The Rat Catcher

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The second of the live action shorts from Wes Anderson adapting short stories from Roald Dahl that I watched on Netflix was called The Rat Catcher and it was amazing.

The Wes Anderson/Roald Dahl combination has been a successful one as Anderson seemingly adapts the darkness and humor of Dahl extremely well.

According to IMDB, “In an English village, a reporter and a mechanic listen to a rat catcher explain his clever plan to outwit his prey.”

This featured Ralph Fiennes as the Rat Man, Richard Ayoade as the Editor and Rupert Friend as Claud.

I loved how the story was told. I felt like laughing every time one of the three actors looked directly at the camera. They all three shared the narration responsibility depending on what was going down in the story.

The three actors also did a magnificent job of presenting the story in a specific manner. They used pantomime with some of the props that they used as well as some animation on a particular rat.

The Rat Man was a disturbing character, even though there was not a lot of special effects involved. Even the amount of costuming was kept at a minimum as the narration did most of the heavy lifting in creating an image in the audience’s head.

Overall, I liked this a lot, even more than I liked the previous one I watched, which was The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar.

4.1 stars

Only Murders in the Building S3 E

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Spoilers

“Opening Night”

Season three of Only Murders in the Building came to a conclusion with their tenth episode of the year, the finale called “Opening Night.” We discover the truth about how Ben Glenroy was killed.

Last week, I speculated that there would be someone different who killed Ben and that Donna, who was shown to be the one who poisoned him on the first show’s opening night, did not end up killing him.

I thought that it would turn out to be Donna’s son, Cliff, and that is exactly what happened. It was because Cliff and Ben met each other outside the elevator shaft when Ben figured out that Donna had tried to poison him. It was an accidental death, but Cliff did end up shoving Ben.

All this was revealed at the opening night of Death Rattle Dazzle, and things were working out while the musical was going on. Oh, and by the way, Oliver wound up in the role that Ben Glenroy had originally been cast in. We saw clips of the musical throughout the episode and they looked awesome.

I really enjoyed the wrap up of this season, even though there were times I thought season three was a tad off-kilter. Where as the early part of the season focused too much on the musical/play, I found the last several episodes split that storyline in just the right manner and that it really brought everything together well…including some of the earlier episodes of the season.

The end of the show also set up the mystery for season four as Sazz, played by Jane Lynch, who was Charles’s stunt double for years. Sazz showed up at the after party for the musical in time to get shot through the window in Charles’s apartment. Was she mistaken for Charles? If so, who wants to shoot Charles? Seeing the beloved recurring character dying on the floor was a tough way to end the season, but it did make it clear that we would be getting a fourth season of Only Murders in the Building, which is fabulous news.

Bonus Action Volume 1: Odd Jobs 2

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Spoilers

Week two of Bonus Action Vol. 1 arrives on YouTube tonight, featuring Jay Schmidt and his campaign partner, Ja-Ron Young.

Once again, these pre-campaign mini-adventures featuring a pair of players are brought together to create a little connection. Last week, you had two really top notch improvisers. However, this week is a different case.

Ja-Ron Young had never played D & D and you could tell that he was not as experienced as Jay or last week’s team and you could see that he was not as comfortable with the game as Jay was. However, as the episode progressed, you could see him becoming more at ease and more creative with his gameplay. Sending the “Bric” illusion running away as a distraction was a genius move and the dice helped out beautifully. Ja-Ron came through big time.

Jay was his usual awesome self and created such a fun and entertaining character in Bahbric Warm Hearth (called Bric). I love when a player engulfs themselves into the character even if it may not be for the best, and Jay totally embraced that.

I would have 100% released that displacer beast too. Jay’s face when the displacer beast first asked him for mercy… was epic.

Two weeks in, this has been a lot of fun. DM David Armstrong is wonderful, moving the story along perfectly with humor and creativity. His expressiveness really helps the storytelling going on.

Adam will be next week. I’ll be here for it.

EYG Comic Cavalcade #61

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October 1, 2023

It has been a busy week around EYG so I am just getting to the comics from this past Wednesday. I also have a few items coming from eBay.

Let’s go…

Howard the Duck #29. “Help Stamp Out Ducks!” Written by Steve Gerber and art by Will Meugniot. I have started to flesh out my Howard the Duck collection of his original series from 1976-1979. These are really fun and the satire involved is just top notch. This issue was based on a plot by Mark Evanier of Groo the Wanderer fame.

