Spoilers
One of the best parts of this show is the time that the players get to develop their characters and to have silly moments of joy.
The interaction between Rory and Bric play-acting the whole “crush” thing was some of the best moments of the entire show. It was funny and wonderful.
Both flashbacks were emotional, especially Victor’s.
Bar’b and Todd are amazing comedic breaks.
Definitely a great show.
Spoilers
“The Stunt Man”
The excellent fourth season of Only Murders in the Building moved along with the fourth episode, dealing with the murder of Sazz and the feeling of loss and grief that her death had brought up in a lot of people, specifically with her fellow stunt people.
Paul Rudd returned to the canvas as a stunt man for the late Ben Glenroy. He was hilarious as the Irish stunt man who had clearly been knocked on the head too many times.
Once again, the key to this season has been the wonderful performance from Steve Martin and his character’s deep friendship with Sazz, which is being explored every episode in a different manner.
It also seems that the Westies have been shone to be red herrings as Mabel discovered that they were not a cult, but instead were involved in a scheme to illegally sublet rent-controlled apartments. It also looks like Mabel may be getting into that action.
The mystery has turned back to the movie aspect as Molly Shannon is found by the trio at Sazz’s “Paradise,” (which is a location where Sazz wanted to build a stunt man training facility she would run when she retired) and she is holding a gun on them. Why is she here? Why does she have a gun?
I do believe this episode picked up the pace once again. I thought last week’s episode was a bit of a letdown, but this is right back to the excellence of the season.
Spoilers
“Three of a Kind”
No Mulder in this episode as we get a Lone Gunmen-centric episode. The trio is at a government convention in Vegas as Byers continues his search for Susanne Modeski, in a story that is basically a sequel to the Unusual Suspects, an episode from the second season.
We get Scully involved as a supporting character here, and Gillian Anderson was fun, getting a chance to see her act in a different manner than we were used to seeing Scully.
It was also kind of fun to see a cameo from Michael McKeon as Morris Fletcher, who was in the episodes “Dreamland.”
This was the perfect definition of a filler episode. It was a fine episode, but nothing that really stood out. It was enjoyable, but certainly nothing that is necessary for The X-Files.
There are only two remaining episodes in season six before we move onto some major transitions in the X-Files universe.
Spoilers
“Hog Wild”
Ralph and Bill are on the way back from a communication seminar and they come across a biker gang that was itching for trouble.
Now, Bill is anything but subtle and his borderline obnoxious personality ended up getting him three broken ribs and taken hostage by the gang.
Oh, and the gang wound up with the suit.
Of course, it only works on Ralph, but it still led to a whole bunch of trouble as the biker gang returned to a town that had run them off the day before and blackmailed Ralph into being their “muscle.”
Bill was really over the edge in this episode, displaying how he is too stubborn and hard headed in most situations. Ralph, although too involved with the communication from the seminar, does a great job doing what he could. I liked how Ralph and Bill used some other characters in the show to help the overall scenario. It was neat to see Ralph working with others without having to hide the suit.
I do think that Ralph could have taken this biker gang out much easier than he did, but I understand they needed to stretch the story to make it a full length episode. Overall, it was a fun show, but probably the weakest episode of the second season so far.
Spoilers
“Milagro”
“The Unnatural”
Two straight X-Files episodes that were more well received by the rest of the world than by me.
Both “Milagro” and “The Unnatural” are attempts to create an episode that is different and original, and, while that is certainly true, I just did not like either one much.
My original reaction to “The Unnatural”, out of my memory, was that I enjoyed it. This rewatch was different. I found it kind of dull. I do love baseball and this episode was kind of a love letter to baseball.
I do have to say that the use of the N-word in the cold open was shocking. I can’t imagine that being used on TV, specifically the broadcast network, today.
In “Milagro” the main antagonist was played by John Hawkes. He is decent in the role, but the story was just so bizarre and weird with the manner in which the episode dealt with Scully.
I just did not get into either of these episodes. Both had positives about them, but they did not work for me.
Spoilers
“Sacrifice”
Intense episode. Dana Delany took a longue full of people hostage in an attempt to get Adama to give over the Cylon onboard the Galactica… aka Sharon.
I thought this was a solid episode but I was not sure some of the plans that were hatched by Lee, Kara and Adama made a whole lot of sense.
I still feel as if the relationship between Lee and Dee came out of nowhere and this did not feel as earned as it could have been. However, the killing of Billy was shocking and put a serious stake on the episode.
I was not a fan of Kara shooting Lee during “friendly fire.” Starbucks just has not been portrayed recently as the kick ass pilot that she had always been and this error really brought that home. Perhaps it will lead to some serious drama between the pair, but we’ll have to see.
