Tag: Locke and key

My Favorite Television From The Pandemic Year 2020

We all had a lot more time than usual to watch television over the course of this past year. Still, this being a new golden age of the medium, I didn’t get a chance to watch all of the shows I intended to give a go. Shows like: The Good Lord Bird, The Queen’s Gambit, and season two of The Boys are still on my to-do list. The rest of this list is comprised of shows I watched and enjoyed for various reasons. They also either premiered, or primarily aired new content in this pandemic year of 2020.

First, my honorable mentions. These are the shows I really enjoyed but because of some arbitrary ruling on my part, they didn’t quite crack my top ten. In fact, list making is kind of crazy, is it not? I’ve been making lists my entire life as my anxiety riddled brain has required this action in order to function. I have lists of books to read, games to play, and movies/tv to watch. I have lists of everything media related I’ve ever consumed, ranked in some way or another. My brain depends on this level of order and websites like Letterboxd and Goodreads have been godsends to me. Anyway, here goes.

The HMs: THE HAUNTING OF BLY MANOR – I adore Mike Flanagan’s work. He’s a horror aficionado with an enormous heart. This is why he’s been the most successful adapter of Stephen King’s work. Here, he oversaw a heart wrenching ghost love story that worked on every level. TALES FROM THE LOOP – Amazon got in on some awesome sci-fi storytelling this past year. Tales is a show more admired than loved but it’s themes revolving around loss of innocence and grief dug deep. LOCKE & KEY – An adaptation of Joe Hill’s brilliant comic series hit me in just the right spot. Perfectly cast. HIGH FIDELITY – Zoe Kravitz is incredible in this show and it’s an absolute fucking travesty that Hulu canceled it after its debut season. DEVS – Alex Garland is a genius and this short series smoked the new season of Westworld in every conceivable way while covering many of the same ideas.

And now, onward.

10. PRIMAL – Genndy Tartakovsky is a masterful storyteller. Samurai Jack is an all-timer and Primal looks likely to join it’s older sibling in many hearts and minds. This show debuted it’s first five episodes over a year ago but finished it’s season one run recently. It’s about a caveman who lost his family in violent fashion and a dinosaur who lost her family in violent fashion. They team up to survive in a harsh landscape that never relents. Impressionistic to the max.

9. RAMY SEASON 2 – Hulu’s Ramy is a brilliant show. It’s eye opening and thought provoking while still being hilarious. I love every single character in this show and especially love how the show can give entire episodes to side characters without missing a beat. Truly special.

8. LOVECRAFT COUNTRY – Jonathan Majors is a fucking movie star in the making. This show is batshit crazy and tonally all over the god damn map. And I loved every second of it.

7. THE MANDALORIAN SEASON 2 – Improves on season one in every conceivable way. Great villains and even better cameos. Favreau and Filoni are rounding out an entire universe here and it’s something to behold. The Boba Fett reveal was amazing but the appearance of Ahsoka (maybe my favorite Star Wars character) had me near tears. I’m not even broaching the finale for those who’ve yet to see it.

6. LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE – Kerry Washington gave the performance of the past decade in this gem from Hulu. This should be required viewing for white people in order for us to see the ignorant mistakes we continue to make with anyone and everyone who doesn’t look like us.

5. WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS SEASON 2 – The funniest show on television. Everything about Jackie Daytona was incredible. Colin’s power trip was insane. The ghost episode left me on the floor. The Superb Owl episode had me howling. In the end, however, Guillermo stole the show all season and finished with one hell of a shift in the power dynamic. Bravo.

4. TED LASSO – The show we all needed during quarantine. Hilarious and heartwarming in equal measure. The show is cast perfectly and written just as well. I cannot overstate the positive energy that flows from each episode of this show.

3. WOKE – The most recent show I’ve watched. Lamorne Morris is one of my favorite people to watch and listen to on camera. The dude has impeccable timing. He was easily the best on New Girl and stole the show in Game Night. (The glass tables bit still kills me to this day) Here, he’s playing a heightened version of a real person and the results are phenomenal. The show is equal in it’s delivery of jokes and it’s need to amplify racial injustice. Brilliant, BRILLIANT show.

2. HOW TO WITH JOHN WILSON – I’m a New Yorker who moved to Texas this year. I miss home more than I ever thought I would. John Wilson perfectly captures New York City and the maniacs who call it home. My wife and I binged the entire season in one afternoon and we’re dying for more as soon as possible, please and thank you.

1. DESUS & MERO – Again, these guys are on my books list and now this list for the same reason: they make me feel like home isn’t as far away as it feels. Watching these two bullshitters (like so many people I grew up with) late at night, while a little stoned and laughing my ass completely off, has been the most fun I’ve had all year. New season in a few weeks!

Annnnnnnnd dismount! We’re done. Go fight with each other on twitter. Just kidding. Stop fighting with each other.

Next week, games. Until then, love each other.

My 10 Favorite Books Of The Pandemic Year 2020

If there was a silver lining to 2020, we’re still waiting to find out what it was. I’m kidding but not really but we’ll pretend I am. If there WAS any sort of silver lining through the pandemic year, it was that quarantining led to an abundance of time to absorb different forms of art and media. In the next four weeks, I’ll be sharing my favorites in books, television, gaming and film. We’ll start with books and according to my Goodreads, I read sixty eight books and over twenty thousand pages this year. I remember beginning early with Alan Moore’s nearly 1300 page doorstop of a novel, Jerusalem. He’s so talented that I actually think I hate him. I am definitely intimidated by his seemingly limitless ability. I also mixed in plenty of comics, which is nothing new for me. Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez found some extra creative life out of their Locke and Key series and Hill himself released the awesome, Basketful of Heads. We also received the final run of issues for both, Sex Criminals and Gideon Falls. So yeah, 2020 delivered more beautiful art and writing from three of my favorite comic series ever. We also received the first issue of, The Last Ronin, the astonishing new take on TMNT.

