| 25/12/2019 So this year has been strange in terms of my engagement with fictional media. On the one hand, the real-life drama of Trump getting impeached and the Brexit chaos has sort of made any piece of media almost pointless. Who needs stories when real life provides the best drama? On the other hand...most fiction hasn't been much fun. There were some fantastic movies at the beginning of the year, but after 'Avengers: Endgame' it's almost as if the Hollywood machine were too scared and skittish to release any movies. Almost as if to say: 'oh no, we can't release anything to compete against the Endgame'. On the other hand, there's also a scramble to find that very competition. It's definitely not Star Wars, no one seems to care about it. The end of the year and the annual Oscar season has brought back some fantastic films. At the same time, this felt like the year in which the most nonsense and insane movie pitches got trailers, if not outright releases. 'Detective Pikachu'? The fact that that movie was made and then regarded as actually decent...I'm surprised that happened. The most boring remake of The Lion King ever imagined? That too (I say boring because there's nothing new and the animal characters aren't at all expressive). Sonic the Hedgehog's finally getting its big-budget movie? And it's also live action? Was it inspired by 'Detective Pikachu' at all? Then there's the whole thing with CATS. This year also saw a lot of fantastic TV get their 3rd seasons. There was sort of a sense that while they were good, they were not as good as the earlier seasons. And uh...Game of Thrones ended. While I agree the ending was not as strong as it could have been, frankly, I do not fully understand the backlash. I mean, I remember plenty of examples of TV shows going off the rails in much worse fashion. Then there is the revelation that the lead writers and producers of GoT were neither great book, character nor lore fans, nor did they bother researching what fans were thinking about the TV show they were producing, nor had they any experience in helming such a huge production in the past. They also don't like fantasy. Benioff and Weiss themselves expressed surprise at HBO giving them the green light. Here's the thing: while 'Game of Thrones' started out very strong, I really do not understand why the fans were so outraged that a book series as 'great' as A Song of Ice and Fire would have been treated by producers and production executives any differently from a Star Trek, Doctor Who production, or a production of any sort of adaptation. For every good Stephen King adaptation, there are 5 terrible ones (I exaggerate but you get the idea). All these people just want to make money and expand their portfolios at the end of the day and this isn't the first time HBO green-lit a risky project. From what I can tell, all the factors that fell together to provide 4 excellent high fantasy seasons and 2 great seasons, plus 2 so-so seasons are the same kind of check-and-balance factors and complete chances and risks that fall into place behind the production of any old TV show. I can only theorise that the problem here is that the fandom at large has been spoilt by the runaway success of the Marvel universe, since it is being run by someone passionate about comic books and the characters he is utilising in this franchise. Unfortunately, most adaptations do not warrant or receive such protection, so good adaptations can never be guaranteed, no matter how strong the source material. Is it OK that this happens? Of course not. But frankly, the teams behind the productions of the various films and TV shows we love, have not been forced to greatly re-think their modus operandi or their ethos behind deciding who does what project and in which scope. Not yet at least. Interestingly, the backlash against Game of Thrones have made various studios more cautious. So with all that out of the way, on with the awards! (No video games listed as I have played very few) Best TV show of the Year: The Marvellous Mrs Maisel Season 3 hit the beginning of December and this series keeps going from strength to strength. Many of the characters developed further while remembering that every major decision truly has a consequence. Also, the stand-up bits are actually funny! Best Anime: Fruits Basket I saw quite a bit of anime this year, but Fruits Basket just stayed with me. Beautifully done series. Best Acting in TV: The Crown I finally caved and watched all 3 available seasons. Season 3 definitely feels different but it's partly a consequence of the Queen getting older and her children growing up. The cast will only expand and plots more complex from here. Movie of the Year: Rocketman This movie should win the Oscars...you just know it won't though. Most likely to win multiple Oscars: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood To be fair, Tarantino's best movie for a while. Overlooked or Sleeper Hit: The Long Shot The best thing about this movie is that every character has strengths, flaws and motives. The clashes that did happen felt natural. End of an Era: Endgame (obviously) Favourite Movie: Alita - Battle Angel The only weakness I could find in this movie is that some scenes were a bit too sentimental. Here's a toast to 2020. |