T Tries to Convince C to Keep Watching "Watchmen"

C is a stubborn cuss. Some have even described him as a curmudgeon, but he has told those people to shut their yaps and get the hell off his lawn. The stubbornness often extends to the entertainment world, where his demands for quality do not always coincide with what he is given. Part of that is because, as a fiction writer, he feels that too many people who write both novels and screenplays are lazy, overpaid hacks while he works harder than he probably should to strive for his best. He concedes that he does not always succeed but the effort is put forth.

C is also a huge Alan Moore fan, especially when it comes to "Watchmen" the graphic novel. He isn't a Moore fanatic, however, as evidenced by his brusk dismissal of the John Constantine character as a mostly dull, lazily rendered character who only becomes interesting when he's interacting with other DC Comics characters. 

"Watchmen," however, holds a special place in C's heart. It is, in his words, a masterpiece of style, plot, characterization, and understated yet dynamic art. It is also flawed and he agrees with Grant Morrison that there was a better ending Moore should have considered.

C felt the Zack Snyder film was a faithful adaptation that actually improved upon the ending, but it was still a movie made by someone who understood what he read before doing his own thing with it. This brings us to the HBO "Watchmen" series and T's attempt to talk C into not giving up on it after a rather negative reaction to the first episode:

(Beware! There be spoilers here because T can't keep his yap shut!)

C; I'm watching watchmen and I have no idea what the fuck is going on.

T: Just wait. It gets good.

C: I have faith in the series creator

T: I was a little confused at first, then it got good

C:  I couldn't place the time setting at first

T: Yeah I know then they start giving you clues

C: Tell me if I'm right. Rorschach's journal started a movement!

T: Oh yeah. They twisted it.

C: Fuckers stole my idea!

T: 

C: Honestly I'm giving this show one more episode. It probably doesn't help that I don't particularly care for Regina King (An understatement. he thinks she has the range of a drowning puppy)

T: I wasn't wild about her either, but once it gets into the plot

C: (After the first episode has ended) Color me disappointed.

T: It starts slow, but it gets good.

C: this is the first Damon Lindelof show where I wasn't riveted from the first few minutes. I don't think this is his element. Nice to see Lou Gossett though.

T: Man, there is a hidden story you won't believe. Trust me its worth watching

C: Yeah the Gossett is starting to spill portions of it. So if Dr Manhattan is on Mars, isn't this happening before Rorschach and Nite Owl confronted Veidt? But there was a newspaper headline saying Veidt was dead.

T: Thats whats gonna blow your mind when you find out the truth

C: I doubt it will outdo Doomsday Clock

T: The show is nominated for multiple Emmys

C: That's meaningless.  I wipe my ass with Emmys. (He does, too! It's nothing you ever want to bear witness to either!)

T:  Just give it time.

C: I'm giving it another episode. I'm not getting stuck in another Stranger Things trap. (For more on C's views on "Stranger Things, click here and here)

T: They explain Viedt and everything. And when you find out about Dr. Manhattan and what's on Mars. 

C: Honestly I'm not really being made to care.The show is kind of annoying. I don't even like the premise.

T: It's got a mean twist.

C: Meh. Twists are so early 2000s. Just tell a fucking story...now I've lost whatever flow I had.

T: Well Hooded Justice was a Black man in White face under the hood (Young Lou Gossett Jr), he's Regina Kings grandfather and they were reunited by Dr. Manhattan also Viedt was imprisoned escapes to keep his evil clone genius daughter from trying to take Dr. Manhattan's power for herself and Dr. Manhattan is actually Regina Kings husband in hiding

C:

C: The fuck? Why did you just tell me all that? I might as well just return it (to the library) now! I mean that all sounds like really shitty and stupid writing but at least let me experience it on my own.

T: Trust me the rest is worth looking for.

C: I'm taking it back

T: SMH

C: Oh shake THIS, Mr. Judgment! It is boring and annoying.

And clearly written by people who didn't understand the comic.

T: Shame; you don't know what you are missing

C: You are way too accepting of mediocrity my friend

T: You have to watch it to make that statement. LOL

C: I did. 1.25 episodes LOL

Last time I had this conversation, I was guilted by someone into finishing season one of Stranger Things. T: Not enough.

C: That's what she said! She was wrong. So, so wrong.

T: Stranger Things is Millenial garbage. (Send your hate emails to T at hesaidit@gmail.com)

C:

Brian Fontana agrees with me!
T: Well, I'm not the person that recommended Stranger Things to you.

C: No but you have recommended some real turds in your time.

