Gonna keep this one brief, because it’s the Thanksgiving
weekend, so you no doubt want to get back to your turkey dinner. I
finally shelled out for a home premiere, so I give you my thoughts on
Bill & Ted Face the Music. I’ve got another installment of Mark
Tastes Random Things where I sample the Dairy Queen Loaded Steakhouse
burger. Over in The Streaming Report, I catch the Jurassic World
animated series, Camp Cretaceous, and I wrap things up by rattling off
some of the entertainment headlines that have been piling up on my desk.
Fall is in full swing, as I look out my window at all the trees changing colour. So it’s time to bring you a new episode!
Last week, I ventured out to the movies to see The Empires Strikes Back, so I tell you how that went. We’ve got our Ms. Marvel, so I take a minute to tell you who she is. Over on The Streaming Report, I finish up Cobra Kai and revisit Disney’s Mr. Boogedy franchise. And I lament that the latest James Bond movie has been delayed again.
Well, the first day of fall has come and gone. With autumn here, it’s time to get out and do stuff! So that way, I have adventures to podcast about.
I decided to take my first trip to West Edmonton Mall all year, which results in a rant about collectors. We’ve got another Mark Tastes Random Things, where I sample KFC’s new Famous Chicken chicken sandwich. On The Streaming Report, I watch a ton of Flintstones reruns, and I wrap things up by watching that sweet, sweet WandaVision trailer.
2020 has been a hell of a year. It seems like the only thing I type in this blog anymore has been the plugging of my latest podcast. What can I say? I don't have that much to blog about. The formula for years has been venturing out of my small town life, having a day of adventure in the city, and then writing about it. But there has been no days of adventure in the city in 2020. COVID-19 has closed down most places, leaving me with no where to go. And therefore, nothing to blog about.
But, now I do.
The New Mutants has finally hit theatres. This much-maligned X-Men film has officially become the most troubled of the Fox/X-Men films. I had a friend who is a lifelong X-Men fan who was thrilled about 2018. 2018 was to be the first year with three X-Men films. We were going to get New Mutants in the the spring, Deadpool 2 in the summer, and Dark Phoenix for the holiday season.
And then the troubles began.
The New Mutants was being sold as a horror film set in the X-Men universe. X-Men lends itself quite well to horror. Young people not knowing how to handle their burgeoning powers could quite easily spin into David Cronenberg-esque body horror. Throw in sadistic scientists experimenting on these kids to learn more about them, and you've got all the ingredients. The first trailer for New Mutants really leaned into the horror aspects of the film. People loved it, so New Mutants was pushed back from spring 2018 to the fall of 2018 so they could do re-shoots to ramp up the horror. Then it got pushed back again to the spring of 2019. Then the Disney buyout of Fox happened, and the film got lost in the shuffle. The filmmakers tell us that they never got around to doing the planned reshoots, and with the way the world is, it looks like the film was just dumped into the recently-reopened theatres just to get it off the schedule.
I was looking at The New Mutants in the theatres, and thought to myself, "I must see this film." This is the last of the Fox/X-Men films. With Disney having bought Fox, the movie rights to the X-Men have been returned to Marvel. So the next time we see the X-Men, or Wolverine, or Deadpool, or any of our favourite mutants, they will be back home in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. When it comes to the Fox/X-Men films, I've been there since day one. X-Men way back in the year 2000 still stands as the only midnight screening I've ever been to. I have seen every X-Men film in the theatre for the past 20 years. I had to see New Mutants in the theatre. I had to see this to the end.
I was thinking about that all on the drive in. I wonder how long a fandom lasts? I've been watching X-Men movies for the past 20 years. When I'm in my 80s and in a retirement home, will I still make an effort to get out and catch the new Star Wars film? I wonder if there are 80 year olds out there right now, who were first in line for Dr. No back in 1962 and have seen every James Bond movie in the theatre since. I can hear them now. "I've got no time to die until I've seen No Time to Die!"
Now if you follow me on social media, you're probably saying, "Now, Mark. This isn't your adventure this summer. You've already been back to the movies a few times." And you are correct. Here in Alberta, when movie theatres started reopening back in July, they needed movies to show. And they did so by showing classic films for the low low price of $5. When was the last time you were able to see a film for $5? And they were showing beloved classics...films I've always loved, but have only ever seen on TV. This was my only chance to see them on the big screen, the way they were meant to be seen. So I went to the movies a few times in July. I finally saw Back to the Future on the big screen. I finally saw Raiders of the Lost Ark. I saw Ghostbusters. I saw The Empire Strikes Back again...having caught it on the big screen during the Special Edition release back in 1997.
