A Conversation About 2022 Favorites w/Dane Johns
MAJOR - My brain is divided on making lists. Half wants to document everything and keep track of all I watch and do. Keeping a history of my life since one day my body will fail me and I won't remember.
My other half says why rank and list art? It's not what the process is about, and ultimately not what matters. Spending time with family and others you love should be what you document. Stop caring so much about your lists of each year.
Then I land on why not both? Usually what I watch is fulfilling something in my soul for a need to connect and understand feelings and experiences that are not my own. While also relating in ways to the characters and writers/directors/actors. And watching things creates a community of connections. It doesn't have to be so NO LISTS or LISTS!
My favorite part of looking back through the year is remembering the best experiences I had watching or reading what I chose to spend my time with this year. Who I spent that time with, and how I plan to do that more in the future if possible.
Dane, all this to say, I want to talk about our favorite things. You are someone who I consider to be the KING OF BOOKS, TV, AND MUSIC. And I am the lowly trash king of cinema. What would you like to start with? And did you have any thoughts or year end lists?
DANE - King of Books is a worthy title that I humbly accept as humbly as any King anywhere can.
I think what you're really reconciling here, with this lists vs remembering moments debate, is yourself aging into a new decade of life. Turning 30 has you questioning the ways you've used to archive your previous 15 or so years of life. That's understandable. I did the same thing a while back, disavowing lists and ranking as a lesser form of reminiscing. But I've long since let go of that. Ranking things is now a top twenty-five favorite way to embrace the art that has impacted my life.
With that said, I believe music is the area where our singular interests / experiences overlap the most anymore and despite us talking most every single day, I don't believe I know you're top ten albums of the year, nor do you know mine. So let me remedy that here.
My Top Ten Albums of 2022
1. Joyce Manor - 40 oz to Fresno
2. Death Cab for Cutie- Asphalt Meadows
3. Pedro the Lion- Havasu
4. The Mountain Goats - Bleed Out
5. Wilco- Cruel Country
6. Christian Lee Hutson- Quitters
7. Kendrick Lamar- Mr Morale & the Big Steppers
8. Kevin Devine- Nothing's Real So Nothing's Wrong
9. JID - The Forever Story
10. Big Thief- Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You (also best / worst album title)
My favorite new artist (that I've just discovered) is this guy, Petey, whose album Lean Into Life came out in 2020 with a follow up called More Stuff that came out last year. Both of which are just full of songs that are so earnestly confessional yet silly and self aware, deconstructing toxic masculinity while also fully embracing its bros and buds. All sung / yelled over dancy indie music...which holy shit this may sound like the worst thing ever but I promise I love it.
Then as another thing to tie up my year in music, nothing moved more that seeing Turnstile live for the first time at the Pageant in STL on 9/19/22.
Here's a video: https://youtu.be/U0qGuxqBObE
That was a concert experience that made me feel like I was 19 all over again. Not in the sense of being young (or my longing to be young) but rather it took me back to a time when I was more open to music and everything felt fresh and new. Turnstile make me feel that.
M - What Turnstile did for you is rare and special and I'm glad it happened. I didn't get to have a concert experience like that this year, but I did get to see The National and Wilco play in Nebraska at Outlandia music festival and it was wonderful.
We share 6 of the same top 10,
1. Cruel Country by Wilco
2. Havasu by Pedro the Lion
3. Bleed Out by The Mountain Goats
4. When the Wind Forgets Your Name by Built to Spill
5. Pre Pleasure by Julia Jacklin
6. Quitters by Christian Lee Hutson
7. Blue Rev by Alvvays
8. Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You by Big Thief
9. Nothings Real, So Nothings Wrong by Kevin Devine
10. It's Almost Dry by PUSHA T
11. Bummer Year by Good Looks
So I'll talk about the others.
Built to Spill has been around longer than I've been alive but they continue to stay one of the most singular bands I listen to. A lot of bands sound similar but no one can do the same riffs, melodies, philosophical & fun lyrics as they do to me. A perfect mix of jamming and thinking.
Julia Jacklin's new record hit perfectly the day I listened to it and it's just become a regular listen the last few months of the year.
Alvvays is a band I've listened to but never really appreciated until this year when they put out Blue Rev. They sound like they could open for Phoebe Bridgers or Jeff Rosenstock, but also be more universal and bring in the pop sensibilities.
PUSHA T, while clouded by a certain producer now, it's still his record and I think he's one of the most fun artists working.
Your top 2 albums would be in my next tier of records if I kept going.
Good Looks would be my biggest out of nowhere surprise. Quick easy listen that feels like they have potential to make a true top 5 record one day or I just never hear from them again.
D - Pitchfork named "Belinda Says" by Alvvays their song of the year. It's been a long time since I've really paid much attention to Pitchfork (or any internet publication?) but that has had me listening to that song with greater focus the last couple of days. It's good. I just started listening to that album as a whole when you told me you liked it.
