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If all of their films and shows end up being hits, I'd be shocked. But I highly doubt that. At best, they may have a couple of successes and the rest will either underperform or outright flop.

Which is why I don't think Marvel is going to have a very good year for that very reason. It doesn't seem like many people are all that invested in the over-arching plot or lack there of and are only interested in maybe a handful of the films or shows. And its just hard to follow up those first three phases and top Endgame. Endgame was such a good stopping point and should have been where Marvel let the franchise rest for a few years before bringing in new characters or storylines. Had phase four and five just been about the Fantastic Four and X-Men alone, I think that would have been sufficient due to all the storylines and characters to use.

New Zealand is definitely one of my favorite countries for a lot of reasons. As for traveling to other countries/continents, yes. I'll travel pretty much anywhere given the right circumstances. But there are some place higher on my list of countries to visit like Japan is probably my number one after visiting New Zealand. As for Latin America, I've wanted to visit Peru for several years and more recently really been wanting to go to Argentina, in particular the Patagonia region. Costa Rica is another country I've had my eye on for a while because flights are usually pretty cheap, only being around $300 for round trip, its super safe, has a lot of natural beauty and small country so it would make it easier to hit up a lot of the sights. Chile, I also think would be really cool to visit as well and is probably in contention with Argentina of which I'd like to visit more.

I completely agree with you on the positives and negatives of the series. As for Oshi no Ko, I have heard of the series but haven't seen it. But if you recommend it, I'll find a way to check it out and see for myself.

Cheers!

I have not. I've only started hitting up some of the national parks these last couple years like Acadia in Maine, Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado and then the Grand Canyon back in November. So I'm hoping I'll be able to travel to more national parks in 2025.

Cheers my friend!

All very valid points. Even with those factors though, I'm still surprised at how poorly the film did. And as flawed as it may have been, I do still believe its a shame that it flopped. But maybe I'm a little biased since its a Middle Earth set film.

It really did and I wonder if it would have done better and had wider appeal if it had been live action. Hopefully though, this will be a motivating factor for Warner Bros. to really focus on making good films and allowing the production of them to take their time to craft solid films instead of rushing them like they did War of the Rohirrim or the Hobbit films.

@@pastypaleproductions6515 good question I wonder about that as well

@@TevyaSmolka A part of me leans towards yes, it would have had wider appeal and perhaps done better. However, the other part of me thinks that people aren't as interested in more stories set in Middle Earth. The last few years have shown a declining interest in big IP franchises from Star Wars to Marvel and other non-Disney owned properties. So I think the Hunt for Gollum film will end up being the first test in gauging what the casual movie goer's interests are in more Middle Earth films.

@@pastypaleproductions6515 I can see that being the case sadly

@@TevyaSmolka Which I still find that as a very odd choice to do a movie about and it would have been far from my first choice. However, in an odd way that makes me a bit more optimistic, is foolishly so that Peter Jackson and his team saw something within the little bit of text we know about the actual hunt for Gollum in the books that spoke to them and inspired them to tell this story.

Hahaha, I appreciate that my friend! I do agree with you though that Rings of Power has definitely given a more positive outlook on the film. My opinions on it have soured a bit since my initial viewing and they likely will further as I think about the film more. But I still try and remain as positive and optimistic as possible and overall for me the film did more right than wrong and I didn't leave frustrated and shaking my fists in the air like I did anytime I watched Rings of Power. But there are still a lot of things I would have loved to see in the film, primarily character development which it was lacking in greatly. Also, I suppose I am more forgiving of the film since it was rushed into production and it could have ended up so much worse. However, I will certainly not argue with anyone on the merits of the film and its quality as I am very much aware of its shortcomings and the many other things it was lacking. But here is hoping the Hunt for Gollum film and any future Middle Earth set films are better than War of the Rohirrim.

I'm familiar with The Hu and enjoy their music but I have not heard of Sixiwanzi, so I will definitely check out that Chinese band. Thanks for the recommendation!

Haha! Yes, which is exactly where it belongs.

That would be my hope as well. This series isn't worth the amount of money Amazon is investing in it. And I completely agree that the writing is the worst part of the show. The acting I am a bit more forgiving us because the actors are working with such bad scripts and material. So I have no issues with the actors as they're doing the best with what they have, which is not a lot. The writing is so incredibly amateurish and just outright bad that it blows my mind any of it made it out of the writers room and onto screen. And I would like to think Amazon have learned their lesson, but I doubt it. They didn't learn from season one and just doubled down for season two. So as great as it would be for them to have learned from their mistakes, I don't foresee that happening.

Or just hire competent writers and ones who are familiar with the source material and the canon of Tolkien's work. Simple as that. I truly do not know how this show got made the way it did with how much money Amazon sunk into it.

