EYG Comic Cavalcade #202

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May 11

I always feel bad when the EYG Comic Cavalcade slides to Monday, but there were just too many books for me to get to on a packed full weekend. Even after spending time reading on Wednesday at Comic World, I could not find the time to get them all done until now. I even had to read some tonight before doing this write-up in order to get to this post.

While I was at Comic World, I was sitting reading at their table. By the end of the afternoon, I went to get up and my knee was terrible. I could barely walk, and I thought, am I so old that I can hurt myself… sitting?

Comic of the Week

If Destruction Be Our Lot #1

It came down to this book and Dog Tag #1 this week for Comic of the Week, but I wound up choosing the new Image Comic book, If Destruction Be Our Lot #1.

It is a great premise with the humans being gone and robots being the main characters. The Abraham Lincoln robot makes for an awesome protagonist and the idea that there are surviving humans somewhere works as a conflict. This has promise to be an exceptional series.

Plus, the C cover was the Bronze Medalist this week.

Books this week:

Dog Tag #1. Written by Mark Russell with pencils by PJ Holden. Cover art was done by PJ Holden & JP Jordan. The book that was neck and neck with If Destruction Be Our Lot #1 as Comic of the Week, Dog Tag #1 was an exceptional read. A World War II story about a journalist and his time during the war. Tom Fuller is the main protagonist and I was surprised how much I was engaged with him. This was a strong first issue and I am excited about where this goes from here. Another winner for Mad Cave.

Wade Wilson: Deadpool#2. “Bad Calls” Written by Benjamin Percy with art by Geoff Shaw. Cover art was done by Geoff Shaw & Alex Sinclair. Deadpool spends a bunch of this issue inside the trunk of Hammerhead’s car. He gets out to try and save Blind Al from Hammerhead. Oh, and, by the way, Blind Al is the one who was sending the mysterious future notes to Wade. This new Deadpool book has been cooking with a down and depressed Wade and a lot of mysteries.

She-Spawn #1. “American Dream.” Written by Gail Simone and art and cover art by Ig Guara. I picked this up only as a collector. I had zero interest in this book and it had a destiny for the number one box. Then I noticed that it was written by Gail Simone (GAIL!!!!) and I thought, okay, I should at least read it before I subject it to the number one box, but even with the wonderful Gail Simone at the helm, I was not going to like a Spawn book (yes, I know I like Sam and Twitch, but this is different). So I read it and…. I can’t believe it… I thought it was great. So great that I want to buy #2 when it comes out. AAAARARGGGGHHH! What were the odds? I don’t like Spawn. But I was thoroughly entertained with this book. Dang it.

Excommunicated: The Unholy Body Bag #I. Written by Jeremy Robinson and art by Tiago Palma. Cover art by Tyler Crook. This is very strange. I picked up this black bag because it looked cool and I found out that this was cover G. Then I learned that cover A is coming out next week. What? The variants come out the week before cover A? Does that happen… ever? I liked the book so I will probably grab cover A if available, but it was confusing for awhile.

Absolute Superman #19. “Red Steel in the House of Chaos.” Written by Jason Aaron with art by Rafa Sandoval. Cover art was done by Rafa Sandoval & Ulises Arreola. Superman faces off with Absolute Shazam (or is he absolute Black Adam… or some kind of amalgam of them?) and we meet absolute Steel. Has Absolute Superman met his match? Quick cameo of Absolute Batman too.

Royals #2. Written by Derek Kirk Kim with art and cover art by Jacob Perez. The trouble is brewing for Paul and Castor as their telepathic poker scam is coming out in the open and there is a player angry about being ripped off. I really liked the time we spent with the brothers, particularly Castor this issue. The character beats worked to provide us more details on the two brothers. I am enjoying this new book very much.

All-New Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider #20. Written by Stephanie Phillips and art by Paolo Villanelli. Cover art was done by David Marquez & Federico Blee. I have to say, I was, at first, unhappy with this issue. Gwen becoming a Green Goblin felt so already done that I was not pleased. Then, the story took a twist and won me back with one unexpected turn. I think this is the final issue for this book, which is unfortunate. I feel as if it was just starting to hit its stride.

