Celan

It still did better than Witcher s3, but that's not saying much. I'm not surprised it didn't get a lot of love. It's too cerebral for blockbuster appeal, doesn't have any of the humor or pop culture draw of Stranger Things, and the characters are pretty flat. The only character who's mildly appealing doesn't stick around for long. I have zero attachment to the series and don't plan to read the books. Some of the main features of the antagonists just don't make sense to me and I hear that characterization is even worse in the books.

I resemble that.

I hear that. Being captive in my car for 7-8 hours a week has helped me get some listening done. Get her some classic horror like Edgar Allan Poe. The first books I can remember owning were a collection of Poe and the Complete Sherlock Holmes.

I refuse to read any more fantasy. Although I've actually been listening to A Game of Thrones on audio book. I watched an Alt Shift X video on "the real Jon Snow" and fuck it all, it reminded me why I loved the books once. You really should read some Larry McMurtry. I listened to one of his recently and they're so good, very character focused. No one would write books like these any more.

I haven't liked anything GRRM wrote except for ASoIaF. Fantasy is like this too, indulgent in its world-building and not as much everything else. GRRM started out economical but got bloated later on. I'm surprised he signed a deal with one studio. I assume he could have had his pick of a lot of roles.

I finished listening to Rendezvous with Rama audio book and well, it had some interesting points but... This weekend has been a lesson in the kind of sci fi I don't prefer, which is high-concept low-characterization. The characters in RwR are barely sketched, which is similar to Three Body Problem. I would be happy to see what Denis Villeneuve does with it, but doubt it would be a favorite film, either. There's nothing in either of these stories like Amos Burton or Chrisjen Avasarala.

True, I think they got clever starting at least by season 3 and trying to "improve" things. Actors as well as GRRM himself pointed this out to them. Anyway, I'm not sure I'd recommend watching it, but if you're bored it's alright.

They're not bad at adapting existing material. I hear that Chinese people don't like that they westernized it, such as the cast, but that's to be expected.

I finished the series. It was okay. I didn't actively hate it, but it's not on the level of The Expanse, not even close.

I watched a couple episodes of Three Body Problem. It's bonkers but entertaining.

HOTD season 2 trailers

I hope he doesn't do any funky shit like he did with Prometheus. I've decided that Denis Villeneuve and I are long-lost cousins. He kind of looks like my Quebecois great grandfather.

I booted up Cyberpunk 2077 a bit this weekend, tried out the new metro system. It's pretty cool. Not completely immersive, you get a cut when you enter and leave for whatever reason, but really nicely implemented for a free add-on. If you turn the camera towards your back, you see V's arm as if she's really turning around to look. Little bit of interactivity with Johnny, too. This might be my favorite thing to do, just ride to a random station, get out and wander around doing scanner hustles and gigs wherever I end up, taking whatever car the gangoons have to offer. My V is not picky about short-distance transport to the next job. I like to think this is how she gets her start with El Capitan's car theft spree.

You guys have probably seen it but if not, definitely watch one of my other favorite films that DV directed, Sicario. Don't bother with the sequel, though.

Dune 2 surpassed the entire domestic box office of the first film within 10 days https://variety.com/2024/film/box-office/dune-2-box-office-milestone-400-million-1235944137/ Partly because of the baffling decision to release the first film direct to HBO Max in addition to showing it in theaters. Still, I'm happy that it's doing so well. It renews my faith in humanity that people will reward a good film with butts in seats.

The Feds want to police gaming communities

The one I really want to see is Duncan Idaho doing a free jump from space down to the surface of Arrakis.

They aren't really talking about the fact that spice prolongs life. He looks too old and frail for the role. But maybe it conveys that he is worried about his legacy since he has no son. But, the Harkonnens, really dude?

He's not right for the role, but I understand they wanted his presence as a legendary actor.

Ghostbusters is probably going to take over some IMAX screens in a couple weeks. It is definitely worth seeing it on a Dolby or IMAX. Then again, both times I went, the theater was absolutely packed. So it's likely to stick around for a while in regular theaters.

I read that it took Stellan Skarsgard 7 HOURS to get into his makeup. Walton Goggins did an interview about the Fallout series and said that on the first day of shooting, he put on his costume pants and there was a brown recluse in there that bit him 5 times before he could get them off. There ought to be an Oscar for worst costuming stories. More about the Harkonnens...

I thought I liked part one better, but I'm insomniac and ended up thinking about part two and plotting out where to see it on an even bigger IMAX screen.

I saw Dune 2 again today and am happy to report that I liked it even better the 2nd time. That happened with the first movie too. I think once I'm reconciled to changes, I can relax and enjoy the movie for what it is. There are at least no changes that I'm baffled about. Still ones I'm uncertain about, but it will depend on what happens in the next one, and so far DV hasn't let me down.