#IPE Fall 2021

[luna-rainbow]

Thanks for your answer for the last ask.

What is wrong with the writers of the new MCU material? Do they just hate Bucky, especially the writer of the Falcon and the Winter Soldier (he's NOT the Winter Soldier anymore!)? Did Bucky kick their cat or something? This hatred and victim blaming is not justified! "Oh Bucky's just a cray-cray psycho killing machine with cool metal arm but probably belongs in a padded cell. Lol he says he had no choice such a lame excuse..."

Soo…I don’t know if people still remember the rumours from back in 2021 and I don’t know how much of it is true, but my guess at it is this: there were supposed to be two main writers on the series. Spellman was supposed to take Sam’s story, while the other guy wrote Bucky’s story. For whatever reason, the other guy quit before he finished, and didn’t give the writing team enough time to put things together.

From a story craft point of view, Bucky’s story in TFATWS reeks of first-draft-ism. It’s a scattered plot of events that don’t quite string together, and a self-contradictory characterisation that hasn’t yet been smoothed over (but was made a little more believable by Sebastian’s efforts). You can tell some central character themes had been planted in the first draft — the PTSD, the guilt, the messy way he’s trying to relearn how to interact with people (Yori, Sam and later the Wakandans), the struggle with breaking free of his past. These were all strong, interesting character beats for Bucky to work through, and it honestly could have been a good story. And I think that’s when the original writer bailed.

When Spellman picked up this draft, he was pressed for time, he hadn’t watched CATWS and he never thought he’d needed to know about Bucky’s story, so he reads TheMovieSpoiler summary of the movie and tries to piece the rest of the story together. But Bucky’s not his priority nor his interest. There’s already beats of the story that were planned and have to be there for IP reasons. So beyond what was already in the first draft as mentioned above, Bucky is made to be the fall guy to make the rest of the plot happen. Zemo’s release — well we can’t make Sam help break out the criminal that killed an African king so we’ll make Bucky do it, who cares if it makes no sense for his character. The counselling session — the show’s few moments of levity, doesn’t matter that it makes no sense but hey, forced homoeroticism is hilarious, isn’t it? The Wakandan three-way fight — I may be remembering this wrong but I think Skogland said it was one of the first scenes that she had planned for. That fight had to happen, and again Bucky was made to provoke the Wakandans to the point Seb had to step in and say, almost literally, “he would not fucking say that” to make them wind back the animosity between Bucky and Ayo. Sam’s suit — oh no we can’t have Sam asking for it himself that would be too egocentric, we also can’t have Wakandans offering because well, not like the plot actually made Sam a strong ally for Wakanda, so we get Bucky asking for Sam’s suit to be made minutes after he fixes his mistake of releasing Zemo. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t make sense if it’s Bucky doing it, cos I really think by this stage Spellman didn’t give a shit about a character that wasn’t supposed to be his responsibility in the first place. It’s like when you’re doing group project and your teammate bails on you, you’re gonna do just enough to get that pass but you ain’t putting in the effort for a distinction cos just looking at the unfinished work is pissing you off. So then Bucky also becomes the token white male who pushes all the wrong buttons during the few token racism scenes cos we gotta make Walker have some redeemable qualities and he’s already a dick so we can’t make him racist too.

So instead of having a thoughtful story about a veteran trying to grapple with his guilt and PTSD and lack of agency and making some mistakes along the way, you get a weird disjointed plot of some guy…with some bad dreams…who randomly does things for no good personal reason…who gets made the butt of the joke for the stuff he’s experienced cos he’s got a metal arm and super soldier serum how hard could it have been he just needs to go and apologise for killing people while simultaneously having multiple poignant scenes portraying his lack of agency.

Every writer who tells you “a hero is only as interesting as the villain” just secretly wants to write a simpable villain. And when that writer isn’t very skilled, you get the disaster of TFATWS where a lot of effort is spent on making Zemo funny and personable, and Walker nuanced and sympathetic, instead of making either of the titular heroes funny or personable or nuanced or sympathetic. And yeah, I really don’t think Spellman ever cared enough about Bucky to want to make him sympathetic…or a hero. Remember when he said Bucky pulling open the van door was the first time Bucky has ever been a hero? Fuck right off with that.

[sapphire-weapon]

so someone on reddit leaked some stuff about RE9's private showcase prior to the embargo officially being lifted

are you ready for the biggest conspiracy theory ever

(this is all dev-related so i doubt any of you outside of @theggning and @godtier will care but fuck you this is my blog)

>the year is 2010 >shinji mikami opens tango gameworks, his own game studio after years of abuse from capcom and aimlessness in his post-capcom era >can't really make it work on his own >needs outside funding >signs on with bethesda >bethesda forces him to make a survival horror game >forces him to direct it >he doesn't want to but he has to because that was part of the agreement >enter john johanas >the year is now 2014 >johanas falls in love with TEW and eagerly takes the reins from mikami, writing and directing both story DLCs for the game and jumping at the chance to helm the sequel >the year is now 2015 >shift perspective to capcom >RE2make enters development >JP copyright law mandates that the original creators must be involved in any remake or adaptation of any pre-existing IP (this is true; it was a huge controversy during the making of the live-action dragon ball movie because... well it doesn't matter) >mikami and kamiya get pulled in to help with RE2make, and mikami sticks around because RE4make has also been greenlit, and he has to be involved in that, too >hirabayashi's team at division 1 pay their respects and homage to mikami's legacy by including TEW1 homages and references in RE2make >the year is now 2017 >shift back to tango >bethesda has ratfucked TEW2's development at every turn, imposing impossible deadlines on the project and severely restricting its budget >johanas is a first-time game director and doesn't have the skills to compensate for this properly >the original concept for TEW2 gets scrapped and turned into ghostwire tokyo >TEW2 eventually becomes a frankenstein's monster of johanas's original vision stitched together with bethesda's mandated bullshit >despite critical praise, TEW2 tanks in sales >johanas is devastated >begins tinkering around with the concept of hi-fi rush as a palate cleanser >the year is now 2021 >development on hi-fi rush is proceeding apace, and johanas finds that his schedule has begun to open up to take on a second project >johanas hosts a livestream asking fans what they liked about TEW1, what they liked about TEW2, and what they disliked about both games (this is real and happened; i know because i was in that stream) >he very clearly isn't ready to let this series die because he loves it so so so so desperately, and he's farming the fans for ideas for a possible TEW3 >it's exciting for the fans, but johanas makes it a point during the livestream to repeat over and over again that he can't make any promises and he's still just trying to cobble together ideas >his proposal is very clearly shot down, because when tango got shuttered in 2023, there was evidence of a hi-fi rush sequel in the works, but nothing about a TEW3 >shift perspective to capcom >RE4make has been brought back in-house to be developed by hirabayashi's team in division 1 >mikami's back in studio in order to assist with the rebooted development >mikami begs hirabayashi and his team to fix and improve the shitty story in RE4 >hirabayashi and team agree, but they also want to continue to pay homage to mikami's work outside of RE >they basically turn saddler into a weird mishmash of ruvik and the administrator >mikami mentions the disaster that was TEW2 and tells the story about how johanas's spirit got crushed >hirabayashi takes that information back to the rest of division 1 >the RE9 team has just thrown out their leon and jill co-op build and has just started on something new (confirmed by DG) >nakanishi hears the story of the catastrophe that was TEW2 >nods solemnly and tells hirabayashi not to worry; he'll handle it >RE9 is developed as a spiritual successor to TEW -- the TEW3 (or even TEW2) we always deserved but never got

I'M SORRY BUT I DON'T SEE HOW YOU CAN LOOK AT THIS PREVIEW OF RE9 AND COME AWAY WITH ANY OTHER CONCLUSION

IT'S TEW

THEY JUST MADE TEW

THAT'S WHAT THEY DID

IT'S FUCKING TEW

[blackmoonlightexpress]

Shui Long Yin 《水龙吟》 - What we know so far about this massive project

By now many of you have heard about Shui Long Yin 《水龙吟》, Luo Yunxi's upcoming and third project with the studio behind Till the End of the Moon. Here's my read on the announcement earlier.

1. Good news - It's going to be largely the same creative team behind TTEOTM. 

You have Wang Yirong as Lead Producer & Artistic Director, Huang Wei as Costume Designer, Wang Haiqi as Action Director, Tsang Mingfai as Makeup Director, Huatian for World Concept (also known for Ashes of Love and the Untamed). Basically, we'll see the return of the brilliant minds behind the Dunhuang-inspired costumes and hour-long epic fight sequences.

It's a good sign they're holding most of the team together. A lot of great directors, like Christopher Nolan, Tim Burton, David Cronenberg, work with the same creative talent over and over again. There's certainly an argument that you produce better work when you collaborate with people you trust and know well.

2. Up and coming Director Chen Zhoufei will make up some of the deficiencies of TTEOTM in the cinematography and lighting departments.

Chen Zhoufei started out as a cinematographer in films with the likes of Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou. More recently he directed The Forbidden Flower (2023) and Double Tap (2021), which, if nothing else, is beautifully and stylistically shot.

It's interesting they've moved away from the old school Hong Kong directors they used in Immortality and TTEOTM. Directors from the TVB system are known to be more experienced, scrappy, and reliable when it comes to working within budget (which is why they're favored for big xianxia productions), but they've also been criticized for falling behind on technical execution and artistry.

It is as the industry article I shared predicted - Otters Studio is a relatively inexperienced player, but they can quickly close their gaps by bringing new blood to the team.

3. They're bringing a new Art Director, Zheng Chen from Lost You Forever.

This isn't all that surprising given that Luan Hexin, TTEOTM's Art Director, is with Huanyu, Bai Lu's management company. (In fact there was a bit of real life drama when Yu Zheng, Bai Lu's boss, publicly called out TTEOTM's producer for not refuting false rumors that Bai Lu was only cast because the production wanted Luan Hexin, arguably Huanyu's biggest asset, as part of her "dowry".) Now it's sad to see award-winning Luan go, but he is best for authentic period sets and IMO not the most suited for xianxias.

Instead, they've tapped Zheng Chen, who most recently worked on Lost You Forever, which I have yet to watch. With that said, some of the sets look great to me, with bold use of colors, and I can already see this pairing well with Chen Zhoufei's aesthetics.

4. This time they're not working with screenwriter He Fang, instead going with Lin Conghe (unofficial)

He Fang is the lead screenwriter behind TTEOTM and Immortality (everyone who's read Immortality's screenplay will know it's all but a guaranteed hit) and in my opinion one of Otter's greatest assets. She's brilliant at staying loyal to the spiritual core of source novels, while weaving convoluted plot points through a more robust background story and logic.