The other thing that I disliked was when Dana Delany told Lee that she did not believe that he would kill the man he held at gunpoint and Lee eventually dropped his gun. Did I not just see Lee shoot an unarmed crimeboss in the previous episode? I believed he absolutely would blow this guy’s head off, but he surrendered his firearm immediately.
I do believe that Lee’s character has been written inconsistently during this season, and I hope they can get him back on track, since he should be one of the top characters on the show.
I was surprised to see the name Lee Daniels attached to this Netflix horror movie. Daniels has directed such films as The Butler, United States vs. Billie Holiday and The Paperboy, none of which moved into the genre of horror. With a great deal of curiosity I went ahead and pulled this up on Netflix.
It started out listed as based on true events.
According to IMDB, “An Indiana family discovers strange, demonic occurrences that convince them and their community that the house is a portal to hell..“
The Deliverance hooked me right away, with its depiction of this black family from Indiana. Ebony (Andra Day) was rough and troubled, dealing with her issues through alcohol and anger. The fact that there was little redeeming qualities about Ebony made the character and the film more intriguing. Her three children struggled to try and find their own way through the difficulties presented to them by their mother. Ebony’s mother Alberta (Glen Close) moved in with them to try and help them with their troubles while dealing with her own health issues. Each character was angry and expressed it in a variety of manners.
Andra Day and Glen Close were both great with their performances. They brought the deep-seeded frustration and regret to the forefront. Caleb McLaughlin (from Stranger Things) also does a very strong job with his role of one of Ebony’s suffering children, Nate.
After about an hour, I was fully invested. The problem was that, when the film started to transition from the familial problems into the haunted house ones, the film lost a lot of steam and became just another haunted house movie. The final act of this movie was tremendously bad and spent every ounce of good tidings that it spent the first part of the film building up.
I really wish this film had taken a different path because it started with a very compelling group of characters with problematic family issues and slipped into a cliche-ridden, disappointing haunted house film.
2.5 stars
This was on my queue at Netflix for the last week, but it was a film that I was not sure I was intending on watching any time soon. However, a friend of mine said that he liked it so I decided to give this a chance. I am really happy that I did because Rebel Ridge was an excellent film.
I have heard people refer to this as a Rambo-esque film, and I can see some connections, especially First Blood. However, the feel of these two films differ as does the main protagonist.
According to IMDB, “Terry Richmond enters the town of Shelby Springs on a simple but urgent mission– post bail for his cousin and save him from imminent danger. But when Terry’s life’s savings is unjustly seized by law-enforcement, he’s forced to go head to head with local police chief Sandy Burnne and his combat-ready officers. Terry finds an unlikely ally in court clerk Summer McBride and the two become ensnared in a deep-rooted conspiracy within the remote township. As the stakes turn deadly, Terry must call upon his mysterious background to break the department’s hold on the community, bring justice to his own family– and protect Summer in the process.“
The film provided a potential star-making turn for Aaron Pierre, who played Terry Richmond. He carried himself with a confidence and a force that made you believe that, despite being in what seemed like an unwinnable situation, he would come out of it on top. His screen presence was off the charts and he seemed to match with Don Johnson, who played local sheriff Sandy Burnne.
I really enjoyed the manner in which Terry went about his business. It was not as much about revenge as it was justice. The inclusion of Summer kept him grounded and I was very happy that it did not just devolved into a big gunfight.
This seems to be a thinking-man’s action hero and it makes Rebel Ridge down to earth and intelligent. It started out with that yucky feeling of police dealing with an African-American man, but it became more than just the racism.
I enjoyed this Netflix film quite a bit.
4 stars
Spoilers
“Lights of Winter”
I’m having a tough time falling asleep, so I figured to give Norman Bates a chance to help with the shut eye. Should have guessed that it would not be the best choice.
Norman and his friend at the mental institution Julian sneaked out in the night and went to a strip club. If you knew of Norman’s proclivity to turn into his mother and murder women when he is placed in sexual situations, you could guess this was not the best idea. Thankfully, no one got murdered.
Of course, that was probably only because Julian got into a scrape with the bouncers at the strip club. Norman was in full blackout and in the personal of Mother at the time.
This led to Norman tearfully accepting whatever help Dr. Edwards was able to give him, as he realized that he was not sure what was real or not.
Meanwhile, the relationship between Norma and Alex picked up as they attended the “Lights of Winter” in town. Norma had gone to Portland to visit Emma and my first thought was… who’s running the motel? If Norma is gone and Norman is locked up and Emma is in the hospital, who is left?
Anyway, there is a woman from the bank named Rebecca, who had been having some kind of relationship with Romero prior to his marrying Norma. Rebecca had ties to Bob Paris and believed that Romero had killed him. She told Romero that Bib had a safety deposit box full of laundered money that was there for the taking, if Bob’s killer would just have the key. Romero is too smart to incriminate himself, but after the Lights of Winter, Romero and Norma discovered the house had been ransacked (perhaps someone looking for the key).
