Happy Friday! Everybody around West Week Ever HQ is hunkering down for snow. We’re expected to get up to 24 inches, so this may be my final transmission.
In the movie department, the first thing I watched this week was Gone Girl. HOLY SHIT! Starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike as a perfect yuppie couple that relocates to the Midwest after they both lose their jobs, Affleck becomes the prime suspect when Pike just mysteriously disappears. That’s when we find out their lives weren’t as perfect as they had seemed. And then there’s a TWIST (and I’m not talking about the fact that Tyler Perry actually does a good job in this film)! I’m not going into details because I don’t want to spoil anything, but this movie is worth watching. It’ll make you question everything about your life. Please watch this film ’cause I really wanna talk about it.
At the complete other end of the spectrum, I watched Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2. I really liked the first one, but God this thing was boring. I can’t imagine fidgety kids were able to sit still in theaters during this thing. In the first movie, amateur scientist Flint Lockwood created a machine that turned water into food. And then, of course, the machine went crazy and had to be destroyed. Well, in this sequel, a famous scientist wants to find Flint’s original machine so that he can use it for his own plans. Meanwhile, the machine is now creating sentient food creatures instead of just turning water into food. So, when Flint and his friends return to Swallow Falls, they find it’s been colonized by these fruit beasts. I only half paid attention to it because I was coloring at the time (yes, I’m a 5 year old in my spare time), but it really didn’t hold my focus. The things that made the first one special were gone this time. For example, in the first movie, Flint’s father, voiced by James Caan, was a man of few words who didn’t know how to express his emotions. This time around, he talked TOO much. Now, there’s an argument to be made that maybe this is an example of character growth, but I didn’t like it. I also didn’t like that Terry Crews replaced Mr. T as Officer Earl. Anyway, the film did pretty well, so there’ll probably be a 3rd one. And if it ends up on TV, I’ll probably watch it. Because I never learn from my mistakes.
After promoting it for months, TBS finally debuted the Steve and Nancy Carell-produced comedy Angie Tribeca via a 25-hour marathon. Starring Rashida Jones, the show is a parody of police procedural dramas. I had a few problems with this show. First of all, the marathon approach. Some shows are built for bingeing, but Angie Tribeca is not one of those shows, as the pacing didn’t really work. Not only was TBS running the entire 10-episode season every 5 hrs, but they also did it without commercial interruption. Luckily, the episodes were also On Demand so I watched them that way, so that I could pace them out on my terms. The other problem I had was the style of humor. If you loved Police Squad!/Naked Gun/Airplane!, you’ll LOVE the first 4 episodes of this show. It’s that quip a minute, farcical humor that, to me, wears thin quickly. I felt that the show really hit its stride by episode 5 (which is quite a long time to stick with a show that’s not really doing it for you initially), as the humor style is toned down a bit. Think of 30 Rock at its most absurd, and then crank it up about two notches. That’s what the show becomes and I enjoyed it so much more at that point. While the marathon seemed like a really crazy gimmick, it probably played to the show’s strengths (or lack thereof). As I said, I didn’t enjoy it until around the 5th episode. If this had been rolled out as a weekly show, I’d have probably bailed by then. At least now I’m willing to give the second season a chance.
Speaking of Angie Tribeca‘s quality 5th episode, it features a guest appearance by Champ Kind himself, David Koechner. I tweeted about it and he favorited it. WHAMMY!
Over on TV, Marvel and DC had a dick measuring contest Tuesday night as they scheduled specials opposite the other’s premiere. While The CW premiered The Flash returning from its Winter hiatus, ABC ran Marvel’s Captain America: 75 Heroic Years. If you have read/watched anything about the formation of Timely/Marvel Comics, then you’re familiar with most of what was presented in the special. They did, however, slide in the news that Steve Rogers would be returning to the role of Captain America this Spring – which isn’t a surprise to anyone who realized there was a movie coming out. If you’re not a comic fan, for over the past year, Steve Rogers’s former sidekick, Sam Wilson/The Falcon, took over the Cap role when Steve was drained of the Super Soldier Serum that gave him his powers and kept him young. It was clear, though, that there was little chance Wilson would remain Cap once the Captain America: Civil War film rolled around. Well, Marvel plans to have their cake and eat it, too, as it appears Wilson will remain as Captain America even while Rogers returns. There will be TWO Captain Americas, which I feel is one Cap too many. While I’ve enjoyed the Wilson adventures, I don’t know if the comic audience is still going to want to support “Not the REAL Cap” once Rogers returns. Anyway, this is comics, where there’s no real change – only the illusion of change – so nobody should be surprised by any of this.