It's a slight disappointment that she won't be back, but it's also not entirely surprising. TTEOTM and Immortality are both big, female-oriented fantasy romance IPs. Meanwhile Shui Long Yin's IP is quite dated, lesser known, and incomplete, so I'd expect that the drama will only be loosely based on the original. While we don't know much about Lin Conghe, he did recently work on the Blood of Youth sequel, where he was the lead screenwriter alongside author Zhou Munan, so he might actually be a better choice for this genre (xuanhuan wuxia).

5. The way HunanTV & Mango announced the drama is unusually high profile, indicating that this is one of the platform's biggest projects.

It's rare to have one of China's biggest hosts announce a new drama that hasn't even started shooting or released any details yet live on prime time TV. (Usually a drama's official announcement comes out on the day of its booting ceremony, if not during its production or at its wrap ceremony.) It's even rarer for a costume drama to announce a TV platform at this stage. These days it's quite difficult for costume fantasies to get a coveted TV airing slot given genre restrictions and additional censorship requirements. Typically you do not find out officially whether it will air on TV until literally right before it airs.

Before the official announcement, rumors have already been circulating that there's a bidding war behind the scenes for this project, with Mango and its parent HunanTV outbidding Youku in the end. Mango/HunanTV is already the market leader in variety shows, but is behind the other three platforms in scripted content. Apparently, they've recently received an injection of funding to shore up their drama department and now investing in tentpole projects that can help them gain share. Clearly they saw what TTEOTM did for Youku.

6. There's another interesting player in the mix: China Mobile and its subsidiary Migu. 

It appears that China Mobile (one of the most valuable companies in China and a state-owned enterprise) has invested in the drama, which will be made available on its online video platforms. Apparently, the last time China Mobile invested in a drama, they sent text messages to every user to publicize it when it aired. Now not sure if this will happen (it's not patriotic drama after all), but they've already been promoting the drama through their gazillion affiliate social media accounts. Either way, it should be a good thing for the drama's distribution to have such an influential backer given Mango's lower daily active user.

7. They're making it super clear that Luo Yunxi is going to be the dominant male lead in this drama

In the first Weibo post, they only announced the title, Luo Yunxi, and the airing platforms. In the second Weibo post, where they announced the rest of the creative team, they still did not announce the other actors! Of course, this is likely because Luo Yunxi's company (which is really just him) bought the source novel's IP and is credited as a co-producer. (They don’t have any production capabilities at all, so Otter will likely be quarterbacking this.)

This suggests, like many who have read the novel already know, that Luo Yunxi will have by far the biggest part. The other roles, including the female lead role, will likely be smaller and revolve around the main character.

8. Shui Long Yin is already generating a lot of hype.

To date its Weibo announcement racked up >1M likes (more than double that of TTEOTM). There's already a very active Douban group debating all the rumors, most importantly whether Luo Yunxi will use a wig or his real hair (a highly divisive topic). The new drama has even been reported by China Daily, China's state media facing the international community, which is again exceedingly rare. China Daily doesn't usually report on entertainment news, and most hit shows don't get mentioned even after airing.

There's always a big risk with productions with this much anticipation so early in the process, from fan wars and disruptive stalking on set to accusations propagated by competitors that can invite more state scrutiny. Fingers crossed that the team knows what they're doing and can weather all the storms that will undoubtedly come its way.

9. Finally, I remain cautiously excited.

Production quality will likely be great, with such a strong creative team and financial backers with deep wallets. My main worry is that it'll be beautiful, but boring. For this genre (xuanhuan wuxia or basically wuxia with high fantasy elements), it's really important that the story moves fast and the underdog hero keeps outsmarting or outfighting everyone else in a way that gives viewers a sense of exhilaration. It'd be all too easy for the story to get bogged down by a large cast of unmemorable characters and a meandering plot. Otters Studio is usually great at delivering fast-paced high drama (just based on TTEOTM and the screenplay of Immortality), but they're working with a different screenwriter this time and it's not easy to be a consistent hit maker. Let's hope they stick to their intuition and continue to present stories and characters that excite viewers.

[mbat]

hey guys, remember to stay skeptical of random messages on discord, or any social media tbh.

i was already suspicious when i got a random dm from someone i barely knew who i havent talked to since 2021 saying 'i need to talk about something serious' like... ??

but also the shit they were saying was dumb as fuck. first of all, over 300$ on nitro?? not to mention the ultra specific number of 362, like, thats just weird to me. also 'mess with your ip and stuff' how. how though.

also the weird implication that somehow my friends or family could also have hacked this person. my family who barely use discord/know how to use discord, and my toootally real irl friends that i have that got on my computer, right....

but also like i say in the screenshots, they were avoiding all of my questions asking for clarification, including me rightfully asking how this person would even be thinking of me after 3 years of not talking, not to mention we werent even friends, we just sent a few dms to eachother... but most of all how theyd remember me based on a pfp i drew after i stopped talking to them, or how someone would have a similar pfp to the one i drew myself of my own OC. yeah, sure buddy.

and most of all how dumb it is to be like 'oh noo, the person who i reported you to wont listen to me, please can you, the person whos account is at stake for actions you may or may not have taken, please go beg for your account for me?' like... that doesnt make sense. on no level does that make sense.

i took the picture they sent me, erased specific details like their username and my name and pfp, and reverse image searched it

and every single result was how its a scam.

and like i said, naming yourself that on discord, also that pfp?? thats cop shit. thats some cop shit. fuck no.

they prey on your fear of losing your account. the realistic idea that many people get hacked all the time from suspicious links, so that you feel bad for this person and are more likely to listen to them. they obviously go through peoples friends lists or dm lists so that its someone they might know, or previously knew, so that youre less likely to be like 'hey, fuck off.'

and they send a screenshot that is actually fairly convincing at first but its also like... bruh. cause im pretty sure ive reported some accounts in recent months and never got that image, though i didnt report them on the discord website because discord has a built in report button in app. and honestly whos gonna bother going to the website unless its like, extremely serious, like the time someone sent me images of fucking dead bodies on discord. thats what you go directly to the website for.

anyway, other people online have said that the person they attempt to send you to is the real hacker trying to steal your shit, if that wasnt already obvious by this persons insistence... so yeah. dont fall for scammers bullshit, guys.

if youre wondering why im even bothering posting this and saying so much shit, im just hoping if other people reverse search the image people send them that they get informational posts like this, cause its important people dont fall for this garbage

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 11/28/2023

tuesday again no problem will be taking a break for the 12/12 edition (not next week but the one after)

listening

previously featured Os Mutantes, a countercultural brazilian rock group, is back bc i heard A Minha Menha on an instagram reel by @/ vintagepulps on a showcase of brazilian pulp magazine covers.

the SECOND that driving riff hit i experienced a brief moment of fuckor bc this is exactly and precisely the kind of song i like. this translation tells me it translates to My Girl. it's got moon/sun imagery. it's exactly the kind of song to drive around to in the summer while having an absolutely crippling crush on the person in the passenger seat. spotify

-

reading

you wouldn't download a woman...

TWICE

-

watching

I'm No Angel (1933, dir. Ruggles) a 1936 black comedy written by Mae West and starring the babiest Cary Grant you've ever seen. i added it to my letterboxed bc i saw screenshots of this one specific dress. that’s so much sideboob. good for her.

we don't use the term "adventuress" anymore to describe a woman who does various physical or social stunts to land a husband and i think that's a shame. Tira (yes) is a burlesque dancer and (separately) a lion tamer at a down on its luck circus, becomes famous through putting her head in a lion's mouth, and leverages that fame to fall in and out and back into love.

your enjoyment of this movie will hinge on your tolerance for astrologers, circuses with animals in them, and depictions of black housemaids that have not aged super well, even if they're mostly there to stroke her ego. i'm sort of torn on what rating this would get today-- i'm assuming R bc there's a woman expressing desire but nothing actually happens beyond kissing and some sitting in laps. some peril for the lions i guess?

i do not think this particularly nailed its landing, and i'm not totally sure why they got back together, but mae west in straight up burlesque and the shimmiest dresses you've ever seen is so much fun to watch it doesn't really matter. this is sort of sidelining the her very funny, extremely quotable script. apparently any movie she wasn't allowed to write or heavily doctor her own lines just completely flopped, which i also think is very funny.

just straight up on the internet archive

-

playing

triple header for Things That Came Out This Decade: Genshin Impact (September 2020), Deliver Us Mars (2023) and Gamedec (2021).

brief Genshin update: your main companion in the game, Paimon, the little fairy bitch, has been the recipient of some worrying foreshadowing lately. hey Paimon you wanna tell us anything???

Deliver Us Mars, free on Epic this week. i want to like this game. i think there should be more weird little eurojank original scifi B-franchises like this and you should be able to feed your family by making them. i do not want to continue playing this particular little franchise.

it's the second game by KeokeN (The Netherlands) and published by Wired Productions (UK, although they are partnered with Koch, which means they’ll be bought up soon), a studio of under 20 counting support staff (some of who are certainly part time or on hourly contracts) and an intern. after doing that basic background research i ratcheted my expectations back a couple notches and deleted a somewhat catty paragraph about video game hair.

this is a sequel to Deliver Us The Moon, which was a successful Kickstarter and Steam greenlight (TM (C) R) and it seems they spent the four interval years mostly polishing up the predecessor Deliver Us The Moon, which i do not own and do not plan on playing.

Deliver Us Mars bills itself as an action-adventure, but during my time with it, it was more of a cinematic movie/walking sim with extremely light puzzle/platform mechanics. there are extensive childhood flashbacks following a dad around as he trains his daughter to be an astronaut. the timing and insertion of these never quite clicked for me-- they take forever and they were never as interesting as what they interrupted.

this game is not good at signposting or tutorializing. i had to restart a chapter twice bc the unique controls popped up for a brief fleeting moment on screen and weren’t in the keybinding settings. i could never quite get the mouse and keyboard camera sensitivity right, and platforming/vertical elements seem to only be partially implemented: you can only really successfully approach certain segments from extremely specific dead-on angles. there are like three big boxes in your path that you have to clamber over at one point and i do not think it should take a solid minute and a half for me to get over them. some reviewers praised the lack of signposting during the launch sequence (causing you to frantically look around at a million unlabeled buttons and levers to see if any of them were highlighted as a thing you can click) as a fun way to ramp up stress but i fucking hated it.

after two and a half hours, and only just making it to a ship OUTSIDE mars, i decided there are other games in the world. this hits some sort of minimal viable story benchmark for me, i can see why some people love it, but i don’t want to find out what happens bad enough to play through a slow game that handles terribly and isn’t much fun to exist in.

does get points for big fuckoff dishes.