But this time, though, was different. If you haven't been back to the movies yet, they are highly encouraging you to buy your tickets in advance on an app. This really helps with minimizing physical contact and preventing transmission of disease. So I had no problem shelling out $5 on the app to finally see Ghostbusters on the big screen. But with The New Mutants being a newer film, and back up to full price of $15, I wanted to try something.
Back in February, I got my hands on something I've wanted forever. I got a media pass to Landmark Cinemas. Unlimited free movies for the entirety of 2020. I could see myself spending every weekend at the Landmark Cinema in St. Albert, seeing absolutely every movie that I could.
And then, a week later, they started closing the movie theatres because of COVID-19. I tell you, it was the worst case of "be careful what you wish for" that I've ever personally experienced.
So with my media pass in hand, I wanted to see if it would work for me, and if I could finally partake in a free movie. And you can't use it on the app.
I'm pleased to report that, yes, my media pass still works. There was some confusion at the box office. "I've never seen one of these before, so I don't know how to ring it up," said the kindly clerk. But a quick rundown from the manager smoothed everything over, and I was able to sprint into the theatre just in time for The New Mutants.
I will say this: for those who have been worried about venturing back to the movies, the crowds have been pretty small. The biggest crowd I saw was for Ghostbusters, which has about 12 people in the theatre. And that was movie-going prime time: Saturday night. I saw The New Mutants on Friday afternoon. It was just me a couple of kids skipping school.
And I saw it at the Landmark Cinema in St. Albert. I love it. All the chairs are overstuffed leather recliners. You can literally put your feet up. My only complaint is the chairs are almost too comfortable. Empire Strikes Back was a constant struggle to stay awake. With my recliner reclined, my Twizzlers in hand, I was ready to enjoy The New Mutants.
Danielle Moonstar awakens in a strange hospital. She’s told that her reservation was destroyed by an unknown force, and she was the only survivor. The doctor in charge of the facility — Dr. Reyes — tells Dani that they suspect she’s a mutant, and it was her mutant power that saved her. She is at the hospital to learn what her power is and to control it. She soon meets the other patients at the hospital: Rahne, who can turn into a wolf; Illyana, who can teleport and summon a magic sword; Sam, who can summon energy blasts to propel himself; and Bobby, who can shoot fire. Together, they start learning about themselves, their powers…and the sinister forces that Dr. Reyes works for.
First thing you need to understand is The New Mutants is not a horror film. I did not find it scary at all. Let me make it clear. I'm not big on horror films. I have a low constitution for horror...I scare easily. So when I say that a movie's not scary, it's really not scary. If anything, it's a YA film with some jump scares. And as YA films go, it's pretty by-the-numbers.
But there is some good in it. I mean, it's small cast and enclosed setting give it a rather intimate feel for a superhero film. And any movie that features bears fighting dragons at the end is OK in my books. But with the state of the world these days, you can definitely wait until it's on Netflix.
I give The New Mutants two out of four Nibs. You can find the full review over on my official website.
I went back out to the parking lot, looked at my watch, and saw it was getting on to be suppertime. I could either turn around and head back to Westlock. Or...I could make it a proper adventure. I could head a little further. The nearest Popeyes Chicken is on the north side of Edmonton. In just a short 15 minute drive, I could be sampling the fabled Popeyes Chicken Sandwich.
When Popeyes rolled out their chicken sandwich across the USA last year, it made headlines. People found it so good that restaurants were frequently selling out. And when they did sell out...well, there was many a viral video of fights breaking out at Popeyes. Popeyes has begun rolling it out across Canada. Edmonton was their test market a few months ago, as Edmonton did such a good job of keeping COVID-19 from spreading too far too fast. Popeyes finally rolled it out to every Canadian location about a week ago. So I figured I would give it a shot. But as I was driving down to Popeyes, I had a thought. "What if they're still closed?"
My parents have shared stories of their RV excursions this past summer. Their biggest complaint is that dining can be a crap shoot. You never know which restaurants are open, which are closed, which are open for delivery only. You just never know.
When I arrived at Popeyes, I discovered that their dining room was closed. They were only open for take-out. So, I ordered my chicken sandwich to go. But the problem now was where to eat it. This particular location didn't have any picnic tables out front, so I couldn't eat outside. I didn't want to take it all the way home to Westlock and eat at home. I tried with Taco Bell a few months ago. By the time I got home to Westlock, it was cold and soggy. So eating in my car it is. But it was such a nice, sunny day. Why eat in my car, when I can spread out my picnic on the hood of car and eat outside? And that's what I did.
