Into the DC Murderverse: Blue Beetle

 "Blue Beetle" (2023)

I'm going to be honest. I thought about not finishing up these last two movies in the Murderverse. I'm ready to jump into the James Gunn reboot because I've never seen "Creature Commandos" and I'm ready to cover season two of "Peacemaker." That being said, I decided to just finish, because, you know, this isn't a bad movie. It didn't do great at the box office, but it should have. And James Gunn has said that Jaime Reyes is going be part of James Gunn and Josh Safran's rebooted continuity. There's a follow up animated series in the works and I'm hoping we get to see more of the Reyes family and Ted Kord. 

Principal photography on "Blue Beetle" began in May 2022 and concluded in July 2022. The film stars Xolo Maridueña as Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle, Adriana Barraza as Nana, Damían Alcàzar as Alberto Reyes, Elpidio Carillo as Rocio Reyes, Bruna Marquezine as Jenny Kord, Raoul Max Trujillo as Ignacio Carapax/OMAC, Susan Sarandon as Victoria Kord, George Lopez as Rudy Reyes, Belissa Escobedo as Milagros Reyes and Harvey Guillén as Dr. Jose Francisco Morales Rivera de la Cruz. It also features the voice of Becky G as Khaji-Da, the sentient entity that lives inside of the Scarab. The film was written by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer. It was directed by Ángel Manuel Soto. "Blue Beetle" premiered on August 18, 2023.

"To Me, My X-Men" X-Men '97 Recaps: "Tolerance Is Extinction" Parts 2 & 3

 X-Men '97

We are back, baby. It's time to wrap up "X-Men '97" and man, watching these last two episodes just made me so excited for season 2. Even with the drama regarding Beau DeMayo's exit from the series. If you don't know about that, you should Google it. But let's now waste any time. Let's get right into things.

"Skrulls Everywhere" Secret Invasion Recaps: "Resurrection" & "Promises"

 Secret Invasion

Let's address the elephant in the room. It's been about a year or more since I've updated my blog. Life and all that blah, blah. I am excited to get back to it. And then I got less excited when I realized this was next in the rotation. Spoiler alert. I really hated this series. If you know anything about the comics, "Secret Invasion" was kind of a cool event that revealed Skrulls had been secretly infiltrating the world for years, taking the place of a lot of people including some of our most well known heroes. When they announced that they were going to be doing a TV series based on it, I was excited. Then, I became less excited when I realized it wasn't going to involve most of the MCU which seems to kind of defeat the point? Instead it's a showcase for Nick Fury? Umm... yeah, sure. I guess. Oof. Let's just dive in and get this over with.

"One Girl In All the World" Re-Watch: "I Only Have Eyes for You" & "Go Fish"

 Buffy the Vampire Slayer

We only have four episodes left in this season and you'd think that the last four were just ratcheting up the tension until the finale, but.... sadly, one episode out of the four is the definition of a dud. Let's get to it.

"Inhibited Programming" The Bad Batch Recaps: "Aftermath" & "Cut and Run"

 Star Wars The Bad Batch

We met the Bad Batch, a group of enhanced clones that their peers would call defective, in the final season of "The Clone Wars." It was in that group of episodes that they gained their fifth member, Echo. Looking back, it's pretty clear that those episodes served as a backdoor pilot for this series. I will say that when I first heard about this show, I wasn't sure if it could sustain a series. I haven't watched any of it because I wanted to watch it fresh for these recaps and I can say that after watching these first two episodes, I was wrong. I'm excited to go on the journey through this new Empire with this group of special clone troopers.

"I Am the Moon" Re-Watch: "The Bond of Destiny: Uranus's Distant Past" & "Art is an Explosion of Love: Chib-Usa's First Love"

 Sailor Moon S

We are finally getting a little bit of backstory about our newest lez tastic Sailor Guardians and its only been seventeen episodes. Not only that, but we are getting Chibi-Usa acting like an actual child. Let's get into it.

