EYG Schmoedown Awards 2018

To go along with the Matches of the Year, the Schmoedown has many awards to be given out.  Again, there are SPOILERS here for the Schmoedown Spectacular III.  Go watch it!

On Patreon, the Schmoedown provides exhibition matches for its patreons.  Here are the Top 5 of the year.

Exhibition Matches of the Year

#5.  Mark Ellis vs. Kristian Harloff

#4.  Rachel Cushing vs. William Bibbiani vs. John Rocha vs. Samm Levine vs. Marc Andreyko

#3.  The Jurassic Park Iron Man

#2.  Horror Fatal Five Way

#1.  Movie Release Dates Iron Man

Scot Mantz regained the Movie Release Dates slice from Ben Bateman in this exciting and impressive exhibition of movie release date knowledge.

Player of the Year:  Ethan Erwin.  From out of nowhere.  I did not expect him to win, but with his title win over Rocha at the Spectacular, his 8-1 record and his amazing resume this year, he shot past the other contenders.  Runners-Up:  Samm Levine, John Rocha, William Bibbiani, Clarke Wolfe, Marc Andreyko.

Rookie of the Year:  Ethan Erwin.  Again, this was right down to the wire, but with Ethan’s title win and Mara’s defeat at Spectacular, Erwin’s status as Rookie of the Year was cemented.  Runner-Up: Mara Knopic.

Manager of the Year:  Emma Fyffe.  The Fyffe Club was just fantastic all year long and Emma was the consistent voice of her faction.  Runners-Up:  Finstock, Jay Washington, Roxy Striar

Faction of the Year: The Fyffe Club.  Not even close.  The Fyffe Club showed to be the most supportive group even put together.  They are legitimately friends and their chemistry comes through.  Runners-Up:  The 5 Horsemen, The Lion’s Club

Team of the Year: The Shirewolves.  The Internet did not want to give them their due, but they kept fighting and overcame the misogyny to end the year 5-0 and team champions. Runners-Up: Above the Line, Who’s the Boss, The Harris Brothers, Team Action

Face of the Year:  Rachel Cushing.  This was a tough category, but Rachel showed the perseverance and the heart required of a face all year long.  Runners-Up:  Clarke Wolfe, Marc Andreyko, Samm Levine, Dan Murrell

Heel of the Year:  Andrew Ghai.  Kalinowski almost made his way to this award, but the Spectacular showed that Ghai is unparalleled in the world of bad guys.  His spear of his friend and partner Ben Bateman was an unexpected twist.  Runners-Up: Mike Kalinowski, Jay Washington, Finstock

Moment of the Year:  The 5 Horsemen revealed.  This is the biggest moment of the Schmoedown’s year.  Everything came together perfectly here and the live crowd and the Internet lost their freakin’ minds.  Runners-Up:  Shirewolves win titles, Ghai beats Murrell, McWeeney reacts to win, Samm Levine shows up when no one gets his character from Inglorious Basterds, Ghai spears Bateman.

Shock of the Year:  Andrew Ghai wins!  It was a foregone conclusion that Dan Murrell would defeat Andrew Ghai in Murrell’s return match.  However, Ghai had other ideas.  This is the upset of all-time and solidified Ghai as the best heel going.  Runners-Up:  Ghai spears Bateman, Kristian is Chairman of the Board, Ghai comes out to Murrell’s music at Free 4 All.  

Best Cosplay/Costume:  Jeanine the Machine as Misty Knight.  Her bionic arm looked downright real.  It was an amazing outfit and I looked forward to what she will bring moving ahead.  Runners-Up:  Brianne Chandler from GLOW, Stacy Howard as Edward Scissorhands, the Bill & Ted double outfits.

Top 5 Entrances (more than just an outfit/costume)

#5.  Shirewolves as Thor and Hela.

#4.  Seibold/Heuck in black and white “summoning”

#3.  Girls Run the World, Shirewolves at Schmoedown Spectacular III

#2.  William “The Beast” Bibbiani explodes out of the chest of Mark Reilly

#1.  William “The Beast” Bibbiani with the MST3K entrance.

I never thought anything would top the Alien homage, but “The Beast” did it with an extended and really funny MST3K opening skit.

Backstage Interviews:  The Founding Fathers after loss.  There were tears everywhere, even from Jenn Sterger, as John Rocha and Dan Murrell showed their passion after a controversial defeat.  Runners-Up:  Bibbiani from the future, Shirewolves’ historic win, Josh Macuga and Jenn Sterger-Wildberries!, Bibbiani facing off with Rocha, Who’s the Boss gracious in defeat.

Best Interviewer:  Jenn Sterger.  She became the regular backstage interviewer this season and she showed why.  She was awesome with everything.  She asked the tough questions.  She engaged with the contestants.  She brought humor, wit and charisma.  Runners-Up:  Emma Fyffe, Brianne Chandler

 

 

EYG Top 30 Schmoedown Matches of the Year- SPOILERS

[Note- This post will contain SPOILERS for the recently dropped SCHMOEDOWN SPECTACULAR III.  If you have not yet watched that event, please do so before going over this list.]

The Movie Trivia Schmoedown has become one of the best shows on television and they present some astounding competitive matches throughout the year.  The brainchild of harloffandellisKristian Harloff and Mark Ellis, the Schmoedown continues to grow to new heights each year.

The matches on this list are the Top 30 matches in the opinion of EYG.  You may have other thoughts and that is perfectly fine.  I will state that I think this list was extremely challenging to compile as there were so many top notch matches presented on the Collider Video YouTube channel that narrowing it down to a Top 30 was not easy.  In fact, there may be matches that I missed that should be included.

