Remember Pet Shop? The funny bird Dio had around him because he hated dogs by proxy. Like Pet Shop, we should all strive to smile a bit more, even if our bodies make it physically impossible. He also liked to scream a lot at his rival in nonsensical screeching, as we may have found many people online in our lives.

We are getting into yet another possible lockdown, depending on where you live, which sucks majorly, but we always knew it was gonna happen again in winter, this is nothing surprising, let's just try and hold it for a bit longer.

Now, if you want to hear me rant more as I will, you are free to read on, as this may distract you for a while from the horrible reality. So as many of you, I've been watching movies, series and playing games to slow down the inevitable drift into insanity. I've tried watching things that have been heavily recommended or acclaimed. So for example I watched The Queen's Gambit which I found OK, though at least 2 episodes felt like filler. That's a curse of Netflix shows, no matter how shorter they keep making them, they are always one or two episodes too long. But it's fine. On the other hand, I also watched the Haunting of Bly Manor, having liked House Hill (though it falls apart at the end), expected at least quality storytelling, but omg, it was perhaps the most bored I have been in my life. I reached a level of obliteration of will where no matter how bad it was, my brain was too bored to even stop it or move, which hadn't happened since Ghost Rider Spirit of Vengeance.

I also watched the german series Dark, which some people had it as one of the best things ever and again, I was not very impressed given my extensive background of science fiction, but at least the first season was ok, with enough loose threads and drive to make a compelling show. Sadly it falls apart in the following seasons and now, this depends on what you want from the show. The story stops being about character motivations and becomes completely into the loose plot threads and paradoxes and very sci fi plottish, in the sense that every motivation is just something like "destroy the unverse" and no longer "find kiler/child/box". So if you want a show where everything is about trying to unravel the mystery according to show's lore (like Lost) and don't mind that the characters become props for the plot, you may have enjoyed it a lot more.

And finally I watched the 2 remaining XMen Fox movies. Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants. Dark Phoenix is amazingly the worst XMen movie, even worse than X3 and Wolverine Origins (minus the Deadpool botch). They toned down the jokes and fun to zero to try and make it "serious" and the power levels are all over the place, with Magneto being the worst offender, having him randomly shift from god-tier to guy who can move paper clips within minutes. The New Mutants on the other hand was just odd. Like 3 different movies tied together, yet its only 90 minutes long. The movie doesn't even know who it wants as its protagonist, with random shifts in focus and development. Clearly it was Dani Moonstar, but the third act has a strange heroic focus on Illyana Rasputin (Colossus' sister) played by Queen's Gambit girl, nonetheles. The movie has constant Buffy references, but it clearly mishandled the ensemble cast. Also has heavy references to Slender man, which makes it feel dated (it was supposed to come out in 2017, so no wonder). Still, the unrelated events make it even possible to connect it to the MCU if they want to. (they won't)

And about the MCU XMen, people throw their ideas all the time, personally I would like a blank slate to build up, even a new Wolverine. I know JJJ made it back into the Spiderverse, but even though I liked Jackman's Wolverine for what it is, he doesn't feel like comics' Wolverine, who is likeable because he's an actual ass and is difficult to be around him, unlike Jackman's that everyone loves except that mockery of Cyclops we got. Also, I hope they don't go with the first team, which was more like teenager shenanigans and was cancelled a while later, but rather the revival with the colourful international members that we relate more to what XMen is today. Also, have Wolverine debut fighting the Hulk, like in the comics.

Anyhow, rant over, be safe, enjoy winter, recommend me something good to watch. See Less