Eric Mrozek's Blog, page 19

Premiere Week 2016 – Bull Is Not Good At All.

That title is missing four letters.

CBS seems to have a fondness for the procedural, and nowhere is that more apparent than in their new one, the aptly titledBull. Loosely based on the early life of folksy self-help guy Doctor Phil McGraw, the show seemed to have a lot going for it by snagging Michael Weatherly of all people. I’ve been a huge fan of this man’s work sinceDark Angel back in the early 2000s, so I figured that I would give it a shot…

…and it’s another spectacular mess.

Weatherly...

Premiere Week 2016 – The Good Place Is Pure Cringe.

Two great talents utterly wasted. It’s such a shame.

Around this time last year, I did a premiere week to examine all of the new shows that were coming out on the major networks. Now that 2016 has rolled around, I thought I’d turn this into a yearly tradition to point out the noteworthy heights and cratering lows of the medium. So, why not start out with the first misfire of the 2016 season: The Good Place.

It’s bad, people. It’s really bad.

The Characters Are A Mess.

No. Eleanor is not a lik...

You Should Watch The Strain.

Get ready for a hilarious, gory thrill ride!

The Strainis one of those shows that is quite polarizing if you think about it. On one hand, people praise it for being an interesting take on the traditional vampire. On the other, people criticize it mercilessly for certain moments that make itdumber than a box of rocks. Although the professional contrarian in me would be inclined to side with the latter camp, the campy horror fan in me can’t help but love it.

In essence, it’s ten million kilos o...

We Are Now On Patreon!

If you like what you see and you want to see more of it, read this article!

Crossposted to freeeaglestudios.com.

Hello everyone,

We at Free Eagle Studios are happy to announce a new project that will open up more options for our readers. In short, we now have a Patreon page for the purposes of funding our novels and other projects that we might work on in the future. Now, you may be wondering why you should sign up for this when you could just pick and choose what you want from us, but we’ve...

The Liberators – Part 7 – A U.S. Hearts of Iron IV AAR

After repeated calls to surrender, Tokyo was destroyed.

Operation Downfall.

The Emperor of Japan failed to respond to the calls for unconditional surrender. Some believed that he wished to fight to the last man, but others in the Allied High Command felt that he might have been dissuaded by his Generals. No one knew what was happening on the ground, so President Roosevelt had no choice but to order the commencement of Operation Downfall, the amphibious invasion of Japan.

Landings were plotted...

Five Video Games That Could Be Made Into Great Films Or TV.

Imagine the sheer fear if this thing showed up on a television screen. Yeah, now you know what I mean.

We’ve gotten all of the downsides of adapting video games out of the way, so it’s time to take a look at the potential of bringing interactive storytelling to the big screen. In spite of the fact that Hollywood has brought us some clunkers, there are some properties that could be brilliantly done asa movie. Without further ado, here are my five picks that would make the most sense for Hollyw...

Five Video Games That’d Make Lousy Movies.

I’m looking forward to this one, but not the ones below.

The upcoming release ofAssassin’s Creed brought video game movies back into the public spotlight. While I am not opposed to the concept of adapting video games, I’m going to take a look at some of the material that’s out there in the hopes of pointing out why the genre may not have met with success just yet. For me, it is usually a combination of factors ranging from casting to the script to the source material.

However, there are some...

The Liberators – Part 6 – A U.S. Hearts of Iron IV AAR

Poland is apparently fascist now… for some reason.

The March To TheEast.

With the fall of the Third Reich, the Allies began their unstoppable march into the Soviet Union. The Soviets tried to stop the combined might of Western Europe, but the destruction of the Red Air Force prevented any major counterattacks. Strangely, President Roosevelt began wondering why the Poles adopted fascism even as Americantanks came rolling into Krakow.

The increasing popularity of democratic parties gave some ho...

You Must Watch BrainDead.

Get space bugs in your brain!

It’s the current year. On one side, we have disaster after disaster in Washington with politicians that don’t seem to know what they are doing. On another, we have a corrupt and dishonest news media that seems to disregard nuance in favor of thirty second sound bites. On yet another, we have an entertainment industry that hates originality and loves hyper-leftist political grandstanding.

But what if these institutions were the victims of something far more sinist...

The Liberators – Part 5 – A U.S. Hearts of Iron IV AAR

The Greek and British expedition was quite shocking to the Japanese, but very effective in securing a beachhead.

Meanwhile in the Pacific…

While the war raged in Europe, the Pacific grew quiet as U.S. operations slowed to a crawlin the middle of 1944. While the island-hopping campaign had been a great success and Japan was now blockaded, Allied intelligence feared that an invasion to retake China would be an abject disaster. After all, China and India had all but fallen to the Empire of Japan...