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Streams 2022 Dec Jan Feb Mar

Series

Severance
  • Severance
    This is just awesome. Every element of this show has been carefully crafted down to the last detail. The cast are fantastic, the set pieces and cinematography terrific, and the tone is perfectly creepy and mysterious.
  • It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia (Season 15)
    It is unbelievable how a show fifteen seasons deep can be this good. The break certainly did a lot of good. The last four or five seasons, while still enjoyable, saw the gang become caricatures of themselves. This season not only fixed that, but added whole new layers of social commentary delivered with such subtlety that it wasn’t until the closing credits of the final episode that I realised the entirety of what they were getting at. No other show can be this hilariously dumb and intelligent simultaneously, and the cast are better than ever. I can not wait for more.

Kaitlin Olson is Always Sunny’s MVP
  • How To With John Wilson (Season 2)
    HTWJW is brilliant. You have never seen anything like it before. Season one was fantastic, and the second run doesn’t let up. I want more. The less you know about it going in, the better.
  • Ozark (Season 4 Part 1)
    This show has been quite the adventure. The first season was great, but felt a lot like “what if Breaking Bad, but in Missouri”, and when that season ended with its cliff-hanger my eyes rolled back like the cherries on an Ozark poker machine. But I pressed on, and it soon became more than that and carved out a place of its own. Solidly engaging and shocking (Wyatt!).
  • On Cinema Oscer Special 2022
    Somehow, Tim and Gregg continue to lift these specials to even greater heights of absurdity. This year’s instalment might be in my top three (Gregg’s carbon monoxide Joker finale is still top of the pile).
  • Euphoria (Season 2)
    Season one of this had me hooked. The cinematography was phenomenal, and the plotlines shocking, but used in service of the plot. Season two just went right off the rails. There was no cohesive story, plenty of dead end plot lines and no clear season arc. The whole thing was a mess. Lexi’s play was hilarious in it’s ridiculousness (also, she’s the only likeable character in the entire show so it was good to see more of her), but otherwise the season was pretty empty. Not sure I’ll press on from this point.
  • The Book of Boba Fett
    Four really bad episodes of a Boba Fett show, two great Mandalorian episodes, and one final episode blending a bunch of fan service together like a Star Wars smoothie. Temuera is stiff, the story is all over the place, the new characters don’t seem to fit (spy kids?). Mando was the best thing to come from the Star Wars brand in a very long time. This was a reminder that most of the time, it’s rubbish.
  • MacGruber (Series)
    Loved it. Puerile and dumb, just as expected. Forte, Wiig and Phillippe are fantastic as ever. And Laurence Fishburne turned down another Matrix for this – proving that he’s far smarter than the rest of the Matrix cast.
  • Yellowjackets
    File this one under “shows I wouldn’t have watched if Omicron hadn’t kept me inside”. That said, it was an enjoyable surprise carried mostly by the cast and a nineties soundtrack rather than the story. Christina Ricci is great.
  • Murderville
    Simple concept, executed successfully for the most part. A couple of guests don’t hit the mark but the rest brought back memories of the brilliant Thank God You’re Here.
  • The Afterparty
    Clever idea from Lord and Miller. Essentially, an evening’s events are recounted by a different character each episode in an attempt to solve a murder. In a similar vein, the visual style changes – which is really clever – but also got frustrating at times as it meant the tone of the show was also all over the place.
Absolutely brilliant

Movies

  • The Humans
    Unsettling, creepy, great cast. A little arty. The less you know going in, the better.
  • Don’t Look Up
    Ugh. If you’re after a movie that thinks it’s far smarter than it actually is, this one’s for you. There is absolutely no subtlety to any of it and so the gags just don’t land. It’s as though the cast are constantly winking at camera saying “GET IT? GET IT?” and it’s incredibly tiresome, and the ending is obvious before the first act is over. The all-star cast only make things worse. Leo and J Law are poorly cast. They only demonstrate that their acting chops fall apart when a comedic performance is required and their presence feeds into the condescending, holier-than-thou tone of the entire movie. Blanchett (being unrecognisable) and Jonah Hill (a comedic performer) are the exceptions, and deliver the most memorable moments. It’s unfortunate, because the underlying message is important and the skeleton of the concept is clever. There’s just no meat on the bones. Satire is best when the point is realised in the viewers’ head, not yelled at them through a megaphone.
    Don’t Look Up? More like Don’t Bother. Watch Idiocracy again instead.
  • Spider-Man: No Way Home
    A big fun spectacle. If someone had pitched this idea six years ago they’d have been ridiculed, but somehow it works. Mind you, I think it’s the kind of thing which can only work once. Spider-Man is possibly the only Marvel fare I have time and patience for, given the tone is right (light, breezy, a bit silly but not overly so). But I’m not sure I have reason to continue beyond this. It wrapped up twenty years of the franchise all too well.
  • Finch
    A pleasant surprise. Hanks is Hanks. The robot’s character is surprisingly well written. Some really nice visuals. Just pleasant.
  • The Power of the Dog
    A well-paced western with an ending that hits you out of nowhere. This looked fantastic, and Cumberbatch didn’t piss me off – which is quite an achievement.
  • No Time to Die
    I’m not much a fan of Bond. I find them incredibly dated and corny. That said, Spectre was a fantastic movie (mostly because it was the least Bond-like instalment I’ve seen). I gave up on the penultimate instalment after twenty minutes, but decided to watch NTTD given it was Craig’s last performance in the role. The ending was great, the action sequences were clever and tight. Ana de Armas was a great addition, but featured way too briefly.
    But in true Bond style, the bad guys were cartoonish and a lot of dialogue was corny. Rami Malek is poorly cast. For the big bad dude of the movie, he had absolutely zero presence.
  • The Matrix Resurrections
    Holy shit. I thought the second and third instalments were bad, but this lured me in with rumours that they’d gone all meta with the plot. I was intrigued, but unfortunately it was done so poorly that it took me five sessions to get through. Terrible. Just terrible.
  • A Quiet Place Part II
    Solid sequel. Nothing to get excited over but some decent thrills.
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2021: Perhaps The Most Useless Year of My Life

