#51
Castle in the Sky
Released: August 2, 1986
Runtime: 124 minutes
Rating: PG
Animation Style: traditional hand-drawn cel animation style paired with rich, hand-painted watercolor and gouache backgrounds
Studio: Studio Ghibli
Voice cast: James Van Der Beek, Anna Paquin, Cloris Leachman, Mark Hamill, Jim Cummings, Richard Dysart, John Hostetter, Michael McShane, Andy Dick, Mandy Patinkin, Tress MacNeille, and Debi Derryberry.
Spoilers
“Pilot”
The first episode of DC Studio’s latest TV show premiered on HBO Max this Sunday night. Lanterns started off with Hal Jordan training John Stewart as his replacement.
We start the story in 2016, with a gruff Hal Jordan being very tough on his trainee, John Stewart.
The show ended in 2026 with Hal Jordan dead on the bleachers of a football field.
There had been rumors about Hal Jordan dying at the end of the pilot, but with the 2016 story going on, this is how we will get a full season of Hal alive and John moving forward.
Of course, there will be some story in 2026 too since the dead body of Hal nor John had the Lantern ring. Where is it? Who took it? Who killed Hal? These points I expect will correspond to the storyline from 2016.
I do like shows that play with the manner in which the narrative is presented. Of course, LOST is the immediate show to come to mind, and former LOST writer Damon Lindelof is a writer and executive producer on the show. That always could hook me.
I have enjoyed Green Lantern as a character, despite not collecting his comic title. I think the way this show has been set up, kind of a True Detective-style show, with this mystery of what is going on in this little town in Nebraska where Hal Jordan originally received the ring was some solid writing.
I found Kyle Chandler to be excellent as an older, grumpier Hal Jordan, who was training his replacement John Stewart despite not wanting to have a replacement. Aaron Pierre as John Stewart, was good, but I do not think he had the amount of material by comparison yet. Pierre is a solid actor and I think he will get better as the series goes on.
I am invested in the mystery that has been set up and the ending with Hal’s death only served to increase the interest I have in this series. I expect to be watching this every Sunday night until October.
Spoilers
“Questionable Characters”
“Loose Lips”
“A Greater Good”
I watched episodes 7, 8, & 9 of Boston Legal tonight. They fell around the Christmas holiday as there were some background mentions of Christmas, including a crossdressing mall Santa that had been fired.
There were several questionable lawyering tactics used by the lawyers at Crane, Poole & Schmidt. And it was not just Alan Shore. In fact, it seemed that most of the lawyers on the show were influenced by Alan’s iffy choices. Some examples:
Meanwhile, Alan is just trying to do the right things for his clients, albeit by some methods that should not be done. Paul actually recommended a couple of times for other lawyers to approach Alan because he knew of ways to get things done.
Jon Bernthal appeared as a friend of Lori’s who wound up getting shot in the shoulder when he tried to hold up a convenience store. They were able to convince a judge that Bernthal had the right to not allow the doctors to take the bullet out. The bullet was the only evidence they had against him. Tara got info from Alan about a doctor (working as a vet) who could take out the bullet without giving it over to the police.
These three episodes were all good, but maybe not as awesome as some of the others. Next episode looked like a banger.
Spoilers
Black Bird
“We are Coming, Father Abraham”
Episode two of Black Bird on Apple TV + is the next step on the Sunday Morning Sidewalk.
The thing that sticks out to me most in this episode is the manner in which they tell this story in different time frames, and how they all kind of come together by the end of episode two. There were flashbacks back to Greg Kinnear investigating as Brian Miller, tying to get Larry Hall, played by Paul Walter Hauser, to confess to the killing. By the end of the episode, Larry is in jail and staring across to James Keene, played by Taron Egerton, in another cell.
Interestingly enough, my guess is that we will not have any more flashback sections of the story since it was used just to show how this all was set up. I might be wrong on that, but that is the way it feels.
The whole confession scene with Larry was haunting. Paul Walter Hauser does an amazing job here as he is able to maintain the slight uncertainty about this character. I can see why the people in Larry’s life believed in him.
Things are ready to move forward hard now.
