Favorite Scene Friday! Rick and Morty: Keep Summer Safe

Where to begin with Rick and Morty? Its quality? Its mass appeal? Szechuan sauce? Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland's pop culture darling is so popular that it's got folks like yours truly starting Facebook groups just to discuss it with friends and like-minded fans. I actually can't believe we haven't written about it for FSF yet.

Taylor Rose

This week's scene - the last in this year's Escape-athon series - is the start of the "Keep Summer Safe" bit from Season 2's "The Ricks Must Be Crazy". It starts innocently enough. Rick, Morty, and Summer are in an alternate universe to catch a Ball Fondlers movie and eat some of the multiverse's best ice cream. Their ship is dead however, and it's definitely not the quantum carburetor.

This scene almost plays like a Rick and Morty greatest hits album. Alternate realities. Rick insulting Morty. Burping. The setup for an insane, sci-fi adventure. And that setup definitely pays off - "The Ricks Must Be Crazy" is one of the show's best episodes. But what this scene really sets up is the amazing B plot. Rick doesn't want to leave Summer unattended (due to the giant, telepathic spiders of course), so he instructs the ship to "Keep Summer safe." It goes to some insane lengths to do so.

Some of the smaller details of this scene really shine. The mention of "11 9/11s". The fact that flashlights are taped to the ship in lieu of headlights. "That was my daughter's pediatrician!"

This bit is truly the tip of the iceberg, as the ship's actions to keep Summer "safe" progressively lead to worse scenarios. It gets real dark. Summer becomes a party to murder and mayhem in the name of safety and she probably would have been better off with the spiders.

What's your favorite scene from Rick and Morty?

Would the best ice cream in the multiverse make up for giant, telepathic spiders? 

Favorite Scene Friday! The A-Team: "They're trying to fly that tank."

This week's scene is by CT from Nerd Lunch!

I love The A-Team. Perhaps more than any man should. I was the right age when the TV series launched. It was on from 1982-1987 which put me at about 6 to 10. Everything about it was over the top and schlocky fun.

By Source, Fair use, Link

A show like that though, you expect to watch it through adult eyes and not have the same fondness. Surprisingly, the opposite happened. I received the TV series on DVD for Christmas a few years ago and watched through them all again. I loved it more. And Hannibal Smith cemented himself as one of my favorite characters in pop culture. The first two seasons of the show are solid, 80s action fun. Hannibal is a wise-cracking Vietnam vet who has assembled a group of guys who are misfits when apart, but a force of nature when together.

Peppard is know for some unfortunate issues on the set. Reportedly he drove off the two female leads and was known to have a feud (seemingly one-sided) with Mr. T. That aside, Peppard played the role of Hannibal perfectly. And the characters were rich in backstory and personality that was infused into the scripts by creators Lupo and Cannell.

With such love and passion for this show, I both wanted a reboot and didn't want one at the same time. There were reports of a reboot movie for years before one actually came out in 2010. Early rumors indicated script treatments not very faithful to the original story including Faceman being the villain of the story. Although this same early script apparently had a scene that completely seemed like what a big budget A-Team movie should have—The A-Team flying a tank.

Years passed by and directors changed. Then a cast was lined up. Then a promo photo was released. And it looked like it was finally going to happen. Nervous, I still went and watched it. And I loved it.

I have some minor quibbles in regards to the portrayal of Hannibal, but I can easily look past those noting this movie takes place earlier in their career than the series does and the aspects of Hannibal that I would like to have seen would have developed in sequels. What they got right about Hannibal was his planning. Hannibal has an almost supernatural gift of seeing the world in such a way that he can plan multiple steps in advance and pull off anything he wants.

Anything. That includes what if you found yourself in a tank in the middle of the air that was now plummeting to the ground? Well, Hannibal finds a way to land it. So unrealistic, but so fun.



There are many great scenes in this film and if you haven't watched it, you can rent it for cheap and almost always find it for sale for the same price. It deserves a sequel that we'll never get. The plan for this film finally came together and I love that it did.

Favorite Scene Friday! Game of Thrones: Dracarys

SPOILERS!!!

This weekend is a big one for Game of Thrones - Sunday marks the season 7 finale. What will happen with Dany and Jon? Will everyone come together to fight the White Walkers, or will Cersei blindside everyone? I personally can't wait to find out, but let's jump back a bit for this week's scene.

Matt Talbot

Back in season five, Dany was ruling over Meereen. In the scene below, a rebellion by the Sons of the Harpy interrupts a match in the fighting pits, in which Dany's once and future advisor Jorah Mormont was a combatant. Dany and co. will try to get away, but they get forced into the middle of the arena. All will seem lost, with Dany seemingly resigning herself to her fate, until a dragon's screech silences the attack.



Drogon's screech coming out of nowhere, his sudden appearance and his attack on the Sons of the Harpy never fail to give me chills. But this scene is chock full of great moments. It goes so quickly from Jorah prevailing in the pit to saving Dany from the SotH (man those masks are creepy) and then the Drogon attack, it's enough to make your head spin.

Drogon. Rips. And. Burns. So. Many. Bad guys. And then Dany herself finally gets in on the action after her dragon takes a few spears to the neck. The fact that she pulls a spear out of Drogon and he doesn't burn her alive is a testament to her control over the animal. His roar in her face and the subsequent tender moment is great.

