Author Archives: Doc

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe S1 E3

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“Spoiler: Bert is Magic”

Okay, this week’s guest stars from The Big Bang Theory is Melissa Rauch as Bernadette and Wil Wheaton as Wil Wheaton. Again, this is one of the main features of this show.

There is really no story here. The group, Stuart, Bert, Denise and Barry have arrived in a universe where magic is real. However, their transport machine is not working, requiring magic. Luckily, somehow, Bert is now able to do magic.

Bernadette turned out to be a demon, who has had her magic powers taken from her, and she suckered Stuart into giving her his blood so she could break the spell.

Wil Wheaton arrived to punish Stuart and Bert had a magic fireball fight.

Oh, and Bert turned Barry into a penguin because Barry had left when a mob was preparing to burn Bert at the stake.

Strangely, I watched a podcast about the show afterward hosted by Wil Wheaton and Felicia Day that talked in depth about this TV program that does not have any depth whatsoever.

After the group escaped from the gigantic Bernadette at the last possible second, we see Stuart wind up in a new universe where Stuart is in an asylum.

This feels so rushed every episode as the show is just waiting to see what characters from The Big Band Theory show up and in what format. Stuart in an insane asylum could be the episode that changes the focus of this show.

Daily Countdown: Animated Movies #62

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#62

The Simpsons Movie

Released: July 27, 2007

Runtime: 87 minutes

Rating: PG-13

Animation Style: 2D digital ink-and-paint

Studio: 20th Century Fox Animation and Gracie Films, in association with The Curiosity Company.

The Simpsons Movie brought the iconic TV characters to the big screen for a huge movie. What was ironic was that The Simpsons Movie is in my Top 100 Animated Movies, but The Simpsons did not make my Top 100 TV Shows list.

Voice Cast: Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Pamela Hayden, Tress MacNeille, Albert Brooks, Tom Hanks, Joe Mantegna, Green Day, Phil Rosenthal, Russi Taylor, and Karl Wiedergott.

Ted Lasso S4 E1

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“Home”

There may not be a more engaging or positive character on TV than Ted Lasso. I remember when I first started watching the show, I wanted to be more like Ted Lasso in my own classroom.

I was doubtful when I heard that Apple TV was bringing the show Ted Lasso back for a fourth season after a finale of season three that felt complete. Was this worth bringing back or would this just tarnish my memories of the awesomeness of the previous three years?

I watched the first episode on Apple TV tonight and I have to say that I am intrigued. Despite the show feeling at times like a documentary for Kansas City, we placed these characters that we loved square back on the screen and they shone as they always did.

Ted himself is just amazing, making the best out of whatever is around him. He is still teaching lessons and providing the most down-home sayings and quotes. Jason Sudeikis slipped right back into the character of Ted Lasso without missing a beat.

Placing Rebecca, Keeley and Higgins as the fish-out-of-water this time was a nice change as they were attempting to recruit Ted to coach the new Richmond female football squad. While they did spend too much time filming on location around Kansas City, the easy chemistry of these characters came through one again.

I am 100% going to watch this show, as I spent a good chunk of the premiere laughing, but I am not sure yet if this is something that I would have chosen to do. I am still unsure if this will live up to what has come before. Still, I was entertained by this first episode and hope springs eternal.

EYG Favorite Comic Covers of the Week

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August 5

The penultimate post of the Wednesday EYG Comic Covers of the Week. I have next week, and after that, I have to return to school and so it’ll probably have to return to Thursday nights.

The covers are strong again this week.

Also Rans: The Omega Book #1, Dead Teenagers #5, The Deadman #3, Ben 10 #4, The Other/Half #4, White Sky #5, Marc Spector: Moon Knight #7, Captain America #14, Fantastic Four #15, Mary Jane: Face It, Tiger #1, Amazing Spider-Man #34, and Power Rangers: Green #1 (virgin).

Bronze Medalist

Amazing Spider-Man #34

Variant Cover E

Cover art by Simone Di Meo

Neat Spidey cover from Amazing this week. I love the perspective of this cover as Spidey web swings right toward the viewer. Amazing Spider-Man is racing toward Legacy number 1000 soon.

