I don't typically write list posts but it's the new year and i've been thinking more about some of the better parts of 2017. One awesome part is talking to everyone on Cheerful Ghost and taking part in Cheerful Ghost Radio that launched this year! It's fun to be part of something that people enjoy even if our community is small. So let's wind up and get to my list which I wouldn't consider to be in any kind of actual order.
Mystery Science Theater 3000 The Return
I was beyond hyped that a new MST3K season was coming and happily Kickstarted it. I've talked about that process here and the results are for everyone to enjoy on Netflix. MST3K is a special show to me and was recently renewed for another season. I saw MST3K live this year for my birthday which was a really fun experience. The new show lives up to the old seasons and I'm excited to see where it goes in season 12.
NES Classic & Mega Man 2
I got a NES Classic this year and as part of that have been focusing on playing games that are new-ish to me that I didn't previous play before. Mega Man 2 was a game i've played a handful of times but really focused on getting good at this year. It's been a fun ride and i'm glad I was able to get a NES Classic because i'm not sure i've had played the game otherwise. I like the curated aspect of the NES Classic and the fact that they sort of have you pick between a handful of amazing games, for me, makes the process of picking what to play next a lot easier.
I got a SNES Classic recently but the clear winner here for 2017 is the NES Classic as I played it a lot. In fact i've played it so much and retro games in general that I realized I haven't really played many PC titles this year. In 2018 I plan to double down here and really just play games I missed or want to come back to. Some are PC but many are older games and find that with a new kid, this seems like a good way to focus on gaming in 2018.
Alien Covenant Score
Alien Covenant is one of those movies that I really enjoyed but didn't really seem to be generally well loved by everyone. It's not perfect but when I saw it in New York on a work trip it was the perfect time for a Ridley Scott horror movie. Whereas I think the movie worked for me the score was a particular highlight. I found Jed Kurzel's score to be so noteworthy that I picked it up on CD and have been listening to it quite a bit since. The homages it plays to James Horner's original are well made and I like that score is very chill and listenable. I usually don't listen to a movie and think about the score but it was so moving it really drew me to pick it up.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
For more of my thoughts check out our recent Cheerful Ghost Radio episode on it but to sum it up, it's a much welcomed edition to the Star Wars saga. I've seen it twice now and it's worked for me both times. Watching it a second time I wasn't quite in the throes of it as I knew where it was going but the first time was one of the most heart pounding cinematic rides i've been on. For someone that goes to the theater very little now because I have a kid when I go it's special and Rian Johnson delivered a very beautiful movie that I still think about now.
NES Metroid
I played the original NES Metroid this year on the NES Classic and completed it. It's a game that holds up over time but you need to be in a certain headspace to play it. If you are looking for a more accessible entry to the franchise I recommend the Super Metroid or Zero Mission but NES Metroid is a classic and I enjoyed completing it.
Get Out
I'd rank Get Out as one of the best films of 2017. It's a horror movie with a unique twist and adds a fresh voice to the genre. Loved it so much that I bought it and gave it out as presents to a couple of my friends. It's a movie I recently re-watched and really enjoyed a second time. After watching it a second time I watched it yet again with the directors commentary. At the end of the commentary track Jordan Peele said that everyone that listened to it was a true fan and I agree with him, i'm a huge fan of Get Out.
Add Violence
It's a special time when a new Nine Inch Nails albums is released and this year was no exception because we got Add Violence. One thing I dig about NiN is that each album is a little bit different and has a new viewpoint on the things it talks about. Add Violence seems to be a commentary about our current world, relationships and choices we make and how those impact everyone. It's a haunting album and the last song "The Background World" asks an interesting question to the listener before it deconstructs the beat into a widening breath of static until you can't tell the beat from the noise. Which is, I think the point of the album and what it says about our modern world.
Stranger Things 2
We have a whole Cheerful Ghost Radio show about this but the TLDR is that this is a good season and I want to be Steve Harrington. You know.. that hair!
Link Between Worlds 3DS
A sequel to one of the greatest games of all time? Yes please. While not perfect it's a great ending to the, what I consider, LttP Trilogy with Link to the Past, Link's Awakening & Link Between Worlds. Someday I might play them all in that order too. Between Worlds is a fun Zelda game that follows many of the tropes setup in Link to the Past and spins it up enough to be interesting but not enough to be Breath of the Wild. It's a safe sequel perhaps but I appreciate it for not being too long.