And boy, what a mistake. In a parking lot at the start of the supper hour, I was beeped at a few times and had to move aside to let people in to park. Then an old timer walked up to me and tried to strike up a conversation.
"So, you got yourself one of those chicken sandwiches, eh?"
"Hmhmarglebah." (That's me with my mouth full, trying to respond to him.)
"Yeah, they're real good, aren't they?"
"Mhemarvlebah."
"Yup, I tried one a few weeks ago. They're so big! They really fill you up!"
"Mvarbleblah."
He finally left me alone and went inside to order his dinner. And then a couple of friendly wasps decided to buzz over to me and try to take a bite. So, here I am, in a Popeyes parking lot, doing a funny little dance to keep the wasps away while people beeped at me to get out of their parking space.
Maybe that's why I didn't find the Popeyes Chicken Sandwich that impressive. Too many distractions kept me from enjoying it.
I mean, it's nothing that special. It's just a big piece of Popeyes chicken on a bun, with some mayo and pickles. I went with the deluxe version, which also has lettuce and tomato. The one thing that got me, though, was it is huge. You know those third-pounder burgers that a lot of fast food places have? I rarely order them because they're so thick. The Popeyes Chicken Sandwich is the third-pounder of chicken sandwiches. It's just massive.
I don't know. I'll probably give it another chance when I can sit down in peace and enjoy one. Maybe I'll try the spicy next time.
When my sandwich was done, and all my garbage in my back seat because there were no trash cans handy, I jumped in my car and began the long trek home.
It was good to get out and have some fun. The world is still a changing place. I was wearing a mask pretty much everywhere I went. Only took it off for my movie snacks and my chicken sandwich. Lots more plexiglass windows separating me from the clerks. It's still taking some getting used to. And the way the news goes, looks like the second wave is about to start up. So this may be my last trip out for a while.
And we’re back! Sorry I didn’t have an episode for you last week…my parents invited me along on their last RV trip of the season, so I ran off with them. In this week’s episode, I tell you about where I went and the shenanigans I got into. I also braved the movie theatres to see The New Mutants, so I tell you if it’s worth it. Over in The Streaming Report, I finally start on Cobra Kai, and I am loving it. And I wrap things up by telling you who’s going to be playing She-Hulk.
It’s a grey, rainy, windy day, making it tough to get motivated to make a
podcast. Because I cannot let down my 20 listeners! I still find a
few things to talk about. Disney’s live-action Mulan has dropped on Disney+, so I explored to find out how exactly it works. We got a new trailer for the latest James Bond film, No Time to Die, so I offer up my thoughts. Over on The Streaming Report, I give my thoughts on Star Trek: Lower Decks and Muppets Now. And I wrap things up by giving my opinion on the Alberta hyperloop.
Like a lot of folks, I was stunned on Friday night when I opened my social media feeds to see that Chadwick Boseman had passed away. So, of course, I take a moment to verbalize my thoughts. And then I execute a tonal shift to gush about the trailer for The Batman. Over in The Streaming Report, I watched a lot of Dracula adaptations this past week, so I share my thoughts. And I wrap things up by talking about two reboots in development: The Powerpuff Girls and The X-Files.
It’s another grey, rainy day, so what better way to while away the hours than by cranking out another podcast! It was quiet week leading up to this, so not much to talk about. Over at DC, Ben Affleck is coming back as Batman for the “Is it finally happening?” Flash movie. Over at Marvel, Sony keeps working to make the Spider-Verse a thing, so I update you on the upcoming Spider-Man adjacent films. In the Streaming Report, it’s a couple of cult classics: Disney’s straight-to-video Cinderella III, and the TV series Spaced. And I wrap things up by redoing my bathroom.
It’s been a pretty quiet week for me, and that’s reflected in this quiet podcast. About the most exciting thing I did was I ran out to try KFC’s new plant-based chicken, so you’ll hear that in this episode as part of a new installment of Mark Tastes Random Things. Agents of SHIELD had their final episode, so I take a moment to reflect. Over on The Streaming Report, I decide to correct the fact that I’ve never seen a Fast & The Furious film. And I wrap things up by going down a G.I. Joe rabbit hole.
And we’re back, after taking the August Long Weekend off! And I have quite a few things to share. I get all nostalgic for G.I. Joe, particularly the cool mail-away exclusives they used to have. I roll out another Mark Tastes Random Things where I sample A&W’s Fish and Chips. In The Streaming Report, I fall down an Internet rabbit hole and end up in Dollywood. And we wrap things up taking a look at Disney’s radical new distribution plan for Mulan.
