Detective Comics Vol. 1 #441

With only two entirely new stories at the start and end and having everything in the middle be reprints of older stories ranging from the 40s to the 60s, 1974s Detective Comics Vol. 1 #441 is certainly an interesting read. The first story sees Batman take on a criminal named the Judge who puts traps in an abandoned building that the Dark Knight has to go through to find Robin. Reprints from older DC stories, and even from other companies that DC eventually acquired, include Plastic Man solving a murder, two stories wherein Batman investigates murders foreshadowed by paintings, the magical Ibis the Invicible keeping the god of destruction from escaping, an experiment made to try to turn Eclipso good, and an adventure with The Spider. While the last story sees the Paul Kirk II version of Manhunter and Christine St. Clair investigating a terrorist organization in Istanbul. Overall this issue has a good collection of stories that showcase the strengths, and a bit of the weaknesses, of comics from the four decades. The story and writing for them are very imaginative and tells their story well, but also suffer from overuse of exposition. Dialogue can also go for way too long and has a tendency to fill in the artwork, thus keeping the reader from actually seeing what they're saying. As fun as the stories can be, the older they are the more obvious it is that logic wasn't always a key factor to how the stories continue and ended. And that's fine as even without the logic, their writing does keep you invested and entertained throughout. The artwork for all eight stories are pretty good and showcase the evolution of how comics were drawn from the 40s to the 70s. One thing that's consistent for the most part in the four decades is the attention to detail of the characters and locations. Although one thing that the newest stories have over the older ones is that more panels are used to showcase action rather than having things happen off screen and being exposited. But all in all Detective Comics Vol. 1 #441 is a great collection of comic book stories with not a single one being a chore to get through. Over all: 100%

Top list so far for 3rd set of comics:

1. The Complete Peanuts Vol. 15: 1979-1980

2. Daredevil Vol. 1 #170

3. The New Teen Titans Vol. 1 #1

4. Green Arrow Vol. 1 #1

5. Star Wars: Dark Empire #1

6. Deadman: Love After Death #1

7. Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck: The Don Rosa Library Vol. 1

8. Detective Comics Vol. 1 #441

9. Eternals by Jack Kirby: The Complete Collection (Eternals (1976-1978))

10. Hulk Vol. 5 #1

11. Avnegers: War Across Time #1

12. The Yellow Kid

13. Archie and Me #132

14. Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1

15. Action Comics Vol. 1 #674

Revised Overall Ratings of 2023 Films

1. Oppenheimer-100%

2. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse-100%

3. Wonka-100%

4. Godzilla Minus One-100%

5. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem-99%

6. Asteroid City-99%

7. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3-98%

8. Blue Beetle-97%

9. Barbie-97%

10. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One-93%

11. Elemental-92%

12. Air-92%

13. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves-92%

14. Creed III-92%

15. John Wick: Chapter 4-92%

16. Scream VI-91%

17. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes-87%

18. Killers of the Flower Moon-85%

19. M3GAN-84%

20. Dumb Money-84%

21. The Marvels-82%

22. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny-78%

23. Cocaine Bear-74%

24. Knock at the Cabin-72%

25. The Flash-68%

26. The Super Mario Bros. Movie-66%

27. Wish-64%

28. Renfield-64%

29. Fast X-62%

30. The Little Mermaid 2023-62%

31. Shazam! Fury of the Gods-61%

32. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts-59%

33. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania-55%

Wonka

Timothée Chalamet takes over from Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp as Roald Dahl's iconic chocolatier in Wonka. This film sees Chalamet as a young Willy Wonka as he sets out to make his mark in the world with his unique way of making chocolate and candy. Along the way he deals with corrupt policemen, ruthless competition with other chocolate makers, and scamming laundromat owners while making his late mother proud, gains friends from other broken dreamers, and comes upon an annoyed Oompa-Loompa. While the rest of the cast is wonderful, including Hugh Grant as a Loompa, it's Chalamet who excels at playing the magical candy maker. He gives a good combination of Wilder's movement and mannerisms with Depp's oddness and energy while having his own takes on the character. Paul King as a director and cowriter with Simon Farnaby really capture the perfect aspects to what made the original book and the 1971 and 2005 movies so memorable. The whimsical and childlike nature is all there and manages to make the most absurd parts fit really well into this film's world. Especially helped by the production design, cinematography from Chung Chung-hoon, the breathless score by Joby Talbot, and Neil Hannon's songs that are perfectly choreographed by the casts' fun and quick dancing. If there was one movie to end 2023 with then there's no other perfect choice than the wonderful, whimsical, and wholesome Wonka. Over all: 100%

2023 top list so far:

