Author Archives: Doc

The Croods: A New Age

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When I went to see the original The Croods animated movie a few years ago, I hated the experience. I have always wondered if I hated the movie as much as I hated the experience.

You see, the theater I saw The Croods in was cramped, filled with screaming children, and there was a child throwing up a few rows behind me. I was stuck in the furthest seat over and was hating the entire environment. There is no doubt that the movie viewing experience can affect the way you perceive the movie so I did not enjoy the first Croods movie.

Now, the public at large did not seem to love the film either and I am not sure who was exactly clamoring for a sequel seven years after. I avoided the film. There was no pull for me to head out to the theater and potentially expose myself to the Covid-19 virus to see the sequel to the Croods.

Heck, it came out on streaming and I still was not anxious to see it. Finally, I decided that I should watch it.

The first thing that I realized was that Ryan Reynolds voiced the character Guy, something I did not remember from the first one. I remembered Nicolas Cage doing the voice of Grug, the father, but Reynolds was a surprise.

Then, the first half of the movie was about what I expected. Harmless. Unremarkable. Predictable. In fact, it felt like I was watching a Bizarro version of Aladdin with Guy as Prince Ali and Dawn Betterman (Kelly Marie Tran) as Jasmine. Perhaps that made Eep (Emma Stone) Abu. Although later on I thought maybe Eep was Aladdin instead.

I guess I should give a plot synapsis. The Croods found “Tomorrow”, the land Guy was searching for and met up with Guy’s parents’ old friends, the Bettermans, Phil (Peter Dinklage) and Hope (Leslie Mann). The Bettermans wanted Guy to come back and hook up with their daughter Dawn, and they tried to manipulate Grug to give Guy back.

Grug was feeling scared about Eep leaving the tribe so he was easily manipulated by Phil.

This was about the first 45 minutes of the movie and it was fine. Nothing major. There were a few funny bits, but nothing that I cared about, as you could tell from the weird Aladdin analogy I was mentally working on.

Then….

The movie went completely bat shit crazy.

I mean… totally bat shit crazy. I have to say, I liked it. It was bizarre, wild, flipping insane.

You have to respect a movie that is willing to let itself go this bat shit crazy. I’m not even sure how to describe it. King Kong on acid? Land of the Lost meets Willy Wonka? The Partridge Family and the Flintstones have a baby? There was even a series of Jack Black songs from out of nowhere.

Thunder Sisters? Punch monkeys language lessons. Wolf Spiders. Flying hair named Wigasus.

All of this feels as if they needed to cram everything possible into the third act because they knew the remainder of the movie was average at best. And yet, that third act was so nuts that it might have won me over. I don’t think I need to see the original again and I don’t think another sequel is needed, but this can only be experienced.

3 stars

Greenland

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A disaster movie starring Gerard Butler? I’ve seen this before. Nothing special here….

Oh, wait.

I take it all back.

I loved this movie. I never expected to love it as much as I did. I mean, come on. All of these disaster movies are the same and there is little difference about them. At best, they provide a couple of hours of escapist fun and at worst they are big, dumb spectacles that make no sense.

However, Greenland showed that it was more than this. Not only was it big, dumb escapist fun, it was also filled with emotional beats and surprisingly tense situations that felt true to the moment. It was more than our indestructible hero wading through CGI destruction to save his loved ones. While there is some of that, it is not the center of the movie. The movie’s center is actually the flaws of the characters and the nature of the human species.

A comet, dubbed Clarke by the media, approached the earth and the expectations were that it was not going to cause an impact on the planet. However, construction worker John Garrity (Gerard Butler) received a presidential alert on his phone that he and his family had been selected to be taken to a bunker. Though currently estranged from his wife Allison (Morena Baccarin), John maintained a positive relationship with his son Nathan (Roger Dale Floyd). When the notification came through, it became apparent that Clarke was going to be more of a problem than what was being reported.

The Garritys packed quickly and headed for the location presented them. After they arrived, they were split and it was determined that, because of his diabetes, Nathan was no longer eligible for the program. The family struggled to reunite and to find a way to safety.

Yes, a lot of that synopsis sounds familiar to other such genre films, but you have to trust me. This film elevates above the others through some exceptional writing.

One of the things that really sold me on the film I was watching was how it pulled no punches in the execution of the plot. There seemed to be little special about John Garrity. He was not a major scientist (as Butler was in Geostorm) or a former government agent of some sort. He was just a normal guy who had his own problems. I immediately was able to accept Butler in the role. It fit him beatifully.

Another thing Greenland did was it showed how horrible the situation was as the Garritys had to face the fact that they were leaving their friends and family behind. There were some scenes of real anguish where they were faced with desperate parents begging them to take their child too, and John knowing that they were restricted from doing it. The audience knew the result of John’s rejection of the idea, and the film did not shy away from showing the anxiety built by these near-Sophie’s choice like moments.

But what this film does above all else that I loved was how it elevated the no name heroes to a huge status. It did not just show the dark side of the human condition (looting, violent reactions etc.), but it showed the men and women of the human race just trying to help where they could. The army major (Merrin Dungey) who there doing her job despite having to leave her own family behind. The nurse who is able to help Nathan with his diabetes during a time where he had been separated from his parents. The family willing to pick up Allison alongside of the road and take her with them. The kind hearted young man who told John about the flight to Greenland. These were characters who were, most likely, not going to survive the extinction level event that was coming, but who were simply trying to do what they could to make a difference where they could. It was a true portrait of the best of the human society and it was the message that stuck with me more than those who embraced the chaos.

