I decided to make a wrap up of everything I enjoyed in the arts an annual tradition. Adding gaming with ArenaNet’s stunning debut of the End of Dragons Cantha expansion for Guild Wars 2. It was everything I hoped for and more: beautiful artwork and music, great voice acting and storytelling, fun gameplay.
I finished my initial read of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld. Some of the books I looked forward to least are woefully underrated. Monstrous Regiment may be one of my favorites among his later works. I think it’s also one I’d recommend as an introduction to the Discworld. While there’s some fun, satisfying cameos by beloved characters from other books, it eases newcomers into his world, and it’s overflowing with his humor and keen insights. Then there’s Unseen Academicals. The wizards were not a favorite, but their books grew on me as I saw less of pessimistic Rincewind, and more of inquisitive Ponder. Still, a story about football didn’t interest me. Yet he included sly nods to everything from Rudy (of course) to Romeo and Juliet and Cyrano de Bergerac. Hilarious and heartbreaking. “Do I have worth?” If Mr. Nutt knew his creator, he’d know the answer was an emphatic ‘yes’. Inherently so.
Some fans complain of salty language in Raising Steam, but mine grew saltier the more I dealt with transportation. The only sign of his illness was an urgency that heightens the storytelling. I’d already read his last book (and goodbye), The Shepherd’s Crown, in 2021. This observation sums up my view of those who question his “voice” as if being a fan grants them more insight than his closest friends and family or even Pratchett himself:
I am saddened when I hear these words – this is not the person I knew – because those words objectify the person suffering from Alzheimer’s. When you objectify a person you also dehumanize them. Once dehumanized the person becomes a villain.
Bob DeMarco
Silvia Moreno-Garcia continues to astound. Certain Dark Things is a gorgeous gory take on vampires. The Beautiful Ones is a sweeping romance for fans of everything from Dangerous Liaisons to The Illusionist. Velvet Was the Night is a gritty and intense ’70s noir. Signal to Noise is infused with more magic, but continues Velvet‘s interest in how music informs people’s experiences and relationships. Is there a genre she not only nails but reinvigorates with wildly original storytelling and carefully drawn characters and settings?
2022 brought the stunning conclusion to Tahani Nelson’s Faoii trilogy, the latest book in Kaytalin Platt’s thrilling Equitas series, Susan Hamilton’s rockin’ Stone Heart, and the wicked fun of G.A. Finocchiaro’s Masked. I still need to pick up Katherine Forrister’s The Hand-Me-Down Maiden and Peter Harmon’s The Happenstances. I’m a little behind on reading. In my defense I did release my first novel and write Drama Queen (May ’23).
I’ve enjoyed new music from Au/Ra, MOTHICA, and last year’s discovery Yonaka, who reached an even bigger audience thanks to SHE-HULK. I love that Kate Bush experienced a resurgence in popularity (even though my Stranger Things-loving son had surely already been exposed to “Running Up That Hill” and other songs from my own music collection). I appreciated the Veruca Salt vibes of Poppy’s last album (all those reviews referencing Nirvana as if 90s alternative lacked for more comparable women artists) but “Stagger” sounds altogether new. Song of the year goes to “No One Dies From Love” by Tove Lo. I saw MARINA front row in Pittsburg. Amazing as always.
Speaking of SHE-HULK, Disney content ranged from clumsy and uneven to slick and intelligent. Miss Marvel was intended for younger audiences but it was more celebratory and self-assured than SHE-HULK, opting to leave the haters in its shimmering dust instead of going on the defensive. Other standouts were the stylish Werewolf by Night, and gritty ANDOR. The Mandalorian‘s creature effects recapture the magic of the original trilogy, but ANDOR isn’t content to rely on nostalgia. Wakanda Forever was easily the best Marvel movie, and a heartfelt goodbye to the late Chadwick Boseman.
Abbott Elementary became a family favorite: funny, heartfelt, and shines a light on education like Scrubs did for healthcare. Only Murders in the Building brought back the fun, but did not bring back Oscar and lost some of its luster. I did enjoy the addition of Lucy as a foil to Mabel in particular. My husband and I love Reboot. It’s not only hilarious, especially if you have industry experience, but smart and insightful, even poignant. Former Jackass Johnny Knoxville traded getting kicked in the crotch for kicking viewers in our feels.
I already devoted an entire post to The Sandman. Wendel and Wild may be the first solidly YA animated film, and weird wacky fun at that. Guillermo del Toro’s anthology Cabinet of Curiosities gave us the terrifying “Pickman’s Model”, but I found “The Autopsy” particularly satisfying, and “The Murmuring” was a beautiful marriage between a traditional ghost story and a thoughtful exploration of grief. My husband and I anticipated certain plot twists in Glass Onion, but there were some great surprises and a sympathetic protagonist. The social commentary had the same surgical precision of Knives Out. If you think either film targets a specific group instead of skewering several forms of posturing, you missed the point (and several subplots and characters). The only real dichotomy is genuine vs. disingenuous. I was less wowed by other Netflix content, but Jenny Ortega delivers a killer performance as Wednesday.
I rewatched The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance and once again mourned its cancellation. The cast, the writing, the music, the visuals. It better get a proper physical release before Netflix ever pulls it from their service. The movie celebrated its 40th anniversary in theaters this year. My boys’ response when I asked if they wanted to go? “Uh, yeah!”
We’re curious if filmmakers did Terry Pratchett’s The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents justice with their lighter touch (less []Rats of Nimh, more Ratatouille) when it comes to U.S. theaters next year. The enduring popularity of content from my childhood and newer favorites like Goosebumps, Stranger Things, and Five Nights at Freddy makes me wonder where the notion kids don’t like anything scary comes from. They seek it out, even if it’s not meant for them. Only a vocal minority of adults have ever complained.
The bittersweet finale to Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy on HBO Max remained faithful to the books and didn’t pull any punches.
