Matt's Musings

"I'm on the verge of changing the world in a way he never could, and he can't face it." - Simon Hays, "God Friended Me" As we hurtle toward the end of the first season of "God Friended Me," it's clear change is on the horizon. Change for everyone. But will it be good or bad? That we don't yet know. But we do no, no matter what, it will require adjustment and sacrifice. And that was something that everyone was considering during last night's episode, "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant." That was even evident in the case of the week, which saw Miles (Brandon Michael Hall) and Cara (Violett Beane) sent to an Italian Restaurant on their first date. It didn't go well as a romantic outing, but it did introduce them to Caterina (Cate Bottiglione), the daughter of the restaurant owner and an aspiring chef. But her father didn't see he way of thinking, so she sought to strike out on her own. It didn't go as planne...

"It never ends, does it?" - Ezekiel, "The Walking Dead" "The Walking Dead" returned for the second half of its ninth season on Feb. 10. Each week I'll be looking at the episode, the deeper themes, and the world. Last night's episode of "The Walking Dead" presented something fun. Sure, we saw an epic battle between Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Beta (Ryan Hurst), but that was more of a side light and a holding pattern. The big showdown with The Whispers and Alpha and Beta is coming (I mean, seriously, did anyone in the world think Daryl dispatched Beta with that????), and with it will come more losses. Sometimes all the cycles of violence get to be too much. I was amused when Ezekiel (Khary Payton) expressed the same, saying "it never ends, does it?" when faced with another potential threat. This time coming from The Highwaymen, a group who assaulted a few on the road and left a note demanding payment for allowing folks to ...

We still have the third season of Jessica Jones forthcoming, but that will be the end of the Marvel Cinematic Universe on Netflix. It's a universe that spanned five named heroes, six shows and at least four years. The world began with "Daredevil" in 2015. By the time we reached 2017, four more heroes had rolled out in their own shows. And, of course, that led to the ultimate plan. Like the cinematic universe, the introduction of the pieces were meant to lead to a larger team. In the summer of 2017, we got that team in "The Defenders." It wasn't perfect, but it was a fun and ambitious project, and it produced some good performances, some good stories and some good seasons of TV. But with Marvel moving on to other projects on its own Disney streaming service, it was a partnership that seemed destined to end. And like that, Netflix set about cancelling each of the series. When "Iron Fist" was cancelled after its second season, it wasn't a...

We've reached the time of year when the NFL considers rule changes. Among those proposed is one from the Broncos that would eliminate onside kicks. And it's one worth considering. How did we get here: First, the NFL made an amendment to kickoffs which eliminated the running start. In addition, the kickoff rules require a balanced lineup. In the past, not only could the kicking team run up to the start, but they could stack one side of the field. That created a much better circumstance to try and recover an onside kick. It still wasn't a high chance, but it felt like a real chance. Now, the teams must remain stationary on the line until the kick is made, and they must keep five people on each side of the kicker. That has resulted in far fewer onside kicks being recovered, and a far less chance they even could be recovered. Hence the discussion. It has made the onside kick almost a forgone conclusion, which sucks some of the excitement out of close games and comeback...

On Thursday, the other shoe dropped in the Broncos' quarterback situation. When the Broncos agreed to trade for Joe Flacco, it seemed to signal the end for Case Keenum. But in recent weeks, the Broncos seemed to cool on top QB prospects in the 2019 draft, while John Elway indicated they'd like to keep Case, too, albeit at a lower price point. On Thursday, that lower price point became a reality, but the Broncos moved on from Keenum as he was traded to the Washington Redskins. That does a few things for the Broncos, including give uncertainty again at the biggest position in the game. Even with Flacco, a 34-year-old passer with a tough injury history, the Broncos only have Garrett Grayson under contract. While I wouldn't rule out them grabbing someone in Free Agency, it still seems likely they draft someone. Meaning the Broncos will likely enter 2019 with a completely different quarterback room, and probably quite a few questions. But what Keenum's trade really do...

The Marvel Cinematic Universe began with Iron Man in 2008 and now stretches through 20 feature films. With the release of Captain Marvel on Friday, and Avengers: End Game in April, that cinematic world will be forever changed. To say there’s a lot riding on Brie Larson and her titular hero is an understatement. But more on that in a minute. Last week there wasn’t much new at the Box Office, and what new there was remained unappealing. So it was tough to determine value. I went with Alita: Battle Angel over eight screens hoping to hit value and boost my score. It was a noble attempt, or rather a noble failure. I was way off the pace. Not a good follow up to my Perfect Cineplex. This week I’ll try to do better. We only have one new film in the game this week, but it brings the return of daily scoring. So there’s the challenge in and of itself! As always, if you think you’re better at the game than me, I encourage you to join me in a Fantasy Life App Blog league! You can joi...

"Captain Marvel" opens on Friday. It will be the 21st film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, an inter-connected web of films that began back in the summer of 2008. In anticipation of this film which is supposed to change the MCU moving forward, including April's final "Avengers" film, I thought it was time to take a minute and look back on the best of what has come so far. Below I've ranked the 20 films in ascending order based on my preference. I won't belabor descriptions of the bottom, suffice to say if I didn't have to include the first "Ant-Man," it wouldn't be on this list. 20. Ant-Man (2015) 19. The Incredible Hulk (2008) 18. Thor: The Dark World (2013) 17. Iron Man 3 (2013) 16. Thor (2011) 15. Iron Man 2 (2010) 14. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) 13. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) 12. Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 (2017) 11. Doctor Strange (2016) Top 10: 10. Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) : I couldn't dislik...