8 Crazy Nights (2002)

(3/10)

Absolute dogshit movie! I watched it with my friends on the last day of Hanukkah as a joke, thinking it would just be a kinda bad film but it was unbelievably obnoxious. The only merit is the stellar animation, but it honestly just makes it more painful in a way because you have this talent being wasted on these Family Guy tier jokes. There's a reoccurring joke about one of the characters having seizures when he's overstimulated (yes we're at that level, alongside many gross-out gags), and seeing that animated with real fluidity and not in some shitty flash-looking adult sitcome style is just jarring.

The only part of the film with any merit was the sort of climax where Sandler's protagonist reaches catharsis over his parents' holiday time death, something that I actually did sympathize with him for but all the surrounding writing is abysmal. He stumbles into the town mall drunk and hallucinates the mascots confronting him and telling him to let his feelings out. Very nice vocal performances and as I said, great animation.

The conclusion where the town decides to stop beating up on the comic-relief character was pleasant enough too, but unearned with how over the top, cruel, and ableist the film is overall. And of course the final joke is that the poor man is so excited by the validation he has a seizure again. As my friend commented: "The absolute state of 2000s comedy..."

12 Angry Men (1957)

(10/10)

This must've been my 4th rewatch of this film but it only gets better and better everytime. Especially now as it resonates a lot with some discussions I've been having with my mom (who I watched this with) about the health of the U.S.. We have a conceptually great, but in practice, very fragile system very susceptible to the kind of public indifference and intolerance displayed by our jury.

For a crazily well-acted and written hour and change, our juror 8 does some hardcore unpaid defense lawyering for a random slum kid whose life is left in the balance of this group of crotchety New Yorkers. The movie makes no bluff of how poorly this reflects upon the justice system and those everyday Americans who are supposed to be its shining stars, and when you make that bigger connection to the democratic system as a whole it kinda gets bleak. But it's also a lot of the warring perspectives of people in the room that create the biggest breakthroughs towards the not guilty verdict. It makes you remember too that no system is really worth its shit if it is not by the people and for the people.

So how do you combat the fact that 90% of Americans are anal jaggoffs who can barely even comprehend the weight of this system they participate in? You force them to care, you force them to think and learn. You fight for their right to contribute to these systems by getting sweaty AF fighting for the validity of skepticism and nuance like Juror 8! Or at least that's what the ever hopeful progressive democrat in my heart this movie stirs says. It's preachy but god is it just a great and evergreen film.

The Mask (1994)

(8/10)

Just a super fun movie to watch. I have a lot of random memories of it when I was younger, specifically just the opening for some damn reason, but the whole thing is pretty nostalgic just cause I have a lot of love for that like 90s-2000s golden age cartoon revivalism.

The way the film uses the CGI cartoon antics is really peculiar because it of course has that ugly, uncanny feel to it, but it almost feels intentional with the visual style being half played as thriller. It's lighthearted but a touch surreal in a way that sticks out to me a lot. Also found myself liking the main character a lot just on the basis that he is shown to be a Looney Tunes nerd out the wazoo which inspires his persona, and I respect a fellow goofy ass.

I imagine this is like Jekyll & Hyde but better.

Hazbin Hotel (2024)

(6.5/10)

I have a very very long history with Vivziepop and her creations. She was one of the most influential artists on me as a child, and even though I've long outgrown her style and charms, I can't help but see a piece of my younger self in her art. The part of me that just wanted to create whatever seemed cool as hell and didn't care, and that approach made art very freeing...

But it also made the art Bad. And something I am not proud of the way I am of my stories now which I research and refine and labor over. Because those are very important things to do as an adult who writes stories, especially if you're lucky enough to get your stuff out there and picked up by a studio and shown as a poster child of independent online animation. Hazbin Hotel is what happens when an adult writes like a child with way too many striking but skin-deep ideas that never really coalesce into a deeper picture. Which is disappointing deeply to me cause a lot of me still roots for the chance to see that picture of indulgent old sensibilities flourish.

I still had fun with the series, but it's something that will make you clutch your head in bewilderment at certain artistic choices and spend hours afterwards slowly letting a myriad more catch up to you. I look forward to season 2 unfortunately, mostly holding out that everything that has so intrigued me about Angel Dust's potential from Vivzie's hype comes to fruition. And that he and Husk become pals and hang out and complain gossip all day.

Scott Pilgrim v.s. The World (2010)

(10/10)

I do not know how you make a movie (especially a live-action one) fucking funnier than this film. I found the recent animated Scott Pilgrim series super fun, and figured I should give the older film a watch since I'm more of a movie person anyways. And though I think the animated adaption by merit of its medium aligning more with the comics gets more bang for its buck, I am blown away by how fucking packed with style this is for the sake of coolness and comedy.

It's so different from any other movie I've watched with how it uses the live-action setting to make the over the top shenanigans thrive in their ridiculousness without relying on a bunch of 3D CG to compensate. In a way Scott Pilgrim was perfect for this because it was always just about some really normal and lame ass people whose lives are heightened by these out of nowhere moments video game logic. I think it gets at that dissonance within the story that makes it so funny and gripping in a way that, yeah, you can't do with a cartoon, but also it took a lot of strong artistic direction to not lose anything in translation to live-action.

This might be one of my favorite live-action films ever for that now. I just love every fucking thing about it - the characters, the humor, the story, the vibes. If I were ever forced to make my own live-action anything I would want it to be pulling this sorta shit.

3D Workers Island (2024)

(10/10)

There isn't EVEN a place to begin with how outstanding 3DWI is as a piece of horror. From Mr. Petscop himself, we have another example of how the symbols of games and creepypasta can be twisted to produce these gut-wrenching and evocative images of trauma, exploitation, and helplessness that can be read so many different ways. And it's that uncertainty in them that really makes them hit, even as an interpreter there is just this undercurrent of restless distress you can't even process and it just burns in the best way!

A lot of people go for a very straightforwardly supernatural approach to this story, and from what I understand this was a problem with the Petscop community too, but this work really becomes a whole different ballgame when you open up to reading things as naturally motivated and trying to understand why. Are people actually magically transfixed to the screensaver, or are they just obsessed with its secrets and perversity the way entire communities form around such ideas in real life? Are the two Pat's actually the same, or are you just scared to imagine the kind of person who sympathizes with that game could be that real. And most harsh of all, what if those people on the secrets forum ARE lying? What does it mean if the game doesn't truly show anything, why does it matter so much to them and us if something happened in a screensaver when something clearly did happen to them in real life?

That question especially becomes relevant when you ask yourself where the accompanying images of the screensaver come from! Are they an objective display of evidence, or perhaps projections? The way that the owner of the secrets forum fears he will commit when looking through real windows, but which is safer to do when looking through those virtual? The screensaver may be 3D but the story is at least 2 planes higher, there is so much to unpack and fathom. But no matter what you take from it, it is painful and haunting despite being expressed in such masterfully obscured ways.

Pikmin (2001)

(9/10)

Such a brilliant game with amazing atmosphere, sound, game, and character design and all that. It's a lot rougher than its later installments, but in a way that makes you feel a lot more intimate with your pikmin army and the world. There's no switching off captains to manage more, and the Pikmin even when you're directly monitoring them are insanely stupid compared to later games. It almost made me stop pitying them at all, and that was a really unique emotion for me to feel with this series.

I also almost balked on the difficulty a bit in. The simplicity of the game sometimes makes it feel limited in options, and when I saw a whole cave of enemies between me and some of the last parts in The Distant Spring the challenge felt it'd be more tedious than challenging. It wasn't that bad and I'm happy I pushed through, in a way I really value how daunting enemy encounters felt in this game compared to the jokes some are in say, Pikmin 4.

The Distant Spring might be my favorite level now, because it captures the peak of the serene yet mysterious and cruel atmosphere of the game. A lot of it wouldn't mean all that much either if not for the great writing imbuing Olimar with a lot of charm. People talk a lot in the Pikmin community about a certain vibe the first has that has not really been touched yet, and yeah, I feel it, and I can see myself coming back to this game for it and its tight focus on time-management.

