Author Archives: Doc

The Lost Bus

Posted on by

*Deep breath*

Apple TV + has had some great movies over the last few years, but I am not sure there has been one that was more intense or dramatic as the new Matthew McConaughey film, The Lost Bus.

The Lost Bus was based on the 2021 non-fiction novel, Paradise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire by Lizzie Johnson. It chronicled the story of a bus driver and a bus load of kids who were trying to survive the 2018 Camp Fire, one of the deadliest and destructive wildfire in the history of California.

The film was unbelievable. The tension and horrifying moments throughout the film was breathtaking. There were stretches of the film where I would not breath because I was so invested.

I do not know how they filmed this because it sure felt as if this bus was traveling through a real fire. The special effects are utterly astounding and created amazing suspense.

This bus faced so many obstacles, I had to keep convincing myself that they would not make this movie if the ending was tragic, but I wondered how it was going to be possible for them to make it out. The final scene with the bus driving through the flames was as nerve-shaking as you are ever going to see.

Admittedly, the characters were not that deep. Outside of McConaughey’s Kevin McKay, there were not very many three dimensional characters. America Ferrera’s school teacher Mary Ludwig got some moments of character development and Ferrera brought a powerhouse performance with what she had. Both McConaughey and Ferrera were excellent with the action roles. I should also shout out to the kids on the bus, who did a great job of seeming traumatized.

The secondary story of Chief Martinez (Yul Vasquez) was nowhere near as personal or powerful as the tale of the bus, and most of the times they cut to him and the other firefighters felt like a break in the anxiety, even though Vasquez does bring a lot to the role.

Fun fact: In the movie, Kevin’s mother Sherry was played by Matthew McConaughey’s real life mother Kay, and Kevin’s son, Shaun, was played by his real life son, Levi.

The Lost Bus was an adrenaline-fueled, action-packed tale of survival and heroism that looked epic and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I was squirming around and talking to the screen, gasping at some of the frightening things that were on display. This was an outstanding movie experience that would have been even better on the big screen.

4.6 stars

The Devil on Trial (2023)

Posted on by

2 of The October 13

A first for the October 13, a documentary.

Netflix’s documentary The Devil on Trial featured the supposed demonic possession of 11-year old David Glatzel. This was a case taken up by Ed and Lorraine Warren. During the exorcism, Arne Cheyenne Johnson reportedly challenged the demon, which everyone took as a bad thing.

Then, Arne Cheyenne Johnson killed his friend with a knife, and his trial was the famous “The Devil Made Me Do It” case. The judge would not allow that defense, but the doc presented that case.

I will say though that this doc was very balanced, because one of David’s brothers, Carl, provided an other side of the story. He came out and told a story about his father coming into the room, slapping David after he had been cursing at his mother, and David went and sat down. His manner of telling the events was definitely calm and convincing.

He also mentioned the belief that their mother was giving her kids and husband Sominex in their food. Again, he was very believable in the way he presented the details.

The doc presented both sides of the Warrens. The side where they have helped a lot of people and another side where they were in it to make money. I like the Warrens, but you have to wonder about their motives.

I did enjoy the doc, especially since it did not push one side or the other.

Daily Countdown: TV Shows #67

Posted on by

#67

Moon Knight

Oscar Isaac starred in this six-episode Marvel Studios show on Disney +.

I’m going to be honest here. Moon Knight receives way more hate than it deserves. I will admit that the finale may not have been as great as it could have been, but it wasn’t bad either, and the fifth episode of the series is, perhaps, one of the best episodes of TV Marvel Studios ever produced (definitely in the top 10 episodes from the studio so far).

The design of the Moon Knight costume is amazing and the use of Mr. Knight as the form of Moon Knight when Steven was in control is genius.

Oscar Isaac provided a brilliant performance as Marc Specter and his multiple personalities. I will say that I think Ethan Hawke’s Arthur Harrow was not the best antagonist available, but Hawke surely gives it his all.

I don’t know if we will ever get any more Moon Knight in the MCU, but, for one, would be down for that. Oscar Isaac was epic in the role and I do believe that there are stories to be told with Marc, Steven, Jake and the rest of the crew.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #37

Posted on by

Spoilers

“Full Circle”

Our fifth series for the Sunday Morning Sidewalk ended today with the tenth and final episode of HBO’s Lovecraft Country.

I wonder what H.P. Lovecraft would have thought about this series?

I did not see the ending of this show coming. I was very surprised with the death of Atticus in that ceremony, and the victory at the end, bonding Christina from using magic… and all white people… was a cool end.

