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The Stop Button

blogging by Andrew Wickliffe

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The Spirit (June 29, 1941) “The Balkan Ball”12 April 2026
Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes (1977) #2438 April 2026
The Spirit (June 22, 1941) “The Tale of the Dictator’s Reform”6 April 2026
The Spirit (June 15, 1941) “Dusk and Twilight”2 April 2026
Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes (1977) #2421 April 2026

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ONESIES

22.5 Unharmed Canines (Low Bars), or: Maximum Bob (1998) 5 of 7
24 April 2026
22.4 Disappointments (Flambé Terrorists), or: Maximum Bob (1998) 4 of 7
17 April 2026
22.3 Familiar Faces (Judicial Misconduct), or: Maximum Bob (1998) 3 of 7
11 April 2026
22.2 Please Clap (Big Yucks), or: Maximum Bob (1998) 2 of 7
3 April 2026
22.1 Disneyfied Misogyny (Into the Breach), or: Maximum Bob (1998) 1 of 7
25 March 2026

709 Meridian

Masters of the Universe (1987) audio commentary - 709 Meridian - watch-along
1 May 2026
Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010) audio commentary - 709 Meridian - watch-along
31 March 2026
The Adventures of Hercules (1985) audio commentary - 709 Meridian - watch-along
11 October 2025
Hercules (1983) audio commentary - 709 Meridian - watch-along
16 September 2025
Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold (1986) audio commentary - 709 Merdiian - watch-along
2 September 2025

Briefly (12 April 2026)
Movies

Big Driver (2014) D: Mikael Salomon. S: Maria Bello, Ann Dowd, Will Harris, Olympia Dukakis, Joan Jett. Tonally concerning, poorly written adaptation of Stephen King novella about cozy murder mystery novelist Bello surviving a sexual assault and attempted murder. Way too many exploitation vibes for a Lifetime TV movie, especially how it objectifies Bello's trauma for audio-video fodder. She does better than the project deserves, though even a tense third act can't overcome the writing.

Man Wanted (1932) D: William Dieterle. S: Kay Francis, David Manners, Una Merkel, Bess Flowers, Elizabeth Patterson. Girlboss Francis can't find a good secretary until she hires recent Harvard grad Manners. Except he's only good at it because he moons over her the whole time. Too bad she's married to philandering Thomson (and Manners is engaged to annoying Merkel). Manners is lousy, so the precisely shot lusty moments don't work. Francis's solid, good production, wanting script.

A Night in Casablanca (1946) D: Archie Mayo. S: Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, Paul Harvey, Charles Drake. Groucho takes over the Hotel Casablanca, unaware he's in the crosshairs of escaped Nazi Ruman, who's hiding stolen treasure in the hotel. Very choppy, with whole subplots disappearing. A handful of decent moments, but the low budget and Mayo's iffy handle on directing the picture hurt. Verea's the fatale (she's solid). Harpo gets to play a very pretty song.

Project Hail Mary (2026) D: Phil Lord & Christopher Miller. S: Ryan Gosling, James Ortiz, Sandra Hüller, Milana Vayntrub, Meryl Streep. Amnesiac Gosling wakes up on a spaceship far from Earth and has to remember why he's there. The audience learns through pointlessly expository flashbacks. Drew Goddard's script or Lord and Miller's direction are both profoundly flat, with no dramatic tension, even in disaster sequences. Daniel Pemberton's unceasing muzak doesn't help either. Gosling and Ortiz do okay, for zero reward.

The Racketeer (1929) D: Howard Higgin. S: Robert Armstrong, Carole Lombard, Roland Drew, Paul Hurst, Kit Guard. Languid romantic melodrama about semi-legit gangster Armstrong falling hard for fallen woman Lombard, who can't shake her devotion to drunken violinist Drew. Guard Armstrong's right-hand man, Hurst, is the cop out to get them. Very talky, very slow (at an hour and change); no one can pace their dialogue. Perhaps notable as an early talkie, otherwise not.

Solarbabies (1986) D: Alan Johnson. S: Richard Jordan, Jami Gertz, Jason Patric, Lukas Haas, James Le Gros. Dismal post-apocalyptic kids movie about a bunch of rollerskating orphans (don't worry, it doesn't make sense) finding a magic orb. Top-billed Jordan's the vicious cop after them, Durning (who hopefully enjoyed his trip to Spain for filming at least) is the weary orphanage warden. Nothing good about it, though many elements are worse than others. Terrible music.

Welcome to Collinwood (2002) D: Anthony Russo. S: Sam Rockwell, William H. Macy, Isaiah Washington, George Clooney, Gabrielle Union. Often funny remake of BIG DEAL ON MADONNA STREET relocates the action to an impoverished Cleveland neighborhood and its desperate denizens. Nice performances all around, with standouts from Rockwell, Macy, Washington, and Clarkson. It's short, breezy, and amusing, but the writing and directing Russo Brothers don't have anything other than excellent actors performing an adequate screenplay. Simultaneously tries too hard and not enough.

Comics

Action Comics (1938) #592 [1987] W: John Byrne. A: John Byrne, Keith Williams. Big Barda comes to Metropolis and is almost immediately captured by one of Darkseid's previously unknown ex-minions. Meanwhile, Clark Kent visits a clinic treating victims of an unknown radiation poisoning. The two things are connected, leading to a rescue and a fight. While multi-hyphenate John Byrne canonically loves Kirby, you couldn't tell from the story or art.

Action Comics (1938) #593 [1987] W: John Byrne. A: John Byrne, Keith Williams. John Byrne's attempt to make Superman relevant again to readers now includes brainwashed Supes and Big Barda doing pornos together. Darkseid sends Mister Miracle to the rescue for dumb reasons. Some implied sexual assault (again), bland Byrne art, and tedious writing round out the issue. It's further example of Byrne sapping the life out of Kirby characters, nothing more.

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