Of course, after this, Dany goes on to conquer her enemies in Meereen and elsewhere. Hopefully she'll continue to do so on Sunday.

Favorite Scene Friday! Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: West Covina

We don't feature scenes from TV all that often for Favorite Scene Friday. In fact, I think we've only highlighted clips from True Detective, Breaking Bad, Community, Seinfeld, and Arrested Development. It's my humble opinion, but I think all of those can be considered some of the best TV shows ever made. So for a show to get featured for FSF, it's gotta be good.

IMDb

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend follows Rebecca Bunch (national treasure Rachel Bloom), a New York attorney who abruptly quits her job and moves to California to pursue a relationship with her ex-boyfriend, Josh Chan (crazy, right?). That's exactly what we see here - Rachel breaks into song, hops on a plane (in animated form, no less) and winds up in her crush's hometown. And that's what this particular musical number is about: the very strip-mally West Covina, California, the so called "Pride of the Inland Empire". It's quick to see that West Covina, while not necessarily worse than New York, isn't any better. Unless you've moved there for love (and/or are insane). The dirty sidewalk appears beautiful to Rebecca and noisy traffic is merely the sounds of "a bustling town". But as "West Covina" points out, Rebecca's kind of in denial about why she left New York. Josh "just happens to be" in West Covina, Rebecca explains -  a place she moved to because she wanted to change her life.

Not only is there lots to be heard in this scene for the obvious reasons, there's lots of great visual details. Notice that Rachel's hair is straight when she's in New York and when she arrives in California it's a bit curlier. Her dress has also become bedazzled. There's also the bits in New York where Rachel blocks some letters in a sign for goulash so that it spells gosh and then the same thing happens for Josh.

There are so many other great, funny and weird things in this scene. The anime wigs. The visit to the strip club (I guess she was expecting Josh to be there for some reason?). The exchange between Rachel and one of the movers, whom Rachel speaks to in English and then in Spanish. And then there's the big dance number at the end. The marching band getting cut is a great callback to earlier in the scene, as is the giant pretzel. And the "Only two hours from the beach!" line is a running gag referencing the fact that, for a California town, West Covina really isn't that close to the beach at all. It's just one of the many great running gags in the show.

Beth Morrell

I won't lie, this is probably the biggest musical number of the entire season. I think the pilot had a bigger budget because the show was originally produced for Showtime. But that doesn't mean the rest of the songs are bad. In fact, they're all pretty great and unique. So check out Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. It just happens to be great.

What's your favorite scene from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend?

What's your favorite musical?

A Peek Through the Hatch: Robert's Most Anticipated TV of 2016

Wouldn't ya know it, I've come to look forward to upcoming TV as much as films. As you'll obviously see, I only did full write ups on my Top 5, but I did include short blurbs on 10-6 as well. Big thanks to io9 and Variety as I used their lists as a reference.

10. Preacher (TBD)

'Nuff said: Could fill the AMC/Breaking Bad/Walking Dead shaped hole in my heart.

9. Catastrophe Season 2 (April 8, 2016)

'Nuff said: Hilarious.

8. Black Mirror Season 3 (TBD)

'Nuff said: Amazing sci-fi anthology show.

7. Penny Dreadful Season 3 (May 1st)

'Nuff said: Eva Green

6. Luke Cage (TBD)

'Nuff said: Marvel/Netflix expansion.

5. Westworld (TBD)

A long form adaptation of the '70s sci-fi flick (which I just recently saw for the first time) - in HBO's hands no less - sounds awesome. Great looking cast, too - Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, Thandie Newton. Color me intrigued.

If you're unfamiliar with the movie (written and directed by Michael Crichton), it revolves around a futuristic theme park made up of different themed lands, all incredibly realistic and populated by androids. The movie focused on a Western themed land, appropriately titled Westworld. Crichton and a crazy theme park? Shocker.

Apparently the show has hit a bit of a snag, but hopefully it'll still air this year.



4. 11/22/63 (February 15th)

If you could travel back in time, would you change history? This is the question 11/22/63 - an adaptation of Stephen King's novel of the same name - wants to explore. Specifically, would you stop the Kennedy assassiniation if you could? I'm a sucker for time travel, so I'll definitely be tuning in.



3. Daredevil Season 2 (March 18th)

I was a big fan of Daredevil's first season and Jessica Jones solidified my faith in the Netflix/Marvel collaboration, so it's safe to say I'm excited for this. The new episodes look to pit Charlie Cox's Daredevil against The Punisher (Jon Bernthal). This season will take us one step closer to "The Defenders", the show that will unite Darevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and the as yet uncast Iron Fist.



2. Game of Thrones Season 6 (April 24th)

Why am I super stoked for the new season of Game of Thrones? Not only did I binge the first 5 seasons last year (I don't know what took me so long), the fate of a certain character definitely has me counting down the days. But yeah, now that I'm caught up, I can watch the terribleness unfold in real time.

Facebook

1. The X-Files Season 10 (January 24th)

Not only is this my #1 most anticipated TV show this year, it might be my most anticipated ANYTHING for 2016. I've been obsessed with many things throughout my life, and The X-Files was one of the earliest. More Mulder and Scully on TV just can't be a bad thing.

