It's been a good year for media consumption, with a wide ranging assortment of genres — from apocalyptic comedy to action adventure, science fiction, historical drama, crime thriller, horror, and fantasy romance. It's been a fun mix, and I'm stoked that I got in some more variety this year.
Fallout
As a long time fan of the game series, Fallout was by far my favorite watch this year. Set in a post-apocalyptic world based on an alternative timeline in which technology and culture advanced out of the 1940s/50s, the series follows three main characters — Lucy MacLean (Ella Purnell), a woman raised in the safety of a vault, who approaches the chaos of the wasteland with naivete, the Ghoul (Walton Goggins) who has lived for over 200 years and is extremely jaded, and Maximus (Aaron Moten), an aspirant in the Brotherhood of Steel who wants earn his place and be able to wear power armor so no one can hurt him again. All three are looking for a man on the run, with conflicting interests along the way.
The show perfectly captures dark humor of the games, while evoking the feeling of playing the games — like random characters who spill their entire life stories (like NPCs), unexpected side missions that derail characters from their goals, the use of stimpacks that magically heal wounds, and so on. More importantly, the show takes liberties where it needs to, creating a tight narrative that makes every moment count. If Fallout maintains this level of quality, I wouldn't be surprised if Fallout ends up on my favorites lists as long as it runs.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Furiosa is a prequel to Fury Road, revealing how she was taken from her family as a child and eventually grew to become Immorten Joe's Imperator. The movie feels stylistically connected to Fury Road, while forging its own path in terms of narrative pacing. There are moments of quiet beauty amid the chaotic post-apocalyptic violence that unfurls — in a way that feels evocative of ‘70s genre films.
Furiosa is a fierce character, even as a child. When first kidnapped, she's powerless against Dementus (Chris Hemsworth) and his men, but she claims space for herself in the small ways she can. In particular, Furiosa uses her silence as a weapon, choosing when, where, and with whom she will speak, until she later learns how to utilize more traditional weapons.
Shogun
Shogun is a historical mini-series set in 1600s Japan. When an English ship crashes in Japan, John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), a sailor and navigator, is captured and brought before Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada), a local regent. Beset by political infighting from other regents, Toranaga sees an opportunity to use Blackthorne's skills with English canons to his own advantage, so brings the Englishman to a distant fief for training with Toda Mariko (Anna Sawai) as a translator.
The story presents a tight political intrigue highlighted by culture clashes. The most obvious clash involves Blackthorne being a fish out of water and slowly adapting to the Japanese culture, while still not quite getting it. But there are also differences within the Japanese community, such as the Portuguese priests attempting to bringing Catholicism to the region and, as a result, the religious differences between Japanese Catholics and traditional Buddhists. The way this show brings depth to each character by showing their beliefs, fears, and desires in relation to others around them. With its beautiful costuming, attention to historical detail, and tense action sequences, this mini-series if phenomenal.
Dune: Part Two
Dune: Part II continues the saga of Arakis, the desert planet that is home to spice, the greatest wealth in the universe. A lot happens in this sequel: Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) grows closer in his relationship with Chani (Zendaya), as well as growing into his latent power. Meanwhile, his mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) becomes a spiritual leader and begins to manipulate the Fremen religion to protect her family. Other political maneuvers also continue to take place in the imperial court and within the House Harkonnen, all leading to a final confrontation.
I love the ways in which director Denis Villeneuve has managed to be true to the source material, while also bending it to explore fascinating elements of the culture, politics, and religion of this universe. In particular, the movies explores the various ways women are able to yield or are subject to power in society. I'm so curious to see how Villeneuve carries on the story from here.
True Detective, Season 1
I'm a decade late to the True Detective series, the anthology series that presents a different criminal case each season. Season one follows Detectives Rust Cohle (Matthew McConaughey) and Martin Hart (Woody Harrelson) as they attempt to solve a series of ritualistic murders over decades. The show flawlessly cuts between two timelines, showing the original investigation and interviews years later when the murders seem to begin again. The truths that unfold feel both grounded and cosmic, with references to The King in Yellow (a series of cosmic horror stories by Robert W. Chambers) and a conspiracy to keep the murders covered up.
Both cops are flawed characters. Rusty is awkward, blunt, and a cynic, but nevertheless focused and passionate about finding the truth. Meanwhile, Marty is a bit more charming (in a gruff cop way), but is having an affair, tends to cover up with lies, and doesn’t like to rock the boat. The charisma and dynamics between these two men in captivating and is one of the driving forces as to why this show is so fantastic.
MaXXXine
In the conclusion to Ti West's X trilogy, Maxine has moved to Hollywood and become a well known porn star, but she wants true stardom and will do anything to get it. Her big break — the chance to star in a new horror film — is at her finger tips, but the world remains full of dangers. A shady private investigator is dredging up old nightmares, while a serial killer known as the Night Stalker is murdering young women throughout the LA area. In order to live her dreams, Maxine has to face the looming threats of both her past and present.
MaXXXine leans heavy into ‘80s vibes — from the music to the costumes to the way the LA streets glitter with griminess and glowing neon lights. I love Mia Goth's performance, evoking a sense of fierce resolve of a character unafraid of resorting to or even embracing violence. A strong conclusion to a fantastic horror trilogy.
Baby Reindeer
Adapted from a play written by Richard Gadd based on his actual life experiences, Baby Reindeer is the story of Donny Dunn, a man who trapped by his life, unable to move forward in his career as a comedian or comfortable in his personal relationships. In the midst of this depression, Donny (Richard Gadd) meets Martha Scott (Jessica Gunning), while working at the pub. Feeling sorry for her, he shows some kindness — and in return, she begins to stalk him.
