Sunday Morning Sidewalk #38

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Spoilers

The Haunting of Hill House

“Steven Sees a Ghost”

The ending of this first episode gave me chills.

We start a new series this week for the Sunday Morning Sidewalk, and, in honor of the creepy season, I chose The Haunting of Hill House.

What a great start to this series.

I have to say, I think this series does an admirable job of introducing these characters to the viewers. With so many major characters, it can be difficult to know who is who. Then, not only do we met these people in the present day, but also in flashbacks to the time they lived in Hill House. It could easily be very confusing, but I have to say that the show did a solid job of connecting the characters from the past and the present. It did require my attention though.

The show does an especially good job with Steven, as we see him both as a young boy, the oldest of the kids and his protective nature, and an older man, skeptical and struggling.

Then, Nell and the moment at the end was an amazing shock. When Nell stood in that apartment staring blankly at Steven, I knew what was going on (I mean, when you title the episode “Steven Sees a Ghost” and he hasn’t up to this point, well, it is not rocket science), but it did not make it any less impactful.

The middle two girls are the characters that I got the least from during this episode, and I hope they will come into focus more are the series progresses. Luke is a fascinating character and I feel like I have a good grasp on him even with the limited amount of screen time he received.

The father has clearly been affected dramatically and I feel as if we are going to dive deeper into the mother’s suicide in Hill House.

I am intrigued by the mysterious events that the show has introduced to us and, with the mind of writer-director Mike Flanagan, who also was the force behind Doctor Sleep, Gerald’s Game, and The Life of Chuck, I believe this could lead to something special.

This series is loosely based on the novel of the same name from 1959 by Shirley Jackson.

House on Haunted Hill (1999)

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4 of the October 13

There was a movie from 1959 called House on Haunted Hill, that starred Vincent Price. It was a fun time as five people were challenged to stay the night in a haunted house for $10,000.

Well, in 1999, the fee goes up.

It was $1,000,000 dollars in the 1999 remake, and it was at an old abandoned insane asylum.

And I would not classify this one as “fun.”

The film included  Geoffrey Rush, Famke Janssen, Taye Diggs, Ali Larter, Bridgette Wilson, Peter Gallagher, and Chris Kattan as those poor souls trying to survive the night. That’s a decent cast list of actors, but the writing was anything but good, and character development was lacking even more.

Some of the special effects were bad, although it was 1999, so you have to take that into consideration. Of course, 1999 had the Sixth Sense come out and those effects were much better.

This was nowhere near as good of a movie as the Vincent Price version, and it was the first poor movie in the October 13 for this year.

Roofman

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Channing Tatum showed just how charming of an actor he is by taking the role of Jeffery Manchester, a criminal who would rob McDonalds and other stores by cutting a hole in the ceiling.

This is a true story of Manchester, and it is astounding. I can tell you how much I was rooting for Tatum, even though I knew it was a true story. At one point in the theater, I thought to myself that there was no way this was going to turn out well for these characters.

According to IMDB, “Based on an unbelievable true story, Roofman follows Jeffrey Manchester (Channing Tatum), an Army veteran and struggling father who turns to robbing McDonald’s restaurants by cutting holes in their roofs, earning him the nickname: Roofman. After escaping prison, he secretly lives inside a Toys “R” Us for six months, surviving undetected while planning his next move. But when he falls for Leigh (Kirsten Dunst), a divorced mom drawn to his undeniable charm, his double life begins to unravel, setting off a compelling and suspenseful game of cat and mouse as his past closes in.“

Of course, one could argue that Manchester was incredibly selfish, having insinuated himself into the lives of Leigh and her daughters, making himself a vital part of their lives despite knowing that one day he would have to break their hearts. If you stop and think about what was happening here, you can see Manchester as a rotten person. Still, Channing Tatum is such a charming and versatile actor that you can’t help but look past the bad behavior and hope for the best.

Peter Dinklage, LaKeith Stanfield, Juno Temple, Uzo Aduba, Ben Mendelsohn, and Molly Price all had roles in the film. Dinklage was excellent as always, playing a jerk of a boss at the Toys R Us that Manchester hid out at.