T: We both have LOL

C: I rarely recommend things. I just say whether or not I liked something. I'm used to hating what others love and vice versa I don't even think the show is well made..It looks cheap. But even if your insentivity spoilers aren't the only mysteries, what you told me sounds so goddam dumb. An evil clone daughter did these assholes even know what Alan Moore was doing???

T: It gets good around the 4th show

C: ...

Bill Maher Still Doesn't or Refuses to Get it.



(Photo by Chris Weeks/WireImage)

Back in November,  C wrote a blog post on his author page about the passing of comic legend Stan Lee, which can be read here. It didn't take long for at least two famous people to make idiotic comments about the man, most notably professional shit-starter/stirrer Bill Maher, whose brand of harsh political humor has been a staple on HBO for years.

C wrote two pieces on Maher, the first on the TV host's initial comments, and the second on his steadfast refusal to admit he might have been a close-minded ass on the subject of comics in general and Lee in particular. It should come as no surprise that he once again spoke out of his rectum on the subject, digging in his tiny heels for one more hostile, supposedly funny response to his tons of critics. I won't hyperlink his show because Maher clearly gets off on the attention he receives and he's received quite a bit.

It took a while, but two of the better rebuttals to Maher's prickishness came from an article in, of all places, Forbes Magazine and Comics writer Peter David, who drew the long-neglected parallel between fans of comics and sports in his Facebook post.

We particularly enjoyed this Twitter thread because "suckle my taint" is too good a comment to ignore.

Despite the fact that we're giving Maher yet another platform, albeit a small one, we both feel strongly about the ignorance and hypocrisy in his comments. There's also the fact that many others out there without voices nodded their heads in silent agreement without a clue what they're talking about.

Below, T&C discuss Maher and his comments. Let us know what you think!

C: So, was Bill Maher ever who we thought he was?
T: He is exactly who we always thought he was. We just made the mistake of thinking he was less self-absorbed than he is. We confused him with being more like John Stewart, a liberal who sees things for what they are even if it goes against his core beliefs, not a self-absorbed know-it-all who is drunk off his own Kool Aid.
C: Maybe we're being overly sensitive because he came after "our people" this time?
T: I'm not. I actually like [Bill Maher] and I think his point of view is needed, but at the same time you have to know when to leave well enough alone. Sadly, his ego won't allow him to stay away from the rabbit hole. When he made the first comment, he should have let everyone blow off steam and it would have gone away.
C: Yeah, everybody knows he's a contentious little shit.
T: When he chose to double down without understanding the core fan of comic books, not to be confused with the fringe nut cases he implies all fans are ---
C: He didn't just double down. He tripled down.
T: He can't stop.
C: I liked him too but I've started to realize he's a Libertarian masquerading as a liberal. His comments about the Vietnam War being necessary come to mind. If you examine his supposed philosophy, it really comes down to "I should be able to do and say whatever I want without consequence and smoke weed like a teenager who just discovered it."
T: He does love his weed LOL
C: Plus his bizarre attempt to link adults who read comic books with Trump supporters, most of whom would agree with his views on comic books, showed his complete lack of relatability to people outside his bubble of know-it-all assholes. I have to disagree that he should have even made his original point because it was total lacking in any research or unbiased analysis. He just make idiotic blanket statements.
T: Let me clarify: I meant his overall political view.
C: I got ya but his elitism has grown tiresome. He comes off like a first semester college student who thinks he knows everything he will ever need to know. His take on Stan Lee was filled with hipster stupidity designed to piss off the mainstream. The question isn't whether or not he knows about the non-superhero stuff. It's whether or not he cares to learn something that might contradict his chosen narrative.
T: I don't think he cares; his mind is made up.
C: His mind is always made up. He's a passive observer at best because he's too full of himself to actually study whatever he looks down on.
T: The funny thing is many of his on-air contributors give the sense that they feel the same way.
C: Of course. He's drawn to the bitter academic type. The ones that basically say, "If everybody would just listen to me, the world would be a utopia! The most ridiculous part of this is that Maher believes he's the mature one.
T: You're wrong.
C: Oh?
T: He knows he's the mature one.
C: I guess that says it all.

The Proper Re-Watching Order for MCU Movies Prior to the Next "Avengers" Film.

We've seen several lists online supposedly giving people the best watching list for those MCU movies that lead up to the events of "Avengers Infinity War" and it's upcoming sequel. Frankly, they're all terrible. They either omit films with direct references in them or basically list nearly every film released in some bizarre "learn who the characters are" approach.

We realized after looking at those other lists that the authors of them seemed to be stuck in introductory mode. Instead, ours presumes you have seen most of the films and are interested in just re-watching those that connect to the main thread of the first three Phases.

