The Swanton825

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Blackman" data-cite="Blackman" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="28397" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Ah, Super Mario RPG. Unfortunately, like Ogre Battle 64, I had to play it through an emulator because they felt it necessary not to release it here, but those games were really good.<p> </p><p> For this year I'm mostly hyped for the upcoming CK3 DLC. Probably will be the year where I'll play Expeditions Rome and Mount & Blade II too. Apart from that, not much on my list tbh apart from some indy titles.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Nintendo acts like we're asking the world of them just to have classic games playable on their newest systems. Well whose fault is it for giving us tons of games with Virtual Console and then never doing that idea again?</p><p> </p><p> I'm super psyched for the CK3 DLC finally coming out, though it feels like a safe assumption that it's going to break the game for a couple weeks before patches roll out. I also heard several of the immersion modders are supposedly working on a super mod that will combine all their mods into one which would be fantastic because I'm tired of troubleshooting compatibility on mods.</p>

Well at least I'll be expecting it this time. Curse you Henry Cavill and your fantastic portrayal of Geralt forcing me to watch!

Is Yennefer less of a sociopath in this season? I got really tired of her "I was treated badly by my family so I'm still the victim even when I'm putting the lives of everyone around me in danger!". I get that she's supposed to be deeply flawed, but there are zero redeeming aspects to her in season one.

We can put that right next to my dream of a road trip buddy comedy starring Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen as themselves. Both of these movies would make money but since they're not remakes, reboots or soft reboots, Hollywood won't do it.

Applicability is something I think a lot of academics ignore when insisting others find hidden meaning in things. For example, I have a deep connection to Lilo & Stitch because I was in the middle of being adopted by my grandparents and that fear of one mistake or one of my biological parents changing their minds before everything was finalized and I get taken away was a legit fear of mine for years. So this cute little Disney film comes out and all the moments of Lilo almost getting taken away resonated with me in a different way than most viewers. So is the whole movie a metaphor for troubled youths and the stress of their guardians/adopters? To me it feels like it, but it'd be pretty arrogant of me to claim my interpretation is proof that's what the creators intended and anyone who can't see it is incapable of "deeper thinking". I think we'd all be happier if people could just go "this is how I see this movie/tv show/video game/etc." and the response was just "Interesting. Here's how I see it". As for Ridley Scott's BS, maybe if his films weren't so inconsistent in quality that most of us would rather wait until we can stream it and maybe if he hadn't made a film about an ugly, miserable moment in history at a time when everyone's already miserable, The Last Duel would seem appealing to more than just history nerds and film buffs.

<p>I don't share the same level of hate for the Matrix films (my feelings are best described as intense apathy) but there is an argument to be made that a good portion of the philosophy of the films come from fan interpretation rather than any actual deep thought. Like how people can read Catcher in the Rye find a great statement on humanity and others just see an angsty story about a whiny brat.</p><p> </p><p> The Wachowskis' other films like V for Vendetta (I know they didn't direct it but they were still the producers and screenwriters) and Jupiter Ascending have a serious problem of acting like they're profound when they're really just cheesy action films. Without either the Christian or Zen Buddhist symbolism that you see in The Matrix, audiences don't give either of those films the same benefit of the doubt. (Off-topic, Man of Steel is another great example of a film using Christian symbolism to seem deep or profound)</p><p> </p><p> What I think is neat about The Matrix is that it's become so much about the fanbase, the philosophy they glean from the films and the first movie's long-reaching influence on pop culture that it's almost pointless to argue whether the depth is actually there or not because the impact is the same regardless.</p><p> </p><p> I'd like to thank everyone for coming to my TED Talk. There are free cookies waiting for everyone in the lobby.</p>

That's a shame. I had a feeling the show's humor wasn't going to land with everyone. I really need to start prefacing my comedy recommendations with "I genuinely enjoy crap like Mr. Nanny and Suburban Commando". I'm waiting for the full season to come out so I can just binge it, but the previews for Wheel of Time have me stoked!

It might just be that Dewey as a character started to grate on me near the end of Ducktales and him playing a fairly similar character on MODOK brought those memories back.

I binged Hulu's M.O.D.O.K. show and while I'd hesitate to shout its praises from the rooftops, I still found it to be a fun watch. The first episode should give you a good idea whether or not you'll enjoy it. Side note: Ben Schwartz seems to only be able to play the annoying kid character and I'm steadily growing to hate him.

Red Notice seems like the kind of movie I'd enjoy, but the history nerd part of my brain won't let me ignore the fact the jeweled eggs only date back to the 19th century AND they're meant to represent Easter. It's like if the sequel involves stealing the StairMaster of Charlemagne. Actually, I might watch that lol

Why does it feel like we're having two different conversations? I was making a joke that he was in terrible shape by UFC standards and there was no way he was living at the gym and doping like crazy. Do you even realize that my initial post was actually defending Punk's physique in AEW? Because the only way your responses make sense is if you think I'm dunking on anything about Punk besides his UFC "career".

