Pixelated Geek

11/01/2024

It’s officially spooky movie season so this week the Binary System Podcast crew is talking about The Exorcist...three! It’s surprisingly...good? (Brad Dourif's performance is not to be missed.)

They also get into Good Omens news, and discuss The Ring and Ringu, and whether or not they'd have liked Ringu better if they saw it first.

Happy Halloween! We're officially in the middle of spooky movie season, so this week we're talking about a classic horror film. It's the Exorcist...Three! Not a perfect film by any means; you can see the heavy hand of the producers who insisted on changing the name from William Blatty's Legion in or...

10/31/2024

“…not only lives up to expectations but completely surpasses them, delivering a wickedly crafted and unique series that stands out among the rest of the MCU shows..”

Hugh gives Agatha All Along an A+, check out the full (semi spoiler!) review!

{🚨SEMI-SPOILERS🚨} Created by Jac Schaeffer, Agatha All Along follows the infamous Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn), who finds herself down and out of power after a suspicious goth teen (Joe Locke) helps break her free from a distorted spell cast by Wanda Maximoff. Her interest is piqued when he ...

10/26/2024

“…The universe where he sets all his stories is alive, hungry and filled with menace, or completely unknowable and apt to crush all of humanity by sheer indifference..."

Kathryn reviews Laird Barron's Not a Speck of Light – Stories.

We're getting closer to Halloween, smack in the middle of Spooky season, time for a Spooky book! The original plan was to read Stephen King's latest, but then I found out that Laird Barron - cosmic horror writer extraordinaire - just released his fifth short-story collection. Stephen King can wait,....

10/25/2024

“…a fun but flawed third outing that does well enough to bring this journey of Venom to a close…”

Hugh gives Venom: The Last Dance a B-, check out the full review!

Directed by Kelly Marcel, Venom: The Last Dance follows Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) and the symbiote Venom (Tom Hardy) as they are on the run after the events of Let There Be Carnage and their brief multiverse visit in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Hunted by both of their worlds and with the net closing in,

10/24/2024

On this week’s Night Vale recap the Binary System Podcast crew discusses how sweet the new religion in town is, aside from the human sacrifices. What’s NOT sweet is the season (series?) finale of Mayor of Kingstown. Total bummer, man.

The head of Night Vale's new Unnamed Religion Seriously Nobody Ever Says What It Is They All Avoid Telling You The Name That's Not Suspicious At All is in Cecil's broadcast studio, discussing sheep, rudeness, and all the things you've lost in your life, tangible or intangible. It's a lovely selectio...

10/18/2024

This week Binary System Podcast talks about hurricanes Helene and Milton and how you can help the victims, before jumping into Star Trek: Lower Decks, the Crown, Mayor of Kingstown, and Kaos. WHICH THEY CANCELLED. They’re extremely salty about that.

We didn't actually plan to do a second sit-rep episode so soon. Unfortunately another gigantic event hit the US in the last week, causing a lot of uproar and basically making everyone's lives harder. That's right, Netflix cancelled KAOS after only one season. It's an unacceptable state of affairs an...

10/16/2024

“…But the true spotlight stealer of this film is none other than the national treasure himself Brendan Fraser as Officer Farful.…”

Hugh gives Brothers a B, check out the full review!

Directed by Max Barbakow, Brothers tells the story of a reformed criminal (Josh Brolin) whose attempt at going straight is derailed when he reunites with his sanity-testing twin brother (Peter Dinklage) on a cross-country road trip for the score of a lifetime. Dodging bullets, the law, and an overbe...

10/15/2024

"...she avoids telling exactly how everything is going to turn out, while still leaving us with the hope that humans might eventually be able to figure out this whole Being Human thing."

Kathryn reviews Natasha Pulley's The Mars House.

