So we're turning it over to you, the Doux Reviews readers: what were your best TV shows and movies this year? What about books? Video games? This is also a great place to talk about the stuff that wasn't necessarily good, but stuck with you in some odd way.
Okay, I'll be honest: I watched a few episodes of Yellowstone and I need to hear from others who've been in the same situation.
We can also go wild: what was the best compliment you gave this year, or the best one you received? Did you do anything cool? Do you have big goals for 2025? There are no rules here, just like on Yellowstone Ranch.
This has been a rough year. I did absolutely nothing cool. :) I am so hoping that 2025 will be better, although it's hard to believe that under the circumstances.
ReplyDeleteWe celebrated Doux Reviews' twentieth anniversary this past March, and that was big for me. This site, and its community of writers and readers, has been a major part of my life for so long. I'm so glad to know you all.
The most memorable new thing I watched was definitely 3 Body Problem. It was complex and deep and I can't wait for more. I also absolutely loved Lessons in Chemistry, first the book and then the series on Apple+.
I watched a lot of old stuff, like M*A*S*H, Moonlighting, and Person of Interest. I also caught up with 9-1-1 and 9-1-1 Lone Star this year, and enjoyed it. (I mostly prefer Angela Bassett and Peter Krause to Rob Lowe.)
Please do check in and tell us what you're watching.
As far as video games, what a year it's been! We have the debacles that were Concord and Suicide Squad:Kill the Justice League, while also getting gems like Balatro and Ballionaire. I mostly played older games, including an 8 dollar gem from late 2023; Cube Chaos, in which I have over 300 hours in, although the graphics aren't going to win any awards, it has a lot to love.
ReplyDeleteMostly old shows for me as my list indicated. I don't have any streaming services, so rely on my physical media collection.
Board games did better overall than video games, with my all time favorite, Keep the Heroes Out, getting the amazing Boss Battles expansion, although one can accuse me of bias as my name is in the credits for helping with testing and editing the rules, but it's so fun! Other gems include Castle Combo, Fawraway, and the Worms board game which is based on the amazing video games we used to play a ton of.
That should be Faraway and not Fawraway!
DeleteEchoing Billie, this has been a difficult year for me in a lot of ways.
ReplyDeleteAnd I think the best way for me to memorializing it is to recount not the best of anything from the year, but the most embarrassing.
And by embarrassing, I mean a thing that I absolutely should be embarrassed about if I was a rational person, but in that I'm not, I'm not. Well, maybe a little.
Like many, I really enjoyed Agatha all Along. And like many, one of the things I liked best about it was the song. Specifically, the version the whole coven sang in Agatha's basement at the end of Episode Two.
Here's where we get to the part that I suspect I'm alone in.
My father still lives in the house I grew up in. (Eden Prairie, MN, on the off chance anyone is interested. It's a suburb to the southwest of Minneapolis.) One of the things that was really huge in the 70s, when that house was built, was for suburbs to incorporate 'bike trails' into their neighborhoods. Black tarmac paths winding behind houses through the trees. Part 'pretty nature' paths and part short cuts between roads in the neighborhood, these bike paths were heavily lined with trees, which were small at the time, and they have largely just been left and neglected for at least a couple decades.
Which means that there are literally miles of dark, gloomy paths with thick overhanging canopies of trees winding through my childhood neighborhood.
I think you already know what I did.
One night in early November, I drove down to my dad's place after dark and walked up and down those dark, tree covered paths, playing 'Down the Witches Road' for myself on my phone, over and over again.
For like an hour. It might have been longer.
It was awesome.
Oh I thought you were gonna say your bike tripped over one of the encroaching roots in the darkness lol. But yeah that just sounds awesome
DeleteOh, I definitely walked. I honestly considered taking my shoes off at the beginning, but didn't carry things that far
DeleteWell speaking as someone who would have done the exact same thing, that sounds like an awesome way to spend an hour!
DeleteBut you didn't sing it?! You have to sing it!
DeleteNot embarrassing at all! That absolutely sounds awesome.
DeleteChrisB, have you read anything else by Everett? I've only read a couple, but they were all amazing. I'm waiting for James to come out in paperback so...
ReplyDelete[ducks head in shame]
...so all of the books...
[voice gets quieter, due to shame]
...are the same size on my shelf.
[flees, overwhelmed with the shame of misplaced priorities].
So I have actually seen the first season of Yellowstone. It was... good? I understand why it's as popular as it is/was. I mostly found it fascinating from a cultural standpoint. The Duttons are not good people, but the narrative presents them as morally righteous. Even when they're murdering people, they're doing it to protect their family/way of life and that makes it okay and honorable. I need to think more about it, but there's something there about that and the evolution from the protagonists like Tony Soprano and Walter White that I feel like is something that could be interesting to dig into.
ReplyDeleteAnd I know I did a Best Of, but it's 2025 now and I just watched a documentary that I'm going to be thinking about probably for the next month. It's part of ESPN's 30 for 30 documentary series and it's called "The Life and Trials of Oscar Pistorius." Pistorius is a double leg amputee who is both a Paralympian and Olympian. He completed in the 2012 London Olympics as an amputee, and I actually remember cheering for him.
In 2013, he shot and killed his girlfriend. This isn't disputed. What is disputed is whether or not Oscar knew it was her (as the police claim) or if he thought that it was an intruder (as he claims.) It's a long documentary. It's just under 6 hours and goes into exhaustive detail about Oscar. As the title implies, this is really about Oscar. Reeva, his girlfriend, definitely has a minimized role. There's almost no detail about who she was as a person. A lot more focus is on Oscar's life and athletic accomplishments, which at times feels more than a little uncomfortable. It's very friendly to him. Almost all of the interviews are with people who are explicitly pro-Oscar. But I thought it was a fascinating examination of something that I knew basically nothing about and I highly recommend it.
Josie -- you are not alone! My bookshelves are a living testament to my OCD tendencies. The last time I moved a gazillion books, however, I decided enough was enough and I now go to the library or buy a paperback and then give it to the library. I still have far too many books, but all of them are ones I read over and over.
ReplyDeleteI have not read anything else by Everett, although some sound amazing. Is there one you particularly recommend?
When James came out and I started reading the reviews, I was intrigued but didn't immediately add it to the must read list. When it was on almost all the Best of 24 lists and it won the National Book Award I decided I had to read it. I am enjoying revisiting Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. They are classic stories for a reason.
Dr. No is amazing.
ReplyDelete