Below, we attempt to list the actual relevant films in order:


Captain America: The First Avenger- Five movies in, this is literally the first MCU film that directly references the Infinity Stones. It also serves as a beginning point for the entire series as it takes place earlier than any other film so far. The Tesseract, as it's referred to in the movies, is the Soul Stone and the main quest of the movie's protagonist.

Thor: This one can also be watched first, but the events of Loki's fall from false grace lead directly into the first Avengers film.

The Avengers- This one's a no-brainer because it is centered around the moment an Infinity Stone is being used to try and subjugate all of humanity. We also catch a glimpse of Thanos, albeit in slightly different form.

Iron Man 3- There's no real Infinity War connection in this one but it deals with Tony Stark's/Iron Man's PTSD following the events of the Battle of New York in "The Avengers" and sets up his lack of sound judgment by the time the second Avengers rolls around.

Captain America: Civil War- Easily in the top three MCU movies, this one sets up the eventual conflict between Tony Stark and Steve Rogers, introduces us to the modern-day Hydra, the Winter Soldier, Black Panther and Wakanda and The Fall of S.H.I.E.L.D

Guardians of the Galaxy- Not a beloved movie by at least one of this blog's authors, it can't be denied that is sets up the whole "cosmic" angle of the MCU, gives us a history lesson on Infinity Stones and shows us Thanos in a speaking role for the first time. That makes it essential viewing.

Avengers: Age of Ultron- This is the movie that ramps up the bad decisions Tony Stark starts making. It features the Infinity Stone from the first movie, Stark's attempt to create an Earthly defense system that morphs into a psychotic, egocentric android, and the creation of the Vision.

Doctor Strange- Probably the most Infinity Stone-connected film in the series, this one shows us there's another Infinity Stone on Earth, that there are magic wielders, that time travel is a definite option and that there are not just other planets but other dimensions.

Black Panther- This one has a tenuous connection to the Infinity Stone storyline, but it does expand on Wakanda, the Earthly showdown location in "Infinity War" and gives us a better idea of why and how they're so much more advanced than the rest of the world.

Thor: Ragnarok- We find out where Thor has been during all the tumult on Earth as well as what happened to Loki after he pretended to be Odin in the second Thor film (that one wasn't included because of its storyline). We also get an even larger view of the cosmic side of the MCU and, most importantly, it ends mere minutes before the events of "Infinity War."

Happy re-watching!

A Discussion on the apparent Oscar-worthiness of "Black Panther"

Most of us remember a time when genre films, i.e. science fiction, horror, fantasy, were regularly dismissed by the Academy Awards as disposable, silly kiddie fare. Those days appear to be at an end, however, as generations of people who grew up on genre movies and books have started influencing the box office in a very different direction. Plus, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has done a pretty good job of establishing the comics medium as not only a popular format for adapting to the big screen, it has also proven that quality writing and film making and acting can "elevate" the medium. That word is in quotes because the presumption that comic books needed to be elevated at all is a debatable one.

After nineteen successful movies in its ongoing franchise, the MCU has finally achieved an Oscar nomination with "Black Panther," the massive hit about a secret African nation called Wakanda that was only pretending to be an agro-economy but is actually the most advanced nation on Earth. The Black Panther is the nation's king and he...you know what? If you're clueless enough not to know about this shit a year after it came out, do your own damn research.

Below is the conversation that took place between T&C. We agreed to make this our first discussion post because we disagree about this movie's Oscar worthiness.

T: Did you hear about "Black Panther" being nominated for Oscars?
C: Ridiculous.
T: WHAT!?
C: Ri-cock-ulous?
T: "Black Panther" was awesome. I do believe "Logan" warranted a few nominations but I think "Black Panther" earned the ones listed. I would have a problem if it got nominated for best special effects.
C: Because the effects often looked fake and unfinished or because that's the award they throw at every genre film?
T: The first part.
C: The third act was where that movie's effects really started to shine. Up until then the effects work was very uneven.
T: But the actual nominations are well-deserved.
C: The acting was sub-par,.The writing was uneven. The direction was amateurish. It was an enjoyable movie at best but certainly nowhere near Oscar caliber.
T: Wow.
C: Why are you acting like this is a surprise? We saw it together. I'm sure you could tell how unimpressed I was.
T: True.
C: I didn't want to say anything when we saw it but much of the time I was bored out of my mind even more than I was during "Civil War." This type of film is not Ryan Coogler's thing. Maybe Ridley Scott was right.
*Ridley Scott recently criticized movie studios for giving huge movies to directors with no experience and, in his view, it shows.
T: As far as the acting, I did find Forrest Whitaker annoying and was glad when Kilmonger killed him but I was fine with everybody else. He had the worst accent.
C: Yeah, when the hell did he become such a bad actor? He was one of the greats! I'm thinking of his scenery chewing in "Rogue One."
T: He was annoying in that, too! I was glad glad to see him him die in that as well.
C: Me too.
T: I don't think he's a bad actor, I just believe his acting has a limited range of versatility and both movies were WAAAYYYY beyond his range.
C: If he were here, he'd give you Forrest Whitaker eye.
T: He wouldn't be able to help himself.
C: Getting back to "Black Panther," I felt the movie fell into the same category as "Captain America Civil War" and "Spider-Man: Homecoming." Over-hyped movies that fell short and were a mess on most levels until their respective third acts. Marvel really knows how to make a third act pay off.
T: What!? No.
C:

