Christmas Special Countdown #1

Christmas Vacation

This is the mother of all Christmas specials, this is the one that most of your family has seen hundreds of times, this is the movie that most people quote over and over around Christmas, this is Christmas Vacation! Clark Griswold wants nothing more than to give his family the perfect Christmas, and to do that he invites his whole family to stay at his house for the entire holiday season, and this can only turn into trouble. This film is loved by many of my family members and friends, and it’s a tradition to watch it every year. It has great music, great comedy, relatable family moments, and it expresses the true meaning of Christmas. I hope you have spent this holiday season with as much of your family and friends as possible and I know I’ve written a lot about Christmas specials over the last twenty-four days, but I had to. I had so many thoughts going on that I just needed to empty out my mind, the shitter was full. Merry Christmas EVERYONE!!!!

Christmas Special Countdown #2

Twas the Night Before Mxymas

Mr. Mxyzptlk arrives on earth on Christmas Eve with a plan to take over the planet by destroying hope. To do this, the magical imp puts a spell over the people of the world that causes them to relive Christmas Eve over and over again. His theory is if you take away tomorrow, you take away hope. The only person to notice that he is reliving the same day over and over again is Clark Kent, who begins to notice that the people of earth are becoming more hateful each time Christmas Eve resets itself. This Christmas special does take it pretty dark as there are talks of world war and wide spread disaster at points, but with Howie Mandel playing the part of Mr. Mxyzptlk the comedy helps balances out the story. Can Clark Kent stop the evil imp and save Christmas? This looks like a job for Superman!

Christmas Special Countdown #3

Christmas with the Joker

This is a classic Christmas tale about a psychotic killer who breaks out of jail on Christmas Eve. All he wants for Christmas is to toy with Batman for the night at the expense of people’s safety. This episode has everything, Christmas music, out of control trains, killer toys, even Joker in an ugly Christmas sweater. The special is part of the classic Batman: The Animated Series and still holds up today. What more can you ask from Christmas than hearing Mark Hamill singing “Jingle Bells Batman Smells” while riding a flying Christmas tree?  Check it out this year and remember to smile.

Christmas Special Countdown #4

Mickey’s Christmas Carol

To me, Mickey’s Christmas Carol is a timeless classic; it has timeless characters playing other timeless characters. The story of a Christmas Carol has been done to death, you can even find some of the examples in my countdown, but one of the best is with Mickey’s cast. Mickey plays poor Bob Cratchit who works for Ebenezer Scrooge. One of the best parts is Donald, playing Scrooge’s nephew, burst into the office trying to sell Christmas wreaths. Goofy plays Jacob Marley, and makes a pretty terrifying ghost in my opinion. All that set aside, the thing I love most about this special is that Scrooge McDuck plays Ebenezer Scrooge. When I was a kid, seeing Scrooge playing a different Scrooge blew my mind. This is a must watch every Christmas, and I highly recommend you grabs some friends and watch with them.

Christmas Special Countdown #5

Fred Claus

Fred is the brother of Santa Claus, and he works for a reposition company in Chicago. When Fred needs some extra cash he calls his brother, but Santa will only give his bro some money if he helps out around the North Pole for Christmas. This leads to Fred making changes of his own around Santa’s workshop in which leads to Santa getting upset at his brother. Vince Vaughn plays Fred and he’s great in the movie but my favorite character is played by Kevin Spacey. For those of you that know me well, there is an awesome Superman moment in this film with Lex Luthor himself. This is a fun movie that my friends usually get together to watch every year, if you haven’t seen it yet it’s a treat. Enjoy and Merry Christmas.

Christmas Special Countdown #6

A Very Supernatural Christmas

This is a fun special, but might not be for the kids in the family. The episode starts out with a grandfather dressed as Santa getting pulled up a chimney and murdered as his grandson watches from the stairs. As more and more murders begin to happen, Sam and Dean arrive in Ypsilanti, Michigan to investigate. For most of the episode, the Winchesters are hunting what they believe to be an Evil Santa, but it could be something else all together. Supernatural is great, especially when they do their experimental episodes. Grab some friends, turn out the lights and enjoy A Very Supernatural Christmas.