For my top ten, I was trying really hard to get Big Thief out of there. That may surprise you and my AppleMusic Recap that had me listening to that album 82 times this year. I think I listened to it 82 times because I was trying reallllyyy hard to get into it. I mean I do like it, obviously. There are some good songs on there, but also do I actually like it? I don't know. This paragraph is all to say, if I could go back and do it again, and spend more time with this Alvvays record, it would probably make the cut.
Another late round contender would be this album, Boat Songs by MJ Lenderman. I only just started listening to this album a couple days ago after I read Steven Hyden year end review on Uproxx (huh, I guess I do still pay attention to internet publications). Hyden had this dude as his top album of the year. I'm sure within thirty seconds of listening to this band you can see why I like it. This is like what Jeff Rosenstock would sound like if he came up with The Strokes in the early 00s instead of with basement punk bands (I prefer the Jeff we have btw, but this is good too).
Check out this song about Michael Jordan and tell me I'm wrong: https://youtu.be/nWH-VXu5WzI
M - Oh yeah I like that a lot. And I think I hear some early Wilco sound in there. A real twang and relaxed rhythm with quirky lyrics. I'll listen to that and might have to reorder my top 10 as well.
Here's a couple songs by people I didn't mention but made songs Iisten to regularly from this year to go along with your late recommendation.
First is Beautiful Song by Horsegirl. The album as a whole wouldn't make my top records but I liked almost all of it and this song sounds like what I want music to be sometimes.
Next is a song by an actress and musician Lola Kirke, the sister of Jemima Kirke who played Jessa on Girls, and Lola is the star of Mistress America with Greta Gerwig. She made a different record for her this year where she did an old fashioned country record telling stories and sounding like a Nashville group. That may turn some off, but I think this is good. And I like the music video.
D - Joe also sent me Horsegirl several months back. I like it. At the risk of sounding like the forty year old man I very much am, I wish the lyrics were a bit clearer but I like it. I dig this Lola Kirke song too. You've sent me her stuff before and I remember her from Mistress America. This is a cool video too.
I love that we've spent more time discussing the music on the fringes of our favorites more than our favorites themselves. That's how it should be I suppose.
One more thing is that I've been listening to The Mountain Goats: The Jordan Lake Sessions Volume 5 and it has me loving Bleed Out even more so that album will likely be found closer to the top of my year end list, because I think as I get older, I'll likely hold Bleed Out in higher esteem than say, Asphalt Meadows, which while being a very good album is nowhere near Death Cab's best albums (I'd honestly put it out of their top 5 all time). But I can see Bleed Out eventually becoming a top three record by one of my very favorite bands, the one and only Mountain Goats.
I know you've been getting caught up on Atlanta s4, what have been your favorite TV shows of the year?
M - So I'll start with honorable mentions so I don't end up only writing about my 18th favorite show of the year.
Barry on HBO, Bill Hader is a fantastic actor, hilarious, and has smart ideas about how shows and movies should work. While I don't think the show is funny, I think the drama is much better and I like every episode at least a little bit. One of the only shows that can really make you feel the consequences while also making jokes like it's the 2nd worst SNL sketch of the night.
Billions on Showtime is a show I started when my baby was a few days old and I was just staying up until 3-4 in the morning and watched all 5 seasons in the first few months of her life. So much so, that we joked she started perking up anytime a middle aged, preferably bald, man would talk on the TV because she clearly created a connection with Paul Giamatti's voice. Great kid. I have now since watched season 6 and season 7 will be out next year. The show has fallen off in the last two seasons the way good shows that go on too long do usually, but I still enjoy spending time with it. And the the first 3-4 seasons are some of my favorite TV time I've had in years.
The Patient on FX on Hulu was a season pass because of Domhnall Gleeson. I am not a big Steve Carell fan, but I like him fine, and Gleeson has become a favorite over the years and gets to play such an odd, dark, and fun character in this show and I think it's the best Carell has been in a long time. The episodes are less than 30 minutes so you could watch the entire season of this show in less time than watching two of the most recent episodes of Stranger Things and I recommend watching The Patient over doing that.
Five Days at Memorial on AppleTV+ is a limited series based on the book of the same name about the TITULAR amount of time and place during hurricane Katrina where a hospital lost power for 5 days and how they dealt with it. It is not an inspiring, uplifting watch and will make you think about hard choices. Co-created by Carlton Cuse who also had a large hand in Lost. Vera Farmiga is the lead, which is why I watched, but it is filled with good character actors doing good work.
The Bear on FX on Hulu became extremely popular for a few months earlier this year and I of course waited to watch it until everyone had moved on. I didn't love spending time in this world but the acting and quick pacing of the show made it easily watchable. Ayo Edibiri rules, and the lead Jeremy Allen White might be market correcting Shia LaBeouf after some horrid behaviour on his part.
Now my top 11.