Cars (2006)

(6/10)

I've recently had a growing curiosity about Pixar's older catalogue which I've always just been kinda aware of without really knowing all that much. Cars seemed like a weird middle film between their really distinct stories like Wall-e and Toy Story and their more pop-focused stuff today, and that was def a right call.

It on the surface is just A Silly Cars Movie, but opens up to a lot more. A story about materialism, Americana, and all that good stuff, but it doesn't really stick like older Pixar films. I think it has an amazing sense of place and a real reverence for that western landscape it's situated in, but the supporting characters are very one-note gags for the most part and don't really feel like they populate this land and town that is supposed to mean so much. As well, McQueen was a funny shitty protagonist, but I didn't buy his character arc, making him just appear annoying the whole time to me.

Older Pixar has a real fetish for mid-century memorabilia that speaks to me a lot, and that's very clear in this film and its focus on a super mid-century vision of the West. I really want to love it and how the use of cars as characters creates a great cohesion between the caricature and theme, but it doesn't get as far as it needs to for a million little unfortunate reasons.

Gladiator II (2024)

(7/10)

Did not see the first one and only got roped into watching this for my ma's birthday. I was very hyped for it at first, as coming from 300 as my only other Ancient Guys movie it seemed like a real fresh of breath air not demonizing every brown person on screen or dick-riding the fuck out of a central power, but that sadly started to fade once the plot unfolded. It went from a cool sounding film about a Roman slave trying to regain his dignity from their corrupt asses into an estranged prince plot with a different EVIL slave as the villain and lost me.

I actually really want to point out a specific scene near the end of the film too because it highlights a very odd and unintentional racial/class politics in the film. So our main guy, Hanno/Lucius as I said is an estranged prince who was sent to a North African outpost as a child now later claimed by the Romans in his adulthood and he's taken to be a gladiator. He's bought by this African senator, Macrinus who was once enslaved himself and just wants to rule Rome in it's corruption, believing it is now all it will ever be. Lucius on the other hand cares about his father's old dream of a republic.

So in their final confrontation, Macrinus has Lucius pinned beneath the water (a whole symbol of the between and life and death cause it's well directed yadda yadda), and its only Lucius' chestplate, inherited from his father, that protects him and allows him to rise and slay Macrinus. Now I know this is supposed to be about son carrying on a noble dream, but it can also so easily be read as Lucius literally being protected by his bloodright privileges. You root for him as this prince of the slaves, but he always had an out that Macrinus never had and is bitter from fighting against.

Combine this with a lot of black nobodies who die early in the film, the only one he really mourns from his old life being his white wife, and you see how the film uses its controversial black characters as props to bolster Lucius' humble image. And even not looking at race, its a disingenuous representation of brutal class stratification between him as a slave with a man on the outside, and those doomed to Roman slavery with no out - white, brown, or black.

This is def the paranoid reading and like, there's plenty to like about the film on its own. But man, I'm never gonna be happy with Ancient Guys movies until I get my one actually about someone outside of these beloved ancient empires telling them to go fuck themselves.

Dogman (2025)

(7/10)

I would really like to rate this higher, cause I love these super energetic and stylized films and that Dreamworks pops out all the time nowadays, but the film on its own is not the strongest sadly. It's funny as hell in the dialogue and visuals department, but the story was all over the place. I have not read Dogman as it is a Pilkey creation past my time (Captain Underpants 5ever!), but it feels like it took that 'made by kids' part of the story and made it the main plot. Captain Underpants, the book and movie, had a more coherent plot about the kids in the real world who then wrote the silly over the top stories which bleed into their lives. I don't know if Dogman has that distinction in it, which absolutely probably makes a great chaotic kids book but is not the kind of experience that flows well for a movie.

It's definitely still really worth a watch if you just like fun little movies. It's version of those raw shots of childhood whimsy which Captain Underpants had through the boys' comics comes through with the lil kid who makes picture books about his attachment to the other characters, serving as an emotional beat a few times. In an already silly as hell world I'm surprised how uniquely sweet they still felt.

All Dogs Go To Heaven (1989)

(8/10)

Such a super interesting animated movie to watch. I used to say Don Bluth's films didn't appeal to me because they were, what I called, over-animated - filled to the brim with motion sometimes at the expense of clarity and appeal. And that's not untrue, but when you let it all soak in with the tone of the film it does come together, creating a very unique counterpart to Disney. It feels like a mix between that sense of quality and a Tex Avery-ish energy. Which is both odd and PERFECT for a story about a criminal getting a second chance at life after being murdered and struggling to place between heaven and hell.

But the magic is that this story is about a doggie! A silly cartoon doggie named Charlie who almost instantly wormed his way into my heart. Along with his lousy character - being introduced escaping doggie jail - he has such a charmingly scruffy design. When he makes a mean face he genuinely looks like he would be a villain in a more Disney-esque film like Lady and the Tramp (my triple-feature). I really love how this film gets away with so much through the use of silly cartoon dogs as allegory for terrible criminals, and I think there's a real value to letting children see a story filled with these lying scheming sorts, and getting to see the good in them as well.

It reminds me a lot of my father getting over a smoking addiction when I was younger, and my mother talking about her older relatives dragging her along when they go gambling or drinking. There are a lot of children who grow up in these environments and it likely doesn't feel good to only see characters reflecting it used as tools for flat villainy. Even to me now, there is this weight to the characters that comes with such a bold-faced vision of cartoon slum guys trying to help a kid.

To well contrast that griminess there are some really beautiful sequences in here, especially related to that titular heaven. At the beginning it's fluffy sterility is mostly used to make the excitement of Charlie's world more appealing by contrast, but this movie can get wonderfully corny, especially with Anne-Marie. It's funny to see a story like this where all the cuteness and innocence comes from the humans and not the animals - all the people are squeaky clean and oblivious to the world of dog criminals, gossiping race-horses, and the like - its refreshing.

Poor audio mixing and some odd writing at times measure among this movies top sins, but I got nothing but respect out the wazoo for this film. More cartoons about cartoon 'mature' shit for kids, please. There's this simultaneous naturalistic and over-the-top quality to the story that is so fun.

Lady and the Tramp (1955)

(9/10)

This might just be thee cheesiest Disney movie there is, and I love it so much for that. I've had a hankering for it lately, it's literally like a box of chocolates, this film. Lady may be one of my favorite cartoon animal lady designs out there, and I find Tramp endlessly delightful. These are characters that I could genuinely take like a whole spin-off series about with their parent misadventures, I think they're that strong.

What delights me to too is the ethnic (and at one point racist) humor too, coupled with the class romance plotline and freaking jokes about dog euthanasia here and there, which all-in-all give it such a wild tone despite its saccharinity. Paired with All Dogs Go To Heaven, its tackling of these sorts of lower-class struggle allegories is a little tacky, but that can be put on the upper-class point of view. And in a way, it still does touch on things ADGTH does not, such as Tramp's trampiness, to which the film excels at not saying the quiet part out loud. You have to respect the restraint.

The lushness of the picturesque turn of the century suburbs contrasts against ADGtH in a very interesting way too. That being that it does everything to make that world look lovely and appealing where Charlie blew it off. I can only imagine this classic was somewhere in the back of the Don Bluth animators' minds when they were making their own doggie class conflict film.

I think what I like most about this film was actually summed up by Nostalgia Critic of all people when he was talking about how the remake from some years ago rubbed him the wrong way. Basically, it was inoffensive in content, but insulting on a more spiritual level because Lady and the Tramp was a movie that clearly really respected itself and the audience in a way a cheap little remake didn't. It was a simple, dumb little fairytale about someone's dog being the sweetest little doll and getting into romantic hijinks, but it brought out a majesty to that which is really lacking in almost any mainstream animated kids film nowadays. That spirit is why I do love returning to classic Disney films no matter what, that evil man be damned he could direct a magical fucking film.