Gamedec is an isometric RPG, where you are a near-future private investigator who handles delicate personal matters inside wildly popular MMORPG VR games. unfortunately all the trailers suck shit.

this is catnip to me. i love a no-combat game where i have to walk around and talk to everyone and click on everything and write things down in a little notebook. i loooooooove being nosy. i've played through the first two and a half chapters (kinky second life, racketeering farmville, and real life uh oh) and i'm having a fucking marvelous time. the writing team clearly had a lot of fun, the VR game worlds feel very alive and vibrant-- there's a ton of possible weird little flavor interactions that go a very long way toward making me forget this is a limited-perspective isometric. this is like praising an RPG for doing what it says on the tin and being an RPG, but the most recent RPGs ive played have been fucking terrible. it's not shoehorning me into one-true or main-path choices. extremely forgiving of failure, which is good bc i straight up accidentally killed my first client. i know he was a kid but he kinda had it coming imo. sometimes kids just suck shit

im so delighted by this shitty little apartment-- it's got to be fucking bizarre to exist in, bc of the ultra-loft ceilings you need to make it be isometric, but it somehow manages to feel like a studio apartment and a seedy back office all at the same time. a game that is in general very fun to Look at. will have more thoughts as i continue playing but this is really scratching some sort of itch for me. commits to the bit. funny but sincere. a pastiche in ways i personally do not find annoying. has not hit me with like konami code style references yet. due to the fact this is also in my epic games store library i believe this was also free at some point

-

making

fallow week for me. phil has been regrowing skin at a good clip and i can no longer feel each individual vertebra, AND we have another vet appt on friday to get more/different antibiotic goop and all of her vaccinations and microchipping done. mack made a hairball and is getting put back on an actual wire slicker brush grooming schedule. my beautiful girl seems to have a particularly dense coat among the domestic shorthairs of my acquaintance, although that may be bc she is a new england girlie and we constantly exist in air conditioning?? mixed feelings about scheduled brushies from her, even with short and light sessions. we’ll get there.

helping.

[peablog]

Every Movie I've Seen Since 2023

Jun 25

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023) Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025) Life Like (2019) Queer (2024)

May 25

Strangers on a Train (1951)

April 25

Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko (2021) Shiva Baby (2020)

Mar 25

Swiss Army Man (2016) The Florida Project (2017) Blended (2014) Clickbait: Unfollowed (2024) Slay (2024) I Saw the TV Glow (2024)

Feb 25

The Trial (1962) A Different Man (2024) Dìdi (2024) I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore (2017) The Substance (2024) The Watchers (2024) Mufasa: The Lion King (2024) Captain America: Brave New World (2025) Sing Sing (2023) Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)

Jan 25

Phantom Thread (2017) Triangle of Sadness (2022) Polite Society (2023) Moonlight (2016) Beau is Afraid (2023) Sexy Beast (2000) Juno (2007) The Big Lebowski (1998) Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)

Dec 24

Longlegs (2024) Perfect Days (2023)

Nov 24

Perfect Blue (1997) Toys (1992)

Oct 24

Kandahar (2023)

Sept 24

Claydream (2021)

Aug 24

Smurfs: The Lost Village (2017) Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) The Crow (2024) As Good as It Gets (1997)

Jul 24

Nyad (2023) Dancing with the Birds (2019) Twisters (2024)

Jun 24

Inside Out 2 (2024)

May 24: N/A

Apr 24

Anatomy of a Fall (2023) Past Lives (2023)

Mar 24

Salt of the Sea (2008) Carol (2015) The Whale (2022)

Feb 24

We're All Going to the World's Fair (2021) Spa Night (2016) Strawberry Mansion (2021)

Jan 24

Terminatrix (or Perfect: Android Uprising) (2013) May December (2023) Landscape with Invisible Hand (2023) God's Own Country (2017) 4 Days in France (2017) Penguin's Memory: Shiawse Monogatari (1985)

Dec 23

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (2023)

Nov 23

Ma (2019) No Hard Feelings (2023) Fluorescent Beasts (2023)

Oct 23

The Creator (2023) The Money Pit (1986) Child's Play (1988) Trick 'r Treat (2007) Coneheads (1998) Bones and All (2022)

Sept 23

The Engine Inside (2023) A Haunting in Venice (2023) Arrival (2016)

Aug 23

Oppenheimer (2023) The Dictator (2012)

Jul 23

Bicycle Thieves (1948) Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) Spiderman: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) Ip Man 3 (2015) Ip Man 4 (2019) Octopussy (1983) Caddyshack (1980) 65 (2023)

Jun 23

Ernest Scared Stupid (1991) Senior Moment (2021) The Flash (2023)

May 23

The Witch (2015) A Man Called Otto (2023) Please Stand By (2018) Hunger (2023) Tár (2022)

Apr 23: N/A

Mar 23

Forrest Gump (1994)

Feb 23

The Road (2009)

Jan 23

Girls Will Be Girls (2003) Glass Onion (2022) Death of Dick Long (2019) RRR (2022) The Life of Brian (1979) Head On (1998) Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

Another IP-based picture to add to the Warner Bros. Pictures Animation pile.

A new Tom & Jerry movie scripted by Will McCormack, Rashida Jones, and Michael Govier... A film, whether it's animated or another hybrid, that might end in the two parting ways... After 84+ years of being onscreen together. Get it? Because McCormack and Jones blueprinted much of TOY STORY 4, the movie where Woody leaves the Bonnie's room gang for a nomadic life with Bo Peep. (Though he appears to pay visits to his old pals, if the TOY STORY 5 concept art is anything to go by.)

Anyways... We've had two theatrical Tom & Jerry movies, and there were some live-action pictures where at least one character from the long-running franchise made an appearance. Like those MGM musicals, ANCHORS AWEIGH and such.

And it appears none of the Tom & Jerry movies never really got it right in the eyes of critics and observers. I never saw the 2021 hybrid movie, but I did see the 1992 film. I distinctly remember, at age 9-ish... Approx 2001/02... I was going through a Tom & Jerry phase. Cartoon Network aired hour-long blocks of the theatrical shorts (from the MGM/Hanna-Barbera classics all the way up to the end of Chuck Jones' run in the late '60s) daily, and being a classic animation enthusiast already, I was hooked. I was completely unaware back then that there was a MOVIE. To my knowledge, Cartoon Network never aired it back then. At least, whenever I was able to watch some tube.

One day at the video store, looking for Tom and Jerry VHSes to rent... There it was. I was pumped! There was a Tom and Jerry MOVIE??? That wasn't that new-ish MAGIC RING thing? And it came out back in 1992? (There was a copyright on the tape label) I rented it ASAP... Watched it... And was less caught off guard by the two of them talking, and more caught off guard by how similar it was to THE RESCUERS in its storyline. I remember feeling kinda "nothing" when finishing it. And then the next night of my weekend, I gave it one more whirl... And, yeah, it didn't leave much of an impression. It was basically Discount RESCUERS with Tom and Jerry in it, to me.

Looking at it now, especially since we're well past the late '00s Nostalgia Critic review of it that kinda put it back into "what the hell IS this movie?" spotlight, yeah... TOM & JERRY: THE MOVIE 1992 is a rather unhinged and weird little movie, but I guess in 2001/02, it was par for the course for kid-aged me. We just grew up on weird-ass animated movies, cartoons, and other assorted family entertainment. If not for the internet and reviewers, it might've just faded into obscurity. "Oh, there was a Tom & Jerry movie in the early '90s that kinda stunk? Heh."

All I know about the hybrid movie is that the animation stuff is supposedly the highlight, and it's closer to the classic duo's best work, but falls apart elsewhere.

I honestly don't want for the new one to be a hybrid. There's no reason, IMO, to it. The fun of Tom and Jerry, from the word-go, is that they inhabit a cartoon universe where such slapstick and violence work. That's not to say a hybrid absolutely can't work, because COYOTE VS. ACME is said to be a really good film and the inverse of 2021 T&J, SPACE JAM, etc. More ROGER RABBIT than not. Figures it's the one we don't get to see, because Zaslav is a bum. But unless you've got a really solid premise for the live-action portion, I'm not necessarily game for it. You'll just have another CHIPMUNKS/YOGI BEAR/SMURFS thing.

So, I'm hoping this new Tom & Jerry movie is entirely animated. Stylized, if you will. A CG picture that's very 2D-like and painterly, that looks like a 3D version of the banger MGM cartoons made circa 1943-1950. Otherwise, I have nothing else to say until I hear more about it. But it goes to show, that cat and mouse are an everlasting flavor.

[mediamonarchy]