T: LOL!!!
C: Discussion over?
T: Okay, "Civil War" definitely matches that description. "Spider-Man: Homecoming" gets a borderline "yes" and "Justice League" gets a "hell yes!" Oh, and the theatrical cut of "Batman vs. Superman."
C: Don't bring DC into this, you Marvel Zombie! Although you have a point with Spidey. It would have needed a plot to qualify for that description.
T; I agree. I believe what they were trying to do was get straight to the point and spend as little time on the origin story as possible. It's been told enough times.
C: His and Batman's...and that one guy they names Xmas after.
T: Heathen.
C: Look, "Black Panther: is definitely a film that belongs in the Smithsonian for its cultural significance and all the records it set and having the character as part of the MCU opens up a lot of possibilities. But if I have to judge the award merits based on the film as conceived and produced, I don't feel it deserves a Best picture nomination. "Logan," on the other hand, did and was robbed. Actually, the acting in the X-Men franchise is often vastly superior to the MCU. "Days of Future Past" might be the best acted comic book team movie of all time. Here come the hate comments.
T: Actually, I can't hate you for that one.
C: I didn't mean you.
T: I know.
C: Again, I didn't hate the movie. I enjoyed it overall. Maybe if it had come out ten years earlier, I would've been right there praising it as some cinematic revelation but there's been a lot of competition. I still consider "Winter Solder" the gold standard for MCU films.
T: That's a great choice.
C: You're starting to agree with me, aren't you?
T: Nope!
C: Don't you want to yell, "Wakanda Forever"?
T: I'll wait until it takes home the Best Picture Oscar.
C: That would be amazing. An actual high quality superhero movie could win next time.
T: Dick.

...AND THEN THESE MFs SHOWED UP....

...and everything went to hell.

To be fair, this blog has been in the works for at least five years. With all the chatter and cross-chatter and unbearable horseshit occurring in the world of genre film, how could we not add a bit of our own? One thing we can guarantee you we won't be adding, however, is hatefulness just for its own hipster-infested sake. That's not what we're about.

Sure, there will be hostile reviews from time-to-time but they won't be presented in some insular, basement-dwelling fashion for no other reason than to troll web pages and sites that have the nerve to provide a discussion format. So, this is probably a good place to introduce ourselves, first individuals and then as a duo:

Christopher Nadeau is a published author of two novels and over three dozen short stories as well as many articles on subjects ranging from museums to politics to film news and reviews and even local events. He has been a comic book fan all of his life and saw the original "Star Wars" during its original release when he was young enough to be brainwashed for life. His writing was once compared to Ray Bradybury's by English horror author Ramsey Campbell and he has studied science fiction writing with Professor James Gunn and Frederik Pohl. He is also highly critical of himself, which means he's just as critical of hacks and filmmakers, writers and artists who take the easy way out. To know him is to love him but since you won't ever really know him, you'll probably hate him. He's fine with that as long as you don't try to get him to watch the second and third "Matrix" movies.

T.E. Johnson is a lifelong comics fan as well as a union man who has embarrassed many a corporate weasel in his time. He understands that it's okay to like two competing franchises, sometimes equally, and has little patience for trolling fanboys/girls who want to start keyboard wars over ridiculous nonsense. His background in Labor Relations has afforded him a unique perspective on the human mind and how group-think influences people. He uses this knowledge to try and make people who aren't used to using logic think logically. He lives in America so his efforts have borne little fruit. Now he's here, on a blog with his childhood friend with whom he has discussed the types of movies they will be reviewing for longer than either of them would care to admit.

Now that you know us intimately, we're ready to get this bad boy rolling. Check back in the next day or more for our first film review. We chose to start with "Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse" because it's animated, it's playing now, and the title is dumb enough to necessitate a great movie. Or is it?

Return to this page soon to find out!