"Totally Schway" Re-Watch: "Once Burned" & "Hooked Up"

 Batman Beyond

Now that "Batman Beyond" has introduced some villains of its own that are unique to the show, they are starting to make second appearances. And that is what we have in these two episodes. Some returns. Check it out.

"Finger Lickin' Good" Re-Watch: "Kyoto Sister School Exchange Event - Group Battle" Parts 1 & 2

 Jujutsu Kaisen

The Kyoto Sister School Exchange Event kicks into high gear with these two episodes. And we are going to see the students face off in various pairings. But, there may be other things going on as well. I'm sure you're surprised. Along with the new opening we got, we get a new closing theme. You can check it out below.

"The Truth Is Out There" Re-Watch: "Unusual Suspects," "Detour" & "The Post-Modern Prometheus"

 The X-Files

We have reached a milestone with the show and with my coverage on the blog. The first episode in this post is the show's 100th episode. It's always a big deal with a show reaches 100 episodes so good for "The X-Files." It also means that we have covered episodes on the blog. Pretty impressive. Let's get to it.

"We Used to Be Friends" Re-Watch: "Ain't No Magic Mountain High Enough" & "Versatile Toppings"

 Veronica Mars

We are heading into the home stretch of "Veronica Mars"s second season. And that means we are zeroing in on the season's overarching plot threads like the bus crash and Felix's murder. And with that we are going to get red herrings galore. Let's get to it.

Into the DC Murderverse: The Flash

 "The Flash" (2023)

"The Flash" may be the most troubled superhero production since "Iron Man" brought the genre back into the spotlight in 2008. Ezra Miller's Barry Allen was introduced in "Justice League" and it was immediately green lit along with Jason Momoa's first "Aquaman." It gained and lost writers and directors like it was someone on a fad diet in the '90's. Once it finally had a writer and director that stuck around, Ezra Miller went insane. There were millions of dollars spent on re-shoots. I honestly was shocked when it was finally released. I thought it would just get a quiet streaming release, but no, Warner Bros. had to try to recoup some of the money they spent so it was put in theaters last summer. And it did what it seems all DCEU movies are destined to do in theaters: flop.

Principal photography on "The Flash" began in April 2021 and concluded in October 2021. The film stars Ezra Miller as Barry Allen/The Flash, Sasha Calle as Kara Zor-El/Supergirl, Michael Shannon as General Zod, Ron Livingston as Henry Allen, Maribel Verdu as Nora Allen, Kiersey Clemons as Iris West,  Antje Traue as Faora-Ul and Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne/Batman. The screenplay was by Christina Hodson from a story by John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein and Joby Harold. It was directed by Andy Muschietti. "The Flash" premiered on June 16, 2023.

"To Me, My X-Men" X-Men '97 Recaps: "Bright Eyes" & "Tolerance Is Extinction" Part 1

 X-Men '97

In May, I was super focused on my blog and getting as many posts as I could up. I was initially planning on doing that in June, but then a lot of stuff happened and it didn't. But, things are maybe calming down for July, so I'm back to trying to do as many posts as I can. We are heading into the endgame of the first season of "X-Men '97." Let's get to it.

Re-Visiting the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3

 "Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3" (2023)

James Gunn went on a wild ride when it came to writing and directing "Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3." In 2018, Disney fired Gunn after controversial comments that he made on Twitter re-surfaced. The outrage from fans and cast members was swift. Gunn was eventually re-hired, but I think that firing is what led him to become the new DC movie universe guru. It was after he was fired that he made "The Suicide Squad" and "Peacemaker." But luckily, before moving on to his new job, Gunn was able to conclude his "Guardians" trilogy. I don't even want to imagine a world where he wasn't able to do that.