A year characterised by a lot of walking loops around the neighbourhood

2020 was a real shit of a year. Dealing with Covid, lockdowns, and the immense stress of trying to move back home. The fear of disease, and the fear of being locked out of my home country left me with some form of mild PTSD in the early stages of this year. But even amongst all that bullshit, I achieved the monumental task of getting home, and I squeezed in a couple of epic road trips in Alberta and Western Australia along the way.

2021 was a year of nothing. It was a whole lot less stressful, but also a lot emptier. Bereft of achievement, life progress having been kneecapped by the same culprit time and time again.

It was a year of being paralysed. Half of the year was consumed by official lockdowns, the other half by a self-imposed semi-lockdown. Two years into this, I’m now having to choose between a social life or a family life. The fear remains that you can’t take up new hobbies, meet new people, go for a beer or go to the gym without killing your parents weeks later.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom. I finally got back into making tunes again. I hope to have something original to share in 2022, but until it’s a little more polished here’s a cover I punched out when I was learning

Until two weeks ago, I hadn’t actually known anyone who’d gotten Covid personally. I now know one, and I suspect that will increase rapidly in the weeks ahead. Best case scenario, this is the “ripping the band-aid off” of the pandemic and this time next year it’s behind us (as is this government and the corrupt lazy fuck at the top). Fingers crossed!

I did purchase a vacuum cleaner for the first time this year. I think that just about sums it up.

Top music and shows for the year below…

Music

My year end playlist, comprised of songs which all landed in my top fifty plays, and which were released after December 2020 – chosen for play count, as well as thematic content and musical range.

Most played song was Alien Crime Lord, by a long way. Awaiting a new album from The Voidz, I also gave their back-catalogue a lot of attention.

Streams

I didn’t catch a lot of movies this year, but Dune wins regardless. My first (and only) trip to a theatre in two years was worth the wait.

The White Lotus was my favourite series for the year.

I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson (Season 2) kept me laughing, as did It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia (Season 15) – which was also far more brilliant than a show should be fifteen seasons into its life.

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Streams 2021 Sep Oct Nov

Series

  • Succession (Season 3)
    This show just gets better and better. It is now up there with Better Call Saul as the only series to which I salivate as I await new episodes (I’m not the only one). The cast is just phenomenal, as is the writing. And I have no idea where it will go next.
  • Squid Game
    This was terrific. Mind you, the style and themes do all the heavy lifting. Without the distinctive visuals, intense subject matter and class war themes, you might be left thinking more about that dead end plot line with the cop (whose phone battery seems to last days), an organ harvesting storyline which went nowhere, and the overly drawn out nature of the story (that last episode in particular was a drag). Still, a highlight of the year despite these pet peeves.
  • Dexter: New Blood
    The original run of this show had the worst final season and final episode of any show, ever. Somehow, I was still up for more eight years later. Thankfully, it’s a return to form (thus far anyway. At time of writing there’s still four episodes remaining). Worth a look for fans of the series before it turned bad.
  • Ted Lasso
    What a great first season of a show, followed by a clusterfuck of a second to undo all the good vibes of the first. Season one is a great mix of drama, comedy and warmth. Season two was hot garbage. Much like Mythic Quest it doesn’t seem to understand what was appealing about the show in the first place (keep it light for a start), and overestimates my interest in the “world” of the show. I give zero fucks about B-characters. I don’t need to know more about them, or watch them go on LENGTHY side quests to find themselves. I sure as shit don’t need to know about the issues they had or continue to have with their father. It’s a simple light breezy show and the tone was set in season one. Keep it there. Suffice to say I won’t find out if they get back on track for season three because hit the ejection button on this rickety plane before I got to the end.
  • Foundation
    Well this sure was pretty. Some incredible and unique sci-fi visuals. Unfortunately that was about all it had for me. Perhaps my hopes were too high, but this was a chore to get through.
  • Curb Your Enthusiasm (Season 11)
    This season had a few weak moments, but Larry still makes me laugh. Will I continue to watch? Sure. Would I be sad if they stopped making it? Nope. Always Sunny on the other hand keeps me wanting more.
  • You (Season 3)
    Yes I watched this. Yes it is trash. Yes I knew it was trash going in.

Movies

  • Dune
    I’ve been waiting many many years for this one. When I heard Villeneuve was attached to direct, my anticipation only increased – and it did not disappoint. My first visit to the cinema in two years and it was well and truly worthy of the big screen.
  • The Father
    One of the best of the year. Very cleverly structured and perfectly executed. The less you know before hitting play, the better.
  • Free Guy
    Enjoyable enough but wouldn’t recommend. Plot wise, a bit like The Lego Movie meets The Truman Show with Ryan Reynolds doing his usual thing (which while fun, is really getting a little tired). Taika’s character shat me off too. But what really got to me was the godawful ending. The female lead is sold as a highly intelligent girl, yet somehow she is completely oblivious to her male friend overtly crushing on her for years. So, she’s not interested right? Or she became interested because he grew and changed? Nope. He does fuck all, goes to get a coffee and she suddenly notices all the creepy messages he left in the game for her. So when he returns with his coffee she’s *all over him*. What a steaming pile of Hollywood horse shit.
  • Jungle Cruise
    Does what it says on the label. Entertaining fun in the vein of Indiana Jones and The (Brendan Fraser) Mummy.
  • Nitram
    Fantastic performances and overall a very chilling film. My only gripe is that by the end I wasn’t entirely sure of the point of it all. Perhaps that it was all preventable? I guess that sense of unease might be the whole idea.