I love shows where I have a lot of neat stuff to talk about! There's yet another new Star Wars cartoon in the works. We're getting another crossover Transformer in the form of an Autobot who turns into Tom Cruise's plane from Top Gun. It's one of the more anticipated installments of The Streaming Report. I finished my binge of Battlestar: Galactica and give you my thoughts. And some great new stuff at West Edmonton Mall...they're getting a Lego Store!
Well, with the movie theatres reopen and showing classics for just $5, I venture out once again in order to catch Ghostbusters on the big screen. I tell you what that was like, and decide that the 2016 reboot might be worth a revisit. In The Streaming Report, I reminisce about the late great Carl Reiner as I binge a bunch of Dick Van Dyke Show reruns. And yet another new Batman TV series is on the way!
Well, I did it. With movie theatres starting to reopen, and the price lowered to $5, and a bunch of classics coming back to the big screen, I went to the movies. Saw Back to the Future and Raiders of the Lost Ark, and I tell you what the moviegoing experience is like these days. On top of that, I tell you about the latest collector's edition Transformer. Instead of The Streaming Report, I hit you with a book report. I give my thoughts on Why We Like Star Wars by Ken Napzok. And I wax nostalgic about Activision games on the Atari 2600.
It’s still a pretty messed-up world out there, and I try not to talk about it because I want this show to be a dumb little distraction. But there’s a few things I must address. For example…the movie theatres are reopening! I’ll tell you what they’re doing to entice you to come out. With the theatres reopening, we’re getting trailers for new movies again, so I give you my thoughts on the trailers for Bill & Ted Face the Music and The King’s Man. And Disney is going to be giving Splash Mountain a needed facelift.
Well, with things starting to reopen, that includes campgrounds. So my parents called me up and said, “We’re loading up the RV and heading out to Jasper National Park. Wanna come?” And I said, “Sure!”
So in Episode 10.10: How I Spent My June Vacation, I tell you all about it! We stayed at the luxurious Wildhorse Lake campground and I tell you about some of the interesting roadside turnouts we stopped at. In downtown Jasper, I finally got to sample one of the world-famous BeaverTails, and I tell you about my favourite things that I’d like to try in Jasper someday.
I'm recording this one on a grey, rainy day, looking out the window and thinking about what kind of adventures I can have when the world starts reopening. But I'm still trying to have adventures at home. I try ordering McDonald's through the app for the first time. I share a tale of Japan, and sampling Hawaiian burgers. Over on The Streaming Report, I talk about all the Disney theme park vlogs I've been binging. And I wrap things up by talking about all the cool stuff at West Edmonton Mall I miss.
Another week, another podcast, and another rant from me about what's going on in my life. The big news is the recasting of Batwoman on Batwoman. Looks like there'll be a not just a new actress, but a whole new character under the cowl. I bust out another Mark Tastes Random Things and sample Tim Hortons Froot Loops Donut. Over on The Streaming Report I watch a whole bunch of Disney movies. And I wrap things up by talking about the Lost Apple Project...just a thing that fascinates me and proves I'm turning I'm turning into my Dad.
Time for a few more rants and raves from me in these days of spending most of your time at home. But I always spent most of my time at home anyway, so it’s nothing new. As mentioned last week, I got new glasses! So I just sit in amazement and be able to see. I dust off Mark Tastes Random Things, as I sample a Misty Freeze from Dairy Queen. Over in The Streaming Report, I tell you about The Simpsons on Disney+. And I just watched the big rocket launch on TV, and offer some thoughts on that.
We’ve got another new week, so that means it’s time for a new podcast, and here it is!
Still doing my best to survive in these trying times, which makes me do random things around my house, such as re-cataloging my DVDs. But before that puts you to sleep, I tell you that we’re finally getting a whole new version of Justice League. Over in the Streaming Report, I tell you my thoughts on a couple of classic movies I finally streamed, plus my thoughts on the final season of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Oh, and I’m also getting new glasses!
And that’s everything that’s going on in Episode 10.06: The Heights of Boredom.
And here we go again with a brand new episode of The Targ. Since podcasts started as audio blogs, I go into blogging territory as I vent about my car and how it’s been giving me grief lately. They’ve just announced yet another new Star Trek series, so I tell you all about that and all the other Star Trek shows that are coming. In The Streaming Report I give my new Blu-Ray of Birds of Prey a spin. And I get nostalgic about the Studio Ghibli Museum.
And that’s what’s all on deck in Episode 10.05: Where I’m At
Another new week means I’ve got another new episode of U62: The Targ as I keep myself occupied during this times of self-isolation. I’m still managing to get out and go for walks to get some exercise, and I was poetic about that. Hence the title of this week’s show.
