Monte_Kristo's recent activity
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
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Comment on Actual underrated films of the 2020s so far in ~movies
Monte_Kristo LinkThis was an impossible task for me. Almost my entire pipeline for media consumption is based off word of mouth recommendation, which usually runs counter to a low Rotten Tomatoes score. The best I...This was an impossible task for me. Almost my entire pipeline for media consumption is based off word of mouth recommendation, which usually runs counter to a low Rotten Tomatoes score. The best I could do are two movies that bend the rules.
The first is Cocaine Bear which is sitting above the RT threshold at 65%. You get what you expect given the title. It's not exactly good, but it is fun.
My second rule breaker is Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge which is an animated direct to streaming movie that sits at a whopping 90% on RT. To me Scorpion's Revenge is underrated because it never broke out of the demographic it was supposed to hit. I think a small handful of nerds watched and loved it, while the general public probably didn't know that the movie existed at all. The good animated movie did not remotely reach the viewership heights of the widely panned live action Mortal Kombat that came out a year later. If their viewership was flipped, I'd say that Scorpion's Revenge would still be sitting with a comfortably positive rating (probably not 90% though), so it maybe doesn't qualify as underrated, but we don't live in that timeline, and most people haven't seen it, so I'll call it underrated.
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Comment on ‘Marty Supreme’ becomes A24’s highest-grossing film at domestic box office with $80 million in ~movies
Monte_Kristo Link ParentYou noticed that it had the same composer, but didn't see that it also has the same director?You noticed that it had the same composer, but didn't see that it also has the same director?
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Comment on 2026 Oscar nomination predictions in ~movies
Monte_Kristo Link ParentIf we are throwing nods to shonen manga arcs turned into movies, Chainsawman seemed to get better critical reception.If we are throwing nods to shonen manga arcs turned into movies, Chainsawman seemed to get better critical reception.
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Comment on Golden Globes 2026: ‘One Battle After Another’ wins Comedy, ‘Hamnet’ wins Drama in ~movies
Monte_Kristo Link ParentI don't think Sinners deserved it, as I think the vampire portion of the movie is mostly bad, but I'll also echo that the genre categorization is weird. The comedy is a second full selection of...I don't think Sinners deserved it, as I think the vampire portion of the movie is mostly bad, but I'll also echo that the genre categorization is weird. The comedy is a second full selection of good drama movies that I think should beat Sinners and Hamnet.
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Comment on The 2025 Steam Awards in ~games
Monte_Kristo Link ParentSo completely ignoring the clear game preference bias here, I think this is a poor critique of the TGA's. I think comparing the number of nominations is bad when the nomination categories are...So completely ignoring the clear game preference bias here, I think this is a poor critique of the TGA's. I think comparing the number of nominations is bad when the nomination categories are pretty different. But when the categories did align, there are areas of overlapping results. I'm not gonna call a clear favorite for one award show over another if they are just swapping first and second place.
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Comment on What are your predictions for 2026? in ~talk
Monte_Kristo LinkMy one prediction from last year was that Kendrick would continue his curb stomping of Drake in their now famously one sided beef. That prediction came true, as Drake filed a defamation lawsuit...My one prediction from last year was that Kendrick would continue his curb stomping of Drake in their now famously one sided beef. That prediction came true, as Drake filed a defamation lawsuit against Kendrick and then had that case dismissed in court. Both artists released music post beef that was eligible for the 2026 Grammy Awards (the time frame for this is very silly), and Kendrick's album GNX got an album of the year nomination (I'm predicting it won't win aoty or best rap album).
I don't feel like contributing to the justified doom and glooming over the current political climate of the world or the state of AI. I have one personal prediction though. This year, I picked up drawing for fun. I have zero experience with it. My prediction is that within 12 months time, I will have been able to produce at least one piece of art that doesn't make me want to kill myself out of embarrassment when I look at it. I'm currently a long way away from that goal, but I am hopeful.
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
Monte_Kristo Link ParentBoth previous movies were very on the nose about what they were preaching.Both previous movies were very on the nose about what they were preaching.
