28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

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I liked this movie. I want to start off with that statement. However, my star rating may not be as high as it might have been.

I went to the XD theater at Cinemark to see the film today and, when I got there, I saw that the heat was not working in that theater. They had a sign posted that anyone who wanted a refund could get it, but I decided to give it a try. After about ten minutes, I was regretting my decision. It was really cold. I looked to see if there were any other possible showing of the movie and there wasn’t any until later in the afternoon, so I was fairly stuck.

By the end of the movie, I felt as if my body was so cold, it wasn’t working properly. That was an exaggeration, but I was shivering and shaking. The environment of a movie can affect the enjoyment of a film, and this is probably a lesser review than I would give The Bone Temple than one where I was comfortable.

I do believe that I enjoyed this more than I did the last 28 Years Later from last year. This movie featured more with Dr. Ian Kelson, played brilliantly by Ralph Fiennes. We also followed the exploits of Spike, who would wind up being called Jimmy through most of the movie, played by Alfie Williams. Williams, who was born in 2011 making him 15 this year, does a fantastic job with this role, having to provide a lot of emotional moments and he had a lot of the story arc on his back.

Spike was picked up by a group of Satanists led by Sir Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell), who inducted Spike into the group he was leading. Jack O’Connell was sensational in Sinners last year and he brings the same energy to this movie.

The film, though, was dominated by Ralph Fiennes, giving a tour de force performance, not only when the Jimmies crossed his path, but also working in an attempt to save the life of the gigantic alpha he named Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry). Without spoilers, the scene with Iron Maiden’s song was absolutely breathtaking.

The tension and suspense was ratcheted up throughout the film with some confrontations being expertly filmed. Directed by Nia DaCosta, 28 Years Later is a solid installment of this franchise.

3.9 stars

Percy Jackson and the Olympians S2 E7

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Spoilers

“I Go Down with the Ship”

The penultimate episode of Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2 was fire as Percy and Clarisse went to reclaim the Golden Fleece and to save Annabeth, although the order of those events were up for debate.

Within this episode, we got a great Percy vs Luke battle, Annabeth and Clarisse flexing against some low level villains, and we get to hear Chronos’s voice as he continued with his machinations in his attempt to return.

I will say, Percy getting stabbed by Luke just as the elevator closed was dramatic, but, in the end, it was anticlimactic because Percy just used the Fleece. It took most of the dramatic tension out of it.

Percy’s mom made her return as they needed a ride. There was a funny interaction with her and a normal at a store. It was fun.

Clarisse had the fleece and headed back to the camp on Blackjack. There was a good moment between Clarisse and Percy as he gave her the Fleece that he had retrieved from the sarcophagus of Chronos.

Everything is pointing to a major showdown next episode.

Daily Countdown: TV Show Themes #63

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#63

The Love Boat

Composed: Charles Fox

Lyrics: Paul Williams

Performed by Jack Jones (Dionne Warwick sang them in the final season)

The Love Boat was a show that I watched semi-regularly. It was one of those shows that I didn’t hate, but I didn’t love it. It was one of those shows that I would watch because there was nothing else on. However, the theme song continued to be entertaining.

Friday (1995)

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January 16

So it is Friday and I thought I would schedule the movie Friday, with Ice Cube and Chris Tucker, for the Comedy Genre-ary. After the surprise I had when I enjoyed Superbad, I had high hopes for Friday.

Sadly, this one was not for me.

I appreciate the efforts of Ice Cube and Chris Tucker. They made for a good pair, part of the buddy comedy that the film was about. John Witherspoon was the best part of the film for me.

According to IMDB, “It’s Friday, and Craig and Smokey must come up with $200 they owe a local bully or there won’t be a Saturday.“

I found this loud, not very funny and filled with the stuff I typically hate: drug, sex and bodily fluid and waste jokes.

There is a solid cast around Ice Cube and Chris Tucker. These actors included Tiny Lister Jr, Regina King, Nia Long, Anna Marie Horsford, Tony Cox, Anthony Johnson, Faizon Love, Bernie Mac, Kathleen Bradley, Vikilyn Reynolds, DJ Pooh, and Paula Jai Parker.

I did not like this film much.

Daily Countdown: TV Theme Songs #64

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#64

Star Trek

Composed: Alexander Courage

Vocals: Loulie Jean Norman

Monologue: William Shatner

“Space, the final frontier… these are the voyages of the Star Trek Enterprise.”

The Star Trek theme is another iconic theme song on a show that I did not watch as much as others. The spoken part from William Shatner is as well known as any, spawning years of Star Trek progamming.