1. Oppenheimer

2. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

3. Wonka

4. Godzilla Minus One

5. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

6. Asteroid City

7. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

8. Blue Beetle

9. Barbie

10. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1

11. Elemental

12. Air

13. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

14. Creed III

15. John Wick: Chapter 4

16. Scream VI

17. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

18. Killers of the Flower Moon

19. M3GAN

20. Dumb Money

21. The Marvels

22. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

23. Cocaine Bear

24. Knock at the Cabin

25. The Flash

26. The Super Mario Bros. Movie

27. Wish

28. Renfield

29. Fast X

30. The Little Mermaid 2023

31. Shazam! Fury of the Gods

32. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

33. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Wish

2023 is the 100th anniversary of Walt Disney Pictures and Wish is the movie that celebrates the studio's centennial. In their latest animated project, Ariana DeBose voices a young girl named Asha who lives in a kingdom whose king grants a wish from one of his subjects once a month with the caveat that all other desires are forgotten by those he hasn't fulfilled. When she is given the chance to be King Magnifico's apprentice Asha learns that he only grants desires that won't risk his rule, including her grandfather's long awaited wish to become a musician. Unable to fight back against Magnifico, Asha's wish towards a shooting star leads to the star to become alive and leads to the two and Asha's friends to rebel against Magnifico who starts to use dark magic when he feels threatened. As Disney is well known for adapting old fairy tale stories, its animation style is a pretty good, though not perfect, combination of traditional and computer generated animation. It gives it a very storybook feel that would often open the early Disney films like Snow White and Pinocchio. One flaw is that some of the movement by the characters at the start does feel a bit stiff, but does improve as it goes. But the designs, look, lighting, color, and backgrounds do look incredibly stunning thanks to cinematographers Rob Dressel and Adolph Lusinsky. The initial story is perfect for celebrating Disney's 100th anniversary, and Jennifer Lee and Allison Moore do a great job at showcasing the studio's legacy through many great references, but it feels very cliche. Magnifico's turn to villainy felt like it needed more time, certain aspects of Asha's journey are a bit bland, and often certain choices the characters make are done just to reference Disney's past. However, Lee and Lusinsky do manage to make the characters likable enough to at least not make them boring and keep them endearing. Normally, Disney animated films excel best with the music, and while Dave Metzger's score is good, sadly the songs from Julia Michaels and Benjamin Rice aren't the strongest. The opening song where Asha welcomes new people to Rosas isn't too strong and Magnifico's villain song is just okay but not highly memorable. The best one is definitely Asha's "This Wish", which gets a reprise with the other cast members, and manages to be highly memorable but also feeling like it needed more. But if there's one thing that you can't take away from this movie are the strong performances from its cast. Alongside DeBose you have Chris Pine having a fun time as a villain, Victor Garber giving a lot of warmth as Asha's grandfather, and Alan Tudyk stealing the movie as Asha's goat. While Wish may not be the best film to celebrate its parent company's centennial, that shouldn't take away from what is a wonderful looking, but very flawed, movie. Over all: 84%

2023 top list so far:

1. Oppenheimer

2. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

3. Godzilla Minus One

4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

5. Asteroid City

6. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

7. Blue Beetle

8. Barbie

9. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1

10. Elemental

11. Air

12. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

13. Creed III

14. John Wick: Chapter 4

15. Scream VI

16. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

17. Killers of the Flower Moon

18. M3GAN

19. Dumb Money

20. The Marvels

21. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

22. Cocaine Bear

23. Knock at the Cabin

24. The Flash

25. The Super Mario Bros. Movie

26. Wish

27. Renfield

28. Fast X

29. The Little Mermaid 2023

30. Shazam! Fury of the Gods

31. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

32. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Eternals by Jack Kirby: The Complete Collection (Eternals (1976-1978))

From 1976 to 1978, Jack Kirby created one of his most epic storylines for Marvel that only lasted for 19 issues and an Annual in 1977, as collected in Eternals by Jack Kirby: The Complete Collection (Eternals (1976-1978)). Initially set outside the mainline Marvel universe, though not made clear in its first few issues and then retconned to be set in the 616 timeline in the Thor comics, the story is an epic tale dealing with the evolution of humanity. Over the course of the series it's revealed that god-like beings known as Celestials experimented on early humans leading to two factions often at war with one another, the human looking but highly evolved Eternals and the monstrous and violent Deviants. In the modern day, the return of the Celestials leads to the two factions to reveal themselves to the humans of Earth as the judgment of Earth is decided. No stranger to highly epic and large scale storytelling like his work on New Gods for DC Comics, Jack Kirby certainly shows incredible range when delving into the history and mythology of the Eternals and Deviants. His writing is so incredibly detailed and meticulous, add to that his iconic artwork, and you get such an unforgettable story. The art style Kirby does alongside John Verpoorten and Mike Royer's ink and Glynis Wein's colors are incredible and really pop out towards the reader. Of course, it is not without its flaws, especially from a comic series that came out throughout the mid to late 70s. Kirby's storytelling, world building, and character developments are all very strong, but a lot of his dialogue can come off as a bit stiff, overly exposited, and often silly. Certain story choices can also feel like coming out of nowhere, such as not immediaetly revealing that it's set in another universe though still having S.H.I.E.L.D., the Eternals and Deviants being revealed through anthropology, and Ikaris fighting a robot version of the Hulk powered by cosmic radiation. As vibrant and wonderful as the artwork is, its biggest flaw often has to be the often over expressive faces that some characters give at the most random times and how stiff some characters look when flying. Eternals by Jack Kirby: The Complete Collection (Eternals (1976-1978)) is a great collection that showcases Jack Kirby's greatest strengths, though some of his smaller weaknesses as well. Over all: 100%

Top list so far for 3rd set of comics:

1. The Complete Peanuts Vol. 15: 1979-1980

2. Daredevil Vol. 1 #170

3. The New Teen Titans Vol. 1 #1

4. Green Arrow Vol. 1 #1

5. Star Wars: Dark Empire #1

6. Deadman: Love After Death #1

7. Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck: The Don Rosa Library Vol. 1

