The Ugly Monster (Oscar)
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theuglymonster.bsky.social
The Ugly Monster (Oscar)
@theuglymonster.bsky.social
490 followers 890 following 1.9K posts
Movies + TV | Gaming | Comic Books | News Media | Other Indecent Pursuits
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 7d
"Knife fighting in the game isn’t just some afterthought. It’s a love letter to Sicily’s very real old world tradition of paranza corta, a short-blade martial art carried out with stilettos..."

#gaming #NoPaywall

medium.com/theuglymonst...
Mafia: The Old Country — Blood on a Saints Card
Is Los Ondas the future of the franchise?
medium.com
theuglymonster.bsky.social
"Dragons echo a persona’s parents. Halflings echo salt-of-the-earth folks. Ghouls echo other gamers. Skeletons echo exploited workers. Monsters mean stuff in DIE.

Monsters don’t mean shit in Dungeons & Dragons."

#gaming #comics

medium.com/theuglymonst...
‘DIE’ Eclipses D&D in Every Way That Matters
I use the word “cringe” five times in this story
medium.com
November 11, 2025 at 11:22 AM
theuglymonster.bsky.social
"It really feels like the people behind the new series of films — a sequel has indeed been confirmed — painted themselves into a corner by erasing so much of what the previous films established."

#JurassicWorld #comics #writing

medium.com/theuglymonst...
The Consequences of Retconning
Did ‘Jurassic World: Rebirth’ shoot itself in the foot?
medium.com
November 11, 2025 at 5:55 AM
theuglymonster.bsky.social
"About midway through a reluctant viewing of Netflix’s latest romcom, My Oxford Year, I began to suspect that I had seen this movie before.

Twice before, to be precise."

#movies

medium.com/theuglymonst...
‘Sweet November’, ‘Me Before You’, and ‘My Oxford Year’ are all the same movie
And only one of them does it right
medium.com
November 11, 2025 at 1:23 AM
Reposted by The Ugly Monster (Oscar)
susannashore.bsky.social
I spotted this on Mastodon and I find it horrible, not least for the speed with which this has happened.
A post on Mastodon by small cypress (@small_cypress@indieweb.social): As an art teacher I was worried AI would come up as an issue of "why should I learn how to draw when I can use AI instead." But the real issue is that my middle schoolers CONSTANTLY believe all art I show them is AI. Digital art. Photography. Oil paintings from the Western canon. "A human couldn't do that" Being convinced that humans can't make great art is kind of terrifying
November 4, 2025 at 9:56 AM
theuglymonster.bsky.social
"These characters are just like people you come across every day, a fact that manages to both assuage and enhance viewers’ apprehension regarding what these figures are capable of."

#movies #loneliness

medium.com/theuglymonst...
‘Bubble’ is a Bleak Portrait of Small-Town Despair: A 20-Year Retrospective
Steven Soderbergh’s overlooked 2005 feature is a quietly harrowing take on loneliness in a small, stagnant town
medium.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:22 PM
theuglymonster.bsky.social
"The color palette is immediately striking. The backgrounds range from every shade of white, grey, and black possible that allow bursts of red to captivate the eye as they appear."

#indiegame

medium.com/theuglymonst...
‘FAR: Lone Sails’ is a Melancholy Drive Through the Apocalypse
A search for purpose in the ruins of the past
medium.com
November 10, 2025 at 1:46 PM
theuglymonster.bsky.social
"...what makes ‘Allegro Non Troppo’ fascinating is the censorship of its live action portions."

