Commercial Break: First of Many in 2020 & TV-Galore

Well, here we are, back at it with a Commercial Break. I know I promised to make these monthly but I like to fail apparently. This week though, I’m bringing you the first Commercial Break of 2020! It is basically a catch up and a monthly summary of how crazy my February was. I ended up seeing quite a lot, I finished books!, and overall, had a fun time.

Before we get started. Can we all just appreciate the fact that it finally, right before spring started, snowed in Estonia? With it came the corona virus too but I’d rather talk about the snow. I love snow, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea but I love it! Also, we have a new office (temporary) at work for a few weeks and then we get to move into our brand new office space. I get my own desk, hopefully one near a window – I can’t wait!

And as you can sense, work is going okay. Exciting times and a bit of scary times ahead. Stress is still constant part of my life but I’m trying to maintain a level of calm. It’s almost working. Oh and I turned 31 in February which I would kindly not acknowledge because I’d like to stay 25 for a bit longer….

With three girls trying to manage and balance life, work and everything else, podcasting seemed almost impossible. We’re still trying to get used to it all, new jobs, new opportunities, but the chicks with accents are still holding on!

So keep an eye out for new Across the Universe Podcast episodes HERE. There are new episodes coming soon and we already talked about our favourite movies of the past decade right here.

Last time I did a Commercial Break was a long time ago so I’m only going to mention movies I saw in February. Last month I saw total of 11 movies for the first time, 3 were my Joseph Gordon-Levitt Hidden Gems movies.  Although I loved many, the only one I rated five stars was Waves. I’m hoping to write the review soon.

Other movies I also loved were Dolemite Is My Name, Honey Boy and of course Little Women. Movies that I enjoyed but didn’t fall in love with: A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood, Birds of Prey, The Mustang and Handsome Devil.

For Hidden Gems I saw Holy Matrimony, Elektra Luxx and The Lookout. I also rewatched Crazy, Stupid, Love and 27 Dresses. Plus I kind of rewatched Fleabag as a movie since I went to see its play at the cinema.

Stand outs from January, if we’re already here: 1917, Ready or Not and The Gentlemen. Also liked The Informer and Wild Rose a lot, was less impressed by Jojo Rabbit than I hoped and Bombshell was okay.

It has been a super good year in terms of television shows so far and it’s hard to even talk about all of them. I haven’t even had the time to write about all the good ones but I did write a review about Sex Education season 2. I also went ahead and wrote a review of a very messy new Netflix show Spinning Out which won’t get a second season (not really shocking). Plus, like it seems to be a trend, did a review for Locke & Key which I also ended up disliking a lot.

That being said, the rest I’ve seen has been great! I’ve been laughing and crying alongside with Schitt’s Creek which is on its last season. I binged Watchmen’s limited series on HBO like there was no tomorrow. Loved, loved, loved Succession which I need to come back for its third season now because I already miss it! Took the time to watch Ragnarok, a Norwegian Netflix show about modern day Thor. Almost caught up with Money Heist, still need to finish season 3 before the fourth one comes out.

I’m also trying to catch up with a few shows like Altered Carbon, You season 2, I Am Not Okay With This and maybe if I’m in the mood for it, finish The Good Place. Plus, let’s not forget, I’ve been watching The Outsider which will have its season finale this upcoming Sunday. So as you can see, lots of shows and a lot of Netflix and HBO which I’m not that mad about. My reading has been suffering though but TV was my first love so it is what it is.

In terms of what I’m looking forward to. I want to see Elite‘s new season and Euphoria‘s new season. For upcoming shows we have Little Fires Everywhere, Defending Jacob (with Chris Evans!), Fargo’s new season with Timothy Olyphant and probably many many more. And by that I mean all the Marvel shows that are going to drop this year.

Just in time for a Commercial Break, I finally finished two books I started in January. Everything I Never Told You by Celeste NG and Tüdrukune (Girlish?) by Eia Uus. I liked the first one a lot but the second one was mostly a miss. It was my first Estonian book in a long time and it left me irritated. It was trying to say too much with so little time and it ended up being a hyper feministic book that seemed to literally trash all men. I do not appreciate that kind of attitude.

Everything I Never Told You was a drama-crime novel that just captured my heart. It’s the debut novel of Ng who also wrote Little Fires Everywhere that Witherspoon is making into a series. I’ve read both and I actually prefer Ng’s debut to the follow up. It just had more story, more emotion and somehow resonated with me on a deeper level. That being said, I’m definitely keeping an eye on Ng’s next books!

I also read Pumpkinheads; a graphic novel by Rainbow Rowell & Faith Erin Hicks. Fun and well drawn, it was a story that took place in one evening – the last night of the season at the pumpkin patch. Honestly, this would make such a cute movie! It’s very compact in space, happening in one place and has various supporting characters. I can just imagine Sam Rockwell popping up somewhere (even tho none of the charters fit his personality but the atmosphere would work so well!). Netflix, if you’re reading this, make it happen.

I’m gonna shout out two songs this time around because I haven’t written a Commercial Break in a while. First up is my girl Billie Eilish and her James Bond song No Time To Die. At first, when I listened to it, I was like “this is alright” – now I’m obsessed. It really grows on you, it gets under your skin like her music usually does. Her Brit Award 2020 live performance of it was great too! I actually prefer it to the original.

Another artist I’ve listened to a lot this year has been Harry Styles. It’s hard to pick my favourite from his second studio album, it’s good all around. Staying consistent, and liking two very popular artists, I can share another Brit Awards performance. Styles sang Falling and wore a lace ensemble with pearls – I’m obsessed with it! A music video for the same song is also beautiful and sad and it’s now my phone’s lock screen image.

Katy from Oh So Geeky shared her favourite things about Captain America in Endgame (Part 1)

Geekteller reviews 1917

Margaret’s aka Cinematic Corner shares her amazing list of Best (and Worst) of 2019

Allie from Often Off Topic writes about Brahms II

Mario of Two Dollar Cinema praises Birds of Prey

Brittani aka Rambling Film reviews The Photograph

Kat from Life and Other Disasters writes a book review on Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

Sonia from A Film a Day reviews her February Blind Spot: The Artist