Author Archives: Doc

Invincible S3 E6

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Spoilers

“All I Can Say is I’m Sorry”

This one was a tough episode to watch.

It started off with the Batman v Superman set up as the character who would become Powerplex lost a sister and niece in the battle of Chicago between Omni-Man and Invincible. He blamed Invincible for the loss and tried to get justice.

In the end, Powerplex’s quest for justice cost him the life of his own wife and son.

Honestly, when I saw that, I immediately thought about Jay Schmidt from the YouTube show pReview’d, which I watch regularly and I know review this show. Jay is very sensitive to anything family-wise since he became a father recently. Seeing the after effects of Powerplex’s attack was devastating, even as an animated show. I had to go watch the pReview’d episode after this and, as I expected, he did not react well. I felt bad for him because he is such a sweet man.

The themes of the episode focused on the results of the loss of life around the fights of the superheroes and how much responsibility the heroes share in the deaths. This is an argument that some films and stories have made, including the loss of life in Man of Steel and, as I mentioned earlier, BvS.

I read a comment that this event in the comic book made a huge impact on Invincible and that it may be a needed moment for the character development of Mark.

Changing the subject for a sec, I just do not like the new black and blue costume. I miss the old one, but it looks as if there is a reason for that change as the tag at the end of the episode looks like something is coming.

Yellowjackets S3 E4

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Spoilers

“12 Angry Girls and One Drunk Travis”

I found this episode really great as some major events happened, despite the feeling that the story slowed down a bit.

In the wilderness, the girls placed Coach Ben on trial for arson and attempted murder. Natalie was the judge, Tai was the prosecutor and Misty was the defense attorney. Misty did a great job too. They had decided that it would require a 3/5 majority to convict Ben and that would come back in a major way later.

After a really emotional and powerful moment from Ben on the stand, Shauna had to intimidate several of the jury in order to get the 2/3 required to convict him. Wilderness Shauna is my least favorite of the Yellowjackets. She is vicious and cruel and filled with hate. It is strange because she is one of my favorite characters in present day, even when she is blaming Misty for all of her troubles or stabbing people in the gut. It is difficult to process the differences between the same character and how I feel about it.

The episode ended with a major cliffhanger, as it looks as if Lottie is dead at the base of some stairs. What happened to her? I have no idea, but Lottie had some strange moments in the episode. This is most likely the big mystery of this season, and it probably connects to the mysterious person who is stalking Shauna and locking her in freezers.

Next week’s episode is the halfway point already in the season and it feels as if the show is starting to ramp itself up.

John Cena Turned Heel

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Triple H had stated that the WWE’s PLC this weekend, The Elimination Chamber, would be an “industry-changing event” and he was wasn’t joking. The biggest shock came at the very end of the show, as John Cena, the ultimate of all good guys, turned to a bad guy.

Some set up. Dwayne Johnson had returned to the WWE as The Final Boss. A week before, he went to WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and asked him to give him his soul, and become The Rock’s champion. He gave Cody until the Elimination Chamber to make his decision.

John Cena had just won the Men’s Elimination Chamber match by forcing CM Punk to pass out to the STF. Cena was still in the ring when Cody Rhodes made his way to the ring. This was not uncommon. By winning the Chamber, Cena earned a match for the championship with Rhodes at Wrestlemania and there is a long tradition of people in the matches like this facing off with each other. In fact, earlier in the PLC, Bianca Belair had won the women’s Chamber and Rhea Ripley (and Iyo Sky) came out to confront her. So when Rhodes came down to the ring, it was expected to be a confrontation.

Then the Rock came down, and he told Cody that he wanted his answer. He told Cody that if he said yes, he would have everything, and if he said no, his dream would die, again. However, Cody said that he had already given his soul away to the fans and the ring, and that Rock could go “F-himself,” except he didn’t say “F.”

Cena was excited in the background, and he came over to hug Cody. That was when Cena’s face changed and he received the throat-slitting gesture from The Rock. He then attacked Cody Rhodes and bloodied him with the championship belt.

