Dawn's End of Year Best of...
(I may be late for some of these things but they happened for me in 2018.)
Movies:
1. Green Book
2. Black Panther
3. Won't You Be My Neighbour
Honourable mention for Disobedience but since I saw it at TIFF in 2017 it doesn't count for this list.
Books:
1. Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women's Anger by Rebecca Traister
2. Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan
3. Fifteen Dogs by Andre Alexis
Television: We are truly in the Golden Age of prestige television. If you are only watching the Big Four networks, you are missing the best the medium has to offer.
1. The Good Place I owe this one to Younger Son and His B'shert. They've been telling me to watch it for two years. I binged watched the first two seasons in a week. Yes. It's that good and Season Three is even better. The most Jewishly-relevant show on television that never mentions Judaism.
2. Babylon Berlin It is weird, bizarre and in German. If you can stick with the first few episodes, it doesn't disappoint.
3. Killing Eve Sandra Oh is simply brilliant and Jodie Comer is comically terrifying.
Honourable mentions. The Americans (an amazing final season), The Good Fight, Nanette by Hannah Gadsby, and The Great British Baking Show. (It honestly kept me sane. I live in fear of making a soggy bottom and having Mary Berry judging it.)
Podcasts: If you haven't joined the revolution yet, allow my recommendations to be your introduction.
1. Bag Man Rachel Maddow and her crew put together a brilliant retelling of the rise and fall of former Vice President Spiro Agnew. If you thought you knew the story, you really didn't. Amazing.
2. Pod Save America Yes, it is unabashedly partisan but these former Obama staffers are smart, funny, and break down all the craziness for the average person in understandable segments.
3. Revisionist History with Malcolm Gladwell. Gladwell takes a fresh look at historical events that are baked into our memories and then proceeds to unravel all we think we know.
Honourable Mentions. Unspooled, You Must Remember This, Slow Burn, Why is This Happening, and This American Life
Theatre:
1. Riot It was so great but so bizarre that I have to take the description right from them. "A riotous cocktail of dance, drag, circus, and comedy from Ireland’s greatest artistic hooligans." Loved it.
2. An American in Paris I was simply amazed by the staging, choreography, and acting. This is truly a must-see. (Also...I got to sit next to the mother of one of the leads. It provides a whole new perspective.)
3. The King and I This one has never been one of my favourites of Rogers and Hammerstein but this production was stunning.
Honourable mention for The Music Man at The Stratford Festival. I didn't think they could pull it off. I was wrong.
Concerts:
1. Paul Simon I've seen him many times but his farewell tour brought out his singularity. It was an incredible performance and one of his most generous.
2. Alison Krauss Still one of the greatest voices around
3. John Prine His voice is a bit less than it was but he is still one of my all-time favourites. His newest album is great.
Twitter Follows: (These were new for me for 2018)
1. Quinn Cummings @quinncy She is wickedly funny and smart. A Norah Ephron comparison isn't too far-fetched.
2. Charles P. Pierce @CharlesPPierce He writes the politics blog for Esquire magazine. He has a sharp tongue and is honest to a fault.
3. Dr. Jennifer Gunter @DrJenGunter A transplanted Canadian gynecologist who is fast becoming Gwyneth Paltrow's worst nightmare. Science, not charlatanism.
Political Stories: (There were some good ones.)
1. Ireland votes to repeal its Eighth Amendment By a landslide, Irish voters chose to repeal its near-total ban on abortion. It was an extraordinary victory for women in the once bastion of religious conservatism and it was driven by involved and committed young people.
2. The American Blue Wave Make no mistake. It was a wave. The Democrats picked up forty seats in the House and the Congress will be more female, more racially diverse, and more economically represented than at any time in history. It's a start.
3. Legalization of Cannabis I am not a user (never have been) but I do believe that eventually, this will be like overturning prohibition. The roll-out is experiencing major growing pains and my province is proving incredibly incompetent at managing it but over time it will get better.
Add your own. I'd love to hear your favourites.
Happy 2019 to you all.
No comments:
Post a Comment