January 2025 Reviews
Fun fact, I had half of this post written and then my browser closed of its own volition and that’s how I learned that apparently Squarespace does NOT autosave your drafts and instead juts yeets your writing into the void and then you have to start over. Cool cool cool cool.
Anyhow, hi. You may be wondering how you got here.
So I was talking with a friend about my erstwhile newsletter/not really liking Medium/not wanting to go back to Substack and mentioned something about how I used to run my own blog and due to being someone who strongly dislikes the impermanence of data on the internet, that I left the site up even though I stopped writing for the site.
And he was like: why don’t you just host your own newsletter then?
Look, I am good at a lot of things but I’m not necessarily good at realizing that I already had a way to get from Point A to Point Website Content.
So hello and welcome to the old music blog that I spent a few years on. I’ve been spending the past few weeks importing the past two years of review posts here, but if you scroll back far enough, you’ll find concert and music reviews from a decade ago.
I’m trying to figure out how an RSS feed works for people who read things that way, but for now if you’d like to get these monthly posts in your inbox, you can subscribe to this site’s mirror on Beehiiv.
(And if you’re wondering why the move away from Substack in the first place, here’s some reading material for you.
Okay, that’s all, now onto all of the inconsequential media thoughts.
Books
I Believe in Me, Emma Dodd—I picked this up in New Orleans for a friend’s baby, and of course had to take a read through this adorable board book before I handed it over. This is such a sweet, positive book to help encourage kids to believe in themselves and in their power to overcome obstacles. The illustrations are bright and colorful and the physical book itself seems quite sturdy. The little alligator is the cutest friend-shaped pal, too.
Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea, Rita Chang-Eppig—The widowed wife of a powerful pirate must make strategic alliances to maintain control of the fleet. This book was so fascinating, so richly detailed, and yet I feel like the marketing really set it up to fail. The story comes across as a fast paced action-adventure tale and instead is much slower, and much more thoughtful about things like colonialism, gender, motherhood, and power. The story is well written and thoroughly researched and I would definitely read something else by this author in the future, but would go in expecting something much more thoughtful than perhaps the internet tried to tell me it was.
Conclave, Robert Harris—You get a vote for pope and YOU get a vote for pope and YOU get a vote for pope. I enjoyed the film adaptation of this and decided to seek out the original. Turns out that the movie is a very accurate adaptation, with very little that I can think of that was removed. At the same time, the big plus of the book is how much time we get to spend inside Lomeli's (Lawrence in the movie) head - Ralph Fiennes does a great job in the movie, but the book really allows you to see how much he struggled and wrestled with his decisions throughout the story. This is a quick read and the extraordinary level of detail was interesting even to a very-non-Catholic reader.
You Should Be So Lucky, Cat Sebastian—Follow-up to the 1950s-set We Could Be So Good, this one follows an arts critic-turned-sportswriter who has to write about a struggling baseball player. I read most of this in one sitting, I stayed up until 2 am to finish it, I cried through most of the book, and the prequel was also one of my top books of 2024. This is such a sensitive yet witty look at grief, fear, and learning to love again despite all of that. It's also about found family and realizing more people have your back than you expected. I loved Mark and Eddie so much, and, like this book's predecessor, I appreciated that the book acknowledged the challenge of being queer in the late 50s/early 60s but without turning it into A Very Special Episode About Homophobia, and without anything awful actually happening to our main characters. Sebastian handles the balancing act between realism and giving us a happy ending so well. I look forward to re-reading this in the future. Despite all of my crying, I promise that it's such a warm, comforting read.
Bored Gay Werewolf, Tony Santorella—20-something slacker tries to balance young adulthood with finally coming to terms with his werewolf nature. This had the bones of an interesting book but the execution was lacking. Even if this is supposed to be satire about capitalism/business hustle culture/masculinity, the tone just did not work for me. There should have been a lot more whimsy. and I don't know if it was edited out of the final version or if it was never there in the first place. For a book about a slacker werewolf, the tone was shockingly dry and the book did so much telling and very little showing. A quick read but tough to stay engaged.
The Prospects, KT Hoffman—Minor league ball players wind up on the same team again for the first time since college; drama, and then sparks, ensue. January is too early for me to already have two candidates for my top five reads of the year but between this and You Should Be So Lucky, it’s going to be really hard for them to be knocked off the list. This is such a sweet, caring, positive love story. The joy that Gene lives his life with, even in the face of adversity, is so palpable here, that it makes his struggles all the more poignant. I loved practically every word of every page. The extended cast of characters is great, without letting any of them overshadow the main story but still showing clearly how they fit into Gene and Luis's world. The blossoming romance between them is so well done, too, and honestly I wouldn't have complained if this book were longer, as I feel like some of their relationship was a bit hurried, in comparison to how long you get to linger in Gene's pining.