Scott Glenn had a short, but powerful appearance as Allison’s father. In just a few scenes, Glenn was able to imbue Dale with a humanity and a forgiveness that was desperately required for his family.

Roger Dale Floyd does a great job as Nathan, and the character of Nathan is allowed to be smart. There is one scene in particular where Nathan is in deep trouble, but he does the smart thing instead of the typically stupid choice that is served to just extend the plot. When that happened, I actually fist pumped and I was so proud of Nathan. That’s weird I know, but I loved that he was given the opportunity to be a real person.

Sure the movie has its warts too. There are definitely coincidences that happen to allow the Garritys to make it to where they were going and the trip to Canada seemed fairly simple (with the exception of one firestorm). Still, those are things that can be ignored with suspension of disbelief. Truthfully, there is less suspension of disbelief needed here than most of this type of genre movie.

And the ending of the movie was not necessarily strong. There was a spot where I thought the movie was going to end which would have left me feeling differently than where it ultimately did end at. I kind of wish they would have gone with the more uncertain conclusion.

So while this is not a perfect movie and it does get weighed down at times with the conventions of the genre, Greenland elevates so much more beyond the typical clichés and expectations of a disaster film that it was a sweet surprise and a film that I truly enjoyed watching.

4.25 stars

2020 In Memoriam

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2020 has been a terrible year for loss of life.

I had no idea there was as much until I started working on the In Memoriam section for the Year in Review. Not only quantity, but there were some massively huge names as well. Chadwick Boseman, Sean Connery, John Lewis, Regis Philbin, Kirk Douglas, Kobe Bryant, RBG, Alex Trebek, Eddie Van Halen, Charlie Daniels… the list goes on and on.

So much so that I wound up doing two fully separate In Memoriam collages in honor of the ton of celebrities’ that are gone…and I am sure I missed some.

And what is worse… usually this is one of the first things I do with the Year in Review because I like honoring these people who inspired so many of us, but I pushed this back because I did not want to miss anyone. Literally, I was checking Twitter as I was finishing up the work on MS Paint to make sure no one passed away today. It even now feels as if there could be more before finally 2020 mercifully comes to a close.

If I need to add to these images, I will do so. I prey that I do not have to.

RIP to all.

Couple to add…

Brodie Lee (aka Luke Harper)

Kevin Greene

Kevin Greene Dies at the Age of 58 — Details on What Happened

And another loss… Phil Niekro

Meet the Inductees: Phil Niekro - "Knucksie" | Georgia Sports Hall of Fame

And Today, I have to add one more. Mary Ann from Gilligan’s Island, Dawn Wells

Dawn Wells (@therealmaryann) | Twitter

Let Them All Talk

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The first movie that I will review from HBO Max is the new film starring Meryl Streep called Let Them All Talk.

Meryl Streep is a huge star. She is considered one of the best actors of the last couple of decades. Having her new movie on the streaming service is a big deal. Of course, HBO Max is heading toward huge releases starting with WW84 on Christmas. Let Them All Talk is a nice way to kick it off.

Meryl Streep played Alice, a famous author who was taking a cruise to England to accept a prestigious award and she invited her old college friends Roberta and Susan (Candice Bergen & Dianne Wiest) to travel with her. The three friends had fallen away from one another in the years since Alice’s success.

Alice also invited her nephew Tyler (Lucas Hedges) to come along. Tyler was the glue that keeps the trio together and managed to handle whatever came up. One of those details was the publishing house’s agent Karen (Gemma Chan) who was trying to find out what Alice was writing, with the hope that it was a sequel to her huge hit book, that incidentally revealed a ton of details on the life of Roberta.

The film is harmless and focuses on the three ladies, as well as a “relationship” between Tyler and the older Karen. There were some solid performances in the film and the characters were well developed. However, there was no doubt that the character that I enjoyed the most was Roberta and the main reason for that was the charming and exceptional Candice Bergen.

Bergen got the meatiest character to play, a woman whose difficult life came from the publishing of the original book and who looked to be out for herself. Among other things, she was on the prowl across the ship for a potential husband who may have plenty of money. Roberta’s back story was just as fascinating making you wonder exactly what kind of person she was.

Meryl Streep’s Alice was played snooty and overbearing, yet there was something relatable to her. That may be because of Streep’s overt charm. You warm to her as the film pressed on and you realized that there was more to the story than what you could see.

Steven Soderbergh directed this movie and it was a solid and enjoyable experience as three great legendary actresses chewed up the scenes. I will admit that the scenes with Lucas Hedges and Gemma Chen were less interesting for me, but they are harmless and help play into the overall narrative. Alice’s connection to Tyler is one of the things that helped to humanize her for the audience.

The ending took a turn that I did not expect and that is always welcomed.

3.3 stars

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

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Based on a Tony Award winning play by August Wilson, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is the final performance of actor Chadwick Boseman, and what a performance it was.

Boseman passed away in August from a years-long battle with cancer. Best known as King T’Challa from Marvel’s Black Panther, Boseman has been impressive in his film roles, but there may not be anything more impressive than his turn as Levee, a temperamental trumpeter with plans of musical success.

