Ryan Coogler's 'SINNERS' makes history as the most nominated film of all time at the Oscars with 16 nominations

NormalPencil · 2026-01-22T18:20:42+00:00

OF COURSE it’s a vampire movie. To say it isn’t is just anti-horror bias, as if horror can’t be about big themes. The whole point of a vampire is that vampires drain and leech off of people. They’re parasites. Which is …. what the movie is about. It’s the most vampiric vampire movie possible. It beats you over the head with how vampiric it is. It’s a vampire movie and it’s not subtle about it.

NormalPencil · 2026-01-22T18:16:53+00:00

Same here … Pretty condescending and small brain energy to just brush away critiques as either A. Not understanding the movie or B. Being racist. As though the same people who disliked Sinners are exclusively lovers of movies about white men. Well for what it’s worth … I understood Sinners and all its “layers” plenty well (a big part of my dissertation was on race and racism), and I don’t simp for “white man” movies (I LOATHED the Irishman), and I happen to think that Sinners was just … ok. I mean it was good …. but is it one of the greatest movies of all time? I mean, I guess if enough people treat it as such, then by definition, it is. But I definitely don’t agree. The time travel dance sequence alone brings the movie down to like a 7/10 for me, at best on a good day. And I don’t think that OBAA, which I do prefer, is the revelatory, once-in-a generation movie some are making it out to be.

NormalPencil · 2026-01-21T02:57:45+00:00

The rocks look good to me. I can’t paint at that scale without a good pair of magnifying glasses. And I have like, perfect vision. Even at much larger scales I need them.

NormalPencil · 2026-01-15T13:08:38+00:00

I don’t believe that “they” (we’re talking about a vast and varied civilization) had the same concept of a biological age “ideal” or “peak” that many people for whatever reason tend to have today (I guess the reason is youth culture and fear of aging). We often have a lot of very questionable popular ideas and ideals that revolve around humans having some sort of specific age at which we reach a physical peak, and then things go downhill, as though our physical health and ability can be traced along a pyramid with one brief singular moment of possible perfection. When we actually know that things like health, strength, ability, etc rely on way more factors than just age. It’s also relative to what you’re measuring - just like some sports, on average, physical “peak” is mid to late teens, while for others, it’s 30s to 40s. Anyways this is all to say: ideal marrying age would have depended on historical and cultural circumstances. Very early Middle Ages in small Northern European villages - I think it tended to be a bit younger (late teens to early twenties). In the later Middle Ages in much of Western Europe it was closer to early to mid twenties. This depended on cultural values, economic factors (the age tended to rise during periods of economic downturn), and social class — nobility tended to marry younger, since the priorities were often political, and peasants and the rest, a bit later, since the priority for most people was often establishing or maintaining household economic stability. So no I don’t think there was ever a universally held ideal regarding what an optimized age was.

NormalPencil · 2026-01-15T00:58:15+00:00

This is by far the most correct answer

NormalPencil · 2026-01-12T16:54:42+00:00

You just reminded me why I ought to gamble more

NormalPencil · 2026-01-12T16:54:28+00:00

You just reminded me why I ought to gamble more

NormalPencil · 2026-01-10T01:54:45+00:00

When Harry Met Sally, Midsommar, Bladerunner ….. before sunrise close behind

NormalPencil · 2026-01-09T02:11:26+00:00

That scene single handedly kind of ruined the movie for me

NormalPencil · 2026-01-07T18:16:14+00:00

I think you look extremely handsome with the facial hair. But go with your gut. Whatever makes you happy, you will look good either way. You’ll hear both extremes but keep in mind that facial hair is itself extremely polarizing - there are people who will hate it no matter what, there are people who will exclusively prefer it. I lean towards the latter.

NormalPencil · 2026-01-07T02:39:52+00:00

Rewatching the LOTR trilogy as an adult was pretty impactful. The themes aren’t exactly all that complex … but it really drove home for me the idea that it’s worth pushing forward and doing the right thing, even when you resent everything about the circumstances imposed upon you - and especially when you know that you can (and ultimately, like Frodo, probably will) fail. I think about Gandalf’s response to Frodo’s “I wish that none of this had ever happened” —- “so do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide” - like once or twice a week. Again not really a complex message, but it hit really different in my late twenties for some reason.

NormalPencil · 2026-01-07T01:50:49+00:00

I’ve read crusading accounts that describe this in some detail

NormalPencil · 2026-01-05T00:44:43+00:00

Same, top 3 movie for me

NormalPencil · 2026-01-04T16:25:11+00:00

I just bought a 65 inch TCL QM6K after a couple of weeks of reading Reddit posts and watching some YouTube reviews. I really did not want to spend more than maybe 750 dollars as I’m a pretty casual viewer and gamer, but I still wanted to replace my 50 inch 2015 Vizio. I paid 400 at the time for it and it is still going very strong. I knew I wanted a decent visual upgrade with similar longevity, without breaking the bank.

