Author Archives: Doc

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe S1 E10

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“Spoiler: Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience”

I speculated last week that the big bad would be revealed this wee. I was wrong. The floating shit, as they called it, was not revealed in the season one finale.

Instead, we did a whole meta, She-Hulk-esque final with Stuart and the others realizing that they are inside a sitcom. They started off at the comic book shop and only Kripke could hear the canned laughter, but they all would hear it by the end.

Watching the characters watch themselves greeting the audience was wild and cute.

I’m not sure where this goes as they walked across the studio.

This season was up and down for me, but I am going to say that I would watch another season of Stuart Fails to Save the Universe.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #88

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DTF St. Louis

“Snag It”

The word of the week: Uncomfortable.

The other thing we see this week is how awesome David Harbour is at freestyle rap dance.

This episode revealed to us the background of the affair between Clark and Carol, and it is bizarre. Carol absolutely pursued Clark and was the driving force behind their affair. And she sat on his face while she responded to texts.

The interviews by Detective Homer with Clark were unbelievably uncomfortable. Of course, it was designed that way.

The episode was designed to load on Clark as the suspect. He does not deny the charge at any time during the episode until the end when she was on the phone.

Carol truly seems to be a solid suspects as well. She is absolutely manipulative with the situation and with the police. Detective Plumb does some great detecting during this episode too.

I hadn’t considered any other options than Clark or Carol, until the very end of the episode when I suddenly had another suspect- Clark’s wife, Eimy. Her motive might be messed up a bit, but she did have access to the same things Clark did.

I love how the narrative is being spread around time.

I am intrigued into the mystery of the murder, and I think we have got much more coming with it.

Daily Countdown: Animated Movies #10

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#10

Big Hero 6

Released: November 7, 2014

Runtime: 1 hour 42 minutes

Rating: PG

Animation Style: a groundbreaking fusion of traditional hand-drawn aesthetics, cinematic realism, and cultural hybridity

Studio: Disney

Into the Top 10 we go…. Big Hero 6 is an Academy Award winning film based on some lesser known Marvel Comics characters. This is outside the MCU, and includes the breakout character of Baymax.

Voice cast: Scott Adsit, Ryan Potter, Daniel Henney, T.J. Miller, Jamie Chung, Damon Wayans Jr., Genesis Rodriguez, James Cromwell, Maya Rudolph, Alan Tudyk, Katie Lowes, Daniel Gerson, David Shaughnessy, Bill Bush and Stan Lee.

Avengers Endgame: Encore

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Are the new scenes that were added to the end of Avengers Endgame: Encore necessary to see to understand Avengers: Doomsday coming in December? Maybe not… but I don’t care.

It was freakin’ epic.

Would I have gone to the theater had there not been new scenes? Damn straight. Avengers: Endgame is my favorite movie of all time (right up there with Princess Bride) and I loved watching this movie on the big screen. I was in the same IMAX theater where I saw this movie the first time.

This was my tenth time seeing this movie in a theater, and it was every bit as awesome as the first time. The big moments still brought tears to my eyes despite having seen it as many times as I have (including multiple times on Disney +).

No spoilers for the new scenes at the end, but I found all of them extremely amazing. They were short. There were four bits that were added in a way or another.

The film is very long, but I have to say that I never felt its length. Each aspect of the film worked so well and flowed beautifully. That third act is one of the best third acts in all of movies. Yet I believe the first two acts are as great as any as well.

Watching this movie, I am amazed at the cast that they brought back for this movie. We had the Avengers and Thanos, of course, but also actors such as Robert Redford, Michelle Pfeiffer, Michael Douglas, Tilda Swinton, Frank Grillo, Rene Russo, John Slattery, Hayley Atwell, Jon Favreau, Angela Bassett, William Hurt, Hiroyuki Sanada, James D’Arcy, Jacob Batalon, Ken Jeong, and several surprise appearances in the new scenes.

I loved this experience again and the new scenes only helped but make me even more excited for Doomsday. Endgame remains at the top of my list of films.

5 stars, of course.

