Hi All,
I know itās not Friday and itās not lunchtime - but I wanted to get this off now as tomorrow Iāll be busy with family Zooms to celebrate Christmas.
This will be my last newsletter of 2020 and I just wanted to share a little bit of gratitude to you for reading this :)
This year has been tough for me personally and professionally however creating this newsletter has been a highlight. Itās given me structure, something to do, and I feel like Iām connecting with each of you at a time when connections are hard to find.
The next time youāll hear from me is 2021. Iām crossing fingers next year will have a lot more bright spots for everyone, that it will be a year of recovery and soon weāll all feel back to ānormalā.
In the meantime - Iāve got A LOT of stuff for you. Hopefully this will keep you busy if youāre alone for the holidays or if you have extra time on your hands because youāre skipping the turkey :)
This week on the blog:
Two new things for you:
1) Last night was the finale of the Bachelorette. I have some thoughts on why this season was great and what I want for the show in the future. Read it here..
2) Looking for something to watch this holiday season? Iāve got you. Hereās a list of things to check out to get you into that holiday vibe. Read the list here.
Plusā¦
Since this is the last newsletter until 2021, I wanted to highlight some popular posts that you might have missed from across the year:
1) Most of you read this one, but my number one āmost readā post from the year was my review of TV version of CBCās Because News - read it here. Maybe I should write more Canadian TV reviewsā¦ if youāre into this let me know :)
2) Close behind was my pan of the To All The Boys I Loved Before sequel P.S. I Still Love You or as I called itā¦ āP.S. I still donāt love youā - here.
3) I also wrote a bunch of reviews from my favourite genre, āRomantic Reality TVā. But my overall love letter to the genre is here and a lot of folks liked it.
4) At the beginning of quarantine, I had three posts that got a lot of love. My review of Tiger King (read it here), a primer on what TikTok is and how to use it (read that one here), and a list of suggestions for folks to watch on Netflix while āSocial Distancingā for ātwo weeksā (read the list here.) It honestly feels like I wrote those LAST YEAR but no, it was this year.
Things to watch this week:
Really I should call this, āWhat to watch Tomorrowā because weāve got a BIG day of releases on the 25th.
I cannot wait to watch Bridgerton. It is the new Shonda Rhimes produced period drama. Itās Gossip Girl in the 1700s. Narrated by Julie Andrews and staring some incredible talent - it looks fantastic. It starts streaming on Netflix. Watch the trailer here.
Iām really looking forward to Promising Young Woman. There are so many things to love here: Carey Mulligan and Bo Burnham are both in this and I adore them, the āme tooā revenge plot is fascinating, and itās directed by Killing Eveās Emerald Fennell. I honestly donāt know if Iāll rent it from Cineplex or wait until it comes onto a streaming platform but the buzz (including awards buzz) is building about this movie. Check out the trailer here.
Also at Cineplex for rent on the 25th is Wonder Woman 1984, Tom Hankās News Of The World, and the remake of Roald Dahlās The Witches.
One of my favourite Canadian shows is back. Weāve got a new Letterkenny season streaming on Crave. Hereās the trailer for the 9th season.
Crave is also starting to stream 1917 on the 25th. I was mildly interested in this last year when it came out, but in October I took a course about best practices to make productions āgreenā and they used 1917 as their best practices example. The Albert case study is worth a read.
Over on Disney Plus, weāve got a new Pixar movie! Soul starring Tina Fey and Jamie Foxx - this looks GREAT. I know a lot of people are excited about it. Watch the trailer here.
To switch it up - on the 26th The Big Fat Quiz of the Year: 2020 will air in the UK. You have to find a way to watch this (itās often on youtube). It is one of my holiday traditions and I would love to bring you into this. If you have no idea what Iām talking about (or you do and you want more BFQ content) Vulture did a great article this week explaining it and then ranking all the past editions.
Hopefully, that will keep you busy all week - but Iād add in this little note.
Friends is leaving Netflix Canada on the 31st and heading over to Crave on Jan 1st. So if you donāt have Craveā¦ watch all your fav episodes this week.
Other things to check out:
I am obsessed with Max Fosh on youtube. I think Iāve mentioned him before but if not, heās a posh boy in London who makes youtube videos about things like crosswords, posh people, and attempting ridiculous ideas. This week heās trying to get his dream job working for BBC Radio 1 and the video documenting his quest is incredible. Watch it here.
The Arkells have a fireplace video to go along with Campfire Cords. Itās a great video to put up while youāre making cookies.
Director Peter Jackson is doing a doc about The Beatles. He released a sneak peek this week and itās quite good.
In my Holiday Guide watch guide, I talk about The Late Late Toy Show and a kid named Adam King. They released a bonus video of him talking to Chris Hadfield and it will fill your heart with so much joy.
The BIG article on the internet this week was from Elle magazine - āThe Journalist and the Pharma Broā. It is a wild read. Highly recommend checking it out.
Hereās a TikTok of Santa figure skating. Itās incredible.
Hank Green (an internet godfather) has a great Christmas Tree and he has a hilarious TikTok defending it. If you are on TikTok and not following Hankā¦ hit follow. He has fantastic content. Massive fan.
Finally, youāve heard about the Jonas Brothers but do you know about Frankie Jonas? Previously known as āthe Bonus Jonasā - the fourth and youngest Jonas brother is now a TikTok *STAR*. Frankie-Tok is taking over. If you go onto any official JoBro accounts, the comments are just filled with people talking about āFrankieās brothersā. Itās quite hilarious. To illustrate this: 1)Nick and Priyanka put up a random TikTok (not important) 2) The Frankie Stans then flooded the comments 3) Frankie responded 4) Nick released THIS iconic TikTok.
Ok thatās it for me!
Have a wonderful Holiday and see you all in 2021,
-Paula