Poker Face S2 E9
Spoilers
“A New Lease on Death”
Awkwafina gets killed this week in Poker Face and Charlie has got to figure out what happened.
With Charlie’s truth detector, she is quite the handful for the criminals or con people of the world. In this case, we have Alia Shawkat, playing con woman Kate, who is trying to get married to Awkwafina’s grandma to get her hands on a rent controlled apartment in New York. Kate was definitely sinister, but even her slimy tactics were no match for Charlie.
Charlie setting up a trap for Kate to capture her on film being the heartless monster that she was. I love when Charlie out smarts the villain. This was a perfect example of her being ahead of everybody.
Charlie is also very kind and is a people person. She makes friends very easily, even if it does seem that death will follow her around.
Another Simple Favor
June 22
2018 saw the release of a movie that caught the world by surprise. A Simple Favor was directed by Paul Feig and starred Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick in a black comedy/mystery that was really clever and creative. In 2025, Amazon Prime streamed a sequel to the film, Another Simple Favor trying to catch magic once again.
I will say that this sequel is not as great as A Simple Favor, but it is entertaining as well.
According to IMDB, “Stephanie Smothers and Emily Nelson reunite on the island of Capri, Italy for Emily’s extravagant wedding to a rich Italian businessman, which is interrupted by murder and betrayal.“
Stephanie (Anna Kendrick) becoming an author of true crime books and an online vlogger about other cases she investigated worked well for the character. Part of the key to the success of the original was the clever dialogue and interactions and this kept Stephanie active in that part. Then, with Emily’s unexpected return from prison and immediate reinsertion into Stephanie’s life, the film started to keep the audience on its toes with what was about to happen.
Allison Janney appeared as Emily’s Aunt Linda, and she provided her acting chops to a story that does get crazily weighed down with weird story elements.
The key to the film is the banter between Lively and Kendrick. This is the strength of the film as their dialogue is crisp and funny. Their barbs back and forth keep you guessing about what is actually going on with a convoluted story.
The story itself is really not great. It turned out to be more of a parody of the first film than anything else. There are so many bizarre choices that it made me wonder if that was the overall purpose of the sequel.
As an Amazon Prime streaming film, this is fun. A solid watch on a Sunday afternoon. There is a reason why a sequel to a surprise hit was not released in the theaters. It is because the film is not strong enough for that. However, I did enjoy this on the power of the two lead actresses, even when they are in the most ridiculous, bordering on stupid, situations.
3.2 stars
The Fire Inside
June 22
The June Swoon continued this morning with a boxing movie detailing the pursuit of the Olympic gold medal by Claressa “T-Rex” Shields.
Claressa Shields became the first American woman to win a Gold Medal in boxing but she discovered that, even after the ultimate success, there is nothing in life that is guaranteed.
Ryan Destiny played Claressa Shields, teenager whose dream was to become a star in the boxing ring. She was trained and supported by Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry). Claressa did not have a perfect life. She had troubles with her mother and struggling with the dedication required in her training.
In most sports biopics, the big victory is the ending of the film, but, in this case, Claressa success at the Olympic games in 2012 was just the start of the story. She discovered how difficult it was for a woman to translate her success in the boxing ring into big time success in life. The product endorsements were not coming and Claressa was being offered less than the male boxers were to go for another gold medal.
The struggle for Claressa became the chunk of the movie, detailing how she nearly hit the bottom, nearly pawning her gold medal. The film is also inspiring to see how she was able to overcome these problems in a push for a second gold medal.
I did like how this movie flipped the general formula of the sport biopic upside down and told the story in a different way. Strong performances made the film even more compelling.
Sunday Morning Sidewalk #22
Spoilers
Win or Lose
“Coach’s Kid”
“Blue”
The Sunday Morning Sidewalk starts its third series today. I have watched Band of Brothers and The Sandman so far and this week, the new show is on Disney + and is from Pixar. It is called Win or Lose.
This sets a precedent for Sunday Morning Sidewalk because this is the first time that I will be watching two episodes a week. I had looked at the run time on the episodes and they were all right in that 22 minute sweet spot, so I decided that I would do two a week.
I am very happy about that because the first episode was so good that I really wanted to watch a second one no matter the time.
