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.
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.”
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.
“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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I did not have Showtime when this show first came out, so I waited until it was available on Netflix to watch season one. Before the end of the series, I had purchased Showtime on Prime to be able to watch seaosn two.
Yellowjackets tells the story of a girls soccer team on their way to the playoffs. However, they never made it there. Their plane crashed in the wilderness and it became the story of survival.
But it was more than that.
We see the survivors in present day, years after their struggles in the woods, dealing with the long-trm fallout of the trauma they went through during their time in the wilderness. Mysteries about exactlywhat was happening combined in the story and the pain and frightening situations and choices stuck with them.
I found this show to be veyr much like LOST, which I absolutley loved, so this show appealed to me. The characters were fascinating and deeply flawed. The mystery surrounding everything was amazing.
The huge ensemble cast does a great job with their characters. What is even mor impressive is the fact that two actresses play the same character, as a youth and as an adult… at least those who survived.
Two major standouts in the cast include the absolutely crazy Melanie Lynskey as Shauna and Christina Ricci as the manipulative Misty, both of whom played present day versions of their characters.
The show is not averse to shocking surprises or twists either as one main character died at the end of season two.
Season three was a little less than the first two, but still offered some big reveals. Yellowjackets provide some riddles and some horror and always keeps you guessing.
Meryl Streep returned to the Arconia after a tragedy saw her apartment burn down. While she was processing the loss of her things, she jumped right into the case of who killed Lester.
Last episode, it seemed as if Lester’s wife Lorraine and Nicky’s wife Sofia were working together, giving us a new pair of suspects. However, this episode also basically cleared them as Oliver and Loretta followed them.
The episode was a trip down memory lane for Oliver, who had grown up in Brooklyn. It was some wonderful work as he strolled through past flashbacks of him as a child. It led him to the stage in an old theater where he had learned his love of the theater. These scenes between Meryl Streep and Martin Short are fantastic and help give us even more understanding of them as characters.
Meanwhile, it was good to see Donna (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) involved more with the group. She was going to pick up the finger for testing, only to find that the finger was gone. It had been stolen. We find out that all the footage had been tampered with and that the company that ran the security was owned by Bash Steed, one of the billionaires (Christoph Waltz).
Waltz had been catfishing Charles as a “Priscilla” and digging for details of the investigation. He ended with a text saying, “You’re such a smartypants. Now I need to come hunt you down.”
Mabel and THE made up as this felt like a rushed storyline. Maybe there will be more to it as the season moves along.
I am excited to get back to the billionaires who have not been seen or mentioned much since they pulled the fast one over Charles, Oliver and Mabel.
This was another one season wonder that found its following after it was canceled. Firefly was created by Joss Whedon and it was a space opera/Western that followed the crew of the Serenity, a “Firefly” class ship.
Captain Malcolm Reynolds led his merry band of thieves across the galaxy in search of wealth and happiness.
Firefly starred Nathan Fillion, Summer Glau, Alan Tudyk, Gina Torres, Adam Bladwin, Jewel Staite, Ron Glass, Sean Maher and Morena Baccarin.
The interaction among the talented cast is really the strength of the series. The dialogue stood out as always in a Joss Whedon scripted show.
The show was canceled after airing 11 of 14 first season episodes. The final three episodes did air on DVD. The show became such a cult hit, inspiring a desire to resurrect the show, that a wide released film came out called Serenity.
Every time the cast members are involved in any fan events, it seems inevitable that there would be questions about Firefly. Nathan Fillion even dressed up as a “space cowboy” and donned his Captain Malcolm Reynolds outfit on a Halloween episode of his next show, Castle.
Trying to catch up after the SiouxperCon last weekend. I think I am pretty close. Most of the films and TV shows are back on track, and I just have to get the Comic Cavalcade back on a regular schedule. I was able to get most everything read and I am ready for the write-up.
Books this week:
Mark Spears Monsters #7. “All That Remains.” Written, art and cover art by Mark Spears. Cover F was the Gold Medalist this week. This comic has a bunch of great covers once again. Every time the book comes out, there are so many excellent Mark Spears covers. I have been enjoying the story too.
Sleep #5. Written, drawn and cover art by Zander Cannon. I actually had this copy last weekend at SiouxperCon when I went to Zander Cannon’s booth. He had an early copy of the book and I got it signed. This week I got the issue from my pull list. This has been an excellent book.
