Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

[00:00:03] is a Bramble Jam Podcast. Hi, I'm Brandon. I love Marvel movies. Hi, I'm Brandon. I like Marvel movies. Hi, I'm Dan and I despise Marvel movies. And this is the Deck The Hallmark Podcast. Deck The Hallmark gets this podcast. Friends host this podcast. Are we all right? Yeah, we're sharing water here. COVID's over. The song started. I was like, I should go get another water.

[00:00:47] But then by the time I was like, I don't, I should. I would have liked to see him try, but I just offered him some of my water. There you go. See? Oh, wow. You guys are really close. Hi, Ryan. Hello. How are you? I'm doing well. How are you? I'm doing very well. Excited to talk about Doctor Strange Mom. The Multiverse of Madness. Doctor Strange Mom. Doctor Strange Mom here on the Marvel Boys. Yeah, very, very excited about that. Also excited, Raga, you did quick math. How many more of these we got left?

[00:01:18] You were doing quick math earlier today? There's 10 of them. I think including this and you and I were talking a little further. We're like 9 or 10 total. Yeah, I think that's right. Yeah. Not counting Doomsday. Also, we got to worry about, I wonder if a brand new day is going to be even available for purchase by the time we have to actually review it. That's a great point. That's a great point. I, what's the, what's the current, what's the current?

[00:01:42] It's usually over, I mean, for a movie that's literally breaking every record imaginable. It might still be in theaters eight weeks from now. It will probably still be in theaters and not available. Well, then we'll go re-watch it. We'll probably have to, which is crazy to think about. But I mean, I had a few from my first viewing. I kind of jotted down in my brain. October. I don't know. I mean, it might be available for purchase. I'm not going to rank it until we watch it in sequential order. I understand.

[00:02:08] We have to update the people that we have all three. Yeah. I did rank it in my Spider-Man letterbox ranking, but I have not put it on the Marvel list. You're getting a lot of, I will do it. I'm thinking a lot of. No, I didn't, I didn't tell anybody I did it. Everyone's got to go see it. Yeah, that's right. Yeah. Now you can go look. It's right in the middle of the pack for those that care. Of the Spider-Man rank. Of all the, it doesn't give anything away. For 11 Spider-Man movies, it's in the middle of the pack. Yeah. Okay. All right. Do it that way. I'm excited to talk about this. I'm also,

[00:02:38] excited to get a life update from you, brother. How are you? Weddings around the corner. Weddings around the corner. We're under 60 days as of this recording. You know, I think we're like, I think we're like right on pace. I think I've never done this before. It's hard to say. But there is something else going on. That's somewhat distracting me from totally unrelated to the wedding. I don't want anyone to get nervous about that. I'm in the midst of making a big life decision. This is not wedding related.

[00:03:08] That's easy. That's a no brainer. No brainer. Say I do. I found the best gal I could have ever possibly found. Great answer. I'm thinking about going oversized t-shirts going forward. Oh, this is huge. This is big. Now you're a big graphic tee, like old nostalgia tee guy. And you do rock an occasional oversized tee. Occasional. Typically. So that's really, actually Dan, we haven't planned this. That's a great point by you.

[00:03:36] So you've been dabbling in the undershirt over under. You want to go for the top? This is brand's t-shirt. Take them right. Here we go. Action. You've been dabbling in the oversized tee. Well, for some time now. Typically. Yes, that was well put by you. The first time too.

[00:03:53] Typically. If there's a really cool specific vintage, like truly from the nineties or early aughts shirt that I like, and I can't, I'm a medium typically. Yeah. But if there's one that's an L or an XL that I just know the price is right. And I know I wouldn't be able to find. I do. And what I have found as I continue to do that from time to time is that I really like that look. Okay. Yeah.

[00:04:15] But here's my problem. Cause then you might be saying to yourself, well, this is a pretty cut and dry decision, right? They just do what you like. And I think that's good life advice. Um, but I have so Dan to your point from earlier, uh, I have so many, I can't wait to hear how this isn't cut and dry.

[00:04:33] Well, I have so many shirts that are not oversized that I now I'll now feel I I'm the urge is to now try to reproduce my entire t-shirt collection. So no time out. So are you, you're worried that you want to have a theme always. So what you, if you switch to oversized, you think you would struggle going back and forth to only wear oversized shirts.

[00:04:59] I think I might just be identifying. I'm not like, so I'm wearing, this is a medium, right? Yeah. I got you. It's a bootleg power Rangers, the movie shirt. I bought that right away. Yeah. Yeah. And I'm just like, I've, I've been wearing this all day and I said, man, this would look better as an XL. Like I'm now like repellent to what I currently have.

[00:05:18] So I almost think it's safer to not know. Listen, as, as we've said, I've dabbled here and there. I've put the, I've put the toes in the pool, but like, I think it might be better to just, I think it's either all in or, or, or stay out. And so I don't know. So the all or nothing of this is what's interesting to me. I don't like, I, I like an occasional oversized tee, but I like, cause I like how you dabble. I like how heavy it is. My, can I tell you what my problem is? This is a weird problem and I'm going to get made fun of a lot and it's totally fine.