Docos

  • Woodstock 99
    Where the 90s died. Pretty alarming to watch now but they make the argument that a lot of what grunge and rap seeded in the early 90s mutated into an angry white male beast by the name of nu-metal. Somehow the messages within the lyrics were lost on a lot of people. I guess that same angry crowd is storming the US Capitol these days.
  • Watch The Sound
    This made for an interesting dive into different technologies, effects and concepts of music production within the last 40 years. Especially interesting given I was diving into some of these effects myself during lockdown.
  • Shirkers
    Really quirky and fascinating doco. I went in blind, which is best. You never quite know where it’s headed or what the point is, but come out of it feeling as though you’ve watched something unique.
  • Inside Central Station
    I love this stuff. In another lifetime I could see myself involved in infrastructure somehow. It was pretty eye-opening to see the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes to keep Sydney moving.
  • New York Super Airport
    Similar to above, a doco about infrastructure and engineering, and I lapped it up. It covers the impressive reconstruction of New York’s LaGuardia airport, completed whilst the airport remained functional.
  • Q: Into The Storm
    I’ve stayed out of the loop with the ins and outs of this cesspool. This HBO doco was pretty thorough and engaging. Really makes one reflect on where the balance sits between pros and cons of the internet.

Games

Walking a dystopian version of Vancouver in Backbone
  • Backbone
    I fired this up knowing little about it and found myself on the streets of a dystopian version of Vancouver (albeit not named as such – but the inspiration is clearly there right from the game map to the scenery). Beautiful artwork, engaging story. Good to see a story-driven adventure work so well on a console.
  • Mini Motorways
    Well this just consumed a lot of lockdown time. Addictive, fun, and frustrating. Sim-City meets Oilswell.
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Streams 2021 Jun Jul Aug

Series

  • I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson (Season 2)
    The only bad thing about this is that there were only six episodes. I tried to ration it out, knowing how much I loved the first season, but couldn’t help myself. This is terrific, and had me laughing out loud, having to pause at times to recover.
  • The White Lotus
    From the opening theme I was hooked. It immediately and accurately set the tone. From there it got better. The brilliant cinematography and some of the subject matter put it up there with Euphoria. The cast was fantastic, and so convincing that I’d fear the actors being typecast. Who doesn’t enjoy seeing rich douchebags getting a nice dose of karma?
  • Succession (Seasons 1-2)
    I wasn’t sure about this to begin with. My initial impression was that it was just too stacked with horrible characters, but solid performances soon had me hooked to the point I’m now eagerly awaiting the third season.
  • AP Bio (Seasons 1-3)
    With no new Always Sunny in sight for some time, I set forth to watch what other work the guys had done. Glenn Howerton (Dennis from Sunny) takes the lead in this, and plays a similar character – albeit less sociopathic. The stories are less futile and more optimistic than Sunny, and the laughs are milder – but it’s a pretty solid placebo – unlike the following series…
  • Mythic Quest (Seasons 1-2)
    Rob McElhenney (Mac in Always Sunny) fronts this comedy, and similar to Howerton in AP Bio, plays a similar character to the one he plays in Sunny. It’s set in a game design studio and starts out very strongly. It captures very well the personalities of digital media studios and video gaming in general, with a strong supporting cast including David Hornsby (Cricket from Sunny) and Charlotte Nicdao (using her native Aussie accent).
    Unfortunately it falls apart in season 2, with a couple of Community-style “themed” episodes, and then some which take a left turn into serious drama – focusing on side characters in a non-comedic way. It’s possibly the most bizarre tonal change I’ve ever seen within a series. I didn’t make it to the last episode. Stop after season one.
  • Brooklyn Nine Nine (Season 8)
    It dawned on me watching this final season how most of the bigger US sitcoms seem to last 8-10 years (Seinfeld, The Office, Parks & Rec), and there’s a reason for that. Humour changes and moves and eventually a show birthed nine years ago feels dated. This has been a great show, with solid characters, but it’s time has come.
  • The Handmaid’s Tale (Seasons 1-4)
    This was hard to watch. The subject matter is disturbing on every level, and the religious aspect only added to how enraging it was. Lockdown kept me watching. It’s never “bad”, nor is it ever that amazing. But it is always disturbing.
  • Loki
    This is possibly the most visually impressive thing Marvel has produced. The content was fun, but the Marvel silliness was a bit exhausting by the end.
  • Rick & Morty (Season 5)
    This started so strongly and did what this show does best – good laughs and very clever plotlines. By half way through it went from must-see to see-when-I-get-around-to-it. Still good, but I wonder if it’s getting a little tired.

