My Cultural Diet

Some of the best BBQ ribs I’ve had in a long time. We were a little underwhelmed by the brisket (which, though flavorful, was a bit on the dry side), but those ribs were topnotch.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been to the SAC Museum over the years, but every time I go, I’m still fascinated by the planes and the world history they represent. In addition to the planes, there are several excellent exhibits on topics ranging from the early days of the Space Age to the Berlin Airlift to the Holocaust.

I’m not sure any synopsis can do justice to this strange movie about a pair of CIA agents trying to stop a Russian plot to take over a virtual world. There’s talk about pizzerias and kickboxing academies, kung fu battles, and an African president running around in a Batman outfit. It’s deliberately nonsensical and bizarre in a Midnight Madness sort of way, so your mileage will definitely vary.

I really liked this place when it was called AmuManu Ramen, and it’s still just as good. I had the Stir Fry Ramen tonight, and it was pretty filling with just a slight hint of spice to liven things up a bit.

This “family” superhero comedy has a few laughs courtesy of Owen Wilson and Michael Peña, but overall, it’s pretty forgettable.

Decorum is more an exercise in world-building than a “normal” comic. The hardcover is filled with notes on far-future worlds, societies, and religions, all brought to life via Mike Huddleston’s incredible artwork and Sasha E Head’s intricate graphic design. The storyline — a group of assassins are hired to find a cosmic relic for an AI religion — is promising, but unfortunately, underwhelming. Given all of the world-building, I kept hoping for something more fantastical.

Works as both a love letter and deconstruction of fantasy role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons as well as the fantasy genre as a whole, but only by someone who understands both really well.

One of the great action movies of all time. 3+ decades have done absolutely nothing to diminish its thrills. This time around, I was fascinated by the gorgeous set design and surprisingly (at times) lush cinematography. The themes of bureaucratic nonsense and police incompetence (e.g., when they storm the building) hit even harder in light of recent police-related controversies. But mostly, worth watching for Bruce Willis’ everyman panic, Alan Rickman’s effortless charm, and lots of awesome explosions.

The first Incredibles movie is one of my favorite Pixar movies so the sequel had a lot of to live up. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite succeed. The family drama feels a bit forced this time around and the marionette like character designs cross over into the uncanny valley a bit too much for my taste. Even so, Incredibles 2 definitely has its own charms. The mid-century modern aesthetic is on point and Elastigirl’s nocturnal pursuit of Screenslaver is one of my favorite Pixar sequences of all time.

This bit of mid ’90s direct-to-video cheese starring Nicole Eggert (of Baywatch and Charles in Charge fame) intrigued me whenever I saw it on the video store shelf back in the day. However, it’s just a blatant RoboCop rip-off sans Paul Verhoeven’s sense of style or satire. (I also detected hints of Terminator 2 in the soundtrack.) It does have Richard Grieco chewing up the scenery whenever he’s on-screen, which is not nothing. (The movie also gets some bonus points for naming his character “Mad Dog.”) Sidenote: Director Robert Kurtzman apparently never met a Dutch angle he didn’t like.

I’ve never played Dota 2, the game on which this Netflix series is based. That didn’t matter much with previous seasons, but the third season seems to dive really deeply into game lore, with the assumption that viewers are familiar with it. I was not. I loved the animation, designs, world building, etc., but felt completely lost in the last few episodes, story-wise. The finale is obviously meant to be epic and emotional, but it fell flat for me. I suspect, however, that Dota 2 players might have a very different experience.

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is ultra-stylish and ultra-graphic — much like Love, Death & Robots, it’s definitely not safe for kids — with some truly stunning animated action. (Kudos to Studio Trigger.) It occasionally wrestles with some deeper themes re. technology’s impact on humanity, but Ghost in the Shell it most certainly is not. Sometimes it feels like an edgy tragedy thanks to its melancholy tone, while other times, it’s all about the nihilistic excess. Your mileage will most definitely vary.

I wanted to like this more than I actually did. The story — based on Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang’s comic — was interesting and the young cast was game enough, but this is one of those cases where the various pieces just didn’t click. Also, don’t believe any Stranger Things comparisons; aside from being (partially) set in ’80s, Paper Girls has little-to-nothing in common with the Netflix series. There was a lot of potential here that will sadly be unrealized since Amazon canceled the series.

Parallel Love worked on multiple levels for me: as a nostalgia-filled document of an important era in Christian music; as a heartfelt look at a rock band and the twists, turns, and tragedies of their career; and as a thought-provoking rumination on faith, spirituality, and art. Luxury was a band like no other in Christian circles, and I’m glad to see them getting some long overdue attention as a result of this film. Also cool: Some of my Cornerstone photos appear in the film’s archival footage.

I didn’t like this as much as the first season. I like fantastical world building, but it felt like they crammed in way too much into this season. As a result, everything felt rushed and half-baked. But there’s still enough that I like that I’m looking forward to season three.

I watched this with my oldest and we both agreed: Prey is a lean, mean action movie par excellence. The Native American characters and setting didn’t just put a fresh spin on the Predator mythos, story-wise; they also helped to ground the movie and give it a sense of authenticity and immediacy that was immensely satisfying.

Like Andy Weir (Project Hail Mary, The Martian), Blake Crouch writes sci-fi that’s intellectually stimulating thanks to the science involved, but at the same time, real page-turners. (I think I read Upgrade in two days, total.) That said, Upgrade may have been too much of a page-turner; it felt perfunctory given the heady topic involved (genetic engineering). As for the ending, I get why Crouch wanted to end the novel on an optimistic note, but it rang a bit false and left a bad taste in my mouth.

The interviews with Woodstock ‘99’s staff, promoters, artists, and attendees as they reflect on the festival’s disastrous end are equal parts fascinating and infuriating, and a showcase of naïveté, incompetence, and greed. It’s all further proof that when art and capitalism meet, it’s often to art’s detriment. Unfortunately, Trainwreck stumbles in its coverage of the sexual assaults that occurred at the festival; the clips of half-naked women getting groped and mobbed by men were no doubt included to highlight the reality of the problem, but they end up feeling gratuitous and exploitative.

I’ve never played Dota 2, so I don’t know how well Dota: Dragon’s Blood stacks up to the source material. But as far as high fantasy with elves, dragons, and evil demons go, it’s pretty solid stuff with a suitably elaborate mythology. Also, lots of graphic violence, so definitely not a series for kids. I enjoyed Studio Mir’s work on Voltron: Legendary Defender, and their character designs and animation here feel like a natural evolution.

In this retelling of Beauty and the Beast, a young girl becomes a popular singer in a virtual universe, only to encounter a strange beast-like creature. Story-wise, I think the film tries to do a bit too much, especially in its final act, though its heart is always in the right place. Visually, however, Belle is astounding, thanks to its nigh-seamless blend of cel animation and CGI.