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You're allowed to! I have a more specific and exhaustive list of criticisms but they'd just have the effect of tainting something that brought you joy so I don't see the point in airing them. (The book has EoT's male protagonist and military setting. I do like that this version changed that.)

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 11h

I believe you're thinking of The Social Network.

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 11h

Film #153 for 2026 is "All You Need Is Kill" (2025). It's an even-less-faithful animated adaptation of the same book as "Edge of Tomorrow", and while it's initially satisfying to see Emily Blunt's character repositioned as the protagonist, it completely fails to deliver on pacing and storytelling.

Red-headed Rita, wearing a power suit, flees a giant flower monster in "All You Need Is Kill" (2025).

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 17h

Considered OutKast but felt like a larper because I'm really not familiar at all with the previous 2,999 Andres.

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 19h

Question: "Who would win, X or Y?" Me: "Who's the protagonist, and where are they in their arc?"

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 20h

Immediately thought of three and then decided I didn't need to create the Torment Nexus.

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 21h

I mean, there's none on the liveblog, but yes, that's the modern BBC.

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 21h

The Labour candidate is literally only named three times in three hours of coverage, with no substantive facts about him, his policies, or his campaign. It's just all slagging the Greens.

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 21h

Thought I might check the BBC liveblog to see how the UK byelection is going, but I'd forgotten what the modern BBC was like. It's just "it's been ten minutes since we said anything, so let's just uncritically repeat some pro-genocide talking points".

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 23h

But also, just a piece of songwriting, "Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid is just incredibly clever on so many levels that mostly blow past subconsciously on a first watch, and the animation for that sequence takes it up another couple of notches again.

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 23h

Oh, I mean *obviously* it's Golden, but for the purposes of not being redundant I feel like Lin-Manuel Miranda's songs for Vivo don't get nearly enough love. www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqsw...

youtube.com

One Of A Kind - The Motion Picture Soundtrack Vivo (Official Audio)

YouTube video by Atlantic Records

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Re: Red Dwarf, whenever someone said "a white hole" I found it very hard to not repeat, "A *white* hole?"

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

I gave it a pass because the episode wasn't really about that, but yes, it bugged me, knowing what a black hole is and how it does and doesn't work seems like a reasonable thing to expect of Star Trek writers.

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

I *was* going to make a joke about this being significantly less dark than I remembered.

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

I'm low-ranking a lot of these early Pixar shorts because I know what they're capable of later, and it wasn't substantially the technology that was holding them back.

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Film #152 for 2026 is For The Birds (2000). Probably the first Pixar short that isn't visibly limited by the technology, but otherwise it's a cartoon that fits a single gag into the same duration that Looney Tunes would pack a dozen into. Must have been a slow year at the Oscars.

One large blue bird and many small blue birds sit on a sagging wire in "For the Birds" (2000).

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Film #151 for 2026 is Geri's Game (1997). Coming two years after Toy Story, the endearing human character (and his clothing) is a remarkable technical achievement. But there's otherwise not much to this beyond the tech demo.

A CGI-animated old man sits at a chessboard in "Geri's Game" (1997).

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Janelle Monae. Dirty Computer just blew me away; it's operating on so many more levels than an album with such catchy hits would normally need to. Also her level of effortless cool throughout the entirety of the album-length companion film is awe-inspiring. www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLPV...

youtube.com

Janelle Monáe - Screwed (feat. Zoë Kravitz) [Official Music Video]

YouTube video by Janelle Monáe

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Star Wars did this (with Young Jedi Adventures) and it was (correctly) largely ignored by adults, and Marvel/DC do it all the time, although that is in the context of shows aimed at adults airing concurrently, so no one is making the mistake of seeing it as having replaced the thing they like.

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

As a member of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Greens, whose areas of political concern are "ACT" and "National", this was a very confusing meme to me.

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Film #150 for 2026 is The Babysitter: Killer Queen (2020). On the plus side, it's got a better handle on its tone, better kills, more Ken Marino, and Jenna Ortega joins the cast. On the other hand, there's a lot less Samara Weaving, and the alleged protagonist looks like a Young Liberal. It's fine.

Andrew Bachelor, Bella Thorne and Robbie Amell in "The Babysitter: Killer Queen" (2020).

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Film #149 for 2026 is The Babysitter (2017). McG is not a good director, and Brian Duffield is not a good screenwriter, but Samara Weaving (as always) gives this 110%, and there's some genuinely hilarious bits in amongst the cringe. As horror goes, it's acceptably and enjoyably bad.

Judah Lewis, seated in foreground, stares down, from left to right, Bella Thorne, Robbie Amell, Samara Weaving, Hana Mae Lee, and Andrew Bachelor in "The Babysitter" (2017).

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

A good cover finds the power in the song but does something new enough to justify itself. There are many good covers, but today's it's Placebo covering Kate Bush. www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-mY...

youtube.com

Placebo - Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) (Cover) Official Music Video

YouTube video by PLACEBO

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Film #148 for 2026 is Knick Knack (1989). Pixar experiments with low-poly stylised forms to create cartoony motion. It's amusing enough, but it's ultimately less impressive than Luxo Jr from three years previous.

