Boulder Punch Watchparty

"HE'S A FRIEND FROM WORK!" Though the MCU as a whole seemed to thrive, one of its weaker links reception-wise was the Thor franchise. Though the first film captivated audiences enough, The Dark World didn't have nearly enough excitement behind it, and thus the original plan for the third film was taken in an entirely new direction for the third one. What resulted was a loud, bright, colorful entry...

"NEVER BREAK THE CHAIN!" After Guardians 1 changed the game for the MCU, many wondered what James Gunn would have in store for the sequel. What many could not have predicted was a story that very well might eclipse its predecessor entirely. Time to find out if that still holds. Come join Brian, Alec, Darby, and Trey as they continue Phase 3 of the MCUathon with James Gunn's GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY...

"TEACH ME." Amongst the gallery of heroes, one Marvel character that had been trying to break into Hollywood was the Master of the Mystic Arts himself. Between a low budget pilot-turned-film in the 70's, a direct-to-DVD animated film in 2007, numerous guest appearances in cartoons, as well as multiple film pitches, it seemed like it'd be an eternity. However, the reveal of MCU Phase 3 brought abou...

UNITED WE STAND. DIVIDED WE FALL. When Batman v. Superman was on track for the May 6, 2016 release date, Marvel quickly countered it not only by setting Captain America 3 for the same date, but by announcing it would be adapting the infamous Civil War comic that pit Steve and Tony against each other. It ultimately won out, and alongside serving as the introductions for Chadwick Boseman's Black Pan...

ANTS! ANTS! Before the MCU had taken shape, Edgar Wright started developing a film adaptation of Ant-Man. Eventually it was folded into the MCU, with a 2015 release date planted alongside impressive-looking test footage wowing the press. When the time came to start production, Wright dropped out, and alongside an underwhelming teaser a year later, many thought this would be Marvel's first definiti...

"NO STRINGS ON ME..." After the first Avengers movie changed the game forever, everyone wondered what the sequel had in store. Especially when it was revealed that instead of tackling Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet, the film would focus on fan-favorite villain Ultron while saving that story for the third film. While met with positive reactions and a similarly successful commercial run, the culmi...

"TAKE MY HAND..." 2014 was a pretty big year for comic book movies. The Winter Soldier got the MCU back on track, Days of Future Past was an awesome movie written and directed by nobody, and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 certainly had a lot of money spent on it! What seemed up in the air at the time was the the tale of Peter Quill and his band of misfits, considered to be MCU's biggest gamble and first...

"'TIL THE END OF THE LINE." After The Dark World 's release, people wondered just where on Earth the MCU was going, especially now knowing that Thanos wouldn't be coming for a while. Many also didn't quite know what to expect from Steve Rogers' next outing. What they were met with was what many consider to this day to be one of the top three films in the entire franchise that changes everything. S...

MORE LIKE... MORE LIKE THE POOP WORLD... GOTTEM... After the mostly-positive but still a bit tepid reception to the admittedly-smash-hitting Iron Man 3 , 2013 would continue to be a growing pains year for Marvel with the release of the next Thor movie. Having production troubles right out the gate with initial director Patty Jenkins, Alan Taylor stepped up to the plate only to have the movie rippe...

COMMENCING PHASE 2. We're back at it with the MCU! After The Avengers ' massive success, many wondered where this new franchise (now-dubbed the Marvel Cinematic Universe) would go next, especially with its next film being a new Iron Man entry. What many didn't expect was that 2013 would turn out to be a growing pains year for Marvel Studios, and this film signaled that heavily. Despite its massive...

"I'LL TEACH YOU EVERYTHING..." One of the most popular new anime and manga franchises from the past ten years has been Tatsuki Fujimoto's Chainsaw Man , and after three years of waiting the next installment of the animated adaptation has finally been released. The tragic tale of Denji and Reze has been unanimously praised for its storytelling and gorgeous animation, but how does it hold up several...

"READY TO HEAD INTO THE UNKNOWN?" It has officially been ten years since Alex Hirsch's magnum opus ended, and we figured it was high time to revisit. The final episodes of Dipper and Mabel's coming-of-age story have been universally lauded, but how well do they truly hold up? Come join Brian, Alec, Darby, and Trey to find out as they revisit the final episodes of GRAVITY FALLS -- DIPPER AND MABEL...

