things i liked in 2024
Media
movies:
Dune 2 in cinema:
While in Budapest Dune 2 came out. Normally i don’t really care about blockbusters that much. I mean i don’t need to watch them when they come out, i like watching movies that kind of show up rather than keeping up with all the hubbub. But this was kind of different. First of all, it’s a sequel to a movie of a book i liked. Plus i sort of like the first movie. i think Dennis villeneuve has enough trust from big studios to do what he wants because his work feels so focused and everybody loves his shit. I personally didn’t really care for enemy or bladerunner but I can see why people like his stuff. it’s kind of cold and slow but it’s so cool to look at that you don’t really feel bored. back to Dune 2.
I was in budapest and i just met a bunch of new people so we met up and went to the theater. this had been a long time. i never go to the theater with a bunch of people. But the occasion presented itself and i took it! i guess this elevated the actual movie because now i was in a theater next to a friend and whenever something kind of cool happened we would kind of go ‘wwwoooooo’ underneath our breath. And afterwards we would jibber and jabber about what changed from the books or when something awesome happened. so i guess this is not necessarily about the movie and more about the experience.
Ao oni movie:
This is kind of the same thing. The movie was uploaded to youtube to watch for free but it was censored to shit. So we had to find another upload somewhere but their subtitles where ass. So we had to switch tabs every time the gore became too much but then we had the ass problems and it became really LOL funny. the movie itself was charming, i think people who liked the game will like the movie. although i think i have a tolerance for this kind of dookie and i can watch this on my own, it is waaay more fun to watch with people. A good hangout movie. One to watch with some beers and friends or a s.o.
I also really loved the design of the oni. It was such a butt ugly guy and the way it moved was so weird. The movie itself doesn’t make a lick of sense. and the main villain school bully fella was completely ridiculous. a lot of things to love!
The texas chainsaw massacre on CRT:
i got a crt to play playstation 2 on but my ps2 was broken so i just had this big ass tv in my room. i found my old dvd player in my basement so i plugged it in, just to see the image etc. I also found a copy of Chainsaw massacre in my siblings room. So i popped it in. i just wanted to check out the image to adjust my brightness and contrast. But then i watched the entire movie. And it is still very epic. the way things just end up happening to these characters really feels like bad luck but not in a way that makes the whole thing cheap. These things just happen to people. or maybe it’s better to say that it makes you feel like this could happen to someone. it feels real enough even though its so over the top in concept.
10 things i hate about you: A story for the ages. one of my favorite genres are teen movies. I don’t know what to tell ya. i watched this movie twice in a row and then watched it two more times in the course of the year. To fully dive into why i appreciate this movie would require a bit more than just a paragraph.
the worst movie i watched was triangle or halloween (the rob zombie one). Triangle is kind of recommended because it’s so baffling as to what is happening. It’s just very dumb. In a frustrating way. My gf and I just ranted afterwards which was the most enjoyable thing about it.
Whereas the Rob Zombie halloween was boring as all hell. I really like house of a thousand corpses and i was curious how he would handle Michael myers in particular. Michael is such a defined character that its kind of hard to do anything interesting anymore. The first halloween did it already. I think the most interesting thing about modern halloween isn’t even michael. its other characters reacting to or being affected by a character such as michael (especially in the first of the reboot trilogy, not so much in Kills or Ends). Rob zombie goes the complete opposite approach and fleshes out the character. Trying to define why he is the way he is. He has a pos stepdad and a mom that neglects him and a sister who is an asshole. He gets bullied at school and has a tendency for violence.
In the original version Michael works because he is an evil in a non-evil world. You can read into it however you want but the core of it comes down to just that, evil and violence inflicted on a society that is peaceful. In Rob zombies version Michael is an Evil person in an Evil world. Which just doesn't work for me. Because he isn’t the only danger anymore. The people he kills could have easily done something horrible to whoever in their surroundings, most of them do in fact. And this ends up diminishing Michael as a threat for me.
Golden tip! Also watched some very awesome M. night movies. These are very good for a movie night! Maybe start with Old and then the visit and then the village and then his other stuff. Trap wasn’t as entertaining, just kind of weird. But it’s always a fun time to watch with other people and just kind of joke around.
Other movies i loved (some because i thought they were very good and others because they were very fun to watch) in 2024:
Music:
I never know what to write about music. I did enjoy a lot of black metal during fall and winter. It’s kind of romanticising life in a weird way. Listening to dark music on a dark day type of deal. It’s like bread and butter. In spring I did the same thing with classical music. Part of it was also me living alone and having no noise to fill the room. So I chose some nondescript music to put on while cooking and waking up. Classical music never really hooks me so that way I was never distracted enough by the music. So I guess, I just listen to whatever is in correspondence to the weather or the season.
I also got really into Coil vs Elph. I don’t really know what to write about this either. It was just the perfect time, the perfect place. Biking around misty streets while listening to this album created a surreal experience that I just kept coming back to.
Other than that I just listened to music. idk what to tell ya. I’ll upload a chart with music that I remember being awesome sauce from 2024 in no particular order:
Games
I don’t really remember what I played this year. Most of the time I just try little games here and there. The most games I know about I haven't really played.
The most memorable thing I played was Ys I and II chronicles complete. They scratched that perfect itch of simplicity and investment. The way Adoll moves and darts around the screen is so frantic and over the top that it immediately clicked with me. it ties in perfectly with the bump combat. The bosses sucked ass. Like completely. Especially the last boss of the first game. The second game fixes most of these issues with the magic system. But in the end you just run around frantically and kill a big amount of moñsters. The whole hook is getting more and more powerful. It's a concept as old as time. I just really like these early jrpgs and the way they handle progression. In Dragon quest 1 for example you just see the damage go up and more and more spells become available. In Ys the same thing applies. You run around lvling up and an area that could've given you trouble the first time you were there becomes a piece of cake in the later game. Simplicity at its best. Just focused, condensed and cozy. It didn’t really open up. what you get in the first hour you get in the last. The second game again fixes this with magic. Although it’s mostly one use it does make the game a bit more varied. All in all, a good time. The next game in the series is already on my shelf, ys origin. So keep an eye open for my review of that!
Kind of the same things apply to Pokémon gold.
Long time since I was so invested in a pokemon. I'm playing this on and off. Started this summer. The last thing I have to do is defeat the elite four and the Champion. Everything that makes pokemon frustrating was present here but it was very stripped down compared to the current games. With gen 5, for example, there is too much going on for me personally for me to stay focused on just pokemon. It feels too big but also too condensed because of that.
Pokemon gold doesn't. By giving me breathing room I took my time and did what I had to do. Walked over there, battled this guy, catched this pokemon. just normal chill things. That's what I also like about dragon quest and ys. the kind of chapter based little scenarios that happen in every new area. This structure is obviously still used but it feels way too bloated in modern games. too much going on. But that's my opinion! I can understand that recent Pokemon offers more for people but it just distracts me and overwhelms me and then I lose interest.
The rest of the games didn’t really pique my interest that much, most of them were just fun. I may write about the fire emblem: three houses when I'm done with it. Currently working on a list of to play games for 2025.
underneath are games i remember playing in 2024:
