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. The Children of Eve by John Connolly: Private investigator Charlie Parker takes on a missing person case, which has links to the disappearance of children connected to a cartel boss. Another enjoyable entry in the series, especially when Angel and Louis show up, and it has more than a few sly surprises in store.
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC! The book is scheduled for release on May 6th.
2025 TOTAL SO FAR: 7
NONFICTION
1. Say Everything by Ione Skye: A memoir by the actress about her acting heyday (most notably as John Cusack's obsession in Say Anything) and her high-profile relationships with Anthony Kiedis, Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys, and Jenny Shimizu.
2. Care and Feeding* by Laurie Woolever: An absorbing and funny memoir about the author's time working in the food industry with superstars like Mario Batali and Anthony Bourdain.
3. The Tell* by Amy Griffin: The author felt like she had it all, but chronic pain and a comment by her daughter led her to try microdosing. She recovered memories of sexual assault and began the arduous path to healing. Raw and vulnerable, but be warned that the description of the abuse she suffered is horrifying and very graphic.
2025 TOTAL SO FAR: 5
MANGA/GRAPHIC NOVELS
1. Cat + Gamer* vol. 7 by Wataru Nadatani
2. The Legend of Korra: The Mystery of Penquan Island by Kiku Hughes, Alex Monik, and Diana Sousa
3. The Deviant** vol. 1 by James Tynion IV and Joshua Hixson
4. The Way of the Househusband vol. 13 by Kousuke Oono
2025 TOTAL SO FAR: 4 volumes of manga and 2 graphic novels
MOVIES
1. The Crow: This reboot of the 1994 film about an undead avenger was unnecessary, but at least it has one good scene at an opera house.
2. Heretic*: Two Mormon missionaries stop by the home of Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant, who's excellent), a seemingly pleasant man who has some sinister tricks up his sleeve to test their faith. An engrossing thriller with some really sharp and clever dialogue.
3. Watcher: After moving to Romania with her husband, Julia (Maika Monroe) begins to suspect she's being watched, and the reports of a serial killer nicknamed the Spider are doing nothing to quell her fears.
4. The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim: A brave princess leads the resistance against a violent enemy in this beautifully animated movie.
5. Moana 2: Moana sails the open seas in search of other tribes. The songs are nothing special compared to the first one (Disney should have given Lin-Manuel Miranda a blank check and begged him to return) and overall it was enjoyable but forgettable.
6. Kraven the Hunter: By the 20-minute mark, I was "kraven" a better movie!
7. Wicked*: Shunned for her green skin, Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) goes to Shiz Academy to learn magic, forming a bond with popular Glinda (Ariana Grande). This is part one, and from what I understand the bulk of the good stuff is in it (I haven't seen the Broadway show), but however part two pans out, this was a really fun time.
8. I See You*: A family is plagued by weird occurrences in their house and that's all I'm gonna say because you should know as little as possible before seeing this movie. It was a really clever and fun surprise!
9. Gladiator II: Years after the death of famous gladiator Maximus, a new contender (Paul Mescal) enters the arena.
10. The Order: An FBI agent (Jude Law) tries to take down a white supremacist gang in this fact-based drama.
11. Den of Thieves 2: Pantera: Nick O'Brien (Gerard Butler) goes to Europe in search of a diamond thief. I liked the first one more, but this was still fun. Plus, if I may paraphrase Patton Oswalt's essay on Jason Statham: Gerard Butler will probably never be in an Oscar-winning movie, but he'll also never be in a boring one!
2025 TOTAL SO FAR: 27