Silver Medalist

Power Rangers: Green #1

Variant Cover F Foil

Cover art by Tony Harris

I was excited to hear about the futuristic take of Tommy the Green Ranger and this foil cover that I saw on the stand today was awesome. The beautiful green foil stands out well and the art on the cover is exceptional.

Gold Medalist

Fantastic Four #15

Variant Cover E

Cover art by Kris Anka

Look at this spectacular cover featuring Sue Storm on the variant cover of the 65th anniversary for Fantastic Four. It is beautiful and really does an amazing job of making her look like she is partially invisible. It is so lovely.

X-Men ’97 S2 E8

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“The Dead Man’s Hand”

We remember him.

Gambit is back and very dark.

Apocalypse, whose skeleton was found last episode by X-Force, was apparently killed by this reanimated Gambit, but he is just inside the mind of Remy.

I think this episode was one that we were waiting for since “Remember Me” from last season, and this, while fine, there was not that emotional punch that I was expecting from the return of Gambit. I think a big reason behind it has been one of the issues with season two, which was that the stories have felt too rushed. I think this whole Gambit return could have been two or three episodes. The emotions were not allowed to breathe in the story.

There are still some good moments, specifically between Gambit and Rogue inside Gambit’s mind.

Surprisingly, this did not play out like we all thought, with Gambit as Death leading a new formation of the Horsemen of Apocalypse (maybe with Magneto beside him). Instead, Gambit was shown as more of an individual who killed Apocalypse. That is, clearly not the case, but it was interesting that the show took this different path.

We got the huge X-Men team shot that we saw in the trailers early on, and it is awesome, as is the controlled Nightcrawler fight scene as he just dominated the X-Men. Nightcrawler has always been a personal favorite of mine and to show his capabilities (in a cool POV shot) was great.

There is just one more episode remaining in season 2 and I assume it will have something to do with Apocalypse, but I am not sure what the focus will be on. With the remaining members of X-Force teaming up with X-Factor, I am wondering exactly how this will resolve itself.

Daily Countdown: Animated Movies #63

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#63

Ferdinand

Released: December 15, 2017

Runtime: 106 minutes

Rating: PG

Animation Style: 3D computer-animated style

Studio: Blue Sky/20th Century Fox

Here is one of those films that I had no anticipation for and did not to expect to love it as much as I did. However, sure enough, I loved this. John Cena was great as the voice of Ferdinand. Based on a 1936 book called The Story of Ferdinand, this even received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature.

Voice cast: John Cena, Kate McKinnon,  Bobby Cannavale, Peyton Manning, Anthony Anderson, David Tennant, Gina Rodriguez, Daveed Diggs, Gabriel Iglesias, and Miguel Ángel Silvestre. 

Leviticus

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I have heard from some that this film is like the gay version of It Follows, a horror film from 2014. While I can understand why some people would think that, Leviticus is more than that. It is a horror film within a coming of age/romance picture.

Leviticus is an Australian film written and directed by Adrian Chiarella. It starred Joe Bird as Naim and Stacy Clausen as Ryan, our two main protagonists who are dealing with their attraction to each other, while being pursued by a supernatural entity that approaches them in the visage of each other.

These characters are well developed and feel very realistic, in a outwardly unrealistic situation. The relationship between Naim and Ryan has some sweet moments, considering this entity is trying to kill them. Both of these young actors do a great job with what they

The horror is limited, as I would say that it is more like a suspenseful-filled film, a thriller of sort, but there are some horror elements present for sure.

This was a well written story that absolutely uses the concept of the religion trying to “pray away the gay” that actually does happen with the conversion therapy. In this case, the “deliverance healer” in this story represents those real-life situations, but he was a much more demonic in appearance. Watching these rituals in the church was absolutely cruel and had a yuck feelings about it.

This film debuted at Sundance this year and did not last much in the theaters. I was able to rent this on Fandango at Home today and I am happy to have seen it.

3.8 stars

Tuner

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I was able to rent a couple of movies from Fandango at Home this afternoon that I have been hoping to watch this summer. With just over two weeks left before I have to return to work, I wanted to get some of them watched. I started with a film called Tuner.

Tuner is a crime thriller that featured, according to IMDB, “A talented piano tuner who suffers from hyperacusis discovers an unexpected aptitude for cracking safes, turning his life upside down.”

Hyperacusis is a hearing disorder where the noises of the every day world can be extremely loud, painful or frightening. It seems like a horrible disorder.

