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Private Notes
This week MovieBob rants about Halo.
This week, MovieBob rants about Captain America.
This week, Bob rants about the abandonment of the Space Shuttle program.
This week, Bob tackles a devil of a retcon.
This week, Bob examines parallel nerds.
This week, Bob takes a bite out of "frankenfood."
This week, Bob examines the insanities of continuity.
This week, Bob looks back at some old Joes.
This week, Bob looks at the really big picture.
This week, Bob looks at the origins of our favorite Amazonian.
This week, Bob uncovers what's really going on, and welcomes our new reptilian overlords.
This week, Bob weighs the pros and cons of playing fair.
This week, Bob looks at what it's like to be "different."
MovieBob answers some of viewers' most frequently asked questions.
MovieBob's got major movie sign.
MovieBob discusses the difference between being politically incorrect and just being a big, fat jerk.
MovieBob fills everyone in on the facts of Clonage/90's era Spiderman.
MovieBob ain't afraid of no ghosts - or cheap looking cartoon imitators.
Hold off on the rage for a second and just listen.
It's movie fans versus gaming fans in the battle over the Uncharted movie.
Captain Marvel, meet Captain Marvel.
There's one Street Fighter you've probably never seen, but really, really should.
MovieBob wonders why people keep buying Madden, and why anyone would want Michael Vick on the cover.
It's a Big Picture buffet!
MovieBob's had just about enough of superheroes for grownups.
You may say the Super Mario Bros. show was embarrassingly cheesy, but MovieBob says otherwise.
Sometimes embracing a double standard is the right thing to do.
MovieBob uncovers the "lost" Super Mario Bros. anime!
How Scott Pilgrim ruined Guillermo del Toro's day.
We have met the enemy, and he is a clown.
With only two weeks left until the movie, MovieBob sheds (mostly green) light on The Green Lantern.
Everything you need to know (and more) about Green Lantern.
A quick look at a lot of bits and pieces.
Adaptations with giant robots and Mexican wrestlers.
MovieBob reveals the long lost TMNT anime.
Learn how Hollywood became Movie Central.
TV arrives to threaten the movie industry.
A long time ago, in a movie studio far, far away...
The Hays Code made movies more "moral".
Superman's better as a swinging bachelor.
The real reason Yogi Bear - and so many other cartoon characters - wears a tie.
Smarter - and more popular.
Are the rose tinted glasses always so bad?
Comics don't really need a reboot, they need commercials.
You shouldn't turn to South Park for life lessons.
Werewolves, boobs, politicians and Marcus Fenix.
Those (not so) pesky feminists.
Kick off Shlocktober with a giant monster fight!
It's not a polite disagreement.
Be vewwwy, vewwy quiet.
You'll never look at your PC the same way again.
You're just one bucket of toxic waste away from greatness.
Hey, science guys, we need you to answer a few questions.
Bob would like to speak to some of you about your behavior.
PETA attacks videogames. MovieBob hits back
And you thought Breaking Dawn was weird.
What happened to Ms. Marvel after that whole baby thing.
An illustration of how VGAs are ruining our image.
The Simpsons isn't bad, you just grew up.
Everyone's favorite TV family is still funny.
MovieBob counts down his favorite flicks from 2011.
You might be surprised what's not on there.
A hodgepodge of gaming discussion.
A movie produced by a real-life supervillain.
Why the Oscar process is "broken".
The word "independent" does not mean what you think it means.
You may as well stop asking about it.
Here's why another Transformers movie is getting made.
The five frequently-requested things I don't know enough about to do shows.
Bob takes on nerd sexism.
Bob opens our eyes on benign racism.
Sometimes the parody is more relevant than the original.
MovieBob answers your intriguing questions.
MovieBob goes into detail about the difference between artists and fans.
MovieBob gives you several ways for the new movie adaptation of TMNT to go wrong.
MovieBob takes you on a journey through 1983's Hercules.
MovieBob takes you down the homestretch of Hercules with part two of the two part series.
MovieBob is looking forward to The Avengers and its influence on film.
MovieBob takes a close look into the upcoming release of Halo 4 and its possible ramifications
MovieBob takes a close look at what it takes to get a character from the comics into the movies.
This week MovieBob takes you on a nostalgia filled trip back to the mid-80's.
MovieBob takes a good look at the Flintstones.
Straight from the town of Bedrock.
MovieBob gives you another reason as to why comics are weird
This week, Moviebob takes a look at Wreck-It Ralph, the Super Mario franchise, and Django Unchained.
Debunking a recurring argument.
MovieBob takes you on a trip with the ghost of Batman past.
MovieBob continues with his journey through Batman movie history.
This time MovieBob takes a good look at Batman Forever and its villains.
Batman & Robin join in on the fun that is MovieBob's Batman retrospective.
That show you like doesn't really exist.
Possible does not mean likely.
Enjoy a spoiler filled look back at The Dark Knight Rises.
Bob shines a light on the Clampetts and their move to California.
MovieBob takes you down the dark path of the Robin.
MovieBob says goodbye to Nintendo Power.
MovieBob delivers a Sucker Punch to your senses
Spoilers abound in this week's finale to Bob's retrospective on Sucker Punch
MovieBob shows us some monsters that have been forgotten.
MovieBob turns his gaze to Freakazoid and his prophetic tales of the internet.
Schlocktober returns, as MovieBob takes a look at that other, less popular King Kong remake.
The greatest love story ever told ... featuring giant gorillas. Also starring Linda Hamilton
Sea World will never be the same again.
MovieBob puts the schlock in Schlocktober with Attack of the Super Monsters.
One last treat for Halloween - the monster-filled Equinox.
MovieBob gives us the facts when it comes to the racial implications of Cloud Atlas.
With Disney acquiring Lucasfilm what could the consequences be?
MovieBob shows us what could be the next Twilight.
In this installment MovieBob shows us the creation of Supergirl.
MovieBob takes us further down the rabbit hole that is the Supergirl mythos.
MovieBob ends his Supergirl retrospective on a futuristic note.
How many frames per second does it take to anger critics?
MovieBob gives us a Christmas present with the best movies of 2012.
See which movies MovieBob branded as the worst films of 2012.
MovieBob takes us into the controversy surrounding issue 700 of The Amazing Spiderman
MovieBob gives us his opinion on Quentin Tarantino and race in this.
MovieBob ponders if The Hobbit is longer than it needed to be.
MovieBob give us some insight concerning the choice of J.J. Abrams to direct the next film in the Star Wars franchise.
Watch to find out just how much television has perverted videogames.
MovieBob takes an in-depth look into the early days of co-opting videogame culture.
Maybe we could use a break from Batman.
MovieBob shows us the consequences of the new Star Wars movie.
MovieBob takes us back to the decade people love to hate.
No, no - different kind of trolls.
Our critic explains how The Critic was a litmus test for a decade.
MovieBob takes you to the streets of Boston in this special PAX East episode.
The 90s held so much promise for the comics industry then not so much.
Follow Bob down the convoluted memory lane that is comic books.
MovieBob takes us further down the rabbit hole that is Miracle Man.
MovieBob gives us a spoiler filled look into the ins and outs of BioShock Infinite
MovieBob gives us the first five out of ten movies, or series, that deserve a reboot.
MovieBob returns to pick up where he left of last week and to bring you the top five reboots.
Massive spoilers concerning Iron Man 3 ahead so consider yourself warned.
