PopaHALLics #88 "The Game is Afoot!"
It's elementary, my dear listener. Steve and Kate have fun discussing "Enola Holmes 2," about Sherlock's younger sister on the trail of a missing match girl. We also talk murder—both real (at Harvard, no less) and fictional (a coworker coverup in Japan)—and explore the curious case of a schlocky zombie movie that isn't what it seems. This mystery is worthy of Baker Street!
Streaming:
- "Enola Holmes 2," Netflix. Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven on "Stranger Things") returns as an aspiring detective hoping to break out of the shadow of her famous brother. She talks directly to the camera as she gets into one hair-raising scrape after another. Big fun. With Helena Bonham Carter and Henry Cavill.
- "One Cut of the Dead," Shudder and rental. This clever, hilarious Japanese zombie comedy written and directed by Shin'ichirō Ueda features a play within a play. We first see what appears to be a short, cheap zombie movie shot in one continuous take about a filmmaking crew attacked by real zombies. But then the camera pulls back to show us what's going on behind the scenes of the movie about the movie. In Japanese with English subtitles.
- "The School for Good and Evil," Netflix. In a movie based on a bestselling book series, best friends Sophie and Agatha find themselves on opposing sides when they join an enchanted school for aspiring heroes and villains.
Books:
- "Out," by Natsuo Kirino. This 1997 Japanese crime novel won Best Novel from the Mystery Writers of Japan. When a female factory worker murders her husband, her three coworkers try to help her get away with it. That sets off a deadly cat and mouse game with the police and a local gangster, as well as simmering tensions within the group.
- "We Keep the Dead Close: a Murder at Harvard and a Half Century of Silence," by Becky Cooper. In this critically acclaimed true crime narrative, a reporter sets out to find out the truth about the 1969 bludgeoning death of 23-year-old graduate student Jane Britton. The rumors were that she had an affair with her professor, who murdered her when she threatened to go public ...
- "I'm Glad My Mom Died," by Jennette McCurdy. in this fast read of a memoir, the former "iCarly" actress explores her complicated relationship with her show business-oriented mother.
- "The Final Girl Support Group," by Grady Hendrix. This sly horror novel asks the question: In slasher movies, the final girls are the ones left standing when the credits roll. They made it through the worst night of their lives…but what happens after?
Two Heartland Movies Coming to Theaters:
Previous episodes talked about two new movies at the Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis: "The Whale," with Brendan Fraser's comeback as a 600-lb. college professor seeking to reconcile with his daughter (Sadie Sink), and "Corsage," a lush reimagining of one year in the life of the tragic Austrian Empress Elisabeth (Vicky Kreps). The New York Times, says "The Whale" will debut in theaters on Dec. 9 and "Corsage" on Dec. 23.
Click through the links above to watch, read, and listen to what we're talking about.