#Halloween sitcom episodes 2023

[thisislizheather]

Even More Halloween Sitcom Episodes (2023 Update)!

I WILL NOT SHUT UP ABOUT GOOD SITCOM HALLOWEEN EPISODES. I physically can’t. So here are some more that I love (in addition to the dozens listed here)!

Moesha - I What You Did in the Third Grade (love a 90s parody)

Tiny Toons Night Ghoulery (1995) - this takes me immediately back to Saturday morning cartoons and that’s kind of where I always want to be?

You Wish (a short-lived sitcom that was on TGIF but remains in my heart)

Odd Man Out - Batman Forever (another TGIF non-hit with Erik von Detten)

Teen Angel (jesus, I really gave these TGIF shows a chance)

The Parkers (two episodes) - Scary Kim and Mummy's the Word

Alf - Some Enchanted Evening (nobody is above an Alf rewatch)

In The House - The Curse of Hill House

King of the Hill - Hilloween

Step By Step (two episodes) - Something Wild and Dream Lover

Dharma and Greg (two episodes) - A Closet Full of Hell and The Very Ungrateful Dead

Third Rock From The Sun (two episodes) - Scaredy Dick and Dial M For Dick

Girlfriends (two episodes) - The Remains of the Date and Trick or Truth

Happy Halloween Eve!

[popculturebuffet]

Richard Moll Tribute: Batman TAS Review: Two-Face Parts 1 and 2 (Comission for WeirdKev27)

In Loving Memory of Richard Moll 1943-2023 Just one year. Just one damn year after loosing Kevin Conroy another treasured member of the Batman The Animated Series Cast passes. I wasn't expecting this and i'm hoping with all I got this isn't a trend.

While Kevin requested a tribute for Moll it was an easy request: While I sadly can't do a tribute for every tragic death as my schedule is packed, it's why poor Matthew Perry didn't get one even though his death is also truly gutting, but Moll is an actor I loved and still deeply repsect and I'm proud to honor him.

Ironically I first became a fan of Moll not thorugh two face, who I liked fine but wasn't really a faviorite of mine yet, but through his other famous roll that came before this: Baliff Bull Shanon on the NBC sitcom Night Court

If you haven't seen Night Court it's free on freevee and amazon prime so please do when your done here, but for the short version it was a sitcom about Harry Stone, a young judge who was both a goofy prankster and a kind, wise man who judged fairly and always tried to help his staff, played by the sadly also late Harry Anderson.

Bull was big, strong.. but also entirely kind and goofy. He had a childlike sense of wonder to him, missed the point often, but refrenshingly for a sticom he wasn't portrayed as a complete idiot, having a lot of emotinal intelgence. He was simply oblivious. And while VERY sweet he had a habit of reminding people, paitcuarly dan the court's prosectuer and sex pest, that he had his job for damn good reason. Moll was a treasure and never lost his step in the roll though sadly he declined to return for the recent revival and now never will.

So it suprised me when I found out Moll was Harvey all this time. It wasn't that Moll lacked talent or even him doing something after night court, he'd done plenty. It was more the range, perfectly playing Harvey in all the forms the show gave him: early on as bruce's pepppy friend, as a man grappling with his split personality in these episodes, as Harvey's brutal personality.. and later as a horrifying combo of the two as two face. All distinct, all using a diffrent vocal tone, all great.

So we're honoring his finest performance. So join me to remmeber Richard Moll under the cut as Harvey Dent grapples with the other person in the mirror.. and both become something else.

One touch i've always liked about Batman TAS is that Harvey was a recurring character before this two parter. It was only two episodes, On Leather Wings and Pretty Poison, but the former was a nice cameo to show he exists and the latter really showed off Harvey and Bruce's friendship, their easy report, the hint they had a long history we were never privy to, and it made the stakes higher when Harvey got poisoned by Ivy. It's remakrable how much legwork that one episode did to setting up this one. You can watch one without the other, Batman TAS is still largely episodic and one of the best shows ever at pulling that off... but the two enrich each other. While Batman TAS wasn't the first to try and have Harvey Dent around before he got faced, Batman 1989 ATTEMPTED it but then didn't bring back Billy Dee Williams and retconned Harvey to be Tommy Lee Jones because fuck me I guess, it's the work i'd credit with popularizing it as the Long Halloween and the Dark Knight after it made sure to show us who harvey was BEFORE, which makes what he becomes that much more tragic, that Bruce didn't just loose an ally.. he lost a friend.

It also makes what we see at the top of the episode have even more weight: Harvey having a troubled dream as he's harassed by a shadowy version of himself with a growly voice flipping a coin. Harvey is only freed from his nightmare by his assitant Carlos, who informs him the raid they've been planning is on boys.

The target is one of Rupert Thorne's gambling dens.

For those who've forgotten this guy, Rupert was the series mafia presence, head of Gotham's organized crime and slimeball, played by John Vernon aka the dean from animal house aka the character that inspired the dean from futurama. Rupert is the perfect arch enemy for a pre face harvey: it's easy to arrest a guy who kidnaps the police on christmas day after rocketing out of his aslyum on a christmas tree, it's harder to arrest someone who covers his tracks.

It's also hard because Throne's men have a bunch of high end weaponry stockpiled in there including grenade launchers. Thankfully Bat beats Grenade as bruce decided to pitch in to help with his buddy's relection campaign, helping clean house to make it easier on the police. I also like the touch of Harvey being ambivilant, not against Batman's presence but not really cordinating with him like Gordon would.

Unfortunately one of the goons makes the mistake of taunting harvey... and that wakes up the other person. As it turns out Harvey has Disociative Identity Disorder, and his alter, big bad harv, is all of the anger Harvey's surppressed his whole life condensed into a person. And Big Bad Harv suckers the goon before nearly beating him to death, with Harvey waking up from the episode horrified and making a lame excuse. As if things weren't tense enough Rupert Throne's decided to do a bit of digging into Harvey's life: he's become too big a thorn in his side and the irony's a bit too much to swallow on that, so he has Candice, his right hand minon look into that.

We cut to Harvey giving a speech at a big campaign rally Bruce is throwing. It also brings me to Batman The Animated Series Version of bruce who I like a lot: instead of playing up his uselessness or just barely using the identity when necessary, this bruce is a bruce wayne I like to see: a philamprohist who still fights to help people. It makes hiding he's batman harder sure.. but it shows Bruce more as another side of who he is rather than a mask he wears because society won't let him go around beating up people in a mask all day every day.

At the party is Grace, Harvey's girlfriend who wants to bump it up to fiance. It's unknown just HOW long it's been since pretty poison but given Harvey was willing to marry Ivy after a week, it's on brand for him to jump into life alterting decisions and he makes it clear he only hasn't because he's busy trying to get reelected, not getting that the engagment would probably bump up his raitings but whatever. Grace is mostly here so Harvey has more to loose. She's the weakest part of the episode, only being there so Harvey has a love intrest to weep at what he's become when we already have bruce. Though given this was the 90's I woudln't be shocked if Fox wanted to give Harvey a case of the not gays.... which come on. Why WOULDN'T it make sense for Two-Face to be BI-Sexual. It fits too well. Like Batman giving oral.

Every party needs a pooper though and the pooper for Harvey's party is a phone call: THrones men are being let go as someone "misfiled" a warrant.

So naturally out goes the good harvey, in comes the Big Bad Harvey who straight up THROWS his assitant carlos into an ice sculpture cleaving the thing in two.

And nearly beating BRUCE up this time when Bruce tries to calm him down. It's only grace begging him to stop that brings back standard Harvey.

Bruce didn't get to be the world's greatest detective by ignoring the obvious , so he goes to talk to harvey .And I absoutely LOVE Bruce's attitude in this scene.. the man was almost punched in the face by his best friend.. and instead of raging against him or recoling in horror he runs up to help him, recognizing this wasn't just harvey flipping out, but something deeper, correctly guessing Harvey has some sort of mental illness and needs help.

And as someone with some mental illnesses and a neurotypical brain not helping either of them, I really like how the episode treats Harvey's illness. The talk about it has aged REALLY well: While it was even MORE stigmatized back then, Bruce's reaction to all of this is recommend Harvey get help and then be utterly PROUD when he finds out Harvey already is doing the work, it's just taking time and the pressure of being a public figure AND hunting a crime lord really isn't helping. Harvey is treated as he should be: as a man who needs help and is struggling with it, not as some monster but as a man who simply needs help after a childhood trauma left him with an extra guest in his head. Harvey is never accused for what Big Bad Harv does and while Big Bad Harv's actions are seen as awful, as they should, no one ever blames Harvey for them if they know. It's something I struggle with: I also have big freakouts where I can't control myeslf. Diffrent type as i'm still ME when it happens, but I can still relate to this episode and harvey's struggle of both letting his pride down to ask for help and worrying about what people would think despite getting therapy being entirely normal.

Unforutnely Candice overheard this as we cut to Harvey in sessoin with his psychatrist, Nora Crest. Nora is a wonderful therapist, helping harvey slowly and making it clear what Big Bad Harv does isn't his fault. She also draws BBH out to try and help manage him better. Unfortunately.... she fails to recognize that Big Bad Harv dosen't WANT to be managed, want to be locked away, or want Harvey to come back again and in the most horrifying display yet trashes Nora's office, breaks a window and tries to attack her before she undoes the hypnosis. Again it's done well as Nora simply misunderestimated HOW bad things were and while sh'es trying her best.. .as she puts it Harvey NEEDS to check himself into a hospital. And I love how that's not portrayed as a bad thing: A dire circumstance, but we've seen how bad harv is. She's not suggesting locking him up in arkham or anything drastic, she just wants him where he can get help and where big bad harv can't hurt people.

