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The Stop Button

blogging by Andrew Wickliffe

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ONESIES

23.2 Immoral Science (Not Much Progress), or: The Flash (1990) 2 of 22
12 June 2026
23.1 Klytus, I'm Bored (Two Hour Premiere), or: The Flash (1990) 1 of 22
2 June 2026
22.7 Finale (Finally), or: Maximum Bob (1998) 7 of 7
18 May 2026
22.6 Patriarchal Hunks (Almost Done), or: Maximum Bob (1998) 6 of 7
2 May 2026
22.5 Unharmed Canines (Low Bars), or: Maximum Bob (1998) 5 of 7
24 April 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 (13 June 2026)
Movies

Akira (1988) D: Katsuhiro Otomo. S: Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama, Takeshi Kusao, Tessyo Genda. Misanthropic cyberpunk anime epic about a teenage biker gang who coincidentally figure into an ongoing military plot to exploit post-nuclear mutant kids. The gang's beta becomes the world's most powerful mutant, and the alpha has feelings about it. Exceptionally thin characterizations and a meandering first half don't help. The frequently impressive animation gets it to a fizzling finale.

The Crime Doctor's Diary (1949) D: Seymour Friedman. S: Warner Baxter, Stephen Dunne, Lois Maxwell, Whit Bissell, Robert Armstrong. Disappointing finish to Baxter's CRIME DOCTOR series suffers a weak script and worse direction. Also Dunne's a charisma vacuum as a potentially wrongly convicted arsonist. The script's very busy, giving Baxter almost nothing to do. The supporting cast's full of recognizable faces (most uncredited) suffering Friedman's direction. The reveal's genuinely surprising, but doesn't matter. Ditto the moody lighting effects.

The Crime Doctor's Gamble (1947) D: William Castle. S: Warner Baxter, Micheline Cheirel, Roger Dann, Eduardo Ciannelli, Steven Geray. Baxter heads to post-war Paris and gets wrapped up in proving black sheep Dann either didn't kill his wealthy father or wasn't insane while doing so. Or something of that nature. The script's a mess, and the Parisian "setting" doesn't bring much but accented English (from a mostly French cast). Baxter gets to flashlight and fisticuff this outing. Followed by THE CRIME DOCTOR'S DIARY.

Dinner in America (2020) D: Adam Rehmeier. S: Kyle Gallner, Emily Skeggs, Pat Healy, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Griffin Gluck. Generally okay (minus the constant misogyny and homophobia) picture about early twenty somethings Gallner and Skeggs. He's a lambing punk rocker who has to crash with secretly punk af Skeggs. Gallner looks his 33, Skeggs looks her 20 year old part. Comes off very peculiar, never creepy. The frequent anachronisms and lazy characterizations don't help. Skeggs is great, though.

The Millerson Case (1947) D: George Archainbaud. S: Warner Baxter, Nancy Saunders, Clem Bevans, Addison Richards, James Bell. Peculiar entry mixes some proto-hicksploitation into the CRIME DOCTOR formula, with Baxter on vacation in an anti-science rural village. He butts heads with the local doctor, Barnett (not good but technically one of the better performances), over a typhoid epidemic before having to tap in on a murder investigation. Plodding, meandering, repetitive. Baxter's eternally buoyant, of course. Followed by THE CRIME DOCTOR'S GAMBLE.

She (1935) D: Irving Pichel. S: Helen Gahagan, Randolph Scott, Helen Mack, Samuel S. Hinds, Lumsden Hare. Plodding, melodramatic "adventure" about a hidden civilization run by immortal Gahagan. Explorer Scott's the likeness of an ancestor who SHE romanced. Mack's the third side of the triangle. Bruce is around to look embarrassed. Gahagan, Scott, and von Seyffertitz are "oh, no, they're serious" bad. Mack tries her best. Big, poorly produced, directed, and written. Maybe one good shot.

Strange Alibi (1941) D: D. Ross Lederman. S: Arthur Kennedy, Joan Perry, Jonathan Hale, William Hopper, Howard Da Silva. Following the murder of a witness, police chief Hale concocts an incredibly convoluted plan to unmask the city's Mr. Big. Things go wrong multiple times, with cop-turned-crook Kennedy at the center of it. Performance wise, Kennedy's okay, Hale's real good, and--in a small part--Bates's the best. A plodding, inoffensive sixty minutes. One good chase, though.

Comics

Grommets (2025) TPB W: Brian Posehn, Rick Remender. A: Brett Parson. Delightful, incredibly specific, eighties-nostalgic piece about eighth-grade skaters in 1985 Sacramento, U.S.A. The protagonists have the same names as the writers, which never ends up raising any questions. The collected series has a phenomenal pace, with enough callbacks the plotting's clearly the thing. Really nice art, rather thoughtful balance of nostalgia and objectivity; outstanding book.

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