As Chadwick Boseman’s performance was not enough, Viola Davis absolutely slays it as Ma Rainey, the real life black singer called the “Mother of the Blues,” a demanding singer unwilling to budge from what she wanted.

Viola Davis recently won an Oscar for her role in Fences, another movie based on a play, alongside Denzel Washington, who produced this film. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom feels much like a play on film, just like fences did. The sharp dialogue, the powerhouse monologues, and the claustrophobic sets give this film its tone. Davis and Boseman bring the fire.

The film told the story of a recording session in 1927 on a hot Chicago afternoon. Ma Rainey, late arriving, tried completing a recording session with her white manager and producer. Her backing band had their own troubles, led by the emotionally unstable Levee.

The dialogue of the film was equally parts brilliant and uncomfortable. The constant use of the n-word was difficult to hear even though I know that is the verbiage of the culture. However, the monologues, in particular those delivered by Boseman, were utterly spellbinding and revealed the deep seeded pain of the character and made us understand the choices that he made.

Viola Davis is practically unrecognizable as the Mother of the Blues. The costume design and the manner in which the film was shot were beautiful and transcendent. The music was alive and electric. The film was a look at race, prejudice and the power of music to overcome the boundaries placed upon some.

This is another amazing film from Netflix this year. You cannot help but feel the loss of Chadwick Boseman, the unanswerable question of just how high he could have taken his career. You need to make sure you see this raw and stirring performance.

5 stars

The Kurt Russell EGO De-Aging Award

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Last year was the introduction of the new De-Aging award. Fact is, however, that there was not much along the line of de-aging this year. While there were several in 2019, 2020 did not use the technology much. For example, the Spike Lee film Da 5 Bloods, which was prime to use de-aging, chose a different path. In my research, I found a couple of choices.

Then, something big happened, and it led me to expand this award a tad to include the deepfake. Deepfake is, according to Wikipedia, “synthetic media  in which a person in an existing image or video is replaced with someone else’s likeness.” It is a technique that has been used effectively for the last few years, and, while it may not always present the most impressive CGI feel to it, it can lead to a massive moment in a film or series.

And this year’s winner absolutely falls into that category.

By the way… do not read any further because there are SPOILERS for the finale of The Mandalorian included.

Last year’s winners are listed below too.

The Kurt Russell EGO De-Aging Award

Previous Winners:  Robert DeNiro (The Irishman)

Let’s also talk about the two runners-up before we head into the winner, just to give a little more space fromt he top of this article. I do not want anyone spoiled (although by now the word may be out).

Runners-Up: Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter from Bill & Ted Face the Music. This was a fun film and the iconic pair go everywhere in time. And Tenet’s Kenneth Branagh who played the character Sator during a flashback.

Honestly, though, I did not remember either of these. The winner though I believe will be an impact for quite some time.

Winner:

Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) in Mandalorian Season 2 Episode 8 finale, “The Rescue”

Who played Luke Skywalker in The Mandalorian? What Luke's Return Means

Yes, the look of Luke is a tad off, but his arrival, cutting through the Dark Troopers on his path to find Grogu, was jaw dropping and thrilling. Played by actor Max Lloyd Jones, Disney used the CGI face (and voice) of Mark Hamill to bring the Jedi to the screen. It was a shocking twist that punctuated one of the best seasons of Star Wars television yet.

“This is the way.”

Post Americana #1

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Post Americana#1

Writer: Steve Skroce

Artist: Steve Skroce

Cover Art: Steve Skroce & Dave Stewart

Sorry Todd, this was as early as I could get to this.

New series released by Image Comics found its way into my pull box because my friend Todd, who works at the comic shop I attend, thought that I would like it. I have been buying more non-Marvel books over the last year and a half and I like giving some of these a chance. This appears to be a six-issue series from Steve Skroce.

How many independent comics deal with a post apocalyptic world? There seems to be a bunch of them. You would think that there would not be any new ideas or premises that we haven’t seen before. And while Post Americana #1 may feel familiar in certain moments, there are some wild moments that make th eissue worthwhile.

I mean… chickens.

I liked how the story presented itself to us as an audience. Instead of just dropping a ton of exposition for the new version of the world the characters are living in, it takes its time and weaves the exposition in and out of the story. I thought it was a creative way to present information without the dangers of an info drop.

Our two main protagonists interest me as well. They make an intriguing pair and I look forward to seeing what will come next with them.

I found the story beat about the wealthy of the world surviving below the surface in their own little bunker as the world ended around them to be filled with a lot of potential story.

The only negative I would say was the art was not my favorite. It is difficult to put into words why I was not a fan. It was fine, and I have certainly seen worse, but there was something about it that made it feel … cartoony. I’m not sure I can explain it to you, but I was distracted by some of the art in the book despite not hating it.

Overall, it was a decent book and Todd was right with his idea that I would like it .

I See Kid Actors Award

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This was a tougher choice this year. There were some really solid kid performances this year, but none of them blew me away like Noah Jupe did last year in Honey Boy. There are several good choices.

Previous Winners:  Emjay Anthony (Chef), Jacob Trembley (Room), Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things), Dafne Keen (Logan), Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade), Noah Jupe (Honey Boy)

This year’s winner

McKenna Grace (Troop Zero)

It's Christmas-Time for Actress Mckenna Grace - Front Row Features

Troop Zero was a great performance from Makenna Grace. She not only carried the film, she had to play off a couple of big time actors in Viola Davis and Allison Janney. Grace never once was overwhelmed. She brought such joy to the role, despite some of the difficult things she had to do. She was great and has a bright future in film. She should have starred in the new Ghostbuster film (which got pushed) among other roles.

