Author Archives: Doc

Skeleton Crew S1 E6

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“Zero Friends Again”

Happy New Year!

I paused my annual tradition of watching Infinity War and Endgame New Years Eve until midnight to watch tonight new episode of Skeleton Crew. That should tell you how much I have been enjoying this show. It was a nice little break between the big Avengers movie (as of right now, Endgame has just started)

Our four young heroes went down a chute and slid away from Jod, who was in the process of betraying them last episode. This put Wim, Neel, Fern and KB tried to decide what they were going to do now. It led to them splitting apart into pairs after a bit of a childish argument. The show does a tremendous job of reminding us how these characters are kids.

Meanwhile, Jod is trying to avoid being sentenced and sent out the air lock by telling the story of At Attin. He tried to encourage the other pirates that he could provide an unending treasure.

The group of kids got back together and there was an exciting action scene to end the show as they flew their ship off the planet, with KB having the coordinates to At Attin in her head.

Skeleton Crew has been a great show with a ton of fun to it since episode one. We have our protagonists clearly shown for now and Jod is absolutely the antagonist. Two more episodes remain as they are on their way home.

Dexter: Original Sin E4

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“Fender Bender”

The next episode of the Dexter flashback series, Dexter: Original Sin found Dex on the trail of a hired assassin who had “retired” to the Miami area. “Mad Dog,” played by Joe Pantoliano turned out to be a little more tricky than this 20-year old expected.

Dexter was on scene when they discovered the body of the judge’s kid, who had been kidnapped and had his finger sent to his parents. This story feels like the throughline for the season, while these side quests like “Mad Dog” are just to fill episodes.

When Dexter saw the kid’s dead body, he was shaken. So much so that Harry sent him off to another body instead. I’m not sure how the cantaloupes were helpful in recreating the crime. That whole thing felt odd.

We also get a flashback to when Harry had to babysit for Laura’s kids Dexter and Brian as she had to go do her undercover stuff. Laura and Harry had sparks between them, and ended up hot and heavy on the couch. I guess I did not know that Dexter had a blood brother. I do not know if the series had brought this character up before or if this is new with this series.

I really dislike this Debra version. She is such a spoiled rotten child with a lot of selfish behavior. To be fair, she does get overlooked by Harry and Dexter, but she acts out in ways that are only going to cause trouble.

This was an okay episode of the show, but felt like there was a lot of filler material in it.

The X-Files S7 E13

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“First Person Shooter”

Arguably, “First Person Shooter” was the worst episode of the X-Files of the first seven seasons. I remember watching this episode when it first came out and finding it totally ridiculous, and not in the good X-Files ridiculous ways.

I guess you could compliment David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson for doing what they could. They seemed to be giving it their best despite the terrible plot.

It’s always fun to see the Lone Gunmen too.

After that, what can I say about this episode? According to Wikipedia, it did win two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Drama Series and Outstanding Visual Effects for a Series… so I guess there is that.

2024 Year in Review: The Top 30 Best Movies of the Year

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And here it is. The Top 30 Best Films of 2024 according to EYG. Again, as I said with the Worst Movies list, this is my opinion and if I have left off a film you love or you hate one of my choices, that is okay. You have the right to your own opinion. Make your own list.

I do think that this year has had a lot of films that have been in the middle. A bunch of movies that I was excited about turned out to be fine, just not great. I did have thirty films on this list and I did have to cut a few to get to that number.

Once again, the star ratings are not the end all in this list. I use the star ratings to get a general idea, but film opinions can change over time and this is my list as of now. For an example of how things could change, two years ago Wakanda Forever was my #1 film of the year, but now I wish I had made Matilda the Musical my #1 instead. It ended at #2, but if I were to do that list again, Matilda would be on top.

Anyway… here is the Top 30

EYG’s Top 30 Best Movies of 2024

#30. Nightbitch. I saw this movie last night. I had no idea that it was available and I spotted it on Disney +. It was legit a surprise to see it there and it kicked out Skincare from this list. I thought I was finished with 2024 movies, and here it made the Top 30.

#29. Rebel Ridge. A Netflix film featured a thinking-man’s Rambo like character played by Aaron Pierre taking on the crooked sheriff played by Don Johnson. I liked this approach to an action film.

#28. Emilia Perez. The first musical on the list and a film featuring a ton of great performances from Zoe Saldana, Selena Gomez and Karla Sofía Gascón. Another one available on Netflix.

#27. Kill. A violent, Indian Hindi-language film set on a train. It was brutal. It was vicious. It was exciting and filled with action. Worth every minute.

#26. Society of the Snow. Another version of the story of a rugby team that had crashed in the Andes and had to go to great lengths to survive the cold and brutal environment of the mountains. There is an avalanche that was astonishing.

#25. Civil War. Almost too realistic, this movie was difficult to watch at times. There was some real excitement involved here too as the cast does a solid job of showing the uncertainty of the world around them.

