I was thinking last night about how for some people like me, time seems to flow in a different way than it does for most people. Like I have no real way to gauge time on my own and can easily lose track without having something directly in front of me telling me how long I've been working on something. I can think I've been away from my desk for 5 minutes and it turns out I've been afk for an hour. I keep wanting to think 2010 was 5 years ago, and the final hour of a trip can feel like it's taking 500 years.
With this in mind I wanted to do a sort of textual time capsule to help me keep track of what I've seen that made an impact on me while trying to navigate a pretty challenging year in a line of particularly challenging years.
So 2022 started off not great. Gaspard Ulliel passed away from a skiing accident suddenly and just after it had been revealed he was to be in Moon Knight. It was a tragically sad moment for myself and my partner as we are great fans of his and he was a huge influence on how I made Samael. I had even sent him a letter a couple of months before the accident with the assistance of my friend Jenn (who is way way better at French than myself). In honor of his memory I changed my pfps to a different picture of him for every month of this year and have really put all of my grief into further sculpting Samael into a tribute. I really come you all come to love him as Bear and I do.
Gaspard's last movie is being released this month, it's called More Than Ever
I'll be honest, I don't feel like I'm ready to watch it yet, because doing so feels like saying goodbye, but if you want to get an idea of what a wonderful actor we have lost I want to recommend the following:
Saint Laurent
A Very Long Engagement
It's Only The End of the World
Those are just some of my favorites, Bear and I also loved the Hannibal movie because despite all of the imperfections it had as a script he really did bring an amazing feral energy to playing young Hannibal that was just awesome to see.
On that note, while dealing with a huge amount of personal and family issues I've engaged in a couple of my favored go-to coping mechanisms: MEDIA AND MINI PAINTING
I have a letterboxd account but I thought I'd share some movies I watched this year that I felt really stood out:
The Batman (2022) - Honestly I am so so SO oversaturated on most superhero movies and especially Batman but this was really an outstanding entry. It was fresh, moody without being overly up it's own keister, and had Bruce Wayne actually being a detective with my new favorite version of the Batmobile. Now if only they got Cillian Murphy back as Scarecrow...
Nope (2022) - Original, unnerving, an incredible commentary on how animals are treated in the entertainment industry, and it made Jake Paul lose his damn mind on twitter because he didn't realize he's the exact kind of person the movie was designed to point out as part of the problem. Outstanding. And what a cool creature design!
Prey (2022) - About a million years ago when I was still a toddler, my grandfather let me stay up late one night to watch Predator with him. And while I've followed the whole franchise nothing has ever come close to how cool the original was until now. In fact, this almost surpasses the original. AND YES, THE DOG LIVES.
Hellraiser (2022) - David Bruckner has slowly been becoming one of my favorite directors, and Jamie Clayton was absolutely perfect as Pinhead. I'm so glad Clive Barker has gotten to take back his creation and make it as imaginative, brutal, and GAY like it was always supposed to be.
While Bear got my Pokemon Violet for my bday and I've been absolutely going bananas with it, I've also been watching a couple of lets players I like going through God of War - Ragnarök, and I can't express how much seeing Kratos grow as a father and as a man while raising Artreus has meant to me and how much I HAVE CRIED WATCHING IT GOOD LORD.
But also it's been such a balm on my soul as well. Games really have become art in so many ways, and you can truly feel Christopher Judge's emotions about his own children coming through in his performance, as he explains here:
And on that note I was OVERJOYED to hear Doom Patrol is back, which is a show that has given me so much comfort and that I was afraid was going to be cancelled during the shakedown at HBOMax. And I cannot express how much "We are all misfits living in a world on fire" feels so apt, especially this year.
If you're in the LGBTQ community or have trauma, or both, I can't recommend it enough.
AND BRENDAN FRASER IS ROBOTMAN, COME ON!
Alright, I think that's all I have to give you for now. I hope all of you are safe and warm this holiday season, and if you ever feel alone or disconnected, please know I'm rooting for you. Come pop onto discord or shoot me a message on here if you ever want to talk.
Big Love,
Neta