11. THE WHITE LOTUS on HBO (Season 2) - A show that very little happens but is immensely watchable and fun to talk about and try to guess what will happen despite you kinda knowing what will happen but not sure when. It's like Knives Out for people who are annoying on podcasts, which I would be if given the opportunity, and Aubrey Plaza I thought would be the best part of this show and then I fell in love with multiple actors as this season went on. You'll hear about Jennifer Coolidge, Plaza, but stay for everyone else. Season 1 is good too, less likable I think, but equally good.
10. BETTER THINGS on FX/Hulu (5th & final season) - Pamela Adlon, while being an accomplished voice & character actor (she's Bobby Hill on King of the Hill), was only known to me as Louis CK's writing partner and doing great work on his show Louie. Since he has decided to be shitty, she had to separate herself from him and create her own thing. His name is on this show because he helped produce it early on, but it was fully her show. She created a soft, intimate, funny and emotional in equal measure triumph of family and all that comes with that. Her three daughters played wonderfully by actresses she never replaced and let them age normally and grow and be impressive as actors. So many comedians and good actors show up and this show will sneak up on you. Like a small indie film that just goes along and then hits you when you aren't expecting it. Great show and I will miss watching it each year.
9. THE RIGHTEOUS GEMSTONES on HBO (Season 2) - Danny McBride is one of the funniest people alive and he happened to have cast a couple more of them in this show and make it about a mega church family that feels like It's Always Sunny mixed with his show Vice Principals. This is kind of the reverse of Barry for me where I don't think the drama really works but it's very funny. MVP is Edi Patterson as his sister Judy.
8. ATLANTA on FX/Hulu (Season 3 & 4 final season) - if you would've asked me around 2017 who I thought would be the biggest star making the best quality entertainment & art in the world in 5 years I would've said Donald Glover. That did not come to fruition and that is unfair expectation to put on anyone. His first two seasons of Atlanta, he collaborated with many great writers and actors, are all time great TV. Season 3 returned and I had cooled on him as a person and an artist because of multiple reasons. But, he returned with a highly ambitious season of TV that never drew me in but always was fascinating. Felt like he and his team had lost the thread of what made the show great and just had good ideas for bits and commentary. Where before they would do that, but mixed into a real show with stakes and meaning. Now felt like a troll or reference to something that is happening in the last few years. Season 4 was better but still not fully connecting the way the first two did. The entire run of the show is still great and better than 99% of TV that has come out. But, I 'd be lying if I didn't say I was slightly disappointed overall.
7. WE OWN THIS CITY on HBO (limited series) - Jon Bernthal has become one of my favorite actors. He's somewhere behind Adam Driver, Carrie Coon, Kristen Stewart, Riley Keough, Colin Farrell, but he's right there in the next tier. And when I saw he was starring in a show by the creator of The Wire as a corrupt cop I was all in. It's still got that style of realism over everything and patience. Not going to try and manipulate you in any gross ways. Just lets things play out and you make your own decisions. A clear moral standpoint but no judgement really. The cast is filled with typical good work, but what Bernthal does is awards worthy so I doubt he gets any.
6. DOCUMENTARY NOW! on AMC+/IFC (season 4) - going from a show about police corruption and the entire infrastructure of a city's policing to a very silly show doing parodies of acclaimed documentaries shows where my priorities lie. Bill Hader, with his second mention on this list, along with John Mulaney, Seth Meyers, and Fred Armisen created this show and have made each episode worth watching. Some hilarious, others less so but always thoughtful and with insight. Each one done with such care and almost exact copying of the way the real documentary is made. All while pretending what they made is a real doc. It's truly a joy to sit and watch each one. Only 30 minutes long, and introduced by Helen Mirren. If you haven't had a chance to view this yet I highly recommend it. You don't need to know anything about the real documentaries to have a good time.
5. THIS IS GOING TO HURT on BBC/AMC+ (limited series) - Ben Whishaw is best known for being the voice of Paddington in the movies, but here he plays a Dr. House mixed with Fleabag type guy. Narrating to the screen, smart and knows what he is talking about but failing at almost each turn. An adaptation of the book with the same name, and written by the author, it is a darkly comic show that also sneaks up on you like Fleabag did with its deep well of heart and kindness to all. It is a quick show to watch, and will make you care and remember characters who only have a couple scenes the way the best shows do. I highly recommend it to anyone able to handle medical dramas and all that come with that, plus its funnier than most dramas as well.
4. FLEISHMAN IS IN TROUBLE on Hulu/FX (limited series) - A show I didn’t know anything about and then saw Jesse Eisenberg, Lizzy Caplan, Adam Brody, and Claire Danes were in it and I was on board. Its adapted by the same writer who wrote the novel and is probably my favorite written show of the year. More novelists should get to adapt their own work. It is about a couple in New York and what happens to them when things start to go wrong. Their history, their friends, their kids, all of it. The acting is superb, and the way it uses narration as a huge plus instead of just explaining things we already know or never will see is great. I find it funny, relatable, smart, and melancholy all at once sometimes. One of the best shows of the year.
