The White Queen
@whitequeennv.bsky.social
The 2023 adaptation to me is a solid watch, but holy shit it's so dour and self-serious and piss-drenched compared to 2011. This is a silly story. It's a very silly book. Always was. Why are you so try-hard about this? Building interiors were lit by natural light, goddammit.
January 16, 2026 at 9:55 AM
The 2023 adaptation to me is a solid watch, but holy shit it's so dour and self-serious and piss-drenched compared to 2011. This is a silly story. It's a very silly book. Always was. Why are you so try-hard about this? Building interiors were lit by natural light, goddammit.
IMO the 1993 version is superior, and Anderson worships the ground Richard Lester (1973) walks on and would never presume to exceed him, but I've felt that 2011 understood The Three Musketeers. They are pure pulp. They are a power fantasy. They are not realistic people. They are fantastical.
January 16, 2026 at 9:48 AM
IMO the 1993 version is superior, and Anderson worships the ground Richard Lester (1973) walks on and would never presume to exceed him, but I've felt that 2011 understood The Three Musketeers. They are pure pulp. They are a power fantasy. They are not realistic people. They are fantastical.
"The wonderful thing about fighting an imaginary opponent, Captain Rochefort, is that he's always greatly skilled yet easily defeated. The pride of victory without the risk of loss."
This fascinating line was cannibalized from the screenplay of the 1993 version. It never appears in that film.
This fascinating line was cannibalized from the screenplay of the 1993 version. It never appears in that film.
January 16, 2026 at 9:44 AM
"The wonderful thing about fighting an imaginary opponent, Captain Rochefort, is that he's always greatly skilled yet easily defeated. The pride of victory without the risk of loss."
This fascinating line was cannibalized from the screenplay of the 1993 version. It never appears in that film.
This fascinating line was cannibalized from the screenplay of the 1993 version. It never appears in that film.
Anderson's RE films are hyperfixated on clones with disposable personalities.
It's a glimpse into Anderson's conceptualization of film characters. They are just actors, they are putting on a performance, the camera stops rolling and they become someone else.
Most of his characters are like this.
It's a glimpse into Anderson's conceptualization of film characters. They are just actors, they are putting on a performance, the camera stops rolling and they become someone else.
Most of his characters are like this.
January 1, 2026 at 2:12 PM
Anderson's RE films are hyperfixated on clones with disposable personalities.
It's a glimpse into Anderson's conceptualization of film characters. They are just actors, they are putting on a performance, the camera stops rolling and they become someone else.
Most of his characters are like this.
It's a glimpse into Anderson's conceptualization of film characters. They are just actors, they are putting on a performance, the camera stops rolling and they become someone else.
Most of his characters are like this.
Anderson doesn't get into his character's heads because his entire motivation for making movies was when he sat in a theatre as a kid and realized that John Wayne wasn't a cowboy. He was pretending to be a cowboy. Movies are false. None of it is real.
Anderson's characters have no internal lives.
Anderson's characters have no internal lives.
January 1, 2026 at 2:09 PM
Anderson doesn't get into his character's heads because his entire motivation for making movies was when he sat in a theatre as a kid and realized that John Wayne wasn't a cowboy. He was pretending to be a cowboy. Movies are false. None of it is real.
Anderson's characters have no internal lives.
Anderson's characters have no internal lives.
Anderson's entire approach to directing has always been hyper-focused on visuals. He isn't particularly interested in dialogue. And he isn't particularly interested in characters. He likes the idea of films where none of the characters have names and none of them say very much.
January 1, 2026 at 2:05 PM
Anderson's entire approach to directing has always been hyper-focused on visuals. He isn't particularly interested in dialogue. And he isn't particularly interested in characters. He likes the idea of films where none of the characters have names and none of them say very much.
I feel there's a slight misunderstanding here. PWSA absolutely understands what his films about thematically. (Most of them are his hyperfixation on how cinema is artifice and John Wayne is not a real cowboy), but Anderson cannot direct actors for shit. He has openly admitted this in interviews.
January 1, 2026 at 2:03 PM
I feel there's a slight misunderstanding here. PWSA absolutely understands what his films about thematically. (Most of them are his hyperfixation on how cinema is artifice and John Wayne is not a real cowboy), but Anderson cannot direct actors for shit. He has openly admitted this in interviews.
Paul has a long running cuckolding fetish. It goes all the way back to Shopping (1994), and pops up in Soldier, Resident Evil, Alien vs. Predator.... His most recent film features the Queen gloating that she's pregnant with another man's child before smothering the bedridden Overlord with a pillow.
January 1, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Paul has a long running cuckolding fetish. It goes all the way back to Shopping (1994), and pops up in Soldier, Resident Evil, Alien vs. Predator.... His most recent film features the Queen gloating that she's pregnant with another man's child before smothering the bedridden Overlord with a pillow.
Michael Bay once called Transformers 2 a piece of crap. It is better structured, better shot, has a higher caliber of visual effects, and is inexplicably better/more sharply written and more emotionally engaging than most action films releasing today.
December 9, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Michael Bay once called Transformers 2 a piece of crap. It is better structured, better shot, has a higher caliber of visual effects, and is inexplicably better/more sharply written and more emotionally engaging than most action films releasing today.
There is clear degradation in various aspects of film production, from how films look to how they're written to how they sound where even B movies had a higher caliber of caliber with more passion and skill than movies today costing 300 million dollars.
Like, basic standards have visibly collapsed.
Like, basic standards have visibly collapsed.
December 9, 2025 at 11:57 AM
There is clear degradation in various aspects of film production, from how films look to how they're written to how they sound where even B movies had a higher caliber of caliber with more passion and skill than movies today costing 300 million dollars.