MovieBob takes you inside J.J. Abrams and his magic box.
MovieBob speculates on the upcoming television show spun-off from The Avengers.
MovieBob takes us back to the 90's for some regretful uses of irony.
MovieBob hops into the kiddie pool this week.
MovieBob takes us behind the cape with a look at Superman and his movies.
MovieBob gives us a spoiler laden look into the latest Superman movie Man of Steel.
MovieBob takes us to the streets with his take on Street Sharks.
MovieBob calls for a new Geek Culture.
MovieBob wants you to support original movies like Pacific Rim this summer!
MovieBob takes a long look at what exactly caused The Lone Ranger's failure.
MovieBob tells us what movies to look forward to in the near future.
MovieBob gives us further proof that cartoons are, most definitely, weird.
MovieBob takes us back to the dawn of the nerd.
MovieBob takes us into one of his favorite television shows.
MovieBob gives us several good reasons to re-think our idea of the "Booth Babe".
MovieBob gives us the ins and outs of the new Batman and his alter ego Ben Affleck.
This week MovieBob takes us into the ten best movies of this summer.
MovieBob gives us a spoiler laden glimpse as to why Man of Steel was a letdown
MovieBob gives us an in depth look at the possibility of Justin Bieber being the boy wonder.
MovieBob gives us an honest and interesting look in on Hiroshi Yamauchi's influence on gaming and popular culture.
Schlocktober returns with Puppet Master and its sequels.
With Schlocktober upon us once again we take a good long look at The Walking Dead and one of its zombie predecessors from Hong Kong.
Dead Heat mixes 80s buddy cop movies with zombies.
MovieBob gives everyone a reason to fear a haunted tree stump.
MovieBob gets colorful in the final installment of Schlocktober 2013.
This week MovieBob critiques modern criticism, starting with Ender's Game.
MovieBob gives us a spoiler filled look into Thor: The Dark World.
This week MovieBob takes us into the four Marvel series making their way to Netflix.
Welcome to a spoiler filled episode about the latest installment of Family Guy.
MovieBob takes on the gender stereotyping our society dabbles in.
MovieBob weighs in on the upcoming Amazing Spider-Man movie.
MovieBob takes us through the copyright issues with Youtube.
MovieBob gives us a list of his ten favorite movies of 2013. Be prepared for some surprises.
We saw MovieBob's best of 2013 so now enjoy the list you really wanted to see of the worst films of the past year.
MovieBob takes on Shia LaBeouf, Family Guy and Man of Steel 2.
MovieBob addresses some of the rumors around the new upcoming Stars Wars trilogy.
Moviebob discusses the Bechdel Test.
Think you know all there is to know about Satan?
Bob continues his analysis of Satan in popular media
MovieBob lays down the law on why the original Robocop is still a fantastic film.
The original Robocop spawned a lot of weird copycats.
MovieBob takes a close look at the Guardians of the Galaxy trailer.
After checking out the latest Godzilla trailer, MovieBob feels he just isn't as excited as he should be.
Bob takes a look at the new Annie musical, and the history of the franchise.
MovieBob takes a look at the controversy surrounding Darren Aronofsky's upcoming Noah.
After seeing the teaser trailer for Assassin's Creed: Unity, MovieBob takes a broader look at The French Revolution and The Scarlet Pimpernel.
MovieBob looks at the overuse of "Destiny" as a plot point in recent superhero movies.
MovieBob details why the Star Wars prequel is actually the best example of a "Destiny" story.
MovieBob breaks down all the Marvel movies from worst to best.
MovieBob fires up the time machine to take a look at some of the lesser-known cartoon/toy tie-ins from the 80's.
MovieBob takes a look at one of Spider-Man's iconic characters - and her unfortunate destiny throughout the series.
MovieBob thinks we're in to a really rough lead up to the new Star Wars films - and it's because of JJ Abrams.
MovieBob is a tad confused over the reaction over the announcement of a new Power Rangers movie.
Bob may not have enjoyed Godzilla, but still hopes to see more blockbusters that at least try to be as energetic, unique and joyful as Godzilla.
Bob goes into the history behind the creation of She-Hulk.
MovieBob addresses the rumors about Wonder Woman's possible outfit in the upcoming Batman v. Superman film.
Get a good look at what good and bad may come from E3 2014.
E3 2014 is over, and MovieBob takes a look at one particularly interesting announcement from Nintendo.
MovieBob talks about "The Golden Lagoon," the most thematically bizarre episode of the original Transformers cartoon.
MovieBob doesn't think Michael Bay is the problem.
Bob explains his feelings on director Kevin Smith.
MovieBob continues his examination of Kevin Smith's film career.
The epic conclusion to MovieBob's review of Kevin Smith's career.
MovieBob looks back at San Diego Comic-Con 2014.
As with most Marvel films these days, there's usually a post-credits stinger that hints at more things to come. Guardians of the Galaxy did things a little differently. Obviously, there will be spoilers.
MovieBob takes a gander at what he feels was the right way to bring the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to the silver screen.
Well, you asked for it - MovieBob breaks down what exactly the infamous Howard the Duck film was all about.
For his 200th episode, MovieBob takes a look at the (in)famous DC Comics series that killed off one of the most iconic heroes (albeit temporarily).
MovieBob takes a look at how DC Comics followed the death of Superman with an even more convoluted story line.
MovieBob takes a look at Cutie Honey, the 2004 live action adaptation of a long-running manga series. It's... something else.
Overanalysis of movies, tv, video games, comics, etc, can be a problem, but that doesn't mean we should avoid taking a closer look at the games, movies, tv shows and comics that we love.
In advance of Schlocktober 2014, MovieBob takes apart Tusk, and why it's not that great of a "bad" horror movie.
Schlocktober returns! MovieBob starts off his month-long look at some of the best cheesiest/obscure movies of days gone by with The X From Outer Space, one of the first movies to try and cash in on Godzilla's success.
Schlocktober continues with Nightbreed, a fantasy horror film that bombed in its day but explored some interesting themes.
This is the movie that Tusk tried to be, mutant sheep and all.
This South Korean fantasy action film is something you have to see to believe
I don't think I'll be eating turkey any time soon...
MovieBob feels that it's time for the gaming community to get over the infamous Jack Thompson.
What is and isn't censorship is often misunderstood.
Bob talks about the fantastically weird and darkly hilarious viral short from Adult Swim.
This habit of major film studios breaking films into different parts has some ups and downs.
Real dinosaurs aren't exactly like the kind we see in Jurassic Park, and that's kind of a bummer.
Is Target censoring Grand Theft Auto?
So there might be a new Mario movie in the works.
What were the best movies in 2014?
What were the worst movies of 2014?
Bob finishes up his list of the worst movies of 2014.
Super-serious episode time.
How many super hero movies are too many?
Will Secret Wars break the Marvel Universe's functional charm?
Folks are imprinting importance on American Sniper.
Nintendo shouldn't be scared to make another live-action series And Goodbye To MovieBob's Big Picture.
The Oscars want to give blockbuster hits a new award for Achievement in Popular Film. But does it make the problem it's meant to solve even worse?
Everyone has a theory on how the X-Men will come to the Marvel Cinematic Universe - but is everyone overthinking it?
The Internet is arguing about the right way to criticize movies - and the problem is more complicated than you think.
