2024 Backlog

I neglected my logging duties over the last few months of 2024. Here’s a list of the things I can remember, to be converted to their own proper entries in due course.

  • Goodnight Tokyo, Atsuhiro Yoshida
  • Inspector Imanishi Investigates, Seicho Matsumoto
  • Gifted, Suzumi Suzuki
  • This is Amiko, Do You Copy?, Natsuko Imamura
  • The Hole, Hiroko Oyamada
  • Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, Satoshi Yagisawa
  • The Empusium, Olga Tokarczuk
  • Dragon Age: The Veilguard, BioWare
  • Taskmaster, season 18
  • Great British Bake Off, season 15
  • Goblin, season one

Meta

Creation Lake, Rachel Kushner

An absorbing meditation on the world and what it might take to change the world (as well as the forces that protect the status quo). Brilliant. 

🙆 Book

Alien Romulus, Fede Álvarez

Space: not all it’s cracked up to be. Also kinda iffy on androids. I thought this was a fine addition to the aliens universe.

🤷 Film

Show Me the Bodies, Peter Apps

A stunning and vital piece of journalism. The sheer failure of the state to protect its citizens is appalling, as is the indifference shown to the victims and survivors. Shame on the UK gov, the council in question and all those who sought profit over safety. 

🙆 Book

Asteroid City, Wes Anderson

My least favourite WeAn movie. The bits actually in Asteroid City were fine, I think, but the rest was an indulgent snore.

🙅 Film

Top Gun: Maverick, Joseph Kosinski

Tom Cruise is extremely Tom Cruise. There’s so much in this movie that is deeply silly but somehow it all works. Also I love how often they say the phrase “fifth generation fighter” in the movie.

🤷 Film

Aqua Trope on White Sand, season one

A beautiful and gentle series. Very much cute girls (and a few token boys) being cute, but with penguins and other sea critters. Surprisingly nuanced in parts about the role and value of aquariums.

🙆 Television

Plate Up, It’s happening

Stressful and chaotic multiplayer fun. More of a focus on automation than, say, Overcooked, and so less of a casual experience. But enjoyable if you know what you’re getting into.

🤷 Game

Ripley, season one

Andrew Scott is thrilling, charming, disturbing, human and monstrous all in equal measure in this excellent adaption. Also, Italy is very beautiful.

🙆 Television

Supacell, season one

I don’t often love superhero stuff, but this smart, modern take was stylish, fun, and well-paced. Perhaps I just don’t want to see generic US superhero stuff?

🙆 Television

The Boyfriend, season one

A fantastic moment in queer representation from Japan, a country that, sadly, still does not allow same sex marriage. Handsome men, lovely setting, vulnerable and open conversations? Excellent.

🙆 Television

Econobabble, Richard Denniss

A surgical and powerful look at the way in which people (especially politicians and business folk) try to use economics to justify their decisions when, in fact, there is no underlying validity to what they say. We have all been mislead and this book is a powerful antidote. 

Uncategorised

The Bear, season three

I still cannot decide if this was actually bad or rather bad on purpose as clever commentary about success in new endeavours. Actually, I think it was just bad.

🙅 Television

The Living Mountain, Nan Shepherd

A beautiful book; some of the finest writing on nature I’ve had the pleasure to come across. It is impossible to read this and not want to know the Scottish mountains in the same way Nan herself knew them. 

🙆 Book