Have you watched any TV shows recently you want to discuss? Any shows you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.

Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.

Have you watched any movies recently you want to discuss? Any films you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.

Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.

Have you watched any TV shows recently you want to discuss? Any shows you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.

Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.

Have you watched any movies recently you want to discuss? Any films you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.

Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.

This is the fifth of an ongoing series of book discussions here on Tildes. We are discussing Ocean at the End of the Lane. Our next book will be Small Gods by Terry Pratchett around the end of August.

I don't have a particular format in mind for this discussion, but I will post some prompts and questions as comments to get things started. You're not obligated to respond to them or vote on them though. So feel free to make your own top-level comment for whatever you wish to discuss, questions you have of others, or even just to post a review of the book you have written yourself.

For latecomers, don't worry if you didn't read the book in time for this Discussion topic. You can always join in once you finish it. Tildes Activity sort, and "Collapse old comments" feature should keep the topic going for as long as people are still replying.
And for anyone uninterested in this topic please use the Ignore Topic feature on this so it doesn't keep popping up in your Activity sort, since it's likely to keep doing that while I set this discussion up, and once people start joining in.

Have you watched any TV shows recently you want to discuss? Any shows you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.

Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.

Have you watched any movies recently you want to discuss? Any films you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.

Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.

Have you watched any TV shows recently you want to discuss? Any shows you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.

Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.

This is possibly the biggest movie of the year, definitely the biggest R-rated movie of the year (probably all time if it has any legs after last night's huge opening), and Marvel's first R-rated flick to be part of their "Cinematic Universe", so I think it might be worthy of discussion on those grounds alone.

I saw the movie last night in the most packed movie theater I've been in since before COVID. This experience was an absolute treat, and reminded me why I've always enjoyed going to big tentpole Marvel/DC movies opening weekend despite never really being into comics or super heroes as a kid. The energy of the crowd is downright infectious, and impossible to replicate at home.

As for the movie itself, I enjoyed it. I thought the story was a little thin. Deadpool's character arc here is not as strong as what we got in either of his first two outings, with Wolverine doing more of the heavy lifting. The primary antagonists, Mr. Paradox played by Matthew Macfadyen and Cassandra Nova played by Emma Corrin, are also not as well developed as their counterparts from the prior films (Ajax, Rusty, and Cable). However both still turn in solid, funny performances.

I think this is made up for by how well executed everything else is. This is a movie that only works because it is a Deadpool movie. Act 2 in particular is a non-stop assault of cameos and references that would make me groan in almost any other context, but had me laughing my ass off. The chemistry Reynolds and Jackman have on screen is palpable, making for the most entertaining super hero team up I've seen.

Perhaps more than anything, this is a love letter to 20th Century Fox's decades-long run of super hero movies, warts and all.

7.5/10. I had a great time, but I think the central premise here only works once. If there is more Deadpool in our future, a smaller cast with more focus on character work like the first two would be welcome.

Some stand-out moments for me:

Have you ever read it? And what do your friends think about it?

I'm really interested in foreign (I'm from Ukraine) opinions on this subject.

Sorry for my bad English, thanks.

Not the most exciting race, but Mercedes made it exciting towards the end. I was really rooting for Lewis to overtake Russell , but Russell kept his P1. Ballsy strategy with a one-stopper, but in the end, turned out to be a great call.

UPDATE: Russell was DSQ'd post-race due to his car being underweight. FIA decision document [PDF]. Everyone moves up. Tough break, but the rules are the rules.

Max was able to claw his way through the field, ending P5 P4. Checo did better this weekend, but finishing P8 P7 (and also getting fastest lap), probably still not great for his future. If he survives to drive another day, it's just barely.

Anyway, on to the summer break. See you all for Zandvoort!

Also, sorry for not posting an post-race discussion for Baku last weekend. I was out of town and almost immediately after the race had to leave for the airport.

