My September 2024 Media Diet
The past month saw the release of my new app, Scoot. It is always a humbling experience launching a new app on the App Store with a very limited social media following. Not many downloads at the moment but I think this app is some of my best work to date. I built Scoot for my girlfriend and that will be enough to keep it in development for a while but I really hope other people check it out!
If by some crazy chance you’re reading this and are in the market for (or know someone who might be) a journey tracker similar to Strava, but without all of the social media elements and the pseudo pressure to over perform, give Scoot a look.
Here’s what I’ve been watching over the top of my MacBook’s screen while banging my head against Xcode this path month:
📺 Terminator Zero. Terminator anime with an AI that is humanity’s last defense against SkyNet. I think it’s a pretty great premise and was executed quite well. Looking forward to season 2. (👍)
📺 Critical Role: Exandria Unlimited Calamity. Brennen Lee Mulligan is an amazing game master but I’m realizing that I like Dimension 20’s lighter, funnier flavor of D&D.
📺 The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. I love The Lord of the Rings. I really do. I’m also really struggling to stay interested in this show and that makes me sad.
🍿 Beetlejuice. Still a classic, still entertaining. Nothing like this gets made anymore.
🍿 Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Exactly what you think it is. It had a few fun moments, but was filled with modern cinema bloat that made this installment pale in comparison to the lean script that the first movie stuck to.
🍿 Sideways. Saw this one a long time ago and realized I didn’t remember much about it. It’s pretty good and worth your time, tho there’s about 15 minutes that could be cut.
🍿 Bottle Shock. I guess we were on a wine movie kick and didn’t even realize it?
🍿 The Watchers. Trash. I wanted this to be something that it wasn’t. The reveal of what the watchers were was incredibly underwhelming.
🍿 I Saw the TV Glow. Man I really wanted to like this one. I really did. I put off watching it for a while because I was going to watch it with a friend but unfortunately that didn’t happen. The soundtrack was good, the message was a little ham fisted.
🍿 Watchmen: Chapter I. Comic book accurate animated version of the same Watchmen story (or half of it anyway) you know and love. Nothing here will surprise you but maybe that’s why it’s enjoyable?
🍿 Rebel Ridge. I’m writing this about a week after I watch it and I’m realizing that I don’t remember too much about it other than it was about 30 minutes too long and felt like a spinoff of Jack Reacher.
🕹️ Pico Park. We had a great time playing this with friends on a few occasions. The puzzles are just hard enough that they’re fun but not so hard that someone gets frustrated and has a bad time. Great party game. (👍)
🍿 The Crow (2024). Pretty bad as expected.
🍿 Cuckoo. Oddly enjoyable experience even if Dan Steven’s acting was a little over the top. I would like more horror movies to leave a bit more mystery than they have recently. This has “The Watchers” (see above) vibes, but was better done and more entertaining.
🍿 Inside Out 2. I could have paid attention to this one a bit harder than I did but from what I did watch, it was good.
📺 Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities. Some episodes of this horror anthology are better than others but on the whole this is a good time. I’ve tend to watch a good amount of horror and this scratched that itch.
🍿 Dragon Ball Super: Broly. Goku and Broly screaming for an hour and a half getting stronger with every scream, as you do.
🕹️ Balatro. I’m sure you’ve heard enough of this app this month already, but it really is that good. Don’t skip this one. (👍)