media update: April

We didn't get around to watching too many movies this month because I got a trial membership to Gamefly and played Silent Hill F, the Silent Hill 2 remake, and Yakuza Kiwami 3, which I only rented to play the DLC and whoops, wound up playing the main game again!  Hardly a chore; there was a decent amount of new things to enjoy, plus not much can top running around Japan beating the shit out of bad guys with occasional wacky side quests along the way.  Learn how to make sushi for the kids at the orphanage Kiryu runs?  Fill in at an understaffed host club?  Decorate Kiryu's new phone with stickers and straps? Sign me the FUCK UP.  The DLC was great too; they put a lot of work into it, and it was fun learning more about Y3's antagonist Mine.  

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. This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum:  When the host of a popular podcast disappears along with her husband, her co-host and best friend tries to piece together the mystery.

2. Molka by Monika Kim:  After her heart is broken by a rich playboy, Dahye finds out he was secretly trading intimate photos and videos of her.  (The title is the Korean word for a hidden camera.)  She's determined to get revenge, aided by the angry ghost of her sister.

2026 TOTAL SO FAR:  6

NONFICTION

Nothing this month.

2026 TOTAL SO FAR:  2

MANGA/GRAPHIC NOVELS

1. The Emperor's Caretaker vol. 6 by Ichiha Hiiragi, Aya Shouoto, and Haruki Yoshimura

2026 TOTAL SO FAR:  9 volumes of manga

MOVIES

1. Fackham Hall:  A servant falls in love with an upper class woman and gets framed for murder in this enjoyably raunchy (say the title out loud) parody of Downton Abbey.

2. Killers of the Flower Moon*:  In 1920s Oklahoma, the Osage Nation in Oklahoma becomes the target of a conspiracy to murder its members and steal the wealth they earned from oil on their land.  This engrossing movie is unfortunately based on a true story.

3. Crime 101*:  A jewel thief (Chris Hemsworth) targets locations along the 101 freeway while a cop (Mark Ruffalo) tries to stop him.  Stylish and fun.

4. Dust Bunny:  A little girl hires a hitman (Mads Mikkelsen) to kill the monster under her bed in this dark fairy tale.  It needed to lean in more to the humor and/or horror, but it was certainly different and absolutely gorgeous to look at.

2026 TOTAL SO FAR:  24