3. SEVERENCE on AppleTV+ (Season 1) - a big surprise was how good this was. How immediately it pulled off this Sci-fi world and how well the actors did it. Ben Stiller directed one of my favorite 10 shows of 2018 with Escape in Dannemora, and then returned with this show just asking for more seasons. Adam Scott, Patricia Arquette, Britt Lower, John Turturro, Christopher Walken, and the rest all really fill this world with the much needed gravitas it needs. Plus, there's a running bit on the show with the brother-in-law's book he wrote that is very funny and used in a creative and fun way that if another show tried it they would make it too funny or not acknowledge how funny it is. And this show lets it be funny but not removing any of the stakes. That is HARD. Great first season and we should see season 2 early in the new year.
2. BETTER CALL SAUL on AMC/AMC+ (6th and final season) - When this show started in February of 2015 I was very dubious. I knew it would be fine, but didn't expect it to ever be a favorite. Even after the first few seasons I wasn't sure. Then somewhere around season 4 it changed. I noticed how much I cared and wanted to sit with it each week. How it always looks so beautiful, even simple shots of a wall were intriguing to look at. Rhea Seehorn had become a staple in my brain for best actors each year. Bob Odenkirk had stopped becoming a very funny Mr. Show guy doing serious acting and just became Saul. The Breaking Bad connections started becoming almost an after thought and I was ready to get through the easter eggs and just watch the show. But that's impossible. The show only exists because of the amazing feat of TV this group pulled off with Breaking Bad. They didn't make a show to suck you in with drama or action. They just made a great show more akin to Mad Men, than Breaking Bad. Slow and smart with big payoffs if you are on its wavelength. And the payoffs aren't deaths, fights, explosions, or anything to do with meth. They are emotional choices. They are decisions you make for what feel like good reasons but take too far. Losing yourself in the process of finding who you want to be. A great show that when it did finally do the things shows have to do, they all felt necessary and important and earned. One of the hardest things to do with any piece of filmed storytelling art is pull of an ending. That is what Gilligan and Gould do better than anyone.
1. THE REHEARSAL on HBO (Season 1) - I became fascinated with Nathan Fielder when his pseudo-reality show Nathan for You premiered in 2013 (!) and I recognized him as a small character on the short lived but fun show Jon Benjamin Has a Van. I watched the first episode and loved the premise so much. I continued to do so each episode and have rewatched the show more than any other in my life. A true comfort for me. I find it to be one of the funniest things I've ever seen while also always creative and innovative in the dumbest ways that turn smart in how stupid they are. When that show ended he never had to do anything that good again to make me consider him one of the best of all time. Then I see he has a new show coming. I don't get my hopes up because that's not fair. I learned from my Donald Glover thoughts, and just overall hero worship tendencies we all have as humans, that in recent years you shouldn't expect too much and just be glad you're getting a new thing from someone who made a piece of entertainment you loved. Then episode one starts and it's clear he has raised his stakes. He has decided to make it even more about him than NFY was, and playing with people's lives and not their businesses. This show will alienate and piss people off. But if he pulled off even half of what he was attempting it would be sensational. And to me, he nailed it. One of my favorite seasons of TV ever, and he continues being a powerful force of comedy and emotional exploration. I think he takes the best parts of the famous Kaufman's, Charlie & Andy, and creates something all new to himself. I know they are doing a second season and I won't expect it to be as good as this one. But, I also know there's no limit to what he could do. So I'm ready to be taken for the ride.
*gulps and clears throat trying to act like I didn't just dominate the convo completely for a long email*
So, Dane, what were your favorite TV shows of 2022? ...
D - Hey! I like a lot of those shows too. Well said so there's not much I need to add, but here are my top ten shows from 2022:
1- Better Call Saul
2- Atlanta ( I thought s4 wrapped it up nicely and picked up a lot of the loose threads dangling from s3)
3- Severance
4- Andor (possibly the best Star Wars thing made since Return of the Jedi?)
5- The Rehearsal
6- Reservation Dogs (I don't know why the hell you're not watching this and I'm a little offended that you aren't)
7- The Righteous Gemstones
8- The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (forgot this came out at the beginning of the year! Love this show)
9- The Bear
10- Barry
Honorable Mentions: The Patient, Abott Elementary, The Boys, Dave (I don't know if the new season aired in 2022 but I binged the first two seasons in 2022 and loved them), The Boys
Best Reality TV:
1- Survivor (got a lot of thoughts on recent winners / recent gameplay that won't mean shit to you so I'll leave it out but Survivor rules)
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2- Love Is Blind (Listen, I'm not proud of liking this show either, but it's such a nice time to watch this show with Stacy and shit-talk all these people)
3- Last Chance U: Basketball
I'm not a negative person but I found plenty to dislike in TV this year too so here are the shows I started but didn't finish with a snarky reason as to why
1- Stranger Things S4- You want to know a good way to get me to not watch your show? Put out like 7 or 8 long episodes at one time, have them all be "pretty good" and then a couple weeks later put out two more final episodes that are like 2 or more hours each. I guess I'll watch those whenever the new season comes, but it feels like work I'm not being paid for.
