Hot Takes: Lizzo, The good Place, Pleasuredome and more

The Good Place. Photo / Netflix

BINGE

The Good Place has finally landed on Netflix and let me tell you it is well worth the hype you've been hearing. Kristen Bell plays Eleanor in this super witty and hilarious show about the afterlife, in which she arrives in "the good place" and is immediately forced to hide the fact that she is not supposed to be there, while chaos erupts as a result of her presence. Bell is hilarious as always, and the commentary on good and bad is actually really insightful, even when there are giant shrimp flying through the sky and literal trash storms.

EXPERIENCE

If you get a chance, go and see Pleasuredome. The new musical live show opened in Auckland last week and it's an experience like no other. You enter via a purpose-built New York street full of performers, a fully functioning bar, hot dog stands and even a doughnut shop. The show will not be for everyone; it's a musical which draws heavily on 80s and queer culture, but if that sounds like a bit of you, it will blow your mind. I honestly can't remember having ever been that into a show before. It's on till November 5, look it up and head along.

WATCH

Blade Runner 2049 opens today and from what I've heard, it's a must-see. The reboot of the 80s classic stars Ryan Gosling as a young blade runner who tracks down the OG, Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard, for an epic action adventure. It opened to rave reviews from critics saying it's even better than the original and makes the latest Star Wars film look like a Lego movie. And we all know how often people praise a reboot more than an original - i.e. never - so this definitely bodes well, especially as the original was widely regarded as one of the best sci-fi movies ever.

LISTEN

Lizzo is my new hero. Not only does this girl make killer music - her own sassy brand of pop-drenched hip-hop - she's a rapper, a singer, an activist and a plus-size mega-babe who talks about her size in ways that are never self-deprecating but take ownership instead with lines like "I'm just as thick as my skin is" and "I packed you up for lunch and I ate you, you were scrumptious...Lizzo be eating though, Lizzo be hungry." She is constantly feeling herself, dealing with the haters and speaking the truth. That, and the music is just fun to jam to.