EYG In Memoriam Part 4

Posted on December 29, 2023 by Doc

In Memoriam Part 4

Kenny DeForest

Denny Laine

Jack Axelrod

Jean Knight

Jacklyn Zeman

Mars Williams

Suzanne Shepherd

George “Funk” Brown

David Jolicoeur aka Trugoy the Dove

Conny Van Dyke

Laura Lynch

Kumar de los Reyes

Paul Reubins

Yoon Jeong Hee

Peter White

Richard Roundtree

Phyllis Coates

Robbie Robertson

William Friedkin

Marc Gilpin

Nick Benedict

Lee Sun-kyun

Al Jaffee

Lance Kerwin

Colin Burgess

Jim Ladd

Michael Lerner

Stella Stevens

Anita Pointer

Ben Masters

Mark Margolis

Cody Longo

Elizabeth Hubbard

Tyler Christopher

James McCaffrey

Ellen Holly

Moonlighting S3 E6

Posted on December 29, 2023 by Doc

Spoilers

“Big Man on Mulberry Street”

This was where I was introduced to Billy Joel’s hit “Big Man on Mulberry Street” in yet another classic Moonlighting dream sequence.

I love Billy Joel and I enjoy many of his songs. I would not be lying if I said that every time I hear this song, I think of the huge dance routine with Bruce Willis on this episode.

Bruce Willis showed off his moves in this dance routine, and the director really highlighted his strengths while using the other experienced dancers to make the routine look great. Bruce may not be a great dancer, but they made him look like a million bucks.

Then, there was a story involving David’s ex-wife and the obsession that it created in the mind of Maddie. Who was this woman? What happened? Why had she never heard about this before? It took this relationship to yet another level as it all built to later in the season.

The episode did start off oddly as Maddie was meeting for breakfast with a client waiting for David to show up with the photos they had been hired to take. David slinked in, hungover and without the photos.

This, of course, led to an argument between David and Maddie, and, to be honest, most of the time I am with David when he is arguing with Maddie, but there was no excuse this time and his laissez faire attitude really felt like it was inappropriate. It was as if David could not accept that he was fully in the wrong and that what he had done was a betrayal.

This whole story aspect just went away completely when David had received a phone call telling him that his former brother-in-law had died. Meaning that there was, at one time, a Mrs. Addison.

There were several really strong monologues in the episode delivered by our two leads and it took a deeper look at the individual characters and the budding relationship with Maddie and David.

2023 “All Right, Mr. Deville, I am Ready for my Close Up” Award for Best Director

Posted on December 29, 2023 by Doc

“All Right, Mr. Deville, I am Ready for my Close Up” Award for Best Director

Previous Winners: A.G. Inarritu (Birdman), Tim McCarthy (Spotlight), Damien Chazelle (La La Land), Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman), Alfonso Cuarón (Roma), Anthony and Joe Russo (Avengers: Endgame), Spike Lee (Da 5 Bloods), Jon Watt (Spider-Man: No Way Home), Ryan Coogler (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)

The director is a vital part of the film. In fact, these days, a lot of times, the director is more of a star of the movie than the lead actors.

Again, these choices come from the EYG site and may be different than other awards shows. There are some crossover for sure, but there are some on my list than no one else will nominate.

Top 10 directors of 2023

10. Paul King (Wonka)

9. Ben Affleck (Air)

8. Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things)

7. Blitz Bazawule (The Color Purple)

6. Alexander Payne (The Holdovers)

5. Sean Durkin (The Iron Claw)

4. James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3)

3. Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson (Spider-Man: Across teh Spider-Verse)

2. Greta Gerwig (Barbie)

and the winner…

#1: Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer)

I actually have always considered Nolan to be overrated as a director. There have not been that many of Nolan’s films that I loved. Most I felt were somewhat pretentious. Plus, it felt like critics always gave this guy a pass. Even garbage like Tenet had many critics making execuses.

There is no arguing that he has made a masterpiece in Oppenheimer. Every bit of this film is wonderful and, while it may be too long, all scenes feel important to what was happening.

Then, the film was a massive hit as well, finding a place with Barbie in one of the biggest events of the summer, Barbenheimer.

Christopher Nolan surpassed what I expected and he truly deserves this award and I do think he is probably the front runner for the Oscar.

2023 Music in Cinema

Posted on December 29, 2023 by Doc

Music is such an amazing feature in cinema. The use of music can make the entire experience all that much better.

