Our staff has spent the last six days naming their favorite pieces of art this decade, including film, television, literature, music, video games, and professional wrestling matches. Each subject in particular can be found here.
To finish the week, each member was tasked with submitting one final recommendation for our readers, and by doing so, selected any one topic to double dip. We are calling this the grab bag.
What do our writers at DSR and CBC want you want you to explore?
Jameus Mooney, Admin of Dirt Sheet Radio and Editor at Comic Book Clique.
Anatomy of a Fall, Justine Triet.
Photo credit: NEON.
I get it. Court room dramas aren’t in vogue right now, but trust me: this one is must see. There’s a layer of storytelling here that allows it to explore the crux of a damaged relationship, a thrilling legal battle, and the mystery as to whether or not the lead character actually committed the heinous act. The film isn’t about the murder, but rather it’s a thinkpiece on why a spouse would want to murder their partner and asks a variety of difficult and interesting questions for their audience to think about while being shrewd enough to not only give you an answer to those questions, but not truly give you an answer to what even happened.
I promise you’ll be gripped for the first scene, echoed by the remix of P.I.M.P. From there, it’ll be a visual flavor and enthralling screenplay from writer/director Justine Triet and remarkably humane yet emotionally callous performance from Sandra Huller that breathes life into Triet’s vision.
Nick LaRocco, Admin of Dirt Sheet Radio.
The Oldest View, Kane Parsons.
Photo credit: Kane Pixels.
I stumbled across The Oldest View after YouTube recommended the series to me one day. The thumbnail of the Rolling Giant immediately caught my attention, and after watching it, I understood why so many people couldn't stop talking about it. I had already fallen down the rabbit hole of analog horror, liminal spaces, and the psychology behind the uncanny valley, so this series felt like it had been made specifically for people like me. It also introduced me to Kane Pixels' work before he was announced to direct The Backrooms, making me even more excited to see what he does next.
The Rolling Giant is one of the most fascinating horror creatures I've seen in years because it isn't just a monster. It's based on a real paper sculpture, which somehow makes it even more unsettling. It evokes the same feeling as the Weeping Angels from Doctor Who. The moment it begins moving, everything you thought was safe suddenly isn't anymore. You're trapped in an abandoned shopping mall with nowhere to go, and what makes it even more unnerving is that you never truly know the creature's intentions. Is it hunting Wyatt? Is it trying to protect him? The uncertainty is often far scarier than any answer could be.
What elevates The Oldest View beyond great horror is how much there is to unpack beneath the surface. The abandoned mall replacing the lush forest, the story of Julien Reverchon, the symbolism behind the papers scattered throughout the series, the two possible endings, and even the gradual shift in the world's appearance all invite endless discussion. One interpretation suggests it's a warning about humanity replacing nature with concrete. Another sees it as a meditation on becoming trapped by nostalgia, where obsessing over the past slowly drains the color from life until everything becomes black and white. There isn't one definitive answer, and that's exactly why I love it.
The best horror lingers after the credits roll and the videos end. It makes you think, revisit, and question what you just experienced. The Oldest View accomplished something I hadn't felt in years. It genuinely unsettled me without relying on cheap jump scares or excessive gore. Instead, it trusted its atmosphere, its symbolism, and the audience's imagination. Long after I finished watching it, I was still piecing together its mysteries, and that's why it's one of my favorite discoveries of the 2020s.
Robert Acost, Contributor at Dirt Sheet Radio.
The New Abnormal, The Strokes.
I hope this isn’t too much of a hot take but I think the Strokes are a good band. I like a lot of their songs but most of their albums don’t fully connect with me the way they seem to do with so many others. Except for 2020s The New Abnormal.
As a recent divorcee, coming off of a long relationship and in my mid-30s, this album almost feels surreal. Capturing a lot of the same feelings I had/have in songs like “At The Door” and “Not The Same Anymore”. Recognizing your part in a failing relationship, thinking certain actions and outcomes are just inevitable and the aftermath of it all.
Even the upbeat songs like “The Adults Are Talking” and “Eternal Summer” are tackling very real and relatable topics around corporate greed leading to this world’s downfall. Personally, I love a song I can dance to that also makes me think about how fucked the world is.
I also can’t ignore the theme of aging and just how much the world around you changes over the years and how easy it can feel to lose “normalcy”. Friends that you no longer hang out with, relationships that once felt so stable, now falling apart. Jobs that become mundane. This album tackles so much in 9 songs and 45 minutes but dammit if I’m not restarting it the moment it ends.
Jhuvin Palaganas, Contributor at Comic Book Clique.
