The Ugly Monster (Oscar)

"Everything is politics...You don't get to make art in a fascist state"

CMAT delivering, mar is gnách. 👏

(Same goes for sport btw)

#Speirgorm

Carol in ‘Pluribus’ Was Written For Me A few things I learned about life and storytelling from a streaming show I’m pretty sure is about me💁‍♀️

"Trying to navigate having progressive and humanistic beliefs amidst a wave of faux-unified, nationalistic fascism often feels like standing on the tarmac in front of Air Force One with my arms outstretched."

#NoPaywall #Pluribus

medium.com/theuglymonst...

Every villain imagines that they are actually the hero Your antagonist’s motivations are just as important as your hero’s

"But then there are those who are doing the wrong things for what they believe is the right reason. These are the characters that are, in their own internal monologues, the heroes brave enough to do what no one else would."

#writing #booksky #NoPaywall

‘Soul Calibur III’ is the Ideal Single-Player Fighting Game I’ve always had an interest in the fighting game genre but I could never quite get into it, and believe me, I’ve tried.

"...fighting games are pretty bad at providing good value in single player. NetherRealm Studios is the only major developer that tries..."

#gaming #SoulCalibur

medium.com/theuglymonst...

‘DIE: Metadungeon’ is the End-All, Be-All of Roleplaying Games This TTRPG ABOUT TTRPGs might trigger apocalyptic discourse

"The discourse is endless. System doesn’t matter. If you hack or reskin a game, you’re not playing right. D&D can be reskinned to run any genre. Murder hobos are bad. Vampire: The Masquerade should have stayed dead."

#TTRPGs

medium.com/theuglymonst...

Dark Aether’s Top 10 Anime of 2025 An out-of-this world anthology, holiday-bending shows and the long anticipated conclusion to a beloved series lead 2025’s best anime

"2025 was another odd year for the anime industry, and not necessarily for the right reasons."

#NoPaywall

medium.com/theuglymonst...

The Thin Red Line — “Every film about war ends up being pro-war” Terrence Malick #3

"The Thin Red Line is an epic in a traditional Hollywood sense. It is a War Epic in a more precise sense. Neither of these labels do the film justice."

#movies #GiftArticle

medium.com/theuglymonst...

A Love Letter to ‘Katana Zero’ ‘Katana Zero’ pushes a strong anti-war and anti-violence message

"Through its narrative, ‘Katana Zero’ pushes a strong anti-war and anti-violence message, which is both its greatest irony and its greatest strength."

#gaming #NoPaywall

medium.com/theuglymonst...

Jin-Roh: A Tragic Love Story About the Loss of Humanity When a man and a woman meet in the worst place at the worst time

"...Fuse is a “wolf” and Kei is “Little Red Riding Hood”."

#anime

medium.com/theuglymonst...

A love letter to the Pokédex Or an obituary to another gadget replaced by the multipurpose smartphone

30 years of #pokemon and only about 23 years of my beloved Pokédex. Smartphones replace all gadgets, even inside video game worlds.

Picture of Marjane Satrapi alongside a quote from her. The quote reads: The world is not divided into countries. The world is not divided between East and West. You are American, I am Iranian, we don't know each other, but we talk together and we understand each other perfectly. The difference between you and your government is much bigger than the difference between you and me. And the difference between me and my government is much bigger than the difference between me and you. And our governments are very much the same... - Marjane Satrapi, Iranian-French graphic novelist

Thinking about this quote from Persepolis creator Marjane Satrapi again.

‘Cold Storage’ Is a Fun, Forgettable Contagion Comedy David Koepp’s script, adapted from his novel of the same name, balances levity and tension surprisingly well (with a few exceptions)

"The biggest downside of this film, surprisingly, is (Liam) Neeson’s presence, with Robert’s straight man attitude making him neither amusing nor menacing."

#movies

medium.com/theuglymonst...

This Game Destroys Your D&D Books ‘Game Lamprey’ is about revenge

"...heavy rules don’t equate to good games."

#TTRPG #gaming #GiftArticle

medium.com/theuglymonst...

‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ and the Nature of Colonial Violence James Cameron abandons all nuance for revolutionary fervour

"The ‘Avatar’ saga has never been well known for its originality, but I think it is here...that Cameron transcends his clichés, tropes, and shortcomings to make a valiant statement."

#scifi #movies

medium.com/theuglymonst...

