Messages

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Off Topic / Re: What Was The Last Movie/Anime You Watched?

« on: July 04, 2025, 05:29:01 pm »

Ballerina - Sloppier than any of the 4 mainline Wick films, which is totally understandable if you read about the behind the scenes happenings.  However, it does find itself not quite as bogged down in the mythology as those films can (particularly 2 and 3), which gives it really good pacing. What should be no surprise from this franchise, though, is that the action is absolutely top notch, often feeling even more brutal than what we get in those films.

The Lost World: Jurassic Park - Every setpiece is incredible, but everything else is pretty bland, aside from Pete Postlethwaite, who is basically the only interesting character in the movie.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - It's too bloody long and disjointed.  The Davy Jones stuff is killer, but other than the first 10 minutes or so, it takes way too long to get going.  That whole questionable cannibal island sequence could be cut and the movie would be so much better for it, pacing and content wise.

The Aristocats - 60s-70s Disney animation is one of my favorite aesthetics, and Aristocats makes really good use of it, even if it is narratively super simple.

Jaws - Perfect film.  No notes.

Fried Green Tomatoes - Good in that way that makes you want to read the book so you can spend more time with the characters. Not the biggest fan of the framing device, but Kathy Bates makes it work.

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General / Re: June 2025 - Recently added to collection/recently purchased

« on: June 23, 2025, 01:40:20 pm »

Stopped in McKay's today, and the prices there have mostly gotten out of control, but I still managed to find a couple of things.

PS4
Vampyr

XB1
Cyberpunk 2077 - apparently it's still total garbage for XB1, but if you play it on Series X you get the "good" version.

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Off Topic / Re: What TV/Netflix show are you currently watching? (Megathread)

« on: June 22, 2025, 08:52:41 pm »

The Mortician - Has the same problem that most docs have these days, dragging things out over multiple episodes instead of a 1.5-2 hour movie.  That said, a very solid telling of a pretty morally despicable crime spree.

I was pretty hesitant to start the second season of The Last of Us for a few reasons: I wasn't head over heels with the first and the second game is incredibly dour.  They've definitely toned down the more grim aspects, which makes it a more easy watch than I expected, but has also kind of messed with Ellie's character arc.  I did really appreciate all the extra depth and context they were able to add, which, like the first season, are the best parts of the show.  They've also copied the pacing and structure of the game, which I thought going in was a bad idea, and I'm still not convinced it worked.  Gonna have to wait til S3 to see... whenever that is.

The third season of Chucky is probably it's weakest, but that's because their eyes were bigger than their stomachs, creatively speaking.  It's certainly ambitious, but kind of at the expense of focus and characterisation.

Squid Game 3 starts really strong, but gets really muddled by the end.  It's not terrible, just gets weaker as it goes on.

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Off Topic / Re: What Was The Last Movie/Anime You Watched?

« on: June 22, 2025, 02:52:24 pm »

28 Weeks Later - I think the biggest issue with this movie is the fact that it's really just two different movies back to back.  But both are pretty good!  It also completely sidesteps one of my least favorite zombie / dystopia tropes, which was enough to offset how perplexed I was by the final moments.

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen - A bit more slow-paced than I recalled, but still a delight.  Just amazing art direction here.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl - Still arguably the best popcorn blockbuster of the century.  The pinnacle of the franchise, and in an industry that learned all the wrong lessons from it.

Rio Bravo - Didn't expect this to be such a low key kind of hangout film.  It's got your typical Western tropes, like shootouts, black hats, and saloons, but it's almost leisurely paced.  The Stumpy character leans a bit too much on the stereotypical side, and I don't care that it's Ricky Nelson and Dean Martin, there's only 30 minutes left why are they only just now singing?  Minor issues, but what keeps it from feeling like "perfect" picture.

The Aviator - A three hour biopic about an engineer slash filmmaker that just flies by. That said, I think it could have still had a little fat trimmed.  Some of the CGI and green screen really stands out these day, especially against the attempts to imitate classic Hollywood styles.

The Day the Earth Blew Up - Something about this just didn't really click with me.  It's got its moments, and it looks phenomenal, but I really only laughed a couple of times.

The Man From Snowy River - Pleasant low-stakes coming of age Aussie Western.  Gorgeously shot, excellent score, but not quite enough going on narratively.  Kirk Douglas dons a wonderful fake beard, though.

