The Summer Lifestyle: Binge-Watching

It’s August, and what I like to call the “pit” of the summer. Because there’s an odd balance of having too much to do, and too little to do at the same time. And in that time where you feel like you have nothing to do, what’s the best thing you can do? That’s right, it’s binge-watching season lol.

I’m sure you already have some shows/movies you’re going to binge-watch, but let me introduce a few more to you incase you haven’t heard of them. Some you can find on Netflix and others you’ll have to catch on TV or elsewhere…. I’m a little picky with what I watch so it might be limited compared to other suggestions. I’ll also put the trailers of the show/movie so you can see what it’s plotline is like.

This is the TV show remake of the Mortal Instruments book series by Cassandra Clare, I never really got into it as much as I loved the movie (odd I know). But it was widely loved by viewers, and if I’m not mistaken, the show was just finished sometime this year. I recommend watching the first episode before making your decision to skip it or continue watching.

The TV series not the movie, though I thought the movie was pretty good. I started Van Helsing when it first came out on Netflix I think 2-3 years ago, it was the ‘different’ vampire movie compared to others on the market and that’s why I loved it. I stopped watching it to complete my 11th and 12th grade without any distractions, but I might start back up again.

Zoombies also recently got a sequel this year, and like most movies the first was much better. Zoombies is one of those zombie-genre movies that’s so bad, it’s good. It takes place in a zoo, and the sequel adds some background info as to how the virus started. I recommend watching the first 10-15 minutes before making your decision, and be warned that there will be gore because it is a zombie-genre movie after all.

I saw a trailer for Kingdom sometime during the school year and I mourned my choice to not have a Netflix subscription during that time. I think it’s supposed to be the prequel to Train to Busan, which is a very successful South Korean zombie movie. However, Kingdom takes place in the era when there were still Kings and Queens ruling, horse drawn carts and palaces. It makes for a very interesting contrast to the modern movie, and it’s a must watch for this summer if you haven’t seen it.

If you’re going to watch the prequel, you may as well watch Train to Busan as well. There’s honestly nothing left for me to say because it’s a pretty good movie and a good change to the western zombie movies, which usually feature stupid decisions or unnecessary drama in my opinion. Then again, I can be pretty picky with what I watch.

Breaking the chain of zombie-genre recommendations, Zoo is also a show you should give a try. It starts off pretty strong, and then has short little cool-off periods where it focuses more on human drama more than the “race against time” part. It’s not really for everyone, but if you find that you’re interested after watching the first episode, keep up with the show because it’s good.

You can’t really tell right away, but I have a love-hate thing with B-rated movies because as I said before some are so bad it’s good. In my opinion, the Lake Placid film series was really good because it diverted from the usual creature-feature flicks about crocodiles/alligators. There are 6 films in the series, the most recent one being released in 2018 and the original in 1999. To be honest, the first 3 were the best, and the last 3 were just okay but leaned more toward what a classic B-rated movie would entail. Though if you were to watch any of the movies, use caution because there is some nudity in a few of the films.

This is another B-rated film that I normally wouldn’t have watched but I had exhausted all my options for aquatic monster movies, it’s literally a classic B-rated film but what made it good was the whole plot for the Piranhas. I think it’s also a loose remake of the older Piranha movie series, and both are good so if you’ve got time, try both. Another warning is needed though because both of the modern Piranha movies have nudity.

I would be living under a rock to not mention this, GoT ended earlier this year so now it’s the best time to catch up with all the episodes. I never really got into the show, so I saw re-caps and  eventually skipped to the end. But if you like the show, by all means watch the rest of it before someone accidentally spoils it because there are so many articles out there talking about the ending.

That’s all of the shows and movies that I would currently recommend to pass by your August. I hope you find something that piques your interest and let me know in the comments below what you ended up choosing or hating.