#animated #movies #Italy

medium.com/theuglymonst...
‘Allegro Non Troppo’ and the Censorship of Italian Film and Television
What happens when you can’t call a fascist a fascist?
medium.com
November 10, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Reposted by The Ugly Monster (Oscar)
hashraydamon.me.dm.ap.brid.gy
A story from Joan Westenberg on Medium

Read “The Case for Embracing Cringe“ by Joan Westenberg on Medium: https://medium.com/westenberg/the-case-for-embracing-cringe-120a4ac7059d
Read “The Case for Embracing Cringe“ by Joan Westenberg on Medium
November 10, 2025 at 6:03 AM
Reposted by The Ugly Monster (Oscar)
kastark.bsky.social
effortposting
An edit of the first panel of Dark Dungeons, the famous anti-D&D tract by Jack Chick, in the serial-killer text cutout Lancer meme style. Mistress Frost: "Okay, Hacker, choose your Invasion option." Debbie: "Okay, Game Master. My Fragment Signal slows and impairs the NPC."
October 18, 2025 at 11:02 AM
theuglymonster.bsky.social
"While Whispers of the Heart and Lost in Translation are completely different in medium and age-rating, they’re both about the same thing: the struggles of communication."

#ScarlettJohansson #anime #movies #NoPaywall

medium.com/theuglymonst...
Lost in Translation x Whisper of the Heart
Two different movies with an unexpected theme in common
medium.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:50 AM
theuglymonster.bsky.social
"It is not hard to see the Randian influences in ‘Megalopolis’. Francis Ford Coppola talked about wanting to write Caesar Catalina like an “enlightened Robert Moses, more like Ayn Rand.”."

medium.com/theuglymonst...
‘Megalopolis’: the Randian Philosopher-King vs the Graeberian Revolutionary Radical
Who gets to live in Catalina’s utopia? And is it a Graeberian or a Randian utopia?
medium.com
November 10, 2025 at 12:22 AM
theuglymonster.bsky.social
"...Nico and her familiars are the neighborhood handypeople, offering magical solutions to otherwise mundane problems, no matter how impractical the request is."

#anime #NoPaywall

medium.com/theuglymonst...
‘Witch Watch’ is a Monster Mashup of Shonen and Romantic Comedy
A wonderfully weird anime for absolutely everyone
medium.com
November 9, 2025 at 9:09 PM
theuglymonster.bsky.social
"Standard has become just as chaotic as playing the much-harder, more-competitive “legacy” game formats, which allow cards from large swatches of MTG history in a non-rotating format, only changed as new sets get added into the pool."

#MagicTheGathering

medium.com/theuglymonst...
Magic: the Gathering Arena | The Yin & Yang of Standard Season 2025
Magic: the Gathering never dies; it just mutates into a different card game
medium.com
November 9, 2025 at 10:14 AM
Reposted by The Ugly Monster (Oscar)
anarisis.dylangrinder.com
Heads up for folx playing Arc Raiders: Embark has openly stated (in an interview with GamesRadar+), that the game uses the same AI voice tech as The Finals, and the CEO has talked about using AI to generate 3D models from YouTube rips.

If you're anti-AI you should not be playing Arc Raiders!
luminouslyiii.bsky.social Luminouslyiii ✨⚔ @luminouslyiii.bsky.social · 3d
Not to be the fun police but I do hope people know that Arc Raiders does use generative AI for voice acting, and by supporting the game you're letting higher-ups know that this is an okay practice.

They try to downplay this on the Steam store page by describing the AI usage as vaguely as possible.
AI generated content disclosure via Arc Raider's Steam page: The developers describe how their game uses AI Generated Content like this: During the development process, we may use procedural- and AI-based tools to assist with content creation. In all such cases, the final product reflects the creativity and expression of our own development team.
November 9, 2025 at 5:05 AM
theuglymonster.bsky.social
"Despite being a drawn-out suicide, the boys are compelled to sign up for a purpose greater than the prize. Participating in, and especially winning, is a symbol of strength, virility, and endurance."

#movies #TheLongWalk

medium.com/theuglymonst...
Brutally Beautiful: Brotherhood and ‘The Long Walk’
2025’s Most Important Film and a Must-See for Young Men
medium.com
November 9, 2025 at 3:59 AM
theuglymonster.bsky.social
"Cringe is a big part of DIE. In issue #4, Isabelle — the God Binder — is forced to read from her teenage diary to a congregation as a way to pay off her debt to one of the many gods she deals with."

