With that chin of his, he's naturally qualified

Yeah, the soundtrack is badass too. I believe I used to use "Snake's theme" as my entrance music when my friends & I borrowed camcorders and made lame pro-wrestling videos.

Yeah, great rec. This was a terrific one-season story. Loved how it all came together.

I tend to have trouble with 'Hollywood stories,' as they're so insulated and specific, and most people can't relate directly (and, very often, the filmmakers wanting to make such a film don't care).

There are, of course, exceptions. Some I can think of that I like regardless are Cronenberg's Map to the Stars, not his best but still one I enjoy. But more than that one, while Under the Silver Lake is maybe more an LA movie than a Hollywood movie, it's my favorite such movie.

The novella Day of the Locust by Nathanael West is also a banger, despite being as old as it is. It's still oddly relevant and relatable. "The more things change..."

Yes they could, and that may be a problem down the line. This is another of the many, many, many shitty things about war-- you can't afford to think ethically in the long-term, even if you're being invaded. With social media being used for what I'll go as far as to call mass brainwashing, and Russia having embraced this tactic, their enemies may very well have to restrict media/freedom of speech to keep the enemy from using it to their advantage.

Humans are such shit animals. It really bothers me that we still tend to do this 'good guys/bad guys' thing when actual war breaks out, as though life were a simple fable. War IRL is the erosion of everything that makes us human, on any and every side. Russia is 100% the aggressor here, but that means Ukraine has to be vicious and conniving in response. If Ukraine doesn't flex against said aggression, where does that lead them?

This is how it begins. And I'm on board for it! What else are humans gonna offer, besides exploitation and death? This discovery is more hope than not, given nonetheless my quite cynical soul.

I read this book out of boredom on a library e-checkout during lockdown. The setup is pretty good for a YA style thriller, but the climax becomes so utterly outlandish, I am legit curious how they go about adapting it for the screen. It's like the writer just got bored with their own book and went nuts.