I was tagged by @lipstickchainsaw to throw together five 10/10 works of fiction from the past 10 years, so here goes:
Everything Everywhere All At Once (movie, 2022) - I'll keep it brief since you've probably heard plenty about this, but an instant classic if ever there was one. Perfectly uses the oversaturation of contemporary media as a lens to explore a compelling family dynamic, while pushing the boundaries of what makes sense to put in a movie and working on pretty much every level.
Dandadan (anime, 2024) - when I watched the second season I said to myself 'this is the greatest anime of all time'. This is probably not literally true. However: Dandadan has some of the cleverest storytelling, most spectacular animation, and the most genius comedic timing I've ever seen. It displays a mastery of several different genres of tension, it has a bonkers aesthetic, and it feels exhileratingly original.
If This Book Exists You're In The Wrong Universe (novel, 2022 by Jason Pargin) - The John Dies at the End books are not going to be for everyone, but I do believe they succeed at striking the careful balance between being standalone novels that you can read with no context, and installments in a series, and I gotta say: this one knocks it out of the park on both counts. The plot has the most genuine pathos out of any installment- both for the recurring characters and the book-specific ones.
Infinity Train (Cartoon Network Miniseries, 2019) - I struggled with whether to include this one. The first two seasons are an easy 10/10 and that's really a lot of what I'm talking about here. The next two seasons are very very good, and likely would have worked extremely well within the much longer narrative that the showrunners had planned. As it stands: the premise is whimsical, the implications are horrifying, and the characters shine in this fantastical setting.
Sinners (movie, 2025) - I know everyone is talking about this one right now and probably will be forever, but considering the depth of its impact on me, I couldn't leave it out. Sinners is a fabulous take on the vampire mythos, a beautiful snapshot of a particular time and place, and it feels like a story you could tell around the campfire- an American folktale. The degree of depth to the characters and the world is truly astounding, and with every watch I find something new to focus on.
Honorable mentions: Raven Cycle (the last book technically came out exactly 10 years ago but I'm not counting it), Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (probably one of my favorite movies, succeeded at what it was doing but wasn't aiming super high), Project Hail Mary (the book not the movie although that's also very good), Bottoms (awesome but not sure about what to say about it)
Anyhow. @surlifen and @nereb-and-dungalef you're up!
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