My original list was well over 30 so I had to trim the choices down.  How this was determined was by not only how competitive a match was, but by how entertaining.  Some matches dropped down the list because of a TKO result.  Some appeared on the list because of reactions of the players.  Some are here because the match, although not technically sound or even that close, featured entertainment and laughter or amazing moments.

Honorable MentionsStacy Howard vs. Marc Andreyko vs. Jeanine the Machine triple threat, John Rocha vs. Andrew Ghai, Marc Andreyko vs. Ben Bateman, John Rocha vs. Ethan Erwin, John Rocha vs. Ben Bateman, Lon Harris vs. Ethan Erwin, Lon Harris vs. Ben Bateman, Jason Inman vs. Mara Knopic.

#30.  Clark Wolfe defeated Ben Bateman.  Great match in Ultimate Schmoedown Tourney that went down to the final question.

#29.  Drew McWeeney defeated William Bibbiani. Began with the epic “Beast through Mark Reilly’s chest” entrance. This was arguably the low point of the year for “The Beast” before he went on a huge run.

#28.  Lon Harris defeated Josh Macuga.  This was not that close of a match but made the list because of Josh Macuga’s entertaining banter and Lon’s character work.

#27.  Samm Levine defeated Rachel Cushing to retain Schmoedown Championship.  This one would have been higher on the list but the TKO result (which came because of a brilliant speed round from the champ) affected it.  Prior to the speed round, this match was going bonkers.

#26.  Ben Bateman defeated Scott Mantz.  Bateman suckered Mantz into putting the Movie Release Dates slice on the line and wound up winning it for a while and Ben had his face on the slice.

cinemaiacs#25.  Who’s the Boss defeated the Cinemaniacs.  In the Anarchy tournament, this was one of the most competitive matches and continued to feature the great humor of Matt Knost.

#24.  Emma Fyffe wins the Commissioner Bowl at the Schmoedown Spectacular III.  Emma surprised the world by defeating Kristian, Finstock and Thadd Williams to claim the commissionership.  Another remarkably entertaining match that may not have been as technically sound.

#23.  Clarke Wolfe defeated Mike Kalinowski in sudden death for #1 Contender.  Both Clarke and Kalinowski had big seasons and this early season showdown was no exception.  Featured one of the more difficult round threes of the show’s history.

#22.  Ethan Erwin defeated Clarke Wolfe in Ultimate Schmoedown finals.  It came down to one word.  Clarke had the match won but she answered her five point question Southside With You, instead of Southside With Me and lost.  One word.

#21.  The Shirewolves defeated Brianne Chandler and Bryan Bishop for team titles.  While not as close of a match, this makes the list for the reaction of Clarke and Rachel after the victory and for the historic nature of their win.

#20.  The Wildberries defeated the Reel Rejects at the first live show.  This match was very competitive and matches are always entertaining with the Wildberries.  This opening match set the tone for the night at the Schmoedown’s first live event.

#19.  Critically Acclaimed defeated Modok.  Two great teams in a great match, each dressed as Bill and Ted.  Whoa…..

#18.  2018 Free 4 All.  Brianne Chandler won the Free 4 All with amazing performances from William Bibbiani and Ethan Erwin.  The Free 4 All dropped a bit because the match did not end up as an elimination style.

#17.  Mike Kalinowski defeated Mara Knopic for the Innergeekdom championship at Schmoedown Spectacular III.  Great match that went into sudden death (how many sudden deaths did KO have this year?).  Match was marred by awkward post match interview.

#16.  Marc Andreyko defeated Ethan Erwin.  Andreyko is the only person to have defeated rookie sensation Ethan Erwin this season and the match was very strong.  Andreyko had himself a truly great 2018 in the Schmoedown.

DownGoesMurrell#15. Andrew Ghai defeated Dan Murrell.  In the biggest shock of the year, Andrew Ghai, whose heel work has been off the charts this season, knocked off the returning GOAT, Dan Murrell at the Collider Collision II.  Ghai was absolutely on fire in this match and deserved the upset win.

#14.  Mara Knopic defeated Mike Kalinowski in the Innergeekdom Tournament.  Kalinowski may have gotten the toughest 5 point question in Schmoedown history.

#13.  Team Action defeated DC Movie News.  This competitive match led to the heel turn of Kalinowski and the creation of KOrruption.

#12.  Take the Cannoli defeated the Self-Righteous Brothers.  A match from the Anarchy team tourney, this was competitive and entertaining, featuring the debut of Marc Edward Heuck.

entrance#11.  William Bibbiani defeated Marc Andreyko for the Schmoedown championship.  These two had a tremendous long awaited rematch of their debut match, and now it was for the vacated title.  That this did not make my top 10 speaks to the quality of matches in the Schmoedown in 2018.It also featured one of the best entrances of the season with William Bibbiani enlisting the aid of his Critically Acclaimed teammate Witney Seibold to do an MST3K entrance.

Image result for cody hall vs lon harris#10.  Lon Harris defeated Cody Hall.  This was supposed to be an early season throwaway match, but Cody Hall did not get that memo.  Cody took the Professor to the limit, going into sudden death before succumbing.  This perfectly encapsulates the Schmoedown’s passion of the competitors in a match that had no real stakes and kicked off season five.

#9.  Shirewolves defeated Team Action at the Live Event.  What a match this was.  Team Action played a great game, but blew a couple of answers and you cannot afford to blow answers against a team as dominant as The Shirewolves.