Christmas Special Countdown #7

The Looney Tunes Show

A Christmas Carol

A heat wave hits and everyone in Bugs’s town is losing their Christmas spirit, including Bugs. In an attempt to show a little Christmas cheer and raise everyone’s spirits, Lola decides to put on a play for the whole town. After she does a few rewrites and adds a few characters, she comes up with a messed up version of A Christmas Carol, and attempts to have Bugs and company learn the part in a few days so that they can entertain the town. Meanwhile, Daffy and Foghorn Leghorn make their way to the North Pole to install a massive fan that will blow cold air downward and wipe out the heat wave. Not only is this a funny Christmas special but it ends with a fantastic Christmas Song sung by the cast.

Christmas Special Countdown #8

Batman: The Brave and the Bold

Invasion of the Secret Santas!

This is a fun episode, as most of the Brave and the Bold episodes are, and this one co-stars The Red Tornado and sends him on a search to find out exactly what Christmas spirit really is. For those of you who do not know, Red Tornado is an android and emotions are a mystery to him. There is a great segment where Tornado decorates his house, goes caroling, and even wraps presents. Sadly, Red Tornado has to put his search on hold when he discovers that the city is being attacked by flying saucers. Tornado rushes to the scene and finds Batman already in battle with the invaders. During the fight, Batman figures out who is really behind the invasion and sets out to stop the crazed villain before he destroys Christmas.

Christmas Special Countdown #9

Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol

It’s Christmas all over the universe and a space liner carrying over 4000 passengers gets caught in a freak storm cloud over a planet much like Earth, The Doctor shows up and attempts to save the ship and everyone on board, but due to the freak electric field around the cloud The Doctor cannot board the ship from his Tardis so he makes his way to the planet’s surface to discover the source of the freak electric storm. Here The Doctor finds a large tower, which is causing the storm, being run by the most uncaring, selfish, hateful person on the planet, Kazran Sardick. When The Doctor explains the situation he asks Kazran to shut down his tower so that the ship can land, but Kazran refuses. The Doctor doesn't have much time and he must find a way to turn this hateful scrooge into a more caring being. Thus begins The Doctors version of the Dickens Christmas classic, A Christmas Carol.

Christmas Special Countdown #10

Have Yourself a Morlock Little X-Mas

It’s Christmas at the X-Mansion and Jubilee wants to go shopping, and convinces Wolverine to go with her and Storm. While Christmas shopping, the X-Men witness two Morlocks attempting to steel medicine to heal their sick companion, Leach. Storm, being the leader of the Morlocks, decides to take her team down to the tunnels and attend to Leach. When they discover the horrible condition in which he is in, a plan is concocted. It’s dangerous and could kill Leach but giving his condition it may be his only chance, and it involves Wolverine. Will Wolverine be able to save Leach and perform Christmas miracle? If you want to see this special it can be found on Volume 4 of the X-Men the animated series DVD.

Christmas Special Countdown #11

X-Mas Marks the Spot

This Real Ghostbusters Christmas special is a classic in my book. The Ghostbusters walk through a portal in time and are sent back to the past, where they find an old man being terrorized by three spirits. Doing what they do best, Peter and the gang power up their proton accelerators and trap the three spirits, saving the old man from his night of horror. Making their way back where they came from the Ghostbusters return to their own time only to find out that Christmas has been all but forgotten and the day is now used to celebrate the life of Ebeneezer Scrooge. Having realized, what they had done the Ghostbusters have to find a way to get back to the past, and release the Ghost of Christmas Past, Present, and Future so that they can show Scrooge the error of his ways and save Christmas. Who you gonna call?

Christmas Special Countdown #12

I’m Dreaming of a White Ranger

Rita and Zedd send Goldar and Reto to the North Pole to force Santa into giving kids an evil spinning top that will hypnotize children into doing Zedd’s bidding. When Zordon discovers that the monsters have taken over Santa’s workshop he sends the Rangers to the North Pole to save Christmas. However, due to the powerful magic surrounding the North Pole the Rangers powers will not work there. This leaves the Rangers having to figure out how to beat Goldar and Reto with their minds instead of their powers. Can the Rangers save Christmas? Tune in and find out. I’m dreaming of a White Rangers is on season 3 DVD of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers as well as Netflix and Hulu. It’s Morphin Time!!