I'm curious to see how they pull this off, since the last season and 2008's I Want To Believe left things headed in a different direction compared to what appears to be happening in the new season. As of this writing, we only have to wait a few more days...

Let's #LAMBwatch True Detective Season 2!

#LAMBwatch is a LAMB feature where we (virtually) watch a movie or TV show together and tweet throughout, tagging our tweets with, you guessed it, #LAMBwatch. Examples of past #LAMBwatches can be found by clicking here.

Well it's time once again, because this Sunday, June 21st at 9:00 EST marks the premiere of True Detective Season 2 on HBO! Please join me and other members of the LAMB community in live tweeting the sumbitch! Just tag your tweets with #LAMBwatch.

Variety

Countdown to Avengers 2: Daredevil: Into the Ring

Avengers: Age of Ultron officially premieres tomorrow! Since January we've been counting down to the film's release with Nerd Lunch and Cavalcade of Awesome by looking at different aspects of "Phase 2" in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

Marvel

We've looked at Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Guardians of the Galaxy. Now it's time for our final pre-Ultron post, and for that, we head to Hell's Kitchen for the pilot episode of Netflix's Daredevil!

Beware spoilers for Daredevil and other Marvel productions!

Daredevil: Into the Ring

I'll just come out and say it - Daredevil, a joint effort between Marvel and Netflix - is one of the best projects Marvel has ever done. It's well acted, well scripted, and competently produced.

And this was just Marvel testing the Netflix waters. Shows revolving around superheroes Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and the Iron Fist are planned, before a team up ala The Avengers in a fifth show - The Defenders.

Marvel

While I have seen the entire series, we're just covering the pilot episode. But what a pilot! We start out with a frantic and emotional scene that shows how Matt Murdock, the man who will become Daredevil, was blinded as a boy (saving an innocent of course). This is followed up by the adult Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) confessing to his priest. This scene fluctuates between charming, emotional and dark, and Cox just nails it. I can see showbiz hopefuls using it as a monologue in their acting classes in the future.

What we see next - and what Matt was asking forgiveness for in advance (that's cheating!) - is our hero saving a group of kidnapped young women from the sex trade. The fight scene is fierce and brutal, and shows you what you're in for in terms of the action and choreography of the show. 

Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page, a woman Matt helps who goes on to be his employee, was effortless in the role. The only actor I didn't really like was Elden Henson who played Foggy Nelson, Matt's law partner. He did grow on me over time, but I'm confident they could have found someone with a little more talent.

As for references to the MCU, there weren't that many in the pilot. We get some references to alien attacks and destruction (the battle with the Chitauri from The Avengers). There were more as the show went on, but the pilot was pretty light, which I think was intentional.

There are already rumors that Daredevil and the rest of the Defenders will fit into a future Avengers film. I say bring it on. I'm looking forward to revisiting Hell's Kitchen.

Thoughts from CT at Nerd Lunch...

Robert asked me to contribute some thoughts about the first episode of Daredevil, but I wound up watching the whole thing. It is episodic, but plays as a 13-hour long movie in a lot of ways. Everyone applauded Guardians of the Galaxy for telling a different kind of story in the MCU and proving how versatile it can be. Granted, this is something that comic readers have already known. The comics' world contains super powers, advanced tech, magic, monsters, supernatural forces and just regular ol' street crime. With the Daredevil TV series, Marvel has done it again and told a story unlike anything they've done and set it in a world with magic hammers and iron suits. Strip a few things out, and this is a simple crime drama. But place it in the context of the MCU and it's so much more.

Marvel

As a result, I think this is the start of something special and I applaud Marvel and the success they've had with this series. I hope the subsequent shows are as good and I look forward to more Daredevil in the future. Hopefully he'll get a movie appearance someday, too.

Once Again, A Six Pack of Thoughts

by Jeremy Tidwell

It's been a while since I've found the time to sit back, crack open a few bottles of my favorite alcohol, and slip into my rather obsessive thought pattern over all things pop culture related. Life has been busy and sometimes the simple pleasure of drinking beer after beer while musing upon the current state of things is not something that can happen often.

Yet this past week I actually found time to do just that. After my birthday I found myself a little hung over and decided the best way to remedy my current state was to enjoy some of the “hair of the dog that bit me”. For those unaware of this saying, it just means I drank more to bury my hangover in more alcohol. And in doing this, I was able to enjoy a few cold ones and think.

So here's what I came up with…

BEER ONE

I’m not sure how I missed the Bates Motel train when it first come around, but damn is that not a good show. Bates Motel on A&E is a well scripted and superbly acted show that allows some insight into a fascinating character by the name of Norman Bates.

Laurent Durieux

Speaking of Norman Bates, Freddie Highmore’s portrayal of the confused and disjointed Norman is pitch perfect. He's able to find the nuances of the character that pulls out all the innocence and despair that makes me feel sorry for Norman. I want to see him just succeed and get past it but we all know how Norman turns out – an obsessive, cross dressing psychopath who channels his Mother’s essence to commit his crimes. Damn.

