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The first reaction to Halloween Kills, the sequel to 2018 Halloween, is "What the Hell happened?" The 2018 film felt like a fitting end for Michael Meyers and Jamie Lee Curtis' Laurie Strode. In that 2018 film, we watched Laurie take the fight to Michael and it was actually pretty enjoyable. Halloween Kills is a far cry from that film. It's so bad it leaves you wondering if the same crew that made the first film made this one. Surprisingly, the answer is "yes". David Gordon Greene is back as director as are the same writers (Scott Teams and Danny McBride). So what the hell happened? Why did this film fall so far off from what they originally did? The biggest thing that doesn't work for this film is that it sidelines the best thing about the first film. Jamie Lee Curtis was great in the first film. In this film she doesn't share a single scene with her nemesis Michael Meyers. She doesn't die, she's just not used in any scenes with him. That is a bit of a spoiler but after seeing the trailers and promotion for this film, it feels like false advertisement and needs to be called out. Instead of focusing on Strode the film decides to bring in a bunch of other characters from previous films or encounters with Meyers and turn them into a militia that goes after Meyers. While that seems like a plot point that could be interesting, it falls flat for a couple of reasons. First, it feels forced. Anthony Michael Hall plays an adult Tommy Doyle. Tommy has an obsession with taking down Michael but he thinks he's going to do it with a handful of random folks with a baseball bat. Why on earth would Tommy think a baseball bat is going to stop Michael Meyers? It just feels like the film wanted to say "See, we're connecting it all back to the original series" but didn't care how or why or even if they should. The second issue is that the film seems like it's trying to make a larger commentary on mob mentality but it does a piss poor job at it. On a positive (maybe the only one), the kills are gory. But they're also boring. Yes, Michael Meyers is a force of nature that is going too plow through people. But Halloween Kills feels like that was the only trick they had up their sleeve and it overplayed it. At some point it felt like watching an old school horror film where you're watching not because it's scary but because the characters are so dumb they deserve to die. This film ends with the clear indication that they want to make another one. But it really doesn't deserve to continue. Yet that's the history of the Halloween films and the curse of Michael Meyers. Even when they should die, they just pop back up and continue on. Like what you hear? Subscribe so you don't miss an episode! Follow us on Twitter: @Phenomblak @InsanityReport @TheMTRNetwork Our shirts are now on TeePublic. https://teepublic.com/stores/mtr-network Want more podcast greatness? Sign up for a MTR Premium Account!

I have so much fun beating Mike in NBA Over/Unders each fall that we've decided to extend the game to the NFL. Sure, there are fewer games, but that will only make this beating of my friend oh so much sweeter. Guest: Nata - @NataTheScribe Like what you hear? Subscribe so you don't miss an episode! Follow us on Twitter: @Dpalm66 @UDPod @TheMTRNetwork Want more podcast greatness? Sign up for a MTR Premium Account! Check out our Sponsors! TweakedAudio.com using the code ‘reviews’ to get 33% off & free shipping. Shop at our Amazon Store to support the site

We're back with part 5 of our Into the Hickmanverse series. This time Hickman teams up with Bendis again to dive into the Ultimate universe. But before we do that, we first have to address how we got here. Yes that means retelling the story (if you can call it that) of Ultimatum and how the Ultimate universe was left in shambles. We then cover Bendis' trilogy (Ultimate Enemy, Ultimate Mystery and Ultimate Doom) that casts the Ulimate Universe's Reed Richards as a villain. All of that sets the stage for Hickman to come in and tell his story. But first he gives us a little background on Ultimate Thor and retells the story of Ragnarok. Then Hickman tells the story he was telling in Fantastic Four but this time with another evil Reed Richards. The story of "The Maker". Again, this is all laying the groundwork for what Hickman will be doing next: Avengers. We'll be back soon to tell that in a three-part series soon. Issues: Pre-Hickman Ultimate Enemy 1 -4 Ultimate Mystery 1- 4 Ultimate Doom 1 - 4 Ultimate Comics Thor 1 -4 Ultimate Comics Fallout 1 - 6 Ultimate Comics Ultimates 1 - 6 Ultimate Comics Hawkeye 1 -4 Ultimate Comics Ultimates 7 - 12 Like what you hear? Subscribe so you don't miss an episode! Follow us on Twitter: @Dpalm66 @InsanityReport @TheMTRNetwork Our shirts are now on TeePublic: https://teepublic.com/stores/mtr-network Want more podcast greatness? Sign up for a MTR Premium Account!