Christmas Special Countdown #13

Justice League: Comfort and Joy

A Justice League Christmas special, ahh this one gets me every time. It is a twenty minute special broken up into three different parts. Green Lantern and Hawkgirl spend the holiday on a snow covered planet, where Green Lantern tries to show Hawkgirl how much fun can be had by playing in the snow, and hawkgirl retaliates by showing how much fun can be had at a bar. Then there is the Flash story, which shows the scarlet speedster visiting an orphanage and asking the kids what they want for Christmas. Of course, they all want the hottest toy on the market and the Flash sets out to find it. Then, in Smallville, Clark Kent brings the Martian Manhunter home for Christmas dinner. Interested in learning more about the Christmas holiday Manhunter tags along and this is the story that gets me every time. There is a part at the end that will bring a tear to your eye. I LOVE THIS special. Have a great day everyone, it’s almost Christmas.

Christmas Special Countdown #14

Jackie Chan Adventures: A Jolly J-Team X-Mas

Dalong Wong attacks the North Pole and kidnaps Santa Claus. His goal is to steal Santa’s chi magic and harness it for himself. In an attempt to stop Dalong Wong, the elves track down the one archaeologist who has beaten Wong time and time again, Jackie Chan. Along with Uncle, Jade, Tohru, Viper, Paco, and El Toro Fuerte, Jackie heads to the North Pole and begins a rescue mission. Christmas night is passing and presents need to be delivered, Tohru dawns the Santa Suit and heads out on the sleigh. This might not be one of the classic Christmas specials but watching Jackie team up with Santa and doing some fighting is great. Jackie Chan Adventures is an awesome show and is truly enjoyable by kids and adults. The Christmas special is a little hard to find but there is a version of it on youtube if you decided to check it out.

Christmas Special Countdown #15

Ace Ventura: The Reindeer Hunter.

It’s Christmas Eve in Miami and as Santa makes a stop so that he can deliver his presents, his reindeer are captured by a group of mysterious shadowy figures. When Santa returns to his sleigh and finds his reindeer missing he turns to the only man in Miami that can help, Ace Venture: Pet Detective.  Using Santa’s naughty list, Ace begins searching all of Miami for anyone naughty enough to steal Santa’s reindeer on Christmas Eve. This is a stupid stupid stupid Christmas special that I love and it always makes me laugh. This one is a bit harder to find but you can watch the entire episode on Youtube. Give it a try and you just might like it…Allllll Righty Then!

Christmas Special Countdown #16

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Christmas Aliens

“Twas the night before Christmas when all through the town, Turtle Santa drove like crazy to not let the kids down. Instead of a sleigh, a truck full of toys, destined to be the presents for good girls and boys. But evil thieves wanted to steal the toys at all cost. Poor, poor Turtle Santa, all hope was lost” Michelangelo sets the tone for this episode right from the beginning with a powerful monologue describing the plight that the children of The Brown Street Children’s Home faced on Christmas. The Purple Dragons have hijacked a delivery truck filled with presents for the kids and only Michelangelo stands in their way. Meanwhile, back at the turtle lair, Master Splinter and the other Turtles, along with April and Casey, prepare for Christmas dinner and the arrival of their other worldly guest. This is an awesome Christmas special with all kinds of great turtle action. Cowabunga!!!!!

Christmas Special Countdown #17

Batman: Holiday Knights

Three holiday tales from the final season of Batman: The Animated Series, with the first starting on December 22nd. Bruce is attacked by a mysterious woman in the mall who kisses him and then vanishes. It turned out to be Poison Ivy who kissed Bruce with a mind control toxin. Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn use Bruce to go on a Shopping spree days before Christmas. Then, on Christmas Eve, Clayface is stealing from stores in the Gotham Mall, and it’s up to Batgirl to save the day. In the final story, New Year’s Eve, the Joker vows at the stroke of midnight to go a whole year without killing, which means that he will kill as many people as he can before midnight. It’s up to Batman to save the citizens of Gotham and put the Clown Prince of Crime’s, plans to an end. This is another fun cartoon Christmas special that can be found on the season 4 DVD of Batman: The Animated Series.