#24. Woman of the Hour. This is the true story of a serial killer who went on the Dating Game. Anna Kendrick excels as the woman who had to pick between the available bachelors unknowing that one of them is a real killer.

#23. We Live in Time. Emotional story told through amazing chemistry of Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh. This is a tragedy and a love story all wrapped into one. Two powerful performances carry this through.

#22. A Quiet Place: Day One. The prequel to the successful franchise was one of those that succeeded when it should not have. Lupita Nyong’o took the place as the film’s protagonist and does a great job detailing the first arrival of the aliens.

#21. A Real Pain. Jesse Eisenberg wrote, directed and starred in this passion project seeing cousins Jesse and Kieron Culkin go on a Holocaust tour after their beloved grandmother died. A very emotional movie.

#20. Fly Me to the Moon. Channing Tatum and Scarlet Johansson star in a romantic comedy featuring the potential moon landing and how the government wanted to fake the landing to beat the Russians. I liked how this movie blended the reality and the conspiracy theory into a narrative that worked.

#19. Didi. Izaac Wang starred as Didi in this coming of age story. Zhang Li Hua, who played Didi’s grandmother stole every scene she was in. The film shows how social media can cause troubles for youth. This film is filled with angst and emotion and was a great showcase for the young actor.

#18. Strange Darling. One of the most original movies of the year. I actually loved how this movie told its narrative in an unorganized fashion, jumping around through chapters of the story. It allowed the filmmakers to create a different mind about what was going on. It shows you what you can do with story structure.

#17. Conclave. The process of choosing a new Pope is shrouded in secrecy, so why not make a mystery out of it? This has a bunch of sensational performances from Ralph Fiennes, John Lithgow, Stanley Tucci, Isabella Rossellini and Carlos Diehz.

#16. Saturday Night. Live from New York… it’s Saturday Night! I had no idea how close it came to having those iconic words never uttered on TV. This movie is all about the first ever SNL show and the series of crises that nearly kept it off the air. Great performances.

#15. Anora. Just when you think you know how this film is going to go, the movie takes a swerve and you do not see it coming. Brilliant work from Mikey Madison as Anora and Mark Eydelshteyn as Vanya.

#14. The Fall Guy. One of the films this year that did not do well at the box office, but was extremely entertaining. Ryan Gosling was exceptional as the stunt man who gets injured and loses the girl and his confidence. Based on the early ’80s TV show, this was a lot of fun with sensational stunts (of course).

#13. The Last Stop in Yuma County. A small time film that surprised me with how fantastic it was. Brutal and violent, this movie saw some great interactions between actors and a truly shocking conclusion.

#12. Heretic. Another awesome film with an actor playing against type. I never would have seen Hugh Grant in this lead role, but he carries it off beautifully. Some of the best dialogue written in a horror/thriller this year.

#11. Dune: Part Two. I really thought this would wind up in the top ten, but it came just short. It had sensational special effects and some great performances in the continuation of the Dune story. One of two great performances of the year for Timothée Chalamet.

#10. Abigail. This was one that I thought would be higher on the list, which speaks well of the movies ahead of it. I loved this action/horror film and I just wish that they had been able to keep the secret that Abigail was a vampire secret. I understand why they thought they couldn’t but I can’t imagine what the moment would have been if I hadn’t known Alisha Weir was the antagonist. Oh well, still loved it.

#9. A Complete Unknown. The second Timothée Chalamet movie that featured a great performance. Chalamet played the icon Bob Dylan and he lost himself inside the singer/songwriter. Chalamet also did his own singing and guitar playing. This was a great movie.

#8. Late Night with the Devil. This film was on the top of this list early in the year and it stayed in the top ten. Another way to use the found footage subgenre for an original film. David Dastmalchian is great as a late night host that was having some surprising supernatural events.

#7. Alien: Romulus. I found this highly entertaining and filled with suspense and tension. The Alien franchise had not had a great movie in awhile. This is easily the best Alien movie since Aliens at least.

#6. The Wild Robot. Animation had a great year too as this original film was filled with emotion as the robot Roz finds and help raise a baby goose. The movie is beautiful and provides a sensational message.

#5. Transformers One. I never would have guessed that this movie would be number five on my Top 30 list, but it was so great. I did not think making Optimus and Megatron friends when they were younger was needed, yet it turned out to be just about perfect. This was full of action and goosebump moments. Excellent film.

#4. Inside Out 2. This is the third of the run of animated movies and I loved it. It may be a better overall story than the first one with a better use of characters. There is no villain in this movie. It is just emotions that may not take you in the right way. It was also the highest grossing film of 2024 at almost $1.7 billion.

#3. Wicked. This took a big risk and it paid off handsomely. Wicked Part One was engaging, hugely entertaining and filled with great music and amazing performances. The Some people doubted that they could adapt the Broadway musical into a successful movie, but those people had to eat their words.