The 1930 song, Beyond the Blue Horizon, served as an inspiration for Courage.

Polite Society (2023)

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January 15

Polite Society has been on my queue over on Peacock since the 2024 June Swoon. I had just never gotten around to watching it. It was not that appealing for me.

However, when I came across it on my queue a few days ago and it listed it as a comedy, I thought this would be the perfect chance to put this one to bed. The Rotten Tomatoes score was strong and I thought I would finally give it a chance.

According to IMDB, “Ria Khan believes she must save her older sister Lena from her impending marriage. After enlisting her friends’ help, she attempts to pull off the most ambitious of all wedding heists in the name of independence and sisterhood.“

I had a hard time getting into the movie at first. It did not grab my attention to really intrigue me. However, I have to say that about halfway through the film, I started to get into it and was much more engaged.

I do think the wilder the plot became for the film, the more interested I was.

I enjoyed the performance of Priya Kansara as Ria, the sister whose behavior did seem out of control. She was very funny, even if she was hard to like at first. She seemed so over the top that it made her a bit abrasive. However, once the shoe dropped, things took off.

I loved the performance of Nimra Bucha, who played Raheela. She became a devastating villain and an amazing foil for Ria. Bucha, who also appeared in Marvel Studio’s Disney + series, Ms. Marvel, showed exactly what she could have been on that show with her big time villain turn. She was sinister in the very best possible way. I would have loved to have seen this side on Ms. Marvel more. Even though the plot became exaggerated, she made it work with everything about her.

The film had a definite Bollywood feel to it, mixed with a martial arts film. It was very original and I wound up very much enjoying it, even after the slow start for me.

EYG Favorite Comic Covers of the Week

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January 15

A busy week with some good comics, but honestly, not as many comic covers this week as some have been. Most of them are good, but few that really pop out among the others.

Also Rans: The Monster and the Wolf #2 (Cover E)- Last week I got these early, but this week I picked up cover E with Creature of the Black Lagoon on it. It just fell short of being the first variant to metal in consecutive weeks. The Ultimates #20, Uncanny X-Men #22, Space Ghost #7, and Like A Bell in the Month of May #1 (a comic from local creators in Davenport).

Bronze Medalist

Wonder Woman Black and Gold 2026 Special

Cover Art done by Cliff Chiang

The coloring of this book is what makes it the bronze medalist this week. I love the gold and black with Diana in the middle. Really stands out.

Silver Medalist

Logan: Black, White & Blood #1

Cover art by Alex Maleev

An awesome and brutal looking feral Wolverine. The black and white cover with just a few splashes of red for the blood makes this truly beautiful.

Gold Medalist

Geiger #20

Cover art by Sean Von Gorman

Spotted this variant cover on the stand and I loved it. It is an homage to Wicked, with Geiger playing the role of Elphaba. It works on so many levels, with the green and black and the white cloak on the side.

The Cookie Clicker Mystery

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 The Cookie Clicker Mystery 

 By  K.N.

In the year 2013 there was a kid named Lucas John but we called him LJ for short. LJ loved to play this game called cookie clicker which was really popular. Every day after school LJ hoped on his Microsoft Surface Pro. One of LJ’s friends named Michal Peterson and he would always come over to LJ’s house and play with him. But one day on February 12, 2015 when Michal went to LJ’s house they hoped on Cookie clicker and when they clicked to buy something the computer started to glitch and it spread to Michal and turned him into an alien. 

Once he fully became an alien he ascended into space and he didn’t come back. “3 years later” Michal has arrived back “djehhguerhdlgdiwbjhrf ” he said I said “ what Michal “ he said “djehhguerhdlgdiwbjhrf “ so I translated it and he said “. I have come to take over your world and burn it “ I was shocked because about 5 minutes later there were these giant robots called uberpods which were equipped with machine guns and rpg’s and laser rifles. I was terrified for my life, but he said he would spare me only if I told him where the data center was. So I told him because I didn’t want to die because nobody wants to die. 

Later that afternoon me and Michal went to the store to get some lemons because we wanted to make everyone in the city afraid of the word lemon. Then we found some people and we said “lemon” and threw it at them and they looked up and we were gone. After we hung out for a little bit Michal said he had to go back to his planet that he was trying to conquer. I said my goodbyes and he was off, but he said he would be back in a couple of years to see me again.   

