smiles134's recent activity
-
Comment on Jon Watts is our ‘Star Wars: Episode X’ director in ~movies
-
Comment on Comerica Park will be renamed to Fifth Third Park starting in 2027 in ~sports.baseball
smiles134 Link ParentWait you like KFC Yum! Arena? Genuinely haven't heard anyone say they liked that one before lolWait you like KFC Yum! Arena?
Genuinely haven't heard anyone say they liked that one before lol
-
Comment on The doomsday cult inside OpenAI in ~tech
smiles134 Link ParentIf they sincerely believed the technology they were in charge of could one day bring about the end of humanity, the move is not to beg someone else to put guardrails in, it's to stop fucking...If they sincerely believed the technology they were in charge of could one day bring about the end of humanity, the move is not to beg someone else to put guardrails in, it's to stop fucking building the technology.
These people are not motivated by anything but profit.
-
Comment on What are the genuinely worst films of all time? in ~movies
smiles134 Link ParentOh yeah this is a a big stinker. I love a noir but what in the fuck was the ending of this movie.Oh yeah this is a a big stinker. I love a noir but what in the fuck was the ending of this movie.
-
Comment on [SOLVED] Hunting for a movie in ~movies
-
Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
smiles134 LinkI watched a lot of movies in August -- I think the most movies in a month this year for me. A couple rewatches (The Big Short and Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse). Biggest duds: Mission...I watched a lot of movies in August -- I think the most movies in a month this year for me. A couple rewatches (The Big Short and Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse).
Biggest duds:
-
Mission Impossible - The Final Reckoning. Just, what the fuck was this movie. The first, like, hour of the movie is incomprehensible with random intercuts of scenes from previous movies because I guess they had no faith that the audience would remember anything at all. It eventually settles into a rhythm but never tells a very interesting story. I lost track of how many characters gush to Tom Cruise how awesome and good he is.
-
White Noise. I wanted to like this one a lot more than I did. I love Adam Driver, and Tim Meadows was fantastic. I enjoyed the academia scenes the most (as someone who went to grad school thinking I wanted to be a professor but decided I really did not want to work in that environment). But the dialogue just didn't work for me. It works far better on the page than it does actually spoken aloud. There's a great scene that I swear could've been cut from a National Lampoon's Vacation movie, but overall I felt like it just missed the mark.
-
The Sheep Detectives. Honestly I did like this movie but I had a lot of people talk it up to me as being very moving, and it just felt like a very standard family movie to me.
Movies I greatly enjoyed:
-
Anatomy of a Fall. This was a long movie but very good. The actor who played the kid was great, the scene with the dog was extremely distressing, and I loved that you never really know what happened. The whole movie is about where we look for answers when the truth is uncertain, so that worked for me. I love legal dramas, and holy shit the French legal system seems fucked?
-
Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die. This felt like a movie they just don't make much of anymore. Very fun, extremely weird. Sam Rockwell was great.
-
Everything Everywhere All at Once. What a weird and incredibly profound movie. Blows my mind that this was taken seriously enough to win Best Picture. I mean the central conceit is a metaphor about an everything bagel and there are weaponized dildos. Wild.
Others:
-
Manhunter. I've been working my way through Michael Mann's oeuvre. My wife hated this but I liked it as a progenitor to things like Criminal Minds. Not my favorite of his movies, but I enjoyed it.
-
Quiz Lady. Solid, funny movie. Awkwafina and Sandra Oh had great chemistry. I definitely just threw this on in the background cause I learned it was written by the sister of a jeopardy contestant who's run earlier this year was very impressive.
-
Windfall. I hadn't heard of this movie until I was randomly scrolling through Netflix. I immediately clocked it as a COVID movie (small cast, single setting, etc.). I liked it if I thought of it as a stage production, it's fine as a movie. People seemed to really hate it online though lol
-
Donnie Brasco. I forgot Johnny Depp had a part of his career where he was just a normal guy, pre Jack Sparrow. I guess same with Al Pacino, who's much more subdued here. I thought it was funny that the movie ended and my wife turned to me and asked what the name of the movie was lol
Ope, edit to add Backdraft. Kurt Russell rules, that is all.
-
-
Comment on What made that wedding that you attended particularly memorable? in ~life
smiles134 Link ParentYeah my wife and I compare the DJ at every wedding to ours and no one even comes close. A good DJ makes all the difference for the reception imoYeah my wife and I compare the DJ at every wedding to ours and no one even comes close. A good DJ makes all the difference for the reception imo
-
Comment on What made that wedding that you attended particularly memorable? in ~life
smiles134 LinkMy wife and I hired the DJ who did my sister's wedding because we thought he was great. He was the 2nd most expensive part of the day (behind the venue) but was absolutely worth it. He coordinated...My wife and I hired the DJ who did my sister's wedding because we thought he was great. He was the 2nd most expensive part of the day (behind the venue) but was absolutely worth it. He coordinated with all of our vendors, MC'd the whole evening (obviously), met with us several times before the wedding to find out what we definitely wanted to do/didn't want to do, what kind of music to play, coordinated a trivia game so our guests weren't clinking glasses to get us to kiss all night, got facts about all of our bridal party so he could roast everyone during the grand march. It was great, 100% would hire him again
-
Comment on How to spot a psychopath: ‘It’s like the difference between a domestic cat and a wild cat’ in ~science
smiles134 Link ParentWe've had ten+ years to watch Trump's public behavior. I would hardly call this an impulsive reaction.We've had ten+ years to watch Trump's public behavior. I would hardly call this an impulsive reaction.
