Our Second New Years Mega Post!!!
It's that time of the year, dear readers, when we reflect on the best things that 2015 gave to us. Without further ado (because this post is going up about 6 days after we intended it to anyways)...
1) Mad Max Fury Road
Caitlin: What made us laugh and cry and add "Flame throwing guitar" to our Christmas lists? This movie. There is not a single thing wrong with the entire film and I'm willing to fight you over that. The cars alone were drool worthy. And I can't discuss Furiosa without lapsing into a confused series of babbling nonsense because the whole character is perfect. PERFECT! Seriously I think George Miller may be some kind of brilliant mastermind. We can only hope he is on our side when the apocalypse comes.
Caitlin: Oh Frank. In less than a year Frank Turner has become one of my very favorite musicians. His latest CD came along just when I needed it to motivate and console me. Music has this amazing ability to let us see parts of our identity reflected back at us in song, and I'm hugely satisfied in having incorporated this into my psyche. Get Better is probably my favorite song of the year. I did a whole post on this CD back when it first came out, and I can assure you that my affection has only grown with time. The album is a perfect mix of folk rock sound and punk sensibilities with a few references to Napoleon thrown in because it turns out he's a history nerd.
8) Ex Machina
Caitlin: I know this will be a geeky thing that almost no one else cares about, but the sound design of this film was flawless. When Ava moves she has a different sound set for each muscle group. I mean... Okay I can hear you guys falling asleep out there so I'll stow my audio nerdery. This really was one of the best scifi films I've ever seen. It's tightly written and beautifully shot.
1) Mad Max Fury Road
Caitlin: What made us laugh and cry and add "Flame throwing guitar" to our Christmas lists? This movie. There is not a single thing wrong with the entire film and I'm willing to fight you over that. The cars alone were drool worthy. And I can't discuss Furiosa without lapsing into a confused series of babbling nonsense because the whole character is perfect. PERFECT! Seriously I think George Miller may be some kind of brilliant mastermind. We can only hope he is on our side when the apocalypse comes.
CT: I seriously spent the first half of this movie gasping with each new, amazing thing they showed us. When the old woman motorcycle gang rolled up, I think I blacked out for a moment. It has been a long, long time since I've been this completely satisfied by a movie. Every inch was perfect. George Miller, adopt us please.
2) Trivia
CT: We are the trivia chaaaaampioooonnns! No seriously, we won again this week and it was almost as sweet as our victory cookie.
2) Trivia
CT: We are the trivia chaaaaampioooonnns! No seriously, we won again this week and it was almost as sweet as our victory cookie.
Caitlin: Christy and I spent about half of the Tuesdays this year at a Restaurant in NoHo with our friends competing on a Trivia team that was usually named after a Parks and Rec character. It was huge fun and I feel like we've gotten some great bonding time in with our people as we argued over which actor was in what and which country had the bigger tourist trade. Throw in some really good pizza and even if we lost it was a great time.
3) Marvel TV
Caitlin: Okay, we're cheating a little with this one. But we genuinely couldn't decide between the four shows that Marvel put on this year. Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D. has been killer for several seasons, both Daredevil and Jessica Jones were groundbreaking and perfect in their own ways. And then there's Agent Carter, with it's new episodes out in just a few weeks... I'm so excited that I can't stand it. They're in LA! Hailey Atwell is just as kick ass! January 19th people, be there or loose my friendship forever.
3) Marvel TV
Caitlin: Okay, we're cheating a little with this one. But we genuinely couldn't decide between the four shows that Marvel put on this year. Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D. has been killer for several seasons, both Daredevil and Jessica Jones were groundbreaking and perfect in their own ways. And then there's Agent Carter, with it's new episodes out in just a few weeks... I'm so excited that I can't stand it. They're in LA! Hailey Atwell is just as kick ass! January 19th people, be there or loose my friendship forever.
CT: Cait said it here. Marvel is killllling it with their TV. The shows are all very, very different but they all have awesome writing. The characters are all the full, round kind that you root for even when you're screaming at them to do something different.
Also, I have so many different red lipsticks to emulate Peggy Carter that it might be reaching critical mass.
4) The Martian
CT: When my book club picked The Martian earlier this year, I was honestly super hesitant. I definitely wasn't expecting one of the most honest, funny, inspiring sci-fi books I've ever read. Mark Watney is a character who's put in the most intense situations and never loses his hope or his sense of humor. It was amazing.
4) The Martian
CT: When my book club picked The Martian earlier this year, I was honestly super hesitant. I definitely wasn't expecting one of the most honest, funny, inspiring sci-fi books I've ever read. Mark Watney is a character who's put in the most intense situations and never loses his hope or his sense of humor. It was amazing.
Caitlin: Regular readers may remember that I don't like it when space movies talk about people almost losing oxygen. Turns out I don't really like it in books either. So I probably skipped about 10 pages of this book but the rest of it was some of the best reading I did this year. Funny, engaging and totally addictive. I would recommend it to anyone who likes their scifi a little more grounded in reality.
5) Parks and Rec
Caitlin: I still have a season left to watch, but this show has been one of our collective favorites this year. It saddens me to no end that Chris Treager is no longer on the show because he was LITERALLY my favorite thing in that world. I'm steeling myself for the end of the series because I know when we hit that point I'm going to be cranky to no end until I find something to fill the Ron Swanson shaped void in my life.
