February
Books
Pilgrim Machines
Philosophical take on exploration and galactic civilization. Felt like a more upbeat and optimistic Three Body.
Orbital
A little too florid for my tastes—read more like poetry about space than a space novel.
The Last
The best post-apocalyptic fiction I’ve read in a long time. Somehow both realistic and hopeful.
Movies
The Monkey
I only have love for the monkey.
Flight Risk
Good dumb fun. I went in with low expectations and had a nice time. Wahlberg just a goober in this.
Inheritance
Neil Burger make a good movie challenge. Soderbergh can make an iPhone movie because he understands framing and the way a lens tells a story. This was just a hard-to-follow mess. I was excited initially because I love Rhys Ifans and his work with Olen Steinhauer on Berlin Station but woof.
Kill List
Fun ideas but the mix was rough and the dialogue was super quiet. There is a lot of promise and cool weird shit but I’m mostly glad the director got more money later to make better stuff.
High Rise
Read the book last month, and even though I think I watched at least part of this year ago, it’s much more fun post-read.
One of Them Days
Laughed so hard. Fun.
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Still great. A message of the bad guy dying by hubris
September 5th
Haunting but I don’t think the pacing worked well—it’s hard to tell a story based on real events while still trying to give the broadcast of said story an interesting setting.
A.I. Artificial Intelligence
This still felt like it needed an editor, but it was more effecting than when I saw it in theaters.