Baldur’s Gate 3, Larian Studios.
Photo credit: Larian Studios.
I mean there’s nothing much left to say that hasn’t already been said about this game. It’s the quintessential DnD video game experience, and one of the finest-made RPGs in decades. Larian Studios put their heart and soul into this game, and it shows. I have sunk more than five hundred hours into BG3, which is more time than I’ve sunk into any video game that isn’t a JRPG. Or a Call of Duty. Or the Solitaire app on my phone. I’m still not bored with it; in fact, I always find something new in every playthrough. A new way to get around an obstacle, a new dialogue option, a new wrinkle in my relationship with Lae’zel (I swear I can fix her). If you haven’t tried Baldur’s Gate 3 yet, I think you’re doing yourself a real disservice.
Amanda Woods, Contributor at Comic Book Clique.
Orange Cassidy vs. Zack Sabre Jr., Forbidden Door 2024.
Photo credit: AEW.
I spent Day 1 of this series talking about my love of Chris Brookes so it is only right that I end this series talking about his shorter, blonder New Japan counterpart Zack Sabre Jr. These two are by far my favorite wrestlers working today and asking me to choose between the two of them is pointless. However, of the two, Zack Sabre Jr is the wrestler that made me fall in love with professional wrestling two years ago. The match: Orange Cassidy vs Zack Sabre Jr at Forbidden Door in 2024.
Prior to the match, my first few weeks of wrestling fandom centered around being drawn to the build between these two wrestlers on TV. Originally, I was team Orange, but as the weeks went by, I found myself increasingly interested in Sabre and his approach to wrestling. In my opinion, he just looks like a star. I remember being so excited for this match and watching it for the first time blew my mind. Looking back now Orange and Sabre seem like two guys that have such a clash of styles that it shouldn’t work as well as it should. But it did. Orange and Sabre find a way to blend their approach to wrestling in a way that mixes both men’s signature styles. And the finishing hold that Sabre manages to place on Orange that forces him to tap out is absolutely stunning. It is genuinely one of the only finishes of a match that I will just find myself still thinking about to this day. I also think this match goes underappreciated (like many matches in both of their careers, in my opinion) because of the Ospreay vs Strickland main event later in the night.
Having gone back now and watched so much of AEW’s catalog, both Orange and Sabre are two men that weirdly define the “Forbidden Door” concept. There are probably very few people that had this listed as one of their dream matches, but both men prove in this match why they are pound for pound some of the best in-ring wrestlers of their generation. This match helps to show how both men understand and execute against an opponent extremely different from themselves. Orange Cassidy vs Zack Sabre Jr helps set up both of their paths post-Forbidden Door as well, officially kicking off the Summer of Sabre and setting Orange down his route towards Moxley in the fall. If it wasn’t for this match and Zack Sabre Jr temporarily entering AEW when he did, there’s a decent chance I wouldn’t have become as big of a pro wrestling fan as quickly as I have. So thank you Zack Sabre Jr for introducing me to this wonderful and wacky world that I am now so thankful to be a part of!
Jenny Catlin, Contributor at Comic Book Clique.
The Employees, Olga Raven.
Technically, this was published in Dutch in 2018, but the English translation wasn’t available until October 2020. A brief but powerful little cluster of character vignettes is written by a poet, and it feels like it’s written by a poet. This is a very disorienting and unnerving book about what, essentially, constitutes sentience in a post-apocalyptic world. Like a sci-fi Maggie Nelson with just a touch of Office Space.
Andre Porter, Contributor at Comic Book Clique.
CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns, WrestleMania 42.
Photo credit: WWE.
CM Punk vs Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 42 is my second favorite match of the 2020s. The main event had a proper build, story and history, the two put on an as-expected classic in the ring. No interference or messy finishes. Just traditional-feeling pro wrestling.
Sean Paul, Contributor at Comic Book Clique.
Josh Briggs vs. Oba Femi vs. Dijak, NXT Stand and Deliver 2024.
Photo credit: WWE.
If you want to know the exact moment Oba Femi was destined to be a main event player in WWE, it's this match. Oba Femi first real test as North American champion, and he more than lived up to hype. A bunch of big meaty men slapping some meat (pause), and it featured one of my favorite spots of the decade, with Briggs chokeslamming Dijak from the top rope and onto Femi on the outside, who was sitting in a chair. Magical.
Andy Chen, Admin of Dirt Sheet Radio and Contributor at Comic Book Clique.
SKY vs. LUCIFER, NTW: Road of the King 2023.
Photo credit: NTW.
This is one of the few matches that almost made me cry as a wrestling fan. I've been watching Taiwanese professional wrestling since 2017, and this match is something I'll never forget.