The story moved quickly as the relationship between Manchester and Leigh developed. He was very skilled at inter-personal workings and he eventually won over her daughters.

I found this to be a very engaging and thoroughly beguiling film. Channing Tatum was the standout star and he carried the film on his shoulders.

4 stars

Tron: Ares

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So there was probably few major blockbusters this year that I was looking forward to less than Tron: Ares. I was not a fan of either of the previous films, Tron and Tron: Legacy, though, to be fair, I would be hard pressed to tell you much of anything about those previous movies because it has been a long time since I watched them. I did walk into the movie with as open of a mind as I could, but I was not anticipating it.

I disliked this movie a lot.

There were two things that I thought were really great. First, the soundtrack/score of the film, done by Nine Inch Nails, was sensational and worked so well for the world of this movie. I had questioned the choice of Nine Inch Nails, but they absolutely ruled here.

The second thing that I can say positively about Tron: Ares is the visual effects are amazing. It looks great, although perhaps there were some scenes when the visual effects were too much because it overpowered what was happening in the scene. For the most part, the action with these effects were top notch.

That is where I draw the line for my positives.

The story of the movie was so basic that it was as if it weren’t even there. Jared Leto was fine, but he did not have to do anything really challenging. The rest of the actors felt as if they were not necessary. So many of the other actors had virtually nothing to do, including Greta Lee and Even Peters, who I usually love. Peters, especially, felt like nothing more than a one note villain that could have been so much more.

There were nothing that really tied this movie to anything that happened in previous films, outside of a forced cameo from Jeff Bridges. That is fine, but it felt as if it went out of the way to avoid the previous films.

I was bored for much of the film and, if I did not have the score to entertain me, I may have fallen asleep. There were no characters worth my time and the story was nothing more than searching for the latest MacGuffin.

I was anxious for this movie to get over with for much of the two hour run time. I did not enjoy my time in the theater with Tron: Ares.

2 stars

The Smashing Machine

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I missed this movie last week, which was sad because I am a fan of Dwayne Johnson and the word was that he might even have a chance for an Academy Award nomination.

Having seen it, I do think this was the best performance of Johnson’s career. Do I see it as an Oscar worthy performance? No, I do not. He was the best part of this movie, though. I do think he was able to show himself as more than just an over-muscled action heroes with his performance in this movie.

The Smashing Machine is the true story of the mixed-martial arts and former UFC champion, Mark Kerr.

I did not love this movie. I found it to be a little slow and not as engaging as I hoped it would be. However, it had strong performances from Johnson and, particularly, Emily Blunt as Kerr’s girlfriend Dawn. Blunt brought some intensity to this role of a character who did not have many positives about her.

There were moments in the film where I had a hard time seeing Dwayne Johnson in the role of Mark Kerr. He definitely looked different than he usually looked, and he did a solid job not just being The Rock imitating Mark Kerr.

3.3 stars

Daily Countdown: TV Shows#61

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#61

Friends

“How you doin’?”

I have to say that I did really enjoy Friends. It does not seem like my kind of show, but I found it extremely funny and there is no doubt that this cast has insane chemistry together.

David Schwimmer, Courtney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow and Matt LeBlanc were the reason this show became one of the top comedies of the recent days. They each totally grasped their characters and their characters’ intricacies and quirks in ways that were consistently hilarious.

There are so many awesome moments from Friends including when Chandler and Joey took on Monica and Rachel for the apartment, “PIVOT!”, Joey with the turkey on his head, among many others.

A who’s who of actors cameoed and guest starred on Friends over the years, from Bruce Willis to Paul Rudd to Kathleen Turner to Brad Pitt to Brooke Shields to Gary Oldman to Tom Selleck. The list is way too long to list here, but it is some of the most iconic actors in Hollywood.

The Ross-Rachel relationship carried over the entire run of the series, in all of its ups and downs and “We were on a break!”s. I do think that Chandler and Monica’s out of nowhere relationship reignited the heart of the series, though.