Ultimately what holds Harvey back... is a combination of pride and society itself. In a better world Harvey going in to get treatment after two public outbursts would be seen as a heroic act and he'd win the election. Sadly we don't live in that world and Harvey correctly fears the voters would just sterotype him as crazy and he'd loose the election. He TRIES to mitgate it by having more sessions an da reduced work schedule and it works to a point.. but it's clear it's putting a band-aid on an open wound.

This meatball mental surgery DOES enough to get Harvey through the election, and almost to propose to grace.. but sadly dosen't last as Thorne has stolen his medical files and wants a meeting. Once again it's not Harvey that's the issue.. it's that society won't accept that he NEEDS help and it's OKAY to get it. And Throne's all too happy to exploit it.

Thankfully for Harvey his best friend is batman, so Bruce is able to follow Harvey and put a tracker on the car he's taken in. Thorne makes the BOLD decision to confront the man whose DiD is shown to be triggered by extreme stress... in a remote room with only a few guards, only one of them actually armed, and mock his mental illness. We also find out WHY Harvey has DiD: as a kid he hit a bully in the face. Said bully wound up in the hospital and Harvey blaming himself vowed never to be angry again. Turns out it was apendcitis. Hence Big Bad Harv.

And unfortuantely for Harvey's future and Throne's present.... Big Bad Harv comes out. He does manage most of the thugs, with some bat help, but given whose origin this is.. you know this can't end well. And it dosen't: in a truly gutting moment Harvey rushes after Throne, the goon from earlier tries to fire.. and in stopping the guy batman accidently directs his fire at a power coupling in the factory, causing an explosion. Harvey Dent as we knew him .. is gone.

Some time later Harvey's in the hospital in bad shape, with doctors promising they'll restore him with plastic surgery. Instead... we get

I know he was heavily burned, and that his face would be hard to fix.. but how did you think "make him look like a blue goblin man with a bigger eye on half his face" was EVER going to go down well. Does oscorp own this hospital?

While I joke, because i'm a goofy bastard, I do love the nod to Batman 89, with Harvey asking for a mirror in the same way as Jack Napier and Lisa Simpson... only instead of laughing he throughs a raging fit and then gapes in horror when his new visage makes his fiance pass out.

So thus ends part one. One last thing I want to note is how LITTLE batman is in this. Ther'es an action bit with bruce at the beginning of the episode and later at the climax. That's it. It's something TAS did a lot, having a more methodical build up before the third act is all I AM THE NIGHT, but it feels diffrent here as we aren't WITH bruce for most of the episode. He's still present and important to the plot, but he's a supporting character in Harvey Dent's story. There's no breaking things down with alfred, no break from the tragedy of Harvey Dent, and it's why the episode works so well. This isn't a Batman story yet.. it's Harvey Dents.

Part 2, naturally, splits time between both men as both go on their own journey. It's 6 months later and the man who was once Harvey dent has abandoned his old names: No more Harvey Dent, upstanding DA or Big Bad Harv, Harvey Dent's anger and hatred given shape and form... the two have merged. It's something I never noticed before till tv tropes pointed it out: Fitting his dual nature Two Face is a bit of both: he's aggressive, rageful, and quick to anger, berating his twin thugs when they go off script. He'd of killed them by now but damn can they belt a cover of Don't Pull Your Love

Yet we see a tactical side that just wasn't present in Big Bad Harv.. but was in harvey, with the raid being his idea and his attacks on thorne being calculated, using every bit of info on his operations Harvey ever aquiried but going outside a law he no longer belivies in. Two-Face is a new personality.. and a fairly haunted one.

He also naturally now has his gimmick, using coin flips to decide his decisions, hence why he hasn't seen grace in a while as the coin keeps telling him no. After all he lost, after all that happened he now belivies only in chance... the only justice left. And given the system allowed thorne to thrive while Harvey sacrficed his health, his time and ultimately who he was to stop him only to get nowhere.. it's hard not to see why.

It's what, once again, makes this work: it's not just Harvey's DiD that turned him into Two-Face. IT's the main cause, sure, but the regular Harvey still had an obessive, vengeful streak about him: he may of locked his anger away.. but he still hunted thorne, obessed over the case and put beating thorne over his own well being. Being DA was important, beating thorne was important.. but it wasn't worth loosing himself. He was doing the work, had he taken his doctor's advice and checked himself in.. Harvey may of been okay. He wouldn't of had the office but he'd have his mind and the love of his life. Now only rage and a determinatoin to destroy thorne remain.

Thorne naturally isn't taking this sitting down. He has some shit to throw around in anger dammit. After months of Two Face hitting him hard then fading away into the night he puts out a bounty: a million a face. And Cadance, being sneaky and what not, sets her self on the path to the moolah by pretending to be a cop and giving grace a tracker.

Meanwhile Bruce, naturally, is also doing pretty bad. In his dreams Harvey cries out to bruce asking "Why couldn't you save me?"... and Bruce has no answer.. nor one when his own father asks "WHy couldn't you save us son?" Once again Bruce has lost someone he cares about. And while with his parents the guilt isn't warranted, it was a random gunman and he wa sa children, you can see WHY he has it here: You can just feel Bruce replaying the moment he tackled the gunman, again, and again and again, thinking of all the ways he coudl've done it BETTER, all the ways that don't end in Harvey becoming Two Face. All the ways he should be BETTER. We know it was just an accident but Bruce.. can't accept it. He has to fix this, he has to save harvey from himself.

Harvey's decided enough fucking around. He's gotten Thorne weak enough, it's time for the killing stroke. Only Harvey isn't being THAT merciful: he COULD kill Thorne, but like any good super villian Twoey has a sense of irony: Thorne ruined his life and reputation, it's only fair Two-Face do the same

So TF and his minons raid a place where THorne has his most secure files, the ones that outline everything. YOu know your standard maffia macguffin. Bruce naturally shows up ... but tragically he can't help someone who dosen't want to be helped, a harsh lesson of the episode: Harvey is buried deep within two face, impossibly tangled with big bad harv. There's the possiblity he could become harvey again, but he has to want to. But all that's left in harvey is a want for revenge.

Batman does at least spot a pattern: all the clubs and establishments are two themed, and thus finds his hideout, Club Deuce. Unfortunately he's not the only one as Two Face finally decides to see Grace, who thinks the police would be genuinley invested in the health of someone with a mental illness

And triggers the signal. Grace almost gets through to harvey who starts out wearing.. this

Grace takes it off, almost convinces him to get help.. then Thorne busts in

Thorne manages to ransom grace so he can get the files.. and then plans to just shoot everybody because Two Face was stupid to trust him. Thankfully it's time for the bat to make his big entrance, and our hero, villian protagnist and cardboard cutout clean house. Well okay Grace takes out Candance as is standard catfight protocol, but props to her for contributing.

It ends with Thorne in a chadelear and Harvey about to finish this. Bruce begs Two Face not to as there's no coming back from this.... but Two Face dosen't trust int he law anymore and Batman certainly hasn't finished off this son of a bitch, so he plans to play count the bullets.

How Batman stops him.. is creative as it is heartbreaking. When Two Face flips.. batman dumps a bunch of other silver dollars, stolen earlier in the ep, in. Two Face is paralized.. and Batman and Grace are left to mourn what they've lost. The episode ends somberly. No one won here: Thorne is still out there, Harvey is in arkham.. and all bruce can do is flip a coin himself into a wishing fountain.. and HOPE his friend can one day recover. It's all he has left, the same cruel fate his friend is now servant to.

So as you can tell Two-Face is a banger two parter and one of Batman TAS' best. Moll is spellbinding the whole damn time, playing all three versions of harvey perfectly, while Kevin Conroy gets some graet acting himself in both acts, as Bruce trying to be supportive.. and as the Bat desperately trying to save his friend. It's tight, gripping and a masterpiece. Check it out now, thanks for reading.. and rest in piece Richard. Thanks for giving us so much joy, so much sorrow.. and so much of you

[crazy56u]

Whelp, I just woke up, and (without naming names) I just saw a reaction that I am 100% taking with a grain of salt.

Let’s take a look.

Okay, if they’re bringing up the chip subplot now after it supposedly got resolved, that’s not a good sign.

Also, Ben got fucked out of saving Hannah’s husband. And having seen the synopses for the last two episodes of the season [sidenote, NBC, ya gonna fucking announce a renewal or… …?], long story short, oof.

And we’re at a funeral reading in 1953, and Ben may or may not be the maid.

Okay, no offense, that vase looks like shit.

“Is this a joke?” I know, right?!

Oh, so Daddy was too busy being Indiana Jones to remember how money worked.

“To my fearless Dina-” “It’s Dean.” …misspelling, or deadnaming? Is this a trans plot?

A ship in a bottle, I don’t know if they make those anymore.

And it goes smash. …revealing a map; okay, Ben won this will reading.

Addison, why the fuck do you continue to have the shittiest timing

“Hey, I know we’re supposed to be working, and Ben just leapt in, but you wanna ditch this episode?”

Okay, legitimately, I couldn’t tell if Ian was wearing glasses or not.

“I planned a wedding once. That led to me burying a not-dead man’s belongings in the park; the cops are still nagging me to dig that shit up.”

Yeah, remember, you have jobs?

