GregHorrorShow’s Non Gaming 2022 Round Up

Well, 2022 was a hell of a year for content – books, TV, film… there was so much to experience! My gaming round up will follow separately but for now here’s a look back at last year, with some recommendations for stuff to check out 🙂

Music-wise there were lots of new, and returning, artists that I spent a lot of time listening to in 2022.

There’s a playlist embedded below but there was great new music from Hope Tala and Blackpink. Albums by The Warning and Carly Rae Jepsen got plenty of spins. And I really enjoyed the Halsey and Taylor Swift albums. However, I think my favourite of 2022 was the S.G. Goodman album – a lovely slice of Americana Folk.

I was also listening to plenty of older stuff and shout out to Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and Russian Doll Season 2 for having stellar soundtracks!

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In terms of TV it was another year of high quality shows and interesting programmes. Sometimes it was hard to know where to watch, with so many new services – I’m not subscribed to all of them at this stage, I don’t think it’s necessary at this point.

There were some shows I started but never finished, though I’m sure I’ll go back to most of them. Jamie Dornan vehicle The Tourist was good fun, a dark dramedy about a man with amnesia who uncovers his murky past. Peacemaker was a superhero show with a twist, in that John Cena’s character was not what you’d traditionally call a hero. It also had a great rock soundtrack. I enjoyed what I saw of Arcane, despite not having played the game it’s based on, League Of Legends.

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She Hulk has been great fun and something different, though it can feel a bit CGI heavy at times. Stranger Things continues to be enjoyable, even into season 4 and I started Carole & Tuesday, the animated story of two strangers who meet and form a band. I’ve only seen one episode of both Dragon Age: Absolution and The Old Man, starting Jeff Bridges, but look forward to seeing more soon.

In terms of shows I finished, I really enjoyed Hawkeye, DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow and the latest season of The Rookie. Reacher was an impressive version of the books I loved, the music in the show was also pretty great. Hopefully season 2 can remain at that high level. I thought Korean zombie show All Of Us Are Dead was brilliant, great characters and a good twist on the usual Zombie formula.

Netflix’s Wednesday was a really nicely done detective story, with the eldest Addams child in the starring role. Looking forward to see what they do with it next. Ms. Marvel was a super fun, female fronted superhero show – again the music choices were superb and the story was left on a cliffhanger for a future season. I ended up playing Cyberpunk 2077 (the game) alongside watching the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners anime. Super violent and generally disturbing (like the game), this was a brilliant watch and helped immerse you further into the world of the game.

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But my absolute favourite shows this year were both second seasons – Russian Doll and Only Murders in the Building. Sometimes returning shows can struggle to recreate that magic of the first season. These two shows took different approaches – Only Murders… continued with another murder that incriminated the main cast. Was it as good as the first season? No, but it kept me guessing right until the end and was still one of the best things on TV. The performances from Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez were all brilliant. Russian Doll decided to take an alternative route by being completely different from the first season but set within the same world and with the same characters. It was weird, funny and hard to stop watching. Also best TV soundtrack of the year, hands down!

Film-wise, as usual, there were a lot of family friendly movies on my list for 2022. I loved Encanto, Turning Red and Minions: Rise Of Gru. Sonic The Hedgehog 2 and The Adam Project, starring Ryan Reynolds, were also fun. I actually enjoyed the film version of Uncharted, with Tom Holland and Mark Walhberg, a lot more than I thought I would. Hopefully we get a sequel!

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Being The Ricardos was an interesting look at the story of Lucille Ball and her husband Desi Arnaz. Two of the more impactful films I saw were the documentary My Mind and Me with Selena Gomez and The Swimmers, which is based on the true story of two refugee sisters, one of which goes on to swim for the refugee team at the Olympics

I also thought Enola Holmes 2 was a blast and that Dan Trachtenberg did a really good job with Prey – a story set in the Predator universe. That was one of the better films I saw in 2022. Getting into the Christmas spirit, I saw Violent Night on the big screen which was a brilliantly over the top mix of Die Hard and a grown up Home Alone! David Harbour was great as a grumpy Santa who gets caught up in a Christmas heist.

But my favourite film of the year was definitely Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. A real treat at the cinema (it was only on for a week!) with the way it was shot and such captivating performances. Obviously if you weren’t a fan of the first film there won’t be much here for you but I thought it was amazing. Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc rides a roller coaster of twists and surprises as the mystery unravels – I didn’t see the twists coming, the film was a lot of fun (and is available now on Netflix).

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For books, I have to admit it took me a while to get through a few of these this year. In terms of factual titles I really enjoyed Two Beats Ahead by Panay & Handrix, a book about the creative process of writing music, and Press Reset by Jason Schreier, a fascinating look behind the scenes in the chaotic and unstable world of making computer games. I also really liked Kae Tempest’s book on creativity ‘On Connection‘.

I thoroughly loved the entire Paper Girls series of graphic novels so it was bitter sweet to finish off the final volume in 2022. I also finished the current run of Bitter Root, which was great and another volume of the Critical Role: Vox Machina comics.

