What I Watched in 2022, Pt. 2

Cat Corner: Run for cover!

Yo!

My apologies for the late start to 2023 newslettering. I felt like trash, physically and mentally, for most of the first week of the year. I don’t have a good excuse for week two, except that I’ve been trying to focus a bit on pinning down some stuff for a book project I’ve been neglecting in addition to regular work and home-life things.

The year 2023 is going to be transformative in so many ways. Before it gets into full motion, here’s the rest of my 2022 media reflections.

MOVIES AT HOME

We added two more around Christmas weekend!

47.) Home Alone: Confession: I’d never seen this classic. Last Christmas, Stephanie and I watched this with her family until I fell asleep before the first act was over. I managed to make it through the whole thing in 2022! It’s a good time, and wears its age well.

48.) Home Alone 2: Lost in New York: I saved my mid-stream snooze for this one, this year; I almost made it the entire way through before starting to doze in the waning minutes (I blame a long day of looking at Pokemon: Scarlet). It’s kinda remarkable that this movie exists as it does; it’s basically a re-enactment of the first with a few different fixings. I don’t know that it could have been made at any time other than when it was. It’s fine, but not as good as the first.

Credit: Craiyon (AI)

AT THE CINEMA

1.) The Batman: In the post-viewing high, I was tempted to call this the best Batman movie to date, a torch previously carried by The Dark Knight. Ultimately, I don’t want to pull the trigger, but this really surprised me. In spite of its ridiculous runtime, The Batman managed to tell the best live-action Batman detective story ever screened and finally give the world a Batman, in Robert Pattinson, who gave good portrayals of both Bruce Wayne and his costumed persona.

2.) Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness: My favorite MCU movie of the year was the first to hit theaters. It’s messy, in part because of its full-on embrace of Doctor Strange’s inherent weirdness, but I enjoy that it attempts to stand apart from its brethren in the canon. Sam Raimi directed this movie and you know it, for better or worse. I think the former.

3.) Top Gun: Maverick: Truth be told, I probably wouldn’t have watched this if Ryan Hermens hadn’t texted me on a slow Wednesday and asked if I wanted to go to a matinee. I had never, and still have never, seen the original movie, but this was seemingly scripted for folks like myself while playing the heartstrings of people who loved its predecessor. It was just a terrific time at the movies.

4.) Thor: Love and Thunder: I liked this but didn’t love it. I wanted to love it. Its many good pieces, for me, didn’t add up to a whole that was as enjoyable as Thor: Ragnarok, which for my money might be the best MCU movie, period. Christian Bale was incredible as anticipated.

5.) Marcel The Shell With Shoes On: Heard about this in passing on a podcast, and happened to see it was playing at The Kentucky Theater that same week. Took Stephanie downtown and we watched the most “documentary” of 2022. It’s a delight.

6.) Where the Crawdads Sing: Stephanie wanted to see this, and I’m glad she did; else I would’ve missed out on a solid courtroom/romantic drama. Mostly, I think it’s nice that a movie like this could even get into theaters anymore.

7.) Barbarian: A terrific choice about halfway through takes a good “what the hell is going on?” story and ramps it up to 11. Twists and turns are horror must-haves, but Barbarian plays its deceptions to perfection.

8.) Smile: A friend recently likened Smile to It Follows, and that’s not a bad comp. It has some terrifying scenes, and some of most effective jump scares I’ve seen, but by the end it kind of felt like it was plotting for a franchise rather than finishing its own story.

9.) Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: It’s 2022’s strongest MCU entry, as far as filmmaking is concerned, but it’s hard to watch without thinking about what could have been if Chadwick Boseman hadn’t died. I think it’s as good as it was ever going to be, considering the circumstances.

TV SHOWS

This isn’t exhaustive, but rather a reflection on the things I happened to write down. Going to attempt to do these in 10 words or less.

The Righteous Gemstones (S1 & S2): “Satire” in its rawest form. Cant’t wait for S3.

Amazing Stories (S1): Kinda like The Twilight Zone. Finishes strong.

Schmigadoon! (S1): Parody of early musicals hits all the right notes.

The Murders at Starved Rock: A memorable true-crime miniseries.

Archive 81 (S1): Sluggish, but sad it won’t get a second season.

The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window: Excellent.

Whose Line Is it Anyway? (Revival): We’ve laughed at every episode currently available on HBO Max.

Severance (S1): Takes a terrific premise and delivers. Best show of the year.

Stranger Things (S4): Best season since the first?

The Good Place (all 4 seasons): Binged this over about a month’s time. It’s fantastic.

Untold: Manti Teo: Went in with some preconceptions that were reconfigured. Very well-conceived “sports” documentary.

Ted Lasso (S1 & S2): I’d seen S1 a while back and finally got Stephanie on board to watch it all. Can’t wait for S3!

The Cuphead Show (S2): Can’t get enough of this show’s aesthetic. I know, we still need to play the game, Stephanie.

Evil (S1, S2 & S3): Didn’t expect to look forward to binging this as much as I did. Kinda think S1 is the high point in many aspects, but the characters make up for some meandering plot stuff.

Cat Corner

A bad storm system rolled through central Kentucky this week. Steamboat promptly sought shelter, because he’s smarter than his father.

Y’all be good!