Look. The fact of the matter is that if I really really like something, it sticks in my brain to the detriment of any other input that might attempt to cram itself into my head over the course of a day or week or whatever. So today's annual (or...is it?) bloggery is devoted to the things I saw this year that I really dug on the most. It might be something from last year, or even a couple-plus years ago. It might be something so I have an excuse to post up a smoky hot picture of someone. THIS BLOG IS A ROLLER COASTER. STRAP IN. I am going to BLATHER MIGHTILY TODAY.
MOVIES
This year I was gifted with something that is an action movie, a musical, a friendlove story, completely out of its mind and wildly, wildly, wildly entertaining to me:
RRR
Junior NTR (front) and Ram Charan Teja in the movie that made me so fucking happy
It's no joke to say that it's almost impossible to really explain "RRR" in a way that properly communicates to anyone why it's such a delight. You say "it's three hours long" to someone and that may be a turnoff for some people. You say "a character throws a flaming motorcycle at someone" to others and that might turn it right around into a must-see. "RRR" started getting talked up very enthusiastically on social media earlier in the year and I feared it would be something that ultimately wouldn't live up to the hype. However, for me, "RRR" made me deliriously, rapturously happy this year. My absolute favorite favorite favorite.
"Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery": Rian Johnson's follow-up to "Knives Out" is another delicious thing, a sumptuous meal of a movie that gives Daniel Craig and a terrific ensemble cast so much to chew on. Janelle Monae is an absolute standout (not only in this movie, but in general because they are so boss. Right here is a proper snack:
cribbed from Janelle's tweeters. I would be that person that sees this embrace and is, like, "let me get in on that hug!!!". You know that person. You quietly hate that person.
"Midsommar" (2019; new to me this year): let me be the 900,000th person to say "oof, you all, 'Midsommar' is fucked up" and yet...there is something appealing about living in a sun-drenched commune that seems to be built on a matriarchal hierarchy and everyone eats meals together and oh yeah, there's a bit of ritual death here and there. But that artisinal mead is delicious! In any event,
Florence Pugh is a brilliant actor and her performance in this is a gut-wrencher/a thrill as she is so. damn. good.
you fucked around and found out, crappy boyfriend - anyone got more of that mead?
Now, I genuinely do try not to talk mad shit about films and such that did not work for me. Yet I feel like I must take a moment to address Baz Luhrmann's "Elvis" because there is a Janeiverse in which I would be super into this movie. I haven't watched "Moulin Rouge" in approximately 100 years, and I'm not confident it would age well for me, but at the time? HO BOY, I loved it with every available bit of my heart. I like some brashness, some glitz, some dreamy magic in a movie. Baz loves brash and glitz, and "Elvis" is positively slathered in it. I guess where I got lost was that I wasn't quite sure why any of it was happening. Elvis Presley is like Marilyn Monroe at this point: I don't think there is much to say about either of them anymore. They have been biographied and hagiographied and pilloried so thoroughly that there isn't anything left to pick at. Baz didn't seem too interested in taking a position or making a point about Elvis except to say he existed, did some stuff, and he had one funky-ass manager:
I'm going to haunt all your dreams with my prosthetic face my boy
TELEVISION (the plug-in drug)
I looked like this in 1989/1990:
How the hell do you think I felt about Neil Gaiman's "The Sandman" on Netflix? Sweet mother of pale cheekbones, it tripped so many joyous triggers in my carcass I can't even begin to count. I've never read the comics, but I've always known about "The Sandman" somehow. It's always floated around in my gothy consciousness, and it was always described as something that could never possibly be adapted - or rather, adapted correctly. For my money, they did a bang-up job. I mean, look at this beautifulness:
Tom Sturridge and Kirby Howell-Baptiste just fucking tearing it up in black and angles and Doc Martens and silver jewelry and backcombed hair and oh my god it's wondrous
It's a wonder I haven't found myself staring into a mirror, holding a comb and a can of Aqua Net hairspray, ready to return my hair to its proper heights.
Don't think for a second that you're going to escape some spray wafting at you from the Splash Zone - of course I reveled in Marvel's "Moon Knight" on Disney+, you fools. I sighed gleefully as I sunk into that six-week long hot tub of an acting clinic put on by the endlessly impressive, boundlessly talented and almost annoyingly entrancing Oscar Isaac. Here he is being stabbed and looking a little irked about it:
*angry jaw-acting intensifies*
There were issues here and there - for one, six episodes really wasn't enough. I'm not just saying that because I'm a fat dork-ass fangirl, either. There is a LOT going on in the Moon Knightiverse (or so Wiki tells me) and the final ep felt like they were jamming 10 pounds of story into a five-pound bag. It remains unclear if there will be a second season of Moon Knightery, so it arguably ended well as a one-shot deal. But boy, that hot tub acting clinic sure is cozy.