I was a bit disappointed in both Rabbits by Terry Miles and The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu, though by the end of the latter I think I’d be at least willing to give the next in the series a try. Rabbits, while at times an entertaining read, just didn’t really engage me.

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I got stuck into a few modern classics as well, The Mask Of Dimitros by Eric Ambler was great – as to be expected from Ambler, a brilliant writer. Seize The Day by Saul Bellow was a touch depressing, the story of a failed actor in dire financial straits. Muriel Spark’s ‘The Driver Seat‘ sees Lise setting out on the holiday of a lifetime but almost immediately you can feel the pressure building to something terrible. ‘Territory Of Light‘ by Yuko Tsushima was the sad tale of a young, divorced woman bringing up her two year old daughter alone in Tokyo. Well written and I found it interesting to see a story from this point of view.

My favourite book of this year though was V.E Schwab’s ‘The Invisible Life Of Addie La Rue‘. I literally couldn’t put it down and it’s a book that filled me with equal parts happiness and despair. The story of a girl who makes a deal with a devil and ends up not aging but being forgotten by everyone who sees her. Just absolutely brilliant.

So there you go, another year done and lots to look forward to for 2023!

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GregHorrorShow’s Non Gaming 2021 Round Up

As another year passes, I wanted to take a look back at some of the highlights that graced the screen and written page. Gaming will soon but for now, here’s a round up of everything else from 2021…

As usual I’ve included a Spotify playlist of some of my favourite songs and artists from last year, which you can find below. There were lots of great tracks released in 2021, probably my favourite two albums were Clairo ‘Sling’ and Pom Pom Squad‘s ‘Death Of Cheerleader’.

TV-wise it’s safe to say 2021 was a stellar year with some great shows. As the streaming wars ramped up, consumers suddenly had various platforms making very high quality TV. WandaVision was a huge highlight, I thought it was brilliantly made and excellently paced. Lupin was another show I was impressed by, the tale of a deceptive criminal trying to clear his father’s name was engrossing and smart. I can’t mention deception without talking about Deception, a light drama show in which a famous magician teams up with the FBI to solve outlandish crimes – great fun!

The final season of Agents Of Shield was a good way to end the show, likewise with iZombie. I enjoyed The Nevers, right up until the last episode which felt like too much of a bait and switch for my liking. This Time with Alan Partridge didn’t disappoint as usual and The Rookie continued it’s good run with an enjoyable third season. One of the most impressive shows was the highly talked about Squid Game, unbelievably tense but truly a fantastic watch. But the best thing I watched this year was definitely Only Murders In The Building. The trio of Steve Martin, Selena Gomez and Martin Short were excellent and the Serial vibes were present throughout. A very strong premise and wonderful performances meant it was a must watch.

In terms of books I was lucky to get to read a lot in 2021. I thoroughly enjoyed Bill Flanagan’s Fifty In Reverse, a time travel marvel based around music. I’d been waiting a while to read both Take Fountain – Adam Novak and Watt O’Hugh The Third – Steven S. Drachman but unfortunately both ended up being a little bit disappointing, if I’m honest. Another book I wasn’t taken with was Timescape by Gregory Benford, a sci-fi tale of a world in ruin and scientists trying to send a message to the past – it just never really got going enough to keep my interest.

Cause For Alarm by Eric Ambler was a good read and Nevernight by Jay Kristoff, a fantasy tale, also kept my attention. Summer by Edith Wharton was a great look at an older time, although tinged with sadness and Early Riser by Jasper Fforde was a surreal but fun story where humankind hibernated through winter.

In terms of factual books I found The Mixer by Michael Cox fascinating, a really great look at how the Premier League has developed tactically. Becoming by Michelle Obama gave a good insight into the life of a First Lady and all the responsibilities that come as part of the package and Be Water My Friend by Shannon Lee shared the wisdom of Bruce Lee’s philosophy work.

But the best book I read in 2021, without a doubt, was Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots. Told from the point of view of a hench worker for a villain this tale of revenge and mid level management shouldn’t be missed!

I saw some great films in 2021, my favourites were One Night In Miami (the story of a legendary night that Muhammed Ali, Sam Cooke, Malcolm X and Jim Brown shared in the 1960’s), Sound Of Metal (a film about a drummer who loses his hearing), Promising Young Woman (a biting look at sexism and toxic masculinity) and Mitchells Vs The Machines (a fun, family friendly film about a family that save the world).

I also enjoyed The US Vs Billie Holiday, a sad story about the treatment of a music legend. Keeping with music the documentary about Sparks, The Sparks Brothers, was fascinating – if a little long. I was disappointed with Cherry, the Tom Holland drug addiction film but thought Black Judas and The Messiah was great and The Mauritian, while enthralling, was a very tough watch.

On to more child friendly fare and Wolf Walkers was a lovely animated film, Yes Day was a fun romp based on true events and Pixar’s Soul was a life affirming film that sparks some interesting conversations about death for younger audience members.

So that’s it for the non-gaming side of life in 2021 – as the pandemic continues I’m hoping for a return soon to cinema and gigs but for now I’ll be watching the small screen!

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