I especially liked the use of Ji-ah in the finale. I have been wondering the purpose of this character for much of the series and to have that pay off in such a meaningful way makes me feel positive.

Of course, we had the best scene of the series in this episode too. Atticus, Leti, Montrose, Ji-ah, Hippolyta, and Diana were in the car, driving to Ardham, when the song “Sh-Boom” comes on the radio. Diana starts to sing along with the song and, before too long, the entire carload was joining in. It was my favorite moment of the series, giving us a flash of innocence and joy before the final spell.

Couple of things: Ruby’s death off-screen was a bit of a waste, I think, just for the surprise twist of Christina being one step ahead. Then, I am not sure how I feel about Diana crushing Christina’s throat with her bionic arm at the very end.

There felt to be a bunch of dangling threads or things that happened over the course of the show that felt insignificant. Why did Hippolyta have to go on her adventure through time?

Lovecraft Country, for me, was very up and down. Some weeks the show was tremendous, but I do think it lacked a comprehensive vision of what story they wanted to tell. It had some real highs and some lows too, all capsulized in this final epsiode.

Next week, in honor of the month of Halloween, we start the sixth series in the Sunday Morning Sidewalk. It will be Netflix’s series, The Haunting of Hill House.

Gen V S2 E5

Posted on by

Spoilers

“The Kids Are Not All Right”

Another rough Gen V episode as Marie, Emma, and Jordan went to try and break Cate out of Elmira after she was being punished for the plan from last episode. Their attempt was not successful, but they found more than they anticipated.

Annabeth. Marie’s missing sister.

Annabeth is a pawn for Cipher, and he is trying to turn Marie into the “salvation,” as he said. During their escape, Marie found Annabeth in a pool of blood, and she was able to use her powers to bring her back. That was a stunning moment and we’ll have to see where this goes from there.

Sister Sage made her appearance here, in a shocking flashback. She showed up with Cipher and they had sex in front of his burnt up father. What is Sister Sage’s plans and how will these affect the final season of the Boys. Is she going to be in Gen V season two more?

We get some good scenes with Sam and his parents. We discover that Sam’s mental illness predated the Compound V.

Cipher is a shockingly evil character that has some dark secret waiting for us. When he plunged that knife into his own hand in front of Andre’s dad, it was an unbelievable moment. He is absolutely someone I want to see come down.

One Battle After Another

Posted on by

It seemed as though everyone and their mother have been raving about the new film from Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another. I saw it today and I may have a differing opinion.

According to IMDB, “When their evil enemy resurfaces after 16 years, a group of ex-revolutionaries reunite to rescue one of their own’s daughter.” This is not the best synopsis that I have ever heard, because this is only somewhat accurate for the storyline.

Leonardo DiCaprio played Bob, the former revolutionary who met up with Perfidia (Teyana Taylor), a fellow revolutionary, and they made a powerful pair. However, when Perfidia got pregnant, it was not sure what was going to happen. She, in fact, left Bob and her daughter to continue her lifestyle of wildness.

Flash forward several years, Bob has become an alcoholic and an ample drug user, but when danger came once again, he had to spring back into action to protect his daughter, Willa (Chase Infiniti).

Col. Stephen J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn) had returned from their past to once again pursue Bob and, specifically, Willa.

Sean Penn was absolutely unhinged in this film, and DiCaprio played the bumbling former revolutionary very well. They were the best part of this movie.

I have to say, I did not like the first half or so of this movie. I found it dull and downright disappointing. It is a long movie, so I was looking at my phone to see the time, hoping it would be over sooner than what the time said.

However, the film’s final part picked up and piqued my interest more, saving the film for me. I found that last hour or so much more compelling than the first part.

The performances were all solid. Some of the action was good too. It just felt as if the film spent too much time getting going before it finally grabbed my attention.

3.1 stars

Daily Countdown: TV Shows #68

Posted on by

#68

MacGyver

Who knew what you could do with some duct tape, a Swiss army knife and some paper clips?

Richard Dean Anderson starred as MacGyver, the action hero who did not use guns, but who preferred science and his amazing intelligence to deal with any situation he found himself stuck in.

MacGyverisms became a fan favorite term for MacGyver’s ability to create something from nothing. Every week, he would find the most unexpected way to work his way out of trouble.

The original series ran from 1985-1992. There was a new version of the show, but I never watched it. To me, there could never be another MacGyver than Richard Dean Anderson.

It has been such a cultural icon that even the term “MacGyver” made it into the Oxford online dictionary as a verb meaning “make or repair (an object) in an improvised or inventive way, making use of whatever items are at hand.”

Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl

Posted on by

I was not sure if I was going to go to this. This was a limited release film coinciding with the release of Taylor Swift’s new record, “The Life of A Showgirl.” I would not be considered a “Swifty” by any stretch of the imagination, but I did go to the ERAs Tour film and I enjoyed it well. It worked into the schedule tonight so I wound up in Cinemark with a ton of teenage girls and a few other adults to see this film.

It is not really a film. It is also not really a concert film. It showed us the brand new video for the song “The Fate of Ophelia,” all of the lyric vids of the other 11 songs, and several behind the scenes shots of Taylor in the prep for the video, both with rehearsing and discussion of the creative.

Taylor Swift was the director of the video as well so she was shown to be the definitive creative force behind it. There were times when it seemed that she would speak and everyone else would just agree with her. I would have liked to see someone make a comment that wasn’t just “Oh how awesome you are.”

As a middle school literacy teacher, I did love the fact that she made a comment about a metaphor, followed by a comment on alliteration and then mentioned imagery. I hope the kids in the theater heard those terms.

As for the music, it was a bit of a mixed bag. It was clear that “The Fate of Ophelia” was the best song on the album. They showed us that video at the beginning of the movie and at the end. It was definitely my personal favorite as well.

I did notice that Taylor Swift’s songs on this album had a tendency to be repetitive, in one specific manner. She seemed as if she ended every song in the exact same way. The music slowed or stopped and she repeated one line that she had sung during the song, as if she were really emphasizing it. It was fine, but I did notice it so I would have liked maybe some variety in the end of the songs.

The songs that I did enjoy included “Elizabeth Taylor,” “Actually Romantic,” “Wood,” “Opalite,” and “Cancelled.” There were two songs that I did not like at all. They were “Father Figure” and “Wi$h Li$t.” “The Eldest Daughter,” “Ruin the Friendship,” and “Honey” were good. The album’s title track, “The Life of a Showgirl” was underwhelming, but not at the level of “Father ZFigure” or “Wi$h Li$t.”

The experience in the theater was as much a reason to go to this as anything else. It was fun with the audience cheering and applauding throughout the film. No one sang along in my theater, but it was fun to be part of the mass.

Overall, this was not much of a film, but it was a solid experience and I was happy to have chosen to see it. “The Fate of Ophelia” is easily the hit of this album and was the most important of the songs with this movie.

3.6 stars

Daily Countdown: TV Shows #69

Posted on by

#69

The Jinx

 “What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course.”

With those words, the HBO true crime documentary went from being a fascinating story of a man and his narcissim to an absolute epic show.

The Jinx, which added a sequel recently, is the story of Robert Durst, an eccentric New York businessman who was believed to have murdered his wife. Durst spoke his story, in his own words, throughout the six first season episodes. Andrew Jarecki was the driving force behind the doc and had built a relationship with Durst through interviews.

The final episode of the first season had Jarecki confronting Durst with evidence that they had uncovered that pointed directly at him. Durst and Jarecki ended the interview and Durst went into the bathroom. While in there, he did not realize that the microphone was still on his person and he uttered the infamous words that implicated him.

The sequel season followed the arrest and subsequent trial of Robert Durst. There is no denying thta this case had so many bizarre twists as we learned more about the odd behavior of Robert Durst.

Those final words from Durst’s own mouth were chilling. It was as close to a confession as you are ever going to get in a documentary. It made for amazing TV.

Peacemaker S2 E7

Posted on by

Spoilers

“Like a Keith in the Night”

The penultimate episode of season 2 of Peacemaker was amazing!

Wow, what a great episode. There was so much emotion and drama.

Major points:

  • White Dragon was not a racist! What? Then, Vigilante killed him in front of Chris. Hearing Auggie Smith talking so calmly and fairly, even after hearing the details of his own son’s death was unexpected.
  • Keith getting pummeled by the whole group.
  • Chris’s cry of anguish as his friends were trying to stop Keith was heartbreaking. I’m worried about Chris and his mental health.
  • Ads and Jusomaster playing Earth X brand of Scrabble (Scrobble) was a hoot. Watching Judomaster murder the mob of people who were pursuing Ads in the swimming pool … well, that was a little uncomfortable. I guess they were all Nazis.
  • Economics may have been the heart of the show early on but… he ain’t any more. He has not done well in Earth X.
  • With Harcourt preparing to shoot Keith in the head, but failing, I expect Keith back in the finale.
  • Peacemaker surrendered the dimensional portal to Rick Flagg Sr. While protecting his friends. Chris is arrested and taken away. Ads stopping Vigilante from doing anything to stop it showed her leadership.

