Author Archives: Doc

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #36

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Spoilers

“Rewind 1921”

After a short respite on a Friday morning last week, we are back on Sunday morning, BABY!

I went to SiouxperCon last week in South Dakota, which meant that I had to miss a Sunday morning. Instead, I did the Sunday Morning Sidewalk #35 on a Friday morning.

Back on Sunday, I watched the penultimate episode of Lovecraft Country, “Rewind 1921.”

Time travel is always tough, but this trip back to the Tulsa race massacre of 1921 was impeccably done. It brought us back around to a scene from the first episode that featured Jackie Robinson and made it make sense with what our current story is.

Atticus, Leti and Montrose travel through the portal to 1921, thanks to the returning Hippolyta, in search of the Book of Names, in order to save Diana. What they find is horror and loss in a brutal manner as the Tulsa race massacre was in full nightmare.

Montrose, especially, had to go through his own personal anguish, as they witnessed his father beating him with a switch. Montrose went to see the death of a boy that he had had feelings for and, all the while, Montrose knew that he could not do anything to change what happened.

To find out that it was Atticus all along who showed up and saved Montrose and George (aka Jackie Robinson) was one of those wild time travel things that brings everything full circle.

It was an emotional, powerful, painful episode looking back at how these characters were affected by this tragic event in American history.

Leti went through it as well, as she found the Book of Names as the house burned down around her, including Dora’s grandmother, who had given her the book just before horrifically burning to death in front of her.

The episode ended with our heroes clearly affected, but back in their own timeline.

I have a feeling that next week’s finale is not going to provide the satisfactory conclusion I hope as I had heard the show left off on a cliffhanger and it has never been renewed. I hope it is a cliffhanger that is designed to create something new and not one to continue this story moving forward.

Unknown Number: The High School Catfish

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I was watching the Kristian Harloff show over a week ago and Roxy Striar, one of my favorite pundits on the show, was giving her TV picks. She mentioned the documentary Unknown Number: The High School Catfish. It was on Netflix and she spoke about how amazing the story of the doc was. I put it on my queue, but was having trouble finding the time to watch it.

I found the time today, and it was shocking and troubling. One of the more compelling docs I have seen in a long time.

According to IMDB, “A teen girl and her boyfriend face persistent harassment from an unknown caller. Police investigating the months of torment discover a revelation that upends their initial assumptions.”

I am not going to spoil the story of this, but I just want to say that it was unbelievable, watching the young girl receive these horrific text messages from an unknown stalker that helped ruin her life, as well as the life of her boyfriend and some of her classmates.

This doc does a fantastic job of setting up the story and follow the investigation of what happened. I was impressed with the doc because this one actually had a lot of resolution to the story, which some of these docs do not have.

This was about 90 minutes and it is an extremely engaging story. I am glad that I finally got around to it.

4.5 stars

Him

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The other movie I missed last weekend because of my trip to SiouxperCon was Him. Unfortunately, this was another film that I would not have minded missing.

According to IMDB, “A young athlete descends into a world of terror when he’s invited to train with a legendary champion whose charisma curdles into something darker.“

Starting off, despite what the trailers and promotional materials want you to believe, this film is not directed by Jordon Peele. Jordan Peele’s name is all over the promotional materials. He was a producer on the film, but with the use of his name, it made you feel that he was much more involved than he was. The film was directed by Justin Tipping.

The performances from Marlon Wayans and Tyriq Withers were top notch. Wayans, in particular, does a sensational job in his role.

The film does look great. The cinematography was very well done.

After that, there was not much positive about this film.

The story of this film was basically non-existent. The story during the first two acts of the film was dull and lacked any kind of real narrative that was worth the time. The story was confusing and messy, trying to be a mysterious tale. In the third act, the film suddenly becomes the exposition dump as the film dropped everything that was happening, telling us the situation. It also provided a rapid conclusion that was rushed and felt out of place.

Oh, and some of the visuals were laughable. There were several x-ray shots and every one of them was just ridiculous.

Honestly, I found this movie to be one of the worst of the year.

1 star

A Big Bold Beautiful Journey

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I missed the movies last weekend because I went to SiouxperCon last week and was unable to see the movies. I was looking forward to A Big Bold Beautiful Journey. Sadly, with the two movies from last week, I did not miss much.

According to IMDB, “In this tale, David heads to a wedding in his old car with a unique GPS. He meets Sarah, and together, they embark on a journey suggested by the GPS. Along the way, they confront their pasts and explore painted landscapes, leading to a deeper connection. As they contemplate their future, they face a crucial decision about their relationship.”

The biggest problem with this movie is that I felt like I had seen so much of the film from the trailers that the rest of the film felt lesser. Most of the most interesting pieces of the film was stuff that I had seen. That is a major problem for a film like this.

