Show us your papers.

Common Side Effects (Adult Swim) - Easily my favorite show of the year. A weird dude named Marshall discovers a mushroom with healing effects that appear to cure all illnesses. As with anything good in the world, many people want to supress and take advantage of this new phenomona. The voice acting, animation and style are just captivating. Coming from a co-creator of another previous favorite (Scavengers Reign) we're batting a high percentage here.

The Lowdown (FX) - Sterlin Harjo (creator of all-timer Reservation Dogs) is back with a new series. Ethan Hawke plays a journalist addicted to sticking his nose where it shouldnt be and a knack of finding trouble. Give the man the Emmy he is owed for The Good Lord Bird and then give him more for this show.

Haha, You Clowns (Adult Swim) - A widowed man with three giant boys navigate life after the loss of their mother. In this case, the father is a facsimile of Tim Allen and the boys, well they're all basically the oldest boy from Home Improvment. A mixture of strange toxic masculinity and cringe earnestness makes for one of the funniest and endearing shows on tv.

The Rehearsal (HBO) - He fucking got his pilots license. For real. Nothing to explain here, just watch it with mouth agape each episode.

The Chair Company (HBO) - Ron Trosper (Tim Robinson) suffers an embarrassing workplace accident that eventually spirals into a far-reaching conspiracy. I love Tim, I love everything he's done (and I also love Detroit). It's fun, it's weird - this one hit just like I'd have hoped when I heard they were working on it.

Alien: Earth (FX) - Not without it's flaws but definitely adds some new elements to the Alien universe. The opening sequence is a bit of a cool misdirect made better when they revisit in another episode. The focus on additional captured creatures, especially that silly little eyeball is a welcome change. Olyphant's synth Kirsh even has a touch of Raylan Givens.

One Battle After Another (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson) - They gave PTA a 160 million dollar budget. How could this work - a partial-action movie? It certainly did not fall flat on it's face. I'll spare you the rehash, but my main complaint is we needed a bit more del Toro. I know I'll be showing my kids the car chase from this when they're older, just like my dad always made me sit down and watch the chases from The Seven-Ups and Bullitt whenever they were on tv.

Friendship (dir. Andrew DeYoung) - Hey look Tim Robinson making another appearence. It's dark and it's funny. Tim licks a toad, maybe a little too much. Conner O'Malley once again is consistently the funniest guy working today. Suitibly this is also the last movie I saw in the theater with my best friend before he passed away a few weeks later. I'm really glad we got those laughs together.

Pee-wee as Himself (dir. Matt Wolf) - Pee-wee's Big Adventure (and Playhouse) is probably a top five movie of all-time for me. It shaped and cemented an early part of my brain and it's never broken since. Paul Ruebens deserved to be understood and the world is worse off without his creative spirit alive and working.

28 Years Later (dir. Danny Boyle) - You can still do good and fun things with the Zed-word. You'd never guess the batshit end to this one and Ralph Fiennes never ceases to deliver top notch and engaging work.

Absolute Universe (DC) - Working my way through Absolute Batman and Absolute Martian Manhunter. DC typically isn't my thing but this has been a good reboot to jump into. Looking forward to hitting up all the titles from this Universe.

GL2 (Canon) - I've been referencing the manual to this camcorder since I bought one on eBay for sentimental value. My friends and I coveted this camera in the early 2000's and finally got our hands on one to film us doing ridiculous and stupid things. Live by the tape, die by the tape.

*mix coming soon* One Playlist After Another is a curated mix of the best new music from 2025. If you're looking for more from seasons past - find more here.

Vanity Fair Whitehouse Photos - Coming in at the 11th hour before the end of the year, but how great was this. Christopher Anderson knew exactly what to do and executed this project flawlessly. [Link]

Converge | Audiotree From Nothing - Converge is one the greatest bands of all-time. I've seen them once and it will never be enough. They have a new album coming out in 2026 and by all indications it's just as loud, angry, aggresive and heavy as ever. These are "old" dudes continuing to outgun just about any band today.

Trey Parker & Matt Stone - Continuing to prove their massive big-brain thinking completing a deal making them each worth north of 1.2 billion dollars each. Their forward thinking digital clauses almost three decades ago made them two of the most powerful people in Hollywood (and their studio). The show itself has waves, this year was an up year - even though they only worked every other week (again we all need to figure out how to master this type of gig). The only price I think you pay is being a little balder and fatter (Trey) otherwise good job guys. [Link]

The Running Man (dir. Edgar Wright) - Edgar Wright directed one of my favorite movies of all time. This isn't it. This isn't even sniffing that film's butthole. Clever gags, absent. Fun musical drops, nary a one. Jokes? On you, but no where else. I'm sure this movie wasn't aided by AI, but it sure feels like it was somewhere. Everyone in the "poor" city with their matching muted colored logo-less "dirty" clothes. Yeesh. I hate running, but I'd rather be in a 5k than ever cross paths with this movie again, man.

The Year 2025 - He can't and won't outlast us all.