The It List: 'Captain Marvel,' funny women, Kirby, 'Star Wars' and the best in pop culture the week of March 4, 2019
The It List is Yahoo’s weekly look at the best in pop culture, including movies, music, TV, streaming, games, books, podcasts and more. Here are our picks for March 4 to 10, including the best deals we could find for each.
WATCH IT: Captain Marvel
It took the Marvel Cinematic Universe 20 movies to bring us their first female-fronted superhero movie, and while we won’t say “the wait was worth it” (because the wait was too damn long), this slow-starting but ultimately supremely entertaining origin story makes yet another golden egg for one of Disney’s go-to gooses. (Speaking of Gooses, wait until you see this cat.) Brie Larson effortlessly assumes the role of Marvel’s new (and now most powerful?) badass, a de-aged Samuel L. Jackson gets his most screentime yet as Nick Fury and Ben Mendelsohn shapeshifts his way into the film’s top scene stealer. Plus, some nice surprises (and great end credits sequences) abound!
Captain Marvel opens in theaters everywhere March 8. For showtime and ticket information, visit Fandango.
READ IT: Star Wars: Queen’s Shadow by E.K. Johnston
Set years after Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, the young adult novel, Stars Wars: Queen’s Shadow, follows Padmé’s transition from Naboo’s Queen to its Galactic Senator. While the novel could easily have been yet another action-adventure set in a galaxy far, far away, author E.K. Johnston instead chooses to focus on deeper themes that feel more relevant now than they did when Padmé was first introduced. Johnston not only gives us our clearest understanding of Padmé — who until now had mostly been defined by her relationship with Anakin — but also examines how female politicians are treated by the media, where their outfits or “tone” somehow matter more than their policies. A must for Star Wars fans.
Star Wars: Queen’s Shadow is available to purchase on audiobook, hardcover and kindle on Amazon.
WATCH IT: Giant Little Ones
If you liked Eighth Grade or Love, Simon, you’re not going to want to miss this tender and soulful coming-of-age story about teens in a small town dealing (or not dealing) with the fluidity of their sexualities. Josh Wiggins is especially magnetic in the lead role of high school swimmer Frankie, but writer-director Keith Behrman’s thoughtfully crafted characters and a stellar supporting ensemble (including Maria Bello and Kyle MacLachlan) will leave you rooting for everyone to find solace. Seek this indie out and you’ll be rewarded. It’s a diamond in the rough.
Giant Little Ones is now playing in select cities nationwide. For showtime and ticket information, visit Fandango.
PLAY IT: Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn
Originally released for the Nintendo Wii in 2011, Kirby’s Epic Yarn transformed everyone’s favorite happy pink sphere into a shape-shifting yarn creation, navigating a stitched-together textile world. Players fell in love with the whimsical game, which is finally available for a post-Wii platform beginning March 8. Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn for the Nintendo 3DS brings Kirby back to Patch Land, with enhancements like bigger yarn balls, an extra-challenging “Devilish Mode” and new minigames featuring Meta Knight and King Dedede.
Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn for Nintendo 3DS is available to pre-order on Amazon.
READ IT: The League of Extraordinarily Funny Women: 50 Trailblazers of Comedy, by Sheila Moeschen and illustrated by Anne Bentley
What better way to keep the inspiration of International Women’s Day going than by looking back on female comics through the ages, from Moms Mabley and Lucille Ball, to Gilda Radner and Nora Ephron, to Mindy Kaling and Lena Waithe and 44 others? This colorful book, with whimsical drawings throughout, is divided into a short chapter on each woman, comes out on March 9, and would make an excellent addition to any feminist’s book collection.
The League of Extraordinarily Funny Women: 50 Trailblazers of Comedy is available to pre-order on Amazon.
HEAR IT: Maren Morris, GIRL
The country It-girl and multiple Grammy nominee follows up her 2016 breakthrough Hero and crossover Zedd collab “The Middle” with this set, the title trailblazing track of which acknowledges the lack of female artists on country radio. Morris recently told Rolling Stone, “I’m constantly asked on every carpet, in any interview, ‘What’s it like facing the adversity of the lack of women on radio?’ There are only so many answers I can give, so I decided to put it in an album answer.”
GIRL is available to purchase on CD/vinyl on Amazon or download it on iTunes.
READ IT: Daisy Jones and the Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
A novel written in the form of an oral history, the book recounts the mysterious breakup of one of the most successful bands of the ‘70s at the height of their fame. It’s being hailed by critics as “authentic” and “juicy” in its depiction of the Los Angeles music scene in the era of the Eagles and Pink Floyd. Reese Witherspoon has given it her own rave review, saying that she “devoured [the book] in a day, falling head over heels for it,” while one early Amazon reader admitted to finding herself searching for more information on the fictional band, because it was described so vividly.
Daisy Jones and the Six is available to purchase on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
WATCH IT: The Favourite
Anyone who only knows about The Favourite from awards shows will be forgiven for thinking it’s a pretty straightforward British period comedy — it’s not. Director Yorgos Lanthimos is known for surreal, outrageous, sometimes nightmarish films that make their own rules, and The Favourite — though more traditional than previous films Lanthimos wrote himself, like The Lobster — is no exception. It is, however, very funny and entrancingly weird. Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz’s performances as rivals for Queen Anne’s affection are among the best of both their careers. And if you’re wondering how Olivia Colman wrangled the Oscar away from Glenn Close and Lady Gaga, you need only watch her performance as the fickle queen to understand.
