By now I'd imagine most of you know the drill, but for any newcomers:
Here you will find a list of everything I watched/read to completion in 2024, colour-coded by whether or not I would consider it 'queer media', with a rating out of ten and either a tiny (generally spoiler-free) review or silly comment to round it all out nicely.
As you will see, this year I went through a lengthy 'horrific things happening in cold places' spell. I was teetering on the edge of some kind of breakdown for a while and the idea of being somewhere empty and freezing where bad things happen to you through little fault of your own and whether you live through it or not you're completely changed afterwards was very appealing. God knows what that says about me.
If you haven't the time or the will to sift through all this, and I certainly wouldn't blame you, here's the highlight reel:
Best Book: Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Best Film: Society of the Snow
Best TV: Wolf Hall (Season 2)
Best Theatre: Hadestown (Live | West End Cast)
And now for the Meat...
BOOKS
Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice — 8/10 — I have no illusions about myself and I know for a fact that if I were in a vampire story I would be Daniel Molloy.
If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho (translated) by Anne Carson — N/A — Not really substantial enough to be rated, but beautifully presented and valuable to massive nerds such as myself.
Luck in the Shadows by Lynn Flewelling — 5/10 — Love the characters but the prose is meh and the structure is like...oddly weighted is the only way I can describe it. We spent so long on Alec being My Fair Lady-ed that by the time someone started talking about the disc again I'd completely forgotten that I wasn't reading a low-stakes society drama.
The Girls by Emma Cline — 8/10 — Cline's style is her greatest strength and her greatest weakness. I wish there'd been a touch more deviation from history; as it is the book is practically a 1:1 replication with the names slightly changed. It should be noted that I read this in one sitting immediately after watching Society of the Snow which, in combination with real-life happenings, was a disastrous move for my mental health. So don't do that.
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov — 8/10 — I think I may actually like it more than I remember, but I was still a bit iffy at the time and not paying it the attention I should have. Full of little things that have stuck in my brain.
Lady Caroline Lamb: A Free Spirit by Antonia Fraser — 8/10 — Fraser is one of those very voice-y aristocrats in the vein of Simon Sebag Montefiore, but she's a lot less conceited and you'd be surprised at the wonders that can do for a biography.
The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest by Anatoli Boukreev and Gary Weston DeWalt — 10/10 — You live through this and decide to keep climbing mountains. My god man, take a hint.
Dark Matter by Michelle Paver — 8/10 — I would've liked it a lot more if a certain death hadn't occurred 5 minutes from the finish line. Cheap and unnecessary and I'm not just saying that because I'm bitter (though I am)!
Alive by Piers Paul Read — 9/10 — I really don't know why I did this to myself.
Thin Air by Michelle Paver — 4/10 — I almost wish I hadn't read this because it made me think less of Paver as an author. If you want to read one of her 'cold horror' books then pick one and ignore the second, lest you have the "Oh, I see what we're doing" revelation I had twenty pages into Thin Air. And don't pick this one.
Society of the Snow by Pablo Vierci — 10/10 — There's nothing I can say about this that can possibly do it justice, except that something in my brain has been permanently knocked a little askew.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte — 10/10 — Not to be one of those people who says 'Nobody understands classic lit like I do' but nobody understands Wuthering Heights like I do. Emily I saw the messages you were sending me through the book.
FILMS
Napoleon — 3/10 — Can't remember why I coloured this green and that's really thrown me, but I can't bear to watch it again and find out. Possibly I was distracted by Vanessa Kirby? Anyway don't bother.
Society of the Snow — 10/10 — Film of the year, film of the decade, mayhaps film of the century. For the love of god pick your moment wisely.
Killers of the Flower Moon — 8/10 — Hurt by its length but at the same time I don't know what could've been cut. Weird one.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood — 5/10 — Would've loved to be a fly on the wall at this pitch meeting.
Kind Hearts and Coronets — 10/10 — Could not have appealed more to me if I'd written it myself.
Rebel Without a Cause — 7/10 — God I was so into it and then it just ended. No closure. What are we doing.
Taxi Driver — 5/10 — I am going to bravely admit that I don't get it.
The Social Network — 7/10 — Not bad, but I don't see why everyone raves so much about it. At the very least it's leagues above its copycats.
Catch Me If You Can — 8/10 — Fun!
Dune Part II — 8/10 — So good that it almost tricked me into thinking I liked the first one. I don't know why so many filmmakers these days are allergic to opulence and beauty, though. Surely not every house employs the same brutally minimalist interior designer.
Shaun of the Dead — 7/10 —A little twee, but I still had a great time.
The Personal History of David Copperfield — 4/10 —Such a shame. The actors are great, the set design and costumes are wonderful, but the way it was adapted just kind of guts the story.
Everest (2015) — 6/10 — Jon Krakauer is upset that this film depicts him being asleep in his tent during an event he famously missed due to being asleep in his tent. If I were him I wouldn't be whining, lest someone bring up my poor reputation in the mountaineering community. Then again, if I were him I wouldn't have lobbed unprovoked criticism at the guy who did the rescuing while I slept in my tent.
Challengers — 10/10 — This is what's happening in my head when I read a Realm of the Elderlings book.
The Virgin Suicides — 5/10 — Did Kirsten Dunst somehow become...worse at acting as she aged?
How To Steal a Million — 10/10 — Oh my god this is good. Like you don't need me to tell you that, but everything in this film works so well it's unbelievable. If I could buy a physical copy of the soundtrack for less than £467 it would never leave my CD player.
My Own Private Idaho — 6/10 — Bizarrely charming or charmingly bizarre? It's hard not to feel pity for Keanu Reeves as River Phoenix acts circles around him for hours on end.
