Author Archives: Doc

Code 8: Part II

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It was quite a weekend for sci-fi part two films. The biggest, of course, was Dune: Part Two in theaters, but the other is a film that arrived on Netflix called Code 8: Part II.

This was a film that I had no idea even had a Part I. Apparently, this is a sequel to a sci-fi film that came out in 2019 and on Netflix in 2020 featuring Robbie and Stephen Amell.

According to IMDB, “After witnessing the murder of her brother and subsequent cover up, a teenage girl with abnormal abilities seeks the help of an ex-con (Robbie Amell) and his former partner-in-crime (Stephen Amell). Together, they face a unit of corrupt police officers who deploy advanced robotic technology to prevent themselves from being exposed.”

The mix of super powered individuals and the science fiction robotics is very intriguing with this movie and leads to some interesting scenes with the different characters. I did like the young girl, Pavani, played by Sirena Gulamgaus. I thought she pulled off her character with some gusto.

The relationship between the characters played by the Amell brothers were shaky at times. It was unclear the relationship between them and it was inconsistent. Perhaps this is a drawback to not seeing the first Code 8 movie.

The story is okay. I wouldn’t rave about it, but it does have a good flow and the idea of technology being corrupted by human is definitely a regular one in sci-fi.

I liked this film. I have seen reviews stating that this was a step down from the original, but as that is not an issue for me, I would say I liked watching this. It may not be the best Part II of the weekend, nor the best sci-fi film of the weekend, but it was a worthy watch despite that.

3.5 stars

Dune: Part Two

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I have heard so many glowing reviews about Dune Part Two that I went into this movie with high expectations. I re-watched the first Dune last weekend to review what happened. I still found it to be fine. I did not love the first one.

I did not find the second Dune to be as brilliant as it seems everyone else did, but I did like it more than the first one. It is clearly a beautiful, epic science fiction film with several amazing performances. I would not be honest if I said that I wasn’t confused about some of the things that were happening here.

Denis Villeneuve completed his second film, and the second film feels like a more complete story. One of the criticisms of the first film was that it ended suddenly and did not feel like a complete end. The second film had more completion to it.

The special effects are absolutely astounding and the shots of this world were breath-taking. It is one of the most visually impressive films I have seen in years.

Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya are wonderful together, with amazing chemistry and a powerful connection. This relationship is at the center of the movie and makes the ending of the film even more difficult.

The cast is excellent. Everybody bring their A-game to this film, including Dave Bautista, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Florence Pugh, Christopher Walken, and Stellan Skarsgård. Special shout out to Austin Butler, who played the David Bowie role from the first film. Butler was sinister as Feyd-Rautha and he created an absolutely brilliant antagonist to Chalamet.

The fight choreography of this film was exciting and wonderful. Some of the one on one fights of this movie were dramatic and so beautifully put together. The battle scenes of the war are great and make the energy of the film elevated.

I have never really understood the world of Dune and that has been my biggest struggle of viewing the film. I wonder how much more confused I may have been had I not done the re-watch last weekend?

There are a ton of things about this movie that make it an amazing cinematic exercise, and my issues are not enough to derail this amazing piece of work.

4.5 stars

Drive-Away Dolls

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I did not plan on going to this movie. It came out last week and it was not a draw for me to go to the theater. However, it fit nicely into the schedule this week before Dune Part II and there was only one showing, so I decided to give Drive-Away Dolls a chance.

Sadly, I did not enjoy it very much.

According to IMDB, “Jamie regrets her breakup with her girlfriend, while Marian needs to relax. In search of a fresh start, they embark on an unexpected road trip to Tallahassee. Things quickly go awry when they cross paths with a group of inept criminals.”

Written in part and directed by Ethan Coen, this is a raunchy comedy that, unfortunately, I did not find very funny.

I did find our two main leads, Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan, to be fairly charismatic. I thought both of them did a decent job, but I just did not find much of what they did as funny, and for a comedy, that was a big drawback.

The storyline was weird and so very Coen-like.

And I felt bad for poor Pedro Pascal.

There was a lot of sex and nudity and that is fine. There was just so much lacking in-between the sex scenes. There were so many stupid things that the characters did and it annoyed me badly.

I did not find this the worst thing I have seen, but there were too many things that bothered me compare to the positives.

2.6 stars

Twin Peaks S2 E8

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Spoilers

“Drive with a Dead Girl”

With last episode’s gigantic reveal that Killer Bob was possessing Leland Palmer and that he killed his daughter Laura, and then killed cousin Maddie in a brutal murder, Twin Peaks was firing on all cylinders. Episode 8 could never hope to match up with last episode. Still, it was an interesting episode.

