Looking for some stuff to point your eyes at this weekend? Whether it’s the best Netflix movies and shows to watch when you’re stoned, or simply movies that pass the Bechdel test—VICE has you covered when it comes to TV, movies, and books, the best music to listen to, and the best art events happening across the US. We’ve also got the only 2018 Oscar predictions that matter. Read on for our staff recommendations on what to take in during your downtime:
The Oscars 2018
Remember La La Land? Ha ha. I hope you enjoyed that little gaffe at the end of last year’s Oscars, because they’re going to beat us to fucking death with it during this year’s 17-hour ceremony. I’m going to be real with all of you, because I’m nothing but real—if you watch the Oscars this year expecting some gracious and insightful expression of humanity following the torment of shit that Hollywood and the world at large has been soaked in over the last 12 months, you’re a fucking idiot. Hollywood is frivolous, just like entertainment at large—is there anything more inherently immoral than billions of dollars being directed to the pockets of various conglomerates and disgusting moguls when that money could be used to, oh, I don’t know, feed people? Anyway, I hope Phantom Thread wins. Have fun! —Larry Fitzmaurice, Senior Culture Editor, Digital
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Mind Game
“Paprika meets FLCL” is an absurd way to describe anything, but if there’s one thing Masaaki Yuasa’s debut animated feature isn’t, it’s sobering. This weekend at Metrograph, take a psycho-psychedelic trip inside the mind of the anime auteur who just might be the closest we get to the late Satoshi Kon. Just don’t expect to come out on the other side unscathed. —Emerson Rosenthal
Sex Workers’ Festival of Resistance
This Sunday, MoMA PS1 is taking a stand for sex workers by hosting a day-long gathering where advocacy groups, sex workers, allies, and their guests will debate, perform, strategize and share knowledge around the vital human rights concern. The event comes at a timely moment when sex workers around the country are organizing to protest their marginalized existence within the workforce. Panels addressing human trafficking and diversity in the sex industry are planned for the day—one of the guest speakers is Gizelle Marie, lead organizer of the NYC Stripper Strike. All in all, the event will be a fascinating opportunity to share ideas and perspective, as sex workers from all backgrounds gather to discuss their desire to live and work free of stigmas and criminalization. Sunday, March 4, 2:00–6:00 PM at MoMA PS1. Tickets are $15* ($13 for MoMA Members). —Kara Weisenstein
*If you identify as part of the sex worker community and the ticket cost is a barrier to your participation, please email guestlist_ps1@moma.org to request access. All requests will be treated as confidential.
Stop Making Sense
It’s been nearly 34 years since Jonathan Demme’s concert film for the Talking Heads came out, and there’s still nothing quite like it. Lately it’s been on my mind because David Byrne has an album out next week (American Utopia, out March 9th). The film is timeless, Byrne strutting on stage like a bird draped in a big, boxy suit, giving the kind of otherworldly performance that feels strikingly out of place having come out of the MTV era. But the Talking Heads have always been a contradiction; clean-cut hippies balancing choreographed whimsy against capitalist-critiquing anxiety. Do yourself a favor and watch this again on Amazon, iTunes, or YouTube this weekend. —Patrick Adcroft, Writer/Copy Editor, Snapchat Discover
Sanrio Boys
Sanrio Boys is an anime made by Sanrio about boys who love to buy Sanrio products. The first couple of episodes tell the story of Kouta, a teen who is depressed because he doesn’t feel he can come out of the closet as a fan of the Sanrio character Pompompurin. It’s not until he goes to the Sanrio Store and spends a bunch of money on Sanrio goods that he finally finds happiness. In any other show, this would be a metaphor for coming out of the closet or being true to yourself or something. In this case, the moral seems to literally be that buying Sanrio products will make you happy.
I started watching the show to make fun of it, because an entire anime devoted to transparently shilling Sanrio crap seemed too dumb to be real. But now, eight episodes in, I’m completely emotionally invested and have made multiple trips to the LA Sanrio Store myself. So joke’s on me, I guess. —Jamie Lee Curtis Taete, Executive West Coast Editor
The Most Disturbing Painting Ever?
Everyone has a piece of art that goes too far, from Andres Serrano’s Piss Christ to Hermann Nitsch’s blood rituals. Video essayist Nerdwriter1 makes an eerie case for Francisco Goya’s most haunting work from the Black Paintings he devoted his final years to: Saturn Devouring His Son. Mixed with fascinating historical context are the little flourishes that make Nerdwriter1’s essays great, like a sound bed overlaid with quiet, persistent chomping. It’s a great way to learn about one of the greatest Spanish artists pre-Picasso, and a reminder of how people got their horror fixes before being able to binge-watch eight Saw movies. —Beckett Mufson, Staff Writer
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