“Are you sure I’m not rushing you?” You want to get married a day or so after proposing. What do you think?

Like, not to make a controversial statement, but Ross Gellar at least had the foresight to wait a few months.

“Do not wait to live your life. Otherwise, time travel will fuck you over.”

And the horrible vase is dead.

San Patricio… Quick Google search gave me this little number, so my interest is peaked…

…okay, I don’t think Wikipedia mentioned cursed jewels, so fuck me, I guess.

Okay, wait, I just realized: is Sarah played by Veronica from Riverdale?

How much longer until they realize the Accelerator isn’t doing shit, and it’s Ben?

I agree: Family bullshit is less enticing than being Indiana Jones. But unfortunately, it’s this show, so you should already know the punchline.

“[Dean] is the key to all this.” Like how Horace was the key to Halloween Havoc.

I love the Kramer entrance Ben just pulled.

Teamwork makes the dream work, and maybe Veronica can stop bitching.

I love how Will Man is intentionally withholding the lore unless it’s for dramatic moments.

Okay, quick math time; 40 mill in 1953 would be about… almost half a fucking billion in 2024, so…

This looks less like Mexico and more like The Darjeeling Limited.

Who sings opera while biking?

Yes, that’s right, make Addison bring up the wedding now of all places…

“Hey, I know you’re talking to ghosts, but check out the map!”

Well, given how the priest killed for those jewels, blood probably did get on them, so he wasn’t wrong…

That wasn’t “fashion advice”, that was “we’re going on a treasure hunt, don’t overload the fucking suitcase” advice, Veronica.

“Okay, maybe let’s stop deadnaming and let’s get crunk.”

[Okay, how have I not noticed the producer is named “Meg Fister” until now?]

Yes, Jenn, Ian does want to do their job, that’s not a shock.

“Look, if we’re still pretending 2023- now 2024- is supposed to be 2026, then Addison and Tom can get married. That’s the law.”

[I will fucking laugh if my long standing theory pays out, and Ben undoes the time skip.]

“Hey, Rachel, I just said a sitcom line-” “Ian, we are fucked, they remembered the chip subplot.” “I thought we finished that!”

…is Tom a puppet?

And, in a rather appropriate cutaway, we go to the bar.

A bar is not a place to yell, pleas calm down.

“Nadia, where did you learn Spanish?” “From a person who speaks Spanish.”

I don’t like how the bartender is immediately in the know.

And that satchel is going to get taken in 5… 4… 3…

Ben, with that type of scratch, you can change all their fucking lives.

“And what are we doing?” Not looking after a satchel?

Why does their dad look like Santa?

And it’s now a race.

Ben, he was clearly lying about not believing the treasure was real.

Sarah, you don’t just get to decide to abandon the episode after fucking everything up.

“I have a very good memory, and I’m friends with a ghost.”

Sarah, if you hadn’t left the satchel, this wouldn’t be as bad, stop denying fault.

Meanwhile, back in Subplot 2.

Look, Ian, if it makes you feel any better, given how next week involves a leap into the 1980s, dealer’s odds Ben accidentally erases Gideon from the show.

Meanwhile, back to the treasure; this is a packed week for everyone, isn’t it…

Well, this is Indiana Jones coded, so one of you had to do the snake line…

“Well, I am not climbing down that.” Okay, die then.

Okay, you won’t drown, but if you slip, you will break something. Small miracles.

So the jewels are a metaphor- okay, if the plot twist is that the dad hid the jewels back home, due to “home being the real treasure,” I will piss blood.

“Some say it was Saint Patrick. Some say it was Santa.”

Okay, I thought that was gonna be a zombie.

Either bartender wanted to cover his tracks, or bartender is under those rocks.

“Is there another option?” Get to fucking digging.

Sarah, legitimately, stop being a bitch.

God is getting angry now, that’s how much we’re approaching the Family Bullshit Event Horizon.

Okay, that’s peak comedic timing. “THE ROCK’S FAKE! :D”

Dad’s pun fetish, I swear to God.

Stephen King had once again gotten his grubby mitts into an episode of Quantum Leap.

They found the prop wall.

That was not fucking funny, that got me.

…well, I mean, to be fair, the key to all great comedy is misdirection… 🥁

And of course.

[I choose to split this up now.]

[catboycafe]

Halloween Movie List 2023!!

OH GOD I HAVEN'T POSTED THE FINALIZED LIST YET!!! This year's list looks psychotic and for that i am sorry BUT. i promise i have a system

���= i haven't seen the movie before!*

Day One: The VVitch (+Courage the Cowardly Dog Pre-show) Day Two: Scooby Doo and the Witch’s Ghost Day Three: Over the Garden Wall (Episodes 1-4) Day Four: The Green Knight (+OtGW Pre-show)🦇 Day Five: Beetlejuice (+OtGW Pre-show) Day Six: Coraline (+OtGW Pre-show) Day Seven: The Addam’s Family (+OtGW Pre-show) Day Eight: The Addam’s Family Values (+OtGW Pre-show) Day Nine: Possession (+OtGW Pre-show)🦇 Day Ten: Malignant 🦇 Day Eleven: Sweeney Todd Day Twelve: Mike Flanagan’s Fall of the House of Usher (Episodes 1-3) 🦇 Day Thirteen: House of Usher (Episodes 4-5) 🦇 Day Fourteen: The Menu (+House of Usher Pre-show) 🦇 Day Fifteen: No One Can Save You (+House of Usher Pre-show) 🦇 Day Sixteen: Quatermass and the Pit (+House of Usher Pre-show) 🦇 Day Seventeen: The Exorcist Day Eighteen: The Crow Day Nineteen: Pale Blue Eye 🦇 and 2012’s The Raven double feature Day Twenty: Severance (Episodes 2-3) Day Twenty One: Late Night with the Devil (+Severance Pre-show)🦇 Day Twenty Two: Slasher (Episodes 1-3) Day Twenty Three: The Hour of the Wolf (+Slasher Pre-show)🦇 Day Twenty Four: Creature from the Black Lagoon (+Slasher Pre-show)🦇 Day Twenty Five: The Bay (+Slasher Pre-show) Day Twenty Six: Queen of the Damned (+Slasher Pre-show) Day Twenty Seven: Van Helsing (+Slasher Pre-show) Day Twenty Eight: [i’ll be at a halloween party so there’s no movie </3] Day Twenty Nine: Cartoon/Sitcom Halloween Special Marathon Day Thirty: Scary Godmother’s Halloween Spooktacular (+Courage the Cowardly Dog Pre-show) Day Thirty One: Halloween 🦇

2022 list \\ 2021 list \\ 2020 list

*"hey, i looked at your other lists and there is some inconsistent bat marking!" sometimes i don't finish the list so there are some movies on lists prior that i just didnt watch 😔 i'm a fail man

[elcomfortador]

Weirdest Episode Ever: The Facts of Life Goes to the Twilight Zone

Greetings! We are combatting the dead zone that is the holidays with a bonus episode: the fourth of Weirdest Episode Ever, our new Patreon series looking at sitcoms that venture into sci-fi, horror and fantasy. If you like this, you can listen to three other episode on Patreon, with another six to come in early 2023. They’re available for people supporting us at the $5 level or higher.

Here’s the full list of episodes we have done/will be doing:

The Cosby Show, "The Day the Spores Landed" (a.k.a. the male pregnancy episode)

I Love Lucy, “Lucy Goes to Scotland" (a.k.a. Lucy gets fed to a dragon)

Perfect Strangers, "Aliens" (a.k.a. Balki is an alien)

The Facts of Life, "Seven Little Indians" (a.k.a. the Twilight Zone parody)

A Family Matters, "Stevil" (a.k.a. Steve Urkel gets a murderous puppet doppelganger)

Benson, "Death in a Funny Position" (a.k.a. serial killer cruise ship)

Day By Day, "A Very Brady Episode" (a.k.a. a very strange venture into Brady Bunch land)

Two Guys a Girl and a Pizza Place, "Two Guys a Girl and a Psycho Halloween" (a.k.a. Ryan Reynolds murders everyone)

Punky Brewster, "The Perils of Punky" (a.k.a. the cave of horrors)

The Cosby Show, "Cliff's Nightmare" (a.k.a. Cliff Huxtable vs. Muppets)

Here are the details on this Facts of LIfe episode:

“Seven Little Indians” (January 3, 1987)

It would be ambitious for any sitcom, much less Facts of Life specifically, to attempt a weird episode that not only satirizes 1980s slasher movies but also murder mysteries and also The Twilight Zone. For all that being packed into one 22-minute format, this one actually works pretty well. Lisa Whelchel as Blair — big-haired, wild eyed and caked with makeup — makes for a striking visual that probably traumatized a few kids back in the day.

The Facts of Life, previously:

Blair Warner Is a Homophone

Jo Polniaczek Is a Lesbian Hearththrob

The logo for Weirdest Episode Ever + the rad art of psycho killer Blair Warner was designed by Ian O’Phelan. The theme music was composed by Nick Loiacano.

Listen now!

[crowdvscritic]

round up // APRIL 24

Big ensembles, the queens of pop, rocky romances, and love-it-or-hate-it pop culture artifacts—they’re all here.

We're on the eve of summer blockbuster season, but we’ve already seen several strong releases, including one below I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m still thinking about in December. Keep scrolling through this Round Up for the top comedies, classics, and action thrillers I experienced April in the order I experienced them...

