Lights Out is an oldie but a goodie horror short. Could do without

at the end though.

Curve is another really good short that builds a sense dread and hopelessness. No cheap jumpscares, overused tropes (looking at you overly exaggerated smiles), or complicated lore. Just good old fashion universal horror.

Personally I’ve not experienced any problems but that’s likely because I’ve got an old phone with a old version of Android.

One of the tech YouTubers I like a lot did an in depth look at alternative launchers to Nova in this video.

Frank to Dee: There is nothing more threatening to a man than a woman who is smart and attractive. We have to pretend you’re both!

Everything All at Once by Bill Nye

The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton

=

Bill Nye must solve a series of mysterious crimes including theft, witch hunts, and murder on a 17th century East Indiaman ship. I’d read the heck out of that.

The original Jurassic Park. Crazy to think that movie came out in 1993, over 32 years ago.

Without trying to spoil too much, these movies (loosely) fit your request:

• The Dark Knight
• The Godfather
• Lord of the Rings

The trope you’re looking for is either Fallen Heroes or Corrupting Influences. TVTropes and this Fandom wiki are good sources.

So many people aren’t listing their hobbies (though many of them are guessable).

Gaming has been a hobby of mine for decades now. I love that it pushed me into other relevant niche hobbies, like mechanical keyboards, audiophile/headphones, desk accessories, and other random tech, though these were mostly only to a beginner’s level.

I also learned how to do basic soldering but that’s more being interested in electronics than in gaming. You could make the argument that gaming made me interested in technology in general.

I’d disagree on Pedro Pascal"s performance. I thought he did an excellent job as Joel. He was nominated across multiple awards for that role.

As for the movie/character you mentioned, I had never heard of it but will check it out. I’m assuming you mean the 1984 version which seems to have better audience reviews than the 2024 Netflix TV series adaptation.

Fair. I’d say the bond between Joel and Ellie is wholesome in a world that everything and everyone is out to get them.

Wrote this in another thread but I love the found family trope and Spy x Family totally fits that bill. I wrote a few other examples below.

Movies

• Logan
• Ice Age
• Wild Robot
• Up
• Despicable Me

Shows

• The Last of Us
• The Mandalorian
• The Witcher
• Daddy Buddy (this one is an anime on Crunchyroll. I highly recommend this if you liked Spy x Family. Revolves around 2 assassins who accidentally wind up with a 4 year old)

• When I’m in command, every mission is a suicide mission.
• [introducing himself] I am the man with no name. Zapp Brannigan at your service.
• Brannigan’s Law is like Brannigan’s love: hard and fast.

Oh that’s really funny. Never knew that about Del Toro. He has good taste

Yeah when I got to that issue and heard McLain’s GLaDOS voice again I was so happily surprised! Totally caught me off guard in a good way. Made it much harder to assimilate them back into Delmer.

Didn’t know that. That’s pretty cool!

Some of my favorites:

• GLaDOS from Portal 1+2: Ellen McClain did such a fantastic job balancing a monotonous robotic tone with human emotions and adding subtle glitches to show not everything was 100% alright. She defined what a female robot voice should sound like for that decade. I saw that Stephen Merchant was mentioned and while his performance was good and Wheatley’s character was hilarious, I think McLain’s performance as GLaDOS was more original and memorable.
• Narrator from The Stanley Parable: Kevan Brighting was arguably the protagonist of the game and the player was the annoying mob to him. As the only chacter with dialogue in the entire walking sim game, he had to carry almost the entire game’s story, personality, and charm all through his voice. And it’s honestly so fun how disappointed, annoyed, and exasperated he gets when the player refuses to listen.
• The Joker from Batman Arkham Asylum: This one is cheating cause Mark Hamill has played The Joker in almost every modern animated medium available. Still, there’s a reason his version is so iconic. It’s just so bittersweet that he refuses to ever voice The Joker again since Kevin Conroy, the VA for his Batman passed away.

Edit: After reviewing my list, it seems like I like offscreen narrators who insult the player. How funny

Just realized this is likely the original version of that 80s movie, Three Men and a Baby, which I also need to see

I guess it’s more of a trope than a genre but it was what I first thought about. Most of the genres I enjoy aren’t guilty pleasures since I don’t have any guilt in liking them.

Found family movies and shows, however, make me feel a little guilty since my parents weren’t necessarily but more emotionally distant. So it’s like a tinge of sadness when watching them.

Yeah that looks like right up my alley. Thanks!

Gotta be found family movies, particularly if the parental figure didn’t want the responsibility in the first place or if they’re clueless, gruff, and/or emotionally not prepared for a child.

So movies like Logan, Ice Age, Wild Robot, Up, or Despicable Me and shows like The Last of Us, The Mandalorian, Game of Thrones (Arya and the Hound), and The Witcher.

I was trying to think of more found family mother shows and movies and honestly couldn’t think of more. Most of the ones involving women that I could find are of friend groups or there was no hesitation to pretty much adopt the child.

I’ve got 2 groups of 2 friends each that I keep in touch with every 2-3 months. Well, one friend lives about a 8 hour car ride away so I only see her actually about once a year. We always have to plan at least 2 weeks if not a month in advance for meet ups but we still all make the effort.

I think that’s the hardest part is finding people who are worth the effort and are willing to make the effort in return. What I find works for my friends who are pretty different from each other is to find shared interests and do that. One group likes trying new places to eat and going shopping (a lot of times are H-Mart and Daiso). The other likes to watch movies and the review them together.