Movies
Wicked (2024)—I feel like a curmudgeon for being mostly meh on Wicked, but, like, it was fine, and I also didn’t think about it at all after I left the theater, aside from thinking about how hot Jonathan Bailey is. The lead actors are fine—I was more impressed by Ariana Grande than I had expected to be—although Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Yeoh turned in uncharacteristically lackluster performances. For all that they managed to make act one of the movie longer than the entire stage version, they didn’t manage to spend any of that extra time on actually explaining anything.
Babygirl (2024)—Woman in normal but unsatisfying marriage has an affair with a guy who works for her, drama ensues. Nicole Kidman’s performance was excellent but I found Harris Dickinson so unappealing in his role that I had a hard time buying that Kidman’s character would risk everything for this uncharismatic boundary crosser. As a story examining the way that women repress their own sexual desires, I liked it, but I just could not get behind the casting of a guy who I’m supposed to believe could exude the seriousness necessary for me to believe him as even vaguely dominant.
The Seed of the Sacred Fig (2024)—Shot in secret in Iran, this follows a family where the father is an investigator/prosecutor for the government, during the 2022 Mahsa Amini protests. When an important item of the father’s goes missing, everyone is under suspicion. This movie is an incredible, brave achievement, made by artists so dedicated to their beliefs and to the liberation of Iran that they risk punishment just to tell their stories. This starts as just a standard family drama—more conservative parents with teen/young adult children who are challenging what they are told to be true—and evolves into something much darker. The nearly three hour run time is a commitment but it’s worth the investment of your time.
There Will Be Blood (2007)—Do you ever think about Daniel Day-Lewis and just hope that whatever he’s doing, he’s having a nice day? I am so glad he decided to stop acting when he wanted to but wow do I miss him. This movie is a classic for a reason, but most intriguing to me is how Daniel Plainview, oil prospector and businessman, and Eli Sunday, preacher, are just two sides of the same con man coin. Great performance from Paul Dano, who didn’t blink when asked to go toe-to-toe with Day-Lewis.
Villains (2019)—Horror/comedy/thriller starring Bill Skarsgard and Maika Monroe as two inept criminals who stumble into a much bigger mess after their car breaks down. This under no circumstances is “great art” but it is exactly 90 minutes long and I’ve wasted more time on less entertaining pursuits. Skarsgard and Monroe are both hilarious as they try to bumble their way out of the situation they’re stuck in. I thought the ending was a bit too saccharine and didn’t match the tone of the rest of the movie, but overall, it was fine.
The Brutalist (2024)—Decades-spanning story of a Hungarian architect and Holocaust survivor who learns first hand that America isn’t as welcoming of the huddled masses yearning to be free as people had hoped. Visually stunning. There are a few scenes featuring the brilliant, orderly, brutalist architecture that I’m still thinking about. The film itself is not the least bit subtle, but I also don’t know that subtlety would have worked as well. Adrien Brody and Guy Pearce are both tremendous in their roles. Felicity Jones is both miscast and underutilized, and is the biggest misstep in the movie for me. Also: normalize giving intermissions to long movies. It was honestly sort of a delight to take a break halfway through.
Hard Truths (2024)—Childhood trauma manifests in lots of different ways; in Pansy, it manifests as a seething hostility towards everyone around her. This movie was so anxiety provoking for me. Pansy’s anger is palpable and she turns it on everyone she interacts with, whether it’s a complete stranger or her overwhelmed, beaten-down family. The contrast between Pansy’s family, where everyone walks on eggshells around her, and her sister’s, where they are warm and loving and funny and caring, is so stark. I’ve been around my share of Pansys in both my professional and personal lives and this movie is a difficult watch but brilliantly acted by the whole cast. The final scene will stick with you.
Companion (2025)—Guy and girl go on trip with friends, murder ensues. I highly recommend going into this one knowing as little as possible. It’s witty, it’s gory, it’s got some twists that I didn’t see coming. It's a mix of thriller/horror/comedy which I am already on record as saying we need more of. Jack Quaid and Sophie Thatcher are great leads and the supporting cast is a lot of fun, too. I think some of the plot was maybe a little underdeveloped but this was such a good time that it didn't matter much. And with a runtime of just over 90 minutes, it's efficient and never drags. Regardless of whether this ends up making my 2025 Favorites list, it’s certainly going to be some of the most fun I’ll have in a theater all year.
Presence (2024)—Family moves into potentially haunted house. The marketing for this describes it as, like, the scariest movie ever, and I think that marketing does this movie a disservice. This is much more of a cerebral study of grief, mourning, fear, and the inability to communicate, than it is a horror movie. You’re not going to be scared, you’re just going to be sad about ghosts. That said, I enjoyed the execution and the creativity behind it; telling a ghost story from outside of the POV of the main characters accomplishes what I really had wanted out of A Violent Nature but didn’t get. This is a very intimate, claustrophobic movie, perhaps the best way to tell a ghost story.