Before I jump into the movie music awards, I wanted to give a special shout out to the best music on TV this year. It came from the Hulu series Only Murders in the Building. Oliver was planning out a musical for Broadway and we get to hear and see several numbers from the show. My favorite from the four really exceptional ones was the Steve Martin song “Which of the Pickwick Triples Did It?”

Moving on to the Movies…

I want to start with the Best Song from a Movie. Honestly, some of the ones that I have chosen are not necessarily those that the Oscars may choose. I know that the one I am choosing as the winner did not make the Oscar short list. It’ll have to settle for the EYG Award.

Songs from Movies

6. ”What Was I Made For?” Billie Eilish from Barbie.

5. ”It Never Went Away” Jon Batiste American Symphony

4. ”Scrub Scrub” Cast from Wonka

3. ”Hell No” Danielle Brooks from The Color Purple

2. ”I’m Just Ken” by Ryan Gosling from Barbie

Winner: ”Peaches” by Jack Black from Super Mario Bros.

Next up is Movie Scores

#6. Anthony Willis ”Saltburn”

#5. Kris Bowers ”The Color Purple”

#4. Jon Batiste ”American Symphony”

#3. Joe Hisaishi ”The Boy and the Heron”

#2. Ludwig Göransson ”Oppenheimer”

and the winner of EYG Score of the Year

Daniel Pemberton ”Spider-Man: Across the Universe”

What If…? S2 E8

Posted on December 29, 2023 by Doc

Spoilers

“What If… the Avengers Assembled in 1602?”

This season of What If…? has just been off the charts good. Every episode is just excellent, and then they come up with something that just transcends the rest of the season. ”What If… the Avengers Assembled in 1602″ has taken that spot at the very top of the list this season and might be threatening season 1’s Dr. Strange episode as the best of the series.

We had seen Captain Carter pulled into the universe of 1602 by Scarlet Witch at the end of episode five, leaving it on a cliffhanger. We pick up here with Peggy trapped in 1602 but trying to save the universe from being destroyed.

There are some blue rift that appears in the sky that sucks characters way, and Hela, the queen, gets pulled away. Captain Carter could not save her and Thor blames her.

Captain Carter runs from the new king, escaping from the castle. She stops to speak with the Watcher, whom she can hear narrating. She then perfectly describes, in layman’s terms, an incursion using a bubble gum analogy. Incursions are going to be important in the upcomng Multiverse saga, or at least that is what it seems.

We meet many of our favorite characters in new roles during this as we see Loki as a pretentious actor, Steve Rogers as a Robin Hood type character with Scott Lang and Bucky Barnes with him. Wanda Maximoff is the witch of the king. Nick Fury and Happy Hogan are with the king’s men. Bruce Banner is the man in the iron mask. Tony Stark as the mad scientist. Each one feels a perfect mix.

Once again, we get a Steve Rogers-Peggy Carter reunion that is both sweet and eventually tragic, as it seems as if it always is destined to be.

The voice acting includes Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Mark Ruffalo, Elizabeth Olson, Jon Favreau, Hayley Atwell, Samuel L. Jackson, Paul Rudd, Sebastian Stan, Benedict Cumberbatch along the regular voice actors covering Tony and Cap, Mick Wingert and Josh Keaton respectfully. You can tell they do a special job on this episode, bringing an amazing chemistry to the characters. It is just so joyous.

The action in this episode is just sensational and as clever as you are going to get. The writing is brilliant. The dialogue from Loki during the first scene was some of the funniest of the series. How many Shakespeare references are you going to have in a Marvel series? Poor Yorick, indeed!

Something that I have noticed in What If…? this season is that, in comparison, there is more hope in these alternate realities. Last season, characters died. Universes were destroyed. There was a dread in most every episode. Yet this year, no universes have died. A minimum amount of characters have died. Tony Stark has shown up several times and has not died yet, and it became a joke last year that Stark was killed off multiple times.

Using the 1602 concept, from the classic Marvel book by Neil Gaiman, is an excellent idea. This is so well planned out and it feels as if everything is working so perfectly. With Supreme Strange showing up at the end to talk with Peggy, (and a TO BE CONTINUED popping up on screen) will connect Captain Carter to Kahhori from episode 6 in some kind of finale.

Just a remarkable episode of TV.

Up to Date Running Order:

E8 ”What If… the Avengers Assembled in 1602?”

E3 ”What If… Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?”

E1 “What If… Nebula Joined the Nova Corps?”

E5 ”What If… Captain Carter Fought the Hydra Stomper”

E6 ”What If…Kahhori Reshaped the World?”

E7 ”What If…Hela Found the Ten Rings?”

E2 “What If… Peter Quill Fought Earth’s Mightiest Heroes?”

