2021 Wrap-up
I probably should’ve posted this in 2021, but oh well, I’m posting it now. Each year, I like to send off the year by listing all of my favorites from the year, so I can look back on them 10, 20, or 30 (my God) years later and get a snapshot of the me…then (if you get that reference, pat yourself on the back).
Favorite books:
1) Red White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
These blurbs aren’t going to be an in-dept analyses of the things I liked. In one or two sentences, I’ll explain WHY I liked something, even if I thought it was just “cute,” which I thought this book was. Alex had a lot of spunk and I liked how he grew on Henry sort of like a fungus. I didn’t expect the language to be so blunt, but I really appreciated that. A super fast read too.
2) Sin & Chocolate by K.F. Breene
The main character, Alexis, was kind of bitchy and it was amazing, especially as she kept getting checked by the kids she looked after.
3) Anita Blake Vampire Hunter: Bloody Bones by Laurel K Hamilton
I adore Anita Blake. I love her voice, I love this world, and I love how punchy the writing is in these books. Hamilton doesn’t beat around the bush. I finish these books like that, which is big for me, since I’m not the quickest reader (like I was in my 20s).
4) Kill Creek by Scott Thomas
This book taught me a lot about how to structure sentences for straight horror stories. Really creepy and I loved the cast, especially Sebastian and TC. The ending in this book taught me how to end my own stories. Putting aside all the stuff I learned from it, it was genuinely entertaining, a haunted house story with a twist!
5) Under the Dome
Another year, another Stephen King work going down as a fav. I had this book for over 10 years, but couldn’t find the time to commit to it. Naturally, with the pandemic still in full swing, I had plenty of time to sit down and read this beast. Was it worth the wait??? Why, yes it was. I had such a great time in this world. I LOVED Julia’s assertiveness, and I was kind of touched by Phil at the end (although I shouldn’t have been?). The scene I really liked isn’t included in the CBS series, so I might not ever watch it, which is too bad.
Favorite albums
1) 333 by Tinashe
One of my most-played albums of the year for sure. It doesn’t sound like her previous albums but is still distinctively “Tinashe.”
2) Montero by Lil Nas X
I appreciate him and everything he stands for. No lie, I was kind of hesitant to purchase this album since a lot of music today tends to go in one ear and out the other for me, but I love this whole album. There’s a lot of dept here, which totally caught me off guard in the best way. We are so lucky to have him. I wish there was a Lil Nas X around when I was growing up.
4) DISCO by Kylie Minogue
I’ve been listening to this album nonstop since I got it at the very end of 2020. I become a bigger Kylie fan with every release. For me, this is in her top 5 for sure (real quick — top 5 Kylie albums: Light Years, Impossible Princess, DISCO, Rhythm of Love & Fever). This album is just fun. No one makes me go ^_^ better than Kylie.
Since like 2013, I’ve been going back to listen to “classic” albums I was too young to listen to and end up falling in love with them (past gems I discovered include Ready to Die by Notorious B.I.G., Illmatic by Nas, Thriller by…well, you know, and Purple Rain by The Prince) and in 2021, Nirvana’s Nevermind was my latest discovery. I have a thing for loud, big drums and Smells like Teenage Spirit will always be superb.
Favorite Songs
1) Paper Chase by Clara Hill ft: Vikter Duplaix
A lounge song with hip hop sensibilities sounds a bit WTF on paper, but this song is a BOP.
2) Candyland Wedding by Kill Paradise
A rediscovered gem. I love the melody and pretty yet simplistic production. The lyrics are super catchy, an earworm through and through.
3) Bouncin’ by Tinashe
The gift that keeps on giving. Every time I listen to this masterpiece, I always find something new to love about it. The sequel is just as great. Up there with Bet, Perfect Crime, and Spacetime as an all-time Tinashe fav.
4) Fade by Solu Music ft: KimBlee
I literally have no idea why but I associate this summery song with Last Night in Soho. I love that movie, and so I love this song. I’ve had this song for yyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaars, but it clicked with me in 2021 in a way it never had before. The chorus is so pretty.