KEPT YOU WAITING, HUH? The long hiatus is over, and boy oh boy do we have a doozy for you. Five Nights at Freddy's proved to be a heavily divisive adaptation a couple years back, with many hoping for its sequel to go smoother. Needless to say, it's only gotten more divisive. You know what that means. Come join Brian, Alec, Darby, and Trey as they take a look at the latest confusing mess from the m...

"IT'S JUST ANOTHER DAY!" Happy New Year gang! So hard to believe we're already in the late 2020's! To celebrate, it's finally time for another musical track! Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey's tale of mental illness and suburban decay lit up Broadway stages in the late 2000's -- even winning a Pulitzer -- but it was the UK's production of it from 2023 to 2024 that truly catapulted it into the mainstream....

YOUNG, DUMB, AND FULL OF CHRISTMAS. Happy Holidays everyone! The best way to celebrate is a healthy dose of murder, and who best to help us solve it than our favorite Foghorn Leghorn soundalike! The Knives Out films have become modern classics, and with the new one finally out, it's time for Papa Rian to take us home. So, come celebrate the occasion with Brian, Alec, and Trey as they take a look a...

"THEN LET'S GET IT DONE." After Avatar broke the box office and changed blockbuster filmmaking forever, people wondered when James Cameron would make his next foray into the world of Pandora. What many would come to be familiar with was the exasperated wait for not one, not two, not three, but four sequels in an unprecedented and ambitious saga. After thirteen years of tech catching up with James'...

Y'ALL MIND IF A WHITE BOY SPEAKS A LITLLE NA'VI? With the third entry a week away, it's time for us to venture into the world of Pandora and into the mind of one of the greatest directors of all time -- James Cameron. The tale of Jake Sully and Neytiri has been his baby -- in the works since the 90's and taking years of technological advancements to bring to life. But beyond all the wonder and the...

"ALL YOU HAVE TO DO... IS NOTHING." Happy Holidays everyone! To kick off the season, let's all bring ourselves to the edge of a nervous breakdown! The thriller genre isn't as robust today as it used to be, but Netflix's most-watched film of 2024 dared to revitalize it with a holiday twist. The result was what we consider to be a true successor to Die Hard . Hold on tight. Come join Brian, Alec, Da...

"I'M DONE SAVING YOU." Transformers has been a franchise that has endured for forty years in TV, games, comics, and films -- despite the latter being tumultuous for nearly two decades. The Michael Bay films were box office hits but only seemed to grow sour with the audience more and more over time, and did no favors for the Bumblebee spinoff or the first Bay-less live action attempt with Rise of t...

"THIS IS WHERE THE STORY REALLY STARTS." HAPPY HALLOWEEN! To celebrate the occasion, we figured we'd take a look at one of the year's most popular horror offerings. Zach Cregger's been making a name for himself in the filmmaking space, first with Barbarian and next year with Resident Evil . Is his sophomore outing really all it's cracked up to be? Come join Brian, Alec, and special guest Trey (@He...

PLACE YOUR BETS! While we wind down to the last holidays of the year, it's time to put the MCU on the backburner for a minute and dive into a couple horror flicks! A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th were two slasher genres past their prime in the nineties, but that didn't stop the ultimate crossover from trudging its way through development hell for nearly a decade before finally gracin...

"THERE WAS AN IDEA..." 2012 was a big year. The end of the Dark Knight trilogy. The beginning of the short-lived Amazing Spider-Man franchise. The premiere of Gravity Falls . Disappointing endings to Mass Effect and Assassin's Creed . The end of the world itself. But only one movie in particular marked both the end of an era and the beginning of a new one. Back in the day, nothing like today's fil...

"I HAD A DATE." With the road to Avengers all but cleared, there was one character left to introduce before the biggest crossover movie of all time -- the leader. Captain America never tried his hand again at the silver screen after the disaster that was the 1990 film, and getting this new attempt off the ground had its own share of troubles. In spite of all that, the movie finally got made, and e...

AKA ODIN GETS CRITICIZED ONCE AND DIES. Lukewarm off the heels of The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man 2 , Marvel's path towards The Avengers got a little rocky. The film was delayed by a year, and they had to hunker down on their last two establishing films beforehand. First up was the God of Thunder, arguably their biggest dice roll in casting then-unknowns Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston. The en...

"YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS ALONE." After the shock success of Iron Man , Marvel quickly put a sequel into production. Problem was, between their acquisition by Disney, their planned roadmap, and a non-negotiable May 2010 release date, this was a project doomed to be rushed, disjointed, and interfered with. However, is it really as messy as everyone says it is? Come join Brian and Alec to find out...