The Reel World

The Matt Signal – Episode 54: Zatanna

Plot summary: When Bruce Wayne’s first love, Zatanna, is accused of a crime she didn’t commit, Batman steps in to clear her name.

The Matt Signal – Episode 53: Paging the Crime Doctor

Plot summary: Rupert Thorne requires life-saving surgery. Luckily, his brother is a disgraced doctor who will do anything he asks.

Jerome’s Top 50 of 2020: MOVIES!

2020 changed the way we see movies. There are a lot of aspects to the year which are important, like the government abandoning Americans who can’t pay rent and are at risk for going hungry, but I don’t have the bandwidth to discuss that. What I do discuss is movies and television shows to keep my sanity. I like to rank all the movies I’ve seen in a given year. It’s something I’ve done the last two years, but it doesn’t seem nearly as interesting this year with so many other Oscar contenders coming out in 2021 and blockbusters being pushed to 2021 with very exceptions. I did decide to complete a top 50 but include television shows and movies as well. There were still some excellent films that came out in 2020, and I will honor 17 of them right here.

Jerome’s Top 50 of 2020: Television Shows

It’s pretty wild to think about the year in television for 2020. There were a lot of concerns about the content pipeline drying up, and it ultimately never did. Most likely, this is capitalism at its worst, but there were also a number of projects completed or nearly completed before the pandemic started. This was a solid movie year under the circumstances but a spectacular year for television. I have 24 shows on this list, and they represent the gambit (pun not intended) of broadcast, cable, premium, and at least five different streaming services. One show even jumped from one streaming service to another.

Pantheon Plus – Tournament Edition: Enter the Dragon

John Saxon, friend and student of Bruce Lee, and co-star in 'Enter the Dragon' dies at 83 | South China Morning Post

Jerome and Brian examine Bruce Lee’s finest and most important work, Enter the Dragon. They examine his history, his unfortunate passing, and the greatness of this film.

Jerome’s Top 50 of 2020: Docuseries and Documentaries

Discussing 2020 as a terrible year is almost a cliché at this point. If it’s possible for opinions to be subjective, then saying 2020 was bad would be a truth. However, there were some excellent examples of visual media. Hopefully, these projects have served as a distraction to those who have needed it, but they should never make us forget the realities of what it means to be a citizen of the world. Many of these top 50 do so in subtle and not so subtle ways. Today, I’ll focus on some documentaries and docu series. Tomorrow will be television shows. Thursday I’ll end with movies.

Top 10 Performances in the Harry Potter Films

Okay, so these movies are mostly ass. In fact, calling them “movies” is pretty much a stretch. For the most part, it just feels like the books were plugged into Google Translate to go from “book” to “movie” and they were just spit out. There was no real vision and the differing early styles, and the whole thing was clearly just a quick cash-in. Whatever! These books were not designed well for adaptation for the screen (big or small). As such, there’s really no great acting in there, but some characters were better served than others in the script with actors actually doing what was needed!

10. John Cleese

Continue reading Top 10 Performances in the Harry Potter Films

The Matt Signal – Episode 52: Mudslide

Plot summary: Clayface resurfaces in a desperate attempt to stop his body from literally falling apart.

The Matt Signal – Episode 51: The Man Who Killed Batman

Plot summary: Small-time crook Sid the Squid’s life takes a turn for the worse after he apparently kills Batman.

Reel Bad – A Breaking Bad Podcast: Episode 12 (Better Call Saul Season 5)

The fifth season of Better Call Saul may be the best yet, and Jerome and Kevin break down why.

A long discussion of the characters and stories leads to some gushing over some of the series’ top episodes, and bellyaching over the Emmy snubs of Bob Odenkirk and especially Rhea Seehorn. Some old Breaking Bad characters make some first time appearances as well, and we see some characters going down the darker paths that will lead them to their Breaking Bad destination.

With the show’s final season in abeyance, Kevin and Jerome lay down some Season 6 predictions to end the episode, and reveal their next project. Don’t worry, Reel Bad will wrap up whenever Season 6 is released!