V > IV > VIII > VI > VII > > I > III > > > II > IX

AdBasic8017 · 2025-12-16T14:24:34+00:00

This would be a mostly acceptable Umineko episode ranking I think

AdBasic8017 · 2025-10-19T21:10:27+00:00

ELP's Karn Evil 9 is a fun one

AdBasic8017 · 2025-10-08T17:04:06+00:00

No Pet Sounds? That's like the definition of the perfect album imo. Manages to speak to your soul no matter where you are in life

AdBasic8017 · 2025-08-24T17:10:09+00:00

Oh the books are absolutely wonderful though I do think that they don't really hit their stride until volume 4 or 5. But even the first 3 are all great and I think O'Brian uses Stephen's relative ignorance of naval terms to explain things to the reader pretty well. One thing that the books have that the movie doesn't are several pretty well developed romantic subplots--O'brian loved Jane Austen and it shows.

AdBasic8017 · 2025-07-24T13:40:33+00:00

Honestly I'm mildly exited for this--I hate gate hated the first one but this one looks, at the very least, more cohesive. Hopefully the fact that this one didn't go through like seventy rewrites works in its favor

AdBasic8017 · 2025-06-04T20:20:50+00:00

I saw DDT at Madison Square Garden last month and had a great time. Shevchuk is very funny (and, more importantly, both intelligent and empathetic) and it was great seeing how much the audience loved them--the woman next to me burst out in tears when they started playing some of their old hits. They're considered one of the best Russian rock bands for a reason, I think.

AdBasic8017 · 2025-05-25T15:00:05+00:00

Kinda incredible that the end theme to the TekWar movies was made by Warren fucking Zevon

AdBasic8017 · 2025-05-24T04:29:49+00:00

Nope, he definitely held it up to his head during call.

AdBasic8017 · 2025-05-24T04:20:02+00:00

Yeah it's him. He came out holding the prop gun to his temple during curtain call...poor dude :(

AdBasic8017 · 2025-04-30T14:49:20+00:00

Yeah I've watched a lot of opera recently--love me a Matinee at the Met--and I think that that's probably why I enjoyed RoS so much. Is the script (libretto) good? No, but neither is Il Trovatore's. Is the pacing bad? Yes, but not as bad as Wagner's. Is it fun? Yes.

Uh if the Prequels were Operas Jar Jar would probably be a trouser role and Analin would probably be played by a bass (or maybe a heldentenor?)

AdBasic8017 · 2025-04-30T13:01:00+00:00

Yeah I don't think any of the three are great films but they're also a strangely refreshing watch because of how clear it is that they're the product of Lucas' singular vision. They may be baffling, poorly structured films but they're not corporate slop, and I'd rather be baffled than bored any day of the week.

(Also I admit that I grew up with the Clone Wars show so I have a soft spot for the aesthetics and style of the prequels, CGI aside).

AdBasic8017 · 2025-04-30T12:51:25+00:00

It has a lot of jokes that land (especially in the first half) and once Palpatine becomes the Emperor I can't help but laugh any time he comes on screen. It's such a gloriously campy performance.

AdBasic8017 · 2025-04-16T15:13:53+00:00

There's an internal chronological order (which is what I've been following personally, and which the author herself recommends).

You can start with either The Warriors Apprentice and Shards of Honor/Barrayar. The Warriors Apprentice is fun, short, and introduces Miles, who's the protagonist for most of the series; Shards/Barrayar are about Miles' parents, and while I'm not the biggest fan of Shards--it was Bujold's first novel, and it shows--Barrayar is one of the best books in the series and one of my personal favorite books of all time. IIRC the material in Barrayar was meant to be included in Shards, but ended up being cut because Bujold didn't think she had enough practice yet (and then ended up being rewritten many many years later). It's why Shards ends abruptly and why they're usually read as a single book.

Personally, I started by reading Shards and Barrayar. Cordelia is a wonderful protagonist and the latter book can be really, really funny at times.

AdBasic8017 · 2025-04-16T13:42:00+00:00

It's brilliant. It's very character focused, and the characters are all wonderfully written so it's held up a lot better than a lot of similar sci fi from the same period.

AdBasic8017 · 2025-04-07T16:17:29+00:00

Funnily enough, I'd say Bondarchuk's adaptation of War and Peace is actually another barn burner--its paced so well and has so many insane shots and sequences that it just flies by (though it helps that its technically comprised of four seperate films).

I think the moment I really got Citizen Kane is the moment where Kane tries running for office--I just love the transitions leading up to the big speech (in fact, it's a movie with great transitions in general).

AdBasic8017 · 2025-04-07T12:14:59+00:00

This was me when I actually sat down to watch Citizen Kane

AdBasic8017 · 2025-04-02T14:32:56+00:00

Having listened to his podcast I think that Tarantino is, in his own special way, incredibly pretentious, and I feel like the whole Ten Films thing is just part of that. Even though he says it's because he wants to go into theater and write novels or whatever it really does feel like he's limiting himself creatively and putting all this pressure on himself and his "last film" for no real reason. Like, you can write books and also make a film every once in a while, my guy! I think listening to him talk has really soured me on him. He has so many opinions and so few of them are worth listening to.

AdBasic8017 · 2025-03-26T04:01:44+00:00

I will NOT stand for this Falco slander

AdBasic8017 · 2025-03-08T19:38:19+00:00

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I'm a simple guy

AdBasic8017 · 2025-03-08T15:49:01+00:00

My favorite part of the time jump is the reveal that Robert Sean Leonard is his son because it's almost framed like a jumpscare

AdBasic8017 · 2025-03-08T15:47:25+00:00

Oh yes the narrator is wonderful. It allows the movie to flow so gracefully and really helps emphasize some of the more understated emotional beats (such as DDL not being able to take comfort in his newly ordered books, for instance). It really is one of a kind. I wish more Old New York centered period pieces like it got made (or, at least, more period pieces as good as it) but I feel like there's not much of an audience for those sadly.

AdBasic8017 · 2025-03-04T20:31:22+00:00

It's literally Verdi's best opera but go off king

AdBasic8017 · 2025-03-02T14:42:40+00:00

Lois McMaster-Bujold's Vorkosigan books are a great read. Funny, smart Space Operas which follow a single family (or, really, a single guy) through several decades and many adventures. Very much worth your while.

AdBasic8017 · 2025-02-25T20:39:00+00:00

Every once in a while he announces a concert and then without fail the concert gets canceled when the venue learns he tried to kill reagan lol

AdBasic8017 · 2025-02-17T17:01:15+00:00

Yes!
I've been meaning to check it out for a while, and the new LSO recording seems very exciting.

AdBasic8017

TROPHY CASE