April Crowd-Pleasers

1. Monkey Man (2024)

Part John Wick, part Rocky, and part something all its own, Dev Patel’s feature directorial debut is a brutal revenge thriller action fans will love. Watch my full review for KMOV.  Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 7/10

2. SNL Round Up

Just last month I was low-key mourning an underwhelming season of Saturday Night Live, but then Kristen Wiig and Ryan Gosling came to revive my hopes with two of the best episodes in awhile. Start with “Beavis and Butt-Head” or just cue up both episodes and watch start-to-finish.

“Five-Timers Monologue” (4916 with Kristen Wiig) 

“Jumanji” (4916)

“Weekend Update: Aunt Linda on the Latest Hit Movies” (4916)

“La Maison Du Bang!” (4916)

“Monologue” (4917 with Ryan Gosling)

“The Engagement” (4917)

“Weekend Update: Resident Boyfriend Michael Longfellow on Weaponized Incompetence” (4917)

“Weekend Update: Caitlin Clark on the WNBA Draft” (4917)

“Beavis and Butt-Head” (4917)

“Erin Brockovich” (4917)

“Doctor” (4917)

“Papyrus 2” (4917)

3. Upgraded (2024)

This update of Working Girl set in the art world is, to put it bluntly, just super cute. Camila Mendes has the star power to lead movies bigger than Prime originals (including the winning charisma needed for the best rom-coms), and we could use Marisa Tomei in more of everything. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 6.5/10

4. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024)

It’s not every day I get to mention The Guns of Navarone in a review. This movie is selling itself to you (and your dad) as an opportunity to watch Superman and Jack Reacher kill a bunch of Nazis, and with Guy Ritchie directing, this action-adventure is plenty fun. Read my full review at ZekeFilm. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 7.5/10

5. Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013-21)

Thanks to Southwest Airlines, I've seen a smattering of the eight seasons of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, but with the first four seasons now on Netflix, April became the month to watch it all the way through. Like Mike Schur’s other sitcoms (The Good Place, The Office, Parks and Recreation), the joke rate is exceptionally high and the characters are lovable and idiosyncratic. If a sitcom filled with Halloween heists, umpteen references to Die Hard, and the silliest possible cases for police offers sounds like your jam, you won’t be disappointed, either. 

MORE APRIL CROWD-PLEASERS: If you can roll with the half-developed plotting (and a few cruder-than-necessary moments) in the stylish Lisa Frankenstein (2024), this ‘80s-set homage to Heathers is a lot of fun. // When I tried to watch High Fidelity (2000) as a teenager, I quit about 30 minutes in because John Cusack’s man-child protagonist was so unlikeable. I’m glad I gave it another chance as an adult so I could realize that’s the point. // Jake Johnson’s feature directorial debut Self Reliance (2023) is successful as both a comedy and a thriller. // How to Marry Keanu Reeves in 90 Days by K.M. Jackson (2021) is a frothy BFFs-to-true-loves rom-com filled with celebrity cameos. // Smokey and the Bandit (1977) is way more fun than a movie about greedy lawbreakers should be.

April Critic Picks

1. The Lost Weekend (1945)

The Best Picture Project continues with Billy Wilder’s first bout of Oscar glory. Read my Crowd and Critic reviews (or just keep scrolling to the previous post if you’re on the home page.) Crowd: 7/10 // Critic: 9/10

2. Cowboy Carter by Beyoncé (2024)

The problem of writing about Beyoncé is it’s boring to just keep finding new ways to say, “She’s really good at this!” I could write about the sincerity the coming-of-age heartbreak in “16 CARRIAGES,” the epic nature of the bookends “AMERICAN REQUIEM” and “AMEN,” the innovation on “JOLENE” and “BLACKBIIRD,” and the absolute banger that is “YA YA.” (The only real surprise is I’ve found a second Post Malone song I like.) Because I’m a film critic and not a music critic (or much of a country fan), I recommend checking out the Los Angeles Times review for more context on how this fits into her canon and the history of country music.

3. The Heartbreak Kid (1972)

Why is this rom-com from Elaine May so hard to find? Because my local library is awesome, I’ve now finally seen Charles Grodin get married and then think he may have met the real love of his life (Cybill Shepherd) on his honeymoon. More than five decades later, May’s hilarious and cringey film still has plenty of insight into men’s and women’s relationships (and sunburns), and (minor spoiler alert) its ending is a perfect companion to The Graduate. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 9.5/10

4. Civil War (2024) 

I saw someone on Letterboxd call this movie a Rorschach test, and boy, oh boy, that’s an undersell. Civil War is brilliant not because of the political statements it’s making if for no other reason than it makes very few of them. This photojournalist road trip is about the impossibility of complete objectivity, but more than that, it’s about the destructive nature of hostile disagreement. An alliance between California and Texas is writer/director Alex Garland deliberately telling us not to get hung up in our moment’s political issues—if we are so convinced of our own self-righteousness, we’ll lose everything we claim to be fighting for. The Jesse Plemons performance is my premature pick for Best Scene of 2024. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 9/10

5. The Tortured Poets Department by Taylor Swift (2024)

The prophet has come down from the mountain. Somewhere in my third listen, The Tortured Poets Department snuck up on me. I thought this would be another evermore: worthy of mad respect, but too lugubrious to be a frequent relisten outside of “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart.” While that tragic bop is the current contender for the top spot in this year's Spotify 100, “The Tortured Poets Department,” “Clara Bow,” “Fortnight” (now only the third Post Malone song I’ve ever liked), and “My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys” will also certainly be in my annual playlist—and that’s just Side A! On Side B, the Daedalian lyrics of “The Black Dog,” “imgonnagetyouback,” “So High School,” “I Hate It Here,” and “I Look in People’s Windows” elevate their sad stories into awe-inspiring strings of words. Whom she and her collaborators are writing about is beside the point; even at billionaire status, Swift’s heartbreak, regret, hope, and indignation are as relatable as ever, sp she can write about high school as long as she likes. Because I’m a film critic and not a music critic, I recommend checking out Variety’s review for more thoughtful (and perhaps more objective) prose about this collection of poetry.

MORE APRIL CRITIC PICKS: Unfaithfully Yours (1948) is an early entry in the Symphony Conductors Dealing With Marital Issues Cinematic Universe that paved the way for Tár and Maestro. // Frank Capra’s semi-forgotten early feature Platinum Blonde (1931) fits right in his legacy of class-conscious rom-coms. // The spectacle of Cleopatra (1963) still dazzles even now.

Also in April…

I checked out the new time travel romance on Hulu, The Greatest Hits, which definitely took inspiration from High Fidelity. Read my full review for Zekefilm.

Photo credits: Beyoncé. All others IMDb.com.

[cinemapsychosshow]

Eileen Dietz & Nancy Loomis: From Halloween to The Exorcist | Bonus Interview from The Eerie Horror Fest 2023

In this special bonus episode from our time at The 2023 Eerie Horror Fest, John and I spoke with Horror Movie Legends; Nancy Loomis and Eileen Dietz. 

You may know Nancy from her role as Laurie Strode's best friend, Annie, from the 1978 classic Halloween as well as roles in Halloween 3: Season of the Witch, The Fog, and Assault on Precinct 13. 

Eileen Dietz has done everything from sitcoms to horror movies. And with a career that spans decades, she is best known for scaring the hell out of us as the face of Pazuzu/Captain Howdy in The Exorcist as well as serving as Linda Blair's double for the film. 

It was an absolute treat for us to talk about their time working on these films. Special thanks to The Eerie Horror Fest for making this interview possible!

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[greensparty]

Remembering Lisa Loring, Gregory Allen Howard and Cindy Williams

Here is my combined remembrance of three entertainers we just lost:

Remembering Lisa Loring 1958-2023

Loring on The Addams Family

Actress Lisa Loring has died at 64. She was the original Wednesday Addams on The Addams Family (1964-1966 ABC-TV). It was one of those shows like The Munsters that I got into as a kid via syndication. She was cool as the daughter in the haunted family sitcom. She returned to the role for the 1977 TV movie Halloween with the New Addams Family. The Addams Family has been rebooted many times since the original in various movies, TV shows and animation. Look closely at Christina Ricco in the live action movies or Jenna Ortega in the recent Netflix series Wednesday and you can see the influence Loring had on their performances.

The link above is the obit from Hollywood Reporter.

Remembering Gregory Allen Howard 1952-2023

Howard

Screenwriter and producer Gregory Allen Howard has died at 70. He was a gifted writer, notably for biopics like Michael Mann’s Ali (Howard received Story credit) and Kasi Lemmons’ Harriet.

The link above is the obit from Hollywood Reporter.

Remembering Cindy Williams 1947-2023

Sad news that actress Cindy Williams has died at 75. Her greatest role was as Shirley Feeney, first appearing on some episodes of Happy Days, then getting her own show on Laverne & Shirley (ABC 1976-1983, though she was only on until 1982) and also on the animated Laverne & Shirley in the Army. L&S, about two friends looking for love in 1950s Milwaukee, was LOL funny. I got into it as a kid watching re-runs with my older sister. A lot of the humor went over my head, but the physical comedy was very funny and Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams made a great team. After Marshall died in 2018, David L. Lander (Squiggy) died in 2020, and Eddie Mekka (Carmine) died in 2021 this is super sad that so many cast members are now gone.

Cindy Williams in yellow with Potsie, Laverne and Richie on L&S

In addition to L&S, Williams also appeared in George Lucas’s American Graffiti. A few years later she auditions to be Princess Leia but lost to Carrie Fisher. She also had a small role in Francis Ford Coppola’s excellent The Conversation, and the sitcom Normal Life (1990 CBS) where she was the mother of Dweezil and Moon Unit Zappa. She was also the producer of the Father of the Bride movies as well.