Ray Wise brought out his inner demon in this remarkable performance. The greatest moment was when Leland had been pulled over by Sheriff Truman and Agent Cooper for his reckless driving, and Leland wanted to show Cooper his new golf clubs, which are in the trunk with Maddie’s dead body. The visual of Leland with the golf club, running the idea of smashing it into Cooper’s unexpecting head was awesome.

I also LOVED seeing Pete Martell and his joyous laughter as he taunted Ben Horne, who was inside his jail cell, with the tape recorder playing Catherine’s voice, blackmailing Ben with an alibi. Not sure how Pete was able to get down to the cells at the police station without being let in by Harry or one of the deputies, but it was worth seeing to hear his riotous laugh.

So Maddie is discovered at the end of the episode in the forest. If I remember correctly, Maddie’s murder is the beginning of the downfall of Bob/Leland.

EYG Favorite Comic Cover of the Week

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Week of February 26

It is that time again this week to name the three top medal winners for the favorite comic cover of the week at EYG. Always some fun books with some outstanding art work.

Kicking things off…

Bronze Medalist

Amazing Spider-Man #44

Cover art by John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna & Marcio Menyz

I really like the reflection of Spidey in the Madame Masque mask as the Gang War continues in the main spider-title.

Silver Medalist

Newburn #15

Cover Art by Jacob Phillips

The main standout for this cover is the color pattern. The whole orange and black motif really makes this dramatic cover look awesome and unlike most comic covers you see.

Gold Medalist

Ice Cream Man #38

Cover Art by Martin Morazzo & Chris O’Halloran

Todd tried to get me to buy the variant cover of this issue, but he had no idea that I had already chosen this as the cover of the week and had no intention of changing to the other variant. I love the humor of this cover while also highlighting the unsettling nature of the series.

Shōgun S1 E1

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Spoilers

“Anjin”

Shōgun has dropped on FX and I was able to watch the first episode on Hulu. I have not had the chance to watch episode two, which also dropped. I do thin that this is something that I will continue to watch.

Easily my favorite part of the episode was the arrival of Vasco Rodrigues, played by Néstor Carbonell, Richard himself from LOST. I loved him on LOST and Bates Motel, so it was great to see him once again.

This is a new take on the novel of 1975 and the mini series from the 1980s.

According to Wikipedia, “Shōgun follows “the collision of two ambitious men from different worlds and a mysterious female samurai; John Blackthorne, a risk-taking English sailor who ends up shipwrecked in Japan, a land whose unfamiliar culture will ultimately redefine him; Lord Toranaga, a shrewd, powerful daimyo, at odds with his own dangerous, political rivals; and Lady Mariko, a woman with invaluable skills but dishonorable family ties, who must prove her value and allegiance“

John Blackthorne is played by Cosmo Jarvis, and he does a good job filling the role made famous by Richard Chamberlain. Lord Toranago is played by another LOST alum, Hiroyuki Sanada. Lady Mariko is played by Anna Sawai.

I did not watch the mini series back in the 1980s, but I was aware of it. I was only around 11 years old and not interested in feudal Japan. Many decades later, I am more intrigued by the story.

This is beautifully shot and looked great. I am excited to keep watching the series. I should get to see episode two later this week and then I will be following along on Hulu as it releases weekly.

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Lived S1 E1

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Spoilers

“Years”

Rick and Michonne return to the world of the Walking Dead through the new series The Ones Who Lived, which debuted on AMC this past Sunday.

Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira step back into their roles of Rick Grimes and Michonne that they played for years on AMC’s The Walking Dead. This series had gone through several stages, including the possibility of being a movie instead.

The Walking Dead was one of my favorite shows for many years, but I did lose interest in the show as time moved on (around the time the show killed of Glenn, things started going downhill for me).

Rick was believed to have been killed in the series, but it was shown that he had been taken by the CRM, aka the Civil Republic Military. This new show picked up five years after when Rick disappeared. And does this show kick off in a hurry.

Rick is shown trying to escape, and he does it by chopping off his left hand. I couldn’t believe it. Apparently, this was something that the comic version of Rick does early on (The Governor cut it off) and Andrew Lincoln had been pushing for it for years. It finally happened.

The episode was very emotional. Andrew Lincoln’s story was the main focus of the show. It looks like next week’s episode will be a Michonne centered episode so we see how she wound up at the end of this first episode.

