Goodbye 2016, hello quality entertainment

Ysabela Golden, Reporter

2016 was no one’s favorite year (excepting maybe a few homicidal clowns), but it did do us the favor of leaving behind a pile of pretty interesting media for us to sort through in the new year. So while you’re waiting around for 2017’s summer blockbusters to finally arrive, here’s a couple picks you might have missed during The Worst Year Ever to enjoy in the meantime.

3 THINGS TO WATCH:

THE OA: This show is Inception, if Inception was dialed up to eleven, kidnapped by mad scientist with crazy interior-decorating skills, sent to a course on interpretive dancing, then hurled face-first into weird side of Michigan suburbia. By far the strangest thing Netflix has ever produced. And Netflix produced Stranger Things.

KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS: A one-eyed twelve-year-old’s quest to kill his grandfather. Before you judge, keep in mind that gramps is trying to take his other eye, and is also an all powerful god with a pretty high body count of his own. Like any movie made by Laika (see: Coraline, ParaNorman), you can expect both surprisingly child-unfriendly murder and super pretty stop-motion animation.

X-MEN: APOCALYPSE: The angriest and oldest member of the Blue Man Group learns English by watching Star Trek, gives four strangers complete makeovers, then sets out to destroy the world with the power of friendship. Unfortunately for Evil Papa Smurf, a better, larger group of friends decides that destroying the world is bad, and they evaporate him. Please watch this movie, I need to know if I hallucinated it or not.

3 THINGS TO LISTEN TO:

THE MOANA OST: Show a man Moana, and he’ll have the songs stuck in his head for a week. Give a man the Moana soundtrack, and he’ll have the songs stuck in his head for the rest of his life. And he’ll thank you for it, because those songs were written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and they’re amazing.

THE HAMILTON MIXTAPE: A compilation of songs by popular artists (such as Wiz Khalifa, Sia, and Regina Spektor) that sample or cover tracks from the hit musical Hamilton. If you liked Hamilton, this is a must. If you didn’t like Hamilton… what’s that like for you? Seriously, I’m curious.

THE ADVENTURE ZONE: TAZ is a podcast documenting the bizarre adventures of dwarven cleric Merle Highchurch, human warrior Magnus Burnsides, and elven wizard Taako Taaco. It’s also three brothers playing D&D with their dad. It’s also made me laugh so hard my brother thought I was choking to death.

3 THINGS TO READ:

STILETTO: Daniel O’Malley’s equally snarky sequel to The Rook, Stiletto is a political drama in which all the players are inhuman abominations, fighting over who is the more monstrous through a combo of snide passive aggression and straight up murdering each other. But they’re British, so they’re polite about it.

FALLEN LONDON: A darkly humorous mobile choose-your-own-adventure, play and all shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well. All shall be well and all shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well. Shall be well. Shall be well. Shall be well. Not postponed. Not in the end. Not for long.

THE UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL: Doreen Green is your average university student, except for her tangentially squirrel-related abilities (like super strength and having a tail), the fact that her life is a very snarkily narrated comic book, and how most university students don’t have the immortal devourer of worlds following them on Twitter.