media update: March

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. A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen:  Freya, a shield maiden blessed by the gods, is forced to marry a king who wants to use her powers for his own benefit.  Unfortunately, she has the hots for his son.

2026 TOTAL SO FAR:  4

NONFICTION

1. You with the Sad Eyes by Christina Applegate:  This absorbing memoir by the actress goes into her traumatic childhood, abusive relationships, and surviving breast cancer only to receive an MS diagnosis that has left her almost completely bedridden.

2. Adult Braces* by Lindy West:  After her husband opened up their marriage to Lindy's discomfort, she decided to drive from Seattle to the Florida Keys to come to grips with his decision and learn more about herself in the process.  Some drama sprang up about this book after I'd already finished it (Cliff's Notes version: Lindy did an interview and her husband lost his shit about a fairly innocuous comment by the interviewer; if you have ANY interest in niche internet mess, you'll want to google it 'cuz it's a doozy!), but it didn't change my opinion of it; it's hilarious and heartbreaking in almost equal measure.

2026 TOTAL SO FAR:  2

MANGA/GRAPHIC NOVELS

Nothing this month.

2026 TOTAL SO FAR:  8 volumes of manga

MOVIES

1.  The Running Man:  In a dystopian future, a man (Glen Powell) signs up for a game show where he must outrun hunters dispatched to kill him.  I think it fell apart in the last 20 minutes or so, but it's still enjoyable.

2. Zootopia 2:  Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde (who, like Disney's animated version of Robin Hood, is probably responsible for creating a new generation of furries) investigate the appearance of a new creature in the city.  I really enjoyed the first one, but this was surprisingly meh.

3. Hamnet*:  After he and his wife (Jessie Buckley, who I will admit very much deserved her best actress Oscar despite being a cat hating butthole) suffer a terrible loss, William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) is inspired to write his greatest work.  Beautifully shot, directed, and acted; tissues are mandatory.

4. Five Nights at Freddy's 2:  Wow, this was, uh...hot dookie.

5. War Machine:  An Army training exercise takes a horrifying turn when an alien robot crashes the party.  It takes forever to get to the alien robot, but from there it's pretty much non-stop action.  Hardly a masterpiece, but it's entertaining, and I always like watching Alan Ritchson.  

6. Predator: Badlands*:  An exiled Predator goes on a mission to kill an even bigger predator and restore his honor, accompanied by a synthetic (Elle Fanning).  I didn't know a lot about this movie before watching it, but I sure wasn't expecting it to be a buddy road trip!  It's very fun.

7. Mercy:  A cop (Chris Pratt) accused of murdering his wife is given ninety minutes to prove his innocence to an A.I. judge.

8. Mac and Me (MST3K version):  G and I had the Ride or Die crew visit, and despite the fact that we adore them, we decided to submit them and ourselves to this breathtakingly awful E.T. ripoff.  It was made tolerable by White Claw and the MST3K narration, but you must absolutely never watch this movie without good friends and/or adult refreshments.

9. The Astronaut:  An astronaut (Kate Mara) returns from space with a bit of a problem.  It's incredibly dull until about the last fifteen minutes, at which point it becomes laugh out loud funny, but not on purpose.

10. Now You See Me: Now You Don't:  The Four Horsemen team up with a new group of illusionists to take down a corrupt diamond dealer.

2026 TOTAL SO FAR:  20