Stephen Grant is the pastor at St. Mary’s Lutheran Church on eastern Long Island. Grant is one of the more unique second-career clergy around, as he once worked for the CIA. Besides theology, his interests include archery, golf, writing, classic films, the beach, poker, baseball, and history. Grant also knows his wines, champagnes and brews. Oh yes, he generally dislikes politicians, and happens to be an expert marksman with a handgun and a rifle, while being pretty handy with a combat knife as well.
Are there any Pastor Stephen Grant nerds out there?
Ray Keating goes full nerd in this episode, mainly focusing on how online streaming services are fulfilling many of his nerd dreams pertaining to DC comics and movies – the Snyder Justice League cut! – Marvel comics, movies and shows, Star Wars, Star Trek, film stuff, and yes, Chuck. Join Ray, and embrace your inner nerd.
An exchange between Pastor Stephen Grant and Pastor Zack Charmichael in HEROES AND VILLAINS...
“Tell me more about the author who is receiving a lifetime achievement award tonight?”
“Wes Jenkins. He ranks as one of the great storytellers, as a writer and artist, in comic book history.”
Stephen noted that Zack was ramping up the enthusiasm to provide the Jenkins’ bio.
Zack continued, “Early on, he had great runs with some of the big DC and Marvel characters. But then he teamed up with Simon Huck to form J&H Comics Publishing. Fans and people in the industry thought Jenkins was nuts. No one predicted his subsequent burst... No, wait, ‘burst’ doesn’t capture it. No one predicted his outbreak or storm of creativity. He gave comic book fans dozens of heroes and villains, ranging from more classic, bright characters to dark, noir-ish ones. Jenkins’ creativity, coupled with Huck’s eye for bringing in complementary talent, launched J&H from nowhere to the third largest comics house.”
“Impressive.”
“You’ll appreciate the fact that Jenkins’ work is rich in biblical allegories, and Greek and Roman myths. He also likes to play with historical parallels.”
If you’ve been waiting for a
big payoff after watching the first 18 movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe,
well, you get it in Avengers: Infinity
War … and more.
Infinity War
certainly packs a wallop in terms of action – as most expect with this kind of
film – and we get that action on Earth and across the galaxy.
It also packs a wallop in
terms of the directors’ – the Russo brothers, Anthony and Joe – ably and coherently
telling a compelling story, and managing a film with enormous breath in terms
of the number of characters. And the moviegoer is treated to some extended (well,
for this film) quality screen time with key favorites.
However, there’s much more.
This film serves up an
emotional wallop regarding relationships between certain characters that Marvel
movie fans have come to love, and even with some who perhaps weren’t exactly at
the top of our hero lists coming into the movie. While this Marvel film serves
up some of the humor the franchise has become known for over the past decade, that
banter never takes away from the grave stakes in play, whether for the galaxy
or for particular characters.
But the biggest wallop, if
you will, comes courtesy of Thanos. Moviegoers have been teased about Thanos in
previous films for a while now, and I started to wonder if the character could
live up to the expectations. But Thanos far surpassed those expectations. In
fact, he ranks as the greatest villain of any superhero story to reach the
silver screen. Thanos stands as far removed from a one-dimensional movie evildoer
as a character could. Why does Thanos do what he does? He is Thomas Malthus,
but with staggering power and a will to “solve” the Malthusian dilemma. Of
course, he was as wrong as Malthus was. Thanos is the villain who believes that
the ends justify murderous means, and that the evil he is perpetrating is
necessary to bring about something he deems to be the common good. Ah, history
unfortunately is familiar with this kind of villain, and in Infinity War, we catch a glimpse of how
a twisted, yet brilliant mind can rationalize breathtaking evil.
At the end of Infinity War, this movie reviewer and
fan was left saying, “Wow,” and longing for the still untitled Avengers 4
coming in May 2019.
Also, Ray joins Lou Mongello on his WDW Radio Disney Podcast to discuss and rank the first 18 movies in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe in a two-part discussion – Episode
517 and Episode
518.
Well, in movie terms, it
took me forever to see Black Panther.
I regret the long delay as this ranks as one of the best entries in the rather
breathtaking series of superhero films from Marvel Studios.
Black Panther combines a tip of the hat to James Bond; a Shakespearean theme of
battling for the king’s throne of Wakanda, along with a dose of tragedy; plenty
of superhero action and special effects; and a struggle between a violent
revolutionary who only sees oppression and revenge, and a visionary leader who
cares for his people, tries to fend off war and comes to see value of
constructively engaging with the world.
The cast doesn’t disappoint.
Stands out include Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa, the regal and wise leader of Wakanda
while also being the powerful, acrobatic Black Panther; Michael B. Jordan as
the angry and tragic Erik Killmonger; Letitia Wright as Shuri, T’Challa’s sister and a tech guru; and Danai
Gurira as Okoye, a warrior with humor, passion and love for her country.
If you haven’t seen Black Panther, there’s still time to see
the movie before it exits theaters. So, get moving. Worst case, savor it when
it arrives on Blu-ray, DVD or digital download. This is a fine example of
engrossing and exciting storytelling via film.
