New Fiction 2020

It’s still rattling around in my brain. That’s a good sign. The music, the strange encounters and people. I loved it all, but it has the vibe of a polarizing work. It veers way off the path laid out by its JRPG predecessors. I can understand why it gained such a small and devoted following. But it wasn’t perfect. Battles are a far smoother experience here than in so many contemporaries, including the blessed removal of random battles, but they are still a tedious part of the process. Enemies late in the game can kill a party member with a single attack and can require particular tricks or items to defeat. But it’s all worth the journey.

Pee Wee’s Big Adventure dir. Tim Burton (1985)

This is a good inclusion alongside a few of the others this month. It’s a strange and surreal journey through America, the sprawling nature and open spaces. The weirdness of meeting strangers in life. This movie also has a similar meta-commentary on the nature of its medium. Movies about movies, games about games. Surreal comedies are a good way to explore those aspects.

Smooth Talk dir. Joyce Chopra (1985)

On the other hand, a story like this. A coming-of-age movie set in a small place that turns into something else, something more sinister. By comparison to the other stories this month, this one is claustrophobic, rife with frustration over the limitation of being here and not there. The events unfold that way but I suppose it’s about confronting the seriousness of growing up, of entering a world of adults who know more. The movie extends a bit beyond the ending of the original story by Joyce Carol Oates, and that changes the final feeling of it.

The Muppet Movie dir. James Frawley (1979)

Pee Wee’s Big Adventure almost feels modeled on this. It’s a hoot. It’s especially interesting to see all the cameos from renowned comedians and actors. And I just have an appreciation for road movies. I think there’s something in moving that’s compelling. Moving here and there, the encounters along the way.

Police Story dir. Jackie Chan (1985)

A Jackie Chan classic but small-scale relative to some of his other hits (especially contemporary works like Armour of God). Still, this is “pure Chan excitement” at its core, full of the same insane stunts and a middle act that turns the whole thing into slapstick comedy before the big stunt set piece at the end.

The Simpsons – “Treehouse of Horror XXXI” (2020)

I was excited to see that the writer for this episode is a comedian and longtime co-host of a Simpsons podcast to which I subscribed for a while. The segments were a bit forgettable (I needed to check out the details again), but the introductory segment about the election (like the election itself) likely subsumed the rest.

Bob’s Burgers – “Heartbreak Hotel-oween” (2020)

I wanna hang out in haunted hotels. Really, old hotels are getting harder to find. The creaky ones that couldn’t stay in business before a pandemic and now have little chance of surviving. The trope is well-worn I suppose, but the writers of this episode did a great job with it. Halloween episodes of Bob’s Burgers are always good.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – Seasons 6-7 (2019-2020)

The second half of this show figured itself out in style. Instead of trying to drag a single conceit across a whole twenty-some episode season, they designed the season as a series of shorter arcs, and this kept things fresh. The final two seasons were shorter overall and didn’t have a chance to do that, and I think season 6 at least suffered for it. But then their final season wises up to the idea that this is indeed the end, and so it becomes a fan service-filled extravaganza across time and space. It’s an interesting and fun release in a year when Marvel properties were otherwise absent as Disney held everything back until the pandemic is over.

New Fiction 2020 – November

EarthBound dev. Ape Inc. and HAL Laboratory (1995)

Pee Wee’s Big Adventure dir. Tim Burton (1985)

Smooth Talk dir. Joyce Chopra (1985)

The Muppet Movie dir. James Frawley (1979)

Police Story dir. Jackie Chan (1985)

The Simpsons – “Treehouse of Horror XXXI” (2020)

Bob’s Burgers – “Heartbreak Hotel-oween” (2020)

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – Seasons 6-7 (2019-2020)

New Fiction 2020 – October

“The Adventure of the German Student” by Washington Irving (1824)

He was, in a manner, a literary goul, feeding in the charnel house of decayed literature.

“The Apparition of Mrs. Veal“ by Daniel Defoe (1706)

If the eyes of our faith were as open as the eyes of our body, we should see numbers of angels about us for our guard.

“Jacqueline Ess: Her Will and Testament” by Clive Barker (1984)

If one has given oneself utterly, watching the beloved sleep can be a vile experience.

“The Soul of the Great Bell” by Lafcadio Hearn (1887)

All the workmen wrought their tasks in silence; there was no sound heard but the muttering of the fires.

“In the Water Works (Birmingham, Alabama 1888)” by Caitlin R. Kiernan (2000)

Fresh wound, these walls, this abscess hollowed into the world’s thin skin.

“The Damned Thing” by Ambrose Bierce (1898)

All seemed to be waiting for something to occur; the dead man only was without expectation.

“A Visit” (prev. “The Lovely House”) by Shirley Jackson (1952)

A tile is missing from the face of Margaret, who died for love.

“Night Surf” by Stephen King (1969)

He said his name was Alvin Sackheim. He kept calling for his grandmother.