If we get a a Link's Awakening sequel i'll happily refer to these games as the Link to the Past Quadrilogy! Or maybe Nintendo might just want to give Link's Awakening the HD rerelease treatment? I'd be down with that.
Logan
Logan is a fitting end to Hugh Jackman's Wolverine. That said my first time around watching the film was such a bad theater going experience it almost soured me on the whole movie. Apparently sitting behind people that talk loudly and might possibly be drunk isn't a great way to experience Logan. That said I picked it up on Blu-ray on black friday for a couple bucks and watched it in black and white and loved it. I'm not saying B&W is the best way to see it but it worked well for such a bleak film. Sad we won't get more Jackman but the movie being such a great conclusion was the right way for him to hang up the claws.
Mystery Science Theater 3000 The Return
I was beyond hyped that a new MST3K season was coming and happily Kickstarted it. I've talked about that process here and the results are for everyone to enjoy on Netflix. MST3K is a special show to me and was recently renewed for another season. I saw MST3K live this year for my birthday which was a really fun experience. The new show lives up to the old seasons and I'm excited to see where it goes in season 12.
NES Classic & Mega Man 2
I got a NES Classic this year and as part of that have been focusing on playing games that are new-ish to me that I didn't previous play before. Mega Man 2 was a game i've played a handful of times but really focused on getting good at this year. It's been a fun ride and i'm glad I was able to get a NES Classic because i'm not sure i've had played the game otherwise. I like the curated aspect of the NES Classic and the fact that they sort of have you pick between a handful of amazing games, for me, makes the process of picking what to play next a lot easier.
I got a SNES Classic recently but the clear winner here for 2017 is the NES Classic as I played it a lot. In fact i've played it so much and retro games in general that I realized I haven't really played many PC titles this year. In 2018 I plan to double down here and really just play games I missed or want to come back to. Some are PC but many are older games and find that with a new kid, this seems like a good way to focus on gaming in 2018.
Alien Covenant Score
Alien Covenant is one of those movies that I really enjoyed but didn't really seem to be generally well loved by everyone. It's not perfect but when I saw it in New York on a work trip it was the perfect time for a Ridley Scott horror movie. Whereas I think the movie worked for me the score was a particular highlight. I found Jed Kurzel's score to be so noteworthy that I picked it up on CD and have been listening to it quite a bit since. The homages it plays to James Horner's original are well made and I like that score is very chill and listenable. I usually don't listen to a movie and think about the score but it was so moving it really drew me to pick it up.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
For more of my thoughts check out our recent Cheerful Ghost Radio episode on it but to sum it up, it's a much welcomed edition to the Star Wars saga. I've seen it twice now and it's worked for me both times. Watching it a second time I wasn't quite in the throes of it as I knew where it was going but the first time was one of the most heart pounding cinematic rides i've been on. For someone that goes to the theater very little now because I have a kid when I go it's special and Rian Johnson delivered a very beautiful movie that I still think about now.
NES Metroid
I played the original NES Metroid this year on the NES Classic and completed it. It's a game that holds up over time but you need to be in a certain headspace to play it. If you are looking for a more accessible entry to the franchise I recommend the Super Metroid or Zero Mission but NES Metroid is a classic and I enjoyed completing it.
Get Out
I'd rank Get Out as one of the best films of 2017. It's a horror movie with a unique twist and adds a fresh voice to the genre. Loved it so much that I bought it and gave it out as presents to a couple of my friends. It's a movie I recently re-watched and really enjoyed a second time. After watching it a second time I watched it yet again with the directors commentary. At the end of the commentary track Jordan Peele said that everyone that listened to it was a true fan and I agree with him, i'm a huge fan of Get Out.
Add Violence
It's a special time when a new Nine Inch Nails albums is released and this year was no exception because we got Add Violence. One thing I dig about NiN is that each album is a little bit different and has a new viewpoint on the things it talks about. Add Violence seems to be a commentary about our current world, relationships and choices we make and how those impact everyone. It's a haunting album and the last song "The Background World" asks an interesting question to the listener before it deconstructs the beat into a widening breath of static until you can't tell the beat from the noise. Which is, I think the point of the album and what it says about our modern world.
