Art/entertainment recommendations

Movies, TV shows, anime, music, books, video games, etc.

Post here any title that you've enjoyed lately. Especially anything not everyone will have heard of, or anything that surprised you in a good way despite a bad reputation, bad first impression, or suspicious overhype. Or maybe upcoming titles that you're looking forward to.

Escape Goat 2

http://store.steampowered.com/app/255340/Escape_Goat_2





This is a game I knew I probably would like, but I'm liking it a lot more than I thought I would. It's just self-contained single-screen puzzles, with only a few basic elements throughout the game, but the levels are very well-designed. Sometimes it's a matter of figuring out what's going on, sometimes it's a matter of figuring out the right sequence to do things, sometimes it's a matter of well-timed execution. You never know which it's going to be.

It's satisfying because, as long as you pay attention and don't try to beat all levels in one sitting, you always make progress. But only as long as you pay attention. So it doesn't get boring. The artistic atmosphere is also very nice. It's a great game to relax for an hour or so every day.

(Huh, this would be a nice review to post on Steam. I don't want to make my Steam account identifiable here though. So... )

R. Scott Bakker, I really enjoy his novels. Fantasy interwoven with philosophy. Very challenging to read as well. As much as everyone loves GRR Martin, I find his books kinda dull though I do try to get through them.

I rarely get time to read or game anymore, but can usually half-watch a show or movie while I work.

Many of these are shows I haven't watched in years/have ended, but included because I was that impressed by them.

Star Trek Start off with this obvious one being a favorite

Star Gate

Sherlock

Malcolm in the Middle I keep hearing people somehow have never watched this great show.

Gotham I haven't been a fan of the last few Batman movies. I figured young Batman would be more to add to the rest of the fire, but luckily it proved me wrong.

Orphan Black good story line, but I stayed watching it mostly because of the great lead actress. I hope she gets put in more.

Rick & Morty The fans made me loathe it. I later went back, and now I'm going out of my way to annoy them with it.

Ash vs the Evil Dead I like good B horror

Futurama (Favorite show of all time. Curse you Netflix!)

One Punch Man- If you're a schizoid who likes anime; you'll want to see the schizoid super-hero with an anime that everyone seems to love despite the synopsis sounding boring as hell.

Fargo

The IT Crowd

Lucifer is one I recently picked up. So far it hasn't disappointed, but I'm not far into it.

Holodeck wrote:Rick & Morty The fans made me loathe it. I later went back

Haha been there. I can't wait for the rest of the third season now. It's really one of the best shows I've ever watched. Not just because it's good overall and because it somehow manages to make existential questions fun, but because it has a pretty unique brand of humor.

I'm still trying to figure out if interdimensional cable is surrealistically sloppy just because the authors have fun making that kind of thing (which they clearly do) or if it's a sign that there's some kind of big prank being played by Rick or some character that hasn't been introduced yet. Does the story even matter at all? Do the authors even have any general story in mind? What are Rick's motivations after all? Who knows! I'm pretty sure they'll manage to keep everybody asking those questions until the end. It's existential humor, after all.

zeno wrote:
I'm still trying to figure out if interdimensional cable is surrealistically sloppy just because the authors have fun making that kind of thing (which they clearly do) or if it's a sign that there's some kind of big prank being played by Rick or some character that hasn't been introduced yet. Does the story even matter at all? Do the authors even have any general story in mind? What are Rick's motivations after all? Who knows! I'm pretty sure they'll manage to keep everybody asking those questions until the end. It's existential humor, after all.

All I know is it's an odd moment when you step into a Lowe's and all you can think of is the real fake doors commercial.

It's also weird when you know that the same guy does the voice of Rick, Morty and the real fake doors salesman...as well as MANY others.

Very interesting introduction to the Hávamál (compilation of Viking-age poems):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veRChLMC20o

The video is long, but it's worth it. It made me curious about the subject again. The "cowboy version" in his translation of the Poetic Edda also sounds interesting.

Holodeck wrote:Ash vs the Evil Dead I like good B horror

I LOVE cheesy B flicks.

The Car is one that comes to mind. Invasion UFO is another.

The Car trailer. I laughed through most of that movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6-yVoJTCo8

I should watch it again.

zeno wrote:Especially anything not everyone will have heard of, or anything that surprised you in a good way despite a bad reputation, bad first impression, or suspicious overhype.

NieR Automata.

I actually got it because nothing else was handy and I felt like a game. I expected a big boring Meh. First impression graphics-wise was en par with the Meh, its not bad, but its certainly not AAA material I thought.
But quite short into it I couldnt stop anymore. The anime'ish characters, gripping soundtrack, interesting, twisting storyline and an overall freshness of presentation made me not only do all 3 essential playthrus but also get the OST afterwards. Only negative point apart from the typical mangaesque overblown emotions some times was that it became a bit too grim for my taste - if you remember the nihilistic emptiness that something like Tokyo Ghoul leaves one in, this came pretty close in the "D" ending.
I find its the best game this year, if not in the past few years. At least not much games have left such an impression on me and I'm generally as impressionable as a rock.

blank wrote:

Holodeck wrote:Ash vs the Evil Dead I like good B horror

I LOVE cheesy B flicks.

The Car is one that comes to mind. Invasion UFO is another.

The Car trailer. I laughed through most of that movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6-yVoJTCo8

I should watch it again.

It's not horror, but another great one to add to the list is Brisco County Jr. Loved all the characters in the show.