If you've missed out on this one, binge watch it. You won’t be disappointed. “Whatever you say, Mother.”

BEER TWO

As a lifelong horror movie lover, I'm growing more and more frustrated with the current trend of taking iconic horror villains and feeling the need to explain everything about them. Like the viewer needs to know how they became the way they are or why they kill or what color underwear they prefer.

It's overwrought and useless. The recent news of the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre film being about the teenage years of Leatherface and even the idea that a new Friday the 13th film will attempt to explain the immortality of Jason Voorhees, has sparked this recent rant of mine.

The great thing about these characters is their ambiguity. The simple fact that they're killers with no real reason or thought but just that they feel the need to kill is enough. The idea that there's no reasoning with these killers, that there's no remorse with them,  is what makes them frightening.

Take the original Halloween as a shining example of this notion. In that film, Michael Myers’ actions were never explained. He was just pure evil...the embodiment of pure, unchecked evil.

He was the Boogeyman. It was never explained why he killed, but it didn’t matter. The fact that he killed because he was malevolent was all we needed to be scared and check our closet at night before we went to sleep. If you look at all the great horror villains, there is very little explanation or exposition on why they do what they do. Freddy liked killing kids, Jason was left to drown by promiscuous teens, Leatherface was nuts, Myers was a soulless killing machine who had family issues. Simple. Plain. To the point. No need to try and go deeper with these characters because they're like nightmares. Nightmares don’t always make sense, but they sure do keep us up at night.

That's what made these characters great - not that we knew all their motivations and why they wanted to butcher people. Sometimes the thing we know very little about is the thing that scares us the most. I hope those production companies, writers, and filmmakers figure this out before they ruin
everything.

BEER THREE

FUCK KANYE. Yep, I said it. I loved, no, I adored this guy’s music when he first came out. Hell, I still contend 808s and Heartbreak is one of the best rap/pop/R&B/whatever genre albums to come out in the past ten years. But now, see the first statement I made at the beginning of this small section.

BEER FOUR

With this beer my thoughts are reaching a frenzied point of going off the rails. The alcohol seems to be seeping into my veins a tad quicker than normal due to the fact that I'm nursing a hangover by ingesting more beer. But I'll push forward because I'm sure the readers wonder what other dumb bile I might spew forth if given the chance. Or maybe they're truly interested. Especially after I just said fuck Kanye.

Well, one thing I keep thinking about is tacos. I'm hungry. I think I'm going to get tacos after I finish this article. It seems like the right thing to do.

BEER FIVE

I wonder, can it finally happen? Can two of the coolest time traveling, air guitar playing dudes in
the cinematic universe be close to another adventure? Of course, I'm talking about Bill and Ted. I (and I hope many others) love these characters so much that I would kill someone very slowly for the chance to see another film.

DKNG via /Film

I don’t know if it's just the nostalgia factor or if there's something just truly transcendent about the characters, but I think another Bill and Ted film would be so righteous. A fun film that appeals to the good in all of us. Yes, you may think that's a lofty label placed upon a film about two pretty dumb dudes who stumble into history based hi-jinks, but think back on those films and just how damn cool and fun they were. I can’t see anything wrong with wanting to have another Bill and Ted film and see what happened to the WYLD STALLYNS!

BEER SIX

Actually at this point I've already downed beer six and I'm now enjoying a hard apple cider with a splash of fireball in the neck of the bottle. A very tasty treat that has just the right kick. It does seem by now that I'll be dealing with another treacherous hangover, but, what the hell.

My final thought, well, the final thought for this article, will pertain to how awesome The Walking Dead was this season. It's just been a powerhouse of a show, in my humble, yet inebriated opinion. Many claim the program has become more of a soap opera or a slow, grinding show that really goes nowhere. I disagree. It's a program that shows such power, sadness, rage, hope, and loss that you can’t help but tune in. There are so many chess games and deeper themes floating in this zombie drama, that as a viewer you have to pay more attention to the humans than the zombies. Following the main group and all their struggles and triumphs, you can’t help but become attached, and when the show kills one of them off, you're forced to deal with their death in a very real, human way. The show doesn’t allow you to look away or blink at the atrocities being shown.

The detractors of the show say it's being too slow or melodramatic and focus on the wrong things. The show is based off a comic that was all about the human element of the zombie apocalypse. It was about showing how people and society would deal with all of this happening. It was not about the zombies and how they just ran around and ate people. It was always about Rick Grimes and his band of survivors (his family) and what they did to make it through this new way of life with the undead. So, it seems your complaining is pointless if you look at the source material and what the heart of the story really is. 

I think this show is top notch, and if you're missing it, you should catch up. And if you don’t like my opinion, then maybe the next time I see you I'll “Otis” your ass and let the nearby zombies dine on you like it's half off at the Golden Corral. Maybe that'll happen. Maybe not.

Well, that's all I got. Six beers. Six thoughts. Even though I did sneak in another beverage, it still counts as six. Anyway, I'm going to go drink some more and then talk with real people about all this shit and see what they think.

Jeremy Tidwell is an artist, writer and filmmaker. He loves John Hughes movies and can't sleep with the closet door open. He currently resides at the bottom of Buffalo Bill's pit. He hates the lotion.

