Book #3 of 2021: Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline (Ready Player One #2) I liked the first Ready Player One novel more than I know a lot of people did, for although I’m sympathetic to the criticisms of gatekeeping and mansplaining, the earnestness of its nerdy passions and fun VR action sequences were enough …
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TV #1 of 2021: Kim’s Convenience, season 1 I like the distinctive perspective of centering a sitcom around a Korean-Canadian family running a convenience store, but I could do without all the stubborn bigotry of patriarch Mr. Kim. While it never feels as though we’re meant to side with his racism, sexism, homophobia, etc., too …
Book #2 of 2021: The Hand of Oberon by Roger Zelazny (The Chronicles of Amber #4) These novels are short enough that it’s never a major investment to continue on with the series, but that also means each volume has limited space to really wow a reader. In this fourth book, a lot of that …
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Movie #1 of 2021: Doctor Who: Revolution of the Daleks (2021) Although there are definitely worse Doctor Who specials, this new one doesn’t do much to distinguish itself either. Captain Jack’s long-awaited reunion with the Doctor seems almost like an afterthought, and the overall episode is so focused on explaining plot logistics that it seldom …
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Book #1 of 2021: Doctor Who: Time Lord Victorious: All Flesh is Grass by Una McCormack The second and final Time Lord Victorious novel offers a generally satisfying resolution to this sprawling Doctor Who multimedia experiment, although there are still a few open areas that will likely be shaded in by future releases of some …
Book #303 of 2020: Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson (The Stormlight Archive #4) And so my 2020 comes to a close with another 1000+ page tome, the newest release in author Brandon Sanderson’s massive Stormlight Archive, which is increasingly inseparable from his even larger super-series linking together everything in the multiverse Cosmere setting. (Earlier …
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Movie #16 of 2020: Soul (2020) I’ve half-watched a lot of Disney movies this year — because of a certain pandemic and a certain toddler — but I haven’t paid close enough attention to most titles to feel as though I should count them or write a proper review. This new Pixar film is the …
Book #302 of 2020: The Forgotten Sisters by Shannon Hale (Princess Academy #3) This final Princess Academy novel improves in its back half, but for too long it doesn’t really feel organically motivated as a continuation of the first two volumes. There aren’t any lingering plot threads that get picked up here, and the most …
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Book #301 of 2020: The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert A. Caro A fascinating deep dive into the decades-long career of the official who designed and built many of the parks and highways around New York City and state. Robert Moses was a visionary architect who revolutionized urban …
Movie #15 of 2020: Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) I like a few isolated parts of this superhero sequel (mostly involving Pedro Pascal and Kristen Wiig’s respective acting choices) but overall it’s a huge mess whose thematic incoherence at least keeps pace with all the plot holes. What exactly is the macro-goal of our villainous thinly-veiled …
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