Bluesky 2025 Media Thread

1. Akira (1988) Oh I did not know this movie was like this. I didn't know it wasn't more about motorcycles and urban dystopia than it was about body horror as a metaphor for the dangers and immorality of militarized science. I thought it was an Alita-like, not a Godzilla-like. Oh. it was alright

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— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) January 1, 2025 at 11:27 PM

i probably wouldn't have picked this as the first thing i consume in the new year if I knew that but at least the animation was very impressive to see

— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) January 1, 2025 at 11:28 PM

Replying to a friend's remark that it deserves its hype as a classic, but still felt lacking:

we were discussing it afterwards and it is pretty plain as day when it's all laid out, huh. Maybe we've just heard it one too many times. & I couldn't even really find myself drawn to the characters, because Tetsuo sucks and Kaneda is rather basic. If anything the colonel was the most compelling

— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) January 1, 2025 at 11:38 PM

A fun movie to marvel at but the other aspects fall flat even compared to others from its time period I've gone back to watch, but maybe that is my preference as someone that likes character-driven focus, over this which seemed to almost throw away their characters as it spiralled out of control

— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) January 1, 2025 at 11:39 PM

2. Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) Wonderful movie I missed out on. Beautiful attention to detail and a great classic style of story done very well. Some of the acting was ofc a little ham for the kids, and the ending story beats get a bit disney, but I enjoyed it a lot. Also, hardest opening line

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— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) January 2, 2025 at 11:41 PM

Funny story if you manage to navigate my hellish use of bluesky's threading capabilities, we were supposed to watch Battle Royale or Ichi the Killer tonight, but we had an 11 year old with us. Funniest pivot. I think he was bored as a result, though.

— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) January 2, 2025 at 11:45 PM

3. Perfect Blue (1997) What shouldn't have surprised me was how thoughtful a look it was into still ever-so-real problems regarding fame, esp. for japanese idols and actresses. What I should have expected was how deeply unsettling it would get through anxiety made manifest in a Satoshi Kon work.

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— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) January 9, 2025 at 1:12 AM

What really struck me was the seamless transition from a dark exploration of the other side of fame into a genuine psychological horror. By the end I wasn't sure whose mind we were in, whose psychosis was really being depicted. It all became a blur as everything came to a head. Great film.

— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) January 9, 2025 at 1:12 AM

4. Silicon Valley, S1 (2014) Terrible people grasping at success in the worst reflection of the uselessness of the tech world, a view that has only gotten more accurate 10 years later. A little stereotypical at times of the demographic, but hardly wrong. I've never been so angry while laughing.

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— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) February 20, 2025 at 1:47 AM

Posts from before I remembered I had a media thread:

related to that last share, I watched S1 of Silicon Valley over my recent flights, and I gotta say it was simultaneously infuriating and validating to watch a show that really understood how bereft of common sense the tech industry is, a crapshoot orchestrated by idiots with billions of dollars

— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) February 20, 2025 at 1:29 AM

The most hyperbolic aspects of it were all too true. The coders with heads up their asses finding more success than people just trying to live off their hobbies, the executives moving money without any regard for the people around them, the endless platitudes and cope that your work betters humanity

— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) February 20, 2025 at 1:31 AM

Post-post thoughts

Had a couple more thoughts here too before remembering this thread I think what strikes me the most is how it's almost like a farce, a parody of real life, but may as well be truth the way tech visibly fails forward yet runs our economy (and my patience) into the ground

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— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) February 20, 2025 at 1:47 AM

They kept doing this one bit in particular where guys presenting to the audience would pointedly say "we're making the world a better place, through [incomprehensible word salad]". It really made you believe this machine is propelled by good intentions mangled by the process into a marketing tool

— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) February 20, 2025 at 1:54 AM

and that SUCKS, but it's also why I think it's not just hilarious as a farce, but a an actually poignant parody and social commentary. They managed to do all that without simply saying it's bad, but showing people trying to hold onto their humanity as they persist in the humanity mangling machine.

— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) February 20, 2025 at 1:54 AM

5. ENA: Dream BBQ Chapter 1 (2025) It's Really good It plays exactly like Joel G's faux-game ENA animations feel like they should play. And despite the surrealism, the progression still makes sense to a player The animation is wild and varied and top notch and the voice acting is a delight play it

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— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) March 29, 2025 at 10:07 PM

It's hard to come up with words for something that is just so unique I can't talk about it relative to anything else, but I think it's exactly that quality that tapped into a sense of wonder and unknowing that you'd irrevocably lose after decades of experiencing media. In fact. I don't want to know.

— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) March 29, 2025 at 10:13 PM

But it's not just Random. There is a calculated quality to the strange word choice, the real basis of the designs, the actual game layout and the way everything is presented. It's carefully laid out like a proper art piece, pulling on facets of internet-era sensibilities that are rarely explored

— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) March 29, 2025 at 10:22 PM

and all these words might as well apply to the animations up on youtube too, I just never really... put those words anywhere before now. I suppose I'm sorry and you're welcome, timeline

— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) March 29, 2025 at 10:22 PM

6. Girls Band Cry (2024) Finally. To parrot many others, we're in a girl band anime renaissance, and I think more than ever that makes one like this so special. It's raw and real and full of punk rock soul, without losing what makes the genre charming (and also completely selling me on 3DCG anime)

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— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) April 14, 2025 at 3:35 AM

I started this months ago and spaced it out intentionally because I felt each episode was so packed full of emotional catharsis that I'd be gorging myself to binge it in just a few days. And while the final two episodes actually felt more like an epilogue, I'm glad it ended the way it did-

— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) April 14, 2025 at 3:35 AM

-because this mirrors a real-life band, and even if it's just a fantasy parallel, their story has only just started too. And I thought the stories it did tell had a kind of nuance I'd usually expect to have the edges shaved off, and it made the drama feel all the more real and relatable throughout.

— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) April 14, 2025 at 3:35 AM

Imperfect, even heavily flawed characters, poor decisions, regrets and frustrations and venting and holding onto grudges that shape who you are and where you are going. I love stories like these, that aren't really about how to become a better person, but how to decide who you are at all.

— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) April 14, 2025 at 3:35 AM

(I feel like I have a lot more to say but I'm a year late to a very recent party and others have already said it so much better than I could. Like how gay it is. It is very gay)

— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) April 14, 2025 at 3:35 AM

7. Uma Musume Pretty Derby, S1 (2018) In the spirit of Horse Season, which it apparently has been lately around here. Definitely a show with a bit of a comfort curve to get into the setting, but I had a great time legitimately on the edge of my seat during the races. It conveys the action so well.

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— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) May 4, 2025 at 11:08 PM

I have seen snippets of how hard later seasons can go, so it was nice seeing the most "basic" of what the series has to offer holds up really well. For a sports-and-idol-adjacent show, I think they did well not softballing when it comes to the protagonists earning their wins (and especially losses).

— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) May 4, 2025 at 11:08 PM

Ignoring a cynical angle that they have to play up every character's uniqueness to sell people on the gacha, each mini-arc played on aspects I really like about competition-based anime - how everyone is their own protagonist, there are always winners and losers, the spirit of rivalry.

— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) May 4, 2025 at 11:08 PM

But who cares about themes and media analysis, right The important question is: did I come out of this with a favorite horse? ...Maybe. I need to watch the other seasons.

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— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) May 4, 2025 at 11:08 PM

Sometimes after deciding all the words to put down about something I realize I shaved off too much of my actual feelings, so I just want to tack on the end here: I thought it was very sweet!! Everyone supporting each other was a tear jerker!! Anime horses are cute. Thank you and good night

— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) May 5, 2025 at 12:10 AM

8. Pokemon: Jirachi: Wish Maker (English, 2004) Felt a little nostalgic and watched with my nephew for the first time. Was a notch goofier dubbed, but we wanted that. I was initially puzzled about the overall message of the movie, but the more I think about it the more I think I see the vision.

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— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) May 20, 2025 at 2:50 PM

The movie makes less sense the more face-value you take it, and admittedly as we watched, the early 00's dub definitely took us out of the mood to do any serious reading between the lines. And without that, as a wish-granting macguffin, Jirachi doesn't do its job very well at all

— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) May 20, 2025 at 2:50 PM

But its other themes around Tanabata and comets, short-lived meetings, separation, and once-in-a-lifetime events, is actually put together quite well through the several different aspects of the movie. It actually ends up turning the climax into the least interesting part, thematically.

— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) May 20, 2025 at 2:50 PM

My shallow ass did just think the delivery was more funny than it was heartwarming in the moment, though. But it did make me feel like a kid again watching something I probably would have went nuts over back when it first came out, had I watched it. I miss Hoenn.

— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) May 20, 2025 at 2:50 PM

9. Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) I've always loved this film, but it's been so long that the rewatch felt like new, in more ways than one. The animation, the acting, the pacing, and the end to end storytelling is still top of its class. Even the 3D was shockingly good.

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— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) June 2, 2025 at 4:49 PM

I don't want to be nostalgia-baiting too much, but this was the kind of golden age Disney Original that current era didney tries to recreate in a lab. Quirky but diverse and likeable cast, punchy humor that hits without being forced (usually. sorry Mole), fast developments with emotional payoff,

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— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) June 2, 2025 at 4:49 PM

...though I recall it wasn't immune to the half-assed sequel curse, even back then, but I didn't see that and I don't think I need to. The movie stands alone as a great open and shut story, and it almost literally presents itself in such a way too - a rarity today for various reasons.

