VHS Tape #12: Crazy Tape of Psychos

This is my twelfth random VHS tape. The tape is mainly COPS and Mad TV, but there are some episodes of Hey Spring of Trivia, Fear Factor, MXC, and Keith Famie's Adventures in Cooking on here too.

(00:00:00)

Ripley's Believe It or Not

 - Segment featuring a Middle Eastern guy who is capable of writing with both hands and feet at the same time

 - Asian man with another face growing out of his face. It has hair and teeth and everything. Gross.

 

COPS

 - Police pull over a fat white man who hates the world. He gets tazed and arrested for resisting.

Dave Chappelle Show - Gay versions of things skit

(18:01)

COPS

 - Bitchy woman tries to set up her ex by calling the cops and telling them he had lots of drugs on him. He is driving a U-Haul.

 - Black guy arrested. This must be the tail end of the clip because we really don't see what happened.

 - Mexican guys with horrible 80's mullets try to run from the cops but are tackled to the ground and caught.

 - Man tries to run from a cop, but the cop chases him and yells "Stop or I'll shoot you in the back!" Eventually he catches and arrests him. This is an older episode.

 - Corpse is found floating in the water

 - Cops back at the station talk about securing the suspect so they don't run away, like in the clip before the last one.

VH1 special here they talk about morphing heads in old music videos like Black or White and Snoop Doggy Dogg.

ESPN special about a boy with a disability who takes up running. It's cerebral palsy or something.

MXC. Oil Industry vs Makeovers

 - Roulective Surgery

 - Rotating Surfboard of Death

 - Dash to Death

 - Mud Butlers. Tex Babaganoosh is the last contestant

Hey Spring of Trivia

 - Mozart wrote a song about ass licking

 - When a helicopter's engines fail, it will not crash

 - "Terminator" bug that can not be killed

 - The can opener was invented 48 years after canned food

 - At karaoke bars, you can sing a Buddhist prayer

 - You can stack 48 Japanese hotel trays on top of one another before they finally fall over

(1:02:41)

MXC. Union vs Media

 - Window Pain. Huffer's union is in this segment.

 - Irritable Bowl Syndrome

 - Muddy Runs

 - Tumbling Dominos of Doom. Foos Babaganoosh midway through this segment.

Cops

 - Home invasion call. Large group of black males with shotguns bust into an apartment and beat an old woman and rob the house.

 - Drug dealers are arrested at night. Two cops get hurt in the arrests. An enormous black cop slices his hand and gushes blood all over the place. He is taken to the emergency room. A white cop breaks his arm too. While at the hospital, a body riddled with bullets is dumped at the ER. Apparently it was a really bad night.

 - Crazy religious black woman has her 5 kids taken away from her. When the police come into the house, there is garbage everywhere that the kids are sleeping in. There is no power or gas. The fridge is empty. And the woman is covered in blood. She has problems.

 - Man snaps and guns down his entire family and himself

Fear Factor's Most Outrageous Moments

 - Bobbing for apples in a container of snakes

 - Contestants must swim through water inside a moving tanker vehicle and grab a key. After grabbing the key they must crawl along the top of the tanker towards the front. This seems dangerous.

 - Players must eat maggoty cheese to advance

 - Woman covered in snakes, worms, and cockroaches. She freaks the fuck out.

 - Man smashes his head trying to jump from one moving boat to another

 - Players covered in scorpions. Blonde chick freaks out

 - Players must bob for rings in a vat of cow's blood. Muscle man has a spaz attack and looks like the Incredible Hulk covered in blood.

 - Contestants have needles inserted into their arm flesh

(2:00:34)

Keith Famie's Adventures

 - Keith goes to Mexico and takes the viewers through a bustling mercado

 - Keith blows glass

 - Keith goes to the tequila distillery

 - Keith settles down to dinner and has ice cream that has been frozen into fruit for dessert

One Mad TV skit. It's the I Love Lucy spoof where the characters are in the ghetto dealing drugs

AFV

 - Old man goes down a water slide and takes the whole thing with him

 - Fat man dives into a floating ring in a pool and comes up with it around his waist

 - Lady pushes window out of the sill

 - Old guy almost dies while trying to throw a weight into the air and catch it

 - Gymnastic accident

 - Baseball hits physics teacher in the nuts

 - Man running on dock slips and falls into water

 - Kid who is trying to show off his karate skills gets beat up by his little brother

