Jordon Wadlington

Follow @jordon on Micro.blog.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Season 3: Uneven season. The last two episodes were essentially (and I think purposefully) lesser versions of two of the greatest TNG episodes. I have a lot of feelings (mostly negative) about them, but damn if they didn’t work emotionally

DiCaprio is going to win an Oscar for OBAA, but del Toro’s performance (and his character) is the real lynchpin of the movie.

One Battle After Another:

One Battle After Another, 2025

Current Things: October 2025

Currently Reading

Currently Reading: Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel 📚

Currently Watching

Currently In Queue

Currently Listening

Currently Planning

  • Been too busy planning trips to blog about them!

Concurrently

  • Now that the kids are back in school and we’re in a more consistent routine, had a chance to finish a lot of TV shows that had been lingering. May even have some time to get to some of these films that have languishing in my Up Next queue!
  • I really want to blog more, but it’s been hard with * gestures broadly at the world *. Just when things start leveling out and I try to find my balance, it somehow goes lower. I hope in a few months we’ll look back at this as the low point, but I’m afraid we’ve not quite reached bottom yet. Be kind to everyone you can and try to bear those you can’t.

Finished in September:

Alien: Earth, Season 1: I’m not sure how he does it, but Hawley has this knack for taking nuanced, forward-facing movies and refracting their messages with a more modern lens. Fargo and Alien were essential viewing in their time. Hawley rightly contends that they’re even more essential now.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Season 17: It’s amazing how well this show holds up considering it’s been consistently running for 20 years without fundamentally changing its formula. If you’ve got the stomach for it, this is the best season in years.

King of the Hill, Season 14: 20 years ago this show argued that the source of our ills isn’t the conservative/liberal split but rather our lack of effort to understand and be decent to each other. Both the message and the messenger have become more vital. Are we listening now?

Foundation, Season 3: Say what you will about modern Apple, but there’s no other corporation that would throw the mind-boggling amount of money it takes to bring a hard Sci-Fi show to TV. It could very easily collapse in on itself, but for now it’s keeping all it’s centuries-spanning plates spinning

The Bear, Season 4: back to the basics. A much more enjoyable season than the last, but pretty uneven. I have some quibbles with how some emotional arcs were resolved, but there aren’t many shows that can match its highs

KPop Demon Hunters: messy, but mostly in good ways. Love the nods to ghibli

Previously, in Current Things…

September 2025
August 2025
July 2025
June 2025
May 2025
April 2025
March 2025
February 2025
January 2025
December 2024
November 2024
October 2024
September 2024
August 2024
July 2024
June 2024
May 2024
April 2024
March 2024
February 2024
January 2024
December 2023
November 2023
October 2023
September 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022

Alien: Earth, Season 1: I’m not sure how he does it, but Hawley has this knack for taking nuanced, forward-facing movies and refracting their messages with a more modern lens. Fargo and Alien were essential viewing in their time. Hawley rightly contends that they’re even more essential now.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Season 17: It’s amazing how well this show holds up considering it’s been consistently running for 20 years without fundamentally changing its formula. If you’ve got the stomach for it, this is the best season in years.

King of the Hill, Season 14: 20 years ago this show argued that the source of our ills isn’t the conservative/liberal split but rather our lack of effort to understand and be decent to each other. Both the message and the messenger have become more vital. Are we listening now?

Foundation, Season 3: Say what you will about modern Apple, but there’s no other corporation that would throw the mind-boggling amount of money it takes to bring a hard Sci-Fi show to TV. It could very easily collapse in on itself, but for now it’s keeping all it’s centuries-spanning plates spinning

My kids have never gotten so many approving looks from old people than when they’re playing checkers at a Cracker Barrel

The Bear, Season 4: back to the basics. A much more enjoyable season than the last, but pretty uneven. I have some quibbles with how some emotional arcs were resolved, but there aren’t many shows that can match its highs

Current Things: September 2025

Currently Reading

Currently Reading: Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel 📚

Currently Watching

Currently In Queue

Currently Listening

Currently Planning

  • Been too busy planning trips to blog about them!

Concurrently

  • I’m grateful for the blogging habits around posting about media– it’s kept me writing despite not really feeling like it. I’ve got a lot of cool trips coming up and I really want to write more about those. Need to figure out a system for doing it!

