Author Archives: Doc

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #10

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Spoilers

“Points”

Episode ten of the Band of Brothers brought the season to an end.

This episode dealt with the end of the war in Germany, dealing with the Easy Company having to handle the fact that they were still active without any enemies to fight.

There are some lovely spots that they recorded this episode at in Austria, creating a beauty that has not been seen much during the gritty, violent series.

This episode did feel like a lot of falling actions. It had a couple of powerful moments, in particular surrounding the shooting of Sergeant Grant.

Episode nine felt like the real emotional conclusion to this series as the trip to the concentration camp showed what they were fighting for.

This made sense as a concluding episode because of the situation. I did like the ending voice over from Winters that gave us the insights on the surviving members and the words from the real men that these characters were based on. This was so much better than the boxed text that sometimes pops on the screen at the end of films based on true events. This was much more active and kinetic.

This brings the first arc of Sunday Morning Sidewalk to an end. Next week, post #11 will start off with a new series. Starting next week on April 6, I will begin the watch of the Netflix series The Sandman, which has eleven episodes and will run into June.

EYG Comic Cavalcade #146

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March 29

Good evening from EYG. It is time to go through the ton of books from this week. It was a large week of books and, while I did not get every one of them, there are a bunch of books for the week.

Jumping right in with this week’s books:

Big Burn #3. Written by Joe Henderson and art and cover art by Lee Garbett. I have been waiting for this book for what seems like months. In fact, according to my CLZ app, Big Burn #2 came out on Nov. 13, 2024. So literal months. These long release times do make it more difficult to read these DSTLRY books, but they are always so great that you have to put up with it. Big Burn may be my favorite DSTLRY series so far.

Absolute Wonder Woman #6. “The Lady or the Tiger“. Written by Kelly Thompson and art by Mattia De Iulis. Cover art was done by Hayden Sherman & Jordie Bellaire (Gold Medalist). Diana is in the Underworld facing Hades. She tells of her time meeting Prometheus among others. I do like centering Wonder Woman with the Greek Myths and this was an entertaining issue.

Dust to Dust #4. Written by JG Jones & Phil Bram and art and cover art by JG Jones. This issue gives us more details about the past of the Sheriff and the big secret that shamed him from his past. We also get a glance at the man in the gas mask, who adorns the cover of this issue.

Uncanny X-Men #12. “Some Kinda Way.” Witten by Gail Simone and art by Gavin Guidry. David Marquez & Matthew Wilson did the cover art. We get a story from the past of everyone’s favorite Cajun, Remy LeBeau. It is a tale that comes back to the current day in the form of a man named The Vig. Gambit has been a major character for Marvel over the last year or so.

Weapon X-Men #2. “Tsunami.” Written by Joe Casey and penciled by Chriscross. Cover art by Chriscross & Fer Sifuentes-Sujo. I think there were too many Wolverine & Deadpool crossovers this week. This is yet another one where Wade betrayed Logan… or did he? Baron Strucker is around too. This was the best of the Wolvie-Deadpool team ups this week (which is setting the bar low).

Far Down Below #1. Written by Chris Condon and art by Gegê Schall. Cover art was by Jacob Phillips. Brand new book from Mad Cave this week and I loved it. This felt like a mix of Journey to the Center of the Earth and The Goonies. I am here for it. I have to say that it sure feels as if Mad Cave has been on fire lately. I loved Chris Condon’s work in That Texas Blood too and this kick off issue hit on all cylinders.

You’ll Do Bad Things #1. Story by Tyler Boss and art by Adriano Turtulici. Cover art was done by Tyler Boss. Bad “Things,” not bad “Thongs!” It’s an inside joke. Another good first issue this week, this time from Image Comics. There is some connection between a writer and a serial killer. Either way, the writer is tired of true crime, particularly when the true crime is the murders of children.

The Exorcism at 1600 Penn #4. Written by Hannah Rose May and art and cover art by Vanesa Del Rey. This four issue series that saw the President of the United States’ daughter possessed by a demon, came to a satisfying conclusion here. This has been one of the better short series from the independent comics. It was a comic that grabbed my attention via its cover and kept my attention because of its story.