2- House of the Dragon- Remember how the last season of Game of Thrones sucked? Well, here's a show that has all the charisma and plotting of that one without any of the likable characters! Sounds great, right? Well, how about instead of having a fully-realized expansive world full of wonder, we set it all in like one room? Wow! Oh, and that one room is the darkest room ever so you can barely see anything! But don't worry there's still plenty of incest and violence to women and we'll throw in one CGI'd-to-shit dragon per episode!
3- Winning Time- was just kind of fine. I liked all that I watched of it, especially the acting performances, but the stakes never felt like they mattered so I rarely felt compelled to watch an hour of it.
4- That Lord of the Rings show-- this one was actually really good and I just have two episodes left that I'll finish at one time. In fact, I mainly haven't finished it because it's really good and since I watch most my TV while sitting up with Ewan, I wanted to be able to really FOCUS for the last two episodes and unfortunately that time has never came
5- 1889- Woof what a disappointment of a show! Giant hole in the ocean? Sign me the fuck up! But then again everything is going to be super serious and gray and dark and looks shitty and no one will ever smile once because they're the saddest people ever.
6- Sandman - I think I just didn't get it and it felt like a Netflix show
Honestly, overall, I feel like it's been a top-heavy year for TV. A lot of great stuff came out which I'm grateful for, but then a lot of other stuff that I just found myself watching, trying to convince myself it was worth my time. Which whenever I catch myself doing that, it's hard for that show to redeem itself.
What're the returning shows or things you're looking forward to next year?
M - As far as things go I'm not sure how to narrow that down, but for shows I will give it a shot.
Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Righteous Gemstones, Barry, and White Lotus return next year.
Billions also returns for a maybe final season.
Justified returns and that’s probably my most excited for show.
For new stuff *deep breath*
The great director Alfonso Cuaron has an Apple show, Nathan Fielder and the Safdies have a show, Park Chan wook & Robert Downey Jr has a show, there’s a TV adaptation of the great movie Dead Ringers on Prime starring Rachel Weisz, there’s a Band of Brothers like series about the Air Force called Masters of the Air coming to Apple, Soderbergh has a new HBO show called Full Corcle, and lots of others in this never ending churning out of shows for all the streaming services.
Did you have a TV show that is your most anticipated next year?
D - Full Corcle sounds interesting. Typical Soderbergh to think outside the box and keep us guessing.
I'm also very interested in the Nathan Fielder and Safdies project. It's going to be scripted, right?
Righteous Gemstones and Barry are always up there. I loved Band of Brothers and the Pacific so if Masters of the Air (lame ass title) has the same producers or even a similar tone, I'd probably be into that.
As far as shows I'm looking forward to returning, of course, I'm looking forward to those in my top ten: Severance, The Bear, and Reservation Dogs. I'm really stoked for Dave to come back. Ted Lasso s3 (though I'm bummed for it to probably be the last one) and Succession s4, those will both be appointment viewings too. Already I think TV is looking better for next year and I'm sure some stuff will come up out of nowhere to surprise me.
But really the show I'm most excited to return (move over, Raylon) is X-Men '97, which is a revival of the X-Men: Animated Series that I loved so much as a kid and have rewatched several times now as an adult. A lot of the same voice actors have returned, but I truly hope they don't update the animation style at all and that honestly, they keep it a little cheesy. It should be coming to Disney+ this fall.
In non-TV related news, do you know what I'm really really really really really most excited for in 2023 though, Major?
M - Does it have anything to do with my new quirk of always calling anything that’s a circle a corcle?
And if not, what? What? What?
D - https://youtu.be/2SNF4M_v7wc
M - ZELDAD SWEATPANTS RETURNS!
Tell me, what about Zelda makes you so happy?
D - Oh, it's just the most fun I've ever had playing a video game, especially Breath of the Wild. It's a fully imagined world that is easy to lose yourself into. At this point, I'm just pretty wrapped up in the lore of it. A small comfort thing I do sometimes is just watch twenty minute YouTube videos on the world of Hyrule, the continuity of the different games and how they intersect or break from tradition. I love it. So the stakes / hopes / hype for this new one are unlike anything I've expected from a new video game. It comes out on May 19th. I plan to take a couple days off work around then to just play the game like I'm a little kid again. That's part of it too, I'm sure.
What are you most looking forward to for next year? I assume there are a bunch of movies you're psyched for so talk about those and then since I've done this backwards somewhat, tie that into the movies you have loved from 2022.
M - That’s wonderful. I wish I had a video game that made me feel that way.
My favorite movies of 2022 as of now, because I always see some later that don’t come out near me or on streaming before the end of the year, are as follows
10. CHA CHA REAL SMOOTH
Cooper Raiff is a writer/director/star of two films in the last couple years about being stuck in a place in life and romantic feelings help push you towards who you will be. Shithouse was his first one, and he leveled up and got Dakota Johnson, Leslie Mann, and Brad Garrett to join in on his earnest sweet mommas boy cinema. I recommend this for anyone.