5) Hold You, Unfold You by Michiko
Lounge Music is so special to me. The genre wears so many hats: you can dance to it, study to it, sleep to it and work to it. They’re chill enough not to be boring, but at the same time not so dancey that they’re distracting and overbearing. This song is exactly that. The Blue Six Station on Pandora is one my best discoveries in life. You’re welcome.
Favorite Movies
1) Last Night in Soho
I was looking forward to this ever since I saw the trailer. I can honestly say I’ve never seen another movie like this. I LOVED the character of Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy seems to play my favorite character in every movie she’s in; coincidence? I think not), I loved her confidence, her attitude, her look. This movie was unforgettable and I wish it was more popular. Maybe it would’ve been in a pandemic-less world. >.>
2) Rebuild of Evangelion: Thrice Upon a Time
I’ve been following this series ever since I picked up a VHS tape of episodes 23 & 24 from Blockbuster Videos. Rei Ayanami (an icon) was on the cover, and her design always caught my eye when I browsed the anime section, so I decided to rent it on a whim and what I saw honestly changed my life. This movie made me so happy for Shinji, considering all he’s been through. I thought I’d never put “happy” in the same sentence with “Evangelion,” but here we are. This was the ending the series needed and deserved. As happy as I was for Shinji, I was kind of sad for me, as a fan. Neon Genesis Evangelion is done for good now, a show I’ve been watching/following for nearly 20 years. Congratulations, Anno.
3) Spiderman: No Way Home
I had such a blast watching this. This is one of those movies I wish I could forget and relive all over again (Get Out is the other one), and if you’ve seen it, you know why.
4) A Quiet Place part II
A nonstop thrill ride. I didn’t quite love it as much as Part I, which had more heart in my opinion. But I still enjoyed this a ton! Regan and Evelyn are so strong.
5) Space Jam: A New Legacy
I LOVED the first Space Jam when I saw it as a kid. I haven’t seen it since so I don’t know how well it holds up today, but I feel confident in saying this was a worthy sequel, and had I been about 25 years younger, I probably would’ve loved this the same if not more.
Favorite TV shows
1) WandaVision
I didn’t know it before, but I really love Wanda/Scarlett Witch, like, a lot. This series takes so many twists and turns. I could never guess where the story was going. Whoever came up with this is a genius. I can’t wait to see more of Monica Rambeau.
2) Queens
The core cast vibe so well together and each of the characters are so well-drawn. Just when you think you’ve got them figured out, they reveal other layers to their personalities that’ll change your whole perception of them. And I will never not love seeing Eve on my TV screen.
3) Wentworth
I never would’ve known about this show if not for my friend’s recommendation, one I’ll be eternally grateful for. This show will join Buffy and Angel on my bi-annual rewatch list. Every episode leaves you wanting more, and the characters are so complicated and layered. Aside from the first season’s Big Bad, no one is portrayed as straight up evil or pure good, although some, like Lou, you may have to squint to see their good qualities. Bea Smith was so badass, but all the characters have their moments of badassery. The blooper reel at the end of the finale almost got me.
4) Pose
I’m beyond grateful this show exists. 3 seasons was way too short, but it seems like BTS issues led to this gem’s undoing. It’s too bad, because they really had something so special and important with this. Anyway, the last episode is literally perfect, and seeing where the characters end vs where they were when we met them is just… I’m not crying. *wipes eyes*
5) Insecure
The final scene was so powerful and made me appreciate Issa’s growth throughout the series. Issa and Molly are an unforgettable duo, and I’d never seen a character resonate so strongly with fans the way Lawrence had. This series will live on in history with our other Black favs like Martin and Living Single.
Favorite video games
1) The Last of Us Part II
Now this will be a bit difficult since I don’t really play games as much as I used to, so I’m basically ranking the five games I’d played all year, even if I did complete them in the past. Oops?