As for the rest, I mixed in some nonfiction with my fiction (still skew heavily toward fiction). Read some memoirs like Greenlights and another one which will be on the list. Didn’t get to as many as I would’ve liked but I like to think that those are good problems. Overall, I didn’t really read a bad book this year and that is always a welcome occurrence. Caught up on some of the backlog, read some new stuff and even revisited some old favorites such as The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.

But enough blathering on, these were my favorite reads of the pandemic year 2020.

HONORABLE MENTION: FIND ME by Andre Aciman – The sequel to the beloved Call Me By Your Name catches us off guard by spending the first part of the novel with Elio’s father as he embarks on a newfound journey of love. We then meet an older Elio and eventually catch up with Oliver and it isn’t until late in the novel that the two lovers from the first novel reunite. Regardless, Aciman writes with delicate affection for life and love and he treats us to another special offering.

10. MADI: ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE FUTURE by Alex Di Campi and Duncan Jones – This was a Kickstarter project for a graphic novel that would serve as the final part of a trilogy Jones began with the films, Moon and Mute. Di Campi and Jones create a story that is equal parts heartwarming and heartbreaking while being joined by dozens of the best artists in the business (each drawing approximately six pages of this project) ultimately crafting something wholly unique.

9. ANTKIND by Charlie Kaufman – A book about a film that takes a few months to view. A book about a man losing everything in his life, even his mind. A book about destruction, about hope, about love, about anger, about anxiety, about depression. It’s a big one but we should come to expect nothing less from a man so full of ideas that his first book has almost too many. Somehow, Kaufman may end up on two different year end lists for me this go around. His brain is one of a kind.

8. THE LIVING DEAD by George Romero – The sign off from an all-time great. Romero was still pushing at the boundaries until his dying breath and this novel, his final work, ties off his decades long zombie saga with an insane amount of depth and heart. This is a must read for any horror fans out there.

7. FAIR WARNING & THE LAW OF INNOCENCE by Michael Connelly – So a cheat, I know. Maybe we should instead focus on how it’s possible Connelly can release two books of this ridiculous quality in the same calendar year. First, He finally brought Jack MacEvoy back for those of us who were sorely missing the dogged reporter and this one was a doozy. Connelly’s best villain since The Poet. Second, Connelly released another Mickey Haller thriller and this time, everyone’s favorite defense attorney was tasked with defending himself…in a murder trial. Again, Connelly is supernaturally prolific.

6. BROKEN by Don Winslow – A book of six stories that all represent some broken aspect of the American dream. Winslow not only never disappoints, he’s getting better and more incisive each time out.

5. HOLLYWOOD PARK by Mikel Jollett- A memoir about fathers and mothers and their sons, about abuse, about addiction, about growing up, about losing your shit, about perseverance, about humility, about the grandiose nature of life, a little bit about a cult and a whole-lotta-bit about love. Jollett writes with a painter’s touch — like words aren’t enough.

4. UTOPIA AVENUE by David Mitchell – This not being number one on my list is indicative of how struck I was by the next three novels. Utopia Avenue is a masterpiece. I loved every word. I wish I actually knew these characters, especially Elf. I fucking love her so much. It’s the story of a British psychedelic rock band in the midst of rising stardom in the 1960s. Oh but it’s also about so much more than that. It is the essence of life. It is about a centuries old demon trying to kill one of the characters due to a vengeful blood lust. It’s about a hundred other things. Mitchell finds ways to tie this novel to almost every single other novel he’s written. It’s like a magic trick that brings the reader nothing but joy.

3. CONSIDER THIS: MOMENTS IN MY WRITING LIFE… by Chuck Palahniuk – Chuck finally sat down to write a novel about writing. It’s the most entertaining, helpful, and useful book on writing that I have ever read. It is my new bible and has already helped improve my own craftsmanship. A must read for any writers out there.

2. GOD-LEVEL KNOWLEDGE DARTS: LIFE LESSONS FROM THE BRONX by Desus and Mero – These two have been my saving grace this year. They are, at once, hilarious and incisive. They cut through any and all bullshit while they bullshit. I moved form New York to Texas this year and these two have kept me feeling like home isn’t too far away. Between their show on Showtime and this book, they’ve helped me stay sane. Easily one of the funniest books I have ever read.

1. BLACKTOP WASTELAND by S.A. Cosby – This motherfucker right here. This badass, fucking razor sharp stiletto of a novel right here. Blacktop Wasteland is a crime novel like we haven’t read before. Sure, there are echoes of Walter Mosley and Elmore Leonard in these pages but Cosby isn’t as laid back as those two. No, he wants it all right there, right up front. His characters aren’t just cool, they’re real. This is an important distinction and it’s what separates the pretenders from the contenders. Perhaps this isn’t the best analogy because Cosby ain’t even a contender, he’s got a boot up on that throne. This baby cooks with gasoline from page one, never lets us go and never lets any of its characters off the hook. I haven’t been this excited from my first experience with a writer since I read Ken Bruen’s The Guards. Cosby is that. Fucking. Good.

That’s all I got, folks. Keep reading. Next week will be television (spoiler alert: Desus and Mero pop back up). Until then, love each other.