That is another reason too why I haven't fully committed to discussing politics. I'd have to watch the first two Sonic films first but I'd be down for that to watch the third one and review the third film with you in a podcast.

Berserk is an anime that has been on my list for a while. I need to check and see if the original series is on a streaming service. If it is on one of the streamers I have, I'll definitely give it a watch and review it.

If this were a generic fantasy show like it feels and not claiming to be Tolkien, I wouldn't have bothered to finish this series. But since it is claiming to be Tolkien, as a fan, I feel like I have to hold this show and any future shows or films regarding Middle Earth accountable. For a book series as incredible and beloved like The Lord of Rings and then to have the wonderful adaption of the Peter Jackson trilogy, I feel like we fans deserve good adaptations not poorly written and contrived fanfic. That being said, I don't mean to disparage others who do like it, but I also don't believe this show is worthy to continue regardless of whether it had Lord of the Rings in it's title or not. And I feel that way towards any franchise, we fans deserve good content from our favorite brands/franchises, otherwise why bother being fans of them if all we're getting is mediocre to bad content. I wanted nothing more than to love Rings of Power, but its just a poorly made show in practically every aspect and I would hope that Amazon would take the feedback of viewers and critics alike to improve the series rather than ignore any constructive criticism and continue making such a boring and bland series.

And that is what blows my mind is the show runners complete disregard for constructive criticisms or feedback. That and Amazon having the funds to make a proper production and have it rival that of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but instead wasted all that money on a product that feels more like a soap opera than an iconic piece of literature. You also bring up a good point of the writers/show runners not understanding Tolkien, which I would completely agree with. I would also just scrap it all and start over. That to me is the only way to continue with this series rather than make three more seasons of this awful trash.

If that is the case then that would explain why so many shows are poorly written and have a complete lack of consistency. And I do agree that higher ups should focus more on the story than their own greed. That is another reason why there has been so much terrible content in both movies and tv series.

@@pastypaleproductions6515 I always stand by my mantra of "There's good shit out there if you just look for it," but it's still a gut punch when a series you love gets treated poorly. Something I'm way to familiar with as a Sonic fan.

@@shawnleeguku Absolutely! There is no shortage of good content out there, but sadly its harder to sift through the rest of the mediocre to bad content to find. But yes, it is a gut punch to have a beloved series butchered and made by committee than passion or love for the material.

Exactly! But apparently no one bothered to actually read the books. Or, what I think is more likely read them, but chose to ignore the source material and consciously change things knowing full well it would upset the actual fans of the books and Tolkien's work. Which makes this show all the more frustrating. But that is a video for after the season two finale on why I think this show needs to be canceled.

Thank you good sir! And yes, it was awful beyond imagination. This was the episode I assumed would be the least bad because it would be more action oriented, but oh boy was I wrong. This show couldn't even manage to successfully pull off a badass battle.

Even though this was the best episode so far, it still wasn't good. In my opinion. However, whoever was the main writer should get more time to write the scripts since this episode actually had more lore accuracy in it than previous ones.

Having diverse elves, dwarves, hobbits, or humans for that matter doesn't bother me. I do feel like there were more natural ways to include diverse actors into the show though. Like the Haradrim by their description sounded like North African or Middle Eastern and the men of Khand are speculated to resemble Sub-Saharan African in their appearance. And the men of Rhun could look more Asian and that would have fit better than every single culture all being just as diverse. But for me what kills this show the most is the horrible writing. I could even accept some of the lore changes, not all mind you, but some of them if this show was written better. Unfortunately Rings of Power is just purge garbage.

@@pastypaleproductions6515 Disagree totally with you regarding diverse Elves. Shows a total lack of knowledge and respect for Tolkien's lore. In Appendix F of The Return of the King, he explicitly describes Elves as "fair of skin": Elves has been used to translate both Quendi, ‘the speakers’, the High-elven name of all their kind, and Eldar, the name of the Three Kindreds that sought for the Undying Realm and came there at the beginning of Days (save the Sindar only). This old word was indeed the only one available, and was once fitted to apply to such memories of this people as Men preserved, or to the makings of Men’s minds not wholly dissimilar. But it has been diminished, and to many it may now suggest fancies either pretty or silly, as unlike to the Quendi of old as are butterflies to the swift falcon - not that any of the Quendi ever possessed wings of the body, as unnatural to them as to Men. They were a race high and beautiful, the older Children of the world, and among them the Eldar were as kings, who now are gone: the People of the Great Journey, the People of the Stars. They were tall, fair of skin and grey-eyed, though their locks were dark, save in the golden house of Finarfin; and their voices had more melodies than any mortal voice that now is heard. They were valiant, but the history of those that returned to Middle-earth in exile was grievous; and though it was in far-off days crossed by the fate of the Fathers, their fate is not that of Men. Their dominion passed long ago, and they dwell now beyond the circles of the world, and do not return.

