The old world is dying and the new world struggles to be born; now is the time of @rockmarooned.bsky.social explainers

I love it when a critic stays up late to give backhanded compliments to Jared Leto’s Skeletor www.avclub.com/masters-of-t...

Love some New Flesh Pod Find out what @rockmarooned.bsky.social and Brett Arnold think about The Backwoods a film that I freaking was head over head for #horrorlifestyle #horrorsky open.spotify.com/episode/6RI8...

Here's an example of something I got to write under Mark at Decider: THE BRIDE! came to HBO Max and I got to write up a whole thing about why I think it works as a monster movie, under the umbrella of a Streaming Recommendation. decider.com/2026/05/23/t...

SOME PROFESSIONAL NEWS! Yesterday was my last day at @deciderdotcom.bsky.social, an entertainment brand that I built from scratch over the last 12 years as founder and EIC. I am immensely proud of the work, and our impact, and thankful to all who played a part in its success. Onwards and upwards!

"Online rancor."

After said toast, future Simpsons writer @jonkern.bsky.social cornered me because I didn’t mention Cape Feare.

The toast @roberthenryk.bsky.social made at my wedding gets a shout-out in this, my list of the 25 best Simpsons episodes. www.gq.com/story/the-be...

Rookie Month concludes in blockbuster fashion! FOURQUELS Drafted by Brett Arnold & @rockmarooned.bsky.social Listen everywhere! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...

What's the record store neighborhood in Milwaukee?

Hi

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This show we're at is really simulating the college radio experience by saying, if you want to hear some stuff off Tigermilk, you're gonna have to listen to Ladybug Transistor

Good morning, nerds! Don't essays also deserve legacy sequels?!?! www.avclub.com/star-wars-se...

There's really no topping the @scotttobias.bsky.social SHREK takedown from five years ago, but for the movie's 25th anniversary I took a shot at examining its legacy just before SHREK 5 brings the zoomers back into it. decider.com/2026/05/18/s...

People are being extremely weird online about The Mandalorian and Grogu being a movie when it started on TV. It's like, my kid also went to the movie theater to watch the Stranger Things finale, and she's doing the same with The Amazing Digital Circus. Put it all in theaters for me, please.

If there's one thing the internet likes, it's my Star Wars opinions. So I've reviewed THE MANDALORIAN & GROGU, which is a lot of fun even as Favreau seems to be dodging thematic resonance (and also forgot how to write dialogue) at every turn. www.avclub.com/the-mandalor...

These Drake albums are nuts, one of them is just nonstop Jude Harrison guest spots www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4LN...

The Guy Ritchie capers will continue until morale improves, except honestly, these things do improve my morale, just give me Eiza Gonzalez and a selection of Ritchie's Boys doing a caper every 8-14 months and I'm happy www.avclub.com/in-the-grey-...

Venom Venom: Let There Be Carnage Morbius Madame Web Venom: The Last Dance Kraven the Hunter

This is a niche thought, but having seen (and largely enjoyed!) THE MANDALORIAN & GROGU, it is so bizarre that the Black Series action figures they put out ahead of the movie are troopers and what looks like Sigourney Weaver's exhumed corpse. Besides Mando, 80% of the movie is creatures and droids.

Still holding out for DRASH: A STAR WARS STORY and WATTO'S 11.

Would have been provocative! Get the people goin'!!!!

Well, Friday was my last day at Polygon after a seven-year run. Wish I was surprised about being laid off, but with the current state of the media and economy, this has felt inevitable for a long time. So if you know anyone who needs a diligent deep-dive editor or writer, I'm on the market.

Finally someone gets it (though there is a Subway Exception for article reading IMHO)

I'm confused about how every time a roast airs, there are enough post-mortems and side stories and interviews *about* the roast to suggest an event on par with a terrorist attack. Did Jeff Ross improvise an explosive device? Did some literally Kill Tony? Are there sanctions against the cast of Tires

Enjoyed Matt Damon's Beck Bennett-y work on last night's SNL. Did not enjoy a 17-minute filibuster on Weekend Update. (Jane Wickline innocent, she could do a song there every week and I'd be fine with it.) www.avclub.com/saturday-nig...