Anyway, I adore this game. The first one, to me, was artistic brilliance and this game is equally as powerful although for different reasons. This game took the plot and characters to some, um, brave places and I did struggle with some of the decisions the writer(s) made, but by the end, I’d come to see the magnificence of the story being told to me. For me, what this series is about is Cause and Effect. The ending made perfect sense and I don’t see it as a downer at all. I honestly believe the people who claim the story is bad don’t understand how a narrative works. You might not LIKE the story being presented to you, but that doesn’t make it bad. It just means the story wasn’t to your taste, and that’s fine. It does make me chuckle how people will still rage and call you names if you dare say the game is good, Jesus. No game has touched me the way this game has, not since the original Final Fantasy 7 in 1997 which blew me away on a spectacle level. But this game, like, touched my soul, the only game to do so. Although it’s not my FAVORITE game ever (that will be Persona 2, forever and always), I do think it’s the best I’ve ever played.
2) Yakuza: Like a Dragon
Now for something light. I thought turn-based RPGs was a thing of the past, but this game proved that a turn-based battle system can still be fun and current. This is the 7th game in a long-running series, so not the best place to start, but if you do happen to start here (which I did, elle oh elle), the story won’t lose you if you pay attention. With a twisty story that combines political and gangster drama, fun cast (Kasuga is my hero and lives happily ever after with Zhao, this is canon, this is fact) and absolutely bonkers side-quests, this game will appeal to any RPG fan. I had so much fun living in this city and meeting its wacky inhabitants.
3) Mass Effect
Persona 5 took me 500 years to finish (Vanilla, I wasn’t about to slave through Royal). It wasn’t bad, like, at all. It was just sooooooooooooo long, so I have quite the backlog of PS3 games I still haven’t touched that I’d like to get to at some point in my life, Mass Effect being one of them. I find this world so unique and interesting. The controls are a bit janky, but this is an old game so that’s to be expected (I thought about picking up the Legendary Edition for the PS4, but by then I had already put 20 hours into this and didn’t feel like starting over lolz).
Mass Effect is the game I wish Star Ocean was. The Star Ocean games start off with a really cool sci-fi atmosphere. Unfortunately, you spend like 70% of the game on some undeveloped planet with kings, queens, castles, and other tired RPG tropes. Like, these things can still be cool if done in a creative way but they never are (I forgive SO2 for this, being a PS1 rpg, but SO3 had no damn excuse). Things never really get sci-fi again until the second half of the game and even then, barely (at least the 2nd and 3rd games follow this formula; I haven’t played the other two nor will I ever).
In Mass Effect, you actually explore different galaxies and star systems, getting involved all the political drama wrecking those worlds all while solving a bigger mystery. I don’t find the cast super compelling, but this game is more plot-driven than character-driven, so that’s fine. We need more sci-fi RPGs. I would pick this game up to play for a little while and the next thing I knew, half of my day was gone.
4) Final Fantasy 7 Remake
For the second year in a row! I just adore this game, and I think FF7 fully remade with this level of quality would’ve been too much awesomeness to handle. The original FF7 is basically the Michael Jackson of RPGs. It’s thanks to FF7 that you’re able to play your favorite RPG in English. Without FF7, I’m pretty sure most of them would’ve stayed in Japan, just about the only place in the world people actually played RPGs. Stanning aside, this game is just wonderful. The characters are portrayed in a way that accentuates how we remember them (traits that they were IMPLIED to be in the OG are expanded on here) and some of them (cough-Cloud-and-Aerith-cough) are restored to their original personalities. I could see how the battle system might be too much for some, but I personally loved it and never felt overwhelmed. I beat it in 2 weeks and went back a year later to play the Hard Mode. I never play games on Hard Mode.
5) Parasite Eve
I decided to replay this game the last week or two of 2021, but I’m including it here anyway. This game SHOULD be iconic, but I feel like time (and Square) have sort of left this game behind. To this day, Aya Brea is one my favorite leading ladies in any game. She’s so snarky and sarcastic, but also has a sensitive, vulnerable side (some movies today need to understand that you don’t have to sacrifice her femininity and emotional vulnerability to make a strong female character!). Eve remains a frightening villain. The tension in the game is kind up and down (you’d have a really climatic dungeon or encounter with Eve followed by an hour of exposition where there isn’t much conflict). Still, Parasite Eve is an action-packed 10-15 hours (the PERFECT length for a working adult!) that is up there with the best PS1 RPGs. Btw, I want to know where the hell Aya lives in Manhattan on a rookie cop’s salary!