https://mediamonarchy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/20240820_MorningMonarchy.mp3 Download MP3 Social insecurity, boulder dash and shitpost prison + this day in history w/Ray Roseberry and our song of the day by Tunnelmental on your #MorningMonarchy for August 20, 2024. Notes/Links: Protests erupt, Chicago businesses board up as the DNC kicks off Day 1 festivities; Democratic lawmakers will gather in Chicago, Illinois, this week for the 2024 DNC. Vice President Kamala Harris is slated to formally accept her party’s nomination on Thursday. https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/democratic-national-convention-2024-dnc-august-19-2024 HarrisWalz.com Domain Drama Ducks Question of Cybersquatting Law https://news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/harriswalz-com-domain-drama-ducks-question-of-cybersquatting-law The Ledger: How Layoffs Are Showing Up in Music Companies’ Earnings Reports https://archive.is/6agGm Bad bosses are pushing Gen Zers and millennials to the brink https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/bad-bosses-pushing-gen-zers-184655830.html Biggest shakeup to buying and selling a home in a century starts today https://www.dailymail.co.uk/yourmoney/property-and-mortgages/article-13735925/Biggest-shakeup-buying-selling-home-century-starts-today.html The death knell for broker fees! Homeowners to see BIG drop in selling costs after Realtors agree to eliminate notorious commission scheme and pay $418 million damages in landmark legal settlement https://www.dailymail.co.uk/yourmoney/housing-market/article-13201833/realtors-settle-eliminate-commission.html ✂️ Big rate-cut fall? https://sherwood.news/snacks/newsletters/big-rate-cut-fall/ Video: “Most People Have NO IDEA How Bad This Really Is” – Whitney Webb’s 2025 Final WARNING (Audio) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVrWLNN-wpE Sheena Easton – “(She’s In Love) With Her Radio” (Vinyl //Audio) https://www.discogs.com/release/1799996-Sheena-Easton-Best-Kept-Secret // https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1LjFr7kOoI Here’s how to find out if your Social Security number was included in last week’s massive data breach https://fortune.com/2024/08/19/social-security-number-hack-were-you-included/ Google named their GPU Adreno…and we all know what they named their browser 😐 https://en.wikipedia.org//wiki/Adreno Classic NES Game Is Making a Comeback After 40 Years https://gamerant.com/classic-nes-game-boulderdash-remake-40-years/ Video: Boulder Dash for NES Game Review (Audio) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3_QfShxCNk Waterworld – “Map” (Inst. // Audio) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Kf_esaJUpA Man who called for asylum hotels to burn down jailed — as it happened; Defendants sentenced as prime minister pledges no let up in efforts to prevent more disorder https://www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/article/uk-riots-live-friday-latest-news-pfjb78g0v Man who encouraged torching hotels for asylum seekers in Britain gets 3 years in prison https://apnews.com/article/british-far-right-riots-sentencing-asylum-e3248eb20ea8c2c0e719e7617bc565b9 Video: Man jailed for stirring hatred on social media (Audio) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWB2W_ADasc Alexander O’Neal – “Fake” (Vinyl // Audio) https://www.discogs.com/release/427059-Alexander-ONeal-Fake // https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_O’Neal // https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fake_(Alexander_O%27Neal_song) // https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vN1RYACiXNs #MorningMonarchy: August 20, 2018 – Actor Jim Carrey’s Art Goes Viral: “Our Missile, Our Crime” In Yemen https://mediamonarchy.com/20180820morningmonarchy/ #PumpUpThaVolume: August 20, 2018 ♬ The Holy Gasp & Death Valley Girls https://mediamonarchy.com/20180820pumpupthavolume/ #ThisDayInHistory/#MorningMonarchy: August 20, 2021 – The suspect, Ray Roseberry, has been live streaming the bomb threat at the Library of Congress on Facebook. He is demanding to talk to Joe Biden on the phone. (Audio) https://mediamonarchy.com/20210820morningmonarchy/ // https://vxtwitter.com/mediamonarchy/status/1428423030955380738 // https://twitter.com/...

[encrucijada]

WTW GHOST GALA - DAY 9: Candy Corn

tell us how you chose the title of your wip

when putting my yearly escapril prompts into collections i picked a line from the first entry to turn into titles. my 2020 collection was titled underside of my tongue (from a poem about eos and hemera) and my 2021 collection was titled what the sun tastes like (from a poem about icarus). the first entry of my 2022 collection was about a concept that, ironically, came to me in a dream. it involved young adults with powers of oneiric creation filming themselves pulling things out of their dreams. the line i chose was originally "if you keep staring i'll never fall asleep" in full, and so we got keep staring and i'll never fall asleep.

when i decided to adapt my pjo ocs into an original ip i had to find a replacement for demigods, having been unable to make something out of that idea of oneiric creators i began worldbuilding around the concept of dreamers. i don't consider a wip official until it's titled and keep staring and i'll never fall asleep was just... perfect. i picked a different line from that first escapril 2022 entry to retitle the collection (until the dream dislodges) and the old title passed onto my new wip. it's an obvious title for a contemporary fantasy book revolving around oneiric creation (along with other dream-adjacent things). but i find it sort of poetic. i love that it feels menacing, almost like a warning. i love that it makes sleep seem almost dangerous. if i made the effort to keep analysing it i could say it relates to adam and piedad, the main conflict of the book, who haunt each other in dreams. i could say it's about the oneiroi (the physical manifestation of dreams) keeping watch over the dreamers.

[izzys-issues]

59. Magic [Boom Studios] 1

(April 2021)

RATING: 6 🥷Failed Assassinations out of 10

It's hard for me to be but so objective because I've been a pretty avid MtG player for over a decade, therefore I feel that it's only fair to rate my favorite and least favorite things twice. One set will be how the comic stands on its own, the other is how it serves as a continuation of the post-War of the Spark main storyline. The comic feels like it is in a weird space, both trying to be a stepping on point for people unfamiliar to the IP and also entice long-term fans of the franchise and falls a bit flat on both ends of the spectrum. The art is really good, even if seeing the characters in the more cartoony Boom Studios style as opposed to the more painted look that is pretty homogeneous across the cards and this cover is a bit different, but I love that each of the three main characters has a background accent color unique to them.

FAVORITE: The first 4 pages are exposition and help to quickly establish some background lore and explain some key terms to get newcomers familiar with the plane of Ravnica.

FAVORITE (MtG): This exploration of how the Blind Eternities are presented to each Planeswalker individually is FANTASTIC. I can only think of a couple other times where the stories mention the appearance of the Eternities to any capacity and it's usually when the character in question is seriously hurt or when the Eldrazi Titans are around. The fact that their powers so thoroughly impact how they see the fabric of the Multiverse is such a radical little touch

LEAST FAVORITE: it's a 26 page issue with 5 splash pages / two-page spreads with very little text on them.

LEAST FAVORITE (MtG): It's always Ravnica. There are like 70+ named planes and WoTC is so hesitant to go anywhere but Ravnica.

[local-lesboy]

the enshittification of children’s media, specifically animated children’s media, started when Disney stopped airing their shows on ABC Kids and YouTube began its rise. let me explain

in 2006, Disney had a company restructure where they were no longer airing their shows on ABC Kids. for those that don’t know, ABC Kids was specifically an educational child’s network that had a deal with Disney where Disney shows would air on ABC Kids — as far as i understand it, this broadened the reach of Disney shows bc ABC Kids was a free network whereas Disney was not. ABC Kids had their shows like Recess and Doug as well as Disney series like Kim Possible and Lilo & Stitch. not too soon after Disney stops airing their shows there, ABC Kids slows down to where they’re only showing reruns until they sell off altogether.

YouTube launches in 2005. CoComelon was created in 2006 under the name "ABC Kid TV" and then rebranded to CoComelon in 2018.

in 2007 is when we have the first time that Disney aired more live action shows than animated series, with Phineas and Ferb being the only one. we don’t get another animated series from Disney until 2010 with shows like Fish Hooks and Kick Buttowski.

on the Disney Junior end of things, we also see shows like Bear in the Big Blue House, The Wiggles, and Little Einstein’s ending around 2006-2009 and shows like Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Handy Manny beginning. we could say Handy Manny is educational, but it’s really just trying to get kids excited about the workforce imo. then they pivot into their IP things, the Disney Princess shows, the Star wars shows, the Marvel shows, etc.

pulling away from Disney a little bit, we also have shows like Fanboy & Chum Chum and Planet of Sheen airing on Nickelodeon around 2010. Fred and Annoying Orange get TV shows in 2012. Johnny Test aired in 2005, ended in 2014, and got a revival in 2021. not to be rude to these shows, but it’s mindless entertainment at the end of the day. Cartoon Network doesn’t too bad with Steven Universe in 2013, but then we hit a turn with Teen Titans Go! which is half teaching kids things like manners & good eating habits and half mindless entertainment. then we get shows like Uncle Grandpa & Amazing World of Gumball. i don’t think i need to say much on that

not to say that Disney didn't have good animated shows, looking at you, Gravity Falls, but they didn't really teach. that's also not to say Disney was particularly educational themselves, but they funded a channel that was, ABC Kids. you know the only channel that keeps it educational? PBS. and they wanna get rid of it. but their stuff is more live action than animated, which leaves a gap there. besides PBS, children’s media has become an aged-down version of what adults watch - sitcoms, comedies, but with the element of trying to manage child attention spans.

i think YouTube might’ve been the nail in the coffin (i mean, think of all the YouTube series’ getting released during this era - Charlie the Unicorn, ASDFMovies, etc.) but i’m having a hard time figuring out how exactly it fucked up this bad. i’m all ears if people have thoughts

[jcmarchi]

UK must act to secure its semiconductor industry leadership

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/uk-must-act-to-secure-its-semiconductor-industry-leadership/

UK must act to secure its semiconductor industry leadership

The UK semiconductor industry is at a critical juncture, with techUK urging the government to act to maintain its global competitiveness.

Laura Foster, Associate Director of Technology and Innovation at techUK, said: “The UK has a unique opportunity to lead in the global semiconductor landscape, but success will require bold action and sustained commitment.

“By accelerating the implementation of the National Semiconductor Strategy, we can unlock investment, foster innovation, and strengthen our position in this critical industry.  

Semiconductors are the backbone of modern technology, powering everything from consumer electronics to AI data centres. With the global semiconductor market projected to reach $1 trillion by 2030, the UK must act to secure its historic leadership in this lucrative and strategically vital industry.

“We must act at pace to secure the UK’s semiconductor future and as such our technological and economic resilience,” explains Foster.

UK semiconductor industry strengths and challenges

The UK has long been a leader in semiconductor design and intellectual property (IP), with Cambridge in particular serving as a global hub for innovation.

Companies like Arm, which designs chips used in 99% of the world’s smartphones, exemplify the UK’s strengths in this area. However, a techUK report warns that these strengths are under threat due to insufficient investment, skills shortages, and a lack of tailored support for the sector.

“The UK is not starting from zero,” the report states. “We have globally competitive capabilities in design and IP, but we must double down on these strengths to compete internationally.”

The UK’s semiconductor industry contributed £12 billion in turnover in 2021, with 90% of companies expecting growth in the coming years. However, the sector faces significant challenges, including high costs, limited access to private capital, and a reliance on international talent.

The report highlights that only 5% of funding for UK semiconductor startups originates domestically, with many companies struggling to find qualified investors.

A fundamental need for strategic investment and innovation

The report makes 27 recommendations across six key areas, including design and IP, R&D, manufacturing, skills, and global partnerships.

Some of the key proposals include:

Turn current strengths into leadership: The UK must leverage its existing capabilities in design, IP, and compound semiconductors. This includes supporting regional clusters like Cambridge and South Wales, which have proven track records of innovation.

Establishing a National Semiconductor Centre: This would act as a central hub for the industry, providing support for businesses, coordinating R&D efforts, and fostering collaboration between academia and industry.

Expanding R&D tax credits: The report calls for the inclusion of capital expenditure in R&D tax credits to incentivise investment in new facilities and equipment.

Creating a Design Competence Centre: This would provide shared facilities for chip designers, reducing the financial risk of innovation and supporting the development of advanced designs.