Next week is the finale. I can’t wait. It has been a tremendous season and I can’t express how much John Cena has kicked ass in this role. That emotional outburst over Keith’s injured body was something I never thought he was capable of doing. This has been an exceptional season.

Final Destination (2000)

Posted on by

1 of The October 13

The first film of The October 13 for 2025 is the first Final Destination, a movie that I had never had any interest in seeing until this past year. That was when I went to see Final Destination: Bloodlines, which was just fabulous. So I figured that I could give the first film of this franchise, which has always had good word of mouth, a chance during The October 13.

I am so glad that I watched this movie, because it was just exceptional.

According to IMDB, “After getting a premonition about a plane crash on his school trip, Alex, a student, saves a few of his classmates. However, their situation gets complicated when death starts chasing them.”

The cast included Devon Sawa, Ali Larter, Kerr Smith, Kristen Cloke, Sean William Scott, Tony Todd, Daniel Roebuck, Roger Guenveur Smith, Chad Donella, and Amanda Detmer.

The film does not dive too deeply into any of the characters as they are basically fodder for death, but part of the fun is to see what is going to happen to them next. I was rooting for Devon Sawa as Alex, as he desperately tried to help the others avoid their fate.

The deaths are over-the-top for sure, but that is part of the charm of these movies. I do think Final Destination: Bloodlines is the better film, but I really did enjoy this movie.

EYG Favorite Comic Covers of the Week

Posted on by

October 10

Big week this week. We have a tie for the Bronze Medal this week because I just could not narrow it down to three. In fact, there are a bunch of the also-rans that could easily have placed in the medal round.

Also-Rans: Cheetah & Cheshire Rob the Justice League #3, Batman #2 (Foil Variant), Starship Godzilla #1 (Star Wars homage variant), White Tiger Reborn #1, X-Men: The Undertow #1 (B Cover variant), Spirits of Violence #1 (C Cover Variant), and Spider-Man Noir #1.

Bronze Medalist (TIE)

The Last Day of H.P. Lovecraft #1

Cover art by Jakub Rebelka

This cover really creates a wonderful mood of this book, featuring one of the great horror, sci-fi, fantasy writers of our time. The red and black background makes this stand out.

Bronze Medalist (TIE)

TexArcanum #3

Cover art by Miguel Martos

I love this beautiful cover of the giant dragon beneath the water, a boat on the surface. The green tint across the cover truly makes this an impressive cover and it builds a curiosity of what is inside.

Pinupocalypse #6

Variant Cover B

Cover art by Andrew Tarusov

The final issue of this surprisingly epic series is a fantastic homage cover to the classic movie, The Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. This gives that place of honor to Foxy. What a wonderful cover, perfect for this series’ tone.

Gold Medalist

Poison Ivy #37

Pumpkin Spicy Variant Cover

Cover Art by Nathan Szerdy

Todd told me about these Pumpkin Spicy DC books, and I specifically looked for this issue. I do not collect Poison Ivy, but look at it. I mean, was an absolutely gorgeous cover.

Daily Countdown: TV Shows #70

Posted on by

#70

Match Game

Another childhood fav is the “game show” where yu tried to match your favorite “celebrities” with answers that start off “Dumb Dora was so dumb….”

HOW DUMB WAS SHE???

Ah, good times.

The Match Game was a show that survived way longer than one would guess. Hosted by EYG Hall of Famer Gene Rayburn, The Match Game lasted for years in the 1970s to the 1980s. It has returned to TV several times, formerly with Alec Baldwin, and, most recently, with Martin Short as hosts.

The celebrities had rotating appearances. In the first iteration of the show, the regular celebrities included Charles Nelson Reilly, Brett Somers, and Richard Dawson. The other slots were filled regularly by Betty White, Gary Burghoff, Nipsy Russell, Fannie Flagg, Jack Klugman, Bert Convey, Tom Poston, Ava Gabor, Bill Daily, Joyce Bulifant, Marcia Wallace, Patti Deutsch, and Avery Schreiber.

There were times when the show went off the rails and those moments were gold. Richard Dawson staging a giant riot over the rejection of an answer, Brett and Charles’ constant bickering and interactions, Betty White and then McLean Stevenson taking over hosting duties midway through the show, to many more.

While this was dumb, there is no denying that it was funny. The cast always had great chemistry with each other and Gene, and it was cleverer than you think. Admittedly, if you answered BOOB, then you had a pretty good chance of matching.

BLANK