Runners-Up: In no specific order…. Winslow Fegley was enjoyable in the quirky Disney + movie Timmy Failure. The new version of the Secret Garden featured two outstanding performances from Edan Hayhurst and Dixie Egerickx. Seth Carr led the WWE Netflix movie, The Main Event. He was fun and compelling in a silly film. Another Netflix movie, Jingle Jangle, featured the lead Madalen Mills and she was fantastic in the musical. Another silly movie this year that turned out to be a lot of fun was Vampires vs. The Bronx, led by Jaden Michael. Another lead actor, Chloe Coleman, faced off with Dave Bautista in the oft-delayed My Spy, which finally came out on Amazon Prime. Chloe had a lot of charisma and played well off the massive Bautista. There was a new attempt at telling the story of Peter Pan in the film Wendy with Devin France as the title character and the POV in the film. Jackson Robert Scott was a main protagonist in the Netflix series Locke & Key. He has some solid movie roles in a couple of poor movies. Millie Bobby Brown could have won this too for Enola Holmes, but I kept her off since she was getting old (16…oooh). We have not had a repeat winner in this category yet, and this may have been the top chance for that to happen.

The EYG Stan Lee Movie Cameo Award

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Hey True Believers!

The 2020 movie season did not have the number of cameos that normally a year might have. For whatever reason, I struggled to find very many cameos. In fact, one of the choices here may actually be considered more of a role than just a cameo. Still, we will push on.

Maybe one of the big reasons was that this was the first year where we did not have a Stan Lee cameo. Of course, Stan passed away near the end of 2018 and his last cameos came in 2019. No one has stepped up into this position. Stan is the only man to have won this award more than once (and, of course, has it named after him)

Here are the previous winners of this award:

Previous winners:  Stan Lee (three times), John Cena, Chris Evans, Sigourney Weaver, Hugh Jackman, Yoda, J.K. Simmons, Harrison Ford

This year’s winner:

Rudy Giuliani, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

Rudy Giuliani in 'Borat 2' Faces Controversy - Variety

To be fair, former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani probably is not too pleased with winning this award. Sasha Baron Cohen made Rudy look foolish with this set up. Sending a young woman (actress Maria Bakalova) to pretend to interview Rudy is one thing, but luring him into the hotel room bedroom is another. The controversy of what exactly Rudy was doing with his hand in his pants became national news. Rudy claimed that he was simply tucking his shirt back in after removing the microphone, but…

Not sure that is what I saw.

Runners-Up: J.K. Simmons (Palm Springs), Ming-Na Wen (Mulan), June Squibb (Blow the Man Down), Michael Rooker (Love & Monsters)

J.K. Simmons could have won this for the second year in a row, but he came up just short. I really considered giving it to Ming-Na (who I love from Agents of Shield) but she did not make enough of an impact in the film. As the voice of the original Mulan, it was nice to see her make her appearance. Michael Rooker was a great cameo in the highly entertaining Love & Monsters. June Squibb is always a great time.

Top 30 Schmoedown Matches of the Year

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And there are SPOILERS in here for Schmoedown Spectacular 5 so don’t read this unless you have watched the event.

This is another tough list to make because there were so many AMAZING matches this year and I feel great that I got a chance to see them. With Covid-19 raging across the planet, the Movie Trivia Schmoedown could have fallen by the wayside, but the crew found a way to provide some brilliant performances in movie trivia in an uncomfortable and unfamiliar setting.

Of course, this is my list. Yours may be different and that is fine.

#30. Kevin Smith defeated ZaFlurtin Flaus at Spectacular 5. Just entertaining. The match itself may not be great, but the entertainment value is high.

#29. Video Drew defeated Jen Kempe. The emotion from Video Drew after her win and her perfect game was a highlight.

#28. Korruption defeated The Family. This led to the retirement of Drew McWeeney and the dissolution of the Family. It also put Korruption onto a path towards the titles.

#27. Chance Ellison defeated Robert Parker in IG Tournament. Everyone had dubbed “The Spider” Robert Parker the heir apparent in IG. Chance put an end to that.

#26. Final Exam defeated Deep 13. Deep 13 was a question away from knocking off Final Exam. Instead, Final Exam continued their solid streak.

#25. Horror Free-4-All. The Free-4-All fell victim to the pandemic, but that led to us getting the horror specific Free-4-All, won by the eventual singles champion Adam Collins. No Bibbiani though…Hm (Schmoeminati???)

#24. Brendan Meyer defeated Marc Andreyko in Singles Tournament. “The Kid” and “The Android” put on a top show between two of the greats in the MTS.

#23. Shazam defeated Final Exam. Shazam was on the shelf for a chunk of the season, but came off strong and defeated the powerful team of Final Exam.

#22. Who’s the Boss defeated The Odd Couple. Who’s the Boss set the team’s point record here and was certainly their highlight of the season.

#21. Ethan Erwin defeated Jeff Sneider. Jeff Sneider was really close to knocking off the powerhouse Erwin. It was down to the final question.

