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Year in Review: Our favorite films and TV shows, video games and podcasts – Las Vegas Weekly

Video games

Screen

‘The Power of the Dog’

GEOFF CARTER 

(presented alphabetically)

The Beatles: Get Back Yes, Peter Jackson’s three-part documentary is eight hours of sitting around, but it’s eight hours of sitting around with John, Paul, George and Ringo—brotherly, inspired and cracking each other up, even as they drift apart.

Dune I feel sorry for anyone who watched this epic, staggeringly beautiful fantasy on television, or worse still, on a tablet. It’s planet-sized filmmaking, meant to be seen on the biggest screen possible.

The French Dispatch Wes Anderson’s homage to long-form journalism—and to The New Yorker, in particular—is a sweet, sumptuous confection.

Loki Incredible: Marvel’s first four streaming forays into its Cinematic Universe—WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Hawkeye and Loki—all debuted this year. Loki is easily the best of a good bunch, the proverbial good, weird sci-fi cult show, distinguished by Tom Hiddleston’s and Owen Wilson’s easy chemistry.

Made for Love If for no other reason, watch this dark sci-fi comedy—co-created by erstwhile Las Vegan Alissa Nutting—for the nuanced performances of Cristin Milioti, Billy Magnussen and Ray Romano.

Pig Occasional Las Vegan Nicholas Cage released three films this year alone, but his performance in Pig—as a former chef scouring Portland, Oregon’s dining scene for his stolen truffle foraging pig—dazzles like a second coming.

The Power of the Dog This Jane Campion Western isn’t the easiest watch, but the masterful performances on display here—Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, Kodi Smit-McPhee and especially Benedict Cumberbatch—make the long, dusty ride worth it.

Reservation Dogs By the middle of the first episode, you’re a ride-or-die friend of Bear, Cheese, Elora Danan and Willie Jack.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings This great-looking action movie deserves notice for its performances (particularly Simu Liu, Awkwafina and Tony Leung) and rich, engrossing mythology. You almost forget it’s a Marvel movie until its closing minutes.

The Sparks Brothers/Annette It took two gifted filmmakers—Edgar Wright and Leos Carax—to get Sparks’ Ron and Russell Mael the widespread recognition they’ve deserved all along. Wright’s Sparks Brothers is one of the best music documentaries ever; Carax’s musical Annette is borderline indescribable and sublimely different, much like the music of Sparks itself.

Video Games

‘Eastward’

Amber Sampson

(presented alphabetically)

Call of Duty: Vanguard Visually, the first-person shooter runs off the hyper-realistic Modern Warfare engine, but the fast-paced gameplay is more reminiscent of Black Ops: Cold War. I’m confident it will keep fans enticed.

Death’s Door This indie title follows a soul-reaping crow in pursuit of his next assignment, which as been stolen by a thief in the afterlife. A top-down action-adventure game with a vibrant art style, rewarding puzzles and a sense of humor.

Eastward Embark on a journey to the top, surrounded by a subterranean society on the verge of its own demise. This game encompasses the pixelated charm of the past (think: Zelda), while delivering a fresh and intriguing story with fun RPG elements.

Knockout City I’d burned out on most multiplayer games, but this one—pitting teams against one another for a feverish round of dodgeball—brought me back.

Mass Effect Legendary EditionYou won’t regret any of the 100-plus hours you’ll sink into this masterpiece, which features all three sci-fi role-playing games (remastered), along with more than 40 pieces of downloadable content.

Podcasts

Evelyn Mateos

1. Dark History Each week, host Bailey Sarian (from YouTube series, Murder, Mystery & Makeup) hilariously conveys a chilling tale from U.S. and World history that you didn’t learn in school.

2. Forever is a Long Time Every living family member of musician and sound designer Ian Coss has gotten divorced, leading to this search, over the course of five compelling episodes, for what makes a successful marriage work.

3. Welcome to Your Fantasy Natalia Petrzela explores the dark origins of popular male striptease dance revue Chippendales.

4. Anything for Selena Maria Garcia was 9 years old when Selena was murdered. Here, she considers what the singer’s legacy shows us about belonging in America.

5. Mission: ImPASTAble JoinDan Pashman, host of The Sporkful podcast, on his a quest to invent a new pasta shape.

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Source: https://lasvegasweekly.com/news/2021/dec/23/our-favorite-films-and-tv-shows-video-games/