Cena and the Rock stood over top of Cody Rhodes posing together.

Fans have been wanting a Cena heel turn for years, but the WWE rejected the idea. Cena was the ultimate babyface, granted more Make-a-Wish requests than anyone ever, and was always a heroic figure, even if the crowd was half chanting that “Cena Sucks.” They had chances to turn him heel before, and they never took it.

Cena had announced that he would be returning to the WWE in 2025 to engage in a retirement tour. That at the end of 2025, Cena would retire from in-ring competition. He has become a successful actor in Hollywood so this would be the final run. He wanted to win his 17th world championship, which would break the record of 16, a total he shared with Ric Flair.

Turning him heel on his final run with the company and in such a grand manner was gutsy. It was an amazing decision, one that has immediately been compared to the heel turn by Hulk Hogan when he formed the NWO, largely considered the most famous heel turn of all time.

The WWE is upside down and the Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena match suddenly has so many more stakes involved besides a Cena record. The industry is totally changed and will be for the foreseeable future.

The time is now.

EYG Comic Cavalcade #141

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March 2

It is Sunday morning and the EYG Comic Cavalcade is a little bit late. That was because much of Saturday was taken up for me with watching Last Breath, the Animated and Live-action Oscar nominated shorts, and the Elimination Chamber, where John Cena turned heel. It was an epically busy day and so, while I was able to finish reading the books Saturday morning, this write-up had to wait.

One of the things I received in the mail this week was a graphic novel that I had supported through Kickstarter. It was called Oxymoron, and I actually got two graphic novels. The second one was the most recent book entitled Oxymoron: Killing Time. The book is edited by Tyler James and he was the driving force behind the Kickstarter. Oxymoron is a killer clown type character going through time to wipe out those who deserved it… in his own warped opinion. It was a fun book that I am happy to have supported.

Still a pretty big week at Comic World this week. I had to take two trips up to Dubuque because of the shipment problems facing Diamond, but it was worth my time for sure.

Books this week:

Black Canary: Best of the Best #4. “Round Four.” Written by Tom King and art and cover art by Ryan Sook. I love this series so far. I have never been a fan of Black Canary. I mean, she was always fine, but she was never anything special to me, but this series has taken her and made this book one of the first ones I read when it comes out. Black Canary takes a turn in her battle with Lady Shiva. Tom King is excellent at these story arc type series.

Amazing Spider-Man #68. DEATHS. “Cain is Able.” Written by Christos Gage and art by Mark Buckingham. Buckingham & Richard Isanove did the cover art. Spidey is dead, and the Juggernaut steps up. I still do not understand why Marvel wants to do these dot issues (.DEATHS). Why do you just make this #69 instead. I have not been a fan of the 8 Deaths of Spider-Man arc and I will be pleased when it comes to a close in a few issues.

The Department of Truth #28. Written by James Tynion IV and art and cover art by Martin Simmonds. Tynion’s conspiratorial series continues with a shocking return of Hawk at the end of another trippy episode. It is always difficult to know what is going down with the Department of Truth, but it is a lot of fun to try and figure it out.

Behemoth #2. Written by Grant Sputore & Ryan Engle. Art and cover art was done by Jay Martin (Bronze medalist). This Dark Horse comic has been awesome so far. Who knew the dangers that could be found after your bus has been swallowed by a monster. I mean besides digestion. There are all kinds of shocks in this book and I am here for it.

Ultraman X Avengers #4. Written by Kyle Higgins & Mat Groom. Art was done by Francesco Manna. This special crossover comes to a conclusion as the Avengers and Ultra Guard match up with Galactus in an attempt to save the universe. All of which ends in a karaoke party. Yup, that is true.

Sentinels #5. “Factory Settings” Written by Alex Paknadel and art by Jason Mason. Cover art was done by Jason Mason and Federico Blee. This mini series ends with this issue. Sentinels has been an okay book, but I am not sure that it will be a memorable one. Will I remember anything about it in a month or so? Not sure. I’m glad I own it though.

