A Quiet Place, The Terror, Santa Clarita Diet, Lost in Space and Altered Carbon

My Top 5 Obsessions This Week

For some reason I have been watching a lot of horror and sci- fi lately. As with many of us fans it takes a lot to scare us. Sometimes unsettling and creepy work even better for me. Here are a few highlights.

1) A Quiet Place , a hybrid of Signs and Cloverfield is as good if not better than both. I have never been in a theater so silent that every sound is amplified for maximum scare. Smart, well crafted and something totally different for this genre. In the year 2020 two years from now SOMETHING happened. Something BIG and we are seeing a family trying to survive in a remote farmhouse . Husband and wife team - in real life John Krazinski and Emily Blunt are struggling to keep their family safe and quiet. Because they can hear you! 

2)  The Terror a new series on AMC based on true events about two ships the HMS Terror and the HMS Erebus venturing into uncharted territories searching for the treacherous Northwest Passage. The two ships become stuck in the ice and something unseen is stalking and killing the crew. Based on the best seller by Dan Simmons this atmospheric thriller is building each episode . It is great to see Jared Harris back on AMC.

3) Santa Clarita Diet streaming now 2nd season on Netflix is finally getting to the first season promises. The is a little more of the thriller portion to the storyline this season and some questions are being answered and new ones being raised.  The ball spider, feral zombies and the big question where did the  red clams come from and how many people are truly infected and will Nathan Fillion's head get renewed for the new season. I cannot wait.

4)  Lost in Space the reboot  now streaming on Netflix has my interest , and I am reserving my full opinion once I have finished the first season. Focusing more on the full impact of being stranded on another planet and sci-fi and less on the camp value of the original  Dr. Smith and iconic robot. I am a huge fan of Molly Parker and will watch anything she is in as well as the Indie darling Parker Posey  and the original disaster director Irwin Allen who created the original as well as the famous The Poseidon Adventure. I am hoping we get to see some of the acerbic wit that Posey is famous for in the Dr Smith character and maybe a bit of the light hearted comedy of the original 1965 series. This version has a robot that may or not be good and everyone has a secret, including  every one of the Robinson family. 

5) Altered Carbon  a Netflix Original series is set in the future where consciousness is digitized and stored in "stacks" and moved from sleeve to sleeve (bodies) when they begin to wear out. The plot is set in place when a prisoner is downloaded into a disgraced cop played by The Killing's handsome Joel Kinnaman who is hired by wealthy aristocrat James Purefoy ( at his most charismatic ) to solve his murder. Genre-bending and excellent cinematography make this a must watch for me.

Mean Girls ( Broadway) , Summer the Musical, Hello Dolly, Rise and Bananrama Tour

My Top 5 Obsessions This Week

It has been a whirlwind lately of travel and shows. Including a new series that I absolutely recommend . I will get right to it.

1) Mean Girls on Broadway was a hilarious musical lighthearted romp that will appeal to the cult of Mean Girls fans and newbies who never saw the 2004 movie. Although Fetch may never happen this updated book by Tina Fey is worth it. Narrators Janis and Damian offer the opening song A Cautionary Tale with all the bite and wit you could hope for. Meet The Plastics was another favorite. Several standouts include the amazing scene stealer Grey Henson as Damien who is” “Too Gay to Function” Taylor Louderman as the Apex Predator Regina George and Barrett Wilber Reed as Janis Sarkisian and a shout-out to Kerry Butler in multiple roles including the “cool mom” . Meeting Louderman and Henson after the show was another highlight.

2) Summer-The Donna Summer Musical just opening on Broadway was a trip down memory lane. From the iconic beginning as a stage pillar lifts with only a turntable that rises and plays the opening tune I was hooked. Tony winner LaChanze, Storm Lever and Ariana DeBose play Donna Summer at different phases of her life- Duckling Donna, Disco Donna and Diva Donna. From Love to Love You Baby, MacArthur Park, Hot Stuff, Bad Girls- the hits and storyline unfolded the story of her life and ended as all enchanted evenings do- with Last Dance. Amazing show and meeting the three talented ladies afterwards was the perfect ending.

3) Hello Dolly featuring the amazing Bernadette Peters in one of my favorite musicals was a dream come true. A magical evening with Peters breathing life into the indomitable Dolly Levi and the super talented Victor Garber as the gruff Horace Vandergelder. A standout was the superb Santino Fontana as Cornelius Hackl. Amazing sets , songs ended with the gracious Peters bending down and grasping my hand was the perfect ending for me to say Hello Dolly.

4) Rise the newest NBC offering is a musical drama hybrid with a largely unknown  cast with the exception of Josh Radnor and the amazing Rosie Perez stepping out of her comfort zone as two battling heads of a high school drama department. Bucking all the conventions of typical high school musicals newly minted head of drama Radnor decides to shake it up and put on the controversial Spring Awakening. Mixing it up with his own family, the principal and the coach while battling for the balance of work and home it is the Anti Glee. I love the whole cast including Stranger Things’ “ Barb” Shannon Purser who is everywhere these days. Moana’s Auli’i Cravalho and Ted Sutherland are my top two although everyone is great.