Like, basic standards have visibly collapsed.
Like, basic standards have visibly collapsed.
I just skimmed through entire list and a clear majority of the films are at least good. Some are great. Some are all-time classics.
Even the lesser films on that list tend to be very interesting, unusual films. This isn't like Netflix in 2025 where it's a sea of movie-shaped paste.
Even the lesser films on that list tend to be very interesting, unusual films. This isn't like Netflix in 2025 where it's a sea of movie-shaped paste.
December 9, 2025 at 11:54 AM
I just skimmed through entire list and a clear majority of the films are at least good. Some are great. Some are all-time classics.
Even the lesser films on that list tend to be very interesting, unusual films. This isn't like Netflix in 2025 where it's a sea of movie-shaped paste.
Even the lesser films on that list tend to be very interesting, unusual films. This isn't like Netflix in 2025 where it's a sea of movie-shaped paste.
The Signalis fanbase is absolutely full of creepy weirdos, let's be real. If you're not careful they'll take over any game's community.
November 12, 2025 at 1:10 PM
The Signalis fanbase is absolutely full of creepy weirdos, let's be real. If you're not careful they'll take over any game's community.
It is seemingly on record that Paradox attempted to salvage HSL's game. They brought in external consultants and tried to work with Hardsuit to save it.
What they concluded was the game was impossible to save. So it was canned. Then Sumo Digital/TCR came along with their pitch.
What they concluded was the game was impossible to save. So it was canned. Then Sumo Digital/TCR came along with their pitch.
November 1, 2025 at 4:54 PM
It is seemingly on record that Paradox attempted to salvage HSL's game. They brought in external consultants and tried to work with Hardsuit to save it.
What they concluded was the game was impossible to save. So it was canned. Then Sumo Digital/TCR came along with their pitch.
What they concluded was the game was impossible to save. So it was canned. Then Sumo Digital/TCR came along with their pitch.
This is really the core issue with Hardsuit's version of the game. There was never a point where we got leaked footage that showed a good or even properly functioning game.
Paradox are incompetent, but Hardsuit fired Mitsoda, not Paradox. Then Paradox saw what Hardsuit had made and flipped out.
Paradox are incompetent, but Hardsuit fired Mitsoda, not Paradox. Then Paradox saw what Hardsuit had made and flipped out.
November 1, 2025 at 4:52 PM
This is really the core issue with Hardsuit's version of the game. There was never a point where we got leaked footage that showed a good or even properly functioning game.
Paradox are incompetent, but Hardsuit fired Mitsoda, not Paradox. Then Paradox saw what Hardsuit had made and flipped out.
Paradox are incompetent, but Hardsuit fired Mitsoda, not Paradox. Then Paradox saw what Hardsuit had made and flipped out.
That said, 100% agree about the NDA thing. It's bullshit. The only slight silver lining is that Paradox seem to be allowing ex-devs to post their work from the Hardsuit version on Artstation. The art department at HSL was severely understaffed, but they did a really amazing job.
November 1, 2025 at 4:46 PM
That said, 100% agree about the NDA thing. It's bullshit. The only slight silver lining is that Paradox seem to be allowing ex-devs to post their work from the Hardsuit version on Artstation. The art department at HSL was severely understaffed, but they did a really amazing job.
Paradox for their part have never aired any of the dirty laundry or pointed out that every piece of existing footage of Hardsuit's game ranges from "Paradox hire this man" to watching the player fire an entire pistol clip at a character head from 3 feet away while dealing no damage.
November 1, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Paradox for their part have never aired any of the dirty laundry or pointed out that every piece of existing footage of Hardsuit's game ranges from "Paradox hire this man" to watching the player fire an entire pistol clip at a character head from 3 feet away while dealing no damage.
Bear in mind these rumours don't entirely come from Paradox. The rumour that Hardsuit's game was "a fucking disaster" and "not fun" and "a boring mess" came from the UK side.
November 1, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Bear in mind these rumours don't entirely come from Paradox. The rumour that Hardsuit's game was "a fucking disaster" and "not fun" and "a boring mess" came from the UK side.
Then we have the leaked footage of the warehouse and hospital from late 2019 (remember the game was ostensibly months from release at this point) where it's literally just walking down a hallway with terrible combat and zero RPG mechanics.
November 1, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Then we have the leaked footage of the warehouse and hospital from late 2019 (remember the game was ostensibly months from release at this point) where it's literally just walking down a hallway with terrible combat and zero RPG mechanics.
What we have is the completely bullshit vertical slice "find Slugg" demo that runs like shit, has abysmal gameplay mechanics, and hits all the beats that fans of 1 wanted to see.
November 1, 2025 at 4:41 PM
What we have is the completely bullshit vertical slice "find Slugg" demo that runs like shit, has abysmal gameplay mechanics, and hits all the beats that fans of 1 wanted to see.
There are problems with this from the actual footage we have of the game, including leaked footage.
November 1, 2025 at 4:40 PM
There are problems with this from the actual footage we have of the game, including leaked footage.
The root of the pivot was the fear of players being upset Bloodlines 2 being a straight-up action game, because so much about VTMB1 (and other games like Swansong) is walking and talking.
The Fabien sequences definitely need reworking, though, because they are pacing-killers.
The Fabien sequences definitely need reworking, though, because they are pacing-killers.
October 27, 2025 at 12:47 PM
The root of the pivot was the fear of players being upset Bloodlines 2 being a straight-up action game, because so much about VTMB1 (and other games like Swansong) is walking and talking.
The Fabien sequences definitely need reworking, though, because they are pacing-killers.
The Fabien sequences definitely need reworking, though, because they are pacing-killers.