X-Manhunt Omega #1. “Dreams End.” Written by Murewa Ayodele & Gail Simone with art by Gleb Melnikov, Federica Mancin & Enid Balan. Cover art was done by Gleb Melnikov & Morry Hollowell. The final part of the seven part X-Manhunt storyline that ran across the X-Men family books this past month ends with this issue as Professor X and his reborn love Lilandra seem to leave earth for the final time. The X-Men come together for a goodbye.

Metamorpho #4. “The HQ That Walked Like a Man!” Written by Al Ewing and art by Steve Lieber. Lieber and Lee Loughridge did the cover art. Metamorpho fights a building. I did not mistype that. He fights a building. Oh, and the files that Simon Stagg has on Metamorpho comes straight from the Who’s Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe book. That was both cool and fourth wall breaking for me.

Standstill #8. Story by Lee Loughridge and art by Alex Riegel. Cover art was done by Andrew Robinson. Standstill closes up with a dramatic final struggle over the watch that freezes time. This was chocked full of action and the imagery of the art fit with it extremely well. It left off on quite a cliffhanger too leading one to believe that there may be more Standstill down the road.

Fantastic Four #30. “Rock Bottom.” Written by Ryan North and penciled by Cory Smith. Joshua Cassara & Dean White did the cover art. This “One World Under Doom” crossover sees Ben Grimm struggling after Doctor Doom “cured” him of his rock form. How does the Puppet Master play into this story?

Justice League Unlimited #5. Written by Mark Waid and art by Dan Mora. Cover art was done by Dan Mora. Impulse is at the heart of this story as he seems to be getting in the way more than helping. We also see the reforming of the Legion of Doom… and I don’t mean Road Warrior Hawk and Road Warrior Animal. JLU begins a three month crossover event with World’s Finest. Now I have to buy another DC book. *GRUMBLE*

Ultimate Wolverine #3. Written by Chris Condon and art by Alessandro Cappuccio. Cover art by Alessandro Cappuccio and Frank Martin. We get the debuts of Ultimate versions of Gambit and Kitty Pryde this issue. Another book written by Chris Condon that is excellent. He has worked his way into one of my favorite writers around.

Infinity Watch #3. Written by Derek Landy and art by Enid Balám. Cover art was done by Salvador Larroca & GURU-eFX. The Infinity Watch members are all dead. But why are they in different forms? Wild stuff in this issue as the Infinity stones saga continues.

The Kids #1. Written by Garth Ennis and art and cover art by Dalibor Talajic (Silver Medalist). A one-shot story from Image Comics’ Ninth Circle imprint. I really enjoyed this story. What do you do when all of the infants and children are immediately transformed into adults? It was an extremely creative take on the “zombie” idea, but with angry, scared and hungry adults with the brains of babies. My biggest disappointment was this was a one shot. I would have bought into more of this.

Godzilla vs. Fantastic Four #1. Written by Ryan North and art by John Romita Jr. Cover art was done by Adam Kubert & Morry Hollowell. This is the first of the Marvel Universe characters face off with Godzilla books that are coming this month. Of course, Godzilla ends up with the Power Cosmic from the Silver Surfer because why shouldn’t he?

Daredevil #19. “Introductory Rites” Conclusion. Written by Saladin Ahmed and art by Aaron Kuder. John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna and Richard Isanove did the cover art. The final demon from Hell forced Daredevil to make a choice… save Foggy or save Bullseye. Hmm… not sure if this is a true conflict.

Ultimate Spider-Man #15. Written by Jonathan Hickman and guest artist David Messina. Cover art was done by Marco Checchetto. Peter is having trouble with the loss of his friend Harry. Nothing a little father son super hero training couldn’t help. Plus, Ultimate Sandman makes his first appearance.

Gold Key Select Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #1. Gold Key is trying to cash in on the nostalgia bug that has grasped pop culture these days with reprints of the 1962 Boris Karloff Thriller comics. I usually do not go for reprints like this, but I do have a good place in my heart for Boris Karloff from my childhood of watching those Universal Monsters movies and I am happy I have this.