5)  Bananarama at the Warfield a few weekends ago was so great I wanted to make sure no one misses the tour. It marks the first time the original lineup of Siobhan Fahey, Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward have toured North America.
Backed by a live band they opened with Nathan Jones, Cruel Summer and brought the house down with Na Na Hey Goodbye. This was a tight set and the girls(ladies) rocked the house to a sold out audience who danced like the House was on fire(which it was). I would love to catch them again.

Three’s Company

Did you enjoy watching characters like Nurse Terri Alden on Three's Company, or Ivannah from Mallrats, Verna from The Crossing Guard and Magda from Jane The Virgin? Please go to this link to learn more about Priscilla Barnes' career in TV and Movies: https://lnkd.in/ehKsdjq

Channel Zero: Butchers Block, Absentia, The Walking Dead, Before I Wake and Jeepers Creeper lll

My Top 5 Obsessions This Week

Greetings to all of my semi constant readers and welcome to any nrw readers. I have to decided to not publish every week now and only on the weeks I feel strongly about my content. I have been in the mood for thrillers and horror lately . After the disappointment of Winchester I started checking out some other recommended programming. So here we go.

1) Channel Zero has done it again with Butchers Block. The new season is creepy and features the kind of fantastical setup they are known for. Plus there is Rutger Hauer !  A small town besieged by a plague of missing people, a mysterious stairway that appears in an abandoned park and ominous meat packaging plant make this a super disturbing season.

2) Absentia streaming now on Amazon is a mini series about a missing FBI agent , a serial killer and a menacing people sized aquarium . A wife kidnapped by a serial killer returns after 6 years to find her husband has remarried and she becomes a prime suspect in a spree of  killings.

3) The Walking Dead returns. Yes I am still watching and I want answers , dammit! Rick & company have lot of work ahead this season. Carl Grimes last days and some story lines that matter. I am still interested but this will be a make it or break it season for me.

4 Before I Wake now streaming on Netflix is one of the better finds. Starring Thomas Jane and Kate Bosworth as a couple recovering from the death of their young son. They adopt an 8 year old boy who is afraid to fall asleep. We find out when he does , his dreams manifest into reality. But there is a steep price to pay. I really give this a recommendation .

5) Jeepers Creepers III is on my list for a reason. While not the best of the 3 movies of the franchise, I am excited because it looks like they are paving the way for a new movie. There are some genuine scares here but the final moments held the big twist. No spoilers here.

BarneStorming

BarneStorming Ep. 1: Shawn Schepps
https://www.spreaker.com/user/6733116/barnesstorming-ep1
Here's is the first podcast of BarneStorming with Priscilla's best friend Shawn Schepps. Shawn has written movies such as Drumline and Encino man. She is also an actress. You may remember her from the first Terminator movie and The Golden Girls. Please download and listen! 
#encinoman, #racing, #seanpenn, #shawnschepps, #theterminator

Grace and Frankie, Bunheads, The Alienist, Super Dark Times and Black Mirror

My Top 5 Obsessions This Week

Greetings to all of my semi constant readers. I know it has been awhile since you have heard from me , but like many of you , i was unfortunate enough to come down with the flu. But I am back and I have a few favorites here for your pleasure

1)  Grace and Frankie season 4 on Netflix is my favorite season so far and not just for the guest stars ( Lisa Kudrow and Marsha Mason) but for the great story arc this season. Our girls are fighting their children who are doubting their mothers‘ abilities to take care of themselves any more and Sol and Robert are flirting with opening up their relationship with a handsome third ! 

2) Bunheads is a show I missed the first time around and I finally found it on Hulu. Only 18 episodes and canceled too soon by ABC (Unbelievable!) this show created by Gilmore Girls creater Amy Sherman-Palladio is a gem  and needs a 2nd life (a bit of trivia : someone from the Gilmore Girls makes an appearance in every single episode ). The story of Michelle (Sutton Foster) a former ballerina turned Las Vegas showgirl who accepts a marriage proposal and moves to a sleepy quirky little California coastal town only to find she will be living with her husband and his mother (Kelly Bishop) who owns a dance studio next door. A tragedy happens and Michelle deepens her relationship with her mother in law and the young ballerinas. Watch this immediately !

3)  The Alienist on TNT based on Caleb Carr’s best selling 1994 novel about one of New York’s early serial killers in the gritty 19th century. Following a rash of grisly murders of young children we witness the early days of forensic investigation by Dr. Lazlo Kreizler (Daniel Brühl), a newspaper illustrator(Luke Evans) and a secretary Sara Howard (Dakota Fanning). Dark and deeply disturbing , I have great hopes for this series.

4) Super Dark Times is another venture into darkness when two close friends are part of a tragic accident and cover up. Their friendship and life will never be the same. The tension built and built with a final gut wrenching flourish. Owen Campbell and Charlie Tahan join a fantastic cast. Now streaming  on Netflix.

5) Black Mirror season 4 on Netflix is one of the best yet with six dark new tales. Hang the DJ was one of my favs. A dating app that pairs up couples and decides an expiration date. Poignant and humorous with  a not too distant in the future appeal that  is the  hallmark of this fantastic anthology series. Special mention for a fan favorite USS Callister which is the perfect retro watch.

Three’s Company

Please go to this link to learn more about Priscilla Barnes career in TV and Movies. Three's Company, Devil's Rejects, Mallrats, Jane The Virgin and more.: https://lnkd.in/ehKsdjq