Roderick

It says in the article the writers were responsible for all Bond movies since The World Is Not Enough. So, hit and miss, but I'd say more hit than miss.

So there's at least one more Craig Bond coming? I'm fine with that. My bet is that they do a completely new plot, separate from anything vaguely smelling of Spectre continuity. At least, that's what I hope. Just a solid spy thriller please.

Next up: the goddamn Ninjago movie. Which has at least going for it that it has this amazing (and expensive) set coming out soon:

Yeah, I get the feeling I'll learn to appreciate Spectre too upon rewatching it. Especially if I managed to finagle it in my head so that it's not canon (because it destroys the fun build up of Quantum in favor of the absolutely stupid Spectre organisation).

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Quantum of Solace has really grown on me since the initial release (and subsequent disappointment). It's a lean and fun Bond adventure, which had the bad fortune of tailing the excellent Casino Royale.

Oh, I am definitely very positive about Valerian. Mind you, I didn't know anything about the world beforehand, from the comics or other media (supposedly there is a horrible faux-anime floating around somewhere). I don't feel there was too much exposition. The movie sets up its premise rather handsomely and takes only the barest minimum of time to establish things. Alpha itself gets a bigger introduction because of its key role in the film, but even so keeps enough surprises for later enjoyment. In regards to the comparison to The Fifth Element, when watching that film I frequently felt that the characters were so over-the-top that they weren't taking the world serious, and so I shouldn't either. Valerian manages a better balance. While still offering crazy characters, everyone feels more invested in what's at stake. No matter how irreverent Valerian gets. Perhaps a more interesting comparison is with Guardians of the Galaxy (2). Though they tap from the same barrel (colorful, slightly comedic space adventures), GotG carries with it a more ironic feel. It feels like it seeks an understanding with the audience that they both know it's kerrazy. Valerian on the other hand feels more like a true-spirited hommage to retro scifi, and manages it without feeling out-dated. [Note: not a burn on GotG btw, which is fun and good]

Valerian and the city of the thousand planets is pretty cool! And exceedingly French. I went in with low expectations for the story (not being the biggest fan of The Fifth Element) and was constantly pleasantly surprised. You'll find plenty of faults in the characterizations and some seedy scenes perhaps, but as a colorful and sly and lavishly colorful, familiar-yet-weird space adventure, this has everything you could crave for.

We like it, right?

Through a combination of luck and tenacity (alright, just playing enough of the game), I reached level 10 and was allowed into the hallowed sanctity of Ranked Battle. Which, along with League Battle, features wholly new modes different from Turf War. Now, I am vastly outgunned and outskilled in this mode, losing 90% of my battles there, but boy is it exciting. It made me appreciate how much variety and freedom there is in Turf War, where you basically get to decide your own play style (offensive, sneaky, more focused on splatting enemies or inking ground). In Ranked Matches, there is a singular objective and nothing else matters. So usually there's a mad dash by both teams for the objective and it offers some of the fiercest fights ever. My first matches were Tower Control, and it took awhile before I figured that out. Yesterday I played Splat Zones. In both cases there's a heavily contested, small area in the map that becomes home to insanity, sniping, pushes and grenades. I aim to eke out some skill in this over time, but so far it's enough that it gets my blood pumping. It's very intense. Going back to Turf War afterwards feels like a relaxed holiday.

It's a typical Hans Zimmer soundtrack in that he is constantly ramping up tension and he uses minimalist instruments in a percussive way (I am _terrible_ at explaining music). But for Dunkirk he employs something that sounds like an audio sample that he constantly, rhythmically breaks or 'scratches' to create this incredibly unnerving and tense effect. It feels additionally out of place because it's a little too modern for a WW2 setting. It's really something.

I will add about Dunkirk that I appreciated, even more in hindsight, how non-pathetic the movie was in its drama. Swaths of people die, horrible things happen, but it's never (save for one, relatively earned moment) played for tears. And holy shit that record scratching soundtrack by Zimmer!

Wow LyonArtime, that is a good chunk of information. Very useful, I downloaded the spreadsheet for future reference. But for now I guess the main thing is just to play and enjoy the game and improve my own skills, rather than doubling down on gear. I do continue to dislike the infrequency of Salmon Run. I missed a few days because of work, and when I'm able to play it's often not on. Like, come on. I want to always have access to such a cool part of the game. So far the singleplayer is great at mixing things up, but... Unrelated: man it is enjoyable to splat roller people unawares, when you circle around them, scoop up any ink they're laying down and then isolate them on a shrinking island of turf.

