smiles134's recent activity

  1. Comment on ‘Moana’ flounders with $43 million debut, among weakest of Disney’s live-action remakes in ~movies

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    There was just no reason for this movie to exist. The original animated version is only ten years old. Just silly stuff.

    There was just no reason for this movie to exist. The original animated version is only ten years old. Just silly stuff.

    25 votes

  2. Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies

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    I watched Miami Vice last night and thought it was kind of a mess. It's got the Michael Mann flair but the story was all over the place. I was reading after about some of the issues with Foxx...

    I watched Miami Vice last night and thought it was kind of a mess. It's got the Michael Mann flair but the story was all over the place. I was reading after about some of the issues with Foxx during production but I think the script was probably just not very good.

    2 votes

  3. Comment on Microsoft’s Xbox to cut 3,200 jobs, divest five studios in major overhaul (gifted link) in ~games

    smiles134
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    For about 18 months, my job was working in document management for a very small agency in the US federal government, and just getting a letter to a constituent or public stakeholder signed and...

    For about 18 months, my job was working in document management for a very small agency in the US federal government, and just getting a letter to a constituent or public stakeholder signed and delivered took 8 layers of approval and review at minimum. Double that for anything that needed to go through the department's secretary, and anything that went beyond that had layers I couldn't even see. It was insane.

    3 votes

  4. Comment on To my fellow Americans: Happy 4th of July, I hope you end the day with the same number of fingers you started with! in ~talk

    smiles134
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    I'm at the Nats game (bit of a tradition for my wife and I even though we cheer for a different baseball team), and we sprung for the club level seats this year to get some AC on the concourse haha

    I'm at the Nats game (bit of a tradition for my wife and I even though we cheer for a different baseball team), and we sprung for the club level seats this year to get some AC on the concourse haha

    7 votes

  5. Comment on Midweek-ish Movie Free Talk in ~movies

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    I finally watched One Battle After Another and thought it was every bit as good as everyone was telling me it was. Benicio del Toro ruled, and I really didn't expect it to be as funny as it was....

    I finally watched One Battle After Another and thought it was every bit as good as everyone was telling me it was. Benicio del Toro ruled, and I really didn't expect it to be as funny as it was.

    Leo telling himself to focus and remember and then immediately taking a huge drag on his joint, incredible stuff.

    4 votes

  6. Comment on Reddit will require you to be logged in to use old.reddit.com in ~tech

    smiles134
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    Thanks for this, I had no idea it existed. I'm rarely on reddit anymore, but there are a few subs I haven't found useful community replacements for that I browse occasionally

    Thanks for this, I had no idea it existed. I'm rarely on reddit anymore, but there are a few subs I haven't found useful community replacements for that I browse occasionally

    2 votes

  7. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

    smiles134
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    Well I beat Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 a couple weeks ago and moved into my palette cleansers. I'll talk about those in a sec, cause I want to write a bit about E33 since I haven't been in these...

    Well I beat Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 a couple weeks ago and moved into my palette cleansers. I'll talk about those in a sec, cause I want to write a bit about E33 since I haven't been in these threads for a little.

    I really liked this game and I'm honestly a bit surprised it took off as much as it did. The gameplay is not what I'd consider super mainstream friendly, so I think it makes sense that I've seen many people pick this up after all the hype and really dislike it.

    There are things that frustrated me: the timing of the rhythm for dodging or parrying was sometimes--maybe even often--hard to identify the first time you saw an attack pattern. I wish there had been a little better telegraphing at points. Sometimes the camera angles were really atrocious in fights, especially with Monoco on the far right of the party, so I legitimately couldn't see the attack pattern whatsoever.

    I also thought the combat system had like two too many layers to it, to the point where I barely paid any attention to how my reserve team played and just focused on learning my primary team.

    But overall, like I said, very much enjoyed it. I found the story baffling for a long part of the game (which was frustrating me because it seemed like the characters were intentionally avoiding discussing some things) but then when it all came together, I thought the writers pulled that off really well.

    I'd certainly welcome a sequel in this universe, which I think they can manage regardless of which ending you took.

    Palette cleansers! If you haven't seen me write about these before, I like to sprinkle in a couple small/indie games (completely different in style from what I've been playing) between getting committed to longer games. E33 isn't nearly as long as D:OS was, but I'm still working through some of my backlog.

    I played Pony Island, which is a game by Daniel Mullins who also was behind Inscryption (and some other games I haven't yet played). Much like Inscryption, Pony Island is a very meta deconstruction on making and playing games. In this, you're playing a very simple sidescrolling runner-like game, guiding a pony over gates and blowing away enemies. Except, this game has been corrupted, and you're trapped in here, and there are several different entities inside the game trying to get you to do things outside of the game to free them (and you). It's a very short game, which is good, because I'm not sure the concept really lends itself to being much longer than a couple hours. Good, but not as memorable as Inscryption.

    I'm also working through Valiant Hearts: The Great War. This is a game from Beyond Good & Evil studio Ubisoft Montpelier, a 2D puzzle game set during WW1, following a few different characters whose paths intersect. It's very good, although some of the puzzles are frustratingly obtuse. I've been told the latter half of the game is a tear-jerker, so we'll see.