#2. Nosferatu. Dark, brooding and violent. Nosferatu placed the character of Count Orlok into the basic story of Count Dracula and it created some of the best mood of the year. Robert Eggers gave us one of the best horror movies of the year.

#1. Deadpool and Wolverine. This was probably destined to be on the top of this list. Seeing Deadpool and Wolverine in an MCU movie together was awesome, as was the list of cameos that came along with them. This was a love letter to the FOX Marvel movies. One of the funniest movies of the year with amazing Deadpool action and emotional Logan moments. This reached every expectation I ever had.

So there it is. The Top 30 films of 2024. Happy New Year to everyone.

2024 Year in Review: Top 20 Worst Films of the Year

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We are up to the big year-end movie lists, and we start off with the Top 20 Worst Films of the Year. Of course, it would be a little more accurate for me to call this My Least Favorite Films because that is what it is. Film is subjective and what I think is the worst movie, you may love. That’s fine. You have the right to your opinion.

I have all the respect in the world for the movie makers but everybody has their failures. Even the films that I hate have my respect for their efforts. Some times effort just is not enough.

I should specify as well that the star ratings that I give when I review the movies through the year are basically used as a guide. This is not place in direct order via the star ratings. Plus, movie opinions can change over time.

This was the oddest Worst Film list of all time because literally, I was considering seven movies as the #1 Worst Film of 2024. I have never had that many films in real consideration.

2024 EYG Top 20 Worst Films of the Year

#20. Venom: The Last Dance. The final of the Venom trilogy is not a very good movie. It has a lot of silliness and a waste of Knull as a villain.

#19. Monster Summer. An eighties type of monster film with Mel Gibson that is just not very good. Mel Gibson really did not fit with this movie.

#18. Afraid. AI taking over one house at a time. Killer Alexa? This is a stupid movie and John Cho has been in much better movies that are similar to this one.

#17. Trap. M. Night Shyamalan’s latest film is so full of dumb plots as a serial killer takes his daughter to a concert. The cops set up a sting operation at the concert. There are so many things that make no sense in this movie that it stretches credibility.

#16. Joker: Folie a Deux. What a step down from the first Joker. And I did not love that first film. This “musical” was such a waste of potential. This sequel seems to take a crap on the first movie too, throwing away most everything that was done well in the first one.

#15. Imaginary. There have been a ton of bad horror movies this year. This is one of them. Chauncy the Teddy Bear is causing trouble for the little kid. Terrible and not memorable.

#14. Immaculate. Sydney Sweeney did not have a good year in my opinion. She was a nun here going into an Italian convent. I did not like this one at all and it was not easy to watch, but not in the good way.

#13. The Exorcism. Russell Crowe also did not have the best year. Here, he is an actor playing a priest, dealing with an exorcism on set of a horror movie. I found this to be repetitive and boring.

#12. The Watchers. Another failed horror film. A bizarre situation that makes little sense and these characters are so unlikable that I want them to be gotten. M. Night’s daughter directed this mess.

#11. Lisa Frankenstein. I was looking forward to this comedy, but it was not funny, mean-spirited and had characters that I disliked. Cruel writing and a lack of humor does not make this worth seeing. It was quite a disappointment.

#10. The Strangers Ch. 1. Why did we need this movie? The original Strangers was a decent movie. This was just a wasted prequel with stupid characters and jump scares. And that ending…

#9. Night Swim. Here is the first film I watched in 2024. It was such a stupid movie about a haunted pool. A haunted pool? Yup. That’s what I said.

#8. The Crow. Another movie that has no reason to exist. This is such a bad idea and, what was even worse was, it was boring. The Crow did not need a reboot. This was a horrendous choice.

#7. Tarot. We are starting off with the seven films in competition for the worst film of the year. Tarot obviously deals with the deck of tarot and terrible characters that I couldn’t care less about. Completely forgettable.

#6. Kraven the Hunter. The most recent of the Sony Spider-Man without Spider-Man movies include a great cast in a terrible movie. Kraven is one of the greatest Spidey villains, but this is one of the worst super hero movies in years (although there may be a worse one upcoming).

#5. Borderline. I would have thought this was going to end up much higher than five, which tells you about the films ahead of it. Another great cast, including Oscar winners Cate Blanchett and Jamie Lee Curtis, but no story, horrible dialogue and such a flop of an adaptation. Eli Roth directed this mess.

#4. Kinds of Kindness. I had a guy on X call me names because I hated this movie. I’m sorry dude, but at least it is not my least favorite movie of the year. I found the three basic stories that made up the film to be pretentious, obnoxious and misogynistic. I hated this film.

#3. Rebel Moon Part 2: The Scargiver. I hated the first film of this series from Zack Snyder even more than Part One and I did not think that was possible. It was dull, boring and filled with characters whom I disliked. And I do not want to wait for the Director’s cut.