9. TRIANGLE OF SADNESS
Making fun of the rich has become a little boring lately with so many people doing it. And so many of those people wishing to be apart of those they are mocking. But this one really seems to loathe certain aspects of the wealthy while also having plenty of poop, vomit, and dumb jokes. It’s an art film with a dumb brain. I had a great time.
8. SUNDOWN
Slow burn doesn’t even quite describe this one. 80 minutes and uses each one to get you wrapped into why this man is acting this way. What exactly is going on? And by the time you figure it out you’ve been smiling some, questioning a lot, and still not sure how we got here. But you know you were fascinated.
7. BONES AND ALL
Timothee Chalamet gets all the attention, but he is not the reason to watch this dark romantic thriller with YA sensibilities. Taylor Russell, star of the Escape Room franchise and Waves gives this movie a large heart and a great lead performance. Mark Rylance plays a character that made my wife and I squirm in our seats at first, and I think it’s one of the most lived in movies of the year. So nice to see someone take advantage of the beauty of the Midwest.
6. KLONDIKE
Saw it in January during the Ukrainian invasion and it really connected even harder. About a couple having a baby on the border of Ukraine/Russia and how they survive and try to continue living their normal life while in a war zone. It’s not overly manipulative or not fun. There’s a sense of humor here. And a deep well of humanity.
5. CRIMES OF THE FUTURE
David Cronenberg is still going after over 50 years of making movies. Known for The Fly, Videodrome, or A History of Violence. And his latest feels like a reckoning with what movies and the world have become with a tongue in cheek. About an underground artist famous for having surgeries as his show. The world feels desolate and sad and full of uncertainty. It is both very weird and yet feels normal? Nailed the current feeling of being alive.
4. THE FABELMAN’S
Steven Spielberg made a movie he couldn’t make until his parents were both passed away. What a thing to create art as therapy like this and still have so much humor, love, and enthusiasm for your life and everything to come. The acting is terrific and the insights on making art is perfect.
3. TÁR
Cate Blanchett should be winning an Oscar for her work here. As the most successful modern day composer who gets taken down a peg, and is haunted by her past in a movie that could’ve been cold and deadly serious, is instead pretty funny and makes you wonder if this is just a true story. The most Stanley Kubrickesqe movie I’ve seen in a long time.
2. RESURRECTION
Rebecca Hall will not be winning anything for her work in this movie, but she is who I would make the best actor of the year. A debut for the writer/director and he makes the correct choice of having Hall be on screen almost the entire time and giving monologues and being tense. Is what’s happening real? Surely not. But, maybe… and not in a dream way. This movie has a lot on its mind while also being a great B movie about weird shit.
1. THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson return with writer/director Martin McDonagh to make the most theater play style movie of the year while also taking advantage of the Irish setting. A great movie about friendship, pride, losing your hope & desire, and also about being nice. It’s about a lot of things. It’s also very funny, emotional, and pays everything off how you wish every story would. It’s my favorite thing of the year.
Before I’m getting to the movies I am already Looking forward to in 2023, what were your favorite movies?
D - I'd really like to see TÁR and the Fabelman's. I'd like to say Crimes of the Future too, but really I don't watch any body horror type stuff by myself. I need to be nudged into that a little or maybe you can bring it along to Colorado in a couple of decades like you did with Videodrome. That's probably what it would take.
My Top Ten Movies of 2023
1- Hustle
2- The Menu
3- Banshees of Inisherin
4- Nope
5- Cha Cha Real Smooth
6- Resurrection
7- AVATAR: WAY OF THE GODDAMN WATER (purely for the singular IMAX 3D Viewing Experience
8- Barbarian
9- The Batman
10- Prey
Best Family Movie: Lightyear
Runner Up: Chip & Dale Rescue Rangers
M - Good list!
There’s lots I’m looking forward to about 2023 movies but here’s my top tier of things that might reach wider audiences.
Napoleon - it’s about Bonaparte! Starring Joaquin Phoenix & directed by Ridley Scott.
Magic Mike’s Last Dance
Ferrari - story of Enzo Ferrari in 1957 with Adam Driver as the titular Italian, Penelope Cruz and Shailene Woodley joining in directed by the legend Michael Mann.
Barbie - Greta Gerwig writes and directs what could’ve just been tossed off IP and makes it look gorgeous and weird and fun and like an old fashioned musical.
Knock at the Cabin - new M Night, baby!
Dune: Part Two
Asteroid City & The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar - Wes Anderson giving us two movies this year! One original, and the other a Roald Dahl adaptation.
The Bikeriders - Midwest biker club becomes a gang with Tom Hardy, Michael Shannon, Austin Butler and more directed by Jeff Nichols.
Oppenheimer - new Christopher Nolan about the man who invented the atom bomb.
The Killer - Fincher movie for Netflix based on a graphic novel with Fassbender and Tilda Swinton.
Killers of the Flower Moon - Scorsese reframing with DiCaprio, De Niro, and Jesse Plemons to tell a fascinating story based on the book.