A Peek Through the Hatch: Robert's Most Anticipated TV of 2015

Dare I say it, but this year's upcoming TV is just as tantalizing as its upcoming films. Between broadcast TV and online services like Netflix, there's so much for fans to enjoy these days. I've got a couple of honorable mentions listed first, and then we jump into my Top 5. Read on, and don't forget to tell me what you're looking forward to!

Community

Honorable Mentions:

10. Black Mirror: Season 3 (Channel 4 - ???)

9. Veep: Season 4 (HBO - April 12)

8. Sherlock: Christmas Special (PBS - Winter)

7. Orphan Black: Season 3 (BBC America - April 18)

6. Community: Season 6 (Yahoo Screen - March 17)

Top 5:

5. True Detective: Season 2 (HBO - TBD)

I think its safe to say that HBO's True Detective was the biggest thing to happen to TV last year (it certainly affected us around here). The show about two Louisiana detectives (Woody Harrelson and a career-best Matthew McConaughey) searching for a killer was both emotionally and technically amazing. Since True Detective is an anthology series, Season 2 will follow new characters in a new setting. After a lot of speculation online, Rachel McAdams, Colin Farrell, Taylor Kitsch and Vince Vaughn were announced as starring. Even though director Cary Fukunaga isn't returning to the director's chair (hurry up with that IT adaptation), writer Nic Pizzolatto is back, so I'm hoping that lighting strikes twice.

Just Jared via JoBlo

4. Daredevil: Season 1 (Netflix - April 10)

Marvel has given us ten films and two TV shows already, but they're not done by a long shot. The company has partnered with Netflix to produce a number of TV shows, one of which is Daredevil. I could take or leave Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and I haven't really gotten into Agent Carter but I'm very intrigued by Daredevil and its titular "Man Without Fear" (played by Charlie Cox). I recently enjoyed the heck out of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, so I feel it's safe to keep the faith in Netflix. One thing to keep in mind with Daredevil is that the entire first season will be available at once on Netflix. Binge-watchers rejoice!

3. Rick and Morty: Season 2 (Cartoon Network - Summer)

It's crazy how much I enjoyed the first season of Rick and Morty. Like, nuts. Nick alerted me to how funny the show was and told me to check it out. The show follows mad scientist Rick (voiced by Justin Roiland) and his grandson Morty (voiced by Justin Roiland [yes, he voices both characters]) as they get into all sorts of crazy scientific adventures, a lot of which involve alternate dimensions. If you need any other reason to like this show, Dan Harmon executive produces it, having co-created it after being fired from Community. The second season's supposed to air sometime this summer.



2. Ash vs. Evil Dead (Starz - TBD)

Well, despite the fact that I absolutely loved the 2013 reboot of Sam Raimi's horror franchise, it looks like the director has (hopefully temporarily) abandoned the entire thing in favor of a TV series. But that's okay with me! Ash (played by the one and only Bruce Campbell) will obviously be front and center in the show, and I'm anxious to see what's happened to him in the years since he woke up in a post apocalyptic London returned to the present after fighting medieval deadites in Army of Darkness.

mattrobot.com

1. Penny Dreadful: Season 2 (Showtime - May 3)

I've been missing so many things about Showtime's Penny Dreadful. The atmosphere. Its use of classic monsters and literary figures. The amazing Eva Green and the under appreciated Timothy Dalton. In fact, I could probably go without any other TV for the rest of the year if I just get me some more Penny Dreadful. I've unfortunately fallen out of love with The Walking Dead but, between Penny Dreadful and Ash vs. Evil Dead, I think I'm set.

A Six Pack of Thoughts

by Jeremy Tidwell

As I sit here savoring the last six pack of Shipyard’s Pumpkinhead beer that I stock piled during the magical season of spookiness known as October, I'm stampeded by various thoughts and ruminations that only come when one becomes ensnared in the hoppy goodness of pumpkin flavored beer or, for that matter, any alcohol-infused beverage.

Shipyard

The mind has a way of meandering to things that matter and things that don’t seem to hold any real value, except to those chosen few who have found a way to let go of the mundane and embrace the glorious. Movies, poetry, books, art, and especially pop culture, all superfluously flow into your cerebral cortex and set up base camp as the spirits of the bottle find their way into your blood stream and endanger your capacity for rational thought.

So I figured I'd give all the discerning and scholarly readers out there a peek behind the curtain. A look into the mind of someone who quite possibly is taking an uncalculated risk by drinking copious amounts of beer in a short amount of time and then spouting off their opinions. But what the hell, I’ve never been one to NOT have an opinion on things. Now join me by cracking open your favorite beer and seeing if any of the shit I spew forth makes any sense to you.

FIRST BEER

Having just read the article that outlined the treatment* (for the uninformed, a treatment is an extensive outline for a screenplay that has yet to be written) for the new Ghostbusters III movie written by Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg (those guys of The Office fame), I find myself a little giddy at what could have been. Now, the treatment is by no means perfect (an ending that once again involves crossing the streams) but it does have the feel of what a Ghostbusters movie should be. It should have the original characters involved in a new adventure that brings an end to their story. That gives the audience the closure we've always wanted for those beloved characters. Instead, we'll now be subjected to an all-female “reboot” of the original movie, written and directed by Paul Feig. I'll quote the great Peter Venkman here: “Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!” Definitely not a good thing.