I did have a little bit of a problem with how Rick and Michonne came face to face at the end of the first episode, so I hope next week will help make this coincidence a little easier to buy.

Otherwise, I found this to be a great opening episode with so much emotion. Seeing how Rick struggled with his situation and how he nearly took some steps to end everything was brutal.

There were plenty of shocks in the show too. I hope that this show maintains this level of height as it moved along.

Oh, and I almost forgot, Terry O’Quinn is here. I loved him from LOST as John Locke and his military man  Beale, the Major General of the Civic Republic Military. It is epic to see him once again. I’d be lying if I said that his joining this series did not help me choose to watch it. Love Terry.

The X-Files S3 E18

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Spoilers

“Teso dos Bichos”

Well, it was only a matter of time.

I did not remember this episode, but, last episode, I spoke about how great season three had been. This one put a stop to that talk.

“Teso dos Bichos” is not a very good episode of the X-Files. It’s a ‘monster-of-the-week’ entry that does not come anywhere close to the typical episode.

I am a cat person so making them the big bad of this episode did not appeal to me.

And, I’m sorry, but when Scully had a fight with a vicious cat that scratched her face, it was the kind of scene that could destroy a show. Laughable is the term I would use. They were very fortunate that the season had been so amazing up to this point.

It was a cursed urn with some jaguar power of some sort that led to the vicious cat attacks. Or there was something with rats coming out of the toilets.

This was a wasted episode. Surely one of the worst X-Files episodes of the series so far.

Twin Peaks S2 E4, E5, E6,E7

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Spoilers

A couple of thoughts off the top:

  • I really dislike Donna, James and Maddy. I liked them much more the first time I watched this show, but they are just so dumb.
  • Ray Wise was just brilliant. He deserved an Emmy for his work this season.
  • As a General Hospital fan, seeing Ian Buchanan as Dick Tremayne was a hoot.
  • I started off and kept watching. Each episode ended with something remarkably compelling that I just had to keep watching.

“Laura’s Secret Diary”

I bought Laura Palmer’s Diary when it came out in stores. What a tie-in to the show. It did not give anything really solid, but it was a cool tidbit. The show’s introduction of Harold Smith was not my favorite part of the series because it tied in to the whole Donna mess. Still, they knew how to make money.

Leland confessing to Jacques’ murder was powerful. Of course, it would lead to more than just that murder.

I honestly think the whole thing with Andy and his sperm container rolling across the floor was one of the funniest things I have ever seen. I was able to tell Harry Goaz, the actor who played Andy, how funny I found that scene when he came to the Iowa City Memorial Union for a Twin Peaks watch.

“The Orchids Curse”

The fact that it took Cooper this long to remember the note that was under his bed was a travesty. It was way longer than it should have been.

The whole Nadine in high school story was funny too, but I am not sure they ever totally explained why she had such an incredible strength.

Cooper and Truman go to One Eyed Jacks and rescue Audrey. Not before Blackie was killed by John Renault. Hawk came through big time. Good thing Coop and Harry can’t keep a secret.

“Demons”

Bobby and Shelly getting screwed over with their insurance claim with a handicapped Leo is poetic justice for their bad behavior, but felt overly cruel for poor Shelly, who did suffer at the hands of Leo for quite awhile.

Of course, it led to the classic Leo line that I say to this day, “New shoes.”

The arrival of Gordon Cole, played by David Lynch himself, was a highlight. Having a non-working hearing aid and having everyone yell so he could [barely] hear was a great gag that worked the whole time.

The whole scene with “Mike,” the one armed man was creepy as could be.

“Lonely Souls”

It is happening again.

What an episode this one was. So much happened in it and the last ten minutes or so were some of the best scenes you will ever see on TV.

The reveal of Killer Bob as Leland was done as perfectly as you would see and the scene where he kills Maddy has to be one of the most unexpected and violent scenes ever to make network television. Watching the scene flash from Bob to Leland and he danced around with Maddie was completely unbelievable. There is no way we get a scene like that today. There are several moments where it is difficult to watch.

There may be no more tragic character on Twin Peaks than Maddy Ferguson. She came to Twin Peaks for her cousin Laura’s funeral and because she resembled Laura, she had to go through so much. Not only did she have to deal with James’ weird obsession, but ends up being the replacement daughter to Leland who, by the way, is the psychotic killer. She was nothing like Laura, but she had to pay for Laura’s sins.