Amazing Spider-Man #70. “Nothing Can Stop the Spider-Naut.” Written by Joe Kelly and penciled by Ed McGuinness. Ed McGuinness, Cliff Rathburn & Marcio Menyz did the cover art. This is the final issue of this volume of Amazing Spider-Man. This volume was highlighted by Peter Parker being transformed into creatures. We had Spider-Goblin for awhile. Now we have Spider-Naut… where Peter has the Juggernaut power. I have not been a big fan of this “The 8 Deaths of Spider-Man” arc, but I feel as if it finished up strong.

The Department of Truth #29. Written by James Tynion IV and art and cover art by Martin Simmonds. This book continues to be the top of the game of the conspiracy theories. I love the creative use of this wild storytelling even if it can be challenging to follow at times. I enjoy a book that demands that I am smart enough to read it.

Feral #11. Written by Tony Fleecs and art by Trish Forstner. I picked up two copies of this this week, the first one with the cover art by Tony Fleecs & Tone Rodriguez and the variant cover art by Trish Forstner & Allen Passalaqua (Gold Medalist). Feral has been a suspenseful book every month and who thought that a bunch of cats could be this compelling?

Doll Parts: A Lovesick Tale #4. Written, illustrated and cover art by Luana Vecchio. This prequel series came to a close with a dramatic character piece. Madeline went through all kinds of physical and mental issues. I did not know this was a prequel, leading into the Lovesick series.

Absolute Martian Manhunter #1. Written by Deniz Camp and art and cover art by Javier Rodriguez. This book is colorful, creative, and extremely original. This was something different and I did like this.

The Last Boy #1. Written by Dan Panosian and illustrated by Alessio Avallone. Cover art was done by Dan Panosian. Peter Pan. Captain Hook. Wendy. They are all here, but maybe not as you remember them. This Boom! Studio book is an interesting one.

Black Canary: Best of the Best #5. “Round Five” Written by Tom King and art and cover art by Ryan Sook. I have loved this Black Canary series so far as the penultimate issue was epic. This book is not only the amazing contest between Canary and Lady Shiva, but a character piece involving Canary and her mother. Tom King is another of my favorite writers.

Universal Monsters: The Mummy #1. Written and art by Faith Erin Hicks. The cover art was by Faith Eric Hicks & Lee Loughridge (Bronze Medalist). I have enjoyed this series of Universal Monsters books and the Mummy is next. This is a great start and I am looking forward to the rest of the issues.

Doom Academy #2. Written by Mackenzie Cadenhead and art by Pasqual Ferry & Joao M.P. Lemos. Variant cover art by Ron Lim & Israel Silva. This variant cover of Doyle Dormammu was very nearly a medalist this week. I do love these Strange Academy characters and placing them in the middle of this One World Under Doom storyline is a smart move.

Rogue The Savage Land #3. Written by Tim Seeley and art by Zulema Scotto Lavina. Kaare Andrews did the cover art. I have never loved these stories that fall into past moments of the Marvel Universe. This one has been fine because I do like the characters, especially Ka-Zar.

Laura Kinney: Wolverine #4. “Brother in Arms- Part 1” Written by Erica Schultz and art by Giada Belviso. Cover art was done by Elena Casagrande & Edgar Delgado. Laura Kinney and Bucky Barnes team up in this issue as these two characters have seemingly a lot in common.

Red Hulk #2. “The Great Escape.” Written by Benjamin Percy and art by Geoff Shaw. Variant cover art was done by Greg Land & Rachelle Rosenberg. Thunderbolt Ross was spent with the Red Hulk, so he had team up with Machine Man, Deathlok, and Simon Ryker to escape from the Doombots and the prison they were being held in.

Incredible Hulk #23. “The Skin of Charlie Tidwell” Part Two. Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and art and cover art by Nic Klein. This is a creepy episode as the winged monster is wearing Charlie’s skin. Sentence you would never expect the Hulk to say: “Take off the skin now.”