Movies

  • Gattaca
    Somehow this one passed me by back in the day, but the good thing about that is I was able to enjoy it for the first time now. Loved it.
  • Fast 9
    Up until last year I hadn’t seen any of these. Thanks to Covid I smashed through the lot. They were laughably ridiculous, but loaded with good fun and good action. This ninth instalment however, is plain bad. And just the sight of John Cena shits me. His giant head exudes massive douche energy, and you get the feeling he thinks he’s the next Dwayne or Arnie, when in fact he’s the next has-been-in-waiting.
  • Nobody
    Can’t say a bad thing about Bob Odenkirk. This was entertaining, but forgettable.
  • The Game
    I’m a mad Fincher head, but somehow had never seen this one. It’s not one of his best – but a decent ride with great pacing and thrills. Unfortunately the ending kinda sucked.
  • Clueless
    Another one I never saw back in the day, and was pleasantly surprised. Watching this was like taking a trip back to the 90s for ninety minutes. Silverstone is seriously underrated and it’s amazing her career dwindled. Perhaps Batman is to thank for that.
  • Contact
    They should have sent a poet. I’ve watched this Zemeckis / Sagan classic countless times, but not for many years. It still holds up and remains one of my favourites. The medicine cabinet mirror shot still blows my mind.

Games

  • Quantum Break
    I jumped on this after learning it was from the same team as Control. It had some clever puzzles which messed with time jumps, however is a prime example of a game with more budget than ideas. So many lengthy cinematics could have been gameplay, and so much walking-and-talking gameplay could have been cinematic. I didn’t care enough to persist in completing the final battle.
  • Beneath a Steel Sky
    I finally played this point & click adventure title 27 years after its release, thanks to lockdown. Somehow it passed me by back in the day. It’s a post-apocalyptic sci-fi comedy set in Sydney (very unusual for a game, particularly in the 90s). I loved it. The gags still work, and I did get a kick out of walking past locations such as Museum and St James stations.
This perfectly captures how much the game has changed. I attempted to make a game 20 years ago and found the learning curve incredible steep for an individual. These days you can spend a couple of hours in Unreal and get results.

Docos

  • Ms Represented
    Great ABC series covering both the historical and present-day challenges and discrimination placed on women in public life. Like many things (environmentalism, government innovation), Australia went from a world leader to a laggard and I really hope after decades of stagnation this country is on the verge of long overdue changes.
  • Fantastic Fungi
    The incredible photography kept my eyes glued and the content kept my ears peeled. Highly recommend.
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Streams 2021 Mar Apr May

Docos

  • Sydney’s Super Tunnel
    Truth be told – this was my favourite show of the last quarter. Goddamn I love this shit – trains, infrastructure, design, engineering – and in my home city. What’s been done for public transport and infrastructure in the last five-ish years in Sydney has been impressive (and long overdue). I can’t wait to see more.
  • Feels Good Man
    I discovered Matt Furie in the relatively early days of the internet. I still own three t-shirts with his designs which I bought back in the days where I prided myself on my unique tee collection. His art and illustration was unique and I loved it. Fast forward a few years and I started seeing his Pepe character being used for memes. His art had been hijacked by a bunch of Trump fanboys. I had NO idea how deep the rabbit hole went, and felt sorry for him. Great doco, which raises questions around who owns art.
  • Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds
    This was really charming and showed both the strengths and limitations of the two age groups.
  • Seaspiracy
    Hang around me long enough and I’ll have a rant about “pescatarians” who won’t eat meat for animal cruelty reasons (which has merit) – but yet happily consume a product (fish) whose industry wipes out one species after another with little scrutiny. So what I’m saying is, I watched this for validation of my meat consumption and minimal seafood consumption.

Series

  • On Cinema Oscer Special 2021
    I am amazed by how brilliantly this show continues to deliver year after year. This special in particular was innovative in that it ran two separate live streams at once (one for Timheads, one for the Greggheads) as we witnessed the repercussions of Gregg’s murderous car attack last year. Heidecker in particular continues to impress by subverting expectations and playing with the medium itself.
  • For All Mankind (Season 2)
    This season started way too slowly and took far too long to get to the meat of the story – but it ended so well and reminded me why I loved the first season so much. That Mrs Robinson plotline was a little forced – but I’m willing to forgive it for Shantel VanSanten. Oof.
    One gripe – it doesn’t have enough fun with the alternate history of the world. Most of the history of the world outside the space program is identical to our own. Same songs, same leaders, same culture.
  • Manhunt: Deadly Games
    I remember the Atlanta bombing back in the day, although at only twelve years of age I was unaware of the details. Richard Jewell went through hell and this captures it in a really engaging way. Clearly the militia plotline was tacked on. I’m not sure how wise it was but I get why they did it. It rounds out the end of the story a lot better.
  • Wellington Paranormal (Season 3)
    Good for a laugh as always. Some gags hit, some miss. All a bit of fun.
  • Made For Love
    There’s been no shortage of shows which have clearly been pitched as Black Mirror or Twilight Zone -inspired. Any mention of the aforementioned shows will pique my interest. The trouble is though, for every brilliant Zone story there were six lacklustre ones. This is a lacklustre one. And one of my pet peeves – implausible bullshit sci-fi tech – was in abundance.
  • Mare of Easttown
    How about you assemble a whole bunch of characters I couldn’t give a fuck about and follow a bunch of dead-end plotlines, then introduce some more characters who have no relevance to the plot – and culminate them in a weak ending – but next time don’t tell me to watch it.
  • Last Week Tonight
    John Oliver is a funny guy, but this show is not particularly funny any more. It used to be a nice balance between comedy and insightful commentary and information. I’m not sure if it was Trump that broke him (like Trump-super-fan Stephen Colbarf) or the lack of an audience, but he just comes across as preachy and condescending now – which is guaranteed to shit me even when I agree with the points being made.