Nurturing skills: The UK must address the skills shortage in the semiconductor sector by upskilling workers, attracting international talent, and promoting STEM education.

Capitalise on global partnerships: The UK must strengthen its position in the global semiconductor supply chain by forming strategic partnerships with allied countries. This includes collaborating on R&D, securing access to critical materials, and navigating export controls.

Urgent action is required to secure the UK semiconductor industry

The report warns that the UK risks falling behind other nations if it does not act quickly. Countries like the US, China, and the EU have already announced significant investments in their domestic semiconductor industries.

The European Chips Act, for example, has committed €43 billion to support semiconductor infrastructure, skills, and startups.

“Governments across the world are acting quickly to attract semiconductor companies while also building domestic capability,” the report states. “The UK must use its existing resources tactically, playing to its globally recognised strengths within the semiconductor value chain.”

The UK’s semiconductor industry has the potential to be a global leader, but this will require sustained investment, strategic planning, and collaboration between government, industry, and academia.

“The UK Government should look to its semiconductor ambitions as an essential part of delivering the wider Industrial Strategy and securing not just the fastest growth in the G7, but also secure and resilient economic growth,” the report concludes.

(Photo by Rocco Dipoppa)

See also: AI in 2025: Purpose-driven models, human integration, and more

Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out AI & Big Data Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. The comprehensive event is co-located with other leading events including Intelligent Automation Conference, BlockX, Digital Transformation Week, and Cyber Security & Cloud Expo.

Explore other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars powered by TechForge here.

[accapitalmarket]

Slowing US job openings kept equities lower, USD down

UK stocks fell on Wednesday amid global growth worries, with weak US job openings data adding to concerns that the world's largest economy is slowing.

The US Bureau of Labour Statistics said the number of job openings fell to 7.673 million on the last business day of July from a downwardly revised total of 7.910 million in June. It was the lowest total since 2021 and well below the consensus forecast for 8.090 million.

The figures came ahead of Friday's eagerly awaited August US non-farm payrolls report which will likely determine the pace of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. Weak July payrolls caused a big drop in global stock markets at the start of last month amid fears the US economy could tumble into recession.

On Tuesday, US stocks plunged afresh led by the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite which shed 3.3% with AI chip darling Nvidia alone down 9.5%. The falls followed weak US manufacturing data which revived fears about the health of the economy just as the Federal Reserve is expected to sanction a first cut in interest rates at its policy meeting later this month. Wednesday’s data seemed to back up those fears, indicating a softening in the US labor market.

The data dragged the US dollar lower benefitting the pound, which rose 0.2% against the greenback to 1.3140. But sterling was weaker versus the euro, losing 0.12% at 1.1861 after robust purchasing managers index (PMI) data from both the UK and the eurozone.

The seasonally adjusted UK PMI composite output index rose to 53.8 in August, up from 52.8 in July. Meanwhile, the eurozone composite PMI rose to 51.0 from 50.2 in July.

As US stock markets stabilised after the bruising session on Tuesday, the main benchmarks in London also came off their worst levels but remained weak. At the close, the blue-chip FTSE 100 index was 0.3% lower at 8,269, while the broader FTSE 250 was flat at 20,808.

Among the fallers, housebuilder Barratt Developments shed 4.6% after reporting a 76% drop in profit, the result of lower home completions, weaker average selling prices and reduced margins. Others in the sector were dragged lower too, with Persimmon off 3.3% and Taylor Wimpey down 2.6%.

Insurer Direct Line fell 2.4% after its first half pretax profit and dividend fell short of market expectations, despite a marked improvement from the year before.

Warehouses developer Segro lost 1.2% after agreeing a deal to buy FTSE 250 listed peer Tritax EuroBox, which gained 3.8%. Under the deal Tritax EuroBox shareholders will receive 0.0765 of a new Segro share for every Tritax EuroBox share held.

Luxury goods retailer Burberry dropped 3.7% ahead of its long-expected demotion from the FTSE 100 after 15 years in the index, a move confirmed after the London market close. Burberry will swap places with insurer Hiscox, which moves up from the FTSE 250 index. Hiscox edged up 0.8%.

Recently floated tech firm Raspberry Pi Holdings is the only promotion to the FTSE 250 index, at the expense of IP Group. Raspberry Pi shares were down 3.4% on Wednesday, while IP shares added 4.4%, not enough to put off the inevitable.

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[alovelywaytospendanevening]

Harper's Magazine: The Life and Death of Hollywood

Currently, the machine is sputtering, running on fumes. According to research by Bloomberg, in 2013 the largest companies in film and television were more than $20 billion in the black; by 2022, that number had fallen by roughly half. From 2021 to 2022, revenue growth for the industry dropped by almost 50 percent. At U.S. box offices, by the end of last year, revenue was down 22 percent from 2019. Experts estimate that cable-television revenue has fallen 40 percent since 2015. Streaming has rarely been profitable at all. Until very recently, Netflix was the sole platform to make money; among the other companies with streaming services, only Warner Bros. Discovery’s platforms may have eked out a profit last year. And now the streaming gold rush is over. In the spring of 2022, the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates after years of nearly free credit, and at roughly the same time, Wall Street began calling in the streamers’ bets. The stock prices of nearly all the major companies with streaming platforms took precipitous falls, and none have rebounded to their prior valuation. The industry as a whole is now facing a broad contraction. Between August 2022 and the end of last year, employment fell by 26 percent—more than one job gone in every four. Layoffs hit Warner Bros. Discovery, Netflix, Paramount Global, Roku, and others in 2022. In 2023, firings swept through the representation giants United Talent Agency and Creative Artists Agency; Netflix, Paramount Global, and Roku again; plus Hulu, NBCUniversal, and Lionsgate. In early 2024, it was announced that Amazon was cutting hundreds of jobs from its Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios divisions. In February, Paramount Global laid off roughly eight hundred people. It’s unclear which streamers will survive. As James Dolan, the interim executive chair of AMC Networks, told employees in late 2022 as he delivered news of massive layoffs—roughly 1,700 people (20 percent of U.S. staff) would lose their jobs—“the mechanisms for the monetization of content are in disarray.” Executives, meanwhile, increasingly believed that they’d found their best bet in “IP”: preexisting intellectual property—familiar stories, characters, and products—that could be milled for scripts. As an associate producer of a successful Aughts IP-driven franchise told me, IP is “sort of a hedge.” There’s some knowledge of the consumer’s interest, he said. “There’s a sort of dry run for the story.” Screenwriter Zack Stentz, who co-wrote the 2011 movies Thor and X-Men: First Class, told me, “It’s a way to take risk out of the equation as much as possible.” IP had proved extremely valuable on the international market—increasingly important as domestic box-office growth stagnated over the course of the Aughts and 2010s—and it began to make up a greater and greater share of studio output. According to the media historian Shawna Kidman, franchise movies had accounted for around 25 percent of all studios’ wide-release features in 2000; in 2017 they made up more than 64 percent. (Full article)

A considerably long but quite comprehensive read on Hollywood's current writing production system and its rampant decay. I think the rise of AI should've been more explored in the article, though; it's clearly a matter that isn't going away.

[44gamez]

New Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 Dev Diary Explores the World of Darkness

The Chinese language Room has launched a developer diary sharing particulars about authentically representing the World of Darkness IP in Bloodlines 2.

Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines 2 in a World of Darkness

 That includes commentary from Mission Inventive Director Alex Skidmore, the diary explains how gamers assume the position of Phyre and their motivations whereas navigating their position because the Camarilla Court docket’s Sheriff. Skidmore additionally explores how the group created Seattle from the eyes of a vampire, making buildings taller, lights brighter, and alleyways darker to imitate the heightened senses of these lurking within the shadows.  ”We wish you to really feel like you might be seeing Seattle by means of the eyes of a vampire,” writes Skidmore within the blog post. ”So now we have additionally made buildings taller, lights brighter, and alleyways darker to provide an general heightened feeling to what you might be seeing as in case you are wanting by means of the eyes of an apex predator.” Skidmore additionally defined how the story feeds into the talent tree of Bloodlines 2. ”Phyre’s motivation within the story is pushed (a minimum of initially) by regaining her energy – she has awoken after 100 years in torpor (vampire hibernation) 6000 miles from house with markings throughout her physique that are limiting her powers. This units up the narrative context of the power tree (which we are going to present in the end) which as a substitute of being about including new powers to Phyre, like levelling up within the pen-and-paper RPG, you might be unlocking her current powers.” Bloodlines 2 is the successor to the cult-classic Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines. The sport takes gamers to the darkish underbelly of Seattle, the place vampires battle for survival and supremacy. Hardsuit Labs had beforehand dealt with the event of the sport. After a number of delays and the firing of inventive director Ka’ai Cluney, narrative designer Cara Ellison, and lead narrative designer Brian Mitsoda, Paradox dropped the developer again in 2021 and handed the sport an additional delay added to 2022. It was then given to UK studio The Chinese language Room who made indie hits Pricey Esther and Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture. Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is about to be launched in Fall 2024. Source link Read the full article

[jakeh2987]

A Look Back at the Things We Loved in 2023

2023, in many ways, was an incredibly challenging year, whether it be because of many things going on the world or just on a personal level, but there were a lot of things that kept us going throughout all of that. There was so much in terms of various entertainment throughout the year, and I wanted to take some time to talk about it all. But, thinking about it, I felt like I couldn’t do it alone. I immediately knew I had to call in my old friend Bradley (go follow him over at @thisaintascenereviews, he posts all kinds of music reviews and will be putting out a companion piece to this soon) ; we had recently reconnected earlier this year, but we used to write about music together a lot, so it was only fitting I ask him to be a part of this. When he and I talked about coming together to write this, we circled around the idea of really wanting to celebrate the things that brought us joy. Before we get to the heart of this with our music lists, we wanted to take a quick look back at the rest of entertainment and share a few of our personal highlights in movies, TV shows, video games, books, or anything that comes to mind, really!

So, Bradley, I wanted to ask, before we get into specifics, is there any sort of recurring theme or vibe or energy that you found yourself gravitating towards this year? I think for me, a lot of the stuff I loved most this year was really resonant because it tackled a lot of trauma and personal struggles and what happens when you try to get to the other side of that. I also found myself falling back on a lot of old favorites, things I knew would be comforting and safe in what was often a chaotic and uncertain year. 