A nonlinear chronological series I think would have worked so much better. It would have been easier to remain faithful to the lore, cut out all this nonsensical filler. Also a lot of the characters could still be carried over through each season like the elves, some of the Numenorians due to their long lifespans prior to their collapse and even Dwarves to an extent. Instead Amazon hired the least experienced people to show run the series and help write it as well. And now they've lost the fanbase and if this show gets canceled, no one will miss it. It will fade and go back into the shadows from whence it came.

​@@pastypaleproductions6515well said 😊

@@goodputin4324 Thank you!

I completely agree! But yes, I doubt that will happen. They seem content to ignore any constructive criticisms for the series and pretend its a masterpiece. Which that frustrates me to no end that they had two whole years to adjust and make changes to improve their product but decided not to and then have the nerve to blame fans for not liking their shitty series and to top it off, still use the Lord of the Rings in the title and Tolkien's name in the show when this is clearly not Tolkien at all.

I didn't mention the orc family actually. It was a weird scene. Trying to humanize Sauron and the orcs is just a weird decision and doesn't make much sense to me. Amazon have already lost a lot of money on this fanfic by dropping a billion dollars for the rights and season one alone. Then add on the costs of season two. And I would say if Amazon weren't contractually obligated to do five seasons, they would have canceled the series after how few people watched or cared about the first season. Now they're stuck with the dud of a show and are continuing to double down on their stupid fanfic.

It's pretty easy to doze off with how boring and poorly paced this show is. Had I not been taking notes during the episodes, I would have easily lost track of what was going on in many scenes.

I agree! To me it shows that they care about maintaining the respecting what Jackson and his team had established beforehand in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I would say Helm and his two sons will be major or important characters but Héra will obviously be the focus which I am not opposed to so long as its done well. I do hope however Frealaf, Helm's nephew who takes up the throne of Rohan after Helm's death isn't sidelined in favor of Héra. Frealaf is an important character in this particular part of the story and needs to be heavily featured even if he isn't the primary protagonist.

I agree. Though the trailer was better than all of season one, the bar was ridiculously low and likely will be lacking in any real substance. And even if it has some level of substance, most of it will be inaccurate to Tolkien's lore much like the first season was. Amazon spent a billion dollars in an attempt to buy a fanbase and not put the work into actually telling a good story or respecting what Tolkien had written.

I would be all for Wesley Snipes doing more Blade films. And as much as I like Mahershala Ali as an actor and think he'd be good in the role, Marvel for whatever reason can't seem to crack the code for making that movie happen. So I'd rather see him move on to new projects and have Wesley Snipes return to the role. He was a pleasant surprise to see in Deadpool & Wolverine and I really liked seeing him back in the role. RDJ as Doom I'd say m ore than likely is going to be a variant of Tony Stark, but I still think its an odd choice to bring him back that way. I've been hearing good things about Caped Crusader, so I might have to check it out soon and see how it is for myself.

I couldn't agree more. George for all his flaws as a writer, in particular dialogue is a creative genius. It is a shame really that the franchise likely won't ever be run by another creative visionary like George Lucas but more corporate studio heads who have no clue what they're doing with the franchise like Kathleen Kennedy. Star Wars has so much potential due to its vast scope and lore but no one seems all that interested in tapping into it let alone writing good content for the franchise.

All fair points and I'm sure many of those factors go into it, in particular our age and interests changing over the years. But I do feel like bad Star Wars is harming the brand with not only the shows/films but a bit with the merchandise. Outside of Grogu and Mandalorian merchandise, not a lot of the toys have been selling all that well compared to how fast Star Wars merchandise flew off the shelves even just a few years ago. I am curious though how the sequels and some of these shows will be viewed in a decade or two and see how opinions change or how drastic they do.

@@pastypaleproductions6515 Yeah we'll just have to see, only time will tell. I think this nerd media craze is a bobble waiting to burst, and after another 10 years or so of this it'll probably go back to being a more niche interest. Maybe Disney overestimated how little effort they need to put into Star Wars for the merch to be successful, but I hardly doubt they're losing money in any serious way.

@@shawnleeguku Yes, I do think the popularity of nerd culture is a bubble that is likely to burst soon and revert back to its more niche status like you said. We had a good run for a while with our favorite franchises making solid content and new franchises becoming popular but all good things must eventually come to an end.

@@pastypaleproductions6515 Nothing lasts forever, but this era will probably be looked back on fondly like the Western boom, and we might get some nice tribute/inspired films and shows in a decade or two. Just imagine in 20 years, we'll have writers and directors who are nostalgic for the media we have now. I'm kinda excited to see it.