 - Dog runs toward camera and smashes into it

 - Angry duck chases women and then camera

 - Late cameraman runs to wedding

 - Crocodile eats remote control car with a camera mounted on it

 - Man spins a dog in the air who won't let go of a ball

 - Baby tries to suck on camera from the camera's perspective

 - Little girl hurts finger and freaks out and thinks she's going to die

 - Cat in a Santa outfit rolls on its back

 - Cat stuck in a pant leg struggles to get out

 - Cat drinks milk straight from a cow's udder

 - Cat stuck in a bag freaks out and goes on rampage

 - Man tries to ski off of a roof and smashes self on truck

 - Little boy eats bugs

 - Man tries to drive snowmobile in water and it sinks

 - Baby stands on one foot in man's hand

 - Dog trips a little girl carrying an Easter basket and knocks eggs everywhere

 - Roof collapses on man on a ladder

 - Bird gets into a house and flies around. Man tries to catch it with a net and freaks out

 - Woman gets her neck caught in automatic seatbelt

 - Deer chases dog

 - Hog scares 4 little kids out of a swimming pool

 - Man brings a snake to a pool party and chases people around with it

 - Guy smashes head in the side of the pool while swimming

 - Marching band and cheerleading mishap montage

 - Man launches basketball over a house and it goes through the hoop

 - Soccer goalie hit in face with ball

 - Baby sumo wrestler

 - Parasailer runs into a boat

 - Man slapped in the face in a botched high five attempt

 - Baby opens fortune cookie and eats the fortune

 - Man learning to rollerblade falls down

 - Dog swings from a tree branch by its mouth

 - Milk squeezed from the udder all over camera

 - Boys posing for a picture keep hitting each other

 - Downhill skier busts his behind

 - Bear steals a fish off a man's pole

(2:45:55)

Mad TV

 - Crazy blonde lady is a card dealer at a casino. She insults and bashes the players

 - Man whose parents and wife died comes to a Pictionary party and is all depressed

 - Everybody Loves Raymond's Lesbian Cousin

 - Shaq talks about Kobe and introduces the Shaq and the Super Lakers cartoon

 - Hollywood Squares skit. The stars of UPN. Eve and a Klingon are the only two celebrities

 

COPS

 - John Bunnell serves a search warrant at a house where a guy has a bunch of stolen shit and a swastika flag

 - Police bust people who are stealing things out of the back of a semi truck

 - Cops respond to a domestic violence call where a couple had been having a food fight. They do nothing and leave. Later on in the night, they are called back and they arrest the man because the woman claims that he smacked her.

(3:14:47)

Mad TV

 - Stuart gets paid a visit from the Tooth Fairy and shenanigans ensue

 - Lords of the Bling - a Lord of the Rings spoof with black people

 - Million Dollar Opportunity. Woman on a game show gets frustrated when a panel of celebrity contestants can't answer simple questions.

 - Dancing popcorn, hot dogs, and adult products at a porn movie theater

 - Archie Tomlinson's Automobile

 - Queer Eye for the Straight Guy where Michael Jackson is the straight guy

 - Stuart at the psychologist's office

 - Freddy vs Jason vs Snuggle

 - Old woman taken to Tony Hawk Restaurant for her birthday

 - Bunny the Vampire Slayer

 - Celebrity Weakest Link. Dustin Diamond, Loni Anderson, Jackee, and Robin Williams are some of the contestants.

 - Average Asian skit.

 - John Madden Vagicil commercial

 - Natalie Fatalie America's Funniest Video skit

 - Newylweds with Nick and Jessica. Jessica Alba plays Jessica Simpson. Nick gets made at her because of how stupid she is. At the end she adopts a Korean baby

 - The Narcissist music video. It's a spoof of The Scientist by Coldplay

 - Two fratboy sports fans discover they are gay

 - 7 AM Condo Report with old people

(4:20:34)

COPS

 - Drunk guy who looks like Aragaorn from Lord of the Rings smashes out windows and is arrested

 - Crazy homeless guy who looks like Little John is pulled over and interrogated by the Cops. He was living out of the car, and he said that he had 3 deadly diseases.

 - Man reports that his vehicle has been stolen and stripped. It's found in someone's backyard and the guy who lives there is arrested.

Mad TV

 - Brittney Spears "I'm Not a Child" music video spoof. She sings about sex and strips down

 - Skit about how to deal with VD

 - Politically Incorrect skit. Bill Clinton, Kelsey Grammar, Oprah Winfrey, and Drew Barrymore are on the show

 - Crazy blonde girl who is missing a glove crawls into a dryer to find it and is taken to an alternate universe

(4:46:48)

COPS

 - Undercover drug stings. Cops sell drugs to people on the streets. Three white people are arrested: an old man, a young guy, and a trashy blonde mother.

 - Cops investigate a suspicious vehicle. There are three white trash people in a car parked on the side of the road. There is an enormous bag of weed in the car along with other drugs in pill bottles. The old hippy guy is released, but the police arrest the driver and another woman in the car.

 - Cops come to a house where there is a hysterical black woman. There is a snake on the outside of the house and the cops remove it for her.