Silence #2. Written by Evan K. Pozios and art and cover art by Alex Sanchez. It has been awhile since issue number one came out and so it required some recollection on what was going on. A famed comic artist is in a small town called Silence and weirdness is going on. I do like the art style in this book, as it feels different than what I am used to. There is only one more issue remaining of this book from Afterlight Comics.

Hello Darkness #8. This anthology book continues to be highly entertaining from Boom! Studios. I do enjoy a horror anthology. This issue featured the continuation of James Tynion IV’s Erica Slaughter story has has been in three other issues prior. It also saw the end of the Garth Ennis story, “The War.”

Justice League Unlimited #4. Written by Mark Waid and art and cover art by Dan Mora. Tefé Holland is recruited by Mister Terrific to do what she can to stop the inferno and save the Green. Batman and J’onn J’ones interact as well. The Justice League continues to be a solid read each issue with so many possible guest stars.

Ripperland #2. Written by Steve Orlando and John Harris Dunning with art and cover art by Alessandro Oliveri (Silver medalist). The mystery of the serial killer that has some ties to Jack the Ripper continues in the distant future.

Green Lantern Dark #3. “New Camelot.” Written by Tate Brombal and art by Werther Dell’Edera. Cover art was by Werther Dell’Edera and Giovanna Niro. I really enjoyed the Elseworld version of Green Lantern. This has been a fun and engaging series so far, even if the book reads like what if Erica Slaughter had the power of Green Lantern.

The Human Fly #3. Written by Christopher Sequeira and Jason Franks. Art and cover art was done by Jan Scherpenhuizen (Silver Medalist). This IPI Comics book is very intriguing so far. I like the superhero/super spy type feeling the Human Fly gives us and there are some interesting mysteries of what is going on.

Red Hulk #1. “Think Tank.” Written by Benjamin Percy and art by Geoff Shaw. Variant cover B art by Todd Nauck & Rachelle Rosenberg. Hot off his appearance in Captain America: Brave New World, Thaddeus Ross is back as the Red Hulk, under control of the Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Doom. There is an eclectic band of other characters in the same Latverian prison as Ross, so we will be seeing a team up mving forward.

Captain America & Volstagg #1. Written by J. Michael Straczynski and art by Bernard Chang. Terry & Rachel Dotson did the cover art. This is the latest issue in the whole Marvel teams up some characters that you would never expect to team up series of books. Cap and Warriors Three member Volstagg would not have been my first choice, but they worked together nicely. It made sense, which is an important factor.

Hellhunters #3. Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and art by Adam Gordon. Cover art was done by Jonas Scharf & Alex Guimaraes. Back in World War II, welcome to the Hellhunters… Bucky Barnes. Young Bucky is out to prove his worth and he joined up with Fury, Ghost Rider and the rest. Fun WWII action in this series, with plenty of supernatural flow as well.

Iron Man #5. “Destroy the Machines.” Written by Spencer Ackerman and art by Jeremy Pina. Cover art was done by Yasmine Putri. Iron Man, Ironheart and Melinda May battled Lucia Von Bardas and her Stark Sentinel.

TVA #3. Written by Katharyn Blair and art by Pere Perez. Cover art was done by Pere Perez and GURU e-FX (Bronze medalist). Thankfully, Mobius survived his attack from last issue, even though he looked really dead, in a pool of his own blood. I have enjoyed the grouping of these characters in this issue so far.

X-Men #12. “Work Release.” Written by Jed MacKay and art by Netho Diaz. Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, and Marte Gracia did the cover art. Helping out with the X-Men in this issue… it is Alpha Flight! I always loved Alpha Flight so it was cool to see so many of their classic characters back in the pages of the X-Men where they were originally born.

Ultimate Spider-Man #14. Written by Jonathan Hickman and art by Marco Checchetto. Cover art was done by Marco Checchetto and Matthew Wilson. I also picked up the variant (1:25) with cover art by Carmen Carnero. With Richard and Black Cat growing closer, there is a shocking death at the hands of Kraven. I did not expect this death, so maybe there will be some shenanigans coming with it.