Cavill out - or is he? Superman movies over - Supergirl movies on? What's happening in the chaos of the DCEU?
You had questions. Bob has answers.
Schlocktober comes home with a movie about small horrors that, somehow, isn't small enough.
Schlocktober 2018 goes back to when nothing was scarier than Mom & Dad.
Peter Weller confronts a homeowner’s worst nightmare and (literally) brings down the house.
Schlocktober 2018 goes way, way back to reveal the unforgettable secret at the center of 1953's infamous cult classic THE MAZE!
Schlocktober 2018 concludes with what some have called "the bloodiest action movie ever made".
Diablo fans are raising hell about a mobile spin-off - but is the Blizzcon meltdown also the latest version of a dark new trend in fan-rage?
The Marvel Cinematic Universe almost started 30 years early... in the weirdest sci-fi/superhero/disco/fantasy/rock-musical never made.
Stan Lee is gone and Bill Maher is wrong about it.
The internet is broken, and we need to learn the right way to be wrong again.
Galaxy of Adventures suggests that Disney looks 'Star Wars' and other properties very differently than most fans we assuming they did.
Into The Spiderverse's fan-favorite breakout star is already getting a spinoff, but some fans are still not sold on this controversial reimagining of a beloved Marvel character.
Did a director really give away the big secret behind Marvel Studios' action scenes?
Bob looks back on over the first year of the reborn Escapist and challenges of covering silly things in serious times.
The Big Picture looks ahead to 2019.
Going for the easy laugh is harder than it looks.
Is Bumblebee a prequel, reboot or something else - and whatever it is what comes next for the Transformers movies?
The Harry Potter prequels are terrible - are they really going to make us watch five more of them?
Marvel's 'Black Panther' is now the first superhero movie ever to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Does it have a real chance to win - and if it does, should it? If the Oscars are about celebrating not what Academy voters' liked but what truly brings audiences together (and truly represents what the Hollywood film industry is best a producing); why should The Academy ignore the movies' most popular genres... and the biggest, most diverse audiences?
Why people are calling the box-office bomb 'Serenity' an early contender for the worst movie of the year - but also the most ridiculous plot-twist ever? [SPOILER WARNING!]
Why we do what we do.
This weekend 'Black Panther' becomes the first superhero movie to compete for Best Picture at the Academy Awards - but should other heroes have been in the mix, too?
In which dumb Tweets about 'Ghostbusters' teach us a valuable lesson. Sort of. Or maybe not.
Where did Marvel's first female-led superhero blockbuster come from - and why are some people so upset about her?
How one of The Lego Movie 2's biggest plot-twist tries to take apart one of modern fiction's most enduring genre cliches.
One of Star Wars' silliest lore details came back to life in 'Solo' - Where did it come from, and does it prove that letting The Expanded Universe go was the right call?
Why do so many movies borrow Indiana Jones' best joke?
A brief background on the history behind the exciting new family superhero blockbuster from Warner Bros.
The Joker movie promises a radical new take, so why does it already look so familiar?
Sure, why not? Let's talk about that new 'Star Wars' trailer.
The MCU Story to this point ends this week... sort of. What can the world look forward to afterwards?
A giant-size dive into the MAJOR SPOILERS of 'Avengers: Endgame' - and what they mean for the known future of The MCU.
Netflix's reboot of 'She-Ra' upended the MOTU franchise with something totally unexpected - a bad guy who knows what he's doing.
SPOILER WARNING: The new 'Spider-Man' trailer had 'Endgame' feels and a big new reveals... or did it?
So that happened.
Godzilla has always been a metaphor – in fact, he’s been several of them. But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t also supposed to be FUN.
There’s a new Batman and people are taking it about as well as they always do.
Is ‘Godzilla: King of The Monsters’ the most misunderstood blockbuster of 2019?
Check out the strangest Godzilla cartoon ever produced!
How did a fantasy romantic-comedy about The Beatles turn divisive among top critics?
Despite sounding on paper like a project that was plotted out by throwing armloads of Funko Pop figures down a flight of stairs and marking off plot points based on which characters landed where, Stranger Things turned out to be a strong series with real heart, solid drama, and terrific young cast. But inevitably the deeper discourse ends up focused on the same thing the marketing does: All that highly marketable nostalgic goodness — and whether or not modern media spends too much time living in the past.
We’re doing things twice weekly now, so get ready for things to get obscure once in a while: Forty years ago last week, a notorious radio station stunt turned a Chicago baseball game into a war zone that left American popular music fandom with an ugly memory for decades — and that some say helped change the course of pop culture history for the worse. That event was known as the “Disco Demolition riots.” But did badly behaved fans get too much of the attention for a bigger social phenomenon… and is the same mistake of focus happening today?
This is The Big Picture with MovieBob, talking about the future of Marvel Studios and the Marvel Cinematic Universe ahead of San Diego Comic-Con 2019 this weekend.
Marvel Studios’ 2019 San Diego Comic-Con presentation for their Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 4 yielded many major announcements and a few big surprises. However, there was no bigger surprise than Natalie Portman taking the stage as director Taika Waititi confirmed that she’ll be returning to the role of Jane Foster in the Thor franchise for the recently announced fourth installment, Thor: Love & Thunder.
The last time the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise shook up its team dynamic with a female turtle, the result was Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation‘s Venus De Milo — an infamously ill-received character on what’s widely considered one of the lowest points of the property. But now they’re taking another shot at the idea, this time in the pages of the critically-praised IDW TMNT comics from fan-favorite creator Sophie Campbell.
The still-successful CW “Arrowverse” series are gearing up for a miniseries adaptation of Crisis on Infinite Earths, rumored to reshape its broadcast continuity and encompass other DC shows and films beyond its own network. Could this be Warner Bros and DC’s “house cleaning” plan for wiping unsuccessful ventures like the so-called “Snyderverse” off the timeline for an official fresh start?
DC’s infamous Crisis on Infinite Earths miniseries gets its first live-action adaptation as part of the CW superhero TV lineup this season. And some think it will, like the comic, serve as an opportunity to “reboot” the DCEU brand itself. But did the original Crisis ever actually solve anything?
Quentin Tarantino’s new movie set in the waning days of the Hollywood movie industry’s tumultuous late-’60s transitional period mixes fact, fiction, original characters, and real historical figures to tell a story that starts out familiar but ends up… somewhere else. And while some have praised the perpetually controversial filmmaker’s approach to the material, others have raised objections to playing fast and loose with the facts.
The Walt Disney Company announces its big new Disney+ streaming bundle — and like a lot of other so-called deals, it sounds a lot like the old cable model it’s supposed to be replacing. Is entertainment getting more streamlined, or just adding more steps — and what are you actually getting from jumping through all these new hoops?
The movie studio behind The Hunt said they pulled their topical twist on “The Most Dangerous Game” from the release schedule to be sensitive toward recent gun violence tragedies. But to many it looked more like they were intimidated by Fox News editorials and angry tweets from President Trump. Is this censorship — or just stupid? And what were people so upset about in the first place?
When tragic real-world violence happens without rhyme or reason, video games always seem to be among the first scapegoats. How many more times will we have this same argument? Does it ever actually get us anywhere? Is it because people are looking for an easy answer… or is it because the real answers are easy to see — but hard to face?
Kevin Smith is re-launching the 1980s Masters of the Universe brand as an anime limited-series for Netflix continuing the “unresolved story” of the original 1980s He-Man cartoon. But what exactly does “unresolved story” mean here — and does it have something to do with Netflix’s also-continuing She-Ra reboot?