Kill Train #3. Written by Olivia Cuartero-Briggs and art by Martina Niosi of Outclass Studio. Skylar Patridge did the cover art. Another really solid book from Mad Cave. Kill Train has been brutal and bloody and a real good time.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #4. Written by Christos Gage and art by Eric Gapstur. Cover art was by Leonardo Romero (Bronze Medalist). The prequel series to the animated TV show gets, I believe, its penultimate issue with Spidey taking on Silvermane and the Enforcers. Peter is in bad shape at the end of the issue.

The Seasons #3. Written by Rick Remender and art and cover art by Paul Azaceta. Summer has been having all kinds of trouble and her sister Winter has had about all she can take. However, there is absolutely something going on and Summer is the one calling it out.

The Patchwork Girl of Oz #3. Adapted, illustrated and cover art by Otis Frampton. Adapted from the novel by L. Frank Baum. The Patchwork Girl is brought to life but her “brain” had way more than what was intended. The wild moment lead to a tragedy for Unc. Nunkie.

Pooluminati #1 and Deadpool vs. Wolverine: Slash ‘Em Up #1. I mentioned earlier about Deadpool and Wolverine and these two books have a lot of those two characters in it. Neither of these were that good. It just felt like I was overwhelmed by the amount of Deadpool and the amount of Deadpool with Wolverine.

Other books this week: Peacemaker Presents Vigilante/Eagly Double Feature #1, Thunderbolts: Doomstrike #2, Doom’s Division #1, Vampirella #1 (Silver Medalist), Nights #14, Sherlock Holmes The Dark Detective: Claws of the Chimera #4, and Free for All #1.

The Woman in the Yard

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A new horror/thriller movie opened this weekend and it had an intriguing premise. Sadly, the premise kind of stopped at that point.

Danielle Deadwyler is an excellent actor and has appeared in some really juicy roles over the last few years. She has been one of the major snubs at the Oscars in the past, especially for her work in Till. You can see that she is acting her butt off in this movie, but the fact is, there just is not much for her in this film.

According t IMDB, “A mysterious woman repeatedly appears in a family’s front yard, often delivering chilling warnings and unsettling messages, leaving them to question her identity, motives and the potential danger she might pose.”

There were some decent scenes of peril in the film that was able to create some suspense, placing the family in jeopardy. It was all tied to an accident that turned tragic, but seemed to be meant to be a bigger deal and a bigger shock than it turned out to be.

The early part of the film had some good moments and I had hoped this could develop into something special, but the second half and ending were all just a waste of time and the very ending was too laughable when it was going for tense.

It was only around 88 minutes, yet it felt longer than that. There were some stylish flairs to the horror, but the second half really took the coolness out of the concept and turned it into a convoluted story that did not work.

Deadwyler does her best to save what is here, but even her efforts failed to improve this premise that failed to capitalize on its intriguing beginning.

2.75 stars

EYG Favorite Comic Covers of the Week

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Part Two

Yes, because of Diamond, we have split the EYG Comic Covers of the Week have a second post including three more medalists.

Bronze Medalist

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #4

Cover art by Leonardo Romero

Cool blue cover. Not sure what is happening, but I am extremely curious about it.

Vampirella #1

Variant Cover C

Cover art by Mark Spears

Mark Spears is back on the list with a beautiful Vampirella cover. I do not usually pick up Vampirella and the eerie cover helped make me want to pick this up.

Feral #11

Variant Cover

Cover art by Trish Forstner & Allen Passalaqua

This is an awesome movie homage. Feral has been doing horror movie homages on their variant, but I’m not sure which one this is. It is really great. There is a scary tone from this cover.

EYG Favorite Comic Cover of the Week

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March 26

Curse you, Diamond.

So …. no Marvel or any of the independent books this week. Diamond continues to have an inconsistent delivery schedule that makes it tougher for me. I was expecting a large number of books this week and now it has been split up into two groups.

Oh well…

Bronze Medalist

Universal Monsters: The Mummy #1

Cover art by Faith Erin Hicks & Lee Loughridge

I love these Universal Monsters books and this cover is straightforward and nicely designed. I love the straps in the background.

