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First post of 2024

Happy New Year, everyone! Here’s a toast I made at midnight with the fam. I’m sharing with my readers today to extend the good wishes to you all.

“Welcome 2024, may it be better than the year before.

May we have more ups than downs, may there be more smiles than frowns.

May all the ones we hold so dear remain safe and healthy all year.

Let’s raise a glass to ’24. May it be better than the year before!”

Thanks for your support this past year. It means a lot to me that you guys come check this blog out, whether you’re here each week or you just pop in from time to time, I appreciate you taking a few minuted to rewd my words and check in.

The best way I can think of to show my gratitude is to keep coming up with fun stuff for you each week to raise a smile and hopefully help make your Mondays (or whenever you read these) a little better.

See you next week!

Not Loving This

Okay, so, McDonald’s, right? I have issues. Things have changed man, and I don’t mean the food.

McDonald’s used to be a lot different. It used to be fun, bright, and colorful. Along with the 1970s brown decor were splashes of red and yellow to brighten up the place. The color scheme changes slightly on the 80s but was still identifiably and unmistakably McDonalds.

Kids were rewarded with trips to McD’s for good grades, academic or athletic achievement, or even just good behavior. Every kid loved going to McDonald’s and getting their happy meal with the free toy inside, no matter how crappy the toy may be. We loved collecting those, and also begging our parents for an extra buck or so in order to get the collectible Garfield or Peanuts glasses.

Their advertising was great too. Like the restaurant itself, the ads were big and happy, bright and beautiful. Sometimes they told a nice story. Remember the one with the senior citizen going back to work? Or how about the commercial with the little girl’s recital? Heartwarming stuff to be sure.

There were more campaigns you’re sure to remember as well. “You Deserve A Break Today” was a big one. Remember which sandwich kept the “hot side hot and the cool side cool”? Sure you do. The McDLT. Remember when they started staying open for late nights and the Mac Tonight campaign had us all singing along?

Then, of course, there were the McDonald Land characters. Ronald McDonald took us to a fantasy world full of Fry Guys, little puppet McNuggets, Mayor McCheese and the Hamburglar, and, um, whatever it is that Grimace is supposed to be (someone once said a taste bud, but I have no idea how correct that is), and more. Some have called a few of these creations creepy in retrospect, but as young children, most of us loved the characters and their silly adventures as much as we loved going to the restaurant itself.

But that’s all changed now. Somewhere along the line, the vibrant colors all went away and were replaced with drab, boring shades of tan and beige. McDonald’s decor has gone from tesembling an excited child with a joyful future to that of a depressed middle-aged man who’s given up on the even the most remote possibility of fun. Which, of course, mirrors the fates of its core audience, but still. Next time you go inside, take a look around you and notice how drab and awful your surroundings have become.

The ads are just bad now, too. Dull, uninspired, and boring, it’s a shame what the once brilliant McDonald’s ad campaigns have become. They have officially “Ba dap ba ba bad” their way into irrelevance. I’m supposed to be loving this? I think not.

The last straw has to be this whole “Grimace Shake” fiasco. Problem one is the fact that nobody can seem to agree on what the purple concoction actually tastes like. Problem two is, although they brought our beloved Grimace back, they changes him into a three year old boy…er…thing, instead of the ageless, Dim-witted, but good hearted lump we all knew and loved.

Okay, so I was actually excited at first that they brought Grimace back. “If this takes off,” I thought to myself, “we might actually see the McDonald Land characters come back, and Mickey D’s become a happy place again. They a re actually fixing it!” My celebration, however, would be short-lived.

What happened next was not McDonalds’ fault, but instead that of the social media menace known as Tic Toc. Or was it Twitter? Doesn’t matter. Anyway, the “Grimace Shake Trend” started when some little punk with no respect posted a video wherein people who drank the Shake immediately died. Funny in an anarchic way I suppose, but then it became a “thing” and just about everybody with a cell phone started doing it too, all trying to outdo one another by making each video feature more “gore” in the guise of purple shake being strung everywhere.

So, as a result, the promotion has basically been ruined, and unless the McDonald’s people are willing to let their characters be perverted like that, the characters have virtually no chance of coming back. Thanks for wrecking it, Tic Toc, or Twitter, or whatever. Now instead if a bright, happy Mcfuture we have to go back to a drab, boring, no future, which may make for a great Sex Pistols song, but sucks for a Hamburger joint.

