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You think he's good now?? Listen to his 2014 mixtape first, then talk
You think he's good NOW?? Go listen to the 2014 mixtape first โ then come back and talk!! That tape โ the production density, the lyrical layering, the creative control before label involvement โ none of his commercial releases come close. He was still releasing under his government name, no commercial infrastructure, no format constraints. That period is his ceiling. The current output isn't bad โ it's optimised for streaming: short intros, anthemic hooks, predictable structure. Built for the algorithm. But if you only know the recent catalogue, you don't actually know this artist. You're missing the best part.
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Rotten Tomatoes 42% and audience score is 91%?? Critics are completely out of touch
Rotten Tomatoes 42% and audience score is 91%?? The critics are completely disconnected from what people actually want!! RT score measures what percentage of critics gave a positive review โ it is not a measure of how enjoyable a film is. Critics are evaluating cinematic craft. A mass-audience entertainment film was not made to satisfy those criteria, and judging it by them produces a meaningless number. Audience 91% answers the actual question: did people who watched this enjoy it? For this type of film, that's the relevant metric. Both numbers are valid for different questions. Citing one to dismiss the other is intellectually dishonest.
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The cinematographer nobody knows who shot three of your favorite films
Whenever a film has 'beautiful' visuals that people mention without knowing why, look up the cinematographer. Many have long careers completely invisible to general audiences. If you see a film and think 'that was gorgeous' โ that's a person's career you should know. Go to their IMDb. Watch their filmography.
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Three albums from the last decade nobody you know has heard โ and should
Not posting the names because the algorithm will recommend them and ruin what makes them special. Instead: look for artists who released independently in years 2018-2022, have under 50,000 total streams, and have one review on a music blog with at least 400 words. That filter will find you three albums worth your time.
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Streaming culture is changing what we consider 'good' content โ and not all bad
Algorithm-optimized content is not the same as good content. But streaming has also revived niche formats that broadcast economics would never have funded. Documentary series, multi-hour narrative podcasts, genre animation โ all formats that exist because streaming economics work differently than advertising-driven broadcast.
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Rotten Tomatoes vs Letterboxd average โ the divergence is more interesting than the scores
Critical consensus (RT) and audience consensus (Letterboxd) diverge most on genre films โ specifically horror, action, and prestige drama. When RT is below 50% and Letterboxd average is above 3.5/5, the film is usually a genre piece that critics evaluated outside its genre context. These are worth watching.
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His 2014 mixtape is better than any album he's released since โ with reason
The mixtape era forced constraints: free beats required cleverness with limited production resources, distribution through community channels required actual connection with the audience, no label filtering meant authentic expression. The 2014 work has a rawness that studio polish removed from later releases. The constraints were the quality.
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Netflix vs Disney+ vs Amazon Prime: Which Is Actually Worth It? (II)
With streaming costs climbing and content quality uneven across all platforms, the 'which one should I keep' question has become genuinely complicated. Netflix wins on sheer variety โ original content across every genre, plus strong anime and Korean drama libraries. Disney+ is indispensable if you care about Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and National Geographic content. Amazon Prime has the benefit of bundling with shopping discounts. My actual recommendation: rotate subscriptions monthly rather than holding all three simultaneously. The content you miss will still be there in three months.
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Most Anticipated Films of 2026: First Half Highlights (II)
The first half of 2026 has a surprisingly strong film slate. A couple of franchise entries are generating real excitement among their respective fanbases, plus what looks like a genuinely ambitious fantasy epic adapted from a beloved novel. The one I'm watching most closely is a Japanese animated theatrical release that's been generating extraordinary early buzz โ I'm hoping Taiwanese distributors pick it up quickly. On the horror side, there are two releases that look like they're actually trying to do something interesting with the genre rather than just hitting genre beats.
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Netflix vs Disney+ vs Amazon Prime: Which Is Actually Worth It? (II)
With streaming costs climbing and content quality uneven across all platforms, the 'which one should I keep' question has become genuinely complicated. Netflix wins on sheer variety โ original content across every genre, plus strong anime and Korean drama libraries. Disney+ is indispensable if you care about Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and National Geographic content. Amazon Prime has the benefit of bundling with shopping discounts. My actual recommendation: rotate subscriptions monthly rather than holding all three simultaneously. The content you miss will still be there in three months.
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Reading the Subtext: What Great Animation Is Really Saying
The best animation works on multiple levels simultaneously โ the surface story accessible to children, the deeper thematic layer visible to adults. This year's standout animated works have been particularly sophisticated in how they use surrealist visual language to express psychological states that realistic cinema struggles to render. A character's emotional collapse rendered as a physical distortion of space; a memory sequence where color temperature shifts to signal reliability. These are things only animation can do. If you've been watching animation purely for entertainment, try approaching one with critical attention โ you'll find it's a completely different experience.
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Netflix vs Disney+ vs Amazon Prime: Which Is Actually Worth It?
With streaming costs climbing and content quality uneven across all platforms, the 'which one should I keep' question has become genuinely complicated. Netflix wins on sheer variety โ original content across every genre, plus strong anime and Korean drama libraries. Disney+ is indispensable if you care about Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and National Geographic content. Amazon Prime has the benefit of bundling with shopping discounts. My actual recommendation: rotate subscriptions monthly rather than holding all three simultaneously. The content you miss will still be there in three months.
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Most Anticipated Films of 2026: First Half Highlights
The first half of 2026 has a surprisingly strong film slate. A couple of franchise entries are generating real excitement among their respective fanbases, plus what looks like a genuinely ambitious fantasy epic adapted from a beloved novel. The one I'm watching most closely is a Japanese animated theatrical release that's been generating extraordinary early buzz โ I'm hoping Taiwanese distributors pick it up quickly. On the horror side, there are two releases that look like they're actually trying to do something interesting with the genre rather than just hitting genre beats.
