Hazel & Katniss & Harry & Starr

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XOXO: Gossip Girl S02E10 (2023) Feb 09, 2023

Show notes

It's the end of the road for HBO Max's Gossip Girl revamp, so expect plenty of sighs and complaints as Jenny, Ari and Joe say goodbye.

First we tackle the satisfying lock-up of Kate and the nonsensical Met Gala plot before moving onto the Gossip Girl-free Roman vacation. Joe likes this version of the show, while Ari and Jenny are tempted by the Roger Menzies/app tease and the mysterious stranger that would have driven S03.

Sadly it's the end of the show, but we've still got fan fiction!

Reference: Andy Swift. "Gossip Girl EP Answers Our Burning Series Finale Questions, Reveals What Would Have Happened in Season 3" TV Line

Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:

> Ari: @TheAriDrew

> Jenny: @jennyleighx33

> Joe: @bstolemyremote

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Feb 07, 2023

Show notes

Listener Max is taking Brenna far outside of her comfort zone as we discuss Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2016)by James Tynion IV and Freddie Williams II, as well the 2019 animated film Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles by Jake Castorena.

We're talking properties with plenty of lore, different art styles and mostly similar plots, but the comic feels stuffed and overly adult compared to the film, which has a better handle on its comedy and youth appeal. We may not know how to pronounce Ra's al Ghul, but we know which text we prefer!

Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:

> Brenna: @brennacgray

> Joe: @bstolemyremote

Have something longer to say about last week's episode or a comment about Own Voices Book Club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:

> Feb 17: A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey (2019)

> Mar 16: Apple: Skin to the Core by Eric Gansworth (2020)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

XOXO: Gossip Girl S02E09 (2023) Feb 02, 2023

Show notes

Jenny, Ari and Joe are back to unpack the penultimate episode of HBO Max's Gossip Girl and even though we know the show has been cancelled, we're still worried about the throuple!

Plus: surprises aplenty at an event we don't fully understand, a pair of strategically framed sequences and we're suddenly interested in the Obie storyline?!

Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:

> Ari: @TheAriDrew

> Jenny: @jennyleighx33

> Joe: @bstolemyremote

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

All American Boys (Banned Book 10) Jan 31, 2023

Show notes

Banned Book Club comes to an end with Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely's All American Boys (2015), a book about racialized police violence from two different perspectives and featuring contributions from listeners Victoria, Miriam and Tea, Books and Chocolate.

This (maybe Middle Grade?) book is one of the most challenged books in America, and still feels too timely and relevant. Brenna and Joe talk about Reynolds' writing, why we're attracted to Quinn's portion, and praise the lack of tidy resolution while pondering why there's no movie.

Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:

> Brenna: @brennacgray

> Joe: @bstolemyremote

Have something longer to say or a comment about Own Voices Book Club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:

> Feb 17: A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey (2019)

> Mar 16: Apple: Skin to the Core by Eric Gansworth (2020)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

XOXO: Gossip Girl S02E08 (2023) Jan 26, 2023

Show notes

Jenny, Ari and Joe are delighted that Gossip Girl FINALLY gives Luna her own episode (and shitty parent, natch). It's time for the Tribeca Film Festival and Audrey, Max and Julien are making big moves, but it's Aki and Julien who are paying the price.

Plus: more shitty parents, Jenny's cruel streak, Andrew's appreciation that Julien isn't off the hook, and predictions of a European vacation.

Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:

> Ari: @TheAriDrew

> Jenny: @jennyleighx33

> Joe: @bstolemyremote

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adventures in Babysitting (1987) Jan 24, 2023

Show notes

Grab your Playboy because Brenna and Joe are headed into the big scary city with Chris Columbus' 1987 feature directorial debut, Adventures in Babysitting.

Brenna calls this a romp and it's true: the children-in-peril comedy starring Elizabeth Shue and an annoying Anthony Rapp is delightful, though we still have plenty to contextualize in its suburban fears, its racialized fears and why doesn't Disney consider unhoused people a talking point?

Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:

> Brenna: @brennacgray

> Joe: @bstolemyremote

Have something longer to say or a comment about banned book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

XOXO: Gossip Girl S02E07 (2023) Jan 19, 2023

Show notes

Welcome back listeners. This week Jenny, Joe and Ari are divided as Georgina Sparks' two episode run comes to an end, Kate executes an odd plan and the De Haans are back to their dastardly plans.

Plus: More Wendy! Audrey vs Julien! And are we setting up Obie's storyline as the end of season arc?

Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:

> Ari: @TheAriDrew

> Jenny: @jennyleighx33

> Joe: @bstolemyremote

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rhymes for Young Ghouls (2013) Jan 17, 2023

Show notes

We're celebrating the late great Indigenous filmmaker Jeff Barnaby with a look at 2013's Rhymes for Young Ghouls. C/W: infanticide, suicide, drug abuse, threat of sexual assault, residential schools (basically everything).

This is a rough text, but Barnaby's tale of Indigenous vengeance against colonial oppressors is also extremely cathartic. Plus: The Aila Test, a brief history of residential schools, how the film uses genre to disarm white audiences, and debate about whether the end of the film is "happy"

References:

> Ali Nahdee. “The Ali Nahdee Test”

> Taylor Sanchez Guzman. “Moving with the Dead” in Rhymes for Young Ghouls. Cleo Journal

Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:

> Brenna: @brennacgray

> Joe: @bstolemyremote

Have something longer to say or a comment about banned book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

XOXO: Gossip Girl S02E06 (2022) Jan 12, 2023

Show notes

Georgina Sparks is back, and Ari, Jenny and Joe couldn't be more excited! This wild energy is exactly what Gossip Girl needs, particularly when we're still juggling snoozy storylines like Julien sleeping with a maybe married man (eyeroll), Zoya's sex tape blackmail and Obie's...who could care?

Thankfully we're seeing glimmers of hope (a Zoya/Monet team up?). Plus there's clearly more Georgina to come!

Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:

> Ari: @TheAriDrew

> Jenny: @jennyleighx33

> Joe: @bstolemyremote

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

XOXO: Gossip Girl S02E05 (2022) Jan 05, 2023

Show notes

Welcome back listeners. We've hit the snoozy halfway point of S02 of HBO Max's revamped Gossip Girl...but "Games, Trains, and Automobiles" is a bore.

From Julien's affair with a clearly married man to Shan's out of character behavior to our fears that the throuple is breaking up, Ari, Jenny and Joe don't find a lot to love in this Spring Break episode. Plus: we don't care that Obie's mom is back, Jordan needs to get over Kate and WHERE IS GEORGINA?!

Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:

> Ari: @TheAriDrew

> Jenny: @jennyleighx33

> Joe: @bstolemyremote

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.