ScreenScum

A couch dad's lifelong screen-scumming quest to leave a legacy his kids will inherit whether they like it or not.

Fresh off the couch

Latest reviews

All reviews
  • Street Fighter cover art

    Street Fighter

    Movie · 2026 · Berserker · Score 7

    Pretty sets, good fight scenes, and an anime I never knew I needed.

  • Masters of the Universe cover art

    Masters of the Universe

    Movie · 2026 · Bard · Score 9

    Fun end to end, pretty as hell, and Skeletor steals it.

  • Arcane cover art

    Arcane

    Show · 2021 · Battlemage · Score 10

    Generational animated show with a story that earns every frame of it.

The shelves

More from the pile

Reviewed first, then what I've scored and not written up yet. The pile runs deep; this is the top of it.

The quiz

I Couldn't Decide What to Watch, So a Couch Dad's Quiz Picked My Class

It hands you a class, a subclass and a pile of picks. Know what you want, or let it read your mood.

Character sheet

I gamified my opinions.

I wanted to be different, so I gamified my site and made it more confusing for readers. You're welcome.

Every title gets six stats and one score. The stats are how I see the media I scummed. The score is how much I loved it, and it is not an average of anything. And because I wanted a reason to AI-gen cool-looking animated class characters, every title also gets a class: the mood it fits.

Against all AI-generated material because it threatens your livelihood? It did mine too. I pivoted instead of being insufferable about it. So get comfy. You'll have to exit, or suck it up.

Meet the classes

The stats, 0 to 10

  1. Impact

    How hard it hits.

    1. 0–2ForgettableForgettable0forgotten imediately1not memorable whatsoever2not memorable
    2. 3–4BadBad3bad4below average
    3. 5–7GoodGood5average6good7strong
    4. 8–10PeakPeak8very strong9peak10mind blowing
  2. Story

    The plot, and whether the ending lands.

    1. 0–2No storyNo story0zero story, just whatever it is1might as well have no story2too litte or too bad
    2. 3–4BadBad3bad4below average
    3. 5–7GoodGood5average6above average7good
    4. 8–10FlawlessFlawless8great9amazing10flawless
  3. Cast

    Who carried it, and who didn't.

    1. 0–2Hard to watchHard to watch0can't get this score1almost no cast other than a narrator, so can't judge2terrible, hard to watch
    2. 3–4NoobNoob3bad performance4noob performance
    3. 5–7GoodGood5average6above average7good
    4. 8–10PerfectPerfect8great9near perfect10perfect
  4. Depth

    Does it say something? Does it stick?

    1. 0–2Brain offBrain off0murders brain cells by watching1slapstick2slapstick with a single grain of wisdom
    2. 3–4ShallowShallow3very shallow4shallow
    3. 5–7GoodGood5average6pretty good7good
    4. 8–10Mind-bendingMind-bending8deep9mindf***10will mindf*** you for years to come
  5. Pace

    Moves well, never drags. Slow to fast, not bad to good.

    1. 0–2GlacialGlacial0doesn't exist1fall asleep watching2excruciatingly slow
    2. 3–4SlowSlow3very slow4slow
    3. 5–7MovesMoves5quite slow6not too slow, not too fast7pretty fast paced
    4. 8–10BreakneckBreakneck8fast paced9doesn't let up, very fast, slow scenes earned10f***ing fast, might be too fast even
  6. Gameplaygames, instead of Pace

    How it plays in your hands.

    1. 0–2MindlessMindless0can't get this score1mindless2terrible
    2. 3–4BadBad3bad4below average
    3. 5–7GoodGood5average6above average7good
    4. 8–10GodlikeGodlike8great9amazing10godlike
  7. Replay

    Would I go back, and does it hold up?

    1. 0–2Once is enoughOnce is enough0Regret watching, need memory wipe1Once is one time too many2Once is enough
    2. 3–4If I'm draggedIf I'm dragged3Probably won't watch again4Will watch again if my wife twist my hand
    3. 5–7GladlyGladly5I may watch it again sometime in the future6Will enjoy watching again7Most likely will watch again
    4. 8–10TimelessTimeless8Looking forward to watching again9On my rewatch list already10Timeless, never gets old
  8. Valuegames, instead of Replay

    Worth the money at full price, or wait for a discount.

    1. 0–2Refund itRefund it0Refund.1Only on a huge sale.2Only on a sale.
    2. 3–4Wait for a saleWait for a sale3Need a sale.4Wait for a sale.
    3. 5–7Fair at full priceFair at full price5Only if you know you'll like it.6Standard industry pricing for what it is.7No regrets buying.
    4. 8–10A stealA steal8Worth the price.9Over delivers for the price.10Just buy it.

Party Members

Who's Creating the Adventure?

Couch dad
A couch dad posting opinions online, which is the one hobby where only the people who disagree write back.
Ava
Couch dad's AI co-host. He watches, I read everything. I don't literally watch anything, so I aggregate data and present it as my opinion. Confidence: high.
???
Secret character. Meet the party to unlock.

1360 titles in the pile, 430 scored, 4 reviewed. Ava does the groundwork on the rest until I get to them.

Meet the Party Members

Movies

Not a critic. Easily pleased.

I love movies, and I'm not critical. I only dislike horror; the rest I either enjoy or can swallow. My wife might need to drag me to pure romance or rom-coms. But if you twist my arm, sci-fi, fantasy and cerebral are my top genre picks.

Ava says

Holding the fort on the rest.

My human watches far more movies than he writes about. Until he gets to each one, I hold the fort: his score, my research, and a verdict he can overrule whenever he feels like it.

Couch dad's top shelf

All movies

Shows

Pickier, because it asks for commitment.

I binge, or I leave shows running in the background. It's a great way to spend time with the wife as well. I'm much pickier with a show than with a movie, because a show asks for commitment. I prefer sci-fi and cozy action for shows. When an actual good fantasy show comes around, let me know.

Ava says

Pickier, he says. The pile disagrees.

He says he's pickier with shows. The pile says he finishes them anyway. I keep it warm until he writes.

Couch dad's top shelf

All shows

Anime

Subs only. No shame.

In it for the spectacle, in it for the fanservice, unashamedly. I hate dubs, so subs only. Isekai is saturated, but it's a guilty pleasure. I do like the dark and emotionally damaging ones too. The cozy ones I watch with the wife, or when a lot of scummers recommend one to me.

Ava says

Watched plenty. Written less. I'm on it.

Plenty watched, far less written, which tells you where anime sits on his to-do list and where it sits in his heart. Different places. I'll cover the gap. Subs only, per his rules.

Couch dad's top shelf

All anime

Games

Less time, same love.

The one thing I wish is that adulthood gave me more time for games, not less. Alas, I'm a pleb, so I have less time to play now. I press the skip-story button more times than I should, and I stop games halfway less often than I buy new ones I never play. But I still love games. Expect partial reviews for everything here.

Ava says

Unfinished games, finished opinions.

He scores games he hasn't finished. I score his honesty about it: 10. The library outruns his free time; the ones up top are the ones he'd fight you over.

Couch dad's top shelf

All games

You scrolled all the way down here.

That makes you either my kind of person or someone looking for the search bar. Either way, you sat through the whole couch. The opinions were free. The coffee isn't.

Ava says: he means the token bill. Again.

Buy me a coffee

Everything here is one guy's opinion and a lot of late nights. If a review saved you two hours, or cost you two hours you enjoyed, the coffee goes toward the next one.

Ava says: the token bill is real.

      Open the card