Next race:

Dutch Grand Prix
Circuit Zandvoort
Sunday, August 25

Have you watched any TV shows recently you want to discuss? Any shows you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.

Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.

The last blockbuster is Edge of Tomorrow from 2014. Directed by Doug Liman and starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt. It made $370 million at the box office.

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Is this a proper blockbuster? Is it a proper Tom Cruise movie?

This also ends Movie of the Week format for now. See you in the Midweek movietalk instead.

Have you watched any movies recently you want to discuss? Any films you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.

Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.

Next up of blockbusters is Barbie from 2023 directed by Greta Gerwig which made a whooping $1.4 billion.

IMDb
Letterboxd
Wikipedia

Is this a proper blockbuster? Were you caught up in the whole Barbenheimer frenzy?

The rest of the schedule is:

• 29th: Edge of Tomorrow

This is the fourth of an ongoing series of book discussions here on Tildes. We are discussing Project Hail Mary. Our next book will be Ocean at the End of the Lane around the end of July.

I don't have a particular format in mind for this discussion, but I will post some prompts and questions as comments to get things started. You're not obligated to respond to them or vote on them though. So feel free to make your own top-level comment for whatever you wish to discuss, questions you have of others, or even just to post a review of the book you have written yourself.

For latecomers, don't worry if you didn't read the book in time for this Discussion topic. You can always join in once you finish it. Tildes Activity sort, and "Collapse old comments" feature should keep the topic going for as long as people are still replying.
And for anyone uninterested in this topic please use the Ignore Topic feature on this so it doesn't keep popping up in your Activity sort, since it's likely to keep doing that while I set this discussion up, and once people start joining in.

This is the third of an ongoing series of book discussions here on Tildes. We are discussing the Dispossessed.
Our next book will be Project Hail Mary around the end of June.

I don't have a particular format in mind for this discussion, but I will post some prompts and questions as comments to get things started. You're not obligated to respond to them or vote on them though. So feel free to make your own top-level comment for whatever you wish to discuss, questions you have of others, or even just to post a review of the book you have written yourself.

For latecomers, don't worry if you didn't read the book in time for this Discussion topic. You can always join in once you finish it. Tildes Activity sort, and "Collapse old comments" feature should keep the topic going for as long as people are still replying.
And for anyone uninterested in this topic please use the Ignore Topic feature on this so it doesn't keep popping up in your Activity sort, since it's likely to keep doing that while I set this discussion up, and once people start joining in.

Have you watched any TV shows recently you want to discuss? Any shows you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.

Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.

Have you watched any movies recently you want to discuss? Any films you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.

Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.

Next up of blockbusters is Snatch from 2000 directed by Guy Ritchie and it made $83 million in box office.

IMDb
Letterboxd
Wikipedia

Is this a proper blockbuster with all that entails? Any thoughts on Guy Ritchie's other films?

The rest of the schedule is:

• 22nd: Barbie
• 29th: Edge of Tomorrow

Have you watched any movies recently you want to discuss? Any films you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.

Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.

Have you watched any TV shows recently you want to discuss? Any shows you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.

Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.

What a race -- Silverstone delivers, again!

Due to the bouts of rain, it was definitely a race centered around tire and pit stategy. Friends and I were constantly analyzing the tires changes.

Congrats to Lewis Hamilton for P1! 9th victory at Silverstone, and first win in like 2.5yrs. He's not "my" driver, but it's hard to not be happy for him for him! I thought McLaren was going to get the 1-2, but McLaren strategy shit the bed, hard. Just goes to show that speed isn't always everything (unless the team is Mercedes pre-2021).

Checo did not get his amazing performance, which was expected starting from the pitlane, but I imagine he was still valuable by providing data to the team for Max. So that's something. Though I was a little perplexed with Ferrari and Leclerc. At one point Leclerc was right next to Sainz in the Top 10. Then Leclerc pitted too early and never recovered. Maybe just poor strategy. As usual.

Anyway, triple header is over -- Two weeks til Hungary.

