American Horror Story: Delicate S12 E3

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SPOILERS

“When the Bough Breaks”

Things continue to go poorly for Anna, who just had a miscarriage last episode (Because of a mysterious nurse?) and now, she keeps seeing weird things and it seems as if no one around her believes her.

To make matters…’worse’???, Anna is feeling kicks from her baby, which she was supposed to have lost.

There are a couple of women that seem to be stalking Anna and they are dressed in black dresses with masks. These two women are very eerie and create a mysterious tone for the series.

There are also hints that Anna should not trust Dex necessarily. Maybe I am misreading this, but it I think the show is hinting at an affair that he is having with one of his assistants.

Anna is starting to become more defiant in her stance as these weird things keep happening to her. She does not seem to want to suffer the fools around her.

She is also starting to take steps to see if she can determine exactly what is going on, specifically with Ms. Peecher. Is Ms. Peecher trying to help?

Or is this all just a paranoid rant?

We got a new character his week, the house manager Nicolette, who just showed up. I do not trust her even a little bit (although there are not many characters on this show that are trustworthy) and I do believe she is one of the women in black.

Still lots of things going on that I’m sure about, but this continues to be interesting as the season progresses.

The Mist (2007)

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The October 4 of 13

Stephen King has had adaptations of his writing that have worked and several that have not. The Mist is one of those adaptations that brings fear, tension and anxiety from the moment that the mysterious mist enveloped the little town in Maine.

A strong cast led by Thomas Jane as David Drayton are put through the wringer as a group of horrifying Lovecraftian monsters trapped them inside a supermarket. Unfortunately, the monsters on the outside of the store are just one of the tribulations that these people had to face.

Marcia Gay Harden is creepy as the religious zealot Mrs. Carmody, who had decided that this is Judgment Day and everything that is happening to them is God’s will. Her decent into extremity is one of the more frightening aspects of the film. Andre Braugher does a great job as Brent Norton, who is one of David’s neighbors who has had some conflicts with him. It made Norton distrustful of what was happening. Toby Jones played Ollie, an employee of the supermarket who comes through big time during the film.

Other cast members include Sam Witwer, Laurie Holden, Jeffrey DeMunn, William Sadler, Frances Sternhagen, Nathan Gamble, Robert Treveiler, David Jensen, Chris Owen, Alexa Davalos and The Walking Dead’s Carol, Melissa McBride. McBride’s character had no name listed but I absolutely wanted to stick with her because I know Carol is a survivor.

Of course, I cannot talk about The Mist without addressing the ending of the film. I want to try to address it with as few spoilers as possible. If you have seen The Mist, you know to what I am referring. As heartbreaking as it is, the irony and the absolute heart-wrenching that the scene makes it one of the most standout conclusions of a horror movie I have seen in many years. This is totally crushing and makes what was a strong and scary film into something more.

The Mist is a horror movie that works on several different levels and shows us that there is more to be afraid of than the unknown.

The Exorcist: Believer

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Moving back a week on the release calendar because of Taylor Swift next week, The Exorcist: Believer was released as a sort of sequel to the original classic horror film from 1973. Blumhouse gave the reigns of this new version of the franchise to David Gordon Green, who was behind the recent Halloween trilogy.

Sadly, this film was about as good as those Halloween movies.

Two young girls, Angela (Lidya Jewett), and her friend Katherine (Olivia O’Neill), walked from school, going into the woods and disappeared. Angela’s father Victor (Leslie Odom Jr) desperately tried to find his daughter. Three days later, the girls returned without knowing how long they were missing.

It does not take long to realize that there was something terribly wrong with the girls. Ann Dowd played Ann, who directed Victor to go see Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) who was an expert in the possible situation.

I’ll start off with the good things about the movie, because this was not a total failure in my opinion. The two little girls did a nice job with their performances. I enjoyed Leslie Odom Jr. a lot. He carried himself as a star.

The start of the film spent a decent amount of time building the character of Angela and Victor. Of course, the film did almost nothing for Katherine or her family. They were just there.

That is about it. The film’s story was derivative. There was nothing different or new about the film, outside of the fact there were two possessed children instead of one. Very original (sarcasm).