#2. Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2. Last year’s worst movie was this film’s first in the franchise. There was some chatter that this one was supposed to be better. Spoiler alert…it wasn’t. Although this is only the second worst film of the year, so I guess it could be considered a little better.

#1. Madame Web. Here it is… the film that survived the gauntlet of the horrible movies. This one took a C-level (more likely D level) Spider-Man character and put her in a film with horrible writing, horrible special effects, horrible villain, horrible ADR.. I could go on. Madame Web was a ridiculous film and even film star Dakota Johnson was putting it down before it had been released. Madame Web is the worst movie of this year.

Silo S2 E7

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“The Dive”

Juliette goes diving again and winds up in trouble. Solo convinced her to fix the water pump before she left his silo because, and rightfully so, he believes that once she leaves she most likely will never come back.

He explained about swimming to her and also about the bends. It’s a fascinating world where someone has to be explained what swimming is. Plus, you know that his comments about the bends were going to lead to something.

While she is down in the water, her oxygen goes off and the connection to the bell she would ring is severed too, forcing her to ascend in a rapid manner. When she gets up there, Solo is nowhere to be seen and there is blood around the area.

Is there someone else in this silo? Always thought so. This all but confirms it.

Bernard continues to flail in his attempts to keep everything together, but more and more things are going against him. This includes Sims, whose wife has been whispering in his ear. Sims and Bernard have a tense convo where lines sure seem to be laid down.

The food poisoner is revealed too. The level’s head cook who had told them about the poison in the first place. Her mother is above the blockade and they were using this as a way of pressuring her to do their bidding.

Lucas is making progress with the code too as it is a numerical code from a book- Bernard believes it is from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

2025 EYG Favorite Comic Covers by the Week

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January 1

Gold: Iban Coello, Miles Morales: Spider-Man #28

Silver: Fiona Staples, Saga #71

Bronze: Rafa Sandoval & Ulises Arreola, Absolute Superman #3

January 8

Gold: Mark Spears, Return of the Living Dead #1

Silver: Gary Frank, Geiger #10

Bronze: Abigail Jill Harding, Parliament of Rooks #2, variant

January 15

Gold: Gianenrico Bonacorsi & Bjorn Barends, Knights vs. Samurai #4

Silver: Sean Izaakse & Romulo Fajaroo, Challengers of the Unknown #2

Bronze: Jesus Orellana, Juvenile #2

January 17

Gold: Mark Spears, Green Horner/Miss Fury #1 (variant cover A)

Silver: Alex Ross, Immortal Thor #19

Bronze: Mark Bagley & Richard Isanove, Amazing Spider-Man #65. DEATHS

January 23

Gold: Declan Shalvey, Mystique #4

Silver: Francesco Mobili & Chris Chuckry, The Tin Can Society #5

Bronze: Mark Spears, Mark Spears’ Monsters #1 (3rd Printing)

January 29

Gold: Mark Spears, Mark Spears Monsters #3 (Variant Metal Cover G)

Silver: Mark Spears, Mark Spears Monsters #3 (Cover A)

Bronze: Mark Spears, Mark Spears Monsters #3 (Variant Cover E)

February 5

Gold: Ryan Stegman, J.P. Mayer, & Marte Gracia, X-Men #10

Silver: Olivier Coipel, Namor #7 (Variant)

Bronze: Dike Ruan & Neeraj Menon, The Ultimates #9

February 12

Gold: Mark Brooks, Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider #10

Silver: Adam Kubert & Laura Martin, All-New Venom #3

Bronze: Alex Ross, Immortal Thor #20

February 19

Gold: Jorge Fornes and Werther Dell’edera, House of Slaughter #30

Silver: Declan Shalvey, Mystique #5

Bronze: Mark Spears, Shazam #20

February 26

Gold: Peach Momoko, Bug Wars #1, Variant

Silver: John Scherpenhuizen, The Human Fly #3

Bronze: Jay Martin, Behemoth #2

February 27

Gold:  Jenny Frison, Hello Darkness #8

Silver: Alessandro Oliveri, Ripperland#2

Bronze: Pere Perez & GURU-eFX, TVA #3

March 5

Gold: Geoff Shaw and Arthur Hesli, Doctor Strange of Asgard #1

Silver: JG Jones, Dust to Dust #3

Bronze: Alex Ross, Immortal Thor #21

Bronze: Skylar Patridge, Kill Train #2

March 12

Gold: Rafa Sandoval & Ulises Arreola, Absolute Superman #5

Silver: Hayden Sherman, Batman: Dark Patterns #4

Bronze: Mark Bagley, Darkwing Duck #1 (variant cover B)