D - I feel like we're on the third or fourth straight year of Killers of the Flower Moon being on your most anticipated list. Probably not, but it FEELS that way. I'm excited for that one too.
I knew about Knock at the Cabin and you know I'm pumped for that one. It's based on a novel by this horror writer Paul Tremblay. I really like his stuff so that mixed with M. Night, I'm ready for it. Plus, I like that it's an early in the year, winter release.
One movie that you didn't mention (which deeply offends both Eli & myself) is the new Super Mario Bros movie. That's going to be the Johns Family's Super Bowl next year. We've watched both the trailers several times. Eli is already sorting out which plush Mario characters he's going to bring to the theater to sit with him. Jack Black as Bowser is perfect. As always, Mario is the least interesting character in the whole world and the one that we'll be actively rooting against. It comes out just two weeks before Eli's birthday, we'll be there.
Oh and into the Spiderverse looks DOPE AS HELL too.
M - You’ll be my animated movie correspondent until my daughter gets older. I hope Mario Bros is awesome.
Now I think it’s time to put on your crown and reveal the pages that were turned this year!
Here’s the books I read in 2022, not necessarily books released in 2022. But some were. In order from least liked to most liked BUT
First, big congrats to you on releasing your novel The Futile and showing everyone how good of a writer you are. I’m not including it in this group because I want to put it in its own category as the one I’m recommending everyone go purchase. https://linktr.ee/danejohns
Now onto the much less important rest.
11. Broken Monsters by Lauren Beukes
The most traditional book I read this year. Both pleasing and boring. Both exactly what you want and too predictable. Unfortunately the latter of both battles won out and while I would not say it is bad, for as little books as I read a year I wish I had picked another.
10. No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood
I wanted to like this but I found it a chore to get through and did not enjoy the experience of reading it. I got what it was going for but just didn’t care for it. Admirable in attempt but not my thing.
9. The Twilight World by Werner Herzog
The shortest book I read this year and feels like the biggest misfire because the story is pretty fascinating and would be an incredible documentary but Herzog wrote a dry and contemplative book instead. Not enough meat on the bone in this book even though there absolutely is in real life.
8. Civilwarland in Bad Decline by George Saunders
I think I prefer Saunders when he makes less jokes. Entertaining and smart but just wasn’t for me this year.
7. Franny & Zooey by JD Salinger
I have found reading Salinger is not something I’m a big fan but he’s of course talented. Just not totally for me. I wish I had read this when I was in high school.
6. After Dark, My Sweet by Jim Thompson
A good book by one of my favorite authors. Not his best, but an easy entertaining read that feels designed to be made into a mini series and I enjoyed casting it in my head.
5. Heat 2 by Meg Gardnier & Michael Mann
Can’t imagine reading this if you don’t love the movie but I do so it was a good time revisiting these characters and getting so much new in this world to dive into.
4. Revival by Stephen King
I am not an experienced King reader so I picked one that sounded most like my kind of thing and I was right. I hope I get to see it adapted for the screen someday.
3. Devil House by John Darnielle
My least favorite of his three books is still great and I devoured it. It didn’t connect with me as much as I wanted it to but I loved spending time with it and getting wherever he wanted to take me. Can’t wait for his next one but I’m overjoyed to have this on my shelf and might even revisit sometime.
2. Hug Chickenpenny by S. Craig Zahler
A fable of sorts with a dark sense of humor and a never ending well of empathy. It’s simple, just like it’s titular character, but that fills the gaps with so much intrigue and fun writing.
1. A Heart That Works by Rob Delaney
You can’t spoil this book but I will say I recommend this book to any parent or anyone who would like to be. It can be a deeply emotional book but also very silly and fun sometimes on the same page. I cried more reading this book than I have reading any other.
Now give me those sweet Dane Johns picks!
I bow to the king!
D - Thank you. I loved No One is Talking About This and Civilwarland (of course) so I was thrilled you read those even if they didn't hit the mark. It seems like you didn't really love the majority of books you read this year, but it's still awesome you read so much and hopefully you can find more that connect with you in 2023. Normally I would hesitate to speak with much authority on any given subjects, particularly in regards to telling someone else how they should do something, but as King of Books let me tell you, I've found that learning to select books that you will love is a true skill that takes years of development and once you get there, it will truly open up your book-loving-potential. I've hit year-long streaks before where I've read 10-12 books but not particularly liked any of them. It's all due to me picking books I thought I would like or wanted to like when in actuality I should have been going with the books I truly felt drawn to or strongly compelled to read.
It's like this old ghost movie I saw as a kid where they gave this little girl a "divining rod" (which was really just a wishbone shaped stick) and she had to wander around the backyard until the Divining Rod pulled her strongly in one direction, and for a while nothing was happening, but then it like suddenly jumped and dragged her like a lion on a leash and she was pulled screaming through the forest away from her parents until she like landed in this ancient burial ground and traumatized forever but at least the family knew why their lights were going on and off...anyways, finding a good book is kind of like that.