Christmas Special Countdown #18

Scrooged

Scrooged is a crazy twist on the classic Christmas tale, A Christmas Carol. Frank Cross (played by Bill Murray) is a television program director who has become power hungry and fails to see the wonderful things that life can give. On the eve of his new live Christmas program broadcasting on televisions all over the country, Cross is visited by his long dead business partner who tells him how if he continues on his current path then he is heading for a future he will regret. In order for Cross to see the error of his ways he will be visited by three ghosts and from there the movie gets even crazier. Bill Murray is awesome and there a many laugh out loud moments. I've watched this film with friends every Christmas for many years and it still makes me laugh hysterically throughout the entire movie. The film is on DVD and Blu-ray as well as on Netflix, and will make for a wonderful night of Christmas magic.

Christmas Special Countdown #19

Santa’s Slay

After losing a bet with an angel, Santa was forced to deliver presents to children all over the world on the night of December 24th for one thousand years. In 2005, the thousand year bet is paid in full and Santa can finally get back to what he enjoys the most this time of year, KILLING! Santa descends upon the town of Hell and begins slaying the citizens in Christmas themed ways. This is an awesome/bad movie to watch with friends, and laughs will be had. The deaths aren't graphic but do have a somewhat comedic twist to them. Bill Goldberg plays Santa and does a pretty good job at playing an evil Saint Nick. This is one of those movies you can watch with a bunch of friends and laugh about; if you haven’t seen it I recommend it. Make a night of it.

Christmas Special Countdown #20

IT’S A WONDERFUL LEAF

Bushroot gets knocked around a bit at the mall doing some last minute Christmas shopping, and in his anger decides to make Christmas in St. Canard as awful as possible. Using his power over plants, Bushroot takes control over all the Christmas trees and uses them to take all the presents from homes and stores, around the city. As chaos spreads throughout St. Canard, Drake Mallard dawns his mask and heads out into the night as St. Canards protector Darkwing Duck, and sets on out a mission to save Christmas. This is another awesome cartoon Christmas special from the Disney Afternoon block from the early 90’s, and should be revisited by everyone. Say it with me, LET’S GET DANGEROUS!

Christmas Special Countdown #21

A Chipmunk Christmas

Alvin, Simon, and Theodore are working hard in the recording studio practicing for their Christmas program that they are performing at Carnegie Hall on Christmas Eve. Alvin spends most of the time distracted by the thoughts of presents and wants nothing more than to go Christmas shopping. While Dave is setting up the studio Alvin and his brothers set out to see what wonderful items are in stores this year. Alvin makes his way to a music store and overhears a mother talking about her ill son, Tommy, to her daughter. The two are looking at the Golden Echo Harmonica, and thinking about how much better Tommy would feel if they could get it for him, but sadly the price was too high. Alvin, getting into the spirit of Christmas decides to give his Golden Echo Harmonica to Tommy as a gift. Returning home, Alvin and the Chipmunks are greeted by Dave, who has wonderful news for Alvin. Carnegie Hall wants him to do a Harmonica solo during the program and they want him to use his Golden Echo Harmonica. Now Alvin sets out to try and raise enough money to purchase the music stores harmonica before Christmas Eve. This special has a few tear jerk moments but overall is a wonderful and happy Christmas special with awesome music. I highly recommend checking this out this year, right Alvin?......Alvin?...... ALLLVVIIIINN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Christmas Countdown Special #22

Ernest Saves Christmas

A magical story about a kindhearted, loving, caring, idiot who only has other peoples well being in mind. Christmas is hours away from being destroyed and Santa has only hours to find a worthy successor to take his magical powers and take up the mantel of Santa Clause. Santa befriends Ernest, a carefree taxi driver, and together with Pamela, their teenage friend whom Ernest picked up off the street, set out on a mission to save Christmas. Santa has until 7:00pm on Christmas Eve to transfer his powers to his successor and before that can happen he must convenes Joe Carruthers that he is the next Santa Clause. Meanwhile, Pamela (you remember her; the teenager Ernest befriends and then takes on a road trip and offers her to stay at his house. You could never get away with this in a movie today, and still call it a family holiday special) decides to steal Santa’s sack (minds out of the gutter people). So here we are, Santa has to convince some one he just met to become Santa Clause, his magic sack has been stolen, and his reindeer and sleigh are locked up at the airport (which is where Ernest comes in.) This is one of my favorite Christmas movies to watch this time of year and it’s a film that doesn’t get the love it deserves. If you haven’t watched Ernest Saves Christmas this holiday season…or even this week, then do yourselves a favor and check it out. Know What I Mean?