It was the first time that January really understood that normal life was over. I'm a little behind on this one, but only because I always start reading a new Natasha Pulley novel when on a big family vacation, so I had to wait a bit to get the perfect timing for our trip to

10/14/2024

"...The battle scenes are a symphony of violence, but that pales in comparison to what the main character goes through. Unute’s deaths are never permanent and he heals from everything, and oh do the authors love to explore what that looks like."

Kathryn reviews Keanu Reeves and China Mieville's The Book of Elsewhere.

I'm having a hard time believing it, but it's been just over eight years since I last posted a review of a China Mieville story. He's one of my favorite authors, as evidenced by the fact that we at Pixelated Geek have reviewed seven of his books over the years, along with name-dropping him every

10/11/2024

This week the Binary System Podcast crew visits Night Vale’s Imaginary Corn Maze and does their best to stay away from chainsaws and sharks. Then they catch up on some Star Trek: Lower Decks, Mayor of Kingstown, Killing Eve, and Kaos.

The air's getting cooler and the nights are getting longer, so Night Vale is celebrating with a corn maze and all the fun things that go along with it: caramel apples, pumpkins, laughing, screaming, zombies, acid-filled sharks, and existential dread. Ooo and cider! As soon as we escaped the rusty ch...

10/08/2024

"...an epic and magnificently crafted animated installment that appeals to both older and younger audiences despite what the marketing will have you believe..."

Hugh gives Transformers One an A, check out the full review!

Directed by Josh Cooley, Transformers One is the untold origin story of Optimus Prime (Chris Hemsworth) and Megatron (Brian Tyree Henry), better known as sworn enemies, but who once were friends, bonded like brothers who changed the fate of Cybertron forever. The Transformers franchise has had quite...

10/07/2024

“...career-defining performances that completely floored me…a beautiful love story with two phenomenal cast members that you do not want to miss…”

Hugh gives We Live in Time an A+, check out the full review!

Directed by John Crowley, We Live in Time follows Almut (Florence Pugh) and Tobias (Andrew Garfield) who are brought together by a surprise encounter that changes their lives. As they embark on a path challenged by the limits of time, they learn to cherish each moment of their unconventional love st...

10/04/2024

"...a fun and faithful adaptation that would have made for an awesome spooky season watch in theaters..."

Hugh gives 'Salem's Lot a B+, check out the full review!

Directed by Gary Dauberman and based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, 'Salem's Lot follows writer Ben Mears (Lewis Pullman) who returns to his childhood home of Jerusalem's Lot in search of inspiration, only to discover his hometown is being preyed upon by a vampire, leading him to band t...

10/03/2024

The Binary System Podcast crew has a lot of fun stuff to cover this episode (Star Trek: Lower Decks and Mayor of Kingstown recaps, the start of Spooky Movie Season, and Elizabeth's new job) but they also take a moment to talk about ways you can help with the recovery efforts.

The next Night Vale episode didn't drop early enough for us to do a recap this week, and there's been enough stuff going on that we figured it was a good time to bring back the Sit Rep (With Beers!) The good news is that Elizabeth is newly-employed and feeling very relieved and grateful (unemploymen...

10/01/2024

"...an ambitious sequel that had some great things going for it that could have put it on par with its predecessor but instead felt like an immense waste of talent, time, and effort."

Hugh gives Joker: Folie à Deux a D, check out the full review.

Directed by Todd Phillips, Joker: Folie à Deux takes place two years after the events of Joker (2019) and follows Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) who is now a patient at Arkham State Hospital and has fallen in love with fellow inmate Harleen “Lee” Quinzel (Lady Gaga). As the two experience life ...

09/27/2024

"...the best Dreamworks film made in years, having masterfully crafted animation, phenomenal voice performances, thunderously epic music, and a powerfully emotional story."

Hugh gives an A+, check out the review!

Directed by Chris Sanders and based on the book series of the same name by Peter Brown, The Wild Robot follows a robot named Roz (Lupita Nyong'o) who after getting shipwrecked on a deserted island must learn to adapt to its new surroundings. Building relationships with the native animals, Roz soon d...