SECOND BEER

Sometimes television shows of your childhood run in syndication on odd channels at odd hours. For me, one of those shows was Boy Meets World, and it airs on the Disney Channel late at night. This night I find myself watching the show while sipping slowly, which allows me to enjoy the beer longer. But I digress. This two part episode was the series finale, where the group of friends left for the big bad city known as New York. I forgot how powerful the show could be, especially when thinking about how it kinda shaped parts of my childhood. Maybe you find that weird but it was a good show. The best friend Shawn, the amazing and hot girlfriend Topanga, the wisdom filled teacher/neighbor Mr. Feeny, and the lovable Corey, all involved in the crazy and wonderful thing known as life. I really do love this show and this episode may have made me cry (but that could just be the alcohol sneaking up on me, causing me to become over emotional). Maybe.

Maxim

THIRD BEER

After a brief conversation with a close friend, I've decided that if you’re not watching the television show Sleepy Hollow, you should be. Gothic horror mixed with modern day comedy. It may sound like a cup of tea you don’t want to taste, but I think you should. There are many aspects of the show that make it an enjoyable watch, especially considering how it expands the mythos of the Headless Horseman and uses our own American history as a basis for its own dark and twisted mythology.

Facebook

FOURTH BEER

Based on a chart that I recently saw floating around on the internets, I was able to deduce that if I learn karate, I can become Batman. Yeah, I think it's that easy. Just look it up and you'll see what I'm talking about. Maybe I have that backwards but, whatever. I like beer.

FIFTH BEER

Ah, screw this! Where’s the Fireball?

Thanks for reading, I guess. Maybe you didn’t read and I'm just writing this because it feels like the best way to end this meandering stream of consciousness I'd like to call an article. Either way, I wrote it, and that counts for something.

As for that last beer, well let’s see what happens next time.

*I did find out this was a fake, but it sounds better than anything else I've read about a new Ghostbusters movie.

Jeremy Tidwell is an artist, writer and filmmaker. He loves John Hughes movies and can't sleep with the closet door open. He currently resides at the bottom of Buffalo Bill's pit. He hates the lotion.

Let's #LAMBWatch The Leftovers!

Any LAMB members watching The Leftovers?

Nerd Reactor

The show, centered around a fictional New York town after a Rapture-like event caused 2% of the world's population to disappear, airs Sundays at 10:00 p.m. on HBO. It's an interesting, if somewhat frustrating, show. Almost everything in the first episode was confusing and mysterious and I'm not really sure what a lot of the characters' motivations are. The second episode was solid, however, and now I'm pretty much hooked.

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Anyhoo, I'll be watching every week and I'd love for other LAMB members (or anyone!) to join me in a live tweet-along or "#LAMBWatch" as we call it around here. Yes, we've done this sort of thing with movies a few times, but never with a TV show. It'll probably work a little better due to the fact that we don't have to hit "play" on our DVD players and/or streaming devices. Just tune in and tweet!

So join us every Sunday at 10:00 p.m. EST and tag your tweets with #LAMBWatch. I'll bring the bagels and contempt for stray dogs (that's a Leftovers inside joke for ya).

Favorite Scene Friday! True Detective: The Locked Room

Are you watching True Detective? Do you love it?

Mondo via Geek Tyrant and Hypable

I can’t think of a single show that has captivated audiences as quickly as True Detective has. Only five episodes have aired and already there are parodies, fan sites, and many, many articles dissecting the show. The President has requested advance copies of it!

We don’t feature many TV scenes for FSF. In fact, I’ve only done two of them and one was dedicated to Breaking Bad, a show that was on for five seasons, not five hours. In short, for a TV show to affect me enough to get the Favorite Scene Friday treatment is a big deal.

You may think I’m featuring this scene because of the creepy ass ending (but damn is that guy disturbing - were they trying to model him after this?). But that’s really just a bonus. No, I’m featuring this scene because of Mr. Matthew McConaughey and his character, Detective Rustin Cohle. Unless you've been living under a rock, you've been privy to Mr. McConaughey's career resurgence, and True Detective is a huge part of that phenomenon. He breathes life into this character like few others could. Just give him the Emmy now.

The true highlight of this scene is at 2:23. Detective Cohle has been explaining his investigation of a grisly murder to two present day detectives investigating a similar case. He stops to make some observations about life in a way that only he can. First and foremost, True Detective writer Nic Pizzolatto has crafted some incredible dialogue here, but it's really McConaughey's delivery that brings the haunting speech to life. I absolutely love the way he says "dream". Gets me every time. Also, I like the idea that the mind is a locked room, a room that no one will ever get into but you. Hence, no one can ever truly know you. At least, that's what I think that means.

Suffice to say, this scene is NSFW and pretty disturbing. Also, you can stop it at 3:30 - the rest of the clip is just the closing credits. But that music is creep as hell too! Enjoy!



P.S. Is this show getting to anyone like me? I'm starting to have weird dreams about it and its peculiar literary references to Robert W. Chambers' work. I'll elaborate in the comments if anyone would like to be disturbed.