The show’s concept is that every episode will center around a softball championship game and the lead up to it. Then, with each episode, we will see the perspective from a different character leading to the same point. First episode focuses on Laurie, the daughter of the coach of the Pickles, who is terrible at softball, but she desperately wants to do well. Second episode looks at the umpire of the game, a low self-imaged teacher named Mr. Brown.
I love this concept. What a wonderful idea for an 8-episode series and this show has some awesome Pixar magic throughout. In the first episode, Laurie has a little creature on her shoulder that was born from her self-doubt and who just kept growing as the week leading up to the championship game happened. Kind of an Inside Out-style creature that fed into Laurie’s doubts and anxiety.
Poor Mr. Brown. I related to this guy because it showed him as a teacher. The scene of the overbearing mother trying to prevent a punishment for her cheating daughter, well to say that I understand is an understatement. The magical armor that appears around Mr. Brown to deflect the slings and arrows of criticism and negative comments also keeps him isolated and lonely.
The animation is great. I mean, it is Pixar. That is kind of expected. I had no idea that this short little series on Disney + would be as poignant as it seems to be. I am excited to see who the next characters we focus on next week.
EYG Comic Cavalcade #158
June 21
Hey. It is time for the EYG Comic Cavalcade. It seems like I should stop saying that it is another big week this week since it seems as if every week has a ton of books any more. It’s lots of fun.
I have dived into Nightwing and I am awaiting an order from eBay where I picked up the Tom Taylor run (#78-113). I also picked up a few back issues from the Bettendorf shop, all at cover price. Awesome.
I’m trying to stay focused but there is a cricket cricketing like crazy in my room right now and it is driving me nuts. I do hate crickets so I may have to pause to go murder it soon.
Books this week:
Toxie Team-Up #1. Written by Mark Russell and art by Richard Pace. Cover art was done by Fred Harper. Blasphemy at its finest! Toxic Avenger teams up with the one and only Jesus H. Christ. This was such a lot of fun, even if I’m going to Hell. There are some really funny moments in this if you have a sense of humor.
Wolverine #10. “All Happy Families” Written by Saladin Ahmed and art by Javier Pina. Cover art was done by Martin Coccolo & Bryan Valenza. Logan goes into his childhood house looking for Sabretooth. This is actually one of my favorite issues of the week. Logan’s “voice over” is really great and I loved the script.
They Choose Violence #1. Written by Sheldon Allen and illustrated by Mauricio Campetella. Cover art was done by Rahzzah. Fun new series by AWA. Interestingly enough, this has been recalled by the company because one page is reprinted, I assume, accidentally in the story. I am not sure if there was a page missing where the one page was there again. It was weird when I read it, and then I saw the recall.
Emma Frost: White Queen #1. Written by Amy Chu and art by Andrea Di Vito. Cover art was done by David Nakayama. This story took place in the past of continuity during the time when Emma Frost was in the Hellfire Club as the White Queen. I would have rather this book tell a present day story of Emma Frost, who we have come to love over the last several years. Still, there is a fun X-Men appearance.
Psylocke #8. “Into the Snow.” Written by Alyssa Wong and art by Moises Hidalgo. Cover art was done by Mahmud Asrar & Matthew Wilson. Kwannon goes to the land of where she was born. We have some major flashbacks going on.
The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos: Children of the Night #1. Script by Tate Brombal and art by Isaac Goodhart. Cover art is by Noah Dao. This feels like a re-introduction of Christopher Chaos and the rest of the Monster Club.
Iron Man #9. “Part Four: Great-Power Competition.” Written by Spencer Ackerman and art by Michael Dowling, Julius Ohta & Guiu Vilanova. Cover art by Yasmine Putri. Bucky, Black Widow, The Winter Guard guest star as Iron Man faces the challenge of providing weapons for Doom.
Vatican City #3. Written by Mark Millar and art and cover art was done by Per Berg. The vampire storyline comes to a dramatic conclusion with this three-issue story. Vatican City has been a pretty fun run and this wraps up nicely.
Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu #9. “Clinical Trial” Written by Jed MacKay with art by Devmalya Pramanik. Cover art was done by Davide Paratore. Moon Knight and his group are reforming, getting ready to go after Fairchild. This sets up the major battle next issue, I am guessing.
I Was a Fashion School Serial Killer #3. Written by Doug Wagner and art by Daniel Hillyard. Cover art was done by Daniel Hillyard & Michelle Madsen. This has been a great book so far. This issue initially left me with hope that Rennie would be able to get away from her killing, even though it was clear the signs were pointing at she could not do it.
