Thursday, December 29, 2016

UPGRADE!

Before redownloading stuff, but still.
I finally talked myself into pulling the trigger on a 2TB replacement drive in the PS4. I've been juggling space for most of the last year, and with the monthly free games, holiday sales, and my general penchant these days for digital purchases, it was only getting worse.

So I found a couple of up to date GamesRadar articles detailing drive recommendations and a detailed how to and did the deed. The trickiest part was making sure the external HD I used for a full backup was formatted correctly (exFAT, Master Boot Record) so that the PS4 would recognize it. But once I cleared that hurdle, it was simple to swap the drives, install system software downloaded on the PC and dropped onto a flash drive, and restore the PS4 from the backup. The drive was 90 bucks off Amazon, so not too bad.

Now all I need is a sale on Uncharted 4 digital.

Monday, December 19, 2016

Roadblock: End Of The Line

N-EVIL-LE!
The single best thing to happen at tonight's PPV is the announcement that the next PPV is the Royal Rumble, which is five weeks away. The second best thing that happened was the reveal, to me at least, that the WWE would be doing for UK wrestling what it did for the Cruiserweights, with a tournament, a champion, and possibly a weekly show, with NIGEL MCGUINNESS on commentary. The third best thing is in the picture above, the fourth best thing was the women's match, and the rest was WWE wrestling as usual.

@midnight Power Rankings (12/11-14)

He ateus an hourus before swimmingus.

@midnight closes out the year with a strong week, with four shows from great to very good. Goddamn, I love Morgan Murphy. She brought the 92% Dark and brought it hard, but always judiciously and fair. But really, solid performances throughout, even Matt Besser, who I don't always like in this format.

Friday, December 16, 2016

Roadblock: End Of The Line Predictions

Easily in the bottom 10% of PPV names of all time.
The weird part is, for a single-brand add-on PPV shoved into the pre-Christmas hole, Roadblock's card is actually looking pretty fucking amazing from an in-ring standpoint. Story-wise and booking-wise it could still be a clusterfuck, and there's always Roman Reigns, but still.

Motherfuckin' Lucha Underground! (En La Sombre)

Guess who's back!
The Battle of the Bulls concludes, and the Snake Tribe rises in a jam-packed hour of Lucha Underground.

Weekly Wrasslin' Wroundup (Dec 12-14)

Sorry, Shinsuke. This is my new wrestling boyfriend now.
Bitter cruelty - the factors that made it very easy to find the time to watch wrestling this week also made it tough to write/post about it. But here's the Wroundup on a fairly average week in WWE as we had towards, wha tis it, Roadblock? Roadblock. Shit, that means I gotta do Roadblock predictions.

Sunday, December 11, 2016

@midnight Power Rankings (Dec 5-8)

A very nice joke indeed.
Clearly, I liked my comedy this week like I like my Pepsi - dark. Steve Agee and Mike Lawrence brought their customary dark streaks to standout performances on @midnight this week, but bonus props to Nate Fernald, who I remember as the Nice Boy Telling Nice Jokes from the Pete Holmes Show, who's best joke wasn't even dark, just ridiculously brilliant. Monkey Beatboxing Championships!

Motherfuckin' Lucha Underground! (Bulls Of Boyle Heights)

So much better than mooning over Daga.
All of hte in-ring action this week revolves around the Lucha Underground Championship, as a new tournament format is started to pick a new #1 Contender, while Sexy Star seeks revenge and a rematch.

Friday, December 9, 2016

Monthly Free Games (Dec 2016)

Strongest in a very weak field.
I guess they want you to buy games during the Christmas month, because oh, what a turdpile the free games are this month. A bunch of subpar indies on the PS4 and a couple of generation-boundary games full of those weird faces you get from late-period last-gen games or early-period current-gen games on the XBox One. On the upside, all the shitty Playstation games were cross-buy on the PS4, so I didn't even have to see if my PS3 controllers were charged.

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Weekly Wrasslin' Wroundup (11/5-8)

The end of the week's best match.
Rough fucking week for WWE, to be honest. I looked back once I'd sorted everything. Raw had two good things in it, NXT barely had two, and 205 Live had two. Smackdown had none.

Oh, The Metahumanity! (Finales Edition)

Cage isn't a man... HE'S A MACHINE! Wait. Wrong show.
That's... convenient. I finish Luke Cage just as all the other superhero shows go on hiatus for a month and a half. Guess OTM will be taking a bit of a break, then. Maybe I'll keep trying to like Westworld, since, no matter how much Westworld I watch, I'm told if I watch a little more, I'll love it.

