May the Source Be With You | The Source Weekly - Bend, Oregon

May the Source Be With You

January edition: Heroes, islands and hotels

I can't believe I'm here for another January edition of May the Source Be With You. I've now been writing on and off for the Source Weekly since 2010, which makes me feel simultaneously incredibly old and profoundly lucky at the same time. To pay my bills as a writer is a dream come true and getting to share all the things I think are cool with you amazing readers is a privilege I promise I don't take for granted. There are so many interesting things to experience this month, so let's take a look at just a few of them.

May the Source Be With You
Courtesy HBO
The mysteries of "Archive 81" will stay with you long after the show ends.

In Pod We Trust:

I'm currently obsessed with this new Netflix series called "Archive 81" and the moment I found out it was based on a podcast, you can guess what I dove into with the glee of a thousand otters. The series and the podcast are both centered around a mysterious apartment building in the past and a restorer of damaged video tapes in the present whose stories combine for a disturbingly addictive creep fest that combines "Rosemary's Baby" and "Twin Peaks" in delightful ways. However, the podcast and the show are different enough so that if you finish one, you'll find multiple hours of fascination with the other. Both are great for completely different reasons and very much worth tumbling down a rabbit hole of paranoia while obsessing over.

"Hold Up?" is another great podcast that's been around for a while that I'm only just discovering now. The show is hosted by two sisters, Allison and Carrie Gilbert, who check out a lot of iconic romantic comedies to see if they still hold up when viewed through a modern feminist perspective. If you're in the mood to laugh until you cry, the episodes where they discuss "Practical Magic" and "Jerry Maguire" are pure chef's kiss.

Now Streaming

I'm so happy that the first season of "Yellowjackets" managed to stick the landing. I'm struggling to get used to watching a show one week at a time in this era of binging, but "Yellowjackets" managed to pack so much intrigue and character into each episode that it was easy to spend a week going over and over its puzzle-box mysteries in my head. Christina Ricci gives the performance of her career as the best worst friend you could ever imagine and every moment that the show spends flashing back to the wilderness reminds me of "Lost" in the best possible way. The show is still only available on Showtime, so my recommendation is to sign up for Amazon Prime's free week of the channel and then binge the entire 10 episodes in a few sittings.

I wasn't very enraptured with James Gunn's "Suicide Squad" movie from last year, but the spin-off series "Peacemaker" is a hilarious digression from all things superhero. Following John Cena's titular character as he tries to navigate being less of a violent scumbag, the show manages to be hysterical and heartbreaking at the same time. Co-starring Danielle Brooks (Taystee from "Orange is the New Black"), this show is perfect for those who like a little hilarity and ultra-violence with their comic books. Also, Peacemaker has a pet eagle named Eagley that is by far the best sidekick on TV.

Jared Rasic

Film critic and author of food, arts and culture stories for the Source Weekly since 2010.
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