New Movie Reviews and Favorite Podcasts!

We are a family who loves pop culture – movies, T.V. shows, podcasts, books.. we love anything and everything! While Jeff and I catch all the new movies as soon as they come out – Emma listens to podcasts on a daily basis and multiple times a day at that. I’d like to say we are a very cultured family. ;) We don’t discriminate & we listen to every single genre/watch every type of movie/show so hopefully there is a little something for everyone here.

I’ve been wanting to write a post like this for a while – if you watch my IG stories I tend to share some of my current faves but it’s nice to share everything in one place. In this post, we will be sharing several movies that we are favoring, some of Emma’s must-listen to podcasts, and a list of T.V. shows that you can’t miss! Emma will also be adding a few book recommendations & a list of reads that she has on her to-do list.. how she can fit all this in with school I’ll never know!

 

Movies

February isn’t usually a strong time for movies but we found a few that we loovveddd!

• The Post – with Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks. It was directed by Steven Spielberg. I loved this movie because the time period occurred when I lived in Washington D.C. My mom knew the editor of the Washington Post.. which this whole movie is about – occurs prior to Watergate. Keeps you on the edge of your seat.. a suggestion? After watching this movie, watch “All the Presidents Men”.
• Black Panther – with Michael B. Jordan, Chadwick Boseman, and Lupita Nyong’o. Emma saw this one so I’ll let her write a bit about this. Hi guys – Emma here! Zach and I saw this for a matinee last weekend and oh my gosh.. it was amazing. Zach really doesn’t love marvel movies and he walked away loving it! Not only are the actors/actresses excellent, but the storyline is so much more than the normal superhero/villain movie.. one of those movies you walk away from thinking about it for days. (Plus Michael B. Jordan is such a cutie! ;)
• Wonder – with Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson. This came out a couple months ago but we just recently saw it.. such a heartwarming story and a breath of fresh air from the typical “action/adventure” flicks we’ve been seeing lately.
• I, Tonya – Dying to see this one…have any of you seen it? I remember when this happened at the olympics and the story is beyond belief.  I’m interested in seeing what the ‘real’ Tonya Harding is like and what her family life was like growing up.. all of which are portrayed in this movie.  Allison Janney plays LaVona Golden (Tonya’s mom) and she is nominated for an oscar for the performance.

 

Podcasts

 

Hi guys – Emma here. Because I live in San Jose and my mom lives in Pleasanton, I have plenty of time during my long drives to listen to podcasts! I love them and listen to a wide variety of people, situations, and genres. (I love that Emma listens to these.. she has got me hooked now!)

• Watch What Crappens – Okay.. this podcast may make me lose braincells by the second but I’m obsessed. Many of my friends know me as the “Bravo” obsessed gal who literally watches every single show on Bravo… ok no I didn’t watch the “To Rome For Love” but I almost did. ;) This podcast is perfect for me because two hilarious guys recap all the different shows that I love.. my favorites being The Real Housewives and Vanderpump Rules. They even have hilarious voices for each character in the show and I laugh out loud the whole drive. If you watch bravo shows you have to give these two a chance.. I love them!
• The Influencer Podcast with Julie Solomon – I have listened to every single episode of this podcast. If you are a business-woman, entrepreneur, blogger, influencer, or want to be.. give it a try! Julie Solomon is a NYT best-selling publicist, influencer, and marketing strategist who invites amazing guests on her show to chat about anything and everything business related. She had Sazan on one day (one of my fave bloggers) and Youtube star Nikki Phillipi – as well as successful business women such as the co-founders of Baublebar, and Lauryn Evarts of the Skinny Confidential!
• Fresh Air by NPR – One of my absolute favorite program’s of all time! Before I listened to podcasts, I used to try and catch this show on the actual radio.. and now every single episode and interview is online which is amazing. Terry Gross is the host of the show, and her voice calms me – plus she has awesome guests from famous actors, authors, activists, and more.
• S-Town – If you enjoyed “Serial” (which is a podcast I 100% recommend if you haven’t given it a listen) then you will love this one. Hosted by Brian Reed, this podcast is about a man named John who despises his Alabama town and decides to do something about it. He asks Brian to investigate the son of a wealthy family who’s allegedly been bragging that he got away with murder. But when someone else ends up dead, the search for truth leads to a nasty feud, a hunt for hidden treasure, and an unearthing of the mysteries of one man’s life. I loved this one, and ended up listening to it in bed because I didn’t want to wait until I got into the car!
• Off the Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe – Once again my love for smutty T.V. has moved to a different level.. I loved Kaitlyn when she was The Bachelorette.. one of my all-time favorites. She is so real and down-to-earth and when she decided to start a podcast I became an avid listener. Kaitlyn’s episodes are fun, she and her guest(s) sit around in PJs and drink tons of wine during the interview. Some of my favorite episodes include Jillian Harris, Paul from Big Brother, and Caila Quinn from the Bachelor.
• The Goal Digger Podcast – No, this is not about a woman marrying a man for his money ;) This amazing podcast is another business & marketing related one with host Jenna Kutcher. This self-made millionaire shares how she became an influencer, what drives her, secrets and tips, and more!