E4 ”What If… Iron Man Crashed into the Gamemaster?”

EYG Comic Cavalcade #75

Posted on December 29, 2023 by Doc

December 28, 2023

New Banner! Celebrating the 75th post of EYG Comic Cavalcade!

Yesterday was my last chance to go to Comic World and read the NEW COMIC BOOKS on Wednesdays during the winter break. Next Wednesday, I have to go back to school for a professional development. So I had to enjoy yesterday.

I have started to inventory my comic collection. It is a major undertaking. My goal is to have the boxes in my room done first by summer, before I start re-bagging and re0boarding the older books in the other room. I purchased the CLZ Comics app on my phone and I am currently at 664 comics. It is just a drop in the bucket. I’m starting with the boxes that have ongoing series in them so it does not get mucked up with new issues each week.

Books this week:

Ghost Rider #21. ”Teach Your Children Hell“ Written by Benjamin Percy with art by Carlos Nieto. Bjorn Barends did the cover art. The Talia arc gets resolved.. kind of. Sounded as if there is a new version of the Ghost Rider coming soon.

Local Man #8. Written by Tim Seeley and Tony Fleecs and illustrations by Tony Fleecs. Local Man is investigating a murder and he goes as far as heading through the ads at the end of the book. It was a fun little bit as he is figuring things out.

Deadly Hands of Kung Fu: Gang War #1. Written by Greg Pak and art by Caio Majado. David Aja did the cover art (which was the Cover of the Week). Shang Chi is involved in the Gang War, trying to keep his moral honor while being the Supreme Commander of the Five Weapons Society.

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #14. Written by Cody Ziglar and drawn by Federico Vicentini. Miles is involved in the Gang War with Misty Knight and Colleen Wing. He has to face off with the Prowler, who is, of course, his Uncle Aaron.

Sensational She-Hulk # 3. Written by Rainbow Rowell and art by Andres Genolet. Jen Bartel did the cover art. Jenn and Hulk have a nice little sit down. Unfortunately, Hulk got mad. What were the odds. And next issue… HELLCAT! YEA BABY!!!

Avengers Inc. #4. Case Number: 004 “Who is Victor Shade.“ Written by Al Ewing and penciled by Leonard Kirk. Daniel Acuna was the cover art. Whoa, big time reveal at the end of this that might have just given the answer to the underlaying mystery of the series. I wonder if the early cancellation of the series affected what they wanted to do.

Universal Monsters: Dracula #3. Written by James Tynion IV and art by Martin Simmonds. Renfield is still a major player in this issue. We do not see much of Dracula here, but his aura is all over the book.

No/One #7. Written by Kyle Higgins & Brian Buccellato and drawn by Antonio Fuso. Cover art by Geraldo Borges w/ Mark Englert. Looks as if the book has given up a possible reveal of the copycat killer and evidence is found. I love the podcast that goes with the book called “Who is No/One.”

Predator versus Wolverine #4. Written by Benjamin Percy and art by Ken Lashley, Kei Zama & Gavin Guidry. Marco Checchetto did the cover art. This limited series comes to an end with a big knock down with the two. This series turned out better than it had any right to be.

Spider-Woman #2. Written by Steve Fox and art by Carola Borelli. Leinil Francis Yu and Sunny Gho did the cover art. Spider-Woman is involved in the Gang War with Hydra. She is still looking for her baby.

Timeless #1. Written by Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly and art by Juann Cabal. Kael Ngu did the cover art. I did not like this much at all. A future version of Luke Cage and Danny Rand and Khonshu is here. Just found this to be a trudge to get through.

Duke #1. ”A Man of Action.“ Written by Joshua Williamson and art by Tom Reilly. Another issue that I did not find too entertaining. This is an issue that I picked up to give it a try on the strength of the Transformers and Void Rivals books. This one is not at that level. Bring on Cobra Commander #1.

Other books this week: The Schlub #5, Tenement #7, Captain Marvel #3, Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars: Battle world #2, Black Panther #7, and Slow Burn #3.

The X-Files S2 E10 E11

Posted on December 29, 2023 by Doc

Spoilers

“Red Museum”

“Excelsis Dei”

“Red Museum” was the episode that Chris Carter and David E. Kelley discussed a being a crossover with the CBS drama Picket Fences. Since The X-Files and Picket Fences were on different networks, the networks nixed the idea.

It turned into a different story, involving growth hormones. There is also a vegan religious group that gets targeted as suspects because of their oddness. This was another sheriff on the X-Files that was a big jerk.