 - This one is great. A woman flags down the cops because she had given $20 to another woman for crack and all she got in return was plaster. When the cops talk to other woman, she goes "I don't sell drugs, I'm a prostitute." Like that's some kind of step up.

 - Black guy with a fake leg throws drugs away while getting arrested. He denies everything.

 - White trash woman calls the cops because the neighbor's son stole her lighter. The boy's mom is a hideous troll with all kinds of sores all over her face.

 - Drugged up guy flips out and cuts his own wrist. The cops come and he's put into an ambulance and saved. Apparently this wasn't the first time he's tried to do that.

 - Cops come to a house where a bunch a black couple is cracked out and fighting. The female half passes out from smoking too much crack.

(5:41:14)

COPS

 - Drunk white man who is dressed like Luigi from Super Mario Bros rear ends a cop car who has stopped someone else. He is really drunk, like falling down drunk, and fails the sobriety test miserably. He also has a bunch of weed in his car.

 - Car with two black guys is pulled over. Found in the car is a giant bag of weed and another giant bag of filled up blunts. The driver says he found it in his driveway and was on his way to the police station to turn it in. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.....

 - Black guy is questioned by the police at a pay phone about having drugs in his car. He takes off like a bullet and tries to run but the cops chase him down on foot and catch him.

 - Stolen car is found in a parking lot. Inside is a black man pretending to sleep and pretending to not hear the cops yelling and pounding on the outside of the vehicle. Eventually they get in and pull him out and arrest him.

 - Black man tries to run from cops and throws a gun, drugs, and a holster while being pursued. He is caught and the items are retrieved.

END OF TAPE

Introduction: VHS Tapes and Me

VHS Tape #0: Howard Stern Tape

Funny Mix #1

Funny Cable Tape (2)

Rudy Boesch Mix (3)

Funny Tape (4)

The Ultimate Rupert Boneham Mix (5)

Are You Ready? (6)

Mixed Tape #7

Matteo Tape (8)

Funny If You're a Pothead (9)

John Tape (10)

Funny Mix #11

For a complete index of all my past posts and game reviews, click

>HERE<

Video Game Review #563: Mass Effect

Mass Effect

PlayStation 3

Nostalgia Factor:

I first played through the Mass Effect Trilogy back in 2013, which, honestly, seems like a lifetime ago. I had an absolute blast with the games, and I hold all three of them in very high regard. I started this blog in 2015. I've been wanting to come back and play through these games again so I could review them, but it was just never the right time to do it. If I did it too soon, it is possible I would not have appreciated the series or given it the proper love it deserved. It would have been too fresh on my mind. I wanted the experience to be more like the first time playing it, where it was more of a new experience for me.

Well here we are in 2025. It's been a good 12 years since playing through the trilogy. I figured that was enough time. So starting now, I am going to be playing through the Mass Effect series in order, starting from the beginning. While I've always considered this to be the weakest of the three games, it holds a special place in my heart for laying the framework of the series and getting me invested in the gameplay, the universe, and the characters.

Let's see if I like it as much now as I did the first time through it. Let's begin.

Story:

This game has a very deep and complex story, filled with lore and events that have already been set in motion long before the storyline of the game. In the distant future, mankind has discovered an ancient relay on Mars that allows them to travel great distances in the blink of an eye. Humanity discovers that they are not alone in the universe, and that there is a society of alien beings out there that also use these relay stations to traverse the universe. These relay stations are relics that have been left behind by the Protheans, an ancient, advanced civilization that now seems to be extinct.

Humanity is the newest member of this universe-spanning alien society. The hub of this society is The Citadel, an advanced space station left behind by the Protheans. This is where the governing Council is located. The council views humanity as brash and reckless, and is hesitant to bring them into the fold.

You take control of Shepard, a human. You can make Shepard a male or female character. I made him a male on my first playthrough, so I made her a female this time around. Controlling Shepard, you are tasked with investigating a battle that has broken out around an ancient beacon that has been discovered on a distant planet. It may be Prothean in nature. When Shepard arrives, she finds that an alien Spectre named Saren is attempting to take this beacon for his own unknown purposes. A Spectre is a Council agent that is essentially above the law. Saren has been granted complete autonomy to act on his own and do anything necessary in the interests of the Council. But it seems he has gone rogue and is now a villain acting out on his own.

Saren has enlisted help of the Geth, a sentient robotic species that has turned on its creators and has nearly wiped them from the planet. If you've seen Battlestar Galactica, they are a little like the Cylons. With the assistance of the Geth, Saren is attempting to use ancient Prothean technology to summon the Reapers, an even bigger and more evil robotic force that wiped out the Protheans from existence. Shepard is promoted to Spectre, where she becomes the first human to earn this prestigious honor. Playing as Shepard, you must travel the universe and track down leads on Saren and the Geth.