#20. William Bibbiani defeated The Barbarian in the Singles Tournament. Bibbs had a perfect game and he, again, showed his emotions. The Barbarian is a future superstar, but this one belonged to The Beast.

#19. The Odd Couple defeated Deception. The veteran team overcame the upstarts from Korruption. This was Adam Collins sole defeat of 2020.

#18. KOrruption defeated the Founding Fathers for the team championship. Filled with emotion and frustration, KOrruption came from behind and defeated the Founding Fathers at a Schmoedown Throwdown.

#17. Chance Ellison defeated Mike Kalinowski in IG Tournament finals. Chance came from behind to defeat his team partner for the right to go to Spectacular and face Chandru. Korruption showed how strong of a faction they were. No sign of cracks in their faction.

#16. Deep 13 defeated Tom & Paul. One of the early season (still in studio) matches that was an upset. Everyone thought Tom and Paul would roll through this match, but Deep 13 showed how strong they could be.

#15. Ethan Erwin defeated John “The Outlaw” Rocha in Sudden Death. Rocha played one of his best matches of the year, but came up just short from the juggernaut that is Ethan Erwin.

#14. Dan Murrell defeated William Bibbiani and Brendan Meyer in a #1 Contender Triple Threat Match. This was one of the few LIVE events of the year and this was an amazing performance from “Dangerous Dan.” Even when it seemed as if the Shazam partners were working together, Dan was able to hold them off.

#13. The Odd Couple defeated Final Exam in the Team Tournament finals. This may be the best performance of the year from The Odd Couple. They battled right to the end to earn a shot at Shazam.

#12. Stacy Howard defeated Eric Zipper. Stacy continued her magic pulls with a Sir Anthony Hopkins pull that led to her eventual victory. Eric Zipper was tough luck loser all year long.

#11. Andres Cabrera defeated Andrew Dimalanta in Star Wars finals. This tells you how great this year’s matches were when this does not reach the top 10. Ace completed his unlikely run through the Star Wars Tournament with a victory over the Finstock Exchange competitor.

#10. Kevin Smith defeated Chris Jericho. Two huge stars came in and had a thoroughly entertaining match that was not just a match with celebrities. It even went into Sudden Death.

#9. Chandru “The Chosen” Dhandapani defeated Kevin “The Smasher” Smets for the Innergeekdom Championship. This had a real grudge match feel to it and you can thank Chandru for his great heel work. You also saw Kevin Smets and the length of his respect. It was almost a double turn. Intense match.

#8. The Odd Couple defeated Shazam for the Team Championship at the Spectacular 5. The Odd Couple seemed defeated. The looked beat and down. Then, they won. The emotions after the match were as real as they get and they were well deserved.

#7. Dan Murrell defeated Ethan Erwin. Dan Murrell successfully defended his title against the powerhouse Ethan Erwin in a massively impressive trivia match.

#6. Andres Cabrera defeated Laura Kelly in Star Wars Tournament. Laura Kelly missed one question. That was all it took. Ace was on ire and overcame everybody’s belief that Laura was going to take this one. The energy on Twitch was off the charts.

#5. Shazam defeated Korruption for Team Titles. Again, I love the emotion after the match is over. It just helps punctuate what was a great match. Korruption did not give up and forced Shazam to answer their questions. The sight of Bibbs having to finally sit down was one of the top images of the year.

#4. Adam Collins defeated Dan Murrell for the Movie Trivia Schmoedown Championship in Sudden Death at Spectacular 5. Honestly, this should probably be higher on the list, but I was rooting for Dan and his loss put a bit of a damper on the results. Still, it was an amazing battle between the two competitors and went deep into sudden death.

#3. Andrew Dimalanta defeated Joseph Scrimshaw in Star Wars tournament. This was a first round match and set the tone like crazy. Both men were perfect and it came down to sudden death where Scrimshaw was just not quite as correct as Dimalanta. This was an insane match.

#2. Dan Murrell defeated Ben Bateman to defend his singles championship. Bateman was ahead by six points heading into the final round, but Lucas Black appeared and reared his head, leading to a shocking come from behind victory by Dan. Even Dan was shocked as he looked to his partner Mara and mouthed “I won”.

#1. Dan Murrell won the Movie Trivia Schmoedown Championship from Ben Bateman in Sudden Death. Their live event in Atlanta was one of the best title matches in history and set the standard for the year. This went into sudden death as well and was the first (and not the only) time this year that showed that you can never count out “Dangerous” Dan Murrell.

Bateman vs. Murrell: Atlanta Schmoedown Live | EYG- Embrace Your Geekness

I can’t wait to see where season 8… “War” will go from here. If this season is any indication, the Movie Trivia Schmoedown will burn it down!

The EYG Schmoedown Awards

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WARNING: SPOILERS FOR THE SCHMOEDOWN SPECTACULAR 5 INCLUDED BELOW!

The Movie Trivia Schmoedown faced some remarkably difficult challenges this year directly from Covid-19. The show lost the ability to present live shows and the studio matches had to be changed as well. However, Kristian Harloff, Mark Ellis and the remaining team from MTS did not just give up. They found solutions that, while maybe not perfect, was able to provide the best opportunity to continue the trivia contests, and the matches of the year exceeded all expectations. The show grew despite the issues and had one of its finest years yet.

This was the most difficult year for determining these awards for us at EYG. In fact, I can say that the winners of these awards changed several times, right up to the final decisions.

