@morrbeat
Writer of various things (film and TV reviews, occasional op-eds, co-wrote two novels). Intellectual lightweight. Once wrote a short story about the future of road resurfacing that was on a "years best" list
All you need to know about pretty much every single major development or crisis of this century is that it makes life worse for everyone but a tiny handful of people who just keep getting richer and more powerful
“Being in charge” and “taking no responsibility” seem to pretty much go hand in hand everywhere you look. If someone is suffering consequences, they’re not really the one in charge
Seems the locally-made WAR MACHINE has topped Netflix's global movie charts, which would not come as a surprise if you'd read my review over at @screenhub.bsky.social because (for a Netflix movie) it's actually pretty good: www.screenhub.com.au/news/reviews...
Now reading up on the Wankel Engine, the revolutionary rotary engine that failed to catch on almost entirely because it was named "the Wankel Engine"
The riddle of steel is now just someone yelling "steel" at Conan over and over while he says "I don't understand what he's saying"
This seems like the most awesome news ever until you actually read the article and get to the line "Hollywood has long sought to bring Schwarzenegger back to his Conan role, taking steps to make it age appropriate."
www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
My favourite so far has been "The Bride! is the kind of out-there provocation that you either love or hate. There’s no in-between. I neither loved nor hated it. I came down firmly in the middle."
The best Frank Miller Punisher comic is Punisher 2099
Yeah, I really think there wasn’t enough substance/backstory for Miller, even then - almost from the start with his superhero work he’s into messing with the status quo and with The Punisher what you see is all there is to get
The Punisher is so obviously a Miller character, he doesn’t need Miller - the goal is for other writers to aim for a version of Miller when writing him. Even Ennis, the best Punisher writer to date, is clearly channeling Miller a little (and then building on that) with his MAX run
And DKR works because it’s pushing against (and recovering) decades of Batman, whereas The Punisher even now has next to no backstory, supporting cast or setting. Batman has Gotham City, The Punisher has a van
But (again, thought a lot about this), a Miller story featuring The Punisher would only work if we’re talking DKR Miller, where he really has a bee in his bonnet about urban crime - after that he’s off to Hollywood writing about robots, and when he returns he’s doing weightless parodies in Sin City
This is something I’ve considered way too much and my take is that in the early 80s The Punisher was as popular as Kraven the Hunter - he’s a character with nothing but a logo and a gun, and by the time The Punisher was going solo at Marvel Miller could sell his own vigilantes if he wanted to
The Punisher was pretty far down the B list at the time (the Daredevil story really boosted his profile), and Miller stopped working on other Marvel characters after he left Daredevil the first time. But yeah, The Punisher does very much feel like a Miller character despite all that
Unfortunately my usual go-to for this kind of thing - "I saw Brett Ratner's underpants" - has become increasingly plausible in recent years
Anyone who read any of the later League of Extraordinary Gentlemen books knows that a story that's overtly referencing a whole lot of pop culture really needs to be discussed in ways that go beyond "check out all the pop culture references!"
Time to once again point out that what a film (or book, or whatever) tells you it's about isn't always what it's actually about, and a review that just lists references and influences isn't telling you much about what it is you're actually seeing
I just need to figure out how to turn that into an eight week course that costs subscribers $1500
My only writing advice is: If you don't entertain yourself you won't finish writing your book - if you don't entertain your readers they won't finish reading your book
I think it’s meant to pre-date the gold rush, and there’s only a handful of buildings that old anywhere in Vic. There are a couple near me and they really stand out - not size-wise or anything, it’s just a completely different look to anything that came after
Supposedly Melbourne’s oldest pub, which may be of interest to @beanisacarrot.bsky.social
Pretty impressed you found a Cashies that shelves their blu rays in alphabetical order spines out rather than the preferred “at random in racks so you have to flip through every single one to see what’s there” system
I was wondering why this movie (made in 2025) was set in 1988. Turned out it was so Lang could be a Vietnam vet because his entire approach to cleaning up the town is “we had to destroy the village to save it” - I haven’t seen a film like this with so many dead civilians in ages
Currently watching HELLFIRE, in which Stephen Lang plays a drifter who cleans up a small town so dirty even eating lunch is illegal. Local crime boss Harvey Keitel is introduced playing the piano to let us know that this is a sequel to his 70s classic FINGERS
If you’re worried that DC superhero comics are going to lurch to the right after Paramount takes over their owner Warner Bros, I have some disturbing news for you about the history of DC comics, and superhero comics… and the whole damn industry really
I inherited this place and my biggest fear is some major repair bill I can't afford to pay so fuck you backyard neighbours for making me freak out over something that's 100% not my problem, your kids now have to wait 24 hours before I throw their balls back over the fence
But yeah, the previous neighbour never had any issues, then this guy dug down at least a metre into the side of the hill and now is like "where's this water coming from?", after turning his back yard into a swimming pool. The ground here is clay! When it rains we get instant rivers everywhere!
In between there's been three council inspections, cameras down the sewer pipe, the surprise revelation that I have a storm water drain running near the back fence, and a number of people going "mmmm" while looking at the massive gum tree growing right where the sewer and storm water pipes overlap
Before Xmas my new neighbours (downhill from me, new build) complained to council about water run off from my place. I told the inspector "I bet they didn't do the retaining wall properly", then spent months worrying about $5K drain repairs. Just saw the builders are back re-doing the retaining wall
Flashback Friday 👇