Aristocats (1971)

(100/10)

Nostalgia turned this double feature into a triple feature, and it was worth the sleep deprivation to watch my favorite childhood film again. Coming off the other two, which I see a lot more inherent artistic value in, I was beginning to imagine this would be the sort of cynical rewatch that took the magic out of a film for me, but quite the opposite happened! It's slower with getting to the good stuff, but really once O'Malley shows up and his chemistry with Duchess begins, this film jumps up so many levels. Like Lady and Tramp I could watch their antics forever - both are high level f/m ships for me.

As I mentioned, this is MY childhood film, but that doesn't even really begin it. This was the film I watched on repeat on DVD as a child with no cable access (along with Looney Tunes collections and QUBO). There's a very Hannah-Barbera kinda sensibility to the character designs while still being unmistakably Disney, which ties it in with the other jazzy cat shenanigans from other old cartoons of my childhood and makes it cozy as hell for me. It also meant a lot to me emotionally for understanding my own family, in the same way I hope ADGtH may have for some other kids. I saw my unmarried parents like Duchess and O'Malley, my mother being a classy lady and my dad more of a charming rogue. It was quite the romanticized vision, but still a lot closer to what I knew than some of the other couples available to me in media.

Like LatT there's that Disney subtlety to the writing, but now with some of that fairytale lushness dropped which matches the jump across a cultural revolution or two. It's a good ways between the two other films before, the fact that O'Malley is as much of a tramp as the Tramp, and that the alleycats are gangsters as much as the gambling dogs of ADGtH is something I never even fully processed till this rewatch. You pick up on so much more about the dynamics going from watching this as a kid till now, and there is a naturalistic quality to it that also still has me laughing at the lovely dumb jokes of the cast. This triple feature really dragged me through a good 35 years of sensibility changes through talking pet movies.

Despite all the shit it gets for being such a simple fun film, Aristocats is a film that will keep on giving if you open your heart up to it. Which is exactly what I value most in a children's story. Something light, artistically engaging (Everybody Wants To Be A Cat alone justifies the films existence), and which will have the child continue to think as they grow up with it. It's not the most mature morally, nor the most sophisticated, but it is incredibly dear to me. Actual rating is 9/10 again.

Hey There, It's Yogi Bear (1965)

(7/10)

A random nostalgic whim brought me to this - it was almost part of a QUADRUPLE feature with the last film, but it was not engaging enough to sit through in its entirety. This is just by definition a very mellifluous film. Just sweet ad nice and not really much else. As is the Yogi Bear, and assumedly by extension the whole Hanna-Barbera brand. I think the only thing that really makes it worth anything to me is my fetish for mid-century limited animation, and I've been watching a bit of Yogi Bear to get more familiar with it as an artistic inspiration.

Like those shorts, this is a sort of diet of the bigger animation giant in the room, for the show it was copying Looney Tunes, and this has some Disney vibes. At least just in the sense that by this time no one else had really perfected the animated movie by my knowledge. To its credit, it feels somewhat more like a movie than just an hour and a half episode, but not by that much. I just like looking at it and listening it it, its all very cohesive and pretty I s'pose.

Since there is so little else to say about it, I'll just rank the songs - the best parts of the film:

1. You For Me
2. Saint Louie
3. Whistle Your Way Back Home
4. Ash-can Parade
5. Ven-ee, Ven-o, Ven-ay

Crazy: Notes On And Off The Couch (2011)

(10/10)

Such a fun ride! From the first chapter alone the humor of this book dragged me straight in, and it was perfect the whole way through for its hilarity and sensitivity. The entire book is made of edited anecdotes of the therapist author and his many patients' flirts with insanity, with a great mix of therapeutic insight and empathy. None of the gags feel like they were really at the expensive of those seeking help, of if something said in the moment was, it was inevitably corrected with better perspective. This stands for stories of a depressed man dealing with pseudo-pedophilic thoughts to the final chapter where the author is thrust into a job rehabilitating actual sexual predators, and I don't remember a joke ever coming in at a time out of place.

In between, some of my favorite stories are another two with wildly different, but well-handled tones. In 4pm, Dobrenksi, the author and narrator, helps an older woman overcome the grieving process, and paints a vivid picture through reliance on quotes which let their persons and perspectives shine. Then on the other hand you have 1pm, where this boy genius with a way too many oddities to settle on is coached through his teen years with him, in a series of vignettes as funny as they are somewhat hard to believe. It makes me wonder just how edited some of these characters are from real people, whether they're a few outstanding anecdotes with the numbers filed off, or a conglomeration of disparate traits from a bunch of oddballs.

As distinct as all the stories are, Dobrenksi makes himself and a few colleagues re-occurring gags as well. Namely him entering a severe depression over the world's most predictable break-up which comes up in all its unfortunate absurdity from time to time, and his overly-vaselined baby-face from years of an odd habit losing him respect when he most needs it. These silly details about him help build that thesis of 'we're all kinda crazy' which makes this book a really good insight into the world of psychotherapy. There's a real shared understanding built between author, reader, and the subjects that I adore a lot. Really scratches a psychologist-comedian-absurdist itch in me.

Pikmin 2 (2001)

(8/10)

I have such mixed feelings about this game... On one hand it is that undoubtable step up from the first game with better and more expanded upon mechanics, but on the other hand, it's Pikmin-fucking-2. I entirely understand why this is the most controversial in the series, because it is simultaneously so genius and abrasive! If unaware, this game introduced caves to the series which broke up the formula of the fist game with these dungeons more focused on managing limited resources than your time. They're those kinda stressful little dungeons in Pikmin 4 if you've played that, but actually fucking evil.

Cramped hallways, falling rocks, bomb throwing enemies, and bottomless pits galore. Not to mention elements like electricity being insta-kill - something very easy to forget coming from the later games to my horror. I found myself with very little patience for this game compared to 1. Near the end of that one I had a few fleeting moments of challenge exhaustion, but here nearly every play session ended with a ragequit. But I also couldn't stop coming back! After a while I said I would compare the feeling of playing this game to work (as you see it when miserably unemployed): it is a drag and fries all your nerves, but the sense of satisfaction at overcoming terrible challenges and being rewarded is its own unique zen.

The rewards in this game (besides Number Go Up), was the large amount of flavor text from Olimar which were hypnotically fun to read. There was a eerie tranquility to the first game which made Olimar shine as a hero equal parts mundane and thus relatable, and whimsical. But seeing that character applied to this game where his trip to PNF-404 is just a part of work fleshes out that mundane side of his character in every way I could possible hope. The time spent between days going through the Piklopedia, listening to the actually divine composition of Flora and Fauna, and reading the musings of this space-trucker turned amateur biologist for a day is some of the best time spent in a video game, and it being sandwiched between the torment nexus of the caves contributes to that a lot I feel.

I would not expect this kind of experience from a Nintendo game, I think the closest may be something like the first Splatoon where you had a balance between colorful silliness and reading about an eerie background, but the key point there was the overall silliness. Instead here the default is the fun to aggravating stress of the main game, and then pockets of the silly and odd mixed together in the world-building. I just really do appreciate this game as an awesome, and unique experience through and through, but why does it want to hurt my feelings so much too?

Sonic Mania Plus - Encore Mode (2018)

(10/10)

My enjoyment of encore mode specifically is best understood in the context of why I was replaying this in general, which was to help with my original story concept Neonverse. SOnic is a series I have a really interesting relationship with due to having two separate phases for it when I was at very different times in my life. Sonic Mania pretty much caused that second phase for me, which had me reflecting a lot on my past in a way that really disoriented me at a time when I really should have been looking at the present and future for my identity, and that moment is what Neonverse is about.

