Author Archives: Doc

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

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I was watching a YouTube video with Dan Murrell today and he made a mention of a short film called The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar. I was then surprised later when I pulled up Netflix and there it was.

The new short was 38 minutes long and was directed by Wes Anderson. This was faithfully adapted from a long short story by Roald Dahl.

Henry Sugar was played by Benedict Cumberbatch, and several Wes Anderson regulars appear in the film including Dev Patel, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley, and Richard Ayoade.

This felt like a great blend of Wes Anderson and Roald Dahl. The Fantastic Mr. Fox was a previous Dahl story adapted by Anderson.

I loved how this was presented and the style of storytelling was great.

4 stars

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)

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October 1 of 13

I went to Apple TV this morning to kick off the October 13 with the EYG Hall of Fame cartoon, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

This is such a classic with the Peanuts gang, created by EYG Hall of Famer Charles Schulz.

The idea that Linus was determined to wait up because the Great Pumpkin would rise from the pumpkin patch to deliver toys to kids across the world and he wanted to be front and center when it happened despite the condemnation by his sister Lucy and the others of the Peanuts gang.

Also in this show, we had the iconic football trick by Lucy on Charlie Brown and Snoopy flying his doghouse during World War I and being shot down by the Red Barron.

One of the things I noticed while watching this classic cartoon was how intelligent some of the dialogue and vocabulary was by these characters. This was absolutely not dumbed down in any way because kids are not smart enough to understand what is going on. That is a refreshing idea, that children’s animation can reach to elevate the material instead of bringing it down to a lower level.

There was also a great scene with Schroeder playing the piano and Snoopy dancing/reacting to the classical music he was playing. Again, it elevates the material.

There is a reason this is still played during the Halloween season, even after 57 years. This is an all-time classic that is funny, clever, intelligent and entertaining.

American Horror Story: Delicate S12 E2

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Spoilers

“Rockabye”

I did find this episode of American Horror Story: Delicate to be chilling at times, and disturbing almost completely. I found myself blurting something at the screen several times in the episode as things happened that I did not expect. That is always a good sign.

I feel so badly for Anna as she went through the ringer this week. Although, when she left that fan lying and bleeding on the bathroom floor to go accept her award, well, some of the empathy went away.

This entire show has that dream-like feel to it, as plenty of it seems to be surreal. I am not sure what exactly is happening a lot of the time or if it is meant to be actually happening or if it is a delusion in Anna’s mind.

She discovered that she was pregnant and lost the baby all within the confines of this episode and some of the side characters that showed up were really suss or creepy. That nurse who did the ultrasound only to be revealed as not a hospital employee was just wildly bizarre.

Dex is fairly suspicious as well… or am I just supposed to think that because Anna is having some doubts? I don’t know. He seems to be a good guy, but the show is hinting heavily that he has a secret, perhaps an affair happening as well.

However, I can’t tell if this is accurate because clearly Anna’s POV is skewed and unreliable.

And what was up with those creepy looking vials that Kim Kardashian gave for Anna to drink? What was that again?

I love how this episode showed what an Oscar campaign can be like. The politicking that goes on for actors to win that award seem to take away from the overall value of the award, but everyone does it. There are definitely some themes about award shows going on with this show.

Lots of questions surrounding this story so far and I am definitely intrigued by what is happening. I enjoy the meta commentary as well.

The X-Files S1 E4 & E5

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Spoilers

E4: “Conduit”

E5: “Jersey Devil”

I was able to watch a couple of episodes of The X-Files this morning. The first episode I watched was one that I did not remember at all, which was a treat.

The second episode was one that I did remember, as it was one of the monsters of the week episodes with a variation on the Jersey Devil myth.

“Conduit” was one of the first episodes centering around the memory Mulder had of the night as a child when his sister was abducted/disappeared. This was a part of Mulder’s backstory that got a lot of traction over the years.

However, the story was not directly connected with the abduction of Samantha Mulder. This episode dealt with another sister who had disappeared and her mother had an experience with aliens when she was younger, which drew Mulder’s attention.