Fantastic Four #29. “The Dream Team.” Written by Ryan North and penciled by Cory Smith. Cover art is by Joshua Cassara & Dean White. Welcome back as a special guest star this issue… She-Hulk! Jen, Ben and Sue team up to try and save some vampire children. There is a weird sentence.

Uncanny Valley #8. Written by Tony Fleecs with art and cover art by Dave Wachter. Oliver is still in the world of cartoons, and he is trying to find his way back to his mom and grandpa, while avoiding the First. There are a group of purple creatures that may bear some resemblance to the Smurfs (only not blue) that Oliver meets. Uncanny Valley is an entertaining and creative book every month.

Nights #13. “Viva Las Gray-gas.” Written by Wyatt Kennedy and art by Luigi Formisano. I thought Nights was done, but then I was surprised by issue #13 in the previews. I wonder how much the continuation of this series was based on the animated series that is in the works from Titmouse, the company behind Netflix’s Big Mouth. I’m sure Image is not above using the publicity to sell more comics. It is a smart idea. And this issue was a nice one to jump on to if you were unfamiliar with the first 12 issues.

Absolute Wonder Woman #5. “The Last Amazon Part 5 of 5.” Written by Kelly Thompson and art by Hayden Sherman. Cover art was done by Hayden Sherman and Jordie Bellaire. Diana takes some drastic steps to defeat the giant monster… she turned herself into Medusa. I do like how this series ties Diana to Greek mythology even more than before.

Metamorpho #3. “The Man from J.A.V.A.” Written by Al Ewing and art by Steve Lieber. Steve lieber & Lee Loughridge did the cover art. This issue is heavily including Java, who was once Rex Mason’s second hand. Java is now a secret agent. Oh and Metamorpho and Sapphire split up. And then there is Java, Java, Java, Java, Java, Java, Java and Java (Happy Todd?)

Hornsby & Halo #4. I started to read this issue from Image’s Ghost Machine imprint, but I was really confused. It felt as if I was missing something from this story because Hornsby and Halo were together and they both were using their powers together. I did not remember that so I went to my CZL app and found out that I was missing issue #3. So I stopped reading this one and put it aside until my order from eBay gets here.

Other books this week: In Bloom #3, FML #4, Women of Marvel: She-Devils #1, The Seasons #2, Rogue the Savage Land #2, Ultimate X-Men #12, and Milestone Universe: The Shadow Cabinet #4.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #6

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“Bastogne”

As we start the second half of the season, the soldiers of Easy Company are in bad shape. The defense of the Belgium city of Bastogne was part of the Battle of the Bulge and was one of the most important moments of the war.

One of the key parts to this episode was the focus on the character Eugene Roe, the medic with the group. The horrors he had to endure in an attempt to keep the soldiers of his company in one piece was devastating. I was always a fan of the TV show MASH, but this took the realism to an all new level with the injuries and the blood. It truly gave a portrait of a man trying to hold his own self together to do what he could for the wounded.

Eugene met up with a nurse in the town of Bastogne, Renee. They connected over their efforts to save people and their wartime moments were the sole peace in this episode. Sadly, I knew what was destined to happen here, as Renee appeared to have died in a German bombing run on Bastogne (although no body was found).

Eugene went through the mental wringer in this episode, but the final moments with him seemed to indicate that he was going to make it through. He had slowly been starting to become like a zombie, but the final moment in a foxhole with Heffron, who he calls by his nickname “Babe” which was significant because Eugene did not use the nicknames before.

One of the more haunting moments of the episode came when there was a lull in fighting and the Germans could be heard singing “Silent Night” in German from out of their locations in the woods. Since it was Christmastime, this little bit of singing humanized the Germans, reminding us that they were just people fighting for their side, even if the Nazi Party was completely evil.

Another brutally powerful episode of this mini-series. Just four more weeks to go for this series in the Sunday Morning Sidewalk.

