Not sure what to watch? He're our weekly recap of what we streamed! PLUS whitch Bijou Candle we burned while watching!
1. Love Lies Bleeding on Amazon
OK this one was HIGHLY anticipated for us. Especially during lesbian visibility month HELLO! Us candle lesbians, we love K. Stew. As millennials who severely experienced the Twilight craze of the 2000s (which so conveniently coincided with the Indie Sleaze of it all), we are truly so proud of our girl Kristen. To make it through something like playing Bella Twilight at the peak of hetero awkwardness is just something I don’t know if I could personally overcome, but she did! She could’ve just stopped at Panic Room, but she kept giving! And I don’t care what anyone says, I liked that Charlie’s Angels reboot and that accompanying song where Lana Del Rey has the most ill-fitting bridge (but still works somehow!) And not only do we get what feels like a fully realized K. Stew, we ALSO get the fresh face that is Katy O’Brian, who plays incredibly jacked bodybuilder, Jackie. Basically what happens is (without giving anything away) it’s the 80s and Lou (K. Stew) is a lonely gym manager who encounters Jackie, a bodybuilder making her way to Las Vegas to compete for the first time. They fall for each other, Lou gets Jackie on the juice, some stuff happens, and Lou’s criminal mob boss father (perfectly played by Ed Harris in some Dungarees) gets involved. It’s a roller coaster, and a very entertaining one. I absolutely loved this movie. It perfectly captures the 80s, which is something I feel like media is having a hard time doing, and the acting and storytelling is just phenomenal. Absolutely JAZZED for Kristen and her mullet!
Candle Pairing: Pair with the Patti • Warm Leatherette Candle
2. Taking Lives on Amazon
I was pretty shocked when I realized we never saw this one. It came out the year we graduated high school (2004), so I’m sure we were a little distracted (tbh I kind of recall seeing the trailer for this and thinking it was too scary. I was just a baby!). Oh and also, I thought this was The Bone Collector, another movie that came out in 1999 starring Angelina Jolie where she plays an FBI agent searching for a serial killer, so pardon me if I got my Angie FBI serial killer movies mixed up. Anyway we watched it and a big LOL. This is the premise, copied and pasted from the internet: An insidious serial killer is impersonating his victims' identities as he travels across Canada. A recent spate of murders in Montreal has brought FBI Agent Illeana Scott (Angelina Jolie) north to investigate. Scott's unusual methods quickly earn the suspicion of the local police but bring her close to art dealer James Costa (Ethan Hawke), who says he was an eyewitness to the latest murder. Sparks develop between the two as Costa's role becomes crucial in their effort to apprehend the killer. Simple enough, but boy do things just go off the rails. And I can’t help but feel like every time Angie plays a cop it’s kind of camp. Like, we’re all supposed to just believe that this insanely beautiful, otherworldly creature just came out of Quantico? If I called the police and ANGELINA JOLIE showed up, I’d be EXTREMELY confused and flustered. So just seeing her stomp around Montréal being all like “DROP THE WEAPON!” is hilarious to me. Decent overall, just not as good as SALT.
Candle Pairing: Pair with the Phoebe • Smoky Quartz Candle
3. Mr. Monk's Last Case on Peacock
OK this is probably my fault but not one person told me to watch Monk and I AM LIVID. How could y’all let me sleep on ADRIAN MONK??? I’ve obviously heard of the show, and I’m aware of the famous OCD having detective (and the ironic fact that the show's 8 seasons of DVDs do not line up perfectly) but I didn’t know that this show would feel like a combination heated AND weighted blanket. Even the little music that plays in the opening is literally the same music they use on Paris Bistro Cooking on RecipeTV. So we actually watched the Monk Movie before I watched any actual episodes of the show - and I’m just hooked! I love this stuff! I feel so seen by this guy! And also by Sharona aka Stillwell’s mom in A League of Their Own (there’s no crying in baseball!) It’s like Murder, She Wrote meets Curb Your Enthusiasm. What’s not to like!
Candle Pairing: Pair with the Romy • French Vanilla Fantasy Candle