What, exactly, was Chandler’s job?

Daily Countdown: TV Show #62

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#62

This never should have worked.

This show took the villain of the first Karate Kid movie and made him the protagonist and switched the POV of the show. It debuted on the fledgling YouTube Red. This was never going to work.

Then it did.

After a couple of seasons on YouTube Red, Cobra Kai moved to Netflix and became a sensation.

William Zabka led the cast of the show as Johnny Lawrence. Ralph Macchio resumed his role of Daniel LaRusso from the Karate Kid movies. The show not only focused on that rivalry between old foes, but also the new karate students. Other cast members included  Xolo Maridueña, Tanner Buchanan, Payton List, Jacob Bertrand, Mary Mouser, Courtney Henggeler, Vanessa Rubio, Dallas Dupree Young, and Gianni DeCenzo.

The show brought back several of the other villains from the Karate Kid movies including Martin Kove’s John Kreese, Thomas Ian Griffith’s Terry Silver, Yuji Okumoto’s Chozen, and Sean Kanan’s Mike Barnes. The continuity of the show with the films was excellent.

The show was ridiculous, but in the very best ways. The fifth seaosn finale was some of the best karate action you will see. Cobra Kai ran for six seasons and was surprisingly exceptional.

Peacemaker S2 E8

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“Full Nelson”

After seven successful episodes, the finale of season two of Peacemaker felt a little flat.

Episode seven was sensational. Episode eight just felt like a lot of wrap up/falling action. We get some flashbacks to Chris and Harcourt’s relationship, but none of those had as much energy as some of the other scenes.

The whole Chris depression angle was over quickly. He wanted to be left in jail. Then, when he was bailed out, he was going to leave town. Soon, the 11th Street Kids found him and talked him into working together.

The whole crew got together to set up an organization, which also included Judomaster and Agent Langston Fleury and Sasha Bordeaux. Now, there are no real reasons why Judomaster and Fleury join up with the 11th Street Kids. Sasha was at least shown to have lost her belief in Flagg.

Flagg used the door Chris had given him to find a planet to use as a prison. He found the planet of Salvation, which is tied to Darkseid in a way. I am not that familiar with DC Comics material like I am with Marvel, when Chris is stranded by Flagg Sr. in a moment of pure revenge, it looks like something that will be major in the DCU.

The finale was not what I was expecting and I was a little disappointed. James Gunn had mentioned a big cameo and I am not sure what that was (maybe it was the planet Salvation). This did not feel like a finale of a series. It does feel like this set up for future stuff instead of a conclusion for season two.

EYG Favorite Comic Covers of the Week

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October 9

It is Thursday and that means it is time for the cover of the week. We are nearing the end of 2025, and we have a blow out going on in the cover competition. Unless there is some insane push of an artist doing brilliant work over the next two months, it’s a race for the silver and bronze medal at the end of the year as of now.

This week we have two variant covers from three different comic companies.

Also-Rans: High Strangeness #1, The Department of Truth #0, Marvel Knights: The Punisher #1, Marvel: Black, White & Blood and Guts #1, SIKTC: A Monster Hunter Walks into a Bar #1, Red Book #1, DC KO #1 (two variants from the Blind Bag).

Bronze Medalist

Harley Quinn x Elvira #1

Variant Cover E

Cover art by Mark Spears

Mark Spears with yet another medal in 2025, with this lovely cover featuring two iconic females. Oh, and what exactly is Harley Quinn staring at? Beautiful purple background keeps these two ladies bursting out…

Silver Medalist

Super Creepshow #1

Cover art by Pye Parr

I love this Dark Knight Returns homage cover. The flashing lightning in the background against the dark blue of the evening sky is an iconic image and is extremely effective in the imagery of this cover.

Gold Medalist

Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum #3

Variant cover B

Cover art by Juan Ferreyra

Saw this variant cover on the stand and I had to have it. Such an awesome image of Superman coming through the years, facing off with the Kryptonite right before him.

