Todd Lyden

I've got this crazy idea. I think Marvel left the playing field open in the post "Avengers:Endgame" landscape for a new super-team. Back in the pre-Netflix days, there was a super team called "The Defenders." It's not much of a spoiler to disclose that Dr. Strange has come out intact after Endgame (they've announced a sequel movie). So right out of the gate you have the first member of this team up as you can tell from the comic cover. The second member, who always has trouble being in Marvel films due to rights issues with Universal is Mark Ruffalo's Hulk. He is a little different after the movie, but still available and would be a fantastic addition. The odd-man out in the cover is Namor the Submariner. Marvel has claimed that they wanted to make a version of this for years, but it was buried in the Fox deal because he was always lumped in with the Fantastic Four. I have never liked the idea and now that DC has their Aquaman...

I have not done a movie review post since 2016, but I thought I would take a look back at 2018 and see how I did with the US movie box office. I posted in order the movies by US take and was amazed how many I did not bother or haven't seen as of yet.  1              Black Panther -    while we shouldn't be surprised considering the pedigree and the resources behind this picture, it is still remarkable how successful this movie is on virtually every level. Yes, it does have some shoddy CGI towards the end and the finale battle doesn't quite work or feel quite right, but otherwise as the recent Oscars bear out- the individual parts all worked in such concert it is amazing to think that this was only the third feature from the director.    2              Avengers: Infinity War - a multi-year exercise over different franchises and...

Somewhere back when, I used to talk about movies on this blog. I thought I might take a look at the box office winners this year to see what I have seen and give you some of my thoughts... I went down as far as 25! 1. Captain America: Civil War - Did exactly what it needed to do. Wish that we could have seen the movie without the "civil war" that was PROBABLY planned BEFORE they got RDJ involved.  2. Finding Dory - Not a bad sequel, but really added nothing to the overall appeal of a much better predecessor.  3. Zootopia - One of the gems of the year. This will be rewatched if not rehashed with the eventual sequel. 4. The Jungle Book (2016) - Sorry, I could NOT get past the CGI backgrounds. I don't care what people say, the animal effects were largely ok, but I could never see past the GREEN SCREEN on this one. And a sequel?  5. The Secret Life of Pets - STILL HAVE NOT SEEN. Good or bad?  6. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Edit about 45 minutes and th...

I've already given my two cents about the latest Star Wars missive. You can listen here. I wanted to talk about two things that really stood out for me about this latest addition to the Star Wars universe. 1. This is just a remake. Yes. So what? JJ Abrams and company had a TALL order when Disney laid this one on them. First, the last Star Wars property had REALLY burned the fans of the original trilogy. Even a fan of the prequels has to admit that most criticism of the prequels is legit for the most part. Second, this was a "sequel" to a movie that is nearly 40 years old. Wow, that'll make you feel old. For those like me who remember seeing the original Star Wars in 1977, that's like a legit sequel to "Wizard of Oz" that came out that year. Can you imagine the lambasting that anyone taking THAT on would have to deal with? Most of our kids and all of China have never seen the original movies- it is about to open this Saturday! While us old folk...

Look, I am glad that kids love Frozen. My daughters are on the bandwagon. They LOVE it for most of the reasons that everyone else is saying they love it. We took the family to see it and 3/5 of us were just "meh"- I seriously would put "Tangled" well ahead of it in terms of story, singing, etc... but apparently I'm in the minority. So I am going to use an article from WhatCulture to explain my beefs with it: 1. The Songs. WhatCulture writer tries to suggest that the songs are the most memorable since the '90s hey-day of Menken and Ashman. Most of it feels REALLY forced. And while I agree it has a more "Broadway" feel, it is not necessarily a good thing. In particular, the song (see I CAN'T remember which) where Anna falls for the prince, is cute and might be memorable to others, but the jump cuts DURING the middle of the song as in a montage made the sequence in the movie very odd and off putting. The rest... are "meh."  2...

Cover of V for Vendetta (Widescreen Edition) So I wanted to go back and recognize another Academy award winner from this year, but keeping the balance stuck with female. I think Natalie Portman had a career worthy of honoring a while back and while I have yet to see Black Swan , I am sure she deserved it. While I have forgiven the transgression of helping Lucas mess with our collective childhoods by being the in the Star War prequels, I still think she is a great actress. I love the trajectory of her career. She has been in small dramedies like Anywhere But Here , Where the Heart Is , and Zach Braff 's Garden State .  She has also done diverse comedies like Mars Attacks! (remember that?) and the recent No Strings Attached . While a generation will think of her as Padme from Star Wars, there are two movies that stand out for me. The more recent V for Vendetta was a great performance. However, if I have to pick a single performance that is her shining moment: the breakout ...

Image via Wikipedia Ok, to stir the pot. I am going to start using Monday for a new regular post. I consider it the best performance of an actor . Which role/movie best used them. Which one is the one that epitomizes that actor? Doesn't mean they won an award for it. Just means they have a good body of work to make comparisons and argue over. Today's actor: Robin Williams.  Click through to see his listing of movies . Tough isn't it? If you were given his name and said, which movie epitomizes him? Which one? I got the idea rewatching a movie thanks to my kids and I am going to make the case for: " Jumanji ." I preface my defense by saying while I have liked him in roles, I think he hasn't had a standout performance in the better part of decade. He had something of dark trilogy around 2002 with One Hour Photo , Death to Smoochy , and Insomnia . He was great, but that was too pidgeon-holed. I can see some folks jumping on to the obvious: Good Will Hu...

I am such a sap for the first Scream movies. Saw each of them in the theaters. Yes, they decline in their value (not unlike the Star Wars prequels or the Lord of the Rings movies , oh yeah, I said it). MILD Scream SPOILERS (if you haven't seen them by now, perhaps you should just move on). But their comedy, direction, and generally decent acting made for some great stuff. Thankfully, they realized that Dewey was somewhat the heart and soul of the pic and did not kill him off in the first one. Killing Randy in the second was probably the biggest error of the entire series, but thankfully... we have SCRE4M... Enjoy Related articles "EXCLUSIVE: Clint Eastwood To Direct Beyoncé In Musical Version Of 'A Star Is Born'" and related posts (deadline.com) "Tron: Legacy" a Pre-Flop (kylesmithonline.com) Alt Text: An Open Letter to Hobbit Director Peter Jackson (wired.com)