Off-topic, but there's an IndyCar race today as well. First showing of their new hybrid engines.

Also, thank you to @EmperorPenguin for posting the Austrian post-race discussion last week.

Next race:

Hungarian Grand Prix
Hungaroring
Sunday, July 21

Since we're halfway through the season -- though still not at the summer break -- I'll post the WCC and WDC as well.

Next up of blockbusters is Mission: Impossible - Fallout from 2018 which made $791 million at the box office. Second M:I film directed by Christopher McQuarrie.

IMDb
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Wikipedia

Is this a proper blockbuster with all that entails? Any thoughts on the franchise in general?

The rest of the schedule is:

• 15th: Snatch
• 22nd: Barbie
• 29th: Edge of Tomorrow

We begin June with Robin Hardy's The Wicker Man from 1973 which is now considered a horror cult classic.

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Wikipedia

Since this is the month of horror movies, did you find it scary, unsettling, creepy, eerie, spooky or horrifying?

The rest of the schedule for June is:

• 10th: Ravenous (1999)
• 17th: X (2022)
• 24th: The Exorcist (1973)

The game didn’t grip you immediately, but eventually it did.

What changed your mind? What made it good? Why should people stick it out if they try it out?

Have you watched any movies recently you want to discuss? Any films you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.

Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.

Have you watched any TV shows recently you want to discuss? Any shows you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.

Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.

JCPhoenix is out today, so I went ahead and filled in!

Bad day for Red Bull on their own track. Max messed up, and Checo is a bit of a Haas sandwich!

Starting the month with blockbusters with The Mummy from 1999 which made $417.4 million at the box office.

IMDb
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Wikipedia

Is this a proper blockbuster with all that entails? Have you seen the other movies in the franchise?

The rest of the schedule is:

• 8th: Mission Impossible: Fallout
• 15th: Snatch
• 22nd: Barbie
• 29th: Edge of Tomorrow

I watched Supernatural until season 7 or so when I was younger. I didn't really examine its subtext at the time, and just thought it lost steam after the original plot ended. I've recently started rewatching the show from the beginning, and, wow, like just wow. It's amazing how much Christian and Western supremacist subtext it contains.

Before I get into the details, I should mention that I've only rewatched the first five seasons yet. So I don't know if this still holds true after that. With that out of the way, here are the major reasons (obviously, spoilers).

Pagans are always depicted as bloodthirsty maniacs. Every single time.

Holy aspects of Christianity -such as exorcism rituals, churches, holy water- are the only "real" effective way of fighting demons. The other ways are made up in the show (demon killing guns and blades).

The cosmology is a thing on its own. Christian God has created the universe, yet Earth is at its metaphorical centre. Knowing a few things from the seasons after too, I can say that it's the only place of importance in the entire universe. Following the traditional Christian logic, humans are also the most important beings on Earth.

A special mention goes to the episode "Hammer of the Gods" (S05E19), as a striking example of what I talk about. In the episode, the major "pagan" gods alive gather to talk about the looming apocalypse. This includes Kali, Baldur, Mercury, Baron Samedi, Zao Shen, Odin, Ganesh. It's really telling that they threw in Ganesh and Kali together with old gods. Oh, and of course they all eat people.

The said apocalypse is to be caused by Lucifer coming back and fighting it out with Michael. Apparently it will be so bad that it will kill around half the human population.

The gods gather, conspire, with leads Dean and Sam there being held hostage as bargaining chips. They say they have to conspire, because if not prevented, this Christian apocalypse will kill them too. So this led to them teaming up. You can already see that Christianity is depicted as the big bad boy in the entire world.

During the talks, Kali says this to Loki, who she discovered was actually arcangel Gabriel.