Movies

  • The Dry
    Beautifully made Aussie murder mystery. Cinematography and acting were fantastic.
  • I Am Mother
    Another clever Aussie sci-fi movie I missed from 2019. Really slick, great cast, the last act was a bit too long but not enough to spoil it.
  • Coherence
    Really clever sci-fi grounded around a group of friends at a dinner party. Must see for anyone who loves a thinker or a twist.
  • Richard Jewell
    I followed up the Manhunt series covering the same content by watching the Clint Eastwood cinematic version and found it felt a lot cheaper. While the series tacked on a phoney militia plotline, at least it handled the main story points a lot better than this.
  • Bad Trip
    Hilarious. Andre is brilliant.
  • Waterworld
    I’d never seen this and had known only three things – at the time it was the most expensive movie ever made, it was a flop, and it was a Mad Max ripoff. There isn’t even any subtlety to the ripoff. I enjoyed it enough, but it felt like a hard slog.
  • Run
    Simple thriller, well executed.
  • Godzilla vs Kong
    About what I expected.
  • The Mitchell’s vs The Machines
    Stunning visuals, with an oddly dated feeling plot (that dad is, say, 40 maybe? And he doesn’t understand smartphones? Screen-time as a theme feels more 2010 than 2021). Hopefully more animated features push visual experimentation.
  • Happily
    This sucked massively.

Games

  • Prey
    This was really cool and gave me flashbacks to the original Half-Life. The story was engaging and intricate, the balance between tasks and combat was right (I get so bored by too much of the latter), and the visuals weren’t anything remarkable but they were solid. Loved it.
  • Control
    Loved the visuals, the geometric art, the story, the concepts, and throwing bodies around. However, this game has such a godawful map and confusing spawning system which makes you replay sections of story and dialogue even though it remembers your progress beyond that point. Enemy spawning seemed buggy as hell in some sections too, with endless respawns. I’m certain it’s a bug, not a feature. Still, all in all, a fun ride, but I was bored of it long before I got to the end.
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Streams 2021 Dec Jan Feb

Games

  • Ori and the Will of the Wisps
    Wow. This occupied my Christmas break. As rain came down and Covid threatened yet again, I wore my thumbs numb playing this highly addictive platformer. When the batteries on my controller ran dry I ran through torrential Sydney rain for fresh ones. The gameplay is fun, the scenery is beautiful and the soundtrack incredible.
    That fucking spider boss though. And her babies. They can get fucked. I’m sure my new neighbours thought I had Tourette’s.
  • The Medium
    I loved this. I didn’t care a great deal for the plot but the format is almost exactly what I’ve long had in mind for how I would make my own adventure game (albeit with more structured camera angles & less camera changes and a less hand-holding in the gameplay). The spirit world split was also a very clever game device.

Series

  • How To With John Wilson
    Oh, how I’ve missed Nathan For You. I wasn’t sure about How To after seeing the first episode. It felt like a poor attempt at Nathan Fielder’s style, but as each episode progressed I realised John Wilson was truly doing his own thing. His style and approach is unique and subtly hilarious. Structurally it’s just as impressive as it manages to wrap the entire set of episodes up in a way you don’t expect. It’s a very visual show – if you play on your phone you’ll miss 90% of the jokes.
    Notable mentions: the foreskin guy (what!) and the absurdity of the art commissions.
  • Friday Night Dinner (Season 1-2)
    Another Robert Popper classic. Somehow this passed me by when it first aired but the advantage is I now have some comedy to watch – which I’ve been needing. The father is a classic, as is Jim (in smaller doses). Can’t stand the blonde son though – he reminds me too much of the kind of aloof motherfuckers I can’t stand in real life.
  • Your Honour
    This was a like a quality streaming show written by a broadcast television writing team. I enjoyed it, but there were a lot of moments of the story which were a bit too convenient. The cast carried it.
  • The Undoing
    I got right into this, and enjoyed the ride – but I’m not quite sure I liked how it landed. You’re led to assume that the most obvious ending can’t be what happens – and somehow the twist is that there is no twist.
  • The Mandalorian (Season 2)
    Even better than last season, each episode better than the last. It looks and sounds fantastic and not a moment is wasted. No other show makes me feel like a kid again better than this.
  • WandaVision
    I only really caught this because I have free Disney+ now. I enjoyed all the sitcom references, hated the pseudoscience and was lost by the references that went way over my head since I don’t have a PhD in Marvel.

Movies

  • Nomadland
    McDormand was great, cinematography and scenery is stunning (set in a region of the world that really represents a happy place for me). Script and plot are minimal, yet the themes of personal loss and the larger economic and societal issues still come through. Most of the characters in the film are real people – not actors – and at times it almost feels like a documentary. I really enjoyed it.
  • Mank
    Love Fincher, but I was far too distracted by the visual quality of this to enjoy the story. I’m guessing the idea was to pull the audience into the world, but it did the exact opposite for me. Plenty of beautifully framed shots regardless, as you’d expect.
    The Lighthouse used a visual style to great effect. This felt like a gimmick.
  • Before Sunrise
    Great script which plunges you right into a chance encounter between two travellers on a night in Europe. Enjoyed this a lot more than I anticipated. Soz for the blue balls Hawkie.
  • Soul
    I don’t tend to watch a lot of animated features these days. They generally bore me. I gave this a go when I heard a lot of hype surrounding it. The hype was unjustified. The story was boring, the visual quality was more “cinematic” than Pixar’s usual fare but generally bland. The one positive was the “Soul-world” where they tried something new for a change, but overall even that wasn’t worth it.