Silver Medalist

The Kids #1

Cover art by Dalibor Talajic

A Garth Ennis book from Image has a frightening looking cover. It really sets a tone for what this book will be offering… something that the title does not do.

Gold Medalist

Absolute Wonder Woman #6

Cover art by Hayden Sherman & Jordie Bellaire

What a stunning cover this is. The red color and the black background works amazingly.. or should I say, wonderfully? This was a definite standout of the week.

Daredevil: Born Again S1 E5, E6

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Spoilers

“With Intent”

“Excessive Force”

Two episodes released tonight on Disney +. A definite treat.

The first episode felt like it was such a separate episode, something that did not fit into the rest of the season. And it was great. A bank robbery is something we have seen before, but with Matt Murdock in the bank, the robbers are going to have a bad day.

Yusuf Khan is the assistant bank manager who just turned down Matt Murdock’s loan. Of course, he can not stop talking about his daughter Kamala. He even name dropped Ms. Marvel. It seems as if no Marvel super hero can get loans. Not just poor Sam Wilson.

I actually shivered when Matt, in the red mask, breaks the leg of the main bank robber. It was a painful blow.

I actually loved this episode even though there was no Daredevil. We got a lot of Matt Murdock using his powers in clever ways to save the day in a hugely subtle way.

The second episode really played the two sides of the same coin as both Matt and Wilson Fisk head back to the old days, Matt donning the Daredevil costume and Fisk beating poor Adam into oblivion.

We also get more with Muse. We learn about his victims and how his art is using the blood of his victims mixed with the paint. He faced off with Daredevil over the body of Hector’s niece, who was about to become Muse’s next victim.

Another cool cameo… Swordsman. Jacques “Jack” Duquesne himself makes an appearance to discuss items with Fisk at a fund raiser.

Two great episodes. I want more from Muse.

The X-Files S8 E13

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Spoilers

“Per Manum”

The episode focused in on Scully’s pregnancy and a potential conspiracy surrounding the deaths of other pregnant women. The episode was quite tense and does a really great job of keeping the storyline uncertain. The X-Files is exceptional at keeping the story hazy, where you are never quite sure what has happened. The truth continues to be an elusive thing.

Scully has kept her pregnancy a secret from everyone except for Skinner, which I guess I did not realize. I felt for John Doggett, being kept in the dark even though he has been nothing but honorable during his time with the X-Files. I guess you could say that Scully’s distrust goes deep, and understandably so.

We got a series of flashbacks too to scenes between Scully and Mulder, when he let her know that he had discovered Scully’s ova, but doctors had told him they were not viable. A second opinion gave Scully hope and she asked Mulder to be the father. These flashbacks were new scenes film with David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson and were strong scenes showing how connected these characters were.

The episode featured the debut of recurring character Knowle Rohrer, played by Adam Baldwin. Rohrer is an agent that Doggett knew, but who has potential ties to the CIA. His motivations were certainly up for question and his physical appearance felt close to Krychek, which was slightly disturbing for me.

This did have an old school feel to it and brought that classic X-Files episode.

O’Dessa

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Haven’t had a rock opera in awhile.

Well, there is one on Hulu right now starring Stranger Things star Sadie Sink. It is called O’Dessa and it is something. I feel as if I should sit with this one awhile.

Sadie Sink played the titular character O’Dessa Galloway, a young farm girl who takes her father’s guitar and set off to become a rambler, a traveling musician, like her father. Along the way, she met Euri Dervish (Kelvin Harrison Jr) and she fell in love with him. O’Dessa must overcome series of obstacles in the way of their love to play one song for the world.

There are things that this movie does extremely well and things that it does poorly. It is definitely a mixed bag for me. Starting with the positives, Sadie Sink is absolutely the star of this movie and she showed that she has a bright career after her days in Hawkins, Indiana come to a close. She has amazing charisma and displays a lot of talent, elevating the movie above what the script gives her.

That script is one of the weaknesses of the film as there is not much there below the surface area of plot and character development.