Stranger Things 2
We have a whole Cheerful Ghost Radio show about this but the TLDR is that this is a good season and I want to be Steve Harrington. You know.. that hair!
Link Between Worlds 3DS
A sequel to one of the greatest games of all time? Yes please. While not perfect it's a great ending to the, what I consider, LttP Trilogy with Link to the Past, Link's Awakening & Link Between Worlds. Someday I might play them all in that order too. Between Worlds is a fun Zelda game that follows many of the tropes setup in Link to the Past and spins it up enough to be interesting but not enough to be Breath of the Wild. It's a safe sequel perhaps but I appreciate it for not being too long.
If we get a a Link's Awakening sequel i'll happily refer to these games as the Link to the Past Quadrilogy! Or maybe Nintendo might just want to give Link's Awakening the HD rerelease treatment? I'd be down with that.
Logan
Logan is a fitting end to Hugh Jackman's Wolverine. That said my first time around watching the film was such a bad theater going experience it almost soured me on the whole movie. Apparently sitting behind people that talk loudly and might possibly be drunk isn't a great way to experience Logan. That said I picked it up on Blu-ray on black friday for a couple bucks and watched it in black and white and loved it. I'm not saying B&W is the best way to see it but it worked well for such a bleak film. Sad we won't get more Jackman but the movie being such a great conclusion was the right way for him to hang up the claws.
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You mention that we talked about The Last Jedi in the recent episode of Cheerful Ghost Radio, and you're right, but you mentioned it here so I'm going to as well :D
I've seen it twice since we recorded that episode and it keeps getting better. You're right that the impact isn't the same, because you know what's coming, but it gels better. You know how things fit so the disjointed feeling some of it had is gone. I legitimately think it's in my top three films in the franchise. Maybe higher. Depends on the day.
Other than that, I dig your list. It's probably over half identical to mine. I'd add the Switch as a whole, what a great system, and Odyssey and Breath of the Wild are masterpieces (I'm far from finishing BotW so that may change but... doubt it).
For movies, I'd add The Big Sick (free on Amazon Prime streaming). Kumail Nanjiani is a master of his craft. He and his wife made a comedy about a woman in a coma and made it touching, tasteful, and hilarious. And it's all true (I mean I'm sure they embellished some).
I'm hoping The Last Jedi turns into a really great 2nd chapter of a fun trilogy. I don't know how much I'd like Empire if it weren't for Return of the Jedi. Empire is fantastic on it's own, but if it were the last Star Wars movie I saw, I think I'd probably feel the same way I feel about The Last Jedi. The humor was a bit too Marvel for me, but overall, I really enjoyed watching TLJ.
I don't know if I have a Top 10 list of cool things, but the theme of 2017 for me was probably Whiskey and Television. (Man, that kinda makes me sound lazy lol)
For Christmas last year, one gift I got was a mini oak barrel and a "whiskey making kit." It didn't really make whiskey, but it was similar. It started with vodka and some "whiskey essence" that you put in the barrel and then let it age for a couple months. It was really aged flavored vodka, but it got my interest piqued. I began reading all I could online and in books about the different kinds of whisky, what makes whiskey whiskey, and how it's made. I started watching a daily whiskey YouTube channel called The Whiskey Vault (here's a link to a video where I got a birthday shout out lol https://youtu.be/FX3vWHbJ_I4 ), and joined a couple whiskey groups on FB where we're constantly talking Whiskey (and have done a pretty good job of keeping away the snobs and trolls. The main motto of both groups is "The best whiskey is the whiskey you like to drink, however you like to drink it.")
I've been branching out and buying various whiskeys and have been trying my hand and blending them. It's been a lot of fun to experience and experiment. I currently have a 5L barrel on order and I'll be blending a bunch of whiskeys in it to then bottle and give out to friends and family as gifts.