Ben 10 #1. “Man of Action.” Written by Joe Casey with art by Robert Carey. Variant cover C art was done by Dustin Nguyen (Silver Medalist). Another book that I did not plan on reading or continuing to collect. Ben 10 was never my jam of a cartoon. But, as the collector, I wanted to grab a copy and I picked out a beautiful, simple cover by Dustin Nguyen for my collection. The cover was so nice that I decided to give it a chance. The fact that Dynamite has had some other characters that I never watched or didn’t care about (Captain Planet, Silverhawks, Darkwing Duck, Ursula, etc.) in series that I really enjoyed added to the curiosity with this book. Of course, I read it and I really liked it too. Come on Dynamite… you pick characters that I do not like, you are not then supposed to make a comic that I want to buy.

Marc Spector: Moon Knight #4. “Break and Enter” Part One. Written by Jed MacKay and art by Devmalya Pramanik. Cover art was done by Paulo Siqueira & Rachelle Rosenberg. Moon Knight’s crew at the Midnight Mission went in search of Marc, and wound up disappearing themselves. Marc is back and looking for his friends… inside a building covered by a blackness… that is spreading. What is this new, weird supernatural building and what has it done with Tigra, 8-Ball, Hunter’s Moon and the others.

X-Men #29. “Danger Room, Pt. 4“. Written by Jed MacKay with pencils by Netho Diaz. Cover art was done by Netho Diaz, Sean Parsons, & Fer Sifuentes-Sujo. While Quentin is out of control in search of whom shot Glob Herman, something bizarre is going on with the X-Men. Are they zombies? Cyclops has certainly looked better. Wild stuff in the world of the mutants.

Amazing Spider-Man #28. Written by Joe Kelly with guest pencilers Cory Smith with Francesco Manna. Cover art was done by Marcio Menyz & Erick Arciniega. This was a fun Spider-Man issue as Peter receives a major mission from Doctor Strange, but has to take care of a bunch of tangents on the way to the location. There are several fun cameos and moments for Peter in this issue. It may be a filler issue, but it is how a filler issue should be.

Daredevil #2. Written by Stephanie Phillips with art and cover art by Lee Garbett. Matt Murdock has all kinds of problems surrounding him. He has to take on the Owl to find out what is happening, and, even though he does not get much from him, it adds to his mind. Matt’s class of students gave him grief too as he is trying to be a professor. And HEY! it’s Spider-Man!

Fall of the House of Slaughter #1. Written by Tate Brombal and illustrated by Adriano Turtulici. The Dragon is dying. The other houses are preparing to nominate someone to take his place once he passes on. But who really wants the position? The Dragon has his own idea… Erica Slaughter. But… everyone believes that she is dead.

Cyclops #4. “Seeing Red” Part 4. Written by Alex Paknadel and art by Rogê Antonio. This Cyclops, blind and in the woods story has been fantastic so far. I have really enjoyed seeing Scott being challenged by losing his visor and glasses, and having to be chased by the Reavers. I am excited to see where this is going.

Muppets Noir #3. Written, Drawn & cover art by Roger Langridge. This has been a really fun Dynamite book. I do love the Muppets and seeing Kermit as a noir detective (and not a very good one) with Miss Piggy running around, making him look bad, is awesome. It looks like next issue is the final one for this series, but I want more Muppets! Let’s make it happen, Dynamite (or Disney… whoever!).

Fantastic Four #10. Written by Ryan North with pencils by Humberto Ramos. Cover art was done by Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado. The Invincible Woman has arrived in the 616-universe as the Fantastic Four and a bunch of their allies have to bring her down. Oh, and Sue has to save Galactus.

Captain Marvel: Dark Past #2. Written by Paul Jenkins and art and cover art by Lucas Werneck. I like this mystery involving Carol and her past memories. I think this is a great use of history, as Carol has to come to see Rogue about something she did not remember.