[00:05:47] I feel like if I wear an oversized tee, I have to wear a chain and I don't own a chain. I feel like an oversized tee goes with one single chain. I am so excited to see how many chains show up in our PO box. Please don't everyone. The like, is that a crazy thing to think out loud? I don't think it's crazy. I'm finding that I specifically really like oversized tee for me. It's with hat.

[00:06:15] I feel like when I, when I'm without hat, I'm, I'm struggling a bit, but also man, you look great, Dan. I feel like you slim fit tees for like, I I've said this to you every time I see you. You're like at house money here for the next couple of years. God bless you. Like you could eat 200 Twinkies a day. Let's go. Let's try it for the vlog, for the vlog. Let's do it. Yeah. Dan will eat 200 Twinkies if you buy a book. Yeah. I'm just saying, is it, I'm glad I didn't. I thought I was just going to get completely roasted. No, I get it.

[00:06:44] I just, in my head, there's something about an oversized tee that requires some sort of accessory to let people know you're wearing an oversized tee. I don't know why I think that. But I think especially, Dan, with your proclivity for black shirts, I think the black oversized with chain is like they go together. It's kind of a thing. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, here's the other thing. And tell me, maybe I'm just, maybe I'm just out to lunch on this. Go ahead. I feel like oversized. So like, we've talked about this before.

[00:07:11] And I think this is another, you know, area where my mortality is, you know, just staring right at me. Absolutely. Like, like, I mean, like, isn't that like, isn't that like, isn't it kind of like a young person's game, the oversized tee? A young person? How much longer young people's game? Yeah. Isn't it for the young folks? I feel like, you know, there's the oversized tee, but then there's also like the boxy tee. You know what I'm talking about? That's like the box tee. Well, God, I'm afraid of what you're going to say.

[00:07:40] Because I just bought 10 boxed tees. I'm like, yeah.

[00:08:08] Tell them, why are you telling us you're going into a box tee phase? What's with all the oversized tee talk? They're oversized. It's oversized, right? That's what it is. Oh, you can buy. Yeah, yeah. Well. You could buy them oversized. That's, you have to. If you're doing box, you have to go oversized. You have to go oversized. Because if you do box in your normal size, you'll, and I don't, I didn't know that. So I have a couple of. Wait, wait. I did it in my normal size. No, then I think you'll be uncomfortable. Oh, my God.

[00:08:35] Oh, you bought a, tell me, you bought 10 box tee mediums? Yeah. That's what, you're going to look like SpongeBob SquarePants. I thought they were oversized by nature. No, I think you've got to size up. Yeah. You can buy oversized. What might be wrong? They must take returns. Do you mind when you get that, could you send us, could you group text us a picture? Fashion show. Of me in it? Let me ask you this. Yeah, of you in the box tee.

[00:09:03] If you're not just shopping for your nostalgia tees, like just a regular t-shirt. You bought 10? Well, so Dan's hitting. I think, Dan, I think I know where you're going. So here's the other thing, guys. So I, like, you know, I was really, really, like, you know, listen, body positivity all the way, right? Yeah, man. But I was really in great shape pre-COVID. Like, 8% body. Don't do this, Raga. I saw you three weeks ago and you were in great shape. No, man. I don't want to do it. Listen, so when I was 8%. You told me you were overweight and as heavy you've been.

[00:09:33] I just did not believe it for a second. But I want to be my, I was, I was 8% body fat at one point in my life. And then the world shut down and I was no, I'm no longer that. I bought all, I have like 15 to 20 Dan Thompson black t-shirts, but all in size small. And at the moment I'm a little uncomfortable and like, it's fine. You still like, if I'm strategic, you still don't know. But like, I know. And so I'm just trying to. Can I ask you a hard question? Oh my God. This, I'm so stressed. This is.

[00:10:02] Well, you went hard with 10 box tees from Gap without trying one on. You're saying the Gap should be fine. Let me ask you this. Can I ask you this as a friend? Is the, is the interest in going full over size because you like the look or because you're currently feeling a little insecure? Oh, that's a good question. It's probably combo both, but I think I prefer the look. Okay. Like, you know, I, I, I think I'm like, you know, it's just tough. Like, you know, I got a lot of travel, the wedding's coming up.

[00:10:29] Granted, the wedding's an incentive to try to lose the weight, but like, you know, I'm a busy boy. But, but I, I think I like, I think I like the look of that goes back to the original problems, plural of like, what do I do with all of my current shirts? And then am I too old for this? Like at what point does this boy like whimsy, like, you know, no longer appeal to the masses? You know what I'm saying? I think you're, I still think you're in your prime. I think you're in your prime. And you're, you know, 36. You think I got at least five to seven in me?

[00:10:59] I, the fact I would have said you're three years younger than that. Right guy. 36. I mean, you're easy. Three, four years younger than that. My question though. And I, this is important. I think you like whatever look good, feel good, play good, man. Like that. I want to stress. That's how I feel about everybody. Like that, you know, so, but I, when you buy a shirt that isn't like, Ooh, that's a cool bootleg Power Ranger shirt. When you buy like a, just a shirt that you just for like a regular t-shirt, right? Right.