8. Eternals by Jack Kirby: The Complete Collection (Eternals (1976-1978))

9. Hulk Vol. 5 #1

10. Avnegers: War Across Time #1

11. The Yellow Kid

12. Archie and Me #132

13. Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1

14. Action Comics Vol. 1 #674

Godzilla Minus One

You'd think that being around for seventy years and having had nearly forty movies and a few shows, video games, and comic books that the Godzilla franchise would run out of steam and no longer be as great as it once, but Godzilla Minus One proves just how it continues to go and thrive. In this entry, Toho's giant radioactive monster is introduced nearly a decade early from the original 1954 film. The movie mainly focuses on Kōichi Shikishima, a former kamikaze pilot who had an encounter with Godzilla before it was mutated by test nukes. Two years after the war ends, Kōichi witnesses a now giant and mutated Godzilla attacking Japan, where thousands are killed and Kōichi's love interest goes missing. Having grown frustrated by the government's inaction from the attack, he joins a group of scientists and retired military to take down Godzilla. This reboot harkens back to the original film's darker, more horror based roots with its depiction of the iconic monster used as a metaphor towards the nuking of Japan. It also used Godzilla's rampage and Kōichi's trauma to depict the senselessness, violence, and repercussions of war. Takashi Yamazaki manages to modernize a story despite it taking place in the late 40s all thanks to his incredible direction and superb writing. While most human characters in giant monster films tend to be a bit one note and just be there to be killed off, Takashi gives every single one of them a sense of need and urgency so that when Godzilla does attack you do feel for them. The cast, in particular Ryunosuke Kamiki as Kōichi, all give powerful performances, strong enough to keep us caring for them and preventing any annoyance whenever Godzilla isn't onscreen. Biggest strength for a giant monster film is of course the effects and how the monster is portrayed, so the fact that the director of this movie also worked on the visual effects with Kiyoko Shibuya meant that we got not only great destructive visuals but also had an incredible look and design to Godzilla that harkened a bit to being a man in a suit. Add to that, Kōzō Shibasaki's cinematography gives us an incredibly looking movie that is equal parts beautiful and foreboding. Not all giant monster movies need to be just two of them fighting and boring humans trying to survive, and Godzilla Minus One proves that. Over all: 100%

2023 top list so far:

1. Oppenheimer

2. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

3. Godzilla Minus One

4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

5. Asteroid City

6. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

7. Blue Beetle

8. Barbie

9. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1

10. Elemental

11. Air

12. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

13. Creed III

14. John Wick: Chapter 4

15. Scream VI

16. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

17. Killers of the Flower Moon

18. M3GAN

19. Dumb Money

20. The Marvels

21. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

22. Cocaine Bear

23. Knock at the Cabin

24. The Flash

25. The Super Mario Bros. Movie

26. Renfield

27. Fast X

28. The Little Mermaid 2023

29. Shazam! Fury of the Gods

30. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

31. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

Serving as both an adaptation to the Suzanne Collins novel and a prequel to the first four films with Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes looks at the origins of Coriolanus Snow and how he began his rise to power to become President of Panem. Starting out as barely able to afford for his family, Snow is given the chance at greater prosperity when he and other Academy students have to mentor for the chosen tributes in the 10th Hunger Games. In his attempt to win and gain higher status he ends up falling for his tribute, Lucy Gray Baird, while also cheating to gain the upper hand, betraying anyone and everyone, and going to hell and back. Being set over fifty years before the 2012 film, you get to see how different the world of Panem and the Districts are in terms of the technology, the views on the Districts and Games, and how the Tributes were treated and the Game was played. The direction from Francis Lawrence is well done, pretty much the same as the last time he directed for the series 8 years ago. Well done action scenes, combined with the exquisite cinematography of Jo Willems and Mark Yoshikawa's brisk and quick editing, gives us a really good looking movie. While the writing between Michael Lesslie and Michael Arndt is well enough by giving us very rounded characters and a unique take for the series wherein the actual Games only occur in the first half while the second explore's Snow's time as a Peacekeeper and being with Lucy Gray in District 12 culminating in how he makes his way back to Panem. True the story could have been split into two movies where one focuses more on the Games and the second on Snow's rise, and while there are aspects that could have been better executed with more time, for the most part it's done pretty well. What helps are the performances from the cast, but most especially from Tom Blyth as Snow and Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray who share an incredibly strong chemistry that without it would definitely lead to the movie failing. This may not be the strongest film in the series, but The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes does mange to be a strong entry in the franchise regardless. Over all: 100%

2023 top list so far:

1. Oppenheimer

2. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

4. Asteroid City

5. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

6. Blue Beetle

7. Barbie

8. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1

9. Elemental

10. Air

11. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

12. Creed III

13. John Wick: Chapter 4

14. Scream VI

15. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

16. Killers of the Flower Moon

17. M3GAN

18. Dumb Money

19. The Marvels

20. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

21. Cocaine Bear

22. Knock at the Cabin

23. The Flash

24. The Super Mario Bros. Movie

25. Renfield

26. Fast X

27. The Little Mermaid 2023

28. Shazam! Fury of the Gods

29. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

30. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

The Marvels

The Marvels serves as not only a sequel to 2018s Captain Marvel, but also follows up on characters introduced in both WandaVision and Ms. Marvel. After an event causes Carol Danvers, Monica Rambeau, and Kamala Khan to switch places due to their light based powers, the three have to work together to take on Dar-Benn, leader of the Kree who seeks to restore her planet by destroying the ones Carol cares about as a form of revenge. Nia DaCosta, who directs and cowrites with Megan McDonnell and Elissa Karasik, has a great eye for character drama, action, and humor. In terms of story and writing, it isn't that extraordinary for the MCU but manages to tell its story and tropes really well. The only things that don't work is that there isn't more tension towards Carol's actions against the Kree, and when she does admit fault it comes a bit out of nowhere. While also there being not a lot of development for Dar-Benn as an antagonist but Zawe Ashton's performance does keep her from being uninteresting and manages to prove to be a threat. The biggest flaw this movie has is that it feels shorter than it really should and certain things in the S.A.B.E.R. station could have been expanded more. Regardless of those issues, the action and effects are incredibly fun, especially the scenes taking place in Aladna and the final fight against Dar-Benn. Having long distinguished actors like Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, and Teyonah Parris give strong performances isn't surprising, but this being Iman Vellani's feature film debut as Kamala is due to the fact that this and Ms. Marvel are her only acting performances. She absolutely steals the whole film and you can tell how much Vellani loves playing the character, which she grew up reading and now gets to write for, and making her love of Captain Marvel feel so genuine. It sucks that The Marvels underperformed and didn't fair well with most critics as, while it was far from perfect, it was an absolutely fun blast. Over all: 98%