 

T.V.

It’s Kristy again! When we aren’t running out to a movie or getting together with our friends, we love to watch some of our favorite shows on the sofa. Here is just a short list of a few favorites that we have devoured lately.

• Homeland – So happy this series has kicked off for another season. It’s hands down one of my all time favorites ever. Every year the story ad the writing is better than the last. If you love current day American spry thrillers then you’ll love this.
• Seven Seconds – We just stumbled upon this new release on Netflix this past weekend and watched the entire series in just a few days. It’s a crime drama based on the investigation of a young black boy who was killed in a hit and run. The person who accidentally hit him happens to be a Caucasian policeman. There is a coverup and more involved. Soooo good!
•  Godless – Amazing western that pulls you in immediately. The town is populated by only women and children.. What happened to the men? Jeff and I both LOVED this!!
• The Crown – Loved this series on Netflix!! If you are interested in history, England or even simply the royal family and Queen Elizabeth, then you have to watch this behind the scenes story. I can’t wait for the next season..

Other shows I’m waiting to start up again this season – The Affair, Billions, House Of Cards (what will they do without the Kevin Spacey character?), The Handmaid’s Tale, Mindhunter, Big Little Lies (can’t wait for the next season whenever that is), Stranger Things, Game Of Thrones, Outlander

 

Books

Back to Emma! I recently picked up a ton of new books at my local book store and I can’t wait to dive in. I’ll share my current read and what I’ll be reading over the next month. (We have a book club too.. click here to see what March’s book is).

• Current read: Final Girls by Riley Sager. It’s actually so crazy and I haven’t been able to put it down.. here is a brief synopsis: “Ten years ago, college student Quincy Carpenter went on a vacation with five friends and cam back alone, the only survivor of a horror movie-scale massacre. In an instant, she became a member of a club no one wants to belong to – a group of similar survivors known in the press as the Final Girls. Lisa, who lost nine sorority sisters to a college dropout’s knife; Sam, who went up against the Sack Man during her shift at the Nightlight Inn; and now Quincy, who ran bleeding through the woods to escape Pine Cottage and the man she refers to only as Him. The three girls are all attempting to put their nightmares behind them and, with that, one another. Despite the media’s attempts, they never meet. Now, Quincy is doing well.. until Lisa, the first Final Girl, is found dead in her bathtub, and Sam appears on Quincy’s doorstep.”  I’m not going to share more but it’s been so great so far – if you want a scary read.. this is for you!
• The Girl With Seven Names by Hyeonseo Lee.  This is about a young girl who grew up in North Korea and faced poverty and hardship.. but her home on the border of China showed her that she may be brainwashed. She decided to escape when she was 17 and it’s about her journey during this period. Looks so good!
• The Late Show by Michael Connelly. I’m not always a huge fan of Connelly’s books but this seems like a good storyline and I love a strong female lead. Brief synopsis: “Renée Ballard works the night shift in Hollywood, beginning many investigations but finishing none as each morning she turns her cases over to day shift detectives. A once up-and-coming detective, she’s been given this beat as punishment after filing a sexual harassment complaint against a supervisor.
  But one night she catches two cases she doesn’t want to part with: the brutal beating of a prostitute left for dead in a parking lot and the killing of a young woman in a nightclub shooting. Ballard is determined not to give up at dawn. Against orders and her own partner’s wishes, she works both cases by day while maintaining her shift by night. As the cases entwine they pull her closer to her own demons and the reason she won’t give up her job no matter what the department throws at her.” Doesn’t this seem interesting? Can’t wait to start it!
• The Lines Become a River: Dispatches from the Border by Francisco Cantu. At my local bookstore, they share different novels that just came out & believe will touch your mind/heart. This was February’s pick, so I decided to give it a try. Brief synopsis: “For Francisco Cantú, the border is in the blood: his mother, a park ranger and daughter of a Mexican immigrant, raised him in the scrublands of the Southwest. Haunted by the landscape of his youth, Cantú joins the Border Patrol. He and his partners are posted to remote regions crisscrossed by drug routes and smuggling corridors, where they learn to track other humans under blistering sun and through frigid nights. They haul in the dead and deliver to detention those they find alive. Cantú tries not to think where the stories go from there. Plagued by nightmares, he abandons the Patrol for civilian life. But when an immigrant friend travels to Mexico to visit his dying mother and does not return, Cantú discovers that the border has migrated with him, and now he must know the whole story. Searing and unforgettable, The Line Becomes a River goes behind the headlines, making urgent and personal the violence our border wreaks on both sides of the line.”
• Other books that I ordered: Two Girls Down by Louisa Luna and I’ll be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara (About the Golden State Killer!)

 

What do you think about all of our suggestions & reviews? Have you read/watched/listened to any of these different programs/books? Do you have any suggestions for us? Let us know in the comments below! 

 

xo,
Kristy and Emma