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Yeah we're about 6 episodes into S3 now after watching 3 back to back last night. It's pretty unheard of for us to watch more than one episode of anything in one sitting (outside sitcoms), but it's so damn good. I think the last time we actually binged anything was S2 of The Expanse actually.

[Fyre]

Watched the Fyre festival documentary on Netflix, which was pretty fascinating. The thing that struck me most was the insane level of self-belief all those idiots putting it together had. It's weird to watch people who believe they're geniuses just because they're wealthy, it's a peculiarly Trumpy sort of delusion. It only barely touches on the ethical question of how accountable 'influencers' should be for this sort of thing - if you have a huge Twitter following and someone pays you a ton of money to endorse a scam, then surely you're a participant in the scam for duping all those people for cash?! Apparently Fuck Jerry had final approval on the cut, which will be why they don't seem to get much of a kicking in it for their part in it, which is a shame as would be nice to see them get their comeuppance.

There's a remorselessness to the way the main organizer fella fleeces everyone continuously (his post festival 'business' venture is pretty jaw-droppingly brazen) that's quite disturbing to watch, there's some weird disconnect with reality going on there. A good watch, curious how the rival Hulu doc portrays things.

Also saw Cherry 2000 for the first time, as a friend was putting on a double-bill of that and Steve De Jarnatt's other film Miracle Mile. It's very different, and very much a straight to video '80s action cheesefest but it's a got a lot of charm and character, and the world is a weird post-apocalyptic sci-fi western mash of styles that reminded me of something like Fallout: New Vegas. It played really well, with people cheering on the action and chuckling along with the villain (Tim Thomerson plays an awesomely quirky bad guy with some great cheeseball lines) so if you like that brand of trashy '80s B-Movie then you'd get something out of it.

It's so different to Miracle Mile though that it's a bit crazy to think it was made by the same guy, he definitely has a ton of imagination and heart so it's a shame those seem to be the only two movies he directed. Cherry 2000 is a bit of fun cheesy throwaway fun, but Miracle Mile is a proper masterpiece as far as I'm concerned. Saw it for the first time at a movie marathon screening a year or so ago knowing nothing about it and it blew my mind, and seems like everyone at this screening had that same experience. If you haven't seen it then thoroughly recommend going in as cold as possible, as not knowing what it's about made for one of the best cinema experiences I've had.

The original Crackdown is free right now on the Microsoft store, and is backwards compatible on the XB1 (and enhanced on the 1X apparently). Had a lot of fun times with it way back when it came out so will be interesting to see how it holds up!

[The Eternal Castle Remastered]

Played through a PC game called The Eternal Castle Remastered, which is an homage to Another World/Flashback style Amiga games (it's pitched as a remake of a forgotten classic but I gather nobody has found any evidence that such a thing ever existed, still some neat marketing!).

They really go HARD on the minimal art style (to the point where it can occasionally be difficult to parse what a screen is supposed to represent) and the controls are authentically clunky and poorly explained (I discovered I could switch weapons just before the game finished), plus the difficulty is just as brutal as those old games. None of that will sound appealing to most people, but having grown up with Amiga games I loved it, so it might appeal to people with that aquired taste and the same nostalgia for that sort of thing. Only about 2-3hrs long, and with a banging old-school soundtrack (I cranked the final boss fight up to ear worrying volumes because it was so damn good).

[Fyre]

I need to give that remake another watch, I was pretty disappointed first time round but there's a good chance I'd enjoy it more if I know what I'm getting going in. Those movies have such a weird tone that seems really hard to nail down and perfect, and it didn't feel like it was hitting it for me. Saying that, there was a point right towards the end [spoiler]where it's raining blood[/spoiler] and I thought 'now THIS is an Evil Dead movie', but then it seemed to finish just as it was hitting its stride there. Could have been the mood I was in, will need to go back to it!

I was also pretty underwhelmed by the ending to Ghost Stories, despite liking the film a lot overall. The marketing for the play made such a big deal about not telling anyone what happens because it would spoil the surprise, so I maybe expected a lot more. The movie is creepy as hell though, and I thought Paul Whitehouse gave a great performance against type (or at least I've only ever seen him do comedy, outside of the odd tender moment in The Fast Show).

Watched half of the Netflix Fyre documentary last night and it's really something! Had to put it off just as the attendees were arriving, so looking forward to jumping in tonight and seeing how that panned out (from social media I at least know the cheese sandwiches were disappointing).

Damn, that sounds insane! Something to look forward to. Seems like there's a lot of replayability in the way different runs vary, which is nice because that was such a feature of the original too.

It definitely takes a bit of time to get into the phrasing and the way the characters speak. I remember comparing it a little bit to The Wire when I first started watching, just in the sense that you feel a bit like you've been dropped in at the deep end and expected to figure out for yourself what everyone is talking about. It's like joining a conversation mid-way instead of being introduced, if that analogy makes sense!

