Messages

1

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

« on: December 12, 2025, 09:15:43 pm »

Wake Up Dead Man - Far and away the most thematically rich of these, with the most compelling non-Daniel Craig protagonist, but also makes the least use of it's deep bench of characters.  Has probably my favorite scene from them, as well (the phone call), but the mystery never drew me in as thoroughly.

2

Modern Video Games / Re: The Game Awards (TGA) 2025 predictions, hype, and general discussion thread

« on: December 12, 2025, 12:00:41 pm »

Very excited for new Divinity and new Control.

Cautiously optimistic about Star Wars Galactic Racer, while very much in "I'll believe it when I see it" mode for Fate of the Old Republic.

New Mega Man is cool, but all excitement completely drained by a 2027 release date.

Bradley the Badger looks like it could be promising.

Orbitals looks incredible, but doesn't seem like a game I'd be really interested in playing.

I'm sure RE9 will be totally fine.

3

General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: December 09, 2025, 09:36:33 pm »

I beat Crysis Remastered having never played the original version, and if it weren't for all the talk about how you needed a beast of a computer to run it at the time... I don't think anyone would really remember it. Its such a generic shooter.

4

General / Re: VGCollect 2025 Secret Santa!

« on: December 08, 2025, 05:31:59 pm »

I'm still down, regardless if my package is here or not.

5

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

« on: December 05, 2025, 08:16:51 am »

Needful Things - Terrific cast with a fun premise. If this had a better director it could have really been something.

Hot Frosty - The only reason this works in any real capacity is the 100% committed performance from Dustin Milligan as the hot snowman. Couple that with genuinely talented comedians as the heels and you've got an actually watchable cheesy Christmas romance.

The Lone Ranger - Not nearly as bad as its reputation.  Terrific action, great score, amazing production design, and a deep bench cast are all hobbled by the absolutely idiotic casting of Johnny Depp as Tonto.  Framing device is totally unnecessary and makes the already long runtime to too long.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - One of the best (if not the best) of the slew of YA and fantasy adaptations that came in the wake of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, while also being one of the most artistic, despite being a huge Disney production. Effects mostly hold up, but it definitely has some pretty shaky green screen in a few spots. Kids are mostly fine, but its also not surprising they didn't do much after. Pleasantly surprising rewatch.

Vertigo - Well it turns out that everything I knew about this movie is only from the last 25 minutes or so, and far less important to the overall story than I had thought.  Terrific story of the type of obsession that can drive you crazy.  Felt a bit rushed in the last act, and ends incredibly abruptly, which is what keeps it from being my new favorite Hitchcock.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Price Caspian - Better than I remembered. Ben Barnes is acting circles around the Pevensie kids.  They traded the somber winter vibes for bright summer ones, and while effects look great, the feelings are just not the same, and the movie is worse off for it.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader - Losing Adamson as a director was a huge blow. Caspian and especially Wardrobe feel like genuine epics. This feels like a generic YA adventure.  And I understand the budget is lower, but it shouldn't look this much worse than a movie from 5 years earlier.

Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair - Finally saw it after all this time, and... I think I like the theatrical versions more.  It is the most I've ever enjoyed the back half, but, and this surprises me, I think the 88 fight works better in B&W and the new anime sequence throws the immaculately paced Vol. 1 off-balance.

Still, a practically perfect film and a mostly great film still average out to damned good.

6

General / Re: VGCollect 2025 Secret Santa!

« on: December 01, 2025, 11:57:00 am »

Everything so far works for me, I just haven't received my package yet.

7

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

« on: November 29, 2025, 10:00:17 am »

Taken 2 - Hot Taken take: better than the first.

Predator: Badlands - I liked this for the most part, but I don't know that the "power of friendship" belongs in Predator.

Taken 3 - Absolutely epileptic editing.  Theres good potential here, in pitting Neeson up against Forest Whitaker, but they don't do anything with it.

8

General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: November 27, 2025, 10:32:52 pm »

Made myself power through the last few stages of the Demon's Souls remake today.  Definitely my least favorite FromSoft Souls title.  The difficulty curve is super steep on this one, especially if you already have Souls experience. Its just so hard to consistently have healing items, or even to farm for them,because the enemies in the first couple of stages just are not giving you enough XP.  Not enough to buy healing items, and not enough to level up to make difference.  Once you do start getting enough to level up you kind of outstrip the endgame, pacing and level-wise.

9

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

« on: November 26, 2025, 07:17:28 am »

Masters of the Universe: Revelation - This show captured the feeling of just mashing action figures together better than maybe anything else ive ever seen.  I understand why some of the story beats were controversial, but I have no big nostalgia for the He-Man lore, so it didn't bother me at all.  It maybe could have been structured or paced a little better, but as a whole I thought this was great.

Enjoyed the first batch of Stranger Things S5 episodes.  Its never been as good as S1, but I'm enjoying the journey to the end well-enough.

Masters of the Universe: Revolution - Not quite as good as Revelation, but still a fun time!  Really enjoy what these series have been doing in the MotU playground.

