Jonathan Lack
@jonathanlack.bsky.social
I'm critic, scholar, and podcaster Jonathan R. Lack, PhD. Follow my writing at https://www.jonathanlack.com. Links to podcasts and other socials at http://linktr.ee/jonathanrlack
Low key can’t believe this is real, and exists, and I’m holding it. The original KIRBY AIR RIDE was such a big part of my childhood. Never even dreamed we’d get a sequel. So excited to give this a go.
November 20, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Low key can’t believe this is real, and exists, and I’m holding it. The original KIRBY AIR RIDE was such a big part of my childhood. Never even dreamed we’d get a sequel. So excited to give this a go.
Showing POM POKO to my Miyazaki/Takahata class tonight, and I've got a real banger of an opening presentation ready to go, including this very stupid slide that brought be an unreasonable amount of joy to make. (Yes, there's a spinning animation and audio of Mario saying "Tanooki!")
November 18, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Showing POM POKO to my Miyazaki/Takahata class tonight, and I've got a real banger of an opening presentation ready to go, including this very stupid slide that brought be an unreasonable amount of joy to make. (Yes, there's a spinning animation and audio of Mario saying "Tanooki!")
This MOANA film is not that. This is not a genuine, creative attempt to re-interpret a cartoon in live-action. This is just a dimmer, shittier cartoon, sometimes with actors cosplaying on a green screen. This is a bad Xerox of someone else's actual art. This fucking sucks.
November 17, 2025 at 11:59 PM
This MOANA film is not that. This is not a genuine, creative attempt to re-interpret a cartoon in live-action. This is just a dimmer, shittier cartoon, sometimes with actors cosplaying on a green screen. This is a bad Xerox of someone else's actual art. This fucking sucks.
Robert Altman's POPEYE is a 'live-action' version of a cartoon. That's a movie that's actually looking at comic-strip/animated source material and creatively thinking about how to do it with real people and sets. Same with Warren Beatty's DICK TRACY, or the 2002 SCOOBY-DOO. That's cool. That's fun.
November 17, 2025 at 11:54 PM
Robert Altman's POPEYE is a 'live-action' version of a cartoon. That's a movie that's actually looking at comic-strip/animated source material and creatively thinking about how to do it with real people and sets. Same with Warren Beatty's DICK TRACY, or the 2002 SCOOBY-DOO. That's cool. That's fun.
We should all be talking more about just how great the PREDATOR BADLANDS score is. So rare to even have *good* scores in big franchise films today, let alone ones this impactful and memorable, *let alone* ones that sound like they are part of the mise-en-scene, inseparable from the film’s world.
November 17, 2025 at 11:23 PM
We should all be talking more about just how great the PREDATOR BADLANDS score is. So rare to even have *good* scores in big franchise films today, let alone ones this impactful and memorable, *let alone* ones that sound like they are part of the mise-en-scene, inseparable from the film’s world.
Forgot I'd put this one in the wallpaper rotation, and it made my day when it came up. God CITY THE ANIMATION is so good. @seanthechapman.bsky.social took a clinically insane number of screenshots and they have absolutely upgraded my desktop game recently.
November 13, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Forgot I'd put this one in the wallpaper rotation, and it made my day when it came up. God CITY THE ANIMATION is so good. @seanthechapman.bsky.social took a clinically insane number of screenshots and they have absolutely upgraded my desktop game recently.
Absolutely jam-packed PURELY ACADEMIC podcast coming tomorrow, where we review *all* the games, talk big Doctor Who/One Piece/Halo news, and do my favorite Monthly Ten to date, in which Taylor Swift non-listener Sean Chapman imagines 10 Shakespeare inspired-Swift songs. It's bonkers.
November 13, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Absolutely jam-packed PURELY ACADEMIC podcast coming tomorrow, where we review *all* the games, talk big Doctor Who/One Piece/Halo news, and do my favorite Monthly Ten to date, in which Taylor Swift non-listener Sean Chapman imagines 10 Shakespeare inspired-Swift songs. It's bonkers.
Mamdani is going to implement Char Aznable law. New Yorkers will be required to do something extremely wicked.
November 9, 2025 at 3:20 AM
Mamdani is going to implement Char Aznable law. New Yorkers will be required to do something extremely wicked.
