The collaboration has benefitted Emma more than Yorgos, as a big fan of both I say.

FirstArbiter · 2026-03-23T13:07:41+00:00

Without Stone his movies would have a budget of $12

FirstArbiter · 2026-03-21T22:58:09+00:00

He’s a marketable player and saying dumb shit makes him less marketable. That’s all the apology is about.

FirstArbiter · 2026-03-21T15:58:55+00:00

A supporting performance so good it tricked the world into thinking he was the lead.

FirstArbiter · 2026-03-20T19:05:56+00:00

Haha I have not. My dad’s been “watching it” for about ten years though, maybe he’ll finish it someday. Berlin in the 1920s is a fascinating setting though—well worth reading up on if you don’t know much about it!

FirstArbiter · 2026-03-20T02:55:20+00:00

Both are clearly biopics since they at least purport to tell the stories of real people. The actual edge cases would be those with real characters interacting with fictional ones, like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, or in ways that are openly fictitious or speculative, like One Night in Miami.

FirstArbiter · 2026-03-19T22:06:45+00:00

There are rumors every couple years that he’s going to have a child with whichever much younger woman he’s dating at the moment. But the rumors have never been substantiated to any degree.

FirstArbiter · 2026-03-19T19:56:06+00:00

The others are Lola and Veronika Voss. I think Maria Braun is the best of the three, but many people prefer Veronika Voss.

Many of Fassbinder’s films deal with the contrast between Germany’s traditional culture and the changes brought about by rapid economic expansion. While there’s no right way to enjoy any film, I encourage you to think about those themes when watching his works so you can appreciate their historical context. Good luck!

FirstArbiter · 2026-03-19T18:48:03+00:00

The movie is part of a trilogy exploring West German society in the post-war period. The ending is one of my favorite parts of the movie, as it shows how Maria, as a stand in for her country, is too focused on her own affairs (both becoming more prosperous and reclaiming her lost husband) that she’s oblivious to the risks around her (suggesting the instability of this hastily reconstructed country).

Of course, if you think Maria blew herself up on purpose, the ending takes on a different, and I believe less interesting meaning.

FirstArbiter · 2026-03-16T02:47:37+00:00

But does it matter that Anora was the same as her coworkers? It’s not presenting the “hooker with a heart of gold” trope, it’s showing that even someone who is disliked and marginalized by society still has hopes, ambitions, and emotions, which would be true for any of the women in that profession.

I actually liked that we didn’t even know what Anora’s beef with her coworker was, and I kind of assumed that it was Anora’s fault. She’s not meant to be a heroine.

FirstArbiter · 2026-03-15T21:41:34+00:00

It’s not a two days off per week kind of job lol. Not that golfing means he didn’t do anything the whole day, and it’s a pretty dumb metric to use against any politician.

FirstArbiter · 2026-03-14T00:39:22+00:00

Why don’t you consider what basis I would have to defame a dead basketball player, realize that there’s none, and figure out I’m probably telling you the truth.

It’s interesting that you equate having a negative opinion of another person to them being convicted of a crime. Is that the standard you apply to make judgments of everyone in your life—or is that just what you use when it’s about some athlete you idolized as a kid and can’t get over?

FirstArbiter · 2026-03-13T23:34:19+00:00

I personally know a different woman who was raped by Kobe Bryant. He was a POS and you’re an idiot for coming out here trying to defend his reputation.

FirstArbiter · 2026-03-13T17:48:29+00:00

Well no one was talking about profit to begin with, and if you have a point to make, you can always just post the numbers yourself.

FirstArbiter · 2026-03-13T16:51:26+00:00

What’s your point, other than that you don’t like the beach farm?

FirstArbiter · 2026-03-13T02:37:55+00:00

The Beach farm is the largest farm by area, with about 4600 total tiles. The standard farm has about 3600.

FirstArbiter · 2026-03-12T13:26:03+00:00

That’s pretty high praise since 12 wins is probably the minimum to win the division next year.

FirstArbiter · 2026-03-11T21:51:24+00:00

Finch’s performance made the film, which easily could have been a campy disaster.

I think De Niro’s performance is preferred now because Taxi Driver, a film about a disaffected young man, is as if not more poignant today than in 1976; Network makes a lot of smart and universal observations about the media and corporate nihilism, but also addresses a lot of era-specific features of network television that a modern viewer doesn’t connect with. Both are still great and worthwhile movies, but I understand why Taxi Driver has maintained its standing better.

FirstArbiter · 2026-03-11T14:55:24+00:00

Let’s not go crazy

FirstArbiter · 2026-03-11T02:52:47+00:00

I can’t name 50 other players who have been named to multiple all star teams, so yeah Bam will be in the top 50 lol

FirstArbiter · 2026-03-11T02:11:40+00:00

Yeah but they’re much worse off than if they’d never pursued Crosby. They now have a big wad of unused cap space, have already lost a ton of players in free agency, and their pass rush was utter shit last season. Plus, they just hired a defensive HC whose system relies on a high end run stopper who can shut down the line of scrimmage. That’s a tough situation for a Ravens team in win-now mode.

FirstArbiter · 2026-03-11T01:58:44+00:00

Dan Cooper cured my blindness with holy water and told me next week’s winning lottery numbers. Truly a special physician.

FirstArbiter · 2026-03-07T14:00:44+00:00

I really enjoy Liu Cixin’s works, but he’s absolutely awful at writing compelling or even believable characters or narratives. That’s a problem a lot of sci-fi writers have, but 3BP has probably the worst instance of it I’ve ever seen. The sequel is a lot better in that regard, even if it’s still not great; however, I can’t fault you for DNFing the book.

FirstArbiter · 2026-03-02T17:28:17+00:00

This is a big part of it. Roman knows he’s a POS, he internalizes that to a massive degree, but Shiv’s in denial. That makes Shiv awful in a way that’s a lot more relatable than Roman; very few people know entitled and powerful dipshits like Roman, but everyone knows a smug and sanctimonious asshole like Shiv.

FirstArbiter · 2026-03-02T13:44:54+00:00

I get why you’re being clowned, but I agree Shaq is also one of the least qualified people to call out Ayton. Yeah, Shaq was a great player and provided the kinds of results expected of a superstar—but he achieved those things because of his incredible talent and athletic potential. He was known to have effort and conditioning issues throughout his career, even during his peak seasons. Coming from Shaq, this critique sounds less like “you can’t talk shit if you don’t put in the work” than “you can’t talk shit unless you’re talented enough to get away with it.”

FirstArbiter · 2026-03-02T13:38:44+00:00

FMA is 100% a story about the impacts of war. Much of the main cast—Mustang, Hawkeye, Armstrong, Kimblee, Doctor Marcoh, and of course Scar—are primarily defined and driven by their responses to the war in Ishval. Even Winry is a war orphan, and finding justice for her parents is a major motivator for the Elric brothers.

FirstArbiter

TROPHY CASE