As I mentioned in my recent review of Disney’s Snow White remake, the music in O’Dessa is entertaining and, in the moment, I enjoyed it, but I am not sure that I will remember any of the songs and it did not inspire me to go buy it on Apple Music. So that is a push. I enjoyed listening to the music during the film, but it does not occupy a place in my head as great musicals would.

The post-apocalyptic world is an interesting mishmash of styles and imagery. Some areas felt like the world of “Fallout” while others feature technology and neon energy such as Blade Runner. It felt as if there should have been one or the other.

Regina Hall and Murray Bartlett appear as a couple of villainous characters that do not have much more than the villainy that they commit. Both are outstanding actors that bring more to their roles than what was on the page. The ending segment with Sadie Sink and Murray Bartlett was engaging and thrilling even if there was not a ton of depth to the characters. I truly believe that this is because of the skill of these actors.

Overall, I would give O’Dessa a slight positive as the best parts outweighed the weaknesses and the music is passable enough for an under two hour film. I do not think this will be a cult favorite though which is what it should have strived for.

3.1 stars

EYG Comic Cavalcade #145

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March 24

On Saturday, I took a trip to In This Issue Comics in Bettendorf. I do like this little shop because it has such a variety of independent books. There are some books that I picked up there that I had not ever seen before. There was one company called BQ Comics.

Because of timing, and the fact that next week’s haul at Comic World is going to be massive, I wanted to include these new independent books in an EYG Comic Cavalcade. There may be an eBay or two in here too…

Books this issue:

Crush Depth #1. Written by David “DB” Andry and Tim Daniel and art and cover art by Alex Sanchez. This was the book that inspired the trip to Bettendorf as I was intrigued by the concept of this comic. And this was one of the best books I picked up this week, including the books from EYG Comic Cavalcade#144. Engaging and entertaining action in a sub beneath the water with bizarre things happening. Mad Cave has a winner here.

Who are the Power Pals #1. Written by Duane Murray and art and cover art by Ahmed Raafat. A couple of washed up actors who had a very short lived TV show Called the Power Pals are trying to reclaim old glory. This Dark Horse book was more entertaining than I thought it was going to be.

LA Strong #1. This Mad Cave book was another book that I was not aware of. It is a charity comic for victims of the Los Angeles fires and it featured a who’s who of writers and artists. Each of them received a page or two and most of the book is not about storytelling as much as it is to speak some truth. Then some of the art in this book is breathtaking. It is a beautiful book.

Space Ghost #11. Written by David Pepose and art by Jonathan Lau. Francesco Mattina did the cover art. The copies delivered to Comic World of Space Ghost #11 were damaged and so I picked up this copy in Bettendorf to make sure that I could get it. Space Ghost is having all kinds of trouble with a whole bunch of his villains and a conflict with him and the kids.

Pop Kill #1. Written by Jimmy Palmiotti & Dave Johnson with art by Juan Santacruz. Variant cover D (boobies version) by Brian Steelfreeze. This was one from eBay this week. I picked up the uncensored version of the cover. I did enjoy this book with a battle between soda pop companies. It was not just because of the cover.

Ultimate X-Men #13. Writer and artist: Peach Momoko. Foil variant cover by Benjamin Su. I had this comic last week, but the foil variant cover caught my attention. I tried to ignore it, but I could not just leave it on the shelf. The cover was a beautiful one, even if it is not by Peach Momoko.

Galavera P.I. #1-4. Written and drawn by Marco Finnegan. I picked up this full four-issue series this weekend and the guy who checked me out said that he loved this series. He was right. This was fabulous. A story of a detective who has come back from the dead to take care of something he left behind. I loved the character design and the story was well written.

The 27 Run Crash #1-2. Written by Justin Zimmerman and art by by Russell Brown. This was the book from the company that referred to in the beginning, BQ Comics. It is a futuristic apocalyptic story about a man and his mech.

DC x Sonic the Hedgehog #1. “Chaos Crisis Part One” Written by Ian Flynn and art by Adam Bryce Thomas. Cover art by Pablo M. Collar. I picked this up as a collectible. I flipped through it, but did not read it. It had a nice cover, but honestly, it was just to grab a number one.