Player of the Year: Dan Murrell

Runners-Up: Adam Collins, Jeff Sneider, Chance Ellison

This was one that I changed a couple of times. I finally decided on Dan after completing the list of Top 30 matches (still to comer) and seeing Dan’s name in so many top 10 matches this year. While Adam Collins almost took this award, I decided since he was not here the whole year, his remarkable 7-0 run including a victory over Dan was just a tad short. Jeff Sneider had a fantastic run in both the singles and team tournaments and Chance Ellison made a big time run in Innergeekdom toruney along with success in teams.

Team of the Year: The Odd Couple

Runners-Up: Shazam, Founding Fathers, KOrruption, Final Exam

Another award that changed at least once. I almost gave this to Shazam, but their loss to The Odd Couple at the Spectacular was big. There is no debating that Shazam and the Odd Couple were the top two teams of the year. Founding Fathers and KOrruption were title holders this year and had one of the fiercest rivalries around. Final Exam helped to make Lon Harris and Paul Oyama stars again.

Manager of the Year: Shannon Barney.

Runners-Up: Winston Marshall, Roxy Striar, Coy Landreau

This one changed too after Spectacular. I was giving it to Winston Marshall because he was consistent the whole year and he did some great work, but Shannon’s faction won the year race and Collins’ victory over Dan, someone she had picked up in free agency, was just too much to over look. Yes, she started badly, but taking her team from last to first within the year was a huge feat. Roxy Striar made quite the run at the last quarter of the year, but she ended up in third. Roxy may be the best in-game manager there is.

Rookie of the Year: Adam Collins

Runners-Up: The Barbarian, Ben Goddard, Kevin Smith.

This was a questionable award, until Adam “The Coyote” Collins showed up and made it a runaway. 7-0 and the Movie Trivia Schmoedown Championship as a rookie kind of puts this away. The Barbarian, Ben Goddard are future superstars and Kevin Smith is a ton of fun and brought eyes to the Schmoedown, but this was not even close.

Faction of the Year: SWAG

Runners-Up: Korruption, Roxstars

Yes, I know that Korruption won the faction title, but I think SWAG had a more consistent year. Fact is most of Shannon’s points came from about two or three people. That is another reason she should be manager of the year, but SWAG spread it out more and that is why they get it. Roxstars put on a push at the end, but the first half was so weak that they did not have much chance.

Best Tournament of the Year: The Star Wars Tournament.

Runners-Up: Teams, Singles, Innergeekdom.

Taking nothing away from the other tournaments in the league this year, but the first ever Star Wars tournament was easily the most exciting, most energy filled and most unpredictable tourney we had. The biggest reason, I believe, was that the tournament was held LIVE on Twitch and the rest of them were pre-taped. There were great matches in the other tourneys, but the live aspect of the Star Wars Tournament was just so electric that you could feel the energy through the screen.

Face of the Year: Dan Murrell

Runners-Up: Shazam, Paul Oyama, Kevin Smith

Dan Murrell was the quintessential face this year, battling form behind in nearly every match he had. With a lot of the storylines cut back because of the virtual aspect, the face/heel dynamic was lesser than in past years but Dan clearly embodied the idea and he was constantly the most respectful. Oyama brought a new attitude this year and it did wonders for him.

Heel of the Year: Chandru Dhandapani.

Runners-Up: Shannon Barney, Brandon Hanna, Keiser

I almost gave this to Shannon, but as a manager, she could only do so much. When she broke up the Wildberries, she certainly took a step to this, but Chandru was just masterful at getting under the skin of everybody. He legitimately seemed to annoy and irritate everybody and he was so disrespectful that his character really became someone you wanted to see get his… and yet he is too good to have that happen. Brandon Hanna had a nice run for a while, but he faded after a loss.

Moment of the Year: Rocha turns on Dan

Runner-Up: Shannon breaks up the Wildberries, Rocha is chosen 4th, Drew Ghai tells us about the Schmoeminati.

Are you kidding me? This was so heartbreaking that, even though it just happened, it was memorable. Rocha was fire and you had to feel for poor Dan. Another reason Dan is the face of the year… he had to deal with his partner and manager turning on him. The other were fun, but none of them had the fierceness of this reveal.

Shock of the Year: Rocha turns on Dan

Runners-Up: Ace defeats Laura Kelly, Ace wins Star Wars Tournament, Dan defeats Ben Batemen second time

Who saw this coming? I guess we should have, but even when Dan cam back for his interview with Jen Sterger and Rocha wasn’t there, you may not have expected it. Even if you did, you could not have expected the absolute viciousness Rocha tossed at his friend. My jaw was on the ground and it was a devastating way to end a day’s length of programming.

Best Promo: Ken Napzok in Star Wars Tournament

Runners-Up: Drew Ghai and the Schmoeminati, Brandon Hanna’s long diatribe, Rocha spits fire on Dan.

Ken Napzok’s Star Wars promo was a thing of beauty. It was very wrestling-esque and it featured his character as much as the match itself. It was a master class in promo work and, despite its length, never felt dull. The original Schmoeminati promo was an amazing performance from Drew Ghai as he was incredibly convincing despite the silly premise. You knew something big was going to happen.

Best Character: Lon “The Delinquent” Harris.