2023 top list so far:

1. Oppenheimer

2. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

4. Asteroid City

5. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

6. Blue Beetle

7. Barbie

8. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1

9. Elemental

10. Air

11. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

12. Creed III

13. John Wick: Chapter 4

14. Scream VI

15. Killers of the Flower Moon

16. M3GAN

17. Dumb Money

18. The Marvels

19. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

20. Cocaine Bear

21. Knock at the Cabin

22. The Flash

23. The Super Mario Bros. Movie

24. Renfield

25. Fast X

26. The Little Mermaid 2023

27. Shazam! Fury of the Gods

28. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

29. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Top 10 2022 TV Moments

1. The events leading to the Iranian Revolution in American Experience.

2. Emmett's wake in Women of the Movement.

3. Andor and the other inmates taking part in an escape in Andor.

4. The struggles Joan Collins went through in her early career on This Is Joan Collins.

5. Morpheus and Hob meeting each other every 100 years in The Sandman.

6. The musical tributes to Julie Andrews's career in the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award: Julie Andrews.

7. The reveal of Halbrand being Sauron in the season finale of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

8. President Zelenskyy on the spirit of Ukrainians when dealing with Russia's invasion in My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman-My Next Guest with David Letterman and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

9. Betty White's daringness to have a black entertainer on her 50s talk show in Celebrating Betty White: America's Golden Girl.

10. The Upside Down invading Hawkins in the season finale of Stranger Things.

Honorable Mentions:

Barry's arrest in the season finale of Barry.

Saul's trial in the finale of Better Call Saul.

Rue's violent breakdown in Euphoria.

Gideon revealing that he and Lucy are in a time loop in the season finale of The Devil's Hour.

The reveal of Jackie freezing to death in the season finale of Yellowjackets.

The ending of Ozark.

Obi-Wan and Vader's duel in the finale of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Trevor's thankful and emotional goodbye on his final episode of the The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.

Putin's Control of the Media and the Truth during the Ukraine War on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

The tribute to the cast members who've passed in Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts.

Jennifer breaking into the real world to complain over her finale in the finale of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.

The Skype conversation between Harry and Grieff at the end of the finale of Inside Man.

Kamala witnessing her family's involvement during the partition of India in Ms. Marvel.

Kevin's drunken stupor from Allison revealing how she feels leading to his death in the finale of Kevin Can F**k Himself.

Jack Russell's transformation into Werewolf by Night in Werewolf by Night.

The Thirteenth Doctor's regeneration in the BBC Centenary special of Doctor Who.

How Native American Children Were Forced to be White in The Amber Ruffin Show.

Jon Stewart inspiring political satire in the Middle East in The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor: Jon Stewart.

Selena being open with her mental health struggles in Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me.

The cast succumbing to AIDS in the finale of American Horror Story: NYC.

Conditions worsening at the hospital in Five Days at Memorial.

Venturing beyond the fourth wall in Rick and Morty.

Obama and his family being threatened from just announcing a presidential run in the premiere of The First Lady.

The farm battle in the season finale of Peacemaker.

Zeke sacrificing himself to save Cal in Manifest.

The bear attack in the season premiere of Documentary Now!.

Richard Pickman's paintings driving people mad in Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities.

A Closer Look on the Right's use of Racist Replacement Theory causing Violence on Late Night with Seth Meyers.

Diana's BBC interview in The Crown.

Finding a satellite full of cannibalistic serial killers in Avenue 5.

A calendar print error leading Steve to file for bankruptcy in Welcome to Chippendales.

The influences that Norman Lear's work has accomplished in his long career in Norman Lear: 100 Years of Music and Laughter.

Homelander lashing out on live television in The Boys.

Topa wanting to be a girl again and the controversy surrounding it in The Orville: New Horizons.

Ismael Cruz's journey from living on the streets when working on Sesame Street to being cast in The Rings of Power on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

Colin Robinson regaining his old memories and personality in the season finale of What We Do in the Shadows.

Dooku's turn to the dark side in Tales of the Jedi.

The origins of the room 13 ghost in Are You Afraid of the Dark?: Ghost Island.

The campers given a small preview of the documentary in the season finale of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.

Anya's Two Danas story in The Midnight Club.

Rejected Supe teens killing their parents in The Boys Presents: Diabolical.

Becky revealed to be Bunny's killer in the season finale of Only Murders in the Building.

Tanya's death in the finale of The White Lotus: Sicily.

Boba killing Cad Bane in the finale of The Book of Boba Fett.

Dexter's death in the season finale of Dexter: New Blood.

Chris accidentally causing Marco's death in the season premiere of The Cleaning Lady.

Pyre losing his faith in the finale of Under the Banner of Heaven.

Detective Davis finding the bodies of replicants in the desert in Blade Runner: Black Lotus.

Robert's manipulation of Jan throughout A Friend of the Family.

The many attentions to detail towards various African cultures that are used for Black Panther in 20/20 Presents Black Panther: In Search of Wakanda.

Eddie learning of his army squad's death in 9-1-1.

The tributes to the James Bond and Godfather films at the 94th Academy Awards.

Jeffrey dragged by zombies into Lake Preston in the season finale of American Horror Stories.

The origins of Steven and Marc in Moon Knight.

The Gemstone siblings finding multiple dead bodies in The Righteous Gemstones.

The lives of those in Bizarro World in Superman & Lois.