Niki (Leo Woodall) was the main character, working with Harry Horowitz (Dustin Hoffman) as piano tuners when Harry had a heart attack.

With his hearing aids, Niki discovered that he was able to open safes by listening to the sounds of the lock. He wound up with a group of thieves led by Uri (Lior Raz) after Uri found out how skilled Niki was with the safe cracking.

Leo Woodall does a great job in the film and Dustin Hoffman, whose role is small, is very impactful in his screen time. Havana Rose Liu played Niki’s girlfriend, who is a student pianist and composer who was determined to attain a special job as an assistant to a great composer. They have an easy chemistry and you can feel the pain shared between them from their difficulties of life.

The film has a lot of tension and nervousness as you can tell something bad was going to happen to Niki, balancing the aspects of his life.

The ending was really great, though you have to accept some coincidence for it to work. The very end is spectacular and really puts a button on the story.

This was a film that I am glad that I finally got around to seeing because it was truly a well written and acted film.

4 stars

Daily Countdown: Animated Movies #64

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#64

Sing

Released: December 21, 2016

Runtime: 108 minutes

Rating: PG

Animation Style: 3D computer-generated imagery

Studio: Illumination

Sing was a film I was not expecting to like, but I was surprised. There were some great songs involved, including a wonderful cover of “I’m Still Standing” by Elton John, and the film was surprisingly emotional.

Voice cast:  Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Seth MacFarlane, Scarlett Johansson, John C. Reilly, Taron Egerton, Tori Kelly, Jennifer Saunders, Jennifer Hudson, Nick Kroll, Peter Serafinowicz, Beck Bennett, Nick Offerman, Jay Pharoah, Leslie Jones, Garth Jennings, Rhea Perlman, Laraine Newman, Adam Buxton, Brad Morris, Bill Farmer, Edgar Wright, Wes Anderson, and the children of Garth Jennings (Oscar, Leo, Caspar, and Asa Jennings).

Rick and Morty Season 7

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I have to say, Season 7 of Rick and Morty was my least favorite overall so far.

It was amazing when I found out that they had replaced the actor who voiced both Rick and Morty, Justin Roiland, because of a domestic abuse charge, because there was absolutely no concernable way to recognize the difference. Big shout out to  Ian Cardoni and Harry Belden for their seamless transition into the roles.

The season had a bunch of episodes that were fairly meh, and at least a couple that were total flops. Specifically, “Rise of the Numbericons: The Movie” may have been my least favorite Rick and Morty episode of the series run so far.

The end of season 6 hinted at season 7 being all about finally ending Rick Prime, but that story arc did not run the whole season. In fact, it was mentioned early, but all came to a close in episode 5, “Unmortricken,” which also brought about the return of Evil Morty. Rick ended up, thanks to Evil Morty, beating Rick Prime to death his his own hands. I found this end to be very unsatisfying. I think that might have been the point, having the theme be that revenge never makes you feel better.

Rick was scattered the rest of the season, and I do not think the show was able to regather the momentum of previous years. The Fear hole episode finale “Fear No Mort” was pretty decent, as Morty tried to face his fears at a Denny’s. There was a character introduced in “Mort: Ragnarick” that was fun with Bigfoot. Finally, there was a sick episode where there was a world where the people who committed suicide turned into tasty spaghetti that the Smith family loved to eat.

My favorite moments of the season came from the guest star Hugh Jackman in the season premiere featuring Mr. Poopybutthole. Actually voiced by Hugh Jackman, they spent the whole episode making fun of everything. Jackman clearly has a great sense of humor.

Other episodes featuring the return of Unity, turning Morty into a “Kuato,” and Rick and Jerry combined into the Jerricky were all lower than I thought.

Next up is season 8. I am streaming these all on HBO Max.

Daily Countdown: Animated Movies #65

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#65

Turning Red

Released: March 11, 2022

Runtime: 1 hour 40 minutes

Rating: PG

Animated Style: blends 3D CGI with strong 2D anime influences, expressive caricatures, and a chunky, tactile aesthetic

Studio: Pixar/Disney

This film received way more hate than it deserved. It came out during a “down” time for Pixar, but this film was a typically excellent Pixar outing, no matter what the haters said.