A disgruntled snowman in a snow dome meets a mermaid in "Knick Knack" (1989).

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Film #147 for 2026 is Red's Dream (1987). Another Pixar short, in which they pose the question, "Is the world ready for a CGI clown?" and the answer is "Absolutely not, please stop".

A horrifying clown in "Red's Dream" (1987).

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

I mean, we appear to have adult Loki in Doomsday for no particularly good reason, so who knows?

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

I'm increasingly convinced that the Doomsday/Secret Wars arc is Doom killing all the adult characters in Doomsday and the Young Avengers forming to save everyone in Secret Wars.

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Lot of cracks in this one. Peter: "You'll be fine, and you can control this power, because you have friends, like me." Her: *immediately fucks off to nowhere on a bus, telling no-one where she is going*

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Couldn't help but read this as Peter Parker getting an adult autism diagnosis, experiencing severe denial and demanding a cure, and Bruce Banner going, "Dude, no, stop." It made the May scene near the end a bit emotional. (But the mutant allegory has always worked by being all things to all people.)

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

I liked this a lot, but I liked No Way Home vastly more.

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

I like that they didn't bother with an origin story for Scorpion. He's just a dude that wears a Scorpion costume. That's his deal. (Yes, I know this technically isn't his first appearance.)

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Film #146 for 2026 is Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026). It's good, and it's more "Spider-Man" than any film since Raimi's Spider-Man 2. But it's 150 minutes long and feels like 200, and the question of how the "villain" fits into the MCU hangs over everything like a cloud (and isn't resolved).

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

The only way I would ever play FFX again is if it had a story mode setting that just let me grind combat (with an optional XP multiplier setting), level up, and see the plot stuff. I'd play FFVIII again if I could disable the minigames and have some sort of auto-draw setting.

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Also if non-voiced allows them to create more game, or more dialogue options, or have a cheaper RRP, because they don't have to pay a voice actor, then by all means go non-voiced. (Opinion specific to this question, I'm not knocking the value of voice acting generally.)

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Non-voiced feels better for roleplaying, if you're being encouraged to create truly anyone you want. The voice choices inevitably push an interpretation of the character. But voice is fine if you're supposed to be a specific person, or kind of person (e.g. Mass Effect).

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

I definitely think new releases of old Final Fantasy games should have a "skip bullshit" button where it just gives you all the rewards of chocobo racing / lightning dodging / card battling / other poorly conceived minigame, if, like a sane person, you don't actually want to do those things.

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Film #145 for 2026 is Tin Toy (1988), another Pixar short. Pixar's ambition exceeds its technical grasp on this one - the horrifying animated baby is proof that there is, in fact, no God. Although it does act in commendably baby-like ways.

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Film #144 for 2026 is The Adventures of André & Wally B. (1984), another pre-Pixar short. It's a marvellous technical achievement on 1984 computers, but doesn't otherwise have much to recommend it. Why does André make Donald Duck noises?

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

She's the Rose of Classic Who. She's the person who was the bland, acceptable companion at the time that the greatest number of fans got into the show.

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Film #143 for 2026 is Luxo Jr. (1986) which is less than two minutes long, but I'm deciding it counts. Pixar lamps get up to shenanigans, and it's damned impressive for full-CGI in 1986. My computer in 1986 didn't even have a colour screen.

A CGI lamp looks at a ball in "Luxo Jr." (1986).

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

HG Zephyrantes Gundam from Stardust Memory. This one felt significantly more awkward and fiddly than the Zaku II and it doesn't pose quite as well.

HG gunpla of the RX-78GP01Fb "Zephyrantes" Gundam from Stardust Memory.

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Life is too short to not say everything with the dry declaratory confidence of a man announcing the participants of a Monster Mash.

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

With apologies to the other very worthy films in the category, Sirat was unquestionably the best international feature submitted to the 98th Academy Awards, and I wish more people had taken the chance to be traumatised by it.

Travellers in the desert, plus large speakers, plus buses, from the film "Sirat".

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I love that this DVD case for Shrek looks more like the $5 shovelware educational PC Shrek game for ages 4 to 9.

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I don't honestly care at all about baseball, but then Moneyball isn't really about baseball at all. (Moneyball is also very, very much about baseball. But also the human relationship with probability and narrative.)

static.klipy.com

Billy Beane: How Can You Not Be Romantic?

Alt: Brad Pitt as Billy Beane in the film "Moneyball", delivering the line near the end of the film: "How can you not be romantic about baseball?"

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Maybe they could appoint someone competent. But with Annika Wells getting general praise on the basis of not understanding her portfolio and making everyone forget her pork-barrelling corruption, I'm not optimistic.

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Murray, mate, you're not even constructive with your own portfolio, get your hand off it. If you want to make resource companies pay their damn tax, or wean them off taxpayer subsidies, or get some support to stop new gas projects, the Greens are more than willing to build that bridge with you.

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Best superhero TV series since Watchmen (2019), and one of the best new shows this year. (Also the best season of True Detective since the first one.)

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Greg T @gregt314.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Big Zam doesn't appear to be currently in print and it's going on Ebay for $250+, so that'll be a no from me.

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