???? Get Duked. I liked the cute premise of these hard kids doing a challenging nature walk thing. It was a great little set of actors and it started strong. Then it just went off the rails, as they say. It tried to do too many things and make it feel like a mess and I stopped caring. Try The Kings of Summer for a similar vibe and better film.
???? Moana 2. I thought it started slow and then really picked up and I was way into the big battles. Plus Kakamora!
???? The Fellowship of the Ring. I’ve never read these! I watch niche YouTube content about this world on the regular and started to feel like a fraud for not having actually read the core books. It’s fun to read and spot all the differences and changes in vibes. It’s nice they put ol’ Tom Bombadil in the new Rings of Power show because it really does feel like a glaring omission in the movies. The most striking things about the books to me is how sing-songy they are and how slowly the characters move. There will be really serious things going on and they’ll be like we should definitely get moving in the next couple of weeks or so.
???? Star Wars Rebels. Ruby and I watched one episode of this a week and we just finished the three seasons. Took over a year. I absolutely loved it. All the characters were really well fleshed out and had great high-impact stories. Ruby isn’t that into Star Wars stuff but she suffered me. Makes me want to see if I could get away with plodding through Clone Wars.
???? Your Friend, Nate Bargatze. I absolutely love Nate, but this felt like 80% material I’d already seen. Isn’t that weird for a new special? And how the bits were pieced together gave it this calculated feel rather than the just chillin with Nate feel from other specials. Oh well, still love him. Would love an entirely fresh set some day.
????️ The Legend of Zelda: Echos of Wisdom. Holy crap this is so good. I somehow had the impression this was like a mini-game or smaller in scope or something but it definitely isn’t. I guess I should have known when it was $59.99 USD (jeez). I might like it more than Tears of the Kingdom?? I like how it’s maybe for kids a smidge younger so it’s a little easier to figure out, which jives well for less experienced gamers like Ruby and I.
I also love Nate. But I can say probably social media ruined this dynamic for stand-up comedians.
To stay relevant, sell tickets, get into media, they need to constantly post material on Instagram.
When they release their special, is the one from all the best jokes of their tour, which are probably the same jokes the comedian used in social media to try well, to stay relevant and get tickets sold.
I can see how is necessary to get successful for them, and how it basically destroys the element of surprise for us.