Frankly, given the subject of this issue, it’d be a weird place to jump on, but if this is your first time here, welcome!
For those of you desperate to find out the answer to this year’s Christmas Quiz, fill yer boots.
Chloé Zhao’s MCU entry was Eternals. Panned on release, but in fact a really enjoyable movie.
The Midnight Sky starred George Clooney as the scientist desperately trying to contact a space mission to warn them not to return to a dying Earth.
Vying for Julie Christie’s affections in Far From the Madding Crowd, alongside Terence Stamp and Alan Bates was the wonderful Peter Finch.
Parasite director Bong Joon-ho’s debut feature was Barking Dogs Never Bite. Avoid if you’re a dog-lover but otherwise brilliant.
That is, of course, Rebecca Ferguson as the Bene Gesserit witch Lady Jessica in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two.
The William Powell and Carole Lombard screwball comedy about the tramp-turned-butler is My Man Godfrey.
Search Party is the name of the astonishing series about the missing college student starring John Reynolds and Alia Shawkat. Honestly, WATCH IT.
Hidetoshi Nishijima plays a theatre director working on a stage version of Uncle Vanya in Drive My Car.
Judd Winick was the writer on The Outsiders from 2003 to 2007.
The mean fella pushing the wheelchair-bound lady down the stairs is Richard Widmark.
Gregg Turkington’s stage persona is Neil Hamburger.
Alex Garland directed Jessie Buckley and Rory Kinnear in the magnificent mind-bending Men.
Makoto Ueda and Junta Yamaguchi’s 2020 time-travel comedy was Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes.
Jennifer Garner reprised her role as Elektra in the Deadpool/Wolverine movie.
The Tyrolean Tubs, designed by Horace Cole, is the world’s last remaining Virginia Reel rollercoaster.
The Ray Milland-starring The Thief is notable for not having a single word of dialogue.
The two things in this world that Maggie Smith’s Bowers can’t abide are “heat and heathens”.
Grandaddy’s 2024 album was titled Blu Wav.
Amber Midthunder stars in Prey which is the 2022 instalment in the Predator franchise.
And finally, cosying up to Jayne Mansfield is the peerless Kenneth More.
Congratulations to anyone who joined in, especially if you got more than a handful correct. Give yourself a pat on the back.
Thank you again for sticking with my humble missives this past year. I’m conscious of the fact that with no new books out in 2024, we were in kind of a holding pattern, but with both a new James Kinsley and a new Ray Adams out in 2025, things are gearing up again. Who knows where we’ll be this time next year!
Greyskin (Deixis Press) and Playtime’s Over (Propolis) are both available direct from their respective publishers, as well as from all the usual places, online and off. You can also support my work by buying Ray Adams’ self-published books, or by simply buying me a coffee.
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Happy New Year, James!