I also recap the Star Wars news that came out of Star Wars Day, take you down the rabbit hole that is Disney Theme Park vlogs, and in the streaming report, I catch-up on sci-fi by binging Ex Machina, Arrival, and Annihilation. So head over to the main page and give it a listen!
Hey gang, let's keep this streak going with another new episode of my podcast, U62: The Targ!
Since this is going online the week of Star Wars day, I offer up Episode 10.03: Talkin' 'Bout Star Wars. I just give my thoughts on this past decade of Star Wars. I tell you what I thought of the sequel trilogy, over in the Streaming Report I give my thoughts on The Mandalorian and the Clone Wars revival. And I bring up the unusual trend that distaste for the sequel trilogy has brought about a new appreciation of the prequels.
Hey, I forgot to mention this last week. In these days of self-isolation, everyone is starting to find projects around the house to do. So I started to do similar, and brought back my podcast, U62: The Targ!
I kicked things off last week with my first episode, Episode 10.01: Under Quarantine, where I talk about what I've been up to, ramble about the glut of streaming services these days, and offer up a new regular feature, The Streaming Report, where I ramble about what I've binging. Last week, it was every Herbie the Love Bug movie on Disney+.
And this week, I bring you Episode 10.02: Blood Cookies. I get nostalgic for cycling, Canada Blood Services came through town, so I tell you about my adventures in donating blood. In The Streaming Report, I ramble about Pokemon prequels and Disney nature documentaries. And I celebrate the 30th anniversary of the first live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
If there's a booming cottage industry that's popped up in the past 10 years, it's YouTube channels dedicated to dissecting pop culture. For years, I have watched those and figured I would love to do one myself, as I've got quite a few topics that I'd love to explore. And now that I'm stuck in self-isolation, I realized that I've still got this blog, so let's do it like how they would have done it 10 years ago. So I've been picking away at this for the past week, and I figured it would be time to share....
The Top 10 Disney Deep Cuts I Want to See on Disney+
When Disney+ first launched in November of 2019, it was one of the most heavily hyped streaming service launches in recent years. Disney has such a wealth of material in their Disney Vault that it was pretty much guaranteed to be a game changer. And while I'm excited for things like the Star Wars series The Mandalorian and all the upcoming Marvel TV shows, there's a ton of rare and obscure stuff in forgotten corners of the Disney Vault that I would love to see and revisit. They tell us that, in due time, the entirety of the Disney catalog will be on Disney+, so we just might get a chance to see this all someday. So I thought I'd share my list of some of Disney's overlooked gems that I would love to see pop up on the streaming service.
Here we go again on Fishing in the Discount Bin. You know how it goes, I watch a movie and blog about it. Still going through the Christmas movies I watched back in December. Today, it's Ernest Saves Christmasand I originally watched and wrote this on December 8, 2019.
Here we are again on Fishing in the Discount Bin. I watch a movie and blog about it. You know the drill. I've been doing this for eight years now! Anyway, this time out, I'm doing the classic TV special Happy New Year, Charlie Brown!. This was in my notes at December 7, 2019.
Here we go again on Fishing in the Discount Bin. Firstly, my apologies to the 20 of you who actually read this. Forgot to post an entry last week, as the ol' personal life got kinda hectic. Anyway, we're back now, and finishing up Christmas specials with Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. I originally wrote this in my notes on December 7, 2019.
And we're back on Fishing in the Discount Bin! You know how this works, I watch one of the movies I own and blog about it. I was away there for Christmas vacation, but now I've returned. And I'm thinking it might be time to wrap up this blog for good. I used to be able to work a good six months ahead on this blog, but now, I'm lucky if I can work three weeks ahead. I still pay for cable TV, and between that and streaming services, I barely have the time to keep watching DVDs! Maybe I should just turn this into a weekly blog about what I'm binging. But until then, I've still got a a couple of entries in the chamber. So let's take a look at Home Alone. I originally watched and wrote this on November 27, 2019.
Here we go again on Fishing in the Discount Bin. You know how this works, I watch a movie I own and blog about it. This time out, I'm doing X-Men: The Animated Series and their adaptation of The Phoenix Saga. This is in my notes at November 11, 2019.
Here we go again on Fishing in the Discount Bin. You know how it works, I watch a movie and blog about it. It's just that simple. Today, I'm doing Addams Family Values. This is originally in my notes at October 27, 2019.
Here we go again on Fishing in the Discount Bin. You know how it works. I watch a movie I own, and blog about it. Today, we do The Addams Family. I originally wrote this on October 19, 2019.
