It’s interesting to read this while watching the first season of Netflix’s Sandman series; the adaptation is pretty faithful and the deviations either take nothing away or actually improve on things. As might be expected, these earliest stories don’t have quite the grace of the later ones, and even include some details that feel like they’re present just to be edgy and shocking. Which are qualities not usually associated with Neil Gaiman.
My Cultural Diet
I decided to watch this after learning about director Albert Pyun’s death. Put simply, it’s grade “A” early ’90s direct-to-video cheese. It shamelessly rips off better movies like Blade Runner and Terminator but has more spirit and energy than many Hollywood blockbusters. Come for the ’90s cyberpunk fashion (e.g., silk double-breasted suits, wraparound sunglasses, “futuristic” guns that never need reloading), stay for the non-stop scene-chewing, surprisingly elaborate stunts, and really cool practical effects.
The sequel to 2021’s A Psalm for the Wild-Built chronicles the ongoing travels of Sibling Dex and their robot companion, Mosscap. This is good lazy weekend comfort reading: it’s slight and not too demanding or action-packed but it’s nevertheless filled with charming little moments that’ll put a smile on your face. More than the story, though, I enjoy Chambers’ world-building, and want to know more about Panga’s history and various cultures.
There were times when I didn’t know what was going on: there were a few too many plot threads and the season finale was needlessly confusing and open-ended. Even so, I still really dug this Amazon sci-fi series thanks to its numerous characters and its interesting spin on cyberpunk tropes. In other words, I’m looking forward to season two.
I had mixed reactions to the drama in this novel about a pair of lifelong friends and video game designers whose relationship evolves and breaks and heals over the years. But I did enjoy the snapshots of ’80s and ’90s video game nostalgia as well as the commentary on the video game industry as a whole (commentary that, thankfully, never felt heavy-handed or pedantic).
My third time playing all the way through the campaign. I still enjoy the gameplay — using the grappleshot to stun an enemy and then stick a plasma grenade on them will never not be satisfying — and I love everything about the game’s design and aesthetic (except for the explosions). But the story itself feels hollow, like 343 Industries worked themselves into a narrative corner after the last two games. I’m curious to see how future installments will advance the storyline.
I totally understand why this movie is such a classic for so many people. It’s exceptionally well-made (the music cues are 100% on point), it has some hilarious scenes, and it’s filled with a certain joie de vivre that’s distinctly ’80s. (Also, it’s very nostalgic.) But unfortunately, I just don’t like Ferris Bueller himself. I’m sure most see him as a lovable jerk, but he’s just a jerk to me.
I chuckled pretty consistently throughout this movie, especially when Jack Black showed up as Wolfman Jack or Wierd Al became the world’s greatest assassin. But I think I would’ve enjoyed it more had I seen it with a bunch of like-minded fans.
I’ve been wanting to see this Roger Corman sci-fi/horror classic for awhile now, and it didn’t disappoint (it’s currently streaming for free on Tubi). The storyline, about a doctor who enhances his vision with unpredictable and insanity-inducing side effects, is lean and mean (only 79 minutes long!) and very satisfying as “B” movies go. Come for the trippy psychedelic visuals, stay for the creepy Don Rickles cameo.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Day Shift is pretty much what you’d expect from a gory movie about vampire hunters that culminates in Snoop Dogg mowing down dozens of vampires with a minigun. Oh, and has a running gag about Dave Franco peeing his pants. It did make me laugh out loud several times, the stunts are pretty awesome, and I want more of the Armenian vampire-hunting brothers played by Steve Howey and Scott Adkins.
I’m a sucker for stories that re-envision the past with magic, which is precisely what Arrowsmith does: it’s World War I with magic, and all that entails (wizards, dragons, trolls). The storyline is fairly straightforward coming-of-age, horrors-of-war stuff, but the artwork is gorgeous and the world building is cool. Apparently, a second volume’s in the works, and I’ll probably check it out at some point.
After weeks of seeing clips of her standup on Instagram, we finally watched Taylor Tomlinson’s Netflix special. I guess the algorithm works. There are some pretty hilarious, albeit dark and twisted, moments in Tomlinson’s routine, with the “dead mom” and “bipolar disorder” jokes winning out over the “porn for women” jokes.
David Zindell’s Neverness is one of the more interesting sci-fi novels I’ve ever read, and The Broken God picks up where it left off. Zindell’s prose is often breathtakingly beautiful and his world building is ambitious but he’s also prone to heady philosophizing and meandering narratives that can pretentious.
This collection of short stories and novellas isn’t necessary reading if you enjoyed the Expanse novels, but it does flesh out some of the characters, both main and secondary. I think my favorite story was probably “The Churn,” a dark and disturbing tale from Amos Burton’s younger days, followed by “The Vital Abyss,” which explores Paolo Cortázar’s research into the alien protomolecule.
Overall, I enjoyed this season a lot more than season three, but it could’ve done without one or two storylines (the Russia storyline, in particular, dragged quite a bit). It felt like the Duffers wrote themselves into a corner after season three, and had to spend most of season four untangling things. Even so, it’s still Stranger Things, and therefore, filled with wonderful moments (e.g., “Running Up That Hill,” “Master of Puppets,” Hopper’s confession).