"Westerners, I swear. The sheer arrogance. You think you're the only ones on earth? You pillage and you butcher in your God's name. But you're not the only religion, and he's not the only God. And now you think you can just rip the planet apart? You're wrong. There are billions of us. An we were here first. If anyone gets to end this world, it's me. I'm sorry. [KALI stabs GABRIEL with his own blade. GABRIEL screams, and in a flash of light, dies.]"

Don't worry he doesn't actually get killed by Kali.

Almost just after this scene, Dean gets up and says the following. Emphasis mine.

"All right you primitive screwheads, listen up. I'm outta options. Now on any other given day, I'd be doing my damndest to, uh, kill you. You filthy murdering chimps. But, uh, hey, desperate times. So even though I'd love nothing better than to slit your throats, you dicks, I'm gonna help you. I'm going to help you ice the devil. And then we can all get back to ganking each other, like normal. You want Lucifer, well, dude's not in the Yellow Pages. But me and Sam, we can get him here."

I swear, at this moment, I could almost see a 19th century colonizer white supremacist manifest to say this. I should remind that he says this to a group of gods that includes two major gods from Hinduism: a major religion that still exists. It would have been bad even without that, but this fact makes it much worse.

After this, Lucifer shows up, and kills every god with ease. He's not even the Christian god, and he's not even at his full power, yet he kills multiple major gods from other religions as if they were less than nothing. Oh, and he says that to them too.

"You know, I never understood you pagans, always fighting, always happy to sell out your own kind. No wonder you forfeited this planet to us. You are worse than humans. You're worse than demons. And yet you claim to be gods. [LUCIFER twists his fingers and MERCURY dies as his neck snaps] And they call me prideful."

He then kills Gabriel for real too. Because, as is tradition, gods from other religions are too incompetent to do anything to Christianity.

This episode is probably the epitome of what I mean, but it's just a culmination of what's been there from the start. The trashing of what is deemed as "pagan" (often read: not "Western"), and the supremacy of Christianity has always been there. I still like the show for its other aspects, but its subtext is really Christian and western supremacist.

Have you watched any movies recently you want to discuss? Any films you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.

Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.

Have you watched any TV shows recently you want to discuss? Any shows you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.

Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.

What have you been playing lately? Discussion about video games and board games are both welcome. Please don't just make a list of titles, give some thoughts about the game(s) as well.

We end the horror month with William Friedkin's The Exorcist from 1973. It was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Sound.

IMDb
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Since this is the month of horror movies, did you find it scary, unsettling, creepy, eerie, spooky or horrifying?

July's schedule is:

• 1st: The Mummy
• 8th: Mission Impossible: Fallout
• 15th: Snatch
• 22nd: Barbie
• 29th: Edge of Tomorrow

I want to ramble about Alastair Reynolds' Revelation Space series/universe. I will avoid spoilers.

So far, I have read:

"The Prefect" 2007
"Revelation Space" 2000
"Chasm City" 2001
"The Great Wall of Mars" (Novella) 2000
"Glacial" (Novella) 2001 (I haven't finished this yet.)

I’m an occasional listener to “The Sword and Laser,” a book club/podcast where they read a book each month and discuss it, alternating between sci-fi and fantasy. I usually don't read the books, just enjoy the conversations, but if the early discussions sound interesting, I will read it before I get to the spoilery episodes.

One such case was when they read ‘The Prefect’ in 2021. I had heard of Alastair Reynolds and Revelation Space and had considered reading him before. If I remember correctly, they said it was a good way to dip your toe in the universe with a story that takes place in it but isn't really connected to the main series, so it doesn't spoil much.

I liked ‘The Prefect’ but didn't love it. It was set in this huge, complicated universe but had this small noir detective-type character we were following. It felt like seeing a narrow flashlight beam, aiming into an opaque mist of stuff that I couldn't quite make out.
I liked many of the little pieces floating around the universe, but I didn't quite trust that it was real and would have internal consistency.