Primetime

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I have been excited about this movie from A24 for awhile now. I did watch How to Catch a Predator at times, though not regularly (as the film tells us… it was up against LOST) and this sounded interesting.

I have to say that I did like this movie, and I think that Robert Pattinson did a great job as Chris Hansen. There was something about the film that just felt off. I am not sure what it is about Primetime that did not work as well as I would have liked it, but it was an interesting film.

The behind the scenes aspects of How to Catch a Predator was weird and strange. I am not sure what was happening with Chris Hansen. He was extremely creepy in the story as well. The film split the difference between Chris Hansen and Dan Plum (Skyler Gisondo) as what felt like the co-protagonists.

I had some issues with Skyler Gisondo. I think he is a great actor and he does an admirable job in this movie, but I just had a hard time thinking of him as a 13-year old. That might be just my own problem, but it was in my head the whole time.

The third act took all of the bizarre parts of the film and made it compelling during this over-the-top ending.

I think the film was not as strong as I thought it was going to be, but there were some great performances from both Robert Pattinson and Skyler Gisondo (and also Merrit Wever, whose Andie Bender was a real fascinating addition). The film felt psychedelic at times, which was both intriguing and weird.

I think I enjoyed the film more than what bothered me. It is a strange film but I liked it in the long run.

3.4 stars

Forgotten Island

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I had heard about this movie from several online pundits and I was looking forward to this animated movie from DreamWorks. Forgotten Island did not disappoint.

According to IMDB, “Two best friends become stranded on the mystical world of Nakali, where their only escape might cost them their shared lifetime of memories.“

There were so many amazing things about this movie. Let’s start with the animation. It is one of the most original animated styles that I have ever seen. It blends the 3D computer graphics with 2D hand drawn effects. It reminded me much about The Spider-Verse animated movies, the last Puss in Boots film, and anime films from Japan. It is so chaotic and energetic that it was awesome to watch. It is a visual masterpiece and a bright colored image.

Our two main characters, Jo and Raissa, are fully relatable and engaging. I was hooked with these two characters the minute they met outside of the principal’s office. The voice work of these two characters were great from the performers H.E.R. and Liza Soberano, respectfully.

Other voices in the film included Dave Franco, Jenny Slate, Manny Jacinto, Lea Salonga, Dolly DeLeon, Jo Koy, Ronnie Chieng, Kevin McCann, and Kailey Crawford.

Forgotten Island is full of imagination and creativity. It is a sensational animated movie and I loved watching it. Everything about the film was amazing and it was enjoyable the entire time I was in the theater. One of the best animated movies of the year.

5 stars

Daily Countdown: Animated Movies #11

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#11

Toy Story

Released: November 22, 1995

Runtime: 81 minutes

Rating: G

Animation Style: computer-generated imagery (CGI)

Studio: Pixar/Disney

One of the greatest animated franchises of all time, kicked off by this excellent film. The friendship that developed between Woody and Buzz Lightyear carries this franchise. Toy Story is a marvel.

Voice cast: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Annie Potts, John Ratzenberger, Don Rickles, Wallace Shawn, Jim Varney, John Morris, Erik von Detten, Laurie Metcalf, R. Lee Ermey, Sarah Freeman, Penn Jillette, Joe Ranft, and jeff Pidgeon.

American Horror Story 13 S13 E1-3

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“13”

“1:13 AM”

“Rauhnacht”

I was shocked to see that the latest season of American Horror Story debuted this week. I was also surprised to see that they dropped three episodes on the opening night. I thought to myself that I did not have the time to fit three episodes into my schedule for the night, so I started the first one to see how much I could see.

Episode one ended suddenly after only about 33 minutes. The second episode was around 31 minutes and then episode three was the shortest of the three at 22 minutes. I was able to see all three in a short space of time.

Wild.

The show was weird as could be. There were characters that were from previous seasons that I recognized, such as Constance from season one, the Coven from season three and Rubber Man, also from season one.

Since I have not watched all of the seasons of AHS, I was not sure how many were returning characters and which were new. I discovered that the entry point to the season was Ben (Joey Pollari), a hospice and palliative care worker who suffers from triskaidekaphobia. Trying to overcome his fear, Ben went on an ill-fated plane trip with his girlfriend for her birthday. The plane crash killed her in the cold open. We then see Ben taking a hospice job at a residential building called The Apollyon in New York City. This is where the characters from previous season can be found.