First and foremost, thanks for having me here, Jake! When you approached me to collaborate on this, I was immediately on board, especially because last year was the first time I did a proper yearend list in a few years. I had a yearend list for 2021 as well, but I didn’t listen to a lot of new releases that year, as I only really got into new stuff in the last few months of the year. Last year, however, I took my time and really spent my time with a lot of albums and artists, but I digress. I guess what I’m trying to say is that things feel different this year, but in a very good way, so thanks again for bringing me on board. It feels like old times, so I couldn’t be excited to be doing this.

This year has been a challenging one, you can say that again, both in terms of what’s happening in the world at large, or personally, but one thing that’s always been there has been various forms of art and media to keep us entertained and comforted in these uncertain and challenging times. As for what kind of stuff that I’ve loved and gravitated to, I think it was a mix of stuff that resonated with me, whether it was IPs or albums that tackled and commentated on real world politics or dealt with personal struggles, and things that just were having fun. The last few years have been so stressful, dour, and downtrodden, I just wanted to have fun. I did last year, too, as a lot of my favorite albums from last year were things that let loose and had fun, but this year was more so a mix of catchy, fun, and energetic stuff, and poignant and personal, ultimately having something important to say.

I know we’re going into 2023 releases, but before we dive into that, did you find anything that was, for the lack of a better phrase, “new to you”? Over the last couple of years, I ended up going back to a lot of favorites, especially when the pandemic first hit, and I’ve been doing that this year, too, but I also found some new stuff, whether it was games, music, movies, or TV that isn’t new, but I spent a lot of time this year getting really into. A few prime examples were diving into the Mafia game franchise, as well as watching the show Justified for the first time this year, and really getting into artists like Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, and that doesn’t even scratch the surface in comparison to other stuff I got into, let alone the new stuff I got into this year, but whenever I had a lull in new releases, I’d revisit some old favorites, especially a few bands on my yearend list, and some stuff that’s related to some of my favorite TV shows and movies, too. What about you? Did you find anything that was “new to you,” that you hadn’t checked out before, regardless of what it was?

I actually have something that I’m in the middle of watching right now that perfectly fits this, that being Law and Order: SVU. That show’s been around since 1999 (and is still airing currently, believe it or not), and I started making my way through it from the very beginning over the last couple years, but 2023 was the year I really went all in on it. There’s something comforting, despite the heavy subject matter, about watching the bad guys get caught, and even if a particular episode isn’t especially interesting, being with the core group of characters is always a good time. I think it comes back around to having that catharsis and certainty that things were gonna be okay by the end of an episode in a year that often wasn’t. Another big one for me this year was the early 2000s teen drama series The O.C. It was four seasons of ridiculous, silly nonsense, but honestly, it was just what I needed. I watched a couple episodes a week in a Discord call with some friends throughout the year, and that was such a fun experience (I’m doing that right now with another show in a similar vein, One Tree Hill, with another friend). You put it really well, while I will always resonate most with stories and music that cuts deep to my personal experiences and is reflective of the world around us, sometimes you just wanna have fun, and The O.C. was perfect for that. When it comes to gaming specifically, I wanted to highlight a few things I really loved that came out this year. This year had so many incredible games come out, and there were a lot of different releases for a lot of different genres, so everyone had something they could resonate with, I feel. For me, I wanted to highlight a few that really hit home for a variety of reasons. For starters, this was a great year for horror games, and we got two really incredible remakes of genre-defining classics in Dead Space and Resident Evil 4. What both of these did really well is take the essence of what worked so well in the original games and bring it up to modern standards, whether it be Dead Space making the entire environment seamlessly explorable versus being restricted by loading screens and cornered-off sections, or RE4 getting a combat overhaul that brought it up to some of the best third-person, action horror combat you’ll ever play. It’s almost as if  these games play now the way you always remembered it feeling while still being new experiences. This year also saw the release of two of the most fun but also emotionally resonant action/adventure games I’ve played in a long time, those being Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and Final Fantasy XVI. These two games really hit on that theme of going through something deeply traumatic and the aftermath of that, and they both had really fun gameplay to back it up.

But, my biggest highlight, and my personal favorite game of 2023, is easily Alan Wake 2. This game is one of the most unique pieces of media, period, that I’ve ever experienced. The way the dev team at Remedy was able to seamlessly interweave live-action footage into gameplay and story cutscenes is really cool, and it’s also a game that’s not afraid to commit to its really weird and abstract ideas. It’s also just a damn good survival horror game in its own right. So really, Alan Wake 2 was a perfect blend of unabashed creativity, and I’ll be thinking about it for years to come. I know you’re not as big of a gamer, but you do still play some things! You mentioned Mafia, but is there anything else you played this year that stuck out, from 2023 or otherwise?

Law & Order: SVU, huh? I used to watch that back maybe a decade ago when the USA Network would show reruns (back when those were a thing, anyway) of that and NCIS. Law & Order is a very successful and long running franchise, and the cool thing about a show like that is, since you have 20+ years of episodes to get into, you’ll be on it for awhile (although that could be a bad thing, too, just because there is a lot to get through). I felt the same way when watching Justified, although that show is less about the bad guy of the week and more so about a season long arc, but it was satisfying to watch the main character get the bad guys, and things would be momentarily okay. Sure, that’s not how life works, but like you said, for a year where a lot wasn’t okay, having that catharsis helps.

The OC is a good example of what I meant with having fun this year, although with sinking my teeth into hard hitting and poignant stuff, and in fact, I have something similar — I spent a lot of this year revisiting The Muppets, whether it was most of the movies, the 2015 sho, or the original Muppet Show, and that was a good time, because The Muppets are an American institution at this point that knowingly provide solace, fun, and a good time away from the bad things that are happening. I realized the last couple years, and I’ll talk about this more later, but not everything needs to be super deep, poignant, or meaningful. You can just have fun, escape, and lose yourself for a bit, regardless of what you’re diving into.

Switching gears, however, I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a “gamer,” but I do enjoy playing a lot of stuff. I haven’t really played anything from this year, per se, but I’ve gotten into a lot of stuff. I never played Dead Space, or RE 4, but I have played a good amount of horror games this year, namely the Dark Pictures Anthology, as well as The Quarry. Those games provided some of the best horror stories I’ve seen in awhile, even if the gameplay itself wasn’t always as interactive or interesting as other games.

I wish I had a PS5, so I could play the new Jedi Survivor game, as well as something like Spider-Man 2, but aside from the Dark Picture Anthology that I really got into this year, as well as getting into the first couple of Mafia games, a couple of games that really stuck out were playing God Of War: Ragnarok around this time last year (and the beginning of this year) after getting it for Christmas, and that is the sequel to the last one that I really wanted. It’s one of the best games I’ve ever played; not only was the combat still just as good, and even more interesting this time around, the story was excellent (really going more into the Norse aspect than the first game), and the relationship between Kratos and Atreus was more fleshed out and ultimately very emotional and compelling. That ending, too, really got me excited for another one. Another really cool game I played this year for the first time was The Wolf Among Us, which is a game from about a decade ago made by Telltale Games that adapted an obscure DC series that is kind of a gritty look at the classic fairytale characters and it’s a choose your own adventure game, but that was a really fun experience.

I’ve played a bunch of other stuff, as I’ve downloaded a lot of the monthly games on PlayStation Plus, but those are a handful of games I’ve played this year that really stuck out. I wish I could have gotten more stuff from this year, but I’ve played a lot of stuff that was new to me, and that’s the most important thing, I think. With that said, do you want to talk about our favorite movies and TV shows from this year? I know I’ve got a few, but I’m sure you got a bunch of stuff, too, so I’d love to discuss that before we get into the meat of everything.

There’s one main thing I wanted to highlight when it comes to TV and movies, and that’s The Last of Us on HBO. If you’ve known me for any amount of time since its original release in 2013, you know that The Last of Us is easily my favorite game of all time. So, when I heard there was a TV adaptation being made, I went through the range of emotions I imagine a lot of fans did, from being initially skeptical of an adaptation in the first place, to being more open to the idea whenever we learned who the creative team and cast would be, to being excited once we started seeing footage in trailers. I don’t think I was ready for just how great this show would be, however.  Firstly, Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as Joel and Ellie were really wonderful;  they took what Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson did in the games and struck a good balance between paying homage to them and also adding their own layers to the characters. I also really love that the creative team was willing to take risks and do different things that played out very differently in the game (episode 3, without spoiling anything, is one of my very favorite things I’ve  watched this year, and that doesn’t happen if you’re restricted to just recreating the game 1:1). And with HBO behind it, the team went all out on making all the sets and environments really feel like they were almost ripped right out of some Naughty Dog development concept art. I really couldn’t have been happier with this first season, and I have all the confidence in the world that they'll continue to nail it as they go into adapting The Last of Us Part II in future seasons.

I do also wanna briefly mention Ahsoka, the new Star Wars series from this year. It was essentially a live-action fifth season of the animated show Rebels, but I had a great time with that. And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Barbie. I mean, come on, Ryan Gosling as Ken singing Push by Matchbox Twenty as some kind of empowerment anthem, how can you not love that??

How about you, though? What really stood out to you from the world of TV and movies this year? 

You know, I never watched that, or haven’t played any of the games, but that’s something I’m going to rectify next year. I know how much you love those games, and that’s cool that we got a show out of it, let alone being so critically acclaimed.

In terms of TV and movies, I had a few things stick out, including Ahsoka. I’m kind of burnt out on Star Wars nowadays, but with Ahsoka, I enjoyed that show quite a lot, although it’s one of those shows that if you haven’t seen Rebels (or Clone Wars, for that matter), you won’t either get it or care, and I do hate that media, especially huge IPs, has become a web of needing to watch shows and movies to understand new stuff, instead of also being its own thing. Ahsoka ended up being a good surprise, though, especially after Obi-Wan being ultimately fine, but very predictable. 

Speaking of IPs with a lot of material, Marvel is worth talking about a bit. I watched everything Marvel put out this year, except for The Marvels, and only a couple of things stuck out this year, which were Guardians Of The Galaxy 3, and Loki season 2. The former is ultimately a send off for the titular characters, but without spoiling much, it was a good time that was also rather compelling and emotional. Loki’s second season was a masterclass on how you execute the “multiverse,” and how you make it interesting, since every IP is trying to make their own multiverse now. Kind of a shame that Marvel dropped Jonathan Majors as Kang (although it was for a very understandable reason), because despite his performance in the new Antman film being solid, that movie wasn’t particularly amazing, but he did great as Victor Timely in Loki, so I’m a little bummed that we won’t know what happens to Kang, unless the character is recast. I also wanted to briefly mention a few more shows — The Muppets Mayhem on Disney+, which unfortunately got canceled, but was a great romp that focused on the in-house band for the Muppets making their debut album after 50 years of touring, and the new season / spin-off of Justified that brought the main character back for one more grand story that sent off the show and the character with a lot of grace. The last show I wanted to mention is the Netflix show The Fall Of The House Of Usher from Mike Flanagan, and if you’ve seen any of his other work, it’s very similar, but as a fan of Edgar Allan Poe, he does his work justice.

