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We really could have reviewed Flash and Arrow this week as one big episode as they both work so well together. On the Flash we see Barry give into the temptations of Bloodwork because of the doubt he has about giving up his life. On Arrow, we get the opposite with Oliver finally giving in and accepting that he can't change his fate. And of course for Oliver to learn that lesson we get him reunited with Quentin. Stephen Amell and Paul Blackthorne always have great chemistry and this episode is no different.

Add to that we get Laurel getting to finally say goodbye to Quentin and tell him how much she loves him. The fact that that was her reward for not betraying Oliver when Lyla asked her to also shows how everything so far has been the plan of The Monitor. The question is how long has Lyla been working with The Monitor ('A while' really isn't an answer).

With us going back to Lian Yu, that just leaves one person we haven't seen Oliver reunited with (One Slade Wilson...come on Arrow...do it). 

Kriss and Dpalm record the Mailbag at the end of every month. If you want to send in your own questions and thoughts, email us: [email protected]

 

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Well...we spoke too soon last episode. This week The Flash made us care about Bloodwork. It's worth pointing out that Bloodwork is literally a throwaway villain from the recent comic run of Flash that was hardly memorable (The villain not the run...the run is great. Go read it). But this season the show has done a great job of not only building Ramsey up but having his motivate to cheat death tie so well into Barry's seeming acceptance of his. This episode shows us just how much doubt Barry still has and 

We also need to point out that this year, the Arrowverse has done a fantastic job with Arrow and Flash leading into the crossover. This year the big crossover is completely integrated into the storylines for both shows and it's something that we obviously feel the weight of. It's not taking away from the stories of either shows but enhancing them. Barry's doubt and Bloodwork taking advantage of that is helping put Barry in the mindset he needs to be for Crisis. When the fact that Crisis is only 2 days away, it makes it more real and makes this crossover feel like it's part of the overall story and not crammed in. 

This episode gave us the same vibe as The Runaway Dinosaur. It succeeds on multiple fronts (making us care about Bloodwork and getting us even more hype for Crisis). Only one more episode left until the biggest crossover ever.

Kriss and Dpalm record the Mailbag at the end of every month. If you want to send in your own questions and thoughts, email us: [email protected]

 

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No matter how you feel bout Queen & Slim after watching it, one thing is perfectly clear: It is undoubtedly a Black film. It is a film. Some will erroneously call Queen & Slim the “Black Bonnie & Clyde” and no matter how i feel about this film, that’s just insulting. Bonnie & Clyde were criminals who were proud to be criminals. In Queen & Slim, Jodie Turner-Smith and Daniel Kaluuya play two regular black people who end up on the run after killing a racist cop who tries to kill them. There’s a big difference there.

Melina Matsoukas directorial debut in film is overall pretty damn good. Jodie Turner-Smith and Daniel Kaluuya have fantastic chemistry together throughout the entire film. Bokeem Woodbine is a scene stealer as Uncle Earl. For most of this film, everything is clicking on all cylinders. The cast. The cinematography. The blackness and feeling of black people looking out for each other. There’s a good mix of seriousness and humor. Where my issue with this film lies is in a few choices the script goes starting in the middle of the film. It’s impossible to really go into details on why they took me out of this film without spoiling it (Premium members can check back here for an audio spoiler review in a couple of days). But they were choices that completely took me out of the film. Which is sad because up to those points, I was enjoying this film. The dialogue between Turner-Smith and Kaluuya feels genuine and real, just like two individuals who just met but are thrown into an impossible situation together. 

 

Outside of the issues I had with some places the story goes, I can also admit that I’ve grown a bit tired of films that rely heavily on showing just how little my life as a black person in America means. Now don’t get me wrong, there is a huge difference between a film like Queen & Slim that is both directed and written by black people and a film like Detroit. I feel more love and care was put into Queen & Slim to make sure the abuse and suffering of black people wasn’t the only thing audiences came away with. But in the end, it's still film about how tragic it is to be black in America. And I’m growing tired of seeing these films. 

 

I’m saying all that to say, my enjoyment of this film (or rather the lack thereof) probably has more to do with the mindset I’m currently in. You can listen to our audio review and hear Joi talk more positively about this film. I believe more people will fall on the side of Joi than with myself or Brandon and that’s okay. While we all may not agree on the outcome of the film and how we feel overall about it, we can agree it's a film folks will be talking about.

*UPDATE* The Queen & Slim spoiler review with Kriss, Brandon and Joi is now up on the Premium feed. From now until 12/12, there is a 20% discount on MTR Premium subscriptions. Use the code "MTRBLACKFRIDAY2019".