Here we go again on Fishing in the Discount Bin. You know how it works. I watch a movie I own and blog about it. It's just that simple. This time out, I'm watching Toy Story 4. This is originally in my notes at October 19, 2019.
Here we go again on Fishing in the Discount Bin. You know how this goes. I watch a movie and then I blog about it. Simple as that. This time out, I'm doing Spider-Man: Far From Home. This is originally in my notes at October 6, 2019.
Here we go again on Fishing in the Discount Bin. You know how this works by now. I watch a movie I own, and blog about it. Just that simple. Today, we're re-watching Dark Phoenix. This is originally in my notes at September 22, 2019.
Here we go again on Fishing in the Discount Bin. I watch a movie and blog about it, yadda yadda yadda. This time out, I'm doing the George Lucas classic THX-1138. This is in my notes at September 15, 2019.
Here we go again on Fishing in the Discount Bin. You know the routine by now, I watch a movie and blog about it. Today, I do the legendary adaptation of Nineteen Eighty Four. This is in my notes at September 7, 2019.
Here we go again on Fishing in the Discount Bin. You know how it is. I watch a movie and blog about it. This time out, I'm doing Godzilla: King of the Monsters. This is originally in my notes at September 7, 2019.
Here we go again on Fishing in the Discount Bin. You know how it works. I watch one of the DVDs I own, I blog my thoughts about it. I'm delving into a "brilliant but cancelled" TV series with Andy Barker, P.I. This is in my notes at August 25, 2019.
Here we go again on Fishing in the Discount Bin. I watch a movie I own and blog about it. You know the routine by now. Today, I'm doing Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. This is in my notes at August 24, 2019.
Boppin' along on Fishing in the Discount Bin, where I watch one of the many movies in my personal library, and blog about it. This time out, we're doing 2005's Fantastic Four. This is in my notes at August 21, 2019
Here we are again on Fishing in the Discount Bin. You know how this works...I watch a movie I own, then blog about it. It's time for Avengers: Endgame! This is in my notes at August 18, 2019.
Here we go again on Fishing in the Discount Bin. You know how it is, I watch a movie I own, and the blog about it. It's just that simple. Tonight, we do Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird. This is in my notes at August 3, 2019.
Here we go again on Fishing in the Discount Bin. You know my routine, I watch a movie and blog about it. This time out, we're watching Shazam!. This is in my notes at August 3, 2019.
Here we are again on Fishing in the Discount Bin. You know how it works, I watch one of the movies I own and blog about it. We dip back into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Captain Marvel. This is originally in my notes at July 1, 2019.
Here we go again on Fishing in the Discount Bin. You know the premise by now, I watch a movie I own and blog about it. Today, I'm watching the classic Steve Martin comedy The Jerk. This is in my notes at June 30, 2019.
Here we go again with Fishing in the Discount Bin, where I watch a DVD I own and blog about it. Something a little different tonight. Whenever I watch a rerun of Batman: The Animated Series, I usually jot down a few thoughts on Facebook. So, for this one, I just compiled those thoughts. This is in my notes at May 18, 2019.
I really don't do the kind of rants about pop culture like I used to on this blog. But I've got a few ramblings that are a bit longer than tweets, so let's dust off the old blog and get this off my chest.
Iron Giant
It recently popped up in the social media feeds that my all-time favourite movie, The Iron Giant, just celebrated it's 20th anniversary. A flop when it first hit theatres, it has now become a beloved cult classic.
It was the summer of 1999. I had just graduated from college. The euphoric high brought on by the release of Episode I was starting to fade, and the question of what to do with the rest of my life was starting to set it. I've always loved animated films, and at that point in my life, I was going to see pretty much every animated film that came out. My sister was going through a similar phase as me, having just graduated from high school, and wanted to go see Disney's Tarzan. So we planned a trip to the city to see both films.
We both agreed, The Iron Giant was the better film. I was completely blown away. I went home that night and fired up the old dial-up Internet. Social media as we know it didn't exist yet, so I e-mailed all my friends about how amazing it was, and gushed about it in my online journal. ("Online journal" is what we called blogs back then, because the word "blog" hadn't been invented yet.)
How much did I love it? I went to see it again. You have to understand, I grew up in a small town with the nearest movie theatre being an hour's drive away, so seeing a movie in the theatre twice has always been a Really Big Deal for me.
As much as a year after it's release, friends were still coming up to me and saying, "Hey, I finally rented it on VHS last night because you won't shut up about it, and yeah, it's amazing."
So, yeah. Because I haven't gushed about it in a while, check out The Iron Giant. It's awesome.