It also primed in me what makes the liminal space horror trend so appealing to me now, and funny enough Encore Mode triggers that too. Mania was already this nostalgic romp indulging entirely in the past of the series and presumed audience, but now you also have encore mode which remixes the vibes and mechanics. The biggest change for me are the very superficial palette changes for the stages which mostly serve to change the time of day and by extension the entire thesis of these levels. Green Hill Zone during the day is an open playground, but at dusk it's the schoolyard as things wind down before everyone heads home. Oil Ocean going from day to dawn reminds me that this place is more than just an ecological slap to the face but a continuously working nightmare of a facility. And stages like Mirage Saloon and Press Garden at night are just so heavenly and serene.

Besides that, shouldn't have to tell you Sonic Mania is really good. Mighty and Ray are also nice to see and the different life/character-swapping mechanic of Encore mode keeps you on your toes.

Splatoon 2 - Octo Expansion (2018)

(10/10)

I regret that I kinda just rushed to the credits with this one, because 'beating' Octo Expansion is so much more of an experience than just taking the optimal path to the goal. It's hard to explain just how much this mode changed the fucking game for Splatoon singleplayers because of that fact alone, like that entire sphere of experience with this series could easily be divided into before and after Octo Expansion (B.O.E, A.O.E?). And for the world too, it really opened up what the characters and societies of the Splatoon world could be. And despite all the precedents it set which have been followed faithfully since, a lot of people see this as the peak of the series for pretty good reason.

Splatoon had always been a powerhouse of design, but when it was mostly utilitarian in serving the create a theme for the world you don't fully appreciate it. But Octo Expansion really got lost in the sauce of 80s aesthetics and surreality in a way that is both super dated and far ahead of its time when thinking forward to the liminal space trend. Like with Encore Mode, that energy was why I was revisiting this game, and I forgot just how strong of a theme it is.

Beyond just what it represents from that artistic and franchise perspective, the gameplay loop is fun as all get out, but a bit harder to appreciate in wake of Splatoon 3 copying it so hard. The mystery of the subway system adds a lot though, and as delightful as the spectacle of Return of the Mammalians is (and having a great story no one cares about cause they're too into the lore and not the actual sci-fi message), I think the introspective plots of the octo-related singleplayers is to die for. Once again I shouldn't have to tell you - Octo Expansion Good.

The Day the Earth Blew Up (2025)

(8/10)

This watch was earned by a certain Looney Tunes enthusiast and spokesperson I follow on Tumblr. In general it's very interesting to follow cartoon releases through the perspective of artists in the industry because you'll see something that seems utterly vapid but then get a whole epic from the people on the inside about the heart and soul poured into it and change your mind. And I'm happy I'm here, good to support a survivor of the streaming service purges of yesteryear.

Overall it was just a really fun and beautiful movie! Filled to the brim with Looney Tunes references and gags that should make any true nerd giggle and kick their feet. Ever single frame is a treat for the eyes of exaggerated, cartoony goodness, and it is just a very refreshing 2D animated film. But besides that, it's not incredibly exceptional in story or any particular technical achievements from what I can tell. And the sad thing is that it really shouldn't have to be to warrant seeing the light of day and having an audience.

It feels like a lot of the media landscape right now is split into "slop" and "prestige" without much room for something in the middle that is just silly, fun, and appealing, but obviously made with a lot of heart and respect. I think a lot of this is due to the streaming paradigm where it's not as easy to just stumble upon things in the way you would surfing channels or tuning into a favorite station at an odd hour. You have to remember that Looney Tunes and Animaniacs and a lot of those classic cartoons were inherently filler than gained such an audience because it would be incidentally beamed into their skulls at random intervals, and all their hype is retroactive, those shows were seen as fluff in their time. Everything now needs an instant hype cycle or to be really lowbrow in order to get bored clicks on it and that makes me sad. I think it's very hard for good but not groundbreaking films like The Day The Earth Blew Up these days. So do show it some love however you can.

Trolls 2: World Tour (2020) & Trolls 3: Band Together (2023)

(10/10), (9/10)

These are very fun movies, my absolute cream of the crop of corporate animated babyslop films. Or more specifcally, children's films as opposed to all ages or family - a very important distinction as I'll explain. Trolls 2 is the best of the trilogy to me, though I find the 3rd one to be a great time for one of the core reasons I like the entire series. Basically, they are filled to the brim with creativity and earnest love and energy. The artists and writers manage to take "pop music-stuffed super colorful toys movie" and find every possible thing to love about it to express.

Both of these films in particular use the library of pop music to their benefit, with 3 just being an open love letter to corny boybands and popstar drama, but 2 goes for artistic style points by using it to craft one of the best anti-fascist allegories I've seen in children's animation. Once again, not all-ages or family movies, children specifically. The kind of thing that is on in the background of a 5-year old's birthday party for a few shy kids and unsuspecting older animation nerds to zone in on. I think it's very important that art from a young age gives children these lessons in a way that's more than just 'be nice to each other' but does stuff like linking fictional diversity to real world distinctions, and even criticizing the fasc-y rhetoric inherent in liberal platitudes.

I came to appreciate this a lot in context of the 2021 My Little Pony movie with it's way more half-assed but standard anti-fascist message. I watched it with a friend who defended its barreness by pointing out it was for children first and others second, and I did take that to heart. But then I remembered the fucking banger that is Trolls 2, in all its musical, magical, choreographed excellence, and how it put its WHOLE pussy into a message of cultural diversity. Never let a story's age-rating be an excuse for laziness, you can call the Trolls movies annoying but watch like 5 minutes of any of them and tell me their fucking lazy. My babyslop films!

Kirby Star Allies (2018)

(7/10)

Kirby Star Allies means a lot to me. It was my first Kirby game and the Kirby game that got me into this series that now stands as my favorite series of art on the planet. But it wasn't because it was in itself so great that that happened, it was because it was almost soley made of references to other blatantly more interesting and badass Kirby games. Especially Kirby Super Star Ultra's Galacta Knight, who was fucking killed off in this game, yet 5 seconds of his theme and appearance was enough to attract me to my 2nd favorite character in fiction.

And that is not entirely a fault of the game, say the way Sonic Forces drowns in the shadow of Mania, what it thought it would bring in and reference as its little sister game. Kirby Star Allies was designed to be a celebration of the 2D formula of games first and foremost before it's graceful leap into the 3D Kirby and the Forgotten Land. In every single aspect towards that, in fanservice and narrative, it fulfills that purpose with dizzying beauty. Coming back all these years later I still reel at the layers of the story's internal and meta-textual meanings, and the obsessive attention to detail in making sure everyone, even the individual enemies of the game, get their dues.

But otherwise, the gameplay suffers from a terrible case of Mid, and compared to its predecessors - AND ESPECIALLY FORGOTTEN LAND - it lacks a lot of that consistent environmental mood, with a lot of level themes being super generic. Even moreso than Return to Dreamland, because at least all of its aesthetics served to ground a newly rendered Popstar and contrast it against the fiery mystique of Halcandra (my beloved). A tragically just bearable game, but it is still very worthy of the time of a diehard Kirby fan - it does love you. But if you want to jump into a 2D Kirby on Switch just get RTDL DX, I think they remade it because they realized how bad an ambassador Star Allies is by itself.

Kafka's Metamorphosis

(9/10)

See, I've known Kafka's Metamorphosis through random jokes now and again just on the principle that it was some kind of surrealist, maybe-horror short story on what it would be like if an average joe woke up in the form of a giant bug. Something absurd and kind of fucked up in a sense, but ultimately just like a wacky little body horror scheme that was ultimately more cruel than scary. I was not expecting it to read to me as a very grueling metaphor for suffering sudden disability and experiencing total neglect and decay.

Even calling it a metaphor appears to be a disservice to its intention. It's the kind of story you finish and IMMEDIETLY need to start seeking others opinion's on (beyond the "Thing Explained!" youtube model - like academic analysis), and I've read that the author allegedly highly disliked the metaphorical stories. So maybe the idea that its about disability or societal neglect seems out there, but also consider that if the story is taken literally, the protagonist, Samsa, did still suffer sudden disability. It does not have to represent something else. Having your body and communicative abilities randomly taken away by disfigurement is becoming disabled, whether you're a giant bug or not.