Amazon’s The Boys gives the infamously naughty but uneven comics a streamlined story upgrade and some surprising empathy. So why does much of its humor (and its take on superhero satire) feel so out of date?
The Escapist’s Bob Chipman weighs in with a theory on the shocking reveals from the D23 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker footage — and the state of the Star Wars / Disney hype machine.
Film critic and Big Picture host Bob Chipman has a big theory about the still-secret overarching storyline that will connect the next phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies — including tragic twists, surprise heel-turns, and maybe even the setups for the next “Avengers Trilogy”!
The early reviews for Joker have already set off Best Picture Oscar chatter… but also a firestorm of debate over whether it’s “irresponsible” to release a film that seems to sympathize with a disillusioned loner who turns to violence out of anger at society after a year of real-world violence. Film critic Bob Chipman breaks down the news — and the controversy.
Marvel Studios recently announced at D23 that She-Hulk, Ms. Marvel, and Moon Knight would become the first Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) characters whose stories would begin with series debuting on the Disney+ streaming service before they joined their fellow Marvel superheroes on the big screen. Just who are these long-awaited fan-favorite characters — and why are so many so excited to see them finally coming to life?
The Eternals was a dense and confounding cosmic saga that many considered too far-out even by Jack Kirby standards, and whose most well-known Marvel Universe connections like the Celestials and Thanos (long story) other MCU movies have already borrowed. Shang-Chi had a martial arts comic whose main gimmick (the presence of iconic pulp villain Dr. Fu Manchu) the movie can’t use — and whose replacement, the Mandarin, is a problematic fixture who was already a punchline in Iron Man 3. So why are these two franchises at the forefront of Phase 4? Bob Chipman thinks he knows… and it has something to do with which magic tokens the heroes will hunt for this time around.
In defiance of every obstacle you could throw in front of it, Netflix and The Jim Henson Company‘s The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance prequel series is one of the most incredible things to film or TV in 2019. It’s a marvel of production design, a miracle of technical filmmaking, a triumph of tone-blurring, genre-defying dark fantasy storytelling, and maybe the best “nostalgia revival” work Generation X has yet been gifted. To the degree that anything can be, it’s as close to perfect as something like this can get.
You may have thought the 14-film Air Bud franchise (No, really — they made 14 of those. Look it up!) owned the entire “There’s no rule that says [animal] can’t play [sport]!” genre, but in 2013 China and Korea teamed up to prove you wrong with Mr. Go, possibly the definitive “What if a gorilla played Korean Major League Baseball?” epic of the modern era.
Sylvester Stallone brings his iconic John J. Rambo back to screens for what’s promised to be one last mission this weekend in Rambo: Last Blood, but the constantly reinvented (and always controversial) action hero has been counted out a few times before. Film critic Bob Chipman takes a look back at how one of action cinema’s most vulnerable and human antiheroes morphed into a politically charged symbolic superhuman, accidental self-caricature, and strange, fearsome specter haunting the graveyard of ’80s popular culture.
Plenty of games, movies, TV shows, comics, books, and even songs get accused of being “propaganda” for one thing or another — but the real history of propaganda in pop culture is weirder and more surprising than you ever imagined. What do the Soviet Union, creative writing workshops, Jackson Pollock paintings, and the CIA have to do with each other?
Previously, The Big Picture spotlighted the bizarre modern history of art and entertainment as (often unwitting) propaganda tools of political war. But surely we’re all too savvy for that kind of thing to still go on today… aren’t we?
Supposedly, people are “on edge” about the release of the new movie Joker… but is this really the kind of film that sets off a social stir, or is it all just part of the hype?
This week take everything you know about evolution, prehistory, paleontology, and proper spelling and smack it in the face with a power shovel with 1960’s infamously goofy unfrozen fossil romp Dinosaurus!
After divided responses from critics and media hype about “dangerous” content, Joker is a big hit at the box office. And now its fans, filmmakers, and even some political pundits are claiming that there’s more to this latest retelling of the Batman movie mythos than violence and comic book references. So what does Joker actually have to say? Is Todd Phillips’ killer-clown crime caper truly “about” anything?
This week, Schlocktober travels way, way east and way, way weird to bring back a seldom-seen 1978 Taiwanese action/adventure/witchcraft/monster/fairytale/romance, War of the Wizards, about a humble fisherman who finds a magic wishing bowl that makes him rich but loses it when the sexy ninja sisters he marries turn out to be thieves enslaved to a shape-shifting witch queen who seeks the bowl for herself. This in turn forces him on a quest with a giant bird to earn special fighting skills and a magic sword from a mountain wizard to defeat the witch and save his brides… You know, that old story.
From macabre comic strip to iconic sitcom to blockbuster comedy movies to endless TV, cartoon, and live-theater reboots, The Addams Family has held up a dark satirical mirror to the American Dream. But as that dream changed, so did they — in radical and often revealing ways.
Once upon a time in 1964, the co-creator of Doom Patrol and the original Guardians of the Galaxy and the voice of Speed Racer’s father teamed up to make The Flesh Eaters, one of the first “gore movies” (with a title that would eventually force George Romero to change the name of his zombie project to Night of the Living Dead), which was also bankrolled by one of their wives having won big on a game show. How is it? Not as interesting as that story — but still pretty cool!
Martin Scorsese versus the Marvel Cinematic Universe is possibly the dumbest pop culture controversy of 2019 — and it also obscures a bunch of real, more important related issues in the entertainment business that get lost in the shouting. But sure, let’s argue about it anyway…
Nearly a decade before Schlocktober (or The Big Picture!) existed, in the dark days when MST3K was winding down and DVD was only just beginning, the prehistoric age of Internet Bad Movie Fandom fell in love with a low-budget horror comedy, turning “that one with the killer snowman” into a cult classic and Jack Frost himself into the last original horror icon of the straight-to-video era… and yes, we said killer snowman.
Legendary science fiction writer Theodore Sturgeon is today perhaps remembered for an off-the-cuff debate retort turned arch-pragmatist life advice that has become known as Sturgeon’s Law: “90% of everything is crap!” And he would know — because in addition to authoring some of sci-fi’s most widely read stories, classic episodes of The Twilight Zone, and core aspects of the Star Trek canon, he was also responsible for inspiring this infamously bewildering 1974 TV horror film about a possessed bulldozer, Killdozer!. No, you didn’t read that wrong.
Post-WWII pop culture has often used comedy, fantasy, and absurdity to not only demystify but try to “figure out” the horrors of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. But in depicting Der Fuhrer as the cartoonishly goofy imaginary friend of a naive German 10-year-old, Jojo Rabbit may actually strike closest to the truth of how, under the bluster and military bravado, Nazism’s foundations were much more absurd, childish, and… well, kind of nerdy (in a bad way) than history wants to remember.
Nicolas Cage comes from modern Hollywood royalty, has an Academy Award, works constantly, and gave some of the most memorable performances in the biggest movies of the late 20th century — so why does pop culture treat him like a joke?
Whether or not it’s high praise, Terminator: Dark Fate is the best film in this franchise since the original two films. Box office numbers don’t tell the whole story on this film’s quality. There are deeper factors to consider.