March 19

Gold: Fiona Staples, Saga #72

Silver: Joshua Hixson, The Deviant #9

Bronze: Tyler Crook, Out of Alcatraz #1

March 26

Gold: Hayden Sherman & Jordie Bellaire, Absolute Wonder Woman #6

Silver: Dalibor Talajic, The Kids #1

Bronze: Faith Erin Hicks & Lee Loughridge, Universal Monsters: The Mummy #1

March 27

Gold: Trish Forstner & Allen Passalaqua, Feral #11 (Variant)

Silver: Mark Spears, Vampirella #1

Bronze: Leonardo Romero, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #4

April 2

Gold: Steve McNiven, Daredevil: Cold Day in Hell #1

Silver: Davide Paratore, Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu #7

Bronze: Mark Spears, Justice League: The Atom Project #4

April 9

Gold: Nick Dragotta, Absolute Batman #7

Silver: Mark Spears, Return of the Living Dead #3

Bronze: Yasmine Putri, Phoenix #10

April 16

Gold: Lee Garbett, Godzilla vs. the Hulk #1

Silver: Joshua Cassara, Superior Avengers #1, variant

Bronze: Greg Land & D’Armata, X-Factor #9

April 23

Gold: Tyler Crook, Out of Alcatraz #2

Silver: J.G. Jones, Dust to Dust #5

Bronze: Faith Eric Hicks & Lee Loughridge, Universal Monsters: The Mummy #2

April 30

Gold: Anwita Citriya, Something is Killing the Children #41 (Virgin Variant)

Silver: Mark Spears, Mark Spears Monsters #4

Bronze:  Tyler Boss, You’ll Do Bad Things #2

May 7

Gold: Baldemar Rivas, Two-Face #6

Silver: Marcos Martin, Los Monstruos #1

Bronze: Stefano Cardoselli, Don’t Run With Scissors #1

May 14

Gold: Mark Spears, Silverhawks #4

Silver: Mark Bagley & Edgar Delgado, Spectacular Spider-Men #15

Bronze: Daniel Hillyard & Michelle Madsen, I Was a Fashion School Serial Killer #1

May 21

Gold: Mark Spears, Mark Spears Monsters #1 (5th Printing)

Silver: Haining, Absolute Flash #3

Bronze: Pepe Larraz & Marte Gracia, Amazing Spider-Man #4

May 28

Gold: Tony Fleecs & Allen Passalaqua, Feral #13 Variant B

Silver: Faith Erin Hicks & Lee Loughlin, Universal Monsters The Mummy #3

Bronze:  Andrea Milana, G.I. Joe #7 Variant

June 4

Gold: Mark Spears, Return of the Living Dead #4

Silver: Alex Ross, The Immortal Thor #24

Bronze (TIE): Mark Spears, Mark Spears Monsters #5 Variant C

Bronze (TIE): Declan Shalvey, The Terminator #8

June 11

Gold: Tyler Boss, Something is Killing the Children #42 (Variant B)

Silver: Fernando Blanco, W0rldtr33#15

Bronze: Lucas Werneck, Phoenix #12

June 18

Gold: Marianna Ignazzi, Exquisite Corpses #2 (Variant B Cover)

Silver: Mark Chiarello, Past Time #3

Bronze: Christian Ward, Benjamin #1

June 25

Gold: Tim Seeley, Sleep #2 (B Variant)

Silver: Tony Fleecs & Trish Forstner, Feral #14 (B Variant)

Bronze: Mark Spears, Absolute Connected Covewrs

July 2

Gold: Mitsuhiro Arita, Godzilla vs. Thor #1

Silver: Marco Failla & Don Aguillo, Sam & Twitch Case Files #15

Bronze: Pablo Tunica, Godzilla Heist #5 (variant B cover)

July 9

Gold: David Marquez & Matthew Wilson, Uncanny X-Men #17

Silver: Andy Kuhn, Wild Animals #1

Bronze: Federico Vicentini & Neeraj Menon, Miles Morales: Spider-Man #35

July 16

Gold: Nogi San, Spider-Girl #2

Silver: Mark Spears, Gargoyle: Demona #1

Bronze: Daniel Hillyard and Michelle Madsen, I Was a Fashion School Serial Killer #4

Bronze: Jorge Fornes, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #10

July 23

Gold: Valentine De Landro, Exquisite Corpses #3 (Stealth Variant)

Silver: Mark Spears, Vampirella: Armageddon #1

Bronze: Trish Forstner & Allen Passalaqua, Feral #15

July 31

Gold: Jay Shaw, The War #1 (Cover B)

Silver: Tula Lotay, The War #1 (Cover C)

Bronze: Mark Spears, Space Quest

August 7

Gold: Suspiria Vilchez, Something is Killing the Children #43

Silver: Mark Spears, Thundercats #17 Cover variant T

Bronze: Bjorn Barends, Red Sonja vs. the Army of Darkness #4

August 14

Gold:  Ashley Wood, Batman: Dark Patterns #9

Silver: Ryan Stegman & Marte Gracia, X-Men #20

Bronze: Alex Ross, Space Ghost #1 (Variant)