2025 Oscar Live-action and Animated Shorts

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I was able to see the five Academy Award nominated Live-action shorts and the five animated shorts today at Cinemark. I look forward to this every year, getting the chance to see these well deserving films. I was under a time constraint today thanks to the WWE Elimination Chamber, but it was able to fit nicely in.

Live-Action Shorts.

I am going to list these in order of my favorite. I will also give you which one I think will win the Oscar. Spoiler, my favorite animation short is not the one that I am predicting will win the Academy Award.

#5. The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent. From Croatia. Honestly, this was my least favorite of the films I saw today. It felt like it was doing something special, but it just seemed to end and I did not like the conclusion of the film.

#4. Anuja. India. I liked this short. The actress playing Anuja does a great job with the talented young girl, but the ending of this one was left fairly uncertain and I wanted more closure.

#3. I’m Not a Robot. Netherlands/Belgium. This sci-fi short was very clever. Started off with some good humor, but developed into an obsession. I did not know that the CAPTCHA could identify robots in other ways. This was an enjoyable short.

#2. The Last Ranger. South Africa. A remarkably powerful short film detailing poachers targeting rhino horns. There are some really emotional moments in this short and the performance by Liyabona Mroqoza is riveting. I just about put this at number one, but…

#1. A Lien. USA. Man this was a tough short to watch. A young couple and their daughter heads down to have the husband’s green card meeting and ICE is there. The emotion, the fear, the anger and frustration jumps off the screen in this short.

A Lien gets my pick as the winner for the Academy Award for Best Live-Action Short.

Animated Shorts

I did enjoy the Live-Action shorts overall more than the Animated ones, but these were all pretty decent too.

#5. Wander to Wonder. Netherlands/Belgium/France. This was such a bizarre short. Wander to Wonder was a kiddie show at one point but things have become really dark. It was truly disturbing and weird.

#4. Beautiful Men. Netherlands/Belgium/France. Three brothers who were hoping to get a hair transplant surgery, have to face their problems and their insecurities. I thought this was a good short with some solid characteristic development.

#3. Magic Candies. Japan. This one felt like it was just too long. There was a scene in this film, where the young boy had some magic candy and it led to a nice moment with his father. That should have been the end, but then the short continued on. It just went too long for me. The first fifteen minutes or so were really great.

#2. Yuck!. France. This is the sweetest of the animated films as the whole thing was based around a first kiss. This was a nice animated short.

#1. In the Shadow of the Cypress. Iran. This was my favorite animated short. I loved the animation and I thought this story was the deepest. There was a lot of emotion. The father, daughter and a whale. I loved this whole thing.

However, my pick to win the Oscar is Magic Candies. I just have a feeling this is what the Academy will do. I hope In the Shadow of the Cypress wins, but I do not think it will.

Last Breath

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During this year’s Genre-ary, I watched 30 documentaries. One of them was a documentary called Last Breath, and it told the story of a deep sea diver Chris Lemons who, after an accident, was stranded underwater. Real footage from the actual event made that documentary thrilling.

But, as I was preparing to watch that doc, I realized that I had seen a trailer that had Woody Harrelson in it telling the same story. Sure enough, there was a new movie coming out with the same title, based on the true story.

According to IMDB, Last Breath was “A heart-pounding film that follows seasoned deep-sea divers as they battle the raging elements to rescue their crew mate trapped hundreds of feet below the ocean’s surface. Based on a true story, LAST BREATH is an electrifying story about teamwork, resilience, and a race against time to do the impossible.“

Chris Lemons (Finn Cole), Duncan Allock (Woody Harrelson), and Dave Yuasa (Simu Liu) were sent on a mission to repair a pipeline off the coast of Scotland. A terrible storm messed with the ship above the water, causing problems for the divers beneath the water. Chris’s lifeline broke, leaving him stuck in the cold, dark water.

The race against time, equipment and weather created amazing tension and anxiety. I did know the outcome of the story because I had seen the documentary, but I was still fully engaged in the story. I did wish that I hadn’t seen the documentary as I was watching the movie.

