You know it's been a hell of a week when Movie Night is just dedicated to actors who have recently died. Case in point, Mr. David Warner passed away at the age of 80, just shy of his 81st birthday (which is today, by the way). There were so many things we could've watched to remember him--one friend suggested Tron, I had In the Mouth of Madness queued up, and there was the possibility of just watching several episodes of Batman: The Animated Series that featured Ra's al Ghul. But in the end it turned out that most of us hadn't seen Time Bandits, so we went with that. And it was goofy fun!
time travel
Under ConTroll (2019)
There are two types of bad movies--okay, there are way more than that, but just go with me on this. The two types are movies made sincerely, and those that are not. The Room is a masterpiece of bad cinema because Mr. Tommy Wiseau really, truly thought he was making art. But all the Scary Movie films and their spin-offs were made to be intentionally bad, and they end up being bad in a different, less enjoyable way. So which is Under ConTroll, the German sequel to Troll 2? Well there's nothing sincere about this movie, so that's telling.
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
I just can't talk about this movie without going full spoilers. There's a lot to cover, so this will be on the longer side.
When They Cry: Kai – Season 2, Episodes 10-13
Normally when covering Higurashi no Naku Koro ni: Kai, AKA When They Cry: Kai, I talk about an entire arc in one post. Well, Mass Slaughter is eight episodes long, so welcome to part two! Let's start with a brief recap of what happened in the first four episodes: Rika is aware she's stuck in a neverending time loop of the same days over and over until her eventual murder. After around a hundred years of this, morale is in the dumps. Doesn't help that her invisible friend, the horned Hanyu, is a pretty big fatalist as well. Moping about the inescapable nature of fate to Keiichi, Rika is surprised when the boy stands up and forcibly changes how things are supposed to happen. Bolstered by new hope, she rallies her friends to save Satoko, her best friend who is trapped with an abusive uncle. And that's basically where we start this second half of episodes.
Needle in a Timestack (2021)
Sure seems like there's a trend of me watching a non-horror movie during October--a month I just devote to nothing but horror films--that makes me go, "Oh, I have to talk about this." Last year was Are We Not Cats, and this year it's the amazingly titled Needle in a Timestack. Teams of people read that name and thought, "This is perfectly acceptable"? Remarkable. Anyway, it's a movie about time travel and it's... certainly something.
When They Cry: Kai – Season 2, Episodes 6-9
So far with When They Cry, an anime about kids trapped in a never-ending loop of death, the longest story arc has been Eye Opening with 6 episodes. I managed to cram all my thoughts into one big-ass post, but there was a real concern at the time about the overall length. Well, now we're in the second season, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni: Kai, AKA When They Cry: Kai, where the arcs' lengths varies all over the place. Reunion was just a single episode, while the arc I'm starting today--Mass Slaughter--is eight. That's absolutely too long for one post, so welcome to part 1! Expect the next several posts for the show to be broken up in similar ways for shorter reads and less stress on my end.
What If…? – Season 1, Episode 4
I know I said that last week's episode, “What If the World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?” was my new favorite episode of What If...?, but that's no longer the case. "What If Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?" continues the series' fine tradition of clunky episode titles, but it delivers a compelling tale of love and loss that also actually involves the Watcher! You know, the omniscient narrator of the whole thing? He gets to actually do something! Kind of.
Loki – Season 1, Episode 6
Starting this post off with a little PSA: We live in the age of immediate spoilers, and whether you like it or not, we sort of have to adjust to that. Back when Marvel Comics killed off Captain America, they infamously told news outlets before comic stores even opened to sell that particular comic. But don't actively tag people in spoilers before you know that they've seen the media in question. As you can probably tell, I went into the season finale of Loki's first season knowing that my theory from episode 5 was wrong. So let's see how things shaped up in the last episode of Loki... or is it? Let's dive into "For All Time. Always."
Loki – Season 1, Episode 5
Episodes of Arrow are taking another week off because I've been very busy, and not because I've actually been lazy and playing The Sims 4. Anyway, Loki summaries are still on track! We're at the penultimate episode with what appears to be a massive reveal coming next week, but that doesn't mean that this episode was lacking in things that happened. So let's talk about this episode while I try my damnest to avoid going into detail about Kang the Conqueror!
Loki – Season 1, Episode 4
We're now halfway through Loki, and the previous episodes have left us with several answers but even more questions. The fourth episode, "The Nexus Event," is no exception to this, raising the stakes and introducing some characters I've been waiting for. So let's not waste any more time!
Chwineka Watches 