Eventually (and I am skimming over a LOT of plot here), it is discovered that everything is a cycle. Organic species rise up. They begin exploring the universe. The Reapers come and wipe them out. Millions of years pass before organic beings rise up again. They begin branching out. Here come the Reapers to destroy them. This didn't start with the Protheans. This is a cycle that's been going on nearly as long as time itself.

The Citadel itself is a giant Trojan Horse. The signal to summon the Reapers comes from the Citadel. At the end of the game, Shepard chases Saren to the Citadel, where she must stop him from bringing the Reapers into our universe and wiping out organics once again.

Spoiler alert: she succeeds and kills Saren and stops the Reaper invasion. But the Reapers are still out there, looming as a threat. Future Mass Effect games deal with this conflict and stopping them completely once and for all.

Again, I skimmed over a lot of plot here. This is a very complex game, filled with advanced lore and lots of codecs and history to read through. It's like Game of Thrones or The Expanse in a video game form. I love it.

As you play, you'll be forced to make choices that effect how things play out. If you've played Knights of the Old Republic, it's like that. You can make good, virtuous choices, or you can be a dick. When I first played through this back in 2013, I was a dick. So I was good this time around. 

What's cool about this series is that choices you make effect future games. So things I do here will make an impact when I play through Mass Effect 2 and 3. Which is super cool.

Gameplay:

There's a lot to unpack here. I'm not going to overwhelm you with every tiny thing the game has to offer, or we'll be here all day. I will try to keep it brief.

This is an action RPG. One the surface, it has a lot in common with games like Knights of the Old Republic, Dragon Age, and Jade Empire. You walk around, you talk to people, you take on missions from strangers. You always have the "main mission" in the background. It's up to you whether or not you want to fully explore the game and its side missions or just attack the main quest head on.

The decisions you make effect how the game plays out. You can take the paragon route, where you are a benevolent hero who always seeks to do good, or you can take the renegade route, where you are ruthless and do what must be done to achieve your goal, regardless of the collateral damage. You aren't confined to one path. You can be good sometimes and bad at other times. Totally up to you.

The Citadel acts as the game's hub, where most of your missions can be found. When you get out and start exploring the universe, everything opens up. Let's say you are visiting a planet for a side quest. You could end up talking to other characters who will give you more quests. Before you know it, your entire menu will be filled up with things to do.

Combat is mainly action based. It controls a bit like a shooting game, such as Gears of War. But not quite so straightforward. You'll often find yourself pausing the game to take strategic action, like healing your character, changing your weapon, or using a special attack from your biotic wheel. While you can't control your companions in battle, you can tell them where to go by pressing commands on the D-Pad. These commands are pretty basic, like attack, follow me, or go to this specific place. When in battle, they will go where you tell them to go, but they will always be focusing their attacks on the enemies. The closest you can get to controlling your allies is when you open the biotic wheel. You can have them perform attacks like the Throw attack, the Overload attack, the Warp attack, and many others.

As you play, you gain experience points that you can assign to your characters to level them up in certain areas. You also earn money as you play, which you can use at shops to buy new equipment. All things you've seen in standard RPGs before. Unfortunately, this is one of "those" games where you can become overloaded by carrying too many things in your inventory. I hate when games do this. I constantly found myself running out of space, and then I'd have to break down my items into cooling gel, or sell them at the game's various shops.

One aspect of the game that makes Mass Effect unique is the Mako. Often when you land on a planet, especially one without a city, you will be dropped down to the surface on the Mako. The Mako is a tank-like vehicle that you must drive around to traverse the rough terrain. The Mako has two methods of attack: the rail gun and the cannon. Combat isn't too tough in this game, although those damn Thresher Maws had a way of popping up out of the ground directly below me and causing me to instantly lose my life.

Opinions on the Mako sections of the game are divided. Folks online love to complain about these sections, claiming the controls are janky and it is too tedious finding ways to traverse the terrain. These complaints are valid, but I think they are blown out of proportion. These segments are flawed, sure, but they aren't unplayable. I came into this game expecting to hate the Mako sections, and I really didn't. They're fine. 

I really like the pace of this game. It doesn't drag its feet. You don't linger too unnecessarily long in certain locations, like you do in the Kotor series. I always thought that was such a major flaw of those games. I still have nightmares about Nal Hutta. For the most part, you tend to move through your missions and your environments pretty quickly here, with the exception of the segment towards the beginning when you are first exploring the Citadel.

If I had to offer one complaint, it would be in the repetitive nature of some of the game's missions. Go to a planet. Ride in your Mako to a destination on the map. Find an item or a voice log and pick it up. Return to ship. Go back to Citadel. Tell the person who you took the mission from what you found. Take your reward. Rinse and repeat.