The “Martin Scorsese versus Marvel” feud apparently won’t go away — partly because The Irishman director can’t seem to stop doubling down on it. In some ways, the controversy has kickstarted an overdue conversation about media saturation in the Disney era — but film critic Bob Chipman says that making it about what is and isn’t “real cinema” gets in the way.
For almost three years since the slow-motion train wreck of the Justice League movie, a vocal and often extreme sub-fandom’s demands to see a hypothetical alternate-edit nicknamed “The Snyder Cut” have been a disruptive presence amidst a culture space (and studio production slate) that’s otherwise been eager to move on. But with signs that some version of “The Cut” might be made available, what impact can it have… and what exactly is supposed to be so different about it?
The latest reboot of Charlie’s Angels disappointed at the box office and led director/co-star Elizabeth Banks to stir debate over sharp distinctions between her action film made by and for women and features like Captain Marvel or Wonder Woman that starred women but were connected to supposedly male-targeted franchises. But what’s less debatable (but more interesting) is that, success or not, the film represented the latest volley in a new, emerging blockbuster aesthetic that’s selling a “female gaze” for female beauty to a mainstream female audience.
Bob’s feeling sick this week, but not too sick to be thankful for his fans and the opportunities he has received.
Warner Bros wants to make the next Superman movie more relevant for the 21st Century – but what does that even mean anymore?
Marvel Studios’ first teaser for Black Widow has finally been released, bringing with it dozens of new questions about the first MCU “prequel” feature since Captain Marvel. These questions mostly take the form of… who the heck are all of these people?
The first Disney+ Star Wars original series, The Mandalorian, has finally arrived. When first announced, many feared that the nostalgia, lore, and “Easter egg”-heavy series would be a step backwards for the franchise… Film and TV critic Bob Chipman says that it kind of is — but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Wonder Woman 1984 and Ghostbusters: Afterlife both have brand new trailers, both trading on heavy nostalgia for the 1980s and the year 1984 specifically — but are either of them reaching back in time to say anything other than, “Remember this?”
Clint Eastwood’s new movie about the 1996 Atlanta Olympics bombing, Richard Jewell, is selling itself as a true story of an ordinary man wrongfully accused by the media and FBI — but in an ironic twist, the film itself is now being accused of making wrongful accusations of its own. Film critic Bob Chipman explains what happened and gives his take on the developing controversy.
One of ’90s nostalgia’s most obscure (at least in the West) relics is suddenly back and bigger than ever! Bob Chipman explains the improbable rebirth of Gridman — or, as you might remember it, Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker‘s reviews are already some of the most divisive of any Star Wars movie. Here’s film critic Bob Chipman on polarization, the state of pop culture discourse, and how the Star Wars franchise is still more like pizza than anything else. This is a SPOILER-FREE discussion of The Rise of Skywalker.
SPOILER WARNING: The Escapist’s resident film critic Bob Chipman digs into the biggest reveals and plot twists of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker — and tells you what he thinks the state of the franchise is now that the new trilogy has concluded.
Bob Chipman counts down his top ten movies of 2019 in part one of two in this special episode of The Big Picture.
Film critic and Big Picture host Bob Chipman is back with Part 2 of his top 10 movies of 2019.
Some movies just helped to define the decade. They weren’t necessarily the best, but they were unmistakably… movies of the 2010s.
Big Picture host Bob Chipman has 10 bold predictions for the future of the MCU.
The X-Men are finally coming to the MCU… in some form, at some point. No one knows how, and no one at Marvel or Disney is telling — but Escapist film critic and Bob Chipman is back with 10 bold predictions about how and when it might all come together.
Todd Phillips’ Joker was a big hit, has millions of fans, and is now nominated for several Academy Awards… so why does it keep acting like everyone is picking on it?
The CW’s Crisis on Infinite Earths unified its DC TV series into one universe and made basically every other DC production… ever (?) canon — sort of. But did it also officially wipe out Zack Snyder’s DCEU for good?
Film critic Bob Chipman breaks down his most anticipated movies of the upcoming 2020 schedule.
Let Bob Chipman and The Escapist introduce you to the bootleg Korean live-action Dragon Ball movie you didn’t know you couldn’t live without.
Planters Peanuts thought a bizarrely dark social media joke over Mr. Peanut would make their Super Bowl LIV commercial the talk of the Big Game… and then real life suddenly made joking about celebrity deaths a lot less nutty.
t took long enough, but Disney and Marvel have officially announced Captain Marvel 2 is underway and fans are already scrambling to guess what could be next for Brie Larson’s cosmic superheroine. But why do so many people seem to think the sequel (and the long wait for it it?) might have something to do with the still-unannounced MCU X-Men reboot? Film critic and Big Picture host Bob Chipman explains — or at least tries to.
Before you see Birds of Prey in theaters, let Escapist film critic and Big Picture host Bob Chipman expl… well, attempt to explain the somewhat convoluted and thrown-together history of DC’s unique vigilante team.
What used to be the cautionary tale of the superhero multimedia business is suddenly piling up Oscar nominations, box office hits, critical praise, and TV accolades. How did the once-struggling DC Extended Universe turn itself around without simply copying the Marvel formula?
The Sonic the Hedgehog movie is finally upon us — whether we want it or not. Let The Big Picture take you back through the myriad Sonic adaptations that have gone before…
On the eve of the release of Sonic the Hedgehog, The Big Picture looks back at the 10 best films based on classic games… which no longer have nearly as many embarrassing asterisks as they used to — honest!
It’s not just Hollywood screens that are dominated by video game hedgehogs and motion-capture dogs — the whole world of cinema wants in on the bizarre CGI animal craze. For instance, Hong Kong brought us Meow.
Today’s Big Picture happens to fall on Bob Chipman’s birthday, so he’s just sort of going with whatever feels fun for this one.
Warner Bros. and AT&T apparently dismissed the longtime co-publisher of DC Comics, Dan DiDio, in the middle of the preparations for the long-planned reveal of a dramatic reshaping of the company’s brand identity and entire universe of classic superheroes. What was supposed to happen? Is it still going to? And what was the new initiative known as “5G?”
Has our resident film critic been too hard on the Sonic the Hedgehog movie? Here are at least five things he found to like about it — positive energy!
The Big Picture (with special guest vocals!) looks back on Mega Man: Upon a Star — one of the strangest relics of ’90s video games and ’90s anime that many fans have never heard of!
And just like that, we’ve now got our best look yet at Robert Pattinson’s new suit for The Batman and our first look at the new Batmobile! Is this… actually news? Not really — but The Big Picture will find a way to make a show out of it anyway!
Now we know Christian Bale is the bad guy in the next (last?) Thor movie, Thor: Love and Thunder, but does that really narrow down whom he could be playing? Here’s a set of best guesses.
Disney and Pixar’s Onward featured a new character whose existence is a big step for the company and pop culture, but instead of headline-generating controversy, it drew annoyance from both sides — how did that happen?
The Big Picture explains the rumor hype around a possible Marvel movie/TV project based on “Squadron Supreme” — and also whatever the hell Squadron Supreme is.
With folks stuck inside all over due to coronavirus and possibly already running out of distractions, Bob Chipman recommends these nice lengthy streaming binges.
Back before the Oscars, Saturday Night Live‘s “Weekend Update” skewered Joker and other big nominees with a parody song about how many of them shared a theme described as “white male rage.” Months later, some dedicated Joker fans are not only still mad about this; they’re calling it an offensive political dismissal. What’s behind the backlash — and is anyone actually saying anything interesting?