Woody Harrelson and Simu Liu had amazing performances as did all of the other actors in the film. Some of the other top performances in the film included Cliff Curtis, MyAnna Buring, Mark Bonnar, Bobby Rainsbury, and, of course, Finn Cole.

The sound editing of the film was sensational too. The shots of the ship in the storm sounded unbelievably great. The effects were tremendous and really worked well.

This is a very solid film with great performances, especially from Harrelson, and amazing technical artistry. Watch this film and then watch the Netflix documentary and you will be amazed with this sotry.

4 stars

Oscar Picks from EYG

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Here are my official Academy Award picks for the Sunday night awards. I am not seeing the short films until tomorrow so I will be skipping that pick as of now.

Best Picture 
Anora
The Brutalist 
A Complete Unknown 
Conclave
Dune: Part Two 
Emilia Pérez
I’m Still Here
Nickel Boys
The Substance 
Wicked

Actor in a Leading Role
Adrien Brody, The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo, Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes, Conclave
Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice

Actress in a Leading Role
Cynthia Erivo, Wicked
Karla Sofía Gascón, Emilia Pérez
Mikey Madison, Anora
Demi Moore, The Substance
Fernanda Torres, I’m Still Here

Actor in a Supporting Role
Yura Borisov, Anora
Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain 
Edward Norton, A Complete Unknown 
Guy Pearce, The Brutalist 
Jeremy Strong, The Apprentice

Actress in a Supporting Role
Monica Barbaro, A Complete Unknown
Ariana Grande, Wicked
Felicity Jones, The Brutalist
Isabella Rossellini, Conclave
Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez

Animated Feature Film
Flow 
Inside Out 2 
Memoir of a Snail 
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl 
The Wild Robot

Documentary Feature Film
Black Box Diaries
No Other Land
Porcelain War
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
Sugarcane

International Feature Film
I’m Still Here
The Girl with the Needle
Emilia Pérez
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Flow

Directing
Sean Baker, Anora
Brady Corbet,  The Brutalist
James Mangold, A Complete Unknown
Jacques Audiard, Emilia Pérez
Coralie Fargeat, The Substance

Cinematography
Lol Crawley, The Brutalist
Greig Fraser, Dune: Part Two
Paul Guilhaume, Emilia Pérez
Ed Lachman, Maria
Jarin Blaschke, Nosferatu

Writing (Original Screenplay)
Anora 
The Brutalist  
A Real Pain   
September 5 
The Substance 

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Nickel Boys
Sing Sing

Film Editing
Anora
The Brutalist
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Wicked

Music (Original Song)
“El Mal” from Emilia Pérez
“The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight
“Like a Bird” from Sing Sing
“Mi Camino” from Emilia Pérez
“Never Too Late” from Elton John: Never Too Late

Music (Original Score)
The Brutalist
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Wicked
The Wild Robot

Sound
A Complete Unknown 
Dune: Part Two 
Emilia Pérez
Wicked 
The Wild Robot

Production Design
The Brutalist
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nosferatu
Wicked

Visual Effects
Alien: Romulus
Better Man
Dune: Part Two
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Wicked

Makeup and Hairstyling
A Different Man 
Emilia Pérez
Nosferatu
The Substance 
Wicked

Costume Design
Arianne Phillips, A Complete Unknown
Lisy Christl, Conclave
Janty Yates and Dave Crossman, Gladiator II
Linda Muir, Nosferatu
Paul Tazewell, Wicked

Best Animated Short
Beautiful Men
In the Shadow of the Cypress
Magic Candles
Wander to Wonder
Yuck!

Best Documentary Short
Death by Numbers
I am Ready, Warden
Incident
Instruments of a Beating Heart
The Only Girl in the Orchestra

Best Live-Action Short
A Lien
Anuja
I’m Not a Robot
The Last Ranger
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent

I’ll pick the other two tomorrow after I see the live action and animated shorts.

