I saw Barbarian last weekend, I really enjoyed it. It kept me guessing every step of the way, which was a huge breath of fresh air from your average horror movie, which have become way too predictable. I was on the edge of my seat ready and anxiously waiting for whatever crazy shit they threw at the screen next, and Bill Skarsgard once again killed it in a horror role. If that guy's career doesn't take off after this and the It movies, then there truly is no justice in this world.

Oh, and speaking of Barbarian... stuff, I also rented Conan the Barbarian (1982) on Prime Video a few days ago, I fully understand why it's considered a cult classic. The end duel was flipping amazing (dat wheel kill, man) and the quest stuff with the slaves wasn't half bad, either (nice T&A, too, BTW, yeah, I'm a bit of a horndog, I can't help it). If it ever hits 4K, I'm definitely picking it up, which it deserves. Why the shitty reboot got one before the far better OG film that put Arnold on the map (and got it greenlit based solely on how well it sold on blu-ray), I'll never know.

BTW, just a heads up: we don't talk about Conan the Destroyer.

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners: Chalk up another bangin' adaptation! Gorgeous visuals combine with an entertaining and authentically edgy story to create the best game adaptation since Arcane. Anime is proving to be a great fit for these. Don't miss it!

House of the Dragon Ep.6:

I have a hard time staying interested in shows nowadays. CP2077 Edge runners, I keep falling asleep. Rings of Power, same thing. This streaming thing isn't working for me anymore. Recently also tried Thai Cave Rescue, was a riveting when it happened, however this adaptation is pretty bad. Narco Saints looked promising as well, but the dub and low production values hold it back.

What I have been watching, on cable together, Alone: Frozen. Absolutely fantastic, the last episode had me tearing up it was so good. And it's all shot by the participants, living alone, surviving winter in Labrador. Best show on tv imo, reality tv at its finest.

We have also been getting into The Resort, looks interesting. What we do in the shadows is still great. And the usual old reliables are back, Survivor and The Amazing Race. Both off to a more promising start than their pandemic years.

I swapped out Netflix for Disney+, maybe I can find someone interesting on there. It's mostly my youngest that wanted Disney+ and since Netflix just keeps getting more expensive for less quality year after year...

Not sure how into star wars you are, or if you've seen any of the Mandalorian or any of the other new star wars shows, but they are much better than the new movies imo. Those are the only things I've watched on Disney+ but they're good. Especially Mandalorian. This is coming from a 33 year old guy who thought the prequels are alright but not as good as the original trilogy.

Thanks, I had my eye on the star wars stuff already. I rather give ST New worlds a try but that's on Paramount+ lol.

Is there any order to them? I started Nandor briefly just to check if it all works (not really, sound doesn't work right on Disney+, have to keep rebooting my amp to get sound after starting a program ugh, it keeps crashing somehow from whatever Disney+ does over ARC. Netflix and Prime Video no problems)

I'm trying to get through the Rings of Power first. It is very pretty but the more I watch the less I like it. The story is a mess and a snooze fest while it keeps jumping between story lines far too often, stick with one part for a bit ugh. The slow motion music sequences just put me to sleep while most of the characters are forgettable. What a waste of 50 million per episode :/ Visual and Sound 10/10, characters 5/10, story 4/10, editing/pacing 3/10. Overall 5/10.

Ad Astram

Really well made movie with a nicely believable future setting, a strong lead performance, and a well written contemplation on human psychology and the dichotomy of connection and isolation. Great audiovisual presentation too.

Probably my favourite books of all time, in fact, I’m currently finishing it up. I just read the Voyage of Eärendil, and am a few pages into Akallabêth—a recount of the establishment of the Edain, how the Valar created Numenor, and the early trade with the Elves of Middle Earth and those of Tol Erresëa.

A fair warning, I don’t think the Silmarillion lends itself well to audiobook. It’s not really a novel so much of a collection of various types of creative narratives that chain together to tell the story of the first age of middle earth. It’s mainly told from a distant perspective with a birds eye view of the unfolding stories and is dense in its content—the book is quite a bit shorter than Lord of the Rings, but the story is far larger. There’s a lot of terminology from various fictional languages, place locations, family trees, and an extensive cast of characters. It’s expected that the readers are frequently looking at the glossary index and maps as they read. The first few times I read it, I was often flipping back and forth through the book.

Certainly, The Silmarillion is not for everyone, even among the Tolkien fandom.

But, if you do like The Silmarillion, there is an “extended” version called The History of Middle Earth. Not so much extended, but different versions of the Silmarillion, some of them poetic, others prose, and lots of footnotes.

She-Hulk: Most refreshing MCU entry since WandaVision. I dug getting a ~slice of life Marvel story for a change. I don't know how much extra work went into the vfx post-backlash but while the effects weren't perfect they weren't distracting, either. My biggest gripe is that the episodes felt a bit rushed and undercooked; an extra 15 minutes per episode would have gone a long way. Man, the finale breaks the fourth wall so hard that Deadpool would blush. Hope to see more of her.

Werewolf By Night: I wasn't quite as impressed with this as some seem to be, but it's still a cool homage to classic monster cinema. More gore than I expected out of Disney, too.

With my cat watching the SpongeBob episode that parodies Jaws. XD