The world of cult cinema lost an icon this week in Stuart Gordon. If you’re not familiar with his one-of-a-kind catalog, now is the perfect time to fix that.
DC Comics sent Bruce Wayne and friends back to high school in a new alternate-timeline graphic novel aimed at YA readers called Gotham High — and sent the internet into a fit in the process. Bob Chipman is here to say: Chill out.
In these difficult and sometimes scary times, Big Picture host Bob Chipman wants to let fans know that the show has a future, that they’re part of it, and that we’ll get through this together.
If you’re passing the time in social distance by binge-watching pop culture backlogs and need to keep your watchlists organized, you could do worse than to tuck into the deep catalog of Japan’s own Takashi Miike — whose screen credits are over 100 titles deep covering every, and we do mean every — conceivable genre. Bob Chipman introduces you to modern movie-making’s most prolific provocateur in a special DOUBLE-LENGTH episode!
In 1978, Marvel Comics and Toei Inc. made a short-term licensing deal resulting in one season of a weird Japanese Spider-Man TV show you might have heard of. What you may not have heard is how that series inadvertently shaped a television legacy in two countries that’s lasted for 30 years and counting.
With much of the world still on lockdown amid a frightening pandemic, a different kind of viral phenomenon — the sudden popularity of an old clip of opening night audiences cheering the climactic battle from Avengers: Endgame — seemed to come out of nowhere and momentarily lift thousands of peoples’ spirits. What is it about these big, silly movies that keeps bringing the world together… even in the worst of times?
Big Picture host Bob Chipman has seen the new Peacock streaming network’s teasers for its big reboot shows… and he’s finally starting to feel like an old man.
Star Wars fans are buzzing about rumors of actress Rosario Dawson bringing fan-favorite character Ahsoka Tano to Season 2 of The Mandalorian — but what’s the big deal, and what does it have to do with the finales of two animated series and the future of the whole franchise?
San Diego Comic-Con 2020 is the latest major yearly event to be canceled by the global COVID-19 pandemic. And while the loss of a pop culture party is hardly the most important thing next to human life and global disruption, this seemingly “just for fun” event is set to have a huge impact on the worlds of media, entertainment, and economics.
One of the most controversial horror films ever made is getting a video game sequel almost 40 years later — what could go wrong with a Cannibal Holocaust video game?
Ireland had its own Power Rangers?! The Big Picture digs up the history of Saban Entertainment‘s biggest (and strangest?) forgotten project of the ’90s, Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog.
A decade later, the infamous Twilight Saga is making a surprise comeback this fall. The Big Picture looks back on how that all went the first time.
Once upon a time in the ’70s, Sanrio, the people behind Hello Kitty, decided it was going to take over the global animated movie business from Walt Disney. This is the story of how they blew it.
New cult-hit horror film Blood Quantum is a landmark moment for indigenous actors and has big ideas on its mind — but it’s definitely not homework.
Rick and Morty came roaring back last week for the second half of season 4 with an episode all about being tired of going “meta.” Or maybe not being “meta” enough. It’s not always easy to tell — but The Big Picture will try!
Dreamworks and Netflix’s critically acclaimed 21st century reboot of the 1980s He-Man spin-off wrapped up its five-season run with an emotionally charged ending that left no doubt its iconic heroine will never be the same, delivered on a catharsis many fans had been hoping for since the story began. She-Ra took a bold step forward for the kinds of stories – and storytelling – that can play out in family animation. The Big Picture breaks down WITH HUGE SPOILERS what the big deal was and what it means.
After almost three years of mystery, conflicting rumors, and angry social media discourse, a version of Justice League reworked by original director Zack Snyder is actually coming together — a genuine “Snyder Cut.” But with some of the “release” campaign having gotten so divisive, not everyone is happy to see it get seemingly “rewarded.” Should that matter? The Big Picture looks at what happens now for the strange story of the hard-luck superhero team-up.
Marvel Studios' "WANDAVISION" is a hit on Disney Plus with audiences and critics alike, unexpectedly becoming the best-reviewed MCU production according to Rotten Tomatoes calculation in its first week of release thanks in no small part to its unsettling, quasi-surreal storytelling device and aesthetic conceit that had some critics drawing comparisons - but some others pushing back - to the work of the great surrealist filmmaker David Lynch; best known for genre-bending, often disturbing features like "BLUE VELVET" and the cult-classic TV series "TWIN PEAKS." And wouldn't you know it? Mr. Lynch also just got done celebrating his 75th birthday this week! So let's take this (slightly belated - it's been a big week...) opportunity to wish Big Dave a happy one and take a quick primer both on the filmography of one of modern cinema's true visionaries and also answer whether or not there's REALLY any comparing his bizarre output to a silly superhero sitcom about a witch and a robot.
The Big Picture's host has a Big Mood about Big Monsters reacting to the trailer for "GODZILLA VS KONG" and the (still) questionable potential of actually being able to watch this and the rest of Warner Bros' 2021 slate the right way - on the big screen, as it becomes safe again - now that AT&T has forced the studio to fall on its sword to prop up HBO/MAX. To lighten the mood, we also take a look back at how an American giant-gorilla and a Japanese atomic-dinosaur being hypothetical monster movie heavyweight rivals became a "thing" in the first place.
A short BIG PICTURE on some small odds and ends in prep for (hopefully!) a week with some surprises in store - including some classic game commercials, "MORTAL KOMBAT" musings and talk of Denzel Washington's latest but certainly not greatest.
With the (possibly?) game-changing and (definitely!) surprising reveal at the end of the 5th episode of the hit Disney+ streaming series "WandaVision, longtime Marvel movie fans are more convinced than ever that they're seeing the beginning of reality-reshaping shenanigans that could set the stage for bigger, more bizarre MCU stories to come (which is really saying something after "WandaVision") but also the long-expected continuity-shifts that could bring the heroes and villains of the X-Men series into the picture. Why does that matter? Why wouldn't it have been possible before? Why would is it possible now and why would it be indicated by a guest spot on a mind-bending sitcom-satire? As it turns out, that's a story that takes... a bit of time to explain. And the attempt to do so begins HERE.
PREVIOUSLY: In the wake of a (possibly?) game-changing and (definitely!) surprising reveal at the end of the 5th episode of the hit Disney+ streaming series "WandaVision, we looked at why longtime Marvel movie fans were now more convinced than ever that they're seeing the beginning of reality-reshaping shenanigans that could bring the heroes and villains of the X-Men series into the Marvel Cinematic Universe - and looked back on the complicated history of why that's considered such a big deal, so difficult to make happen in the first place and why this (of all things) is thought to suggest it. Now, in PART II: A breakdown of which forces (ALLEGEDLY!) aligned behind the scenes at early-2000s Marvel Inc. to turn a pair of secondary X-Men/Avengers characters into the unlikely center of a complex corporate custody battle, the stubborn machinations that made it all even worse and the absurd "Plan B" that turned two Marvel Publishing franchises into incomprehensible mush for almost a decade and almost scuttled the MCU in total just as it was taking off.
