TIL about the role of a Chief Evangelist. Sounds a bit icky to me.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, 2022 - ★★★

Ridiculous and entertaining. I think I marginally preferred this second outing for Benoit Blanc to his debut.

There were moments however where I was pulled out of the story and reminded these "disruptors" with their endless pots of money and huge egos are out there causing havoc in the real world.

Finished reading: The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern 📚

Woah 🤯 The perfect holiday read, I’ve devoured this over the past few days.

Question about importing feeds (eg Letterboxd) to microblog; will it pull in existing entries or just those published after the feed is added?

A walk at the coast was a great way to start the day (and year)

Panoramic view of a calm sea at the mouth of the river

A New York Christmas Wedding, 2020 - ★

Watched on Tuesday December 13, 2022.

Wedding Season, 2022 - ★★

A friend recently introduced me to the concept of “fake date” films and this one certainly fits the bill. One of the better films I watched in my pre-Christmas, cold induced rom-com binge.

Love Hard, 2021 - ★★

Watched on Sunday December 11, 2022.

Falling for Christmas, 2022 - ★★

There should be a special star rating system for Christmas films. This one was actually better than I expected.

Beauty, 2022 - ★★

I liked the style of this film, including the decision not to let us hear Beauty sing. Ultimately it’s a tragedy and felt reminiscent of what I know about Whitney Houston’s life, which left me wondering whether the character of Beauty was based on her.

Overall, I felt the filmmaker was trying a bit too hard and failed to create any connection for me with either the characters or story.

Coco, 2017 - ★★★

I’m a sucker for a film about families and intergenerational friendships.

Inside Out, 2015 - ★★★★

Thoroughly enjoyed this. Pixar at its best.

… slightly concerned the guiding emotions in my head behave a little like those in Dad’s head though.

Decision to Leave, 2022 - ★★★★

It’s all in the detail.

The Half of It, 2020 - ★★★

Delightful.

2022: A year in books

Here are the books I finished reading in 2022. I didn’t set myself a goal, it’s not helpful for me. Instead I prefer to aim to read a little every day. The final count of 18 feels about average for me over the course of a year.

Of these titles, the standouts were:

  • The Name of the Wind
  • Treacle Walker
  • The Vanishing Half
  • Spring Cannot be Cancelled
  • Great Circle
Titus Alone The Passenger Roseanna (The Martin Beck series, Book 1) Flight Behaviour Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Level 6 The Fortune Men The Name of the Wind The Vanishing Half Treacle Walker I Didn't Do The Thing Today The End of Eddy The Lamplighters The Locals A Thousand Moons Spring Cannot Be Cancelled: David Hockney in Normandy Great Circle Do Pause Saltwater: Winner of the Portico Prize The Books of Earthsea

Joker, 2019 - ★★★

I don’t know what to make of Joker. It made me feel supremely uncomfortable and I don’t know if that’s a result of its brilliance or because it vastly missed the mark. What I do know is Joaquin Phoenix is always intriguing.

This rating could have been a 2 and could have been a 4, so I split the difference.

The Harder They Fall, 2021 - ★★★

Effortlessly cool.

Miss Americana, 2020 - ★★★

Watched on Sunday May 8, 2022.

Bruised, 2020 - ★★

Watched on Saturday January 22, 2022.

Ava, 2020 - ★

Why Jessica, why?