Fair enough. It's awkward, but there are worse things than 'a bro I rarely see these days makes stuff that's good but not great.' They're all smart, earnest and thoughtful. Perhaps greatness awaits yet.

Thanks. Very helpful.

Can someone sell me on Standalone Complex? I like the original film but find its philosophical achievements overrated; mostly I dug the setting. I caught the first SC episode and found the animation stock, the story stock, the action clumsy, and the characters underwritten, so I went no further. Am I missing out?

This is our concern, Dude.

I didn't love Misery's, and I found Pet Sematary just…too mean-fucking-spirited to enjoy. That guy neither deserved that nor did him suffering that give me that 'arbitrary cruelty of dark forces and good horror' feel. I did like the idea that he knew what he was in for at the end, there, but couldn't help himself. So…

A bit off-topic, but since the review evokes them: is the overall word on the Marling-Cahill-Batmanglij products that they merit a snicker? Brit and Mike are fond acquaintances of mine and Zal's my friend, so I can't judge any of their stuff fairly—but I also can't bear to watch any of it. I assumed that's just…

Did you dig I Am The Pretty Thing?

Time for an ending poll: did King end any books well other than The Gunslinger, Eyes of the Dragon, and maybe The Shining?

I'm not saying anything about the book, other than that I haven't read it. Just reacting to the trailer, and to vague memories of the miniseries, which did not move young me a'tall. But all these replies sound much more promising than that trailer, which I thought sucked.

Am I the only one that finds nothing inherently horrific about abject malevolence with supernatural firepower? Something like It Follows really works for me, when the dread is laced into things like shame, the world cruelly punishing you for wanting to bone and thrive, the nearly insensate and slow pace—but weirdly…

You know what doesn't pass your test for me? The Dark Is Rising. LOVED them shits as a kid—weird nature magic rooted in opaque rules of conduct and respect, Arthurian grace notes, fiddledy magic items, fuckin loved it. Reading it to my daughter now? I'm bored as hell. We're taking a break to read Actual Morte D'Artur.

Kids have high desire to occupy alternate worlds, low demands on prose, and nothing else to do (even when they're heavily programmed, it seems their mental space is unfillable). I'm amazed YA series ever end at all. Harry Potter limiting itself to seven, however needlessly dilated I found the last two, struck me as…

DC was already hosed for good superhero team subject matter by dint of starting so far behind Marvel, but I think they really shot their foot off when they committed to another origin story. Of all the turf Marvel has pissed on, 'crotchety bunch of weird/egotistical/loner capes grudgingly unite to fight…

Not a White Stripes fan, then.

You hate Icky Thump? Or hate it for this? Maybe the producers mean us to see the JL members as immigrants.

Is season two awesome? I loved one, but get bored fast by addiction.

Can anyone explain why the Dwayne McDuffie Justice League cartoons (JL and Unlimited) weren't mined for character dynamics and story ideas? They're fairly gritty, plus also all the other human things the DC films have committed to ignoring. And they look dope. And the Batman/Supes relationship is great—full of…

I disagree with the principle (though the product in this case licks balls). Good logo design can, and often should, be ultra-simple. What looks under-made today, if clean and catchy and satisfying, can become signature and beloved tomorrow.

The latter.

The Bannon Boys' cover of "Nazi Punks Fuck Off" soars to Country Billboards #1