Batman #9. “Operation Peregrine.” Written by Matt Fraction and art by Ryan Sook. Cover art was done by Jorge Jimenez & Tomeu Morey. I also picked up the incentive variant cover by David Aja. The Gotham City Police have new orders. The orders are to bring down the Batman family. And in this issue, one of them does fall.

Astonishing Miles Morales: Spider-Man- The Art of Thwip #1. Written by Cody Ziglar and art by Alessandro Miracolo & Ig Guara. Cover art was done by Taurin Clarke. I have missed Miles’s book, but, to be truthful, I did not love this book. There was just too many other stories and characters than just Miles. I am sure it will get better as it moves along, but this was not the best return I hav eread.

Tales of the Green Lantern Corps: Guy Gardner #1. “Light Club.” Written by Gerry Duggan and art by Matteo Lolli, Laura Braga, and Vasco Georgiev. Cover art was done by Edwin Galmon. This was one I read tonight before starting the Comic Cavalcade, and I really liked this one. Guy Gardner is such a fun character and I enjoyed the pairing of Guy and John Stewart. I might even buy a buddy book with the two of them in it.

Other Books This Week: Godzilla #10, Sleepy Hollow: The Witches of the Western Woods #1, Red Sonja: She-Devil With a Sword #1, Star Wars: Rogue One-Cassian Andor #1, The Autumn Kingdom #4, Absolute Green lantern #14, Godzilla Infinity Roar #4, Jubilee: Deadly Reunion #1, Storm: Earth’s Mightiest Mutant #4, and the Center Holds #3.

Quick Hits: The first quick hit this week is Speed Racer #8 from Mad Cave. This has been a consistently engaging book. I had no idea that Marvel was putting out a book called Civil War: Unmasked #1. I think they were trying to make Tony Stark’s out-of-character behavior during Civil War make more sense as he takes a trip to Bishop’s future. Not sure it worked like they wanted, but there was a foil cover that I picked up that was the Gold Medalist of the week. Comics! The Magazine #3 dropped this week with a cool interview with Kevin Eastman. Ghost Machine: The Official Guidebook #2 came out this week and it goes right up to the letter Z with Zigzag. It says that there will be a six-issue series, but where do they go after Z? The 20th Century Studios book Alien: King Killer #2 has been extremely interesting. I like them using the Xenomorphs in this way. Joe Benitez’s Lady Mechanika: The Mechanical Menagerie #1 came out this week too. It definitely is a sequel series that I might have to look for to understand what is going on here. A new story with Hank Howard from Bad Idea came out this week with Hank Howard Pizza Detective: A Slice of Life #1. Energon Universe 2026 Special #1 sets up the future of the Energon Universe, including the new series MASK. Then, finally, Estuary: A Ghost Story #2 was the last book I read tonight before this post.

Daily Countdown: Weird Al Songs #49

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#49

CNR

Title: “CNR”

Written: Al Yankovic

Album: Alpocalypse

Released: 2011

Style Parody: The White Stripes

Genre: Punk Blues/Alternative Rock

I was always a fan of Charles Nelson Reilly, specifically from the Match Game. I remember niot knowing what the reference of CNR was when I first got Alpocalypse. This was one of my favorite videos released for these songs.

Lyrics

Charles Nelson Reilly was a mighty man
The kind of man you’d never disrespect
He stood eight feet tall, wore glasses
And he had a third nipple on the back of his neck
He ate his own weight in coal, and excreted diamonds everyday
He could throw you down a flight of stairs
But you still would love him anyway
Yeah, you know you’d love him anyway, oh

Charles Nelson Reilly won the Tour de France
With two flat tires and a missing chain
He trained a rattlesnake to do his laundry
I’m telling you the man was insane
He could rip out your beating heart
And show it to you right before you died
Everyday he’d make the host of Match Game
Give him a piggyback ride
Yeah, two hour piggyback ride, giddy up Gene

The ninja warrior, master of disguise
He could melt your brain with his laser-beam eyes, oh yeah
Oh yeah
He had his own line at the DMV
He made sweet, sweet love to a manatee
Oh yeah
Oh yeah, that was something to see, I tell ya