The Jersey Devil had another running theme that went throughout the show’s history. That theme was local law enforcement and their lack of help for Mulder and Scully, specifically for some of Mulder’s theories. I know this is a common issue among law enforcement, but I remember the younger me wondering why no one ever cooperated with Mulder.

We also get a look at how caring and kind-hearted old Spooky Mulder actually was, as he gets information out of a homeless person and he treated him with so much respect that it was impressive.

This shows how unsuccessful Mulder and Scully are at solving cases. That is a running joke through the series.

The October 13

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October is the month of my favorite holiday, Halloween. And I was considering doing a DailyView of horror/thriller/Halloween movies to celebrate. However, I realized that, with school underway, the multiple TV shows I am watching (Loki starts this week, Gen V, American Horror Story), the X-Files rewatch, the normal movie reviews, Comic Cavalcades, and, you know, sleeping, I did not have the time to guarantee a movie a day.

So instead, I decided that I would pre-select a list of movies to watch during the month, wherever they fall.

Since there will be a Friday the 13th this month, I chose the number 13. I have selected 13 movies to watch during the month of October in celebration of Halloween.

I had no specifics for the movies except they had to fit into the theme of the month. Except, of course, they had to be movies that I did not already write a review that was active on the site. I spent almost and hour and a half researching movies looking for horror/Halloween/thrillers that I had yet to review and that was tough. Some horror movies have pretty generic titles and I was not sure if I had seen it yet. With the new search function at EYG though, I could decide if I had written about them yet.

Of the 13 films, I have seen 10 of them before, making those a rewatch. There are three that are new to me. None of them are from 2023.

When I watch one of the films below, I will change the color to this.

Here, in no specific order, are the 13 films selected as The October 13:

Apostle (2018) -Netflix

Jennifer’s Body (2009)- Max

The Mist (2007)- Prime

The Amityville Horror (1979)-Max

Monster House (2006)- Hulu

Coraline (2009)- Max

The Ring (2002)- Prime

Sleepy Hollow (1999)- Max

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)-Apple TV

Slither (2006) – Prime

From Hell (2001) – Max

Saw (2004)- Hulu

Casper (1995)- Netflix

So here we go… Happy Halloween to all of the EYG Nation!

The Creator

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Gareth Edwards’s latest film is a massive sci-fi epic which is a strictly original film, not based on any preexisting content. One of the most impressive feats of the film is the fact that the budget of this film is reportedly around $80 million and they give us an unbelievably beautiful film with special effects everywhere. How did they do it and why can’t other films create such an amazing story at this price tag. It would help make the box office so much easier for films if they did not have to constantly make $500 + million to break even.

How about the movie? It was really good.

According to IMDB, “Amid a future war between the human race and the forces of artificial intelligence, Joshua (John David Washington), a hardened ex-special forces agent grieving the disappearance of his wife, is recruited to hunt down and kill the Creator, the elusive architect of advanced AI who has developed a mysterious weapon with the power to end the war-and mankind itself.”

John David Washington does a great job as your lead, Joshua. He played his role beautifully and was able to bring life tp a character that could have been a typical sci-fi character. He was able to bring way more to Joshua than you would expect.

And Madeleine Yuna Voyles, a young 9-year old actor in her first movie appearance ever, absolutely stole the film. She was completely brilliant as Alphie, the ‘weapon’ created to help end the war between humankind and the A.I.s. This little girl brought so much emotion and heart to her role that she dominated every scene, She had a great connection with Washington which was so essential to the movie. She gave a fantastic performance.

The special effects were out of this world. It was so spectacular that I am so shocked that the budget was what it was. I already talked about that, but the look of this movie is absolutely a huge piece of the film and should be considered for Oscar nominations for special effects.

The film does get a little long and the storyline was okay, but it did have a ton of intriguing ideas dealing with the human condition and how humans reacted to threats. There are not as many themes dealing with A.I. despite what you may think.