Docos

Some Kind of Heaven
  • Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult
    This was fascinating and shocking. Organised religion IS abuse, there really isn’t any other way to cut it. What’s particularly bizarre about NXIVM is the players in the game. Keith Raniere, the self-proclaimed “third best problem solver in the world” (lol) would have to be the most bland, uncharismatic cult leader to have ever existed. He’s the annoying guy in a group who you let come along cause you feel bad for him, not the guy you follow.
  • The Vow
    This doco covers the same content as the aforementioned Seduced, just a hell of a lot more bloated. The “bloated doco series” has been a plague since Making a Murderer – find yourselves an editor and get some perspective as to how much meat your subject matter has on its bones. This only had to be 5 episodes at MOST.
  • Some Kind of Heaven
    This was fascinating, sad, heart-warming and bizarre. It follows some of the people at Florida’s famous The Villages retirement village as they live out their twilight years. The Villages is a carefully constructed world designed to resemble the lives they might have had in their twenties. It’s beautifully shot and it’s nice to see these people having fun, but incredibly sad to watch some of them still dealing with the kind of relationship stress and jealousy they had in their hey day. It made me reflect on my own life a little too much. Van life handy-man is a real piece of work.
  • A Glitch in the Matrix
    Rodney Ascher of Room 237 fame directs this feature length doco about simulation theory and, indirectly, the future of gaming and entertainment to come. He builds most of it around a 1977 Philip K Dick lecture where he emphatically suggests the likelihood of such a reality existing. This was really cool, and cleverly constructed. I particularly liked the use of avatars for interviewees. It doesn’t seek to convince you that we live in a simulation (would it even matter if we did?) but the ideas and people make for fascinating discussion, including some really disturbing takes. Long story short, I’m surrounded by NPCs.
  • Alien Worlds
    I loved this. I thought it was a great concept, well considered and executed. It mixes information from life on Earth and hypothesises how potential alien life may exist.
    Shout out to the guy getting excited watching beetles have sex.
  • Framing Britney Spears
    Had to jump on this bandwagon. Spears was my top celebrity crush when I was 18, and Toxic is still one of the greatest songs of all time, so I didn’t exactly approach it kicking and screaming. The main thing that struck me was just how different things were in the 90s. It’s easy to forget even though I lived through it, but some questions from journalists and jokes from late night hosts are just shocking and cringey when heard with modern ears.

Pods

  • Smartless
    Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes chatting with random celebrities, and paying each other out. Yeah, it’s in the celebrity-interviewing-celebrity circle jerk genre, but the dynamic between these guys really works and often hilarious. I powered through all of them in two weeks.
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Streams 2020 Sep Oct Nov

The lighting in this sequence is fantastic and is a vital ingredient in heightening the tension

Movies

  • Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
    Not as funny as the first but certainly very clever. His daughter is the highlight.
  • I’m Thinking of Ending Things
    This was cleverly constructed as you’d expect of Kaufman. Plenty to deconstruct after the credits roll.
  • The Peanut Butter Falcon
    Such a pleasant movie. Nothing showy, but just all around feel-good, with some pretty scenery and a decent blues soundtrack.
  • The Squid and the Whale
    “Truly the filet of the neighbourhood”. Baumbach has a way of tackling unpleasant subject matter in a way that still leaves you feeling good. Those kids are messed up though. The young one especially, smearing his DNA everywhere.
  • Mandy
    Style over substance, and I was fine with that. It looked trippy as hell.
  • Rear Window
    I’ve been watching some classics lately. Some, like this, I had seen before many years ago. It was even better than I remembered. The suspense still holds up all these years later and it may be my favourite Hitchcock film (or perhaps second to Psycho). The lighting in the final sequence during the confrontation is fantastic.
  • Vertigo
    At the other end of the spectrum lies Vertigo. This is one I had never seen before and it regularly tops lists of best Hitchcock movies – but I honestly don’t know why, aside from some technical achievements. It’s got good moments and I can see how it could have been received well back in the day. It just doesn’t hold up. Underwhelming ending.
  • Rope
    The third Hitchcock movie I watched this quarter was another I’d never seen before. Rope is based on a play, and it certainly plays like one – and ties shots together to create the illusion of the movie being one single shot. Remarkable for the time.
  • Lawrence of Arabia
    This had been on my list for a long time but I’d always been intimidated by its runtime. I watched it in two sessions, using the intermission to break it up. I can see why it’s considered a classic. Cinematography is awesome and captures the sense of scale.
  • Palm Springs
    Disappointing. Started strong, but the laughs were too few and the substance too shallow to make up for it. I really just want another Hot Rod from The Lonely Island guys.
  • RoboCop
    This one had passed me by in its day but I had to check it out as a fan of Verhoeven’s Total Recall and Starship Troopers. I appreciate how it might have been fresh in its day, but it doesn’t hold up quite like the other two – aside from the in-world news desk and advertisements which were every bit as clever as ST’s newsreels.
  • Blow Up
    This was straight up weird. I could have done without seeing it.
Mandy

Series

  • An Evening with Tim Heidecker
    This was hilarious. It’s the freshest special I’ve seen in some time. I absolutely lost it several times. If you don’t “get” it then you’re really missing out.
  • Moonbase 8
    Heidecker, Armisen and Reilly – you can’t lose. This was hilarious and leant itself very well to the talents of each of the main cast members.
  • Aunty Donna’s Big Ol’ House of Fun
    Great to see some Aussie comedy getting some airtime. Some of this misses the mark, but it’s delivered with such confidence that you glide on by to the good stuff.
  • Raised By Wolves
    Christ. What a colossal waste of time. It only caused me to lament that Prometheus didn’t get a true sequel. While that film could have done with less Alien tie-in and more ancient engineer and android story, RBW could have been more grounded. It looked great, but lacked substance. And those kids were annoying as hell.
  • Fargo (Season 4)
    This season was grounded in the real world more than the last two seasons. Jessie Buckley is great, and the Wizard of Oz inspired episode was particularly impressive.
  • The Boys (Season 2)
    I started this season reluctantly, and was frustrated by the early episodes given that I hated just about every character, but by the time I reached the end I was on board again. Not must-see but makes for decent entertainment.
  • It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia (Seasons 6-14)
    I managed to finish this in quarantine. Love this show, although the characters become caricatures of themselves as the seasons progress.