Voice cast:  Rosalie Chiang, Sandra Oh, Ava Morse, Hyein Park, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Orion Lee, Wai Ching Ho, Tristan Allerick Chen, James Hong, Addie Chandler, Sasha Roiz, Lily Sanfelippo, Anne-Marie,  Lori Tan Chinn, Lillian Lim, Sherry Cola, Mia Tagano,  Jordan Fisher, Finneas O’Connell, Josh Levi, Topher Ngo and Grayson Villanueva.

Silo S3 E5

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“Memory”

This was a big episode, focusing heavily on the shocking cliffhanger that they gave us last week, the very much alive Bernard.

The biggest part of the episode was the flashbacks to show us how Bernard survived the fire and how he wound up not being incinerated. Of course, the man behind Bernard’s survival was Sims.

This is the first time in three seasons that I did not see Sims as the villain. Same with Bernard. Both men were given material to show how much they were forced to do what they did. That did not excuse their choices, but it helps to understand the levels that they were at.

And, as the episode’s title implies, the show was also about memory and the reclaiming of the memory by Juliette. By the end of the episode, Juliette had gotten her memories back of the other silo and the information she learned about the Safeguard. Thanks to the Pez Dispenser.

Rebecca Ferguson continues to be excellent as Juliette, playing her confusion and the slow return of her memory beautifully.

Meanwhile, a new danger is uncovered by Sheriff Billings, and it sounds really bad. Light bulbs are being stolen and they are down to just about two years supply remaining, which means, soon, they will be unable to grow their food.

We only get a little time at the very end of the episode for a flashback to the before times, but it is a big one as Daniel and Helen are driving and the car suddenly takes control and is driving itself.

Great episode this week that really built on the shock from the last scene last week. Silo has been a touch slow at times this year, struggling to get its story going. That is not a factor any more.

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe S1 E2

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“Spoiler: Zack’s in this One”

The second episode of The Big Bang Theory spin-off, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, is not very good. It just feels like it is a car wreck that I can’t stop glaring at.

The new universe that Stuart, Bert and Kripke jump into is an AI-Overlord run universe where everyone is forced into happy thoughts and any negativity would lead to an electric jolt into the person’s neck through an implant at the base of their skull. This joke was used what felt like a million times in the first fifteen minutes of the episode.

I have come to the conclusion that this show is designed to show us alternate versions of all of the cast of The Big Bang Theory in weird new ways. Here we get to see Zack, as the title stated, but also Penny. I’m not sure why Kaley Cuoco would agree to “reprise” her role as Penny in this, but it was nice to see her again.

It was strange to see Christine Baranski used in a cameo as herself when she had a Big Bang Theory character already.

The episode never got a chance to get any footing under it, because after the over excessive amount of the electric shock gags, they came across the rebellion, led by Zack and Penny, and then the episode was over.

While I did not love this… heck, I could probably not claim to even like it that much… Stuart Fails to Save the Universe is a short show that does not feel like anything that is aggressively bad… or at least, bad enough to make me stop watching it at this point. It was fun to see the Big Bang cameos (including the woman who was obsessed with Sheldon). I’ll watch at least one more episode, probably.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #80

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The Boroughs

“Triple Audible”

So the Sunday Morning Sidewalk comes to the end of yet another show, this one Netflix’s The Boroughs. This eight-episode series from the Duffer Brothers was a lot of fun and was a show that, each week, I wanted to keep watching.

One of the ideas that I dreaded was that, since Netflix canceled the show, it would wind up with a cliffhanger that would never be resolved. I am happy to say that, although there was a little mystery centered around Sam in the last few moments of the show, the main story of the show is wrapped up and will serve as a sufficient finale to the show.

However, the finale felt a little rushed to me. I think it could have easily been spread out to a ninth episode without having too much trouble, because a lot was packed into this ending.

In the end, it was a satisfying conclusion that was able to wrap up the stories well and left our characters in a positive situation.

The ending sequence in the cave with mother, Sam and Blaine was okay, but I am just not sure what was going on. Why did Mother explode? How did Sam survive it? Did he? These are questions that linger, but does not ruin the finale for me.

The cast of the show was wonderful and the main strength of The Boroughs.

With that, the Sunday Morning Sidewalk finishes another series. Next week, we will begin the Apple TV + series Black Bird, a six-episode mini series.