Melody’s June 2018 Wrap Up

TV

Big Brother (CBS) is back! 20th season!!! I jumped in on season 8 and haven’t looked back! (Well, only to watch the seasons before 8 but you get my point haha). I am so pumped for what’s in store. The producers better shake it up so that the 20th season isn’t as boring as the past handful of seasons (minus the celebrity season which was absolutely fantastic).

Face Off: The Final Season (Syfy) is in full swing and I am LIVING for it. Boy, I’m going to miss this show. 🙁 We’re also in the final bow of 12 Monkeys (Syfy) which I don’t even want to think about because it makes me so sad. So… onto something else…

As for TV around town, I made my way to the free Because You Watched: A Netflix Exhibit which you can see in the photo above. It was fun! I was disappointed that On My Block and international shows like 3% and The Rain weren’t represented, so next time around, Netflix can get around its shows that aren’t as popular as OITNB etc… The exhibit included recreations, props, etc… of their shows and it was mapped out based on the “Because You Watched X” format. I particularly enjoyed seeing Dear White People, Black Mirror, Marvel’s Jessica Jones, Lost in Space, and Stranger Things at the exhibit.  They also handed out swag which was cool and I’ll definitely be using my Stranger Things water bottle this summer. Thanks, Netflix!

Movies

I had a really good movie month! I saw most of the movies that I wanted to see including Ocean’s 8, Hotel Artemis, The Incredibles 2, and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. It dawned on me that I had never seen another Ocean‘s film and when I made the connection as to why, it was a bit of an aha moment. Previously, I had pondered as to why I could never get into Lord of the Rings and certain other movies and the common denominator was that they were full of white men (or full of white men with a token tropey minority). AKA, not for me. Needless to say, it was such a joy to go see Ocean’s 8. I enjoyed every moment of it. It’s what I longed for.

Hotel Artemis was so much fun and I could have sat there for another hour because it had so much potential to be even bigger but really, I’m just super happy that everyone behind this project got this made to begin with. Everyone part of this project is a BAMF! Next, I saw The Incredibles 2 which was definitely worth the wait. Wow. Loved it. Dare I say I love it more than the original?  Then there’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. There were little things that I really admired about the movie and there were big things that were just so underwhelming and full of lost potential and opportunity so I’m mixed on this one. Overall, it was entertaining but if I were to re-watch one of the new ones, it wouldn’t be this one I’d reach for first. As for Netflix, I caught Brain on Fire which stars Chloe Moretz and was just as captivating and fascinating as the memoir its based on by Susannah Cahalan which I read in 2016. Highly recommend!

Finally, I want to talk trailers for a hot second. One, I am so happy that Jennifer Garner is back in all of her action glory in Peppermint. Also, have you seen the trailer for The Hate U Give and have you read the novel its based on by Angie Thomas? Do yourself a favor and do both!

Books

Work has been absolutely bananas this path month so I haven’t had time to do much any reading….okay, that’s not true, I’ve been reading but I’ve been hopping around books. So I only started and finished one book this month but I’m reading like a dozen books right now (not an exaggeration) so maybe I should take the first 2 weeks of July to just finish those books hahaha it sure would help my Goodreads goal, that’s for sure. Reading aside, I went to the book launch for Aminah Mae Safi’s Not the Girls You’re Looking For at Stories in Echo Park which was nice. I had never been there before and it’s like 2 stores down from Sage Vegan Bistro, which you might remember me raving about last November. So you know where I ate before it was time for the book launch ha ha ha. SO good omg omg omg.

Vegan Stuff

I finally tried Ramen Hood at Grand Central Market and wooooo boy, I will definitely be back!!! I won’t ever get the ramen with the vegan egg again (the “yolk” wasn’t my cup of tea). The Bahn mi poutine was okay but I can’t say I’d get that again either. All that means is I have to go back enough times to try the rest of their sides to figure out which side is my jam! And I am so down for that!

E-book/Book/ARC/Audiobook Haul
*  Not the Girls You’re Looking For by Aminah Mae Safi
The Final Six by Alexandra Monir
Brightly Burning by Alexa Donne

Books I Read

If you’d like to keep track of my reading progress as it happens and reviews as they are posted, feel free to follow me on Goodreads!

Books That I Own That I Read (Physical/E-Book):
1. Dry by Neal Shusterman & Jarrod Shusterman

Movies & Documentaries I Watched

Watched in June 2018
Ocean’s 8 (Movie Theaters)
Hotel Artemis (Movie Theaters)
The Incredibles 2 (Movie Theaters)
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (Movie Theaters)
Brain on Fire (Netflix Streaming)

My top three favorite movies this month were: Ocean’s 8, Hotel Artemis, The Incredibles 2

Until next month, happy reading and viewing!