Due to his mental state, Donne is at first flattered by the attention, believing the situation to be mostly harmless. But as the stalking continues, her behavior grows increasingly disruptive and disturbing. Baby Reindeer is incredibly tense, so much so that I had difficulty watching more than a single episode at the time, but what ultimately made me love this show is how it approaches the characters with compassion, rather than than resorting to a simplistic good/evil dichotomy. Every character as a complete person full of complexities, faults, and wounds.
A Discovery of Witches
A Discovery of Witches was a three-season TV series based on a romantasy book trilogy by by Deborah Harkness, set in a world with a secret society of creatures, including vampires, demons, and witches. Diana Bishop (Teresa Palmer) is a witch who is not quite in control of her powers, and so has turned to historical research on alchemy instead. She discovers a book that's said to hold incredible power, drawing the attention of the other creatures in the city. Among these is Matthew Clairmont (Matthew Goode), a handsome vampire who is interested in the book and how it might save the creatures from fading away.
In classic romantasy fashion, Diana and Matthew are instantly drawn to each other and soon begin a romance that is forbidden by the covenant (an agreement formulated between council of creatures). In order to save themselves, the two must bring their families and friends together to help Diana learn how to control her powers, find the book and discover its secrets, and save all of the creatures from extinction.
Alien: Romulus
Alien: Romulus begins with a sense of desperation. Rain (Cailee Spaeny) and her adopted brother Andy (David Jonsson), a synthetic human, want escape Jackson's Star Mining Colony — nearly impossible task, because the debts owed to the company just keep rising. So, she reluctantly agrees to join a group of other young people in an attempt to board a derelict space station to steal the cryogenic gear needed to survive a trip to a new and better world. But the crew doesn't know is that the station was once a research facility studying the xenomorph aliens — and it doesn’t take long for them to accidentally unleash a swarm of face huggers, spawning a new xenomorph. Romulus is tense, frightening, and deeply upsetting in the body horror department — making for a great Aliens movie.
Bodies Bodies Bodies
In Bodies Bodies Bodies, a group of twenty-somethings gather together at a mansion for a hurricane party. When Sophie (Amandla Stenberg) arrives with a new girlfriend, Bee (Maria Bakalova), in tow, there is a mixture of awkwardness and underlying tension, but every one does their best to move past it. As the lights cut out and the party revs up, the group decides to play a murder mystery game, called "Bodies Bodies Bodies" — except the game gets too real when one of them suddenly ends up dead.
Along with the mystery-thriller element of needing to find the killer, this movie is full or dark satirical comedy, since all of the characters are entitled in some way, coming from wealth and privilege (except perhaps for Bee, but she has her own issues). What enfolds as the group panics following the first death is kind of a comedy of errors, in which things continue to go increasingly wrong and everyone’s deep dark secrets get dredged up to the surface. This leads to a perfectly pitched ending that left me completely satisfied and delighted.
Abigail
A group of criminals is hired to kidnap Abigail, a young ballerina and daughter of a wealthy man, bring her to an old mansion in the middle of nowhere, and watch over her for the next 24 hours when the ransom can be obtained. Abigail appears frightened and innocent tied up on the bed in her ballerina outfit — but while the criminals stand around drinking and getting to know each other while they wait, it becomes clear that something is very, very wrong.
Abigail, it turns out, is actually a vampire and starts ripping them apart one by one. This is not really a spoiler; the reveal is in the trailer and marketing. And I would argue that the gory fun of Abigail doesn't hinge on this being a surprise. Rather, the movie doesn't bother to take itself seriously, carrying an underlying tone of humor with over-the-top blood splatter. Everyone in this movie is kind of terrible, but in unique ways that make them quirky and entertaining. So, watching this group of good-for-nothings attempt to fight, survive, and escape the house — only to meet their bloody end — was highly entertaining.
Twisters
Twisters is the follow up to the 1996 blockbuster Twister, a long-time favorite in my family. The sequel follows a similar premise to the original, in which two competing groups of researchers — one group being a bunch of quirky misfits and the other being slick and well funded — drive into the path of tornados, aiming to be the first to launch a new technology capable of providing data about the interior function of tornadoes. Though, Twisters takes it a step further by presenting a potential technology designed to "tame" a tornado, stopping its path of destruction and saving lives. Along with subtle easter eggs (like an appearance of the Dorothy data collection technology and a rugged red truck), Twisters also holds to themes of interesting yet questionable science, a charming romance, and lots and lots of tornados — all swirling up into a fun time.
Bonus: Run Lola Run
Normally, I only include media that I've seen for the first time in the past year, which would disqualify something like 1998's Run Lola Run (aka Lola rennt) — a movie that I’ve watched dozens of times before and will likely watch as many times again. However, this year, Run Lola Run returned to movie theaters for its 25th anniversary, and I got to see it on the big screen for the first time ever.
Run Lola Run stars Franke Potente as the titular Lola, who receives a desperate phone call from her boyfriend. He lost 100,000 marks, which he owes to the local baddie. She has to run across town and attempt to get him the money in time to prevent something terrible from happening. As simple as that premise is, the execution is phenomenally innovative, using a variety of filmmaking styles (35 mm film, video, and animation) along with frenetic editing and thrumming techno music to evoke the intensity of Lola’s race against time — all of which I wrote about in an essay for The Ugly Monster. A quarter of a century later, and this film still blows my mind.
