Movies:
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The multiverse is pretty big in movies nowadays, the MCU in particular having a field day with back-to-back features of Spiderman: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness. Leave it to Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert to use this concept to craft one of the year's best films, if not the year's best film so far. Everything Everywhere All at Once features brilliant performances from Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan and a story that tugs at the heartstrings while featuring some of the most fun and creative action sequences I've seen in quite some time. See it in theaters while you still can.
Television:
Better Call Saul
Look, I've already written about the premiere and gushed about how great the show continues to be here, so you can check that out. I'll be covering the entire season along with Barry, so check those out if you want to hear my thoughts!
Video Games:
Horizon Forbidden West
I've taken a hiatus from Elden Ring for the time being in favor of much less stressful, challenging games and Horizon Forbidden West has proven to be the perfect antidote. Continuing the story of Aloy from Horizon Zero Dawn as she searches for answers regarding her mother, the game improves on the formula introduced in the first game to great effect. The sci-fi setting has some of the most original worldbuilding I've ever encountered in a game and the combat is much more fluid and fun. It's a shame that both Forbidden West and Zero Dawn released around the same time as Breath of the Wild and Elden Ring, because this a truly great series that deserves to be savored.
Books:
Goodbye, Eri
As someone who only recently got into manga, Tatsuki Fujimoto's one-shot about an aspiring filmmaker coming to terms with his mother's passing is a beautiful, beautiful meditation of grief. The characters and art are so richly drawn and Fujimoto really taps into what it means to be a filmmaker. As an aspiring filmmaker, this resonated with me so much and it's a brilliant example of what manga can be.
Miscellaneous:
Lindsay Ellis
YouTube video criticism suffered a major loss this year with the departure of Lindsay Ellis following major online harassment. I've recently been going down the rabbit hole of her videos and come away impressed by the sheer volume and style of her videos. My back-to-back viewings of her videos regarding Stephanie Meyers and JK Rowling in particular have proven to be a surreal experience. If you value film criticism at all, you owe it to yourself to check out her videos.
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