Christmas Countdown Special #23

A Garfield Christmas Special

This is a classic Christmas tale about everyone’s favorite fat cat, Garfield.  I love this special and it still holds up pretty well after so many years. The musical intro at the beginning is pretty great and I wish I had that present machine. This special is about Garfield, Odie, and Jon heading to Jon’s parent’s house for the holiday. Here we get to see Garfield get in to some trouble, we get to meet Jon’s awesome grandmother, and the scene between Garfield and Odie’s gift exchange is great.  Grab some lasagna and check out this holiday classic.

Christmas Specials Countdown #24

Holiday in Handcuffs

This is my Christmas special countdown. For the next 24 days I'll be talking about Christmas specials I think should be seen by all. Let's begin. Holiday in Handcuffs is a fun little Christmas movie that my wife and I watch every year at the beginning of the holiday season. The movie is about Trudie (Melissa Joan Heart), whose family is expecting her to finally bring a boyfriend with her to Christmas dinner. When Trudie is dumped just hours before leaving for her family’s holiday cabin, she panics and kidnaps David (Mario Lopez) at gun point and forces him to attend her families Christmas dinner as her boyfriend. Things get better when David decides to play along so that when he is finally rescued by the police, Trudies humiliation will be even greater. This is a funny, stupid, awesome ABC Family original movie that is great to watch with family and friends. Enjoy and Happy Holidays.

Indy Pop Con 2014

Another weekend came and went in a blink of an eye, but for the people of Indianapolis, it was an amazing weekend. The folks who brought us the Indy Pop Con did a fantastic job of delivering a con that was entertaining, fun, action packed, and left you with only great memories. This was the first year for the con and it was one of the best that I, personally, have been to.

When I arrived at 8:30am on Saturday, an hour and a half before the show floor opened; there was already plenty to do. Once you picked up your tickets you could go and have your picture taken next to a Pikachu car or a Star Gate. There was a gaming floor you could sit and play table top as well as pay to play video games as well. Across the hall from the show floor was a nice doctor who experience, which had one of my favorite parts of the con, a whole room that played Doctor Who episodes the entire day. Fantastic!

The show floor opened without any kind of confusion. There was a nice line for everyone to get in and a wide enough opening that once the line started to move it was a smooth process to get into the show floor. One of my favorite parts about this con was that all of the booths were spaced out nicely. There were many people at the Pop Con, but unlike the last con I attended, there was plenty of breathing room. You could navigate the show floor easily without running into everyone.

One other aspect of the Indy Pop Con that stood out to me was their main panel room. Some of the other panels I’ve attended at cons in the past have been too small for the panelist and for that reason, not everyone got to see the panels they wanted. That was not the case for Indy Pop Con and for that reason I’d like to thank them greatly.

The fun continued after the show floor closed, with the Indy Pop Con Cosplay Contest. Over 300 people entered the contest and as the day went on those 300 were reduced down to seventy-seven finalists. The contest was awesome to see and the costumes were very well done.  All of the contestants did a wonderful job on their cosplay and I hope to see another fantastic cosplay competition next year.

In closing, Indy Pop Con was a huge amount of fun and I highly recommend attending the next one. They can only get bigger and better from here, and they have already set the bar pretty high. I’m looking forward to the announcement of when next year’s con will be.

By Matt Miller

Follow on twitter @2themattcave

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ended its first season recently, and with that I’d like to take a moment to look back on the season from a fan's perspective. I’ve been into comic books for most of my life, and it was fantastic when comic book movies started to explode onto the big screen. It only got better, however, when Marvel began their Cinematic Universe and interconnected all their movies. Just when I thought it couldn't get any better than this, Marvel began releasing comic books that filled gaps between movies as well as One-Shots that appeared on the Blu-rays. As most of my friends know, I was very excited about this.