Oscar Nominees

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Best Picture 
Anora
The Brutalist 
A Complete Unknown 
Conclave
Dune: Part Two 
Emilia Pérez
I’m Still Here
Nickel Boys
The Substance 
Wicked

Actor in a Leading Role
Adrien Brody, The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo, Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes, Conclave
Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice

Actress in a Leading Role
Cynthia Erivo, Wicked
Karla Sofía Gascón, Emilia Pérez
Mikey Madison, Anora
Demi Moore, The Substance
Fernanda Torres, I’m Still Here

Actor in a Supporting Role
Yura Borisov, Anora
Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain 
Edward Norton, A Complete Unknown 
Guy Pearce, The Brutalist 
Jeremy Strong, The Apprentice

Actress in a Supporting Role
Monica Barbaro, A Complete Unknown
Ariana Grande, Wicked
Felicity Jones, The Brutalist
Isabella Rossellini, Conclave
Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez

Animated Feature Film
Flow 
Inside Out 2 
Memoir of a Snail 
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl 
The Wild Robot

Documentary Feature Film
Black Box Diaries
No Other Land
Porcelain War
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
Sugarcane

International Feature Film
I’m Still Here
The Girl with the Needle
Emilia Pérez
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Flow

Directing
Sean Baker, Anora
Brady Corbet,  The Brutalist
James Mangold, A Complete Unknown
Jacques Audiard, Emilia Pérez
Coralie Fargeat, The Substance

Cinematography
Lol Crawley, The Brutalist
Greig Fraser, Dune: Part Two
Paul Guilhaume, Emilia Pérez
Ed Lachman, Maria
Jarin Blaschke, Nosferatu

Writing (Original Screenplay)
Anora 
The Brutalist  
A Real Pain   
September 5 
The Substance 

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Nickel Boys
Sing Sing

Film Editing
Anora
The Brutalist
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Wicked

Music (Original Song)
“El Mal” from Emilia Pérez
“The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight
“Like a Bird” from Sing Sing
“Mi Camino” from Emilia Pérez
“Never Too Late” from Elton John: Never Too Late

Music (Original Score)
The Brutalist
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Wicked
The Wild Robot

Sound
A Complete Unknown 
Dune: Part Two 
Emilia Pérez
Wicked 
The Wild Robot

Production Design
The Brutalist
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nosferatu
Wicked

Visual Effects
Alien: Romulus
Better Man
Dune: Part Two
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Wicked

Makeup and Hairstyling
A Different Man 
Emilia Pérez
Nosferatu
The Substance 
Wicked

Costume Design
Arianne Phillips, A Complete Unknown
Lisy Christl, Conclave
Janty Yates and Dave Crossman, Gladiator II
Linda Muir, Nosferatu
Paul Tazewell, Wicked

Best Animated Short
Beautiful Men
In the Shadow of the Cypress
Magic Candles
Wander to Wonder
Yuck!

Best Documentary Short
Death by Numbers
I am Ready, Warden
Incident
Instruments of a Beating Heart
The Only Girl in the Orchestra

Best Live-Action Short
A Lien
Anuja
I’m Not a Robot
The Last Ranger
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent

EYG Favorite Comic Covers of the Week

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February 27

So, yesterday I said that the Diamond delivery had not arrived at Comic World and that I might have to do another EYG Favorite Comic Covers of the Week before next week. I did not expect it to be the next day. But that is where we are. I picked up nineteen books today so I think another group of medalists is on their way.

Bronze Medalist

TVA #3

Cover art by Pere Perez & GURU-eFX

Fun cover with some fun characters. Love Miss Minutes from Loki and Spider-Gwen is always great. Who’s hand is that, by the way?

Silver Medalist

Ripperland #2

Cover art by Alessandro Oliveri

Some wonderful imagery and color on this Dark Horse book. It gives that old-timey feel while still standing out among the books on the shelf.

Gold Medalist

Hello Darkness #8

Variant Cover B

Cover Art by Jenny Frison

Hello Darkness has a great cover every month. This variant cover is both awesome and kind of disturbing.

