I mean I've read and watched a lot of fantasy and I think fantasy is largely all garbage piles so maybe it's just not the genre for you.

To be fair fantasy is a lot easier to pull off (and in turn a lot easier to screw up). I know a lot of fantasy works just come down to the whole "it's magic I ain't gotta explain shit" cliché.

Well I'm sure the law of averages suggest that most genres are filled with mediocre works.

But I think you're correct (Kuro). In that, I think the "explaining everything" bit is part of it. Because both of them rely on suspension of disbelief, using largely unbelievable/unlikely concepts. So when Fantasy says "magic and emotion", cliché as it might be, its a lot easier to buy. Versus when not smart people attempt to make up bullshit science jargon on the fly. Because its both so much closer to reality/therefore far less believable.

Also, fantasy is and has been far more broad in its use in media, generally speaking. Where as, a whole lot of scifi shows, do a lot of the very same things. I'm sure if I found some comics or something less soap opera-y. (Got a lot of scifi hand-me-downs from my parents.) I'd find the western Steins:Gate.

But I have to keep trying. If you don't try something based on usual taste, you'll miss the best stuff of its kind.

Going through Vash the Stampede since it’s getting a new anime. Good stuff. Big twists. Hoping it ends strong, but I feel like a lot of anime from this era got canceled and had to end quickly… Hoping that’s not the case here.

Trigun is one of my favorite anime all time!
From what I understand, for the original anime they did have to change some things compared to what was in the manga, and with only 26 episodes, they did kind of rush the ending. The first half follows pretty close to the 2-book manga (not the long running Trigun Maximum series) where the last half I think was when liberties were taken.

I'm suuuuuper hyped for the new anime!! It's meant for a completely new audience, so there's going to be some big aesthetic changes from what I saw in the trailer. But from what I understand what was said during the panel at AnimeExpo, the director and production will be working with Yasuhiro Nightow (the original creator) to keep the core of Trigun and to try and follow as close to the manga as possible. Essentially they're trying to pull a FMA: Brotherhood with this. I am very optimistic, even if it won't be exactly like the series I know and love.

I watched things. (Mostly dumb action stuff.)

The Terminal List is similar to My Name in terms of quality and problems. Sloppy and slow at times, tropey, flashbacks you probably didn't need, and a final similar twist you can see coming a mile away. But it's 7 out of 10 entertainment. For the right audience. (I'd watch both, if you have nothing else to do.)

I honestly wanted more of The Old Guard, and wish it was a bit better developed/fleshed out. Because it has a surprising amount of character/cheeseball fun in it. (Overly poppy soundtrack aside.) Though its betrayal scene and redemption of a villain character both feel unjustified & needed better set up. Still worthy to watch, in spite of its weaker third act.

You know that terribad Irish PSA where a car crushes a bunch of small screaming children? And the ending line is “SHAME ON YOU.” Well, Triple Frontier has that as its second scene/overall tone. And between Dune and everything else I’ve seen him in, I’m still waiting on Oscar Isaac’s great acting performance. (I honestly didn’t even finish it. And I’m baffled with how much money this apparently took to make.)

Have other things on my watchlist and the new anime season is out too. So I have plenty more to sift through...

Edit: And unsurprisingly, the Boys finale sucked.

Thor 4 is fine. It's another of those movies that does nothing extraordinary and somethings poorly but you already know if you're gonna see it or not so whatever

Thor 4 looks like basically Guardians The Spin-off but I'll still likely see it eventually. Just not in theaters. I don't think there's been a Marvel film I wanted to see since End Game, although I did see Shang Chi in theaters.

I want to see that western with Gina Carano. I listened to her Joe Rogan interview and it seems like she was pretty psyched to make it. Plus Cerrone, so yeah I wanna see that.

I watched more well rated movies on IMDB.

"Searching" made me question my life’s decision to watch this. Couldn’t get past the beginning, without wanting to go do anything else.

"The Harder They Fall" is a complete waste of potential. Its plot was hard to follow/get invested in. While also being tone deaf, incredibly predictable and frustratingly dull for most of its run time.

"Fractured" is an unreliable narrator thriller that is horrendously acted, with a twist you see coming the very moment it happens on screen.

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In contrast, the anime season hasn’t started off too bad.

Plus, "Made in Abyss: Dawn of the Deep Soul" is one of the better/darker anime movies I’ve seen recently. At least in terms of getting exactly what you wanted. Even if the narrative itself feels a bit disjointed.

I've been watching Stranger Things Season 4 and they definitely took the criticisms from season 3 and applied it here in the best way. It's by far the best season since season 1 IMO and I can't wait to watch the finale "episode", though judging from the damn length, it might as well be a fucking movie.

Also got Umbrella Academy season 3 on my list. I started to watch it but it kind of took a backseat to Stranger Things.

Next Wednesday is the finale of Ms. Marvel and I hope it doesn't disappoint. Not that the past 5 episodes have yet. So far it's been a rather entertaining and endearing viewing experience.

@Dao Ma Yeah, I am definitely excited. The original's been pretty good, nearing the ending already. I saw the art for the new show and it looks pretty good! I like the coloring a lot. Looks like new VAs as well. I'm excited to see a version of how the story actually goes.

Been watching whatever horror Amazon/Netflix have been recommending lately, lotta old/foreign films.

Midsommar: Definitely not a good horror, nor something to take seriously, but I haven't laughed that hard in a while. After the first maybe 20m, everything just spiraled into stuff so ridiculous and scenes so "serious" that it ruined any chance it had of being a real horror/thriller. I feel like Amazon recommends this kind of film to me all the time ever since watching it. It's cursed my recommendations, so I guess it succeeded as a horror in that way. 10/10 comedy.

