Wreck My Brain: Sunday, Sunday / Wednesday, Wednesday (50)

image credit: netflix

At least we had a couple of weeks of me posting these on a Sunday, right? I promise I will this week. Promise.

Oh, I am so, so happy. Every time I begin a new series anywhere, it's canceled after the first season. I swear I'm developing a complex. I had this same fear when I thoroughly enjoyed the first season of The Santa Clarita Diet, and have been waiting with baited breath for the expected news that it would be canceled.

BUT IT DIDN'T.

It got renewed! There is a light at the end of the tunnel after all. Santa Clarita is coming back so soon also, set for release on Netflix on March 23. If you've not seen the wonderful first season, the premise is basically Drew Barrymore portraying a real estate agent that has suddenly developed a craving for human flesh. It's hilarious and has introduced me to the wonderful Timothy Olyphant.

Comprised mostly of season one footage as opposed to season two (thank God, staying away from spoilers), the latest Jessica Jones trailer might just be its best yet.

It's unabashedly aggressive, Jones is now attending an anger management group and the visuals are absolutely superb. Marvel is really upping their game as of late with the grit and I love it.

And the music. Good god. I haven't listened to The Pretty Reckless in years, and hearing them suddenly on a hotly anticipated trailer, well. Sophie is a happy girl.

We're only two months into 2018, and the films currently being released this year are absolutely breath-taking. Living in the UK, it's hard sometimes to see some American releases. Films like Lady Bird and I, Tonya and The Post were released in November and December over in the US, whereas over here they have been released two/three months later.

I previously reviewed The Post here, and am seeing I, Tonya tomorrow. Lady Bird is next on the list, and boy has it had raving reviews alongside articles of deep analysis on its views on feminism and overall female empowerment.

Laura Williams has written a fantastic article putting Lady Bird alongside the classic John Hughes teen stories of the 80s, and the feminist tropes that it hits and doesn't hit. Take a read of it here, and go out and see the film at your local cinema.

photo credit: merrick morton, courtesy of A24

Ryland bought himself the infamous G-Wagon, and his sister Morgan and Shane proceeded to nearly destroy it (Morgan spilled coffee, their cat clawed the leather seats), hence the title of the video. This is the first part of probably the freakiest ghost stay/tour on the Queen Mary that's docked in Long Beach.

I've been on there myself, and I did go on a ghost tour with falsified jump scares but it was terrifying anyway. I didn't have any like proper encounters like the 'squad' did by staying overnight, but I have a lot of family history tied to that ship so I'm kinda tempted to go back and see if I can experience some spooky shit.

When has TASCHEN ever produced an unneeded book? Never, that's when. Case in point is their newest release by Jim Heimann, demonstrating documented corruption within Los Angeles in the 20s and 50s, that would eventually act as the main foundation for the Film Noir genre in the early 1940s to the late 1950s.

Surrounded by bound-in magazine and news clippings, Heimann's collection of photographs that reveal the dark and seedy underbelly of the land of dreams is both unsurprising and unbelievable.

Dark City: The Real Los Angeles Noir is available now, priced at £75. You can purchase it here.

Dissecting Trump's tweets and acting like an all-around boss, Anderson Cooper tells it how it is in the only way he knows how. The introduction alone is absolutely scathing:

"Good evening, President Trump went on a Twitter rampage over the weekend and it continued today. He said a lot of things that simply are not true, and we'll talk about that. We do it because obviously, he's the president of the United States because what a president says matters still, and whether those statements can be trusted, still really matters."

Hook has always had a soft spot in my heart, and I can safely say it does so for many others. However, the majority of Speilberg fans have a love/hate (more so hate) relationship with the film for a plethora of reasons, and so does Spielberg according to a recent interview with Empire magazine.

'I didn't quite know what I was doing and I tried to pain over my insecurity with production value', says Spielberg. 'The more insecure I felt about it, the bigger and more colourful the sets became.' Hook is one of those films from my childhood that I view with rose-tinted glasses and delightfully ignore its shortcomings, but it's kind of heartwarming to see how honest Spielberg is with a film that is honestly still problematic to him.

image credit: sony pictures

Even though Foo Fighters eventually won Best International Group, I refused to watch the Brit Awards this year. Instead, I did a quick research session the day after to see who won and what little highlights occurred.

I'm fed up with the Brit Awards now, there is little to no substance apart from a select few. In 2018's case, it was Lorde (winning Best International Female), Dua Lipa (winning Best Female Solo Artist & British Breakthrough), Foo Fighters, Liam Gallagher's performance, Este Haim continually photobombing the night and the Gorillaz finally winning Best British Group. After 9 years, Gorillaz winning that award says it all really.

What the Brit Awards really needs is an overall of new artists - which they kind of did with Dua Lipa - instead of a weird focus on acts such as Ed Sheeran. And the fact that Foo Fighters were literally the only rock band to win/perform - to which Grohl noted in their acceptance speech - is disheartening, to say the least. England is full to the brim of promising rock acts, and they need to be noticed on 'the biggest night of the year' for British music.

It's a statement that a re-cut trailer of Solo by a creator that is not part of the film nor Lucasfilm has made me ten times more hyped than the original trailer did. Han Solo is my favorite character of the entire Star Wars franchise, and I honestly was not sold until I saw this.

Obviously, The Beastie Boys aren't going to appear on the soundtrack of the film (as much as I would like them to).

The tone of both the song and the action in the trailer matches wonderfully, and it's trailers like this that can fully cement a film before it's even hit cinemas. We need more trailers like this.

After seeing the show's title on an article over at The Verge, I knew Lost in Space sounded familiar for a reason. I don't know how or where I had heard of it before, but the premise has also been one of those narratives that I've come across frequently and never linked to the original show itself.

At the moment, Netflix does not have a lot of original science fiction content. Altered Carbon recently released of course, but Lost in Space seems as though it's going to stick to a familiar, classic format in homage to the original show that aired in the 60s.

I'm intrigued as to how they are going to adapt the story of The Robinson family for this side of the millennium. We won't have to wait long to find out, as it's set for release on April 13.

Set for release on March 2, Flint Town is a sadly true and ongoing story within the city of Flint, Michigan. You've probably heard of the city, either through a plethora of documentaries thanks to Michael Moore, or the current water crisis where over 100,000 residents are being exposed to high levels of lead in their water. The trailer released for the Netflix original not only addresses this but another problem that has been unfolding over the past decade in the form of short-staffed police forces to street poverty.

No matter how beautiful the cinematography and visuals are of the trailer, there is no hiding the severe unkindness and lack of attention that America has been paying to a once optimistic automotive hub from its reliance to General Motors; much like Detroit was.

Director Zackary Canepari has said of the film:

"Flint feels so unique and forgotten. It's a charismatic, weird place that been on the fringes for so long that the abnormal has become normal. And there was a strong tendency, even during the height of the water crisis, for outsiders to see Flint in one-dimension. But it's not one-dimensional."

Tiffany Haddish is currently my favourite human being (who is also releasing a memoir that you should all read), and her reaction to meeting Oprah is absolutely wonderful ... and also me if I ever met Oprah.

Listening to Shane Dawson and H3H3 talk about ghost stories, conspiracy theories and the stupid controversy involving Shane at the beginning of the year for two hours is all I need.

And if you haven't heard about the mattress store/money laundering conspiracy theory; prepared to be amazed.