With apologies for the delay (Note to self: Let's NOT try to guess at the movie-target storyline of new television and old comic books at the same time just because they're nominally related - SIGNIFICANTLY more work than it looks like upfront!) let's tie a bow off on this VERY lengthy and examination of how one of "WandaVision's" most attention-getting plot twists wasn't just a big moment for longtime fans but also a major turning of the page (one way or another) in a decade-plus of absurdly convoluted behind-the-scenes media-industry melodrama that may (finally?) be sorting itself out in real time. As with PART II, this whole "story" is scattershot by nature, so there's another (shorter this time) recap in play upfront AND I've segregated the "WandaVision story speculation" with actualy Episode 7 'Big Spoiler' business (and Episode 8/9 "Big Guesses") to the very end after all the "weird comics history" stuff so no one avoid that needs to feel totally left out. As such the BULK of the episode's main section is laying out the aftermath of what happened after the "Inhumans become the new X-Men so the MCU doesn't need Mutants" (alleged) retool fell apart at Marvel Publishing and took a bunch of the old corporate structure with it; along with what that does/doesn't look like going forward and some "Bigger Picture" (ahem) commentary on what this says about where we put our focus on these kinds of stories. Also there's a BUNCH of "random weird trivia suggested by "WandaVision" speculation" in there that kept getting pushed ahead by having to make this longer, too, so... have fun with that!
YUP! One more "WandaVision" episode - didn't plan for that (in fact, planned against it) but things got in the way and you work with what you've got and in the midst of typing up some fill-ins for hammering the "MutantVision" trilogy into a single upload sans-recaps because folks requested that we basically ended up with a whole other episode worth of content and waste not want not - though since last week some busy-ness around the house kept a full upload from happening altogether we're gonna try to make this week a twofer plus some Reviews and Classics AND still get that combo-episode up - but after that, I think we'll move on from the Maximoff Family for awhile unless Marvel decides we don't get to (or if a proper "series review" feels like enough of a separate thing people want?) This is more of an overview of the aftermath, as the popular-culture processes the finale of the series that (maybe?) got to end up as the Western World's last MASSIVE pandemic-lockdown era collective experience - the meta-on-meta Season Finale to a year of binge-watching and mandatory safe-space nostalgia TV filling the void of blockbuster entertainment. So of course it almost HAD to be a project about blockbuster movie characters LITERALLY locking themselves up in a psychokinetic Snuggie of small-screen comfort viewing and forcing themselves to confront the realization that the world around them is suffocating as a result. A decidedly bonkers mash-up of Marvel action, existential drama, media satire, sitcom archaeology, Karen-on-Karen witchcraft violence and some genuine introspection on behalf of the Marvel/Disney on the subject of what it means to be the top-reseller of bygone American Dreams that so easily become nightmares when unattained.
Marvel Studios' "THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER" looks ready to do for audience expectations of politically-charged content and connections to dark real-world American history on Disney-Plus what "WANDAVISION" did for metafiction... but why is so much of the feedback loop (and so much of the "coverage?") STILL skipping right over the most compelling material in favor of Mystery Boxes and "X-MEN" egg-hunts?
THE BIG PICTURE offers an overview of the kaiju genre's undisputed First Lady and still one of the most unique and often underappreciated fixtures in the giant monster canon: "MOTHRA," the movie monster that breaks every rule of what the genre is supposed to be.
THE BIG PICTURE looks ahead at the penultimate episodes of "THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER," specifically speculation about a "surprise Marvel character" making their debut. PLUS! Special potential-spoiler free section upfront for those keeping 100% unspoiled featuring the truly bizarre origin of "The Power Broker!"
THE BIG PICTURE looks back at one of the dumbest (yet most fascinating and, in retrospect, prophetic) internet movie-rumor phenomenons of the early-2000s; along with a (SPOILER-FREE) quick reaction to whether or not we "called it" on the penultimate "FALCON & THE WINTER SOLDIER" big reveals.
The Big Picture addresses some recent schedule matters, talks the near-term future plans for the channel and hits on some recent news items.
The Big Picture looks at the state of a world trying to be a world again, and how we balance the need to see "normal" again with the new understanding of how different "normal" has been defined for so many of us. Also, some "PURGE" and "RICK & MORTY" jokes.
Well, okay then! After several years of almost kinda hoping they'd just drip-feed this one in gradually so we wouldn't actually have to try and make sense of this all at once... let's FINALLY try and explain the who, what and why (are we supposed to care, exactly?) about "THE ETERNALS!" Find out what happened when Jack Kirby went back to Marvel for a second round but just couldn't let "The New Gods" go, how Marvel couldn't figure out what to do with them and what some are calling the most confounding movie trailer of the year might actually be trying to tell us.
PART II of what *MIGHT* be the most convoluted "Comics Are Weird!" episode we've ever undertaken (and, regrettably, the most delay-plagued of recent; which was externally affected but still no excuse); as we continue our attempt to untangle exactly what the HELL Jack Kirby's "ETERNALS" was ever supposed to be and - having explained, for the most part, what he was going for in the first place in PART I - now find ourselves tracking what Marvel made of the bizarre mythos he left them when the series ended unfinished and he'd once more moved on. What DID follow? Adventures with THE MIGHTY THOR, deeply-confounding integrations with THE AVENGERS, a key role in the still-controversial crossover that ended THE ULTRAVERSE (and created a 7th Infinity Stone!) a reboot from Neil Gaiman(!), an absurdly dark "ending" (that didn't take) multiple even darker origins for *The Planet Earth*, "Caveman Avengers," plant-baby messiahs and retconned origins for Thanos, Apocalypse, The Kree, Skrulls, several versions of Kang and some X-MEN stuff we barely even have time to touch on... and I'm STILL going to follow this up with a look ahead at WHY they might have decided this needed to be a movie and what it might mean for the future of this entire enterprise!
In this (now...) THIRD of what started as an attempt to explain both the preposterously complex internal (re: "canonical") and external (re: "publishing business") history of Marvel's "THE ETERNALS," its coming feature film and morphed via time and necessity into a four-part arc of both that and a round of speculation into the future of Marvel Cinematic Universe filmmaking potentially following it inspired by the initial question "Why 'THE ETERNALS' in the first place?" Which, here, necessitates a brief digression into the business of the American film industry, Disney/Marvel-Studios in particular, why the "Marvel Movies" are how they are (and why it keeps working for them) in order to plot out a realistic understanding of what might actually be done with all these things now that they've been brought out of the box. Enjoy!
The (significantly!) longer and more complicated than anticipated "Attempting To Explain 'THE ETERNALS' Ahead Of That Movie" feature now finally closes-out with the lengthiest and (perhaps inevitably?) least ETERNALS-heay part of itself; mostly because the longer it took to produce the longer it had to get: A summation of the first three parts, applying all of the other "Where did this come from and why?" overview material to the various known component-parts of the other upcoming Marvel Studios movies and series for a set of a projections about where that all might... "go," at some point. Not so much "What do I want to see"/"think we'll see"/etc; rather "Based on what happened so far and what's happening right now; here's what stands the best chance of happening next" (or, yes, "aka Bob adapts his research notes into a whole other episode again," I guess ????♀️)
An episode about the 1996 film "SPACE JAM," as is discourse mandated by the timing of the release of its sequel; "SPACE JAM: A NEW LEGACY" in this the year of 2021. Let it be done.
Kevin Smith and Netflix handed in 6 episodes worth of Gen-X action figure fanservice AND somehow made a good cartoon out of it... and The Internet STILL found a way to get mad about it.
So I guess there was a new trailer for something?