Charles Nelson Reilly sold his toenail clippings
As a potent aphrodisiac
He ran a four minute mile blindfolded
With an engine block strapped to his back
He could eat more frozen waffles
Then any other man I know
Once he fell off the Chrysler building
And he barely even stubbed his toe
Had a tiny little scratch on his toe
Didn’t even hurt

Charles Nelson Reilly figured out cold fusion
But he never ever told a soul
I’ve seen the man unhinge his jaw
And swallow a Volkswagen whole
He’d bash your face in with a shovel
If you didn’t treat him like a star
You could spit at the wind, or tug at Superman’s cape
But Lord knows you don’t mess around with CNR

No, no, no
Talkin’ about CNR

Source: Musixmatch

Something Very Bad is Going to Happen E6

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Spoilers

“Last Night of Freedom”

Things are really happening.

So Rachel and Nell are out to investigate any relatives of Rachel who may not have died on their wedding day. They found a long line of family members who died on the same day they got married. It did not sound like a coincidence.

Meanwhile Nicky, Jules and their father go out on a fox hunter for a “bachelor party.” The tension between the three of them could clearly be felt, especially after the event from last episode. Truths came out about relationships.

When Rachel and Nell found one of her relatives who did survive her marriage, they went to Portia and they held some kind of seance. We got a Ouija board and everything. However, they are able to summon her and her arrival was unbelievably creepy.

As she possessed Portia, she answered the question Rachel was asking: How did you survive your marriage?

The response… “Something living, something dead, something stolen, something red.“

But that was not even the worst part of the evening. Nicky confronted his mother over everything that she has been protecting him from his whole life and he wanted to know everything. However, his mother died right after he insisted on her telling him everything.

Two more to go on this awesome limitd series.

Widow’s Bay S1 E3

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Spoilers

“The Inaugural Swim”

After three episodes of the Apple TV + series Widow’s Bay, I have decided that I love it. This is absolutely my jam with the spooky stories and the superstitions of a little town. The shows such as Twin Peaks, Eerie, Indiana, LOST are all good examples of shows that I love.

This episode featured a local legend of the “Hag.” This show jumps back and forth from fun and silly to creepy and downright scary in tone and it does it expertly. This “Hag” was as creepy as it comes.

Mayor Tom was scratched by the Hag and it came after him. Tom has to be more open to the possibilities after the scary moments he faced in this episode. Wyck ended up saving Tom before the hag could sit on Tom’s head in the bathtub.

This episode ended with a strange message coming over the police radios about “evil coming”.. sounding like it was coming from Reverend Bryce. The ending was striking, especially after the whole hag shooting by Wyck.

This was the last of the episodes that were dropped already. The rest of the episodes will be dropped on Wednesdays.

Agents of Shield S4 E12

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Spoilers

“Hot Potato Soup”

We get a full family reunion of the Koenigs, Billy, Sam, Thurston and LT. They were whom Coulson trusted the Darkhold to in an attempt to keep it hidden.

Of course, Billy gets captured and Radcliffe heads into Billy’s mind to discover where it was hidden.

Patton Oswalt played three of the Koenig siblings… all except LT who was a sister.

The Darkhold winds up in Radcliffe’s possession at the end and the Shield agents finally figure out that May is also an LMD.

Radcliffe and Nadeer want the Darkhold to get rid of all the Inhumans.

The Drama

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I have wanted to watch The Drama for the longest time. The synopsis of the film made me intrigued and I do like the pairing of Zendaya and Robert Pattinson.

But it seemed like every week, something got in the way of me going to the see the fil. There were too many other movies or my schedule changed or just couldn’t fit it into the time frame I had available. It felt like the film was just being snakebit the whole time.

So I had made the determination that once The Drama came out on streaming, I would sit down and watch it, no excuses.

Finally, I watched the movie on Fandango at Home.

It was not what I was expecting.