Overall, this was a wonderfully epic film with a great pair of performances, beautifully constructed in a futuristic world that we could certainly see one day. Sci-fi fans should love this and I do think it transcends the genre with a truly emotional ending.

4.1 stars

Gen V S1 E2 &E3

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Spoilers

E2: “First Day”

E3: “#ThinkBrink”

With three episodes in to the new spin-off of The Boys, Gen V, I have enjoyed this new show. Much like The Boys, there is a shock factor involved, with unbelievable things happening.. for example the amazing start to episode two with a haunting version of Metallica’s Nothing Else Matters as the pieces of Golden Boy are being swept up and his blood is being mopped up. However, that shock factor is not done just for shock. It is important to character or to the story. It is extremely well done.

These two episodes took Marie in a really different way. She battled with her own conflicts over her rankings and taking advantage of what happened with Golden Boy and how it made her look worse. It seemed as if she was moving toward becoming the corrupt ‘hero’ much like the Seven. Still, she was able to not succumb to the evil of the world.

Emma also has a great arc during these two episodes as we discovered the horrors of her powers, and how she gets taken advantage of by another influencer. She had a fall out with Marie and then they made up. Andre Anderson begins to look into the truth of the woods and discovered that Golden Boy’s brother Sam was still alive and held in the underground ‘hospital’ known as the woods. Andre talked Emma into going small and sneaking in to find Sam.

She did that and she and Sam bonded a bit. Of course, Emma lied to him about Luke having sent her in to see him. That ended with Emma crawling into a guard’s ear and climbing through his brain.

We get more with Kate in these two episodes, who is dealing with Luke’s suicide as well as her own feelings with Andre. Mental powers are always questionable and they are clearly taking a price on her.

These characters of Gen V have been awesome so far. They have gone into great details and character arcs to create deeper people and allowing me to be invested in the show. And I really am invested after the first three episodes.

Gen V S1 E1

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Spoilers

“God U”

So this was awesome.

The new series from the world of The Boys, Gen V premiered on Prime with the first three episodes dropped this past Thursday evening. I was not able to see episodes two and three, but I did see the first episode and I found it great.

A group of new, cool characters attending a school preparing them to be the next members of the Seven. It’s called Godolkin University and there are some clear questions about what is going on around the college.

We meet a young Marie Moreau and see when her blood control powers started, in one of the most shocking and tragic origins I have seen, her power led to the death of both of her parents and the estrangement of her sister.

Marie was the focus of the story and she was a wonderful new character. So was her roommate, Emma Meyer, a new shrinking character who had a YouTube channel and was desperate to do what she could to advance. Literally some of the sex scenes with Emma were something that I never thought I would see on TV.

Golden Boy Luke Riordan looked to have everything. It looked like he had his ticket punched to the Seven. However, his murderous rampage against Brink and his attempt to kill Marie would lead to his own death, exploding across the area. It was clear that the show had that same feel as The Boys did as you were never sure what could possibly happen.

Then, there is a mystery brewing with the woods that I am definitely interest with. It feels like it is some kind of psychological problem with the woods.

This started off really strong and I will be watching the other two available episodes this weekend.

Moonlighting Coming to Hulu!

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Some of the best news of the year popped up the other day.

Moonlighting is coming to the streaming service Hulu on October 10.

Wooo-Hooooo!

I loved Moonlighting back in the late 80s and anxiously waited every Tuesday night (although admittedly, not every Tuesday night as the show had a reputation of missing deadlines) for the romantic comedy/detective show featuring David Addison and Maddie Hayes.

The banter, the arguing, the slapstick, the slamming doors… it has everything.

It had an episode written in total iambic pentameter.

It had a nine-minute Billy Joel song with a dance routine.

It had a double dream sequence episode in black and white.

And I will be looking to rewatch all 67 episodes once it arrives on Oct. 10.