The worst types of missions are the ones where you have to clear out enemy outposts. No matter which galaxy, no matter which planet, these freaking outposts are all the same. They use the same two or three designs. The enemies seem to be in the same places, too. It's wild. They could at least make these places look different. As a result, it adds to the repetitive nature of the game. Makes you feel like you are doing the same thing over and over again, and you aren't seeing anything new. I guess the good news is, I think they fix this in future games.

I think I've hit all the major talking points. I'm sure there are things out there I still could find time to talk about. But I don't want to keep you here all day.

Graphics:

This game still looks pretty good to me. It looks its worst when you are wandering sterile corridors or boring interior locations. Where the game shines is in its grandiosity, like when you are exploring a planet with a beautiful sunset in the background, or when you are looking at some of the game's majestic landscapes. I like the design of the Normandy, with the galaxy map and all the beeping consoles. The special effects, like hologram characters and lighting effects really sell the futuristic sci fi feel of the game. This truly feels like an intricate and established science fiction universe.

Sound:

This game has some really good music. It is pretty low key; rarely intrusive, but still adding a lot to the environment. It sounds calming and futuristic at the same time. I don't even know how to describe it. But it fits absolutely perfectly with the look and feel of this game.

The sound effects are good, but not memorable. The voice acting, however, is great. The voices sound very professionally done. There were a ton of voices in there I recognized but could not put a name to. Many famous voice actors and celebrities. A few that I did recognize were Marina Sirtis, Lance Henriksen, Keith David, and Seth Green. 

All in all, the sound section of the game gets a resounding thumbs up from me.

Overall:

I thoroughly enjoyed Mass Effect. I liked it back in 2013. I like it maybe even just a little bit more now. It's not a game without flaws. Long load times, stupid insta-kills, backtracking if you die and haven't saved the game manually, and some pretty boring and repetitive fetch quests. All in all, though, I liked the game so much I was able to easily overlook some of these obvious flaws.

When I first played this series, I considered Mass Effect (the original) to be the weakest in the series. I liked the other two much, much more. If that holds up now, I am in for a real treat. Why? Because I had such a fun time with this. It is easily getting an A from me. If the sequels are even better, we could be looking at a couple of A plus titles in the near future. Hard to not get excited about playing those. But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves here.

Should you play Mass Effect? Heck yeah. If you haven't already, and you are reading this review, you need to remedy this immediately. Go out and play it now, and fall down the rabbit hole. It will be one of the best gaming decisions of your life.

THE GRADE:

A

For a complete index of all my past posts and game reviews, click

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2025 Things: February

2025 Things: January

2.1: Watched 1 episode of Killing Eve (3.07). Listened to 1 episode of Killing Eve: Post Show Recaps (Season 3, Episodes 5+6 Recap). Watched 1 episode of Survivor (28.11). Listened to 1 episode of The Cartridge Club (CC Weekly #87). Listened to 1 episode of Retroblast (The Lion King). Watched 1 episode of American Manhunt: OJ Simpson (1.01). Watched 2 episodes of Batman: The Animated Series (Sideshow and Trial).

2.2: Listened to 1 episode of the Stephen Kingcast (ep 227). Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Gaming (Game Launch Edition: 2024 in Review). Listened to 1 episode of Retronauts (Micro 21). Listened to 1 episode of Staff Picks (Burn After Reading). Listened to 1 episode of Fantasy Football Happy Hour (1.27.25 ep). Listened to 1 episode of Killing Eve: Post Show Recaps (Season 3, Episode 7 Recap). Listened to 1 episode of the Retrograde (Dr. Strange and Multiverse of Madness Spoilercast). Listened to 1 episode of the FF Dynasty (s8 ep 117). Listened to 1 episode of the 7th Rule (ep 262). Watched 1 episode of Rings of Power (1.02). Watched movie: Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

2.3: Finished 2 video games: The Lawnmower Man (Sega CD and Dos Box). Listened to 1 episode of Arcade Attack (Bonus Stage - Arseblog). Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Cinema (ep 42). Listened to 1 episode of the Retroblast (Earthbound). Listened to 1 episode of Retrovaniacs (ep 9). Listened to 2 episodes of the FF Dynasty (s8 eps 121 and 122). Listened to 1 episode of Post Show Recaps: House of the Dragon (Rob and Josh discuss season 1, episode 2). Listened to 1 episode of Fantasy Football Happy Hour (2.3.25 ep). Watched movie: Battle Royale.

2.4: Watched 1 episode of Survivor (28.12). Listened to 1 episode of the 7th Rule (ep 263). Watched 1 episode of Killing Eve (3.08). Listened to 1 episode of Killing Eve: Post Show Recaps (Season 3 Finale Recap). Watched 2 episodes of Batman: The Animated Series (A Bullet for Bullock and Avatar).