Blair Witch: They just do the same thing for most of the film. Very boring.

Train to Busan: Good stuff. Another one that should've had a comedy label though - definitely had some great moments of peak comedy. Could not take any of it seriously. Good film, not scary.

Ms. Marvel good.

Next thing I care about in that franchise is next year so I'll be back then

My boyfriend and I have been watching The Boys on Amazon Prime. We're on season 3 and oh boy is it good. Homelander is suck a psycho

Ms Marvel was dope. 10/10 ending

I saw Bullet Train and that movie is visually neat but it felt weirdly muted in terms of action until the end. It was more concerned with set up and set up and set up that the eventual payoff was like "this would be a lot more clever if you didn't beat us over the head with it leading up to this". Not the worst movie I've seen though. It was fine

I saw nobody online talk about "Primal" when it came out. (Created/directed by the same bloke as Samurai Jack.) And it's basically Kratos from God Of War & dinosaurs fighting each other in the most anime way possible.

Went through a season and its 2nd is currently airing. Great stuff (in terms of action, animation and genuinely humorous moments.) Watch it for dumb fun.

In less good news, I got about 25 minutes into The Northman. Before the storm and my shit internet killed it. (But I can easily see why this tanked at the box office.)
My reaction goes as follows:
>This is prutty-looking and the music is fitting...
>Why am I watching this borderline fetishism scene, with a Green Goblin monologue?
>This fucking stilted dialogue
>It turns out Lord Blackthorne is EVIL! o:
>EEEEH EEHHH (that one stock scream on repeat for five more minutes.)
What am I even watching?

Edit: That EEEEH EEHHH vibe goes on much longer than that. (I gave this shit an hour of my time & I want it back.)

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Two episodes of Netflix's "The Sandman" was enough. The show is so proud of its mediocre/bad-looking CGI. But that's all it has to offer. Because there's not much else in term of writing, acting, or character to latch onto. (And the show, apparently, only gets worse as it goes on...) So fuck it.

Plus, much like the Wheel Of Time. Without ever having to see the original work. It was still so obvious what roles were changed arbitrarily. By its script and dialogue alone.

Watched the Uncharted film earlier today. It was about what I expected from a video game movie; meh storyline/plot and writing but still an enjoyable watch in the end.

Recently I watched Midnight Mass on netflix. It was really good. Not too long, but enough to tell a great story and it didn't feel like it ever dragged. It delivered well on everything it set up, had a good atmosphere, good acting, all around enjoyable.

After that I tried to watch The Haunting of Hill House and it was terrible. Or at least, going from Midnight Mass to it was not pleasant. Couldn't bring myself to get invested in the cast and nothing really grabbed me. Couldn't finish it. Didn't try Blythe Manor or whatever the other one is called because of that. Just gonna wait for The Midnight Club for more of that guy's stuff.

Now I'm finally watching The Boys. Just finished season one, starting season two. It's pretty good. Really just makes me want to rewatch Tiger & Bunny again though.

I watched Nope and Everything Everywhere all at Once. Both of them were quite enjoyable.

Watched The Boys and then Terminal List over the last couple weeks.

Very different shows. Both great.

Particularly Terminal List. Like goddam. Alright then.

Well, I was coaxed into watching two episodes of Moonknight. And holy shit.

Some of the effects reminded me of those awful skits you'd see on old youtube videos. (With awful shaky cam & terrible editing cuts.) Among everything else I could nitpick about the cheap-looking visuals aside. It was a mostly negative experience. With those "wow these marvel characters that you like, sure are stupid aren't they?" jokes being already used and worn thin. So uh...I really hope you like the new age marvel humor and mystery box writing? Or this show probably won't be for you either.

Though Oscar Issac *does* actually attempt to act as somebody other than himself. So points for trying, I guess? But it's not exactly a role to be remembered by...

And I also just read that his accent and performance was *purposefully awful* in an interview. And gosh golly gee that sure is convenient and identical sounding to someone who can't fucking act.

But I digress. Plan to watch more things and catch up on shows that I couldn't watch during my vacation. For example...

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Prey is a popcorn flick from no name actors and *obviously* first time writers, with some style and no substance. Ranging from a 4 to a 6 out of ten, depending on how little you give a single fuck how little the script cares about its plot/writing/characters. (Just don’t think about what you’re watching. You will not benefit from being analytical.) I will forget I ever watched this.

Pro’s
-The scenery / cinematography is competent.
-The MC is not really a Mary Sue. (But she happens to have a lot of plot armor on her, though.)
-Music was fine and occasionally used effectively. Even if it pulled the exact same trick multiple times.
-Key-jingling action in the 2nd half is probably flashy enough to entertain those not looking for anything more than that.

Con’s
-There is no plot. There is little character. There is a bad attempt at fan service. And it all only gets worse when you think critically about anything that happened in it.
-The ending fight is anticlimactic as all hell. And it gets a cliché sequel bait ending cutscene. Because of course it does.
-Worst part of it is probably how the first half is completely pointless fluff. And that the movie pretty much wasted the native setting/concept it had.

Bodies Bodies Bodies is like Scream for people that can name more than one TikToker.

Bodies Bodies Bodies proves that even in a movie filled with the absolute worst, most vapid gen z pastiches that Pete Davidson is still the most insufferable semi-famous person since Amy Schumer.