Three's Company
I still pay for cable TV, and thanks to that, I sometimes stumble across come unexpected gems. Like a particular rerun of Three's Company. It was one of the episodes I remember most vividly from my youth.
Janet currently has the hots for this billionaire that frequents her flower shop. He invites her to a party on his private island. But, this billionaire has a lady companion with him. Seeking to make him jealous, Janet invites Jack along.
Now, they have to get to this private island via private plane. And Jack's afraid of flying. So Jack decides to dose up on tranquilizers before the flight. Which has the end result of Jack tripping balls by the time they get to the party. Jack engages in all kinds of high shenanigans, climaxing in this spectacular drunken dance routine. I tell you, it's an amazing dance number, and I think people have forgotten just what a wonderfully gifted physical comedian John Ritter was.
Anyway, Jack comes down from his high. The billionaire's lady friend turns out to be his sister, so Janet hooks up with the billionaire and Jack hooks up with the billionaire's sister. Happy endings all around!
I've now got that episode recorded on my PVR, marked with "never delete." If I knew how to rip that dance sequence and post it to YouTube, I would.
Astro Boy
When I was off on vacation about a month ago, I fell down an Internet rabbit hole, and before I knew it, I was watching old clips of Astro Boy on YouTube. There have been many Astro Boy adaptations over the years, but the one I grew up with was the 1980s series. And I didn't know this, but for us North Americans, there's a whole lost episode.
One thing that never made sense about the cartoon was our big bad, Atlas, who's eventually revealed to be Astro's brother. The explanation was that they were made from the same blueprints. But, how can they be made from the same blueprints, when Astro is a little boy robot, and Atlas is a golden god robot?
Well, the lost episode explains that. The blueprints for Astro were stolen by a master criminal, who then built Atlas to be the ultimate criminal robot. And in this first appearance, Atlas did look like Astro, only blonde instead of dark-haired.
Turns out, though, having a master criminal for a surrogate father doesn't really work out in the superhero world. Atlas finally had enough of his father/creator's BS and went all "Rise of the Machines," killing his father and getting critically damaged in the process. Atlas rebuilt himself in the aftermath, and upgraded his body in the process, turning himself into the golden god robot that plagues Astro throughout the cartoon.
There you go. A riddle that plagued 8-year old me, finally solved. This episode was never released in North America because in North American cartoons, they generally frown on murder. The 1980s series is hard to come by on DVD, with only the 2003 series being made widely available.
Amazing Spider-Man 2 Spider-Man: Far From Home was so good, you guys. And it made me angry about The Amazing Spider-Man 2 again. Amazing Spider-Man 2 is the textbook case of you DON'T build a franchise. "Hey, people like that Green Goblin. Let's get him back in there." "Hey, let's kill Gwen Stacy, because that's something that happened in the comics." "Hey, remember that 'mystery of Peter Parker's parents' plot that we abandoned 10 minutes into the last film? Let's double down on that." "Let's make Black Cat the Green Goblin's secretary, because maybe that'll be a Thing someday."
NO. Stop. You can't just throw all this crap on the screen to see what sticks. The whole "mystery of Peter Parker's parents" is a prime example. It was all over the ad campaign for The Amazing Spider-Man, and audiences were baffled when the plot was abandoned 10 minutes into the film. Well, the studio mistook the audience's confusion for interest, which is what they decided to go in hard in the sequel.
At the end of the day, the story must come first. Just give me a solid Spider-Man movie, without tossing a whole bunch of extra junk in there. Which is what Spider-Man: Far From Home is.
Avengers vs. Justice League
Kind of building on the Spider-Man anger, let's talk about Justice League and Avengers: Endgame. I think, with Endgame, we can finally retire the massive CGI battles that climax so many of these films these days. Yeah, the giant CGI armies are cool, but with Endgame...we've followed pretty much everyone in that army of Avengers for the past 10 years. So we know everyone in that army and they're stake in the battle.
Now, let's look at Justice League. Justice League opens with a massive battle where the armies of Man, the Amazons, and the Atlanteans all join together to drive the forces of Darkseid from the Earth. And a Green Lantern is in there for some reason? But we don't know anyone in that fight. We kinda know that Amazons through Wonder Woman, we haven't met Aquaman yet, so we don't care about the Atlanteans. It's just...meh.
DC was in such a rush to catch up with Marvel that they tried to open withe massive battle at the end of Endgame. And we didn't care because we didn't know anyone in the fight.
As a friend summed up as I was ranting about this to him. You can't just throw all this in and expected us to care. A filmmaker's job is to make us care.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
I'm jotting this down on August 15. It's shown up in my social media feeds that today is the 11th anniversary of the animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars. I know some friends have worried that they might get burnt out on Star Wars, what with all the stuff that Disney is cranking out these days, and I sympathize, for I have been there.
