The Kids Aren’t Alright

Is this really an old people thing, though? I see all ages of people online defending shitty celebs simply because they really like them and can’t imagine them doing anything awful.

I was actually surprised when Amber Heard appeared in Aquaman in such a prominent role. Not that I was paying much attention to the marketing, but hers was the only major part I didn’t know about going in.

At this point, I’d rather they just moved on to RDR III. (If that’s even going to happen.)

I was hoping to see a minimum of 4-5 games on the list that I haven’t bought for whatever reason, that would justify the cost of the service, and I got that. Returnal, Valhalla, Miles Morales, Death Stranding, Guardians of the Galaxy—those are games I very nearly bought over the past year, so having them included…

To technology! The cause of—and solution to—all of life’s problems!

What an oddly old-fashioned sketch. I thought the whole “straight men can’t be expected to help their partners with anything because we’re no good at basic domestic tasks” joke fell out of fashion ages ago. 

The day I knew I was truly old was when I agreed with the Mongol guy that the open steppe, fleet horse, falcons at the wrist, and wind in my hair were actually best in life. 

Negative reviews in general seem to have fallen out of fashion, if all the “what’s the point of bad reviews?” think pieces over the past several years are any indication. I think you’re right that the MCU (along with Star Wars, etc.) has contributed to this trend. With these Maverick reviews, I sense an overall…

It’s true, commenters here have always complained about the critics (with rare exceptions—I think Donna Bowman for instance was pretty beloved for her Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul coverage). I actually feel like people are being pretty kind to these new reviewers, though maybe that’s just because most of the regular c…

Yeah, you’re right, excellent point—I also can’t think of any recent films centered around your traditional fighter jet dogfights. I guess I actually was thinking more along the lines of Star Wars space battles as you pointed out. And it did make me more intrigued to learn that they actually filmed in the air instead…

I’m surprised that people are so impressed by the flying, actually. It was pretty awesome in the original Top Gun, back when stuff like this was still fairly novel, but doesn’t it seem a little ho-hum in 2022? On the other hand, reading that they actually filmed the actors in the air and didn’t just green screen…

Maybe I shouldn’t be, but I’m a little taken aback by the uncritical approval of this movie from reviewers. Even the reviews that note the fawning military fetishization and lazy recycling of bits from the original are basically just “lay back and enjoy it.” 

I tried to find an A.A. Dowd review for TGM but had no luck. I feel like I could rely on him to slap a dismissive C+ on this one.

I’ll admit to being biased here—this looked like a steaming pile of shit based on the trailers, so I was expecting a middling-to-negative critical response. This glowing review took me completely by surprise, so much so that it read to me like a retooled press release. But every review I’ve looked at this morning is…

Lalo was in fact giving serious thought to eating Werner’s wife.

I think the problem with this analysis is that the “good character who is corrupted but ultimately redeemed through self-sacrifice” trope is a classic hero trope that women have been traditionally shut out of. (The comparison to Daenerys doesn’t work here because Daenerys doesn’t sacrifice herself and isn’t redeemed.)…

Run, runner!

As amusing as it is to scoff at clueless Howard and his “NAMAST3" license plate, he’s been coming across as a far more sympathetic figure than Kim or Jimmy. Even if he’s motivated mostly by guilt, I give him credit for suffering property damage and public embarrassment at Jimmy’s hands and still being willing to hire…

I agree, this is a significant detail. Kim and Jimmy have justified their war on Howard by saying he’ll only suffer a “career setback.” They see their actions as affecting only his professional life. But there’s a real possibility that their shenanigans will end up breaking Howard’s (already strained) marriage. If…