Spring is in full swing in many areas, but that doesn't mean you can't spend some quality time indoors, indulging in a good watch, read or listen. In fact, we suggest you do just that. This week's roundup of media recommendations from Windows Central writers and editors includes a TV show about the fallout after a nuclear disaster (pun shamefully intended), some music right out of "Scarface," and a twisty mystery about a father's mission to track down his runaway drug addict daughter.
We think all of these picks are worth a look, but in the case that you don't see anything that piques your interest, hit the link below for many more recommendations from the past.
More media recommendations from Windows Central
Movies
Recommended by Jez Corden, senior editor
Interstellar is a staggering sci-fi movie that pulls together some high-level physics theories into a gripping adventure.Plans to exploit a wormhole to rescue humanity from Earth's dying ecosystems go awry in some seriously spectacular ways. Unmissable sci-fi viewing.
TV
Recommended by Al Sacco, managing editor
Julia Louis-Dreyfus will always just be Elaine from "Seinfeld" to me, for better or for worse. But her more recent portrayal of the vice president, VP, or "veep," of the United States is one of if not her single best role since those glory days.The show is funny, and it skillfully lampoons the modern U.S. political machine. It's kind of like a combination of the "The Office" and "Office Space," but in the White House and its related political arenas in and around Washington., D.C. It's cringeworthy, uncomfortable, not at all PC, and pretty darn funny. Huh. That sounds a lot like "Seinfeld" …
Recommended by Cale Hunt, staff writer
Chernobyl, a dramatization of the 1986 Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic nuclear disaster, started on HBO a couple of weeks ago, and it's so far been a tense ride. The show opens at the moment of the reactor's explosion, and we get to see an inside look at the decisions made by plant staff and the efforts by regular people who don't yet know what they're dealing with. It's tense, it's frustrating, and it's often horrifying, but it's history and it's an ordeal that should not be forgotten.
Music
Recommended by Dan Thorp-Lancaster, news editor
I've been on a really big 70s music kick lately, which means a whole lot of Jethro Tull, Talking Heads, and David Bowie songs have been stuck in my head. However, one song in particular, 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover by Paul Simon has been on repeat over and over again for me.The verses (particularly the melody) in this song are so hauntingly pretty and I love the lyrical agility Simon has on show here. Plus there's the incredibly infectious chorus that I remember my dad randomly breaking into when I was a kid. And while this track is worth picking up alone, the whole album is worth checking out.
Recommended by Rich Edmonds, staff reviewer
There's some excellent synth out there with plenty of new tracks being released as more people believe the hype and tune into an excellent electric 80s playlist. Miami Nights 1984 is a welcome break in any play queue to break up the hard hitting beats from the likes of Perturbator and Dance with the Dead.All the tracks in Early Summer are fantastic synth hits that take you through the streets of the beach city in the 80s. Sick of modern pop and EDM and wish you could return to a previous age of fantastic beats? Load up Early Summer in your car and go cruising.
Books
Recommended by Al Sacco, managing editor
If you've read one Harlan Coben book, you've basically read them all. They're edge-of-your-sofa thrillers, with mysteries as twisty as your nearest river. But they're also quite formulaic. Normal guy/gal has something CRAZY and/or tragic happen, and his/her life is turned upside down. Somehow, a mystery is introduced, and the protagonist is pulled into a web of intrigue trying to figure out what really happened.Calling something formulaic is usually not a good thing. But Coben is such a good storyteller that I read everything he writes … even though I know it will be just like his last tale. His latest novel Run Away is about a father who can't come to grips with his runaway daughter's descent into addiction. So he attempts to track her down and help rehab her, only to find out the reality of the situation is much stranger than he'd thought. I haven't finished it yet, but it's good so far … if formulaic.