Last September Marvel took it to the next level and introduced Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., a television series that connected with the movie universe that Marvel had been building for years. This was a gutsy move from Marvel, since nothing like this had ever really been done before and at the beginning it was unclear if it would work or not.

A lot of people felt like the show started off a bit slow, but after a few episodes it picked up the pace and even got to the point where even the naysayers were beginning to see how fantastic the show was. At the beginning I really enjoyed Agent May’s character, and by the end of season one I cared about all the Agents. They did a wonderful job at building up every character and their relationship with one another and by the finale you really felt for them and what they had been through.

The fact that Marvel was able to build up S.H.I.E.L.D. and then in the course of one week air an episode that sets up all sorts of plot points for The Winter Soldier, and then just days later have The Winter Soldier released in theaters, and follow up days after that with an episode of AoS that ran parallel with the movie was amazing. The planning and timing that had to go into that had to be crazy and they pulled it off flawlessly.

 

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episodes were always fun to watch, but I really started to geek out hardcore when all the twists started happening every week.  I enjoyed Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. more than any other show on TV and it’s because it’s different in that it’s not just a TV show, but  part of a huge interconnecting universe that is always changing and growing. If you gave up on AoS or never watched it, I HIGHLY recommend that you go back and give it a shot. 

With the success of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Marvel is once again upping the stakes. In a few months, the year of Marvel will begin. We’ll get another season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the beginning of Marvel’s new show Agent Carter, Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant-Man, and Avengers 2 hitting the big screen, and Marvels Netflix programs begging their run. I’m a huge fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and it looks like it’s about to explode into territory that no other franchise has done before. I can’t wait.

It's Morphin Time!

Saturday, February 15, Nickelodeon will begin airing the 21st season of Power Rangers. This season is called Super Megaforce and centers around the team from last season tapping into the powers of every ranger from the past twenty years. Super Megaforce is adapted from the Japanese Super Sentai Series Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger.

The season picks up where last season left off. There is an alien armada invading Earth and the Rangers have to unlock new powers in order to save the day. When they activate their new Super Mega Mode the rangers transform into their new suits. Once Super Mega Mode is activated they can use their legendary powers to become any ranger from the past. This is very similar to Gokaiger except that the Gokaigers were pirates. This explains why Super Megaforce has a pirate Megazord. This is explained away in Super Megaforce by calling it a flying air ship. It works for this type of show but I feel like they could have come up with something better. 

The episode was enjoyable and was one of the strongest episodes Power Rangers has had in a long time. One thing that was a bit of a stretch, even with a show about multicolored heroes fighting giant space aliens, was that after the huge invasion was defeated, everything went right back to normal and school was in session the next day.

One of the funnier moments happened during the reveal of the Ranger Keys. Jake, the Black Megaforce Ranger, asked if there was a reason his power up key was green instead of black. In response to the question, Gosei said there was a simple explanation to that. An attack occurred right after this and the explanation has yet to be revealed. 

One problem I had with the episode was that it was a bit fast paced. They cover two episodes of Gokaiger in this one episode. It wasn’t a big problem but I don’t think they should have two monster fights each episode.

Super Megaforce finally beginning means that it is time for the legend war. Later this season, Rangers from the past will be returning and I can’t wait. Tommy will be back as the Green Ranger and I don’t care how the episode turns out, I know I’ll love it. 

On a side note, it seems Saban has revealed the title for next year's season before this season even begins. The odd thing is that it seams that Saban will skip adapting a season of Super Sentai, for the first time since the show began, and move forward with adapting the Dinosaur themed Sentai, Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger, that finished airing in Japan this weekend.

Final thoughts, I really enjoyed watching Gokaiger and I’m a huge Power Rangers fan. I’m looking forward to watching Super Megaforce and seeing the legend war, but I hope they step up the writing a little as well as getting a few scenes inside the pirate ship. Not a bad episode, if you enjoy watching Power Rangers this is more of the awesome. Check it out Saturday, February 15 on Nickelodeon.

