The week ahead has apparently been programmed by someone who found a Gen X entertainment drawer and dumped it onto the table. Practical Magic 2 reunites Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, a new Pulp documentary reaches cinemas for one night, and Saint Etienne begins its final U.K. tour.
The Owens women return
The original Practical Magic arrived in 1998 with witches, sisterhood, romance and a soundtrack capable of making a grocery-store aisle feel haunted. The sequel brings Bullock and Kidman back to a story whose following grew far beyond its initial theatrical reception.
Legacy sequels can be affectionate reunions or expensive séances performed over intellectual property. The returning leads give this one a chance to feel connected rather than assembled by spreadsheet.
Pulp and Saint Etienne keep the mixtape alive
Pulp: What Do You Do for an Encore? is scheduled for a one-night cinema event on September 18. Meanwhile, Saint Etienne's final U.K. tour offers fans a last live chapter after decades of elegant indie pop.
The Guardian's weekly guide also highlights new television, games and albums. The larger pattern is familiar: culture keeps rediscovering Gen X because we bought physical media, remember bridges in songs and still believe a night out should have an opening act.
Facts first. Side-eye included.
DJF separates what is confirmed from what is claimed—and tells you why this particular mess is worth your time.
Max Rewind
Gen X Files & Pop-Culture ArchaeologyMax remembers when television ended at midnight, concert tickets were affordable, and nobody called a reboot “content.” He digs through the culture we survived.
“Rewind it, verify it, and please stop remaking everything.”