Gen V S2 E6

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Spoilers

“Cooking Lessons”

The latest episode of Gen V was just slowly moving along… and then…

There was Giancarlo Esposito.

We haven’t seen Stan Edgar in awhile and there he, and his tentacled-mouth granddaughter, was rescuing Marie and her friends.

With only two episodes left, there are a bunch of things dropped this week sending things rushing towards the finale.

What we learned:

  • Marie and Homelander were the only two survivors of the Odessa Program.
  • The show basically confirmed that the old man in Cipher’s house is Thomas Godolkin.
  • Annabeth is a supe, though she does not know when it happened.
  • Polarity had a big conflict with Cipher. It seemed like Cipher had complete control, but Polarity got the upper hand.
  • Cipher tells Polarity that his plan is to weed out the weak Supes, saving only the strong ones. He expects to have 25% of God U.
  • Cate asked Marie to fix her powers.

Things do feel like they are on the fast track right now. I did love seeing Giancarlo Esposito once again.

Daily Countdown: TV Shows #63

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#63

The Mandalorian

Star Wars has had several Disney + shows, but few have reached the heights popularity-wise as The Mandalorian.

There is one major reason why the show became such a massive hit. It was the sudden appearance of a little creature who became known as Baby Yoda.

Baby Yoda was a phenomenon and you could not turn around without seeing the little character.

The relationship between Din Djarin, our titular character, and Baby Yoda, whose name was revealed to be Grogu, is the central heartbeat of this show. Grogu is more than just cute (though that is clearly a superpower). He has a real emotional entanglement with Din and it has provided three seasons of Star Wars goodness.

Jon Favreau created this space Western and will be directing the feature film that will serve to continue the story of the Mandalorian and his little buddy.

The show has had some major memorable moments including the return of Luke Skywalker, the live-action Ahsoka, and appearance of the other major Mandalorian, Boba Fett.

“This is the way.”

Jack Marlowe RIP

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My little town of Maquoketa, Iowa recently lost a legend as John Frederick Marlowe, known as Jack, passed away Saturday morning, October 4th.

Jack was an icon in this area. One of the most beloved individuals I have ever met. Jack wrote for the Maquoketa Sentinel-Press, the local newspaper, for decades, as a sportswriter. Jack had a love for sports and a head for stats and number that was unmatched. His encyclopedic knowledge of local sports was amazing. Just talking with Jack about high school sports was an experience where you would always come out amazed.

Jack would be embarrassed with that last paragraph because he was one of the most humble people I have ever had the pleasure to know. He would laugh it off, with that loud and bombastic laugh, and redirect the discussion away from himself. It was not in Jack’s nature to make anything about himself. It was yet one more appealing trait of him.

Every time I would see Jack, he would greet me with a big smile and he’d ask me about my own coaching, especially when I was coaching the team sponsored by the newspaper. Jack was always so kind and genuine, that you knew that he was truly interested in what you had to say.

I felt honored to have played basketball in the Marlowe barn, adding my name to the wall with a list of unbelievable people. Sadly, the barn no longer existed, but the memories will always be there.

Jack worked at the Maquoketa Sentinel Press for 55 years, including writing his own column “Sports Slants” in which Jack mentioned me a few times (which was always such a thrill). Even when he retired as an active sportswriter, Jack would continue with his column. Retirement was not something Jack did well. I remember seeing Jack delivering Sentinel-Press newspapers to local gas stations. He wanted to remain active.

Jack was an award winning writer and a local legend. The town held him in such high esteem that he was inducted into the Maquoketa High School Hall of Fame in 2016 and the Maquoketa Community High School Athletic Complex, which included baseball/softball fields and a track, was named the Jack Marlowe Athletic Complex in his honor.

The plague at the Jack Marlowe Athletic Complex read,  “A 1953 Maquoketa High School Graduate, Hall of Fame Sportswriter and lifelong resident of Jackson County who dedicated his life to highlighting the accomplishments of others while avoiding the spotlight for himself.”

Jack Marlowe loved this community almost as much as the community loved him. He will be missed. Rest in peace, Jack.