Content Consumed: Last of Us, Apple TV, Aubrey Plaza, and more

Casey Noller
Content Consumed
Published in
4 min readJan 23, 2023

Gooood morning! I hope you all had an absolutely lovely weekend.

In today’s edition of Content Consumed, we’re chatting about…
🍄 The Last of Us, Episode 2
😎 Timothee Chalamet’s Apple TV commercial
🍴 The Menu (I finally watched!)
🎥 Aubrey Plaza on SNL
🛍 Tarte’s influencer trip to Dubai

The Last of Us, Episode 2

You guys, I’m on the edge. I know HBO’s The Last of Us is a good show. I’m mature enough to recognize that. But let me list my two biggest issues real quick:

  • I really, really don’t like the character Ellie, and I can’t tell if it’s because of her really bad dialogue or I’m not Bella Ramsey’s biggest fan.
  • I’m just not a huge horror/sci-fi person in general! Covering my eyes for half a show isn’t fun.

I expect haters for this. I accept haters for this. But I must share my truth!

On the other hand, I’m thrilled to dive into a show based off a videogame because it’s a more unique experience for me. I never played the Last of Us game, but it’s fun and interesting to recognize specific videogame-y characteristics within the show—sidequests, character relationships, wardobes, landscapes, etc.

I’m also loving the cold opens. The first one, staring Big Head from Silicon Valley (also known as Josh Brener), took my breath away. The second episode’s opening sequence was equally effective and especially chilling. Maybe she had the right idea… bomb ‘em…

R.I.P. Tess. Sort of. I didn’t really like her anyways.

Timothee Chalamet’s Apple TV commercial *hits*

Maybe I’m biased, because my friend Ricky was on the production team for the commercial. But I’m a huge of the ad either way.

You probably saw it a dozen times if you were watching NFL this weekend: Timmy C. goes about his daily business (movie sets, press tours, luxury trips, red carpets, etc.) all while seeing Apple TV everywhere. The script impresses as well, as he’s got some funny quips about Suideikis’ Ted Lasso stache and prison.

And he’s right! DeNiro, Scorcese? Everyone has an Apple TV show or movie these days!

Maybe I’ll actually get Apple TV now. I really have to catch up on Mythic Quest and I might give Ted Lasso season 3 a chance (even though I didn’t love season 2).

Watch it here.

The Menu, finally

Okay, I’ve got quick takes! I finally saw The Menu.

  • The fact that there was more than one Ratatouille reference? Incredible.
  • Nicholas Hoult has a better American accent than I could’ve ever imagined.
  • I really expected cannibalism given recent trends, but was happily surprised. Maybe the meats hanging in that one building could’ve implied something, but…
  • Good twists! Especially the Coast Guard bit.
  • The s’mores scene was a perfect finale. No notes.

That’s it. Everything else has already been said. Good movie, might watch it again on a lazy rainy Sunday.

Aubrey Plaza hosted SNL (and I didn’t love it…)

Let’s get this out of the way: I’m a huge Aubrey Plaza fan and my expectations were high. Certainly too high.

There were some good bits! Okay, maybe one good bit—the Taboo skit. The monologue was alright. Aubrey’s “The Black Lotus” skit character was obnoxious and almost ruined the entire skit. Amy Poehler coming back for Weekend Update as Leslie Knope to Aubrey’s April Ludgate was cute enough.

It just… didn’t hit. Ugh. I set myself up for disappointment, I know. I can’t expect that much from SNL. My mistake!

Tarte’s absurd Dubai influencer trip

Last week, cosmetics brand Tarte flew 50 beauty influencers and their plus-ones to Dubai for an extravagant three-day trip.

What’d they do in Dubai? Flew there via Emirates business class. Stayed in private villas filled with hundreds of Tarte products and gifts from other brands. Ate delicious dinners. Went on desert and water-based adventures. Shopped and then shopped some more. Hung out, drank.

It’s interesting, from an advertising and brand perspective. I recommend reading this Vogue Business article, dissecting exactly how much it cost to bring each influencer and how much business they could potentially bring to Tarte with their Instagram posts and TikTok videos.

There’s been backlash, of course. That this is happening in a cost of living crisis / near-recession, that material goods are overproduced and tossed away for events like this, that it’s held in a country rattled with human rights issues (especially for women).

Read that Vogue Business article, then hit me with your take.

And that’s what I’ve got for ya today! Thank you, as always, for reading. Be sure to follow this column to get Content Consumed every weekday.

Cheers,
Casey

👉🏼 Get more content over on the Content Consumed Instagram.

👉🏼 Find out what I’m reading at my Goodreads profile.

👉🏼 Did you catch my best of 2022 lists? Check out my favorite movies, TV shows, albums, and books of the year here.

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Casey Noller
Content Consumed

Welcome to the dinner party. I'll let you know what everyone's talking about—and what everyone should be talking about—with my column, Content Consumed.