-
Comment on How to spot a psychopath: ‘It’s like the difference between a domestic cat and a wild cat’ in ~science
smiles134 Link ParentYou can hate him for being a fascist while also identifying the fact that his personality traits align with the topic of this post.You can hate him for being a fascist while also identifying the fact that his personality traits align with the topic of this post.
-
Comment on [SOLVED] Hunting for a movie in ~movies
-
Comment on The most confusing Major League Baseball play of the season, a breakdown in ~sports.baseball
smiles134 Link ParentRed Sox / Blue Jays, not Red Sox / Cubs btwRed Sox / Blue Jays, not Red Sox / Cubs btw
-
Comment on The Los Angeles Dodgers acquire Tarik Skubal from the Detroit Tigers in ~sports.baseball
smiles134 Link ParentCap/Floor is something that probably makes sense long term but I do not see the union agreeing to it under any termsCap/Floor is something that probably makes sense long term but I do not see the union agreeing to it under any terms
-
Comment on The Los Angeles Dodgers acquire Tarik Skubal from the Detroit Tigers in ~sports.baseball
smiles134 LinkThis was a trade many predicted months ago when it became clear the Tigers would not compete for a playoff spot this year, and with this acquisition the Dodgers have assembled what might be the...This was a trade many predicted months ago when it became clear the Tigers would not compete for a playoff spot this year, and with this acquisition the Dodgers have assembled what might be the best team in baseball history.
I'm a Brewers fan, a team that just passed the Dodgers for the best record in baseball this season, and who were considered to be the other frontrunners for Skubal. I'm not too upset in the grand scheme of things about missing out of Skubal, largely because the Brewers have gotten to be so good in the last ten years on the strength of their prospect development, but it does feel like another peg in the argument that the Dodgers are the only team with the resources to put such a team together. It's like they're playing a whole other class of the sport compared to the other 29 teams, and with the CBA talks ongoing, it definitely seems to be progressing toward a labor dispute next season.
-
The Los Angeles Dodgers acquire Tarik Skubal from the Detroit Tigers
7 votes -
Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
smiles134 LinkI rarely DNF games but I've given up on Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts about 30% through. I got it for free through Epic so I have no problems giving up on it up but I generally like to get the...I rarely DNF games but I've given up on Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts about 30% through. I got it for free through Epic so I have no problems giving up on it up but I generally like to get the full picture of the game before I evaluate it. This one just never really grabbed me. It's very clearly ripping from the Sniper Elite series and isn't trying to hide that. That in itself isn't the issue, as it's also clearly pulling ideas from Hitman, at least in how it presents missions.
My frustration mostly is in immersion, which truthfully rarely bothers me. Here, though, I'm playing an elite sniper assassin, yet as soon as one enemy spots me, the whole map is aware of exactly where I am with seemingly no way to lose their tracking. Not only that, but they're able to shoot me from distance using their unscoped assault rifles. The same distance I'm measuring wind and distance to accurately line up a shot at 300 yards. Just isn't realistic.
The real breaking point for me was trying to complete the same mission checkpoint for the sixth time, as I kept dying right after doing the last part but right before hitting the checkpoint area. The last time I wasn't even killed, but accidentally jumped off a stairwell into an open barrel that was too tall for me to jump back out of.
-
Comment on Avengers: Doomsday | Official trailer in ~movies
smiles134 Link ParentThe Electric State cost 320 million dollars to make and had absolutely zero impact on the public consciousness. -
Comment on Boox Go 10.3 (gen II) Lumi: An Android tablet that's also, on top of that, an E-ink screen in ~tech
smiles134 LinkI just posted a couple weeks ago about wanting an eink tablet and ended up getting the black and white version of this tablet. I've liked it so far but haven't gotten too deep into it yet --...I just posted a couple weeks ago about wanting an eink tablet and ended up getting the black and white version of this tablet. I've liked it so far but haven't gotten too deep into it yet -- mostly just taking notes by hand. I'm hoping to get my organization a little more sophisticated soon.
Curious if there are any specific apps you recommend adding? I've downloaded the Google Suite apps I plan to use, but that's basically it
-
Comment on Avengers: Doomsday | Official trailer in ~movies
smiles134 LinkI haven't seen any of the MCU movies since Love and Thunder, feels pretty unlikely I'll see this one either. But we'll always have that build up to Endgame across all the Marvel movies from...I haven't seen any of the MCU movies since Love and Thunder, feels pretty unlikely I'll see this one either.
But we'll always have that build up to Endgame across all the Marvel movies from 2008-2019 which was fun to experience at the time. I do wonder how long they'll try to keep this series alive without giving it some significant time off.
-
Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
smiles134 (edited )Link ParentI was actually closer to the end than I thought and I'm just hitting credits now. I'll give it this, there are very few no frills FPS single player campaigns these days and I appreciate it for...I was actually closer to the end than I thought and I'm just hitting credits now. I'll give it this, there are very few no frills FPS single player campaigns these days and I appreciate it for that. The industry would be better served (for players, not financially) if they pivoted back to this mode.
I basically had this same conversation elsewhere with the same examples, and even the same context as the convo started in response to this announcement.
For me, Andor is a terrific example of the kind of story that could be told in Star Wars -- yeah, the story itself isn't star wars centric, and is mostly using the universe as backdrop, but that's the point for me. It's telling a great story in that world, and it doesn't have to be focused on jedi and sith.
Conversely, I didn't bother watching The Acolyte because I'd already been worn down by the number and quality of shows that had been released in quick succession. It just became too much with diminishing returns.