What Wednesday #34
Today I’m excited for comic book TV, for once, and I witness the future in glorious 4k.
What Wednesday is where I talk about what I’m watching, reading, playing, etc, because for some reason I think you’ll find that interesting. If you have recommendations, I’d love to hear them :)
What I’m Watching Tonight: Legion (FX)
The first ever live action X-men TV series, from the creator of the Fargo TV series (one of the best shows on TV), with wonderful actors like Aubrey Plaza and Paul Betnay. Do you need any other reason to be watching tonight’s series premiere of Legion? How about the reviewers are saying it’s completely different than any other superhero show and has potential to reinvent a cliche ridden and predictable genre? If you can’t tell, I‘m not the biggest comic book movie/TV show fan. Don’t even get me started on The Walking Dead or Man of Steel. Most everything has been pretty blah since The Dark Knight (except for Guardians of the Galaxy…Baby Groot!!), and anything that injects new life into such a tired genre will definitely get my support. Watch, and we’ll discuss later.
What I’m Also Watching: The Revenant in 4K (Amazon)
Since I’m not going to get out to the movie theater as often once the kiddo gets here, I thought I would bring the theater to me, so I picked up a big 4k TV during the Super Bowl sales last week. I used The Revenant on Ultra HD Blu-ray to put it through its paces and, whoa boy, it’s drop dead gorgeous! You don’t need me to tell you how amazing the movie itself is (spoiler: it’s amazing), but even though I saw it in theater, I was not prepared for watching it in full 4k glory at home. I think I may have teared up when the first shot of snow covered mountains came up.
The HDR effect (basically ultra bright whites) alone takes the movie, which was shot almost entirely with natural light, to another level, bringing it to life in a way that fits perfectly with the director’s vision. The sun cutting through the forrest is piercing in such a realistic way that it very nearly transcends film. The cinematographer won his third Oscar in a row for this movie, and it’s an eye-watering wonder in 4K. Until the holodeck becomes a real thing (probably right around the corner, though VR movies apparently have a long way to go), this is the closest I can get to being inside the movie. And it’s glorious.
What I’m Hearing: Kehlani (Spotify, Apple Music)
For the past decade, R&B has been where the most exciting experimentation in music has come out. From Drake (c’mon, he’s not actually hip hop), to political Beyonce, to crazy FKA Twigs, it’s been where the most exciting new sounds have been originating (what, you say EDM has been more exciting?? LOL). Now, while I love the glitchy weirdness of James Blake as much as the next hipster, there’s something to be said about a straight up, old school crooner alongside catchy hooks and fun beats. Kehlani’s new album SweetSexySavage is a wonderful bit of pop R&B, harkening back to the glory days of Aaliyah and TLC. I mean, listen to the chorus of “CRZY” once and tell me that’s not going to stay in your head for days and days. Good stuff.