“The Lonesome Place” by August Derleth (1948)

What do they know about a place and time when a boy is very small and very alone, and the night is as big as the town, and the darkness is the whole world?

"The Phantom Coach” by Amelia B. Edwards (1864)

Against what superstition have they waged so long and obstinate a war, as against the belief in apparitions?

“Afterward” by Edith Wharton (1910)

The sunny English noon had swallowed him as completely as if he had gone out into Cimmerian night.

“The Demon Lover” by Elizabeth Bowen (1945)

You have no time to run from a face you do not expect.

“The Tower” by Marghanita Laski (1955)

There was nothing left in her brain but the steadily mounting tally of the steps.

“Don’t Look Now” by Daphne du Maurier (1971)

How to replace the life of a loved lost child with a dream?

“███████” by Joyce Carol Oates (1998)

Each of us had one, in our bowls. Warm and pulsing with life and fear radiating from it like raw nerves.

“Vampire Princess” by Ryuki Mao (2004)

The human will want to take you into the light, saying it’s for your own good.

“Cruel Sistah” by Nisi Shawl (2005)

One singing note, which he raised and lowered slowly. High and yearning. Soft and questioning. With its voice.

“The You Train” by N.K. Jemisin (2007)

All the defunct lines, the dead lines. I think they never really go away.

“Hello, Moto” by Nnedi Okorafor (2011)

It always felt so good to take from people, not just their money but their very essence.

“Pearls” by Priya Sharma (2012)

All because you couldn’t have me.

“Monstro” by Junot Díaz (2012)

Motherfuckers used to say culo would be the end of us. Well, for me it really was.

“Bugs” by Ageha (2013)

Hey, pinky promise you’ll play with me.

“The Graveless Doll of Eric Mutis” by Karen Russell (2013)

Yolk came oozing out of the mystery, covering all our hands, so that we became involved.

“Out of Skin” by Emily Carroll (2013)

A heap of wet skin and decaying cloth, crowded inside a dark pit I’d never seen before.

“How to Get Back to the Forest” by Sofia Samatar (2014)

The smell in the bathroom was terrible now–an animal smell, hot; it thrashed around and it had fur.

“Sixteen Minutes” by Premee Mohamed (2016)

I felt its breath in the night sometimes, like the warm, moist breath of my son when he’d crawl into bed with us.

“Wish You Were Here” by Nadia Bulkin (2016)

Hopefully, by the time the world ends, you’ll be gone.

“A Diet of Worms” by Valerie Valdes (2016)

Hell, maybe you’ll even stay and watch the movie.

“None of This Ever Happened” by Gabriela Santiago (2016)

Someone has to write Uhura looking out the window and dreaming of home.

“The Taming of the Tongue” by Russell Nichols (2016)

You don’t know what this boy wants you to see way out here, but ain’t nothing worth getting eaten alive for.

“Wet Pain” by Terence Taylor (2007)

It doesn’t matter whether you believe in ghosts if they believe in you.

The Walking Dead: The Final Season dev. Telltale Games, Skybound Games (2018-2019)

Maybe we’ll learn to fly together, someday.

“Black Box” dir. Monica Garrison (2010)

I felt so special that they had invited just me for a visit that day.

Splice dir. Vincenzo Natali (2009)

You never wanted a normal child because you were afraid of losing control.

In the Tall Grass dir. Vincenzo Natali (2019)

The field doesn’t move dead things. It makes them easier to find.

Fright Night dir. Tom Holland (1985)

The master will kill you for this! But not fast. Slowly! Oh, so slowly!

Near Dark dir. Kathryn Bigelow (1987)

Howdy. I’m gonna separate your head from your shoulders. Hope you don’t mind none.

Don’t Look Now dir. Nicolas Roeg (1973)

This one who’s blind. She’s the one that can see.

The Ritual dir. David Bruckner (2017)

It’s the bit they don’t show you in the nature documentaries.

Thirst dir. Park Chan-wook (2009)

He loved helping the hungry. He’d offer me his blood if he wasn’t in a coma.

Hush dir. Mike Flanagan (2016)

Too many endings. They are all the same.

A Tale of Two Sisters dir. Kim Jee-woon (2003)

As much as you hate it, I’m the only one in this world you can call mother.

The Invitation dir. Karyn Kusama (2015)

I am different. I’m free. All that useless pain, it’s gone.

Bird Box dir. Susanne Bier (2018)

If you look, you will die.

Jennifer’s Body dir. Karyn Kusama (2009)

How could I ever be insecure? I was the Snowflake Queen.

Bee and PuppyCat – Season 1 (2014-2016)

My payment was supposed to be the sweet release of death, and a permanent home for the soul.

The Twilight Zone – Seasons 4-5 (1963-1964)

The others thought about joining the army, or flying to Mars. They finally grew up and they forgot their dreams; I didn’t.

The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020)

To truly love another person is to accept the work of loving them is worth the pain of losing them.