Missy

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Posts posted by Missy

  1. Suicide Squad (2019) #1-11 and The Flash Annual #3: This series kicked all sorts of ass, and it's a shame it didn't last beyond 11 issues. The creative team was on to something here; The Revolutionaries are basically The Authority with a SJW bent. Instead of blindly murdering people to make global changes, they coordinate and infiltrate to get their way. Very interesting modern take on superheroes.

  2. 1 hour ago, dc20willsave said:

    Batman and Robin: Honestly, I'm glad that time has come back around on Batman and Robin. If you go in knowing what you're going to get, it's an enjoyable experience.

    Typically I do not make a habit of re-reviewing things on The Show, but Batman and Robin is very much at the top of the "Maybe Give It Another Try" list.

  3. Cable #1 (2020): Teenage Cable is living on Krakoa with the rest of the Mutantkind, and he's fighting Wolverine in civilized combat, dating multiple women at once, and saving giant ageless lions from splinters in their feet.

    It's fine, but it didn't feel like a first issue. Rather, more like a oneshot or an extended backup story. As a 1990s Cable guy, it's a big shift seeing teen Nate flirt with everyone and give reverence to his father, but I'm not sure it's enough to keep me invested.

  4. As much as I want to get into the House of X / Powers of X era of X-Men, I struggle reading Jonathan Hickman comics. It has nothing to do with the writer; rather, it's the presentation. Comic books -- superhero comic books, especially -- already have their own language. And, to his credit, Hickman attempts to expand that language in his series. And to their credit, Marvel has allowed it a few times over now. But I almost feel too old to learn a new way to read superhero books. So, admittedly, that's all on me.

    Learning new iconography and reading data pages, it slows the experience down in a way that's akin to the back matter in Watchmen. You know you should read it for the complete world-building experience, but learning about magical flowers and mutant breeding programs is not my ideal X-Men reading experience.

  5. Please please please don't make Dynamite three-hours long. Unless it's a PPV, I hate wrestling TV shows that are over two hours. No weekly show needs to be three-hours long.

    A shorter program, like Heat (but with consequences) is a better idea, for my money.

  6. Cerebro, which just released its 11th episode, is an amazing look into individual X-Men. Each episode begins with a little banter and a "how did you get into [X-character]", then delves into a character file, then the meat of the show. The most recent episode gets into Beast, but really the larger X-world and how the current X-books relate directly to real-world politics. It's a must-listen.

  7. Maniac Cop: This was my first ever viewing, and it was alright. Disjointed as hell, but all right.

    Does anyone know the behind-the-scenes history, by chance? Though it was released in May 1988, it seems as if it was filmed over a considerable period of time. I base this on the fact that it continuously changes what kind of movie it is, and what movies it seems to be taking influence from. For instance:

    • It starts off as a typical Halloween (1978) / Friday the 13th (1980) clone with a slow-moving, overpowered killer in a very distinctive costume.
    • Suddenly, the movie swings away from Tom Atkins to introduce Bruce Campbell, who had just gained genre cred with Evil Dead 2 (1987).
    • Then it briefly leans into a Jason Lives (1986) angle, where the killer appears to be undead.
    • And by the end it becomes a Terminator (1984) clone with the police station slaughter and car chase to a factory / warehouse.

    If it had stuck with being a clone of one, I think it might have been better off. But by constantly shifting gears, Maniac Cop never finds its own identity. Worse, it comes off like an obvious patchwork of then-popular genre movies.

    Despite that, I enjoyed the film and can see me revisiting it down the line if only for the powerhouse that is Tom Atkins. Whenever he was on screen, I found my enjoyment increasing tenfold.

    Two things Maniac Cop has going for it are:

    • The grimy 1980s New York streets. Movies set in New York at this time are so raw. They're like some of the best Westerns, in that there's an authentic outlawness to them. You never know who's over the next hill, or, in this case, around the next corner. So even when the movie shifts focus, it always has the city as its background.
    • Robert Z'Dar is a true presence. Without ever speaking a word, he brings real power to the role. Especially during the flashback sequence.

    Having heard the first sequel is a much better film, I'm greatly looking forward to watching it on Shudder tonight.

  8. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: There's a reason this was the second movie to win all top five Academy Awards. Despite having seen Cuckoo's Nest ten-plus times -- and having read the novel at least three times -- there's always something new to enjoy.

    This time around it really shocked me that Nurse Ratched doesn't become antagonistic until the literal halfway point of the movie; it takes over one full hour for her to do something downright manipulative. Before that point, yes, she's cold and in control, but she's this way to provide the men stability. Even in the face of McMurphy openly challenging her authority, she keeps it together; she never does anything to actively hurt the men in her care. That all changes, however, after McMurphy steals the boat. She is given the chance to send this thorn in her side back to prison, but she can't let him go because then he'll have won. So she handily convinces the committee of doctors to allow McMurphy to stay in their care.

    It's here that she has decided to absolutely break McMurphy in half. And when McMurphy finds out he's in there until she says he can go, she thinks she's won. Her quiet glee when McMurphy confronts the other men for not telling him this is palpable. But even still, she does nothing wrong.

    Nurse Ratched is often seen as the villain of the movie, but she's not. McMurphy is. He upends all their lives because he's playing a game. These are deeply troubled human beings and Nurse Ratched, though firm, is providing them the help they desperately need. There's no intent to keep them institutionalized forever.

    The only truly diabolical thing Nurse Ratched does is twist Billy around her little finger in the end.

    After he had sex with Candy and subsequently had the confidence to control his stutter, Nurse Ratched threatens to inform Billy's mother of what he's done -- knowing full well this will break him down again. And it does. His stutter instantly returns as her grovels at her feet.

    This moment, though, was not about Billy. It was about McMurphy; she threatens Billy to take away McMurphy's power. By helping Billy, McMurphy symbolically stole her power. To reassert herself, Nurse Ratched had to do something quick and harsh. Thus, the threat to inform Billy's mother of his sin, so to speak.

    Moments later, when her actions have dire consequences, she realizes she's damned herself. When she tells everyone to calm down and go about like normal, there's a slight crack in her voice. It's subtle, but a superb bit of acting. She's barely holding it together, and, in fact, is only doing so for the sake of the men.

    Louise Fletcher brings so much life to Nurse Ratched, and she plays the role so purposely distant that it's easy to see why Nurse Ratched is on "best villain" lists. Thing is, she's just not a villain. She' makes two regrettable power grabs, resulting in two deaths, her own injury, and an escape.

    I'm long overdue a reread of the novel, and watching the movie once more pushed me in that direction.

  9. He needs to somehow* win the AEW title then immediately turn heel. Let him have a good 9-month reign before someone like Hangman knocks him down a peg.

    *I saw "somehow" because they'll have to get around that "never challenge for the title again" stip.

  10. 44 minutes ago, Molly said:

    Cody is really trying to do this old school babyface thing. I don't think I like it. Personally, he needed to lose that dog collar match to Brodie Lee. 

    The whole thing reads like a handsome man in a perfectly tailored suit wants to be a Dusty Rhodes babyface, when he doesn't realize, he's Ric Flair. 

    Agreed. It's hard to tell if kayfabe Cody doesn't realize this, or if real Cody doesn't see it.