Adolesence and Twilight of the Gods

Two Netflix series about killing!

Adolesence

This four episode British series starts off with the arrest of a 13 year old boy for murder and goes from there. It's a pretty heavy story in terms of content but also features excellent cinematography and acting, the primary reason for which is that each of the one hour episodes is all shot in a single take with no cuts. This is excellent TV and is high on my recommended list.

Twilight of the Gods (Season 1)

This Norse themed animated series has a high content of violence, gore, nudity and sex - definitely not for younger audiences! It follows a vengeful bride to be who goes after Thor with the help of Loki and more than a few other Norse mythological beings. I like the art style and the flowing animation but it suffers from characters passing the idiot ball which makes the tale far less epic than it's trying to be. I'll watch season 2 if they make it but am not so fussed if it never happens either.

Time (TV) and Sifu (PC)

Media that spans a few years?

Time

This British drama series focuses on people going to prison and what happens during their time there, and it is surprisingly well done with a tight script. It also helps when you've got strong actors like Sean Bean (season 1) and Bella Ramsey (season 2 - set in a female prison) among many others [they're all good, even the ones just there for you to hate]. Not one I thought I'd like but its turned out to be one of the best shows I've watched for a while. Definitely recommended!

Sifu

You've trained your life to get vengeance on the gang that killed your dad and wrecked your dojo. Now armed with just your martial arts and a magical trinket that lets you come back from the dead but just older, you need to go on your button mashing perfectly timed button pressing rampage. Can you complete your quest without being an old man? It's an interesting mechanic for sure, and you get to retain / unlock skills as you age - and then can cheat by finding x amount of shrines to make you younger again. The art style is very cool too, but for me the game feels... repetitive. Like I'm just getting older while doing the same thing over and over again. Oh yeah, I am! :P

Umbrella Academy (TV) and The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

Not fighting fair.

Umbrella Academy (4 Seasons)

This show focuses on a dysfunctional superhero "family" adopted by a domineering and eccentric billionaire father who uses them to fight crime. Alas after a botched mission they all go their separate ways for years until their hated father figure dies. It's as this point they discover they have to stop the apocalypse (or, a chain of them as it turns out). Some funny bits, some cool bits, and some decent fight scenes pepper the very weird plot so it is entertaining for the spectacle if nothing else. Acting wise I'd say Aidan Gallagher is the stand out performer here and easily steals the majority of the scenes he's in.

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

It is World War II and the British have had enough of the Nazi's dominating the seas thanks to their U-boats, so they assemble a small team (with members played by Henry Cavill and Alan Ritchson to name a few) to go an unsanctioned undercover mission to hit the U-boat supply station on a Spanish controlled island. On one side it's a very humorous take with Nazi's being terrible shots and having so many of them as fodder but there are a few brief bits of torture just to reinforce that the Nazi's are the very bad guys. Ultimately a movie to turn your brain off for, as that's the best way to enjoy it.

Strike Back

The mission comes first.

This 8 season action series is a strange beast, but it always focuses on the members of Section 20 a British military intelligence unit that's often deployed against an array of terrorist threats. Without fail some of those threats are usually in Section 20 itself and there's a rotating door for cast members as they get killed off quite regularly.

There are plenty of action scenes which seem to improve per season, and its nice to see little things like bullet holes and weapon knowledge from the cast. From season two there is also loads of soft porn injected in between all the action segments which slowly reduces as the seasons go by, but hey - I'm all for violence and eye candy so that gets a tick from me.

Our favorite character in the last few seasons.

Story wise - well, it's fine. Nothing overly mind blowing, and in fact it is somewhat repetitive (stop the terrorist), but that's not why you'd be watching this anyway. For those who share my taste of bullets, bombs and boobs you should definitely put this on your radar. Recommended!

Tropico 3: Swimming in Money

[This is part of my Tropico 3 Journal!]

Despite failing the last mission it seems my skills were seen valuable to the nearby island of Isla de Aro which had just celebrated its independence day from British rule, though the Brits still had a 50% tax on all exports. The island itself was awesome, with many resources to mine, oil to drill, good climates for crops, and having very road friendly terrain which I built up first to link everything together and build up the industry side of things. I'm not alone in thinking this as delegations from the US and USSR both visited and offered 10k to assist in development. Even the outbreak of llama flu doesn't hinder progress with the amount of cash coming in, and for the first time I am so far away from being in debt to the World Bank that it is refreshing!

Who knew this screeny would be so useful? :P

Soon edicts for Food for the People, Social Security, a Literacy Program, Modern Militarization, and a Papal visit are issued. We even host a Trade Fair that helps with the export prices, though I do have to side with the US as they were willing to buy exactly what I was producing (oil, tobacco, and furniture). When profiteer Stavros Michaellis asks to own one of the rigs for 1K per year I decline and sure enough later find out he is involved with some sort of bribe scandal in which I blackmail a few parties and then get them killed. Cleanliness is next to godliness afterall.

I also learn that one of the bomb threats on my factories was actually spawned from a neighboring island so I did the only rational thing and declared open war. The US were quick to step in and block that from happening though, paying me 10K while they "changed" the government on the opposing faction. All too soon my term ends with what is so far my best run yet. With the people over 70% in the happiness meter and over 330k pesos in the treasury. All in all an awesome and easy pick me up after El Muerte.