Weekly Roundup 09/07/2025
The Stacks, Alien: Earth, Peacemaker, Ne Zha II, How To Train Your Dragon
Last weeks newsletter was pretty abrupt huh? But this one will be more normal. I’ve got some things to share this week. But I am going to stop being so personal. It’s a weird line to walk because my writing is personal. Like I really do pour my heart into everything I write. Writing is very personal for me. But, you don't need to hear about my anger at the world, or my depression, or whatever mental issues I have. While we were doing Fake Nerd Podcast, I for some reason made it my mission to destigmatize mental heath because it’s something I believe it. But all it did was make my cohosts uncomfortable and I fear it does the same thing here. When the podcast ended, I wanted to put a button on that, but I’ve not done a good job of that. I’m going to recommit myself to this.
Now as far as leaving Substack. I think I will be doing that. I just need the time to figure it out. Time I don't have right now. I’ll keep you guys updated when I figure it out and for now continue as if nothing has changed.
I know this is already long, but I wanted to share something with you all. The Comic Book Couples Counseling Podcast did something really cool. It’s honestly something that’s so good, I don’t know why no one thought of it before. They call it The Stacks
If you've ever watched a celebrity go into the Criterion Closet, then you get the idea. But basically, a comic book creater pulls out some comics and talks about why they’re great. Only seven episodes are out, but I think this is an incredible idea. So good, that I’m mad I didn’t have it. You pull out a comic and talk about why it’s so good. I want everyone to do this. I want to see hundreds of episodes and not just from writers and artists, but fans too. There’s so much potential here and I’m so glad someone did it. Please check it out.
What’s in the rest of the newsletter?
My thoughts page
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Seaon 3 Episode 8
Peacemaker Season 2 Episodes 1 & 2
Alien: Earth Episodes 1-4
Weekly roundup
Ne Zha II
My review of How To Train Your Dragon
What Am I Working On?
So this is what I’ve been working on all week. I decided that I was tired of writing about how much I hated this season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and wanted to see if I could divert that energy into shows that I liked. I do want to try and make this page look a little cleaner but Substack is kind of limiting in a way that I don't love.
But here you’ll find episode 8 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, the first four episodes of Alien: Earth and the first two episodes of Peacemaker. I'm behind on all three shows since I started doing this, but I hope you guys will go back and read my thoughts. I put a lot of effort into them and I’m glad to say that it was a more positive experience. SNW just put me in such a bad mood that I needed to fix it.
I also think I’m going to abandon the “Thought Bubble” idea and just rebrand it to “Thoughts.” Pretty generic but sometimes simple is beter.
Not sure what I’m going to start on next. I might be taking a break from my longform essays for the time being. Maybe finally clean my office.
Weekly Musings
Nothing to put here.
Weekly Roundup
Ne Zha II
W/D: Yu Yang
Quick story: When the pandemic first hit, my friends and I were trying to figure out what to do for podcast episodes. I think it was Sam who suggested that we review a movie called Jiang Ziya (I don’t remember how he found out about it). I liked the movie but we found out that it was a spin off of a movie that came out a year earlier called Ne Zha. We always intended to go back and review it but, like a lot of things, it never happened. That bummed me out, but I forgot about it until I started hearing about a Chinese animated film becoming the highest grossing animated film of all time. Reminded that I bought the original with the intention of reviewing it, I watched it, and loved it. Crazy how these things come around.
Ne Zha II is one of my favorite movies of the year and I sometimes wonder if it beat out Kpop Demon Hunters as my favorite. It’s a hell of a film that builds on the previous one in a way that makes it feel like this was the original and the original was the comic book tie-in they released. Don’t get me wrong, if you’re going to see this one, you have to watch the first one first. Look, that first movie rocks, but this one takes it up more then a notch. If you could rate movies 6 out of 5 or 11 out of 10, then this would be that movie.
First things first, the film is almost three hours long. Which makes it more then an hour longer then the original. But believe me when I tell you that I was fully engaged the entire time. It’s expertly crafted, structure and animated to the point that I almost wish it was an hour longer. But there’s not a single wasted second. Every character not only gets a story arc, but a compelling one too. Including Ne Zha’s mom, who didn't get a lot to do in the first film.
I don’t think I stopped crying throughout the last half hour of the film. But not only that, there’s imagery in this film that horrified me. It progresses the story, but that story is far more adult then I expected it to be. There is one moment that I genuinely couldn’t believe was happening.
Much of the english voice cast returns with some new additions. The returning cast is more then welcom, and the the ones who are new keep the same energy and vocal style of the actor they’re replacing. With only one major difference. In the first film, Lady Yin, Ne Zha’s mother, was played by Stephanie Sheh, and here she’s played by Michelle Yeoh. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love Michelle Yeoh, but she’s only there because A24 felt like they needed a name in the film and you can tell. It’s not that she’s miscast, it’s that she stands out. But, and this is the most important thing, it doesn’t take away from the incredible moments that the character gets in the movie.
I’m a huge fan of the Japanese anime Gurren Laggan and I got some serious vibes from this. Especially in the end when they were fighting the big bad. There’s some speeches, some yelling, some bold, exciting, and creative action scenes, and the line “if I can’t be who I am, then I’ll change the world” which I think about all the time.
I want to give a special shout out to the dragon designs. Au Guang, the Dragon King, has a “human form” that looks so cool. The eastern dragon form looks cool but doesn’t always make for an interesting action scene, but doing the human form fixes that and allows for some really cool action. There’s more then him but I would have to get into spoilers if I said more and I kind of want people to see this movie.
Shen Gongbao gets a greate arc in this film also. Frankly, I’m just gushing at this point, but there’s so much more nuance to him in this film then there was in the last one.
Gods, what else can I even say. It’s a brilliant movie about defying the plan that destiny makes for you. A movie about how figures in authority trying to make a everyone fit in a box shouldn’t be trusted. A movie about forging your own path in the wake, even if it might not be the one you once coveted. Just an incredible movie.
Gods I can't wait to watch it again.
Recently Posted
This was the last thing to get published on Substack. It’s my review of the live-action How To Train Your Dragon. A charming film, but one that I can't help but wonder why it was made in the first place. It’s all in the review if you haven't read it already. Is the title to mean? Should I change it? Let me know.