SKY and LUCIFER went from being close partners to fighting each other for the championship. Watching LUCIFER grow from a rookie into someone who nearly ended SKY's title reign made the match even more emotional. I was lucky enough to be there live, and the atmosphere and storytelling made it one of the most unforgettable matches I've ever seen.
Abel Loza, Contributor at Comic Book Clique.
Tie: Nosferatu, Robert Eggers, and Godzilla: Minus One, Takashi Yamakazi.
Photo credit: Focus Features.
I'm a big movie guy, so I had to pick a few more movies from this decade that have left a mark on me. I am a HUGE fan of the original 1922 Nosferatu movie, and I thought Robert Eggers’ adaptation was genius and a great modern take on an old classic. Iron Claw was so much better than I thought it was going to be, and it made me feel things. Namely, it made me feel like water was leaking out of my eyes, and Godzilla: Minus One was the movie that I finally “got” Godzilla. I think that is the one movie I've rewatched the most this decade. I was like Danny Devito from It's Always Sunny, “I get it…”
Ryan Norton, Contributor at Comic Book Clique.
The Silver Scream 2: Welcome to Horrorwood, Ice Nine Kills.
A metal band who base their songs off of horror movies? Now who could’ve guessed I love them? Well Ice Nine Kills are an amazing band from Boston, MA fronted by Spencer Charnas who has always been a huge horror fan and decided to focus two full albums (so far!) on movies in that genre, clearly showing the impact horror has had on him. The first being 2018’s ‘The Silver Scream’ and the sequel that I’m talking about here ‘The Silver Scream 2: Welcome To Horrorwood’ released in 2021, horror loves a sequel right? Their music videos follow an intricate story, each one often showing Spencer to seemingly be the killer in various costumes of well known antagonists in horror. From Patrick Bateman of American Psycho, all the way to Chucky from Child’s Play. He’s even gotten horror legends to appear in said videos, most notably during the entire series of videos from the Welcome To Horrorwood album, the detective investigating the killings is played by Bill Moseley best known for his role as Chop Top in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. If rock and metal is your thing and you like a bit of camp horror, then you are going to love this band!
Dustin Lee, Contributor at Comic Book Clique.
Photo credit: Shogun.
For my final recommendation I'm picking Shōgun. The series does an incredible job of combining beautiful cinematography, memorable performances, and good storytelling. Every episode feels very well crafted, and it never relies on spectacle alone to keep your attention. The political intrigue, cultural depth, and character development all work together to create something that is epic without losing sight of the people at the center of the story. It's a series I'd recommend even to someone who doesn't usually watch historical dramas because there's so much to appreciate.
Jessica Roberts, Comic Book Clique.
Let’s Start Here, Lil Yachty.
I have to go with a second choice of music album, and my second favorite would have to be Lil Yachty’s Let’s Start Here. I haven't like any of his music since - just not my kind of music. But that one album really spoke to me. It's absolutely beautiful, and I think it really showcases a deeper talent than his previous work did. Needless to say, I was kind of excited to see him show up on WWE with Trick Williams, and it was really cool to see him trying a different kind of art (acting, wrestling) because that one album really showed me what he is capable of as a creative.
George Serrano, Founder of Comic Book Clique.
Bianca Belair vs. Sasha Banks, WrestleMania 37.
Photo credit: WWE.
I was a fan when I first saw it, but I am triple the fan now. They were the first two Black women in the history of WrestleMania main events. It was a trailblazing moment, starting with pure emotion as both women took in how historic it was. The physicality and the ups and downs completely captivated a crowd that had already sat through a whole slew of matches. It is easily one of the best women's matches ever.
Jon Escudero, Founder of Dirt Sheet Radio and Editor at Comic Book Clique.
Absolute Martian Manhunter, Deniz Camp and Javier Rodriguez.
Deniz Camp and Javier Rodriguez's Absolute Martian Manhunter is such a unique comic experience. In a world that becomes increasingly digital, Abs Martin Manhunter is a book that can only truly be experienced in physical form.
Even beyond the page gimmicks, Javier Rodriguez's mind bending art is perfectly representative of the psychological thriller that Deniz is laying down. I was able to meet Deniz at NYCC in 2025 and essentially thank him for writing this and the Ultimates, which didn't end on such a great note thanks to editorial BS.
I'm so sad this book is already over but I can't wait to see what Camp and Rodriguez are doing next in Batman: Shadow of the Bat.
This concludes our Staff Favorites week. We hope that you found new recommendations you’ll love as much as we do, and have gotten to know our new staff.