The Favourite is available to purchase on Blu-ray and DVD on Amazon; or download it on iTunes and Vudu.
COLLECT IT: Captain Marvel Funko Pops and Dorbz
Sorry Brie Larson, but it’s looking like Goose the Cat is going to be the breakout star of Marvel’s latest blockbuster, Captain Marvel. So you can also expect the feline’s various Funko toys to vanish faster than the MCU’s dusted heroes. Choose from Goose-shaped Pops, pen toppers, key chains and Dorbz. For human companionship, pick up one of the three different Captain Marvel Pops so Goose will have someone to provide her with bowls of milks and cans of tuna fish on the regular.
Captain Marvel Funko Pops and other products are available on Amazon; Dorbz are available in 3-pack bundles on Funko.
HEAR IT: Juice WRLD, A Death Race for Love
Following the massive success of his Zeitgeist-capturing single “Lucid Dreams,” the breakout Chicago rapper drops his hotly anticipated second studio album. Judging from the candid, Nick Mira-produced lead single “Robbery,” on which Juice receives dating advice from his father, it seems Death Race will explore the same lyrical themes of romance and betrayal that fans connected to on Juice’s 2018 solo debut, Goodbye & Good Riddance.
A Death Race for Love is available to pre-order Amazon or download it on iTunes.
WATCH IT: Now Apocalypse
Like a lot of ’90s cult filmmakers, Gregg Araki has transitioned to TV in recent years, using the skills he honed on such movies as The Doom Generation and Smiley Face to helm episodes of shows like Riverdale and 13 Reasons Why. The soap opera-plotting and oversexed relationships that define those teen shows are providing fodder for Araki’s first original series, a wild mixture of science fiction and stoner comedy. Now Apocalypse follows a quartet of L.A. pals whose big ambitions are challenged by a wacky conspiracy plot involving extraterrestrial lizard people and kooky scientists. Araki’s over-the-top humor can be an acquired taste, but if you’re jonesing for a weekly blast of surrealistic soap opera, he’s your pusher, man.
Now Apocalypse airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on Starz.
WATCH IT: Instant Family
Mark Wahlberg took a break from those Daddy’s Home cash cows for a “similar yet different” type of family comedy: one with less Will Ferrell (and Mel Gibson, thankfully), but arguably more heart. He and Rose Byrne play a married couple who dive head first into extreme parenting when they adopt three foster children (Isabel Moner, Gustavo Quiroz and Julianna Gamiz). Based in part on co-writer-director Sean Anders’s own experience with foster children, it’d be tough to find a new home video release better suited for Family Movie Night.
Instant Family is available to purchase on Blu-ray/DVD on Amazon; or download it on iTunes and Vudu.
PLAY IT: Disney Villainous: Wicked to the Core and Harry Potter Labyrinth
No matter your fantasy fandom, Ravensburger has your board game needs covered. For Mouse House residents, there’s Wicked to the Core, the second entry in the company’s Villainous series where players get to slip into the skins of their favorite Disney bad guys and gals — think characters like Dr. Facilier from The Princess & the Frog and Snow White‘s Evil Queen. Then compete in a head-to-head fight for who gets to accomplish their evil plan first. Meanwhile, those who have matriculated into Hogwarts can explore the twisty corridors of that hallowed, haunted institution in a Harry Potter-themed version of the classic ’80s game. Expecto labyrinthium!
Villainous: Wicked to the Core is available to purchase on Target and Harry Potter Labyrinth is available on Amazon.
WATCH IT: Creed II
Ryan Coogler’s 2015 hit, Creed, boldly revitalized and reinvented the dormant Rocky franchise that Sylvester Stallone oversaw from 1976 to 2006. With Coogler’s departure for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Stallone took a more active role in Creed II and the result is a film that’s more of a Rocky sequel than aCreed sequel. The good news is that it’s an exceptionally good Rocky sequel, one that casts franchise favorites like Dolph Lundgren’s Ivan Drago in a dramatic new light, and stages some brutal in-ring bouts. But none of that is at the expense of the film’s central couple: Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson. This may be Balboa blasphemy but we gotta say it: Adonis and Bianca > Rocky and Adrian.
Creed II is available to purchase on 4K, Blu-ray and DVD on Amazon, Target and Walmart.
READ IT: Shazam!: The Golden Age of the World’s Mightiest Mortal
While Marvel’s Captain Marvel is rightfully getting attention this week, DC’s Captain Marvel is waiting for his moment in the spotlight with Shazam! While we count down the days until the April release, now’s a good time to see what once made the World’s Mightiest Mortal the most popular superhero of in his 1940s heyday. This volume features a cornucopia of collectibles, from decoder to toys to games, all lovingly curated by writer/designer Chip Kidd and photographer Geoff Spear.
Shazam!: The Golden Age of the World’s Mightiest Mortal is available to purchase in hardcover and paperback on Amazon.
HEAR IT: Foals, Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part 1
The Oxford math-rock titans and festival favorites, one of the greatest bands to emerge from Great Britain in the past 15 years, return with the insistent angular jangle of the dance-punk partystarter “On the Luna” and the dreamy space-rock of “Sunday.” It’s Yannis Philippakis and company’s first album in four years, but here’s some good news for impatient Foals fans: A Part 2 companion LP is expected to come out this fall.
Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part 1 is available to purchase on CD/vinyl ohn Amazon or download it on iTunes.
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