The killer of Deep Throat, Crew Cut Man, was killed off screen in this episode, as he had arrived to try and help cover up what was going on with the tests that were being run.

In “Excelsis Dei” Mulder and Scully head to a private nursing home to investigate the claims of a nurse that she was raped by an invisible spirit.

It was weird because in this episode, Mulder was really poo-pooing the idea of an invisible rapist at first and Scully was all in and trying to speculate possible ideas. It really felt backwards from a normal X-Files episode.

This episode winds up fairly unsatisfyingly and the whole bathroom filling with water thing made very little sense and seemed to be more laughable.

Moonlighting S3 E5

Posted on December 28, 2023 by Doc

Spoilers

“All Creatures Great… and Not So Great.”

Religion spurs and argument once again between David and Maddie and a priest comes to ask for their help in finding a woman who he had been speaking to in the confessional… whom he had fallen in love with.

This did feel like a second (if not first) season episode as there was no breaking of the fourth wall and the relationship between David and Maddie were the key to the episode.

I really liked the writing of this episode as it was a clever twist at the end and led to a classic fight at the end with a lightning strike from the heavens.

And this was the best way to use Herbert Viola, whom I mentioned last time how much I hate that character. He was a secondary character involved in a B story with Agnes. That was the way he should have stayed because that is what he was meant for.

Blue Eye Samurai S1 E5, E6, E7, E8

Posted on December 28, 2023 by Doc

Spoilers

“The Tale of the Ronin and the Bride”

“All Evil Dreams and Angry Words”

“Nothing Broken”

“The Great Fire of 1657”

I finished season one of Blue Eye Samurai today with the final four episodes. This is such a great show, with amazing animation, perfectly executed fight choreography, and some of the best character work around. It is absolutely a high bar for the next season to reach.

Specifically, episode five was an amazing format, with the story being told with a narrated puppet theater. It was one of the most imaginative style choices that seemed to fit perfectly with the tone and style of the show.

Everything led to a huge confrontation between Mizu and Fowler as the city burnt down around them. I am not sure if I loved the way the cliffhanger unfurled, but I am willing to let season two play out to see what happens. I think I would have preferred for Mizu to have killed Fowler instead of trying to use him.

Plus, with Mizu and Fowler on a boat to London, does that mean that our cast of supporting characters Ringo, Taigen, and Akemi are going to be sidelined in season two?

It was a sad end for George Takei’s character Seki, shot to death retreating from the fire. His was a character that showed his true allegiances through the year… and it was to Akemi.

This was such a joy to watch and I am very glad that I took the suggestion from a couple of the YouTube content makers, saying that this was one of the best shows of 2023. It certainly was epic.

Picket Fences S4 E10

Posted on December 28, 2023 by Doc

Spoilers

“Dem Bones”

The discovery of a skeleton in the woods in Rome leads to the investigation of a fifty year murder case and the reigniting of hatred between Neo-Nazis and Jewish people.

Right in the middle of the hate was Douglas Wambaugh, defending the 70 year old Jew accused of the murder of a cruel German man who had tormented him. But Doug was not the only Wambaugh involved. His son David arrived in Rome as the prosecuting attorney in the case. Wambaugh vs. Wambaugh in front of Judge Bones. It did not stop them from pulling the old joke of Bone saying “Wambaugh” and both Douglas and David saying “What?”

The horrors of the Holocaust are the undercurrent for everything happening in the episode, but it also deals with the relationship between father and son and how the father’s own self-doubt.

This is the closest any 4th season episode ha come to matching some of the first three seasons. Douglas Wambaugh has been incredibly inconsistent this season, but this feels to be the closest he has come to being the man I remembered.

What If…? S2 E7

Posted on December 28, 2023 by Doc

Spoilers

“What if…Hela Found the Ten Rings”

Oscar winner Cate Blanchett is voicing a character in an animated TV show.

That is an amazing thing. It speaks to the MCU that there are so many of the actors who are willing to come back and provide lines for this project. Idris Elba was also back for just a few lines in this episode. It was really cool.

Of course, they did not get everybody back for their characters. Odin was in this episode and it was not Sir Anthony Hopkins, and Wenwu was not voiced by Tony Leung. Oh well.

Blending Hela and Wenwu (from the Shang Chi movies) was an interesting trick. Taking the whole Thor-banished-to-earth-until-worthy bit and making it work for Hela was a neat addition to the story. The set-up was strong and the execution was really solid too.

I found Hela’s character arc to be a very done one, reminding me of the Loki arc, and, of course, you give a strong character arc to one of the best actors working today, you get some great storytelling. Plus, Cate Blanchett has experience in the voice over world, which does have its benefits in performances.

