Hello and welcome to the first week of the summer season! Y’all ready for summer!? Yes, the distribution of months in a year does indeed make the commencement of “summer season” feel oddly delayed, and yes, that makes for a doubly weird experience when I’m not actually tackling seasonal anime in these things. But chill out, live a little, let’s just try and enjoy what summer we’ve got left. I’m currently enjoying that delightful New England combination of extreme heat and humidity mixed with oppressive gray skies, meaning the air conditioners are working hard and the movie screenings are plentiful. Today I’ve got wuxia classics, Italian pulp goodness, and even some actual anime, with my house proving ill-equipped to defend against Bastard!!’s gleeful absurdity. Let’s run ‘em down!
Category Archives: Week in Review
Spring 2022 – Week 13 in Review
Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time! Today I am happy to report that this article actually has something of a binding philosophy, as all of its features fall within the same meta-franchise umbrella. This week saw us conducting a marathon of all the non-essential Alien films, skipping genuine classics Alien and Aliens, and instead commencing with Alien vs Predator. This theoretical heresy didn’t really bother me, though; frankly, I’ve probably seen those first two Alien films more than any other movies period, as they’ve both been favorites since adolescence. Alien will always be one of the greatest horror movies ever, and Aliens one of the peaks of action cinema – and as I get older, I can only better appreciate the deft, organic dialogue of Alien, the way its capitalist and sexual threats build off each other, or the masterful ebb and flow of Aliens’ propulsive run. The first two Alien films are essentially perfect, succeeding both as visceral entertainment and as embittered commentary on how capitalism will embrace any violation to perpetuate itself. So how do the other Alien features fare?
Spring 2022 – Week 12 in Review
Hello folks, and welcome on back to Wrong Every Time. Summer’s in full swing at this point, but predictably, I’m spending the better part of my free time indoors and preoccupied with a replay of Fire Emblem: Three Houses. I’m not really a musou fan, but the release of Three Hopes reminded me of just how much I loved Three Houses, and I certainly can’t say no to this mass infusion of new fanart. Unfortunately, in spite of my very best efforts, I’m currently just replaying the Black Eagles route. Look, it’s just really hard to betray Edel once you’ve already made that commitment, and also it’s pretty hard to recruit Bernie if she’s not already on your team. But fortunately for you all, my misadventures at Garreg Mach have been accompanied by an eclectic selection of screenings, and I’ve got plenty to say about all of them. Let’s run down the latest features in one more Week in Review!
Spring 2022 – Week 11 in Review
Hey folks, and welcome to Wrong Every Time. How’s everyone doing today? I’m currently attempting to will myself into writing up another article after this one, because goddamnit, that Current Projects list is not going to watch itself. But dubious productivity aside, I’m actually feeling pretty great at the moment, and looking forward to a jog later this afternoon. It’s becoming something of an annual tradition for me to start up one of those “couch to 5k” running plans in early spring, get pretty darn fit by the end of summer, and then squander my gains when it gets too damn cold out. I really should invest in a gym membership or something this winter, but as of now, I’m currently in the peak improvement segment of my fitness arc, which syncs up perfectly to the brief period of tolerable New England weather. Also I just received an extremely nice note from a long-time reader, which is, you know, day made right there. I know it can be intimidating to send messages to creators you like, but there is nothing more rewarding than hearing you made a positive impact in someone’s life. And don’t limit that courage to internet folks – we’re not on this ball for very long, and I’d say the best thing we can do with that time is to let people know they are loved.
Alright, I’m getting all mushy here and you folks don’t need any of that. I’ve sifted through my review sack and emerged with an interesting medley of features, with topics ranging from the apex of genetic engineering to the lawless drama of the old west. Let’s run down some movies!
Spring 2022 – Week 10 in Review
Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. You all doing okay this week? I’m personally feeling fan-fucking-tastic, having knocked out a couple of anxiety-provoking appointments late last week, and also just reveling in all the great shows we’ve been munching through recently. Anne of Green Gables and Sherlock Hound are simply wondrous slices of pre-Ghbili goodness, Star Driver embodies all that thorny thematic density that first enthralled me in anime, and even the ongoing Spy x Family is proving to be more charming and hilarious than I expected. You subscribers are treating me very well at the moment, and I only hope I can return the favor by suggesting some awesome films for you all. Without further ado, let’s burn down a fresh Week in Review!