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco (2002)—Documentary following the making of a classic indie rock album. Probably not of much interest if you aren’t a music fan or more specifically a Wilco fan, but I always enjoy a look behind the scenes at the creative process. Wild to see Jeff Tweedy looking this young.
Significant Other (2022)—Good for what it is, which is a low budget, small cast, mostly single location horror/sci-fi movie. Maika Monroe was my favorite part of Longlegs and it’s been fun seeing some of her earlier work, even if she does apparently just keep playing variations of the same character. I laughed a lot in this and I don’t know if it was funny on purpose or not, but Jake Lacy makes some hilarious choices as the boyfriend in here that really keep this from dragging.
Transformers One (2024)—Okay, yes, but what if the robots kissed? (This was fine. I have no strong feelings about Transformers. The A-A- Tron joke cracked me up. The animation felt way too busy at times, but I loved the way the red laser eyes of Megatron left little light trails across the screen when he moved, that was a neat idea.)
All Shall Be Well (2024)—Quietly heartbreaking story surrounding a lesbian couple in Hong Kong and the aftermath after one of them unexpectedly passes away. A sweet juxtaposition of found family vs. a family that would prefer to erase you. I could have used more scenes with Pat’s friends/support system to balance out the frustrations of dealing with Angie’s family. Everyone make sure you write a will! Don’t just assume people will follow your wishes if they’re not legally bound to do so! No one’s going to look out for you but you!
Nickel Boys (2024)—Two boys build a friendship in a horrifying reform school during segregation. One of the most creative adaptations of a book to screen that I’ve ever seen. I assume that this was just too weird stylistically for it to gain much traction with many audiences but I was captivated at how beautifully it worked through such horrifying circumstances. One of those increasingly rare movies where the audience stays in their seats as the credits roll, because how else do you take in what you just saw?
Wolf Man (2025)—Christopher Abbott saves this from being totally forgettable “oops I’m a wolf man now” trash. The characters all make the dumbest choices imaginable, like, even dumber than you usually get in a horror movie, but his commitment to the emotional core of this movie made it tolerable.
Sing Sing (2023)—Congratulations on being the first movie to make me cry in 2025. A prison movie that sees the humanity in the men trapped in the system. I don't think this would have felt the same without the cast primarily being made up of men who came through the arts program while at Sing Sing. Powerful, clearly authentic performances. Colman Domingo is incredible and I think could have a sneaky shot at taking home the Oscar. I wish Clarence Maclin got more attention/awards love for turning in a moving, nuanced performance as a man who struggles to find his own humanity.
Brave the Dark (2023)—Based on the true story of a teacher who takes in a troubled student. But for his brother being the director, there's no reason for an actor of Jared Harris's caliber to be in this movie which feels slightly better made than your average feel good Lifetime movie. Harris's presence really elevates this, though, particularly because he's one of those actors who makes the people around him better. This is fine. Not actually as sentimental as I thought it would be, and has a sense of humor that it deploys at the right moments.
Predestination (2014)—Time travel shenanigans! I wish this movie trusted that its audience was smart enough to understand the twist without spoon feeding it to us. I guessed the twist(s) pretty early on and I'm not exactly the most astute at figuring out where a story's going to go. I love grappling with a good paradox, though, and this gets at the heart of what is so fascinating and also thorny about time travel. 3.5 stars for Ethan Hawke’s stupid little mustache.
Hundreds of Beavers (2022)—One of my favorite watches of 2024 and it turns out that it’s even better in a sold out theater full of rowdy Chicago weirdos who start chanting BEAVERS BEAVERS BEAVERS as soon as the end credits roll. Still so good and so funny, a lot of visual gags I didn't pick up on the first time around. I am just so charmed by how much love went into making this movie. I truly hope it gains cult/midnight showing status.
What Else?
One thing I want to do in 2025 is maintaining a playlist featuring all of the artists that I saw in concert during the year. The playlist is up here, featuring songs from Allegra Krieger and Christian Lee Hutson, who I saw at Lincoln Hall at the end of January. Start viewing with the video below or bookmark this link to follow along as I add to it.
Because this update post isn’t complete without a cat picture, here’s one of my current foster, Ron Swanson. He’s currently available for adoption.
What’s Next?
I’m trying to churn my way through all of the major Oscar nominated movies, though I’m having a hard time justifying giving Emilia Perez my attention.
I accidentally checked out too many library books so I’ve got to work through those before the library gets mad.
I was supposed to go touch a beluga at the Shedd but that got postponed until March. Watch this space for future beluga updates.
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