What we’ve seen from Velma...seems to indicate at best dismissal of the source material as anything other than an existing IP to glom onto in order to sell an otherwise unassociated self-insert story, but more like there’s also genuine dislike and disrespect for it, and feels particularly mean-spirited in its…

If we’re allowing anime, then Paranoia Agent is the gold-standard for me. It’s strange and stylish, without a hint of the fan-service that keeps me from whole-heartedly embracing anime culture. It’s a filmmaker’s show, the equivalent of Twin Peaks or The Little Drummer Girl in live action, where half the fun is a…

I’m not sure why Velma is catching so much grief when it uses virtually the same playbook as Harley Quinn. It seems equally pleased with itself for putting blood and cussing into what was once a children’s show. It engages in relentless lampshading about both its source material and current pop storytelling. And the…

I resolve not to watch a single reboot or remake in 2023. I want to know if I can go the full calendar year without perpetuating the cycle.

I get that the slideshow admits as much, but Bodies Bodies Bodies isn’t even horror-adjacent.

The slide-show format seems especially tasteless here. I’m sure it’s not the writer’s decision, because how could it be, but what the fuck? This is not a Top Ten list, it’s an obituary. Have some fucking dignity.

For better or worse, every foreseeable year is just fated to have franchises take up most of the oxygen in the room. Here’s hoping that either next year or in the years to come, the cracks in the armor don’t show as badly as they did in 2022.

Those Megalopolis costumes would be right at home in an extended cut of Coppola’s Keanu-vs.-the-succubi sequence. This is sex appeal for a generation that existed in the 90s in some other universe...and I have no idea if I mean that in a bad way. It’s just strange. 

The consensus already seems to be hardening: the eye-popping spectacle justifies (at least in part) all the transparent hand-waving that keeps the story on track. But I think two things get lost in the mix:

When watching—or more accurately, experiencing—Avatar: The Way Of Water, the thing that will perhaps feel most awe-inspiring is the dignified beauty of the underwater ecosystems Cameron has created.

What the hell happened to Jake Sully’s original tribe and how bloody unlikely is it that that the humans pick a brand new MacGuffin, just so Jake can be right in the middle of their new evil scheme again after switching eco-systems?

As far as Amrita goes, I’m not sure how it will figure into the rest of the story, but I was also caught out by the 80 million dollar price tag.

The joy is in the discovery, and it’s never boring, even if at times it can be a tad drawn out.

I don’t mind that fandom is stuck on The Last Jedi. But I wish the “debate” didn’t quagmire on a small set of talking points. I like the movie, but its defenders make it sound more radical than it actually is.

The narrative around Embracer has been pretty ridiculous up to this point. I’ve seen gamers celebrating the idea of new games in franchises that Square Enix has neglected. But the idea of a company slurping up IP made it all but inevitable that we would see some moves like this. They aren’t there to liberate…

There is a gaping Final Fantasy-shaped hole in this narrative. Final Fantasy VI and Final Fantasy VII were arguably the most influential eco-narratives in 90s gaming, and they both use the trope of the ruined world. At some point in the game, the heroes fail to avert a world-changing catastrophe, and then they must…

So it’s about the same length as Titanic. Cameron often runs long. Even Aliens was 2 hr. 30 min. at a time when that was more unusual for a popular release.

I agree with you but the problem is, we are the minority. The majority of people that buy games and who these companies make money off of, are the people that buy 2-3 games a year max. The people that will only buy an Assassin’s Creed or Call of Duty but put 500 hours into it and spend more money on microtransactions.

It DOES NOT refer to, has never referred to, and will never refer to queer subtext INTENTIONALLY used by QUEER CREATORS to explore legitimate queer experiences (or by anyone to sneak queer content under the radar of what would be allowed by execs/networks, ala Xena in the ‘90s). It’s fucking ludicrous to accuse a GAY…

It’s hard to draw a bead on this issue. The article makes it sound like the issue is players vs. streamers. The balancing the makes the game more fair for players makes it more risky for content creators who are (to some extent) driving its popularity.