Favorite Scene Friday! Breaking Bad: "This is not meth."

The end is nigh, fellow Breaking Bad fans. It’s two days from now, actually. How to process the ending of one of the greatest shows in television history? We've seen so much. We've watched years of murder, meth-making, and money-laundering. We’ve watched Walter White (Bryan Cranston) go from a chemistry teacher to a drug kingpin. And on Sunday, we’ll watch him for the last time.

I’ve actually wanted to share scenes from Breaking Bad before. The show is so cinematic. The pacing, scenes, and character arcs. Now may be my last chance to meaningfully share something. 

In this week's scene, Walt has gone to the lair of a local asshole named Tuco Salamanca. The creep has stolen Walt and Jesse's (Aaron Paul) meth and put the latter in the hospital. Walt has two goals: 1) get paid for the stolen drugs and 2) avenge Jesse (remember when he used to do that?). Tuco makes the one mistake you should NEVER, EEEEEEVER make in regards to Walter White - underestimation. The results are, well, explosive. Have a watch below. 

One of the best aspects of the show over the years has been the villains. Tuco, played by Raymond Cruz, is no exception. The man is intense and shifty. The way he puts his cigarette out on his tongue, while cliche, is definitely effective.

And I can't write about Breaking Bad without discussing Bryan Cranston. He's masterful in this short clip, despite not saying a whole lot. Just look at his face at around 1:55, right after Tuco delivers his "beat the PISS" line (I absolutely love how he says that). Cranston really brings Walter White to life.

Hold it, I'm not done! "We're done when I say we're done!" Here are blooper reels from season two through the first half of season five (I guess there's no blooper reel from season one). It's nice to see the actors involved cracking up so much. Okay, we're done. Have a good weekend and enjoy the final episode of Breaking Bad.

Batch o’ Hatch: New Trailers (The Wolverine, Man of Steel, The World’s End, Don Jon), The Poltergeist Reboot, and Community News

I’ve barely had time for posts like these lately, which is unfortunate. On the bright side, the reason I don’t have a lot of time is because The EH Team has been busy. Like, fun-filled weekends kind of busy. That being said, I’d like to rant a little about our recent Friday. Let me explain...

We had gone out to Jacksonville Beach to watch the original Iron Man as part of the Moonlight Movies series. The concept was fun but the entire experience was pretty much ruined by a group of insanely drunk douchebags. This group of people - who were seated in a circle (yes, some of them weren’t even watching the movie) right in front of us - talked - nay - yelled, throughout the entire film. And whenever we or anyone else tried to shush them, they responded like we were the assholes. They even called us townies! I didn't think anyone actually used that phrase. Their main argument seemed to be that we could watch Iron Man on TV, since it supposedly comes on TBS all the time. They couldn’t seem to grasp the concept that, hey, we don’t want to watch it on TV, we came here to watch it on an enormous screen. I know we weren’t in a movie theater, but that doesn’t matter. You should still be somewhat respectful when the activity you’re engaging in requires silence. Talk about your DUI (Seriously, a girl talked about this. Loudly. The same girl complained about how she had been shushed at a screening of Men in Black.) on your own time. So go fuck a cactus, you guys.

Moving on, on Sunday Nick and Mrs. Nick accompanied me to a screening of the 4th Season of Arrested Development at Sun-Ray Cinema. I wore my Bluth’s Frozen Banana shirt, as did probably half a dozen others. A few other folks wore Arrested Development themed T-Shirts, everyone snacked on actual frozen bananas courtesy of Sweet Pete’s, and a general good time was had by all. I’m not sure if there’s always blue lighting in Sun-Ray or if they switched out the lights just for AD but, either way, it was a nice touch.

I didn’t watch the entire 4th season at Sun-Ray, but I did finish it later that night (I stayed up until 3:00). I thought that the season, while good, focused a little too much on the plot and not enough on the characters. I’ll probably never re-watch it the way I can re-watch seasons 1-3.

On Memorial Day we went to a free concert at the Landing to watch The Features perform. I wasn’t familiar with the group but I liked what I heard. After the concert we grabbed some drinks and I played around with the Vine app. Here’s Nick trying to find the perfect pair of glasses.

Enough about us, let’s move on to some new trailers and movie news!

Trailers

I was planning on writing this Batch last week, that’s why all of these trailers are a little old. First up, The Wolverine. This is a much better trailer, as the first few were a little silly. I’m really hoping this new movie tickles my fancy, especially since Wolverine will be popping up in the new X-Men First Class flick. I don’t want to be sick of him by then.



The fourth Man of Steel trailer is quite amazing and action filled. I’m really looking forward to Kal-El beating the crap out of something (anything!).



The new The World’s End trailer is a little slice of fried gold. It really gives you a good feel for how the actors will play off one another and it looks hilarious. Plus, it reveals that the antagonists are (spoiler alert!) robots! I thought they were aliens until I watched this trailer (maybe they’re alien robots?)



Don Jon, Joseph Gordon Levitt's directorial debut, made the Honorable Mention section of my 2013 Anticipated Films list. I hadn’t seen a trailer when I wrote that list and I was just going off the way the movie sounded on paper. So I’m happy that the trailer makes the movie look really solid. ScarJo plays a New Jersey girl really well. A little too well.