#8.  John Rocha defeated William Bibbiani for the Schmoedown singles championship.  A match that we wanted to see for years and it did not disappoint.  Rocha decided to stand during the match like Bibbiani has done all year since the Free 4 All.  Rocha completed his huge comeback to the title.

#7.  Top 10 defeated Top That in #1 Contender’s Match.  Maybe the best Top 10 match ever, they were on fire against the trivia might of Top That.  One of the highest scoring team matches of the year.

#6.  The Shirewolves defeated Who’s the Boss at the Schmoedown Spectacular III.  The match of the Spectacular this year saw these two teams put on a classic that came down to the final question.  The respect shown after helped to elevate the match even more.  Back and forth until the very end with maybe the best round two ever.

ff#5.  KOrruption defeated The Founding Fathers in sudden death.  Huge controversial finish in sudden death marred what was an unbelievable match.  The Founding Father’s emotional interview afterwards with Jenn Sterger was the punctuation on the powerhouse match. Chase Ellison continued to impress the other players.

#4.  Samm Levine defeated Clarke Wolfe to retain the Schmoedown Championship.  Another sudden death classic.  This match was back and forth and could have been anyone’s victory.

Image result for iron man match above the line#3.  Above the Line defeated the Patriots in an Iron Man Match.  Two of the best teams of all time going at it in a 30-minute Iron Man Match.  What more could you want?  How about the break up of the Lion’s Den in the post match interview?  Movie trivia masters on display in, perhaps, the most challenging format available.

#2.  Above the Line defeated The Patriots for the Team Championship.  Finally, the might have fallen.  The Patriots, who went 9-0 prior to this match and held the team championship for a year and a half, finally met defeat at the hands of Samm Levine and Drew McWeeney in a match that went down to the final question.

moty#1.  Mara Knopic defeated Rachel Cushing in the Innergeekdom tourney.  I have never seen anything like this.  This was another sudden death match that ran multiple questions, but it was compounded by the fact that Rachel was sick as a dog and that Mara was in pain from an auto accident the day before.  With both women distinctly under the weather, they could have rescheduled the match for a time when they both were feeling better, but they did not and they went on to put together not only the best match of this year, but one of the all-time classics in Schmoedown history.  They showed heart, passion and created the most compelling drama of any match during this season.  Both women showed the amazing competitors that they are and that they were true champions.

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The EYG Stan Lee Movie Cameo of the Year-2018

Stan Lee

It was a truly sad moment when Stan Lee passed away in November.  He was an iconic personality who had helped create a mythology of the current world.  He was an amazing person and he will be totally missed.

Now, having said that… here is the EYG Award named after the Man.  The EYG Stan Lee Cameo of the Year Award.

Previous winnersStan Lee (twice), John Cena, Chris Evans, Sigourney Weaver, Hugh Jackman.

Runners-UpBrad Pitt (Deadpool 2)– The Vanisher!  Darth Maul (Solo: A Star Wars Story)– a fun surprise in an average film.  Red Skull (Avengers: Infinity War)– the crowd gasped at the return of Red Skull in Infinity War.  This might have been the second place finsiher.  Michael C. Hall (Game Night)– Dexter arrived in Game Night.

Winner:  The three time winner…. Stan “The Man” Lee!!!!

Stan Lee was amazing in cameos this year… And he was everywhere with FIVE (count them) FIVE cameos this year!

 

Black Panther

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Avengers: Infinity War

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Ant Man & the Wasp

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Teen Titans Go to the Movies

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Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse

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The great Stan Lee becomes the three-peat winner of the EYG Stan Lee Cameo of the Year Award… and with a few more cameos in the can, filmed before he passed away, could he be awarded with number four next year as well?

Stan Lee

EYG Top 10 Steve Carell Movies

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This week’s Top 10 Show features on the Top 10 Steve Carell Movies.  The guys made this choice in honor of Welcome to Marwen, although it sounded as if they were more interested in Vice, which is released at Christmas.

I do like Steve Carell but I am not a huge fan.  There are a couple of his huge films that I am either not a fan of or have never seen.  I do not like Anchorman and I have never seen The 40-Year Old Virgin.  Neither of those appear on this list.

Because of that, there are a couple of films on here that are, at best, okay.

Image result for date night movie#10.  Date Night.  Starring in a rom-com with Tina Fey, Steve Carell was funny in this movie.  Carell and Fey elevated the typical movie material to a more watchable level. They really did have some chemistry between them.  Date Night may not be a massive film, but I did enjoy watching it.

 

 

Image result for alexander and the terrible horrible no good very bad day movie#9.  Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.  The lengthy title notwithstanding, this family comedy was fun.  When everything goes wrong at once for Alexander, it moves the bad luck over to his family as well.  Steve Carell plays the father and does a good job with it.  Alexander is a respectable film, if not a great one.

 

Image result for beautiful boy#8.  Beautiful Boy.  This is one of Steve Carell’s top dramatic performance starring as the father of Timothee Chalamet who is suffering from drug addiction.  Chalamet gives an amazing performance, and Carell’s work is under appreciated.  He plays very well off of Chalamet and he has some great charisma with Maura Tierney.  Carell’s work is heart-breaking and shows how hard it is for a parent to deal with the struggles of their children.

 

Image result for get smart movie#7.  Get Smart.  This is a fun, silly movie as Carell stars as Maxwell Smart, Agent 13.  The reboot of the classic comedy from the 1960s brought Carell face to face with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.  The end of Get Smart really elevated that movie for me.  Anne Hathaway is solid here as well as Agent 99, Maxwell Smart’s love interest and partner.  Would you believe….