Omega the Unknown #7. “And Then Came Blockbuster.” Written by Scott Edelman and drawn by Jim Mooney. We get some more in the connection between Omega and James-Michael and Omega speaks! This late 70s comic is fascinating and has just three more issues to go.

The Devil’s Cut. This is a large compilation from a new comic company, DSTLRY. This, according to Todd, are a group of introductions to the different titles that the company is going to produce. I picked it up because there were stories inside by James Tynion IV and also Marc Bernardin. The different stories were very varied and fun to read. Will I buy any of them? Hard to say, but I did enjoy this book.

The Invincible Iron Man #10. “Sentenced to Life.” Written by Gerry Dugan and drawn by Juan Frigeri. Lucas Werneck did the cover art. The wedding of Tony Stark and Emma Frost takes place as they are trying to stop Feilong and Orchis. We also get a look at Rhodey, who has been in jail, but now has protection thanks to Wilson Fisk. Tony is having to do things he does not want to do to try and save his friend.

Ultimate Invasion #4. Chapter Four: “Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow.” Written by Jonathan Hickman and penciled by Bryan Hitch. This has set up what appears to be a new Ultimate universe and I am curious to see where this goes.

Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant #2. “Hiding in Plain Sight.” Written by Iman Vellani & Sabir Pirzada and art by Carlos Gomez & Adam Gorham. Sara Pichelli & Matthew Wilson did the cover art. Kamala Khan continues to struggle with the new way that the world looks at her because she is now a mutant. And why does she head into her own dream? To talk with Dr. Surfer, of course.

The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos #4. Based on an idea by James Tynion IV, written by Tate Brombal and art by Isaac Goodhart. Cover art was by Nick Robles. Christopher, Jordi and Viveka have a disagreement after being saved from their conflict, but they reunite at the end to go take care of their issues. This continues to be an enjoyable book with a lot of originality.

Moon Knight: City of the Dead #3. “Dead Reckoning.” Written by David Pepose and penciled by Sean Damien Hill. Rod Reis did the cover art. Moon Knight takes on his brother in an attempt to get Khalil away. However, little did Moon Knight know that Khalil has a bigger roles to play.

Spider-Man India #4. “Seva Part IV” Written by Nikesh Shukla and penciled by Tadam Gyadu. Adam Kubert & Brad Anderson did the cover art. Pavitr Prabhakar is in a lot of trouble with the Lizard and Giri Sahibi both coming after him. Things are not looking good for our hero.

Avengers #5. Written by Jed MacKay and art by Ivan Fiorelli Stuart Immonen did the cover art. The Ashen Combine continue to battle the Avengers separately as the Impossible City seems to hinting to Black Panther and Captain America that it did not want to be doing what it is doing, but there was nothing it could do about it. Things are building toward the Avengers coming together and kicking some butt!

Marvel Unleashed #2. Written by Kyle Starks and drawn by Jesus Hervas. David Baldeon & Israel Silva did the cover art. The team of animals are growing as this issue brings into the comic Throg, Frog of Thunder, and Bats the ghost dog from Dr. Strange. Throg vs. Blackheart? Yes, please. They join in an attempt to rescue Lockjaw with D-Dog, Redwing, Chewie the Flerken and Lucky the Pizza Dog. This is surprisingly fun.

Avengers Annual #1. “Contest of Chaos: Finale” The Avengers join up with Spider-Man, Jessica Jones and Clea in an attempt to stop Agatha Harkness and her team of controlled heroes as Agatha is trying to recreate the Darkhold. The running story from the annuals comes to a close here.

The Immortal Thor #2. “The Wisdom of the Fool.” Written by Al Ewing and drawn by Martin Coccolo. Alex Ross did the cover art. Thor tries to battle Totanos before the Odin sleep forces him into a slumber. Who knew it all would depend of Thor trusting Loki? Is that a good idea?

Blade #3. “Mother of Evil: Part Three” Writtenby Bryan Hill and penciled by Elena Casagrande and Valentina Pinti. Blade, Rotha and Tulip have problems to face, not the least is their interpersonal problems. And then, there is Dr. Strange.

Planetary #5. “The Good Doctor.” Written by Warren Ellis and drawn by John Cassaday. Elijah Snow goes to see Doctor Brass and the pair discuss the situation they find themselves in at Planetary. Doctor Brass certainly reminded me of Doc Savage. This issue handles Dr. Brass’s background in a cool and very pulpy manner.

Newburn #11. Written by Chip Zdarsky and drawn by Jacob Phillips. Newburn continues to try and find a way to solve the murder of the New York Yakuza boss without pointing the finger at the guy they know did it. Lots of trouble for Newburn, including from his old partner.