August 21

Gold:  Jorge Fornes, Nightwing #129 (variant cover B)

Silver: Mark Spears, Space Quest #4

Bronze: John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna & Marcio Menyz, Amazing Spider-Man #10

August 28

Gold: Patrick Gleason, The Mortal Thor #1, foil variant

Silver: JG Jones, Dust to Dust #6

Bronze: Christian Ward, Benjamin #3

September 4

Gold: Lee Bermejo, Amazing Spider-Man #11 (Variant)

Silver: Julian Totino Tedesco, Batman #1, Blind bag Foil Variant (error copy)

Bronze: Jorge Fornes, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #11

September 11

Gold: Hayden Sherman, Batman: Dark Patterns #10

Silver: Lucio Parrillo, Blue Falcon and Dynomutt #1

Bronze: Dustin Nguyen, Tama #2

September 18

Gold: Szymon Kudranski, No Man’s Land #1

Silver: Sebastian Fiumara, Exquisite Corpses #5 (variant)

Bronze: Rahzzah, They Choose Violence #4

September 25

Gold: Mark Spears, Mark Spears Monsters #7 (variant)

Silver: Mike Del Mundo, Universal Monsters: The Invisible Man #2 (variant)

Bronze: Freddie Williams II, The Phantom #1 (variant)

October 2

Gold: Nathan Szerdy, Poison Ivy #37 (pumpkin spicy variant)

Silver: Andrew Tarusov, Pinupocalypse #6 (variant)

Bronze: Miguel Martos, TexArcanum #3

Bronze: Jakub Rebelka, The Last Day of H.P. Lovecraft #1

October 9

Gold: Juan Ferreyra, Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum #3

Silver: Pye Parr, Super Creepshow #1

Bronze: Mark Spears, Harley Quinn x Elvira #1

October 16

Gold: Mark Spears, The Monsters and the Wolf #1 (Blind bag covers)

Silver: Rahzzah, They Choose Violence #5

Bronze: Bjorn Barends, The War #3

October 23

Gold: Szymon Kudranski, No Man’s Land #2 (variant )

Silver: Declan Shalvey, Terminator Metal #1

Bronze: Szymon Kudranski, No Man’s Land #2

October 30

Gold: Trish Forstner, Feral #17 (variant)

Silver: Francesca Fantini, Stake Presents Jessamy #1.

Bronze: Adam Hughes, Black Cat #3

November 6

Gold: Mark Spears, G.I. Joe #13

Silver: Andy Kuhn, Wild Animals #4

Bronze: Chris Shehan, Star Trek: Red Shirts #4

November 13

Gold: Stephanie Hans, Die Loaded #1

Silver: Tyler Boss, American Caper #1

Bronze: Lucio Parrillo, Blue Falcon and Dynomutt #3

November 20

Gold: Mark Spears, Mark Spears’ Monsters #4 (2nd printing)

Gold: Szymon Kudranski, No Man’s Land #3 (Antlers’ Variant)

Silver: Noah Bailey, High Strangeness #2

Bronze: Ivan Shavrin, Nova Centurion #1 (Foil Variant)

November 27

Gold: Lee Garbett, Detective Comics #1103 (variant)

Silver: Dan Panosian, Infernal Hulk #1, (foil variant)

Bronze: Denys Cowan & Bill Sienkiewicz, Batman/Green Arrow/The Question: Arcadia #1

December 4

Gold: Stefano Simeone, Something is Killing the Children #45 (variant-foil)

Silver: Lucio Parrillo, Blue Falcon and Dynomutt #4

Bronze: Bjorn Barends, Dark Souls: Mother of Mourning #1

December 13

Gold: Nick Dragotta, Absolute Batman #15

Silver: Jorge Fornes, Ordained #1

Bronze: Alison Sampson, Pop Kill #1

*

December 18

Gold:

Silver:

Bronze:

Nightbitch

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I thought I was done with new movies in 2024. I was working on the year in review stuff, organizing the best and worst lists when I decided to go to Disney + and see if anything was there. I couldn’t believe what I saw as the movie Nightbitch starring Amy Adams was available to stream. I did not expect Nightbitch on Disney + (it was through the Hulu subscription) so I decided I could watch another movie in 2024.

I am glad I did because I enjoyed the movie very much. It was a weird, unlikely story using dogs as a metaphor for motherhood and the struggles that it brings.

I saw Amy Adams with six nipples.

So that happened.