 

Image result for despicable me 1#6.  Despicable Me.  The animated story of the villainous Gru who finds himself stuck with three children.  The children put a dent in the career of the ultimate evil bad guy of Gru, who has started his plan to steal the moon.  Steve Carell does a great voice job as Gru and the relationship with Gru and the girls is just tremendous.  This film kicked off two sequels, plus a film for the side characters, the Minions.

 

Image result for battle of the sexes#5.  Battle of the Sexes.  The true story of tennis legend Billie Jean King taking on the male tennis pro Bobby Riggs in a male vs. female tennis charity match that became a national sensation and the most watched televised sports event of all time.  Steve Carell portrayed Riggs, who risked his reputation in an attempt to reclaim his past glories.   Emma Stone played Billie Jean King and both of these actors do a great job here.

 

Related image#4.  Seeking a Friend for the End of the World.  This film is an underrated and clever film that featured Steve Carell as a man whose wife leaves him and he, thanks to his neighbor, goes on a quest to find the love of his life before an enormous asteroid crashes into earth and kills everybody.  The chemistry between Steve Carell and Kiera Knightley is off the charts and you are rooting for this pair to find each other the whole time.

 

Image result for foxcatcher#3.  Foxcatcher.  Steve Carell is the wealthy John du Pont, who becomes obsessed with wrestling and creates a training site for the 1988 Olympian Mark Schultz.  du Pont becomes downright psychotic and it leads to a violent end.  Carell is the best part of the movie as he is absolutely chilling as the dark and frightening millionaire.

 

Image result for the big short#2.  The Big Short.  This is a remarkably entertaining movie about a very difficult subject, the housing market that lead to the economic crash in America.  The Adam McKay directed movie is a hoot and hugely fun.  Who would have guessed that this topic would work so well as a comedy.  Carell played hedge-fund specialist Mark Baum, one of the horribly greedy men whose arrogance led to tragedy that nearly crippled the United States’s economy.  The Big Short was great.

 

Image result for the way way back#1.  The Way, Way Back.  This film was a surprise.  A coming of age story of teen Duncan (Liam James) who winds up at a water park with a job because of how much of a jerk his mother’s boyfriend (Carell) was.  Carell was mean and picked on Duncan horribly and it showed even more of the ability Carell had to become a character unlike himself.  He was never going to be stuck in the same type of role.  This was one of the first times we saw Steve Carell in a different role.  And it was great.

 

Honorary mention:  There are some other films I enjoy.  Dinner for Schmucks is one that people hate, but I found it decent. Hope Springs has Carell in a small role.  Cafe Society is a film from Woody Allen that I do not remember much, but I think I liked.  Yeah, I know that is not a rave review.  Crazy, Stupid Love is fine too.

 

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EYG WWE Matches of the Year-2018

The top 15 matches made my list, and the number of NXT matches from Takeover should tell you something about the state of the big leagues right now.

Honorable mentions:  Three matches I had to drop off to fit some others on the list.  Velveteen Dream vs. Ricochet (NXT Takeover Chicago), Daniel Bryan vs. Brock Lesnar (Survivor Series), Ricochet vs. Adam Cole for North American Championship (NXT Takeover: Brooklyn IV)

 

#15.  Seth Rollins vs. The Miz (Backlash).  Had to have a Seth Rollins match on the list. Thought about Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth, but saw that too many times.

#14.  Ronda Rousey & Kurt Angle vs. HHH and Stephanie McMahon (Wrestlemania 34).  Ronda showed that she really belonged in the spot the WWE put her in.  Bets match at Wrestlemania this year.

#13.  6-Man Ladder Match for North American Championship won by Adam Cole (NXT Takeover: New Orleans).  This was an awe-inspiring match with some of the bests in NXT.

#12.  Becky Lynch vs, Charlotte (Evolution).  Last Woman Standing.  At the all female PPV (first ever!) the WWE went all in behind the Lasskicker and had Becky Lynch, to the joy of the crowd, go over Charlotte Flair.  Thus, they set up a rivalry for years to come.

#11. War Games II (NXT Takeover: War Games II).  Featuring the Undisputed Era against Pete Dunne, Ricochet and the War Raiders.  Amazing spot fest.  Great story.

#10.  Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles (TLC).  The New Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles put together a classic at TLC yesterday which was hard hitting, had amazing storytelling and wrestling.

#9.  Johnny Gargano vs. Aleister Black.  Get ready for a run of Johnny Wrestling matches.  His big heel run started because he jumped Black.  This match was great.

#8.  Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte (Survivor Series).  This was brutal.  Charlotte went crazy at the end and savaged Ronda with a kendo stick (and had the crowd cheering her for it).  This showed how great these women are.

#7.  Tommasso Ciampa vs. Velveteen Dream.  Tommasso showed his skills even without Gargano in a match.  This was perhaps the Velveteen Dream’s best match.

#6.  Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch vs. Asuka, TLC match (TLC).  Last night’s best match saw Asuka win the Smackdown Women’s Championship in a devastatingly rough and brutal macth with ladders, chairs and tables.

#5.  Johnny Gargano vs. Tommasso Ciampa (NXT Takeover: Brooklyn IV).  Last Man Standing.  The ending knocked down the match just a tick for me, but even with this being the third time we saw these two wrestle, this was amazing.

#4.  Undisputed ERA vs. Mustache Mountain (NXT Takeover: Brooklyn IV).  A match that you never thought could wind up this high is the best tag team match of the year.