Void Rivals #4. Written by Robert Kirkman and art by Lorenzo De Felici. Solila, who betrayed Darak last issue, and she returned to her people… but things did not seem to go the way she had intended. Plus… Soundwave.

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

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I was watching a YouTube video with Dan Murrell today and he made a mention of a short film called The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar. I was then surprised later when I pulled up Netflix and there it was.

The new short was 38 minutes long and was directed by Wes Anderson. This was faithfully adapted from a long short story by Roald Dahl.

Henry Sugar was played by Benedict Cumberbatch, and several Wes Anderson regulars appear in the film including Dev Patel, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley, and Richard Ayoade.

This felt like a great blend of Wes Anderson and Roald Dahl. The Fantastic Mr. Fox was a previous Dahl story adapted by Anderson.

I loved how this was presented and the style of storytelling was great.

4 stars

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)

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October 1 of 13

I went to Apple TV this morning to kick off the October 13 with the EYG Hall of Fame cartoon, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

This is such a classic with the Peanuts gang, created by EYG Hall of Famer Charles Schulz.

The idea that Linus was determined to wait up because the Great Pumpkin would rise from the pumpkin patch to deliver toys to kids across the world and he wanted to be front and center when it happened despite the condemnation by his sister Lucy and the others of the Peanuts gang.

Also in this show, we had the iconic football trick by Lucy on Charlie Brown and Snoopy flying his doghouse during World War I and being shot down by the Red Barron.

One of the things I noticed while watching this classic cartoon was how intelligent some of the dialogue and vocabulary was by these characters. This was absolutely not dumbed down in any way because kids are not smart enough to understand what is going on. That is a refreshing idea, that children’s animation can reach to elevate the material instead of bringing it down to a lower level.

There was also a great scene with Schroeder playing the piano and Snoopy dancing/reacting to the classical music he was playing. Again, it elevates the material.

There is a reason this is still played during the Halloween season, even after 57 years. This is an all-time classic that is funny, clever, intelligent and entertaining.

American Horror Story: Delicate S12 E2

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Spoilers

“Rockabye”

I did find this episode of American Horror Story: Delicate to be chilling at times, and disturbing almost completely. I found myself blurting something at the screen several times in the episode as things happened that I did not expect. That is always a good sign.

I feel so badly for Anna as she went through the ringer this week. Although, when she left that fan lying and bleeding on the bathroom floor to go accept her award, well, some of the empathy went away.

This entire show has that dream-like feel to it, as plenty of it seems to be surreal. I am not sure what exactly is happening a lot of the time or if it is meant to be actually happening or if it is a delusion in Anna’s mind.

She discovered that she was pregnant and lost the baby all within the confines of this episode and some of the side characters that showed up were really suss or creepy. That nurse who did the ultrasound only to be revealed as not a hospital employee was just wildly bizarre.

Dex is fairly suspicious as well… or am I just supposed to think that because Anna is having some doubts? I don’t know. He seems to be a good guy, but the show is hinting heavily that he has a secret, perhaps an affair happening as well.

However, I can’t tell if this is accurate because clearly Anna’s POV is skewed and unreliable.

And what was up with those creepy looking vials that Kim Kardashian gave for Anna to drink? What was that again?

I love how this episode showed what an Oscar campaign can be like. The politicking that goes on for actors to win that award seem to take away from the overall value of the award, but everyone does it. There are definitely some themes about award shows going on with this show.

Lots of questions surrounding this story so far and I am definitely intrigued by what is happening. I enjoy the meta commentary as well.

The X-Files S1 E4 & E5

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Spoilers

E4: “Conduit”

E5: “Jersey Devil”

I was able to watch a couple of episodes of The X-Files this morning. The first episode I watched was one that I did not remember at all, which was a treat.

The second episode was one that I did remember, as it was one of the monsters of the week episodes with a variation on the Jersey Devil myth.

“Conduit” was one of the first episodes centering around the memory Mulder had of the night as a child when his sister was abducted/disappeared. This was a part of Mulder’s backstory that got a lot of traction over the years.

However, the story was not directly connected with the abduction of Samantha Mulder. This episode dealt with another sister who had disappeared and her mother had an experience with aliens when she was younger, which drew Mulder’s attention.

The Jersey Devil had another running theme that went throughout the show’s history. That theme was local law enforcement and their lack of help for Mulder and Scully, specifically for some of Mulder’s theories. I know this is a common issue among law enforcement, but I remember the younger me wondering why no one ever cooperated with Mulder.