Look, McDonald’s is in no danger of folding anytime soon, I know. It’s still fast, convenient food that is tasty, and will satisfy when you want it too. It’s just that it used to be an almost magical thing and I feel like it could be again. But we are a long way off, and we’ve got a long way to go.

Thanks for indulging this rant. Let’s all grab a quarter pounder, or maybe some nuggets and fries, and meet up here next time for another edition of MonDaves.

Mayhead 4 Life!

It’s a fun one this week, kids. I have just finished streaming the new series “Muppets Mayhem” on Disney+. In the words of the one and only Dr. Teeth, I can sum it up in two words: “Well, alright!”

For anyone who may be unfamiliar with the premise, the series focuses on Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, who of course, served as the house band for “The Muppet Show,” and have provided much musical merriment throughout many a Muppet movie and television shows. Our favorite sweet but scruffy rockers have spent years touring the country and picking up a solid fan base along the way. Yet they never made an album.

Enter our heroine, Nora, who works for an about to be defunct record label to whom the Mayhem owes an album from an old forgotten contract. She attempts to corral the band into making said album, and that special blend of Muppet heartwarming hilarity ensues.

Seriously, this is really good. The writing here is top-notch. There are multiple references to past Muppet productions (without using any regular characters except the band) and some of the funniest scenes the Muppets have done in years. The cameos from both musicians and actors both add to the humor while delighting and also surprising the viewer. There is also a fair amount of pulling at the heart strings, which does threaten to take over at times but is balanced fairly well by musical scenes and silly ideas. It is earnest, honest, hip, and self-aware, which is just as a modern Muppet production should be.

The only complaint I have is that at ten episodes, the series runs a little bit long. Some episodes drag a little bit, and some parts of the band’s backstory work better than others. While the overarching story is fairly predictable, it works well and there are enough surprises and joyful moments along the way to make the journey worth taking, even when the road gets a little rough and the ride seems to take a bit too long.

Still, this is a minor complaint.

So what else? The soundtrack is a lot of fun, both with the new songs written for this project and The Mayhem’s covers of classic tunes. You don’t have to be a total music freak to enjoy this series, but there are enough cool references thrown in that many of us geeks will get. Also, the cameos range from classic stars from the ’70s and ’80s up through today’s hit makers and media personalities.

Quite simply, this is easily the best Muppet production for at least the last ten years. While it may not grab the attention of young kids, pre teens through adults should all find something to like.

Okay, so I like to do spoiler free reviews, so I need to stop before I go spoiling up a storm. If you are a fan of music biopics or documentaries, watch this series. If you have ever been a fan of the Muppets, watch this series. The high points are many, and it is well worth your time. Also The Mayhem’s record is officially out on streaming and vinyl. You know you want it. So go get it.

I’ll be rocking out with the Mayhem all week, and I’ll see you all back here next week for more MonDaves.

This post was brought to you by the letter “M”.

Daddy/Daughter Movie Review: Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol.3

Well, opening weekend has come and gone, but just in case you didn’t get yourself out to the theater, here’s the official MonDAVEs Daddy/daughter movie review of Marvel’s “Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol.3”, featuring guest reviewer/blogger Tessa to provide us with the teenage perspective. There may be a mild spoiler or two, maybe not. I don’t know. I’m not editing this either way. You get what you get.

Say hi to the people, Tess.

Tessa: Hi!

Well done. Okay, you’re up.

T: Overall, I liked this movie. I’ve heard people say this was the best movie since Endgame, and I think calling it the best since Endgame is a bold claim, but I do think it’s one of the best. Phase 4 and Phase 5 (so far) are wild because each movie is very hit or miss. Movies like No Way Home and Shang Chi were amazing, and movies like Eternals and Thor: Love and Thunder kind of missed their mark. I think this was one of the good ones, which makes me happy. It would’ve been sad to see a franchise like Guardians get ruined with it’s third movie. I loved seeing the group together again, and the soundtrack was amazing as always. I think Rocket’s backstory was very heartbreaking and well done, and the pacing was pretty well done in my opinion.

But I do think bringing Gamora back was unnecessary. She didn’t really do anything, I thought she would regain her memories or fall for Peter all over again, but then she just didn’t and it felt weird. I know her arc came to a close by her finding a family within the Ravagers, which is cool and all since she’d always wanted a family and to belong and be loved, but I feel like the payoff isn’t as effective when it isn’t our Gamora that’s getting the family. Why should we as the viewer care about a new Gamora who doesn’t feel even close to the old one? I feel like there was a missed opportunity to expand on her character and actually let us care about the new Gamora. I understand that the movie was already really long and if there was any development on her it was probably cut for time, but I wish we got to see it. I also understand that any problems I have with the plot can’t always be taken up with the movie writers themselves because most plot points come from the comics, which is another thing to keep in mind. The High Evolutionary I think was also a missed opportunity to elaborate upon, I kind of just had to figure things out about him and use my context clues instead of actually being told who he is and what he does.

