[a pleasurable headache] errant parachutes
First up, Deer Editor is coming on January 10th from Mad Cave Studios. Written by Ryan K Lindsay, art by Sami Kivela, colours by Lauren Affe and letters by Jim Campbell. I have an editing credit on this (along with Chas! Pangburn). Click through on the link above for the deets and look at the beauty of that Phil Hester cover.
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It's been a strange couple of weeks, the days nestled in that nether region between Christmas and New Years where everyone is tired, waiting for time to tick over and the year to start anew.
Then, it's suddenly here and you're juggling a thousand and one things that you've let lie by the wayside. Or maybe that's just me.
I've hardly read a thing internet-wise the past few weeks apart from the usual end of year lists and recommendations. A lot of publications go on hiatus over the holidays and the content churn slows down to a crawl, so no real links this time around, I'm afraid.
That said, I've consciously been recharging these last few weeks as I usually do this time of year. It's a little harder to get the creative motor running again though at the moment, a sign that I've left it too long, and another sign that consistency (even if it's only a little bit each day) is always the key.
Somewhat related, to say I've struggled with the identity of this newsletter for a while is an understatement. I've even toyed with scrapping it and just using a blog. Heck, I may still do that still. Or both.
The links will remain here, I enjoy rounding them up and sharing pieces I've found interesting to others who may have missed them. So that won't go away. However, I also want to try and put more of myself into these missives as well.
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I was astoundingly rubbish at keeping track of books I read this year, and even a lot of the TV I consumed. These things kind of fell by the wayside and was something I previously enjoyed doing.
I've salted the earth on my Storygraph account and started over, bringing none of my Goodreads 'baggage' across with it. A fresh start, and one that will hopefully allow me to actually track, log and review my books with a bit more intention this year.
TV-wise, it looks like Letterboxd are soon going to get into the TV tracking game too. Until then I've been using Serialzd which is essentially Letterboxd TV in all but name. However, this is still a new practice and I haven't quite got the hang of using it yet.
As always though I did track the movies I watched this year with Letterboxd. Still the best social media website I use. Fingers crossed the recent buyout doesn't change things there.
With that said, here are my favourite movies from 2023, which were released in 2023.
Honourable mentions: Blackberry, Nimona, Sisu, Project Wolf Hunting, Your Lucky Day, Dungeon & Dragons.
Films I still haven't seen: Napoleon, The Iron Claw, Thanksgiving, Godzilla Minus One, When Evil Lurks, Poor Things, The Holdovers, Ferrari, Air and so many more.
10. Bottoms
A wonderfully bizarre, queer slice of high-school set comedy starring Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edibiri (who had a tremendous year!). Two losers start a fight club as a way to lose their virginity to cheerleaders. What follows is chaos and laughs, culminating in a ridiculously surreal final set-piece at the most important football game of the high school season.
9. John Wick 4
A little overlong, sure. The steps sequence could maybe have done with some tightening up, despite the laughs present in the scene. But this movie shows the series still packs a wallop and went out with a perfect ending (spin-offs are coming, but leave Wick as is, please).
The Arc De Triomphe sequence is a revelation with some of the best action choreography put to film.
8. No One Will Save You
A mostly dialogue-free movie showing an alien invasion from the point of view of a small town's ostracised outsider (played by the always good Kaitlyn Deever). The opening sequence, with a lone alien traipsing through Deever's house in the dead of night, could be a short movie. It's fantastic at building tension and never lets up for a second.
From there we learn more about the central character, including the reasons for her isolation, whilst the invasion continues. This all builds to a Twilight Zone style ending that still keeps true to the character's need for love and contact.
7. Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One
McQuarrie and Cruise do it again. The action and direction are top notch as ever. However, this time around the grounded, brutal mechanics of the last few movies is welded to a lighter, Keaton-esque physical comedy with Cruise crashing through windows, being pulled by errant parachutes and fumbling with IMF vehicle tech, showing befuddlement and disbelief before the usual logic and action kicks back into high gear.
A series-best car chase, that bike stunt, train carriages disappearing from below our hero's feet and Shea Whigham pulling at innocent bystander's faces trying to remove a mask that isn't there.
Cinema.
6. Barbie
A million think-pieces have been written about this one with a million more to come. I laughed and I cried. Sometimes that's all a summer blockbuster needs to do.
5. Oppenheimer
My wife was not a fan, calling this a lot of 'men talking in rooms'. But, reader, that kind of thing is catnip for my soul. Nolan, as usual, toys with structure, form and chronology, showing a supreme confidence in doing so, something not seen since Dunkirk after the misstep of Tenet (a movie I still unabashedly love). This is Nolan at the top of his game with material he clearly loves, tackling monumental themes and questions with an absolute murderer's row of a cast. I genuinely don't know where he goes from here.
4. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Not as good as the first, and suffers due to the functional need to also set up it's own sequel. But, this is till an animated tour-de-force with visual flourishes and action you will not see anywhere else.
3. Sick
John Hyams, king of DTV action and thrillers, brings his eye to the horror genre. This Kevin Williamson penned slasher takes place during the early days of the Covid pandemic with two friends isolating at a lake house. It isn't long before it becomes apparent someone else is there too, watching and stalking them.
Hyams' action sequences are some of the best around and he applies all of his tricks and skill to the slahser format, giving them a kinetic edge with a clearly defined geography.
2. The Killer
My love for Fincher knows no bounds it seems (although I have yet to see Mank). This time around he's poking fun at the gig economy and the grinding gears of late stage capitalism. In the process of doing so he stages a brutal fight sequence, churns through most of The Smiths' discography and even takes the time to poke fun at himself. His funniest film yet.
1. How To Blow Up A Pipeline
Oceans Eleven, stripped of the hangout vibes, bolted onto a Sorcerer-style chassis and fuelled by nothing but righteous anger against the fossil fuel industry. Goldhaber and his collaborators turn Andreas Malm's non-fiction manifesto into a tense heist-like thriller without losing any of the politics or messaging. This is a movie that is only going to grow with importance and relevance in the coming years. A harbinger on celluloid.
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I am off to limber up and dive into 2024. See you in two!