According to IMDB, “A happily-engaged couple is put to the test when an unexpected turn sends their wedding week off the rails.”

I thought this worked very well as a darker film. I’m not sure I would define it as a dark comedy, but it did have specific parts of the story that was unexpectedly uncomfortable and difficult to process.

I do not want to spoil the main conflict of the film because it was one that I did not see coming and it did create some provocative thoughts.

Both Zendaya and Robert Pattinson do a tremendous job as this pair that were so in love only to have the rug pulled out from under them, leading them to doubt what they feel for each other.

I could see the conflict being triggering for some and that might be even tougher to watch. I am not sure if you want to go in blind or not.

I am glad that I finally got around to The Drama. I thought it was definitely worth the wait.

3.5 stars

June Swoon 5

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Starting on June 1st, we have our fifth annual June Swoon!

Every day there will be a new movie from 2025 that I had not seen that I will watch and write a review for. I have a general list of possible films from last year that qualify for the June Swoon. There are some Oscar nominees among them as well as some other known and popular films.

Here is the running list of the films on the June Swoon.

JUNE SWOON 5

Monday, June 1: Listers: A Glimpse Into Extreme Birdwatching

Tuesday, June 2: Fackham Hall

Wednesday, June 3: All the Empty Rooms

Thursday, June 4: Rental Family

Friday, June 5:

Saturday, June 6:

Sunday, June 7:

Monday, June 8:

Tuesday, June 9:

Wednesday, June 10:

Thursday, June 11:

Friday, June 12:

Saturday, June 13:

Sunday, June 14:

Monday, June 15:

Tuesday, June 16:

Wednesday, June 17:

Thursday, June 18:

Friday, June 19:

Saturday, June 20:

Sunday, June 21:

Monday, June 22:

Tuesday, June 23:

Wednesday, June 24:

Thursday, June 25:

Friday, June 26:

Saturday, June 27:

Sunday, June 28:

Monday, June 29:

Tuesday, June 30:

Widow’s Bay S1 E2

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Spoilers

“Lodging”

We have a haunted house episode this week. The article came out comparing Widow’s Bay to Martha’s Vineyard and Mayor Tom is beginning preparation to the expectation of the increasing tourists.

So we get The Inn. Wyck is trying to nail a board across the Inn door, yelling about it being haunted.

So here is the hook for this episode.

We also got a bunch of lore from the town during this episode, including a Killer Clown from the 1950s.

Tom was bullied into staying overnight at the Inn when the townspeople were mad at him for calling Wyck a “Dumb hick.” They gave him a list of rumors and superstitions about the Inn for him to do. Tom finally agreed with them, on the condition that when he makes it through the night without any trouble, they needed to stop talking about it and causing trouble for potential tourists.

Of course, trouble was going to happen at the Inn.

Tom met another person at the Inn, which was clearly always going to be a ghost. Turned out the ghost was that of the Killer Clown and it led to a creepy scene in the crawlspace. Of course, the creepy clown was very much resembling Pennywise, especially the way it moved in that crawlspace.

Tom is still in denial about what is happening in the town, but he does seem to be slowly letting the doubts crawl into his head.

This was a really solid episode of the show and there are two more currently available. I read that there are ten total episodes to this first season and it is great. It had an It meets Northern Exposure meets Twin Peaks vibe this week that I dug.

Something Bad is Going to Happen E5

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Spoilers

Episode five feels like a huge turning point in this story.

The episode centered around the family pre-wedding dinner with the whole family getting a chance to meet Rachel.

Everyone keeps asking about how Rachel and Nicky met, and Rachel would tell the story. It was a romantic story about them meeting at an airport and how they decided to drive where they were going because Rachel had a premonition about the plane crashing. Nicky said to her that she “save his life.”

It made Rachel feel like someone listened to and believed her. Turned out, much of the story was a lie Nicky told. Jules heard the story and started picking out the lies.

This is the worst timing since Rachel received the news about her family curse last episode. The lies broke her spirit and she announced to everyone that she was going to die on her wedding day. Rachel then revealed everything about the curse to the whole family.