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Comment on Street Fighter (2026) | Sneak peak in ~movies
Monte_Kristo Link ParentCombination of their design choices being mostly based on the early games, the extra characters being from that era of the timeline (with the exception of El Fuerte, who may still be old enough...Combination of their design choices being mostly based on the early games, the extra characters being from that era of the timeline (with the exception of El Fuerte, who may still be old enough for it to not be out of place), plot points like M. Bison being alive and Cammy and the other dolls still being brainwashed, and the use of SFII aesthetics and sound effects in the trailer.
Also it's the Street Fighter II roster.
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Comment on Street Fighter (2026) | Sneak peak in ~movies
Monte_Kristo Link ParentThe initial reading of your post made it seem like you had an ax to grind over your perceived quality of characters introduced after 2. I think there are plenty of newcomers who are popular enough...The initial reading of your post made it seem like you had an ax to grind over your perceived quality of characters introduced after 2.
I think there are plenty of newcomers who are popular enough to be in the movie, but I think that they are intentionally banking on nostalgia to sell tickets. Same reason why everything Mortal Kombat related has to have Scorpion and Sub-Zero in it, in spite of the fact that they aren't even the main protagonists of the series.
In particular, Juri, who was introduced in Street Fighter IV, is easily a top ten most popular character in the franchise, and has a reason to be in the plot because she has a grudge against M. Bison. She's just not from 2, so she's not in the movie (she could be end credit sequel bait).
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Comment on Street Fighter (2026) | Sneak peak in ~movies
Monte_Kristo Link ParentThat they are making a Street Fighter 2 movie.That they are making a Street Fighter 2 movie.
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Comment on These travel influencers don’t want freebies. They’re AI. in ~travel
Monte_Kristo LinkThe framing of this article is weird. They are setting it up as a social media thing, but really it's about advertisement agencies trying to replace independent contractors in with in house AI...The framing of this article is weird. They are setting it up as a social media thing, but really it's about advertisement agencies trying to replace independent contractors in with in house AI content. It rubs me the wrong way, because the advertisement agencies are themselves the ones responsible for influencer marketing. The influencers aren't inherently lazy rent seekers, they are a (a sometimes shady) business that exists to circumvent the fact that people don't trust ads. So this is advertisers asking themselves how they can get away with lying to people while spending less money. Because they are already (sometimes) lying with the use influencers, and it is most likely that the most truthful ads cost them the most money to make, because it requires on location filming of actual real things.
I have mixed feelings on the end results of their true intentions, as I feel like ads are just a constant stream of garbage that really shouldn't exist. So this is a story of a fresh new less ethical garbage replacing the currently existing garbage. I feel like I really draw the line if the AI is just showing completely non existent things in the ads. Like mountains or buildings that aren't real. An ad showing someone hiking a waterfall, and in real life the closest waterfall to that location is 800 miles away in a different state or country.
Overall, I hated being confronted with this topic.
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Comment on ‘Zootopia 2’ jumps to $556.4m global opening for biggest WW start of 2025 in ~movies
Monte_Kristo (edited )Link Parent"Devoid of meaning" and "made for shock value" is a semantics circle one could dance around if they felt so inclined. I'd agree that such a concept of a painting seems low calorie. I'll admit to..."Devoid of meaning" and "made for shock value" is a semantics circle one could dance around if they felt so inclined. I'd agree that such a concept of a painting seems low calorie. I'll admit to probably consuming more nsfw art than the average person, and the stuff thats tends to really pull me in has some sort of x factor in skill. Naked lady and naked lady (Frank Frazetta) can be conceptually the same, but have dramatically different results.
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Comment on ‘Zootopia 2’ jumps to $556.4m global opening for biggest WW start of 2025 in ~movies
Monte_Kristo Link ParentI think there is a pretty long history of fetish art being terrible. Thing you don't like, plus it getting conveyed in a weird/off putting way really cranks up the creepy factor. That's not...I think there is a pretty long history of fetish art being terrible. Thing you don't like, plus it getting conveyed in a weird/off putting way really cranks up the creepy factor. That's not exclusive to furry art, but furry stuff is in the sub section of kink that is entirely imaginary and needs some sort of arts and crafts to be expressed in any way. So all of the bad expressions of it are also "public" (online) expressions.