Helly revealed to be the daughter of Lumon's CEO in the season finale of Severance.

Mabels family gathering together as she is dying in Reservation Dogs.

Ahmed's kidnapping being a false-flag operation to increase cooperation with Pakistan in Slow Horses.

Lestat's church massacre in the premiere of Interview with the Vampire.

Penelope Cruz on How Her Oscar is a Reminder of Her Father in The Late Late Show with James Corden.

Bruce's story of how he got injured in The Wonder Years 2021.

The tributes to Ukraine at the 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Roosevelt's formation of the Rough Riders in the premiere of Theodore Roosevelt.

Fogg standing up to and exposing Bellamy in the season finale of Around the World in 80 Days.

The ten year time jump at the end of the finale of Stargirl.

How Domee She used her own childhood experience when directing Turning Red on Embrace the Panda: Making Turning Red.

The special screening of The Godfather for Colombo's associates in The Offer.

Principal Clanton being behind the events of A and his motivation in the season finale of Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin.

Rosalind putting Bailey in a trap to get to Nolan in The Rookie.

Jason hearing his family killed over the phone in the finale of Fear the Walking Dead: Dead in the Water.

Molly's joy defeating the Chairman in the season finale of The Ghost and Molly McGee.

Balir and Gina getting caught in a time loop in Tales of the Walking Dead.

Martin's troubling family life in The Simpsons.

How the writers of Better Call Saul still kept tension despite being a prequel in Talking Saul.

Finding Sam and Violet inside a cave and without having aged 15 years in the finale of The Resort.

The serpent revealed to be a wayward whale in the finale of The Essex Serpent.

Percy telling his story and connection to the Briarwoods in The Legend of Vox Machina.

Sam killing Alan in the finale of The Patient.

Martha kept locked up in her hotel room in Gaslit.

The reveal that Goliath was a future version of Harry in Resident Alien.

Hazel taking control of the Hub in the finale of Made for Love.

A radio personality accused of rape being killed live on air in Law & Order: SVU.

Lim's struggles with paralysis after Shaun's surgery in The Good Doctor.

Brian Wilson suffering from mental health problems in American Masters.

The road to reopening Broadway during Covid on Great Performances.

The siblings ending up in a rebuilt universe without their powers in the season finale of The Umbrella Academy.

Reagan letting Staedtler lose his memories and live happily without her in the finale of Inside Job.

Grace and Frankie getting a second chance at life after ending up in heaven in the finale of Grace and Frankie.

The reveal of Gibbs donating money for McGee and Palmer's kids in NCIS.

Rachel dealing with the fallout of Anna's spending in Inventing Anna.

Dahmer's arrest in the premiere of Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.

Pamela agreeing to the sex tape being online under a paywall in the finale of Pam & Tommy.

Ptolemy killing the man who murdered his nephew in the finale of The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey.

The origins of Ms. Chalice in The Cuphead Show!.

The exorcism of Chucky in Chucky.

The reveal of multiple Shlorps being destroyed in Solar Opposites.

The effect of 9/11 on horror films in the finale of Blumhouse's Compendium of Horror.

Madison revealed to be alive in the season finale of Fear the Walking Dead.

How Eleanor became a vampire in Let the Right One In.

Laura and Chrissy's mother-daughter war in Little Demon.

Westhead needing to take over coaching after Jack McKinney's bike accident in Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers.

Joe, Jim, and Bernadette getting caught in a shootout in Dark Winds.

The tribute to Lily Tomlin's career at the 21st AARP Movies for Grownups Awards.

Dilbert/Die Hard sketch in Robot Chicken.

Rebecca's death in This Is Us.

The montage to George Clooney's life and career at the 45th Annual Kennedy Center Honors.

Maya and KG being shunned at school due to having two dads in The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder.

Temuera Morrison on how his Maori ancestry helps him get into the role of Boba in Disney Gallery: The Book of Boba Fett.

Rocky unwilling to do a racist act to sell out in Young Rock.

Tyler revealed to be the monster controlled by Thornhill in the season finale of Wednesday.

Dan's fight and escape from his captor in the premiere of The Old Man.

Dwight killing the man who raped his daughter in Tulsa King.

The discovery of Betty's corpse in the premiere of Candy.

Zog's time in an insane asylum in Disenchantment.

Norman Reedus on the feeling towards the show ending in Talking Dead.

Keene unable to get in contact with the FBI after being put on solitary confinement in the finale of Black Bird.

The three way Law & Order crossover.

The real world being set on a starship in space in 2099 in the finale of 1899.

Nora and Bart's multiple attempts to change the future in The Flash 2014.

How Dutch lost his eye in the season premiere of Sherman's Showcase.

Much of the cast body swapping in the season finale of Big Mouth.

Joanna lying about her cancer returning in the premiere of I Love That for You.

Mr. Big telling his story at his daughter's wedding in Zootopia+.

Stede faking his death to make his wife happy and he go back to pirating in the season finale of Our Flag Means Death.

The discovery of walker variants in The Walking Dead.

Brock revealing he's alive in his own funeral in the season finale of Killing It.

Eloise figuring out Penelope is Lady Whistledown in the season finale of Bridgerton.

Shrub's attempt to burn other scarecrows causing fireworks to go off in the premiere of Welcome to Flatch.

The parodies of HBO shows in Family Guy.

How Dario Argento uses color for Suspiria in The 101 Scariest Horror Movie Moments of All Time.

Jimmy Kimmel and Fallon switching hosting duties for The Tonight Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live! as an April Fools prank.

The reveal of Nathan staying in the museum's attic for two months in the season premiere of Rutherford Falls.

The reveal of Justin irradiating a colleague in The Man Who Fell to Earth.