I for the most part agree. In particular about people inserting a message or agenda in their product so long as they are marketing it towards the right audience. Barbie is a good example of a film which knew its audience and knew how to market to the female demographics. I also do think a lot of these people making these big budget projects are doing it for their own vanity rather than for a love and admiration of the IP. And as a writer myself, I also agree 100% with the statement that focusing on fundamental storytelling is key. If you don't have a good story or characters, its probably wise to not tell that story or find someone better suited to tell said story.

Totally fair and valid points for preferring Trigun and Cowboy Bebop over Outlaw Star. And I would agree that Trigun probably had some of the best character development. But Outlaw Star is still my all time favorite anime. I think it hit me at the right time and age and I still love it to this day in my 30s. It does however please me to hear that you not know of the series but have watched it. Most people seem to have never heard of it or have seen it. So its always nice to hear others speak of the series regardless of their thoughts on it.

I've heard of Space Dandy but never gotten around to watching it. But I may have to give it a watch then if you recommend it.

@@pastypaleproductions6515 It's stilly as fuck so be prepared for that, but a lot of talent went into it

It is easily one of the best films I've seen in years. And I think it came out at the right time when Hollywood is struggling to make successful films, Godzilla Minus One came in and destroyed it at the box office. It also shows how well a film can look and be made on a small budget.

I would highly recommend watching. Even if you're not a fan of the Godzilla films, Godzilla Minus One is still worth watching for the visuals, characters and spectacle alone.

The people who dislike the Acolyte or any other film/show just because there is a person of color or someone from the LGBTQ community I don't think have a valid reason to dislike said film or show. If they dislike it because of bad writing, pacing, plot or it just didn't work for them then that's fine. The internet sadly has a hard time distinguishing between the two. But if people are still loving Star Wars, I have no problem with that and I am truly envious of them to be able to love everything Star Wars. But for me personally, I'm dipping out because I have not been a fan of the overall lack of quality with the writing, dialogue, characters etc.

It does feel a bit redundant since she was the lead character in the sequel trilogy. But whatever, Disney still haven't a clue what they're doing with the franchise.

What a reality to live in where Disney Star Wars ended on a high note. And I completely agree with you. Rogue One as much as I love it, wasn't a necessary story to tell. I'm glad it was made for the very reasons you brought up and without Rogue One we would not have gotten Andor. And I would also completely agree with you that Andor regardless of whether it was set in the Star Wars universe or not would not detract from its quality. That is preciely why I loved Andor so much. That story works in any setting, whether it be sci-fi, fantasy, real word or whatever. And if Disney did allow someone like Tony Gilroy who wrote Rogue One and Andor along with directed a lot of it, then the franchise may have a chance of bouncing back. That however, I don't think will ever happen unfortunately.

I'm glad to hear someone praise Revenge of the Sith as I feel like it really doesn't get the love I think it deserves. All the points you listed are reasons why Revenge of the Sith I think is a good film. The original Star Wars is definitely one of my all time favorite films as well and I don't think can ever alter how impactful that film was when it came out in 1977 and still to this day. It truly was a pioneering film. And Raiders of the Lost Ark is another classic that will also retain its legacy in pop culture and films as a great and iconic film.

Oh for sure, Rogue One and Andor are easily the best Disney era Star Wars. But as I said in the video, both I think are also two of the best anything in Star Wars. Andor in particularly really impressed with me how tight that script was, the dialogue, writing, acting and everything else about it. It legit blows my mind at how incredible it was yet something like Obi-wan which should have had the same level of care an attention put into it was just an awful and poorly made show. So I would love more Star Wars content on the same level as Rogue One or Andor. If that happened, I'd gladly jump back on board the franchise.

That pretty much sums it up.

I wish I had checked out after both those shows. But I am right there with you, House of the Dragon, Shogun and Fallout are shows I have enjoyed recently. I'd rather continue spending my time on shows that are worth my time and not going to frustrate me because of poor writing.

@@pastypaleproductions6515 I highly recommend The Night Agent. It's a different genre, more of a political thriller, but it's outstanding.

@@robertbarga3694 Alright, I'll have to try and check it out then. What streaming service is it on by the way?

@@pastypaleproductions6515 Netflix

I've not played any of the games as I'm not really a gamer these days. But I have heard good things about most of them. So at least something Star Wars related still has god qualities.

That seems to be the consensus in regards to the people who have so far been enjoying it. A lot of people have said it's good, but doesn't have that quality about it which elevates it from other Star Wars show or even non-Star Wars shows.

Absolutely! I only wish that continued to happen where I was pleasantly surprised with good good a Star Wars show ended up being. Sadly for me, Andor was the last one.

Clearly the ego to destroy it is far more great than the one to create it.