Author: Michael Thomas

Mike & Matt’s X-Cellent Adventures – Episode #6 – The Wolverine

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Okay, feel free to skip this episode. We will not be offended. The Wolverine is one of the three unquestionably weak X-Men films. Unlike The Last Stand  or Origins: Wolverine though, this one was just really boring as opposed to hilariously awful. On top of that, we had some audio issues for the first 15-25 minutes (of this super short 40-minute episode). Things are about to pick up though with the next three episodes though! Don’t give up on us!
Continue reading Mike & Matt’s X-Cellent Adventures – Episode #6 – The Wolverine

Mike & Matt’s X-Cellent Adventures – Episode #5 – X-Men: First Class

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Hey! X-Men films are good again! We also make jokes about Donald Trump being the absolute worst. Please join us for episode #5 of the number one retrospective podcast mini-series on the X-Men cinematic franchise!
Continue reading Mike & Matt’s X-Cellent Adventures – Episode #5 – X-Men: First Class

Mike & Matt’s X-Cellent Adventures – Episode #4 – X-Men Origins: Wolverine

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Bone claws. Silent Deadpool. will.i.am. Creepy Professor Xavier. There was no shortage of topics on Episode #4 of the number one retrospective podcast mini-series on the X-Men cinematic franchise!
Continue reading Mike & Matt’s X-Cellent Adventures – Episode #4 – X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Mike & Matt’s X-Cellent Adventures – Episode #3 – X-Men: The Last Stand

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Is The Last Stand just the worst X-Men film ever or in fact the worst film ever? Tune in to this week’s edition of Mike & Matt’s X-Cellent Adventures to find out! Continue reading Mike & Matt’s X-Cellent Adventures – Episode #3 – X-Men: The Last Stand

Game of Thrones Season 6: Where are we? How did we get here? Where are we going?

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Season 3 of Game of Thrones brought an end to the Stark vs. Lannister war that had dominated the show ever since Ned Stark lost his head at the end of season 1 and represented the main conflict of the show since the very first episode (which of course ended with Jaime Lannister pushing Bran Stark out of a tower).

Without that main source of conflict and intrigue, the following three seasons struggled to find that throughline that could carry things until the endgame. While the show’s audience has been treated to some absolutely spectacular moments, battles, etc. for the past thirty episodes, there was also a sense of aimlessness to the overall story. Continue reading Game of Thrones Season 6: Where are we? How did we get here? Where are we going?

Ranking the Werner Herzog Documentaries

 

Herzog Articles
Ranking the Werner Herzog Documentaries
Ranking the Werner Herzog Fiction Films
Review of Werner Herzog’s The Twilight World
Ranking the Nosferatu Films

Still Need to Watch: The Flying Doctors of East Africa, Handicapped Future, The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner, How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck, La Soufrière, Huie’s Sermon, God’s Angry Man, The Dark Glow of the Mountains, Herdsmen of the Sun, Echoes from a Sombre Empire, Jag Mandir, Bells from the Deep, The Transformation of the World into Music, Gesualdo: Death for Five Voices, Wheel of Time, The White Diamond, Encounters at the End of the World, Into the Abyss, On Death Row, From One Second to the Next, Into the Inferno, Meeting Gorbachev, Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds, The Fire Within: A Requiem for Katia and Maurice Krafft

Werner Herzog is one of the greatest filmmakers who has ever stepped behind the camera. I am merely at the beginning of my journey of exploring and studying his documentaries so far, but I am going to share my early findings on what I consider to be his best and most essential work.

Continue reading Ranking the Werner Herzog Documentaries

How Carol Demonstrates that The Patriarchy Is Bad for Everyone

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This column contains spoilers for the film.

While the awards season buzz for Carol has mostly (and very deservedly) concentrated on the performances of the wonderful Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, the work done by Kyle Chandler has been in some need for praise and celebration. The film was about the Blanchett and Mara characters of course (as well it should have been), and it was a gripping and (at times) emotionally devastating story of two women punished and held down by patriarchal values and institutions. It becomes clear though by the end that the film also expresses how those same values and institutions are crippling for men and thus, making matters even worse for women. Continue reading How Carol Demonstrates that The Patriarchy Is Bad for Everyone