5) Parks and Rec
Caitlin: I still have a season left to watch, but this show has been one of our collective favorites this year. It saddens me to no end that Chris Treager is no longer on the show because he was LITERALLY my favorite thing in that world. I'm steeling myself for the end of the series because I know when we hit that point I'm going to be cranky to no end until I find something to fill the Ron Swanson shaped void in my life.
CT: I have loved this show for years, but it's been such a ride to rewatch it with Little C this year. Leslie Knope gets me on a deep deep level. And now Cait understands when I have to sing things like Jean Ralphio... Which is more often than I'd like to admit.
6) Bitch Planet
Caitlin: Oh man, this comic. Written by the truly remarkable Kelly Sue Deconick, this was one of the most groundbreaking series that came out this year. It's about a society that has created a prison planet to send any woman who doesn't act exactly the way she's supposed to and caused nerd girls all around to label themselves "Non-Compliant." The single issues had essays from different feminist writers in the back. The success of Bitch Planet has marked a turning point in the conversation of mainstream comics. Don't get me wrong, we've got a long way to go but Kelly Sue is leading a charge and frankly I would follow her to Hell.
7) Positive Songs for Negative People
CT: This is yet another of those musicians that Cait has bugged me and bugged me to check out. And then when I did I felt oh so stupid for dragging my feet because Frank Turner is this perfect blend of acoustic songwriting and punk aesthetics. We've played the hell out of Positive Songs For Negative People this year, and it's become one of my absolute favorites.
6) Bitch Planet
Caitlin: Oh man, this comic. Written by the truly remarkable Kelly Sue Deconick, this was one of the most groundbreaking series that came out this year. It's about a society that has created a prison planet to send any woman who doesn't act exactly the way she's supposed to and caused nerd girls all around to label themselves "Non-Compliant." The single issues had essays from different feminist writers in the back. The success of Bitch Planet has marked a turning point in the conversation of mainstream comics. Don't get me wrong, we've got a long way to go but Kelly Sue is leading a charge and frankly I would follow her to Hell.
7) Positive Songs for Negative People
CT: This is yet another of those musicians that Cait has bugged me and bugged me to check out. And then when I did I felt oh so stupid for dragging my feet because Frank Turner is this perfect blend of acoustic songwriting and punk aesthetics. We've played the hell out of Positive Songs For Negative People this year, and it's become one of my absolute favorites.
Caitlin: Oh Frank. In less than a year Frank Turner has become one of my very favorite musicians. His latest CD came along just when I needed it to motivate and console me. Music has this amazing ability to let us see parts of our identity reflected back at us in song, and I'm hugely satisfied in having incorporated this into my psyche. Get Better is probably my favorite song of the year. I did a whole post on this CD back when it first came out, and I can assure you that my affection has only grown with time. The album is a perfect mix of folk rock sound and punk sensibilities with a few references to Napoleon thrown in because it turns out he's a history nerd.
8) Ex Machina
Caitlin: I know this will be a geeky thing that almost no one else cares about, but the sound design of this film was flawless. When Ava moves she has a different sound set for each muscle group. I mean... Okay I can hear you guys falling asleep out there so I'll stow my audio nerdery. This really was one of the best scifi films I've ever seen. It's tightly written and beautifully shot.
CT: If Caitlin gets to geek out about the sound in this movie, I get to geek out about the visuals. I won't rant too much because I wrote an entire post about its perfection but in short, Alex Garland has set the bar ridiculously high with his directorial debut. He uses every inch of the frame to tell the story, and the result is one of the best sci-fi movies I've ever seen.
9)The Wachowskis
10) Skinny Lister
9)The Wachowskis
CT: Unpopular opinion time- Jupiter Ascending was one of the most fun films of the year. Everyone seemed to focus on the fact the there were a few story problems but those people are the kind of negative that no one needs in their lives. Both Jupiter Ascending and Sense8 proved that the Wachowskis are some of the best world builders and visual storytellers in the business today.
Caitlin: I marathoned Sense8 in about 2 days because once I was in to the world I couldn't bare to leave. Thank Joss that they renewed it because if I had to show up at Lana and Andy's production office to have them tell me how the story ended, I have a feeling it would have gotten ugly. The show was such a beautiful blend of character exploration from 8 very distinct and very well developed characters. And I can't stand how well set up the last half hour of the show was. What a beautiful ending to a stellar first season. As for Jupiter Ascending I knew from the minute the first trailer hit that I would love it and I was not wrong. It was cool and sleek and entertaining to no end.
10) Skinny Lister
Caitlin: This band. What a bizarre mix of punk and sea shanties and drunken shenanigans. I know I already stressed this in my concert write up but, THE BASS PLAYER CROWD SURFED! With his giant ass bass. I'm in awe of them and their weird sailor meets Flogging Molly ways. I want to join them. I want to be one of them. I desperately want to know what they have in that massive jug that they always carry around. Whiskey? Unicorn tears? TELL ME!
CT: One of my absolute favorite things is when the opening band of a concert turns out to be someone you would have come out to see on their own. That's exactly what happened with Skinny Lister. We basically stood, slack-jawed, during their entire set. And then we proceeded to listen to their albums for the rest of forever. I still don't understand how they came to be, but I like it soooo much.
Readers, we've had an amazing year. It's been filled with smart girl characters, killer music, and amazing stories. And we have had a blast sharing it all with you.
Here's to the new year and all the wonderful surprises it's going to bring. In fact, we have some super exciting things happening around these parts this year, and we'll share all of it with you guys as soon as we can. In the meantime, hope you're all doing well and that 2016 had been nice to ya so far!
Much love,
Little C & CT
Comments
Post a Comment