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Johnson's Whodunnit Knives Out Mixes Vintage Mystery with Contemporary Flair

Written and directed by Rian Johnson, Knives Out boasts an all-star cast, and witty premise. Yep, you read that correctly, Knives Out isn't just flash and fun; there's a mystery at the heart of if all that's almost too much fun watching unfold. Be advised, Ro and Joi free admit to being biased in favor of a good whodunnit with a quirky detective. 

The morning after his 85th birthday, famed crime writer Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) is found dead in an apparent suicide in his study. The family gathered to celebrate his life must now remain to mourn.

Linda (Jaime Lee Curtis) Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) Richard (Don Johnson), Walter (Michael Shannon), and Jacob (Jaeden Martell) in Rian Johnson's Knives Out

But, someone believes Thrombey didn't take his own life. Just as the police move to wrap up their investigation, world-renowned private investigator Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) enters the picture charged by an anonymous employer with discovering the truth. 

Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) in Rian Johnson's Knives Out

Rian Johnson's Whodunnit Asks All The Right Questions

In recent past, Agatha Christie-style mysteries and/or Hitchcock worthy films have fallen short of the mark for a variety of reasons. On one level, getting the look and feel of a good cozy mystery but fall short when it comes to finding the right pace and plot points. With just the right amount of Clue-sensibility - without feeling derivative - Knives Out makes smart decisions and trusts its talent to elevate an already solid story into great entertainment. 

Listen to Ro and Joi chat about Knives Out and see why they both think this should be your post-holiday family outing. 

Thinking About a Day At the Moveis? See 21 Bridges and Queen and Slim 

If you need a reason to check out 21 Bridges, besides supporting Chadwick Boseman in all things, Ro shares her thoughts (21:40.0) about this throwback crime action flick. 21 Bridges leverages a ticking clock, chase scenes, and dirty cops into a satisfying tale about a righteous man with a badge. 21 Bridges is a gritty with just enough mayhem to keep things enjoyably hectic. 

Listen to Joi's bid for checking out Queen and Slim (be sure to catch Kriss and Brandon's review) in theaters [25:30.1].

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Listen as Kriss and Dpalm review season 8 episode 5 of Arrow, Prochnost. Oliver spends some quality time with his kids from the future (such a funny thing to say considering how season 1 was so "grounded") in Russia. What could go wrong?

Kriss and Dpalm record the Mailbag at the end of every month. If you want to send in your own questions and thoughts, email us: [email protected]

 

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Kriss and Dpalm review season 6, episode 6 of The Flash, License to Elongate. Give it a listen

Kriss and Dpalm record the Mailbag at the end of every month. If you want to send in your own questions and thoughts, email us: [email protected]

 

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You would think after 5 seasons our heroes would be able to interpret context clues.

You would be wrong.

Every time Team Supergirl makes strides in their deductive reasoning, their hearts get in the way of common sense.  How did Supergirl's Spidey Sense (yes I know I'm mixing my fandoms, deal with it) not going off big time with all the snarkiness Lena was throwing her way?  How are psychic flashes of the magnitude J'onn experiencing not a sign that your brother is still on earth?  How did Alex call Supergirl, Supergirl never show up, and instead of going to look for her damn sister, she goes for canoodling time with Kelly (which I own was cute, but come on son!)?  How is Kelly going to ask a government field agent not to...you know...do her job because it's scary?  Girl get some counseling!  These two episodes did flush out Lena's motivation and gave us one of the best bars of this season: "I'm not a villain...you shouldn't have treated me like one."  The ending of the last episode?  Queue up Sound of Silence (Hello Darkness My Old Friend...).  Where is the Affleck/Cavil sad face GIF when you need it?

 

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We’re finally here. The end of our Claremont X-Men run here on the Character Corner. We started this almost 6 months ago. To be fair we took a few detours and breaks but we’re wrapping it up now. Honestly, this has been one of our favorite series of episodes and not just because we got to talk about the X-Men. Rereading Claremont’s run and what he was able to do really exposed how much of the traits of the X-Men come from his time on the series. And even though this took us 5 episodes (4 on the X-Men and one on the New Mutants) by the end, we still only scratched the surface. We barely touched Excalibur and we didn’t revisit the Wolverine series that Claremont was also writing at the time. There’s just so much.

For this last run we cover the 19 remaining issues of New Mutants that Claremont wrote before handing off to Louise Simonson (who deserves a lot of credit for what she wrote in New Mutants and X-Factor running parallel to Claremont), the lead up to and through X-tinction Agenda, the Muir Island Saga with the return of the Shadow King and then the first 3 issues of the 1991 X-Men book. 