Finding Nemo - This still looks incredible.  Like, it could be released for the first time today, and it'd still be one of the best looking films of the year.  Ellen is fun as Dory, but Albert Brooks' work here is really what makes the whole thing work. Especially in that insanely dark opening. Biggest issue is that the story beats do start to get a little repetitive after a while.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: June 21, 2025, 06:07:19 am »

Finished Shantae and the Seven Sirens this morning, and I think it's pretty handily my favorite game in that franchise so far.  It's feels the like the most traditional Metroidvania, and the map is fun to explore, and the abilities are cute and fun.  It is a bit too easy, and kinda rushes to the end.

I gotta get to playing my Shantae collection! I recently got all 5 of the limited run games signed by Matt and Eron Bozon of way forward games.  Do you know if they tie in together at all? Based on the others you played. I imagine it's only vaguely connected and can be experienced out of sequence hopefully.  Shantae 1 is hard and id like to start with an easier newer experience. I love the art style.

I've played games 3, 4, and 5, and other than some light continuity stuff regarding Shantae's mom they have all been their own separate stories with not a lot of connective tissue.  It's the same primary roster of characters every time, but you could play them in any order and not really notice.

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Off Topic / Re: What TV/Netflix show are you currently watching? (Megathread)

« on: June 16, 2025, 09:01:31 pm »

I've got a friend who has been trying to get me to watch How to because she knows how much I like Fielder.

Pee-Wee as Himself - I always knew that Pee-Wee as a concept originated from a comedy troupe bit, but I didn't realize just how steeped it all was in the counter-culture and punk scenes.  Also pretty shocked by how meticulous and controlled everything about the character is, despite how chaotic he apoears.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: June 14, 2025, 07:52:35 am »

Finished Shantae and the Seven Sirens this morning, and I think it's pretty handily my favorite game in that franchise so far.  It's feels the like the most traditional Metroidvania, and the map is fun to explore, and the abilities are cute and fun.  It is a bit too easy, and kinda rushes to the end.

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Off Topic / Re: What Was The Last Movie/Anime You Watched?

« on: June 11, 2025, 09:30:18 pm »

Finished the first season of the new Rurouni Kenshin series, and I liked it fair amount.  Occasionally had some tonal whiplash, but I was generally into it by the end.

For a Few Dollars More - Almost unfathomably cool.  Makes more use of idiosyncratic filmmaking flourishes than Leone's other spaghetti Westerns, and, like The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, Clint arguably isn't even the main character. Oddly not as well-paced as Leone's even longer films.

In a Violent Nature - The concept is really strong, but it needed to commit to it 100%.  Every time the focus actually shifts off Johnny it gets a little bit worse.  The (purposely I assume) generic dialogue would have gone down a lot easier with better performances, and that might have helped.

Kindergarten Cop - I think the problems a lot of people have with this movie is that they think just because it has kids in it that means it is a kids' movie. It's not. It's an action conedy that has kids as a plot element. This movie wouldn't work if Arnold didn't have excellent chemistry with the children, and thankfully it's fantastic.

Zodiac - Paced perfectly and plotted immaculately. Amazing cast, incredibly editing... just incredible filmmaking.

The In-Laws - Peter Falk is so goddamn funny in this. It's a bit like George Clooney in O Brother, where every single line is hilarious. And Arkin is one of the finest straight men of all-time here.  I've never seen a character be so utterly finished with the movie around them.

Really liked the second season of Rurouni Kenshin.  Better overall plot, more interesting animation, more consistency.

The Terminator Zero anime on Netflix has a ton of really cool ideas, but there's also a fair amount of padding.  There's also a pretty big problem with either the capability of the terminator or the plot armor of the lead... probably the latter since we see rooms full of cops and soldiers get merc'd.

Coogan's Bluff - What an odd picture.  It has the standard bits and bobs from 60s pictures that haven't aged too well, but they aren't really the problem here.  Tone is all over the place, and the humor and romance are both kinda flat.  Cop stuff is fine, it just takes too long to really get going.

The Wedding Singer - My favorite of Sandler's 90s output by a pretty wide margin.  Not as ridiculous or high concept as the others, which lets Sandler turn in his best performance of the decade.  It's easy to see why he and Drew made a few more after this, but never quite captured the magic again.

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General / Re: June 2025 - Recently added to collection/recently purchased

« on: June 10, 2025, 06:40:57 pm »

Woot did a clearance sale with stuff I actually wanted for once!

