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I have been watching the odd bit of football here and there, but honestly, whether it's the location, the time of year or the nonsense over the OneLove armbands (I don't know what bugs me more, deliberately designing a protest symbol so bland and corporate and desperate not to offend that it's essentially meaningless, or giving up your meaningless protest at the tiniest hint of pushback) but I haven't been able to get into it the way I normally do.
Books
Small Game by Blair Braverman - In this four reality survival show contestants get left in the middle of nowhere when the crew vanishes. It was a quick, fun read, and enjoyably queer. But I expected the answer to the mystery of why they'd been abandoned to be better than the production went bust and they just forgot the contestants. I mean, really? And I felt it really could have benefited from a more ambiguous ending about whether they make it out and whether the central relationship had ever been real or was put on for the cameras. It all just felt a little...too neat.
Exiles by Jane Harper - A mystery revolving around the disappearance of a woman a year ago, featuring complicated family dynamics and Australian wine country. If you've liked Jane Harper's previous mysteries, and I've liked all of them, you'll like this one.
Comics
The Mighty Nein Origins: Yasha Nydoorin - I haven't read any of the Critical Role tie in comics before, but I was interested because with Ashley being in and out we didn't get a lot of Yasha backstory on the show, and honestly there wasn't a lot of story here, plus the art style was just very much not for me.
Spider-Man: life Story - Peter Parker becomes Spider-Man in the 1950s, and then ages through the subsequent decades. I think that maybe you have to be at leat passingly familiar with the Spider-Man stories its remixing to get the most out of it, but it's a really solid enjoyable comic either way.
Movies
Enola Holmes 2 - I'd forgotten how cute this series is, and yeah, it's super cute. It was also the second thing I watched this month thst had as one of its major themes the importance of collective action in facing down oppression (albeit in a much more twee way than Andor.) I guess you don't expect Netflix and Disney to be 'mon the revolution types, but welcome to the struggle, comrades. I jest, obviously. Corporations are not your friends.
Lou - Okay, so you know those movies where an ageing badass (usually played by, like, Bruce Willas or Liam Neeson) has to come out of retirement one last time, well, this is one of those, except the ageing badass is played by Allison Janney. Now, don't get me wrong, this is not a good movie. There is a scene where Allison Janney and a pound shop Tom Hardy attack each other with driftwood in moderate surf while a CIA sniper with the clearest shot in the world pointedly fails to hit either of them, but the casting absolutely saves it, would watch again.
Telly
Star Trek: Lower Decks S3 - Before every new season of this show I have managed to forget that it's my favourite of the new Trek shows, and every time I just so surprised and delighted. It hits the Galaxy Quest sweet spot where it's like 'We're not making fun of this thing that you love because we're judging you, we're making fun of it because WE LOVE IT TOO.'
Andor - I raved about this last month and am happy to report that it absolutely sticks the landing. Best Star Wars thing since, probably, Empire Strikes Back.
Books
Small Game by Blair Braverman - In this four reality survival show contestants get left in the middle of nowhere when the crew vanishes. It was a quick, fun read, and enjoyably queer. But I expected the answer to the mystery of why they'd been abandoned to be better than the production went bust and they just forgot the contestants. I mean, really? And I felt it really could have benefited from a more ambiguous ending about whether they make it out and whether the central relationship had ever been real or was put on for the cameras. It all just felt a little...too neat.
Exiles by Jane Harper - A mystery revolving around the disappearance of a woman a year ago, featuring complicated family dynamics and Australian wine country. If you've liked Jane Harper's previous mysteries, and I've liked all of them, you'll like this one.
Comics
The Mighty Nein Origins: Yasha Nydoorin - I haven't read any of the Critical Role tie in comics before, but I was interested because with Ashley being in and out we didn't get a lot of Yasha backstory on the show, and honestly there wasn't a lot of story here, plus the art style was just very much not for me.
Spider-Man: life Story - Peter Parker becomes Spider-Man in the 1950s, and then ages through the subsequent decades. I think that maybe you have to be at leat passingly familiar with the Spider-Man stories its remixing to get the most out of it, but it's a really solid enjoyable comic either way.
Movies
Enola Holmes 2 - I'd forgotten how cute this series is, and yeah, it's super cute. It was also the second thing I watched this month thst had as one of its major themes the importance of collective action in facing down oppression (albeit in a much more twee way than Andor.) I guess you don't expect Netflix and Disney to be 'mon the revolution types, but welcome to the struggle, comrades. I jest, obviously. Corporations are not your friends.
Lou - Okay, so you know those movies where an ageing badass (usually played by, like, Bruce Willas or Liam Neeson) has to come out of retirement one last time, well, this is one of those, except the ageing badass is played by Allison Janney. Now, don't get me wrong, this is not a good movie. There is a scene where Allison Janney and a pound shop Tom Hardy attack each other with driftwood in moderate surf while a CIA sniper with the clearest shot in the world pointedly fails to hit either of them, but the casting absolutely saves it, would watch again.
Telly
Star Trek: Lower Decks S3 - Before every new season of this show I have managed to forget that it's my favourite of the new Trek shows, and every time I just so surprised and delighted. It hits the Galaxy Quest sweet spot where it's like 'We're not making fun of this thing that you love because we're judging you, we're making fun of it because WE LOVE IT TOO.'
Andor - I raved about this last month and am happy to report that it absolutely sticks the landing. Best Star Wars thing since, probably, Empire Strikes Back.