A solar storm shutting the internet causing a large amount of people to rent DVDs in the finale of Blockbuster.

Cornelia revealed to have syphilis in the finale of The English.

The Lockes using the Timeshift Key to meet Rendell before giving up the keys in the finale of Locke & Key.

The reveal of Amelia being Void Knight and Santaura's alien daughter in the finale of Power Rangers Dino Fury.

The International Creature Convention in Human Resources.

Franklin's troubled relationship with his son who supported the British in the finale of Benjamin Franklin.

Cheryl's attempt to stop a comet's destruction of the town causing everyone to revert to 1955 in the season finale of Riverdale.

Lewbert suing Carly on iCarly 2021.

The many iterations of Buzz's design in Beyond Infinity: Buzz and the Journey to Lightyear.

Fjall's transformation into the first Witcher in The Witcher: Blood Origin.

Liv standing up against the hallucination of her mother in Keep Breathing.

The meticulous production design for Interview with the Vampire in Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire: Behind the Scenes.

Bremer thinking that film extras are mayors from other countries in Mr. Mayor.

Conan O'Brien going undercover at an anti-magic movement in the premiere of Murderville.

The team hosting a Chinese delegation in Space Force.

Pat sent to psychiatric hospital in the season finale of Shining Vale.

The reveal of David Choak responsible for Nathan's death in Upload.

Sheila not going to therapy for her bulimia in Physical.

Joaquin learning his sister is part of a cult in Good Trouble.

The reveal of a rogue faction wanting to revive the Soviet Union in Jack Ryan.

Mary Mack's standup in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Jimmy and Marco's late night Chicago adventure to get to the comic book store in Slippin' Jimmy.

The summoning of Seth in Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again.

Mother regaining her eyes in Raised by Wolves.

Calvin selling his auto shop in The Neighborhood.

The Complete Peanuts Vol. 15: 1979-1980

Collecting all of the daily newspaper comic strips from the first of January 1979 to New Year's Eve 1980, The Complete Peanuts Vol. 15 1979-1980 is a wonderful gift for anyone who's a fan of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the rest of Charles M. Schulz's iconic characters. This run, put together by Fantagraphics Books, gives us the regular recurring bits of the kids playing baseball and losing, Snoopy's World War One aviation adventures, and Charlie tricked by Lucy whenever kicking the football. Alongside the usuals, there are also a few long running storylines that last from either a few days to even a few weeks. These include Charlie being in the hospital with an illness and his friends, even Lucy, worry about him, Snoopy and Woodstcock's scout troops getting lost in the mountains as heavy snow descends on them, and Peppermint Patty dealing with a leaky ceiling in school. The fact that by that point the strips have been running continually since 1950 and that Schulz was the sole writer and artist for them, it's astounding how well it still was. By its 29th and 30th year, the writing was witty, funny, full of tender moments and showed a love for the characters that it's surprising Schulz took another twenty years to retire. Although the artwork for each strip was simple and monochrome, Schulz's style is very distinctive and manages to convey enough to connect with the characters. There's also how distinctly different each character looks to keep you from getting many of them mixed up with one another. The legacy and love of Peanuts is also conveyed by the introduction at the beginning of the collection by Al Roker. As Roker was one of the last people Schulz interviewed before he died in 2000, it only makes sense he'd be one of the many people these collections start with. As The Complete Peanuts Vol. 15: 1979-1980 collects two years worth of comic strips from near the start of the second half of the entire run, it's incredible just how astounding two years can be. Over all: 100%

Top list so far for 3rd set of comics:

1. The Complete Peanuts Vol. 15: 1979-1980

2. Daredevil Vol. 1 #170

3. The New Teen Titans Vol. 1 #1

4. Green Arrow Vol. 1 #1

5. Star Wars: Dark Empire #1

6. Deadman: Love After Death #1

7. Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck: The Don Rosa Library Vol. 1

8. Hulk Vol. 5 #1

9. Avnegers: War Across Time #1

10. The Yellow Kid

11. Archie and Me #132

12. Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1

13. Action Comics Vol. 1 #674

Killers of the Flower Moon

Adapted from the novel of the same name by David Grann, Killers of the Flower Moon is inspired by the real life crimes associated with the murders of Osage tribe members by wealthy businessmen and politicians to obtain their oil rights from the 1910s to the '30s. The main crux of the film deals with war veteran Ernest Burkhart marrying Mollie Kyle, though secretly doing it under his uncle's, rancher and deputy sheriff William King Hale, guidance in order to slowly kill her for the oil inheritance. Martin Scorsese, who directed and cowrote with Eric Roth, collaborates with his two best actors in Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio. This being Scorsese's first Western, it looks absolutely amazing thanks to the production values and Rodrigo Prieto's lush cinematography. The writing for the most part is pretty good, especially in how that and DiCaprio's performance never lets you be sure if Ernest feels genuine remorse for poisoning Mollie. One thing that brings it down a bit is that while the first half presents itself rather well, the second half feels like it's too many short segments and some of the focus is a bit off. And for a movie that's over three hours long that feels rather strange, thus maybe it would have worked slightly better as a miniseries. Regardless, the strongest aspect to this movie is anytime it focuses on the Osage tribe and how its people deal with their traditions, the changes going on, and their feelings towards the murders happening over the decades. Related to that topic, while the performances from De Niro, DiCaprio, and the rest of the cast are all strong, the absolute standout is Lily Gladstone as Mollie. She's able to capture both a sense of vulnerability and strength that showcases her being able to stand toe to toe with the other two. In my opinion there are aspects of Killers of the Flower Moon that would have worked better as a miniseries, but Scorsese still crafts a well done movie that pays great respects to a group of people and terrible events that are rarely spoken about. Over all: 100%