Understanding that, this story goes from a dark comedy to an oppressive, plodding tragedy. Samsa worrying first and foremost about his job while rolling out of bed like a beetle is silly and all until it becomes a stark reality that he has been a sole breadwinner for his family and they do not know how to live without his ability. As the this workload is transferred onto the family their horror and pity for his condition turns into a cold disdain, and they literally stop seeing him as a person - only as his curse, as a burden. And when you consider what drove him to his final mistake, and how his family reacted to his end... it is beyond depressing.

I really like how absurd yet down to earth this story is, it gets at something very visceral about the fear of falling behind and failing in a competitive world. It's very moving from that perspective to me, even if it is a story about a guy waking up as a giant roach.

101 Dalmatians

6/10

Had to watch something cheerier after the devastation that was the funny roach story, and 101 Dalmations had been on my radar lately. Really it was since sometime last year when I read this great book on my beloved subject of midcentury animation trends - Animation Modern - and heard a delightful story about the movie's production. It was the first theatrical Disney film to use this Xerox'ing style, where instead of properly inking the animation sketches they would fake the lineart by photocopying it. It was efficient, and gave these kinds of movies a very unique charm dear to my memories of Aristocats and The Jungle Book - I think seeing the roughness of the cartoons gave me the impression they were in fact made by people and not magic, inspiring me to draw. But That crack in the illusion combined with the other modernist sensibilities of the film supposedly gave old Walter some real conniptions.

On its own though, this film is nothing spectacular. There are some moments of design brilliance and obvious drop-dead gorgeous character animation made all the more mesmerizing by the spotted coats, but it can also be very obviously conservative in some areas. Something hard to blame on the film when it has to animate its titular 101 goddamn dalmatians. Then not to mention, though its in line with some of my darlings like Lady and the Tramp and Aristocats (which I've gushed over already), it has a lot less focus on strong characters and more just on the cuteness and spectacle of its 101 godamn, motherfucking dalmatians.

I like things like the secret animal community that comes together to help the dalmatians, but none of it has that same imaginative draw as the foot-stomping jazz parties of the French cats or the playfully macabre street life of Tramp's friends. It can be very chill at times, with some gorgeous landscapes, but it doesn't draw me in compared to its relatives. Which is no fault of age, as Lady and the Tramp I came to adore only a few years ago and still do to this day. I think personality is the lacking key ingredient here, Pongo, Perdita, nor any of their kids have the charm of the other casts, whom I genuinely love so much I would take a million more films about them. I think it peaks at the cheeky bond between the pets and their owners in the beginning, but that tone is lost so soon.

Deltarune Chapter 2

10/10

I had not touched anything Deltarune related since that fateful, iconic day in 2018 when Toby Fox dropped a suspicious looking EXE file on the web that my 15 year-old self and many others downloaded with complete, reckless abandon. The first chapter demo was an instant classic, but the hiatus between that and the 2021 release of the second was enough for me to lose the energy to catch up. I had heard great things about it, specifically about Spamton, but it wasn't until the announcement of the third and fourth chapters that I decided to break down and reenter this game. And lord am I happy I did, because I loved every moment of it to death.

It is crazy how much chapter 2 expands on and enhances the world of Deltraune, because that little JPRPG/Alice In Wonderland inspired trip was sweet and all, but getting to see the fresh theme of the Cyber World hit so hard. It's also heavily solidified the themes in this story of escapism and fiction within fiction, which is what really has me locked the fuck in beyond everything - I am a sucker for that shit. My other favorite things about the story are the characters and humor. I am so mad I missed out on Spamton and Noelle for so long, and I still haven't even gotten to the Snowgrave route which supposedly builds so much on them. But even without, Spamton especially has so captivated me I had to get a lengthy AF essay about him out of myself a bit ago.

I think he also blends with the other aspect of this game's incredible humor, which better than maybe anything I've ever seen manages to put YTP humor into the form of RPG dialogue. Spamton is the pinnacle of this with his broken catchphrases reading like goddamn sentence mixes in the most creative depiction of Lovecraftian madness that may ever exist. The Queen just to a less chaotic extent is also the conduit for so much of this ridiculousness, and I love it so much, Toby Fox just cannot lose at writing and I am thoroughly glued to my seat for what comes next.

Kane Pixel's Backrooms

(7/10)

Ever now and then when I'm feeling a lil' dorseless (read: depressed) I start to gravitate towards the ole internet horror sphere, and I decided this go round to take up a recommendation of my webfriend Finn from VoidBeetles. From what I understand, this was the series that really spiced up the Backrooms as a concept for those who went on to focus on a surreal SCP-style approach. I am unfortunately one of those tryhards who still believes the Backrooms should remain as an alien, dream-like concept of a space more than some sci-fi fuckery, but I will give Kane Pixels props for taking its dimension-hopping 80s experiment gone wrong approach in some fun directions with great execution.

For one, despite being all CGI, the setting is super convincingly real save a few crusty models in later episodes. Just that fact alone is insane coming from the hand of one kid on the internet. Then you have the slight subversion that I enjoy that this goofy operation to open up the backrooms - this infinite sprawling dimension - is being undertaken not by twisted Cold War America, but a corporation. This adding such brilliantly stupid ideas to the story as said corporations pitch to turn this alien landscape into anything from waste disposal sites to FUCKING OFFICE AND RESIDENTIAL SPACES. I do really love the idea of these idiots so blinded by their greed they don't see how the Backrooms are the non-euclidean fever dream horror of that very setting.

Overall it was a fun watch, not over the top phenomenal nor sporting that abstract edge that attracts me to so much of internet horror, but fun. As said, I'm more deferent to dream-like horror than something like this which feels deeply reminiscent of Stranger Things, but I'm happy I got to experience its highs.

Avatar: The Last Airbender

(9/10)

This was a completely unnecessary year in the making to finish, but I did finish ATLA! Shows kick my ass to watch alone because for some reason I can just never re-muster the memory and energy to come back after the first sitting of episodes, but luckily I had a friend to watch it with, and it turned out to be a really great time. I probably don't have to tell you Avatar: The Last Airbender is one of the best children's TV shows out there and an overall amazing fantasy story, even if it can never fully be divorced from its PG-13 energy. One of my reoccurring gags watching it was saying out loud "PG-13 use of [deadly or cruel weapon]" during a fight scene. Nevertheless, it never failed to be engaging and keep its stakes and quality high, with amazing worldbuilding and rad fucking characters.

It's hard to fully put my opinions into words due to the gaps between my watching sessions and teh fact that it was just really consistently great. My favorite characters off the top of my head were Toph and Azula, Azula in particular was a powerhouse of villain writing for tension, twists, and emotional depths. I can't stop telling myself that the final scene was like flipping between two different shows with who was fighting her vs Ozai - like going between a Superman cartoon on Ozai's part and some Game of Thrones drama shit on Azula's. But then outside of her, Toph was just so delightful and scratched a bratty little girl itch I don't see too many places else, with a good balance between silliness and badass moments. Those two were the showstoppers for me, but every character is so lovable and well-defined. Maybe besides Suki, I think she was a little left out to dry in terms of interesting character traits by the end.

It's also a little hard for me to wholly appreciate the pacifist message of the plot having grown up with Steven Universe, or even its unique East Asian inspired setting since non-European fantasy is becoming less rare. Both of these we still don't have enough of by a longshot, but I just mean its not as mindblowing to my palette. What is however is the mother fucking animation. You cannot beat the fluidity and expressiveness of this animation in combination with fairly detailed characters by TV animation standards. Every fight scene is peak and I acutely remember some of them leaving me speechless. In that sense and its primacy on so many of those aspects it does still remain goated.