EYG Favorite Comic Cover of the Week

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February 26

Another condensed week this week as Diamond continues to mess with the delivery to Comic World. No Marvel and several of the independents are absent from this. It is yet to be seen if there will be another EYG Favorite Comic Cover of the Week this week.

Bronze Medalist

Behemoth #2

Cover art by Jay Martin

The Dark Horse book has a creepy vibe to it. Behemoth has been a cool book and this cover gives us the unexpectedness of some creature. Awesome look.

Silver Medalist

The Human Fly #3

Cover art by John Scherpenhuizen

This is a psychedelic cover with awesome colors and images of Human Fly stands out. Oh, and there is an actual fly on the cover.

Gold Medalist

Bug Wars #1

Variant Cover B

Cover art by Peach Momoko

I got this on eBay today and, since it would have placed had I got it a couple of weeks ago, I decided to include it. And a Gold Medal for Peach Momoko. This is a beautiful variant cover for a cool new series.

Elevation (2024)

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I came across this movie on MAX and, while it was listed as a 2025 film, everywhere else had it as a 2024 release. Had I know that, I could have saved this for the June Swoon, but I do think I have plenty of films available for that. I decided to list this under the “classics” instead of 2025 for that reason.

Anthony Mackie played Will, who lived with his son Hunter (Danny Boyd, Jr.) in the Rocky Mountains. Humanity has been destroyed by these creatures that suddenly just popped up from out of nowhere. Fortunately, the creatures could not go past 8,000 feet elevation.

Hunter was sick and needed certain materials that could only be found in the hospital, which meant Will had to go down the mountain to try and find more. He was accompanied by two women, Nina (Morena Baccarin) and Katie (Maddie Hasson).

I really like Anthony Mackie. He is a star and you can see how he commands the screen in a film like this. Sadly, I do not think the film matches up to the strength of Mackie’s screen presence.

The writing is, at best, passable. The story depends way too much on exposition which can become repetitive and dull. The story is full of contrivances and coincidences that really damages the plot.

Nina and Katie started out really hating one another. There was clearly conflicts between the two women, but that conflict disappeared in what seemed no time, without any true resolution. The relationship between them felt forced and had no basis in reality. I know that the film has giant sci-fi monsters running around, which is why the central relationships have to have a dose of realism if the film is to work. These three characters are lacking in that area.

This felt like a poor man’s The Last of Us, mixed with a little bit of A Quiet Place. It was just not at a level of either of those franchises. Anthony Mackie is great and he is doing everything he could to elevate this script, but there is only so much he can do.

Paradise S1 E7

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Spoilers

“The Day”

Holy $%^$

Flashback episode and WHAT A FLASHBACK episode. Man this was tense. The show finally showed us the day when everything changed. We learned what happened to the earth that sent the Americans into the plan to go inside the Colorado mountain.

And man, was it powerful.

I mean, this was something else.

Not only the flashback, but the bookend scenes with Xavier and Sinatra was absolutely jaw-dropping. I found myself hating Sinatra almost as much as I used to hate the Cigarette Smoking Man on the X-Files. I was yelling for Xavier to put a bullet in her head, just like I used to want Mulder to do to CSM.

Sterling K. Brown and James Marsden are absolutely tremendous in this episode. Both of them gave amazing, Emmy-worthy performances in this episode as they dealt with the crisis of the earth’s downfall and the President’s drastic decisions prior to entering the mountain.

The tying of the events of The Day with the Cuban Missile Crisis is a stroke of genius and amazing writing. The determination of President Bradford in his decision to set off the huge EMP instead of launching the nuclear armory from the nuclear football is stunning. Could he have save the world with his choice?

Hearing Teri’s voice at the end was shocking and made me just hate Sinatra (aka Samantha all the more).

Plus, Sinatra told Xavier that the DNA found at the President’s murder site did not match anyone from inside the mountain, meaning that the murderer came from outside. I am not sure I believe her, but it is a massive twist if true.

This was the best episode of the season so far in a show that is chocked full of amazing episodes. Such a great hour of television on Hulu (or Disney +).