Finished in August:

Finished reading: Apple in China by Patrick McGee 📚Maybe the most astonishing yet unsurprising book you’ll ever read about Apple. Contextualizes not only Apple, but the geopolitical situation of the past 20 years as well as the next 20 in a way that grows a pit in your stomach with every page turn. Highly ... jordon.me

The Studio, Season 1: comes at you with the same energy as Curb Your Enthusiasm, packaged as an insider Hollywood farce. Totally get where that isn’t appealing to everyone– but man– it’s appealing to me!

Weapons: The most hopeful movie of the year

Gotta say a little more about Weapons. It’s the most visceral reaction I’ve had from a movie for as long as I can remember. Julie literally said that I couldn’t say the things I was saying as we were walking out. All the answers you’re looking for in our current situation are here.

Poker Face, Season 2: It’s so expertly-crafted and the central conceit is so fun that you can forgive when they go back to the well one too many times. TV is so much more fun when there’s a good whodunnit (and a good Star Trek!) on

Previously, in Current Things…

August 2025
July 2025
June 2025
May 2025
April 2025
March 2025
February 2025
January 2025
December 2024
November 2024
October 2024
September 2024
August 2024
July 2024
June 2024
May 2024
April 2024
March 2024
February 2024
January 2024
December 2023
November 2023
October 2023
September 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022

Currently Reading: Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel 📚

Finished reading: Apple in China by Patrick McGee 📚Maybe the most astonishing yet unsurprising book you’ll ever read about Apple. Contextualizes not only Apple, but the geopolitical situation of the past 20 years as well as the next 20 in a way that grows a pit in your stomach with every page turn. This is required reading

KPop Demon Hunters, 2025

Messy, but mostly in good ways. Love the nods to ghibli

The Studio, Season 1: comes at you with the same energy as Curb Your Enthusiasm, packaged as an insider Hollywood farce. Totally get where that isn’t appealing to everyone– but man– it’s appealing to me!

Gotta say a little more about Weapons. It’s the most visceral reaction I’ve had from a movie for as long as I can remember. Julie literally said that I couldn’t say the things I was saying as we were walking out. All the answers you’re looking for in our current situation are here.

Weapons, 2025

The most hopeful movie of the year

Poker Face, Season 2: It’s so expertly-crafted and the central conceit is so fun that you can forgive when they go back to the well one too many times. TV is so much more fun when there’s a good whodunnit (and a good Star Trek!) on

Current Things: August 2025

Currently Reading

Currently reading: The Signal and the Noise by Nate Silver 📚

Currently Watching

Currently In Queue

Currently Listening

Currently Planning

  • Been too busy planning trips to blog about them!

Concurrently

  • I’m grateful for the blogging habits around posting about media– it’s kept me writing despite not really feeling like it. I’ve got a lot of cool trips coming up and I really want to write more about those. Need to figure out a system for doing it!

Finished in July:

Eddington: What happens when answers matter more than truth?

Superman: Worth pushing past your superhero fatigue to see this one. Entertaining from start to finish with plenty to chew on thematically. Another one that I can’t believe wasn’t written in the past three months. It’s just plain nice to have a good Superman movie out there.

Mountainhead: Not as crackerjack as Succession, but playing on the same field. Armstrong–per usual– gets that in order to show how warping being a billionaire can be, you have to show why anyone would want it in the first place

Elio: this was not the most cohesive movie. But I appreciate its themes and there were a ton of Alien references, so…

Previously, in Current Things…

July 2025
June 2025
May 2025
April 2025
March 2025
February 2025
January 2025
December 2024
November 2024
October 2024
September 2024
August 2024
July 2024
June 2024
May 2024
April 2024
March 2024
February 2024
January 2024
December 2023
November 2023
October 2023
September 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022

Eddington, 2025

What happens when answers matter more than truth?

Eddington, 2025

What happens when answers matter more than truth?

Superman, 2025

Worth pushing past your superhero fatigue to see this one. Entertaining from start to finish with plenty to chew on thematically. It's also just plain nice to have a good Superman movie out there. Another one that I can't believe wasn't written in the past three months

Superman, 2025

Worth pushing past your superhero fatigue to see this one. Entertaining from start to finish with plenty to chew on thematically. It's also just plain nice to have a good Superman movie out there. Another one that I can't believe wasn't written in the past three months

Mountainhead, 2025

Not as crackerjack as Succession, but playing on the same field. Armstrong--per usual-- gets that in order to show how warping being a billionaire can be, you have to show why anyone would want it in the first place