Childhood_Has_Passed

(7/10)

For this month's spooky phase I let myself fall down a little bit of a Sonic.exe rabbit hole and caught up on what the crazy folks out there are doin' with it. There is some really cool stuff going on - two favorite projects of mine besides this being Sonic.exe Rewritten by Springless Music and the mysterious Green Mountain ARG. I like seeing how these new projects take the dumbass creepypasta of Sonic.exe to expand up and refine the concept of an evil Sonic game. There will always be something gripping about the corruptions of childhood comforts, whether its a character you trusted turning their world into a bloodbath or the disfigurement of that icon symbolizing some disturbing, unknowable truth. And at the base of all of these is a morbid fascination with nostalgia that the story of Childhood_Has_Passed just reaches through all the smoke and mirrors to grab by the throat.

My most honest opinion on this written work I'm reviewing primarily is that it reads like a first draft of a cool Twilight Zone episode. Which when compared its trope-ladden creepypasta contemporaries is a major compliment. Like I said it feel uniquely insightful into why this genre even exists without being smarmy about it, just turning that realization into a cool concept of sci-fi horror. It's still a horror story written for Sonic fans, but its overall premise and the monster of Childhood_Has_Passed are more universal and mature, just with Sonic as the garnish. Our Sonic monster is the embodiment of the toxic nostalgic instinct simply appearing in the guise of this beloved mascot, and I think he is full of a lot of potential.

Something the artist on Twitter is very eager to explore with his beautiful artwork of Childhood_Has_Passed in all his stages and different character-based forms! While this writing is rough, the artworks is outstanding! Them having such a great grasp of horror and cartoon design, as well as graphic design which really informs the monster's motifs. The transition from C_H_P's cute to final form is paced perfectly with all its unsuspecting (literal) sharp edges bleeding into that final horrific form perfectly. This is definitely one of my new favorite internet/fandom horror creatures out there, maybe besides the holistic masterpiece of Fazbear Toddler Fun.

The Incredibles (2004)

(10/10)

This is definitely one of the most defining works of early Pixar to me, I think specifically because it really goes all in on the mid-century theatrics. The Incredibles, Toy Story (another favorite), and Cars (which I reviewed) all play with dichotomous themes found within mid-century American pop culture. Toy Story is the war between the cowboy and the spaceman as America tried to integrate its expansionist fervor into a new frontier, and Cars pitting the quaint against the and commercial of American vehicle culture. The Incredibles, as I've understood from my memory of some interviews with Brad Bird, is about the critique of the super- or strong-man archetype which lived large in the American Dream before it was picked apart by decades of social revolutions. And it does this in such an engrossing and perfect fucking package.

It is just a brilliant film on all levels. The animation in it still astounded me with its quality given its age - from conversations to creative action sequences it is exquisite, even if now and again a piece of hair or cloth physics jiggles weirdly - and this complimented by phenomenal character designs. I love the exaggerated shapes of all involved, and I feel like every part of the character's was used to communicate personality and action to the fullest extent. Early Pixar films always have a unique atmosphere, but this film especially blends cartoon and human drama so well, in a way you still so rarely find in Hollywood animation. Even after the credits rolled I was still continuing to be fascinated by the internal worlds of these characters and how they feel about their combined super and average lives.

I remember being very fond of the sequel when it came out in 2018, but likewise... it was succeeded during the holiday by Spiderverse... causing any previous criticism's of its comparative mediocrity to be blown out in full intensity. I do remember it feeling unique as I now feel this original is, but at the same time even from memory I can remember some places where it lacked in the abundant substance found in this work. The Incredibles is one of those films where I'm already tempted to rewatch it just because I want more of all of it, but I'm concerned about re-experiencing the sequel and letting it sink in that Pixar really doesn't hit like this anymore.

OMORI

(10/10)

I have so many video games I know I should really really be playing cause they sound exactly like the moving experience I would adore, but I can just never actually be arsed. Thank god for my friend, the one who watched Avatar with me for playing this game on stream for me and another bestie, and getting to experience this wonderful fucking game. It's really coming to haunt me how much the trappings of escapism is becoming a central topics in modern indie literature, and how I with my story concept Neonverse am planning on being no different. Though Omori's take on the escapist instinct is incredibly gut-wrenching as well as oddly familiar.

The other spectating friend of mine used to be antsy about the game as they heard from a friend that it is based on a problematic depiction of Dissociative Identity Disorder, or more the Split Personality trope. But luckily we both found that to be false, as while it borrows some language from that messy legacy, it uses it to craft a brilliant story about guilt and dissociation from it. It is fantastical but aims not to make a spectacle out of the protagonists' aches, instead just expressing a fantastical version of the a dissociation from self universal to so many who have struggled with any manner of mental illness. Holding two strongly defined worlds of fantasy and reality not to depict the crushing of a true internal self, but moving past a toxic crutch which you had invested so much in.

And really there are three worlds within, one of the dreaming world, the real world, and then the excellently applied horror aspects. Again like in so much internet horror you see the corruption of the soft and comforting, but with a real weight and not just for an edgy gag. The final sequence, where the biggest twist of the story is pieced together through literal snapshot memories of the incident is so chilling and brilliant. I think because it sits within a motif which has consistently been the intersection of the other real and dream world, and hear you see it consumed by the world of horror, and can feel how that divide formed as the character attempted to disassociate them. It's just so so so good, I didn't even get to gush about how well the visuals all compliment this, just like fuck man, Omori is gooood.

The Incredibles 2 (2018)

(8/10)

Yeah, I needed to rewatch this to understand what was off. Well, I still didn't totally get it when I finished but I did sense that something about the movie felt more hollow? Watching some analyses on Youtube it finally struck me that GODDAMN IT - HELEN DOESN'T HAVE A COMPELLING ARC! The entire movie is framed as a well-needed role reversal but it still focuses more on Bob than it does on Helen. Even as she goes out on the physically and emotionlly challenging quest of her husband in the first film, her motivations and emotions are sanitized of all the conflict, while Bob at home goes through the biggest arc. Which is really sad because it would have helped really complete the franchise' dedication to the importance of family while scrubbing away the aftertaste of sexist implications.

Incredibles 2 is just good by itself, an incredibly fun watch, but the first Inredibles is that, and a meticulously well-constructed drama packed with great character writing. Too, it's full of details that while contradictory, feel like they open up room for speculation rather than plot holes. Something that had stuck with me since I watched the first film was how Bob and Helen's outlooks on family change between the prologue and the meat of the film. Bob is the one who speaks fondly of settling down in an interview, while Helen proudly says she refuses to leave such a competitive and male-dominated career. But later she is the most happily adjusted to family life and strongly adamant Bob commit to this transition as well. Out of context this looks a little suspicious, as if the film is implying that women, even when they whine and kick their feet, have a natural tendency towards house-making over outside jobs... But the movie is so dedicated to the value of the whole family including Bob that it can be set aside as a more bad faith interpretation. Even if Helen is a bit underutilized outside of arguments with Bob and fight scenes...

A perfect way for this possible reading to have been resolved though would have been a role reversal! To emphasize that its not important that Bob support Helen caring for the kids, but that Bob too is there for the family even if Helen were the one to go out. And likewise, that Helen can have her own conflicting feelings about domestic vs super life she must resolve to better understand her husband. This is what Incredibles 2 could have been, but instead Helen is just as perfect at superhero work as she was as a parent, and Bob is the one who has to struggle both films. It's giving a girlboss narrative - ("Women make the homes and the dough! Men need to catch up!") - but nothing kills a female character more than refusing to give her internal complexity! Women are not gods, we are people, I want Helen to be selfish and wrong and a hypocrite like her husband, or some other relatable flaws that balance out their portrayals and what the movie expects of fathers and mothers. It's such a wasted opportunity, it kinda just makes me want to return to the first and write my own damn fanfiction.