Blood & Thunder #2. Written by Benito Cereno with art by E.J. Su. Cover art was done by E.J. Su & Msassyk. We get more in this issue of the relationship between Akeldama and her gun, including some background on her father. This has been a fun series so far and I do like how they have developed relationships moving forward.
Past Time #3. Written by Joe Harris and art by Russell Olson. Mark Chiarello did the cover art (Silver Medalist). Baseball and vampires go hand in hand, don’t they? It really works in this series and sets up a dramatic end for the issue. Very creative using these two story types in one.
Avengers #27. “Masters of Evil” Part 3. Written by Jed MacKay and art by Andrea Broccardo. Cover art by Valerio Schiti & Federico Blee. Black Panther and Captain America have to team up against the new Masters of Evil while the Mad Thinker sets his true plan in motion.
Vanishing Point #2. “The Tomorrow Family: Life in the Year 2100. Tonight’s Episode: You Leave Me Breathless.” Written by Mark Russell and art by Ryan Alexander-Tanner. Robert Hack did the cover art. Any fans of Hanna-Barbera’s classic cartoon, The Jetsons? This parody issue is for you. Vanishing Point is an anthology sci-fi series and it has been great so far.
X-Men #18. “Invitation” Written by Jed MacKay and art by Emilio Laiso. Ryan Stegman & Marte Garcia did the cover art. 3K is making some major moves in this issue, including making an untimely offer to Beast. Lots of mutant shenanigans going down here.
Godzilla vs. Avengers #1. Written by David F. Walker and penciled by Georges Jeanty. Lee Garbett did the variant cover art (the versus cover). This takes place in the New Avengers time so we have Luke Cage and Spider-Man and Spider-Woman in the Avengers along with Cap and Iron Man and Wolverine. It is kind of a fun way to tell the story as we also get an Ultraman type character.
West Coast Avengers #8. Written by Gerry Duggan and art by Danny Kim. Ben Harvey did the cover art. It was a bad day to be an Avenger. The West Cast Avengers try to take on the cult of Ultron. Things don’t go well.
Los Monstruos #2. Written by James Robinson and art by Jesus Merino. Cover art was done by Jesus Merino & K.J. Diaz. The noir story continues as our werewolf lead, Private Investigator Perry Cutter, heads into the Egyptian section to deal with mummies! Los Monstruos has been excellent so far, feeling very much like an old time movie from Universal.
Benjamin #1. Script by Ben H. Winters and art by Leomacs. The cover art was done by Christian Ward (Bronze Medalist). I loved this issue, as we dive into a mystery and the issue spends time trying to figure it out. Who is this writer and how is he not dead? Create use of the medium.
Krypto: The Last Dog of Krypton #1. “Chapter One: Krypton” Written by Ryan North and art by Mike Norton. Jae Lee & June Chung did the cover art. Ever want a deeper dive into the origin of Krypto? Well here you go… all told by Ryan North, a writer whom I have loved from Fantastic Four.
Exquisite Corpses #2. Written by Michael Walsh with James Tynion IV and art by Marianne Ignazzi with Michael Walsh. Cover A art by Michael Walsh. I also go Cover B by Marianne Ignazzi (Gold Medalist). I love how this series is setting things up. Where it could have dived into a huge battle and slaughter fest, this book is taking things slow, with just one more death. This has been a huge winner so far.
Amazing Spider-Man #6. Written by Joe Kelly and penciled by John Romita Jr. Cover art was done by John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna, and Marcio Menyz. Spidey and Black Cat find themselves working together on a potential heist… at least that is what Black Cat wants. They run into Hellgate, the new Spider-Man villain on the final, massive page.
The Ultimates #13. Written by Deniz Camp and art by Juan Frigeri. Cover art was done by Dike Ruan & Neeraj Menon. There are a lot of things going on in this issue, but everything feels as if it is building to something huge. The Ultimates has become on of the best Ultimate books around.
Absolute Flash #4. “The Trials of the Flash” Written by Jeff Lemire with art by A. I Kaplan. Nick Robles did the cover art. The Absolute Flash has become one of my favorite of the Absolute run. Probably a big reason being Jeff Lemire. I am a Lemire fan and his work on this book has been top notch.
Nightwing #127. “Other Part 1” Written by Dan Watters with art by Dexter Soy. Cover art was done by Dexter Soy and Adriano Lucas. I am just starting to learn about Nightwing. For example, I did not know Dick Grayson had a sister. I have been enjoying starting to learn more about a character that I always liked before.