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Makhai" data-cite="Makhai" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46243" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Punk looked like that when he was doing all those things. He's going for Nick Bockwinkel in AWA, he's not trying to catch Teddy Hart anymore. And when he turns heel he's going to be the biggest star in the business. And if you don't see it, don't know what to tell you. He's gone out of his way to flash how good he still is as a heel in brief moments so far. It's a slow burn. Let it happen.<p> </p><p> You want to say the booking has been too generic, or the one-and-done matches have not had the effect they should have, I'll listen. But Punk is still 95% what he was, he just can't live up to the nostalgia, he's just an unathletic white guy at the end of the day. It's why his UFC run was always doomed.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Did you mean to quote the other guy? Because I never said anything about the booking. Though if how he looked in UFC was really him at peak performance and not just retirement making him extremely lazy, then he's got genetics working against him worse than Chris Hero.</p>

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Blodyxe" data-cite="Blodyxe" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46243" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Liked the promo battle between MJF and Punk, but it's a shame MJF can't talk about the most obvious issue Punk has right now. <p> </p><p> He's out of shape and Tony Khan is too scared to tell him about it.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> That's what most 43-year-old men with an active lifestyle look like when they don't live at the gym, pounding dozens of unregulated supplements or speedballing testosterone and HGH.</p>

All the anger over Netflix's take on Cowboy Bebop finally stirred me to watch the original anime. Yes, yes, I realize how insane it is that I'm an anime fan and I've never seen Cowboy Bebop but in my defense I was five when it aired on adult swim and by the time I could actually watch it the hype was so big for it that I assumed there was no way it could be as good as people say. BOY WAS I WRONG! It 100% holds up and then some. The animation is fantastic across the board, the writing is top notch and Yoko Kanno once again makes all other anime composers look weak and pitiful by comparison. Even the dub is still good! Oh and to make my refusal to watch Bebop beforehand even more insane, I love Samurai Champloo and my favorite anime film of all time is Macross Plus, both directed by the same man (Shinichiro Watanabe) as Bebop.

Oh, those two would be great for a buddy cop movie! Those two are already seriously tempting me to get AppleTV+ just to watch See (also Ted Lasso). Not to mention that it'd be a great break from current trend where apparently all action comedies must star The Rock, Kevin Hart, Ryan Reynolds or some combo of the three.

Batista has been one of the most pleasant acting surprises of the last decade. He's become such a great actor that I actually get excited for a movie if he's been cast in it. On the topic of great acting, I highly recommend Drive if you haven't already seen it. I don't know if it's just because of Ryan Gosling or what, but Drive and Blade Runner 2049 almost feel like companion films.

Blade Runner 2049 is sooo good! It's one of those movies I feel bad about not seeing in theaters.

The movie version of the rings take their design from iron rings, metal bands associated with Chinese martial arts. I can't remember which Gordon Liu film it was (I want to say 36th Chamber) but it opens with him showing off multiple weapons he's proficient with, including iron rings, plus a few other kung fu movies have scenes where the hero trains with them. This became good as visual shorthand for "this guy punches really hard" in Hong Kong cinema (and I believe some anime as well). I think this was a (probably accidental considering the massive dump on Chinese culture that was the Mulan remake) brilliant change. Considering as well that The Mandarin was originally created as Stan Lee's take on the Fu Manchu, "Yellow Peril" caricature, leaving the rings as finger jewelry leaves part of that "exotic evil from the Far East" stereotypical design intact, while a simple change to iron rings helps further ground the setting in Chinese culture to those who are familiar. Sorry for that wall of text. I actually knew something about a topic for once and just kept typing.

I'm starting to think I'm cursed or something because crap like what's going on with the Suns owner always seems to happen whenever I become a fan of something or someone.

I really should read the book. I used to be a really avid reader but it's like my mind refuses to let me focus on reading anymore.

Watched Dune and I adored it! I had to struggle to not pause the movie multiple times just to geek out over the visual design to my brother. The acting is great (well, Rebecca Ferguson's acting in the first act came off stilted to me but it got better once they reached Arrakis) the direction is fantastic and Hans Zimmer finally managed to make another soundtrack that doesn't make me think of Inception. If part 2 is as good as this, I would like to nominate Denis Villenueve as the new king of sci-fi films. Between this and Blade Runner 2049, he's filmed the unfilmable twice now.

Well since my Vikings are bound for mediocrity and a Mike Zimmer contract extension once again, I might as well keep an eye on another sport. Usually I pay half attention to the Jazz and Nuggets since I grew up near there but I think I'm pulling for the Suns this year because their playoff run last season was so fun and chaotic for the Western Conference.

One of the sequels in the original continuity tried to explain it away by making him powered by ancient Celtic evil surrounding Samhain or something like that. Nobody liked the explanation so I think everybody just kind of shrugged and went with "Michael Meyers can do what he does because he's Michael Meyers".

Happy to hear everything's all good now! Sorry I haven't gotten any new bios to you. I managed to write about page's worth of a story today, the most I've written all year, so I'm hoping I can brainstorm some new character.

Bug Fables - Nintendo refuses to make a normal Paper Mario game, so an indie studio decided to make their own with bugs! Greedfall - Underrated Bioware-inspired Action RPG set in a fantasy version of the Age of Discovery. Psychonauts 2 - I was never as in love with the first game as everyone else seems to be, but this is straight up the best platformer since Mario Odyssey with a fantastic story. Tim Schaefer finally showed he's still got it! Supraland - First-person metroidvania starring tiny toys in a kid's sandbox. Wasteland 3 - Classic Fallout for modern sensibilities. Also has a killer soundtrack. Yakuza: Like a Dragon - 2020's Game of the Year if you ask me. Awesome JRPG with charm and heart for days. Highly recommend the rest of the franchise if you enjoy classic beat 'em up games like Streets of Rage or Final Fight. Extra kudos to the devs for the bold/insane choice of a radical genre shift for Like a Dragon. Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair - The game everyone expected nothing from yet still delivered on being a great spiritual successor of Donkey Kong Country. EDIT: Totally missed the line about nothing too resource intensive! I don't think Psychonauts 2 or Wasteland 3 should be a problem, but Greedfall and Like a Dragon might be a bit too much. Sorry about that!