ET Obsessions: ‘Blade Runner 2049,’ Cardi B, 'The Good Place' and More!

ET Obsessions 1002
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Here’s what ET is obsessing over this week!

Here at ET, we’re obsessed with a lot of things -- and this is what we’re most excited about this week:

Why We’re Obsessed With Cardi B

The odds of relative newcomer Cardi B dethroning Taylor Swift’s pop juggernaut, “Look What You Made Me Do,” from the top of the Billboard Hot 100 seemed stacked against her. And yet, as fate would have it, the New York rapper’s infectious debut single, “Bodak Yellow,” has finally landed at No. 1, making the 24-year-old the first solo female hip-hop artist to top the chart since Lauryn Hill in 1998 with “Doo Wop (That Thing).” Her quick ascent is especially impressive considering Cardi has never had a chart presence before “Bodak Yellow.” Now, all eyes are on the former Love & Hip Hop: New York star as fellow artists, including Swift herself, Nicki Minaj and Missy Elliott, have all shown support. But more than anything, it’s hard to ignore just how friggin’ catchy the song is!

“Bodak Yellow” is out now. 

Why We’re Obsessed With ‘All the Dirty Parts’ by Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket)

Daniel Handler has sold more than 60 million books, inspired a movie starring Jim Carrey and a Netflix show with Neil Patrick Harris -- but what the pseudonymous author of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events most wanted to do next was go back to a different kind of youthful inspiration: sex. All the Dirty Parts, a spare, slim novel about 17-year-old Cole that reads at times like Tumblr posts, is exactly what it says on the box. It's an R-rated recounting, usually with minimal emotion, of a young man's sexual adventures with his classmates. “You don’t see a lot of books where young people are having sex and feeling for the most part pretty good about it. And of course, people hurt each other and there’s a lot of bad behavior, and I didn’t want to gloss over any of that,” Handler explains to ET. “But the narrative is instead about desire and relationships and how it actually works in real life.”

All the Dirty Parts is out now.

Why We're Obsessed With ‘The Good Place’

After a shocking and game-changing first season finale (SPOILERS) revealing that the so-called “good place” was actually “the bad place,” how the fork could The Good Place keep going? Well, three episodes into the second season, the afterlife-based comedy has essentially rebooted itself and added new layers far beyond its initial premise. Kristen Bell is hilarious as the selfish but trying to do better Eleanor. And Ted Danson’s fussy neighborhood architect, Michael, is delightful as he tries and fails to design subtle tortures for the residents of the fake good place. We know they can figure out Michael’s plans, but can Eleanor and the gang ever escape the bad place? Will we ever get to see the actual good place? One thing’s for sure -- we’re hooked on diving deeper into this strange and silly world. 

The Good Place airs Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC. 

 Why We’re Obsessed With ‘Blade Runner 2049’

Was anyone really clamoring for a sequel to Blade Runner? It tanked at the box office upon its release in 1982, but became a cult classic through re-releases and re-cuts and the increasing fame of star Harrison Ford and director Ridley Scott. But in Hollywood's current franchise-obsessed (see what we did there?) business model, Blade Runner 2049 was born. And it is an astonishing film, gorgeously shot by cinematographer Roger Deakins, who should finally -- after 12 nominations -- win an Oscar. Speaking of Oscar? Harrison Ford. Ryan Gosling is fantastic as the movie's slow-burning main character, but it's Ford that delivers the unexpected emotional wallop which should give him his first golden guy ever.

For director Denis Villeneuve, the new movie continues a critically acclaimed streak that started in 2015 with Sicario and followed by Arrival. To celebrate, the filmmaker has teamed up with Johnnie Walker, which Ford’s character drinks again in the movie, for a limited edition of Black Label The Director’s Cut.

Blade Runner 2049 is in theaters Oct. 6.

Why We’re Obsessed With ‘Star Wars’ in Concert

The Star Wars film franchise comes to life in a new concert series by the New York Philharmonic. Conducted by David Newman, the symphony orchestra performs John Williams’ iconic score live to the four films, including Return of the Jedi on Oct. 4 and 5 and The Force Awakens on Oct. 6 and 7 at Lincoln Center in New York City. And the experience does not disappoint! The orchestration heightens the score’s role in the telling of these stories about a galaxy far, far away. “[The franchise] doesn’t have the same punch at all without the music. It was made to have music like this,” Newman told The New York Times. Attendees also get to participate in a fan experience that includes meet and greets with the film’s various characters and an opportunity to show off their own costumes and lightsaber skills.

Star Wars Film Concert Series is now playing at Lincoln Center – David Geffen Hall.

--Additional writing and reporting by Anne Donahue, Denny Directo, Elizabeth Stanton and Shana Krochmal