I do think it is going to be Jules who ends up saving her, as it is his destiny since her mother told him to save her on that fateful day.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #68

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Spoilers

A Knight of the Seven Nine Kingdoms

I finished the HBO Max show A Knight of the Seven Kingdom, which ended with Egg telling Duncan that there are actually nine kingdoms and not seven. It was a funny little bit at the end of the series.

This final episode was mostly wrap up after last week’s major Trial of Seven. You could how many people were blaming Ser Duncan for the death of Prince Baelor, which is completely unfair considering the circumstances.

Prince Maekar Targaryen was very resentful toward Duncan, but he did request that Duncan take Egg on as a squire while Duncan’s own training continued. Duncan refused stating that he was done with princes.

However, Duncan changed his mind under the condition that they were free to roam. Maekar rejected this idea as he said Egg was a prince and would not live a life of poverty.

At the very end of the show, Egg approached Duncan telling him that his father had changed his mind and accepted the condition.

I knew immediately that Egg was lying. I did not expect to have that confirmed in a mid credit scene where Maekar was searching for Egg. I feel for Duncan and worry that this is going to lead to another problem for him down the road.

However, with this series concluding, perhaps we will not see either of these characters again. As someone who never watched Game of Thrones, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms was a lot of fun and an enjoyable story. Episodes were short and easy to digest and I did not feel as if I needed the Game of Thrones to enjoy this show (although I might have missed some Easter eggs I wouldn’t have if I had more knowledge).

Next week, the Sunday Morning Sidewalk continues starting with the four episode documentary on Netflix based on the life of Hulk Hogan, entitled Hulk Hogan: Real American.

Daily Countdown: Weird Al Songs #50

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#50

Handy

Title: “Handy”

Album: Mandatory Fun

Released: 2014

Written: Amethyst Amelia Kelly / Charlotte Emma Aitchison / George Astasio / Jason Andrew Pebworth / John Turner / Jonathan Christopher Shave / Kurtis Isaac Mckenzie /Al Yankovic

Parody: Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy” (feat. Charli XCX)

We enter the top 50 of our countdown with this parody of “Fancy.” The video was one of the eight released daily for Mandatory Fun.

Lyrics

First things first, I’m a craftsman (craftsman)
Remodelling is my only passion (it’s my passion)
And I’m the greatest in the business
Want referrals, yo
My clientèle will bear you witness (right, right)
I can help when your door jamb sticks (heh?)
There is nothing in the world I can’t fix (yeah)
I do tiles, I do stone, I do bricks
Call me, I’ll come rushing over with my bag of tricks (bag of tricks)
Where you go when your disposal is rusted (rusted)
Termite problem making you disgusted (yuck)
When your front window is busted (hey, hey, hey)
Just one name that’s always trusted

I’m so handy, you already know
I’ll fix your plumbing when your toilets overflow
I’m so handy, I’ll bring you up to code
When your dishwasher’s about to explode

Now you see that your furnace is needing some service
I’m fully bonded, no need to be nervous
Perhaps you would like a new counter Formica
Maybe I’ll hook up your dish washer combo dryer
But all your pipes are antique
Your water pressure’s too weak
You got an attic full of dry rot
Because your roof sprung a leak
Your fridge is starting to reek
Your hardwood floors really squeak
But don’t you worry I’ll just show you my amazing technique
Now let me glue that, glue that and screw that, screw that
Any random chore you got, well I can do that, do that
Or maybe I’ll just rewire your house for fun
I got 99 problems but a switch ain’t one

I’m so handy, everyone says so
I’ll grout your bathroom, resurface your patio
I’m so handy, I’m the guy to know
When your leaf blower doesn’t blow-oh-oh-oh

Patch the drywall, clean your gutters and mow the lawn
Make that phone call, I’ll install anything you want
Yeah, check my big staple gun, my socket wrenches are second to none
I won’t quit ’til I’m done, don’t even care if I hammer my thumb (ow)

Still rocking my screwdriver
Got the whole world thinking I’m MacGyver
Your heating bills are shocking
I can solve that with some duct tape and some caulking
Your house is a disaster, huh?
Need a guy whose a master with the plaster, huh?
Let me be your stripper
Taking off lacquer, no one does it quicker

I’m so handy, you already know
I’ll beat all price quotes, my hourly rates are low
I’m so handy, you should call this pro
I’m in the phone book and se habla español

Source: LyricFind

Widow’s Bay S1 E1

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Spoilers

“Welcome to Widow’s Bay!”

