Media I've consumed in 2016
January 14, 2017 at 04:30 PM | categories: movies, books, games | View CommentsTo escape the crushing reality of 2016, I escaped into a world of multimedia.
Books
- A Dance with Dragons: A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 5
- Firestone and the Warlord
- Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War
- Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls
- Practical Object-Oriented Design in Ruby
- Pump Six
- The Dumbest Kid in Gifted Class
- The Legends of King Arthur and His Knights
- The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
- The New New Thing: A Silicon Valley Story
- Uncle Tom's Cabin
Again I failed to even read a book a month in 2016. Most books didn't really grab my attention, so I took my sweet time getting through them. Still, there were some gems. I finally read a David Sedaris book (Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls) after years of hearing him on This American Life, and his voice comes off in print just as well. Also, Sandi Metz's Practical Object Oriented Design in Ruby is well written, full of practical advice, and something I can use as a counterpoint to people who think dynamically typed languages are bad for software quality.
Movies
- 10 Cloverfield Lane
- Anomalisa
- Ant-Man
- Captain America: Civil War
- Deadpool
- Doctor Strange
- Hail, Caesar!
- In Order of Disappearance
- Jafar Panahi's Taxi
- Love and Mercy
- Magical Universe
- Matt Shepard Is a Friend of Mine
- Meru
- Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
- Moms' Night Out
- Phoenix
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
- Slow West
- Spy
- Swiss Army Man
- Tangerine
- The Big Short
- The Diary of a Teenage Girl
- The Duke of Burgundy
- The Hateful Eight
- The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2
- The Lobster
- The Mend
- The Tribe
- What We Do in the Shadows
- Wild Canaries
- World of Tomorrow
- Zootopia
Maybe it's just because I'm a single thirtysomething, but The Lobster spoke to me. I loved Yorgos Lanthimos' Dogtooth, but I can't say it was relatable. And I definitely wouldn't recommend it to someone who doesn't know what they're getting into. The Lobster is still uniquely weird and cynical, but it still has moments of sentimentality and romance.
In between the daily hunts of single people.
Games
- Batman: The Telltale Series: Season 1
- Fallout 4
- Firewatch
- Minecraft: Story Mode
- No Man's Sky
- Regency Solitaire
- Rhythm Heaven Megamix
- The Walking Dead: Michonne
- Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
- Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
- Zombies, Run: Season 4
I played precious few games this year, and finished fewer still. My favorite, though, was Uncharted 4. I normally gravitate towards smaller indie games, but Uncharted really shows what smart people and amazing artists can do with technology these days. The story it tells also isn't half bad, at least by video game standards.