#fantasy #comic #TTRPG

medium.com/theuglymonst...
‘DIE’ Maps the Madness of Roleplaying Games
A comic about the unhinged nature of TTRPGs
medium.com
November 9, 2025 at 12:46 AM
theuglymonster.bsky.social
"Initial reactions were positive — the metrics probably got skewed due to non-game fans enjoying it — but mixed to negative opinions started popping up days after the release..."

#DevilMayCry

medium.com/theuglymonst...
‘Devil May Cry’ is a Complete Misfire from Netflix
Adi Shankar’s clouded vision made the animated adaptation of the beloved video game franchise a joke, and I’m not laughing
medium.com
November 8, 2025 at 1:40 AM
theuglymonster.bsky.social
"...Magic jumped the shark, and it looks like it brought a Furby along for the ride. It really feels like Magic: The Gathering is turning into Fortnite."

medium.com/theuglymonst...
Magic: The Gathering Has Jumped The Shark…Literally
The most powerful card is the Credit Card
medium.com
November 7, 2025 at 1:49 PM
theuglymonster.bsky.social
"So often the losers in these bouts get ignored, so it is a valiant effort on this film’s part to try to correct that. But in doing so, it repels emotional investment in its central story."

#TheSmashingMachine #movies

medium.com/theuglymonst...
‘The Smashing Machine’ is a Beautiful Tribute to Mixed Martial Arts
But as a feature film, continually resisting traditional storytelling beats garners mixed results
medium.com
November 6, 2025 at 11:06 PM
theuglymonster.bsky.social
"The story is set during Batman’s early crime fighting days as he’s working to bring down the Falcone crime family..."

#comics

medium.com/theuglymonst...
Beginner Superhero Comics for Normies
“Hey Heather, what IS a good beginner superhero comic book for a normie like me?”
medium.com
November 6, 2025 at 4:04 PM
theuglymonster.bsky.social
"AI is nothing but a copyright-infringing third-party toy company, a serial plagiarizer in the first degree backed by good PR, and other shameful turns of phrase."

#Artificial_Intelligence #Peacemaker

medium.com/theuglymonst...
What ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2 Has in Common with AI Photos
Are there spectres in the shutter or just synthetic doubles?
medium.com
November 6, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Reposted by The Ugly Monster (Oscar)
cardboard-crack.bsky.social
Secret Lair #MTG
NEW SECRET LAIR! NICE TRY WOTC! YOU'RE NOT TRICKING ME AGAIN! HORRIBLE WEBSITE! RIDICULOUS QUEUES! PREYING ON MY FOMO! IT'LL BE BETTER THIS TIME. MAYBE IT WILL BE BETTER. SURELY WOTC WILL FIX SECRET LAIRS SOMEDAY. MAYBE TODAY'S THAT DAY! YES! I'M GOING TO GET THIS SECRET LAIR! DON'T WORRY, THERE'LL BE A NEW SECRET LAIR NEXT WEEK. APOLOGIES TO CHARLES SCHULZ CARDBOARD-CRACK.COM
November 6, 2025 at 5:52 AM
theuglymonster.bsky.social
"I absolutely love everything about this show."

#television #NoPaywall

medium.com/theuglymonst...
Derry Girls: Humor in the Mundane and Political Unrest
‘Derry Girls’ is a British sitcom about five teenagers living in Northern Ireland during the Troubles
medium.com
November 6, 2025 at 4:47 AM
theuglymonster.bsky.social
"If being “woke” is fighting against injustice, championing the truth, and supporting the Geneva Conventions… then yeah, Superman is super “woke.”"

medium.com/theuglymonst...
Yeah, ‘Superman’ is about Palestine (among other things)
On the importance of a “woke,” punk rock Superman
medium.com
November 6, 2025 at 12:30 AM
theuglymonster.bsky.social
"In the heist sequences, the lean qualities of the action are just propulsive enough to never feel understated, while still underscoring the gritty realism that makes these scenes shine."

#movies

medium.com/theuglymonst...
‘The Town’ Melds Gritty Action with Surface-Level Characterisation
One-note stereotyping and clichés weigh down Ben Affleck’s sophomore effort as director
medium.com
November 5, 2025 at 2:56 PM