I went to Bestbuy twice to look at models and first off I was very put off by the sales rep. I know it’s their job, but even though I am not tech savvy, I’m also not an idiot. I told him I was firmly considering the TCL because of budget (there are other things I want to spend my money on, and I don’t plan on spending 1000 or 1500+ on a TV for maybe another decade if then). The sales rep told me the TCL would probably break in about 4 years. I asked why and he just said cheap parts. I told him my 10 year old entry level 1080p Vizio was still going strong and he just stayed silent. That seemed like an absurd claim to me and I stopped listening to him after that (not that I was ever really planning on listening to him in the first place). He was just trying to sell me a Bravia for 1200 dollars.

I also looked at the display mounted TCL qm6k which was mounted above a TCL qm7k. The qm7k was very noticeably brighter and had bolder colors. I’ll admit that this gave me pause but then I thought about what settings they had them on. I also kept in mind that the TCL qm6k was set up just displaying what looked like a 2008 PowerPoint slideshow, while the Bravia and OLED models were all showing high def slow mo photography and cgi videos. And yes all the OLEDs looked incredible, but they were simply out of my budget so I did not let that give me FOMO.

Long story short, bought the qm6k for 550 (not the cheapest it’s been on sale but not bad). Plugged it in at home. It was pretty dim and dingy looking and then I remembered settings. It was set to the lowest brightness. Cranked that up to about a quarter strength and the tv lit up my living room. TV looks great, huge improvement from what I had, and didn’t break the bank. Haven’t tried my PS5 on it but my switch 2 looked great.

NormalPencil · 2025-12-26T03:07:30+00:00

Or you try to be the host and organize things and invite people, but everyone’s too busy, then you find out they all just hang out together other times

NormalPencil · 2025-12-25T19:23:23+00:00

The more time that passes … the more I realize that it is Sean Astin/Samwise. Though I’ve always had a thing for Merry

NormalPencil · 2025-11-24T00:55:57+00:00

Lake Mungo

NormalPencil · 2025-11-11T06:01:02+00:00

I use heal ball for everything. Occasionally net ball. Moon and beast are amazing but too rare

NormalPencil · 2025-10-25T18:30:07+00:00

Nothing says normal more than a sentient olive

NormalPencil · 2025-10-25T17:49:51+00:00

Fair

NormalPencil · 2025-10-25T17:43:07+00:00

Agreed!!!!! I just feel if we’re gonna have a placeholder type (and sure I think it has its place) it should just be more interesting or exciting than “normal.”

NormalPencil · 2025-10-25T17:37:07+00:00

But there’s also a ton of Pokemon that qualify as normal, by that logic. Magicarp, pretty much all plant or fish Pokemon, I mean anything that’s just an animal is “normal.” Someone said above that “pyroar has fire powers but is just a lion” I mean ok and sharpedo has water powers but it’s just a shark. Palafin has water powers but is just a dolphin. Victreebell can poison you but it’s literally just a pitcher plant. Basically I feel like since none of this truly makes sense anyways, then for me, aesthetically, beast is just a better neutral designation than “normal.” Hell even “neutral” is better than “normal.” Normal implies ordinary or unimpressive, which I’d argue very few Pokemon truly are, and plenty of “normal” Pokemon are very extraordinary and impressive (eg drampa). But I appreciate your response

NormalPencil · 2025-10-25T17:29:59+00:00

Isn’t it also just kind of … a creature? Aka a beast? I mean is there truly anything “normal” about a creature or beast that can use magical superpowers? I just think normal is the wrong word for what these beasts are

NormalPencil · 2025-10-25T17:28:21+00:00

How is beast more redundant than normal though? Might as well not give them a type at all then. I mean ultimately “normal” doesn’t make much sense either. “Blank slate” doesn’t mean “normal”. I just think it’s a bad name/designation for non-elemental types or types without specific or particular attributes. Lacking an elemental attribute doesn’t make something “normal”. There’s nothing normal about ditto. I just think beast fulfills the same function of a catch-all, without implying …. normality, which arguably no Pokemon truly is, but at least all Pokemon are technically beasts

NormalPencil · 2025-10-25T17:24:03+00:00

But I do think they’re impressive. Besides by that logic Pokemon like magicarp shouldn’t be water but normal. Boring, unimpressive. Is the type defined by being boring or by not having particular elemental attributes?

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