I am not sure that I feel much for the relationship between Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie. These characters just did not do it for me much. I liked the individual actors a lot and I think their characters were interesting, but it did not feel like they had this great connection that the movie wanted it to be.

I did like how these strange doors that they keep going through led to individual characters bits, because the individual characters are more interesting than they are together.

There are some good moments in the movie. I was not offended while watching it. Maybe a little bord, but not offended. I could see this as a lazy afternoon watch, playing in the background. It is not a film that I should have been upset about missing.

2.8 stars

Daily Countdown: TV Show #75

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#75

American Horror Story

This is a very interesting spot on the list for this show.

American Horror Story has 12 seasons. It is an anthology show that changes characters every season. Ryan Murphy is the creator of the series that has a regular list of performers who play someone new every season.

The problem with AHS is that, while some of the seasons were so fantastic and should be higher up this list, but there are too many seasons that are average to downright bad that it limited the shows ranking on my list.

I absolutely LOVED Murder House (season 1), Asylum (season two), Freak Show (season 4), and Roanoke (season 6). I hated Delicate (season 12). The remainder of the seasons fall somewhere between these. Many of the others are fine to blah.

Some of the top repeated actors include Jessica Lange, Evan Peters, Denis O’Hare, Zachary Quinto, Sarah Paulson, Lily Rabe, Frances Conroy, Kathy Bates, Emma Roberts, and Angela Bassett.

I could have seen a world that if this list was made after season 4, AHS would be way up this list, probably top 20, maybe even higher. However, the rest of the seasons place it at #75.

EYG 2025: The October 13

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It is almost that time again. Every October, EYG creates a list of thirteen horror/thriller movies that we have not yet seen. This list is the October 13! I watch and review these thirteen Halloween-type movies over the month of October.

The biggest movie on the list this year is the original Final Destination, which may be the first film watched.

This will be the running list of the films that are part of 2025’s The October 13.

The October 13

  1. Final Destination (2000)

2. The Devil on Trial (2023)

3. Dangerous Animals (2025)

4. House on Haunted Hill (1999)

5. Scare Me (2020)

6. The Devil’s Candy (2015)

7. Strange Frequencies: Taiwan Killer Hospital (2024)

8. Terrifier (2016)

9. Hell House LLC II: The Abaddon Hotel (2018)

10. Isle of the Dead (1945)

11. Vampyr (1932)

12. The Uninspired (2009)

13. Terrifier 2 (2022)

Daily Countdown: TV Shows #76

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#76

The Penguin

HBO Max had a mini-series last year featuring a character that was “intorduced” in the big screen movie, The Batman. That was Penguin.

However, unlike the Batman Forever Penguin, who was played by Danny Devito, this version of the Penguin is played by Colin Farrell. When you think about the Penguin physically, Colin Farrell does not come immediately to mind.

The make-up job on Colin Farrell to make him look like the Penguin is truly some of the best make up on TV. But the make up is far from all- his performance was more than just make up. Colin Farrell brought so much life to the character of Oswald “Oz” Cobb that he was deeper than the character has ever been.

Throw in an Emmy-winning performance from Cristin Milioti as Sofia Gigante. Milioti was absolutely sensation in this role and provided such a foil for Oz that you were almost rooting for her.

The finale of the show had one of the most shocking and upsetting events that, even though Penguin was the protagonist of the show and easy to root for, you found yourself completely switched to seeing him as the villain. It was truly an amazing moment.

Peacemaker S2 E6

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“Ignorance is Chris”

So the truth of the other world is finally revealed and the answer was just what I thought it was… although they take it another step .

Seeing that swastika on the American flag where the stars were supposed to be was a rough visual. Earth X? Some form of it? James Gunn is a wild man.

Harcourt noticed the fact immediately. As soon as Adebayo, Harcourt, Adrian and Economos arrived in the alternate earth, Harcourt spotted that there were no people of color.

It was a popular theory that had been going around the internet over the last several weeks, but it makes perfect sense. White Dragon, Chris father, a racist scumbag in the DCU, is still racist scumbag, but now… so is everyone.

The reveal of the truth was really well done and I am seriously concerned for Adebayo. Running from a mob of racists chasing her (including Keith) is shocking. It takes a big swing and sets things up for the final couple of episodes.

Economos spilling the beans to Chris’s father was very funny. Seeing Adrian go face to face with himself was also a hoot. I liked how the alternate earth Vigilante is a member of the Sons of Liberty, and now, you’ve got to reexamine everything we had thought about this world before.

Biggest surprise this episode though is easily… Lex Luthor! Rick Flag Sr. going to Luthor to make a deal to help him find the dimensional portal. I was thinking it was going to be Chris’s father, not dead, in the DCU, but when Nicholas Hoult sat down in his orange prison jumpsuit, I literally shouted out loud. I did not expect Superman’s arch enemy to make an appearance on Peacemaker.