Docos

  • David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet
    Ugh we’re fucked.
  • Outback Ringer
    Discovered by accident, but I loved this. Covers the excitement of being a ringer up in the top end, and followed along a series of real characters. I could see myself having a good time at the pubs they frequent too.
  • My Next Guest with David Letterman
    I miss cynical Dave. He’s become increasingly nice as this series has progressed and it’s less interesting as a result.
  • High Score
    Aside from the brief moment of seeing Ken and Roberta Williams, this series was underwhelming. I didn’t finish it.
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Streams 2020 Jun Jul Aug

Games

I’m inclined to agree with Limmy
  • The Forest
    My interest in this game resembles the bell curve of New Zealand’s COVID-case chart. I was lured in by two things – the “plane crash on a mysterious island” setup will always catch my eye; and quite simply that the required machine specs suited my laptop.
    So I got right into it, after some initial frustration with what I was meant to be doing (video above captures my mood). Building, exploring, discovering new weapons, fighting cannibals and mutants, and piecing together the story somewhat. The “somewhat” is the problem for me. I quickly grew bored as the game’s hazy goals, stacked up on some frustrating UI quirks and an impossibly dark nighttime look. More than half of the things you can build are purely decorative and serve no value or purpose to the game.
    Maybe it works better when played with friends? Possibly, although I doubt it. It needs more purpose, story and characters to hold my interest.

Series

Devs
  • Devs
    This was great. Created, written and directed by Alex Garland, so if you’re a fan of his previous work you’ll likely be into this too. It was thought-provoking, the soundtrack was fantastic, and the visuals were cool. Some sloppy performances didn’t hold it back.
  • Limmy’s Show
    I discovered this show after Limmy was a guest on Office Hours. I listen to most of Tim Heidecker’s comedy recommendations and this was definitely a winner – and it makes sense – it plays like a less crude, less nightmarish version of Tim & Eric, with more charming accents. It matched my sketch comedy tastes perfectly and I can’t believe I hadn’t heard of it until this year.
  • The Twilight Zone (2019) (Season 2)
    Thankfully, this improved on the first season, which mostly paid fan-service to the sixties series. This still meant that half of the episodes were built on a weak premise or poorly executed. But it was worth trudging through those for the other half.
  • It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia (Seasons 1-5)
    A show which has long alluded me – it’s never aired on any traditional channel, nor could it be found on any streaming platform to which I had access. I discovered it was available through my ISP here and it’s been part of my lunchtime workout routine since. “Who Pooped the Bed?” is a work of genius.
  • Solar Opposites
    Off-brand Rick & Morty. It’s entertaining enough. I binged the lot in a weekend, but did I need it? Nah.
  • Nathan For You
    I’ve seen most of this show a multiple times already, but not for a few years. Re-watching it only confirmed that it’s one of the most brilliant shows of the last ten years. If you haven’t seen it, you’re really missing out on some big laughs and clever ideas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmjHSNdHIv4

Docos

  • Love On The Spectrum
    This was really charming. It’s listed as “reality” but it plays more documentary-style and opened my eyes to a world I’m really unfamiliar with – yet found very relatable. I’ve had enough awkward dates of my own, without being able to cite autism as a reason.
  • I’ll Be Gone In The Dark
    An interesting spin on the classic true-crime doco where some of the light is shone back on the author herself. Michelle McNamara’s years of research led to an arrest following her death.
    Side note: I don’t know why but I can’t stand Patton Oswalt.

Movies

  • The Death of Dick Long
    This could have been better. Moments even felt like it wanted to be Fargo. It falls far short of that, but was still worth a look. It’s biggest problem is that it can’t decide whether to lean into the comedy or drama, and in turn waters down both.
  • The Florida Project
    I’m not sure I’d recommend this, but that’s not to say it lacked value. It captured the feel of the Orlando / Space Coast region of Florida with its bright colours, motels, and endless flat suburbia – some of which took me back to my own childhood of long hot summers riding my bike around the streets of western Sydney making up games to entertain ourselves. More importantly it captured a lot of the issues with America right now, contrasting Disneyland against the very real poverty of many, and the way many of these folks are dismissed and looked down upon rather than understood. Actually you know what, I would recommend this. Ignore my first sentence.
  • Ad Astra
    This looked awesome and tickled my sci-fi bones in a visual sense, but was otherwise forgettable.
  • The Fast and Furious series
    I’d managed to go this long without seeing a single movie from this franchise, so when they appeared on Netflix I decided I’d “educate” myself. The first three were a waste of time. Strangely they became more enjoyable as they leaned into the ridiculousness of the concept. Check-your-brain-at-the-door fun.
  • The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
    God this was long, but I see why it’s a classic. The soundtrack is still the best thing about it. RIP Ennio.
  • Starship Troopers
    Re-watched this after having not seen it for maybe 20 years. It’s still brilliant, and some of the themes have only become sharper with age. VFX largely held up, and Denise Richards had the same effect on me as when I saw this at 14 years of age. Sigh.
    I have yet to see Paul Verhoeven’s RoboCop (I was a bit too young on release), but knowing it’s held in a similar regard means it’s on the list.
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Streams 2020 Mar Apr May

Never trust an atom. They make up everything.