Ben was hired by Constance to take care of the mysterious Mr. Nas. There are a ton of weird things going on with this man, including his vomiting black substances, what looked like a tail, and possible horns. Devil, anyone?

Tate Langston is alive and living in the building along with Kai Anderson, the cult leader from season seven (Cult). Both are played by Evan Peters. Twisty the Clown showed up about midway through episode 2 and brutally killed 13 people.

The number 13 is significant this season.

Black Dahlia, Elizabeth Short also returned from Murder House and Apocalypse (season 8). Sarah Paulson is all over the place too, back as both Apocalypse’s Wilhemina Venable and Coven’s Cordelia Goode.

There is a portal to Hell beneath the Apollyon. This is where Wilhemina is hanging out.

This has been wild so far, and I do like how things are coming together, though I wonder if my lack of knowledge over the AHS seasons will hurt the experience of the show.

Daily Countdown: Animated Movies #12

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#12

Klaus

Released: November 8, 2019

Runtime: 97 minutes

Rating: PG

Animation Style: a unique blend of traditional hand-drawn 2D animation and innovative volumetric lighting that creates the illusion of 3D depth

Studio: SPA Studios/Netflix

Another surprise as this came out of nowhere and was nominated for Best Animated Picture at the Oscars. A wonderful origin story for Santa Claus and one of the best animated holiday movies ever.

Voice cast: Jason Schwartzman, J. K. Simmons, Rashida Jones, Will Sasso, Neda Margrethe Labba, Pablos, Norm Macdonald, Joan Cusack, Reiulf Aleksandersen, Sara Margrethe Oksal, Sergio Pablos, and Sam McMurray.

Additional children’s voices:  Evan Agos, Sky Alexis, Jaeden Bettencourt, Teddy Blum, Mila Brener, Sydney Brower, Finn Carr, Kendall Joy Hall (who voiced Annelise Ellingboe), Hayley Hermida, Lexie Holland, Brooke Huckeba, Matthew McCann, Tucker Meek, Leo Miller, Joaquin Obradors, Víctor Pablos, Lucian Perez, Bailey Rae Fenderson, Maximus Riegel, Emma Shannon, Ayden Soria, Sunday Sturz, Hudson West, Gordon Wilcox, Emma Yarovinskiy, and Julian Zane.

EYG Favorite Comic Covers of the Week

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September 24

It is that time again for the favorite comic covers of the week. Once again, the race to win this year is hot. Unlike last year, which was decided half way through the year, this one may go down to the final few weeks. It is an exciting few months coming up.

Also-Rans: The Greatest American Hero #3 (A, C), Thor #801 (Cover B-Hercules), The Eye Collector #4, Feral #26 (B Cover-The Shining homage), Spectacular Spider-Man: Brand New Day #5, Terrorbytes #10, Absolute Batman #24, Black Star #3, Any Given Smile #1, D’Orc #8, Generation X-23 #8 (B Cover), and A Mischief of Magpies #2.

Bronze Medalist

Crimes Against Nature #1

Cover art by Mattia Monaco

What a fun cover. This cover really makes me want to see what is going on in this new Image book. It absolutely stands out among the books on the stands this week.

Silver Medalist

The Muppets Take the Marvel Universe #1

Cover B Foil

Cover art by Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado

A beautiful gold foil cover with two of my all-time favorite characters in Spider-Man and Kermit the Frog. What more could I ask for. This one was absolutely going to get a place in the medal round this week.

Gold Medalist

Thor #801

Cover art by Alex Ross

This close up on Thor’s face is powerful, intimidating, and regal. The eyes on Thor just dominate this cover. This is a great way to kick off a new arc for the Thunder God.

And Alex Ross takes the lead.

