Culture Hound

The best movies, TV, books and music for April

By The Editors
April 2, 2018 9:00 am

Welcome to Culture Hound, InsideHook’s deep dive into the month’s most important cultural happenings, pop and otherwise.


WATCH: The House of Tomorrow
An unusual dramedy involving geodesic dome homes, the teachings of futurist Buckminster Fuller and the joys of punk rock. Add in a cast that includes Ellen Burstyn, Fred Armisen, Asa Butterfield and Nick Offerman, and you’ve got the most interesting coming-of-age tale in years. (April 27)

READ: Hooligan: A Novel
An award-winner in Germany, Philipp Winkler’s debut novel (now translated) focuses on a soccer hooligan from the wrong side of the tracks who stages organized brawls with other fans. A footy take on Fight Club, with socioeconomic overtones. (April 3)

PERUSE: Normal Magazine
A high-end quarterly glossy devoted to artsy photography and tasteful nudes. The just-released Issue 10 (with Cara Delevingne on the cover) focuses on cinematography and features erotic stills taken by David Lynch.

EXPERIENCE: Soul Diesel Volume 2
This groovy Record Store Day release features soul-jazz deep cuts from Billy Butler, Melvin Sparks, Gene Ammons, Grover Washington Jr., Merl Saunders, Bernard Purdie, Rusty Bryant, Cal Tjader and Idris Muhammad, pressed on 180-gram hot orange opaque swirl vinyl. Yes, you’re supposed to smoke to this — the previous volume in this series was intentionally compiled to complement the effects of different cannabis strains. (April 21)

WATCH: Killing Eve
Fleabag was the best comedy of 2016 (seriously, go stream it on Amazon Prime). Now, that show’s creator (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) shifts gears to action: Eve is a “cat-and-mouse thriller” featuring a standoff between a bored psychopathic assassin and an overmatched MI5 desk jockey. (BBC America, April 8)

LISTEN: InsideHook’s Spotify playlist
Our ongoing playlist of new music, highlighted by new songs from Leon Bridges, Matt & Kim, Twin Shadow, CHVRCHES, Dr. Octagon and more.

And don’t forget … Tracy Morgan returns to TV in The Last OG, a new comedy co-created by Jordan Peele (April 3, TBS) … Did you know there was an Avengers sequel? They should advertise that more (April 27) … Al Pacino channels the complicated legacy of Penn State’s iconic coach in Paterno (April 7, HBO) …. Wyatt Cenac is the latest ex-Daily Show correspondent to get his own political show (April 13, HBO) … James Comey wrote a book (A Higher Loyalty). Wonder if he’s got anything to say? (April 17) … The nearly-wordless A Quiet Place might be the creepiest film of the year (April 6) … Best golf film ever? Best Bill Murray film ever? Your answer probably lies in Caddyshack: The Making of a Hollywood Cinderella Story (April 24) … And finally, the welcome return of the wonderfully bizarre Legion (April 3), as well as Westworld (April 22), Brockmire (April 25), Archer (April 25) and The Handmaid’s Tale (April 25).

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