G.I. Joe #8. Written by Joshua Williamson with art by Andrea Milana. Cover art was done by Tom Reilly. The Baroness is tired of the training, and so she needs 48 hours for a personal trip to Paris. They send Cover Girl with her. And they get in trouble right away.
Other books this week: Aliens vs. Avengers #4, The New Gods #7, Weapon X-Men#5, Spider-Verse vs. Venomverse #2, Doom’s Division #4, and Bloodletter #1.
Quick Hits: I finally got the new Sam and Twitch Case Files #14 after missing it a couple of weeks ago. Shout out to this book for still only being $2.99. More comics should be cheaper to try and help build the hobby. Bytch Craft #1 came from Mad Cave, but this one was not one of my favorites. I was not interested in this Mad Cave book. Another new mini series that I think I will be skipping is Jeff the Land Shark #1. I have picked up the It’s Jeff one shots over the last year or so, but this one does not interest me either. Power Man: Timeless #4 brings this short mini series to a close. I had kind of lost interest in this one too, after being really excited about the early couple of issues. The Keenspot book Don’t Run With Scissors #2 is really a weird book and has some art that keeps with that tone. Phantom Road #13 continues with the weird world of Jeff Lemire. The first of the new Marvel one-shot series called Bring on the Bad Guys: Doom #1 came out too. I have a cool Dr. Doom cover but there is a fun variant cover featuring the new villain Sister Sorrow. Connected with Dr. Doom, he goes to Valera’s birthday party in Fantastic Four Fanfare #2. There are three stories inside this book. Bug Wars #5 is, I believe, the big penultimate issue of this series from Jason Aaron. Another penultimate issue is the Great British Bump-Off: Kill or Be Quilt #3. This is actually pretty funny this issue. Finally I have Zatanna #5. Honestly, I am having a harder time getting into this than the last Zatanna book, but I do love the art by Jamal Campbell. Zatanna must think she is She-Hulk as we get a big meta moment in the middle of the book.
The Friend
June 21
The second film of the June Swoon today was one I rented off Fandango at Home and I rented it because they had Bill Murray on the cover and had a decent Rotten Tomatoes score. We are under ten days now left in the June Swoon and the 2025 movies have been tough to find to watch.
According to IMDB, “Novelist and creative writing teacher Iris (Naomi Watts) finds her comfortable, solitary New York life thrown into disarray after her closest friend and mentor (Bill Murray) commits suicide and bequeaths his beloved Great Dane to her. The regal yet intractable beast, named Apollo, immediately creates problems for Iris, from furniture destruction to eviction notices, as well as more existential ones, his looming presence constantly reminding her of her friend’s choice to take his own life. Yet as Iris finds herself unexpectedly bonding to the animal, she begins to come to terms with her past, her lost friend, and her own creative inner life.“
I had no idea what this movie was about. I did not know that this was going to be a story about a girl and her dog. I’ve never been a big fan of dog movies that try to tug on the heartstrings. However, this added more to the story than just the dog. The story of Walter (Bill Murray) having committed suicide and how that affected the people around him was very interesting for me.
Naomi Watts is always great. There could have been more Bill Murray for my tastes, but I understand why that is the case with the story.
I am not a dog person, but this was a nice film. I liked the balance between the guilt and sadness of one aspect of the story and the bonding between a very charismatic dog and a human.
3 stars
I’m Still Here
June 21
Another Academy Award winning film came next in the June Swoon. This film won the Oscar for Best International Feature Film and had received nominations for Best Picture and Best Lead Actress. I’m Still Here is a political biopic from Brazil that detailed the story of Eunice Paiva, whose husband, a former congressman, was a victim of a forced disappearance during the military dictatorship in Brazil in 1971.
Fernanda Torres did win a Golden Globe for her role as Eunice Paiva, along with the Academy Award nomination. She was a powerful force in this film, showing so much depth of her character. It could have easily degenerated into a sob story, but the strength of Eunice and her constant desire to protect her family while searching for the truth really marked her as an amazing woman. Fernanda Torres brings all of the emotion and power to the role.
The resiliency of the Torres family was on full display as they had to go through so much uncertainty after armed men came into their house and took away their father. Then, Eunice and one of her daughters were taken for “questioning” and held for an extended period of time. Such behaviors of a government is and was unacceptable and I’m Still Here makes that argument clearly.
