media update: June

Asterisks denote something I particularly enjoyed or found especially worthy of my time; double asterisks are reserved for the creme de la creme. As always, your mileage may vary.

FICTION

1. Things We Do in the Dark by Jennifer Hillier:  After she's accused of murdering her famous husband, Paris Peralta finds herself at the center of a media frenzy that puts her past in jeopardy of being uncovered.

2. Ghost Lover by Lisa Taddeo:  A collection of short stories.

3. Girl, Forgotten by Karin Slaughter:  A US Marshal, new to the job, is tasked with protecting a federal judge but winds up investigating the decades-old murder of the judge's daughter instead.

Side note:  this involves characters and plot details from Pieces of Her, so if you haven't already read that, you may wish to do so (or watch the Netflix miniseries) before picking this up.

2022 TOTAL SO FAR: 26

NONFICTION

1. Corrections in Ink* by Keri Blakinger:  An engrossing memoir about how the author went from a promising young figure skater and Ivy League student to a drug addict arrested for possession with intent to sell.

2022 TOTAL SO FAR:  4

MANGA/GRAPHIC NOVELS

1. Manga Diary of a Male Porn Star vols. 1-2 by Erefante Kaeruno

2. Celluloid by Dave McKean

2022 TOTAL SO FAR:   18 graphic novels and 22 volumes of manga

MOVIES

1. Licorice Pizza:  I mean...I didn't dislike this movie but what the hell was even the point of it?  It was just two people literally running around for two hours.  Not even the title made sense!  (I know it's slang for a vinyl record, but nobody worked at a record store or was super into music or anything.)

2. Fantastic Beasts:  The Secrets of Dumbledore:  The third movie in the series was definitely the best, not least of all because I very much enjoy the idea of Jude Law and Mads Mikkelsen going at it.

3. Brahms: The Boy II:  A mediocre sequel to a pretty good horror movie.  Avoid unless you want to see the most breathtakingly bizarre decorating scheme in movie history.  The kid's bedroom at the beginning looks like a wet dream Tim Burton had while microdosing.

4. Blacklight:  Travis Block (Liam Neeson) specializes in removing undercover agents when the shit hits the fan, but he gets tangled up in a conspiracy.

5. Spiderhead*:  A mad genius (Chris Hemsworth) runs a penitentiary where he experiments on the prisoners using mind-altering drugs.  It's like a lesser Black Mirror episode, which is not the diss it sounds like as that's a high bar.  It's pretty interesting, and it has Chris Hemsworth in glasses, so it's worth a watch if you have Netflix.

6. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness:  Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) finds himself up against an unexpected and very powerful foe.  Top notch visuals can't quite make up for a lackluster script.

7. Roadrunner*:  An excellent documentary about Anthony Bourdain.  I was impressed that they didn't go the hagiography route; he was shown as a pretty cool dude for the most part, but they didn't gloss over some of the uglier parts of his personality.

22 TOTAL SO FAR:  40