And here we go! Now that Marvel's "SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS" is a certified blockbuster and folks have had a chance to check it out; here's a dive into ten SPOILER-HEAVY observations, questions and "huh"-moments from the official brand-new start of Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase 4 ????
Schlocktober 2021 Begins (a day or two later than I wanted - sorry!) with a special PLUS-SIZE episode about a special plus-size snake courtesy of Joseph Lai, Betty Chan and "The Ed Wood of Asia": Hong Kong madman Godrey Ho! What do a young girl and her pet snake, a super-science box that embiggens anything you put inside, an extremely vague top-secret government program, Southeast Asia's most ambitious expat-American(?) regional crimeboss and Ted Fast: The Special Agent who ALWAYS works alone have to do with one another? ...it's not exactly clear, but it ALMOST adds up to one of the giant monster genre's most tonally-inconsistent entries ever produced - right down to one of the most jarring "Where is this coming from!?" mood-shift finales your ever likely to accidentally stumble upon in something with "Gigantic Serpent" in its title.
Schlocktober 2021 continues with an episode featuring a film series I've been angling to get into the run for years and now found the time and context for - the strange saga of "THE APE-WOMAN," aka "The Universal Monster" you've probably never heard of. When one of the slimiest Mad Doctors in the Universal Horrors canon (John "Sure, I've Got Time!" Carradine) surgically swaps human and ape glands - and some brain matter for good measure - just to see if he can, he transforms a wild female circus gorilla into Paula Dupree, "The Ape-Woman" (Acquanetta); who looks like an "Exotic" (uh-oh...) bombshell but can exercise psychic control over other jungle creatures. This makes her an instant celebrity at the local circus - until her crush on a human lion-tamer unleashes her "wild side" with star-crossed tragedy results that gave the series two sequels - and maybe the most problematic monster-morph in movie history (don't believe me? Watch the show!)
Before it was the name for one of the dumbest political memes of 2021 (which is saying something, sadly!) "CYBER NINJA" was the name (in American video stores, at least) of the uniquely offbeat 'Edo-Punk' sci-fi/action movie that helped Japanese TV design and directing icon Keita Amemiya breakout as a big screen name. Journey back to a simpler time when something this strange could simply "show up" unannounced and blow the minds of unsuspecting rental customers with just a catchy cover and the word "NINJA!" in the title.
Sadly, the final episode of "SCHLOCKTOBER 2021" will not make it's Halloween deadline in order to provide the best possible quality final product. In light of this, please enjoy a selection of clips from features that were considered for the series this year but did not QUITE make the cut - always next year, though, and stay tuned for more
Was our Halloween programming supposed to stretch into November? It was not. Do we plan to make a habit out of it? We do not. Are we going to make our awkward scheduling worth your while by giving you the first of TWO full-length episodes covering two of the strangest scifi/horror/action/fantasy features of late-1980s Hong Kong had to offer in Lam Ngai Kai's infamous live-action adaptations of the "SPIRIT WARRIOR" manga/anime franchise? ...YES! The director behind "THE STORY OF RICKY" and "THE SEVENTH CURSE" throws Doctor Strange, Ghostbusters, Lethal Weapon and a snapshot of vintage late-80s Hong Kong excess into a blender and dumps the results all over someone's rough idea of a live-action manga rework about mismatched Buddhist exorcists trying to keep The Devil's precocious daughter from unleashing Hell on Earth - while everyone from cannibal witches to possessed dinosaur puppets to Gordon Liu have other ideas.
Was our Halloween programming supposed to stretch into November? It was not. Do we plan to make a habit out of it? We do not. Are we going to (continue!) making our awkward scheduling worth your while by giving you the second of TWO full-length episodes covering two of the strangest scifi/horror/action/fantasy features of late-1980s Hong Kong had to offer in Lam Ngai Kai's infamous live-action adaptations of the "SPIRIT WARRIOR" manga/anime franchise? ...YES!
Marvel's "ETERNALS" was supposed to be the MCU feature that won over the cinephile set while risking turning off general audiences. Instead, the exact opposite happened - the box-office was as strong as ever and Marvel fans stayed onboard but this time critics said "nope." Did everyone fail to read the room, or does everyone have a skewed vision of what "film critic" means in the 21st Century? We're back to brack this down.
It used to be people had trouble letting actors move on from genre roles that made them famous in beloved series. Now we demand they stay in parts they hated even when the properties were total failures in the vague hope we can cybermob them back to life. What about when the performers themselves keep telling us they just don't WANT TO? Because, seriously - people are being WEIRD about not letting Ben Affleck just... NOT be Batman anymore.
The Big Picture is back tackling three pop-controversies too stupid (and too close together) to ignore - no matter how badly we'd prefer to.
Yes, because we have to
Here it is, belatedly - my Top Ten of 2021
"THE BATMAN" has a lot of new takes on the well-worn superhero genre - one of which seems to be that it's not really sold on its own main subject. So why won't it full commit to that premise?
Between meltdown at The Oscars an inter-company revolt over a hate-filled Republican bill in Florida; it's been a chaotic few weeks for media companies trying to control their own narratives - but especially Disney.
In which we take a longer-than-usual, mostly-unscripted interlude to discuss candidly why the "FLASH"/"FLASHPOINT"/DCEU episode of the "THE BIG PICTURE" is taking it's sweet time to complete and also to work out the bugs with some new audio/video equipment. The first part works out better than the second
[SPOILER WARNING FOR... EVERYTHING, HONESTLY?] It feels like I've been producing content about things that might be playing out in the Marvel Movies leading up to and out of this new "DOCTOR STRANGE" sequel for almost five years now... and it's because thanks to pandemic delays I pretty much have; and as many of you have graciously noted: Yeah, I did pretty good this time But in lieu of spending an ENTIRE weekend congratulating myself on getting (let's face it, though) a lot of this stuff right over what now feels like an artificially-inflated (and for the worst possible reasons!) length of time; I I thought the most constructive thing I could gift to viewers was to go back through the LAST most exhaustive "What do I think?" installment (the LONG "What Are The Eternals?" multi-parter) and spin out some updates on where THAT all stands - and ALSO plug some work that I've been happy to be part of on the same front elsewhere that I happen to be proud of as well
Hooray! We didn't go anywhere! Find out why we didn't but also why you didn't see new content for a short while, why you're about to see new(ish) and actual-new content again (short answer: "Me Dumb") and some thoughtful/angry verbal spew on why it's taken so goddamn long to produce ONE already-promised episode about ONE thoroughly inconsequential topic
What's the difference between this channel and Warner Bros Discovery? When we say we're going to release content, it actually comes out! ...given the choice, I'd probably take their money, too - but hopefully you all appreciate the consistency at least In any case, SOMETHING resembling a MUCH too long ago promised episode about the state of the ever-evolving yet somehow still not as imperiled as many other projects "FLASH" movie is now here in the form of my final word (at least for a little while, I hope, under the circumstances...) on the absurd spectacle surrounding the DCEU, Ezra Miller and now most recent the disgraceful treatment of the "BATGIRL" movie, its star and crew by reality TV czar turned WBD CEO David Zaslav. Enjoy!
Did I WANT to be doing "Rings of Power" content before even getting a chance to watch the show? Not really, no. Does the discourse sort of DEMAND that everyone be doing so? Pretty much. Do I have things to say on it? ...kind of, yeah.