Well, that’s enough for now. I’m going to try to shut my eyes again. Here’s hoping.
September 14, 2024
Not much to say this week. Jumping right in to the books I picked up.
Duck and Cover #1. Written by Scott Snyder and art and cover art by Rafael Albuquerque. An interesting new book from Dark Horse. This gives us an alternate reality of 1955 and the story of a group of teenagers, that have been instructed to “duck and cover” as a way to protect themselves from a nuclear bomb. When the bomb goes off and the teens come out from beneath those life-saving desks, they find a post-apocalyptic world that they need to survive. Pretty good start to this new series. Hope you’re happy, Todd.
Groo: Minstrel Melodies #1. Written by Sergio Aragones and Mark Evanier and illustrated and cover art by Sergio Aragones (Bronze Medalist). The Minstrel and his daughter Kayli are traveling the land, singing about the misadventures of Groo. I love the Wanderer.
Amazing Spider-Man #57. Written by Zeb Wells and penciled by John Romita Jr. Cover art was done by Romita Jr., Scott Hanna and Morry Hollowell. Tombstone is in jail. He does not stay there long. He is out trying for revenge on the person who put him there… his daughter Janice.
Time Waits #1. Written by Chip Zdarsky and David Brothers and illustrated by Marcus To & Marvin Sianipar. Marcus To was the cover artist. I have been enjoying the books coming out of DSTLRY, and the new Time Waits is another excellent start. This is told in a fascinating manner, with flashbacks that just appear in the narrative and kind of do not make sense. I am looking forward to the next issue.
Geiger #6. Creators Geoff Johns and Gary Frank. Cover art by Gary Frank & Brad Anderson (Gold Medalist). A story focusing on Barney, the two headed dog that has been an important piece over the last couple of issues. Barney and a bunch of the other animals involved in this issue. Good stuff.
Transformers #12. Written by Daniel Warren Johnson and art by Jorge Corona. Cover art by Daniel Warren Johnson and Mike Spicer. Optimus Prime makes a major decision. Cybertron or Earth? There are some major issues among the Autobots here too.
Spider-Man: Reign 2 #3. Written, drawn and cover art by Kaare Andrews. MJ has the Venom symbiote. Miles and Peter face off. I have to say that Peter’s gigantic white beard is somewhat distracting, but the discovery of what happened was powerful. This has been a good series, even though I am not a huge fan of these alternate stories.
Captain America #13. “The Last Stand of the Front Door, Part 2” Written by J. Michael Straczynski and art by Carlos Magno. Taurin Clarke did the cover art. I have not been a fan of this arc of Captain America, but this finale of that arc was okay. Cap was definitely kick ass here, but I am glad the comic moves on to another storyline next issue (which looks like it will co-star Thor and Spidey).
Vengeance of the Moon Knight #9. “The Killing of Moon Knight” Written by Jed MacKay and drawn by Devmalya Pramanik. Davide Paratore did the cover art. This issue brings to a close the “new” Moon Knight, aka Shroud. Khonshu wants Shroud dead and he ordered Marc Spector to do it. This is the final issue of this series as we get a new Moon Knight title coming soon.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #2. “Super Mutant Turtle Power Go!” Script by Jason Aaron and art and cover art by Rafael Albuquerque. I really loved the first issue of Jason Aaron’s TMNT book, but issue two is not as amazing. It is still good as we focus on Michelangelo and his new career as an action actor.
Red Before Black #2. Written by Stephanie Phillips and illustrated by Goran Sudžuka. Val and Leo have a throwdown in a cafe over breakfast. Yet they end up somewhere completely different. This new book has some cool moments and some originality.
Uncanny X-Men #2. “Red Wave” Part Two. Written by Gail Simone and art by David Marquez. Marquez & Matthew Wilson did the cover art. We get introduced to the Outliers, a new group of mutants that Rogue, Gambit, Wolverine, Jubilee and Nightcrawler have to deal with. We also have a new character named Sarah that is somehow tied to an early Charles Xavier. Gail Simone is an outstanding writer and she has a cool concept working with this version of the X-Men.
Ain’t No Grave #5. Written by Skottie Young and art by Jorge Corona. Ryder challenges death in this series finale issue. It is a real jaw-dropper of an issue. I did not expect the conclusion of this story to happen the way that it did. I was very impressed with the way this mini-series concluded.
Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider #5. “Haunted” Part 5. Written by Stephanie Phillips and art by Paolo Villanelli. Mark Brooks did the cover art. Gwen is out to try an help Chameleon, whose powers have gone haywire. Plus, they were being pursued by forces, as well as having to battle Vermin.
