Good morning!
I guess with 52 Recaps, it means I’ve been doing these for a year now. So thanks for following along this past year!
It’s been a lot of fun to have this outlet and I really appreciate your choosing to read this. Thank you!
This week I started planning an exciting venture with a friend, more on that as it develops. I also jailbroke my PlayStation Vita, the forgotten and neglected handheld from the 2010s.
I can now use regular memory cards, instead of the expensive proprietary ones. As well as a multitude of other things that bring the system better quality of life updates and turns it into a more viable game system. I’m honestly stoked that it all worked out.
But now, on to this week’s recap.
Movies
Rec of the Week: Casablanca | 1942 | Michael Curtiz| ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
In Casablanca, Morocco in December 1941, a cynical American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications.
No, this isn’t just a stunt to plug the On the Butcher’s Block Movie Club post (but you can find it here if you do want to read it.) This was genuinely my favorite thing I saw this week. It’s a timeless classic for a reason, it just works. It rises above other romance dramas of the time from how mysterious it all feels. The smokey cigarette haze of Rick’s is almost palpable. The performances are top-notch (even though the actors hated the script), and the direction is remarkable. I also adore Max Steiner’s score; truly, one of the best to ever do it.
How to Have Sex | 2024 | Molly Manning Walker ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was, as trite as this is to say, a stunning debut. My fiancée put it well when she said it captures that insular feeling you can have in a group setting. It doesn’t try to be much more than it is and tells the story of a group of friend’s on spring break really compellingly.
The Creator | 2023 | Gareth Edwards ⭐⭐⭐
This is part of my Oscars 2024 homework, and you know what? This was fine. The story isn’t anything amazing, but the effects and sound are genuinely amazing; nominations are well deserved.
SCAM Girls Movie Club
In the Mood for Hate
The War of the Roses | 1989 | Danny DeVito ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ½
The first SCAM Girls watch this month is a certifiable banger. This domestic misery comedy was really well directed by DeVito and also…actually funny! I really went for it, and there’s enough Christmas imagery present that it could sneak into an annual watch.
Closer | 2004 | Mike Nichols ⭐
On the opposite side of a banger, we have this. Closer is an adaptation of a play that I had never read, and now will avoid it at all costs. It’s a whiney, pathetic script with some good technical moments because Mike Nichols can shoot a movie. I just hated everyone in this, and not in a fun way.
TV
Rec of the Week: Gankutsuou, Season 1 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This stained-glass inspired adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ novel is much more enjoyable. I found the aesthetic to be very enjoyable, even if the CGI moments showed the 2004 age of it. The story has been trimmed way down and opens at the start of the Count’s revenge, not why he wants revenge. Oh, it’s also set in 5053 and the Count is a space vampire with a demon possessing him…liberties were taken. I loved it and feel validated in my feeling that the revenge tale in the novel is excellent, but the book as a whole is very testy. Strip some of that testiness, and you have something like this, a riveting tale of revenge and romance.
In Progress
Battlestar Galactica, Season 1, Episode 5-7
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Season 1, Episode 2
Books
Rec of the Week: The Silmarillion | J.R.R. Tolkien ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
It’s been a while since I read this, and honestly, I hardly remembered most of it. It’s a tough read in that it feels like a history book. A fascinating and well written history book, but nonetheless it feels like a job. I did listen to an audiobook version and surprisingly found it easier to digest that way. I would look at the Ted Nasmith pictures in the physical edition I own as I read, and that also helped cement some visuals for me. My favorite thing about Middle-Earth is how lived in feels in The Lord of the Rings. It’s no wonder he can evoke that lived-in feeling with this tome of history in his mind. While not for the faint of heart, this is a must-read for the Tolkien fan.
In Progress
Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-Earth | J.R.R. Tolkien — Just started
The Big Read
Dune | Frank Herbert — 44%
The Weathered Tome Society
American Gods | Neil Gaiman — 9%
Games
In Progress
Video Games
NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139… | Square Enix | PS5
Portal | Valve | PC
Persona 4 Golden | Atlus | PS Vita
Halo: CE | Bungie, Inc. | PS
Dragon Age: Origins | BioWare
Diablo IV | Blizzard Entertainment | PS5
Music
Jazz Sebastien Bach | The Swingle Singers ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Going Baroque | The Swingle Singers ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I really loved some of the songs in The Holdovers so much, I looked up the artists and found The Swingle Singers: a long-standing a cappella group. I loved them and once again found some amazing background music. They have some Christmas albums, songs from which were the featured once in The Holdovers, and I’m very excited to have those albums for Christmas 2024.
Video Game Metal | Powerglove ⭐⭐⭐
I put this on for a workout and found it capable of the job. The covers were fairly standard as far as variations on the source material go, but when the original goes as hard the Power Rangers theme does, I guess you don’t need to reinvent much.
I also made a playlist of some songs I really dug in January:
YouTube
Universal Studios officially announced their third park in Orlando and shared some fun details. I’m excited about the classic Universal monsters area myself, but by all appearances it looks great!
What were some of your favorite January watch/reads/listens? Let me know in the comments!
Thanks for reading. Til next time!
— Colton
I hate both the play and the film of Closer. Just awful people being awful for 2 hours. Pass.