iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Darren Mooney @darrenmooney.bsky.social · 5h

Thrilled you guys can read this now!

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Darren Mooney @darrenmooney.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Not the most compelling of weeks, I’ll be honest.

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Darren Mooney @darrenmooney.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I don’t know what the moratorium is on being able to talk about “Digger” explicitly, but I will admit I’m a little surprised at people suggesting that the film expects the viewer to react to anything Jesse Plemons’ character says with anything other than extreme cynicism.

Darren Mooney @darrenmooney.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

The thing about “From Hell” is that it is such a dense world that you can just forget that Moore and Campbell open the chapter featuring the first murder with the literal conception of Adolf Hitler. In untranslated German. What a comic. (From Hell #3.)

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Darren Mooney @darrenmooney.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Revisiting Wolfman and Colan’s “Tomb of Dracula”, and love that there - in bringing Dracula to the modern world - is an entire issue about Dracula getting pissed off at having to deal with seventies air travel. (Tomb of Dracula #36.)

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Darren Mooney @darrenmooney.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Honestly, the whole situation involving that critic being let go from a prominent outlet for fairly transparent AI usage is indicative of where this going. Human writers are not just competing with publishers using AI, but also with human-presenting authors using AI.

static.klipy.com

I, Robot AI Gaze

ALT: I, Robot AI Gaze

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Reposted by Darren Mooney

Lara S. Ramblings (The S Stands for Silly) @larasramblings.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

I'm late to this but phenomenal work as usual from Darren, articulates very well what makes Cregger's RE so special. (Also more mercenarily reminds me that I really should post that piece I wrote about Gus van Sant's Psycho and AI "film criticism.")

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Darren Mooney @darrenmooney.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

I enjoyed Zoe Kazan's "East of Eden", in which an American dynasty deals with three generations of trauma and betrayal. Oh, and the characters also deal with three generations of trauma and betrayal. But I found it very moving and affecting. An artist working through stuff.

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M3egan: The Hat-Trick @meeganslaw.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Mom, can you pick me up? The film critic is unironically comparing paul ws anderson to postmodernist jean baudrillard and i'm scared

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Lachlan Williams @lawksland.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

This episode of The Backdrop about Paul Anderson's Resident Evils by @darrenmooney.bsky.social touches on something I felt after playing Mixtape - Baudrillard's idea of simulation and simulacra. Except Resident Evil is about this, whereas Mixtape just IS this www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZ4q...

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I Rewatched All of Paul W.S. Anderson's Resident Evil Films | The Backdrop

YouTube video by Second Wind

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Reposted by Darren Mooney

Philby Bear (they/them) @philbybear.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

... this might be my favourite reappraisal of the Anderson Resident Evil movies. www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZ4q...

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I Rewatched All of Paul W.S. Anderson's Resident Evil Films | The Backdrop

YouTube video by Second Wind

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Darren Mooney @darrenmooney.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

"What kind of sick fuck do you think I am?" "The kind of sick fuck who’s good at hiding he’s a sick fuck." I do appreciate that Guy has a pretty good read on John Stewart.

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packed full of protein @ae2501maeth.smallbird.social · 29/09/2026

as one of the loudest supporters in any room of pwsa's ouevre and also an early adopter+booster of the critical framework of "vulgar auteurism" (one of the first critics, professional or otherwise, outside the group of writers who coined it) i dispute as much here as i love. but i value its honesty.

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Bill Mudron @mudron.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Someone who worked in the film industry was asked how/why these Resident Evil & Underworld movies keep getting made, and the industry mole said that you’d be surprised at how many Eastern European tracksuit mafia types (who don’t know how to torrent films) made that shit profitable.

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Darren Mooney @darrenmooney.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

So, with Zach Cregger’s “Resident Evil” being a smash - and very good - it has sparked something of a reappraisal and re-engagement with Paul W.S. Anderson’s films. So I made a video at @SecondWindGroup.com about those post-modernist action movie monuments. WATCH: youtu.be/fZ4qRmA-bBM?...

youtu.be

I Rewatched All of Paul W.S. Anderson's Resident Evil Films | The Backdrop

YouTube video by Second Wind

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Malcolm Rambert @malcmanishere.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Very thorough 28-minute video from Darren here. Cool seeing Hollywood land on video game adaptations for their thing now. They tried giving anime a try, which didn’t pan out due to various reasons. One of which @theaccidentalotaku.bsky.social wrote about www.animenewsnetwork.com/answerman/20...

animenewsnetwork.com

Answerman - How Much Control Do Manga Artists Have Over Hollywood Adaptations?

The former Dragonball manga editor revealed how much it costs to be a Hollywood heavyweight, but what about the comic's creator? Justin revisits Dragonball: Evolution to find the answer.

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Darren Mooney @darrenmooney.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I was flicking through the channels, found “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.” I’ve been watching it for half an hour now. It has that really great and propulsive “every scene is the best scene” energy, where it just moves from one great set-up to another.

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Darren Mooney @darrenmooney.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Waiting for “Resident Evil” to start at the local lieMax. There’s a bunch of kids behind me. They’re marveling at how big the screen is and excited for the upcoming “Spirited Away” rerelease. The kids are all right.