Convert #1-2. Written by John Arcudi and art by Savannah Finley. Cover art by Simon Gane. This is a series from Image that I had not heard of before, but I did like this one. It reminded me a bit of the movie The Martian mixed with a more sci-fi element. This was an interesting story so far.

Dream Weaver #1. Written by Chris Ryall and illustrated by Nelson Daniel. This is listed as a GIANT SYZE SPECIAL. I’m not sure what this was. It felt like a story that was told about a character named Dream Weaver that debuted before. It felt like it needed more explanation on what was going on. I did like the presentation overall.

Remote Space #1-3. Written, drawn and cover art by Cliff Rathburn. Another weird and wild Image Comics series. There are some wonderful character design but there is so much exposition in this book that it is hard to read. Only one more issue in this series though and it is a beautiful artistic book.

Riff Raff

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I had a chance to rent Riff Raff . I had seen the film in the theaters, but I was unable to fit a viewing into the schedule and I was interested in it because of the cast. So when it became available on Vudu, I was excited at the chance to watch it.

The cast was extremely strong, featuring Ed Harris, Jennifer Coolidge, Bill Murray, Gabrielle Union, Pete Davidson, Lewis Pullman, Miles J. Harvey and Emanuela Postacchini.

Vincent (Ed Harris) was a former criminal who escaped from the life and found a new one with a new wife Sandy (Gabrielle Union) and her son from another marriage, DJ (Miles J. Harvey). DJ was preparing to go to college when Vincent’s other son Rocco (Lewis Pullman) and his pregnant girlfriend Marina (Emanuela Postacchini) showed up unexpectedly, with Rocco’s mother and Vincent’s first wife, Ruth (Jennifer Coolidge) unconscious and in tow. Rocco has got a problem that threatened everybody’s happiness.

This film is a dark comedy in the vein of Fargo, but I do not think the comedic element is exactly strong. I did enjoy the separate characters and their stories that the film develops. Some might claim the film is slow, but I thought the development of these people were one of the strengths of the movie.

I love Jennifer Coolidge. I have been introduced to her work recently with The White Lotus and I enjoyed the character she was playing here.

Without spoiling things, I think the ending of this both worked and had several flaws to it. Most of what happened worked well for me, but there were some questions I had about how things happened and why things happened that did take away from it, in my opinion. I can’t go into too many details without spoiling it, but let’s just say that it did not leave me with the satisfied feeling I expected.

The strength of the cast pulled this up and I was engaged with the story as it developed. I wish there was another ten minutes at the end to make some things that happen make more sense than they did.

3.3 stars

What We Do in the Shadows S1 E3

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Spoilers

“Werewolf Feud”

The third episode of this series took its cue from Twilight and highlighted the conflict between vampires and werewolves in the most hilarious way.

First, can we stop a second to talk about Laszlo’s bush sculpting? I nearly fell over laughing that entire time as he proudly lead the tour of his bushes trimmed into the likeness of the vulvas of his myriad of lovers. If that was not enough, he came across his mother’s bush which had been pissed upon by a werewolf.

Okay, so that was insanely funny. As was the showdown with the wolfpack and the vampires, following the agreements of the truce between the Staten Island Vampires and Werewolves. This led to a one on one match with Nandor and a remarkable large werewolf. Nandor used a squeaky toy to cause the werewolf to leap off the roof, claiming victory. So much wonderfully clever writing on this episode.

The B-plot of the episode was every bit as excellent as Colin, the energy vampire, meets up with Evie, the emotional vampire, and there did not seem as if there was enough for both of them at work. Colin and Evie decided to work together and became a couple.

Again, this was exceptionally funny as the pair played off each other in their attempt to “feed.” Even the break up scene was hilarious as Evie wanted just one more taste from Colin.

This episode was much better than the previous one. It had two stories and did not feel like too much was crammed into the episode. This had a nice flow to it and it was really funny.

The White Lotus S3 E6

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Spoilers

“Denials”

Only two more episodes remaining in season 3 for The White Lotus. And things are starting to ramp up.

