Hi friends, hope the year ended well for you.
So much happened this last year and as part of my overall reflections, I wanted to try and capture all of the media I have enjoyed and devoured this year. Below are the first ever Winnie awards, named after my dog, praise for people and creators who will never hear or see it. I used my established ranking system as well!
(Note: This was a really weak year for the movies I watched. Barely even went to the theater. Might have to do an addendum when Abby and I do our annual Oscars Best Picture Nominations Watch)
Dune: Part Two - The only movie here that deserves to be. The rest only pass if we grade on a curve. Denis, the cast, Hans Zimmer (the composer), and everyone that worked on this movie brought a passion and faithfulness to the original text that is rare. Timothy and Austin felt absorbed into their characters. Every scene with Feyd was awe inspiring. And the contrast between Paul before and after the water of life was beautiful and terrifying. This was the best movie I've seen since the first Dune. The first movie had a bigger impact on me because I went into it unsure and was blown away. It was the closest thing I've had to a religious experience. In contrast, I had almost unreachable expectations for Dune Part 2 and it reached them, but did not exceed them. 9/10
Alien Romulus - This movie was such a fun blend of sci-fi tropes, half of them started by the Alien franchise. This movie is right on the edge between derivative and creative, but the thing that really mattered was how fun it was. At its core, it was a great action horror movie with great effects and acting throughout. Would absolutely watch again, 7/10
Deadpool and Wolverine - This movie is hard to rate because I'm the exact target demographic. I grew up on the movies it pays homage to, I love the characters and this is exactly what I wanted. This and Dune were the only movies I even saw in the theater this year, and both of which were perfect for separate reasons. This was my popcorn eating blockbuster and Dune was my popcorn eating cinematic experience. Is it a bad thing that this movie knew exactly how to resonate with me? Does it devalue the movie if it doesn't resonate with others? Can't say I care! My awards list, my ranking, 7/10
The Penguin - I think there is a theme in my ratings where an actor truly embodies a character, and that alone can sell an entire show for me. Colin Farrell steals every single scene, with bravado and nuance. The rest of the cast does an impecable job but Colin is simply amazing. It's a mob show first and foremost and a batman show second. It feels espically timely in a world of climate change that the city of Gotham is unable to recover from a disaster, and how the fallout only really effects the poor and downtrodden. Oswald is the perfct TV bastard, able to convince people and use his silver tounge to get whatever he wants, while never honoring a single deal the moment he get's his.9/10
Shogun - Shogun really blew me away. I felt enveloped in the world and culture. The sets, the music, everything. It was tasteful and well written. It had it's slow moments, but they did so much so well. The way they made translation such an integral part of the plot and relationship between characters was fascinating. I've never seen it done before, where translation actually changes the meaning and you can see the agenda of the translator at work. And then dropping that when we had an accurate translator. 8/10
Fallout - I. Love. Camp. Movies and shows that lean into camp brings me so much joy. It's so clear people are having fun making a show like fallout. I'm not the biggest fan of the games but I could tell the creators were and put a lot of care into it. 7/10
GNX - Kendrick Lamar Kendrick has long been one of my favorite artists and after the power in his feud with Drake only rekindled that. Since GNX released I've listened to it straight through at least a few times a week. It's my new go to album to put on regardless of the situation. The way songs are paced which bangers like squabble up and tv off separated by slower songs like luther. The pacing is absolutely impeccable. Raw, emotional, angry, beautiful. Recency bias but I think I'll still be bumping this one come this time next year. 10/10
EMPATHOGEN - Willow Willow made such an emotional, musically diverse album that borders on jarring how little the songs go together but they do. She made an instant fan out of me. 8/10
Big Ideas - Remi Wolf - Remi had made songs that I loved but I can't say I liked her first album as a collective. She absolutely trounced the sophomore slump with this next release. Big Ideas hits big notes and big feelings. She deserves much more articulate praise than I can give. 8/10
Baulder's Gate 3 (I played it in 2024 okay, it counts) - I spend roughly 8- hours a week playing or thinking about DnD. This is easily one of the best videogames of all time. I feel like I could write a whole manifesto about the characters and what I love but I'll let the score speak for itself. 10/10
Helldivers 2 - I love Starship Troopers and this game makes you feel like a grunt with infinite money. Late-stage capitalism never looked so good. I luckily was able to play this with my friends and any game is better with friends. 8/10
This year was also one of cultural catch ups for me. I listened to so much old music and watched classic TV and movies that I can't write a wrap up of the year without mentioning just a few of the pieces that stood out.
Total Recall - I love me some Arnold, I love me some sci-fi, I love me some practical effects, and I gotta say the twist absolutely got me. 8/10
JAWS - Everything before the boat, meh. Everything after they get on the boat, phenomenal. 7/10
Ghost in the Shell - This movie feels like the foundation for so many things that I love. Gotta respect it for that alone and having an absolutely wild ending with no closure. 7/10
Escape from New York - Kurt is one of my favorite actors when going back to watch older films. The thing, Death Proof, etc. It helps that I'm literally named after his character from Tombstone. I can watch him ham it up with a mixture of sincerity and camp all day. 7/10
Interview with a Vampire (1994) - Tom Cruise absolutely steals the show with this terrifying and engaging performance. 7/10
Breaking Bad (again) - This was a rewatch since Abby had never seen the show. Nothing needs to be said. 9/10
Yu Yu Hakusho - I think in a similar vein to Ghost in the Shell, Yu Yu has been an inspiration to so many other things that I love. I liked it for its slow and calculated fight cinematography. I loved it for its characters. 9/10
Severance - I had never seen this when it came out but a mixture of capitalism and cults will always peak my interest and pull me in. 8/10
The Strokes - Is This It and Room on Fire - I started to love a band that everyone else has loved for 20 years. Better late than never. 8/10
System of a Down - Toxicity - I'd almost surely heard most of these songs before since they almost all got radio play when radio was still relevant. More importantly for me, I had no idea how strong of an album this was. No skips. 8/10
Slay the Spire - Play it on the train, on a plane, going uptown or down. The best mobile game I've ever played (probably because it wasn't designed for just mobile). Addicting and so well balanced. Silent for life. 9/10
Mario Odyssey - I haven't beaten this one yet, really trying to take my time and find stars and coins. This might also be sacrilegious, but this is the first Mario game I've really played. I'm not a huge platforming guy but damn if this game ain't a ton of fun. 8/10
Witcher 3 (again) - Abby was interested after the TV show and we blew through the whole game. I did every single side quest (except the ones that were time-locked that I accidentally failed), which was wild as well. 9/10
Stephen King - The Outsider - This was a big discovery for me this year right at the end. I read my first King horror novel and wow, it was an absolute page-turner. I finished it within a week and made Abby question if I was okay because of how much time I devoted to it. When I was much younger, I read the first book in the Gunslinger series but never got around to the others. Finger's crossed this discovery doesn't just start a new obsession like Discworld, it would be much more healthy for me to actually change up what authors I read more than once every few years. 7/10
Terry Pratchett - The Tiffany Aching novels - For any of my long time readers, I have spent the greater part of 2 years reading Terry Pratchett's Discworld. The Aching novels were some of the last on my list and leave me with (at the time of writing this) only 3 novels left out of the 41 book series. It's been a wild ride and Tiffany is right up there as one of my favorite characters. Having the novels spaced apart across her adolescence was lovely, each building her self confidence and place in the world. Terry is one of the most human writers I've ever read, he captures humanity through the lens of fantasy. It's been a pleasure reading his works and I am sad that our relationship is coming to an end soon. 8/10