Monday, December 5, 2016

Oh, The Metahumanity! (Invasion Week)

They're about to have a pointless fight!
Crossover time! Next weel will kick off a probably lengthy break in Oh, The Metahumanity, as the mid-season finales of everything are on deck, and I only have one more episode of Luke Cage to go. And no, the crossover didn't make me want to watch more Supergirl. Even if it is probably better than Legends of Tomorrow.

TLC 2016

Really, Bryan? This match? Kinda maybe, actually.
Pacing is a problem with hardcore matches. They tend to be slower affairs, as the wrestlers have to set up the equipment and the spots and be extra careful hitting them. And if you fill an entire card with those matches, the entire show can suffer. And so it was with the Smackdown-exclusive TLC on Sunday.

Sunday, December 4, 2016

@midnight Power Rankings (Nov 28-Dec 1)

Almost a Pete Holmes Show reunion!
Consistency is the watchword for last wee's @midnight performances. Pete Holmes took the week because we haven't seen him in a while and also he spent most of the time insulting his buddy Joe DeRosa. Dana Carvey brought up the rear, but amongst the old unfunny people who've done the show, he did pretty well. Evenyone else was solid to a degree that makes these rankings even more arbitrary than usual.

Thursday, December 1, 2016

Motherfuckin' Lucha Underground! (Breaker Of Bones)

MORE KICKASS NINJA LADIES PLEASE!
The entire episode of Lucha Undergournd this week featured Pentagon Dark vs. the Black Lotus Triad, which made for great proper debuts for the memebers of the Triad, and a showcase for Pentagon Dark that also exposes the constant problem of Pentagon Dark.

205 Live (Premiere)

Fuckin' Jack Gallagher!
In the future, 205 Live will be folded into the Wroundup, but given that this is the first episode of the new show, let's talk about things in a bit more detail.

Predictions: TLC 2016


Another damn PPV, another set of predictions. Back to these being separate now that the Weekly Wroundup covers 3 (and soon 4) shows. My overall prediction for the entertainment value of this show? Five out of ten, tops, with Lynch-Bliss being the best match of the night.

Weekly Wrasslin' Wroundup (Nov 28-30)

Best thing that happened in WWE all week.
I watched Raw this week using a trial Hulu subscription because of scheduling, and marveled at the lack of filler, before I realized the Hulu version cuts out like a third of the show. Which means that if you don't watch Raw live or DVR it, there is literally no way to watch the whole thing for like a month. It's not available through cable on demand, Hulu edits it down, and the WWE Network doesn't pick it up until a month later. That is crazypants.

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Oh, The Metahumanity! (Oct 21-27)

A whole new color of Speed Lightning! Yay!
I know this week is the big Invasion crossover, and we already know the "four-night" part is total bullshit, since the only crossover scene on Supergirl was two minutes long, at the end, and repeated on The Flash. But I forgot to write up the stuff I watched last week, so might as well get it in now.

Sunday, November 27, 2016

HateWatch: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice


Ah, HBO. The only proper way to properly experience the DC Cinematic Universe, aka Zack Snyder's Slo-Mo Adventures. I'd heard a lot about how bad this movie was since it came out, and it still surprised me. It's fucking dire.

Motherfuckin' Lucha Underground! (Every Woman Is Sexy, Every Woman Is A Star)

Well....
After what seems like a season's worth of promos promising their arrival, the Rabbit Tribe debuts.

Weekly Wrasslin' Wroundup (Week of 11/21)

OK, another format change for the Weekly Wrasslin' Wroundup. It's back to covering all the shows once a week because, well, I'm sick of recaps and instead I'm just gonna rate all the things that happened into three groups. Good things, generally ordered best down. Bad things, generally ordered worst up. And the rest.

Monday, November 21, 2016

Survivor Series 2016

Ladies and gentlemen, the hero of Survivor Series.
In the end, Survivor Series was... OK. A surprising, above average number of cool moments throughout, hampered nearly constantly by the fact that I don't care about the brand rivalry. At all. I would, however, like to extend a special thanks to the Toronto crowd for continuing to make EVERY number chant a "10" in honor of Tye Dillinger. That was probably my favorite part of the entire show.

NXT Takeover: Toronto

Bobby Roode's career is just a series of increasingly insane robes.
Once again, NXT puts on a show before a big WWE PPV, and once again, an incredible amount of effort by the performers and a super-hot crowd lets NXT steal the show from the big boys.

@midnight Power Rankings (Nov 14-17)

Learning fun new things about Uncrustables.
Obviously, we need to talk about Doub Benson's unprecedentedly low place on the Power Rankings this week. Doug and the level of copetition this week had one thing in common - they were both a bit too high for him to do well. It happens to all guys at some point, Doug, and of course, these rankings are arbitrary, pointless, and not intended as a slight on any of the performers.