Check out my podcast over at www.undergroundgeeknetwork.com
I'm on twitter at https://twitter.com/2TheMattCave

A Galaxy Far Far Away

When Disney purchased Star Wars from Lucas I was very excited. The day they made the announcement was the same day as the Episode VII announcement. I remember being in my living room with some friends and just cheering at the fact that we would be getting a new Star Wars film. I've been a Star Wars fan for years, and not just the movies but the entire expanded universe.

For those of you that are unaware, the Star Wars universe is much larger than the six movies that most people are familiar with. There are hundreds of novels, comics, video games, cartoons, and short stories that tie into the universe. My wife and I love all of it and have a major majority of the material.

I was looking to see when another new Star Wars novel would be released and now I find myself a little worried at the upcoming events centered on the Star Wars franchise. I found out that a book trilogy based on Jana Solo, which would take place after the last main story (Crucible set 45 years after episode 4), has been put on hold and would possibly be cancelled once Disney decides on what stories would be canon and what would be thrown out. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

If Disney does anything to screw up the awesome story and collection that is Star Wars then I will be very disappointed, and I know that this will happen but I’m still holding out hope that it won’t. I’m a fan of all six movies (yes I love episodes I-III) and the expanded universe adds so much more meat to the characters that it would be a shame to toss out all the hard work that’s been put into making the universe have a very connecting time line. Everything tied into this universe. I love when events in a comic are mentioned in a novel, or something that happens in a game has repercussions later in a comic.

Nothing has been confirmed yet but I know the day is coming when Disney will say that only the six movies count and they will be starting over with everything else. If this turns out to be the case then I wish Disney never had purchased Star Wars. How hard would it be to start up 45 years after the last movie and count everything that’s happened? Yes, Chewbacca is dead and the Solo’s have had a few misfortunes as far as kids go, but all you would need is a nod toward that and the common viewer would be fine. If they want to know how Chewbacca died I’m sure they could ask someone sitting next to them or look it up on the internet. There is no need to throw away 30 years of work and start over just because you are Disney.

Here is hoping that JJ knows what he is doing with this franchise and keeps it all connected. Until next time, this is Matt signing out. Later!

Never give up

Have you ever wanted something so bad that it no longer feels like a want but becomes a need? People are driven by their want and desires, it’s what pushes them to achieve their goals and dreams. What happens when you try and try to achieve your goal but you can never accomplish it? Does it consume you? Do you let it become any and everything that you think about? I have been trying to do something for two years now and it just isn't happening. I've kept it a secret from a lot of people and I have my reasons. Two years of trying to accomplish this goal, and two years of mind numbing disappointments. I have to stand tall though, and be strong. Every time I fail I have to put on a strong face and be there for the person I care about the most, because I know it hurts her just as much as it hurts me and I must be there to pick her back up.

If you have goals, dreams, or ideas that you want to accomplish, never give up, I won’t. I don’t care what some doctor says, or what a book says, or what you might even say, I will accomplish my goal and when that day comes it will be one of the greatest days of my life. Until then, I will never give up, I won’t let the failure keep me from enjoying the other great things in my life, and I will always be who I’m supposed to be.  I will always be a great husband to my wife, an amazing friend to my friends, and an all around geek to everybody. That’s who I am today, but I know that one day I will achieve my goal of becoming something more. One day, maybe not today but one day, I will be a dad.

twitter.com/2TheMattCave

It's not easy being green

Hello again everyone, thanks for joining me today as I rant about something that has always been near and dear to me. When I was a kid I was one of those students that certain kids liked to pick on. On the bus, the playground, in front of other kids, the whole nine yards. Lucky for me I had an escape in that I lost my self in things like Power Rangers and other superhero adventures.

Power Rangers started for me when I was in the first grade and I've been a fan ever since. I still remember dodging out of my family’s backyard BBQ and running upstairs so I could watch the Pudgy Pig episode.

As far as Rangers go I've always been a huge fan of the Green Ranger. He had the awesome shield, the best zord that has ever been on the show, the flute, and the really cool looking dragon coin. Ever since I was a little boy I've always wanted the green ranger’s coin and today, my wish has come true.   

I receive the Legacy Green/White Power Morpher in the mail, and I was like a kid on Christmas. The set comes with Tommy’s Green Ranger coin, his White Ranger coin, and the gold morpher. I cannot express enough how awesome I felt finally holding the dragon coin in my hand. Now, some of you might think this is a bit odd but I do take great joy in the little things in life.