Ellen Burstyn was forced into the story in an attempt to make this connect to the original. Burstyn played the mother in the original The Exorcist and she is so wasted in this movie. She was barely in the film. In fact, most of her appearance in the film was found in the trailer.

The ending of this movie was just terrible. I did not like that third act at all. No spoilers, but it did not work for me at all.

Overall, I did not hate myself for watching this, but I did not enjoy the film. I am not sure why this is considered a sequel to The Exorcist because it could have been any generic possession movie. There was nothing new or worthwhile about doing it.

2.4 stars

X-Files S1 E6

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“Shadows”

I do love the X-Files, but re-watching these in 2023 make a few things stand out. There was a scene in this episode that had Mulder and Scully searching through the microfilm for info from a newspaper. That had happened a few episodes before too and I couldn’t help but think about how much easier it is these days to just check Google.

There was also a cell phone call Mulder received where he had to put up his phone’s antenna.

Then, some of the hairstyles were so 1980s it was amazing.

I know it did not matter, it was just an observation.

As for “Shadows,” we get an X-File dealing with a murderous poltergeist, one that was protecting his secretary/friend from dangers.

It is amazing how Dana Scully always just never sees anything that happens. She is in the wrong place every time. The ghost is killing people, floating them off the ground, and Scully just misses out. I think you could consider that a trope of the series.

This is an entertaining episode that doesn’t really jump out. It is just a fine, solid episode.

Gen V S1 E4

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“The Whole Truth”

The fourth episode of The Boys spinoff, Gen V, dropped on Amazon Prime Thursday night and the series showed us the ramifications of Emma’s rescue attempt. The trail of dead bodies and the massive dents in the wall revealed to us that it was not just Emma who was involved. Sam came to and went feral on the guards.

I will say that I thought this episode took a bit of a step back from the first three episodes. I still enjoyed it a lot, but this felt lesser in my opinion.

However, the chemistry between Emma and Sam was not one of the issues. They were great together and, in just a few scenes, they have become a couple worth rooting for. Everything involving these two, especially the attack on the doctor’s home, was epic.

I guess my issue stems with the inclusion of Tek-Knight, a super hero detective who arrived at Godolkin University to film an expose on the ‘truth’ about the suicide of Golden Boy. He was a horrible person, clearly, as he used some kind of super power to interrogate the interviewees. The problem was, they spent the first two-thirds of the episode making this guy seem to be so sinister, so dangerous only to turn him into a dick joke. Was it funny? Sure. It just felt like the waste of a threat.

It did help elevate Dean Indira Shetty, showing that she was not to be underestimated just because she did not have any powers. Still, I feel that they could have done the same without completely destroying that character that could have been something special.

There was also some surprises with Marie and Jordan as they end up in bed at the end (which, by the way, was a very weird edit/cut). The end of the episode felt off too and it left out some seemingly important things.

I still enjoyed this a lot, but there is no doubt in my mind that this was not the same level as the first three of the series. It’s not as if I think it is going to suddenly be a disappointment, but I do hope this will not fall into these techniques regularly.

Loki S2 E1

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“Ouroboros”

I loved season one of Loki. With season two now starting on Disney +, I can start looking forward again.

Okay, this was epic.

One of the best parts of this was the fact that I did not have to either stay up until 2 AM Central time or wait until the early morning to see the new Loki episode. Prime time, Bae-beee! Apparently Disney + had success with the release of Ahsoka in prime time so they decided to do the same with Loki. I loved it. The anticipation as the clock slowly moved toward 8 PM. Watching it without being half asleep. This is the way they should release all shows.

And… Ke Huy Quan brings every ounce of charm you expect from him. The title of the episode is named after his character, Ouroboros, or O.B. as Moebius called him (apparently).

We are reminded immediately how much chemistry and charisma Tom Hiddleston and Owen Wilson have together as Loki and Moebius. They are the ultimate buddy cop duo in the MCU. Putting themselves on the line for each other, this is one of the big reasons that Loki season one was so great. And Ke Huy Quan fit right in with that pairing beautifully.

