So I think Catholics use a particular brand of Jeez-it that is the wafer that you’re thinking of. Everyone else just uses whatever (like in this post).

The same is also true for the wine. Growing up we had grape juice instead of wine and honestly the bread and grape juice combo was pretty good. Like bread is bread, which is almost always a great choice, but I’ve never been a big fan of grape juice. But a little dip of grape juice in bread… Not bad.

I also don’t know how strict any of this really is. Like would a grape jelly sandwich made with Wonder Bread count as long as you gave it the proper blessing? I feel like it would.

They’re definitely not giving up on theatres. The last two made billions of dollars each.

However the last film was available on PVOD after 102 days and Disney+ streaming after 173 days. Recent films, looking at Marvel and DC, usually get PVOD after ~70 days and streaming after ~100 days. I expect this film will swing a little higher in terms of days since they’ll probably have a few more special showings (more IMAX etc) after the holiday season.

Now I wouldn’t be surprised if Disney has a plan for an intermission if that is the feedback they get. And honestly if films keep getting longer it may become a standard thing. And if it becomes a standard then I think theaters would be exited, since they can get you to buy more candy, popcorn and soda.

They’re visually impressive fun and simple stories.

Plus they get a huge marketing budget.

Plus Cameron has a history of solid films, Terminator, Terminator 2, Titanic, and now two going on three Avatar films.

Also if you travel to Disney World Animal Kingdom there is a whole section dedicated to Avatar. In fact there is a ride in that park where the wait time is as long as these films. Is that ride worth it? Honestly, yeah, kinda.

Like you said, they’re not bad. Popularity is a different thing. Star Wars, Star Trek, Marvel, DC, etc these are the popular things. Avatar? I could give you a rough idea of the plot of the last film, but I don’t really remember it. But it wasn’t bad. I’m not dying to see the upcoming film. But if it’s released and I’ve got a free evening, sure, I’ll give it a go. I know it’ll be entertaining.

It is VERY good. It may be the best film I’ve seen this year. At minimum there are beautiful scenes and cinematography that will stick with you long after the film ends.

No, but the article mentions plans for Sonic 4 being in IMAX.

Is it money?

But while domestic total ticket sales are up only 2.6% this year from 2024, IMAX’s are up 16%, according to the company. Its share of domestic and global tickets are at record highs, and its total worldwide box office is on track to exceed $1.2 billion this year for the first time.

It’s money.

IMAX costs more but it also offers something you can’t get at home, so it making more money makes sense.

For me personally, IMAX is neat but not something I actively seek out. I’m willing to put in the extra effort to see a film in IMAX maybe once a year, but it has to be a film I’m really excited for. Dune? Sure. Sonic the Hedgehog? Naw.

In terms of future films, Donkey Kong is an easy choice. Luigi’s Mansion would also be a logical follow up. A film up against Wario & Waluigi, then even giving them a villain “solo” movie, or Bowser. But! That’s all Mario adjacent.

Nintendo properties generally have a silent protagonist, so you need someone who can talk. A Kirby film could work if you add a talking hat or something.

I’d love to see a Metroid film, but I think a PG horror/thriller/isolation film would be hard.

Splatoon could be an interesting choice. With the success of K-Pop Demon Hunters I could see a Splatoon movie that leans heavily into music.

Star Fox would actually be an excellent choice but we haven’t had much in that franchise for a while.

I’ll defend Speed Racer (2008). It’s a beautiful film, full of color and fun. Sure the story is simple, but it’s just so much fun.

Your hand.

So I had trouble finding a breakdown of those 19 states and what the specifics of those laws are. In general what you have are 19 states who want to do it. However some of those 19 explicitly call out waiting to enact the law until A, the federal government first passes a similar law and/or B, neighboring states also pass similar laws.

Basically no one wants to go first, but they’re ready once everyone else is. While switching twice a year is painful, being the only one not to switch is also painful, possibly more than just switching.

I disagree, they’re about an hour off.

For Batman specifically I think it starts as a way to clean up Gotham. He’ll quit just as soon as Gotham is cleaned up. But of course it’s a neverending task. Plus even if he cleaned up Gotham, how can he stop there? How can he stop when there is so much left to do.

