Monday Musings: My Favorite Tarantino Films, Jane Goodall, and Drinking To New Heitz

It’s a McRoyale With Cheese Kinda Monday

TV 📺 Quote of the Week - Ted Lasso ⚽️

Rebecca: What’s the opposite of “Sweet Talk”? 🍭

Keeley: “Sour Yell”?

(p.s. episode 2 of Ted Lasso’s new season was 🥰 )

Happy Monday! It was a busy weekend for TV premieres, but just wait until you see April’s lineup (make sure you check your inbox for the April Binge Calendar coming at you April 1). I watched some pretty interesting series AND had a really great bottle of wine over the weekend to break up all the writing deadlines I had. 

Here’s what I’m musing about this Monday….

I love everything about Jane Goodall, the global activist who advocated for human and animal rights as well as taking action towards the climate crisis. There is a great documentary streaming on Disney+ simply titled “Jane” that features over 100 hours of never-before-seen footage from the NatGeo archives highlighting her work studying chimpanzees in the wild. She is in the news again this week as a new children’s series also titled “Jane” is coming to Apple TV+ inspired by Goodall. Viewers will follow Jane Garcia, a 10 year-old girl and her loyal teammates as they work to protect an endangered animal via a mission in each episode. Leona Lewis and songwriter Diane Warren have released a new song for the series that you can sample below. The series premieres April 14 on Apple TV+. 

Happy Birthday Quentin Tarantino 🥳

Tarantino was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and moved with his mother to Torrance, CA when he was just four years old. His first film Reservoir Dogs which he wrote and directed screened at the Sundance Film Festival in 1992. Two years later he followed with the another cult classic, Pulp Fiction which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. He won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for that film. 

My Top 5 Tarantino Films 

1. True Romance (screenplay only) - stream on Pluto TV

2. Jackie Brown - rent or buy on Apple TV+ or Amazon Prime 

3. Kill Bill - - rent or buy on Apple TV+ or Amazon Prime 

4. Natural Born Killers (screenplay only) - rent or buy on Apple TV+ or Amazon Prime 

5. Inglourious Basterds - stream on Hulu

Gwyneth Lost A Half Day Of Skiing! 

You literally can’t make up this meme-like courtroom drama unfolding at Gwyneth Paltrow’s ski accident trial. Somebody put this girl on The Real Housewives! While she is getting roasted for her comment about losing a half day of skiing (insert face palm here), I’m not gonna comment. I’ve been a Goop subscriber since day one (just a reader, didn’t buy the vagina candle) and honestly she appears in two of my favorite movies of all time — Sliding Doors (currently streaming on HBO Max) and The Royal Tenenbaums (available to buy or rent). I mean, wouldn’t Margot Tenenbaum say exactly the same thing?

My Thoughts On The Weekend Premieres

I didn’t get to everything, but I have good news to report…

• The Night Agent (Netflix) surprisingly good as my expectations were in the basement (lol IYKYK). I binged the whole series in two days

• Rabbit Hole (Paramount+) interesting concept, lots of twists, will keep watching

• Succession (HBO Max) the writing is still solid, the Roy kids are getting on my first nerve, but Logan keeps everything grounded. 

• Yellowjackets (Showtime) I love the vibe of this show, definitely a set-up episode for more to come, but the ear at the end… 😳 😱

5 Fun Facts About Melanie Lynskey (star of Yellowjackets)

1. Gave Kate Winslet her first on-screen kiss in 1994’s Heavenly Creatures

2. Appeared opposite Drew Barrymore in the Cinderella-inspired film Ever After in 1998

3. She is married to Jason Ritter (son of Three’s Company John Ritter) and was formerly married to Jimmi Simpson of Westworld fame 

4. Was born in New Zealand, but her last name Lynskey is Irish 

5. Was considered for Cameron Diaz’ part in Scorsese’s Gangs of New York

Weekend Sips: 2017 Heitz Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 

This wine is one that you close your eyes when you take the first sip. It’s elegant and soft and feels like a warm pile of fuzzy blankets over you. You can taste all the wild fruits — raspberries, strawberries, and red currant. Just a pinch of cedar and leather with aromas of sandalwood and tea. It’s perfect to drink now after aging over four years in a French oak barrel.