#52
Batman: Under the Red Hood
Released: July 27, 2010
Runtime: 75 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Animation Style: 2D traditional anime-influenced style
Studio: Warner Brothers and The Answer Studio
The DC Animation has had its moments as some of the best straight to video films ever and this takes a classic comic storyline and put it on the screen.
Voice cast: Bruce Greenwood, Jensen Ackles, John DiMaggio, Neil Patrick Harris, Jason Isaacs, Wade Williams, Jim Piddock, Gary Cole, Carlos Alazraqui, Robert Clotworthy, Brian George, Kelly Hu, Phil LaMarr, Kevin Michael Richardson, Dwight Schultz, Fred Tatasciore, and Bruce Timm.
Spoilers
Guest Star: Rudolf Nureyev
Guest Star: Elton John
Guest Star: Lou Rawls
Three guest stars who could handle the entertainment section of the show. While Rudolf Nureyev may not have been the singer in comparison, he did do some great dance routine. As I have said before, the Muppet Show would use some classic culture or high brow stuff. In this episode alone, they had a couple of ballet routines and jokes about Shakespeare.
However, you can also tell when they have a huge musician on. Elton John did four songs. This would have been my introduction to Crocodile Rock. Elton John also did Benny and the Jets and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and sang Don’t Go Breaking My Heart with Miss Piggy.
Elton John worked out great since he was basically a Muppet himself. He displayed such a wardrobe on this episode.
Sam the Eagle was very active in the first two episodes as he was so excited about Rudolf Nureyev bringing culture to the show only to be disappointed by him (I mean… Swine Lake? Can you blame Sam?). Sam also was not sure about Elton John’s attire.
The Elton John episode included a running gag with the Swedish Chef and a chicken. Chef was chasing the chicken with a hatchet. Then, the tables turned and Chef was being chased by the chicken.
I did not recognize many of the song done by Lou Rawls, but his jazz scat with the Electric Mayhem was truly epic. He did have a remarkable voice.
In that third episode, Fozzie was going to do an act on roller skates. It was a running joke throughout as he rolled uncontrollably around backstage.
Spoilers
“Radio”
Lukas and Kennedy went out of the silo and attempted to go to Silo 17. They did not make it. However, the surprise was that they were apparently shot. At the end of the episode, it sounded as if Lukas and Kennedy survived and reported that he had the kids that he went to retrieve. That still makes me question the entire thing. It sure sounded like bullets (probably from drones) when Lukas and Kennedy lost contact.
Because of this apparent failure of this mission, there was an attempt to blow up judicial in a way to try and stop the poison gas. Juliette struggled with the decision as she realized that whatever plan she decided upon would lead to death for hundreds of people.
Everything got called off when we discovered that Lukas and Kennedy were not dead (or so we think).
There was some big developments between Sims and Camille as they had a huge conflict about Sims’s actions. Camille is feeling the pressures of leading the IT. The Algorithm seemed to be manipulating her too.
Then we see the creation of the silos from the flashback time. We discovered that billionaire Per Stensen is behind the construction of the silos in Georgia.
Things are getting wilder as the the season is on its way to a conclusion.
Spoilers
“Catch and Release”
“Change of Course”
“An Eye for an Eye”
“Truth Be Told”
I do love this show. It is so well written and acted.
William Shatner may be most well known forever as James T. Kirk, but his best career performances come as Denny Crane. The buffoon-like behavior hiding a deep seeded concern over his health. Arrogant and sarcastic, Shatner’s eyes revealing the truth.
James Spader brings such a complexity to Alan Shore. He is willing to do anything, even step over the lines or morality, to get things done. Many times, his motives are pure. His methods, on the other hand, are anything but. Simplicity, Tara described Alan as split into three people: the Good Alan, the bad Alan and the Naughty Alan. Though it may be too simple for this character, the description does work.
It was sad the way Alan took advantage of Sally, which seemed to be a way for Alan to get Sally to leave him. There is a deep neurosis to Alan and his relationships pay the price. Yet, he is completely loyal to former lovers and women that he respected. He is a contradiction in terms for Alan. It is why I was so happy that, at the end of episode 6, when it appeared that he was going to go and have sex with Dana Delany’s character, a woman he always had desires for, but he turned up in a motel room with Tara instead. Had Alan slept with Delany, the betrayal would have been tough to swallow, especially after he dealt with Delany’s husband’s infidelity. I don’t want Alan to be a hypocrite even if he had many otehr bad traits.