Wild Animals #3. Written by Ed Brisson and art and cover art by Andy Kuhn. Speaking of an excellent book, Wild Animals has been one of my favorite books so far. It is a revenge story that really has me guessing about what is next. Wild Animals has been so fantastic so far that it make me anxious for the next issue.
Justice League Unlimited #11. Written by Mark Waid with art by Carmine Di Giandomenico. Cover art was done by Dan Mora. This issue of the JLU is a prelude to the next big DC event, DC KO, which is expected to lead to the return of Darkseid. If what is happening on the Watchtower is any example, things are not going to be good for our heroes.
The Twilight Zone #1. “Blanks” Written by Dan Watters and art and cover art by Morgan Beem. I was excited about the debut of this new Twilight Zone comic from IDW. I enjoyed this first issue as it had a definite feel as the original TV show did. It was in black and white, which helped create the tone of the series. The story did feel like it ended quickly, but that is something that some Twilight Zone episodes felt like too. A good start for this book.
Conan: Scourge of the Serpent #1. “Stealing Faces & Finery.” Written by Grim Jim Zub with art by Ironclad Ivan Gil. Cover art was done by Roberto De La Torre. This story kicks off with three men from three different eras: Conan, Kull, and Professor John Kirowan. Let’s see where this one takes us.
The Last Starship #1. Written by Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly with art by Adrian Bonilla. Cover art was done by Francesco Francavilla. This was another new IDW book that I just picked up because it was on the stand. I have been enjoying the Red Shirts book and so I thought having this number one would be fun. Then, I really loved the book and the story it was telling. Starfleet was viciously attacked and most of their major starships were destroyed, leaving one more. This was very compelling and surprised me.
Hyde Street #9. Written by Geoff Johns and art by Francis Portella. Cover art was done by Ivan Reis & Danny Miki with Brad Anderson. Plastic surgery can be a great use for horror stories because of how terrible things could be, and Hyde Street uses it as a wonderful bit to make these characters all the more sad.
Escape #2. “No Trees Tomorrow.” Written by Rick Remender with art and cover art by Daniel Acuna. We get some background information prior to Milton’s efforts in the war in Nuropia. Escape is more than just another anthropomorphic comic. It gives me a little feel about Maus.
Spider-Man & Wolverine #5. “Consequences.” Written by Marc Guggenheim and art by Kaare Andrews. Cover art was done by Cory Smith. I had to buy the 1:25 variant because the regular issue was sold out before I could get to it. This was my favorite issue of this series so far because Spider-Man felt like Spider-Man. I have been disappointed with this book, but this issue helped me see Spider-Man in th estory.
The Phantom #1. Written by Ray Fawkes and art by Russell Olson. Cover art was done by Freddie Williams II, who also did the variant cover that won the Bronze Medal this week. The EYG Hall of Fame iconic character The Phantom is back in the new Mad Cave comic. Phantom kicks this off with some great action and new character work.
News from the Fallout #4. Written by Chris Condon and art and cover art by Jeffrey Alan Love. Variant cover art by James Harren. This has been such a good book so far. I love the different art style and the way they present the story.
Ultimate Spider-Man #21. Written by Jonathan Hickman and art by David Messina. Cover art was done by Marco Checchetto & Matthew Wilson. Another issue of Ultimate Spider-Man that does not have Spider-Man. We focus in on Mister Negative here and it is really solid.
The Mortal Thor #2. “Storm Warning.” Written by Al Ewing with art by Pasqual Ferry. Cover art was done by Alex Ross. Sigurd comes out in a massively brutal fighting style. Spinning that hammer around on the chain… whoa. It was remarkable.
All-New Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider #2. Written by Stephanie Phillips and art by Paolo Villanelli. Cover art was done by David Marquez & Marte Gracia. Spider-Gwen has a bit of a temper. I am not sure where that came from but she was blowing up at people throughout this issue.
Universal Monsters: The Invisible Man #2. “Chapter Two: Things Men Should Leave Alone.” Written by James Tynion IV with art by Dani. Cover art by Dani & Brad Simpson. I also got variant cover B with art by Mike Del Mundo (Silver Medalist). Another great use of a Universal Monster character.