Reposted by Darren Mooney

Nick Calandra @nickjcal.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Big plans coming together for Second Wind’s third anniversary in November. That said, always on the lookout for new ideas too. What are some things you’d like to see on Second Wind in 2027?

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Darren Mooney @darrenmooney.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Shocking to see “Twin Peaks: The Return” rank so low on that list of New York Times best shows of the decade. Really the great, big, bold, auteurist swing of the modern television age. The rare show where there was nothing like it before and hasn’t been since.

static.klipy.com

Twin Peaks: Mr. C and Gordon Cole

ALT: Twin Peaks: Mr. C and Gordon Cole

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Darren Mooney @darrenmooney.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Admittedly inspired by Soderbergh’s “Psychos”, I got to have some fun with overlapping images on this week’s “Backdrop.” Shoutout to @yomarz.bsky.social and @janjozone.bsky.social for everything they taught me about video editing.

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Second Wind @secondwindgroup.com · 22/09/2026

This week on The Backdrop, @darrenmooney.bsky.social is all aboard the hype train for the Resident Evil remake as it's a great adaptation of the franchise.

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Zach Cregger's Resident Evil Is the Perfect Video Game Adaptation | The Backdrop

YouTube video by Second Wind

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Darren Mooney @darrenmooney.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

This week at @SecondWindGroup.com, I took a look at Zach Cregger’s #ResidentEvil, and how it adapts the video game to live action. Asking, “What do we even want from a video game to film adaptation anyway?” WATCH: youtu.be/buwfQ-2Uhgk?...

youtu.be

Zach Cregger's Resident Evil Is the Perfect Video Game Adaptation | The Backdrop

YouTube video by Second Wind

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Darren Mooney @darrenmooney.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Really loved this from @designdelve.bsky.social, and - like a lot of the best "Design Delve" - very instructive even outside the video game sphere. www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lIb...

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The Pursuit of Graphical “Realism” Is Dangerous | Design Delve

YouTube video by Second Wind

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Darren Mooney @darrenmooney.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Thinking about Zach Cregger’s “Resident Evil”, and how it feels distinctly personal while still being an accessible mainstream franchise film. It feels, for example, very personal to Cregger - conscious or not - that the only thing that seems to *kill* the undead is a fall.

static.klipy.com

Looking Above Bryan

ALT: Looking Above Bryan

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Darren Mooney @darrenmooney.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Feck it, they should just go for it. The EU should announcer would fast-track Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish membership.

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Darren Mooney @darrenmooney.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Had a very good time with #ResidentEvil. Fun without being brainless, smart without showing off. Funny without undermining its tension, and scary while still being accessible. A really enjoyable trip to the cinema, and a joy with a crowd. Austin Abrams is a delight.

Darren Mooney @darrenmooney.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Revisited John Ostrander’s “The Spectre”, and loving that Ostrander clearly had big feelings about “Interview with a Vampire.” (The Spectre #34.)

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Darren Mooney @darrenmooney.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Tom frickin’ Mandrake. (The Spectre #37.)

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Darren Mooney @darrenmooney.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

It is indicative of how pointless the whole streaming wars was that Zach Cregger has a new movie coming out this week, which is a big deal, and "Barbarian", a movie released by a subsidiary of Disney, is not available to stream on Disney+. Or anywhere in UK/Ireland for free.

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Alexander @aurumalex.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I know it's beating a dead horse wrt Level-5, but I wanted to share this excellent essay by @darrenmooney.bsky.social on the connection between pop culture nostalgia and the broader push for Generative AI. What Level-5 is doing with series like Professor Layton perfectly illustrates Darren's point.

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Harry Potter and the Culture of AI | The Backdrop

YouTube video by Second Wind

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Second Wind @secondwindgroup.com · 14/09/2026

With Coyote vs. Acme fresh on the mind, @darrenmooney.bsky.social took a look back at Who Framed Roger Rabbit and how it was a sneaky spiritual sequel to Chinatown. Live now on Patreon -- www.patreon.com/SecondWindGr...

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[COLUMN] Who Framed Roger Rabbit Offers an Animated History of Los Angeles | by Darren Mooney | Second Wind

Note: This piece is somewhat in response to the video I did on Coyote vs. Acme a couple of weeks back. Some of the comments asked about Who

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Darren Mooney @darrenmooney.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

I’ve been re-reading Claremont, Cockrum and Smith’s “The Brood Saga” for various reasons. And really taken by the way that it feels like Claremont engaging with the legacy of the then-still-recent “Dark Phoenix Saga.” But a more feminist Storm-centric take on feminine power.

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Darren Mooney @darrenmooney.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

For absolutely no reason, resharing an essay I did earlier this year about these soulless recycled reimaginings of existing intellectual property and the larger culture of generative AI. youtu.be/0TEvK09XVvY?...

youtu.be

Harry Potter and the Culture of AI | The Backdrop

YouTube video by Second Wind

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largo621 @largo621.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

This is genuinely fascinating.

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