With Cooper, Harry and the Log Lady at the Road House, we see the Giant make a reappearance uttering that phrase I lead off this section with… “It is happening again.” How unnerving and chilling was that. Then, when Maddy had been killed, the feeling that overtook Bobby, Donna and Cooper at the Road House was suspenseful. They knew something had happened. Donna started to cry and you could see even Bobby was affected. It was all very much like a dream and it had been shot that way. David Lynch did direct this episode and you can see his fingerprints all over it.

This was not all for this episode. The discovery of Laura’s secret dairy at Harold Smith’s place, torn to shreds by Harold who hanged himself with his flowers. The episode started off with that shock, but who remembered that after the ending?

Cooper and Harry arrested Ben Horne, who is looking as if he were the killer. Of course, we knew it was not him. Even when he was first being arrested, it was clearly not him. He was the patsy, the red herring for the audience. Back when it first aired, I did not think that it would be Ben, but I never guessed that it would be Leland, either.

Another shock of this episode that gets rolled over with the ending was the reveal that Mr. Tojamura was, in fact, Catharine Martell back from the dead and hiding in Japanese make-up. The scene where she revealed herself to Pete is one of the happiest moments of the show, certainly of this episode.

Everything about this was disturbing, especially when you stop and think about the fact that Leland killed Laura and that he raped her and abused her as much as he did, though under the guise of Bob. Could this be why he was so grieved when Laura’s body was found, that it was an internal guilt driving him?

An exceptional episode of TV that just combines the emotions of the audience with one of the greatest plot reveals of all time.

Moonlighting S4 E13, E14

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Spoilers

“Maddie Hayes Got Married”

“And the Flesh was Made Word”

Season four is over.

I would not be incorrect if I stated that this season was a slosh to get through. The whole David and Teri and Maddie and Walter stuff really felt like nothing more than a distraction. It was all empty and lacked any substance.

I did like these two characters that they tossed into this story. Teri and Walter were both nice people that just should never have been involved in this.

When I was watching this when it first aired back in the 1980s, I liked these shows because I loved Moonlighting. I had more passion about it. Now, many years later, I found this season to be really tough.

There was so much anger and vitriol from both Dave and Maddie, that it tainted the relationship for me. There was so much meanness in their interactions that it just did not have the fun that it used to.

The first two seasons and part of the third, Dave and Maddie would fight, but there was a real tenderness underneath. You believed that they were in love with each other, deeply and fully. That tenderness has been mostly absent since Mark Harmon opened that door in season three.

I know season five attempted to put everything back on track, but I know it was too late.

Twin Peaks S2 E2 & E3

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Spoilers

“Coma”

“The Man Behind Glass”

Things are really rolling in Twin Peaks right now as the crew is finding details about Laura’s murder.

Ronette is awake, but not speaking. Her reaction to the sketch of Bob is horrifying. Leland recognized the sketch of Bob and told Sheriff Truman and Agent Cooper. Jacoby was hypnotized to remember seeing Leland murder Jacques.

I have to say though that Cooper’s inability to find what happened to Audrey is troubling. Especially since the not is below his bed.

The Giant returns and gives Coop some help. Major Briggs brings message from space for Cooper, including his own name among it.

Maddie has a vision of Bob crawling across the couch that is really scary. The look of Bob is truly a scary thing and it is amazing that they were able to stumble across the actor.

Comic Cavalcade #83

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February 25, 2024

Jumping right in this week…

Marvel Two-in-One #99. Written by Bill Mantlo and penciled by Bob Hall. Hannigan & Byrne did the cover art. I was inventorying some of the older boxes in my collection when I came across a Marvel Two-in-One. On CLZ, I saw a pic of this book. I have always loved Rom so I went to eBay and picked it up. Story was okay. I miss Rom.

Spider-Boy #4. “Nightmare Scenario” and “Missing Pieces.” Both written by Dan Slott. 1st story art by Paco Medina. 2nd story art by Ty Templeton. Cover art by Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado. Baily Briggs has had some difficulties, feeling a touch jealous of Miles Morales and having to deal with his monster side.

The Six Fingers #1. “In the Gaps“. Written by Dan Watters and art by Sumit Kumar. This is an intriguing new book set in Neo Novena. Johannes is at the center of the story, and he is interesting. I enjoyed this one more than last week’s One Hand.

Tenement #9. Written by Jeff Lemire and drawn by Andrea Sorrentino. The latest horror series from Jeff Lemire has its penultimate issue. This has continued to be wild and weird journey through the floors of this building.

Incredible Hulk #9. “Frozen Charlotte Part One” Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and guest artist Danny Earls. Cover art was by Nic Klein. Bruce is in New Orleans with Betty. Honestly, this monster-type story was not my favorite Hulk story . Hopefully I hope this improves.

