This year’s Best Of is more like a bullet point list than a review, but here are the things I liked the most in 2016:
Films:
Your Name
A young adult anime as outlandish as it is beautiful and moving. Clever uses of time travel and fantasy
Love and Friendship
So much wit and sass in this fantastic Jane Austin adaptation
Creed
There is something about boxing on film. But more than that, there is something about the lead performances and the journeys they take the characters on
High Rise
This seems uniquely suited to my tastes. An audacious dystopian JG Ballard adaptation as purveyed by Ben Wheatley and Tom Hiddleston
Julieta
At once epic and personal. As Almodovar as they come
TV:
Stranger Things
The 80s setting, the loveable bunch of kids. A nice combo of sci-fi, D&D, and Spielberg tropes
Albums:
FM-84, Atlas
Super cool retrowave. Listen to Running In The Night
Carly Rae Jepson, Emotion Side B
More 80s nostalgia. A pure homage that sounds like peak Madonna
Svalbard, One Day All This Will End
This was a 2015 album, but hit me in 2016. Fast and heavy, with impressive riffs
Casey, Love is Not Enough
Late 2016 find, Casey were the opening act on Being As An Ocean’s tour. Haunting melodic hardcore
Live Music:
Counterparts, Underworld
A tight, heavy, sweaty set in my favourite basement
Being As An Ocean, Tufnell Park Dome
There’s nothing quite like hanging out with this band and their excellent fans for an intense 50 minute celebration of love, understanding, and hardcore
Chvrches, Royal Albert Hall
Big time pop performance in a big time venue
Comics:
Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat! / The Unbelievable Gwenpool / Howard the Duck / The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl
Marvel’s oddball characters have really come into their own. Hellcat is the gayest thing Marvel currently puts out; all four are a lot of fun
Lumberjanes
Friendship and monsters at girls summer camp, with a loveable young adult cast
Vision
The critically acclaimed superhero thing of this year. It’s fantastic
Games:
Firewatch / Life is Strange
Two indie narrative experiences that really defined gaming in 2016 for me. Both beautiful in their own ways
Final Fantasy XV
I really ship Promptis. I’m about halfway through this game and it’s just the kind of epic JRPG I was looking for
Movies. Comics. Culture. 