I was watching the YouTube show Fatman Beyond with Kevin Smith and Marc Bernardin the other day when Marc talked about a new Apple TV + show that he started called Widow’s Bay. He spoke highly of the show and said how he planned on continuing to watch it. It piqued my curiosity so i watched episode one tonight.

There are four total episodes released at this point, three in the same night. I have to say that this first episode does an amazing job of grabbing your attention and I find myself fully into the show, excited about watching the next episode.

The premise of the show is there is a small time mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys) is trying to increase the tourism to the island where they live, but he is having trouble from the locals who are about as superstitious as you will find. Sadly, the superstitions are having the same affect on Tom as he is becoming paranoid and uneasy.

However, clearly there are strange things going on with this island, including some potentially soul-stealing fog.

This show is right up my alley. It feels like a throwback to a combination of LOST, Stephen King and Jaws. I loved the final shot of the first episode with an electric chair way beneath the town in a tunnel. What does that have to do with the bizarre events that have Tom so spooked.

The show has done a great job of building tension and creating an air of paranoia among Tom and the viewers. With the supernatural elements in existence, the town’s truth is the central mystery. It is appealing and compelling.

One of the best characters so far is played by Stephen Root, which is always awesome. This character is being set as on the opposite side of Tom, as he pushes the crazy ideas of the island.

I will be continuing with Widow’s Bay on Apple TV + moving forward. I’m hoping to get to the second episode sometime tomorrow.

The Sheep Detectives

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This has to be a leading candidate for surprise of the year. I had seen the trailers for The Sheep Detectives and it made it look like a cute family film that had a definite chance to be really dumb. However, The Sheep Detectives is one of my favorite movies of the year. I know that sound bizarre, but it is 100% true.

According to IMDB, “Every night a shepherd reads aloud a murder mystery, pretending his sheep can understand. When he is found dead, the sheep realize at once that it was a murder and think they know everything about how to go about solving it.“

Hugh Jackman played the shepherd named George and kicked off this murder mystery with a lot of heart. Jackman was so charming and outstanding that you feel for this character even though you knew coming in that he was going to be the victim of this murder mystery.

The voice cast of the sheep was sensational including Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Brett Goldstein, Patrick Stewart, Chris O’Dowd, Bryan Cranston, Rhys Darby, Regina Hall, and Bella Ramsey.

The story was way more emotional than I ever expected it to be. There were moments of the film where I had tears in my eyes and even a few that rolled down my cheek. It was not only emotional, but it was very funny, clever, charming and had a murder mystery that was actually well designed.

I was not expecting this movie to be as deep as it was. I expected a silly family movie with some dumb talking animals. Instead, this film took the tropes of a murder mystery and broke them down, turning the genre on its ear. All that with talking sheep characters.

I should specify that the sheep are not talking to humans like a Disney film. To the humans, they sound like sheep, but they speak to each other.

The film also has a storyline weaved into the story about prejudice/bigotry within the sheep community. Again, it was a story beat that I just did not expect, and it was not just a throwaway beat. It became a major part of the overall plot.

Brett Goldstein was hilarious doing the voices of Ronnie and Reggie, two rams always looking to butt heads.

This was based on a book Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann.

There is no way this movie should be as fabulous as it turned out to be. I am currently placing it right around the same place as Project Hail Mary and that just does not make sense. However, if you see this movie, you will understand why. I had such a great viewing experience with this movie that I came out of it feeling so great.