Once it clicked I didn't find it a problem though, and like The Wire I maybe feel a bit more engaged with it than I would have if it hadn't asked that of me.

You're right, I hadn't spotted that! I do remember it being one of the more memorable films, maybe because the desert setting made it stand out a bit. Pretty sure the last one has popped up on Netflix now, I think it's probably one of my favourites. It's as bonkers as ever, and they'd obviously seen Fury Road by this point and decided to throw some dollops of that into the mix, which I was right up for.

[Fast & Furious 8]

The Hobbs & Shaw trailer had us itching to rewatch Fast & Furious 8, still great fun and those two characters really steal the show so very excited to see the new movie.

Also rewatched Resident Evil: Apocalypse (the second one). I sort of wish they'd numbered these films because I have a hell of a time remembering which is which just from the title. Has always been my least favourite of the series, while the rest are all enjoyable over the top trashy fun (in my opinion) this one goes over the edge into hot garbage territory. Even at the time I was a bit gutted with it (although the soundtrack album had a remix of 'The Outsider' by A Perfect Circle which I loved so damn much that I listened to that album a ton).

The videogame cosplay approach to the characters and creatures is both one of the worst and best things about it, because on the one hand seeing the Nemesis recreated as he looks in the game is laughable rubbery awfulness, but on the other hand Jill Valentine also looks like the walking embodiment of the game character, and I was at the right age playing it to have had a bit of a crush on her even when she was just a load of pointy polygons so it's got that going for it.

It definitely feels noticeably ropier than the other RE films (which I know don't set the highest benchmark imaginable) and it was only on this watch that I noticed from the credits that it's the only film with a different director, who doesn't appear to have helmed another film before or since. Yikes.

Still enjoyed it in a popcorn trashy B-movie way, but then I have a high tolerance for that specific kind of rubbish.

I really wanted to love Advance Wars, but it just stresses me out. I just don't think I have the right kind of brain for strategy games.

I feel the same, but got really into Into The Breach, so that might be worth a try. It plays like a tactics game but it solves a lot of the problems I've had with those - mainly the fact that I can never seem to predict what the enemies are going to do on their turn and fail at planning ahead. In Into The Breach the enemies next moves are telegraphed, you know exactly what they're going to do and the gameplay is more about moving them around and keeping them under control to minimize the damage those moves will cause.

As someone who has never gotten into that style of game I found it utterly engrossing and massively addictive! Plus setup-wise it's like Pacific Rim The Videogame so what's not to love.

[RE2]

Finished a second playthrough of RE2, this time with Claire. I'd forgotten how the scenarios worked back in the day so I played both characters' 'A' scenarios when it makes more sense to do Leon A Claire B and vice-versa, as then it actually plays as a 'this is what they were up to during your last playthrough' sort of deal. Playing both the A scenarios back to back a lot of it is identical (just with the characters swapped) but it also diverges in a few really cool ways so you do get chunks that are different.

The code locks and puzzles were interesting second time, I'd taken pictures on my phone of combinations during my first playthrough (before I realized they were saved in your journal) and it was fun to be able to pull up my phone and unlock things before I really should have had access to the solutions.

Still loving it, and have started the Leon 2nd Run now.

RAW is fantastic, and this has reminded me it's something I should really have in the collection!

Ah, nobody has talked about this for a while and I'm sure everyone had given up hope like me but finally there's a date for season 3 coming on Amazon Prime! Seasons 1-3 being added February 8th, with the new Amazon-produced season 4 coming later in the year.

Feels like it's been a ridiculous wait to get season 3 here in the UK, so I'm really buzzed about jumping back in.

Yes! The Good Place is my favourite thing on telly just now and at times it's been a real pick-me-up for us after a rough week. The seasons seem to fly by really quickly though!

Finished my first Leon playthrough last night, which meant sitting up later than I should have on a weeknight but I couldn't put it down! Will be hitting the energy drinks today for sure. It was fantastic, though finishes a bit abruptly so a Claire playthrough and possibly a go on the '2nd run' modes that unlock are obviously needed to glue the whole story together. I always remembered RE2 being my favourite, but because it's never had the remake treatment in the way RE1 has (several times) my memories of the specifics were a lot hazier, which means this does spark a lot of nostalgia but still feels really fresh and surprising.

Very excited to start again as Claire, I really don't want to stop playing this thing! It's made me want to replay the others too, particularly RE7 which I've been meaning to go back through on the harder difficulties for a while. I've got Revelations 1&2 on the pile too, never played them before. After not really enjoying 5&6 it feels so good to be a RE fan right now, good to see such a great series back on top.