Moonlighting, which was my personal Wild Card inductee into the EYG Hall of Fame in 2023, was an awesome classic that help boost EYG Hall of Famer Bruce Willis into prominence while bringing Cybill Shepherd back to the forefront of the entertainment industry.

I can’t wait to add Moonlighting to the watch list.

Argylle Official Trailer

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This looks absolutely insane.

A spy thriller with an unbelievable cast.

They had me with John Cena. His appearance looked epic… and then it got wild.

Add Bryce Dallas Howard, Henry Cavill, Bryan Cranston, Ariana DeBose, Catherine O’Hara, Dua Lipa, Samuel L. Jackson, Sofia Boutella, Sam Rockwell, and Chip the cat, the real-life cat of supermodel Claudia Vaughn.

Matthew Vaughn is the director and this trailer really excited me for a film that I had no idea about before today.

Coming in February 2024.

Gen V Official Redband Trailer

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Okay, this Boys spin-off (or series that falls in the same universe) is going to debut this weekend (officially September 29th) and so I thought this was a good trailer to revisit.

Gen V feels like the concept of the X-Men, a school that trains the future heroes. Of course, much like the Boys itself, this looks way bloodier than any X-Men product I have seen (even more than Logan).

The character called “Bloody Marie” looks extremely intriguing. That is not her actual character name, but it sounded cool.

I will be curious to see if this new series can be anywhere near as entertaining as The Boys, because if it is, this will be an awesome show.

It debuts on Prime.

EYG Comic Cavalcade #60

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September 26, 2023

Sixty posts in the EYG Comic Cavalcade. I have really enjoyed this part for EYG. Tomorrow is NEW COMIC BOOK DAY and this is the remaining issues from last week.

Let’s go!

Planetary #4. “Strange Harbours” Written by Warren Ellis and drawn by John Cassaday. I guess this is not a comic from last week’s NEW COMIC BOOK DAY, but it was one of the Planetary back issues that I got. This is really a good issue and I am enjoying the strangeness of the whole story. And this one was wild with an alien ship and another dimension.

Grim #13. “Chapter Thirteen: Interlude” Written by Stephanie Phillips and illustrated by Flaviano. I have no idea what this was. I did not know who these characters were or what was happening. Grim has been slipping down the list for me, so I hope this will pick up again.

X-Men Annual #1. “Contest of Chaos: Part Seven.” I really enjoyed this issue as we got the conflict with Captain Marvel and Cyclops. They made a fascinating pairing with their dialogue during the conflict. Looks like there is one more annual in this Contest of Chaos summer arc.

Deadpool: Badder Blood #4. Story by Rob Liefeld, script by Chad Bowers and penciled by Rob Liefeld. Deadpool, Logan, Venompool and… Spider-Man team up to bring down Killville and now they are off to save Thumper. Yeah, sound ridiculous… and awesome. Great full page panels filled with some awesome art.

Guardians of the Galaxy #6. “The Hand-Dug Grave.” Written by Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing and illustrated by Alex Lins. The cover art was by Marco Checchetto. This is a weird issue as the Guardians are dead? I think? This has to do with the Grootfall and I’m here for it. Weird is cool at times.

What If…? Dark: Carnage #1. Written by Larry Hama and art by John McCrea. Cover art was by Philip Tan, Jay Leisten and Rachel Rosenberg. I do love What Ifs, but this just was not very interesting. Todd had poo-pooed this book before I read it and so I just kind of skimmed it. It did not feel like a What If.

Haunt You to the End #4. Written by Ryan Cady and art by Andrea Mutti. Ghosts. Storms. Frighteningly scary things. This series feels as if it is picking up for a finale. Especially with a terrifying Commander Gersh at the end.

Omega the Unknown #5. “Through the Rat Hole… Into the Cat’s Lair” Written by Steve Gerber & Mary Skrenes and art by Jim Mooney. I have now caught up to the first issue of Omega that I picked up and was so intrigued by. This one wraps up the El Gato storyline. There are four more of these before it wraps up with a two-issue arc in Defenders.