I would be remiss if I didn't pause for the Saulse (oh god I'm so sorry) of it all as this year saw the end of the exquisite "Better Call Saul" on AMC. I was so uncertain about how on earth they were going to spin off Saul Goodman from "Breaking Bad" (note: I did not watch "Breaking Bad"), but Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould spun off a brilliant six-season tale of one man's downfall - not due to drugs, but ego, hubris, and wanting to be loved. Seriously. (At least in my opinion.) Naperville's own Bob Odenkirk showed just what a gem of an actor he is as he took Jimmy McGill on his journey from well-meaning guy with a past to the cutting, snarky shark of a lawyer sitting alone in his tacky office.
precious cargo Bob Odenkirk as Jimmy "Saul Goodman" McGill (AMC)
But there is no entertainment justice in the world if the brilliant rock star that is Rhea Seehorn does not get an Emmy lobbed at her for her work as Kim Wexler. Holy crap, Rhea is so good. She has been beyond good since season one. She destroyed in the season six episode "Waterworks", where Kim finally confronts the downright abominable things she did before cutting herself off from Jimmy/Saul.
THE QUEEN, Rhea Seehorn as Kim Wexler (living in purgatory aka Florida after leaving Jimmy/her old life behind)
I'm a big ball of soft so of course I would have preferred a different ending, but I understand why it's ultimately appropriate for all the nonsense Jimmy/Saul got up to over the years. IF HIS BROTHER HAD JUST BEEN PROUD OF HIM DAMMIT
ODDS AND ENDS
Hey, if you read? I really liked Susan Orlean's "The Library Book", which is about a massive fire that took place at a branch of the Los Angeles Library in 1986.
I enjoyed "Flying Solo" (fiction) by NPR's Linda Holmes. It's the second book of Linda's that has made me cry. It's a nice comfy comic romancey easy read.
I also dove headfirst into Richard E. Grant's memoir "A Pocketful of Happiness" about the loss of his wife, Joan Washington. What I've found rather lovely is that he hasn't hidden away his sorrow in either his memoir or his presence on social media.
Some music bits: boy, that "Renaissance" by Beyoncé was terrific. Loved the beats and how unrelentingly dancey it was.
Duran Duran got into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame (finally). Duran Duran was the first band I lost my goddamned mind about, and I still have such fondness for them to this day.
Nearly four years had passed since the last time I saw Nine Inch Nails live, but I was able to rectify that in September at the Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood. OF COURSE I cried, you silly gooses.
I did watch "Andor" on Disney+ and it was so well done. Diego Luna is terrific and I was very happy to learn they're working on the second season now. Seeing the Empire at the base level - the mundane everyday existence of living under/working for the Empire adds a lot to the overall "Star Wars" universe vibe. It's great viewing.
AND FINALLY...on the social media of it all
We all know what's going on with Twitter. I am someone who likes social media, mostly. I met my husband and many friends via social media (back on beautiful, beautiful message boards). There are a few platforms gunning to be The Place to Go, and I can tell you this much: I'm mostly floating around Post.News at the moment. I managed to get in fairly early - it's still in beta. It reminds me a bit of LiveJournal (my dear, much-missed LiveJournal) and there are features that are quite interesting, including the ability to pay for single articles that you'd want to read and the ability to tip people. However, I can't quite figure out where or how to be. For every picture of a dog, it feels like there's 20 deadly serious articles about the death of the earth/democracy (it's very much a liberal crowd). I can't pinpoint where the silly people are. I'm following some folks that I followed on Twitter, but they're not really posting. So we'll see how I feel down the road about Post.news.
I'm also awaiting the debut of Spoutible, which comes from the creator of Bot Sentinel. What I'm liking is the amount of input Christopher Bouzy is seeking from future users about what they'd like to see in a social media platform. I feel like Spoutible may wind up being more my speed down the road. (You can pre-register at Spoutible if that rings your bell.
All of this to say that in 2023, my 51st year of existence, I am determined to do more of this shit: blogging about whatever strikes me. It will probably lean towards goofiness more than anything else, which I think I need more of. I don't think it will serve as a true PLATFORM or FAME-MAKER for me, but if I wind up whipping up something that you find amusing or interesting, do feel free to pass it along to people that you like (or pretend to like).
Anyway, I'd better roll. Bulls are playing at six p.m. Happy New Year.
