Rain splatters against the phone booth glass, drops falling like the embers of fireworks spiraling in the distance. Their trails are lit by an indistinct whirl of city lights, perhaps cars or fluorescent signs, made obscure and thus somehow entrancing, their uncertainty of form promising riches and wonders. The beads of water are like liquid jewels, a beautiful contrast against the soot-streaked interior. Two boys huddle inside, hungrily passing cigarettes between them, then inserting a screwdriver into the terminal. A waiting bag is filled with the phone’s bounty, loose coins a pale imitation of those glittering lights – but here in the city, all truly bright things are indistinct and out of reach.
Tag Archives: Film
Fall 2024 – Week 5 in Review
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. This week represents a new milestone in DnD’s ongoing invasion of my every waking moment, as we ran through our first twelve-hour session, running from three in the afternoon to way too fucking late in the goddamn morning. Assured by our guest DM (party leader of our first two campaigns, now playing second to my character in campaign three) that this would just be “a quick investigation followed by a Metal Gear Solid boat,” we found ourselves ten hours later in the midst of a fight with an unkillable barbarian, recreating the Vamp water battle in an actively sinking ship. I have lost control of my life.
That aside, this week also featured some excellent film screenings, alongside my conclusion of the beloved original Trigun. Let’s talk about all that!
Fall 2024 – Week 4 in Review
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am eager to finish this dang article and get the heck outside, as we’re apparently experiencing some sort of late-October summer reprise, with temperatures in the 70s even as the leaves fall from the trees. You gotta take what victories you can during our ongoing environmental collapse, but fortunately for you all, this unexpected bounty of perfect weather has not stopped me from huddling inside and watching movies all week. This week I’ve got epic adventures, sordid slashers, and also a gorgeous anime feature by a man who is rocketing up my list of favorite directors. Let’s break ‘em all down!
Fall 2024 – Week 3 in Review
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. This has been a grim week in currently airing anime, as Uzumaki’s second-episode production collapse was swiftly followed by the announcement that One Piece would be taking a six month hiatus. This delay is perfectly understandable given the franchise’s absurd string of film-quality episodes, but it also reduces my current viewing schedule from a healthy three productions to just Dandadan, which I’m not even sure I’m continuing anyway. Nonetheless, I will persevere in the way I always have: by continuing to watch lots of classic anime, and contenting myself with the enormous library of distinguished older productions still awaiting me. I’m nearly done with Trigun at this point, and still having a lovely time with it, but have of course also made time for my regular film features. Let’s break ‘em down!
Fall 2024 – Week 2 in Review
Hello folks, and welcome the heck back to Wrong Every Time. It’s been a dubious week in seasonal anime, as Uzumaki’s second episode demonstrated a total collapse in animation quality, while Dandadan’s premiere proved perhaps a touch too frantic and boner-centric for my delicate sensibilities. Nonetheless, I charge bravely onward in this media wilderness, consoled by the fact that there will always, always be more fantastic films for me to watch. We hit a couple significant ones this week, pairing one of the greatest achievements of film’s early years with an intriguing recent innovation in horror cinema. And I’ve also been filling in more gaps in my anime education, by munching through the first half of Trigun’s iconic original adaptation. I’ll have more to say on that once I’m through, but for now, let’s charge through some films!
Fall 2024 – Week 1 in Review
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. The fall anime season is now upon us, which for me means it’s time to look back on the summer season, and see if any of its brave contenders seem worthy of revisiting. I have to admit a certain nostalgia for putting my whole heart into some seasonal contender only for it to flame out spectacularly, but I’m afraid my heart can only take so much disappointment these days, and thus I generally employ the safer strategy of letting the race end and retroactively assessing the wreckage. Of course, all that personal philosophy goes out the window when money enters the equation, and thus I was happy to munch through the first episode of Hiroshi Nagahama’s Uzumaki adaptation for you faithful viewers. I’ll have a full notes article on that out soon, but for now, I present to you ravenous hounds a fresh trencher of film reflections. Let’s get to it!
Summer 2024 – Week 12 in Review
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. This week I hit another milestone in my reader projects, as I followed up my Evangelion episodic writeups with a piece on the final Rebuild film, attempting to put my many contradictory thoughts on this franchise revival to bed. I’m quite happy with the result, and also feel profoundly liberated in knowing that I might at long last have said everything I need to say about Evangelion. I’ve also been rewatching some One Piece and enjoying how damn good the show looks in its pre-time skip era, when absurd talents like Naoki Tate were actually regular contributors. The show continues to enrich my understanding of animation, offering more “hey, I recognize that animator” moments with each revisit. I’m still deciding on what my next major backlog project will be now that Sailor Moon is behind me, but in the meantime, I’m keeping busy as usual with film viewings. Let’s get to it!
Summer 2024 – Week 11 in Review
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. With my Sailor Moon journey almost completed and my housemate having returned from vacation, these last two weeks have seen us charging through a new Netflix arrival, the intriguing format blend that is Kevin Can Fuck Himself. The show combines three-camera sitcom and single-camera drama styles to a variety of interesting effects, and left me with a pile of thoughts for you all. We also indulged in some classic comfort food, checking out both a questionable Dolph Lundgren vehicle and a superior Argento feature. We’ve got lots of thoughts to get through, so let’s dive right into the Week in Review!
Summer 2024 – Week 10 in Review
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. With my housemate back from vacation, my progress through Sailor Moon’s final season has slowed precipitously, but I am determined to complete the journey! And though I miss Chibi Usa, if that’s the bargain that must be made to ditch Pegasus, I will make it gladly. Meanwhile, my house’s reassembly has facilitated a return to Strahd for our DnD group, wherein I continue to be deeply unimpressed with Chris Perkins’ approach to character design. Practically everyone I’ve come across in on-book DnD feels no more substantive than that guy in an RPG who says “there are many dangers in the forest” and exactly nothing else – even Strahd himself, who is allegedly the centerpiece of this campaign, is a tedious and superficial villain. Still, we are determined to conquer this foul land, and I’ll be sure to keep up my reports on our efforts to do so. In the meantime, let’s break down some films!
Summer 2024 – Week 9 in Review
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. This week I’ve been continuing my brave journey through Sailor Moon, completing Sailor Moon S and trekking perhaps two-thirds of the way through SuperS. It hasn’t always been easy; the episodic pleasures of hanging out with the girls remain a delight, but the overarching narrative has shifted from “tedious” to “actively aggravating,” with SuperS for some reason introducing a horse that Chibi Usa is in love with. The further I get into this series, the more an idea of a “manga-faithful remake” like Crystal seems utterly absurd to me; though Takeuchi built a fine initial template, basically all of her narrative ideas are a net negative, with the entirety of the show’s strength coming down to its adapted brilliance. I’m hoping the show’s final season has a better conceit than this goddamn horse, but in the meantime, we’ve got some films to get through. Let’s get to it!