The Brunch round-up for October 17: The week and how it made us feel

A fifth adaptation of Stephen King’s Carrie (the first TV series) is here. It’s blood-splashingly good. The bullying plays out on Insta, Carrie gets a homeschool backstory to make high-school life seem tougher. Just one complaint: Why does Carrie get skinnier and prettier in every adap? King wrote her as fat and acne-ridden. Even telekinesis can’t fix that.

Someone check on Vogue Beauty. Their manicure trends are worrying. One article is advising us to wear nail polish that doesn’t look like we’re wearing any nail polish at all. Another suggests deliberately smudging the colour because the messy look is in. Prank? Trolling? Or is an intern at the wheel?

What was that joke about lady drivers again? Actually, save it, because women are killing it in the fastest sport on Earth. Top Fuel drag racing lasts four seconds, and cars go as fast as 483kmph. That’s faster than F1. Women have won seven out of the past nine European Championships. Another stereotype got run over.

Zendaya walked the red carpet so Alexander Skarsgård could run. The actor is promoting Wicker, in which he plays a sexy straw man, and his press-tour wardrobe is bomb. He kicked things off in a gold suit and sheer lace shoes. In the past, he’s also given us glittery sleeveless tops, thigh-high boots and teeny-tiny shorts. What’s next, Alexander?

Wikipedia posted a cutesy illustration on Insta of Meghalaya women on the state’s living root bridges – and got called out immediately. Locals asked why the women’s saris were not in the tribal Khasi or Jaintia drapes. Wiki essentially said “My bad”, and is updating the visual. We’re still waiting on those fits.

Two blockbuster clashes are headed our way next month – The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping and Percy Jackson and the Olympians. And Dunesday is coming for us all on December 18, with Avengers: Doomsday and Dune 3 releasing on the same day. The combo-costume ideas will be insane. We’re watching.

Put your high score away. Bihar’s 19-year-old Shubham Kumar has entered the International Book of Records for reaching level 22,222 on Candy Crush. He’s ventured into parts of the game unknown to mankind. He’s seen more candy than Willy Wonka. He’s our hero.

High School Musical is 20 years old now. So, it’s roughly as old to Gen Zs as Grease was to their parents in 1998. Both smash-hit musicals. Both more camp than Christmas. It’s hard to make high-school movies with a goofy, unserious vibe today. So, there won’t be a similar movie that kids will worship 20 years on. Filmmakers, you better shape up, up, up…