Lilo & Stitch (2002)

(9/10)

Had to give my respects to an OG with a terrible terrible live action remake roaming the earth these days. I had never seen Lilo and Stitch before though obviously heard amazing things, all of which were very true! It is a wonderful and weird movie that obviously takes a lot of pride in using Disney horsepower to tell a very not-Disney like story, able to make its wackiness as heartfelt and lovely as possible. I especially adore how the unique artstyle compliments the world, story and characters, the humans are just as chunky and a little odd looking as our aliens and I think it really helps this story about a bunch of weirdos feel really lovingly cohesive.

This also not to mention how impactful the story is. It is also incredibly un-Disney-like. Not the orphaning, but the pretty raw depiction of what trauma and lack of family does to young women. They don't all become delicate singing dames waiting to be spirited off by their dreams, sometimes they become weird and violent an angry! And that is beautifully portrayed through Lilo and Nani, they are so lovely and I love that despite how messy they are portrayed the movie (this version...) does not deny that the deserve and need each other. That despite everything their emotional bonds and autonomy is valuable.

And this would not have been helped, and at some points hindered, if not for the interference of some dumbass alien shenanigans which is somehow both such a random and perfect cross-plot. Somehow the mix of aliens and the tropics of Hawaii come together and tickle the senses perfectly, its a nice break from the association of aliens and small-town mainland Americana, and I love that most of the art is focused on a very simplistic beauty to Hawaii rather than exoticizing it or the aliens too much. Stitch is also great, I'm surprised how little I have to say about him except that he is like definitely an murder autism creature. I sure hope this movie doesn't get commercialized to hell to the point it loses all meaning and gets a hollow, self-defeating, and racist remake down the line.

The Croods

(8/10)

Kinda watched this out of the peripheral of my consciousness while trying to fall asleep on the couch next to my little brother. I'd seen this movie forever ago and remembered really liking it, and that was well earned, its a really fun and funny movie. One of those kids stories that is just a little shlocky, but also definitely has the charm of like a wacky and whimsical children's book with a heartfelt core about being curious and truly living life.

Love the humor and character dynamics that sell that all, and I mean ALL the characters are dumbass, feral cavemen. Like the little girl acting like a dog is one gag, but its kinda crazy how much the grandmother and mother also get in on this ferocity, its really striking and then just blends into the background of the fact that all these characters are dumb cavemen. I'm very used to media making too many exceptions for their cavewomen y'know. The main character Eep's design is a great mix of feminine and boorish, and especially in contrast to Guy, her love interest and the dreamer of the story. He actually has pretty handsome proportions compared to everyone else and gets thrown around like a ragdoll and its fucking hilarious to me. Absolute boytoy behavior.

Definitely a Dreamworks film, something very silly and grungy the whole way through but that still really loves and respects itself. Fun movie.

Sinners (2025)

(100/10)

OOOOHHH MY GOOOD THIS FILM WAS EVERYTHING! IT WAS AMAZING! I HAD NEVER CRIED SO MUCH AT A FILM IN MY LIFE IT WAS SO MOVING SO BEAUTIFUL AND SO TRAGIC! When I was first seeing stuff about it I thought it was just about like, a metaphor for predatory black folks within the community but its a far more expansive metaphor about colonialism and assimilation and the power of black culture and its insane its so so so insanely good. Even that description is no where near enough you HAVE to see this movie. You have to see it now, give Coogler all your money - Sinners must make ten sin-million dollars right now! I don't have enough time with it in my mind to say anything substantial but I want to let you know now you must watch it. One day* I'll be more coherent.

Balatro (2024)

(10/10)

A genuinely hypnotizing game to play! I bought Balatro in combination with Deltarune and played it the same day biding time till I could play the latter with friends, and next thing you know 10 hours of my life had just melted away. I am such a sucker for quirky card games, the really scratch this itch for pattern-recognition and organization in my brain, and this game really gets it! Funny too, because seeing others play it, I got the impression it would be too complicated for me to play, but this was ridiculous coming from Pocket Card Jockey's (a solitaire and horse racing game) biggest proponent. Balatro is even better than most as it actively labels and explains everything any time you need the reminder, and it makes picking up on new mechanics and getting engrossed in the chaos smooth as hell.

My one sad note is that this game kinda made me realize I may not actually be all that big a fan of rogue-lites. I enjoyed say, Splatoon 3 Side Order, but that was because I had long ago mastered that series' mechanics, and skill plays a far larger role than luck only a few runs in. Balatro on the other hand is loudly and proudly a lucky and pre-strategy based game, where you WILL lose if your load out isn't well-optimized before certain walls. There is absolutely no way to backflip out of it with some sort of latent experience, it is all or nothing on your deck-building strategy. Which is perfect for its own vibe, but not exactly for me.

Speaking of vibes, I adore the atmosphere of this game, like I said it draws you in so beautifully. It's crazy how despite having kind of one main theme I have never gotten tired of it in the nearly day's worth of playtime I racked up, especially with all its transformations and warping that keep it fresh. My favorite detail is how when you game over the music becomes slow and muffled in the background, only to pick back up with a distorted delay once you hit play again. Really selling the idea of being pulled right back into this vortex of numbers and cards even if you momentarily got your ass kicked into the void.

Though I haven't ever really re-captured that initial flow, I hope to keep returning to Balatro over the years, the same way I do my other favoritest plucky little card game Pocket Card Jockey (2016) for the Nintendo 3DS (play it now!).

Deltarune (Ch. 3 & 4) (2025)

(100/10)

Ah...

You ever play a game and know it has fundemental changed you life and the way you look at reality? My time with Chapter 3 alone - ironically the lesser of the two chapters in popular opinion - honest to god sent me into a dissociative shock for upwards of a week with how drop-dead amazing of an experience it was. It's not the only 100/10 listed here (or of its own month if I had done part 2 of that Sinners review), but it is probably my experience of the year, just above Sinners because it hits so so close to home on so so many ideas that have driven me insane for the past years of my life. And once again, this is only Chapter 3, the smaller scope one!

To get to the point -- Deltarune may be on its way to becoming the best video game of the 21st century. I should not have to tell you that Undertale, its successor, was already a good candidate for that title by sheer impact of writing and subversion alone, but this was literally only a preamble to Deltarune, which has not stumbled (since Chapter 1) in delivering on and surpassing every expectation. I would probably not have such high, gushing opinions of this game if not for the analysis of Andrew Cunningham on Youtube in his video What was so good about Undertale (Anyways)", which perfectly details a lot of the conceits of Toby Fox's vision which made me appreciate the original all over again, and primed me to fall head-over-ass for these new chapters.

It's also been given a late credit in informing my Spamton Essay, which details my fascination with how the game plays with the limits of escapism and imaginary worlds. Chapter 3 and 4 build on the pre-established themes in perfect and complimentary directions: 3 a hilarious and soul-rending exploration of the emotions which hold our desire for escapism together and how this effects the objects we love; and 4 an epic, twisting adventure into the bowls of the entire world's cosmic order as well as how our protagonists choose to interpret it. And as I've said, despite Chapter 4 being the fan favorite for obvious reasons, I do not think I will ever recover from Chapter 3 anytime in the forseeable future -- the prognosis is terminal.

Like with Spamton, a whole character deconstruction of some kind is certainly in the works for the 3rd chapter's anti-hero, Tenna. I love Tenna. I adore Tenna. I would do anything for Tenna. He is in my walls, he is in my head, he is constantly to this day crawling up the back of my skull. He has torn my psyche utterly asunder in the best possible way, tearing me to bloody shreds until reaching my inner child and over-weening it to cataclysmic proportions for a good chunk of my month. I have been trying to write many characters like him, but none exactly like him, and everything about him is so perfect I feel fundamentally broken as a human being whenever I think about him. To say the least.

But this not to discount Chapter 4 as an equally major peak of the game, even if it did not leave my emotions a bloody pulp. It broke my brain in different ways. It is very concentrated on the biggest questions in the game's story, which made the previous Chapter all about the magic of escapism all the more missed as the plot ballooned exponentially in complexity before my eyes. The best part too is that you really have to play it yourself to appreciate the absolute tom-fuckery that Toby Fox is cooking up in that chapter. I played it before friends and have seen streamers play it too, but I don't think anything captures the mind-fuck that is the game so joyfully messing with your direct sense of self and agency within the game. It is a truly elevated experience for the medium.