Principal photography on "Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3" began in November 2021 and concluded in May 2022. The film stars Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Pom Klementieff as Mantis, Vin Diesel as Groot, Bradley Cooper as Rocket, Will Poulter as Adam Warlock, Sean Gunn as Kraglin, Chukwudi Iwuji as the High Evolutionary, Linda Cardellini as Lylla, Nathan Fillion as Master Karja and Sylvester Stallone as Stakar Ogord. The film was written and directed by James Gunn. "Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3" premiered on May 5, 2023.

A Long Time Ago During the Reign of the Empire: "Kanan: The Last Padawan" #2-3 & "Darth Vader" Vol 2 #1-7

 Star Wars

We are heading into the darkest time in the history of Star Wars. Order 66 has been executed. The majority of the Jedi have been decimated and the few remaining are in hiding. Emperor Palpatine is working to solidify his power with his new apprentice. These comic series tell stories from the start of this new era from two distinct perspectives. If you're a "Star Wars Rebels" fan (and honestly, how could you not be), you are familiar with Kanan Jarrus. This is his story when he was still Caleb Dume, Jedi Padawan on the run. Then, we pick up with the former Anakin Skywalker, now Darth Vader, after his resurrection post battle on Mustafar. This is Vader before he was one of the most feared men in the galaxy. These are stories that we haven't heard before. And the reason why I think these ancillary comics and books exist. Let's get to it.

"One Girl In All the World" Re-Watch: "Passion" & "Killed By Death"

 Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Angel steps up his terror campaign on Buffy and the gang. And then Buffy gets stuck in the hospital fighting of death... literally. Let's get into it!

"I Am the Moon" Re-Watch: "Making New Friends: Chibi Moon's Adventure" & "I Want Power: Mako Lost in Doubt"

 Sailor Moon S

We only got a little bit of Chibi-Usa at the end of the last episode but she's back in full force in the first episode of this post. We get a Mako focused episode for the second episode which I feel like we haven't had for a while. Let's get to it.

"Totally Schway" Re-Watch: "Hidden Agenda" & "Bloodsport"

 Batman Beyond

I feel like I'm being hard on "Batman Beyond?" Maybe too hard. I do like it but it's been a while since I've watched. Maybe things just get better later on? Maybe the movie is just so good that goodwill extends to the show? Let's get to it.

"Finger Lickin' Good" Re-Watch: "Tomorrow" & "Kyoto Sister School Exchange Event - Group Battle, Part 0"

 Jujutsu Kaisen

We've reached the final battle with Mahito and that exchange event with the Kyoto school that they've been talking about? Well, it's finally starting. We are midway through the season so that means there is a new opening! You can check it out below.

"The Truth Is Out There" Re-Watch: "Redux" & "Redux II"

 The X-Files

The fifth season of "The X-Files" premiered on November 2, 1997. It was a big season for the show. It was the first time the season was pre-planned, which is wild to think about. The fifth season was leading up to the first feature length "X-Files" movie that was set to be released in the summer of 1998. Originally, the fifth season of the show was supposed to be the last and it was going to transition to a movie series, but the show as so lucrative that it continued on. The movie was shot during the summer hiatus in 1997. Due to the need for re-shoots, there are several episodes in the fifth season where David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson don't appear at all or appear very little. It was the last season of the show that was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia. Production moved to Los Angeles with the sixth season because Duchovny and Anderson wanted to be closer to home. 

While this season was mapped out, it still feels like there are some wild left turns and season five features a lot of memorable episodes from the series. There is a black and white episode. There is an episode co-written by Stephen King. There is a classic episode about vampires. This may be one of the shortest seasons of the show, clocking in at 20 episodes, but it packs a lot and takes a lot of big swings. Let's get into it.

"We Used to Be Friends" Re-Watch: "Donut Run" & "Rashard and Wallace Go to White Castle"

 Veronica Mars

"One Angry Veronica" was the season two midseason finale and honestly after watching the first episode of this recap, I kind of think that they should have flip flopped them. Let's get into it.