i'm just a guy #1

Happy Friday - I have things to say.

Jun 10, 2022

Hiiiiiii,

Welcome to the first edition of “I’m Just a Guy”, a weekly entertainment newsletter brought to you by me. And who am I, I hear nobody asking? I’m literally just a guy with way too many thoughts and an insatiable need to share them. Literally, I do not shut the fuck up. Ever. But as of this week, people can now choose to subject themselves to what I have to say in a more organised fashion rather than be bombarded with it at every opportunity (apologies to my Discord server… and my Twitter followers… and my group chats…).

Anyway, another reason this newsletter is called “I’m Just a Guy” is because of that one quote from that one movie that everybody knows?

I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her

Notting Hill starring Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts. I have never actually seen this movie. I didn’t even know where it was from until I looked it up while writing this but it’s one of those quotes that’s on all those “Top 10 Most Romantic Movie Quotes” listicles.

Anyway, let’s get on with what you’re here for. Free opinions.

This Week’s Roster:

Men (2022). dir Alex Garland

Alright, so this movie was bad. I’m just putting it out there right away, this movie was bad. Do not go and see this movie. Or at least, don’t pay for it. While Jessie Buckley acted her ASS off the whole time and I was genuinely invested in her character’s survival/redemption - it was impossible to really get behind a concept so absurd that also offered absolutely nothing else.

TW for mention of suicide, domestic violence

While Men certainly takes the opportunity to depict issues such as male suicide, mental health issues and domestic violence - it doesn’t really offer up anything to say about any of them. The horror content of the movie also didn’t really say much, it was just fucking weird. It feels like the whole movie was just: men are bad. It was a festival of violence and trauma against a woman to show just how bad men are. And then also a bunch weird fucking body horror shit. And a kind of glaring message that implied all men are the same.

I thought, maybe I’m missing something here but I don’t think so. The movie had a chance to maybe start to unpack our ideas about masculinity and the societal expectations of men but instead it was just weird and kind of horrible. And to be honest, it didn’t really do anything positive for women either because all the main character did was suffer and nothing was resolved. Basically, the best part of the movie was Jessie Buckley singing into a tunnel.

Ultimately, Men was a faux feminist freak fest that offered absolutely nothing in the way of any kind of commentary on men, women or otherwise. It’s a damn shame too since I enjoyed the director’s other work:

TV Show: New Amsterdam (2018-present)

Oh boy.

So, I was going to watch Love Island this week but I just truly couldn’t bring myself to do it. Um, maybe next year? Instead, I decided that rewatching Grey’s Anatomy wasn’t enough: I needed something worse.

New Amsterdam is a medical drama starring some guy I think I recognise from like 90210 and Martha Jones from Doctor Who.

I’ve only watched three episodes so far but the first episode alone was enough to let me know I was in for a wild fucking ride. Now, this is gonna contain major spoilers for the pilot but I think you just have to hear it to understand how insane it is.

So, we open with a new medical director joining and he fires the whole cardiac department and hires 50 new attendings, gets rid of the waiting room and basically makes it clear he is here to Shake Shit Up. And this guy is annoying as HELL but stay with me because you might miss something crazy. All on the same day we have the following people in the hospital: a kid with suspected Ebola (who was also apparently sent from ISIS); a woman literally in rigor mortis who wasn’t dead but instead had a tumour that was gonna kill her and her last wish was to see her family but that was a whole problem because she and her husband were illegal immigrants and they’d be arrested if they went back; an extremely vulnerable teenager who has been through horrific abuse causing problems in the hospital; AND the main character gets diagnosed with cancer while his pregnant wife comes into the hospital with complications. And every single episode is like this so far. This show does not. miss. a. beat. If you blink, you’ll miss some other insane storyline. I’m pretty sure I still missed something.

Anyway, I think I’ll keep watching this cos I feel like its just gonna get crazier and I crave that kind of drama. Check out this patient storyline from Season 1, Episode 3 that convinced me to watch:

Anime: Spy x Family

ohhhhmigosh this anime is so cute and funny and wholesome and I just need you to watch it right now. Seriously, I love it so much - it makes me laugh and cry every week. I’m even considering getting a tattoo of one of the main characters.

It’s about spy who has to form a fake family and unbeknownst to him, picks a telepath and an assassin. The only one that knows whats going on is the telepath… who is literally a child. It’s available on Crunchyroll or y’know, other places where you can watch anime. I haven’t watched the dub so I can’t attest to the English voice acting but the sub is super fun. The comedic timing from Anya is just perfect. This is my favourite anime right now!

Game: Diablo Immortal

As much as people are shitting on this game for its monetization… I’m having a pretty good time playing it.

Diablo Immortal is a mobile game (although the open beta is available on PC too) that’s an MMORPG version of the beloved Diablo series. While the free to play content is enough for someone such as myself who has never played through to the end game or played seasonal character on Diablo III (Immortal might as well be my first Diablo game), Diablo Immortal hasn’t seemed to sit well with fans of the franchise. Probably due to the heavily applied mobile game business model that the game follows that ruins the grind when you can just pay to get better rewards. And while that may not matter for someone like me, playing just to play, it has been a huge turn off for a lot of people.

While I don’t necessarily condone how many micro-transactions Blizzard are adding to their games these days, I do also believe the game is an enjoyable free to play experience. But, I totally get that it kind of ruins the classic Diablo experience of being able to freely run rifts for legendary gear etc.

If you’re looking for a fresh new Diablo experience, you might as well wait for Diablo 4 and if you’re looking for a Diablo shaped, FREE MMORPG you may as well play Lost Ark instead. However, if you’ve never played Diablo and don’t care for the loot aspect but just a fun mobile game experience, I’d give Diablo Immortal a try.

Music: MAYFLY by Frost Children

In the last like 6 months or so, I’ve really gotten into the hyperpop subculture of music. Artists like 100 gecs, LustSickPuppy and siouxxie sixxsta have been staples in my everyday listening for a while but most recently, Brooklyn based sibling duo Frost Children and their “bratty, techno-punk attitude” have joined the rotation.

MAYFLY from their latest album SPIRAL goes hard. Seriously, this song slaps. It’s just so much fun to listen to, I find myself always coming back to it or even just listening to it on repeat. It makes me wanna dance and the group’s unique sound just leaves you craving more. Like some kind of drug, Frost Children’s music is addictive.

I love Frost Children, their song FOXBOP is another favourite of mine. I really enjoy the different vocal textures and the bass lines is super funky. Check out the rest of their album SPIRAL.

I think that’s everything I have a pressing opinion about this week. Honestly, if you got this far - thank you so much. Have a great weekend and you’ll hear from me next week.

Reid

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i'm just a guy