‘Wuthering Heights’ is Afraid of Being Cruel For all the anticipation of this adaptation’s sexual content, it is safe and sugary-sweet in the most meaningful ways

"Even when this version of Cathy had been onscreen for almost two hours, I still found it difficult to look past the actress and glimpse her character, something that has never been an issue in any of her other films."

#WutheringHeights #MargotRobbie

medium.com/theuglymonst...

Six-sided
Eight-sided
Ten-sided
Twelve-sided

Four-sided was abolished due to insufficient diversity of results.

‘DIE: Metadungeon’ is the End-All, Be-All of Roleplaying Games This TTRPG ABOUT TTRPGs might trigger apocalyptic “discourse”

"Megadungeons are more of a fantasy thing, so I don’t mess with them often. They also sound exceedingly boring. But a METAdungeon — a dungeon about the history of roleplaying games — is definitely my brand."

#Medium #GiftArticle

medium.com/theuglymonst...

‘Hades II’ Evolves the Roguelike How this genre-defining sequel shatters all the expectations for roguelike games

"Every run felt truly different to me. I was changing my weapons, changing the buffs I used, and interacting with different characters each time to make it a fresh experience."

#gaming #Hades2

medium.com/theuglymonst...

‘Silver Daze’: Trapped in a Game, Avoiding the Future Time freezes as life is about to change forever. Will you fight to restore it or choose to stay in the past?

"Despite the extraordinary situation, the root problems and personal issues each person has going on are extremely relatable. There is a way to see a part of yourself through many of the characters."

#retrogaming #indiegame

medium.com/theuglymonst...

Ich bin (ein) Ausländer

these days "Ich bin Amerikaner"

🎶when they come to ethnically cleanse me
will you speak up, will you defend me
or laugh thru a glass-eye as they r*pe our rights?
*trampled underfoot by the rise of the Right*🎶

Blood, Irony, and the Mistake that Changed Film Forever The bloodiest strike was executed by a character espousing nonviolence

"...the violence of Kurosawa films is clearly not romanticized. It is treated more as an unfortunate fact of the time than as a skill or art once cultivated by warriors. It is called butchery rather than swordsmanship."

#Japanese #filmmaking

medium.com/theuglymonst...

Inhabiting the Death Dealers: Fullmetal Alchemist’s Uncomfortable Heroes — and Why They Work On war, culture, morality, and pain

"We have Barry the Chopper who...becomes a soul grafted to a suit of armor, much like Alphonse is. He’s goofy. He’s endearing for being somewhat of a bumbling idiot. He is also unabashedly a serial killer."

#FullmetalAlchemist #GiftArticle

medium.com/theuglymonst...

Inhabiting the Death Dealers: Fullmetal Alchemist’s Uncomfortable Heroes — and Why They Work On war, culture, morality, and pain

"It is, ultimately, a feel-good meditation on the power of collective action. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood ends on a high note of personal and collective triumph."

#anime

medium.com/theuglymonst...

Tom Hanks screams as he looks at something off-screen while in a cave.

I think it's time for a remake of Mazes & Monsters.

‘Cold Storage’ Is a Fun, Forgettable Contagion Comedy David Koepp’s script, adapted from his novel of the same name, balances levity and tension surprisingly well (with a few exceptions)

"There are two films at war with one another in Cold Storage — a silly, fast-paced, light-on-its-feet action comedy and a broad, sentimental character piece."

#horror #Medium

medium.com/theuglymonst...

The Tiring Discourse of “Wuthering Heights” Why does this have value for you?

"The “let people enjoy things” miasma is being studied to death."

#WutheringHeights #media #literacy

medium.com/theuglymonst...

Rich people ruin everything.

Superman meets Daggerheart, DIE, and FIST The Man of Steel will save everyone, even not-very-good dogs

"They want CNN way more than the entertainment IPs, but I’m sure they’d find time to ruin what their owners probably consider a “woke” Superman."

#WarnerBros #Paramount #TTRPGs

medium.com/theuglymonst...

Where did cozy fantasy come from? Cozy fantasy as an antidote to the grimdark days

"The idea behind this comfy subgenre is telling fantasy stories that slow down and linger in settings like The Shire rather than moving on to world-saving quests and perilous journeys to Mordor."

#booksky #writingcommunity #NoPaywall #cozyfantasy

‘Nickel Boys’ Unearths the Ugliness Buried Within America This film is not just about one particularly abusive correctional school

"The legacy of the land of freedom and dreams is built on and steeped in the suffering of the subaltern. In the case of ‘Nickel Boys’ it is Black Americans."

medium.com/theuglymonst...