2.5: Listened to 1 episode of Sega Saturn Shiro (Mainline Reboot ep 1). Listened to 1 episode of Unsolved Mysteries (Body of Evidence).  Watched 1 episode of The Challenge (35.01). Watched 2 episodes of Survivor (28.13 and 28.14). Listened to 1 episode of The Cartridge Club (CC Weekly #88).

2.6: Listened to 1 episode of The Losers Club (Danse Macabre: The Haunting of Hill House). Finished video game: Double Dragon (Sega Master System). Watched 1 episode of The Challenge (35.02). 

2.7: Watched movie: A Perfect Getaway. Listened to 2 episodes of Fantasy Football Happy Hour (2.4.25 and 2.5.25 eps). Watched 2 episodes of The Challenge (35.03 and 35.04). 

2.8: Listened to 1 episode of the 7th Rule (ep 264). Watched movie: The Substance. Watched 1 episode of The Challenge (35.05). Finished video game: Ninja Gaiden Trilogy. Watched 1 episode of Batman: The Animated Series (House & Garden).

2.9: Listened to 1 episode of Retrograde (Max Payne 3). Listened to 1 episode of The Cartridge Club (CC Portable #10). Watched 1 episode of Rings of Power (1.03). Listened to 1 episode of the Stephen Kingcast (ep 110). Listened to 1 episode of the FF Dynasty (s8 ep 124). Listened to 1 episode of Unsolved Mysteries (Recruiter on the Run). Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Cinema (ep 43). Listened to 1 episode of Fantasy Football Happy Hour (2.6.25 ep). 

2.10: Listened to 1 episode of Post Show Recaps: House of the Dragon (s1 ep 3 recap). Listened to 1 episode of Staff Picks: Blue Chips. Watched 1 episode of Batman: The Animated Series (The Terrible Trio). Finished video game: Batman Returns (Game Gear). Watched movie: Unlawful Entry.

2.11: Watched 1 episode of American Manhunt: OJ Simpson (1.02). Listened to 1 episode of The Cartridge Club (CC Weekly #90). Listened to 1 episode of Fantasy Football Happy Hour (2.7.25 ep). Watched 2 episodes of The Challenge (35.06 and 35.07). 

2.12: Watched 1 episode of Batman: The Animated Series (Harlequinade). Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Cinema (George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead). Listened to 1 episode of The Losers Club (The Science of Stephen King). Watched movie: Pacific Heights.

2.13: Listened to 1 episode of the Retrograde (Top Gun 2). Finished video game: Johnny Bazookatone. Watched movie: Blue Steel.

2.14: Watched 4 episodes of Cobra Kai (6.11, 6.12, 6.13, and 6.14). Listened to 1 episode of Post Show Recaps: Killing Eve (Final Season Preview Show). Watched 1 episode of The Challenge (35.08). Listened to 1 episode of the Stephen Kingcast (ep 228).

2.15: Watched 1 episode of The Challenge (35.09). Watched 1 episode of American Manhunt: OJ Simpson (1.03). Watched 1 episode of Cobra Kai (6.15).

2.16: Listened to 1 episode of Arcade Attack (ep 199). Listened to 1 episode of Retroblast (Super Mario RPG). Listened to 1 episode of the FF Dynasty (s8 ep123). Listened to 1 episode of The Cartridge Club (ep 137). Watched 1 episode of American Manhunt: OJ Simpson (1.04). Listened to 1 episode of The Losers Club (Dreaming Up a King Biopic).

2.17: Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Cinema (Leprechaun 4 & Jason X). Listened to 1 episode of Arcade Attack (Shenmue). Listened to 1 episode of the FF Dynasty (s8 ep126). Listened to 1 episode of Retronauts (Vol. IV Ep 47). Watched 1 episode of Killing Eve (4.01).

2.18: Watched 2 episodes of The Challenge (35.10 and 35.11). Listened to 1 episode of Fantasy Football Happy Hour (2.10.25 ep). Watched movie: The Fugitive.

2.19: Listened to 1 episode of Arcade Attack (ep 200). Watched 1 episode of Australian Survivor (12.01). Watched 1 episode of The Challenge (35.12).

2.20: Watched 1 episode of The Challenge (35.13). Listened to 1 episode of the Cartridge Club (CC#55). Watched 1 episode of The Last of Us (1.01). Listened to 1 episode of The Losers Club (Greg Nicotero on Growing Up in the Land of the Dead).

2.21: Listened to 1 episode of the Retroblast (Wave Race 64). Listened to 1 episode of the FF Dynasty (s8 ep 125). Watched 1 episode of Australian Survivor (12.02). Listened to 1 episode of Retrovaniacs (ep 10). Watched 1 episode of The Last of Us (1.02). Watched 1 episode of Killing Eve (4.02).