Only Murders in the Building S3 E9

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Spoilers

“Thirty”

Happy birthday, Mabel!

Oh, and this dream sequence where Mabel gives birth to triples, one that looked like Charles, one that looked like Oliver and a microphone was trippy as hell. Funny too in an episode that had some things that just did not work.

Charles, Oliver and Mabel went through their clues, planning out a timeline (thanks to the recordings they had made of the interrogations) and eliminated suspects. The did a cool technique where they went through flashbacks to the opening night of the Broadway play and the three of them watched as it developed.

Everything lined up nicely and the suspect that they wound up determining was our killer, who poisoned Ben with a rat poisoned cookie and it was the person who I thought it was going to be, Donna DeMeo, the producer of Death Rattle. Apparently the shredded letter was a review panning Ben’s performance and Donna was afraid that the bad review would destroy her son’s career.

I thought it was Donna, but I also think we may have a bit of a twist coming. Could it be someone else who shoved Ben down the elevator shaft? I feel as if that is still a potential story beat for next week.

The episode ended with the three of them rushing to Loretta’s court appearance with Mabel dressed in a wedding dress. That did not really make much sense to me, but whatever.

I did like how they laid out this episode and how we learned about the events of the night of the poisoning. We also got a bit of a new look at Ben, who seems to not be as much of a jerk as we were led to believe.

However, I have a huge issue to speak about. The eight episode ended with Oliver in a dramatic heart attack as Loretta was taken away by the police. They had brought up the heart issues early in the season and I thought they were going to drop it. Yet, it came back at the end of the episode and it felt amazingly tense and frightening.

Then this episode opens up with Oliver fine. They put in a stint and he got right out of bed and never brought it back up again. The whole heart attack/heart issues was nothing but a waste of time and, if they were not going to treat this seriously, it should have been left out of the series.

Next week is the finale for season three and everything is set up for a big final episode.

Bonus Action Volume 1- Glassy & Dapper-Odd Jobs 1

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Spoilers

“Where friends don’t ley friends adventure alone.”

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this. I was excited about seeing this new YouTube series from the pReview’d guys Jay Schmidt and Adam Lash. They had talked about it being a D & D campaign, which I used to play years ago.

They were kicking off their 11 volume series with what is called “Odd Jobs 1” where the six member campaign would be split into pairs and run a minor campaign with the duo. The first week included Amanda Nicholas and Josh Hurley in a mission to find and recover an item called the glass menagerie.

David Armstrong was the DM (Dungeon Master) leading them through the story and playing the other characters of the world. He was excellent in this role as he provided great details of what was happening and provided a series of voices and accents.

Amanda and Josh both were playing barbarians, Amanda played Bar’b the Barbarian and Josh played Todd the Barbarian. These two were very enjoyable and entertaining with their improv and their game play. They did several things throughout the campaign that were creative and played off of their characters. Amanda was on fire with her dice role too.

When the campaign started, they dropped a word that we used many times that brought me back to our own campaigns, and it was ‘nondescript.’ Ah, nostalgia.

Jay and Adam were not on this episode, but their presence was absolutely felt. Jay’s laughter echoed through the video from off camera. Jay’s laugh is awesome and only makes you want to laugh as well. Adam’s hand appeared in the show moving the figurines around the board during the combat.

This was a lot of fun. I am not sure I can commit a regular two our block every Monday night to watch this as a debut, but I would like to try and fit it in some time during the week.

Congrats on a solid first volume.

Squid Game: The Challenge Trailer

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I thought this was the new trailer for the Squid Game 2 coming soon to Netflix.

It’s not.

I actually found another trailer for the show, but it was one of those fan made ones. I hate those because they are done so well these days that you can’t really tell if they are official.

This trailer is Squid Game: The Challenge, a new reality show/game show based on the Squid Game. I hadn’t heard anything about this show, but it does seem weird.

I can’t imagine that there would be anything near as intense or exciting about this as the series. I may give it a chance. It is on Netflix.