Reed

Hey, at least Maria is being honest about what she thinks. She isn't deluding herself. Everyone deluding themselves is how TNA got into this mess in the first place.

But it's not really fun to watch, is it? It's just kinda pitiful. Christ. Just do us all a favour and end this shit already.

The problem with this planned sequel to Blair Witch: Um, who the hell would be dumb enough to go into those woods after those TWO films? At least in Blair Witch they could feasibly claim they thought they had strength in numbers and new technology to keep them safe. But (SPOILERS) it turns out, well, yeah, that stuff doesn’t save you either. You’re doomed the moment you go in, essentially. Even by horror movie standards, anyone going into those woods is going to be an idiot. To the point they’d become rather unsympathetic.

Also: The key about Eastwood as a filmmaker: For all his hard, tough-guy Western cowboy image, Eastwood knows a lot about empathy.

Sully: I strongly dislike Eastwood's "The Government is evil!" right-wing nonsense that pervades this film, but the anxiety in this film near the end is rather unbearable. Even when you know, deep down, it turns out OK, you're still nervous and terrified for these people. I'll give Eastwood this: He does know how to knock up the tension.

"Can John Cena defeat the GREATEST THREAT EVER TO HIS TITLE!?" "Oh, wait. Turns out he can. Yet again." I haven't seen the DVD but I vaguely imagine this is how it ends up.

I haven't been sure what to make of Alec Baldwin's Donald Trump impersonation, but him (as Trump) saying: "I have the support of the BEST Baldwin brother, Stephen!" honestly cracked me the fuck up. The amount of shade and family dysfunction going on there.

IIRC, they kept him under contract for years and years. Then the contract ended. He sued them. It was quietly and quickly settled out of court. Maybe WWE didn't handle it amazingly, but they took care of him.

But Dixie always portrayed herself as a nice, sweet housewife from Texas and the complete opposite of evil, shady businessman Vince. She deserves to be called out on her hypocrisy and callousness.

The funny thing: Vince and Heyman are sleazy as hell, but even they wouldn't have done what Dixie did to Sorensen and Daffney. I truly believe that. Like Sorensen's mom would have ever even seen a medical bill if that injury had happened in WWE.

The saddest thing about listening to Jesse Sorensen talking about her. He's not even that angry. Like you or me would be. He doesn't realize that she was manipulating him and his family from the get go. She didn't want to get sued. He got played. You know he got fired a month after the statute of limitations that he could sue them ran out. (He had a year per Tennessee work laws to take proper legal action but chose not to because "Well, TNA and Dixie have been so nice!") Do not tell me that is a mere coincidence. This woman is simply not a good person. She's a horror.

To bring it back to the wrestling topic: Dixie truly is just a brat and all-around awful person. Even now it's not about the company or the wrestlers or what's best for everyone; it's about her. Check out what Jesse Sorensen had to say about her after his accident: Jesse's mom: "I'm worried about my son..." Dixie: "You mean 'our son.' She later refused to pay his medical bills, let the mom go bankrupt because of them and fired Sorensen from his office job. I don't want to use the term "psychopath" but,um, well,...

In order to kill your husband, cleverly stage it as a suicide, obtain all his money and get off scot free from the justice system you need certain qualities: 1) High intelligence 2) A focused, clear mind 3) An ability to keep you mouth shut. Courtney Love has literally none of these qualities, bro. Not to mention: if your husband is a suicidal heroin addict, is there much point to arranging his murder? I mean, he's gonna do it himself anyway. Why risk it? For the record, I know this has nothing to do with wrestling, but it's a subject I've always felt strongly about.

I can't stop thinking about Billy Corgan in this TNA story without thinking about that '90s feud he had with Kurt Cobain. Granted, Kurt was a crazy, drug-addled, suicidal fool who fucked up every step of the way. But it's, like, you know even Kurt wouldn't have been stupid enough to fall for Dixie Carter's shit. He'd had seen through her. In seconds. You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself betrayed by the world's worst wrestling company.

Revenge for Jolly: This is a criminally under-rated film. It's a bit like John Wick: A guy goes on a killing spree because someone murdered his dog. But it's so much more warped and twisted than that. It's essentially Bill and Ted...if Bill and Ted were sick, gun-toting sociopaths. I liked how they set up that Cecil (Oscar Isaac) was this crazy, weird, drug-addled cousin and the wacky one, but as the film goes on, it becomes uncomfortably clear he's still way saner than Harry (Brian Pestos). At least Cecil realized killing people for incredibly minor reasons was, eh, wrong. Then there were the hints that Harry was uncomfortably close with his puppy: "I hear in India they marry dogs. It wards off curses. Stuff like that. When this whole thing is over maybe we should go to India." It's so bizarre and surreal.

I never minded Prince Phillip all too much. I mean, I know he's an outspoken, grumpy old prick. But then he is from the WW2 era. You know most veterans from that generation just say whatever the hell they want, PC or consequences be damned. He's like the Hank Hill's dad of royalty.

Poe is the one begging and pleading with them to do something. He's repeatedly warned off and told to be a nice, quiet government employee. Leia is (vaguely) tolerated and has some respect because of who she is and her history - she gets a meeting with Poe as soon as she asks - but she's clearly not valued too much either. The funding question is interesting. The First Order seems to think they are funding them, hence their actions in the movie. But The Republic spend most of the time rolling their eyes at the Resistance and treating them like a black sheep. I read a couple of issues of the Poe Dameron comic: It's implied The Resistance have money and resources, but not that much money and resources. I think the Republic helped them out a little. But they weren't enthusiastic and thought it was a waste of their time.

I liked the Poe chapter especially because it confirms the idea: No, the Republic isn't as overtly evil as the Empire. (They aren't building giant death ray machines, for instance, and do believe in democracy.) But they are utter, utter fools. That's how Palpatine took over in the first place.

Basically, yes. It deals with Finn, Rey and Poe's lives before the movie. It ain't exactly risque, but nor is it a children's book either. (At one point, Finn has to witness a group of striking minors coldly murdered in front on him and Rey implies she got raped on Jakku.)

Nothing less than she deserves, though. You spend your existence shitting on people. Well, eventually, they turn around and shit on you. A lesson in life.

Spielberg and Capshaw?

The man directed a tremendous performance out of Kim Basinger. He should have won an Oscar for that alone.

If you like The Force Awakens, I'd strongly recommend Before the Awakening by Greg Rucka. It gives a lot of context into the political situations with the First Order and the Republic. It fills in a few plot holes of the movie too. The North Korea comparisons become a lot more obvious when you read about Finn and all his experiences. We see how lazy the Republic has gotten and how inept they've always been: Poe essentially spends most of his section trying to tell them: "These people are really, really dangerous!" and is continually ignored to the point he eventually throws in the towel and heads for the Resistance. Even Rey's chapter, arguably the weakest of the three, tries to explain how she picked up all these mad skills. Something many fans have complained about. I might read Bloodline next. I've heard Rian Johnson contributed to a few of the ideas and they'll come up in the next sequel.

You know Hayden Christensen's career never truly recovered from it. A shame. Because he isn't a bad actor.

They're not married, but Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn seem to have lasted.