2.22: Watched 2 episodes of The Challenge (35.14 and 35.15). Listened to 1 episode of Staff Picks (Congo). Listened to 1 episode of Ear Biscuits (ep 50). Listened to 1 episode of The Cartridge Club (CC Portable #11). Watched 1 episode of The Last of Us (1.03). Watched 1 episode of Batman: The Animated Series (Time Out of Joint).

2.23: Watched 3 episodes of The Last of Us (1.04, 1.05 and 1.06). Listened to 1 episode of Post Show Recaps: Killing Eve (Final Season Episode 1 + 2 Recap). Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Cinema (ep 44). Listened to 1 episode of Unsolved Mysteries (Pets & the Afterlife). Watched 1 episode of American Murder: Gabby Petito (1.01). Watched 1 episode of Killing Eve (4.03).

2.24: Listened to 1 episode of Post Show Recaps: House of the Dragon (Rob and Josh Discuss Season 1, Episode 3). Watched 2 episodes of The Last of Us (1.07 and 1.08). Listened to 1 episode of Sega Saturn Shiro (Bonus: My Gaming Story Pt 1). Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Gaming (ep 50 pt 1). Listened to 1 episode of Retroblast (1080 Snowboarding). Listened to 1 episode of the FF Dynasty (s8 ep 127). Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Cinema (Movie Recommendations Pt. II). Watched 1 episode of Batman: The Animated Series (Catwalk).

2.25: Watched 1 episode of The Last of Us (1.09). Listened to 1 episode of The Losers Club (It Miniseries 30th Anniversary). Watched 3 episodes of The Challenge (35.16, 35.17 and 35.18). Watched 1 episode of American Murder: Gabby Petito (1.02). Watched movie: Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life. Watched 1 episode of Batman: The Animated Series (Bane).

2.26: Listened to 1 episode of the 7th Rule (ep 265). Listened to 1 episode of the Cartridge Club (CC#56). Watched 1 episode of Australian Survivor (12.03). Listened to 1 episode of the FF Dynasty (s9 ep 3). Listened to 1 episode of the Retroblast (Rocket Knight Adventures).

2.27: Watched 1 episode of American Murder: Gabby Petito (1.03). Watched movie: X-Men. Listened to 1 episode of Staff Picks (Dreamscape). Watched 1 episode of Killing Eve (4.04). Finished video game: Mass Effect. Watched 1 episode of Australian Survivor (12.04). Watched 1 episode of Knuckles (1.01). Listened to 1 episode of Fantasy Football Happy Hour (2.26.25 ep). 

2.28: Watched 1 episode of Australian Survivor (12.05). Watched 1 episode of Killing Eve (4.05). Watched 1 episode of Knuckles (1.02). Listened to 1 episode of Sega Saturn Shiro (David Warhol Interview).

18 episodes of The Challenge watched

11 episodes of Batman: The Animated Series watched

10 movies watched

9 episodes of The FF Dynasty played

9 episodes of The Last of Us watched

9 episodes of Survivor watched (USA and AU combined)

8 episodes of The Cartridge Club played

8 episodes of Fantasy Football Happy Hour played

7 episodes of Killing Eve watched

7 video games finished

6 episodes of Collateral Cinema played

6 episodes of The Retroblast played

For a complete index of all my past posts and game reviews, click

>HERE<

2024 Movie Ranking Countdown: The Top 20

Well, we've finally arrived at the top 20 of my 2024 movie ranking list. Initially. I had grand plans to break down each movie and talk about why I liked them and why they deserved to place so highly on my list. Now? F that. I just simply don't have time to do as deep an analysis as I had been hoping for. I mean, it's freaking March 1st and I'm still talking about movies I watched in 2024. It's time to wrap this up and get it over with. I did recap the top 5, though. I figured I should at least give some type of reason as to why they made it so high.

For the earlier entries on this list, check out the following links:

#60 through #41

#40 through #21

And now, we move onto the top 20 (and remember: this ranking covers movies I watched in 2024, not necessarily movies that came out in 2024).

20: As Above, So Below

19: Trauma (2017)
18: The Illusionist
17: Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

16: The Greatest Night in Pop

15: Dumb and Dumber

14: Deadpool & Wolverine

13: Manhunter

12: Dune (1984)

11: Mystic River

10: The Prestige

9: Doctor Sleep

8: Dune: Part One

7: Ghost

6: Last Night

Top five:

#5:

Forrest Gump

I always feel like I am alone in my love for this movie. As a kid, I was the only one in my family who liked it. Everyone else hated it. My wife hates it. A large section of the Internet seems to hate it too. I don't think I've encountered a single person in real life who likes the movie. 

I haven't let that sway my opinion, though. I have always loved this movie and I think I always will. It's just so good. From the humor, to the drama, to the emotional moments, the music, to the historical relevance of the events surrounding Forrest: I just think it is great. As an adult, I noticed so many more things than I did as a kid. From Bear Bryant coaching Alabama, to the guy in the flag shirt, to Forrest, um, having a premature moment after touching Jenny's boobs - these are things I never picked up on before. I always just thought Forrest was surprised by the boobs, and started freaking out about wanting to leave.