The link above is the obit from Variety.

[kainetestament]

Pietro, no Fietro could still possibly be Peter from X-Men Universe… Maybe?

So as revealed in Episode 9 of WandaVision, the identity of Fietro is none other than Ralph Bohner, the husband Agness always mention, and a possible real resident of Westview. WV director Matt Shakman already clarified that the “Bohner” is actually a reference to his 80’s sitcom Growing Pains. But for many fans of Evan Peters, this “Bohner” joke didn’t play well and at the same time, let us breakdown everything that is wrong with this identity of Ralph Bohner and why he’s suspicious despite the claim of WandaVision writers/director that Evan Peters has nothing to do with the mutants or X-Men Universe, after all they always deny everything. They even mentioned that they had no idea that Evan Peters appearance will cause so many theories and everything, which I highly doubt, I mean come on, they made him play QuickSilver in WandaVision when he is QuickSilver himself only of another universe. I don’t dissed ATJ, I love this guy too from his Kickass, Godzilla movie (this is where I first encounter ATJ before his QS role in Avengers), but as a QS, Evan Peters top him, on my opinion at least, he even has his own QS commercials. Also, Evan Peters have more cool QS moments, the Kitchen scene VS the Age of Ultron overall, at least for me, I prefer the kitchen scene and the whiplash part. Anyhow, let us begin:

 Note: I edited this post to make this article more easier to read and added additional info.

1. Speculations roaming around that Ralph Bohner could be an aspiring actor because the picture is actually his headshot (which actually looks like his earlier AHS photos). I’m not going to debunk this possibility, but I do not believe it’s a headshot nor he’s an aspiring actor. Although true enough, the image does looks like of Evan Peters early AHS photos (kind of like Tate Langdon) – which is probably a reference to that, who knows.

2. The pile of papers on the side table. It is questionable why would your papers, a bill (a very old bill even - not folded or inside one of those envelopes) and your photos in plain sight where Monica – an outsider can see it? Almost as if you planned it all along and he wanted Monica to see it.

3. Necromancy vs Crystallum Possession. Necromancy is a dark arts of when the person (the Necromancer) can manipulate the dead body of the person, or summoning their spirit. Crystallum Possession however is also part of the dark arts but this time you are using an object (like crystals, gems, stones etc) that is embodied with the user’s spells to manipulate the wearer.

Agatha had told Wanda that what she does is a crystallum possession since necromancy is a no-no due to his brother’s body is on another continent, and since this Pietro died in 2014, it should now be bones, I think the “full of holes” remark is nothing more than a mocking remark, because if it’s not, then Marvel will probably have their own interpretation of Necromancy and Crystallum Possession, and this could probably go darker. And Ralph is wearing a bead necklace that is embedded with Agatha’s power. But is Agatha really in full control of Ralph? Honestly, I don’t think so. Why? Because in Episode 6, Peter said about Wanda’s costume “Worse than the costume mom made us the year we got typhus”, then she reminisced “that year”, and told him  “That’s not exactly how I remember it.” because in her universe, she isn’t wearing Halloween costume she thinks is worse and she didn’t deny about them getting typhus, so what are the odds of Agatha/Fietro getting that info if he is not Peter? Also, we don’t know how MARVEL will tell the story multiverse/alternate timelines (the Russo Brothers already claimed that they have their own way of telling this story), but if we are looking for a one generic rule, major life events will occur but will be told uniquely as per their universe, on this case Peter and Wanda did had a typhus, but in Peter’s world, his Wanda and him are probably wearing whatever cosplay outfit their mom made and in Wanda and Pietro are just wearing something simple, or it could be that Peter really just have a weird sense of style.

4. The WATER BILL. Now, this is a real bill, it is not part of Wanda’s illusion, this is Ralph’s actual water bill, because Ralph’s house was under Agatha’s spell, which makes it exempted from Wanda’s spell.  Also, if you go frame by frame, you can actually see the word “Water”, “PAST DUE” on the right column part of the bill, before it totally goes out of focus and you can only read the left side part, that also says “YOUR MONTHLY USAGE (1,000 GAL INCREMENTS)”, which further validates it’s a water bill, not a phone bill nor electricity bill as others actually claim. And here is the tricky part, the bill’s date. On the right side under the STATEMENT is the Account Information (using Arial font), it’s a bit hard to make out of it, but it’s actually an old bill. Before it becomes totally blurry, you can read the right part of the bill that says:

STATEMENT

ACCOUNT INFORMATION

ACCOUNT:                      09-3476-12

SERVICE ADDRESS:     2804 SHERWOOD DRIVE

BILL DATE:                     10/01/2020

DUE DATE:                     10/31/2020

If we go back to Infinity War, it takes place in June 2018. So that means that this Ralph Bohner survived the SNAP, but what could happen to him in year 2019-2020? Who knows, I don’t even know if I should care or not.

If we check on the usage chart – which is “not blurred” (it’s also in increments of 12 – 12/24/36/48/60), and I’ll just speculate on the numbers on the meter chart, so don’t take my word for it. Also, I don’t know what Marvel is planning or hinting by showing this insignificant 2020 bill, which also has confusing usage. (I’ll just use term like pcm – per cubic meter, so that it won’t just be plain numbers beside the month).

January - 6 pcm

February – 18 pcm

March – 6 pcm

April – 6 pcm

June – 6 pcm

July – 9 pcm

August – 13 pcm

September – 22 pcm

October – 34 pcm

(November and December have gray shade - similar to the one in month of Jan-May).

Again, I don’t know what’s the significance of not blurring this part of the bill while the right side column is properly blurred. And the confusing part of this bill, is the bill date is of 10/01/2020 – meaning Ralph had received this bill during the first week of October, but why is there already a usage for the full month of October, when usage should be only show up to the month of September? After the Account Information, there’s the

METER INFORMATION (WATER)

USAGE   PREVIOUS   DATE      CURRENT       DATE

4             1963 (?)        09/01/20      *- - - -*          *- - - -*

The PREVIOUS actually looks like either 1063 or 1963, and oddly enough the first Avengers Comics was published on September 1, 1963, I don’t know if that’s a reference to that, but from my pov, it shouldn’t be because this series is inspired of House of M and a bit touch of West Coast Avengers, which was already reference by the SUV plate number in Episode 7. The CURRENT and DATE are both unreadable, I can only identify _ _ _ 2 in CURRENT and 0_/_ _/20 for the DATE after.

And let’s also not forget that outside the HEX, it is August 2023 and as per Episode 8, inside the HEX is currently year 2013 as shown in the auditorium behind the lighting after it explained how Wanda created Vision. I don’t know if this is a reference to something from the past MCU projects (X-Men even) or future franchise like Falcon and Winter Soldier, who knows, really. I just find it weird why they didn’t blurry the meter chart while the rest are. But why year 2020? Why isn’t this bill thrown out yet? Didn’t Monica notice that billing date of the bill?

5. The man-cave. The staff really transformed Fietro’s man-cave into very, very Peter-like (if he really is not Peter). I will list thing that are present and similar to what Peter of X-Men Universe room have. I’ll reference * (single asterisk) for Days of Future Past, ** (double asterisk) for Apocalypse, and *** (triple asterisk) for both films.

❀ comfortable couch***

❀ guitar*** 

❀ headphones***

❀ balls*

❀ lots of posters***

❀ bike***

❀ a bar**

❀ shoes on the floor**

❀ different types of drinks (non alcoholic)***

Also, lots of silver/metallic items such as:

❀ silver lamp**

❀ silver TV

❀ silver house ventilation tubes

❀ silver pillowcases (looks gray on other angles)

❀ silver mini fridge

❀ silver microwave oven

❀ silver rack (where TV and speaker stands)    

❀ silver wristwatch*

❀ video games*** (both PS & XBox)

and even something that looks like a stolen goods like the Tiki Bar plaque, Tiger head.

This Fietro is basically just missing the goggles, I did my best to look for it (like on those detective games that instructs you to find this and that *lol*), but there’s really none *laugh*. Also, I just noticed the arrangement of his man-cave – single-seat couch** > small side table with a lamp** > 3-seater couch (the Apocalypse has an L-shape couch though) > a middle coffee table**, this arrangement is similar to Peter’s man-cave in Apocalypse which can be slightly seen when his mom came down saying “Just checking on you” (you can watch it at starting point 1:02:55, at least on my copy), you just need to look for proper timing because a few of those shots are out of focus probably due to her obviously looking somewhere reading her lines that are raised besides the camera, which became even more obvious  when she did a close up shot when she told him “But trust me, this won’t end well. Nothing does with him.” 

Also, in Episode 5, when Peter first made an appearance, the leather jacket he’s wearing is eerily similar to the one he’s wearing in his cameo appearance in Deadpool 2 (we only got the glimpse of the front of the jacket in Deadpool but the front side of his jacket in WandaVision is identical). Though I find it weird too that his hair color switch from silver to light ash blonde.

6. Ralph is the guy under witness protection? I doubt it, although honestly at first I considered maybe he is, but after a few thinking, it doesn’t lead to it, because if he’s in witness protection, and the person who is managing him forgets him because of Wanda, FBI database should still at least have a photo of him to be able to identify him, and Jimmy in episode 7 saw Peter and never commented about him being their missing guy. As we all know, the house is under the name Ralph Bohner, who we can assume survived the SNAP and possibly left that house in September 2020. If he had left the house way back in 2020, why does Agent Woo or FBI rather only checked it now? Also, if Ralph Boner is indeed the guy under witness protection, it is the FBI that pays off their bill, on this case, the Water Bill was past due even if it was an old bill, so I don’t think he is.

