I read Koji Kondo’s Super Mario Bros. Soundtrack and had felt many feelings. Overall a bit dry and academic. If you were obsessed with games of the era (I’m guilty), you probably know too much industry history to find anything new here in the first half, and you’re already sold on the cultural import. The second half focuses more on the music itself, and digs into music theory a bit more… but if you know a good bit about music already, it also feels like… just not enough. It still made me very nostalgic, though, and for a while I convinced myself I need to buy a Wii U or something.

A scan from Better Cooking, Better Living (1952).

The Spy Who Came in From the Cold. Gotta admit I didn’t follow this one very well. I liked it, though.

Drive. Third viewing. That elevator scene is still top notch. I’m a sucker for any movie that suspends time to drift into a moment just because. Oscar Isaac has some of the best casual menace in the game right now. Filed under: Drive.

Magic Mike XXL. My appreciation for it grows as time passes. It’s more aimless than the first one (which I really liked), and I think that “this isn’t gonna be like last time” shift is pretty obvious right away with the “Pony” solo. This one seems more gentle and… appreciative? Everybody learned some lessons over the years since the last one. Now it’s time to celebrate, honor that time, and move on. It’s a shame their crew only has like 1.5 decent dancers, but it kinda works. I really enjoyed Kameron Hurley’s series of tweets about the movie, which had me shouting in agreement. Filed under: Magic Mike.

Team America: World Police. A mixed bag. Some brilliant satire and some painfully juvenile stuff. Interesting to see things that were casually fun back then that just won’t fly today.

Three Colors: White. Second in the Three Colors trilogy. A dark and funny revenge (?) tale, with a little bit of shaggy dog thing going on. Another thumbs-up from me. I like when movies lull you into getting invested in a terrible protagonist.