Runners-Up: Andrew Ghai, Tom, Video Drew

The change of “The Professor” to “The Delinquent” was one of the year’s greatest character shifts. Lon Harris was totally committed to the character, even inside matches. Andrew Ghai‘s performance was golden, but the character was inconsistent. He may be a leading candidate for next year though after seeing the end cut scene of the Spectacular. Video Drew has been great every time and probably has a hand in with Lon. Tom suffered without Video Drew this year, but he was another character dedicated to his performance.

Best Innergeekdom Player of the Year: Chandru “The Chosen” Dhandapani.

Runners-Up: Chance Ellison, Mike Kalinowski, Alex Damon

Chandru was a force this year. Not only as an obnoxious heel, but also as a dominate trivia question answerer. His defeat of Kevin Smets was a brilliant head game and he defended the title, becoming the first IG champion since Jason Inman to do so. Chance Ellison won the IG Tournament over Mike Kalinowski, his KOrroption team mate. Alex Damon showed signs that he could develop into as dominate a IG player as he is a Star Wars player. All he needs is a little work on DC movies.

Star Wars Player of the Year: Andres “Ace” Cabrera.

Runners-Up: Andrew Dimalanta, Alex Damon, Laura Kelly

Andres Cabrera won the Star Wars Tournament in an unbelievably impressive manner. So impressive he was that he inspired Alex Damon to up his game. I know Alex Damon could have won this award, but he only had one Star Wars match this year. I know that is not his fault, but it does make it hard to give it too him even after he TKO’d Ace. Andrew Dimalanta had one of the great matches of the year, but his defeat to Ace was painful.

Exhibition Match of the Year: The Lord of the Rings Exhibition

Runners-Up: Battle of the Champions, Horror, MCU, Rocky Championship

They are supposed to be just exhibitions. Still, there were some amazing battles and intense matches anyway. None better than the LotR match, won by Robert Parker. It was also the match that showed that Alex Damon may have chops in more than just Star Wars. Marc Andreyko winning the horror exhibition was great and Sean Gerber flexing his MCU muscles was very impressive too. Kevin Smets winning the Battle of the Champions is great, especially with his terrible news later in the year.

Comeback of the Year: Andres Cabrera.

Ace was slaughtered early in the year by Robert Parker in an Innergeekdom match. That did not stop him and he took that inspiration and marched through his Star Wars tournament to grab an unexpected victory, which is included in the Upset of the Year. Andres was considered the underdog in every match he played in that tournament and he brought it home each time.

I’m Your Woman

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Amazon Prime has been releasing some solid work this year, maybe not quite up to the level of Netflix, but pretty close. The most recent release from the studio appeared this weekend and starred Rachel Brosnahan in a crime thriller with a different point of view.

I’m Your Woman takes the POV of a wife of a member of a crime family. Set in the 1970s, I’m Your Woman featured the story of Jean (Rachel Brosnahan), the wife of Eddie (Bill Heck). Jean knew that Eddie was a criminal, but she had no idea to what extent he had taken it, nor did she know much about Eddie’s background.

One night, Eddie brings home a baby. Jean was barren and had decided that she would never be a mother. The arrival of the baby, they named Harry, changed her perspective and her life. So when Cal (Arinzé Kane),a complete stranger, showed up and told her to run, it became a difficult situation.

The film spends more time with Jean, trying to figure out exactly what was happening, and trying to keep herself and Harry safe from the outside forces that seemingly want to get to Eddie.

Cal takes Jean to his family cabin where, eventually, Cal’s wife Teri (Marsha Stephanie Blake), his son (De’Mauri Parks) and father (Frankie Faison) joined her there. Teri brought more secrets with her as they awaited the return of Cal.

I really enjoyed this film. I loved the turning of the plot structure around so that it is not as much about what was happening with the crime underworld as much as it was about Jean and her reactions to the moments around her. Rachel Brosnahan was fantastic as Jean, totally gripping and uniquely engaging. Her confusion and apprehension caused the audience to feel the same way. As everything seemed to be collapsing within on Jean, the audience felt the same snesation.

I thought Marsha Stephanie Blake was remarkably entertaining and original as well. It was clear as soon as she arrived that there was more to her story than what we were getting, and she developed into one of the best characters on the screen. You were never quite sure exactly whom you could trust here.

I was also so very thankful that I could not guess what was going to happen next. These types of crime thrillers tend to be filled with clichés, but I’m Your Woman avoided most of those, mainly with the major shift in POV. I was not sure how things were going to play out and what the end would be, and that is a very good thing.

And there was a scene that I yelled out in excitement. It was an awesome shot and it reminded me of Pulp Fiction.

I enjoyed I’m Your Woman very much. I liked how the genre was bent around in a different perspective and how the film became more of a character story than one of the typical crime films.

4 stars

Wolfwalkers

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As I was starting to compile my Year End Review lists for the I Am Groot “voice over” award and the best animated movie of 2020, I realized that 2020 was an underwhelming year for animation. With a few exceptions, 2020 has not been a standout for animation. However, it is very possible that December is going to save this year’s animation. Pixar’s Soul is coming Christmas day on Disney + and then on Apple Plus was the release of Wolfwalkers, and Wolfwalkers may be the best animated movie we have gotten yet in 2020.