As an audience, we are given time at the beginning to get to know Rubens Paiva and see how important he was to his family before he was removed by the military. We could see the hole that his forced disappearance put in his family and how Eunice did everything she could to fill that gap herself.
The film did have a couple of sections at the end showing the family in the future, including one in 2016 where Eunice was in a wheelchair and suffering from Alzheimer’s. There was still a powerful hope within that family, a trait that came from Eunice’s decade long fight for the truth. I am not sure if these last two scenes were really needed, but it was nice to see how these people’s lives moved on after they realized that their father was not coming back.
This is a long film, but it was worthwhile thanks to an amazing lead performance and a story that helps us understand what life under a dictatorship could be like.
28 Years Later
I recently rewatched 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later, the two other films in this franchise in preparation for this new film, 28 Years Later, which reunited Danny Boyle as director and Alex Garland as a writer (they worked together on 28 Days Later). After watching 28 Years Later, I realized that I really did not need to do that homework.
28 Years Later does pick up the story of the Rage Virus, with England now being a fully isolated and quarantined. It started off with an action set featuring boy named Jimmy. After we see this, the film is set in a village on the island of Lindisfarne, where we meet Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and his sickly wife Isla (Jodie Comer). They have a son named Spike (Alfie Williams) and Jamie is preparing to take Spike to the mainland on his first infected kill, a right of passage for the young boy.
The father-son had some harrowing adventures on the mainland and had to struggle to avoid an Alpha infected (zombie?) to make their way home.
Spike is very concerned with his mother’s mysterious illness and he takes her on a journey to the mainland in search of help for her.
This movie feel like two parts. The first part is the father-son adventure of Jamie and Spike and the second part is Spike’s adventure with his mom. Spike is 100% the main character and Aaron Taylor-Johnson disappears in the second part of the movie. Alfie Williams does an exceptional job as the main protagonist and we see Spike mature throughout the movie as he faces more and more dangers in the world. Alfie Williams has to carry way more of this film on his back than I ever thought possible and the young actor does a remarkable job of it.
Ralph Fiennes showed up eventually in a great role, but what would you expect? Ralph Fiennes is one of our greatest working actors.
The film has an old timey feel to it, which I believe is in the manner in which Danny Boyle shot the film. It was reported that he shot much of the film using iPhones and you could see the way that made the film appear. However, this film had several strange and experimental type shots that did not work as well for me. There were many film footage spliced in with the movie, which, at times, felt out of place. In particular, shots of a group of, what seemed to be knights shooting arrows in medieval times were used and I did not like that. They also inserted several flashes of infected just out of nowhere, in an attempt to make the shot feel more dreamlike. Many of these interludes felt out of place for me as well.
Without spoiling it, I was not a fan of the ending of the movie. I had not known that there was a sequel to this movie already done filming. 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is scheduled to come out January 2026 and the ending of this movie is so much of a set up for the next movie that it is kind of irritating.
This is very much a different film than either of the first two that I think there may be some viewers who find it annoying and not what they were after. I did feel the length of the film at times and the distinctly different parts of the film did feel weird. You could almost call this an artistic vision of a zombie movie and not be too far off.
There were a lot of tense moments, but, if I am being sincere, I felt more tense watching the trailers for this movie than I did during the actual film. There were some solid emotional moments and there were some frightening scenes too, but those trailers were really good and built up a tone that the film did not sustain throughout.
Overall, I liked this movie a lot, even if I had some questions about some choices made, both in the story and in the presentation. Alfie Williams is a star in the making and he stands out here among some great actors.
3.9 stars
Elio
The latest Pixar movie was released this weekend. It is entitled Elio and, to be honest, it was a film that I was not looking forward to because I just did not enjoy the trailers for the film. It is a brand new IP from Pixar and, while I have enjoyed most of Pixar movies, I just was not excited for this one.
After seeing this, I would say that it is a solid Pixar movie, but that I would not consider it in the top tier of the company’s oeuvre.
According to IMDB, “Elio, a space fanatic with an active imagination, finds himself on a cosmic misadventure where he must form new bonds with alien lifeforms, navigate a crisis of intergalactic proportions and somehow discover who he is truly meant to be.“
I did like the character of Elio, which was something that I worried about from the trailers. The film does a really good job of setting up Elio’s troubles and issues that lead him to look to the stars. Yonas Kibreab (who played Finn in Netflix’s adaptation of Sweet Tooth) does a solid job of voicing Elio, and I bought the relationship between him and his alien friend Glordon (voiced by Remy Edgerly). Much of the film will be centered around that relationship and if it does not work, the film will be in trouble.
