#loved that John Waters had Bones and All on his list of fave films for 2022

[the-woman-upstairs]

I’m tickled pink that there are people worried Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor won’t be kissing each other in Challengers. Like, lol I’m sorry, is this your first Luca Guadagnino film? Every film he directs has at least SOMETHING queer about it. Even if the characters themselves aren’t explicitly so, there are always elements of fluid sexuality, homoeroticism, or gender expression in his films (Bones and All, Suspiria 2018 spring to mind). Feels, uh, very obvious that Challengers is going to explore whatever is going on between those guys and confirm that it’s def not anything straight!

[thethirstpod]

another year has ended, and with that brings the task of collating lists of the best things 2018 had to offer. we share our film, tv, music, book & podcast top tens, some listener favourites and MORE on episode twenty six of our podcast which you can find (soundcloud) (itunes) (acast) (stitcher) (tunein).

if you haven’t yet downloaded it, be sure to do so soon and in the meantime, see below for our 2018 favourites:

Film

steph’s top 10: 

10.The Shape of Water (February)

Eggs, fish sex, Michael Shannon

9. Black Panther (February)

8. Phantom Thread (February)

7. Suspiria (November)

6. Eighth Grade (not released in the UK yet)

5. A Star is Born (October)

4. Widows (November)

3. You Were Never Really Here (March)

2. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (January)

1. Lady bird (February)

Notable others: Annihilation, A Quiet Place, Black Klansman, Hereditary, 120bpm, Leave No Trace, The Little Stranger, Mandy,  Wildlife, Beast, Buster

apryl’s top 10 (13...):

first reformed

you were never really here

wildlife

roma

lady bird

phantom thread

a star is born

widows

to all the boys i’ve loved before

120 bpm

black panther

infinity war

annihilation

honorables: love simon, the post, the shape of water, suspiria, avengers: infinity war, set it up, blackkklansman, juliet naked, set it up, the miseducation of cameron post, game night, blockers, hereditary, the ballad of buster scruggs, i tonya, beautiful boy, isle of dogs, mandy

non-2018:  2017’s i caught up with- good time, logan lucky, spiderman: homecoming, ingrid goes west, brigsby bear, landline, gifted, the meyerowitz stories.

TV

steph’s favourites:

The Haunting of Hill House

Castle Rock

Sharp Objects

Queer Eye

Riverdale

Notable others: The Alienist, Killing Eve, The Terror, Sabrina, Atlanta

apryl’s top 10

ugly delicious (netflix)

the marvellous mrs maisel, seasons 1 & 2

atlanta, season 2

queer eye, season 1&2,

killing eve

honorables: GLOW season 2, the good place, it’s suppertime, sharp objects, rewatching bourdain, brooklyn 99.

Music

steph’s favourites:

Best pop records

Cardi B, ‘Invasion of Privacy’

Ariana Grande, ‘Sweetener’

Janelle Monae, ‘Dirty Computer’

Troye Sivan, ‘Bloom’

Bonus: Anything by Charlie xcx

Notable others: Lykkie Li, Years & Years, Jorja Smith, Robyn

Other best records

The Soft Moon, ‘Criminal’

HIDE, ‘Castration Anxiety’

Nine Inch Nails, ‘Bad Witch’

Lead into Gold, ‘The Sun Behind the Sun’

Soundtracks

Lady Bird (Alanis Morrisette!)

You Were Never Really Here

A Star is Born

Black Panther

apryl’s top 10 (12...)

marauder by interpol

forever neverland by mo

honey by robyn

hope downs by rolling blackouts coastal fever

tell me how you really feel by courtney barnett

bottle it in by kurt vile

black panther OST by kendrick lamar et al

sweetener by ariana grande

FM! by vince staples

chris by christine and the queens

dirty computer by janelle monae

a star is born OST

Books

steph’s favourites

Sarah Perry, ‘Melmoth’

Sarah Moss, ‘Ghost Wall’

Sally Rooney, ‘Normal People’

Anna Mackmin, ‘Devoured’

Michelle McNamara , ‘I’ll be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer’’

Stephen King, generally

Max Porter, ‘Lanny’

apryl’s top 10:

normal people / conversations with friends by sally rooney

an american marriage by tayari jones

my year of rest and relaxation by ottessa moshfegh

the water cure by sophie mackintosh

little fires everywhere by celese ng

sing unburied sing by jesmyn ward

the great believers by rebecca makkai

heartburn by nora ephron

m train by patti smith

if beale street could talk by james baldwin

honorables: crudo & the lonely city, both by olivia laing, asymmetry by lisa halliday, white tears by hari kunzru, the immortalists by chloe benjamin, the answers by catherine lacey, fever dream by samantha schweblin, tin man by sarah winman, kitchen confidential by anthony bourdain, big bones by laura dockrill

Podcasts

steph’s picks:

Keep it! And Thirst Aid Kid (pop culture); The NCW podcast and The Loser’s Club (books); The Evolution of Horror, Halloweenies, The Big Picture and A24 podcast (movies); Invisiiblia, Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness

True crime: True Crime Garage, The Teacher’s Pet, Dr Death, Bear Brook, Someone Knows Something

Shout out to the Lady Pod Squad, especially The Cutaways, Amandas Pic Show a Go Go, the Frankenpod, Honestly? A Podcast. And Culture Fear!

apryl’s picks:

midnight chats (from loud & quiet)

the a24 podcast

the big picture/the watch/jam session/the rewatchables ℅ the ringer podcast network

the dave chang show

good one (vulture)

Babes of 2018

steph’s faves:

The staple favourites: Timothee Chalamet, for always, and Harry Styles

The muscle: Michael B Jordan and Justin Theroux, Antoni

The weirdos: Bill Skarsgard

The older men: Woody Harrelson and Michael Shannon

The plot twist: Bradley Cooper exclusively in A Star is Born

apryl’s faves:

jake gyllenhaal (always), ethan goddamn hawke, john mulaney, nick robinson, alex wolff, daniel kessler, michael zegen, chris evans and his beard, timothee chalamet and armie hammer and their general escapades, bradley cooper and his beard, tom holland, antoni porowski’s thirst traps,