7. Does Ralph Boner really exist? This is actually something that I have given some thought. Because if we think of QuickSilver, one of his abilities as per comics is his Quick Intelligence. His mind process a lot of things much faster than an average person. Peter spying on everyone and pretending to be someone else in an unknown world is not surprising, let alone using everything he can take advantage of. It can be that the bill is fake and there is really no Ralph Bohner, or just like what I mentioned in #7, he could’ve possibly left in September 2020 and hasn’t returned yet, and Peter assumes this identity to avoid suspicion.

If we are to assume he really is Peter Maximoff of X-Men Universe (Earth-TRN414) and crossed over to Earth-616, I did consider this could also be the house where he lives as per his universe and just so happens that Ralph Bohner is the current owner of the house in this MCU. Also, Xavier Institute is located in NY and in Days of Future Past, they only drove from NY to his house via rental car, which we can assume that he doesn’t live that far from NY, after all NY and NJ are neighbors.

8. Also this has nothing to do with Ralph/Fietro, but something I noticed, that the outside anomaly or outside of Westview – about the selective amnesia has yet to be answered. It only explained that Wanda is manipulating the people INSIDE, but not the ones outside the HEX. What actually come to mind when I think about it is that it can be a work by a TELEPATH which can be either Charles Xavier or Emma Frost (no Jean Grey? Yes I excluded her). What I am actually thinking is that the person under witness protection is a spy sent by Charles or possibly working with him. He could have implanted false memory to the so called “family and friends”, so when the HEX was established, the strings got cut off hence no one could remember this “missing person” anymore, and Jimmy who has nothing to do with this “missing person” is not affected by the selective amnesia and assumes the responsibility of looking for him. And assuming Charles is the telepath who altered their memories of the people outside of Westview, he probably has done it as a precaution since he couldn’t contact his spy or “missing person” and wouldn’t take the risk of endangering the resident who were happened to be outside the HEX when Wanda establishes it.

These are just some of the things I find that doesn’t make sense with Ralph’s identity. But we’ll just leave it at that. I still really want James McAvoy back as Charles Xavier and Michael Fassbender as Magneto, since both Sir Ian McKKellen and Sir Patrick Stewart did mention they’re done with their role. And I feel that it’s too risky to use them since they are in their 80’s now, I don’t know them personally but it gives me some sorts of paranoia *laughs* thinking they might get injured.

[thisislizheather]

Autumn List 2023

Above Photo: Is there anything greater than an autumn backyard? (Yes, a snow-covered one obviously, but let’s not be choosy)

The first day of autumn! This is my Christmas morning. I wait all year for this season because it’s the beginning of everything pure: a cold breeze to wake you up in the morning, taking candlelit baths, maple and apple cider flavoured everything, 90s Halloween sitcom episodes and bite-sized candy. A perfect season. Here’s what I’d love to do this fall.

Make an apple flavoured dessert.

Taste a turnip.

Make a homemade pumpkin syrup for iced coffee.

Wear bolder lipsticks.

Watch at least ten horror movies I haven’t seen before.

I’m keeping the list brief because of the million other things I’m planning for the season. I’ll likely go to Downey’s Farm with the family. Costume planning is well underway. I’ll unpack and display all of our autumn/Halloween stuff later today. I’m definitely going to make these leftover stuffing muffins. I have to make final decisions on what’s getting cooked this year for (Canadian/real) Thanksgiving in October. I’ve already been to Salem and to Sleepy Hollow, so I don’t think there’s any seasonal traveling this year. Of course I’ll get Milk Bar’s Thanksgiving croissant IF it’s available in November (last year they stupidly didn’t do them). I will also find leaves and then proceed to look at them. And every year I make a leftover Thanksgiving turkey sandwich but with a different bread each time, so that will obviously happen again.

Above Photo: Leftover Thanksgiving turkey sandwich

Here are some of my past autumn lists incase you’re looking for more ideas of things you might want to do this season. (I really hope you make a list of your own. Yes you may be an adult, but you’re not above it like you think you are.)

Autumn List 2022

Autumn List 2021

Autumn List 2020

Autumn List 2019

Autumn List 2018

Autumn List 2017

Autumn List 2015

I’m also doing an autumn 2023 highlight reel on Instagram that I’ll update each day of the season because I’m a lunatic who’s powers only grow stronger this time of year.

[aion-rsa]

Marvel’s WandaVision Glitches Spell Trouble for MCU Reality

https://ift.tt/2NuQZ4o

This article contains WandaVision spoilers.

We’re a third of the way through WandaVision and a lot of the show has been establishing the setting via era-spanning sitcom stories while occasionally taking a break to show cracks in the façade. Something is definitely wrong in Westview, but while we can see the errors like comparing two pages in Highlights, we don’t have the full picture yet.

There are many theories out there already. Some completely outlandish, others far less so. As we wait for the other six episodes to hit, I want to focus on the moments in the initial three where reality is questioned. The times when “the real world” starts to seep into the fiction within the fiction. What are these scenes and what do they really tell us?

I’m not going to include the opening credits or commercials. While there’s plenty to pick from those, neither one directly interacts with the narrative. It’s not like Vision looks around after an ad and goes, “What the hell was that?”

VISION AT WORK

Ignoring that Vision should be dead and that this superhero couple is living as 1950s sitcom newlyweds when it’s supposed to be 2023, the first moment that truly sticks out as odd is when Vision is at work. We see him blazing through his assignment at superhuman speed, but then he takes a second to ask what it is they actually do at this job.

Since we already know that there’s something “off” about the show, but nothing especially serious has happened yet, this bit is more humorous than anything. It’s a fictional character becoming just aware enough to point out how slapped together his reality is. While Vision does get a decent enough answer in the end, it’s weird that he only finds out about this after supposedly applying for the job and interviewing. Not to mention the fact that he’s already quite good at it.

Whatever is going on, Vision is just self-aware enough to be curious about the world’s nonsense, but he’s too much of a cog in the machine to go against the script just yet.

STOP IT!

Dinner is served! The first episode revolves around the tried-and-true sitcom trope of having the boss and his wife over for dinner and everything going wrong. Wanda uses her sorcery and cooking skills to serve “breakfast for dinner” and everything seems to be working out. That is, until Mrs. Hart starts asking about Vision and Wanda’s past.

The two seem to be at a loss, unable to recall anything about their relationship and why they moved to Westview. Mrs. Hart is forgiving about this, but Mr. Hart grows increasingly impatient. The first trailer for the series made it seem like he was just mad about their inability to remember, but the outburst in the episode itself feels like something more. After knowing what we know by the end of the third episode, Mr. Hart appears to be furious over the fact that they moved to Westview, turned the Harts and their neighbors into slaves to their story, and can’t even explain why they did it.

Whatever he’s trying to say, he chokes on his food and gradually collapses. Mrs. Hart playfully tells him to, “Stop it!” She keeps repeating this over and over again, like her dying husband is making them look bad. Soon enough, she starts looking in Wanda’s direction. She continues to laugh and repeat, “Stop it!” but she’s crying and directing her words towards Wanda.

Read more

TV

WandaVision: How a Bottle of Wine Could be the Key to the Entire Marvel Series

By Gavin Jasper

TV

WandaVision: The Sitcom Influences of Episodes 1 and 2

By Alec Bojalad

Wanda and Vision share an awkward stare before Wanda asks Vision to help Mr. Hart. Vision uses his phasing power to remove the food (using modern special effects instead of the ’50s-style effects from the intro) and Mr. Hart is saved.

In other words, shit just got real.

Only nobody brings it up. They go through the motions with the end of the dinner and the Harts go home. But while Wanda and Vision don’t go over what the hell just happened, they do pay lip service to their lack of coherent background and at least come up with a wedding anniversary to fill that gap.

Revisiting this moment, it’s like both of the Harts know that Wanda is in control of their reality and Mrs. Hart wants to stray from conflict. It isn’t until her husband is dying that she begs Wanda to spare him, feeling that the choking his her doing.

END BROADCAST

With the lovers happy and smiling at the fourth wall, the first episode ends and we slowly zoom away to see a full-color setup of somebody watching the show. Not counting a red light in the episode’s toaster commercial, this is the first time we see any color on this show. There’s a SWORD logo in there, letting us know the organization keeping tabs on what’s going on, but we’re left wondering what this even means.

That entire half-hour sitcom that we watched as an audience was also witnessed by this SWORD agent and possibly many others in that exact form, just without the Marvel Studios fanfare intro. How does that even work? After all, these stories aren’t told in real time…or are they?

Read more

TV

WandaVision: What Is SWORD?

By Kirsten Howard

TV

WandaVision: The Sitcom Influences of Episodes 1 and 2

By Alec Bojalad

The first episode appears to be roughly 12 hours condensed. The second one is probably in that ballpark. Does this mean that the exploits are magically edited into an abridged broadcast or are those events magically rushed into that time frame and then broadcast “live?”

Based on the relationship between the second and third episodes, I think we can at least establish that each consecutive episode takes place on a different consecutive day. With a definite Halloween episode on the way, I’m wondering if we’re getting multiple holidays that just happen to rush together.