There was a great scene between Chris and Harcourt too, as they try to figure out their relationship. Of course, there is only a limited time as this earth’s Emilia showed up demanding that Harcourt was arrested.

This has been great and now that we got this twist, I can’t wait to see where it goes next.

Marvel Zombies E1-4

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I was not excited to see the new animated series from Marvel, Marvel Zombies. I do not hate zombie movies, and the Marvel Zombies in comics is not something that I have seen a lot of. I knew I would be watching eventually, but I was not counting down the days to watch it. In fact, i had forgotten it was on last night.

I can’t tell you how much I loved this four episode series. It felt like one giant movie and the story turned out beautifully.

Kamala Khan, Yelena, Kate Bishop, Ironheart, Shang Chi, Red Guardian, Jimmy Woo and Blade (as an agent of Khonshu) are some of the characters that we spend some time with, but there are a ton of Marvel characters that make appearances here, from Namor to Scarlet Witch to Baron Zemo. It was a fantastic use of the deep roster of characters that Marvel Studios can have.

We do include our What If Zombies cast as Spider-Man, Scott Lang (head with the Dr. Strange cloak) and Black Panther join us as well as we get a resolution of Zombie Thanos which was actually really strong and a great honor to T’Challa.

This is amazingly brutal and violent. There is blood all over the place. There are some epic zombie kills among these Marvel heroes.

I love the twists and the turns. The story is amazing. The ending was supremely awesome… and just as twisted as the story. I love the ambiguity of the end.

Iman Vellani is the lead protagonist and she does an exceptional job as Kamala Khan. She was such a perfect casting for Ms. Marvel.

I loved this. It was well worth the time.

EYG Favorite Comic Covers of the Week

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September 25

I feel so far behind.

After SiouxperCon last weekend, I am still trying to get caught up. As I type this, I am also watching Marvel Zombies on Disney +. I have no idea when I am going to read this large pile of books.

It was worth it to meet some awesome comic creators.

This week, we have three variant cover winners.

Also-Rans: Escape #1, Space Ghost #3, The Mortal Thor #2, News from the Fallout #3 (cover B), The Twilight Zone #1 (Sorry Todd, not a medalist this week), Wild Animals #3, All-New Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider #2, Mark Spears Monsters #7 (cover B), and The Invisible Man #2 (cover A).

Bronze Medalist

The Phantom #1

Variant Cover E

Cover art by Freddie Williams II

I love the color choices on this cover. It grabbed my attention as I already had cover A in my possession. The light purple and webs really work together.

Silver Medalist

The Invisible Man #2

Variant Cover B

Cover art by Mike Del Mundo

How else can you make something invisible? How about an eraser. Such a neat concept and I was really attracted to it. This was another book that I already had the cover A, but needed to own it too.

Gold Medalist

Mark Spears Monsters #7

Variant Cover E

Cover Art by Mark Spears

Mark Spears is back on top. What an awesome Halloween inspired cover. This is a different style than we are used to from Spears and it is very exciting.

Daily Countdown: TV Shows #77

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#77

Shrinking

We go back to Apple TV + for the next show on our list. Shrinking is a comedy that buries a lot of real life drama into its storylines.

Starring Jason Segel and Harrison Ford, Shrinking is very poignant, funny as only real life can be, and filled with wonderfully characters.

Jason Segel is our main character. He is therapist Jimmy Laird, who gets way too close to his patients. However, the death of his wife rocked Jimmy’s world and had him questioning everything, including how effective he was at his job. He has a strong relationship with his daughter, Alice, though the loss affected them both.

The fact that Harrison Ford has not won an Emmy for his performance in this show is criminial. Ford gives such a human performance as Dr. Paul Rhoades, whose personal struggle with Parkinson’s disease is one more powerful storyline among some of the best around.

There is a wonderful comedic troop of actors on the show adding color and hilarity. Other cast members included Jessica Williams, Christa Miller, Michael Urie, Ted McGinley, Luke Tennie, Brett Goldstein, Wendie Malick, and Lily Rabe.

The show has had two seasons so far and is one of the best shows from Apple TV +.

Daily Countdown: TV Shows #78

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#78

Watchmen

One of the all-time classic comic book mini-series came from DC Comics was entitled Watchmen written by Alan Moore. It was adapted as a big screen movie by Zack Snyder.

Years later, LOST’s Damon Lindelof created a new TV show for HBO based on the movie/comic.

Watchmen the TV series was very different, but it was a sensational series. Honestly, (and this is a little shameful) this was the first time I ever heard about the Tulsa race massacre, which plays a big role in this story. It was set 34 years after the movie.

Featuring Regina King, Don Johnson, Tim Blake Nelson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Louis Gossett Jr., Jeremy Irons, Jean Smart, and Tom Mison.