Series

  • Tales From The Loop
    My tumblr back in the day was loaded with Simon Stålenhag art. That was enough to get me in. This was visually beautiful, and as a fan of The Twilight Zone and Black Mirror, I loved the content too. And although there were about three episodes way too slow in the mix which I didn’t need, the last two left me wanting more.
  • What We Do In The Shadows (Season 2)
    This show is just pleasant to watch. The energy vampire rampage episode is hilarious and incredible.
  • Beef House
    I had high hopes for this after seeing Tim & Eric back in February (which feels like 6 years ago now). The second episode, “Prunes” had me laughing harder than anything I’ve seen in the last year, but the rest of the episodes felt a bit flat to me.
  • Dave
    I didn’t want to watch this, but here we are. Dave has a very punchable face. Not since David Schwimmer have I seen someone on screen who looks as perpetually miserable and worried. I got some good laughs. The guy has talent, but I would not have watched or missed this if I hadn’t been isolated at home.
  • Upload
    This show was awful. I know it’s meant to be a comedy (emphasis on meant) but the sci-fi takes were distractingly bad. I kept watching out of fascination to see just how terrible it could get. It’s like the tech was imagined by a 60-year-old accountant spit-balling it all in a 15 minute coffee break. Why is there a forbidden area in a virtual world?? Just don’t design it with that area. Christ.
  • After Life (Season 2)
    This was just a carbon copy of the first season. Gervais moping around like a sad sack with a couple of laughs along the way.
  • Parks & Recreation (All seven Seasons)
    I had Amazon for the month to watch the aforementioned TFTL, so I smashed this out while working out and cooking. Doesn’t require my full attention. I rate it as basically The Office running at 80% strength.

Movies

  • The Lighthouse
    Loved this, as I do anything that leaves me with questions. The visuals, sound design, and performances only elevated it further.
  • Vivarium
    This felt like three-quarters of an idea. Very cool, but just missing a strong point to it. That kid is creepy as hell though.
  • Stand By Me
    This one passed me by as a kid. I feel like I would have loved it had I seen it back then. I still enjoyed it – the Stephen King vibes, the music – but I’m 30 years late to fall in love with it.
  • Jojo Rabbit
    This was good, but not great. My biggest takeaway was the reminder that Scarlett Johansson is actually a great actress. It’s been a while.
  • Bombshell
    This one had great production value, and Margot – but last year’s The Loudest Voice was a better take on the same content.
  • The Big Sick
    Another one that passed me by a few years ago. Enjoyable, but probably forgettable. The fact it was based off a true story was probably the most incredible part.

Docos

  • Beastie Boys Story
    This was such a pleasure to watch – heartbreaking in parts, hilarious in others – Adam, Mike and Spike Jonze inject it with so much charm that I imagine it would be enjoyable to fans of music generally, even those unaware of the Beastie Boys.
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Streams 2020 Dec Jan Feb

Well, we made it through the greyest, bleakest winter I’ve ever experienced (says more about the fortune of growing up in Australia than anything) – only to be faced with more confinement. On the same week that Spring reared it’s sunny face and washed away the grey, the slow moving tsunami named Coronavirus reached North America.

So we’ll be trapped inside for some time yet. I’ll be forced to continue reading, making digital art on my Surface, and annoying the neighbours with my Harmonica.

And, of course, staring at screens. Here’s some recent ones…

I wished this world was larger

Games

  • Whispers of a Machine
    My childhood was spent riding my bike and playing PC and Sega games, and 90% of that was either parser-based or point-and-click adventure games. So much so that I largely stopped playing games when they stopped making this genre at the end of the 90s.
    I recently discovered there’s been a resurgence and WoaM was the first I dived into – a “sci-fi Nordic Noir” murder mystery. The story was great, the future-retro artwork and world were fantastic, and as for gameplay the UI was a simple and easy to pick up (although having grown up on games where you spent months pixel-hunting, I thought it made the game too easy). The “enhancements” feature was tricky to understand at first but allowed for great replay-ability. I wanted more.
    It might be time to try making my own again…

Series

  • Better Call Saul Season 5
    The season has four more episodes to come at the moment, but it’s easily the entertainment highlight of every week without competition. The writing is unmatched. The cast delivers in spades (Rhea Seehorn & Bob Odenkirk especially). I suspect I may end up ranking BCS higher than Breaking Bad when it’s over – if they stick the landing.
  • Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 10
    This was so much better than their last attempt when they all looked old and tired. Every moment of this season was packed with jokes and energy. And the concept of a spite store really spoke to me.
  • The Outsider
    I was lured in by “Stephen King” and “Ben Mendelsohn”. It delivered what I expected. It felt like a King show and Mendo was great. Some good creepy moments. The journey was worth it despite the lacklustre ending.
  • Picard
    As a big TNG nerd, I wanted to like this more, but it felt like a chore.
  • The Man In The High Castle
    A bit uneven across the seasons (first was slow, third was all over the place) but overall it hooked me right in and when the last episode ended, I wanted more.
  • The Boys
    I started watching this (reluctantly) off a recommendation. It sounded like yet another spin on the tired superhero genre. I was surprised to find it did have some fresh ideas. Unfortunately by the time I got to the end, the fresh ideas already seemed stale.

Docos

  • Tiger King
    What the hell did I just watch?
  • The Family
    Religion. This made me angry.

Movies

  • Doctor Sleep
    This was SO much better than it had any right to be. Following up The Shining – *ahem* – Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining – 40 years later should have been a recipe for disaster. But it really fit into the same world and had a decent story add to the original. The director Mike Flanagan does his best Kubrick impersonation.
  • The Invisible Man
    Decent thriller with some clever vfx work.