2023 top list so far:

1. Oppenheimer

2. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

4. Asteroid City

5. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

6. Blue Beetle

7. Barbie

8. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1

9. Elemental

10. Air

11. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

12. Creed III

13. John Wick: Chapter 4

14. Scream VI

15. Killers of the Flower Moon

16. M3GAN

17. Dumb Money

18. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

19. Cocaine Bear

20. Knock at the Cabin

21. The Flash

22. The Super Mario Bros. Movie

23. Renfield

24. Fast X

25. The Little Mermaid 2023

26. Shazam! Fury of the Gods

27. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

28. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Dumb Money

One does not have to understand how either the stock market or Wall Street work to enjoy a movie like Dumb Money. The film is about the real life story dealing with the 2021 GameStop stock squeeze and how a bunch of middle class nobodies, the most well known being YouTuber Keith Gill, managed to figure out a trick to the retailer's low stocks that led to it increasing. This leads to several wealthy people who betted on GameStop's stocks getting lower to loose money when it does the opposite, thus doing whatever they can to cheat the system in their favor. Craig Gillespie's direction and the writing from Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo are all strong, but the absolute strongest aspect is the cast and their performances. With Paul Dano leading alongside Shailiene Woodley, Pete Davidson, America Ferrera, and Seth Rogen, everyone involved gives incredibly strong performances. The movie may be a bit confusing when it comes to how stock trading works, but it at least manages to do it in a way that doesn't leave you bored thanks to the fast-paced and witty writing and the cast making the characters feel like they know what they're talking about. Dumb Money may not be about something everyone understands but, nevertheless, is an otherwise entertaining movie. Over all: 100%

2023 top list so far:

1. Oppenheimer

2. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

4. Asteroid City

5. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

6. Blue Beetle

7. Barbie

8. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1

9. Elemental

10. Air

11. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

12. Creed III

13. John Wick: Chapter 4

14. Scream VI

15. M3GAN

16. Dumb Money

17. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

18. Cocaine Bear

19. Knock at the Cabin

20. The Flash

21. The Super Mario Bros. Movie

22. Renfield

23. Fast X

24. The Little Mermaid 2023

25. Shazam! Fury of the Gods

26. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

27. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

The New Teen Titans Vol. 1 #1

1980 saw the return of the DC superhero team Teen Titans after being disbanded two years earlier with The New Teen Titans Vol. 1 #1. While the team still had Robin, Kid-Flash, and Wonder Girl from the previous roster, the new members include Raven, Starfire, Cyborg, and Beast Boy (here briefly called Changeling). The debut issue sees Robin being guided by Raven to form a new Teen Titans team so as to help rescue Starfire from aliens who have imprisoned her. This being the start of the series that would be the inspiration for the 2003 animated Teen Titans series, I can already see how much that shows owes to this roster. Marv Wolfman and George Pérez have such wonderful writing, managing to balance out the drama, big superhero tropes, and chemistry through the good dialogue. Being from its time you do get a lot of expositional dialogue and overdone narration, but between Wolfman and Pérez's writing, the lettering by Ben Oda, and editor Len Wein's work it doesn't get in the way too much. Especially as Pérez serves as the comic's main artist who, alongside inker Romeo Tanghai and colorist Adrienne Roy, all create highly detailed, colorful, and imaginative artwork. Considering this is only five years before Pérez worked on Crisis on Infinite Earths, it's no surprise why DC gave him the job for one of their first epic stories. If The New Teen Titans Vol. 1 #1 is any indication it's that this is the beginning to a fun and wonderful series. Over all: 100%

Top list so far for 3rd set of comics:

1. Daredevil Vol. 1 #170

2. The New Teen Titans Vol. 1 #1

3. Green Arrow Vol. 1 #1

4. Star Wars: Dark Empire #1

5. Deadman: Love After Death #1

6. Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck: The Don Rosa Library Vol. 1

7. Hulk Vol. 5 #1

8. Avnegers: War Across Time #1

9. The Yellow Kid

10. Archie and Me #132

11. Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1

12. Action Comics Vol. 1 #674

Top 10 2022 Film Moments

1. Sidney Poitier's rough childhood during Jim Crow Miami in Sidney.

2. Sammy meeting John Ford at the end of The Fabelmans.

3. Vada's reaction to the news of another school shooting at the end of The Fallout.

4. Amleth and Fjolnir's final volcano battle in The Northman.

5. Jack and Babette meeting atheist nuns in White Noise.

6. Paul fighting then attempting to help a French soldier in All Quiet on the Western Front 2022.

7. Pinocchio choosing to become mortal to save his father in Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio.

8. Nick and Javi's LSD induced adventure in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.

9. Weird Al facing off against Pablo Escobar in Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.

10. The reveal of Landor being behind the murders at the end of The Pale Blue Eye.

Honorable Mentions:

Leonard revealed to be working against all of the mobs in The Outfit.

The reveal of Riddler's real plan in The Batman.

The reveal of what Avalonia actually is in Strange World.

Colm threatening to cut off his fingers if Padraic continues to talk to him in The Banshees of Inisherin.

Tár's breakdown in Tár.

The reveal that Brian's family still haven't gotten the money from the VA at the end of Breaking.

Dewey's death in Scream 2022.

Emily escaping to South America and starting her own credit card fraud ring at the end of Emily the Criminal.

Finney killing The Grabber in The Black Phone.

Charlie admitting to Amy about the murders he committed at the end of The Good Nurse.

The publishing of the article exposing Harvey Weinstein's sexual harassments at the end of She Said.

Olivia having constant doubts about herself in Olivia Rodrigo: Driving Home 2 U.

Mei choosing to keep her Red Panda abilities at the end of Turning Red.

