Can someone with time on their hands do a “Who said it?” quiz with #Trump versus Kim Jong Un, please?
Month: January 2026
Who could have guessed(?)
We have a dedicated Discord server for our little hobby group. It’s been going six years now. It’s a wonderful safe space.
Today, though, this happened:
The Online Safety Act has struck. Some of my server buddies are a little outraged but I’m not too fussed. I’m absolutely onboard with the intention. The internet is full of horrible shit that I’d never want my children to see. Or my Dad, for that matter; not unless he REALLY wanted to.
But, as we all know, the implementation is useless. Not least because it’s completely avoidable.
Case in point: I asked the member if he’d been asked to complete the age verification process before he posted the gif. He had not.
So, we can all browse this sensitive content (on Tenor?), via Discord, without verifying our age, just as long as we’re looking at it in the “add a gif” dialogue?
OK. We’ve now established (work intrudes) that it was a gif of the chestburster scene in Alien. I’ve checked and I can, indeed, browse exactly these gifs via the dialogue without having verified my age.
I just… I’m speechless.
In the final days of World War II, the Nazis attempt to use black magic to aid their dying cause. The Allies raid the camp where the ceremony is taking place, but not before they summon a baby demon who is rescued by Allied forces and dubbed "Hellboy". Sixty years later, Hellboy serves the cause of good rather than evil as an agent in the Bureau of Paranormal Research & Defense, along with Abe Sapien - a merman with psychic powers, and Liz Sherman - a woman with pyrokinesis, protecting America against dark forces.
As comic book movies go, it’s pretty great, but while I hate to pick on one actor, whenever Selma Blair is on the screen she literally sucks all the fun out of it. I don’t really know the character and maybe she’s playing it exactly as intended/directed but, stone me, it’s jarringly depressive.
And, while I do have a soft spot for practical effects, Samael looks a little too much like a guy on all fours in a rubber suit. I’m not saying that can’t work, it worked pretty well in Attack the Block, but here…
Other than that, the post-Matrix super-human leaping and environmental destruction are ace. Some (literally) smashing stunt work too!
Lastly, I think Pearlman makes a great Hellboy.
★★★
After cracking the biggest case in Zootopia's history, rookie cops Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde find themselves on the twisting trail of a great mystery when Gary De’Snake arrives and turns the animal metropolis upside down. To crack the case, Judy and Nick must go undercover to unexpected new parts of town, where their growing partnership is tested like never before.
Tiny bit baggy in places (I wonder if they have tech in audience screenings that detects when people get their phones out?) but it mostly whizzed by. Gave me a lot of good laughs, especially some great movie references, and I just love the details of a world for all shapes and sizes. We take the quality of the animation for granted these days but it’s amazing.
On a more personal note, I am so glad this was the choice because I couldn’t face 3+ hours of Avatar in the cinema…
★★★★
Unless this REALLY picks up in the final two episodes, I’m baffled by this review. I can’t wait to get it over with. The plot is “Spooks” levels of “espionage” nonsense.
Thompson’s character, while likeable and against type, is hardly transformational. Whereas, Ruth Wilson playing an extremely ordinary woman seems a much greater departure from her usual roles.
The entire review seems back-to-front.
Twelfth Night in the Netherlands became so secularised, rowdy, and boisterous that public celebrations were banned by the Church.
Who knew the Netherlands had such a rich tradition of banning people enjoying themselves 😜
Family coming for lunch Sunday to celebrate Twelfth Night. Promoted me to ask my wife why the Magi get added to our felt Nativity during Advent. I was shushed. Also, if that was when Jesus received his gifts… why do we do gifts in Christmas Day?
Back to work today. "Started" at 8:45. Think I'm nearly awake now.