And while that broke my brain, my still recovering heart was broken again by Susie evolving into the most important and loveable character possible. Her arc started in Chapter 3 with her relationship to Tenna despite the rules of the world which deign to separate her from the bonds she makes on her adventures, but it obviously reached a climax here. The feeling of momentum within this chapter compared to the more claustrophobic 3rd (once again, which now felt more safe in comparison), gave the adventure this manic energy enhanced by Susie's enthusiasm. Her newfound passion for affirming the veracity of the Dark Worlds and her own purpose through them makes my heart sing with a hope familiar to myself at about her age -- the feeling of being a teen who has just re-invented meaning in their friends and interests and never wants the adventures to end, to never see the light of day again when the night brings so much.

It's a shame she is so fucking doomed. Everyone in this game is so fucking doomed and its the most exciting shit fucking ever! Once again, I think my exploration of Spamton encapsulates so much of the breath-taking yet chilling commentary the game expresses on what it means to find yourself in fiction, and I cannot stop thinking about nearly any of it. Deltarune is my game of the year, my game of the decade, and my game of the century.

Get Out (2017)

(9/10)

Jordan Peele's filmography is definitely up there on my list movies desperately owed a watch by me for all my writing interests. It has been ever since I fell in love with Nope in 2022, and most certainly since Sinners fucking blew my brains out my goddamn skull with how good it was. (Both movies being owed a rewatch by me, but I think the sheer force of impact they had on my soul makes me tremble to revisit). I'd heard comments about how Sinners wouldn't exist without Peele's work, and I wasn't a complete fan of that framing cause it can make it sound like this kind of black art - a very niche yet infinitely flexible mode of expression of black experience - is inherently derivative of the other. But I do understand that statement as saying that Peele's work layed the groundwork for these stories to enter the mainstream. But this still not to discount that the vision of this movie and Sinners are not wholly distinct (in a good way).

What I like most about Get Out is that while full of real, terrible tension, it's use of this horror almost comes around to comedic in an unobstrusive way. It's more surreal than anything, just because it hits so many crucial beats of black anxieties. It almost reads like an essentials reading for white people on what freaks us out that they probably miss because they themselves are the monster in the dark and the butt of the joke. The father reminds me of one of my friends, the mother reminds me of one of my teachers, the brother of at least 15 different white kids I've seen be suspiciously play-aggressive with their black peers. It's just one after another of being hit with black fear of white medicine, psychology, intimacy, but it all comes together really smoothly!

And beyond that most blatant stuff are those golden nuggets of nuanced commentary on the insidiousness of liberal racism, which combined with likeable comedic in moments makes a light but thought-provoking watch. It doesn't obliterate me with symbolism like Nope or Sinners, but its still an awesome social commentary horror film all the same, and I salute what gates it has opened in the medium.

The Minecraft Movie (2025)

(4/10)

Late and reluctant watch because yeah, that was just an hour and a half of Jack Black saying things in the funniest way possible, and nothing else of any substance. I can understand why people have found enjoyment in something dumb and fun like that, but I can't really forgive it for just really obviously wanting to be The Lego Movie or Barbie (2023) and lacking any iota of heart.

More than anything in the film itself, the most interesting piece of its existence is just the fact it exists at all. That first trailer was genuinely so surreal, it felt like a goddamn college humor parody from 2013 of how shitty and soulless a hypothetical Minecraft movie would be, and yet here we are over... Jesus over a decade past when that would have been charming. It is just so unpleasing to look at and filled with so many bland tropes, I barely even want to give props to the animation because while it is servicable (and individual staffers should never hold blame for the product) it is very little more than that. All the animators and Jack Black are absolved of sin for this movie, but pretty much any suits who signed off on this can eat my ass.

The Amazing Digital Circus (Ep 4 & 5)

(9/10)

So, I never had reviewing specific episodes of TV shows (especially those only a half hour) in mind with these reviews, but I really wanted to talk about Amazing Digital Circus given the latest episode, so here we are. I have been a fan of this webseries since I watched episode 4 over my winter break. Before that I kind of just thought of it as a harmless but meh indie animated web-series a bit above Hazbin Hotel. It's first and second episode kinda just came off as obnoxious yet competent and I barely kept an eye on it out of like, respect. But episode 4 really shifted the vibe.

Mainly because, it is the episode (before 5) which really flexed the character writing muscles of the show. The other episodes were not at all ruined by their action plotlines, but sometimes the over the top jokes and scenarios detracted from getting to appreciate the characters beyond their basic traits. Even if 3 had a great moment with Kinger (and truthfully the characters are always well done), 4 was a perfect "filler" episode which showed that these jokers had strong foundations as personalities underneath the slapstick.

Episode 5 is luckily this again, but with a far faster pace that makes up for the singular, mundane setting of the 4th, without giving up the strong character focus. 4 takes a character previously the butt of cruelty and explores her very, painfully relatable issues with mood and self-esteem through a single setting reflective of her past, while 5 develops two at-odds characters and the interpersonal cold war between them. I especially like how 4 and 5 explore how the meek or over-friendly characters in this environment are not always the best, and that there is probably a lot to respect in the rougher characters than previously imagined.

It's really fun the more I think about it, which I've had a lot of time to do as I've rewatched the series so far with friends and family a couple times since. Digital Circus is really evolving past its pilot and even a certain other bright and obnoxious, swear-filled indie series about people trapped in a sort of hell.

ENA: Dream BBQ (2025)

(10/10)

The ENA franchise is always so delightful. It was a big comfort for me back during the pandemic days. Honestly insanely on and ahead of its time with that whole weird-core craze which was 100% a product of mass trauma and will no doubt continue to be defining for the surreal art trends of our generation. ENA's production value and vision was really on top of the pile though and I'm happy to see it continue to bloom and find its own game.

It was in fact a playable episode, full of eye-catching dream-like visuals and characters who perfectly balance creepy, cute, and silly factors. I didn't see everything, but definitely a good lot as I had a friend with me as a guide. Their favorite character was the unemployed, parasitized cat-girl in the city area, and I think mine was the Italian worm hoarder. He will be sorely missed.

The writing, visuals, music, and gags were all spectacular as always, and I am excited to see the plot progress in further chapters. I was actually routinely confused about how to get an ending where I could actually see the fruits of my efforts because I didn't put together that I didn't get a bad ending as much as just reach the end of the content. Long live ENA and all its goofiness.

K-Pop Demon Hunters (2025)

(8/10)

This is one of those things again I never would have watched on my own, but thank God for friends. I'm really happy I did too of course, the movie was a real blast if a little rough here and there. It's not the next Spiderverse, but it is another delightful entry into the canon of "Kids Movies Which Effortlessly Look Far More Stylized and Unique Than Disney's Output" with its anime-inspired visuals and low frame-rate.

The story was really fun if having a bit of a simultaneously sloppy and impactful "trauma is the real villain" wrap-up. It tries to have its cake and eat it too by having a generic big bad and a mysterious repressed guardian character, but I think both end up very underdeveloped by the end. The main cast is delightful in all their moments though, and I enjoyed that despite the leading trio of pop-stars, all fanservice was directed towards their male rivals.

I think the other biggest thing beyond the villains was that it also tried to have a generic evil hoard and a twist about them being half-metaphors for people who have made selfish mistakes in the past but are capable of change. Realizing this is when a friend informed me the story originally started as a TV show and every single piece fell into place. This would have absolutely killed it as a monster-of-the-week show which slowly introduced sympathetic middle villains, but however it got condensed into this is a bit of a tragedy. But a blessing too, I wonder if something like that could have really survived in the streaming age. I hope it enjoys its minute in the original IP darling spotlight.