Once 9 PM rolled around, ABC premiered the second season of Agent Carter, while The CW debuted specials about DC’s Legends of Tomorrow and their upcoming movies. I didn’t watch the Legends of Tomorrow one, as I thought it was kinda stupid to watch a 30 minute special about a 60 minute show that was premiering in 48 hours. If this special had come out earlier, I’d have given it a shot. At this point however, I was already as excited for the show as I was going to get. I did watch the one about the movies, DC Films Presents: Dawn of the Justice League. Hosted by Kevin Smith (who was acting like a drugged up Billy Mays) and Geoff Johns, they rushed through a bunch of Dawn of Justice footage, and then gave us about a minute of a Wonder Woman footage (this was also the day they debuted the logo and Twitter account for the Wonder Woman film). Then, we got snippets of interviews with the rest of the Justice League actors, like Jason Momoa (Aquaman), Ezra Miller (Flash), and Cyborg (Ray Fisher). It all seems interesting, but it also seems so far away to me. I mean, the Cyborg movie isn’t out until 2020! I get that it’s 2016, but do you know how many movies will come out between now and then? Hell, I could be dead by then!
I came to the realization this week that I’m not sure I can be objective about DC’s movies. I always considered myself a DC kid, but upon closer inspection, I’m much more of a Marvel Zombie these days. I love the Marvel movies. They have their flaws, but I enjoy them. I don’t like the DC stuff I’ve seen in recent years (The Dark Knight Rises and Man of Steel). If these are more of the same (which, dark in tone, they seem to be), I’m just not interested. So, for the folks excited about these movies, more power to you. I envy you. But I just don’t feel anything when DC’s films are brought up. That includes the Suicide Squad trailer that was released this week. I’ll probably Redbox it, but it doesn’t strike me as something I need to see in the theater.
Meanwhile, Agent Carter premiered and it was as great as you’d expect it to be. I’m constantly amazed that I like this show considering I didn’t think she was “worthy” of a series when it was first announced. I especially like this season, as its subtitle could be “Peggy Gets Jungle Fever”. There’s a Black scientist who’s introduced as a love interest…kinda. I liked that the show finally tackled the race issue that was absent in the first season, as it wasn’t all sunshine and roses for everyone in the 40s in the Marvel Universe. Anyway, I won’t spoil what happens to him in case you haven’t gotten around to watching the episode yet. The interesting thing is that there seem to be all of these ties to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. yet the showrunners are saying that they aren’t. For example, the lapel pins worn by The Council look like the original HYDRA symbol we saw on AoS, but a recent interview with them said that it’s not the same symbol. Also, this Darkforce matter is a tie-in to the Doctor Strange movie, and not the same material that leads to Maveth. It’ll be interesting to see if they were just trying to mislead us. Anyway, the 2-hour premiere was the lowest rated presentation of the series, so unless things improve, there won’t be a season 3. Now’s the time to start watching!
So, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. Where to begin? I liked this show. I liked it a lot. I will say, however, that I’m unfamiliar with half the characters since I’ve only seen a handful of episodes from season 1 of The Flash (and only 1 from season 2). So, I’ve got a lot of questions. Like, who is this Jefferson Jackson character? I mean, I Googled him and the character existed in comics, but only as a friend of original Firestorm, Ronnie Raymond. If they wanted a Black Firestorm, the character already exists, and he’s Jason Rusch. Did they not want to pay royalties to creator Dan Jolley, like when they created Black Vulcan so they wouldn’t have to pay Black Lightning’s creator Tony Isabella? Anyway, since Professor Stein isn’t linked to Robbie anymore, I take it something happened to him in one of those Flash episodes I haven’t seen yet. Is Wentworth Miller’s Captain Cold always so…theatrical? If anything, it showed me that I need to catch up on The Flash, as that’s where the more fantastical DC stuff seems to be happening. Sure, Oliver Queen went up against Ra’s Al Ghul, but he’s still pretty much dealing with street crime, while Barry Allen’s dealing with time travel and the Multiverse. That mindset is needed to fully get into Legends. Anyway, this show could really beat Marvel at its own game, as it’s giving us a superhero team, on a weekly TV budget, that’s actually making moves, and doesn’t have to adhere to movie tie-ins and studio plans. It might end up being a better Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. than Marvel’s show. Also, the fact that it’s potentially a One and Done series (it’s an expensive show, and another season would probably be comprised of a different team, according to reports), they can make some pretty bold decisions if necessary. Let’s just say that I’m really excited to see where this show is going.
Has anyone been watching Shades of Blue? It’s surprisingly good, and you’ve only missed 3 episodes, so there’s time to catch up. Jennifer Lopez plays a pseudo-dirty cop who’s forced to work with the feds to take down the rest of her unit. Ray Liotta is her commanding officer who knows there’s a mole in the unit, but doesn’t know it’s JLo. Or does he? It’s a tense hour of television and, based on the nature of the plot, it’s probably just going to be a One and Done series. Along with Undateable Live and Superstore, it’s one of the few bright spots on NBC’s schedule these days (Thursdays at 10 ET).
I can’t wait to see Disney’s damage control on this one, but Girl Meets World star Rowan Blanchard announced on Twitter that she identifies as queer. She tweeted:
“In my life – only ever liked boys however i personally don’t wanna label myself as straight gay or whateva so i am not gonna give myself labels to stick with – just existing :)”
Considering she’s 14, I’m not sure what to think of all this. I mean, it’s brave of her to come out in such a forum, but at the same time, I don’t even remember being sure of anything at 14. Maybe girls are just more mature than boys. I dunno…
Things You Might Have Missed This Week
- News sites were reporting that Darkwing Duck was being revived by DisneyXD in 2018. This was a lie. A cruel lie.
- Due to the tepid release of Terminator: Genisys, the planned sequel has been removed from Paramount’s schedule. The May 19, 2017 release date will now go to The Rock’s Baywatch movie.
- Vin Diesel tweeted out a pic, revealing that Fast 8 will take place in NYC
- The red band trailer was released for Key & Peele’s Keanu, and it looks hilarious! I can’t wait to Redbox this thing!
A few weeks back, I had the pleasure of joining the folks over at the Eclectic Mayhem Podcast to talk about thrifting. I’ve been friends with these guys online for a long time, but it was great to finally get to speak with them. You should already be following @TheGoodwillGeek, @iRoberts3, @DorketteTweets, and @ItsTrashCulture, but if you’re not, then get to it! Anyway, be sure to check out the episode here.
I don’t think they’ve ever had the honor of a West Week Ever, but I like to give credit where it’s due. Sure, I may consider myself more in the Marvel camp these days, but you can’t deny that DC Entertainment was on everyone’s lips this week. Whether it was folks talking about how much they loved the Suicide Squad trailer, to speculation about the Justice League movie, to simply eagerly awaiting the premiere of Legends of Tomorrow, DC Entertainment was the cock of the walk this week. There are reports that the comics aren’t doing so well, sales-wise, for both Marvel and DC, but DC seems to finally be making a name for itself in the world of live action entertainment. This is something that fanboys have been waiting for ever since Marvel revealed their plan for a cinematic universe. Immediately, everyone wondered “What’s DC gonna do?” Well, not only has DC conquered the live action TV game, with Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Gotham, and Legends of Tomorrow (not to mention the shows based on DC’s Vertigo imprint, including iZombie, Lucifer, and the upcoming Preacher), but they’re finally about to make their move in the movie realm. With all the previews and premieres, this was a great week to be a DC fan, so that’s why DC Entertainment had the West Week Ever.
