It was a busy weekend, okay?
2.10.22 - The Book of Boba Fett (TV) - As Micah artfully pointed out, this was an anthology show masquerading as a show about Boba Fett. This wasn't a bad show, it just didn't have much going for it outside of those two episodes that furthered the big-picture lore for Star Wars right now that people are really interested in. The problem is that everytime we see Boba Fett without his helmet on, he becomes less interesting. Some characters are destined to be the greatest when they're at their most mysterious, and we lose more and more of that mystery here.
2.11.22 - Man In The Arena: Tom Brady (TV) - A nine (soon to be 10 in the spring) episode look back at Tom Brady's career. I don't know if TB will ever get around to writing a book, but if he doesn't this will stand in as a pretty good memoir of sorts. A recap of his career focusing primarily on the seasons he led the Patriots to the Super Bowl, but with good chunks of time dealing with all sorts of various elements of his life. At times I felt this series could have been shorter, but parts of it I loved and wanted to go on forever, so it's complex. Easily one of the strongest parts were the unique "guests" brought on as additional talking heads for each episode.
2.12.22 - Don't Look Up (Movie) - Satire is always going to be divisive, but I'm firmly on the side of really enjoying this one. It works on a lot of levels, not just the obvious metaphor of an impending asteroid strike on Earth for climate change, but in the way it sends up a lot of different personas, ideas, and political aspects that we all are forced to laugh at these days, lest we cry. Great well-rounded cast - Jonah Hill as the Chief of Staff was particular enjoyable.
2.13.22 - The Lincoln Highway - Amor Towles (Book) - After the masterpiece that was A Gentleman in Moscow, I was very excited for Towels' fresh new fiction, and it delivered quite nicely. It feels both very different and yet the same from AGIM. A lot is different - a wider ensemble cast, with changing POV, lots of movement and travel - but Towles' prose is just as eminently readable as AGIM. It is what I could call "comforting" prose. It's just delightful to read. It doesn't challenge me, or blow my mind, but it feels so very nice, like a warm bath. I like the story a lot, it never bogs down or gets comfortable, although the POV switching sometimes feels a bit herky-jerky in ways I'm not sure were intentional. The characters have stayed with me in the days after reading it, and I'm glad I went on this journey with them.
2.13.22 - Eight Days A Week: The Touring Years (Movie/Documentary) - A documentary regarding the first half of the Beatles' career on the public-performance circuit before they become reclusive studio musical hobos. It was well put together but I didn't feel like this docu did much for me in the way of new or even newly-presented info - so it was enjoyable but ultimately unmemorable.
2.14.22 - Robert E. Lee and Me: A Southerner's Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause - Ty Seidule (Book) - Ty Seidule is three things - 1) A career Army man, 2) a West Point historian, and 3) Mad as Hell that he grew up in the South swallowing the Lost Cause narrative wholesale. This book, while working to discuss historical truth, mostly feels like Seidule's personal reckoning (or perhaps longform written therapy session) with the mythology he grew up believing. There's a lot of good historical information in this book, but Seidule's tone (he self-acknowledges at least twice that "my passion can verge on self-righteousness", and I couldn't agree more) isn't going to do anything more effective than preach full-throated to the choir.
2.16.22 - What If...? (TV) - This was a pretty entertaining Marvel show - and easily the best part was how all the disparate episodes came together in a united thread over the last couple of episodes. I did not see that coming at all, and I REALLY enjoyed it. Fun animation, compact episodes, good voice acting, not afraid to be a little goofy at times - this was a delightful little show.
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