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— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) June 2, 2025 at 4:49 PM

I don't want to spend the whole retrospective here harping on how bad things have gotten or whatever, because it also stands the test of time as everything that good short stories still are even today. It genuinely had a lot of heart, and you could feel it in every single frame of animation.

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— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) June 2, 2025 at 4:49 PM

It's a simple story told well, of wonder and morality and determination to do right for whom or what you cherish. And it was only like, an hour long. I had to find other stuff to do on that 2 hour flight, and I almost just watched it again instead. 2001 out of 10.

— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) June 2, 2025 at 4:49 PM

10. Just Go with It (2011) Don't ever tell me I'm not being honest about curating the media in this list. I'm putting everything on here, from the cinematic masterpieces to some shit I watched while bored in a hotel room without on-demand. I'll let you figure out which one of those this was.

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— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) June 2, 2025 at 5:14 PM

This movie sucked in a way that almost seemed BEHIND its time, even as far back as 2011. Everyone in this movie sucked shit, and I'm not just saying this as a moral backdoor to not have an opinion on it beyond that. Because, sometimes you want to watch rich people fuck up their own lives. However,

— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) June 2, 2025 at 5:14 PM

...it's not even very good at that. Don't hold your breath waiting for me to call its inability to karmically punish its cast a failing, because actually I think that's a hallmark of Adam Sandler films. You don't get the satisfaction of the comeuppance because there is no room for it. Listen.

— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) June 2, 2025 at 5:14 PM

The premise of the film already makes it clear. This entire thing is a juggling act, a setup for a grand farce between two compulsive and petty liars. They're made for each other because they're doomed to have everything else collapse in around them. But halfway through, they drop it. All of it.

— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) June 2, 2025 at 5:14 PM

All that setup. Setting the stage for a hilarious collision as every lie they upheld explodes in on them. But that's not what they wanted. They wanted a cute over-the-hill adult love story, at the end. Between people with basically zero chemistry outside of keeping each other's secrets.

— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) June 2, 2025 at 5:14 PM

Even Sandler's winning trait, the thing that made Jennifer Aniston go shoujo bubbles bites lip type shit, was explicitly a lie! He bribed her kids to pretend to have fun around him!! SHE HAS TO KNOW. HE DOES THIS. The last half was the LEAST comedic so you'd have extra clarity for how bad it sucks

— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) June 2, 2025 at 5:14 PM

Whatever though. You can have fun watching any garbage if you're bored enough, and I was approximately exactly as mad as I am recounting it now so it was a good vent. I can't un-recommend it enough, though. I take back what I probably said once about appreciating bad movies. You don't have to.

— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) June 2, 2025 at 5:14 PM

11. DELTARUNE Ch. 3-4 (2025) Enough time has passed, so I will finally say it. Tobias Fox has done it again. I initially was going to write post after post all of my thoughts on this like usual, but it turned out way, way too long. So I'll just post some disparate highlights. Minor spoilers!

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— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) June 20, 2025 at 3:26 AM

Chapter 3's entire aesthetic was immaculate. Fully and completely immersed in the NES-style couch co-op experience (especially THAT aspect of it) and I loved everything about all the other minigames, which were all fun as hell!! Plus I'm especially fond of Tenna's animated gif lookin' ass

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— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) June 20, 2025 at 3:26 AM

Maybe due to the nature of everything starting from the end of Chapter 3 into all of Chapter 4, the soundtrack was extra rich this time. Hype moments with the boss themes of course, but also damned good tracks from all three Sanctuary BGM's and the Old Man themes. It's like a different game.

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— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) June 20, 2025 at 3:26 AM

I was also extra impressed this time by the dialogue. Not just the humor, which I could always count on, but the tone setting even just from casual chatter. As the writing leans into heavier aspects it's no surprise, but it's like a layer of depth that was uncovered rather than slathered on top.

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— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) June 20, 2025 at 3:26 AM

At every turn I'm shocked at just how much thought was given in a meta sense to the player, reacting to very specific things you'd do, just because it knows its players are detail-oriented enough to notice. This has always been a hallmark of Toby's game design and it's what makes these so special.

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— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) June 20, 2025 at 3:26 AM

It's such a good game. I finished it in about 2 or 3 days, secrets and all, but it's been occupying my thoughts ever since, with nowhere to dump them without massive spoilers. I still can't, and I won't, because I might ruin it for even one person and that would be a huge loss. Can't wait for 2026.

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— Hat (@drestlemare.neocities.org) June 20, 2025 at 3:26 AM