SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME (Jon Watts, 2019)

(*** / *****): Somehow missed this one but, as with all of the MCU Spideys, it was nothing if not a good time. Holland, Zendaya, and Batalon terrific; Gyllenhaal (unsurprisingly) a great Mysterio: changes made to the source character to fit him into the MCU worked well, especially the ones going back to the first IRON MAN film (Jeff Bridges appearances are always a win). Still, though, it was an MCU film, so it could've been so much more: standard lackings in visual distinction, visceral web-slinging wonder (Insomniac's games are far better in this department), and narrative oomph abound. Night Monkey forever.

Status: hurling sniffle-laden profanities at the still-leaking pond. Pondwerk doth resume.

Update: I did, indeed, spend part of the afternoon sitting in Orangina The Chair (after baking in the lawnmowing heat of the day) and, while doing so, spotted my long-missing yellow highlighter (Sharpie Gel, the only kind that don’t smear fountain pen ink) peeking out from under a corner across the room. A positive omen, I think.

Tomorrow's newsletter is in the send queue and I've spent the remaining time sitting in Orangina The Chair, staring at Fictions02 and 03, and wondering why I don't sit in Orangina The Chair and stare into space during my non-working hours too. Something else I need to work on.

One of the things I’m working at is making myself enjoy the backyard this summer, and not look at it like the neverending project I’ve viewed it as since I moved in here. Applies to too many other life aspects as well.

STRAY (BlueTwelve Studio, 2022)

(****+ / *****): Easily the most fascinating cyberpunk dystopia brought to game-life in recent memory (at least since DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION and yes, I'm including CYBERPUNK 2077 here), each small and contained section a vast, deep world unto itself, a unique beating heart throughout. Other than wishing it were longer (not a bad thing) and for a bit more variety in gameplay, STRAY is nothing short of a (n ever-so-slightly) flawed work of game-making genius. Not only are my heartstrings well and duly tugged, but I learned a new word: Hopepunk; meow.