According to IMDB, Nightbitch is the story of “A woman (Amy Adams), thrown into the stay-at-home routine of raising a toddler in the suburbs, slowly embraces the feral power deeply rooted in motherhood, as she becomes increasingly aware of the bizarre and undeniable signs that she may be turning into a dog.“

Scoot McNairy played Adams’ unobservant husband and their relationship was at the center of the existential crisis Adams was going through. She was finding that she was losing herself in her attempt to be the wife and mother, including sacrificing her art to stay at home. The burden of motherhood weighed on her and her life became more and more out of control. Adams could only find release by transforming into a dog and running around the neighborhood.

Amy Adams does a great job in the lead role. I had no idea that the title of the film was intended to be literal. Although I believe that the whole dog stuff is really just in Adams’s head and that she was just doing these things. How much of this was actually happening and how much was an unreliable narrator in Adams’s character telling us what is happening?

I liked this movie a lot. I was surprised to see it at 59% on Rotten Tomatoes and even lower with the audience score. It does have a female lead and a message of struggles that the woman goes through so maybe it is one of those films that has been dropped down because of the anti-woke crowd who can’t stand a movie from the POV of a woman. I don’t know, but I enjoyed it quite a bit.

4 stars

2024 Year in Review: In Memoriam Part 4

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President Jimmy Carter

Phil Donahue

Maggie Smith

Rickey Henderson

Ron Ely

Akebono

Johnny & Matthew Gaudreau

Alec Musser

Alice Stewart

Chris Gauthier

David Emge

Frank Fritz

John Cassaday

John Ashton

Glynis Johns

Lou Dobbs

Marla Adams

Martin Mull

Shannon Doherty

Bernard Hill

Thom Christopher

Joe Lieberman

Hudson Meek

Greg Gumbel

Rey Misterio Sr.

“The Butcher” Paul Vachon

Bela Karolyi

2024 Year in Review: The Strangelove

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The Strangelove (Best Actor in Movie)

Previous Winners:  James McAvoy (Split), Denzel Washington (Fences), Bryan Cranston (Trumbo), Michael Keaton (Birdman), Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips), Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln), Ryan Gosling (Drive), Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody), Joaquin Phoenix (Joker), Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), Andrew Garfield (Tick, Tick…Boom), Brendan Fraser (The Whale), Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers)

We are up to Best Actor, which in EYG land means we are giving out The Strangelove, in honor, of course, of EYG Hall of Famer, Peter Sellers.

Honorable Mentions: Jesse Eisenberg (A Real Pain), Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice), John David Washington (Piano Lessons), Glen Powell (Hit Man), Justice Smith (I Saw the TV Glow), Kyle Gallner (Strange Darling), Channing Tatum (Fly Me to the Moon)

#10. Gabriel LaBelle (Saturday Night)

#9. Bill Skarsgård (Nosferatu)

#8. Sebastian Stan (A Different Man)

#7. Nicholas Hoult (Nosferatu)

#6. Andrew Garfield (We Live in Time)

#5. David Dastmalchian (Late Night with the Devil)

#4. Ray Fiennes (Conclave)

#3. Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool & Wolverine)

#2. Hugh Grant (Heretic)

#1. Timothée Chalamet (A Complete Unknown)

Timothée Chalamet was masterful as Bob Dylan, with his voice and his singing. He also played the guitar. An overall amazing performance. Hugh Grant played opposite his type in the awesome horror flick Heretic. Ryan Reynolds is now in the MCU with his brazen performance as Deadpool. Ray Fiennes is always awesome and Conclave is no exception. David Dastmalchian is perfect in his found footage horror film Late Night with the Devil. Andrew Garfield is a former winner of this award and is back with Florence Pugh in We Live in Time. Nicholas Hoult and Bill Skarsgård came out of Nosferatu. Sebastian Stan made this list and in honorable mention. Gabriel LaBelle played Lorne Michaels on Saturday Night!

2024 Year in Review: The Liz

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The Liz Award

Previous Winners:  Frances McDormand (3 Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri), Viola Davis (Fences), Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road), Rosemund Pike (Gone Girl), Sandra Bullock (Gravity), Berenice Bejo (The Artist), Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn),  Yalitza Aparicio (Roma), Renee Zellweger (Judy), Viola Davis (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), Rachel Zegler (West Side Story), Danielle Deadwyler (Till), Emma Stone (Poor Things)

It is time for The Liz Award, given to the best actress from 2024. There are a bunch of excellent performances and I’ll kick this off with some honorable mentions and then go into the Top 10.