Barbie is another movie worth mentioning, and it’s one of the most unexpected successes of the year, as no one thought a movie about a doll from 60 years ago would be as great as it was, but Ryan Gosling using Matchbox Twenty to express his feelings was a bunch of fun. I never saw Oppenheimer, but Barbenheimer was probably the biggest media event of the year. I didn’t see too many movies, at least new movies, but Killers Of The Flower Moon is my favorite movie of the year. A three and a half hour epic about the 1920s Osage murders in Oklahoma, it’s a compelling crime drama that showcases a very uncomfortable and awful truth in our nation’s history. I did also see the new Indiana Jones when it came out this year, and despite the movie getting torn apart in its release, something about seeing Indy again in one last romp was a lot of fun.

I guess it’s time to talk about the elephant in the room — our favorite records of the year, but where do we begin? There was so much music this year, but I suppose we can talk about our overall impressions with music this year, so what are your general thoughts and impressions with music this year? Did you gravitate towards one or two genres, or was your radar all over the place?

When I look back on this year in music, one of the main things I see recurring throughout my favorite albums and songs is the idea of coming back home to old favorites. So many bands and artists I love or am nostalgic for put out new material this year after hiatuses, fan-favorite members returning, or maybe not being at their best in recent years. I admittedly didn’t listen to as much that was new to me, but as the year went on, I grew to be okay with that! I’ve spent so many years chasing the next new and exciting thing to listen to, and while that’s great and led to so much music that I love dearly, I spent a lot of this year letting go of that need to discover the next new thing, and instead I just listened to things I knew I would find comfort in. That’s not to say I didn’t make any new discoveries at all, but it felt really nice to just kick back and enjoy the ride, so to speak. How about you, Bradley? In the over ten years that I’ve known you, your taste in music has evolved so much, so I’m really curious to hear what really sticks out to you about this year.

You know, Jake, that’s one thing from this year that I can say was a recurring theme, too — a lot of old favorites, including my two favorite bands period, dropped new albums after years in between albums, and it was nice to have those bands back, especially with some of those bands leaving a sour taste in peoples’ mouths with their last albums. I certainly did listen to some stuff that was relatively new to me, although it wasn’t from this year, and a lot of what came out this year that I love are from artists and bands I already enjoy. Sure, there are some that are first timers on the list, or that I’m just listening to for the first time, but there is a sense of comfort in revisiting your old favorites, or listening to new albums from your favorite artists. I was on the lookout for new stuff, but I wasn’t in a state of mind that I needed to listen to obscure and random stuff, and it was refreshing just to look for stuff, versus feeling like I needed to sink my teeth into everything that was in the zeitgeist.

I had a couple of other recurring themes this year, aside from also revisiting a lot of old favorites, or getting back into artists I haven’t listened to in awhile, and the biggest one for me is that I haven’t really listened to a lot of “heavier” music this year. I’ve been a fan of hardcore and metal for years, almost a decade now, and aside from a few pretty popular acts and a couple of more obscure ones, my list isn’t very heavy, but it’s interesting because it’s not that metal and hardcore have had a bad year. It’s been great, actually, but not a whole lot of it has resonated with me, I guess, and that’s okay. I still enjoy a lot of heavy music, but I’ve really expanded my horizons even more so this year. I’ve also really gotten into a lot of country and folk this year, two genres I’ve had mixed feelings on in the past, but I finally dive headfirst and really found a lot to love. I wouldn’t say my favorite albums are any one specific genre, but there are a few that show up repeatedly on my personal list, and out of my favorite albums of this year, and country is one them, surprisingly. Are there any genres that you found yourself listening to a lot, or any genres in particular from your favorite albums of the year?

Genre-wise, my favorite music this year is pretty all over the place, and I think that speaks to just how varied a lot of what I listened to was. Last year, I definitely found myself leaning towards a bit of a heavier, hard rock/alt metal sound, and the years before that was a lot of pop-punk and adjacent genres. Going back to the idea of letting go of any preconceived notions, I was able to just listen to whatever felt good in the moment, and that led to a lot more variety in what I heard, and that’s really exciting! When you see my list, you’ll of course notice that I do have certain sounds that I might resonate with a  little more than others, but overall, I think this is the most variety in one of these lists I’ve maybe ever had. Okay, so I think we’ve done enough buildup to this thing, haven’t we? I say we kick things off with our honorable mentions! I actually only have one entry for this, and that’s alternative pop/folk artist Noah Kahan’s Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever), the deluxe edition of his breakout album that dropped earlier this year. Since this is technically a re-release of an album that came out last year, I didn’t put it on the list proper, but I’d be remiss if I didn���t give it some form of love because of how much of an impact it had on me this year. Huge shoutout to my friend Claire; she was always talking about Noah Kahan and saying I should listen to Stick Season, and one day early this year, I finally did. Very quickly, this album became a source of comfort for me, and I’ve had it in heavy rotation ever since. There’s just something warm and inviting about these songs and how Kahan tells stories through his lyrics. Plus, getting to share that with a friend made it even better, so it just really meant a lot for me to have something like this throughout the year.

From talking to you about making this piece, I know you have some fun things to mention even in just the honorable mentions, so whatcha got?

I can say the same thing, that this year is pretty all over the place, genre-wise. There’s a lot of great stuff that came out, and not just in any specific genre, but quite a bit. It’s exciting how much great music is out there, and how much came out this year. Of course, we all have sounds and genres that we resonate with and gravitate to more, but there’s nothing wrong with that at all.

Noah Kahan is a really solid artist, and it’s been great seeing his blow-up this year. He’s sorta bringing that 00s indie-folk sound back, although in certain corners, it never quite went away, but it’s great. I’ve listened to Stick Season myself, and it’s a solid little record, especially for that type of sound. As for myself, I got about fifteen honorable mentions (I wanted to keep it between five and ten, but this year was so packed with great albums, it was hard to keep it so short). I was only going to highlight a few here, but I think I’ll briefly list each record, because all of these albums are worth hearing, but let me know if any of these were on your list, or stick out to you, Jake.

I wanted to start off with a few metal albums, because metal did have a good year, but only a few metal albums stuck out to me. Native-American black metal band Blackbraid and their sophomore album, Blackbraid II, was a great surprise, expanding on their idea of taking melodic black metal and combining it with indigenous music and lyricism about nature, and the band Wayfarer, with their new album American Gothic, takes black metal and combines it with country, folk, and Appalachian music and lyrics about the Old West to make for a very unique experience that I’d call “Cowboy metal.” Death metal stalwarts Cannibal Corpse also put out a new album, Chaos Horrific, and I put this here because while it doesn’t really reinvent the wheel, these guys are an institution at this point and they’re always reliable to give you a solid record. The only real surprise I had in terms of metal was the new Thy Art Is Murder record, Godlike; aside from the controversy around this album, which I won’t talk about, the band sounds revitalized and their brand of deathcore isn’t anything special, but it hits hard here.

I did enjoy a few post-hardcore records, too, and a couple of them are records / bands you put me on. Caskets’ Reflections, Wind Walkers’ What If I Break, and Archetypes Collide’s self-titled are bands in the “pop and R&B meets post-hardcore” vein, and they’re nothing special, either, but they execute that sound so well. Spiritbox also dropped a new EP, The Fear Of Fear, and that’s why it’s not on the list proper. I didn’t feel like putting a single EP on the list, but it’s a great record that showcases their strengths. Guitarist Nita Strauss put out a really cool album called The Call Of The Void that brings together a lot of who’s who in hard-rock and metalcore, and it was a fun little romp with some good tunes.

Aside from hard-rock and metal, I had a lot of fun with other styles of music, especially catchier music. This year had a bit of a theme where alternative bands, either bands that have been around for a long time, or just put out a debut album, released an alt-rock album with an 80s sheen. Bands like Honey Revenge and their debut Retrovision, Broadside’s Hotel Bleu, and Boys Like Girls’ comeback album, Sundays At Foxwoods are in that vein, but they’re so fun and catchy. The last few albums I really wanted to highlight are one of their kinds, really, but they really resonated with me — The Muppets Mayhem show also included a soundtrack from The Electric Mayhem, which was really fun. I didn’t listen to a lot of hip-hop this year, but Aesop Rock put out Integrated Tech Solutions, a really fun, catchy, and witty look at how technology affects people and the lack thereof. My last album is a late addition, but the new Spencer Sutherland album, In His Mania, is a really solid and timeless-sounding pop album I found this past week, and I just had to include it, because his voice is so good.

Okay, let’s take a breath and regroup, because that was a lot, but what were your favorite albums this year? Were any of the ones I talked about on your list? I’m real curious to see how our lists overlap, but I’m also excited to see how different they are, too.

I have a pretty definitive number one, and I’ll save that for last, of course, but my top ten can be broken up into a couple different groups with similar sounds and moods, so let’s get started with that! First, I have what I’ll affectionately called the “sadboi hours” albums, and these are albums that hit you hard emotionally. This Wild Life’s Never Fade and City & Colour’s The Love Still Held Me Near have a very chill, almost serene sound, and that allows all the focus to be on the vocals and lyrics, and they both do very well with that sound. It’s nothing necessarily super different than what these artists have done before, but they both do it really well, and it hits me just right if I’m having a rough go of it and just need to be in my feelings . My next category of sorts would be albums that were just super fun listens from start to finish First, Broadside continued to carve out their own lane in the pop-punk scene by leaning into their pop sensibilities on Hotel Bleu, and Olllie Baxter’s voice is just endlessly enjoyable to listen to. Next up, there’s Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness’ Tilt At The World No More, a breezy indie-pop ride that continues McMahon’s signature self-reflective songwriting and piano tunes. In a sort of similar vein, Citizen’s Calling The Dogs, while I admittedly didn’t like it quite as much as their previous album, is a quick burst of indie-rock jams that you can’t help but dance along to. Next up, I wanna shout out Casket’s Reflections and Beartooth’s The Surface, two albums that fall into the hard-rock/alt metal category. Caskets just does this sound really solidly, and they’re anchored by an utterly killer vocalist in Matt Flood. You’ll get a good mix of catchy hooks, emotionally-charged  lyrics, and a lot of damn solid music to back it all up. A lot of the same could be said about Beartooth; Caleb Shomo has morphed into one of the best frontmen in the scene, the hooks are incredibly catchy, and the lyrics are hard-hitting and emotional, but I think what sets The Surface apart from the others is Shomo’s focus on self-love and positivity. Shomo’s made it no secret that he didn’t wanna write about super dark things with this album, as he was undergoing a life change and it would be disingenuous to do so just because it was the expected thing for the band. It really shines through, and it makes The Surface easily Beartooth’s best album. Before we get to my final three albums, I wanna turn it back over to you; what are some of the albums in your top ten that especially resonated with you?