Briggs adopting Lulu at the end of Dog.

The train getting derailed in Bullet Train.

Thomas and Dimitry's drunken intercom exchanges in Triangle of Sadness.

The flashback revealing Helen pretending to be Andi and meeting Blanc to expose Bron in Glass Onion.

Pearl's church chorus audition in Pearl.

The reveal of what's under the house in Barbarian.

Colonel Parker's manipulations of Elvis throughout Elvis 2022.

Namor's origin story in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

Bill Nighy's performance throughout Living.

The musical notes magic fight between two Dr. Stranges in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Evelyn and Joy reconciling at the end of Everything Everywhere All at Once.

Margot figuring out how to escape Slowik's restaurant at the end of The Menu.

Marcel reuniting with her family and giving her grandmother a proper funeral in Marcel the Shell with Shoes On.

Kat confronting her memories and accepting that her parents' death was not her fault in Wendell & Wild.

Otto leaving everything to Marisol at the end of A Man Called Otto.

Stanley telling the story of how he broke his hand in Hustle.

Danni admitting to not being a survivor of the Paris terrorist attacks and the ensuing fallout in Not Okay.

The reveal of Zurg's identity in Lightyear.

Maverick showing the recruits how to execute the mission during training in Top Gun: Maverick.

The Ghost of Christmas Present revealed to have been Ebenezer Scrooge in Spirited.

Manny reminded of his experiences and friends while watching Singin' In the Rain at the end of Babylon.

The motivation behind the murders at the end of See How They Run.

Naru defeating the Predator at the end of Prey.

Michael's death at the end of Halloween Ends.

Ana de Arma's performance as Marilyn Monroe throughout Blonde.

Santa's origins in Violent Night.

Jean Jacket's transformations in Nope.

Jerry pointing out how Tyler's tactics will eventually hurt his friends due to his selfishness in Jerry & Marge Go Large.

The remaining actors escaping from the movie set at the end of The Bubble.

Sweet Pete's animation hybrid transformation in Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers.

Alithea wishing the djinn free due to not being able to handle the modern world at the end of Three Thousand Years of Longing.

Sonic absorbing the powers of the chaos emerald in Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

The reveal of what the retirement home actually does in American Carnage.

Rosaline helping fake Romeo and Juliet's deaths from their families at the end of Rosaline.

Thor giving the kidnapped Asgardian kids powers in Thor: Love and Thunder.

Louis choosing not to know the circumstances of his future death in The Adam Project.

The kingdom opposing the king and queen after learning their war against sea monsters is unjustified at the end of The Sea Beast.

Ben shooting Quentin at the end of Vengeance.

Julia killing Daniel at the end of Watcher.

Howard's death in X 2022.

Maren visiting her mother at a psychiatric hospital in Bones and All.

Bud and Seth helping the Nazarian siblings on a vampire nest hunt in Day Shift.

How Ace ended up in the shelter in DC League of Super-Pets.

Six and Lloyd's final fight at the end of The Gray Man.

Jean threatened by a German spy with ties to the anti-Hitler plot in Operation Mincemeat.

The reveal of Eleanor working against Drea for a past misdeed in Do Revenge.

Neteyam's death in Avatar: The Way of Water.

The reveal of Raju being a part of a resistance movement while working as an Imperial officer in RRR.

Brian letting Charles travel the world at the end of Brian and Charles.

Jon Hamm's performance throughout Confess, Fletch.

Robert Freegard's capture at the end of Rogue Agent.

Blue Beetle

Based on the DC Comics character, though originally created by Fox Comics in 1939 before being bought by Charlton and then DC decades later, Blue Beetle focuses on Jaime Reyes iteration of the superhero. The film sees Jaime being given a blue alien Scarab that bonds with him, turning him into the titular character. While trying to understand how the Scarab works, Jaime gets help from his family and the daughter of the previous Beetle in order to defeat a weapons manufacturer who wants to copy the power of the Scarab into her own army. There's nothing too remarkable in terms of the storytelling as this pretty much follows the standard superhero origin story format. But it not only does it do it well but with the mix of Latin American culture it gives us a wonderful love letter towards people that the superhero genre hasn't widely tackled yet. The direction, set pieces, cinematography, and scoring all aid in giving this movie both its unique touch and wonderful tribute to Mexican and other cultures. What makes the film feel more personal and smaller compared to the previous entries in the DCEU is a good combination of CG and practical effects, especially with the Blue Beetle costume looking so good. However, the strongest aspect to this movie is its cast that mostly involves Latin American actors giving it such authenticity to its story and comic book roots. Xolo Maridueña knocks out from the start and the chemistry he shares with his family, which includes George Lopez, Adriana Barraza, and Damián Alcázar, truly keeps this from being a standard origin story. There's also Maridueña's chemistry between his love interest, played by Bruna Marquezine, and the Scarab itself, voiced by Becky G, that are great highlights towards Jaime's journey. Of course what's a superhero movie without the villains, and while Susan Sarandon and Raoul Max Trjillo play rather average villains the two do give highly memorable performances. Despite Blue Beetle not doing well at the box-office, James Gunn has said that the movie is part of his new DCU which shows just how well done this movie is that it was kept with the change. Over all: 100%

2023 top list so far:

1. Oppenheimer

2. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

4. Asteroid City

5. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

6. Blue Beetle

7. Barbie

8. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1

9. Elemental

10. Air

11. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

12. Creed III

13. John Wick: Chapter 4

14. Scream VI

15. M3GAN

16. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

17. Cocaine Bear

18. Knock at the Cabin

19. The Flash

20. The Super Mario Bros. Movie

21. Renfield

22. Fast X

23. The Little Mermaid 2023

24. Shazam! Fury of the Gods

25. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

26. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania