Avengers: Endgame Review

Eleven Years And Twenty-One Films

Eleven years and twenty-one films all come to a head in Avengers: Endgame. Does the movie live up to they hype? To a degree, yes, but it is far from a perfect film.

No spoilers ahead unless you’ve missed some of the previous films.

This film picks up a few weeks after the events of Avengers: Infinity War and we see the surviving Avengers set off on a mission to reclaim the Infinity Gauntlet from Thanos. Instead, they find that the gauntlet has been destroyed along with all of the Infinity Stones.

Refusing to give up on their lost friends and half of the rest of the world’s population, the gang regroups when they discover that Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) wasn’t snapped away as they all believed, but was actually trapped in the Quantum Realm the entire time. For him it’s only been five hours, but for the rest of the Avengers it has been five years.

With a new game plan in motion, the group splits up and heads into the past in order to collect the Infinity Stones before they were claimed by Thanos. Thanos learns of their plan and, as any decent villain would do, puts his own scheme into action to stop the Avengers and all life itself once and for all.

The film is pretty good. It’s inferior to Infinity War in my opinion and in all honesty is a bit top heavy with characters. A lot of time is spent dwelling on the depression of some characters coping with the loss of so many people and the failure of the group as a whole. While I understand why these moments were in the film, I believe that they could have been wrapped up a lot faster. Also, with a run time of over three hours, I found my mind wandering in the first hour of the film.

Once our heroes start seeking out the Infinity Stones, the movie goes into fan service mode by replaying certain scenes from some of the other films while our heroes attempt to acquire the stones. It makes for some rather nostalgic moments.

There are a few moments in this film that attempt to grab at your heart, but much like with Infinity War, it’s not like the audience wasn’t expecting certain characters to die or make some huge sacrifice. I will admit that one scene (and it wasn’t a depressing scene) really caught me. It was an iconic moment in the film and something that I’ve been waiting for ever since it was hinted at in a previous Avengers film. That moment alone was worth sitting through quite a few dull moments in the film.

The film’s cast did great jobs all around with one exception. Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel felt forced into the film. Much like in her own movie, Larson’s acting was stiff and she didn’t seem to gel very well with the rest of the cast. There’s a particularly awkward interaction between her and Tom Holland’s Spider-Man that was played for laughs, but Larson was extremely rigid in the scene. The best performances of the film went to Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye/Ronin, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, and Chris Evans as Captain America. These three characters showed more development and range in this film than most of the other characters have in the entire MCU run of films. Renner was especially great as a broken man with no reason to live. He reminded me of Val Kilmer’s Doc Holliday from the classic western Tombstone. He had nothing to lose and was deadlier for it.

With such a crowded field of characters, only a few others were allowed to shine. Robert Downey, Jr.’s Iron Man (obviously) got a lot of screen time as did Chris Hemsworth’s Thor. Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk was reduced to comic relief throughout most of the film and didn’t really have any epic moments that I recall. The rest of the Avengers did well despite having limited roles.

Alan Silvestri handled the music for the film and, as always, proved that the film’s score was just as important as any character. He made the obvious tear-jerking moments better and the heroic moments event greater.

The movie’s CGI was hit-and-miss. Once again it was pretty obvious that Thanos and many of the other characters were rendered instead of people in suits. While it didn’t necessarily distract from the film overall, I always mention the CGI because so many people brag on it in Marvel films. Seriously, folks, the CGI could be better.

I know that I’m in the minority when it comes to this film. It was very good and definitely worth watching, but it could have been shaved down a bit or, instead of shaving it down, more attention could have been given to other characters in exchange for dropping some of the depressing scenes.

Thanks for reading my review. Let me know what you think in the comments.

“Chewie, We’re Home.”

A Long Time Ago….

As a kid I was blown away by the Star Wars films. Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Darth Vader, and so many more of these characters captivated me. One character in particular had a very strong emotional effect on me. That character was Chewbacca the Wookiee and he was played by the gentle giant, Peter Mayhew.

Unlike most of the characters in the franchise, Chewbacca couldn’t use words to show emotion. Sure, he was speaking Shyriiwook, a language native to Chewie’s home planet of Kashyyyk, but no one in the movie going audience could understand him. That’s where Peter Mayhew shined despite being confined to a giant fur suit.

Mayhew breathed life into Chewbacca as no one else could have done. Each head movement, roar, eye widening, and shrug told the audience exactly how Chewie felt in the films. We felt his pain when his greatest friend, Han Solo, was encased in carbonite and he roared out in agony. We also felt his joy when he was reunited with his friend in Return of the Jedi. We also understood his mixed feelings of anger and sadness after seeing Han murdered by Kylo Ren. Mayhew was a master of the physical delivery, and it made me very sad when I heard that he passed away on April 30th.

Forever tied to Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Chewbacca was a fan favorite on the screen and Peter Mayhew was a fan favorite off of the screen. He attended numerous conventions across the world and happily signed autographs and took photos with fans. He did this despite having severe issues with his knees. I was fortunate enough to briefly meet him a few years ago in New Orleans at a Wizard World event. I got an autograph and a photo with him.

I’ve reached the age where a number of my heroes from childhood have started to pass away. I used to never cry when celebrities passed, but the loss of performers such as Mayhew, Leonard Nimoy, Carrie Fisher, and Robin Williams have all hit me very hard. Thankfully they will all continue to live on in the work that they left behind.

Thanks for reading my post. Let me know your own thoughts on the loss of Peter Mayhew in the comments section.

Mr. Mayhew, may the Force be with you.

Sorry, Gang!

Where The Heck Have I Been????

I’ve been missing in action for a little while now and I just wanted to drop in to say that I’m sorry for not making any recent posts. I’ve been battling writer’s block and a few other more personal issues that have kept me away from my blog. I have been doing things but I’ve lost my writing spark.

Doom Patrol is still blowing my mind. I didn’t give a weekly update for the last three episodes, but they are just as brilliant and bizarre as every other episode that I’ve watched. New characters such as the Beard Hunter and a mysterious woman that the Chief fell in love with have been introduced, and we’ve taken a deep dive into Jane’s head in one of my favorite episodes. I may or may not go back and review these episodes, but I promise to pick up where I left off with the new episodes soon.

In other DC related news, Swamp Thing was given a release date of May 31st and a trailer was released as well. This series looks great and I hope that it does well. Rumors ran rampant for a bit when it was learned that production was cut short on the series, but fans of DC Universe know that they did something similar with Titans when they decided to end that show’s first season one episode shy of the actual number of episodes shot. I also received information from a trusted insider that Swamp Thing was cut short due to creative changes in the series and not over some type of crisis that is rumored on the web.

With some of the more hectic things that have been going on in my life, I’ve been rewatching classic shows on Netflix. One of my favorites is That 70’s Show. I forgot just how funny that series was when it was first released. I missed out on the last couple of seasons, but I’m all caught up now.

I plan on seeing Avengers: Endgame this weekend. I have already secured my tickets and I guarantee that I’ll be giving a review of the film next week. I want to see how well Marvel and Disney tie up this franchise’s latest phase and am really interested in seeing how well the next phase performs considering the fact that Marvel is using more and more lesser known heroes (at least to the general movie-going audience).

Oh, and one last thing. I recently discovered an Ollie’s Bargain Outlet in a small town north of where I live. I drove to that particular town on a whim over the weekend and was blown away at the awesome graphic novel and comic omnibus section that this place had considering how small the town is where the store is located. I plan on making this store part of my regular monthly stops from here on out!

Well, that’s all for now. I promise that I’ll post more frequently once I get the old writer’s block cleared. You might get a few less than stellar posts for awhile, so please be patient with me.

As always, thanks for reading my post. Stay in touch!


CyPhaCon 2019

Lake Charles, LA

CyPhaCon kicked off its ninth year on Friday, April 12th, at the Lake Charles Civic Center. I was unable to attend on that day but from what I heard, the crowd was larger than a normal Friday for the convention. I arrived on Saturday morning to a line of people filling up the lobby of the Civic Center waiting to purchase tickets or to pick up their prepaid passes.

The convention had programming running throughout the day including panels on multiple subjects. Panels included author presentations, celebrity Q&A sessions, gaming, cosplay instructional presentations, vintage geek fandoms, and much more. I hosted a panel on DC Universe’s Doom Patrol. There was also a gaming tournament hosted by Scion E-Sports.

Celebrity guests included Bruce Boxleitner, Caitlin Glass, Andrew Robinson, Todd Haberkorn, and Rekha Sharma. I didn’t visit with any of them but their lines were fairly busy throughout the convention, especially Mr. Haberkorn’s line. I intended on getting an autograph from Ms. Sharma on Sunday, but she had to leave unexpectedly for work and wasn’t able to return to the convention.


There were quite a few fan groups, costuming groups, artists, and authors on the second and third floor of the Civic Center. I spent most of my time visiting with them. There were some excellent artists at the event.

CyPhaCafe provided excellent food at very reasonable prices (especially for a convention). This company has provided concessions for CyPhaCon for quite a few years now and their service really stands out from other convention concessions. Instead of standard hot dogs and nachos (although they do provide those items), CyPhaCafe offers loaded baked potatoes, po-boys, seafood options, pulled pork sandwiches, and more.

The convention’s cosplay contest, which always draws a big crowd, did not disappoint. There were many excellent costumes on display and the hostess, Ms. Oo La La, emceed the event with great flair. Speaking of Ms. Oo La La, she was just one of many featured cosplayers including Little Red Fox Cosplay and INeedSugar. Spidey Team was also on hand as were plenty of other cosplay pros and amateurs.

The convention also included a rotating display of vehicles including two Ghostbusters inspired vehicles and a Blues Brothers car. Ecteaux One was especially cool.

CyPhaCon is promoted as an anime, gaming, and science fiction convention, but the crowd that it draws leans more towards anime than gaming or sci-fi. As expected, the vendors cater to anime fans because of this fact and I don’t blame them one bit. There weren’t many attendees cosplaying as comic book or science fiction characters, but I did see a few of them. One of my favorites was a young lady cosplaying Raven from DC Comics.

Attendance was very good as expected, but a severe weather threat in the area seemed to keep the crowd a little bit smaller on Saturday than I’ve seen in past years. I’m already excited about next year’s event, as it will be the convention’s tenth anniversary. Hopefully they are planning something big for their first decade celebration.

I hope to attend the Greater Austin Comic Con in June but those plans are still in the air. If I do go, I plan on checking out the Cybertronic Spree’s live performance. They’ve really impressed me on YouTube and from what friends have said, they are even better live. Ray Park, Ric Flair, Adrian Paul, Karan Ashley, and Larry Hama are just a few of the guests that are scheduled to be in attendance.

As always, thanks for reading. I’m sure that I’ll be attending CyPhaCon again next year just as I’ve done almost every year prior unless something insane happens. I’ll have a Doom Patrol episode review later this week and possibly a Pet Sematary or Hellboy film review, too.


Shazam! Lights Up The Big Screen

Just Say The Word

Some superheroes are instantly recognized by most members of society. The general public can quickly point out Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, and the Incredible Hulk, but beyond these sacred few (and prior to the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe), most comic book characters are known only by comic book readers and the occasional viewer of a cartoon or animated film that remembers when a hero like Blue Beetle or Jubilee happened to be a part of a team in the show.

Some heroes have come to prominence thanks to successful films such as Iron Man, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and, to a lesser degree, heroes such as Blade, the Watchmen, and Ghost Rider. One oddball that seems to rise to the top of the heap and then slink back to the bottom is Captain Marvel or, as he’s known today, Shazam!

Originally a property of Fawcett Comics and eventually becoming a DC Comics Property, Captain Marvel was one of the first comic book superheroes to appear on the big screen. Frank Coghlan, Jr. portrayed Billy Batson and Tom Tyler starred as his alter ego, Captain Marvel, in The Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941). It was a twelve chapter serial that was highly successful and very popular in its day. It is considered one of the best serials ever produced by many critics and fans as well.

Captain Marvel was the most popular comic book in the 1940’s, but he was eventually put on the backburner due to a legal battle between DC Comics and Fawcett over the character’s abilities that closely resembled Superman’s power set. He would return to the page and arrived on the small screen in the 1970’s, but due to legal issues over the name Captain Marvel (now copyrighted and owned by Marvel Comics), the books and shows featuring the character were titled Shazam!

DC Comics officially made the character’s name Shazam during the New 52 relaunch and the character has managed to remain mildly popular on the printed page and in animated films until his feature film arrived in April of 2019. If the film’s success is any indication, Shazam might remain at or near the top of the superhero heap for awhile.

No Spoilers In The Following Review!

Starring Zachary Levi as Shazam, Asher Angel as Billy Batson, Mark Strong as Dr. Sivana, and Jack Dylan Grazer as Billy’s best friend and foster brother, Freddy Freeman, Shazam! wastes little time giving us the origin story of the antagonist (Sivana) and of Billy Batson/Shazam. The film is essentially a coming of age story in which the hero comes of age at the utterance of the word, “Shazam.”

Angel does a great job of conveying the good intentions of Batson even when the outcome of his actions aren’t always ideal. We quickly get attached to the character and his foster family in the film. Once he gains the power of Shazam, passed to him by the wizard of the same name (hammed up by Djimon Honsou), Billy has to adjust not only to being an adult (at least visually), but also to becoming a hero.

As expected, Billy screws up a lot. He and Freddy devise a plan to learn what exactly his newfound powers are and the entire scheme is played out for laughs in the film. Billy also buys beer and goes to an adult club and reacts exactly as a fifteen year old kid would react.

Zachary Levi looks like he’s having a blast portraying a kid in an adult’s body. He gives a great performance that reminds me of Tom Hanks in Big. In fact, Shazam! gives that film a big nod in one of the Shazam/Sivana fight scenes. The entire film has an 80’s vibe to it despite taking place in modern times. There’s a ton of humor and a couple of genuinely scary moments (younger children may not be able to handle one particular scene) that triggered memories of films like The Goonies, Gremlins, and The Monster Squad. Heck, even the music score sounds like it could have been made in the 1980’s.

When Dr. Sivana faces off with Shazam for the first time, he doesn’t quite know how to react to the Big Red Cheese. He brutally attacks Shazam, but is met with a defense that includes running, throwing toys, and a few smart aleck comments. Billy/Shazam must learn from his mistakes and ultimately realizes that he might not be able to face Sivana on his own.

The film is a nice break from the seriousness of Marvel Studios’ recent offerings (Avengers: Infinity War, Captain Marvel, and the upcoming Avengers: Endgame) and is a perfect follow up to DC’s Aquaman. Shazam references DC Comics a lot. From toys in the film to comics and even paraphernalia collected by Freddy, it’s obvious that this is a DC movie.

This is a very fun film. It is loyal to its source material (the New 52 and beyond version) and knows just how to use that material to its advantage. Shazam may not be the most popular hero in DC history, but he’s definitely one of the most fun ones. Other than those aforementioned scary moments, this is a very family friendly film and if you’ve never taken your child to see a superhero movie at the cinema, this is the movie to go see!

Thanks for reading my post. I highly recommend this film. It’s the best superhero film so far this year and unless Endgame or Spider-Man: Far From Home does something completely insane and out of the ordinary, it might just be the best comic book film of 2019!

N

Doom Patrol Episode #8

Danny Patrol

In what is quite possibly the happiest episode of the season so far, Doom Patrol finally manages to put a smile on Larry’s face. All of the characters have progressed to some point over the season, but Larry/Negative Man (Matt Bomer, Matthew Zuk) has basically been fighting the same demons the entire time.

Spoilers Ahead!!!

This episode finds Larry and Victor (Joivan Wade) on a mission to connect with one of the most unique characters in the Doom Patrol canon: Danny The Street. No, Danny The Street isn’t a mob-style nickname, Danny is literally a street that survives off of the happiness of those that live on him. He’s also a genderqueer being with the power to teleport to any location in the world. This is a handy power considering the fact that the Bureau of Normalcy is after him and all of his inhabitants. One particular citizen, Maura Lee Karupt (Alan Mingo, Jr.) is fighting a losing battle keeping the rest of the citizens happy. Having been on the run for years, teleporting has become a strain on Danny and it’s becoming harder for him to do so and thus evade the Bureau. Hoping that Niles (Timothy Dalton) can help, Danny calls on the Doom Patrol for assistance.

Victor and Larry inform Danny about Niles’ kidnapping and Danny begins to fear for his citizens. It is this dilemma that forces Larry to open up about himself. He actually SMILES in this episode and there’s a brilliant musical number that features Larry to boot. We get the best glimpse at a happy version of Larry than we’ve ever had in the entire season. He and Cyborg help Danny and Maura Lee battle the Bureau, and it’s a brilliant, heart-tugging confrontation.

The secondary plot features one of Jane’s (Diane Guerrero) most sadistic personalities. On the surface, “Karen” appears to be your standard domesticated sorority girl, but her true self is revealed whenever she forces the “love of her life,” a man that she has dumped numerous times, to marry her. Karen’s power is the ability to make anyone fall in love with her whether they want to or not. She uses this power to trick not only her beau, but his family and Rita (April Bowlby) as well. It’s up to Cliff (Brendan Fraser, Riley Shanahan) to stop the madness.

While Karen is putting her plan into action, there’s a touching side story featuring Cliff and a young boy (Jay Amir). The duo bond with one another in one of the best moments in the show. Soon enough, Cliff has to face off with Karen and in one of the toughest moments of the episode, Karen flies off the handle and her future and the future of all of Jane’s other personalities are left in limbo. Hopefully we’ll learn more about her situation on Friday when the new episode is released.

With the exception of Karen’s grim fate, this episode was a much needed dose of happiness in an otherwise depressing and dark series. While humor has been injected perfectly throughout the season, this episode helped lighten things, especially after the events that happened in the last two episodes. I’m sure that the show will go back to being a bit darker with the next episode, but Danny Patrol was just the type of fun that we (and the Patrol) needed to give us all a break from the norm. This is one of the best episodes of the season by far.

Thank you for reading my post. I can’t wait for Friday’s episode to see what happens next with the Patrol. This series is my favorite DC Universe original by far.

For those of you who happen to be attending CyPhaCon this weekend, I’ll be hosting a panel about the Doom Patrol in Room 5 at 2 P.M. Come say hello and let me know what you think about the show and the streaming service as a whole in person! I might have some goodies to give out as well!

CyPhaCon In Less Than Two Weeks!

Lake Charles, LA

Don’t forget that CyPhaCon is less than two weeks away! If you’re in the Lake Charles area, be sure to check out this excellent event. The party kicks off on Friday night at the Lake Charles Civic Center and lasts all weekend long.

If you happen to be in attendance on Sunday, I’ll be in Panel Room 5 at 2 PM presenting my panel, Doom Patrol: DC Universe’s Favorite Misfits. You can check out the event page here. I’ll be talking about one of my favorite DC Universe shows and giving attendees a breakdown of the main characters on the show. If you can make it, mark that you’re going on the event page.

I hope that I see some of you at CyPhaCon in a couple of weeks. I always enjoy meeting my readers and appreciate your input about my blog. I’ll have my regular Doom Patrol episode review at the end of this week and will hopefully have a Shazam! review for you over the weekend!


Doom Patrol Episode #7

Therapy Patrol

The seventh episode of Doom Patrol shifts the focus away from the search for the Chief and plants it squarely on the individual members of the group. It opens up with Cyborg making the rounds, waking everyone up and telling everyone that a group meeting will take place in fifteen minutes. After thirty plus minutes of watching flashbacks and internal struggles of each individual as they prep for the meeting, everyone finally makes it downstairs and Cliff (freshly recovered from a violent spell) suggests talking about each other’s problems.

The session is a mix of humor, heartbreak, and yelling and ultimately the team makes a few steps forward and just as many back. Mr. Nobody is in their heads and is using their own shortcomings and doubts against them. In one case, he literally has an operative at work inside someone’s head.

We get to learn a little bit more about each member of the team as they talk about their issues. Cliff is pretty much an open book. Larry remains somewhat distant (at least with the group, but he’s making progress on his own). Rita and Vic also make some headway with their own individual problems. We only see a brief flashback of Jane and then watch as she battles her other personalities. She is then dealt a harsh dose of reality by Cliff. It’s one of the most serious and sobering moments of the episode.

With all of the talk going on, you’d believe that this might be a boring episode. You’d be wrong, as the character development is strong and full of violent spats between individuals and the group as a whole. This is a solid episode that gives us a nice break from the depressing revelations uncovered last week.

At the end of the episode, Mr. Nobody’s plant is revealed and in true Mr. Nobody fashion, it’s an absurd revelation. Heck, there’s even a Princess Bride reference that’s adds just a touch more humor to the reveal.

Once again Doom Patrol has proven that it’s a unique superhero series. It doesn’t rely on standard comic book devices to build its story. The heroes are multi-dimensional and the villain is interesting. If you haven’t checked this series out yet, I highly recommend giving it a chance.

As always, thanks for reading. Look forward to more Doom Patrol coverage next week and I’ll be posting about the upcoming CyPhaCon convention in just over two weeks!

Getting “The Dirt” On Mötley Crüe

Netflix

Despite being one of my favorite bands of all time, I’ve never read the autobiographical The Dirt by Mötley Crüe. I’ve read and heard plenty of their stories over the last few decades in other media, but never did purchase the book. Thankfully Netflix has breathed life into some of their misadventures in the film named after the notorious tell-all.

L to R: Colson Baker as Tommy Lee, Douglas Booth as Nikki Sixx, Daniel Webber as Vince Neil, and Iwan Rheon as Mick Mars.

The film opens with a wild party scene that’s narrated by Nikki Sixx (Douglas Booth) and each member of the band is introduced as the scene plays out. From there the story cuts to a young Nikki at home in Seattle and eventually makes its way through Tommy Lee (Colson Baker), Mick Mars (Iwan Rheon), and wraps up the formation of the band with the addition of Vince (Daniel Webber).

The film then follows the band on their whirlwind rise to fame and the ups and downs that come with it. Unlike most biopics about musicians, though, this film uses the band’s music as window dressing, focusing primarily on their time between shows and albums on the road and at home.

We get to see the members of the band deal with vices and personal demons. All of them deal with drug and/or alcohol addictions at various points during their time in the band. If you’re even a casual fan of the group, you’ve probably heard or read most of the bigger issues that the Crüe have faced over the years. In this film, they focus on some of the hardest trials for the group like Vince’s car accident that resulted in the death of Hanoi Rocks’ drummer, Razzle (Max Milner), the death of Vince’s young daughter Skylar (Kamryn Ragsdale), and Nikki’s drug addiction that resulted in his death and resurrection thanks to two adrenaline shots. The film also addresses Vince’s exit from the band and briefly shows his replacement, John Corabi (Anthony Vincent), on screen.

Mick Mars and Tommy Lee seem to fare a little better than Vince and Nikki. Always known as the quiet foundation of the band, Mick is utilized primarily to inject dry humor and blunt honesty into the film. His battle with ankylosing spondylitis (chronic arthritis in the spine that leads to severe pain and inflammation) is touched upon but never really given a lot of screen time. Tommy Lee is shown to be an eternal child full of enthusiasm and hope. It’s funny to see him as the sweetest and most wholesome guy in the band considering the fact that he’s probably the raunchiest (in a good way) guy in the group.

The film will definitely not receive any awards, but I honestly believe that that is exactly how Mötley Crüe would want it. They aren’t trying to sell themselves as heroes or legends in this film. Nope, they know and openly admit that they did some pretty dumb and horrible things over the years and should probably all be dead, but they managed to survive it all. They give you many of the ugly details and harsh truths about themselves and, in a way, that makes it easier to like them.

Almost all of the cast do great jobs in this film. All of the men chosen to portray the members of the Crüe did bang up jobs. Baker nailed down Tommy Lee’s mannerisms and enthusiastic persona. Webber and Booth were excellent as well. Rheon didn’t look like Mick Mars very much, but he delivered the best portrayal of any member of the band in my opinion.

Tony Cavalero has just a few minutes of screen time as Ozzy Osbourne, but those few minutes are perfect. Cavalero gives a great performance as Ozzy giving the Crüe advice about how the rock n’ roll lifestyle can consume you and drive you insane all while completely blitzed. He also shows the band exactly how extreme his life is using ants and urine. If you haven’t heard this particular story, I won’t spoil it for you here.

Not all of the performances in this film were great. The weakest performance of all was delivered by Pete Davidson as Tom Zutaut. Every time he pops up on screen, it’s as if the film gets trapped in a lame Saturday Night Live skit (bad wig included). I don’t know if Davidson was intentionally acting cheesy, but his performance was both forced and out of sync with the rest of the film.

SAN BERNADINO, CA – SEPTEMBER 12: Vince Neil (L) and Tommy Lee of Motley Crue perform at the US Festival 1983 on September 12, 1983 in San Bernadino, California. (Photo by Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)

While absolutely not a perfect film, The Dirt does its best at portraying four of the most iconic figures in rock n’ roll. It doesn’t paint them as great heroes or role models. It shows us how ugly, insane, hilarious, and downright despicable they could be and how swiftly they could be slammed back into reality. It’s a brutally fun film that people of my generation will enjoy.

UNSPECIFIED – CIRCA 1970: Photo of Motley Crue (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

It’s definitely not for everyone, and the bad reviews that this film is receiving from professional critics proves that they are completely out of touch with this film’s audience and its subjects. The few good reviews that I have read have all been from self-confessed fans in their late thirties or older. I happen to be one of those people. I grew up listening to Mötley Crüe and still listen to them to this day. I appreciate what this film is and what it’s trying to do. If you grew up in the 1980’s as I did and happened to be a headbanger, you’ll probably enjoy this movie, too.

L to R: Vince Neil, Mick Mars, and Nikki Sixx. Tommy Lee is in the background on drums.

Thank you for reading this post and special thanks to Mötley Crüe for managing to stay alive long enough to give us some great sleaze rock and for not glossing over their chaotic lives. Keep on rockin’!

Doom Patrol Episode #6

Doom Patrol Patrol

No, I didn’t make a mistake when I typed that header. The latest episode of Doom Patrol, released on Friday, is entitled Doom Patrol Patrol and it certainly lives up to its name.

Minor Spoilers Ahead!

Still recovering from the events of the previous episode, our heroes find themselves broken up once again. This time, Cliff and Jane aren’t together as they have been in every other episode. Instead, Jane, Larry, and Rita head out to find the Doom Patrol…..the original Doom Patrol, as part of a plan placed into motion by Mr. Nobody. Rita doesn’t believe that working with Mr. Nobody is a good idea, but Jane’s teleporting personality, Flit, whisks the trio away to a school that is being run by the original team of Mento, Celsius, and Lodestone. Also at the school is its director, Joshua Clay.

While at the school, Jane uncovers a dark secret about the original Doom Patrol. She also learns about her potential future at the school. Rita attempts to heal herself emotionally by rekindling her relationship with Mento and Larry makes a discovery of his own while befriending Celsius.

Victor’s father arrives at Doom Manor to reboot him after his arm cannon exploded and Cliff set off his safety protocols in order to keep Victor alive. When he arrives there are a few tense moments between Cliff, Victor, and Dr. Silas Stone. We get to learn a little bit more about the relationship between Victor and his father, and Cliff seeks out more information about his daughter.

Things start to unravel at the Doom School once Mento begins losing control of himself while talking with Rita. Jane learns what is really going on and she, Larry, and Rita all face off against their own darkest fears. While this part of the show chips away at all three characters, it only hints at what made them who they are in the present. The episode ends with the revelation of a dark secret, Jane questioning her loyalty to the Chief, and a bond slowly growing between Cliff and Victor. We also see the sad fate of the original Doom Patrol and watch as all of the current members tackle their own inner demons.

This was a sad episode in many ways. Cliff’s heart is broken by information he discovers about his daughter. Victor and his father are still estranged, but someone gives Silas a heavy dose of reality that softens the tension between he and Victor. Rita begins to see herself as perhaps uglier on the inside than the outside. Jane is crushed by what she learns at the school. Larry has issues as well, but we aren’t given enough information about his problem to know what is really going on inside of his mind. The most painful thing about the episode is seeing what happened to the original Doom Patrol. All of these moments were played out with a tender hand. This was an excellent episode.

Cast members for this episode included:

  • Brendan Fraser/Riley Shanahan as Robotman/Cliff Steele
  • Diane Guerrero as Crazy Jane/Kay Challis
  • Joivan Wade as Cyborg/Victor Stone
  • April Bowlby as Elasti-Woman/Rita Farr
  • Matt Bomer/Matthew Zuk as Negative Man/Larry Trainor
  • Timothy Dalton as Dr. Niles Caulder/Chief
  • Phil Morris as Dr. Silas Stone
  • Will Kemp as Mento/Steve Dayton
  • Jasmine Kaur as Celsius/Arani Desai
  • Lesa Wilson as Lodestone/Rhea Jones
  • Alimi Ballard as Joshua Clay

As always, thank you for reading my post. I plan on making one or two more posts this week, so keep an eye out for them! Doom Patrol is seriously one of the best shows that I’ve come across in a long time. It’s thought-provoking, humorous, and does an excellent job at making the viewer feel for the characters. Give it a shot. You won’t be disappointed.