Episodes 3-6 again do not focus as closely on Alan and Denny’s relationship as they could, but there are moments. When Alan came to share their whiskey in Denny’s jail cell after he was charged with contempt of court, they exchanged a wonderful scene where Denny worried about his mental capacities. The whole possible Alzheimer’s Disease arc and how it could destroy the image and legend of “Denny Crane” follows Denny through the entire series.
Alan and Denny are together when Denny lets it slip that Donnie Crane was not his son after all, only for Donny to hear. Freddie Prinze Jr. appeared as the supposed son of Denny Crane, and his devastation in this scene made it all the better.
There are several fun moments of Fourth Wall breaking during the show. In this crop of episodes, my favorite was when Alan Shore said he wanted to be on cable because that was where all the best work was happening. Of course, Boston Legal aired on ABC.
Episode five featured one of Alan’s top line closing arguments. We have not seen too many of those yet in the season, but there will be plenty more to come. This one was just right on the nose for his case that you can tell how the case will go.
Lori is involved more the last few episodes, and they are still teasing a potential relationship between Alan and Lori. Probably one that would be highly toxic.
August 15
This is the final EYG Comic Cavalcade before I go back to school next week. It has been so great being able to read the comics with plenty of time and still get this out early in the weekend. That will change as the time will become limited and, with the number of books I buy, I can’t see me getting this done until late Sunday, if not early next week. Still, I am dedicated to getting this post out as soon as possible.
Comic of the Week
Cult-De-Sac #1
This week’s Comic of the Week is the new horror based comic by writer Cullen Bunn and artist Fico Ossio for Ignition Press.
We have seen the idea of a Homeowners Association being evil before such as the X-Files episode Arcadia, but making it into a cult was a cool twist.
What I liked most about this issue is how much time they spend setting things up, including introducing characters and observing the setting. They could have immediately jumped into the cult, but the story takes time to establish what they needed to in order to build the suspense and the concern for the Hanson family, moving into this new world. Great stuff.
Books this Week:
Miles Morales: Spider-Man #1. “Level 1: Sins of the Father.” Written by Bryan Edward Hill with art by Nico Leon. Cover art was done by Simone Di Meo. The foil cover variant was done by Pere Perez (Gold Medalist). Miles returned to his black outfit as a new volume kicked off for the youngster. Miles has to take the concept of the movie Speed to a whole new level to keep a person from exploding. It is great to have Miles back in his own book.
Spider-Versity #5. “Most School Spirit.” Written by Jordan Morris & Joe Kelly with art by Pere Perez. Cover art was done by Giuseppe Camuncoli, Lorenzo Ruggiero & Edgar Delgado. In order to save one of the students, Norman Osborn takes back the symbiote that turned him into Red Goblin, forcing the Spiders to stop him. The end of the book saw Jessica Drew with the remainder of the symbiote, hinting at something new for her.
Infernal Hulk #10. “The Riddle Game.” Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson with art by Adam Gorham. Cover art was done by Nic Klein. I picked up a Spider-Man: Brand New Day variant cover by Mauro Cascioli. This is the final issue of the Infernal Hulk, but the story is continuing on through a series of one shots, leading to a major Hulk story arc. This monstrous Hulk has been very fascinating as this story progressed and I do like what Phillip Kennedy Johnson is building here.
Barbara Gordon: Breakout #4. “The Reason and the Why.” Written by Mariko Tamaki with art by Amancay Nahuelpan. Cover art was done by Karl Kerschl. Variant cover E art was done by Mark Spears. Officer Myrna Shelton is now in the prison for backup for Barbara Gordon. It is a good thing as Barbara needs it badly.
Absolute Batman #23. “The Straw Man Part 5.” Written by Scott Snyder with art by Nick Dragotta. Cover art was done by Nick Dragotta & Frank Martin. Clayface makes his presence known in a brutal way, shape shifting into Batman and killing Tim Drake of the Robins. By doing so, he is framing Batman in the public eye. The book recreated the iconic moment where Batman held the dead body of Robin in his arms (though it was originally Jason Todd who he held).