Kang… or, I suppose He Who Remains, as Loki knows him, is all over this episode without ever showing up. Statues, murals, recordings, he is totally enveloped in the TVA and the frantic dread and sinister nature of the world.

This looked amazing, with unbelievable sets and a beautiful direction. The music was spot on.

I can’t believe I have to wait until next Thursday. This is the feeling I used to have with some of the early Disney + shows. I have enjoyed them all (except Secret Invasion) but with WandaVision and Loki Season 1, there was a different feel between episodes. I remember counting down to the next episode, looking forward to the next one.

This was awesome.

Coraline (2009)

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The October 3 of 13

The October 13 continued tonight with the Laika stop motion animated film Coraline, based on the book of the same name from Neil Gaiman.

Coraline is a beautifully animated movie with some amazing visuals and some of the most creative and creepy images that were truly scary, especially for the younger viewers.

According to IMDB, “When Coraline (Dakota Fanning) moves to an old house, she feels bored and neglected by her parents. She finds a hidden door with a bricked up passage. During the night, she crosses the passage and finds a parallel world where everybody has buttons instead of eyes, with caring parents and all her dreams coming true. When the Other Mother (Teri Hatcher) invites Coraline to stay in her world forever, the girl refuses and finds that the alternate reality where she is trapped is only a trick to lure her.“

This film is a classic and it really works well. It is very easy to relate to the young girl who is just looking for something that she is missing from her parents who are not engaging with their daughter. The curiosity of the mysterious dimension was too great to ignore. Coraline found something that filled the gap, although she did not realize that there was trouble with it.

There are some great voice talents involved here besides Dakota Fanning and Teri Hatcher. Others in the cast included Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, John Hodgman, Robert Bailey Jr., Keith David, Carolyn Crawford, and Ian McShane.

Coraline is an excellent film that creates a wonderfully creepy tone and it is highlighted perfectly with the character design and the imagery. Coraline is a great Halloween film for the whole family.

The Swan

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I watched the third of the four new live action shorts from Wes Anderson on Netflix, shorts that adapted work from author Roald Dahl.

Tonight’s film was The Swan, and it had the same original presentation that the other two films that I had watched so far on the streaming service. The actors, in this case, Rupert Friend, was our narrator and walked through the story. I love this style for these shorts as the narrators seem to be telling us the story and we see other actors almost pantomiming the situations as he explained it.

There was not much of a cast behind him though. Only a young boy named Asa Jennings who played the main character, Peter Watson. Peter was tormented by a pair of bullies who wound up killing a swan and strapping the wings to Peter, forcing him up a tree in an attempt to fly.

I was quite engaged with this story, which was fairly shocking to me. When they made poor Peter lay down on the train tracks as he was tied up, I was really rooting for these bullies to get there’s. Sadly, that did not happen, which left me a bit empty after the end of the short. It did feel like one of those darker endings that Roald Dahl was known for.

Three for three so far with these Wes Anderson shorts.

4 stars

Sleepy Hollow (1999)

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The October 2 of 13

I went to see Sleepy Hollow originally back in the Voy Theater when it was released in 1999. I remember coming out of that screening being very unhappy with the film and I have never revisited it since. That is, until tonight.

Johnny Depp starred in this film, a reimagining of the classic folk tale of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow and the Headless Horseman. Depp played Ichabod Crane, a constable from New York sent to the small town of Sleepy Hollow to investigate the series of murders that had seen victims’ heads decapitated.

Once in Sleepy Hollow, Crane, not the bravest of souls, came across several notable gentlemen in the town involved in some mysterious discussions. Crane also met and fell for Katrina Van Tassel (Christina Ricci), the daughter of one of the men, Baltus (Michael Gambon).

It does not take long for Crane to realize that there was something supernatural going on with these murders.

This film turned out to be better than I remembered, but it was not a great one. There were some terrible choices for tone as it had some silly moments of humor that did not work well at all.

The action was decent, but there were also some ridiculousness, particularly with the stagecoach chase scene.

So basically, I started off thinking that this was better than I remembered, but as the film progressed, I liked it less and less. In the end, I did not hate watching this but I would not recommend it.

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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“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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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.