Carly Rae Dad or Van Weezer Daughter

So today I set a personal record for fastest time between the "got your draft, looking at it now" emoji in Slack and being booted from said Slack, fired from a regular PT gig. I appreciate some free time but also would like to review some movies and stuff so if any editors want fast clean copy, HMU

Went off a bit on CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR for its 10th anniversary. www.polygon.com/captain-amer...

I really loved this Brooklyn Magazine (remember them???) piece that gets at something that's always bugged me about NYC affordability talk. As long as I've lived here, I've heard people proclaim that you need to make at least [some ridiculous amount] to afford it www.bkmag.com/2026/05/05/w...

Pls keep coming to the Warsaw @loscampesinos.bsky.social and I promise I'll keep buying shirts! 😭

I don't like it when I get an automated StubHub email reminding me to get Olivia Rodrigo tickets, which aren't on sale from normal channels yet. Feels like a drug dealer hitting you up to remind you to go to your therapy appointment: But if that doesn't work, you know where to find me!

I thought this May the 4th, at an uncertain time for the Star Wars series, I should do something that can bring everyone together in harmony: Sharing my ranking of all the Star Wars movies plus also the live-action TV shows. www.gq.com/story/star-w...

Big fan of O-Rod in general, "Drop Dead" has been in my head for days, but ultimately I wound up spending the recap of her SNL episode praising Andrew Dismukes www.avclub.com/saturday-nig...

Museum quality

Name your top 15 TV shows ever, gut instincts only Arrested Development Buffy the Vampire Slayer Futurama Freaks & Geeks Get Smart Girls Mad Men My So-Called Life Saturday Night Live The Simpsons Terriers 30 Rock Veronica Mars The X-Files You're the Worst

Kristen Wiig is great but when she was actually on SNL, it was easy to get annoyed by the sheer number of characters she got on so frequently. Because we watch old sketches not full episodes, E doesn't feel that way at all and just enjoys her. But she does kinda hate Ashley Padilla for that reason!

We're pretty permissive about movies E is allowed to watch at 10. But the ones she is most eager to see that she isn't allowed yet are, in order, HEATHERS, the James Gunn SUICIDE SQUAD, and DEADPOOL. She came home today claiming multiple of her classmates have seen HEATHERS.

As of yesterday, Americus Nation from the Walmart baby movie would be 26 years old. Imagine being a 26-year-old walking around in 2026 with the name Americus Nation.

I could not be more excited for a Liz Phair/Sleater-Kinney tour, literally two of my favorite music acts of all time, while also feeling trepidatious about how Phair rivals Weezer for her live shows often feeling more stuck on that great first record than many actual fans are.

I wrote about the multiple reality gaps opened up by the vast success of MICHAEL. I don't really get into it here, but honestly this might be the only convincing evidence I've seen that audiences will embrace an AI-made movie. www.theguardian.com/film/2026/ap...

I don't know if I've seen X-MEN: THE LAST STAND five times yet but I've definitely seen it at least four times and I have an idea of how to write about it for its 20th anniversary sooooo...........

One of the more disappointing things social media has shown me is that there's definitely a contingent of "Chicago > Moulin Rouge" people and it makes me sick

At THE TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA, when the guy tells the cyborg lady he loves her even if she is a robot, everyone laughed and clapped (?!)

cool piece from @rockmarooned.bsky.social about films with loose ties to reality trying to evoke pop mania

If you had told me a year ago that Corden would give a well-judged performance in a movie I loved, well, maybe I would have intuited that Soderbergh was involved somehow.

Among its many virtues, THE CHRISTOPHERS finds the ideal use of (per @rockmarooned.bsky.social) "professional nuisance" James Corden.