Cursed (2005) — 2/10 — I read about what this film could have been, what it was until Weinstein scrapped the footage, and wept a little.
The Witch (2015) — 10/10 — I'm not a 'girlhood' 'coquette' sort of feminist and I always have that one Ursula K. LeGuin quote running through my mind, but for a very brief moment towards the end of this film I did absolutely get it.
The Bounty (1984) — 8/10 — ONE COCONUT MR. CHRISTIAN!!!
Bend it Like Beckham — 7/10 — These are lesbians.
The Village (2004) — 10/10 — Well I don't know what everyone else's problem is because I think it's great.
Lost in Translation — 7/10 — Spent most of the runtime having an existential crisis about the fact that Scarlett Johansson was nineteen during this film.
Trap — 6/10 — It started out (I think intentionally) cheesy but pretty good...and then it kept going...and going...and it just wouldn't stop.
Little Women (1994) — 10/10 — I'm sure you don't need to me to describe it to you.
View from the Top — 3/10 — Don't enjoy that I have to colour this purple.
Emily (2022) — 7/10 — People aren't going to like this but I think that if we're making up boyfriends whole cloth then we should at least have the courage to make Branwell gay.
Fanny & Alexander — 10/10 — One of the filmiest films I've ever seen and I adored every single minute of it. Just gorgeous.
The Mummy (1999) — 7/10 — A little overhyped but a good time nonetheless.
TV SERIES
The Terror — 9/10 — Would've been a 10/10 if not for the fact that we not only see tuunbaq, but we see tuunbaq repeatedly and at length. So much of this is about fear of the unknown and I think it really undercuts that theme to be like well here is the thing actually.
Domina (Season 1) — 7/10 — Is sometimes written as though the audience won't understand it's set during a different time period with different values and different attitudes to life.
Gilmore Girls — 6/10 — Both of these women and the men they date annoy me no end, the only saving grace is Paris. Also Kirk. Apparently there was going to be a Jess spin-off and I'd give my firstborn child to see what a mess that would've been.
Young Royals (Season 3) — 10/10 — Stuck the landing impeccably. My heart says there were at least another six series in this, my brain says thank god Netflix let their best property die with some dignity.
The Dropout — 9/10 — Stuff like this and Anna Delvey inspire an existential dread in me about how the fate of nations depend on like ten people with far more money than sense.
The Americans (Season 1) — 8/10 — The Platonic ideal of a TV series.
Chernobyl — 10/10 — 2018-19 there was something in the water, what a run of prestige miniseries.
Dead Boy Detectives — 3/10 — Absolutely dreadful, I hope it runs for five seasons minimum (note from the future: ☹️)
Bridgerton (Season 3) — 2/10 — The first two were hardly prestige television but I did largely enjoy them. We've taken a very steep nosedive and I'm not convinced we're going to recover.
Interview with the Vampire (Season 2) — 9/10 — I put off watching episode seven because I knew what was coming and would you believe it I wept from minute one to the bitter end. My mother adores Lestat.
Twenty Twelve — 6/10 — So that's all good then.
House of the Dragon (Season 2) — 7/10 — I went through the opposite experience to most viewers in that I started out deeply unhappy and the show regained my trust with each subsequent episode.
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder — 8/10 — I never read the book but several of my friends did and frankly they should have pitched it to me better.
House M.D. — 8/10 — My original comment here was another Challengers joke but I no longer remember what I meant and if I can't figure it out then you definitely won't.
North & South (2004) — 8/10 — Watching this as someone whose hometown is mentioned in "It's Grim Up North" I can promise it's not quite that drab, but the story's certainly popular for a reason.
Heartstopper (Season 3) — 1/10 — I think the presence of Foldo from The Letter for the King distracted me so much last season that I forgot I was basically watching terrible actors read aloud from a textbook about queer identity and mental health. It didn't work this time.
Sweetpea — 10/10 — Love to see Ella Purnell starring as a repressed bisexual in a horror/comedy series.
The Diplomat — 7/10 — Usually I hate these sorts of things but every so often they make a good one!
The Empress (Season 2) — 4/10 — This could be really good but they just refuse to stop making bizarre choices. Why is so much time dedicated to that one woman and her fiance? Why did we need the 'illegal homosexuality' episode which is totally unconnected to anything else? Why do the costumes look like that?
Wolf Hall (Season 2) — 10/10 — Once again I wept through the entire last episode. Literally what can I say? Costumes impeccable, acting incomparable, music just spectacular. Will surely be revered for generations to come.
THEATRE
Jesus Christ Superstar (Live | Touring Cast) — 9/10 — Exactly the same cast as last time (minus Julian Clary thank god) but the months of doing it over and over again have clearly paid off. Excepting the microphone thing which does put me off a bit, I can't think of anything that would've made it better. Hannah Richardson please call me.
Hadestown (Live | West End Cast) — 10/10 — Everything I thought it would be and more.
Wicked (Live | Touring Cast) — 1/10 — A friend offered me this ticket, dinner, and a trip to Liverpool for free and even that didn't make up for the two hours and forty five minutes of life I lost enduring this show. Stephen Schwartz wrote 'All I Ever Wanted' from The Prince of Egypt. He wrote 'Hellfire', 'The Bells of Notre Dame'. I genuinely cannot believe this.
Absalom & Eteri (Live | Tbilisi State Opera) — 5/10 — It only premiered internationally this year and frankly I get it. It's just sort of okay. Costumes, set design and so on were astounding. As we were leaving I saw two obviously English girls in the lobby and commented on it to my friends who ignored me, and then several weeks later it turned out that they were also on their year abroad studying Russian at our tiny language school. Moral of the story is that I'm right about everything all the time.
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