Words by Curmudgeon Film Talk Understandably, lockdown has people desperately latching onto whichever form of escapism can keep them occupied long enough to curb the cabin fever. I, too, have found myself drowning out the ol’ existential dread in the form of incessant anime binging and Netflix. Here in the UK, the British government’s response to the pandemic might as well have been communicated through whale noises for all the good it’s done. That is to say…we might be here a while. In light of this fact, and our government’s flagrant ineptitude, I caved and purchased Animal Crossing: New Horizons (2020) for the Nintendo Switch. It seems as though ACNH has blossomed at the ideal time. Everyone is stuck indoors, we’ve all got shedloads of time, and so forth. This isn’t to mention the obvious social dimension; friendships maintained digitally through the world of Animal Crossing , or – if you’re like me and have no friends – cute little animal people are a serviceable subs...

Millions have been infected, countless routines have been disrupted, and many thousands of lives sadly cut short. The Covid-19 pandemic is inarguably one of the most significant and dreadful events in the lives of most of us. It may seem sometimes that it is impossible to imagine a way out, and the world can seem full of uncertainty and fear. These sorts of huge, tragic events are fortunately fairly rare in modern times, but when they happen, they leave an immeasurable impact on society. In the aftermath of such events, there is often a flourishing of literature which attempts to deal with the impact of that event. Authors attempt to understand what was lost, what was changed, and what this disaster meant to them personally. For the sake of this article, this genre of fiction could be called ‘Post-Crisis Fiction’. But knowing this, how can we know where the world of literature might take us after the coronavirus pandemic is over? In order to predict this, we must unde...

Special thanks to  Curmudgeon Film Talk  for providing the drawing Cloud Strife, the protagonist of Final Fantasy VII (1997), has piqued my curiosity ever since his addition to Smash Bros for Wii U & 3DS (2014). Most DLC characters in Smash are either retro stars or advertisements for upcoming games. Now, with the Final Fantasy VII Remake (2020), I guess Mr Strife is both. I had never played FFVII , or indeed any FF game, so playing the remake seemed like a weird (and expensive) way to start. Fortunately, the original FFVII has been ported to the PS4 for a much cheaper price, presenting an ample opportunity to visit a classic. Does it stand the test of time or has it aged as well as Keith Richards in a bath of cheese? FFVII has been considered a landmark in JRPGs and is considered one of the best games of all time , now I’ve finally got around to playing it.  This begs the question:, is this simply a review? A G.O.B.L.O.G piece? A retrospective? An excu...

Words by  Curmudgeon Film Talk. Well, we’re all quarantined so you know what that means. Time to watch some anime! Yes, the world hangs in fragile balance, and the only thing keeping me from gnawing my fingers off is the extensive canon of film and television, particularly a wealth of anime available to stream. I’m guessing you , dear readers, feel the same way. If so, pull up a seat… In these trying times, there sure is a hell of a lot to watch. Somewhere in this overabundance of audio-visual media, it’s easy for great content to slip through the cracks. Add cultural export to the equation, and it's plain to see how certain anime in particular can disappear into obscurity. Tsubame Mizusaki, Kanamori Sayaka and Asakusa Midori in ' Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! ' Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! , or Hands Off the Motion Pictures Club! (2020), is one such title that just doesn’t seem to be making waves. On the contrary, however, the show is an abs...