Space Ghost #3. Written by David Pepose with art by Jonathan Lau. Cover art by Francesco Mattina. Tarko the Terrible was frozen in a block of ice, and they pulled a Captain America thaw out, bringing the powerful danger to the present day.
Viking Moon #1. Written by Joe Pruett with art and cover art by Marcelo Frusin. How could you ask for more? Vikings and werewolves? I mean…come on. This was way cool. I will continue on with this new Image book.
Black Cat #2. “II: Your Friendly Neighborhood Cat Lady.” Written by G. Willow Wilson with art by Gleb Melnikov. Adam Hughes did the cover art. Superhero Black Cat feels a little weird to Felicia Hardy, but she has been coming across plenty of trouble. And she seemed as if she was drooling over Daredevil (Can you blame her?).
Detective Comics #1101. “The Courage That Kills Part One.” Written by Tom Taylor and art and cover was done by Mikel Janin. A new storyline with Batman kicks off here and Tom Taylor brings the excellence once again. It’s a virus storyline and Batman is stuck in quarantine.
X-Men #22. “Dawning of an Age.” Written by Jed MacKay with art by C.F. Villa. Cover art was done by Ryan Stegman & Marte Gracia. Doug Ramsey comes to join the X-Men. Doug Ramsey is the heir of Apocalypse, going by the name of Revelation. The final shot of the issue shows that things are not going to be good as the Age of Revelation starts next month.
Daredevil #25. “Rites of Reconciliation” Part Six. Written by Saladin Ahmed and penciled by Jose Luis Soares. Cover art was done by John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna, and Richard Isanove. This is the final issue of Daredevil, which shocked me. Daredevil and Elektra make a change in their relationship status and they have to fight a brutal Kingpin.
Battleworld #1. Written by Christos Gage with art by Marcus To. Cover art by Leinil Francis Yu & Romulo Fajardo Jr. A group of heroes from different universes are pulled together by Korvac to battle. It was interesting to see these heroes in different places of their lives or different formats of their careers. Maestro is here and I love him. Young Spider-Man. King Thor. Old Hank Pym. Ms. Marvel aka Carol Danvers. Lots of interesting interactions.
Spider-Girl #4. Written by Torunn Grønbekk and art by Andre Risso and Moises Hidalgo. Cover art was done by David Nakayama. Spider-Girl is in action, and her efforts bring out a special guest star, the Amazing Spider-man.
The Thing #5. “The King of Yancy Street” Conclusion. Written by Tony Fleecs and art by Justin Mason. Cover art was done by Nick Bradshaw & Rachelle Rosenberg. The Thing’s little solo adventure trying to protect a little girl comes to its conclusion with this issue. I do enjoy Ben Grimm and he showed his power.
Other books this week: Mr. Terrific Year One #5, Endless Night #4, Predator: Black, White & Blood #3, New History of the DC Universe #3, Sherlock Holmes The Dark Detective: Knights of Frankenstein #3, Emma Frost: White Queen #4, Silverhawks #8, Red Vector #2, and Zdarsky Comic News #15.
Quick Hits: Things are getting tougher for Zach and Rose in Hornsby & Halo #10. Rose is starting to show some of her darkness and anger. Vision & Scarlet Witch #5 brings this short series to a close and we return Vision to his original state. It was nice to see Viv Vision back once again. I am not sure how I am feeling about the Death of Silver Surfer #4. I was not a big fan of this issue. Void Rivals #23 continues its major war and battles between the two worlds. Absolute Wonder Woman #12 introduces us to the Absolute Zatanna and Hippolyta finds out Diana is alive. The futuristic Batman in Immortal Legend Batman #2 was a little less interesting than last issue. Godzilla is bringing the pain and the power into the Marvel Universe in Godzilla Destroys the Marvel Universe #3. The X-Men give it their all. The Ultimate universe expanded a bit with Ultimate Hawkeye #1 (one shot). The Thunder War concludes in Storm #12 with several guest stars who think they are storm gods. This is another series ending before the Age of Revelation. I do not know if the Storm book returns after that X-event or if it gets a reboot. Far Down Below #5 is a great Mad Cave book that also sees its final issue this week. Blue Palo Verde #4 was really weird this week. I found it to be less engaging as I did before. Then there was more bayou crime action in The Voice Said Kill #3. One more of those to go.
EYG- Embrace Your Geekness 