    Also on the docket: The Case of the Golden Idol, Star Wars Dark Forces II, and then I'll move into Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown.

    3 votes

  8. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

    smiles134
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    This was also my experience with the game (and its sequel, for that matter, although I think the sequel's story is significantly worse)

    This was also my experience with the game (and its sequel, for that matter, although I think the sequel's story is significantly worse)

    3 votes

  9. Comment on Re-watched the Bourne Trilogy after several years, I understand now why it was so influential in ~movies

    smiles134
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    oh man I can't recommend Andor enough, even if you're not a Star Wars person. It has so much to say about resilience in the face of fascism, but it's also just really well crafted with great...

    oh man I can't recommend Andor enough, even if you're not a Star Wars person. It has so much to say about resilience in the face of fascism, but it's also just really well crafted with great performances across the board.

    2 votes

  10. Comment on The 2026 Steam Summer Sale is live (runs June 25 - July 9) in ~games

    smiles134
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    Can't speak to how well they'll play on the steam deck, but hope you like them! They're a couple of my favorite games, and it's a shame there hasn't been more in the series in recent years

    Can't speak to how well they'll play on the steam deck, but hope you like them! They're a couple of my favorite games, and it's a shame there hasn't been more in the series in recent years

  11. Comment on The 2026 Steam Summer Sale is live (runs June 25 - July 9) in ~games

    smiles134
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    Have you tried Deus Ex: Human Revolution or the sequel Mankind Divided? Edit: I guess I wouldn't say these have "light" story, but it checks the other boxes

    Have you tried Deus Ex: Human Revolution or the sequel Mankind Divided?

    Edit: I guess I wouldn't say these have "light" story, but it checks the other boxes

    2 votes

  12. Comment on Re-watched the Bourne Trilogy after several years, I understand now why it was so influential in ~movies

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    I love the first trilogy of these movies so much (haven't seen any that came after). For those who don't know, the first three movies were written by Tony Gilroy, who was the showrunner for Andor....

    I love the first trilogy of these movies so much (haven't seen any that came after).

    For those who don't know, the first three movies were written by Tony Gilroy, who was the showrunner for Andor. He doesn't miss.

    Highly recommend also checking out Michael Clayton and State of Play.

    1 vote

  13. Comment on US Congress clears housing bill, cementing a rare bipartisan feat in ~society

    smiles134
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    Yeah, that I agree with. A lot of documented procedures came with the expectation that the people in charge wouldn't stoop to this level.

    Yeah, that I agree with. A lot of documented procedures came with the expectation that the people in charge wouldn't stoop to this level.

    3 votes

  14. Comment on ‘Donkey’: Eddie Murphy ‘Shrek’ spinoff sets summer 2028 release in ~movies

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    Why in the world would they do this now, and not in like 2005?

    Why in the world would they do this now, and not in like 2005?

  15. Comment on US Congress clears housing bill, cementing a rare bipartisan feat in ~society

    smiles134
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    Nah, they knew they'd need to handle a situation where the executive essentially refuses his responsibility. If the president doesn't like a bill, he can beat it, which allows the Senate to...

    Nah, they knew they'd need to handle a situation where the executive essentially refuses his responsibility. If the president doesn't like a bill, he can beat it, which allows the Senate to overrule him with a 2/3 majority. But if the president knows he'll get overruled and still doesn't want the bill to become a law, what if he just ignores it? How does Congress check his power in that case?

    This forces the president to make a decision on (most) bills. The pocket veto still happens from time to time but that's a failure of Congress's scheduling.

    12 votes

  16. Comment on Recommendations for e-ink tablets? in ~tech

    smiles134
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    Ah, yeah, this is what I've read from multiple people which has me concerned

    Ah, yeah, this is what I've read from multiple people which has me concerned

  17. Comment on Recommendations for e-ink tablets? in ~tech

    smiles134
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    Thanks -- definitely not thinking of it as a tablet proper, really just need access to a web browser for one specific website and ideally access to my Google Drive

    Thanks -- definitely not thinking of it as a tablet proper, really just need access to a web browser for one specific website and ideally access to my Google Drive

  18. Comment on Recommendations for e-ink tablets? in ~tech

    smiles134
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    Good suggestion for Amazon. Out of curiosity, how long after you bought yours did you notice the defect?

    Good suggestion for Amazon. Out of curiosity, how long after you bought yours did you notice the defect?

    1 vote

  19. Comment on Recommendations for e-ink tablets? in ~tech

    smiles134
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    I've looked at the Note but I'm not sure I need color at all, and that seems like the biggest difference to me (unless I'm overlooking something)

    I've looked at the Note but I'm not sure I need color at all, and that seems like the biggest difference to me (unless I'm overlooking something)

  20. Comment on Recommendations for e-ink tablets? in ~tech

    smiles134
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    How is the battery life for you? That's one of the biggest complaints I've seen on that tablet

    How is the battery life for you? That's one of the biggest complaints I've seen on that tablet