But I still really enjoyed it, since those are my only complaints. The CGI was really good, you could see all the emotion on the faces of Rocket and his buddies, which is impressive considering they’re all just computer generated images. I think the ending was really well done, and I got all sentimental during the credits when they showed different pictures from all the Guardians movies. I would definitely watch this movie again!

D: Interesting perspective on Gamora. I think it was necessary to bring her back so we could finish the story between her and Peter, also it was useful to the overall story so that Peter’s character could move on.

T: It was already done though. Like I feel like Peter and Gamora’s arc could’ve ended when she died, and Guardians 3 could’ve focused on him moving on without her.

D: Fair enough, but I think people would be mad if she wasn’t in the movie at all. A solo Gamora movie with the Ravagers might be cool though.

T: Real. How about you review the film now.

D: ‘Kay.

I didn’t love it.

Didn’t hate it either, but I didn’t love it. I wanted to love it but just didn’t. It just seemed to be missing something for me. The thing about the last two Guardians movies is that they were a blast to watch. The humor flowed freely and honestly, mixing in well with the action sequences, and the emotional tug-at-your-heartstrings moments were highly effective. This one just didn’t work as well. The humor seemed to be almost an afterthought. It just felt a little forced. Don’t get me wrong, there were some good lines and some truly funny moments, but not anywhere near the level of the last two,

While GOTG3 was definitely action packed, there seemed to be a lot more camera trickery during some of the scenes that kind of took me out of the action, in that I noticed the film making more than the film itself. It wasn’t like Matrix level, but I got that vibe a little bit. I just never got totally swept up in the moment like I have with the past offerings.

As far as emotions goes, this movie swings for the fences and very nearly achieves its lofty goals. Rocket’s backstory is full of heartwarming and heart wrenching moments, but the rest of the movie mostly falls flat. Again, there were scenes that should have led me through the full gamut of emotions but, meh.

Also, this is a really dark movie, both visually in places, and otherwise. That didn’t bother me too much, I like dark. I think though, that the reason this movie is so unbalanced is because there is so much screen time given to the darkness that it wasn’t really possible to balance it out properly. I mean, you need the dark so the light will show (as Bob Ross would say) but the mix was a little bit off.

As far as the story goes, it’s pretty much all just “We gotta save Rocket!” with little subplot in my opinion. What subplots exist are not really given enough time to develop and made some major characters like The High Evolutionary and Adam Warlock less effective than they could have been.

Okay, just so I’m not dogging it too much, there were lots of things I did like. The cast is awesome as usual, and as Tessa said the CGI is just wonderful. Even though I felt it uneven overall there were enough cool ideas to keep my interest. The standard theme of family in the Guardians movie is once again well explored, with new and old characters adding different levels to the mix. The soundtrack is pretty cool too, I was pleasantly surprised by a few selections!

Concerning the fate of the Guardians themselves, I think the movie provides a fitting conclusion to most character arcs, even if they were not what one would expect. Before the movie premiered there were a lot of rumors flying around about which major character would die. While I won’t go into spoilers here, I would have gone in a slightly different way and kind of felt cheated in a way with the direction the filmmakers chose. But Howard the Duck does have a cameo and that’s really why I turned out, so all is good.

T: A lot of the complaints you had I also noticed, but I guess they didn’t affect me as much. I agree that some new characters were very underdeveloped, and it would have been better if there was a bigger subplot than just saving Rocket. I feel like those weren’t big enough things to make me dislike this movie, but I can see why they could change your opinion on it.

D: I didn’t dislike it, I was, let’s say unfulfilled. Maybe the failure doesn’t lie with the movie so much as my expectations though. I don’t know. I will definitely watch it again, and maybe now that I have seen it once and know what to expect I will be able to focus on different things. Sometimes repeated viewings make you understand movies a little better, and the original cynicism fades away. Hoping that happens here because I want to like it way more than I do.

Okay, rating time. Scale of one to five, five being the highest, what do you think?

T: I give it a four out of five.

D: Reluctantly I give it a three, though the four rating you gave is probably more fair and accurate. Cue the haters!

Thanks for chiming in Tess, and thanks for reading this everybody else.

MonDAVEs will return.