february

XOXO it was the month of love… for my new bike, and my always valentine Snorri. I watched a lot more movies this month than I read books, but that felt alright. Video games were also a theme, with lots of Witcher 3 and Dead Souls to keep me occupied. I also powered through a number of TV shows, like the Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan and the October Faction.

Books

The Longing for Less

This was far funnier than I expected, and also taught me a lot about a few areas of art and architecture I didn’t know about. A really informative and fun book.

しろくまカフェ　1

私のこれが最初日本語の漫画を読んだ。面白かったよ。次に谷崎の文学を読むww。

Outline

This was recommended to me, but I can’t say I loved it. The story here read more as a series of strange anecdotes, without a lot of core thread to grasp. There are two more books in this series, but I think I may pass on them.

Agency

A nearly present-day story of AI, art, and San Francisco. I really enjoyed this Peripheral sequel, though I think on the whole the fashion and strange web world of the previous trilogy was more my speed. I hope we get one more book with Netherton, Ash and company.

Movies

Jojo Rabbit

A deeply strange film about learning how to be a person and unlearn fanaticism. There were some pretty excellent cameos in this, and a very dark comedic beat.

Phantom Thread

Wow, this movie was hilarious from top to bottom. A friend (hi Drew) invited me to see it for the first time in 70mm, and all I want to do is channel Woodcock every day. “What am I supposed to do with that?”. What a joy. I can’t wait to watch this again.

First Love

A strange mistaken gangster film. This was much more straightforward than many Takeshi Miike films, but still managed to add in some really bizarre bits, and even some surprises.

Elle

Yow. That was… a lot of movie. Isabelle Huppert was fantastic, but I don’t know if I could recommend it. Definitely one of the stranger Verhoeven movies I’ve seen.

Anna

Another lady assassin movie. It was a helluva ride and I enjoyed it. I don’t think it added anything huge to the genre, but I’m just glad to have more cool movies about tough women. That said, I wish Anna had been able to just be with her girlfriend instead of randomly fucking spymasters.

Gennocidal Organ

I read the book this movie is based on last year, and it’s a truly brutal story of linguistics and massive unrest. This movie is grim in a way that feels a little too prescient. Definitely one of the better anime thrillers I’ve seen in a while though.

Psycho Pass Movie Trilogy

After season 3, Psycho Pass had a trilogy of films in Japan. They’re fun continuations of the characters from all three seasons, and a bit of a sequel to the first movie. The future this film presents is pretty grim, but the animation is fantastic.