This is a top 20 movie of all time for me. And it comes in at #5 on this year's list.

#4:

The Shape of Water

I've seen this movie twice in the past before. Both times, I thought the movie was just okay. I didn't understand why it was such a critically acclaimed film. This time, however, things changed, as evidenced by my #4 ranking. I freaking loved it. I don't know why my opinion changed so drastically. I think it was because I was watching with headphones on and with the cell phone put away. It takes away so much from a movie when you are looking at your phone and scrolling through Facebook or playing Candy Crush when trying to watch something. That didn't happen here. The Shape of Water had my undivided attention.

It's such a beautifully made film. I love the cinematography, the set design, the music, everything. Immediately, I found myself completely absorbed in the movie, almost like I was a part of the action myself. Not only is it a well-made movie, I was very interested in the human/fish creature relationship, particularly how things developed from "oh look at this scary, but intriguing thing" to "let me bang it." It was much more of a natural progression this time around, and it didn't seem forced or unnatural like it did in past viewings. 

Anyway, great movie. I totally get why people like it now.

#3:

The Help

My experience with The Help was very similar to my experience with The Shape of Water. I have seen the movie a few times in the past. Always thought it was "meh." Decided to give it one more shot. Devoted my full attention to it. Freaking loved it.

Everything about this movie is great. I love the cinematography, the music, the set design - and mostly the acting. Everyone in this movies seems to give the performance of a lifetime. It's an incredibly emotional and touching movie too. I was in tears almost the entire way through the movie, which is pretty unheard of for me. I'm usually an emotionless statue whenever I watch something. That's how you know I like something: when it resonates so emotionally with me.

I can see why this is such a popular movie. Because it's good! I'm so glad I came back and gave this movie another chance. It definitely earns its #3 spot on my ranking.

#2:

The Terminator

Unlike the last two movies listed, I have always loved the Terminator. Not to this extent, though. My 2024 viewing of this film hit different for some reason. I was 100% "into it" from beginning to end.

It's such a tense movie, which I think can be easy to overlook when you already know the plot of the film and what is going to happen. I couldn't help but feel the panic that Sarah Connor felt when she noticed that other people named Sarah Connor were being eliminated. That whole scene at the Tech Noir was freaking amazing. That sequence where Sarah knocks over her drink, bends over to pick it up, the Terminator walks past, and Sarah sits up is amazing. And when the music slows down and she makes eye contact with Kyle Reese (who she thinks is the killer) is incredible. Just truly terrific filmmaking right there.

This was easily the best viewing of The Terminator I've ever had. It has moved up in my books from being a good movie to being an amazing movie. I loved every second of it. It inspired me to watch all the sequels, too, which I didn't really have any intent to do. It also introduced me to the screenshot above, which apparently is a giant meme/inside joke in Terminator groups on Facebook.

#1:

A Star is Born

No one is more surprised than me at this movie's #1 ranking. I've been avoiding this film for years, because I always thought it looked like something I wouldn't like. I finally decided to give it a shot in 2024, and all I can say is wow. I thought this movie was absolutely fantastic.

I've always been a fan of biopics about musical artists. While this is not a biopic, it has a similar feel, with the big booming concerts and the musical montages. You can actually buy that these two characters are big stars.

What carries the movie for me though is the acting. Lady Gaga totally steals the show the entire movie. You can buy her humble origin story, and her slow progression into stardom. My favorite scene in the movie, and perhaps of any movie I watched this year, was when she comes out to see Bradley Cooper's concert backstage and he pulls her out on stage with him to sing Shallow, her original song. The whole damn scene gave me goosebumps. Watching her nervously walk out on stage, and then end up belting this song that SHE WROTE in front of thousands of screaming fans. It was like watching her dream come true right before our very eyes. Admittedly, I was tearing up for this entire scene, my mouth hanging open like a dead fish. But they were happy tears.

The whole movie is an emotional rollercoaster. So many highs and so many lows. And I loved every second of it. When this movie ended, I just had to sit there in silence for a little bit to process it.

Not only did I love the movie, I loved the music too. I put a ton of songs from this film onto my various playlists. Obviously Shallow is a good one, but "I'll Never Love Again" and "I'll Always Remember Us This Way" are absolute bangers.

When I am done watching most movies, I turn them off and move on with my life. But that didn't happen here. This movie occupied my mind for literally months after I was done with it. I can't say this is something that has happened with many other films in my life.

So there you have it. A Star is Born is my #1 movie I watched in 2024. Bet you didn't have that on your bingo card.

For a complete index of all my past posts and game reviews, click

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