10

General / Re: VGCollect 2025 Secret Santa!

« on: November 24, 2025, 10:18:30 pm »

Let me know when and i will try to make it to a live opening.

11

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

« on: November 20, 2025, 07:38:50 am »

Death by Lightning - I liked this a lot. Was way more into the political stuff than the impending assassination. Dialogue occasionally felt a bit too modern, especially when compared with the verbatim historical bits.

The Beast in Me - Incredible performances all around, but, as is often the case these days, there was not enough content here to fill 8 episodes.

12

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

« on: November 16, 2025, 08:40:37 pm »

Roman Holiday - Totally delightful picture.  Really easy to see why this was a huge breakout for Audrey Hepburn.

The Fugitive - An absolutely pitch perfect first act, and everything that comes after is good as hell, too.

Ride Lonesome - It's really wild just how much plot these Ranown Westerns manage to cram into a 75 minute runtime.  And all while feeling well-characterized and not overstuffed.

My Fair Lady - It's a stunning musical production (even if there's not enough dancing for my taste).  But.  BUT. What is with how horrible 80% of the characters are?  It really only works these days if you read Professor Higgins as a closeted homosexual who is resentfully grooming his beard.  I'm tempted to call the runtime egregious since you spend so much time with these asshats, but three hours goes by quick.

The Running Man (2025) - Definitely the bottom of Edgar Wright's ouerve but still a fun enough action flick.  Pretty messy script.  Felt more like a condensed mini-series than a movie.

Hacksaw Ridge - Pretty much follows the historical biopic playbook to the letter.  It's well put-together, but just feels slight on the characterization front for everyone except for Doss.  Also wasn't nearly a visceral aa I was expecting based on the reputation.

Spinal Tap II: The End Continues - Its not embarrassingly bad or anything, but it's definitely missing the spark that the original had.

Back to the Future - Did the whole trilogy yesterday, just for fun.  I love all three of these films.

Taken - Absolutely hobbled by two main issues. The first is the screenplay. Any line of dialogue that isn't directly related to Liam Neeson figuring out where is daughter has been taken is an absolute clunker. Second, the lack of a R-rating (even though this was Unrated Version). The movie feels too light for how heinous what is happening actually is.

All of the Neeson on the hunt stuff is solid, though.

The Sound of Music - Probably my first time watching front to back, but I'd seen loads of scenes and heard lots of songs (a good 75% I think). It's probably because of this disjointed knowledge that I didn't previously realize just how... moody? Dour? Foreboding? The last act is.

Kinda wish the back half wasn't just reprises of songs from the front half. Also, it ends kind of abruptly.

13

General / Re: VGCollect 2025 Secret Santa!

« on: November 10, 2025, 09:17:35 am »

I've got everything wrapped.  Just need to find time to get to the post office.

14

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

« on: November 07, 2025, 11:04:33 pm »

Coherence - Does a whole lot with very little. A big ole tangled web of plot twists and turns that mostly make sense, and a couple that probably don't. Really appreciate the ambition on such a tiny budget.

Eurovision Song Contrst: The Story of Fire Saga - Trim this down to no more than 110 minutes, and it's 3.5 stars. Get Will Ferrell to do anything other than his sketch persona and it's an easy 4. McAdams out funnies him in every scene because she has a better grasp on the tone than he does.

Highlander - It's a concept that begs for a better movie, but at the same time the pure 80s cheese is what makes it so watchable.

Decision at Sundown - It is a bit claustrophobic with a story that feels a bit like a stage play and not like a typical Western. Even though it doesn't have the sweeping vistas that you'd expect, the performances are solid and it's not just white hats vs black hats. Really been enjoying Randolph Scott in these Ranown titles.

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers - I'm like 90% sure that the movie is in on the joke, but it's so problematic that 10% of uncertainty casts a really heavy pall over the whole thing.

Fight Club - It's a rare thing when a satire gets its subject matter so right that the targets of the satire think it is an endorsement of their behavior. Also Brad Pitt hot.

Heat - Been a long time.  Still great.  Really noticed how good the score is this time.

Frankenstein (2025) - Stretches itself thin with the visual effects more often than I expected. Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi each give very good - and very different- performances. Kinda wish we spent less time with Frankenstein and more with the creature.

Buchanan Rides Alone - My favorite of these so far.  Really enjoyed just how comically corrupt the small town was.  Love that trope.

Mary Poppins - Gonna be honest here, it could use more Mary Poppins. She's sorely missed in the back half.

15

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

« on: November 05, 2025, 07:14:43 pm »

Second season of Gen V is pretty good.  Kinda reminded of Peacemaker, in the sense that it's not quite as good as the first, and the finale is a bit of a let down.  Really interested in where this goes with the last season of The Boys.

Final season of Solar Opposites really felt like a lot of wheel spinning.  It wasn't awful, but it just felt like they lost their spark.  Underwhelming endings for The Wall and Silvercops storylines as well.