5 stars (…no really)

Edit: I forgot to mention about the live action actor here. They all do a remarkable job in this film including a small but vital performance by the awesome Emma Thompson. Nicholas Braun, Molly Gordon, Nicholas Galtizine, Conleth Hill, Hong Chau, Tosin Cole, and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith all bring a great energy to the film and help create the fabulous story.

Mortal Kombat II

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I was not a fan of the last Mortal Kombat movie. There was one in 1995 that fell into the category of so bad, it’s good, and there was one in 2021 that I gave 1.7 stars. So to say that the bar was set low for me would not be an understatement.

Mortal Kombat II is much better than those previous movies, though I still did not love the movie. It was definitely entertaining if you are looking for a bunch of fun and exciting fights. The story is not much more than that. The story is about what you would expect in a Mortal Kombat video game.

According to IMBD, “The fan favorite champions — now joined by Johnny Cage himself — are pitted against one another in the ultimate battle to defeat the dark rule of Shao Kahn that threatens the very existence of the Earthrealm and its defenders.”

The fights were fun. The one on one match-up were very much like the video game Mortal Kombat. Even though I did not play the video game much, I recognized the features of the game on the screen.

These fights were wonderfully choreographed and laid out. The CGI looked really good. The kills were creative and, in several cases, brutal and gory. This is absolutely the best part of the film.

I did enjoy having Karl Urban in this film as Johnny Cage. Karl Urban is always fun and he played Johnny Cage awesomely. I have to say I kept seeing him as Butcher from the Boys, and they share several characteristics, albeit without an accent.

The movie does a good job about knowing what kind of movie it is and providing that. This is never going to be a great movie, but it is a stylish, fun flick with some good action. It is not much more than that.

3 stars

Daily Countdown: Weird Al Songs #51

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#51

Germs

Title: “Germs”

Album: Running With Scissors

Released: 1999

Written: Al Yankovic

Style Pastiche: Nine Inch Nails

Genre: Industrial Rock

Lyrics

Sometimes I really want to be alone
But that’s one state I’m never in
Because I know that I’ve got millions upon millions
Of tiny, one-celled organisms living on my skin

I rub and scrub until my flesh is raw and bleeding
(Germs) But they just come right back again
(Germs) I can’t even see’em,
but I know they’re up to something
Hey, don’t touch that – you don’t know where it’s been!

They’re all over me
They’re inside of me
Can’t get’em off a me

I’m covered with… microscopic bacteria
What do they want from me
What’ll they do to me?
There’s no escape for me
I’m crawling with microscopic bacteria

Now if I ever dare to go to sleep
That’s when they start their sneak attack
In the morning I wake up in utter horror
To find my teeth are covered with bacterial plaque

Can’t get those parasitic creatures off my face
(Germs) And there’s more comin’ every day
(Germs) I never said that they could camp out on my body
I wish they’d pack their tiny little bags and move away

They’re all over me
They’re inside of me
Can’t get’em off a me
I’m covered with… microscopic bacteria
What do they want from me
What’ll they do to me?
There’s no escape for me
I’m crawling with microscopic bacteria

They’re creepin’ around my shorts
They’re under the bathroom sink
They’re ridin’ inside my car
They’re swimmin’ in every drink
They’re hidin’ between my toes
They’re lurkin’ in every kiss
I got’em way up my nose
In every orifice
I’m gonna show them who’s boss
I’m gonna get even yet
Just gimme some Lysol spray
Just hand me a moist towelette
Don’t tell me I’m paranoid
I know that they’re after me
Look under the microscope
See??

They’re all over me
They’re inside of me
Can’t get’em off a me
I’m covered with microscopic bacteria
What do they want from me
What’ll they do to me?
There’s no escape for me
I’m crawling with microscopic bacteria

They’re all over me
I can feel’em all over me
Over every part of me
Microscopic bacteria
I know they’re watching me
They’re always watching me
They’re coming after me
Microscopic bacteria
Won’t somebody help
Please somebody help me
You’ve got to believe me
They’re out to get me
They want to control me
They want to destroy me
They’re tryin’ to kill me
It kind of upsets me

Source: LyricFind