I wish I knew what movie that was.
Here are my favorite books I read in 2022--
1- Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner (2021)
A heartbreaking memoir about Zauner's evolving relationship with her mother as she slowly dies of cancer. Zauner, who releases music under the moniker of Japanese Breakfast, is a 1 of 1 writer who utilizes all 5 of your senses to put you right there in every scene. This can be tough for someone who has lost a significant loved one, but I found it incredibly cathartic and moving. It stirred up feelings and memories of my mom that I thought had been gone for years. It made me cry in a sad way at times, happy way at others, but all of it brought relief.
2- Sea of Tranquility by Emily St John Mandel (2022)
Emily St. John Mandel is the newest entry into my Favorite Authors of All Time Tier. She's 3 for 3 with Sea of Tranquility, The Glass Hotel, and, of course, Station Eleven. I will read anything she puts out just as I will seek out and savor the few books she's put out that I haven't read yet.
3- Liberation Day by George Saunders (2022)
A shorter collection of stories than I would like, but again, I loved them all and look forward to re-reading this book in the coming years. My favorite stories were Mom of Bold Action, Love Letter, and My House. Having read all of Saunders published works more than once, I really feel the influence of Buddhism, inner-peace, and true forgiveness for everyone everywhere all the time lurking at the margins of these pages, which some may find tiresome, but for me, it all helps me, reminding me to be more patient, curious, and more open to my fellow humans and life itself. Which saying that may make it seem that there is no challenge or edge to Saunders work and that couldn't be further from the truth. I think those things are there too. While reading his stuff, I find myself looking inward, interrogating these parts of myself that I don't like as much. I also find myself smiling and being thoroughly entertained. Any other year this would be an easy best of the year pick for me and maybe in time, it will be.
4- Devil House by John Darnielle (2022)
It's also my least favorite of Darnielle's three, but it's still so effing awesome. It took me back to the eighties and nineties of my youth, when my friends and I would make forts and clubhouses anywhere we could, setting boobie-traps and telling scary stories to (and about) ourselves. Also, this book has the coolest cover and interior design.
5- White Noise by Don DeLillo (1985)
The best book I read about marriage and how scary it can be to raise a family and grow old in the modern world. Despite being published almost forty years ago, all of it felt like it was written yesterday. I know it's ranked #5 here but I truly loved this book too.
6- The Nineties by Chuck Klosterman (2022)
Klosterman is another one of my favorite writers. Nonfiction can be so dry and boring to me at times, but not the way Klosterman writes about it. I've long since discovered that he can write about anything from obscure hair metal bands to the Clinton saga to Iowa Baseball and I'll love every word of it.
7- A Court of Thorns & Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Stacy's coworkers have been going on about this (YA?) fantasy series for months, leading to me buying it for Stacy on her birthday this past August. A few weeks passed, Stacy eventually started it and I watched as she went through the stage of "It's alright" to "It's pretty good" to "I'm really digging this" to "Oh, my God, this book is everything." She's since devoured the next 3 books in the series and is trying to savor the fifth (and for now) final book available in the series. It's been over a decade since I've seen Stacy love a book this much so I decided to read it too, but honestly, I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did. Maas is an incredibly talented writer. There were plenty of times where I thought "this kind of fantasy romance isn't my thing" and considered putting it down, but the truth is, it's so dang enjoyable and fun. It's near-perfectly paced and Maas has created a fully realized fantasy world that I don't want to leave. Every single character or creature that strolls onto the page feels like they're coming from a totally alive world and backstory all their own. It's great and I will be reading the other books in this series.
8- The Candy House by Jennifer Egan (2022)
A follow up novel to one of my favorite books of all time, Egan's 2010 A Visit from the Goon Squad. The Candy House didn't leave quite the same impression for me but was still really good.
9- Boxer 33 1/3 by Ryan Pinkard
A quick nonfiction read about the making of one of my favorite albums of all time, The National's Boxer.
10- The Storyteller by Dave Grohl (2021)
I wasn't the biggest Foo Fighters fan before reading this book, but I left this one with an even greater appreciation for the band (perhaps the biggest and most memorable of our generation?) and Grohl's entire body of work. Though the early chapters about Grohl's beginning music career and then him joining Nirvana were by far the most enthralling of the entire book, which made the back half a bit more of a slog.
Honorable Mentions:
11- How to Be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question by Michael Schur (2022)
12- Promise That You Will Sing About Me: The Power & Poetry of Kendrick Lamar by Miles Marshall Lewis (2021)
13- Where the Deer and the Antelope Play - The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside by Nick Offerman (2020)
14- Hip Hop & Other Things by Shea Serrano (2021)
Favorite Rereads: Here I Am by Jonathan Safran Foer (2017) and On Writing by Stephen King (2000)
Favorite Monthly Comic Book: X-Men by Gerry Dugan and Pepe Larraz
Thank you for initiating this, Major. I've really loved this back and forth.