We also get a look at how caring and kind-hearted old Spooky Mulder actually was, as he gets information out of a homeless person and he treated him with so much respect that it was impressive.

This shows how unsuccessful Mulder and Scully are at solving cases. That is a running joke through the series.

The October 13

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October is the month of my favorite holiday, Halloween. And I was considering doing a DailyView of horror/thriller/Halloween movies to celebrate. However, I realized that, with school underway, the multiple TV shows I am watching (Loki starts this week, Gen V, American Horror Story), the X-Files rewatch, the normal movie reviews, Comic Cavalcades, and, you know, sleeping, I did not have the time to guarantee a movie a day.

So instead, I decided that I would pre-select a list of movies to watch during the month, wherever they fall.

Since there will be a Friday the 13th this month, I chose the number 13. I have selected 13 movies to watch during the month of October in celebration of Halloween.

I had no specifics for the movies except they had to fit into the theme of the month. Except, of course, they had to be movies that I did not already write a review that was active on the site. I spent almost and hour and a half researching movies looking for horror/Halloween/thrillers that I had yet to review and that was tough. Some horror movies have pretty generic titles and I was not sure if I had seen it yet. With the new search function at EYG though, I could decide if I had written about them yet.

Of the 13 films, I have seen 10 of them before, making those a rewatch. There are three that are new to me. None of them are from 2023.

When I watch one of the films below, I will change the color to this.

Here, in no specific order, are the 13 films selected as The October 13:

Apostle (2018) -Netflix

Jennifer’s Body (2009)- Max

The Mist (2007)- Prime

The Amityville Horror (1979)-Max

Monster House (2006)- Hulu

Coraline (2009)- Max

The Ring (2002)- Prime

Sleepy Hollow (1999)- Max

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)-Apple TV

Slither (2006) – Prime

From Hell (2001) – Max

Saw (2004)- Hulu

Casper (1995)- Netflix

So here we go… Happy Halloween to all of the EYG Nation!

The Creator

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Gareth Edwards’s latest film is a massive sci-fi epic which is a strictly original film, not based on any preexisting content. One of the most impressive feats of the film is the fact that the budget of this film is reportedly around $80 million and they give us an unbelievably beautiful film with special effects everywhere. How did they do it and why can’t other films create such an amazing story at this price tag. It would help make the box office so much easier for films if they did not have to constantly make $500 + million to break even.

How about the movie? It was really good.

According to IMDB, “Amid a future war between the human race and the forces of artificial intelligence, Joshua (John David Washington), a hardened ex-special forces agent grieving the disappearance of his wife, is recruited to hunt down and kill the Creator, the elusive architect of advanced AI who has developed a mysterious weapon with the power to end the war-and mankind itself.”

John David Washington does a great job as your lead, Joshua. He played his role beautifully and was able to bring life tp a character that could have been a typical sci-fi character. He was able to bring way more to Joshua than you would expect.

And Madeleine Yuna Voyles, a young 9-year old actor in her first movie appearance ever, absolutely stole the film. She was completely brilliant as Alphie, the ‘weapon’ created to help end the war between humankind and the A.I.s. This little girl brought so much emotion and heart to her role that she dominated every scene, She had a great connection with Washington which was so essential to the movie. She gave a fantastic performance.

The special effects were out of this world. It was so spectacular that I am so shocked that the budget was what it was. I already talked about that, but the look of this movie is absolutely a huge piece of the film and should be considered for Oscar nominations for special effects.

The film does get a little long and the storyline was okay, but it did have a ton of intriguing ideas dealing with the human condition and how humans reacted to threats. There are not as many themes dealing with A.I. despite what you may think.

Overall, this was a wonderfully epic film with a great pair of performances, beautifully constructed in a futuristic world that we could certainly see one day. Sci-fi fans should love this and I do think it transcends the genre with a truly emotional ending.

4.1 stars

Gen V S1 E2 &E3

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Spoilers

E2: “First Day”

E3: “#ThinkBrink”

With three episodes in to the new spin-off of The Boys, Gen V, I have enjoyed this new show. Much like The Boys, there is a shock factor involved, with unbelievable things happening.. for example the amazing start to episode two with a haunting version of Metallica’s Nothing Else Matters as the pieces of Golden Boy are being swept up and his blood is being mopped up. However, that shock factor is not done just for shock. It is important to character or to the story. It is extremely well done.