The script does a good job of, while being familiar to other Pixar type films, avoiding the Pixar tropes that we have become used to over the years.
The voice cast is very good for the film including Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett, Brendan Hunt, Jameela Jamil, Matthias Schweighöfer, and Brandon Moon.
The design of the characters and the setting is standout, creating a glorious fantasy setting for our characters to work through. It will absolutely give young children something to keep their focus on.
I do think it takes some time getting going and has characters doing things that they may not be capable of doing, but there are some good messages in the film and I do think it will be a good family watch. It certainly was better than I initially thought it would be even if it is near the bottom of the Pixar film list.
3.75 stars
The Surrender
June 20
So I did a second Shudder movie this morning for the June Swoon. It seemed like a good double feature with In a Violent Nature, and the fact that I am going to 28 Years Later this afternoon. The Surrender fit nicely into the schedule.
According to IMDB, “When the family patriarch dies, a grieving mother and daughter risk their lives to perform a brutal resurrection ritual and bring him back from the dead.“
Colby Minifie (who plays Ashley on The Boys) starred as Megan, whose mother Barbara (Kate Burton) was helping her ailing husband Robert (Vaughn Armstrong). Robert was stricken with cancer and was in terrible shape, in pain and agony.
Colby Minifie and Kate Burton did a tremendous job together in this film, which was, at times, very difficult to watch. Their performances stood out among the best parts of the film.
In fact, I would say the first two acts of this movie were excellent. There was deep issues between the mother and daughter and the grief over what was happening to Robert, as well as his ultimate fate, were creating high levels of stress and anxiety.
However, the third act of this movie really went off the rails. The first two acts dealt with the difficulty of caring for a loved one who was desperately sick and dying and another act handled the relationship between the family members. However, it is when the supernatural things start to happen that the film ceases to work. The character development that was alive in the first two acts of the film really take a back seat to the body horror or scary circumstances that are nowhere near as intense.
With the arrival of The Man (Neil Sandilands), the film still is working because of the uncertainty and the mysterious nature of everything that he is doing with the grieving wife and daughter. After that, things just get weird and there are no explanations for what happened or why things went as they did.
This started strong but ended with a very disappointing result. I still was impressed with Colby Minifie and Kate Burton and their work in their roles. I just wish they would have been given something better to wrap the story up with.
2.6 stars
In a Violent Nature
June 20
In a Violent Nature is a film that I have had on my queue on Amazon Prime for quite a while. I remember seeing it playing at Cinemark, but never getting around to go to it. I also had it on a list of possible horror movies for last year’s October 13 watch, but it did not make the cut. I finally watched the slasher film for the June Swoon, and I tell you what, I was entertained.
According to IMDB, “When a locket is removed from a collapsed fire tower in the woods that entombs the rotting corpse of Johnny, a vengeful spirit spurred on by a horrific 70-year old crime, his body is resurrected and becomes hellbent on retrieving it.“
This movie was really brutal and bloody, with Johnny, played by Ry Barrett, marching through the woods in pursuit of these dumb individuals who took the locket. He found some horrific brutality to murder them as he tried to reclaim his property.
I mean… all he wanted was his locket back. These kids were basically grave robbers. You can’t blame poor Johnny for wanting to bend someone’s head through their torso.
The film is intentionally trying to keep you uneasy as much of the dialogue from the kids were off screen, and we spent most of the film from Johnny’s POV. That meant there was a ton of trudging through the woods. That is obviously meant to be unsettling as was most of the sound design of the picture. You get to a point where you are desperate for some of the sound cues to end.
The film’s pacing is very slow, again on purpose. It really does take the subgenre of slasher films in a direction that it has not gone before. I can see people not being a fan of this because of the pacing and the feel that the creators of the film were going for. Still, I found it to be entertaining and one of the better, more original slasher films we have had in awhile. In a Violent Nature was worth the long wait to finally see it.
Titan: The OceanGate Disaster
June 19
This is the second film of the June Swoon today, and it is a second documentary. However, unlike Black Barbie, this tells the recent tale of a horrible tragedy from this decade. The documentary focuses on the disaster of OceanGate, the submersible that was intended to take people to see the remains of the Titanic, only to have its own catastrophe.