In 2017, I watched a ton of television. I even began watching a lot of reaction Youtube videos after watching the shows, and joined in on conversations about the shows. Game of Thrones was probably the biggest of the year, but there were *so* many great shows in 2017! In no particular order, I loved and recommend from 2017:
The Punisher (Netflix)
The Defenders (Netflix)
Travelers (Netflix)
Ozark (Netflix)
Dark (Netflix, I'm actually only a couple episodes into this one, but it looks great so far)
GLOW (Netflix)
Game of Thrones (HBO)
American Gods (Stars)
Legion (FX)
The Walking Dead (AMC)
Rick and Morty (Adult Swim)
Flash (CW)
Supergirl (CW)
Survivor (CBS, this season was actually good!)
HarmonQuest (VRV)
RedLetterMedia (YouTube - Best of the Worst, Wheel of the Worst, Half in the Bag, Pre-Rec, re:View)
Well, this comment ended up being longer than I expected it to be lol. 2017 was a great year for many other reasons for me, but I'll not bore you any longer lol.
Happy New Year!
(I would have put Stranger Things on my list, but technically I didn't start watching it until 2018. It's just one of those things that I always knew I'd get to, but was in no rush. Now I'm halfway through Season 1 and WOW, I get the hype around it!)
> I legitimately think it's in my top three films in the franchise. Maybe higher. Depends on the day.
I rank it high but it's hard to beat the OT. As things settle I think it might push higher but it's a great Star Wars film and really happy it exists.
Oh and Travis, The Big Sick was a great movie that my wife and I saw in the theater. It didn't quite hit my list but it would be in a honorable mentions list along with:
- Super Mario Maker 3DS
- Norm Macdonald: Hitler’s Dog, Gossip & Trickery
- Jim & Andy The Great Beyond
- War Machine
- Super Mario Land Gameboy finally completed it
- Old Blood
- Patton Oswalt Annihilation
> but the theme of 2017 for me was probably Whiskey and Television.
That sounds like an awesome year. That said I gave up drinking in 2017 so for me it would be something like Coffee and Nintendo
Lots of great Netflix shows on your list and I think this next year will see Netflix kick it into orbit with even more great stuff. For instance the upcoming The Irishman (the next Scorsese film) is going to come out on Netflix. Crazy times.
I'm thinking I want to watch Game of Thrones but will wait until they all come out and get them all on Bluray/Digital when that final set dips under a hundred bucks. Right now you can get seasons 1-7 Bluray/Digital for $130 and 1-6 Bluray/Digital for $90. So after the show wraps up and then the final collection comes out that holiday might be the time I finally head to Westeros.
(Minor edit that no one really cares about: The link the the correct youtube video is: https://youtu.be/xFrOVMon1iI lol)
> I'm hoping The Last Jedi turns into a really great 2nd chapter of a fun trilogy. I don't know how much I'd like Empire if it weren't for Return of the Jedi. Empire is fantastic on it's own, but if it were the last Star Wars movie I saw, I think I'd probably feel the same way I feel about The Last Jedi. The humor was a bit too Marvel for me, but overall, I really enjoyed watching TLJ.
I get that. I guess since I always considered them together I guess they would feel odd to be a part like that so I get what you're saying. I do think there is a crazy build up at the end of The Last Jedi and when Luke is like "The rebellion is born tonight and I'm not the Last Jedi" and i'm like YEAH MAN WHERE'S IT GOING and then it ends. It's one of the only times I wanted the movie to be 2 1/2 hours longer.
I think JJ's gonna do well by the next one but I do like that we finally really don't know what's going to happen in the next film and I think that's a great place to be as a fan. I personally don't like retreading the same themes and it's nice that we finally have some mystery in where Star Wars can go.
I really liked The Force Awakens, and I enjoyed how much it paralleled A New Hope. I think one of the strengths of The Last Jedi was how many parallels it had to Empire, yet really created a new story. I am really looking forward to the conclusion of this story.
Adam your taste in TV is incredible!
Thanks Travis!
On the discussion of The Last Jedi Jenny Nicholson had an interesting video called "Top 10 Worst Reasons Why You Hated The Last Jedi." Spoiler alert, she makes jokes about things people can't stop raging about online in regard to the film. Many of her points i've been thinking about for a bit but the way she articulates them is better than i've done Plus it's funnier.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpoUN_A12Eg&index=23&list=WL
THANK YOU for reminding me of her channel. You posted something here a while back and then I forgot where I'd seen it.
Jon, you snake
#guiltyasasnake