Hiero!! You had ample opportunity there to see how much I sucked! I was basically powerless against any person regardless of their weapon. I got sloshed, splatted, inked, rolled, swiped, the full shebang. Variety is the best thing about Salmon Run! You never know where the next deposition point is going to be, you never know when the tide will be high or when it gets dark and the game is more about survival than collecting. It gets pretty terrifiying when you're confined to the ship part of that one map, and it's foggy and suddenly Steel Eel comes to murder you with its endless paint-raining body.

Haha, yeah, that's an annoyance: no swapping gear in between matches without completely leaving the current team. That really messes with meta play and adapting to your enemies. Of course, you indeed don't know if you'll be teamed with or against your friend, which I don't completely mind though. It shakes things up. Of course I had a weird few matches yesterday where I hooked up with Hiero (maybe from here? I actually don't know!) and he was in a pool with level 30 Japanese masters. Insane battles. Maybe not very fun though. You really need to play with people your own skill, because getting steamrollered isn't much fun. I like that there's a steady map rotation thing, that makes it feel curated. Though I don't think it's good that Salmon Run isn't just always available. It's way too much fun to not be around half of the time.

Yeah, I did that too with a friend of mine. It's a weird little system, but when someone in your list is playing, you can hook up with them without any communication going on and they'll just see you pop up in their next match. Hey, at least it's a very low-bar way of playing together.

I believe I received it too! Yesterday I did tons and tons of Salmon Run, it's great. Those bosses are crazy. Especially Steel Eel (the showering snake-like boss) can rally demolish a team. I lost a lot of matches against him, especially when the playing field was confined to just the boat section of the level. Great stuff! Otherwise, I'm not a great battler yet, but the motion controls really click with me. I tried switching them off and found it just about impossible to play if I had to aim with the stick. Honestly. Right now I'm focused on gaining levels and upgrading my gear, though I've yet to understand the right path for it. Like, what's the optimum thing to do: unlock all the additional stats on gear and then scrubbing them to collect ability chunks? Do I invest in food and drinks from Crusty Sean (and I'm Sean Vanaman) for exp boosts or stat increase?

Look, I forget his in-movie name. Don't give me grief on this or I'll fling you a Monsters Inc. line.

Good point about the metaphor for millennials! Very apt, including the mildness that the babyboomer 'Spacey' shows at the end: stern but not unkind.

I got it to-day, along with the Switch pro controller with the beautiful colors, and OMIGOSH IT'S SO MUCH FUN!! I was hyped for this, but even still I hadn't expected that playing rounds of Splatoon would be so attractive and addictive. Fresh from the start I got a few good kills [playing with other starters online], so it gave me a bit of a boost, and everything about the design is gorgeous. Did you see how hilariously the shops woosh by when you switch between them, and all the furniture bops and jiggles as if the stores are physically rushing along? God. I can see myself playing A LOT OF THIS.

So far I've been using Discord for my online Mario Kart matches, but without headphones, so it's basically just shouting into a phone that's next to me on the sofa. It's not ideal, but vastly preferable to the Switch app, it seems. Mind you, it should be *relatively* easy for them to patch additional features onto the app, right? So it won't turn off if you switch apps or kill the screen? The voice thing is pretty awful, but so far the online experience has been great. Mario Kart is pretty smooth in putting together a party of friends, Arms features the superb party mode and I've just dipped into Splatoon 2 and it's been a breeze to go online there too (though I haven't tried playing with friends yet).

I see broad recommendations for this show, which puzzles me after having seen the first episode. It was mediocre, poorly blocked and animated, and rather heavy-handed in its themes. Maybe it picks up after the inclusion of Belmont? I dunno, Dracula's story, though mildly fun for its cheesy romance, didn't grab me in the least. On the other hand, I went to see Baywatch yesterday, so my judgement is clearly shit.

Baywatch: don't watch

So that really was Ed Sheeran, huh? I mean, sure, if Sigur Ros gets in, why not Sheeran. We're heading in the least interesting part of the story now: the wrap-up where it has become increasingly clear some characters have started donning plot armor (COUGH JON SNOW) and we're actually doing the whole 'zombies versus dragons' thing that, while fun, promises to be so much less interesting than raggedy kings making a break for the throne. Even so, this episode was filled with fun stuff.

It's really happening! Half-Life 3!

Get LANDS OF LORE: THE THRONE OF CHAOS on the PC. Just find it, maybe it's on gog or whatever, and play it. It's good.