The State of the Art: Movies 2021

2021 is such a weird mishmash of a year in all facets of society, movies included. Are we in the mood for Weighty, Important Topics? Breezy comedies? Heartfelt emotional stories? Classics? Should we support theaters? Stay home and stream everything? It's likely the environment I saw these movies in had an effect on how they struck me. For instance, my #1 of the year was seen in a theater in which we were told to keep our masks on the entire time, with no concessions allowed, and nobody seated anywhere near us. Would the same movie have elicited such a strong response if I were stretched out on the couch at home? Who knows?

However things would have shaken out, it's a good thing we saw Encounter the way we did, because it is pure atmosphere. This tense thriller about a veteran who essentially kidnaps his children from his ex-wife, and sets out on a cross-country road trip in order to protect them from alien invasion was so suspenseful, I was clenched in fight-or-flight anticipation for the entire running time. I didn't unclench until the end credits rolled. There are so many clichés that this movie could have relied on, and smartly avoided. Riz Ahmed gives a terrific performance, and you're never quite sure how much his character can be trusted. 

Let's get to the the full ranking of 2021 movies:

Encounter (A-)
Encanto (A-)
Belfast (B+)
Pig (B+)
Black Widow (B+)
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (B+)
Being the Ricardos (B)
Dune (B)
In the Heights (B)
To All the Boys (Always and Forever) (B)
Nightbooks (B)
The Mitchells vs. the Machines (B)
West Side Story (B-)
Cruella (B-)
Reminiscence (C+)
Godzilla vs. Kong (C)

I also got to a fair amount of pre-2021 movies from a wide range of genres:

The Final Girls (2015) (B+)

The Painter and the Thief (2020) (B+)

Crooked House (2017) (B+)

My Octopus Teacher (2020) (B+)

Enola Holmes (2020) (B)

Emma (2020) (B)

Phantom Thread (2017) (B-)

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) (B-)

Tenet (2020) (B-)

Step Up (2006) (B-)

Strictly Ballroom (1992) (C+)

Black Christmas (2019) (C+)

How She Move (2007) (C-)

The State of the Art: Television 2021

I often like to look for a theme in the entertainment I enjoyed over the course of a year; I can sometimes summarize the year's mood by the books, games, movies, and shows that attracted me. When it comes to 2021 television, though, I'm all over the damn map. Wacky comedies, horrific explorations of modern religion, supernatural drama, documentaries about every topic under the sun, period romance... You name it, I watched it. But even if I'm not able to find a unifying theme for the year, picking a favorite show is easy.

The Other Two is genius. I started Season 1 (2019) based on some random internet recommendation, and though I usually don't binge shows, I couldn't stop myself from plowing through, and then immediately went running for Season 2 (2021). The stories of siblings Brooke and Cary trying to make lives of their own while the other members of their family become instantly famous is at turns completely absurd, absurdly realistic, and even emotionally moving at times. No matter the storyline, though, it's always freaking hilarious. It also demonstrates that although representation is getting better overall, it can be crystal clear when a gay character is being written by a gay writer, and this show is much better for that. I don't know what effect the pandemic will have on the show's future, but I'm pinning all my hopes on a Season 3.

There were other excellent shows this year, too, from a strong sophomore season of A Black Lady Sketch Show to the stylish and engrossing Only Murders in the Building to the horrific Midnight Mass, which has a lot to say about how people can twist religion to suit their own needs. Some of the Marvel shows would have gotten higher grades, if they hadn't completely fumbled their final episodes. And of course, the old standby shows are still providing plenty of fun. Let's get to the list!

The Other Two (Season 2) (A)

Only Murders in the Building (Season 1) (A-)

A Black Lady Sketch Show (Season 2) (A-) 

Midnight Mass (A-)
Explained (Season 3) (A-)

Carmen Sandiego (Season 4) (B+)

Never Have I Ever (Season 2) (B+)
Close Enough (Season 2) (B+)

What If...? (Season 1) (B+)
WandaVision (Season 1) (B+)

What We Do in the Shadows  (Season 3) (B+)

The Irregulars (Season 1) (B+)

Great British Baking Show (GBBO Season 12, GBBS Season 9) (B)

Bob's Burgers (Season 11) (B)

Hawkeye (Season 1) (B+)

Superstore (Season 6) (B) 

History of Swear Words (B)

Loki (Season 1) (2021) (B-)

Saturday Morning All Star Hits! (Season 1) (C+)

The Falcon and the Winter Solider (Season 1) (C)

Masters of the Universe: Revelation (Season 1) (C)

I also had time to catch up on plenty of pre-2021 TV, and am using it to catch up on popular shows that I never got to when they were actually airing. Some have withstood the test of time, while others... Well, let's get to the list:

The Other Two (Season 1) (2019) (A)

Man Seeking Woman (Seasons 1-3) (2015-2017) (A-)

Explained (Seasons 1-2) (2018-2019) (A-)
DuckTales (Seasons 1-2) (2017-2019) (B+)

Bridgerton (Season 1) (2020) (B+)
Close Enough (Season 1) (2020) (B+)

The Muppet Show (Seasons 1-3) (1976-1979) (B+)

The Owl House (Season 1) (2020) (B+)

Seinfeld (Seasons 1-4) (1980-1993) (B)

The Legend of Korra (Seasons 1-4) (2012-2014) (B-)

Castlevania (Season 3) (2020) (C+)

The State of the Art: Books 2021

The first thing I always look at when I get to my end-of-year reading list is how many books are on it. I have to confess, when there are less than whatever nebulous number I consider to be "acceptable", I feel like I've failed, as if I'm not living up to some potential that's being secretly measured somewhere. With that in mind, I didn't do too badly this year! Especially considering that the book I'm currently reading is 1349 pages long, and I'm not even halfway through yet.