D’Orc #7. “A Bit Bogged Down.” Written, drawn and cover art by Brett Bean. D’Orc is reeling form the discovery of the truth of his father and he comes across a nice woman who is seemingly wanting to help him. Sadly, she is a succubus and Bog-Men are at her beck in call. D’Orc is a consistently entertaining book that I look forward to every month.
Fury of Firestorm #5. “The Fury” Part 5. Written by Jeff Lemire with art by Rafael De Latorre. Cover art was done by Rafael De Latorre and Marcelo Maiolo. Firestorm is facing with dual time periods as Firehawk tried to reach Robbie while Hawkman and other JL members try to stop Firestorm. I think only Jeff Lemire can tell this story without it being overly convoluted.
X-Men #35. “A Gift.” Written by Jed MacKay with pencils by Tony S. Daniel. Cover art was done by Tony S. Daniel & Fer Sifuentes-Sujo. This issue served as a prelude to the upcoming DNX arc. We have an existential crisis for Hank McCoy, and he believed that Illyana Rasputin is someone who could help him. Hank had to face the fact that the leader of the 3K is just another version of himself and Illyana’s own Darkchilde made her the perfect foil for Beast.
The Twilight Zone #10. “A Life Well Lived.” Written by Rosemary Soule & Charles Soule with art and cover art by Sean Peacock. A couple of girls find their way to an underground bunker where their arrival puts the entire world in jeopardy. These individual stories in The Twilight Zone book have done a great job of creating the mood and the feel of the original series.
The Punisher #7. “Collateral Damage.” Written by Benjamin Percy with art by Farid Karami. Cover art was done by David Marquez & Guru-eFX. Frank Castle goes head-to-head with the new villain Collateral Damage. Collateral Damage was a victim of a shootout Frank had had in his past and C.D. was back with some awesome specialty bullets to try and finish off Frank.
Showdown #3. Written by Dave Wielgosz and illustrated by Tadd Galusha. Cover art was done by Steve Lieber & Jack Cole. Trisha is preparing for her massive showdown with Harvey, but she was beginning to doubt whether or not the revenge was worth it. I do like it that they are making this deeper than just a revenge story.
Rascal Randy #2. Written by Tyler Boss and featuring art and cover art by Dylan Burnett. Who could guess that a cartoon creation named Rascal Randy could cause such problems for its creator, Elias Friedman? The origin of the assassin from Exquisite Corpses rolls on with the second of five issues in this mini series. I like the different format of the story, with the flashbacks told in a different color/shade.
Venom #260. Written by Al Ewing and art by Carlos Gomez. Cover art was done by Carlos Gomez & Frank D’Armata. Cover B cover art was done by Tim Seeley. In this Queen of Black crossover, Venom #260 focused on the history of Dylan Brock and his relationship with Eddie Brock.
Seven Wives #3. Written by Zoe Tunnell with art by Tesslyn Bergin-Dicoi. Cover art was done by Keyla Valerio. The mystery of who killed cult leader Matthew Dunn wrapped up in this short mini series. It was an interesting end to the story, but I am not sure it was completely satisfying. This felt like it was too short of a series and this story could have used another issue or so.
Batman & Robin Year One: Dynamic Duos #1. Written by Mark Waid with art by Chris Samnee. Variant cover D art was done by Hayden Sherman. This issue featured the cult of Barbatos, which funny enough, I had never heard of until recently when I watched the second season of Batman: The Caped Crusader on Amazon Prime. This also included Catwoman with another girl alone on the streets.
Clayface: Celebrity Dirt #2. Written by Jude Ellison S. Doyle with art by Fran Galan. Variant cover C art was done by Hayden Sherman. The Clayface book has been very solid so far, and I actually felt bad for some of the side characters we met in this issue. Of course, the book is meant to help build toward the DCU movie Clayface that comes out in October, and I think it has accomplished that goal.
