here.

Headed to Delhi this weekend? Check out our list of places to see in Delhi!