THE TOY HELICOPTER

The opening of the second episode is about some loud noise disturbing Wanda and Vision, which is revealed as a tree hitting the window. Allegedly.

Early in the same episode, Wanda hears a loud noise and goes to investigate, finding a red and yellow toy helicopter in her bushes. At first, we’re more focused on the fact that it’s in color while the rest of the show is in black and white. Wanda looks around for where it might have come from, then gets distracted by Agnes.

At this point it seems like an actual helicopter did enter Westview and reality recreated it as a toy to fit in. Even then, it’s in color because at the same time, it doesn’t belong. This is presumably where Geraldine came from. In the initial viewing, we’re supposed to see this as Wanda trying to figure out this reality, when revisiting makes it look more like she’s investigating a disturbance in her peaceful world. Knowing what we know later, it’s definitely more sinister.

On the other hand, something swept under the rug in all of this is that Wanda does try to bring this up to Vision. When their magic show is just beginning, she’s about to tell him about the helicopter situation (as well as the Dottie/radio situation), but then he distracts her with his gum-based inebriation. If all of this is Wanda’s fault, why would she want to squeal to Vision?

DOTTIE AND THE RADIO

Wanda meets with the high-strung Dottie and their discussion suddenly gets a bit meta. Dottie talks about how she’s heard all kinds of things about Wanda and her husband. Wanda assures her that they mean no harm and Dottie doesn’t believe her. It’s an odd conversation.

They are interrupted by someone infiltrating the signal on the nearby radio, yelling, “Wanda, who’s doing this to you?” Dottie gets less vague about her suspicions and straight-up asks Wanda about who she is and what’s going on. Suddenly, the radio explodes, the glass in Dottie’s hand shatters, and Wanda is horrified to see blood on Dottie’s hand. Actual red blood!

Read more

TV

WandaVision: Are the Neighbors Possible Marvel Villains?

By Jim Dandy

TV

Marvel’s WandaVision: Who is Agnes?

By Jim Dandy

Dottie shrugs off the situation and goes to clean up by herself.

The mysterious question from the radio is a hopeful one. Wanda Maximoff is an Avenger. She’s done a lot of good and rather than damn her for what’s going on, the presumed SWORD agent (we’re guessing this is James Woo) wants to believe that someone more sinister is behind everything. Many would call that foolish. In retrospect this scene feels like Wanda is proving herself wrong by presumably destroying the radio with her own powers to keep her dream reality while inadvertently hurting an innocent person.

FOR THE CHILDREN

During Wanda’s meeting with the other housewives and several times during the magic show, someone mentions how it’s all, “For the children,” and the entire group would repeat it. Every time, they come off as a creepy cult. It’s especially off-putting when you notice that there are seemingly no kids whatsoever in Westview.

At the end of the day, Wanda turns out to be pregnant, seemingly from her pre-credits snuggle with Vision. It’s a magical reality and she’s a magical person so, sure, she’s able to get working sperm from a being whose insides are made up of cartoon gears. We already know that the world of WandaVision is unnatural.

Wanda definitely wants children, but the chanting from throughout the day (not to mention the occasional badgering in the first episode) is some other force at play. Somebody wants Wanda to want children. Someone is egging her on and she has no reason to resist.

Read more

TV

WandaVision Episode 3 Theories Explained

By Kirsten Howard

TV

WandaVision: What Wanda’s Kids Mean for the Future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe

By Gavin Jasper

Yes, it could just be her subconscious causing everyone to moan, “FOR THE CHILDREN,” but I don’t buy it. There are hints of another party being involved and whether it’s Mephisto, Nightmare, HYDRA, AIM, Swarm, Grim Reaper, High Evolutionary, or whoever…somebody wants our protagonists to spawn.

It’s not the most out-there theory. I mean, one of the biggest X-Men villains is Mr. Sinister and he spent years being obsessed with married couple Scott Summers and Jean Grey having at least one kid. Takes all kinds.

THE BEEKEEPER

At the time, the beekeeper seemed like the biggest twist due to its freaky nature and placement at the end of the second episode. Vision and Wanda’s happy moment is interrupted by a loud noise outside, Vision straight-up says “damn” out of frustration (saltier than what you would normally see on ’60s TV), and they investigate. What they find is a guy in a beekeeper outfit crawling out of the sewer and glancing at the couple.

Wanda refuses to accept whatever this means and we suddenly rewind back to the living room, where the beekeeper’s interruption no longer happens.

Read more

TV

WandaVision: What is Going on With the Beekeeper?

By Mike Cecchini

TV

Marvel’s WandaVision Episode 2: MCU Easter Eggs and Reference Guide

By Mike Cecchini and 2 others

The beekeeper was considered an ominous intruder and had people wondering if he was a reference to AIM’s comic book uniforms or the supervillain (and star of Broadway!) Swarm. He also has the SWORD logo on his back. At this point, I’m about ready to call him a red herring. Just a SWORD agent trying to infiltrate this reality and reality makes sense out of his hazmat suit appearance by turning him into a beekeeper.

The real story here is that we have the first definite moment of Wanda altering reality to get what she wants. Earlier scenes could be seen with different context, but she absolutely sees a threat to her happiness and removes it completely.

The interesting thing is that the SWORD agent trying to contact her STILL believes someone is doing this to her at the end of the episode.

NOW IN COLOR

Once the beekeeper is negated, Wanda and Vision share a tender moment and everything starts to turn to color. It’s a hard scene to explain because what does it even mean in the basic narrative? Their world is evolving? Their perception is evolving? It’s the only time they really acknowledge the altering timelines and it’s hard to make sense out of it.

On one level, I suppose it’s a defense mechanism for Wanda. If outside anomalies are taking the form of color in a world without color, then maybe make them no longer stick out.

HERB AND THE WALL

Early in the third episode, Vision sees his neighbor Herb cutting through a brick wall using nothing but electric shears. Not only should this be impossible, but Herb doesn’t even see it as that weird. This could be seen as a glitch in reality, but I feel like it’s Herb trying to communicate to Vision that something is wrong.

It almost works, too! Vision almost brings it up to Wanda before being distracted and it later sticks with him enough for the next big moment.

JUMP EDIT

Wanda talks up the basic plot of the show where they have to hide their powers and identities from their neighbors despite numerous close calls. Vision starts to note how there’s more to this. Things just aren’t adding up. The dinner with the Harts ended all weird and what he just saw with Herb makes no sense.

Vision outright states that something is wrong. Wanda looks worried about this for a moment before the feed glitches and backtracks to Vision agreeing with her and not getting sidetracked.

If anything, this is a sign that Wanda will never be truly happy, and things are going to end badly. We must accept that this version of Vision is probably her mental recreation. He’s the artificial version of an artificial man. Vision as Wanda knows him would question and reject all of this. All Wanda can do is knock him off course or even rewrite his personality here and there to make him more agreeable. This is going to come to a head sooner than later. Either the man she loves will have to confront her for real or the man she’s with will no longer resemble his true self.

FAILED VACATION

Dr. Nielsen starts the third episode with the claim that he and his wife are going to Bermuda. Later on, when Vision needs him to deliver the baby, it’s shown that Dr. Nielsen and his wife can’t get their car started and therefore can’t leave Westview. Nielsen helps Wanda give birth to the second twin and has a final moment with Vision outside.

In this moment, he admits that he probably isn’t going to go on vacation to Bermuda after all. He doesn’t give an actual reason or even note his car problems. He just points out that in small towns, it’s hard to escape.

That’s pretty straightforward. Nobody can leave Westview, even if there’s an in-story reason, as the town will find some reason to keep them there. It’s very much like Cabin in the Woods or the “24-Hour Diner” issue of Sandman.

NEIGHBORHOOD GOSSIP

Shortly after Dr. Nielsen leaves, Vision greets Agnes and Herb before noticing the two gossiping about Wanda’s pregnancy. Vision talks to them about the power outage and it’s notable that after Agnes makes a crack about her never-before-seen husband Ralph, we never hear the audience laughing. In fact, it’s the natural awkwardness of the conversation compared to the ’70s sitcom aesthetic that really drives home that something is wrong.

The two bring up Geraldine, at the time making us unsure if we should be scared for her or Wanda. Herb tries to explain why Geraldine is there. She’s there because he, Agnes, and all the others are…blank. He can’t finish his thoughts, despite trying several times over. Vision tries to interrogate him further, but finally an uncharacteristically serious Agnes turns to Herb, tells him to stop, and gives a very panicked shake of the head.

Afterwards, Agnes slips back into character and rides off on her bike while Herb seems a little more tired as he shrugs back into his sitcom personality.

We don’t know how much this will linger in Vision, especially with the way the “sitcom” aspect of the episode abruptly ends with no credits or freeze frame. He is being pushed further towards understanding the nature of his surroundings, as he might be the only thing capable of saving everyone.

GERALDINE KNOWS

The final moments of the third episode are the most chilling, where Wanda namedrops her doomed brother Pietro and Geraldine brings up that he died thanks to Ultron. Wanda confronts her over that line and seems to realize that Geraldine is an agent of SWORD. Wanda then wishes her away back to reality (sadly, not in a literal cornfield) and we see that SWORD is heavily monitoring some sort of static dome affecting the reality of Westview.

Read more

Movies

WandaVision Explained: Who is Geraldine?

By Jim Dandy

TV

WandaVision: Will Pietro Maximoff Make an Appearance?