In the 17th century Irish town of Kilkenny, Robyn (Honor Kneafsey) was the daughter of Bill (Sean Bean), a great hunter that had been brought into the town to deal with the wolf problems, and she wanted to help her father. Her father, determined to keep her safe, wanted her to stay in the town so he would not lose her as he had lost his wife, her mother.

Robyn went into the woods to prove to her father that she could hunt by his side. Unfortunately for Robyn, she was caught in one of her father’s wolf snares. A pack of wolves showed up and the leader of the pack, Mebh (Eva Whittaker), tried to free Robyn from the trap. Robyn believed that the wolf was trying to attack her and fought back. In the end, Mebh bit Robyn.

Turned out that Mebh was a “wolfwalker,” which was, by sense, an Irish werewolf. Wolfwalkers would be human, but, when they went to sleep, tuned into a wolf, leaving the human body in a form of a coma, until the wolf returns and reunites with the body.

The bite to Robyn wound up making Robyn a wolfwalker and changed the way she would look at the world and the forest. She had to try to help her new wolf friend while dealing with the madness of the Lord Protector (Simon McBurney), whose word was law and who was determined to kill all wolves.

The animation here was beautifully drawn and was unlike most animation today. There was a rawness to the animation and it helped create the mood of the film. There is a simplistic feel to it, but I would argue that the animation was more than what it appeared. The character designs were wonderful and original, creating an amazing looking group.

The voice work is exceptional, especially from Sean Bean and Honor Kneafsey. It was filled with emotion and passion, as characters were forced into doing things that they did not really want to do. Sean Bean is fully tortured in what he had to do and what he felt he was inevitable.

There was a Studio Ghibli flair to this movie as well, as if Studio Ghibli told Irish tales. I have seen some criticism of the movie that the story is simplistic, but I do not necessarily agree with that. I will admit that I was never sure what was going to happen and I was uncertain about how events were going to play out, happily, tragic or some combination. That kept the stakes high.

Wolfwalkers on Apple + was a beautiful and exceptional animated film that can be enjoyed by the adults right alongside their children. It is most likely the best animated film of the year.

Now it’s your turn, Soul.

4.8 stars

The Expendables Award for Acting Excellence-2020

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Every year, we give out the special Expendables Award for Acting Excellence because…. well, I am not sure why. The Expendables have a big cast and this gives us a chance to be funny.

Best Expendable Actor as Santa Claus. Kurt Russell (A Christmas Chronicle 2). This was actually a difficult category this year, since there were two Expendables playing Santa Claus (the other being Mel Gibson in Fatman). However, this is the second time Kurt Russell has played Santa and he (along with Goldie Hawn) was the best part of A Christmas Chronicle 2. And the other one was Mel Gibson.

Netflix drops trailer for The Christmas Chronicles 2 | Metro News

Best Expendable Actor with a CGI Dog. Harrison Ford (Call of the Wild). Another one of the best parts of a poor movie, Harrison Ford played off the most ridiculous CGI dog that was totally distracting. Ford is always engaging though.

Review: Harrison Ford defrosts CGI 'The Call of the Wild' - The San Diego Union-Tribune

Best Expendables Voice Over Actor. Terry Crews (The Willoughbys). One of the more fun animated films on Netflix this year, Terry Crews voices the character Commander Melanoff, one of the standout characters in the film.

Interview with 'The Willoughbys' Director, Kris Pearn | Rotoscopers

Agents of SHIELD

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Television in 2020 saw the conclusion of one of the favorite TV show around EYG. Marvel’s Agents of Shield broadcast its seventh and final season of the superhero/spy drama and it was some of the best episodes of the series.

While initially, the cast believed that season 5, which saw a happily ever after ending for Philandra (Coulson and May), would be the final one. However, ABC surprised them with an order for two more shortened seasons.

Although season six was good, but not the best of the series, season 7 was unbelievable as the Agents of Shield went into the time stream and found themselves jumping around time.

We had spent so much time with these characters that this final stretch became remarkably emotional and, at times, painful.

Perhaps the best episode of the entire series was directed by our very own Simmons, Elizabeth Henstridge and was titled by “As I Have Always Been.” It saw the death of Enoch (Joel Stoffer), the Chronicon who had joined the group by befriending FitzSimmons.

REVIEW: 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' Season 7 Episode 9 - As I Have Always Been - MCUExchange

Another amazing twist of the season was how the team wound up in the time with Daniel Sousa, a character from the Agent Carter ABC series. The inclusion of Sousa, along with the chemistry-filled relationship with Daisy, brought a new dynamic to the show. While I did not have a connection to Sousa in Agent Carter (although I know he was a hugely popular character there), it did not take long to fall in love with the fish out of water agent.

Then, the finale was so awesome too, but one of my personal favorite moment was when Melinda May embraced her past and admitted to her kick ass status as The Cavalry! She crashed through the ceiling in a perfect timed moment to crush villainous Sybil. I legitimately called out when it happened.

Agents of Shield 7x13- May "The Cavalry" Enters the Fight - YouTube

Agents of Shield was filled with action, adventure, humor, emotions and tears. The seventh season was the perfect way to wind the series up (even though I would absolutely watch more episodes if they would make them). That is even with the fact that Coulson and May did not end up together.

Thank you to Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, Chloe Bennett, Elizabeth Henstridge, Iain De Caestecker, Henry Simmons, Natalia Cordova-Buckley, Joel Stoffer, Enver Gjokaj and Jeff Ward. This is one of my favorite shows of all time.