Blood Hunters #2. Written by Erica Schultz and art by Robert Gill. Ema Lupacchino and GURU-eFX did the cover art. Elsa Bloodstone seems to be fairly unhinged and she is anything but happy about vampire Miles Morales. However, she is forced to work with him against the Bloodcoven.
Jonny Quest #2. Written by Joe Casey and art by Sebastian Piriz. Chad Hardin did the cover art. The new Dynamite comic of Jonny Quest is once again a great book, as we get past Jonny and the future Jonny try and find a way to get the Quest family back where they came from. This has been a solid start to this series so far.
Space Ghost #5. Written by David Pepose and art by Jonathan Lau. Francesco Mattina did the cover art. Another Dynamite book that has been awesome. Space Ghost is desperate as he tries to save Jan and Jace from the clutches of Zorak. Then, Jace drops a bomb at the end of the issue.
Avengers Assemble #1. Written by Steve Orlando and penciled by Cory Smith. Cover art by Leinil Francis Yu & Romulo Fajardo Jr. The new Avengers Emergency Response Squad starts to assemble under the leadership of Captain America. It is nice to see Jarvis once again and it is fun to see the plethora of the heroes arriving, answering the call of the Avengers. There is also a battle with Sin.
Fantastic Four #25. “Star-Crossed” Written by Ryan North and drawn by Carlos Gomez. Joshua Cassara & Dean White did the cover art. Okay, this is a love story. And a weird one with Johnny Storm falling in love with an alien. And Star-crossed is a good example of the story here.
The Department of Truth #25. Written by James Tynion IV and drawn and cover art by Martin Simmonds. There are actually a series of other artists who worked on this issue, which details more about the life and ties of Lee Harvey Oswald and may even insinuate that the assassination of JFK was done by the fictional woman. The Department of Truth is always full of wild ideas in storytelling.
Wolverine #1. “In the Bones” Written by Saladin Ahmed and art by Martin Coccolo (Silver Medalist). Logan is running with a pack of wolves. The whole X-Men thing was weighing on Logan and Nightcrawler came to try and get him back. Cyber is there hunting Logan too.
Other books this week: The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos #12, Profane #4, Wonderland: Return to Madness #3, Domain #3, and Ultimate Black Panther #8.
This is the most recent film that showed way too much in its trailers. I wish I had not seen some of them and more was left for a mystery.
However, the new Speak No Evil film starring James McAvoy is an intense film, with some dark tones, but also some strange humor mixed together.
According to IMDB, “A family is invited to spend a whole weekend in a lonely home in the countryside, but as the weekend progresses, they realize that a dark side lies within the family who invited them.“
The darkness of the film is prevalent throughout and James McAvoy embodies that darkness brilliantly. You are never quite sure what he is doing or why he is doing it. His manipulation of the Daltons is amazing and more subtle than you would think.
I was very impressed with young Dan Hough, who played Ant. This character is really tragic and Hough is excellent at portraying this role without the ability to talk. There is such an aura of sadness surrounding Ant that you connect to the boy without any difficulty. Of course, the one scene that is in the trailer really should have been left as a movie surprise.
The tension of the film is built up well as the strange occurrences keep happening. There always feels like a reasonable excuse, but you could tell that there was more under the surface than you think. It felt wrong to be laughing at some of the things that I was laughing at.
The third act of Speak No Evil was wild. I found myself engaged throughout the film and I really found the performances intriguing and the characters interesting.
3.75 stars
As a fan of the WWE, I was always going to see The Killer’s Game. It was not just because of Dave Bautista in the starring role, but also because of the debut of Drew McIntyre, a current WWE superstar.
According to IMDB, “…Veteran assassin Joe Flood, who is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness… authorizes a kill on himself to avoid the pain that is destined to follow. After ordering the kill, he finds out that he was misdiagnosed and must then fend off the army of former colleagues trying to kill him.“
This was not a great movie, but I enjoyed it despite that. The best part of the film was easily Dave Bautista, who was engaging and entertaining. I thought he was great in everything that he had to do, from the physical and brutal killings to the more softer and emotional bits. He was funny too.
I am going to say that there were some glimpses of Bautista’s acting skill in this film. Yes, it was mostly an action fest, but Bautista has a future in more challenging roles and we can see how successful he could be.
Some of the other assassins were fun, but were nothing but cannon fodder. Drew McIntyre was one of these, and it was fun to see him. He seemed like he was having a lot of fun playing this character.
It was fun and I did enjoy Bautista. Is it a great movie? No. If you are a WWE fan, you’ll think this is a hoot. If you find big violent action films unenjoyable, then you should stay away from this.
3 stars
The final trailer for the Last Dance… gives us a look at Knull
EYG- Embrace Your Geekness 