#3.  Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas (NXT Takeover: Philadelphia).  Almas has not translated his success to Smackdown yet, but this match showed that he was real.  He battled Gargano in an amazing match.

#2.  Johnny Gargano vs. Tommasso Ciampa (NXT Takeover: Chicago).  Chicago Street Fight.  Ciampa took this victory over his former partner in a brutal and amazing match.

#1.  Johnny Gargano vs. Tommasso Ciampa (NXT Takeover:  New Orleans).  Unsanctioned.  Gargano won this match and it was an emotional roller coaster.  In a year where Gargano vs. Ciampa happened three times, this one was the highlight.

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2018 in WWE

wwe

2018 was not the best year in the world of the WWE.  In fact, the shows we slipping in quality each week, but it seemed as if the WWE would rebound enough to provide top entertainment.  The consistency was a problem.  Here then is a bunch of the awards for the WWE.

Related imageWrestler of the Year:  Tommasso Ciampa.

Ciampa was a huge star in NXT this year.  His efforts in the brand were out of this world.  He finished the season as the best heel, one of the best performers and a superstar in the ring.

He has been so amazing in 2018, Tommasso drove the story all year long.  Few wrestlers have the heat that Ciampa has and he is just tremendous.  I hope they never take him off NXT because the WWE main rosters would waste this guy’s talent like so many other stars.  Runners-Up:  Johnny Gargano, A.J. Styles, Roman Reigns, Daniel Bryan, Braun Strowman, Samoa Joe

 

Related imagePerformer of the Year.  Johnny Gargano.  Johnny Wrestling’s name is all over the top 15 matches of the year list as few performers have had a better string of matches as Johnny Gargano has had.  Here is another man who should never leave NXT.  The RAW and Smackdown divisions do not deserve Gargano and they have no idea on how to use him.  In NXT, he is the best performer in all of WWE.  Runners-Up: A.J. Styles, Seth Rollins, Charlotte Flair, Ronda Rosuey, Daniel Bryan, Velveteen Dream

 

Related imageTeam of the Year:  The Bar.  Sheamus and Cesaro won the triple threat match last night at TLC and, with that, became the Team of the Year.  These two men have done an amazing job of working together and becoming more than the sum of their parts.  Cesaro is unbelievably talented and Sheamus plays off him as well as anyone.  They can create such storytelling.  Runners-Up:  The Usos, New Day, AoP, Mustache Mountain, Brey Wyatt and Matt Hardy, The B Team.

 

Image result for rousey and LynchWoman of the Year:  (TIE):  Ronda Rousey and Becky Lynch.  I could not make a choice between these two.  Ronda was on her way to this award because she has come into WWE and shown an unbelievable ability to become a wrestler.  She is a natural.  Then, Becky Lynch became “The Man” and organically made the fans embrace her like no other.  Lynch has a chance to be the next Stone Cold Steve Austin.  These two are heading for a showdown at Wrestlemania, possibly. Runners-Up:  Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, Nia Jax, Asuka, Natalya

 

Related imageCruiserweight of the Year:  Cedric Alexander.  Cedric had a great CW championship reign but the chase for the title was even more strong.  Alexander is the star in the division. Runners-Up:  Buddy Murphy, Mustafa Ali.

 

 

Image result for heymanManager of the Year: Paul Heyman.  Or I guess he is an advocate.  Paul Heyman is the greatest.  I love Heyman so much. He is given the job of promoting Brock Lesnar matches with his words because Lesnar does not get to appear that much.  And Heyman is brilliant in his work.  Runners-Up:  Drake Maverick, Paul Ellering.

 

Image result for aj stylesFace of the Year:  A.J. Styles.  He was WWE champion for a long time and he fought the good fight all year long.  Styles fought the evil Samoa Joe, the New Daniel Bryan, Shinsuke Nakamura and took plenty of shots to the family jewels.  AJ has become one of the greatest superstars in wrestling.  Runners-Up:  Seth Rollins, Johnny Gargano, Ronda Rousey, The New Day, Roman Reigns.

 

Related imageHeel of the Year:  Tommasso Ciampa.  Easy.  Ciampa might be the best heel in the world of wrestling.  He is just hated in NXT.  He is amazing to watch and you want to cheer for him, but you do not.  You want to see Ciampa get his butt kicked but he always gets away.  Ciampa is amazing.  Runners-Up:  Samoa Joe, Becky Lynch, The New Daniel Bryan, Brock Lesnar, The Miz.

 

 

Related imageBest Heel Turn:  The New Daniel Bryan.  Who saw the turn of one of the most popular stars from the last several years coming?  Not only is Bryan one of the greatest faces of the last decade, he made a triumphant return to the ring after being told that he could not do it again.  So when he kicked AJ Styles in the balls, the world gasped.  Then, he shows us how a villainous heel should be played.  Runners-Up:  Dolph Ziggler, Johnny Gargano, Dean Ambrose.

 

Image result for sasha and bayleyWorst Heel Turn:  Bayley/Sasha Banks.  The problem here was that they weren’t sure what to do. This turn started and stopped multiple times.  Plus, no one was sure exactly who turned on the other.  Who was supposed to be the heel?  It was discarded almost immediately.  Runners-Up:  Becky Lynch, Braun Strowman, The Big Show

 

Image result for ronda rouseyRookie of the Year:  Ronda Rousey.  The easiest choice on this list.  Ronda has arrived in the WWE and has exceeded all expectations.  Her mike skills were weaker when she started, but even they have been getting better.  Her in-ring ability has been shocking at how good they are.  She is the most believable performer in the WWE.

