Alan & Jono's Watching/Reading List: November 2022
Added 2022-11-30 15:00:57 +0000 UTCAlan:
Hey Heroes!
November has been a bit more chill! I’m actually caught up on work for the most part for the first time in… 2 years? That being said, Megan and I also really started diving in on writing Homestead, our next feature film!
What I’m reading!
- A WWII biography called Inferno about Snuffy Smith, the first airman to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. He was an enlisted B-17 gunner and did some pretty wild stuff, like throwing boxes of ammunition out of a hole that melted in the side of his plane to keep them from exploding in the fire he was fighting… By wrapping parachute silk around his hands and hitting the flames (again, that melted aluminum) because his fire extinguishers had run out. Also, he was a huge jerk, so he’s a great character to read about.
- I’ve been listening to The Shining on audiobook. As part of my lean into horror the last couple years, I’ve finally started reading Stephen King books, and welp. I guess you don’t sell 350 million books by being a crappy writer. The Shining is messy and sweaty and makes me feel itchy inside my own skin. In short, it’s a masterpiece.
What I’m watching!
- I re-watched Stanley Kubrick's The Shining from 1980. I watched it once like 20-25 years ago, and I remember being underwhelmed. Well. I think I was right. It changes a lot from the book that makes it significantly less effective (Stephen King is famously not a fan.) It’s long and ponderous. And the resolution is, frankly, pretty stupid. Technically, it’s nearly a masterpiece (the sets!!!) but as a film-watching experience, it’s kinda meh, imo. Of course Lee Unkrich (director of Toy Story 3 and Coco, editor of SO MUCH GREATNESS) thinks it's the greatest film of all time. So what do I know?
- We re-watched The Lord of the Rings trilogy as a family over Thanksgiving. And wow. Guys. Three perfect films. I don’t know what else to say. These movies are literally the reason, the biggest chunk of why I’m a filmmaker. Even 20 years later (geez, how old am I now) they recapture the magic that made me think, at 21 and 22, I could make movies for a living.
What I’m playing!
- Still playing Jedi: Fallen Order on PlayStation. It got really frustrating for awhile. The difficulty ramped up faster than my skills tree unlocked, but now I’m starting to catch up and it’s getting fun. Starting to really feel like a Jedi. Which is basically why I play video games!
- Also been playing Control, a really fun horror shooter, that is kinda like an SCP video game, almost? But more nightmare-ey. I only play that one late at night when the family is asleep already. Which means I’m going through it really slowly, because I like going to bed relatively early.
And…
Watch Movies! (And television, and read books, and play video games)
Jono:
Right now I just came off a marathon of the Rocky and Creed films. Eight movies with a definite formula. You'd think I'd be sick of them... NOPE! I feel so fired up and inspired for life right now! I'm going to be getting into Bridgerton here in a little bit after I finish my Friends full-series watch.
As for what I'm reading, Tuesdays with Morrie was a sensation back in the '90s that deserves to be rediscovered. It's about a sportswriter who reconnects with his college professor; the latter is dying of cancer and shares his best wisdom with his former pupil. Life-changing book.
What have you been watching and reading this month?
Comments
"The Shining" is a brilliant book, and the movie is absolute crap. SO many Stephen King books that I love (but do yourself a favor and avoid "The Tommyknockers.") I'm going to dig into "Fairy Tale" soon.
LB Clark
2022-12-22 05:05:58 +0000 UTCThe book is hands down the scariest thing I've ever read (and I have read A LOT of Stephen King). Particularly two parts really terrified me but one of them...I was too scared to read the next chapter (it was in room 237) but my imagination was running away and making me more scared so I just pushed through. This was when I was a teen. I never saw the movie until I was maybe in my later 30s and not only was it not very scary but it was definitely Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. He just used the book then made his own thing.
Karrie
2022-12-10 18:57:33 +0000 UTCI’ll be rewatching the The Shining soon, I absolutely adore that film! It’s a true classic cinematic masterpiece! 👌
hollie.hldn
2022-12-08 21:22:04 +0000 UTCI'm so inspired now!
Holly✌️
2022-12-08 20:29:59 +0000 UTCI LOVE Creativity Inc! - Alan
Cinema Therapy
2022-12-08 19:20:42 +0000 UTCJust finished Wednesday last night - definitely recommend!!
Cinema Therapy
2022-12-08 19:19:34 +0000 UTCShe-Hulk was interesting - lots of fun moments and characters. Not my favorite overall, but definitely loved the Daredevil cameo. And Tatiana Maslany is always great!
