8/30/2024 - Watched Aliens and Catching Up

Ok, I've made the executive decision to not bring my previous neocity blog posts over, simply because I don't feel like I have any reason too. I will probably link it somewhere, but only for posterity, as its password locked anyway.

I started my statistics class as grad school prep last week, and that was pretty good, so far we have the syllabus down and the first real lesson, mostly definitional stuff. I made some flash cards, got through this weeks homework assignments, etc etc, nothing terribly difficult. Will have to spend some time memorizing the flash cards though, some of the definitions are pretty close to one another. no big deal overall though.

I've had to temporarily revert to my smart phone, just for a few days, because of some rebate I'm trying to get. Should be done soon though and then I can get back to getting away from the phone lol. it really is night and day how much time I spend near screens when I'm using my smartphone vs my flip phone. It's also night and day how much more I enjoy using my flip phone.

I also made a whiteboard checklist for myself, to help me keep track of my daily habits (working out, journaling, homework, etc) this has been nice so far! I've also been waiting back to hear if I got a job or not.. hoping on yes but betting on no. for various reasons. I dont think they like that I wouldn't be available for my stats class at certain times, so be it I guess, I'll figure.. something out... gah.

I also finished the red rising trilogy today, there are 4 more books but the OG trilogy can stand on its own pretty well, so I feel like I'm good to take a break here and check out some other stuff before delving back in for the 4th book. I have a lot to say on the series but I'm kinda tired tonight, so I feel like I'll make sure to work in my review tmrw. keep an eye out!

Anyway! I watched aliens as well today, and that I will review here. I rate it a 3/5 and for comparison I rated aliens a 3/5 as well. This really is a sequel that in my eyes is equal to the original in a lot of ways. The biggest being the aliens really look so much better. It retains that wonderful characterization as seen in the first movie, though maybe slightly worse, the crew in the first movie are sort of unforgettable, whereas in this one, a good few of the characters are fodder. that being said, all of the important crew do feel pretty fleshed out, with both vocal and physical ticks that make them recognizable, something I really enjoyed. the sets and the aliens, again, were as good if not better than the first, The world building of "the company" and how the aliens reproduce felt incredibly natural in the world retains that lived in feeling from the first film. Something I think is paramount to good horror is that the world feels real, legitimate, not a stage, and this passes that test just fine. the action sequences were amazing. The only thing I didn't love was nearer to the end it felt slightly padded out, which I didn't feel was the case for alien.

Edit: I will admit, turning the aliens from cold calulated killers to mindless bugs was a little weaksauce though

sorry for the kind of disjointed review, I'm a little tired today and so I just kind of wanted to spill my thoughts before bed.

ok I think thats all for today. Thanks for reading guys, see ya tmrw.