 

 

PPV of the Year:  NXT Takeover: War Games II.  Only five matches but three of them are match of the year consideration.  Runners-Up:  All of the Takeovers.

Worst PPV:  Crown Jewel.  Nuff said about this Saudi Arabian travesty.

Biggest Waste of Talent:  Bobby Roode.  He went from the NXT champion as a heel to a face on Smackdown and that was a huge mistake.  They turned him face because the crowd loved his theme song.

Best Announcer:  Mauro Ranallo.  Mama Mia!  The NXT shows are so much better because of Mauro’s calls.

Best Color Commentator:  Corey Graves.  Graves is a lot of fun and very intelligent.

Saddest Moment:  Roman Reigns.  Reigns announcing his fight with leukemia returned was one of the saddest and more real moments of the year.

Happiest Moment:  Daniel Bryan.  When Bryan came back and announced that he was cleared to wrestle again, the world celebrated.

Most Annoying:  Lio Rush.  “Lashley” “Lashley” “Lashley”-  what else could be more annoying?

Next Big Thing:  Pete Dunne.  The WWE United Kingdom Champion is a young man who has a huge future ahead of him.

Most Over:  Becky Lynch.  More popular than any WWE star right now.  Becky could not be more over than she is right now.

Breakout Star of the Year: Becky Lynch.  She is the future of the WWE.  She organically came through the fans.

2019 Future Breakout: Drew McIntyre.  I think McIntyre is a World Champion in 2019.  Mark it down.

 

Next up:  Top 15 Matches of the Year

More TV-2018

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More television…

Best Return:  Nathan Fillion.  Love the fact that Fillion is back on TV with The Rookie.  He is charming and lovable.  Runner-Up:  Alec Baldwin,

Show that fell flat:  Murphy Brown.  I was excited about this return because I always enjoyed Murphy Brown.  I watched the pilot but could not get into the show.  I did not see any other episode.  Runners-Up:  The Conners, Roseanne, Thirteen Reasons Why

Best Reality Show:  My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David LettermanThe interview show was always interesting with one guest each episode.

Most Improved Show:  Iron Fist.  Yes, this was still not great and was cancelled, but season two was considerably better than season one.

Best Animated:  Big Mouth.  Netflix’s crude animated comedy was funny and shocking all at the same time.

Gone Too Soon:  American Vandal.  I loved season two.  I feel like it really improved as a story telling show.  Why can we not get a season three?  Runners-Up:  Daredevil, Luke Cage

Best Last Night host:  Stephen Colbert.  No one has benefited professionally with Donald Trump as President as much as Stephen Colbert.  He really found his footing in this year.  Runners-Up:  Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, James Corden.

Best Musical Episode:  “Chapter 31: A Night to Remember” Riverdale.  This one caught me off guard as I did not know it was coming.  Songs were surprisingly catchy as they did Carrie: The Musical.  Runner-Up: General Hospital, The Nurse’s Ball 

Best Show I Do Not watch:  Atlanta.  Everyone raves about this one.  I like Donald Glover.  I just do not watch it.  Runners-Up:  The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, This is Us, The Good Doctor.  

Worst Return:  Roseanne.  I watched this show when it first came back and there was just something that was missing.  Then, of course, Roseanne Barr went crazy.

Worst Decision:  Netflix cancels Daredevil, American Vandal, Luke Cage, Iron Fist etc.  Of course.

Favorite Online TV Talker:  Roxy Striar.  Roxy is currently on the Collider Live Show and she is fantastic.  Her One on One with Kristian Harloff is a must see. Runners-Up:  Josh Macuga, Kristian Harloff.

I tried, but….:  Manifest.  I thought it sounded like a nice LOST type show but I was bored in episode number one so it lost that opportunity.

Biggest Drop:  Scandal.  I used to love this show but, as it ended, I just wanted it to be over.

Versus:  Joy vs. Megan.  On the View, these two polar opposites in the world of politics, when Joy and Megan go at it, it is must see TV on the View.

Best Talk Show Host:  Kristian Harloff.  Kristian has become a fantastic interviewer with his One on One show and with Collider Live.

Best TV Game Show:  Match Game.  Alec Baldwin as the host has made this a great time every week.

Justice League: Gods and Monsters (2015)

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Last week, the Top 10 Show did a show of their Top 10 Animated Superhero movies in honor of the upcoming Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse. I did my Top 10 list as well at EYG, as I do every week.  I posted it at the Top 10 Show site on Facebook and I got one specific response.  It was from Ken Lutz and he recommended Justice League: Gods and Monsters.  He called it “one of the top underrated SCAU films.”

I told him I would see if I could catch it during Christmas break.  It turned out sooner than that.

I found Justice League: Gods and Monsters on Amazon Prime and I rented a copy of it.  Ken was absolutely correct.  It was a very enjoyable take on these classic characters.

Superman turns out to be the son of General Zod and then gets raised on Earth after Krypton’s destruction by a Latino migrant family.  Batman (not Bruce Wayne, by the way- instead Dr. Kirk Langstrom who in DC proper turned into Man-Bat) is a living vampire (who reminded me a lot of Morbius from Marvel) and Wonder Woman (who is not Diana) turns out to be the Jack Kirby created character Bekka from the Fourth World.

Interestingly enough, we never find out word one on Diana or Bruce Wayne in this alternate dimension.

Well-connected scientists (all known characters from the DC Universe) are beginning to be murdered, and the Justice League is being framed for it.  The Justice League is a much more brutal, violent group, who step over the line and kill enemies without remorse so it does not take a giant leap for people to believe that they have finally gone rogue.