According to Netflix, “The Titan submersible’s ill-fated journey to the ruins of the Titanic dominated headlines in June 2023, yet the shocking decisions that led to the disaster have never been revealed like this. Titan: The OceanGate Disaster delves into the psyche of billionaire OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush and explores his relentless quest to bring oceanic exploration to the masses – at any cost. Through exclusive access to whistleblower testimony, pivotal audio recordings, and footage from the company’s early days, the film provides an unprecedented look at the technical challenges, moral dilemmas, and shockingly poor decisions that culminated in the catastrophic expedition. Titan examines the doomed underwater endeavor that forced the world to reconsider the price of unchecked ambition in the depths of the ocean.”
The documentary does a really great job of telling this story up until the actual journey of the Titan. The time spent with the Titan during the time before the implosion gives me a clear and obvious picture of why this tragedy occurred and why this was pushed forward. I feel as if the doc needed to focus in on the time during when the world was unsure of what was going on and were hoping that the people aboard the Titan could be saved.
There were some fascinating interviews with people who had worked on the project or who were scheduled to be in the exposition. These were all really well done. It just felt like the time about the actual submersible’s destruction was handled through box text on the screen.
The most anxious moments of the doc was the sound of the popping during some of the footage, popping sounds that were the submersible cracking. These recordings were tense and astounding.
The doc certainly sets up OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush as our film’s villain, but it would have been nice to go even deeper than what they did. I can see the arrogance and the narcissism, but I would like to know more about it than what was given. He is made out to be the bad guy here though, and he very well may have been.
Overall this was a compelling story that seemed to be missing a few specifics or some more depth that would have made this an absolutely powerhouse of a documentary. As it is, it is fine.
3.6 stars
EYG Favorite Comic Cover of the Week
June 19
It is Thursday again and this week I remembered immediately about the Favorite Comic Cover medalists. I got a huge list of books this week and there were a multitude of “also rans” this week.
Also Rans: Zatanna #5, The Ultimates #13, Absolute Flash #4, Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu #9, Bring on the Bad Guys: Doom #1, Vanishing Point #2, Godzilla vs. Avengers #1 (Cover D), West Coast Avengers #8, and Los Monstrous #2.
Bronze Medalist
Benjamin #1
Cover Art by Christian Ward
New book from Oni Press features a cover with a lot of different imagery that is meant to draw one in. I have no idea what the book is about but there are so many neat possibilities. I do love the background of the book sa well.
Silver Medalist
Past Time #3
Cover art by Mark Chiarello
This baseball themed book has had some really great covers so far. This one with the blood on the baseball card and the newspaper behind the hand is very compelling and makes me wonder what this story is about. The color scheme makes me think this is taking place in the past as well (of course, the title may have something to do with that as well).
Gold Medalist
Exquisite Corpses #2
Variant Cover B
Cover art by Marianna Ignazzi
Loved this cover. The white background with the pool of blood is spectacular as is the gold and white outfit blending into the aesthetic. I was surprised when I saw this variant on the stand and I felt the need to add it to my collection. Beautiful work on this… are I even say… EXQUISITE?
Black Barbie: A Documentary
June 19
It is Juneteenth and, for the June Swoon today, I am watching a documentary that debuted on June 19th last year on Netflix. It had been at SXSW film festival in 2023. Lagueria Davis is the writer/director of Black Barbie: A Documentary.
The documentary looked at the creation of and the history of the black doll and how the process of Black Barbie came to be.
According to IMDB, “Love her or hate her, almost everyone has a Barbie story. Even if they don’t have a story, there’s a story as to why they don’t have a story. In this film, we tell the story behind the first Black Barbie, because yes, she has a story too. It started with the filmmaker’s 83-year old aunt, Beulah Mae Mitchell and a seemingly simple question, ‘Why not make a Barbie that looks like me?‘”
Where as it seems like a trivial concept, the importance of black dolls, specifically Barbie, have upon the self-image and self-esteem of young black girls. Some of the most powerful comments of the film indicate how the young black girls would see themselves as ugly because of the color of their skin.
It is one more example of how important it is for play for children. How important it is for the people in the doc to have a doll that resembled them, and not just Barbie with brown skin.
EYG- Embrace Your Geekness 