Still my favorite storyline has been the Gary/Greg story. He is setting up a dinner party and he is inviting some people that he feels he has some issues with. I have a feeling this dinner party could be a major event on the show.

Belinda getting caught in bed by her son was funny.

Saxton and Lochlin struggle to remember what happened on the boat with Chloe and, as memories are coming back, Saxton is feeling repulsed by what happened in the heat of the moment.

Rick is getting himself invited to Sritala under a false pretense to see her husband, whom he shared a dark back story with. Rick has a gun with him. This does not feel like it is going to end well.

Speaking about not ending well, Timothy has been having some dark, suicidal or homicidal thoughts. The troubles awaiting him back in the States are weighing on him, and both Victoria and Saxton told him that they couldn’t go on without the money. They had no idea what they were saying or how true it was about to come, but it was in Timothy’s head. The Ratcliff family is heading to that dinner party too.

My least favorite story continues to be Jaclyn, Kate and Laurie. The three blondes were fighting over Valentin staying the night. I do love these actresses, but I just don’t see what this story has to do with anything.

The Leftovers S1 E2

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“Penguin One, Us Zero”

The second episode of The Leftovers picked up the storylines from the pilot and continued them. One of the major features was Kevin Garvey and his own personal struggles. It seems as if Garvey is afraid of losing his mind and he thought he was seeing things that were not there. He had some issues with a bagel as well as the problem about the dog shooting that he participated in the other night.

Kevin’s son, Tom, is in his own trouble. He was hooked up with Wayne’s cult, and he killed an agent from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives, and Cults who was just about to execute Christine. Tom and Christine escaped to a gas station, where they expected to meet Wayne. However, the gas station attendant was already dead, spooking Tom. Wayne pulled up before Tom could complete a phone call to his dad. Wayne instructed Tom to protect Christine and for them to go on the run until he called them back.

The man who shot the dogs came to Garvey’s house wanting to have Garvey join him the next night to shoot some more dogs. There was a pack he had discovered near the school. This is a strange piece of the story so far, especially since no one else seems to know who this bald man was. It is not just Garvey’s imagination though as his daughter Jill sees him too.

The Mayor visited Garvey’s father, Kevin Sr., at the institution and Garvey showed up while she was there. What connection does Lucy have with Kevin Sr?

It’s still early to wonder about the character played by Carrie Coon. She is carrying a gun, apparently related to Father Matt and is interviewing people about people close to them who had disappeared.

I feel as if the show will start to pick up more over the next few episodes and I am committed to watching it.

Yellowjackets S3 E7

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“Yellowjackets: Croak”

Joel McHale.

I did not expect to see him as one of the outsiders that came upon the Yellowjackets last week, but there he was, sporting a crossbow and everything.

I don’t know, if I were Joel McHale, who played Kodiak, who was a guide for the frog scientists, Edwin and Hannah, I would not have run from the girls. I had a crossbow. Even after Lottie killed Edwin with an axe, I think I might have tried to take a stand against them. He was clearly bigger and stronger than the girls.

In the end, both Kodiak and Hannah were captured by the Yellowjackets and, if what he hear about in the present day, it does not sound as if either of them make it out of the wilderness. At least, if they do, they are missing.

Then, the mystery of who killed Lottie continues to be crazy as it could, literally, be just about anyone. Taissa has been under the control of her other half for who knows how long. Something confirmed by Van when she was hallucinating at the hospital. She was throwing up blood as Shauna, Tai and Misty joined her on the way to confront the daughter of Hannah, who they believe had sent them that tape. Of course, it could also be Shauna, who had her DNA under Lottie’s fingernails.

Shauna ditched her, well, I was going to say friends, but that is not right) former team mates at the hospital and went to the daughter’s house and Shauna had purchased a big old knife. What is her plan? Or is she just still as psychotic as she seemed in the wilderness? Callie seems to be wondering if her mother is a bad person.

This episode flew by for me and I was not ready for it to end. I can’t wait for next week’s new installment… along with the rumored appearance of Hillary Swank.