The trio must discover who is behind the murders of the scientists before the US government comes for them.

I am not a huge fan of Elseworlds type tales, but this is very well done.  If you get past the fact that these heroes are nothing like what you know of them, there is a solid story with a well-done reveal at the end. It was fun hearing certain names (Ray Palmer, Silas Stone) and knowing their connection to the DC Comics Universe and seeing how they are in this dimension.

I wish some of these DC animated movies would be able to receive a bigger budget so they could have better animation (which here is the typical, DC cartoon animation) because the stories here rival anything DC does.  This is better than most of the live action DC films and something like this could be a huge hit as an animated feature.  Perhaps the success of Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse will open some doors for this type of film receiving more backing at WB.

I don’t know if this would have cracked the top 10 list I put together last week (maybe), but it would certainly have been mentioned in the honorable mentions if it wasn’t.  Gods and Monsters was a fun ride and have some different adaptations of these icons.

Thanks for the recommendation, Ken.

funtime

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National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

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I received National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation at my work Christmas party in a white elephant gift exchange (which I had no idea what it was) so I figured it was time for me to finally watch it.

I have never been a fan of the Vacation movies.  Chevy Chase is fine, but honestly, I don’t like this kind of comedy.  The lead character who is oblivious to the idiocy that he causes or that is around him…that never appealed to me.  Plus, how is Clark Griswold not in intensive care after everything that happened to him.

Christmas Vacation is a cartoon comedy where everything that can go wrong with a family Christmas is only the starting point.  I did not find a lot of this funny.  Slapstick shtick has its moments, but this felt too pushed.

To be fair though, I have to say that there were some times when the movie showed some real heart.  I especially enjoyed Chevy Chase sitting down with his Cousin Eddie’s (Randy Quaid) daughter for a talk about Santa Claus.  That was a sweet moment and the film could have used more of that.

I know people love this movie and it is at the top of most people’s Christmas movie lists, but it is so over the top for me that I am just not a fan.

overrated

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Miles Morales: Spider-Man#1

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Miles Morales: Spider-Man#1

Writer:  Saladin Ahmed

Artist:  Javier Garron

Cover Art:  Brian Stelfreeze

With the release of Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse this weekend, Marvel Comics took the opportunity to release the first ever Brian Michael Bendis written Miles Morales series.  Miles Morales: Spider-Man#1 is that series.

Miles Morales has become quite a big deal in the Marvel Universe and this series looks to be a great re-start for the character.

The story is pulled out of today’s headlines and has Miles in an unexpected team-up with someone you would not expect.  I found it fascinating and I am excited to see where they take it from here.

Of course, lots of people online may not be a fan of Miles and the comic having a polticial tinge, but I think this story will be very important.

ReadIt

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Vox Lux

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There were parts of Vox Lux that were downright haunting.

Then there were parts of Vox Lux that were just there.

After surviving a devastating school shooting, Celeste (first played by Raffey Cassidy and then by Natalie Portman) is discovered when she sings at the funeral.  The Manager (Jude Law) pushes her in the direction to become a huge pop star.  We then see how this woman devolves from the innocent youth to an embittered middle aged pop star.

This film was all over the place.  I was extremely compelled by the opening scenes involving young Celeste.  To say that the scenes of the school shooting was not frightening would be a lie.  However, I do not think the film brought together the extremely powerful scenes into a common narrative.

Unless that narrative is that Celeste is a bad person who has been affected by her past.  As she gets older, we see this young girl lose her innocence (which I supposed one could argue happened at the school shooting) and slip into bad behavior,both with drugs and with sex, and destructive tendencies in relationship with her sister (Stacy Martin) and her daughter (also played by Raffey Cassidy).

The end of the film, without spoiling it, felt like it came out of nowhere.  The people in my theater sat and waited for the credits to finish because it seemed like something was missing.  There was certainly no wrap up of the film.

There were parts of the movie where I thought we were going to get a deep psychological study of the results of survivor’s guilt or how trauma affects the life of young people, but that all felt unimportant in the overall story.

Natalie Portman was good in the role, but I thought Raffey Cassidy was much better as Celeste.

This felt like two completely different movies.  The first part was haunting, but the second half felt like most party-hardy musician story you’ve ever seen. That is until the ending just jumps up at you.

3 stars

Mortal Engines

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Did not like this one much at all.

To be fair, Mortal Engines, which I had dubbed the “London-on-wheels” movie, looks tremendous.  The visuals and the CGI of this film is top notch.

That is where the positives end.

Mortal Engines is the story that sees cities on wheels rolling around the countryside “consuming” other smaller towns and a group of heroes look to help stop a conspiracy led by the one note villain Thaddeus Valentine (Hugo Weaving).

Our main heroine is Hester Shaw (Hera Hilmar) whose mother was killed by Valentine when Hester was a young girl.  She tries to gain revenge on Valentine but fails and she then escapes with Tom Natsworthy (Robert Sheehan).

I was unbelievably bored through most of this movie.  The beginning 10 minutes or so had some promise, but the remaining time of the film was just so dull and lifeless that there was not reason for it.  I had zero care about any of the characters so I anything that might have happened to them did not effect me in even a little bit.

Oh, and, despite what the trailers may want you to believe, Peter Jackson is only one of several writers and one of several producers on the project.  The promo material makes it sound as if it was straight from the mind of Peter Jackson and that is stretching the truth considerably.

Mortal Engines was boring and I did not like much about it.  It did look great though.  I have nothing more to say.

1.5 stars

Aquaman

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I was really rooting for Aquaman to be a good movie. I got a chance to see it early as part of Amazon Prime’s special offer of an early screening a week prior to the official release.  That was great.  As for the movie….