But! That’s why I like Batman working with the Justice League and Superman specifically. He can never go back to being Bruce Wayne, he’ll always be Batman, but at least with Superman he gets his moments of comfort, however brief they may be.

Batman is cursed to be Batman and not Bruce Wayne. That’s his character.

I’m not against changing some aspects of his character. And as you noted other characters strike a balance. But those are other characters. If we’re changing too much of a character, maybe we just tell that different character’s story instead.

As for Spider-Man, that is a character who, depending on the story and timeline of that story, does try to strike a balance. In terms of being poor I think it’s a matter of being independent. Whenever he works for someone, they tend to want to do things their way. Even if he agrees or he’s doing what he wanted to do, there is still that layer of dependence.

I always have to pop up in these threads because I’m out there, and I’m not alone. I’ve been watching The Simpsons, more or less, non-stop since it first started airing.

When I was younger it played twice a day during the week with a new episode every Sunday. So when it comes to the earlier seasons, the ten or so seasons often viewed as the golden era, I’ve seen those dozens of times.

In the 2000s watching TV at a regularly scheduled time wasn’t as much of a priority and the availability of videos on the Internet began to increase, so I usually watched The Simpsons that way. When the film came out in 2007 I was there opening day.

As streaming services became popular in the 2010s I started to watch The Simpsons there instead. Although these streaming services rarely had a backlog, just the current season, but I had them all collected over the years.

In the late 2010s my roommates and I decided to watch every episode of The Simpsons but not in release order. We would just pick a random season and episode and watch a few episodes a week over the course of two years.

Now in the 2020s we sometimes get together to watch, sometimes watch solo. I’m personally much more strict about watching every week, they usually watch in short bursts and I don’t mind rewatching recent episodes.

But… Is it good? Yeah mostly. Not every episode is great.

The episode that aired this past Sunday isn’t anything special, a few funny moments but Albert Brooks who voiced Hank Scorpio and Russ Cargill (from the movie) voiced a new character and that was fun.

The Treehouse of Horror from two Sunday’s ago was much better, so if you want a recent episode then watch that.

No it isn’t ever going to be as great as the golden age of The Simpsons, but it’s still fun to watch and I still laugh, so that’s a win to me.

The problem is that reality TV is inevitable. People, generally speaking, like to know what other people are doing. Or like to see other people react to things.

The first “reality TV” program was Candid Camera, which technically got its start as “Candid Microphone”, all in the late 1940s. Of course things evolved from there into our current “reality TV” situation.

The real problem is that the line between “entertainment” and “reality” has gotten blurrier and blurrier. When we watch Godzilla we know that’s just entertainment, we know a giant lizard creature isn’t walking down the street.

It’s also funny that you mention MTV because realistically MTV should have died out years ago. In the same way that video killed the radio star, the Internet killed the video star. Why would I turn on the TV and hope the video I wanted to watch was on, when I could just go on the Internet and see it now. Of course MTV the television station wants to keep making money, so they pivoted hard into reality TV.

I couldn’t disagree more. We’re in a golden age of TV and have been for a while.

The Pitt? Severance? Hacks? Succession? The Bear? Ted Lasso? Euphoria? The Crown? Schitt’s Creek? Killing Eve? Barry? Veep?

I’ve read a lot of comments in this thread, but this one feels the most accurate to me.

Companies can do many things. If a company actively saved the lives of 100 people, but also actively killed 1 person, would you work there? Is there a number (either) where you would? Companies can be grey, many are.

It’s not a “free pass”, but look at the overall ethical footprint. If you’re ok with it, it’s fine. It doesn’t need to be pure, you just have to be ok with it.

What if I put the meatballs down first and then top it with spaghetti?

In this example it was an attack roll, and a critical hit as a result of the halfling luck trait, so it played out perfectly.

In the case where it were a skill check, you are correct that there are no crits for skill checks. However rolling a natural 20 is a rare event and as a DM you could choose to reward it. Conversely hitting delicate machines with a battle-axe is usually a mistake.

The machine working at half capacity is a reasonable reward and consequence.

Also if this movie does well I want another crossover film.

Just eat from the opposite side, the burger will never see it coming.