july

It was a hot one, but I spent most of it riding bikes or watching shows.

Books

A Half Built Garden

Luckily I talked to a friend partway through about this and found she also thought it was annoying.

Drought

Feels like the precursor to so much post-apocalyptic fiction, but with a wry grin.

Movies

Castle in the Sky

A Miyazaki film I’d never seen. After listening to the corresponding Blank Check episode I got stoked for this one and even though it didn’t hit as hard as Spirited Away the planes and tech stuff were fun. Please Ghibli take the ToTK engine and make this into a game.

War of the Worlds

Cloverfield was a much better way to tell this kind of story, especially because it had zero screaming children.

The Program

Dr. Ferrari’s portrayal is amazing. Fuck Lance. Lee Pace still rules.

All For One

Didn’t know much about Mitchelton Scott/Jayco Alula/Orica Greenedge beyond what I’d picked-up from Life in the Peloton, but this was a fun look at a team’s ups and downs.

Hatching

This is what I imagine a kenku looks like.

The Birdcage

Still amazed this was on of my dad’s favorite movies. A classic.

Interstellar

All the dad feelings wrapped in a sci-fi package.

Moneyball

Listening to Blank Check on a bike ride made me finally watch this. I don’t care about baseball but Pitt really carried this thing.

Tenet

Love this a little more every time.

The Mechanic

Is every auto-erotic death an assassination?

Blackening

Damn funny in bits but not super cohesive. Glad Tim Story got to stop making Fantastic Four movies though.

Hunt

A taut spy-thriller with great action.

Alone

I don’t like that “woman terrorized by a guy” is a horror genre now, but the PNW was a solid backdrop to a so-so movie.

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance

Brutal! Most of the beats were familiar, but I forgot just how intense it gets in the back half.

JSA

A great rewatch. I still love how the story comes together and the emotions everyone are displaying as they make friendships and try to bridge cultures. The Swiss folks… not so great.

Asteroid City

Something about the last three Anderson movies has left me feeling a little checked-out and disengaged and I can’t put my finger on what.

Ocean’s Eleven

I think I saw this in theaters originally, and it’s still a hoot. Other movies have since done heists better, but this was a real paradigm shift up there with MI.

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning 1

This movie posits Ethan Hunt is the living messiah and honestly, why not.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Part 3

A refreshing and fun marvel. Raccoons are super cute, and himbo Adam Warlock worked.

Khandahar

Another goofy G Butler movie where he slips in and out of being Scottish. Good bits by that guy from Valhalla and The Shadow King.