Honorable Mentions: Kirsten Dunst (Civil War), Jodie Comer (The Bikeriders), Lupita Nyong’o (The Wild Robot, A Quiet Place: Day One)

#10. Scarlet Johansson, (Fly Me to the Moon)

#9. Anna Kendrick (Woman of the Hour)

#8. Willa Fitzgerald (Strange Darling)

#7. Florence Pugh (We Live in Time)

#6. Lily-Rose Depp (Nosferatu)

#5. Alisha Weir (Abigail)

#4. June Squibb (Thelma)

#3. Demi Moore (The Substance)

And we have a tie for #1… just could not decide which one to give it to…so decided to give it to both…

#1. Cynthia Erivo (Wicked)

#1. Mikey Madison (Anora)

Just could not decide between these two. Both performances were spectacular and absolutely key for their movies. So we have a tie for The Liz Award. Demi Moore was a solid number three and really seemed to revitalized her career with this ballsy performance. Love the fact that 90+ actress June Squibb led her own movie this year, and she was great in it. Alisha Weir is our first ever two-time I See Kid Actor Award winner and she makes this list because Abigail simply would not work without her. Lily-Rose Depp has a huge role in Nosferatu and carries plenty of the drama. Strange Darling was a weird movie with a great lead performance form Willa Fitzgerald. Florence Pugh, Anna Kendrick and Scarlet Johansson always do expert work.

2024 Year in Review: The Joker/Hannibal Lecter/Mister Miyagi Award for Best Supporting Actor

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The Joker/Hannibal Lecter/Mister Miyagi Award for Best  Supporting Actor

Previous Winners:  Patrick Stewart (Logan), Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals), Sylvester Stallone (Creed), Edward Norton (Birdman), Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club), Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained), Andy Serkis (Rise of the Planet of the Apes), Richard Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?), Robert Downey Jr (Avengers: Endgame), Sasha Baron Cohen (Trial of the Chicago 7), Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man: No Way Home), Ke Huy Quen (Everything Everywhere All at Once), Robert Downey Jr. (Oppenheimer)

I have a much larger list of supporting actors than I did for the actresses, but I am sticking with a list of Top Ten. I will add a Honorable Mention for this category.

Honorable Mention: Samuel L. Jackson (Piano Lessons), Jeff Goldblum (Wicked), Paul Bettany (Here), and Richard Roundtree (Thelma).

#10. Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Nosferatu)

#9. JK Simmons (Saturday Night)

#8. Stanley Tucci (Conclave)

#7. Edward Norton (A Complete Unknown)

#6. Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain)

#5. Cory Michael Smith (Saturday Night)

#4. Boyd Holbrook (A Complete Unknown)

#3. Chris Hemsworth (Furiosa)

#2. Hugh Jackman (Deadpool & Wolverine)

#1. Mark Eydelshteyn (Anora)

Mark Eydelshteyn does a remarkable job in Anora. The first half of the movie, you love him, root for him and relate with him. The second half of the movie, you hate him. He completely turns away any goodwill you had for him, and he doesn’t really change his character. It is a great performance. Hugh Jackman does not get award respect but he is excellent as Logan in Deadpool & Wolverine. He has some emotional scenes that give you specifics on the character that only Jackman can deliver. Saturday Night has a couple of actors here, including Cory Michael Smith as Chevy Chase and JK Simmons as Milton Berle. A Complete Unknown as a couple of real life characters too with Johnny Cash, as brought to life by Boyd Holbrook and Edward Norton’s Pete Seeger. Aaron Taylor-Johnson does not get anything for Kraven the Hunter, but he showed what a great actor he is in Nosferatu. Kieran Culkin has been excellent for a long time, and his role in A Real Pain is one of his most complex yet. Stanley Tucci brings some great work in Conclave too.

2024 Year in Review: The Hermione Granger/Furiosa/Rita Moreno Award for Best Supporting Actress

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The Hermione Granger/Furiosa/Rita Moreno Award for Best  Supporting Actress

Previous Winners:  Dafne Keene (Logan), Tilda Swinton (Dr. Strange), Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina), Emma Stone (Birdman), Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle), Sally Field (Lincoln), Jennifer Aniston (Horrible Bosses), Emily Blunt (A Quiet Place), Scarlett Johansson (Jojo Rabbit), Margo Martindale (Blow the Man Down), Rita Moreno (West Side Story), Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever), Da’Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers)

Supporting Actress is up first among the acting awards here at EYG Year in Review. This is the top ten recipients for Best Supporting Actress. Honestly, a bunch of these potential Oscar roles are from movies that I have yet to see, so they will not appear on my list. Maybe the June Swoon will be really good this year.

#10. Isabella Rossellini, Conclave.

#9. Joan Chen, Didi.

#8. Monica Barbaro, A Complete Unknown

#7. Karla Sofia Gascon, Emilia Perez.

#6. Zendaya, Dune: Part Two

#5. Emma Corrin, Nosferatu

#4. Danielle Deadwyler, Piano Lessons

#3. Selena Gomez, Emilia Perez

#2. Zoe Saldana, Emilia Perez

#1. Ariana Grande, Wicked

Ariana Grande was a revelation in Wicked. No one expected her to steal the movie, but she nearly did in almost every scene she was in. Of course, her voice was amazing as she blasted out her songs. The trio of actresses from Emilia Perez were powerful in the film and all of them made a spot on this list. Danielle Deadwyler is showing herself to be a master actor as she gives tremendous performances every time.