Friday, November 18, 2016

Weekly Wrasslin' Wroundup (NXT)


No. Just stop.
As is traditional with the rare NXT pre-Takeover show, the Takeover stuff is all in video packages and the show itself features side content. So my Takeover Toronto predictions will have to be separate from the main show stuff.

Oh, The Metahumanity! (Nov 13-17)

It's Bobo Master Chief! I mean The Punisher! I mean Vigilante!
Not the best week for the CW. And with the Invasion crossover coming soon, let's hope things pick up, 'cause I'm gonna have to watch a Supergirl and a legends.

Motherfuckin' Lucha Underground! (Aztec Warfare III)

NEW CHAMP NEW CHAMP NEW CHAMP
AZTEC WARFARE! The first of Lucha Underground's two big events each season. Twenty luchadors enter, one leaves with the Lucha Underground belt. This year, in a move of sheer hubris, The Monster Matanza Cueto defends his title from the #1 spot.

Weekly Wrasslin' Wroundup (Raw/SD)

WHY CAN'T WE HAVE NICE THINGS?
Raw and Smackdown have difficult challenges this week,and so do I. How do two shows do go-home stuff for a PPV where all the matches are Raw vs. Smackdown? And how do I recap and predict? Gonna have to go by the card and then talk about what happened leading up to it. And, of course, the predictions themselves are very who gives a shit as a result.

Monday, November 14, 2016

@midnight Power Rankings (11/7-10)

Not the easiest @midnight to watch, even days later.
Ah, election week comedy. It was an easy decision to make to delete the entire week's Daily Shows, it was easy to wait several days before diving into the Full Frontal, but the live @midnight was tricky because it happened literally at the point where we all knew in our hearts that things had gone horribly wrong. Thank you Ron Funches and Dolph Lundgren.

Oh, The Metahumanity! (11/7-10)

EVIL! POLITE AND EVIL!
A light week thanks to the election, so I was able to knock off a couple of Luke Cages around stomach flu and political armageddon. Plus, Arrow!

Thursday, November 10, 2016

Motherfuckin' Lucha Underground! (Two-Ep Spectacular)

Two episodes, two GIFs.
I mean, hot damn.

Gotta double up on the Lucha Underground stuff this week because of, well, everything. Luckily, these two episodes, "Loser Leaves Lucha" and "Ready For War" are kind of a package deal setting things up before Aztec Warfare.

Weekly Wrasslin; Wroundup (NXT)

He is Pentagon Nakamura and he has CERO FUCKS.
This week NXT comes to you from Full Sail and California, because for some reason they taped the Dusty Rhodes semifinals at a live event and the filler stuff at FUll Sail.

Weekly Wrasslin' Wroundup (SD Live)

Paying their dues, I guess.

Hope you enjoy long promos where the members of a Survivor Series team spend a long time bickering awkwardsly in the ring, because after the three we had on Raw, we open Smackdown with one as well.

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Weekly Wrasslin' Wroundup (Raw)

They picked a good time to leave the country.
This wee's Raw is all about being in Scotland and naming Survivor Series teams.

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Oh, The Metahumanity! (Nov 1-5)

OH NOES SPOOKY EYES
With all the shows taking Election Week off for some reason, I totally decided to wait and post this late and it had nothing to do with laziness and/or stomach flu. No, really. Gonna take the opportunity to get a couple more deep into Luke Cage this week.

Luke Cage: "Just To Get A Rep" (8% Stupid)

This one plays out fairly slowly, against the background of Pop's memorial service and Cage's daylight street justice. Cottonmouith squeezes the people of Harlem, so Cage squeezes back. This culinates in a weird, but mostly effective Dueling Eulogy sequence where Luke Cage wins over hearts and minds.

In other news. Claire Temple arrives in Harlem, after the events of Daredevil Season 2, possibly to start her path toward Night Nursing. And the Knight-Scarfe  subplot starts heating up, as some cops are suspicious that Scarfe is dirty. Which, of course, he is.

Agents Of SHIELD: "The Good Samaritan" (16% Stupid)

Normally, AoS strikes a solid plot and characterization balance. Characters change and move forward slowly, but the progression is consistent and plots are (usually) not rehashed. I mean, yeah, this week we have Origin Story, Secret Revelation, and Clashing With Authority, but it's all fine. But this one was all plot, no character.

Jeffrey Mace is becoming a problem. I mean, I know it's a bit early in the season for them to lay all his cards on the table, but his contant shifting from vague ally to vague nemesis is making me a bit seasick. Is there a method to this madness or is he shifting in the wind to make plots work?

I'm OK with the plot twist of Ghost Rider's uncle being the actual bad guy, but it's a situation where the only way to keep the viewers from seeing the twist coming is to leave it almost completely unsupported.