PS5
System Shock

PS4
Armored Core VI: Fires of the Rubicon

Switch
Shin Megami Tensei V

XB1/S
Halloween / Ash vs. Evil Dead Double Feature

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Modern Video Games / Re: Summer Game Fest 2025

« on: June 08, 2025, 02:27:03 pm »

I've generally got the same thoughts as y'all regarding the state of AAA games.  They still occasionally have stuff that catches my interest, but next to nothing that gets me hyped or ready to buy on Day One.

The indie and AA space, though?  Still generally knocking it out of the park.  New 2D Shinobi and Ninja Gaiden?  I'm all the way in.

Also super stoked about that The Expanse game from Owlcat.

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Modern Video Games / Re: Nintendo Switch 2

« on: June 05, 2025, 09:35:04 am »

So, did any of us get one?

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General / Re: June 2025 - Recently added to collection/recently purchased

« on: June 04, 2025, 08:12:38 pm »

Picked up Stray for PS5.

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Off Topic / Re: What Was The Last Movie/Anime You Watched?

« on: June 04, 2025, 08:11:33 pm »

28 Days Later - Haven't seen this since like 2003.  First act remains an absolute masterclass, and the third act works way better for me now, but it is still a pretty jarring shift in tone.  Mixed results from the SD picture quality.

A Real Pain - Funny, touching, tremendously acted, and barely 90 minutes.  A real triumph.

Predator: Killer of Killers - It looks stunning and it's the absolute best use of the overall premise since the original.  Uses the medium to show some real balls out action sequences that would never work in live action but feel right at home in animation.  It starts to stretch credulity a bit too much by the third act, and the connective tissue aspect that marries the eras together robs a bit of the tension.  I'd watch 2 or 3 more of these, but the basic concept would start running itself dry by then.

Pale Rider - Feels like a more traditional Western than Clint's other works in genre, but it's no less a well-crafted film than the majority of those, either.  Just a little sillier and a little lighter, it's still a very entertaining time at the pictures.

28 Weeks Later - While I liked Days a little bit more on this revisit, I liked Weeks a little less.  Bigger, shinier, and more bombastic, it just doesn't hit on the same emotional level, despite having a couple of sequences that put the first to shame in the horror department.

Popeye - Like a series of SNL sketches where the first one bombed, but the cast loved it, and kept bringing it back.  There are a few laughs scattered throughout, and the cast is 100% committed (obligatory Shelly Duvall shout-out), and the production design is impeccable.  All that being said it's aimless, paced pretty poorly, and the songs all basically dirges that are not helped at all by the piss poor sound mixing.  Handily the worst Altman I've seen, but worth watching at least once as a curiosity.

Austin Powers in Goldmember - Absolutely the worst of these, but was still better than I remembered.  Has a fair number of new ideas, but it also recycles a fair few bits, which was also a major flaw in the second film.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind - The Neary family drama stuff is tremendously acted, but it just doesn't engage me the way the logistical side of things does.  Watching people figure stuff out is one of my favorite things to see portrayed on screen, and this movie does it phenomenally well.

It also looks like a million bucks.  Maybe the most well-shot of any of Spielberg's work.

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Off Topic / Re: What Was The Last Movie/Anime You Watched?

« on: May 28, 2025, 07:23:45 pm »

Got a free month's subscription to Crunchyroll.  Checked out the the Junji Ito Collection and dropped it after two episodes.  Dull and shoddily animated.

Godzilla vs. Biollante remains my favorite Heisei era film, and the Criterion 4K looks great.

The Brave Little Toaster - Sorry, I just don't get the unadulterated nostalgic love for this. Yes, there are a couple of gnarly memorable moments, but the music is mostly bad, the blanket is annoying, and it has no real sense of internal consistency.

Bring Her Back - Absolute heartstopper of a film.  Incredibly heavy and devastatingly sad, while also being the most unsettled I have been in a theater in a long time.

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Off Topic / Re: What TV/Netflix show are you currently watching? (Megathread)

« on: May 27, 2025, 11:20:33 am »

Yeah, Rehersal two really felt like it was saying something in a much deeper way than the first season.  He managed to shine a light on what appears t obe a pretty serious issue while also managing to be touching, irreverent, and thought-provoking.  There is no one like Fielder out there putting in the work today.