I don’t want to spoil my top three, so I can think we can save those for last, but I can say the same about my top ten having some minor themes to it, although there are a handful of outliers, too. I think I’ll dive into those first, because they don’t adhere to a theme, but since you mentioned Broadside and Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness (whose new album was quite good, by the way), another album in the “alt-rock / pop-punk band making catchy, fun, and 80s-influenced stuff” is The Maine’s self-titled. That was a bit of a theme for me this year, but I wanted to include my favorite of that bunch in my top ten, and that’s the one that really worked for me. Citizen’s new album, while not on any of my lists at all, was still a really good album that might have been a slight step down, but still offered something different. The same thing that I said about The Maine’s S/T also goes for the handful of alt-metal and post-hardcore albums with pop sensibility that I talked about. That’s where The Surface by Beartooth comes in; I certainly agree that it’s their best album, and it really takes their catchy sensibilities to the next level. Caskets’ Reflections was great, too, but Beartooth’s latest just hit so hard. Its lyrics and main thesis statement from Caleb Shomo were part of that, too. I really appreciated his optimism this time around, and it made for a very liberating album.

I do have a couple more albums, outside of my top three that resonated with me, and one theme that I’ll touch on with my top three is the idea of some of my all time favorite bands coming back after a lengthy hiatus, or just surprisingly releasing a new album, and Paramore is the one band from the bottom half of my list to do with that This Is Why. While not my favorite Paramore record, the stuff that’s really good on here is just that — a masterclass in post-punk. But another major theme I touched on earlier was country music dominating my list this year. Albums from a lot of lesser artists known in the mainstream but very big in the underground dropped some killer albums, such as Colter Wall’s Little Songs, Tyler Childers’ Rustin’ In The Rain (which is nominated for a couple of Grammy’s), and Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit’s Weathervanes. The latter album is one of the most poignant, emotionally compelling, and best performed albums of the year. 

I did have one more album in my top ten that doesn’t fit a theme, and I almost felt as though I was cheating with it, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to include it. This is gonna be a shock to most people, maybe yourself, too, but Seth MacFarlane and Liz Gillies (of both of Family Guy and Victorious fame, respectively) teamed up for a jazz / Christmas album in the form of We Wish You The Merriest. If you enjoy jazz music, and/or Christmas music, this may as well be a new album on the yearly rotation, because it will be for me. Sure, it’s a Christmas record, but there’s something about this album that really resonated with me, whether it was their vocal chemistry or the way they handled these classic (and exclusively secular) Christmas songs. This record is very fun, festive, and catchy, and if you want a good modern Christmas album, it doesn’t get any better than this.

With all of that said, let’s talk about our top three, and I feel like I know what one of ours will be, since it hasn't been mentioned yet (yet people who know either one of us know what one of our favorite bands is), but what are your top three albums of the year? These are the best of the best, even among the top ten, so what do you got?

I feel like I know which album that will be, too, but before I get to that, I wanted to bring up a band you had recommended to me, actually, that being Spanish Love Songs and their album No Joy. I had only vaguely heard of them before, but you had recommended that I check out their album from 2020, Brave Faces Everyone, and I really enjoyed that. I think No Joy came out shortly after, and that album kinda snuck up on me. I really liked it on first listen, but I kept coming back to it more throughout the year, especially as I started thinking about this list. What Spanish Love Songs do really well is write really poignant lyrics that paint a vivid picture in a very direct way, Much like bands such as The Wonder Years, Bayside, or another band who may or may not be on this list, these guys just know how to hit you in the feels, as they say. For number two, this is the one  that’s not gonna be remotely surprising to you or anyone reading this if you know either of us, and that’s Fall Out Boy’s So Much (For) Stardust. This band really needs no introduction at this point, but I do think the backstory behind this album is pretty fascinating, as well as my feelings leading up to it and ultimately how the album turned out. We’re both pretty staunch defenders of Fall Out Boy’s post-hiatus material, but their last album, 2018’s Mania, is a bit of a tricky one for me. I respect the hell out of the band for going all out in the way that they did and trying new things, but in chasing all of that innovation and trying to remain fresh, I feel like they bit off  more than they could chew, and it results in an album that I don’t enjoy going back to as much. The band themselves have said as much, so when they went back to the studio to make So Much (For) Stardust, they essentially decided to make the album they would have made if they had never gone on hiatus after 2008’s Folie A Deux. In doing so, I think Fall Out Boy made what is easily their best album since Folie, and you can really feel how reinvigorated the band is throughout. It’s a real love letter to everything they’ve done without feeling derivative, and that’s such a tricky balance to strike for a band this long into their career. It was just so gratifying to have a  band that’s meant so much to me for so long now really firing on all cylinders. 

Finally, my favorite album of 2023 is, without question, The Menzingers Some Of It Was True. This is the album that resonated with me the most this year, and it’s largely due to the recurring themes of being in your  early thirties and being stuck in this holding pattern in life, and it really digs into the anxieties and insecurities that come with that. I turned 31 a little over a week ago from writing this, and I struggle a lot with this idea of not having everything figured out and feeling kind of directionless due to any number of factors, whether it be societal pressures or seeing the people around you find their way through all this. The Menzingers have always been really damn good at capturing these emotions (2017’s After The Party is still one of my all-time favorites), but I don’t think I was ready for just how hard this album would hit me. It really gave a voice to a lot of the things I’ve been feeling these last couple years, and I’m super grateful for that. It also just helps that they continue to be damn good alt-punk songwriters who know their way around a catchy hook and some energetic guitars. I’ve always really liked this band, but Some Of It Was True  cemented them as one of my all-time favorites. So, Bradley, kicking it back to you, what are the albums that really stood above the rest this year? 

Spanish Love Songs, eh? No kidding, that’s cool you really loved their new one! Their new album, No Joy, is a fantastic album. I don’t like it as much as Brave Faces Everyone, as that album really hits home, but No Joy is a great addition to their catalogue. That’s an album I painfully cut from my honorable mentions, and that’s saying something when I had to make a handful of cuts that I wouldn’t have otherwise made in almost any other year.

I’m gonna come out the gate, spoiling part of my list, but my favorite album of this year is Fall Out Boy’s So Much (For) Stardust. I think you said it best, Jake, especially for how we’ve always been defenders of their post-hiatus work (even when in retrospect, some of it hasn’t aged the best, but it’s really damn good), and this new album had a lot riding on it. Their last album, Mania, was a really solid album with overblown production and self-indulgent songwriting that could have used some rewrites, but I really enjoy that album still, warts and all. They still shine through in that record, despite how it goes off the rails sometimes. With Stardust, they could have easily harkened back to 2005 - 2007, because emo nostalgia is huge right now, but they didn’t. They took everything they’ve done since Folie A Deux, and put it all into a blender, as well as adding some new spices and flavors, making for an album that feels both nostalgic but forward thinking. Fall Out Boy is my favorite band, period, and they always have been, so this album represents a lot. In a year that has been rough in many ways, getting this new album from this band that I’ve loved since I was 13-years-old and having it sound the way it does makes me feel like I’m falling in love with them all over again.

Before I talk about my second and third favorites, I did want to go off what you said about The Menzingers, and their latest. I’m glad you loved it as much as you did, but I was kind of disappointed by Some Of It Was True. I really enjoyed it, but I really love Hello Exile from 2019. I listened to that for the first time before this record came out, and I feel as though that album has the same themes but done a bit more interestingly, and a lot of the subject matter is the same as what they’ve always done, but is that a bad thing? Not necessarily. It’s an album that still connected with me for those same reasons.

Anyhow, the two albums that resonated with me, aside from So Much (For) Stardust are Metallica’s 72 Seasons and Zach Bryan’s self-titled. Two very different artists, and they both resonated for different reasons. Metallica is very similar to Fall Out Boy, as they’re my other all time favorite band, and despite not being into a lot of metal this year, hearing this was a breath of fresh air. We haven’t had a Metallica album in seven years, and their last album was fine, but very much trying to appease their older fans. This one does a mix of trying to do that again, but also doing whatever the hell they want. This album has flashes of thrash, traditional heavy metal, doom / stoner metal, alt-metal, and grunge. There’s an interesting variety of sounds here, and while this album gets a little too self-indulgent at times, they pull you back in just when the album starts to lose you. For diehard fans, and even the public at large, this is the best Metallica album we’ve gotten since maybe the Black Album, but I did also listen to 2008’s Death Magnetic for the first time earlier this year and I really enjoy that album.

Zach Bryan had a huge year in 2023, and no one expected that, especially after the awful year that mainstream country’s had. Having songs in the top from Morgan Wallen, Jason Aldean, and Oliver Anthony (who’s the least awful of the bunch, but “Rich Men North Of Richmond” isn’t very good), Zach Bryan took the world by storm with his self-titled album that came out almost out of nowhere. His duet with Kacey Musgraves, “I Remember Everything,” went to number one, and it’s one of my favorite songs of the year, but this record resonated with me because of how personal, introspective, and “real” it sounded. The instrumentation is raw, organic, and stripped back to make room for his vocals and lyrics that are very well-written and understated. This is his most personal album yet, despite how he has been writing more third person / story based songs, but this is just heart wrenching stuff. Out of the country albums that came out this year, and the ones on my list already, this was my favorite.

Whew, this was a long one, but a very good one, nonetheless. This year was also a good one, too, at least for music, anyway. We had too much stuff, especially in comparison when other years haven’t had anything at all. Do you have any final thoughts before we wrap this up and tie a bow on it, Jake?

Ultimately, I’m really glad we decided to do this kind of on a whim. It’s always fun reflecting on the year, but it was even more so getting to tackle it with an old friend and really dig into each other’s perspectives, and even explore some different mediums like gaming and movies/TV a little bit! This was an often challenging year, but it was also a really great year for the things we love most, and I’m excited to see what 2024 has in store for us!