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⭐ 10/10 The only word to describe this movie is epic. Sprawling, grand, whatever adjective you want, this is a massive movie. It tells the long story of T.E. Lawrence, a British man who gets close with a group of Arabs, becoming a leader who helps them fight back against their oppressors. But are his British overlords actually the real oppressors?? The influence this movie has had on everything that has come after it is so clear. Every action set piece, even a bunch of the shots, watching this felt like getting a history of film education. There is a shot in here that made me think of the Dune 3 trailer, and while maybe not directly inspired I have been thinking about both of them since I first saw them. Just give me Dune 3 right now please. Anyways, this movie is incredible. I was able to watch it in a theatre with a bunch of people, and there is a transition early in the movie where I knew this wasn't just some stuffy old movie, as the crowd gasped in appreciation of a simple ye...

⭐ 9/10 We were going through Pop Culture Jeopardy withdrawal and saw this on Crave. They don't have previous seasons, which we would have loved, but we settled to watch this tournament of champions, and loved it. The questions are easier, but not all pop culture like the formerly mentioned show, so you feel a lot smarter answering these. I will say some of the questions were way too easy, almost to the shock of the players, and there are some incredibly strong players here! Patton Oswalt, for example, busting out all this history knowledge. Celebrity is used loosely a bit here, no real super stars, but all pretty smart people. I was hoping Timothy Simons could come through but he had a pretty weak performance. The semi finals and finals were really incredible, with really close matches, one of which resulted in a come-from-behind win using deep Jeopardy betting logic in final jeopardy. It's really fun just answering questions, but then the competitiveness of a close game and t...

⭐10/10 I watched this one a week ago and have not stopped thinking about it. I didn't give it a perfect score when I finished, but the more time I give it, the more I like it, and at this point I'm ready to admit that I think it's a masterpiece. More than that, it is a movie made for me. The writing, the cinematography, the music, the performances; all are exactly what I look for in movies.  This is based on the true story of Jesse James being betrayed by one of his gang members for the bounty on his head. I like that the movie is spoiled straight away because it means that immediately you are less invested in the plot and gives you room to think about these characters. There are plenty of good ones, but I think the two Ford brothers stand out above the rest. Sam Rockwell as the greasy older brother is maybe my favorite Rockwell performance, and then Casey Affleck has one of the most impressive performances you will ever see as Robert Ford. Capturing that pride,...

⭐4/10 It's hard to admit but this game was excruciating. I remember it being one of my favorite games in the series as a kid, but it really doesn't hold up. It's a shame because they switch up the formula a bit and I think the additions are a big hit. But they also take away so much of what makes the previous games special.  The game has a huge, bizarre visual downgrade, and I guess it was to save storage space so they could add what they wanted, but I'm not sure it was worth it. It looks pretty bad. But the bigger issue is the progression, or lack thereof, with no ability to get better chips as you go along which is kinda the whole exciting gameplay loop of the previous. It's very static and boring, and you end up using the same chips through your entire playthrough.  All of that would have been manageable, but then they commit the final sin of ramping up the random encounters which is such a terrible, brainless choice. It makes it nearly unplayable for...

⭐7/10 I liked this movie as a kid, but I didn't exactly love it. Muppet humour is so weird because it's hard to know who the audience is. Much of it is for adults, and yet some of it is so silly it's hard for adults to sit through the whole thing.  Well, I still liked but didn't love it, watching it now 20 years later. My likes and dislikes are all different now, but it still has that problem of not really having an audience. It was pretty funny at times, and Tim Curry was absolutely born to play a pirate, but there are also huge lulls to sit through. One of my primary takeaways was that the story is pretty cool and it makes me want to read Treasure Island. The Muppets always do a great job of adapting classics, having plenty of lines right from the book, but also, ya know, the pirate ship doubles as a cruise ship for Rizzo's rat friends.  Good movie, maybe one to watch with your 8 year old as is the intended experience. 

⭐ 9/10 Two video game reviews in a row, who is this guy?? I'm clearly in a deck-builder phase, and this was a very natural next step after Slay The Spire. This is a deck building roguelike, but based on poker and poker hands, plus 150 jokers to modify how you play and increase your points round after round. Like all deck-builders it is endlessly fun, with each round feeling unique, and also very addicting when you find another game-breaking deck. I won't go on and on about what makes this fun, because a big part of it is just seeing large numbers go up. There are tons and tons of modifications and challenges through the different decks and stakes (like Slay The Spire's "ascensions" of Hades' "heat"), and its so satisfying to feel yourself improving as a player even though the difficulty is still high. And this is where I will cut into the game a bit, since I don't think its perfect. Even after all this time I still only win maybe 20% of the time...

⭐ 10/10 This game is still in early access, but I've sunk enough time into it to confirm this is a perfect game. The first one is nearly perfect, and this game is more polished in every way. A couple new characters that are super fun to learn. A bunch of characters with the same decks as the first game, but with more stronger cards. Better animations, smoother UI. Endlessly fun. It was highly beneficial to play this almost immediately after this first, since it is so familiar, more of an expansion than a new game. So you get early wins, which is satisfying, but there are also a ton of new cards and relics, so you are continuing to learn and experiment on your previous knowledge. That being said, I don't think I would ever recommend someone go back and play the first, this game is better in every way. The first game is more difficult, since it feels like this game has a couple more OP cards, which feels like a better balance. This is also early access, so things are changing, w...