The packaging is really cool also. I enjoyed both the Green Ranger on one side and the White on the other.

If you hadn't guessed by now, the Green Ranger was always my favorite. He started off as an enemy to the team and then became the greatest ranger in history. Tommy was one of my role models growing up, because (as the green ranger) he was always the underdog. Most of his run as the Green Ranger was spent with his powers slowly draining away. It was always more dangerous for Tommy to go out and save the day because his powers could go at any moment, yet he did not care. He stood tall and did what had to be done. Tommy’s example of courage is what got me through the bullying while I was in elementary school.

People always say never to meet your heroes because they will always let you down, but for me that was not the case. I’ve met Jason Frank (Tommy the Green Ranger) twice and each time he was nothing short of amazing. He’s so full of life, energetic, and his love for his fans just radiates off him. Jason David Frank is one of the coolest people I’ve met in my life and his character in Power Rangers is one of the reasons I became the person I am today.

Now that I've got my Green Ranger morpher, I think it’s time for a Power Rangers marathon. Until next time, may the power protect you.

Follow me on twitter @2themattcave

The MCU

Last time on 2TheMattCave… (Just kidding)

Today I’m going to rant about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, because what a week it’s had. Marvel stepped it up this week by bringing us a lot of news on the growth of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as well as delivering a fantastic episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

First, Marvel announced that Michael Douglas would be playing Hank Pym in the 2015 “Ant-Man” movie. I was very surprised by this, seeing how Douglas is a tad on the old side and Hank is still in his prime in the comics, not to mention the first Ant-Man. Douglas has some big shoes to fill here, for Pym not only holds the mantle of Ant-Man in the Marvel universe but also goes by Giant-man, Goliath, Yellow Jacket, and even Wasp for a time. Will we see Douglas take on any of these rolls in the movie, I hope so.

With the announcement of Michael Douglas playing Hank Pym, that led to the reveal that Paul Rudd, who had already been cast in the movie as Ant-Man, would in fact be playing Scott Lang (The second character to become Ant-Man). Will we see Rudd and Douglas shrink together, will it be one of those movies where it flips from that past to the present to unfold the plot, will Douglas and Rudd go well together, and will the movie be any good? Probably, More than likely, I couldn't tell you, and OH YES!!!! This will be an awesome movie. Ant-Man is set to release on July 31, 2015.

Up next, Marvel announced that Bill Paxton will be playing S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Jonathan Garrett in four upcoming episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Paxton’s episodes will air later this season.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode 12: Seeds was one of the season’s strongest episodes. There was a large plot twist with one of the main characters as well as telling a great origin story for one of Iron Man’s super villains. If you haven’t watched the episode yet, STOP READING, this is where it gets a little spoilery. First off, A few questions came to mind when Sky mentioned Bucky Barnes being on the agent’s wall of death. Bucky died in Captain America: The First Avenger, which takes place a year before S.H.I.E.L.D. was formed. If that’s the case then why is he on the wall? Marvel doesn't do these things by mistake, and if you know anything about Bucky and you've heard about Cap 2 then you really need to get excited any time now. I’ll give you a moment…..

STILL SPOILERY

Blizzard’s origin into the MCU was reveled in this episode as well. Donnie Gill, who in the MCU is a S.H.I.E.L.D agent in training, creates a device that will later change his life as well as the entire show!! I KNOW!!! Someone finally has a superpower without having some kind of implant or device to aid them. Seems a bit inhuman….

And finally!!!

After the show, Marvel showed a clip for the next episode and we see a cameo of someone famous. I won’t say who it is but my hints are:
He’s had cameos in all the Marvel movies

His name rhymes with Fan the man Wee

Well played Marvel. You've expanded the Marvel Cinematic Universe greatly this week and it’s only Wednesday. Keep up the good work.

PS: Marvels 2014 plans for the MCU

Present-May 2014: The remaining episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

April 4th-Captain America: The Winter Solder

August 1^st- Guardians of the Galaxy

That is all for me everybody, have a wonderful day.

It’s morphin time!!!