Which of these trailers is your favorite?

Poltergeist Reboot

JoBlo reported last week that the new Poltergeist film might end up being a sequel and a reboot, similar to producer Sam Raimi’s recent Evil Dead sequel/reboot combo. My motto with reboots is “It’s bound to happen sooner or later,” so this news doesn’t really bother me. Poltergeist is one of my favorite films of all time and a reboot could royally suck, but I have faith in Raimi.

Are you looking forward to this film? Would you rather a straight reboot or a straight sequel?

Community News

Capping off the news section of Batch o’ Hatch with a bang, there is now an updated version of the Journey to the Center of Hawthorne game from Community. Plus, there’s rumblings that Dan Harmon could come back to the show??? As the A.V. Club points out, there’s no precedent for this, so it’s exciting. I don’t see why Harmon wouldn’t come back, especially now that Chevy’s gone. I mean, NBC really dicked him over, but it's his baby and I could see him burying the hatchet in order to come back. Fingers crossed that Harmon will return for the final two seasons and the movie as well.

What do you think? Will Harmon come back?

Tweets

Nick from French Toast Sunday, sharing some Wayne's World love.

Wayne's World is on TV right now... & all is right with the universe.
— Nicholas Rehak (@TheRehak) April 11, 2013

CT from Nerd Lunch spreading the news that the IT Crowd is returning to TV!

Great news for @atomicgeekdowns and myself about the IT Crowd: bleedingcool.com/2013/05/06/the…
— CT (from Nerd Lunch) (@nerdlunch) May 6, 2013

Ruth from "...let's be splendid about this..." sharing a Simon Pegg Tweet about a possible new Trek film. I'm not sure if he's joking or not, but this would be awesome. By the way, read Ruth's review of Star Trek Into Darkness right here.

@zerbert !!!! Speaking of possible sequels!!!! This would be so cool if it happened. twitter.com/RuthElizabeth_…
— Ruth(@RuthElizabeth_R) May 21, 2013

That's all for now! See ya next time.

Favorite Scene Friday! Arrested Development: "Speech! Speech! Speech!"

It's almost here! The 4th Season of Arrested Development premieres on Netflix THIS Sunday! Who ever thought this day would actually come?

ign.com

This week's scene is incredibly brief (and not even complete - head to the video's YouTube page to read some angry comments about that) but it's appropriate because it's my first real memory of Arrested Development. It was my wild and crazy college days. Some friends and I had gotten together to hang out (I got a keg for the first time!) and my buddy had Arrested Development on in the background. This scene played out and I remember asking my friend "Why are they doing that?" I guess I thought it was an inside joke or something.

This scene really showcases two of the show's strong points - its cast and its absurd comedy. The whole family - and Carl "You Got a Stew Going" Weathers! - is cheering for someone to give a speech. They don't know who, however - they didn't think that far ahead.

Since this week's scene is so brief, I've included a super cut of 18 running gags on the show, courtesy of Slacktory. Also, to get you even more pumped, the excellent Season 4 trailer is included below.

I hope you enjoy the new season! And if you're in Jax on Sunday, make sure to stop by Sun-Ray Cinema to catch the new episodes on a big screen! First episode starts at 12:30 p.m.



Arrested Development Super Cut



Arrested Development Season 4 Trailer

Favorite Scene Friday: The Greatest TV Comedy in the History of Laughs

You may recall my last FSF was filled with clips from the outrageously hilarious TV comedy, Community.  This week I’ve decided to continue on that war path and treat you to one of my other favorite TV comedies, Seinfeld.  Now I realize anyone who’s ever watched Seinfeld has probably seen these scenes numerous times over, but I like them and since we’re in the midst of the season of giving, I thought I’d give ‘em to you again.  Sorry, no returns and no refunds.  What you’ll find here are five of the funniest scenes from the nine-season series.  I was going to choose only four, one from each main character, but honestly I think Jerry Seinfeld himself gets far too much attention in contrast to the other three players, so I’ve given you two scenes via George (Jason Alexander – or more notably Larry David’s psyche), Kramer (Michael Richards – Hey, did you hear he has a new show coming out?), Elaine (the lovely Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who like a fine wine, only gets prettier with age), and good ‘ol Frank Costanza (Jerry Stiller playing George’s dad – this one is arguably my favorite scene from the entire series).

There isn’t much buildup necessary before watching the scenes, so don’t fret about not knowing what’s going on, it was a show about nothing so the main plot points are pretty much moot anyway.  I will say, though, that you’ll undoubtedly notice two of these scenes are nothing more than stories told by George and Kramer, respectively.  Every time I watch these scenes, I picture the four actors, the writers and directors sitting around bullshitting with each other like you would with your friends on any Tuesday night of the week.  The actors are clearly having a great time and a lot of fun and who doesn’t love a good story?  These two scenes knock the comedy out of the park by all means necessary.  Also, an interesting tid-bit of information can be found in the first scene here:  Eric the Clown is none other than Hollywood Actor/Director, Jon Favreau (PCU, Swingers, Daredevil, Iron Man 1 & 2 & 3)  . . . pretty cool, huh?  Anyway, enjoy your weekend and Happy Christmas!