National Biographic (A Mockumentary)

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National Biographic

-LMM

“Welcome to National Biographic! Today, we here have the Common Male American, but as you can tell, this is a big catch today,“ The camera zoomed into a guy at a park that looked identical to Tom Crust, just trying to eat a sandwich in peace. “Here we catch this wild animal snacking on it’s natural prey, The Sandwich, this creature is typically an easy one to find eating, as that’s it’s main directive in life! Isn’t that awesome?” The camera focused on the sandwich, and then the person turned towards us. “It appears that the predator has spotted our filming team capturing their essence,”

“Dude, why are you filming me?” The person got closer to the camera.

“Go, go!” The camera was dragged against grass and concrete so nothing was seen, only heard.

“Hey! Get back here!”

“Go back to the studio!” The camera cut, and returned to the inside of a tree, pointing downwards back at the same person.

“Welcome back to National Biographic, today, we have found the Common Male American yet again, besides it’s name having the word common, this is actually quite a rare species! Only one of these Common Male Americans that exists in the world!” The camera focused yet again, this time the person was walking away from the park. “Quietly we must follow,” And the camera fell to the ground, cracking the lens, and on a sidewalk facing the person.

“What the- Are you still filming me?” The person shouted. “Do you think I’m Tom Crust or something?” They shouted again. The sound of the production team falling out the tree was heard, but they weren’t in the field of view. 

“Wait, are you not? Scrap everything! Who fact checked this? Just leave the camera on the ground, it’s useless!” The team bickered and walked away. The person then walked up to the camera, and picked up the camera.

“I wasn’t expecting that to work so well, too bad I am Tom Crust… They’ll get over it,” Tom Crust then pressed pause on the camera, stopping everything.

The Perfect Family

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There was a family everyone admired. The D’Amore family looked perfect from the outside—a loving mother, a hardworking father, and three well-behaved daughters. Little did they know, perfection can hide terrible secrets.

         It was November 15, 1992, the D’Amores arrived at church at  7:30 p.m. The building was quiet, and the air felt strangely cold, as they stepped inside. Before church the family went to turn the lights on and unlock the doors. When the girls got back together the lights went out and Charlotte went to turn the circuit breaker back on.

That’s when the screaming began.

Mr. D’Amore  body lay motionless in the hallway, blood pooling beneath him. He had been murdered. Mrs. D’Amore immediately called the police, clutching her younger twins, Lizzy and Belle, who were crying in confusion. When the officers arrived, Mrs. D’Amore realized Charlotte, her oldest daughter, was missing.

Moments later, a scream echoed from the back hallway. Charlotte appeared walking toward them, oddly calm .She told the police she saw something, something she couldn’t explain, almost demonic in nature in the pale glow of the moon light.

The police took the family home that night. Once inside, Mrs. D’Amore sat her daughters down and spoke gently. “Something very bad happened to your father,” she said. “But we are safe now.” She turned to Charlotte. “Are you okay, sweetheart? I know that was scary.”

Charlotte stared at the floor. “I can’t stop seeing his body,” she whispered. “Mom, I’m scared. Her mother hugged her tightly. “No, Charlotte. You didn’t do anything wrong. Go get some sleep.”

Charlotte went to bed with her sisters that night listening to their quiet breathing. What her mother didn’t know was that Charlotte had lied, she remembered seeing the figure first, seeing the blade in her hands, then washing something off her hands.

One year later the family returned to the church where it all took place and tragedy struck again. Mrs. D’Amore was killed in the same hallway as her husband. This time Charlotte was seen with a blade in her hands. Years of being starved, and abused had filled her with rage. Something about that church and that day had caused her to snap and finally act out. Charlotte was arrested, and Lizzy and Belle were taken away.

Ten years later, Charlotte was released, her only desire is to find her sisters.

By: E.N.S

I Forgot

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E.M.

One day an author wrote a story that had 5 characters.The story was about 5 old people playing cars and their names were Joe, Bob, Sherrill, Kathy and there was a 5 person. But who was that 5th person? It was a mystery. But they were determined to find out who this person was. 

So they began their first game of cards. Joe drew first and picked up 3 spades. Next the mystery person went, they all examined his face to see if they could remember who he was or if they even knew who he was.

Once the first game of cards was done it was sherrill who won and they then decided to go get some food and learn more about this mystery person. 

They all ordered chicken because everybody likes chicken and once they got their food they began to question the man. They asked him things like; where he was from, how he randomly showed up with them, what his favorite color was, etc. They learned that his favorite color was orange but they couldn’t remember anything else. 

Wait a minute they all thought, why can’t we remember anything he just told us? And then they remembered, they had all been diagnosed with a disease but they couldn’t remember the name. 