09/26/2024

Spoilers ahoy! On this week’s episode (featuring the return of special guest Hannah Wallace) they’re going over all the shows they’ve been watching, like The Crown, Kaos, Time Bandits, Better Call Saul, and Star Trek Lower Decks.

This week's episode features the triumphant return of special guest Hannah Wallace, as she and the East Coast branch of the podcast fight their way through the wilds of Gatlinburg. (But really, they saw a bear and everything!) As they fill in Elizabeth on their adventures, everybody gets a chance to...

09/25/2024

the Complete Series is here on 4K Ultra HD, Leland has all the info!

Today is the day we have all been waiting for!Friends: The Complete Series is NOW available to own on 4K Ultra HD! Can we BE anymore excited? This ultimate collector’s set for any FRIENDS fan includes over 110 hours of content – including all 236 original broadcast episodes released for the firs...

09/19/2024

This week the Binary System crew is doing amazingly well in catching up on things ( , , , ) but not so well in things like counting, remembering names, and, you know, pronouncing words.

Alejandra Nuñez, Ronnie Sharma, and Nanako Barnes of Mr. Prescott’s 5th Period AP English Class - the protectors of Night Vale otherwise known as the Library Tweens - have decided that they DON'T want to be known as the Library Tweens anymore. They need a new name, something with a little more st...

09/12/2024

This week the Binary System crew is watching season 3 (only 3 months late) and (only two weeks late.) They’re caught up with all the things! (Except for . They’re yeeeeaars behind on that.)

Okay in some respects it's just business as usual around here: Kathryn and Elizabeth have both been watching season 1 of Star Trek: Lower Decks, four years after it first came out, that tracks. But Kathryn just watched the first episode of Mayor of Kingstown season 3, only three months late, what th...

09/10/2024

"...the Library itself is one of the best settings I’ve run into, fantasy, sci-fi, or otherwise...Lies and misunderstandings and the Library’s not-so-subtle influence makes all of the stories come together in a dizzying tangle of cause and effect."

Kathryn reviews Mark Lawrence's The Book That Broke the World (The Library Trilogy 2).

There is a book that is also a loop. A book that has swallowed its own tale. It is a ring, a cycle, burning through the years, spreading cracks through time, fissures that reach into its past and future. And through those cracks things that have no business in the world of flesh can escape.

09/05/2024

In addition to recapping an artsy-craftsy episode (we'd say "paper folding" but paper isn't what they're folding o no it isn't) the Binary System Podcast crew is actually catching up on some stuff, namely , , , and .

Surprise! Due to travel delays, lack of any Lore Olympus updates (mournful sigh), and time (and scheduling) just generally being weird, we're doing two Welcome To Night Vale recap episodes in a row! This week we're getting crafty, so prepare your sunniest room (no windows allowed), grab your best im...

09/05/2024

“…absolute madness in the best possible way…wildly fun sequel full of great performances, fantastic effects, and crazy dark humor..”

Hugh gives an A-, check out the review!

Directed by Tim Burton, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice takes place 36 years after the events of Beetlejuice and follows three generations of the Deetz family who return home to Winter River after an unexpected family tragedy. Still haunted by Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton), Lydia's (Winona Ryder) life is tur...

08/30/2024

A gallery of gorgeous photos taken by Alex Dejecacion at is now up on the site! Did he get your photo? Shout out in the comments so we can tag you!

08/29/2024

This week the Binary System crew recaps a episode full of product placements (watch out for exploding portals) and the final episode of season 1 (watch out for p*nis rings.) Plus some random complaints about streaming and that ONE SCENE in .

We knew as soon as we saw the title that this week's Night Vale would feature the return of Deb the Sentient Patch of Haze. But we assumed she'd be hawking several things, instead of just two: a spray that may or may not repel Librarians, and a teleporter that may or not make people