Cinema Therapy
2022-12-08 19:18:16 +0000 UTCWe watched Enchanted with our kids to prep for the episode, and they all loved it, but it's now an absolute favorite for our daughter! She's been begging to watch Disenchanted, but we haven't gotten to it yet. Probably over Christmas break. - Alan
Cinema Therapy
2022-12-08 19:15:55 +0000 UTCIt is FANTASTIC. A hilarious delight. Die Hard meets Home Alone, Succession, Fargo, and Bad Santa…with gallons of blood and a lot of laughs
Lauren Wagstaff
2022-12-08 19:15:28 +0000 UTCAlan REALLY wants to see Violent Night!
Cinema Therapy
2022-12-08 19:13:58 +0000 UTCme too re Wheel of Time! (where "read" implies listening to the audio books)
JollyLlama
2022-12-02 02:25:51 +0000 UTCI watched SAS: Rogue Heroes about the origins of British Army Special Air Service and it was so much fun to watch! Didn't see that coming 😄 I've been reading "The Bridge" by Donna Lancaster about all different kinds of loss and finding a way to heal from them.
2022-12-01 22:03:59 +0000 UTCI'm on a re-read of The Wheel of Time and loving life since the 2nd season of Warrior Nun dropped.
Teah Durst
2022-12-01 21:12:23 +0000 UTCI'm currently rewatching arcane with a youtube reactor, but other than that haven't been reading or watching much outside of YouTube. I did recently relisten to the Magician's nephew by Lewis, a great story! Yay for lotr, think I'll be rewatching those soon, truly a masterpiece!
Yani Dodge
2022-12-01 18:54:08 +0000 UTCThe new Willow show dropped today. I am so excited! I watched the two eps that are out. 😁 And I've been bouncing around, but at the moment I am reading "A Deadly Education" by Naomi Novik. It's about a girl at a magical school, but every day is a fight for her life since there's a lot in the school that wants to kill the students.
Tiana Horsey-Daydreamer
2022-12-01 07:06:21 +0000 UTCTuesdays with Morrie is such an excellent story. It really is one of those “You should read this once in your life” kind of books.
Ruth Popkin
2022-12-01 05:50:51 +0000 UTCFound a great YouTube channel called Like Stories of Old. I love some of the major life themes that he discusses and explores. Ex. Existentialism, God/Religion, Hero's Journey vs Reality, etc. As for reading, a good friend of mine recommended a book series she found and loved as a kid: The Mysterious Benedict Society. It turned out to be very fun! It's been a long time since I've started a series that pulled me in so well. Also began watching the Disney+ series they made of the book. It's pretty different, but still enjoyable if I separate it from the books.
Jasmynn Huish
2022-12-01 05:08:07 +0000 UTCI’m reading Nona the Ninth! The third book in The Locked Tomb series. Beyond that I’ve been slowly watching Andor, which has been phenomenal
Steven S
2022-11-30 22:08:19 +0000 UTCGood to hear someone else is back on Friends! It's quirky (and in parts definitely problematic) but it feels like home, I cannot help it. And somehow it's christmassy. And I found, watched and re-watched Heartstopper. Absolutely beautiful.
Raika
2022-11-30 18:08:21 +0000 UTCOh I LOVE "Tuesdays with Morrie" and I definitely recommend watching the film adaptation when you're done! It's such a good book about living life while you're alive, and planning for the inevitable. I remember reading and watching it in Highschool, and the same teacher then had us with "Mr. Holland's Opus," so I always think of them as being related, haha.
Rayne Stringfellow
2022-11-30 17:18:14 +0000 UTCMight have to give it a listen
Darmoyn (Jonas)
2022-11-30 16:27:43 +0000 UTCYou have to listen to the audiobook. The way the smell on Churchill was described, it's like I could smell the words. So good!
Holly✌️
2022-11-30 16:21:21 +0000 UTCI listen to audiobooks as my form of reading due to disabilities and as a result eye strain. I listened to Creativity Inc which has inspired me to be a better leader and spark creativity. I just finished We Are All the Same in the Dark. It was so good I bought Paper Ghosts by the same author. I'm going to start listening to it this weekend. I'm watching all the Harry Potter movies again. And I just finished Slumberland on Netflix. So. GOOD!