By Kirsten Howard

Ignoring her true identity, as it hasn’t been officially announced on the show as of yet, Geraldine’s attempts to infiltrate Westview have to be seen as admirable. Sitcoms of this style where the main couple has a sci-fi/fantasy secret tend to last long enough for one or two supporting characters to become aware of what’s going on to shake things up. Geraldine comes off as trying to play the game and situate herself as that kind of friend, always somewhat aware of what Wanda is capable of, but not overtly so. Not yet, at least. She is literally a self-insert character and she almost pulls it off.

Mentioning Ultron is her attempt to bring Wanda back down to earth. Wanda’s too far gone at this point for it to work, but at least she lets Geraldine live.

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OTHER TRAILER STUFF

Before we get to the fourth episode, it’s worth revisiting the show’s previous trailers. Most of them are made up of footage from the initial three episodes, some of which are edited to give a different vibe from what’s actually happening (ie. Geraldine stating she doesn’t know who she is). From new footage for later episodes, these moments stick out:

We see what might be Wanda seeing Vision for the first time post-death. He’s in black and white and is greeting her, which is something we didn’t see in the initial episodes. Expect a flashback.

That would probably tie into the surreal shots of Wanda confronting the Mind Stone itself, whatever that signifies.

Vision waking up Agnes as she’s sitting in her car on Halloween. He zaps her awake with a yellow light, suggesting his connection to the Mind Stone. Agnes points out that Vision is dead and wonders if she is too. She also asks if Vision is there to save them. This is worth revisiting as it means she doesn’t recall her moment with Herb and Vision in the third episode. Unless she’s up to something, that is.

Agnes also screws up one of her lines and offers to leave and come back so they can do the scene over again.

On Halloween, a woman is putting up decorations while crying, as if her movements are being forced. Vision notices this.

Wanda mentions that Westview is their home and Vision offers to fight for it. This definitely reads different after watching the episodes. In fact, I’m not even sure Vision is offering to fight on Wanda’s side. It’s just as possible that he’s challenging her.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go watch the “Legends” episodes of the Justice League cartoon and wait patiently for Friday to come.

The post Marvel’s WandaVision Glitches Spell Trouble for MCU Reality appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[crowdvscritic]

round up // OCTOBER 23

It’s official: October is the best weather month of the year for the Midwest. When else can you leave your screen door open and keep the air off while you rewatch Gilmore Girls and Stranger Things? 

This month’s pop culture top 10 is full of new-to-me tricks and treats for your TV, your earbuds, and your bookshelf, including our first major contender for Best Picture, a Turner Classic Movies marathon, and returning TV shows worth keeping up with.

October Crowd-Pleasers

1. Taylor Swift-palooza!

And to think this isn’t even my first Taylor Swift-palooza! As you scroll through an Instagram feed full of Taylor Swift/Travis Kelce couple costumes, let’s not forget what else happened this month: 

On the 13th (natch), Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour hit theaters, and because Swift is a “Mastermind” always “scheming like a criminal” to make us love her and “make it seem effortless,” it’s no surprise this is a home run for fans new or returning to the Eras Tour. Read my full review for ZekeFilm. Crowd: 10/10 // Critic: 9/10

She dropped a live version and remix of “Cruel Summer”

She released 1989 (Taylor’s Version) with six killer new vault tracks

And because I’m me, I finally watched Taylor Swift: The 1989 World Tour - Live (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 7/10) to inform my review of the Eras film, which was a fun blast from the 2015 past

Girl can write a song!

2. Only Murders in the Building Season 3

Three things I did not know I wanted in one of the two shows I keep up with on a weekly basis: Paul Rudd! Meryl Streep! A musical! Selena Gomez, Steve Martin, and Martin Short’s sitcom is still zinging jokes at an impressive rate, and the Agatha Christie murder mystery plotting is still delightfully twisty. Full of both tricks and treats—and more beautiful coats on Gomez!

3. SNL Round Up

As for the other show I keep up with on a weekly basis, we’re back in Studio 8H for season 49! (Side note: IMDb has 954 episodes listed, which means we’re on track for an 1000th episode celebration in season 52!) Since last season was cut short by the Writer’s Strike, it felt like an extra long (or “cruel,” in Tay’s words) summer without our not-ready-for-primetime players. These have been my favorite sketches, bits, and camoes so far this season:  

“Fox NFL Sunday” (4901 with Pete Davidson) - This also would’ve been a valid entry of this month’s Taylor Swift-palooza

“Protective Mom 2” (4902 with Bad Bunny) 

“Biden Halloween Cold Open” (4903 with Nate Bargatze)

“Nate Bargatze Stand-Up Monologue” (4903) - Yes, I am also from the 1900s

“Hallmark Horror” (4903) - Let’s make this movie a reality

“Washington’s Dream” (4903)

“Chef Show” (4903)

4. Death Becomes Her (1992)

Goldie Hawn, Meryl Streep, and Bruce Willis turn Ethan Frome into a zany comedy! Author Hawn and Broadway star Streep are youth-obsessed divas vying for Willis’s affections, but Isabella Rossellini’s promise of eternal beauty makes their rivalry more complicated. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 8/10

5. Good Boundaries and Goodbyes by Lysa Terkeurst (2022)

While the editor in me thinks it could lose 20-30 pages, this book is full of crunchy thoughts and questions about setting healthy boundaries, why we people-please, and what Scripture says about saying goodbye to relationships.

More October Crowd-Pleasers: Dolly Parton: Here I Am (2019) is a solid documentary about a delightful (and enigmatic) country star // Colombiana (2011) is a solid action thriller starring a pre-Guardians Zoe Saldana

October Critic Picks

1. Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

Martin Scorsese’s latest is less about murder and more about the lies we tell ourselves, about talking about both sides of our mouths, and about the discrepancy between our public and private lives. It’s very good (and very 3 ½ hours). Read the full review at ZekeFilm. Crowd: 7/10 // Critic: 10/10

2. Gothic Movies

I have discovered my perfect Halloween film formula: a naive young woman marries a wealthy man with a giant mansion, but plot twist: he might be a murderer! (Also see: Rebecca.) The October Spotlight on Turner Classic Movies was Gothic Movies, and I caught every one of these spooky literary adaptations I hadn’t seen before. Most of them follow some variation of that formula, and many of them star Vincent Price. These were the standouts:

The House of Seven Gables (1940) - George Sanders and Vincent Price war over the family’s cursed home, and Margaret Lindsay’s kind heart is caught in the middle 

Jane Eyre (1943) - Joan Fontaine and Orson Welles star in Charlotte Brontë’s classic

Experiment Perilous (1944) - Hedy Lamarr’s fancy pants husband may be gaslighting her, and only George Brent’s doctor can help her find out

Dragonwyck (1946) - Gene Tierney becomes a governess for wealthy Vincent Price’s daughter, but his mansion has as many secrets as rooms

Secret Beyond the Door… (1947) - Joan Bennett elopes with Michael Redgrave but then discovers his hobby is recreating murder sites in his mansion

The Woman in White (1948) - Eleanor Parker plays two roles as a sister engaged to be married and as a mysterious woman escaped from an asylum in Victorian England

House of Usher (1960) - Vincent Price refuses to let his sister wed or to remodel the family’s riven mansion that would fail every inspector’s test in this Edgar Allan Poe adaptation

Bonus: Many of them qualified as new additions to my Letterboxd list “’40s Gals Just Trying to Live Their Best Lives BUT SOCIETY.” 

3. The In-Laws (1979)

Neurotic dentist Alan Arkin and carefree criminal Peter Falk’s children are getting married this weekend, but first, they’re going to get mixed up in a international espionage hijinks. Falk is just doing comedy Columbo! Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 9/10

4. Do We Get to Win This Time? (2023)

In this eight-episode series on The Big Picture feed, journalist Brian Raftery digs into the history of Vietnam films, including Apocalypse Now, Born on the 4th of July, Coming Home, The Deer Hunter, First Blood, The Green Berets, M*A*S*H, and Platoon. Because of their bleak outlook, these films are not my favorite, but the each episode gives new context to the filmmaking and ‘70s culture. Listen to the series here. 

5. Good Reads

A grab bag of good stuff about tech:

“The Internet Is About to Get Much Worse,” NYTimes.com (2023)

“Blessed Are the Rich, for They Can Afford to Limit Their Kids’ Screen Time,” ChristianityToday.com (2023)

“Streaming Has Reached Its Sad, Predictable Fate,” TheAtlantic.com (2023)

About workplaces at varying levels of functioning:

“To the World, McCarthy’s Exit Is Just Another Example of U.S. Disarray,” NYTimes.com (2023)

“The Magic Number: 32 Hours a Week,” NYTimes.com (2023)

"‘I Just Wasn’t in the Mood to Work.’ American Employees Reinvent the Sick Day,” WSJ.com (2023)

About the movies:

"‘Who wasn’t complicit?’ How Martin Scorsese Won the Trust of the Osage Nation,” TheGuardian.com (2023)

“Dan Harmon Gives Update on ‘Truly Terrifying’ Community Movie,” HollywoodReporter.com (2023)

“Hollywood Reporter Critics Pick the 50 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century (So Far),” HollywoodReporter.com (2023)

“The 100 Greatest Film Books of All Time,” HollywoodReporter.com (2023)

Also in October…

In 2023, we think of the March on Washington as the ideal standard of a peaceful, history-changing protest. At its best, Rustin (Crowd: 7/10 // Critic: 7/10) reminds us that was no guarantee in 1963. Read my full review for ZekeFilm.

Photo credits: Good Boundaries, Do We Get to Win This Time?, Good Reads. All others IMDb.com.