It’s okay.

I found Aquaman, the latest DC Comics movie, to be a mixed bag.  In the places where I thought the film was good, I thought the film was REALLY good.  When I thought the movie was bad, I thought it was cringeable.

The under sea kingdom of Atlantis is beginning to make waves about launching an assault on the surface world.  Orm (Patrick Wilson) is pushing for the title of Oceanmaster over the Atlanteans but Mera (Amber Heard) has other thoughts.  She goes and recruits Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and tries to get him to come and claim his birthright as the King of Atlantis.  Aquaman does not believe himself worthy.

So, mixed bag, right?  So let’s do a point-counterpoint type review.  The visuals of the undersea nation and animals was beautifully rendered.  A DC movie with bright colors?  I watched several scenes in the film where it was like a beautiful artistic design.  Most of the underwater scenes worked very well visually.

However, there were also several moments in the film where the CGI was terrible.  The Nicole Kidman fight scene at the very beginning of the movie is one example.  The people looked very rubbery, as if they were not real people being thrown around.  I hated the designs of the white armored Atlantean flunkies.  They made me think too much about Stormtroopers.

Jason Momoa was great as Arthur Curry, aka Aquaman.  I liked him here considerably more than I did with him in Justice League.  Amber Heard was good as Mera too and there was a strong cast including Willem Defoe, Dolph Lundgren, Nicole Kidman and Temuera Morrison.

Unfortunately, I was less impressed with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who played Black Manta.  I found him to be overacting big time in the early scenes on board the submarine.  His performance took me out of the movie during that time.  I am not sure I felt the overall chemistry between Momoa and Heard.  Separately, they were very good, but together it was iffy.

There were some great action scenes. My personal favorite was the scene in Italy with Black Manta chasing Arthur and Mera.  I thought that was well developed and intensely carried out.

The problem was there was too much action.  Because there were too many action scenes, the film felt too long.  A friend of mine said that maybe they should have cut out the Black Manta stuff and saved it for the sequel, and, in retrospect, even though I loved those scenes, that might have helped the film out.

The film has some fun moments and it is very silly at times. You see this with Aquaman himself as he embraces his role of big blockhead.

Unfortunately, there are too many tones in the film and they shift, sometimes, within the scenes.  Much of the humor did not land in Aquaman.

I do not know why DC movies insist on third act CGI fights with red backgrounds.  I swear that they are in every DC movie since Man of Steel.  I was hoping that we would not have the red since we were under water here, but the lava showed up just in time for a big fight between Aquaman and the monstrous creatures.

However, at least the red backdrop was kept at a minimum in the third act and did not show itself in the final battle with Oceanmaster.

Another major gripe is about the trailers.  Why did we need to see Aquaman in his orange outfit in the trailers and the promotional materials prior to this movie?  When he gains the outfit and the trident is a huge part of the movie and, if I did not already know that he was coming out dressed in his orange outfit, that moment might have been a classic moment, maybe even a cheer out loud moment, but the movie itself spoiled that for me.  Did seeing Aquaman in the orange outfit put anybody extra in the seats?  If not, then they wasted what could have been a brilliant moment.

Amber Heard’s red wig distracted me all the way through the movie.  I don’t have a counterpoint for that one.  The wig just was bad.  Nitpicky? sure.

As I said, Aquaman was a mixed bag for me, but I do think that what they did well out weighed what was done poorly.  This is a step in the right direction for DC movies because they allowed the audience to have some fun and to look at the movie with a marvel.  Aquaman does spectacular well, but the small scenes were lacking… or were punctuated with an explosion (and there were a ton of explosions).

3.35 stars

 

TV 2018 Best Supporting Actors and Actresses

Best Supporting Actor

Network

Runners-UpDonal Logue (Gotham), Robin Taylor (Gotham), George Newbern (Scandal), Kai Penn (Designated Survivor), Jeff Perry (Scandal)

WinnerIain De Caestecker (Agents of SHIELD)

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Iain got to play the whole range of emotions during the year.

 

Streaming

Runners-UpWilson Bethel (Daredevil), Jackie Earle Haley (The Tick), Chris Lowell (GLOW), Nathan Fillion (Santa Clarita Diet), Bill Skarsgard (Castle Rock)

WinnerVincent D’Onofrio (Daredevil)

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D’Onofrio is one of the best Marvel villains in any film/TV project.

 

Cable

Runners-UpRoy Santiago (Ash vs. Evil Dead), Lee Majors (Ash vs. Evil Dead), Rhenzy Feliz (Runaways), Chandler Riggs (Walking Dead)

WinnerJ.D. Evermore (Cloak & Dagger)

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One of the biggest jerks on Cloak & Dagger

 

Best Supporting Actress

Network

Runners-UpMorena Baccaria (Gotham), Elizabeth Henstridge (Agents of SHIELD), Madelaine Petsch (Riverdale)

Winner:  Cicely Tyson (How to Get Away with Murder)

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Powerful performance as Viola Davis’s mother.

 

Streaming

Runners-UpLiv Hewson (Santa Clarita Diet), Sissy Spacek (Castle Rock), Kia Stevens (GLOW), Simone Missick (Luke Cage)

Winner:  Alfre Woodard (Luke Cage).

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Black Mariah is so bad ass in Luke Cage

 

Cable

Runners-Up:  Lyrica Okamo (Runaways), Ariela Barer (Runaways)

WinnerLucy Lawless (Ash vs. Evil Dead)

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Back being bad.