What Wednesday #38: Pregnancy Update
Today we’re getting ready for baby like any responsible parents would: with ultra-violent super heroes and video games.
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 :)
We’re in the home stretch, one week out from the due date, and work is winding down for both of us as we prep for our incoming bundle ‘o joy. While we wait, we’ve got some time to kill — the last abundant free time we’ll have for a long while. So to make the most of it, we’re filling it with the important stuff: comic books and video games. (Along with the boring stuff, like finishing the baby room, getting the final things we need off our registry, prepping the baby bag for the delivery…you know, preparing to actually be parents. Like I said, the boring stuff.)
What We’re Watching: Logan (RT 92%)
Two weekends, two movie date nights. Is #winning still a thing? We followed up last week’s great-but-not-amazing La La Land with the great-and-amazing Logan, Hugh Jackman’s supposedly last turn as Wolverine. It was violent, profane, and super bloody (which for a dude with giant ginsu knives coming out of his knuckles, totally makes sense). They earned every bit of that R-rating. But beyond the ridiculous amounts of blood — something I grow more tired of the older I get — Logan crucially brings mature themes along with it, like the ravages of aging, mental illness, and the weight of our choices. What they do with Professor X’s character is really fascinating and provoking, and Patrick Stewart turns in a powerful performance. No surprise he kind of wants to walk away too: it would be a heckuva high note to go out on.
It’s no secret that I’m not the biggest comic book movie fan, mainly because the current MO is to make them like TV episodes, where each one ends pointing to the next movie, without ever having a real conclusion. That’s good for selling movie tickets, bad for feeling satisfied at the end of a movie. Logan has a definitive ending and is basically a standalone movie apart from the main X-Men movies, and it’s far better for it. Finality is a powerful thing in an age of sequels and spin-offs.
When the credits came on, a group of guys behind us started discussing if there was a post credits scene. When they figured out there wasn’t, they seemed flabergasted. Even after the profoundly satisfying ending, they still expected the most self-contained comic book movie in recent memory to end by teasing the next movie. Marvel’s done a number on us all.
Watch it if you can stomach the violence. It’s easily the most adult comic book movie since The Dark Knight Rises, and I don’t mean that as a back handed compliment. It also helped that Wolverine looks after a little girl for most of the movie. His parenting style is questionable (killing bad guys on a school night), but his heart is in the right place. Hit me right in the dad-to-be feels.
What We’re Also Watching: Parenthood (Netflix)
So I’m preparing for fatherhood with mutants, and Katie is prepping for motherhood with…actual parents. Lame.
Out of all the shows that Katie’s binged while riding out the pregnancy nausea — like Friends (that laugh track is a soul killer), Call the Midwife (obviously), and Parks and Rec (my favorite) — I can say for sure that Parenthood is the yell-iest. I swear, no one knows how to communicate in a calm, measured tone on this show. Probably not the best place to pick up parenting tips, just sayin’.
She’s also watching This Is Us — along with the rest of America, apparently — but this one is more fun to complain about. This is her second time going through it, and I’m sure it’s a lovely show. I just prefer my yelling to happen right before a bad guy gets his head sliced open with 3 razor sharp adamantium claws. But that’s just me.
What We’re Playing: Nintendo Switch
We love playing video games together. No joke, I’ve spent more time playing Mario with Katie than I ever did growing up. We’ve been playing New Super Luigi Bros since Christmas. I know, she’s the best.
With last week’s launch of the Nintendo Switch, I was at Walmart, waiting in line at midnight with a few dozen other nerds to pick up my dream console: a Zelda/Mario machine that I can play on our TV at home with Katie and then take on the road with me when I travel. I’m in love. This thing is a great home console, but it’s the best portable console ever made. No more compromised gaming on my phone or iPad; this beast is on another level. (I’ve already put in close to a dozen hours on Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but I’ll go into more detail in a future post. Spoiler: it might be the best game I’ve ever played.)
We’ve been playing Snipperclips and it’s been phenomenal. Once you move past the ridiculous name, you’ll find a fun, approachable yet challenging multiplayer game. The basic premise is you work together to solve increasingly challenging tasks by slicing and dicing you and your partner’s adorable characters. It’s tough to explain, but super easy to figure out with a controller in your hand.
Speaking of controllers, that’s one of the best parts. When you pull off the controllers on the sides of the Switch tablet, you’re ready to play with another person. That’s it. No buying a second controller. No waiting for them to sync up. You just go. Like the other night, I brought the Switch upstairs for my nightly Zelda session before bed, and Katie decided she wanted to play some Snipperclips (it’s impossible to say that name without giggling). So I popped the tablet down between us, and away we went. So awesome. Oh, and did I mention the amazing looking Mario game coming out this fall? This baby is just getting warmed up. I wonder how long until our real life baby can join in on the fun. The controllers are pretty small…so like 6 months or something?
