Alan & Jono's Watching/Reading List: December 2022 (Patreon)

Alan:

Hey Heroes!

December is always busy. There’s holidays to prepare for and celebrate. Friends to feel bad about not talking to for most of the year, and not enough time to do all the things we want to do, or feel like we should do, so we curl up on the couch and just feel a bit like failures. But the good news is, we’re all a bit like failures, so graded on a curve, we’re all doing just fine. Have another spiced cider. You deserve it.

What I’m reading!

• Slow month for reading for me. I’ve mostly been working on a book called Cut to the Monkey. It’s part memoir/part how-to guide from Roger Nygard, an editor who’s worked on shows like Curb Your Enthusiasm and Veep. So, you know, not funny stuff. It’s interesting. I’m actually annotating the book as I read it because he interviewed a bunch of people in the writing of the book, and there are lots of gold nuggets in the book.
• Other than that, I’m working a lot on our next feature screenplay, which I’m writing with Megan, my writing partner/wife. It’s a psychological horror movie called Homestead. I don’t want to give away too much, but I get to access all the darkest parts of my psyche for this, and it’s tiring. Hopefully it’ll have some laughs, lots of screams, and a nice big warm wrap up. Like a scary hug?

What I’m watching!

• I didn’t love, but I really really enjoyed Wednesday on Netflix. Jenna Ortega is phenomenal, the scripts are lots of fun, the world is appropriately silly for an Addams story, and the Tim Burton-y-ness was juuuuuust right. Special shoutout to the dance sequence, which was the most mesmerizing thing I’ve seen on film in a good long while. At least, until I saw…
• Avatar: The Way of Water. I LOVED this movie. I understand it’s not the greatest script ever written. But it was a significant improvement over the first Avatar film (which I enjoy and marvel at the technical prowess of). But this was just on another level. The Pandora nature documentary stuff is breathtaking. The action sequences are vintage James Cameron (he’s one of the all-time greats, what can I say?) And the actual story and characters really resonated with me. Jake and Neytiri going from being badass warriors to raising kids who want to be badass warriors, and trying to protect them. It’s good. That’s all.
• Also got to see The Fabelmans in theaters, and you know what? That Spielberg guy, I think he’s got a future in this business! Seriously. Just a beautiful film, that obviously resonated with me incredibly strongly, since I grew up wanting to make movies and didn’t have a lot of support in that at home. The personal stories of his family and the dissolution of his parents’ marriage is incredibly powerful as well. It’s good. I recommend it.

What I’m playing!

• Haven’t had a ton of time to play games this month, so I’m still working through Jedi: Fallen Order and CONTROL. I did get to shout out a cool looking project though: Earth of Oryn. The Kickstarter just funded (thanks to a bunch of CT fans and some timely press about the game at the end of the Kickstarter). I’m looking forward to playing it in 18-24 months when it’s finished.

And…

Watch Movies! (And television, and read books, and play video games)

Jono:

I've been getting into Bridgerton, at long last! It's like a saucier Jane Austen for the modern era, but I think the relationships are fascinating! Some real toxic stuff there, but some real wise and beautiful stuff there as well. I'm reading On Grief and Grieving by David Kessler and Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, which is one of the all-time greats on the subject of mourning. Highly, highly recommended. For the holiday season my kids and I have been watching Arthur Christmas and Illumination's version of The Grinch with Benedict Cumberbatch, which sits squarely between the OG (the best) and the Jim Carrey version (the least best) in quality.

What have you been watching and reading this month?