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Comment on After break with US President Donald Trump, Marjorie Taylor Greene will resign in ~society
Monte_Kristo LinkI have a mix of emotions when I read her resignation statement. In it, she reminds everyone about how much of a piece of shit she is, as she has dedicated her work to establishing a white...I have a mix of emotions when I read her resignation statement. In it, she reminds everyone about how much of a piece of shit she is, as she has dedicated her work to establishing a white Christian ethnostate, but the core complaint is a relatable one. I think the call for competency and actual governance is a broadly held American hope. That's even an idea Trump himself ran on. Nearly a decade later, that swamp has not been drained. MTG's solutions are the wrong answers to the problems we face, but they do actually acknowledge that people are unhappy with the status quo. She's right that our elected officials need to actually do their job.
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Comment on Grammy nominations 2026: Kendrick Lamar leads with nine as Lady Gaga, Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter and Leon Thomas land among top nominees in ~music
Monte_Kristo (edited )Link ParentYou and I seem to be on the same page, but to clear the air, I would like to explicitly state that I also do not think cloud_loud is racist. It is just that because Kendrick Lamar is so culturally...You and I seem to be on the same page, but to clear the air, I would like to explicitly state that I also do not think cloud_loud is racist. It is just that because Kendrick Lamar is so culturally relevant, you can run into dog whistle takes about his music that are espoused by the culture war machine that you wouldn't encounter when you look at other artists in the industry. For example, JID makes a similar style of music to Kendrick, but you wouldn't really see those types of criticisms highly platformed against him because only rap fans even know who he is.
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Comment on Grammy nominations 2026: Kendrick Lamar leads with nine as Lady Gaga, Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter and Leon Thomas land among top nominees in ~music
Monte_Kristo Link ParentYeah, I didn't want to openly assume anything, and I think that style of rhetoric is around in a lot genres and media (books discussion is really bad about it), but in the context of talking...Yeah, I didn't want to openly assume anything, and I think that style of rhetoric is around in a lot genres and media (books discussion is really bad about it), but in the context of talking Kendrick Lamar, calling his stuff midbrow puts the accuser in the orbit of either disgruntled Drake stans or racists. Like you can't just say that without a lot more elaboration.
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Comment on Grammy nominations 2026: Kendrick Lamar leads with nine as Lady Gaga, Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter and Leon Thomas land among top nominees in ~music
Monte_Kristo Link ParentThat is an insane (and uncommon) critique of Lamar. Lowbrow/midwit type rhetoric is always a race to the bottom where people end up calling the other person's favorite artist dumb, so I'll just...That is an insane (and uncommon) critique of Lamar. Lowbrow/midwit type rhetoric is always a race to the bottom where people end up calling the other person's favorite artist dumb, so I'll just ignore that part. "Obama era hip hop" is just a weird sentence. In that his production has always felt contemporary, and not locked into a specific era of sound. Also the politics of his music are just "the blue", so it's not like he espouses dated cultural ideas that are irreverent to a listener of today. (Not that there should be much of a difference, given that the people old enough to listen to Kendrick were alive during the Obama era)
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Comment on Grammy nominations 2026: Kendrick Lamar leads with nine as Lady Gaga, Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter and Leon Thomas land among top nominees in ~music
Monte_Kristo LinkI loved GNX, and am accepting of it winning either album of the year or rap album of the year, but if that is the case, I need Birds Don't Sing to win rap song of the year. It is an instant rap...I loved GNX, and am accepting of it winning either album of the year or rap album of the year, but if that is the case, I need Birds Don't Sing to win rap song of the year. It is an instant rap classic, it's just absolutely beautiful.
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Comment on US Federal Aviation Administration reducing air traffic by 10% across forty ‘high-volume’ markets during government shutdown in ~transport
Monte_Kristo Link ParentI'm supposed to be going to Hawaii on the 25th. I'm so screwed.I'm supposed to be going to Hawaii on the 25th. I'm so screwed.
Veil is pretty great. I sometimes feel like the written dialog is a little weird, so I don't really love the poetry/short story segments, but the "physical acting" segments really are phenomenal. Great use of color too. I hate the male MC's rat tail, but it's such a small detail that it's easy to ignore.