Spring 2022 – Week 9 in Review
Hello everyone, and welcome on back to Wrong Every Time. You all doing okay? I’m frankly feeling a bit lethargic at the moment, but fortunately, my current tasks are largely mechanical ones. Just gotta write this here opening paragraph, find some screencaps for the week’s features, and plug it all into the CMS – perfect lazy afternoon work, after which I’ll be clearing my head with a nice jog. My own micro-moods aside, we’ve got quite an interesting collection of films this week, ranging from another Hitchcock classic to the original Top Gun. I can’t imagine I’ll be adding anything to the Top Gun discourse that hasn’t been rehashed a thousand times already, but I’d be a terrible reviewer if I let my intellectual redundancy stop me from opening my big fat mouth. Let’s start off with a tragic misfire from one of my favorite directors, as we burn through a fresh Week in Review!
Spring 2022 – Week 8 in Review
Hello folks, and welcome back to my small slice of the internet. Summer arrived in force this week, heralding ninety degree afternoons and a whole lot of general dampness. I’m not complaining, though; I’ll take oppressive heat over oppressive cold any day, and will be enjoying my newly walkable city until the next eight-month winter arrives. Boston is actually quite nice in the summer; we’ve got a wide array of public parks, Cambridge is essentially an urban college town, and we’re positively lousy with colonial architecture and monuments. I am in fact convincing myself to go for a walk as I type, so let’s wrap up this aimless preamble, and get to the real meat of the article. A new week has passed, some excellent films have been screened, and I’m eager to share my findings with you. Let’s get to it!
Spring 2022 – Week 7 in Review
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. This week I’ve been munching through a whole lot of comfort food, chewing my way through a variety of horror attractions, and also starting a new book simply because I wanted to read it. Everyone online seemed to love Gideon the Ninth, and so far I’m having a great time with it too, while also just savoring the feeling of reading for pleasure again. I know I’m the least appropriate person to impart this lesson, but you really do have to keep some of yourself for yourself, and not turn absolutely everything into content or profit. Of course, with me being me, I expect I’ll still be roused to ramble about Gideon once I’ve actually finished it – but for now, let’s just run through some fresh new films. Onward!
Spring 2022 – Week 6 in Review
Hey folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. It seems like spring has finally arrived in my neighborhood, so I hope you’re all enjoying the blissfully temperate weather as much as I am. I’ve also been feeling pretty upbeat about my article progress; I finished an essay I’d been poking at for weeks, knocked out a couple ambitious notes projects, and have got a sizable Why It Works column arriving next Monday. My bounty board is looking more manageable than it has in some time, and in the meantime, I’m still sneaking in as many films as I can to power-level my cinema stats. I started off this whole review business with full points in literature and not much else, so I’ve been doing my best to rush the cinema study endgame, and feeling just a tad more attuned to the breadth and history of film with each new article. Seeing connections and influences emerge in real time is an immensely satisfying process, and I’m doing my best to feed all that study back into my critical work. But for now, let’s just poke at some interesting films, as we run down one more Week in Review!
Spring 2022 – Week 5 in Review
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. I’ve currently got a post-Covid spring in my step, as well as a quiet sense of embarrassment about how much work I got done while I was trapped in quarantine. It turns out when you’re not allowed to socialize or even really leave your room, it’s not hard to keep working from the moment you wake up to the moment you lie back down. As a result, my article buffer has never looked healthier, I’ve finished my latest ambitious weekend project, and I even made some progress on cleaning my room. Well, a little progress. Look, if you’d seen it before, you’d appreciate it looks better now.
Dubious lifestyle habits aside, I’ve also got a fine stack of film reviews for you all, freshly plucked from my massive bag of takes. Let’s see what we’ve got in the latest Week in Review!