Holly✌️
2022-11-30 16:19:50 +0000 UTCI haven't been watching anything as of late unless you count people playing God of war ragnarok. Movie wise I just watched Smile that creepy horror movie that just came out. It wasn't bad not my favorite but I did like how the main character changes throughout the movies plot. No shows at the moment but I am excited to try Wednesday on Netflix. As far as books I am still reading Fairy Tales by Stephen King it is fantastic its a big book though so it's definitely going to take me a bit to finish. This book so far feels like a stephen king book but not as dark more light hearted which can be subject ti change as anyone who has read stephen king knows. When I'm finished I plan on rereading the first two witcher books because of course I'm addicted and love the novels and the game. I will be playing that again when the 4k video game edition comes out December 14th. I am also adjusting to my new job and new schedule so that has but a wedge between things. I am super excited though for my new job, and more art classes!
KrissyArtist
2022-11-30 15:47:20 +0000 UTCYou have to read Pet Sematary! Creepiest book I've ever read. I know a lot of people find it boring, but I read it when my two girls were around the same age as the kids in the books and the terror was real!
Darmoyn (Jonas)
2022-11-30 15:46:55 +0000 UTCI’ve recently gotten into the show ‘Evil’ with my fiancé. We’re streaming it on Paramount+. Super good show. It’s a psychological horror, about a psychologist who is hired by the Catholic Church to join a team that investigates cases of possession and miracles, to try and prove if it’s real or if there’s a scientific reason behind it instead. There’s a really great balance to it and it’s very unpredictable.
Emily Snell-Salvaggio
2022-11-30 15:45:40 +0000 UTCSuper happy Alan is enjoying Jedi: Fallen Order! Definitely one of my own favorite video games!
Not_a_Simple_Hobbit
2022-11-30 15:24:01 +0000 UTCI read Nowhere But Home by Liza Palmer, which is the first non-spec fic book I've read in forever. Liza Palmer is an excellent writing teacher too, and her book was awesome, though I'm not picking up another just for the genre. I watched Disenchanted (fun movie, but not as nuanced as the first), Black Panther the night before seeing Wakanda Forever in theaters, Finished She-Hulk (not impressed by the finale, but was overjoyed to see Daredevil in ep 8), and caught up on the backlog of cinema therapy videos.
Ayesha Ali
2022-11-30 15:20:27 +0000 UTCI rewatched Enchanted after watching the CT episode (really good episode btw, per the usual!), and after realizing I hadn't watched it with my kids (!) who are 12, 8, and 5. That was prep for watching Disenchanted - really great, and I won't say anything further to save the magic for others ✨ I haven't been reading much lately, but I'm 68% through "Things My Son Needs to Know About the World" by Fredrik Backman -- I enjoy his humor and writing, and this novel is an homage to parenthood. The other book I just picked up is "Home Coming: Reclaiming & championing your inner child" by John Bradshaw. I'm beginning inner child work on my own (locally, everyone is too booked) after finding a good resource of self-help. Chapters 1-4 are assigned reading for the therapist's clients and I thought I would dive in also. It's really engaging so far, which tells me I'm on the right path. ☺️
Angie
2022-11-30 15:16:07 +0000 UTCI loved "Control!" I really liked the flavor, the messages from the Board, just the whole confusing world. It was at the top of my list until being dethroned by "Horizon Forbidden West. " I watched all three "Blade" movies for the first time. Fun fact: the Hulu version of "Blade Trinity" replaces the infamous CGI eyes scene with one of the alternate endings. Out of curiosity, Alan, as a professional filmmaker, any insights on how there could be such a breakdown of the relationship between lead and director?
Kristine Amdor
2022-11-30 15:12:17 +0000 UTCI cannot wait to hear what Jono thinks of Bridgerton. Thrilling stuff. I aso struggled with Jedi until I learned you can lower the difficulty setting and wow! That helped. I could not get the handle of the Sister. I’m reading The Sinplicity of Cider. Have a ticket to see Violent Night on Friday (CANNOT WAIT). And going to Asheville this weekend for Biltmore and to see a fave band do a Christmas Concert on a limited tour. Love JOHNNYSWIM
Lauren Wagstaff
2022-11-30 15:06:07 +0000 UTCI’ve been rewatching the Black Panther MCU stuff since seeing Wakanda Forever, listening to Blake Crouch’s novel Dark matter which I loved, and been playing God of War Ragnarok and Overwatch and Modern Warfare II. Been a lot of fun! Hoping to watch Willow since it’s got a follow up series now.
Andrew Feistner
2022-11-30 15:05:31 +0000 UTC