Cobra Commander #2. Written by Joshua Williamson and art by Andrea Milana. The villainous Cobra Commander faces off with Buzzer and Ripper as we meet Zarana.

Spider-Woman #4. Written by Steven Foxe and art by Carola Borelli. Leinil Francis & Sunny Gho did the cover art. The Gang War arc is coming to an end but Jessica Drew continues to have her own problems with her now older son.

Ultimate Spider-Man #2. Written by Jonathan Hickman and art by Marco Checchetto. Peter Parker has found a black costume and is swinging around the city. However, with kids and a wife, Peter isn’t as lucky in keeping his secret a secret. His daughter May finds him in his costume. He also has to fight the Shocker.

Daredevil #6. “Introductory Rites Part Six” Written by Saladin Ahmed and art by Aaron Kuder. Dr. Strange guest stars as he tries to help Matt realize what has been happening with the demons he has been facing lately.

Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #5. Written by Brian Buccellato and art by Christian Duce. Drew Johnson and Romulo Fajaroo Jr. did the cover art. Luthor has created something to help battle the titans… the MechGodzilla. Monarch makes an appearance too.

Deer Editor#2. Written by Ryan Lindsay and art by Sami Kivelä. The buck noir keeps on as Bucky is tied to a chair, and he realizes that the mayor has some involvement.

Guardians of the Galaxy Annual #1. “Grootrise” Written by Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing. Art was by Kev Walker. Emilio Laiso & Bryan Valenza did the cover art. This brought the recent Groot storyline to a conclusion. This wrapped up the new Guardians arc, and Drax sacrificed himself to save Groot.

Animal Pound #2. Written by Tom King and illustrated by Peter Gross. The revolution is over and now the animals need to find a way to live. They are running out of food and this lead to one of the dogs killing a rabbit to eat. Politics find its way into the pound.

Sentry #3. “Legacy Part III” Written by Jason Loo and art by Luigi Zagaria with David Cutler. Ben Harvey did the cover art. This was my favorite issue of this series so far. Ryan Topper is grabbing the power from the other Sentrys. Jessica Jones appears in this book as well.

G.O.D.S. #5. Written by Jonathan Hickman with art by Valerio Schiti. Mateus Manhanini did the cover art. Mia DiMaria wants to be like Wyn and she has been doing what he asked. However, it sounds as if she doesn’t have much chance to advance. Cool creepy issue.

Captain Marvel #5. “Family Matters.” Written by Alyssa Wong and art by Jan Bazalour. Stephen Segovia & Romulo Fajaroo Jr. did the cover art. Captain Marvel is switching back and forth yet and the danger is real.

Luke Cage: Gang War #4. Written by Rodney Barnes and art by Ramon F. Bachs. Caanan White did the cover art. Luke Cage and his team of illegal vigilantes bring down the robots from Scythe. Luke has a battle armor, but it requires old school for him to win.

Other books this week: Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars: Battlefield #4, Rise of the Powers of X #2, The Last Hunt Predator #1, Alien: Black, White and Blood #1, A Haunted Girl #4, and Nights #5.

The X-Files S3 E17

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“Pusher”

I have always believed that the most dangerous power to have would be some kind of mind power, whether that be mind control or telepathy or telekinesis. This episode of The X-Files did nothing to persuade me otherwise.

“Pusher” is the story of a man named Robert Patrick Modell who could make people do what he wanted them to do by simply talking to them. Not just simple things either, but horrible things such as setting themselves on fire.

This episode was written by Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan and you could see the touches, especially with the extremely tense, final confrontation between Mulder and Scully and Modell in a Russian roulette showdown between them which is easily the standout moment of the show.

David Duchovny was amazing in that final scene with Robert Wisden, who played Modell, and with Gillian Anderson. Duchovny played the anguish Mulder was facing with the chance that he could shoot Scully against his will. And Gillian Anderson matched the intensity with her own fear over her partner’s struggle.

Season three of The X-Files continues to be an excellent compilation of stand alone episodes mixed with mythology episodes.

Moonlighting S4 E11

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Spoilers

“Eek! A Spouse”

It just does not feel like Moonlighting.

This episode tried to put Dave and Maddie back into a case, including one of the show’s typical chase scenes at the end of the episode. It just felt different.

Picket Fences’ Lydia (who was Jimmy’s ex-wife) was one of the people involved in the case, as was a former General Hospital actor Gerald Anthony. Outside of that, this was an average hour of the show.