To stave off possible boredom while at home, every week Marhaba delves in to the wonderful world of popular culture to find the best new TV series, movies, books and music.

BINGE WATCH THIS:
To celebrate ‘May the 4th be with you’ this week, we recommend The Mandalorian, a fantasy-space-Western TV series created by Jon Favreau, with directors including Bryce Dallas Howard and Taika Waititi and a number of famous guest appearances. This is the first live action series in the Star Wars franchise and is set five years after Return of the Jedi and 25 years before The Force Awakens. It follows lead character Din Djarin, a lone Mandalorian bounty hunter in the outer reaches of the galaxy away from the authority of the New Republic. Djarin was rescued during the Clone Wars by the Mandalorians, a race of warriors, and is an outstanding performance by Pedro Pascal (Oberon in Game of Thrones), who with few spoken words and a permanently covered face has to rely on body language to convey emotions. The show is an all action adventure which will leave Star Wars fans nostalgic for the classic movies. Oh, and there is a cute ‘baby Yoda’ known as The Child, which is available for purchase – everything from plushies to a Star Wars-themed Monopoly. Originally aired on Disney+, The Mandalorian is now available on OSN.

GET THE POPCORN FOR THIS:

Not a sci-fi movie despite the title, Spaceship Earth is a film we can all identify with at the moment, as we are self-isolating at home. This is a documentary about an experiment in 1991 where eight people spent two years inside a vivarium, an exact replica of Earth’s ecosystem called Biosphere 2, in the Arizona desert (Biosphere 1 being Earth). The idea was to see if it is possible for humans to live on other planets. The film uses archived footage and present day interviews, and depicts how the whole project nearly fell apart. Many perceived the experiment a publicity stunt and a cult, yet it became a worldwide phenomenon and was actually a genuine insight into how humanity would need to adapt to ecological issues and climate change – themes still being discussed today. The movie comes from American film production and distribution company Neon, responsible for such recent hits as I, Tonya and Parasite. Available to watch online including on Hulu, Neon’s streaming partner (free for subscribers), and on digital platforms such as iTunes, Amazon Prime and Google Play.

 

SETTLE IN WITH A CUP OF TEA AND READ THIS:
Rodham Novel Doha Qatar MarhabaWhat would have happened if Hillary Clinton hadn’t married Bill? In Rodham: A Novel by Curtis Sittenfeld we find out, as the author rewrites history, to show how Hillary’s life would have been if she hadn’t eventually said yes to Bill’s third marriage proposal. We know what did happen: she became First Lady of the President of the United States and the country’s first female presidential candidate. The book instead tells of Hillary in 1971 staying single, following her professional and personal life and the hardships she would have faced as a woman trying to make her way in politics, not as ‘the wife of Bill’. Yet she does blaze her own trail and meets Bill again a number of times. Actual events mix expertly with fictional ones, and the book is entertaining, funny and unforgettable.

CRANK UP THE VOLUME FOR THIS:

Drake announced via social media this week the release of a mixtape – Dark Lane Demo Tapes – prior to his upcoming sixth studio album, which will arrive later in the summer. The mixtape features a number of songs that have already been released on SoundCloud and leaked on the internet, along with some new songs. It is somewhat of a departure from his usual songwriting, with more experimentation in different influences and darker, ambient sounds. This freedom has enabled Drake to try new sounds and styles which would not have been possible on a proper album. Songs include the single Toosie Slide, which reached No 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.


Author: Sarah Palmer

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