The Trauma of the New Mutants - New Mutants #35 - 54

 We last left off the New Mutants they had just returned from Asgard and Magneto, fresh off his trial, was now headmaster of Xavier’s school. Now in Part 3 of our series, we touch on some of the later stuff that happens with the New Mutants when Simonson is writing but for these 19 issues, it’s important to note that Claremont focused on the trauma of the students as well as the growth of Magneto. To say the New Mutants up to this point have been put through the ringer is an understatement. While we only covered it briefly, Secret Wars 2 is a traumatizing event for the students because…they die. The Beyonder basically uses them as his play things and so Magneto is left trying to not only earn their trust as their headmaster but cut through the core of their PTSD. Throw in the always scheming Emma Frost and the completely terrible Empath and the job of Erik gets even harder. Claremont’s run on New Mutants can really be summed up as an exploration of young teen mutants trying to navigate a world that hates them while still trying to be kids.

 X-tinction Agenda

 Back on the X-Men side, the X-Men themselves aren’t fairing that much better. While they’ve taken over the old Reaver’s base in Australia and are fresh off of Inferno, things start taking a turn. The Reavers and Lady Deathstroke strike back and crucify Wolverine. Betsy uses the Siege Perilous to escape the trap set by the Reavers which will later have some pretty disastrous consequences. The results are what lead to Betsy being captured by the Hand and having her body switched with that of an Asian woman, Colossus becoming a painter and later being manipulated and controlled by the Shadow King and then Havok becoming a Magistrate for the Genoshians. This is the backdrop leading into X-Tinction Agenda which sees Cameron Hodge teaming up with the Genoshians to get his revenge on the X-Men. While the X-Men are able to beat Hodge, the New Mutant’s Warlock is one of the early casualties.

During this time, we also get introduced to other X-Men that will eventually become mainstays on future X-Teams. A young Chinese American mutant named Jubilee shows up in issue #244. Gambit makes a cameo in Uncanny X-Men Annual #14 and Uncanny X-Men #266.

This is Storm’s Story

One of the things that cannot be understated his how much Claremont’s X-Men run is really about Storm. Ororo is a constant presence in Claremont’s run. Before X-Tinction Agenda, Storm is thought to be dead but is really stripped of her memory and put in a young girl’s body. This is where she meets up with Gambit while being pursued by the Shadow King. While she gains her memories back, for a while she’s still left in that young girl’s body with limited control of her powers.

The Good Liar, adapted from the book of the same name by Nicholas Searle, centers a slick con man Roy Courtnay (Ian McKellen) and his latest mark, Betty McLeish (Helen Mirren). Roy's an artful dodger with a talent for bilking the shady and unsuspecting out of their money. Betty's a recently widowed woman dipping a toe back in the dating pool. Roy works his way into Betty's affections with an awkward charm expertly embodied by McKellen, that ruffles the feathers of her skeptical grandson (Russell Tovey). But with ever step and turn, it swiftly becomes clear that neither Betty nor Roy are exactly what they seem.

HELEN MIRREN as Betty McLeish and IAN McKELLEN as Roy Courtnay in New Line Cinema’s suspense thriller THE GOOD LIAR, a Warner Bros. Pictures release

With two powerhouse leads and a top tier supporting cast, The Good Liar has all it needed to offer up riveting cat and mouse game. The MTR crew all agrees, Mirren and McKellen alone are worth the watch but, what should've (and could've been) been a masterpiece of tension-building, secret revealing, and scams and scandal. Yet somehow, despite strong performances and a compelling world-building, The Good Liar fails to pack the proper amount of punch. 

This story need more time. These characters needed more backstory and depth. Despite good pacing, excellent performances The Good Liar fails to capitalize on its source material and the talent at the directors disposal. 

The Good Liar Needed More "Hitchcock" 

Brandon and Kriss felt like the film's conclusion wasn't knowable based on the trail throughout the story. Ro believes the entire film needed a director with the skills to bring a Hitchock-level thriller to life. Instead audiences get a good film with more than a few interesting moments and a pair of masterful performances that suffer from its leads not being asked to dig deep.

Listen to the crew discuss what hit and misses.

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Jimmy leaves on a note that leaves us satisfied in a way that is fitting for the character. Kelly's characterization is leaving a lot to be desired.  Lena leans full into her villainy, betraying the team and kidnapping Malefic, all under the misguided assumption that she's doing something for the greater good.  Nia works on her relationship with Brainy, and William Dey's real agenda is revealed.  

 

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