As with every other Star Wars movie, I was there opening weekend for Star Wars: The Clone Wars. And I don't care how phenomenal the resulting series was, but the opening movie is not a good movie. I mean, we all know it's not a real movie...it was the first four episodes of the series smooshed together. As I went home from the theatre that night, I thought to myself, "Ya know what, Star Wars? I think you and I...we need a break."
That's probably why I avoided the Clone Wars series for such a long time. I finally binged it when it hit Netflix a few years back. It was good, but I wasn't all, "OH MY GOD! THIS IS THE BESTEST STAR WARS EVER!" like a lot of fans are. And I wonder how much of that stems from the movie leaving such a bad taste in my mouth.
It's probably smart that Disney is planning to give Star Wars a rest after Rise of Skywalker hits this Christmas. Last thing you want to do is burn out a whole generation, like how I got burnt out in the late-2000s.
Here we go again on Fishing in the Discount Bin, where I watch one of the movies I own and blog about it. Easy as that. This time out, I decided to take a second go-around at Avatar. This is in my notes at May 12, 2019.
Here we go again on Fishing in the Discount Bin. You know the drill...I watch a movie I own, then blog about this. This time out, we're doing The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part. This is in my notes at May 11, 2019.
Here we go again on Fishing in the Discount Bin, in which I watch a movie I own and blog about it. We're going back into my VHS tapes for today's entry, Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light. This is in my notes at May 5, 2019.
And we're back on Fishing in the Discount Bin! Took a couple weeks off there, because I was on vacation in the real world. Normally, I work ahead, and pre-post everything, but this time out, I thought, "Ah, screw it. The 20 people who read this won't mind." And here we are. I'm back now, and we can get back to it, with Justice League: Starcrossed. This is in my notes at May 4, 2019.
About 10 years ago or so, straight-to-DVD content was one of the big buzzwords around Hollywood, and we started getting blessed with tons of straight-to-DVD films. It was a boon to us comic book nerds, because they started cranking out a ton of straight-to-DVD animated films based on classic superheroes. I was to run out and buy a lot of them...specifically the DC ones put out by Warner Brothers. I started tapering off about five or six years ago, as I felt they were getting kinda repetitive. But, occasionally one will come along where I just have to snatch it up. And that's the case right now with....
Starring the voices of Troy Baker, Darren Criss, Kyle Mooney, Baron Vaughn, Eric Bauza, Rachel Bloom, Andrew Kishino, and Cas Anvar.
Backstory
Batman and the TMNT have become quite the team-up over the past few years. It all started in 2015, when IDW and DC Comics partnered to do a mini-series crossover comic. It was so well-received, it spawned two sequels and a spinoff taking its cues from their respective animated series. It even led to the Turtles being playable characters in Injustice 2. So it didn't take long before Warner Brothers Animation went, "Hey! This is so popular, why don't we do it as one of our straight-to-DVD animated films?" And here we are. Plot
There's a new player in Gotham City...a mysterious ninja clan with a fighting style unfamiliar to Batman. And they seem to have brought four reptilian men with them. It turns out the Ninja Turtles have tracked the Foot Clan to Gotham City, as the Shredder has gained a powerful new ally in one of Batman's rogues. It's not long before the Caped Crusader and the Heroes in a Half-Shell cross paths, and they decide to join forces to stop this unholy alliance of Shredder and...Ra's Al Guhl. But, Batman's grim and serious manner doesn't mesh well the Turtles' youthful and impulsive tactics. Will Batman and the TMNT be able to put aside their differences? What is the Shedder and Ra's Al Guhl plotting for the city? What I Liked
The voice acting, as always, is top notch. Troy Baker becomes the first to voice both Batman AND the Joker in an animated project, and the voices he uses are such a close match to Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill that you'll wonder why they just didn't get them. There's a great humour to it, and they come up with some great pairings between the Turtles and the various members of the Batman family. One of the highlights of the original comic -- Shredder using the ooze on Arkham Asylum, and our heroes having to fight off mutated versions of Batman's rogues -- is a standout fight sequence here. And it's just chock-full of Easter eggs, as the animators re-create many famous shots from the Ninja Turtle franchise. What I Didn't Like
At the end of the day, it's a pretty formulaic superhero team-up plot. Final Verdict
A very fun superhero offering, and absolutely delightful if you're a fan of Batman and/or TMNT. I picked it up on Blu-Ray, but another reason why I stopped buying these is they pop up on Netflix soon enough. I suggest you check it out. 3 Nibs
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