Daily Countdown: Animated Movies #13

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#13

The LEGO Movie

Released: February 7, 2014

Runtime: 100 minutes

Rating: PG

Animation Style: computer-generated (CGI) animation style that mimics physical stop-motion brickfilms

Studio: Warner Brothers/Animal Logic

Another film that was a huge surprise. Who would think that a movie about LEGO creatures would be anything but stupid. Yet, The LEGO Movie was one of the best movies of 2014. There is a short section of live action during the animation, but I determined that this would still count under the animation rules I set down at the beginning since the live action stuff was a minimal part of the movie, even if it contained some of the most emotional parts.

Voice cast: Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Nick Offerman, Alison Brie, Charlie Day, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Melissa Sturm, Cobie Smuthers, Jadon Sand, Anthony Daniels, Keith Ferguson, Billy Dee Williams, Shaquille O’Neal, Will Forte, Dave Franco, Jake Johnson, Keegan-Michael Key,Christopher Miller, and Graham Miller.

Ted Lasso S4 E8

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“Follow the Anger”

This is one of my favorite episode of the new season. So far, the episodes have been great but there has been one of the story arcs that I thought was weaker than the other stories. Tonight, I loved all three main story arcs on the show.

Story #1: Gemma gets injured during a game and it affected Alice dramatically. She confronted Gemma, who had not even been checked by a doctor, but she was thinking about not coming back to play.

Story #2: Roy and Keeley were going to the ceremony for Roy at his old team, and just about everything that could go wrong, did. This led to the reunion of the pair in one of the sweetest, most epic scenes of the series. It was truly a beautiful moment.

Story #3: Leslie Higgins investigated someone trying to force people into selling their stock in Richmond under the table. It is the possible return of Rupert. I am curious if Anthony Stewart Head had recorded a role prior to his death or if this would be a recast. I enjoyed the almost secret agent mood of this storyline.

Ted gave a wonderful speech to his team after he found Alice crying in the office over the injury to Gemma. It was an absolute classic Ted Lasso speech and it was very emotional.

I loved this episode.

Daily Countdown: Animated Movies #14

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#14

Grave of the Fireflies

Released: April 16, 1988

Runtime: 89 minutes

Rating: NR/Unrated

Animation Style: grounded, painterly, and naturalistic

Studio: Studio Ghibli

One of the most beautiful and saddest Studio Ghibli films. I had heard so much of some of the other classic Studio Ghibli movies, but not much about this one and it was absolutely spectacular. It is a classic war film as well as a deeply personal family tale. This is the highest Studio Ghibli film on my list and, if you have not seen it before, it is worth your time.

Voice Cast: It depends on which version of the film you watch. The original Japanese voice cast included Tsutomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiraishi, Yoshiko Shinohara, and Akemi Yamaguchi.

OJ Unseen: Exploitation of Evil E3, E4

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“It Has Escapability”

“Reckoning With Reality”

I finished the OJ docuseries on HBO Max tonight with the final two episodes talking about the time OJ and a group of creators tried to make a hidden camera prank show called Juiced.

The last two episodes really showed just what a bad idea this prank show was. It was shaky after the first two episodes, but there were some simply horrendous things such as OJ pretending to work at a car sales lot and selling the white Bronco or doing a rap that was in remarkably bad taste.

The whole project got tore down by a leak from within the project. I think that was a great thing, considering how scummy this was.

It followed the story right up until OJ’s death in 2024 and covered his arrest for the robbery of his old sports memorabilia that sent him to prison for nine years.

The discussion from the people who worked on the crew of Juiced was fascinating, though most of them were truly lowlifes too.

I am glad I watched it…. but a little ashamed too.

Daily Countdown: Animated Movies #15

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#15

Shrek

Released: May 18, 2001

Runtime: 90 minutes

Rating: PG

Animation Style: 3D computer-generated semi-realistic style

Studio: DreamWorks

Shrek is a wonderful movie that spawned several sequels and a Broadway musical. The movie had some of the most iconic characters of animation.

Voice cast: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, John Lithgow, Vincent Cassel, Conrad Vernon, Chris Miller, Cody Cameron, Simon J. Smith, Christopher Knights, Aron Warner, Jim Cummings, Kathleen Freeman, Andrew Anamson, Bobby Block and Michael Galasso.