What We Watched 4/8 📼

Not sure what to watch? He're our weekly recap of what we streamed! PLUS whitch Bijou Candle we burned while watching!

1. Ripley on Netflix

Oh Andrew Scott Andrew Scott Andrew Scott - yes, the hot priest from Fleabag. He’s just so good, and Ripley is no exception. This 8 episode miniseries tells the story of of fictional con artist Tom Ripley (created by author Patricia Highsmith), the same Tom Ripley played by Matt Damon in the 1999 sartorial classic, “The Talented Mr. Ripley.” And boy is it a good one! This Tom Ripley character plays it EXTREMELY fast and loose, so this miniseries will have you on the edge of your seat the entire time. The show was shot in black and white - the first adaptation of Highsmith’s story to do so - and I found it to be a particularly interesting choice. The story takes place mostly in Italy in some of the most beautiful locations in the world, and yet we as the viewer are forced to dull our senses. I can’t decide whether or not I appreciate this or not. Would the gorgeous Italian landscapes in color distract me from the narrative? Does the black and white play more into the feeling of the story? We’ll never know! All I do know is that the entire time, I was wishing the show was in color. It felt like a lost opportunity to me, but I can also understand the artistic choice to make it black and white. But here is what my actual point about all this is - here I am talking about color vs. black and white and not about the actual story. It was distracting! Just make it in color! We’re not voluntarily making silent films still! I dunno, it just felt lame to me. I feel like you couldn’t get the full effect of what Ripley was doing because you couldn’t feel the real vibrancy and beauty of what he was actually taking. Everything just felt flat and unimportant. Regardless, Andrew Scott is just so good. The entire time I just kept thinking “man this guy REALLY loves acting and it shows.” And it does! Whatever we don’t get from black and white, Scott makes up for with his rich and complex performance. Love that guy! Go Ireland!

Candle Pairing: Pair with the Tanya • Aegean Lemon Zest Candle

2. Apple Never Falls on Peacock

Ok what’s the saying? Something happens twice and it’s a coincidence, it happens 3 times it’s a trend? Something like that. Well I’m here to tell you about the newest trend I’m noticing, which is Saltburns. So what we have here is a new genre of poors infiltrating the unsuspecting rich and destroying them from the inside. Very fun stuff, if only it would happen IRL on a global scale. We have the previously mentioned Ripley (where Tom takes over Dickie Greenleaf's entire wealthy life) and now, Apple Never Falls. In this show, adapted from the #1 New York Times Bestseller of the same name by Liane Moriarty, author of Big Little Lies and some other fun stuff, runaway “Savannah” makes herself at home with elite tennis family The Delaneys. Who is this woman? Why is she here? Why is mom Annette Benning obsessed with her? All the Delaney kids are confused. Then the unthinkable happens and mom Annette Benning DISAPPEARS. Is husband/father/tennis couch/dinosaur enthusiast Sam Neill involved? Very intriguing stuff! This 7-episode miniseries was honestly great. I was entertained the whole time and the story wraps up in a satisfying way. Alison Brie plays a Delaney kid, and may I just say, can we all just put some respect on her name? She’s just so great and reliable, and it makes me so happy to see a woman in her 40s consistently working in Hollywood. Good for her!

Candle Pairing: Pair with the Mariah • Santal Champagne Candle

3. Lovely, Dark, and Deep on Amazon

Get your head out of the gutter, this movie is about the woods! If you’ve been reading WWW for a while, you know that our bar for watching a movie we’ve never heard of is quite low - if we have seen a single person that’s in the movie before, it gets the green light. We recognized the lead in this movie from one of our favorites from last year, Barbarian (watch it, it’s so good), so we decided to give it a shot. I’m glad we did because we liked it! In it, Georgina Campbell plays Lennon, a new back-country ranger who is basically assigned to live in the woods (already scary). People have been going missing in these woods, so Lennon, who has a mysterious backstory herself, decides to go further out into the woods to see what she can find. I’ll give you a little heads up, she doesn’t like what she finds! I really enjoyed this movie. It was thrilling, beautiful, and it RESOLVES! A horror movie with a satisfying ending is so rare that it must be celebrated every time! A good watch!

Candle Pairing: Pair with the Thomasin • Woodfire Candle