I saw “Pushing Ice” (an Alastair Reynolds book that is unrelated to Revelation Space) recommended somewhere late last year and decided to try it. I loved it, even though the ending left so much unanswered that it was disappointing. I can see how it may make sense to do that for some stories. Still, I have this distrust of the author's intent sometimes. If it feels like they are including mysterious background info without any thought of how it all connects, it bothers me. Even if the story or characters are good, it is distracting. I'm afraid of getting a "Lost" or "Game of Thrones" type ending where I don't feel like all the threads paid off or had any real purpose. To be clear, "Pushing Ice" was nothing like those endings. I feel like it earned its story. It just didn't fill in the universe as much as I wanted. I still didn't fully trust Reynolds as an author.

A few months ago, I decided to try the first proper book in the series, “Revelation Space”. I was surprised to see that I already owned it on Kindle. The first chapter was very familiar. I had bought it in 2013! As I read, I remembered I had gotten bored back then and left the book after a chapter or 2 to read something else. The beginning was a little boring. Again, it's set in a world I don't know and I'm not sure if I care about. In this book though, the perspective changes often. Multiple points of view seem to help me triangulate the world. It takes half the book, but I eventually fully buy-in, and then the world seems incredibly full. References to unknown factions, historical events, religions, movements, etc. They all feel like real plausible things with their own potential histories. Instead of the misty, non-tangible fluff, they seemed like when I read "The Prefect" or the first part of this book.

I finished “Revelation Space” completely satisfied and excited to dive into the series. I did a little research and found there are a lot of options for reading order. At this point I’m fairly certain I want to read every book in the series, so I am not too concerned with reading order, I just want to find a fun way to keep the things fresh as I explore it. I decided to read “Chasm City” next as it seems like the next thing in terms of publication date.

"Chasm City" was great! It followed the same pattern for me, with the beginning and the main character being the most boring parts of the book. But by the end, I felt like I knew the universe better and saw a bunch of interesting, fun stuff along the way.

I then read “The Great Wall” a quick novella that was awesome! It tells an origin story for something that has been mentioned but left ambiguous in all the other books. So satisfying.

I started reading another novella, “Glacial” today. So far, I'm really curious, but not sure what it's about.

The Great Wall reminded me of a book I read probably twenty years ago, “Hellstroms Hive” by Frank Herbert. I can't remember the details, and I think I may reread it now to take a break and make sure I won't burn out on Revelation Space. After that, I think I’ll jump right back in with “Redemption Ark” the next main novel in the series, which I believe follows the story of the novella I'm reading now.

Unless someone else has a better suggestion for what to read next in the revelation space universe? I've already bought the “Galactic North” collection to read those two novellas. But Im not sure if I should read any of the others until after I read further in the main novel series.

Any other opinions on revelation space?

Busy today so can't do a write-up -- Sorry!

Next race:

Austrian Grand Prix
Red Bull Ring
Sunday, June 30

Have you watched any TV shows recently you want to discuss? Any shows you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.

Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.

Have you watched any movies recently you want to discuss? Any films you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.

Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.

What have you been playing lately? Discussion about video games and board games are both welcome. Please don't just make a list of titles, give some thoughts about the game(s) as well.

Next horror film is the cannibal horror movie X from 2022 directed by Ti West. A prequel Pearl was filmed at the same and released later the same year. Comments on that is welcome as well in the discussion.

IMDb
Letterboxd
Wikipedia

Since this is the month of horror movies, did you find it scary, unsettling, creepy, eerie, spooky or horrifying?

The rest of the schedule for June is:

• 24th: The Exorcist (1973)

Have you watched any movies recently you want to discuss? Any films you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.

Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.

Next horror film is the cannibal horror movie Ravenous from 1999 directed by Antonia Bird starring Guy Pearce in the leading role.

IMDb
Letterboxd
Wikipedia

Since this is the month of horror movies, did you find it scary, unsettling, creepy, eerie, spooky or horrifying?

The rest of the schedule for June is:

• 17th: X (2022)
• 24th: The Exorcist (1973)