It sounds like a skipping record, but I’ll say it again. The animation of this season of What If…? has been stellar. I love the parallels drawn between scenes from the MCU movies and what we see animated in What If..?. For example, the scene where Hela cannot budge the crown was very similar to the scene when Thor could not move Mjolnir in the first Thor movie. These echoes are throughout the series and show the cleverness of the writers and creative personnel working on What If…?.

There are only two more episodes to go on this daily release of season two. I have loved watching these episodes in this manner and I hope there will be other opportunities to follow this in future times.

Up to Date Running Order:

E3 ”What If… Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?”

E1 “What If… Nebula Joined the Nova Corps?”

E5 ”What If… Captain Carter Fought the Hydra Stomper”

E6 ”What If…Kahhori Reshaped the World?”

E7 ”What If…Hela Found the Ten Rings?”

E2 “What If… Peter Quill Fought Earth’s Mightiest Heroes?”

E4 ”What If… Iron Man Crashed into the Gamemaster?”

EYG Favorite Comic Book Cover of the Week

Posted on December 28, 2023 by Doc

December

Comic Cover of the Week

Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #1

This week’s cover of the week is part of the Gang War, the most recent Spider-Man storyline.

The cover art is by David Aja.

I love the aesthetic of this cover. The red, orange and black colors on the cover stand out beautifully. The images of Shang Chi and Spider-Man are unique and attractive.

What If…? S2 E6

Posted on December 27, 2023 by Doc

Spoilers

“What if… Kahhori Reshaped the World?”

Famously, DC character Harley Quinn made her actual first appearance in the Batman: The Animated Series TV show. Marvel Studios has taken that path with their all-new character Kahhori, a member of the Mohawk Nation, in this What If…? episode.

The creators tied Kahhori’s origin to the Tesseract, which in this universe, arrived on earth after the destruction of Asgard by Surtur during Ragnarok.

The animation, which has been next level during this entire season of What If…?, is absolutely stunning in this episode and feels as if the animators took it even higher than they had up until this point. Everything here is just gorgeous to look at. The design of Kahhori and her people were outstanding. The fire in the background with the Spaniards was breath-taking. It truly was a beautifully constructed and drawn episode.

The story does feel rushed, but that is the format more than anything else. They have kept these What If…? episodes to a tight 30 minutes for the most part, but this is another one that could have done well with another 10 minutes or so.

The episode was practically all in a different language, which is quite the choice. Only the Watcher and Supreme Strange at the very end speak in English.

Speaking of, Supreme Strange does make an appearance at the very end of the episode, clearly there to set up for the finale. The Supreme Strange episode is listed as the 9th episode of the season, which followed the 1602 episode. Something is telling me that they may be a crossover between them much like last year’s Ultron was.

It will be interesting to see what role Kahhori will play in the MCU moving forward or if she is just a staple in the What If…? section. If she is successful, it can show that Marvel does not have to settle for the characters that are already made which would open up a whole new world of possibilities.

Up to Date Running Order:

E3 ”What If… Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?”

E1 “What If… Nebula Joined the Nova Corps?”

E5 ”What If… Captain Carter Fought the Hydra Stomper”

E6 ”What If…Kahhori Reshaped the World?”

E2 “What If… Peter Quill Fought Earth’s Mightiest Heroes?”

E4 ”What If… Iron Man Crashed into the Gamemaster?”

Percy Jackson and the Olympians S1 E3

Posted on December 27, 2023 by Doc

Spoilers

“We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium”

I have always loved mythology, especially Green mythology so the new Percy Jackson series on Disney + has been right up my alley. We got one of my favorite Greek mythology monsters this week… Medusa.

It is a solid episode too as there are some growing pains with the friendship between Percy, Annabelle and Grover. The three of them do not trust each other and they are struggling to get along.

The Oracle told Percy that someone he called a friend would betray him and would cause his quest to fail. Percy did not know what that was to mean, but he selected Grover and Annabelle because of that. He said he did not think that Annabelle would ever be his friend, which was brutal.

Walker Scobell is a star in the making. He makes such a charismatic Percy Jackson. He is smooth and feels so real that you can’t help but like him. He has that Ryan Reynolds-like wit about him to as some of his under his breath remarks are very funny.

The trio came out with the truths that they had been keeping from each other and you can see how they changed from the beginning of the episode.

Plus, we get a slight glimpse at Mt. Olympus… sort of. And it looks really clever.

Percy Jackson has been solid so far and with luck it will keep it up.