Director: Scott Derrickson Screenwriter: Scott Derrickson, C. Robert Cargill, Joe Hill (short story The Black Phone) Starring: Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Ethan Hawke, Jeremy Davies, James Ransom, Miguel Cazarez Mora, E. Roger Mitchell, Troy Rudeseal Runtime: 1 hour 42 minutes Synopsis: After being abducted by a child killer and locked in a soundproof basement, a 13-year-old boy starts receiving calls on a disconnected phone from the killer's previous victims. We got the whole Movie Trailer Review gang back together to discuss the latest from director Scott Derrickson, The Black Phone. Blumhouse has been on a bit of a slide with some really questionable films as of late. Their last series of Welcome to the Blumhouse films on Amazon Prime Video were absolutely atrocious. And who could forget what happened when we all got together last time to discuss the travesty that was the Firestarter remake. So coming into The Black Phone, one couldn't blame audiences if they were a little apprehensive. Thankfully, The Black Phone A lot of things work for this movie. First, Scott Derrickson really knows how to capture horror elements in this film. It's a trend across all of his films but it really stands out in this one. The camera angles, sound editing, framing and everything comes together to really draw the audience into the situations in this film. It also helps that the cast is outstanding. Ethan Hawke has been on a tear lately with the characters and range he's been portraying in movies this year. He's perfectly cast as "The Grabber". He does a lot of "eye acting" that pairs very well with the various masks he wears. But it's not just him. This film has a really solid cast of young actors with Mason Thomas and Madeleine McGraw that pair off extremely well with the adults in this film. The Black Phone has a mix of Stranger Things with your typical Horror Thriller that works very well for it. It can be dumb at times and even predictable but it's done in a way that feels like it pays off in the end so the audiences will enjoy it. Like what you hear? Subscribe so you don't miss an episode! Follow us on Twitter: @Phenomblak @InsanityReport @TheMTRNetwork Our shirts are now on TeePublic. https://teepublic.com/stores/mtr-network Want more podcast greatness? Sign up for a MTR Premium Account!

One of the things that has made the Marvel Cinematic Universe so successful is how accessible the movies are. Kevin Feige has managed to balance telling comic accurate stories that please existing fans and comic readers while also making the films still make sense to newcomers. It’s one of the most amazing feats of the franchise. And with that they’ve been able to get weirder and bigger and more out there each year. The problem is while Eternals definitely goes big, it also leaves the audience behind a bit. Even the after credit scenes, a staple of Marvel films, are super deep cuts to the lore that are going to leave the average fan wondering “what?” That’s not to say this is a bad film. No, there is a lot to like about Eternals. Chloé Zhao’s signature is all over this film. Visually, it is absolutely stunning. If there was any concern about Zhao making the journey into shooting big action scenes, Eternals should put that to rest. The action scenes are fantastic and are probably some of the best the MCU has done in a while. The cast is also fantastic for the most part. Richard Madden’s Ikaris is basically what if Superman wasn’t a boy scout and didn’t have a cape. Lauren Ridloff’s Makkari is probably the best visualization of a speedster that either Marvel or DC has done on screen. But beyond just the use of their powers, the actors themselves are great in the roles Angelina Jolie does a great job as Thena. She’s not the lead in this film and doesn’t overshadow the rest of the cast but still plays her part and role perfectly. Salma Hayek is the one cast member that could be replaced without feeling like something is lost. She’s not bad but also doesn’t stand out. Some of the biggest problems with the film revolve around her scenes as well as the editing for her scenes seem to be what really drag this film out. The editing of doesn’t Eternals any justice. There are definitely times where audiences will questions why things were cut and placed the way they are. The script struggles to tell its big story without getting lost in it. At times it feels like the film lingers too long in some areas but not enough in others. It's a very weird and frustrating feeling for a film that breaks 2 hours and 30 minutes in runtimes. Eternals could have used the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1 treatment, where the story is made a big smaller in order to introduce the characters and waited for a second film to get deeper. Instead the film tries to do a lot in one sitting and the result is too many loose ends. Of course this is the MCU and so those threads will be followed up eventually, but it leaves this film feeling incomplete. The biggest let down in Eternals is the end. This is where it feels like Marvel Studios failed to heed the tail of Icarus (or should I say Ikaris) and flew too close to the sun. As mentioned before, one of the greatest things Marvel Studios has done is craft stories that take the audience along with them. But in Eternals the audience is clearly left behind. There’s so much going on that needs to be explored and just isn’t. The only reason this isn’t a completely catastrophic shortcoming is that we know that Marvel Studios isn’t abandoning the story any time soon so at some point we will get answers. But the result is a film that just feels like it ends just when it was getting good. It's fitting timing with Eternals coming out shortly after WB’s Dune. There are a lot of similarities between the two, especially when it comes to where they fall short. Both are visually pleasing and will work very well for their own niche, super hardcore fanbases. But both seem to have forgotten that adaptations work best when you have something for everyone. Yes, you want fan service but you also need to not go so deep you lose a new audience. At the end of the day, Eternals is still worth watching. But when judging it against other Marvel offerings, it's clear that changes will need to be made in the next film...