Wolverine #25. “Eruption.” Written by Saladin Ahmed with art by Martin Coccolo. Cover art was done by Dan Panosian. The final showdown with the doctor who stole Logan’s healing factor, Alpha Flight and Wolverine takes place on the edge of an active volcano. Never a good place for a fight. It is nice to get this story over with so Logan can be back to his normal way with his healing factor. I don’t mind stories like this, but it was so obvious that he was getting the healing factor back that it took away most of the stakes.
X-Men United #6. “Shadow Play Pt. 2.” Written by Eve L. Ewing & Evan Narcisse with pencils by Tiago Palma & Eduardo Pansica. Cover art was done by Stefano Caselli & Federico Blee. The X-Men have to face off with a dark and evil version of themselves as the team is trying to reunite.
Transformers #35. Written by Robert Kirkman and art by Jason Howard. Variant cover C art was done by Jason Howard & Annalisa Leoni. Optimus Prime responds to a fierce fight involving Cliffjumper, Shredhead, and the Combaticons. General Flagg and Doctor Arkeville stabilize Shredhead using spare parts from Onslaught. I have a feeling that those spare parts from a Decepticon will not turn out well.
The Trillion Dollar Kid #2. Written by Geoff Johns with art by Peter J. Tomasi. Variant cover C art was done by Stefano Simeone. The crossover with Hornsby & Halo and the Rocketfellers concluded with this issue as they are able to prevent the early start of the Robot War and the saving of Tommy’s friend robot, Sterling. Tommy has not found his parents yet, but it seemed as if he was continuing his search via other “Unbelievables.” I like Tommy, but, again, this felt a little short for a crossover event. I do appreciate Ghost Machine’s efforts to do a crossover though.
Generation X-23 #7. “Homecoming.” Written by Jody Houser and art by Marco Renna. Cover art was done by Partha Pratim Sarkar & Romulo Fajardo Jr. Wolverine (without his healing factor) showed up coincidentally where Laura and the others were hiding out. I have started to enjoy this book more with each issue and this one might be my favorite of the series so far. I like the use of Wolverine here and I like how he did not have the healing factor, keeping things in continuity.
Tyler Rake: An Extraction Story #4. Written by Ande parks and illustrated by Ronan Cliquet. Cover art was done by Declan Shalvey. . In this chapter, Tyler and his team arrive in the Philippines to face a heavily fortified city controlled by a hostile adversary named Molina. Tyler Rake has been an enjoyable mercenary in this book so far.
The Dogsitter #2. Written by Jamie S. Rich and illustrated by Megan Levens. Variant cover B art was done by Cully Hamner. I grabbed the second issue of this book this week after not being sure what this book was going to be about. I expected issue one to have some twist, but it turned out to be basically a romance comic. However, I have liked reading this, and I suppose you could say that a different genre of comic that is not apocalyptic, vampire or techno is a good thing.
Other books this week: Ghost Pepper #13, Honor and Curse: Eternal #5, Blood & Thunder #16, Gastronomique #1, X-Men ’97 #3, Malevolent #6, Did You Hear About Mimi Green? #3, Planet Atmos: Exordium #4, and The Nice house By the Sea #11.
Quick Hits: Godzilla finds himself in the Roar of the Worlds #1, the latest Godzilla’s Monsterpiece Theater book from IDW. I saw Gail Simone express her admiration for Godzilla books lately on BlueSky and she is right. Godzilla seems to be able to fit into any story well. Vertigo’s Bleeding Hearts #7 sees more zombie action and the strange POV of Poke. I don’t usually pick up facsimile books and I pick up even less Archie books, but the covers for this week’s Archie Facsimile Edition #16 (Laugh #166) featured two covers parodying the covers of two of my all-time favorite Beatles albums, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and Abbey Road. I was just unable to turn them down. Of the Earth #4 was back among the medal winners in this week’s EYG Favorite Comic Covers of the Week with a bronze medal. Charles Adlard has been a very exceptional cover artist for that series, medaling several times. Dark Horse had a couple of books out this week that were fun and intriguing, that being The Shaolin Cowboy: Staying A.I. Live#2 and Beast of Boriken #2. Another number two this week was Starhenge Book Two: A Kiss for Atticus #2 by Liam Sharp. This book feels just so epic and the art is breathtaking. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little confused with the story though. Queen in Black: Thor #1 gives us a dual story of Sigurd Jarlson and Beta Ray Bill. More Asgardian adventures fill up the Doctor Strange #9 book as Strange continues his mantel as Sorcerer Supreme of Asgard. Hank Howard returned with more noir pizza adventures in Hank Howard Pizza Detective in The Fair Play #1 from Bad Idea. I grabbed a beautiful B cover of this book that came up short on the EYG Favorite Comic Covers of the Week, but is still a lovely piece of art by Mico Suayan. More drama from beneath the earth’s surface goes down in Innards #3. Then, Just Brutal #5 from Ignition Press keeps the pressure on the ascension of these kids into the new heroes of the book.