November Criterion sale means at last my Wes Anderson collection is complete again (now with some 4K discs!). Amazing cover art on both of these, and there are full large posters of both inside (separate from the liner notes!). The Isle of Dogs one is by Katsuhiro Otomo! Excited to hang them up.
November 7, 2025 at 7:06 PM
November Criterion sale means at last my Wes Anderson collection is complete again (now with some 4K discs!). Amazing cover art on both of these, and there are full large posters of both inside (separate from the liner notes!). The Isle of Dogs one is by Katsuhiro Otomo! Excited to hang them up.
My SHIN GODZILLA 4K set arrived from the Godzilla store. This is a recreation of the Japanese 4K deluxe set, and it’s super cool to have. My favorite part so far is the insert that very precisely lists the extremely granular changes made between theaters and home video.
November 7, 2025 at 4:17 PM
My SHIN GODZILLA 4K set arrived from the Godzilla store. This is a recreation of the Japanese 4K deluxe set, and it’s super cool to have. My favorite part so far is the insert that very precisely lists the extremely granular changes made between theaters and home video.
Colorado has an absurd state constitution that requires all taxes be put to a vote, which means it's extremely hard to raise revenue. But measures LL and MM directly aimed at the wealthy, with clear ballot language explaining who would pay. Both passed in a landslide - there's a clear lesson here!
November 5, 2025 at 9:38 PM
Colorado has an absurd state constitution that requires all taxes be put to a vote, which means it's extremely hard to raise revenue. But measures LL and MM directly aimed at the wealthy, with clear ballot language explaining who would pay. Both passed in a landslide - there's a clear lesson here!
The margin of victory in Virginia and NJ are much much bigger than any polls were predicting. NJ was polling within a couple of points and Virginia was high single digits. In reality NJ is 12-13 points and Virginia ~15. Some of the biggest polling misses in favor of Dems in the Trump era.
November 5, 2025 at 4:13 AM
The margin of victory in Virginia and NJ are much much bigger than any polls were predicting. NJ was polling within a couple of points and Virginia was high single digits. In reality NJ is 12-13 points and Virginia ~15. Some of the biggest polling misses in favor of Dems in the Trump era.
—Wants a Nobel Prize
—Also wants people to suffer
—Wants to add outrageous taxes for no reason
Power from CHAINSAW MAN has the same politics as Trump
—Also wants people to suffer
—Wants to add outrageous taxes for no reason
Power from CHAINSAW MAN has the same politics as Trump
November 3, 2025 at 6:56 PM
—Wants a Nobel Prize
—Also wants people to suffer
—Wants to add outrageous taxes for no reason
Power from CHAINSAW MAN has the same politics as Trump
—Also wants people to suffer
—Wants to add outrageous taxes for no reason
Power from CHAINSAW MAN has the same politics as Trump
Was trying to find when we last had a World Series game 7 go to extra innings, and wound up with the most spectacular, hilariously wrong AI overview of all time.
This is the first AI generated work I would happily call “art.”
This is the first AI generated work I would happily call “art.”
November 2, 2025 at 4:05 AM
Was trying to find when we last had a World Series game 7 go to extra innings, and wound up with the most spectacular, hilariously wrong AI overview of all time.
This is the first AI generated work I would happily call “art.”
This is the first AI generated work I would happily call “art.”
Another special episode of Japanimation Station's Kyoto Vacation coming your way tomorrow night, with our full review of the Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid movie, A LONELY DRAGON WANTS TO BE LOVED!
(Yes, we recorded this a week ago, and then I got too busy to finish editing it until today. Sigh.)
(Yes, we recorded this a week ago, and then I got too busy to finish editing it until today. Sigh.)
November 1, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Another special episode of Japanimation Station's Kyoto Vacation coming your way tomorrow night, with our full review of the Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid movie, A LONELY DRAGON WANTS TO BE LOVED!
(Yes, we recorded this a week ago, and then I got too busy to finish editing it until today. Sigh.)
(Yes, we recorded this a week ago, and then I got too busy to finish editing it until today. Sigh.)
Awesome Halloween surprise: my local Drafthouse got GDT’s FRANKENSTEIN, which means I get to see it the way God intended and not on Netflix. Yay! On their extra big screen no less. I am very excited.