These two episodes took Marie in a really different way. She battled with her own conflicts over her rankings and taking advantage of what happened with Golden Boy and how it made her look worse. It seemed as if she was moving toward becoming the corrupt ‘hero’ much like the Seven. Still, she was able to not succumb to the evil of the world.

Emma also has a great arc during these two episodes as we discovered the horrors of her powers, and how she gets taken advantage of by another influencer. She had a fall out with Marie and then they made up. Andre Anderson begins to look into the truth of the woods and discovered that Golden Boy’s brother Sam was still alive and held in the underground ‘hospital’ known as the woods. Andre talked Emma into going small and sneaking in to find Sam.

She did that and she and Sam bonded a bit. Of course, Emma lied to him about Luke having sent her in to see him. That ended with Emma crawling into a guard’s ear and climbing through his brain.

We get more with Kate in these two episodes, who is dealing with Luke’s suicide as well as her own feelings with Andre. Mental powers are always questionable and they are clearly taking a price on her.

These characters of Gen V have been awesome so far. They have gone into great details and character arcs to create deeper people and allowing me to be invested in the show. And I really am invested after the first three episodes.

Gen V S1 E1

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“God U”

So this was awesome.

The new series from the world of The Boys, Gen V premiered on Prime with the first three episodes dropped this past Thursday evening. I was not able to see episodes two and three, but I did see the first episode and I found it great.

A group of new, cool characters attending a school preparing them to be the next members of the Seven. It’s called Godolkin University and there are some clear questions about what is going on around the college.

We meet a young Marie Moreau and see when her blood control powers started, in one of the most shocking and tragic origins I have seen, her power led to the death of both of her parents and the estrangement of her sister.

Marie was the focus of the story and she was a wonderful new character. So was her roommate, Emma Meyer, a new shrinking character who had a YouTube channel and was desperate to do what she could to advance. Literally some of the sex scenes with Emma were something that I never thought I would see on TV.

Golden Boy Luke Riordan looked to have everything. It looked like he had his ticket punched to the Seven. However, his murderous rampage against Brink and his attempt to kill Marie would lead to his own death, exploding across the area. It was clear that the show had that same feel as The Boys did as you were never sure what could possibly happen.

Then, there is a mystery brewing with the woods that I am definitely interest with. It feels like it is some kind of psychological problem with the woods.

This started off really strong and I will be watching the other two available episodes this weekend.

Moonlighting Coming to Hulu!

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Some of the best news of the year popped up the other day.

Moonlighting is coming to the streaming service Hulu on October 10.

Wooo-Hooooo!

I loved Moonlighting back in the late 80s and anxiously waited every Tuesday night (although admittedly, not every Tuesday night as the show had a reputation of missing deadlines) for the romantic comedy/detective show featuring David Addison and Maddie Hayes.

The banter, the arguing, the slapstick, the slamming doors… it has everything.

It had an episode written in total iambic pentameter.

It had a nine-minute Billy Joel song with a dance routine.

It had a double dream sequence episode in black and white.

And I will be looking to rewatch all 67 episodes once it arrives on Oct. 10.

Moonlighting, which was my personal Wild Card inductee into the EYG Hall of Fame in 2023, was an awesome classic that help boost EYG Hall of Famer Bruce Willis into prominence while bringing Cybill Shepherd back to the forefront of the entertainment industry.

I can’t wait to add Moonlighting to the watch list.

Argylle Official Trailer

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This looks absolutely insane.

A spy thriller with an unbelievable cast.

They had me with John Cena. His appearance looked epic… and then it got wild.

Add Bryce Dallas Howard, Henry Cavill, Bryan Cranston, Ariana DeBose, Catherine O’Hara, Dua Lipa, Samuel L. Jackson, Sofia Boutella, Sam Rockwell, and Chip the cat, the real-life cat of supermodel Claudia Vaughn.

Matthew Vaughn is the director and this trailer really excited me for a film that I had no idea about before today.

Coming in February 2024.

Gen V Official Redband Trailer

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Okay, this Boys spin-off (or series that falls in the same universe) is going to debut this weekend (officially September 29th) and so I thought this was a good trailer to revisit.

Gen V feels like the concept of the X-Men, a school that trains the future heroes. Of course, much like the Boys itself, this looks way bloodier than any X-Men product I have seen (even more than Logan).

The character called “Bloody Marie” looks extremely intriguing. That is not her actual character name, but it sounded cool.

I will be curious to see if this new series can be anywhere near as entertaining as The Boys, because if it is, this will be an awesome show.

It debuts on Prime.