#53
Mr. Peabody and Sherman
Released: March 7, 2014
Runtime: 92 minutes
Rating: PG
Animation Style: 3D computer-generated (CGI)
Studio: DreamWorks
I was a fan of Mr. Peabody and Sherman from the Rocky and Friends Show. The Wayback Machine was one of my earliest examples of time travel. I really enjoyed the DreamWorks movie, though in retrospect, I do not think it was as great as I was first saw. Nostalgia hit me hard, but I did still enjoy this comedy.
Voice Cast: Ty Burrell, Max Charles, Ariel Winter, Stephen Colbert, Leslie Mann, Allison Janney, Stephen Tobolowsky, Stanley Tucci, Adam Alexi-Malle, Patrick Warburton, Zach Callison, Steve Valentine, Dennis Haysbert, Karan Brar, Leila Birch, Joshua Rush, and Thomas Lennon.
Steve Valentine as Ay, King Tut’s Vizier.Leila Birch as the WABAC[19]
The new dinosaur movie, The End of Oak Street, came out this weekend starring Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor. Writer/director David Robert Mitchell brought us this ’80s feeling, Amblin-like film of a family trying to survive the sudden arrival of dinosaurs and other monstrous creatures.
According to IMDB, “The Platt family bands together to navigate their new surroundings after a cosmic event transports their suburban neighborhood to someplace unknown.“
Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor play Denise and Greg Platt, who had been having marriage troubles, and their two kids acting out in different ways. Hathaway and McGregor do a good job as the married couple with their struggles.
The kids, Audrey and Brian, were played by Maisy Stella and Christian Convery, Christian Convery has been in several projects including Cocaine Bear and the Netflix series Sweet Tooth. I thought both of them did a solid job in the film.
The dinosaurs looked great and the film was sensational with the tension and anxiety of the film off the charts. It brings that tension t a high level while still maintaining the Spielberg-like film and not just falling into a horror creature film. I think the writing was strong and everything was nicely weaved together.
The mystery of the film helps keep the tension high. JJ Abrams is a producer on the film and this kind of unknown plot falls right into his type of storyline.
I liked how the beginning of the movie started diving into the characters more, which I think is a very good way to start. I also love how all of the little character bits that they mention during that time comes back and pays off, even if it is a small mention.
I am not sure how I feel about the end of the film. I was satisfied when I watched it, but, upon some reflection, I am not sure the choice they made was the best choice possible. Of course, I can not go into detail because of spoilers.
This was considerably better than MOST of the Jurassic Park/World films and I was thoroughly entertained thru the entire flick. The actors are likable and the dinosaurs are awesome.
4.25 stars
#54
Hercules
Released: June 27, 1997
Runtime: 92 minutes
Rating: G
Animation Style: 2D hand-drawn animation with CGI integration
Studio: Disney
Hercules came out near the end of the golden era of Disney’s return that had seen releases like Lion King, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. It may not have reached the level of those films, but it has its own levels of success.
Voice cast: Tate Donovan, Danny DeVito, James Woods, Susan Egan, Rip Torn, Samantha Eggar, Lillias White, Cheryl Freeman, LaChanze, Roz Ryan, Vaneese Thomas, Bobcat Goldthwait, Matt Frewer, Hal Holbrook, Barbara Barrie, Paul Shaffer, Jim Cummings, Wayne Knight, Keith David, Frank Welker, and Charlton Heston.
EYG- Embrace Your Geekness 