October 31, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Awesome Halloween surprise: my local Drafthouse got GDT’s FRANKENSTEIN, which means I get to see it the way God intended and not on Netflix. Yay! On their extra big screen no less. I am very excited.
Here's an example of how AI and film studies are incompatible: I googled "movies with objective point of view," and it gave me a wholly incorrect answer, first referencing 2 films that are entirely subjective 1st-person, then listing one of the most famously 'narrated' (thus subjective) films ever.
October 30, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Here's an example of how AI and film studies are incompatible: I googled "movies with objective point of view," and it gave me a wholly incorrect answer, first referencing 2 films that are entirely subjective 1st-person, then listing one of the most famously 'narrated' (thus subjective) films ever.
Picked up the DRAGON QUEST I+II remake, easily one of my most anticipated games of the year. Switch 2 release is a key card (boo), but it does have some nice reversible cover art.
October 30, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Picked up the DRAGON QUEST I+II remake, easily one of my most anticipated games of the year. Switch 2 release is a key card (boo), but it does have some nice reversible cover art.
Finally (FINALLY!!!!) left Xfinity Mobile. It's over. I'm free.
The worst consumer service I have ever interacted with. Every headache I've ever had from any other company (including the normal wi-fi side of Xfinity) pales in comparison to their awful, shitty, terrible, no good cell phone plan.
The worst consumer service I have ever interacted with. Every headache I've ever had from any other company (including the normal wi-fi side of Xfinity) pales in comparison to their awful, shitty, terrible, no good cell phone plan.
October 29, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Finally (FINALLY!!!!) left Xfinity Mobile. It's over. I'm free.
The worst consumer service I have ever interacted with. Every headache I've ever had from any other company (including the normal wi-fi side of Xfinity) pales in comparison to their awful, shitty, terrible, no good cell phone plan.
The worst consumer service I have ever interacted with. Every headache I've ever had from any other company (including the normal wi-fi side of Xfinity) pales in comparison to their awful, shitty, terrible, no good cell phone plan.
"lol no one will want a Switch 2, the future is clearly PC handhelds"
October 28, 2025 at 2:41 PM
"lol no one will want a Switch 2, the future is clearly PC handhelds"
I was extremely devastated to miss Lorde’s Red Rocks show last week, but she’s coming back to America for one show in LA in May and I successfully nabbed tickets for that this morning. Luckily flights from Denver to LAX are cheap. This’ll be my reward/incentive for finishing the academic year.
October 27, 2025 at 5:16 PM
I was extremely devastated to miss Lorde’s Red Rocks show last week, but she’s coming back to America for one show in LA in May and I successfully nabbed tickets for that this morning. Luckily flights from Denver to LAX are cheap. This’ll be my reward/incentive for finishing the academic year.
So I got the new Springsteen NEBRASKA set in, and listened to the 'Electric Nebraska' tracks. It's a cool historical document to have, but I see why Bruce held off on releasing these for so long: The tracks just don't work. At all. They make you appreciate the actual album all the more strongly.
October 25, 2025 at 4:15 AM
So I got the new Springsteen NEBRASKA set in, and listened to the 'Electric Nebraska' tracks. It's a cool historical document to have, but I see why Bruce held off on releasing these for so long: The tracks just don't work. At all. They make you appreciate the actual album all the more strongly.
This Dodgers game is the closest reality has ever come to the Looney Tunes short where Bugs Bunny single-handedly wins a baseball game against the entire other team. Shohei is the real life Bugs.
October 18, 2025 at 3:13 AM
This Dodgers game is the closest reality has ever come to the Looney Tunes short where Bugs Bunny single-handedly wins a baseball game against the entire other team. Shohei is the real life Bugs.
Hilarious how impressive the score summary is while still not telling the full story. The phrase “Ohtani homered” three times, plus MIL staying at 0, which is *also* Ohtani’s doing as pitcher. What a fucking night.
October 18, 2025 at 3:03 AM
Hilarious how impressive the score summary is while still not telling the full story. The phrase “Ohtani homered” three times, plus MIL staying at 0, which is *also* Ohtani’s doing as pitcher. What a fucking night.