I also always look over the books I've read over the past year to see if I can spot a theme. In 2019, it was "Anywhere But Here". In 2020, it was "Dealing with Loss". And in 2021, it seems apparent that the theme of the books that resonated with me this year is "What We Owe to Each Other". A lot of these books delve into how society treats women, people of differing socioeconomic status, and people of color. Some treat the subject seriously, while others are fairly flippant, but the underlying message is clear: Life is better when you can understand and empathize with people outside of your bubble. That said, let's get to the ranking!

The Custom of the Country - Edith Wharton (1913) (A+) 

Magpie Murders - Anthony Horowitz (2017) (A)

Piranesi - Susanna Clarke (2020) (A-)

The Psychology of Time Travel - Kate Mascarenhas (2018) (A-)

Look Alive Out There - Sloane Crosley (2018) (A-)

The Yellow Wallpaper - Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1899) (A-)

The Housekeeper and the Professor - Yoko Ogawa (2003/2009) (B+) 

There There - Tommy Orange (2018) (B+)
The Once and Future Witches - Alex E. Harrow (2020) (B+)
My Best Friend's Exorcism - Grady Hendrix (2016) (B+)
She Memes Well - Quinta Brunson (2021) (B+)

Sugar and Spite - Gail D. Villanueva (2021) (B+)

An Instance of the Fingerpost - Iain Pears (1998) (B)

You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories About Racism - Amber Ruffin, Lacey Lamar (2021) (B)

Spontaneous - Aaron Starmer (2016) (B)

Bad Feminist - Roxane Gay (2014) (B) 

Hench - Natalie Zina Walschots (2020) (B)

Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark - Cassandra Peterson (2021) (B)

The Man in the Brown Suit - Agatha Christie (1924) (B)

The Decagon House Murders - Yukito Ayatsuji (1987) (B-)
Countdown City - Ben  H. Winters (2013) (B-)

Fierce Kingdom - Gin Phillips (2017) (B-)

A Square Meal: A Culinary History of the Great Depression - Jane Ziegelman & Andrew Coe (2016) (C+)

Black Chalk - Christopher J. Yates (2013) (C)

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes - Suzanne Collins (2020) (C)

Her Body and Other Parties - Carmen Maria Machado (2017) (C-)

The State of the Art: Games 2021

2021 was a year unlike any other. If 2019 was the last of the Before Times, and 2020 was pure isolation, 2021 was a strange hybrid of trying to reincorporate into society, while still being cautious and safe. Social rules are still being updated on a daily basis. If it had any effect on the games I gravitated towards this year, maybe it's that having to make moral decisions and weigh risk on a daily basis means that I chose games that required logical thinking and creative solutions. In short, puzzle games took center stage.

If my favorite game of the year has to be pulled from those released in 2021, the weighty melancholy and emotional exploration in Life is Strange: True Colors would carry the day. But like I said, rules are constantly being updated, and if I truly want to showcase the game I loved this most this year, I have to pick one that was released in 2018.

Lamplight City takes place in 19th century America, but a parallel one, in which a lot of steampunk elements are present in everyday life. It's a classic point-and-click adventure style game, in which you play as Miles Fordham, a recovering alcoholic who wants to make good. When his partner is killed on a routine burglary call, he vows to find the killer, even as the voice of his dead partner haunts him (and serves as omniscient narrator). The graphical style is much like earlier games like Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers, but with updated gameplay, like branching storylines based on your deductions and decisions. It was a thoroughly engrossing story, with terrific voice acting.

Also on the puzzle front, I've only just scratched the surface of Lost in Random, which appears to have been designed with me in mind, specifically. You play as a young girl on the trail of her missing sister, and the game incorporates story elements of powers based on randomness, like dice throws and card draws. I'm very much looking forward to playing more.

Though I explored plenty of new video games this year, when it came to tabletop, I stuck to the familiar. Dungeons & Dragons and the Arkham Horror card game remain stalwart favorites, with forays into the Pathfinder card game campaign as well.

For the rest of games I finished or am still playing (or at least tried out) during 2021, here's a list, in the order they made the biggest impact:

Mass Effect 2 (remastered)
Solasta
Procession to Calvary
Mass Effect 3 (remastered)
Mass Effect (remastered)
Fran Bow
The ABC Murders
Hercule Poirot's First Cases
Final Fantasy VII (remake)
Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
Assassin's Creed: Syndicate
Agent A: A Puzzle in Disguise
When the Past was Around
Newfound Courage
Whispers of a Machine
Avengers
Mother's Embrace
Baldur's Gate 3