The Flash: "Monster" (5% Stupid)

I enjoyed this episode so much I looked up the writer, Zack Stentz. His only other episode, "The Runaway Dinosaur", was one of the biggest turds of Season 2, but that one had a bunch of other writers on it. It's possible other writers will be added to IMDB later, but the point is, whoever wrote this, MORE LIKE THIS.

This is that rarest of Flash episodes, one in which nobody has to be dumbasses for the plot to work. In fact, everyone in this episode acted almost uncharacteristically sane and competent. The interpersonal angst was, for Flash, antural and not overplayed. Some of the Julian stuff resolved awfully quickly, yes, but it was reasonably well supported and very well acted, so it worked. This is the most I've enjoyed a Flash episode in like a year and a half. Good job.

Arrow: "Human Target" (10% Stupid)

And there's the character pees that was missing last week. Man, it's great having Diggle back, and his character and Wild Dog's really play well off each other. All their scenes together were wuper appealing.

Plus we get the villain shift this episode, as Promootheus kills Church after Team Arrow catches him. And while I certainly could have lived without Felicity's New Boyfriend drama, they handled it very competently. And hey, Ollie gets to be a halfway decent character. Also, HUMAN TARGET! Played by Nuke, of all people.

Next week, though, it seems like Star City journalists are doing their first journalism.

Sunday, November 6, 2016

Monthly Free Games (November 2016)

This is the one to seek out.
Sony is the clear winner when it comes to current-gen free games this month. Last-gen is a bit of a draw.

Saturday, November 5, 2016

Some Fun TV Pops AND THE BEST POPS IN THE UNIVERSE



So we're going through one of those times again where a bunch of Pops I heard about the last time I was looking around at Pop news are actually out. So I got the full set of Preacher ones, not because they're the greatest Pops, but because I loved Preacher so much. And they're fine. Plus technically Jesse and Tulip also count as MCU pops via actor connections. Of course, with every incarnation, Arseface just keeps getting cuter, which doesn't seem right.

Friday, November 4, 2016

Doctor Strange

Sorceror Squad! IN COLOR.
Super-short relative to other Marvel movies grade: I give it an Ant-Man Plus.


Thursday, November 3, 2016

Weekly Wrasslin' Wroundup (NXT)

Hello, Shane Thorne's face. I'm Roderick Strong's knee.
This week, the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tries gamely to soldier on despite the NXT roster's best attempts to accidentally murder each other.

Weekly Wrasslin' Wroundup (SD Live)

Let's hope Curt Hawkins doesn't, as they say, get paid by the hour.
Smackdown this week takes the one good thing it had going for it, the scrawny, weird-looking, but plucky James Ellsworth, and ruins it. Now what's going to lighten my load from a jacked as fuck tag division and whatever the fuck keeps happening with Randy Orton?

Weekly Wrasslin' Wroundup (Raw)

RIP Francesca II
What rough beast is this, slouching toward Survivor Series? It's Monday Night Raw, and I don't know what the fuck they're doing most of the time.

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Hell In A Cell

Setting the tone early in the match.
Gotta say, as PPV's go, WWE's done a lot worse than Sunday's Hell in a Cell, and as brand-specific PPV's go, they've ALL been worse than this. A few duds on the card, but the strong Raw roster brought it.

Monday, October 31, 2016

Oh, The Metahumanity! (10/25-28)

So close to nailing this bit, yet so far.
In a shocking twist, this week, Oh, The Metahumanity kills off a major character. I'm not expecting it to be replaced anytime soon, and I certainly don't expect it to come back from the dead.

@midnight Power Rankings (Oct 25-27)

Possibly the week's realy winner. Buzzer.
Short week on @midnight, but a solid one. Colton Dunn won the week with a couple of absolutely killer jokes. Jenny Zigrino gets bumped down the list for the most arbitrary judgment I make in this ranking - going to six words in a BLANK IN FIVE WORDS Hashtag War not once, but twice.

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Motherfuckin' Lucha Underground! (Gifts of the Gods)

Goddamn I love this show so much.
This week's MFLU moment may be the most motherfucking Lucha Undergroundy moment in history. So awesome.

Weekly Wrasslin; Wroundup (NXT)

Live on tape from her side yard, it's MICKIE JAMES!
We're finally finishing the first round of the Dusty Classic! Not as great an NXT as the last couple of weeks, but not bad.

Weekly Wrasslinn' Wroundup (SD Live)

James Ellsworth has a sad.
Smackdown is in a weird place right now with no PPV of its own on the horizon and everything geared toward beating Raw in Survivor Series in a few weeks. Luckily, James Ellsworth, because any show with two hands has a fighting chance at being entertaining.

Weekly Wrasslin' Wroundup (raw)

Ball taken, home went.
Raw comes to you from my home of Minneapolis. Am I there? No I am not. But I will be judging the hometown crowd extra harshly as I make my Hell In The Cell predictions.