Then the secret man told him, you all have dementia and I am your caretaker. They were all confused what dementia was and why they needed a caretaker. So the doctor explained to them that dementia meant that they were beginning to not remember everything. But they were confused and they didn’t think they were forgetting anything at all. They believed he was lying to them and he was a fake caretaker and called the police on him. But they couldn’t remember what number it was to call the police. So the question remained, was this a fake caretaker or did they really have this dementia disease?

A Dark Town

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A Dark Town

In Houston, July 21, 2004, a report came into the Waller County Police Station about a supposed alien siting while a man was sitting in his backyard. The report wasn’t from the man, but from his neighbor, who had called the station 5 other times that week about seeing an unnatural amount of light coming in through his bedroom window, seeing his neighbor just looking up in the sky at nothing, and at one point, he even saw weird non human foot prints outside his house. 

Miguel, who was the man who made the calls, went over to the man’s house to talk about the strange things that were happening. The guy’s name was Dan. They ended up talking a while, and Miguel said that he thought that the aliens were kidnapping people and putting them in their UFOs and taking their places.

When Miguel suggested this idea, Dan agreed but for a second, he looked very surprised that Miguel’s theory was so complex. Dan asked Miguel how he thought this, and Miguel said that he’s been thinking about it for a while and that was his best guess.

Miguel went home and went on with his evening. At 8:04 pm, he heard a sudden scream come from Dan’s house. As soon as he heard it he wanted to hide, but knew that he had to find out what was happening, so he ran to Dan’s house. Miguel stepped inside the house, because the door was open, but when he walked in he saw Dan…his eyes were glowing white and light was shooting out from his limbs. He was making a  terrible screeching sound that almost made Miguel black out right there.

Miguel looked at his watch and he realized that the time passed an hour and it was now 9:03 pm. Dan must be doing this. The sky quickly became dark until it was 10 pm. Dan slowly turned into an alien. Miguel now knew…Dan was always an alien. 

Once Dan was done transforming , a UFO came out of the sky and beamed the stolen residents down. Miguel took the chance and pushed Dan into the beam, and he got sucked up. The hatch to the ship closed too soon, so Dan hit the bottom of the ship. With the force of the hit, the alien’s ship blew up. Miguel saved the hostages and they all went back home.

The Homeless Crime

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The Homeless Crime

By: L.M 

There was this homeless man. 

“I’m going to try and get money!”

So the day after he went around the city and found as many clothes he could find, it didn’t matter the color. After he found what he could he put the clothes on over his other clothes that he had on and went back to his box to sleep for that night because it was getting dark outside. 

It is now the next day the homeless man woke up, He was hungry of course but there was no food around that’s why he wanted money.  After thinking about how to get money he remembered the clothes he found and he was going to use them to rob a bank for at least $1,000, he wanted at least that much because he didn’t want to starve. He was fine with sleeping in a box but having no food was not acceptable with his standards.

 Now It’s 9:15 AM now the homeless man thought that he shouldn’t rob a bank yet, he thought about going and stealing peoples wallets. He thought about it for 28 minutes and he decided that it was a good idea so he put on those clothes that he found and did just that. After a long time it was now 12:45 PM, He had gotten 3 wallets, the money that was in the wallets added up to $51 with that cash. He remembered that he lived by a GoodWill, so he went into the GoodWill and bought a pair of pants, shirt, gloves, winter hat, socks and shoes the cost of all that was $20.39 with tax.

Now he goes to a place called McDonald’s and just gets some fries for $3.86 with tax. But only the fries didn’t fill him up because he hasn’t eaten in 3 days so he went back into Mcdonald’s and ordered 2 Big Mac meals For $16.46 Including tax. With purchasing all that stuff he is left with $10.29. After that he went to a home depot to get a ski mask for $5.08 and now the homeless man will steal wallets for a living until he can get a job.

THE END

Daily Countdown: TV Show Themes #65

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#65

Sesame Street

Title: “Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street?” (aka “Sunny Days”)

Composed: Joe Raposo

Written by: Joe Raposo, Jon Stone, and Bruce Hart

Performed: a mix of children’s choir and jazz musicians, including harmonicist Jean “Toots” Thielemans.

Some instruments used include such unlikely instruments like electric keyboards such as the Fender Rhodes and hard-headed mallets on the vibraphone.

One of the most iconic children’s shows of all time, Sesame Street required a theme song that would be fun and whimsical to engage the learning and the opening of minds. The Sesame Street theme song is known worldwide and blends perfectly the goal of the program.

Joe Raposo also wrote songs for Sesame Street such as “Bein’ Green,” “C is for Cookie,” and “Sing (a Song).”

The song is so big that even The Tonight Show used it in their “Class Instruments” bit.