[00:11:29] What style has been your go-to? Like just normal, but I, but see, so this is really a straight cut. Just a straight cut. Oh, we, I bought. So honestly, what this is really stemmed by, we were at TJ Maxx the other day. Sure. Max and Easto. Listen, a big one. And I got an oversized, it's like a, it's like a grayish purple. Yeah. And we, we should buy her recommendation. I went XL and I love this shirt. Okay.

[00:11:53] And so, so, but me, and so, so that's, what's really had me starting to toss down all these dominoes. But this is why I like a Hawaiian shirt. I, you, I weren't rocked. I want to show you guys wear those on the 4th of July. You'll look incredible, dude. I, uh, I wore one for the, one of the nights at Ramble Fest. I love, like I got five or six in my closet. Like I love them because I feel like it's not an oversized shirt, but it feels oversized because it's Hawaiian. You don't need a chain with a Hawaiian shirt. You don't need a chain with a Hawaiian. Although. Although. Puka shell necklace, maybe.

[00:12:23] I saw that. Yeah. I can also go one button. So like, it feels like it's just looser. You know what I mean? I like it when you do Hawaiian shirt too, because you feel flirty. And I like that. Flirty? Yeah. No, I agree completely. Not that you are flirty. Oh, you feel that way. Flirty Dan. Flirty Dan. Yeah. But I've always felt. Not that he's out there throwing game, but I feel like there's a bit of a whimsy. Interesting. Yeah, no, I get it. Interesting. You feel like there's a bit of a whimsy. Yeah. I felt the same way the whole time. I don't usually get characterized as whimsical, if you can believe it.

[00:12:53] Well, it's because you don't, because you don't wear enough Hawaiian shirts. Okay. I think if you made that your whole thing. You want me to start wearing those on the program? I would love that. Let's. Hey, hey, Bran. When's that, uh, sorry, off topic. When's that, uh, uh, uh, Santa crawl 2023 vlog coming? Thank you for asking, bro. It's almost there. It's really, it's really good. There's some edges a little that are still. I will say this. It sounds great. It was great. You, uh, bring up something that most people, because they're not signed up for Brimble Jam Plus don't know what I'm talking about, but I was going through some old footage

[00:13:22] today and I realized, oh, I have stuff from the Santa crawl that we did in 2023 up in New York city, um, that I didn't do any, I was planning on making a vlog, but then after going through the, and so I posted that on the Facebook group and I was like, Hey, this is fun. Um, but after going through the footage, I realized I didn't make it cause there's nothing to us. There's not much there. We didn't have a great time. It was kind of, we did meet, uh, what's I can't remember. I think I can't remember her name now. What's her name. She got, she got proposed to on our, on our podcast. Yes. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:13:53] Yeah. Yeah. My point there being for, uh, for, for Bramble Jam Plus, you'll see vlog footage that wasn't good enough to be a vlog. Uncut vlog footage. I mean, that's a reason to be a double decker right there. And I will say this, man, there's a lot of ways I thought the first 15 minutes of this show were going to go. I did not, I thought it was going to be right. I got a wedding talk. Maybe. I didn't know where we were going. I didn't see this happening and I'm thrilled. We're here. Right. If nothing else to say, dude, look good, feel good, play good. And you look great right now. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise.

[00:14:23] No, but listen, you're not alone in this. There's a big push right now with the comfort colors. People love the comfort colors. What is it? It's like the style of shirts. Comfort colors. Yeah. Sellers use it. Yes. Gap factory. Absolutely takes return. Okay. So we're good. We're okay. No, okay. Very good. Well, I just, again, send us a picture and we'll tell you. We'll do. Okay. We'll do. All right. Love you. Love you. Mary. Are we done? Oh no. We got to talk about the movie. That's on me. That's on me.

[00:14:52] And I do want you to know, I think you're a beautiful boy. I think you're a beautiful boy. Yeah. Whit in the chat said she wanted to, she thought we were going to do an update on brand new day Spider-Man, but I feel like we got to save it for the pod. No. I mean, Dan's been on the pack. Bran and I, we liked it a lot. We'll talk more about it in a few months. Okay. Yeah. All right. Jekyll and Hyde on it, if you will. Dr. Strange Mom, Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. Originally, they went back to the Dolby Theater for this one on May 2nd, 2022. It's always good to go home.

[00:15:22] And then a few days later on May 6th, I don't know why that game made me laugh, but it didn't make anybody else laugh. May 6th, 2022 is when it went everywhere else. And it went a little something like this. The movie kicks off with a demon of sorts chasing a girl named America Chavez. A variant of Dr. Strange shows up searching for the book of Ashanti.

[00:15:49] I know it's Ashanti, but I like Ashanti the singer. It's not got to do what you do with it. Dr. Strange is killed in this, and America accidentally creates this. It's like confused about what to do here. And so in our Dr. Strange universe. I'm thrilled about this synopsis, I just realized. Go ahead. In Dr. Strange's universe, we're at Christine's wedding. Christine's getting married. Congratulations.

[00:16:20] Right? And Dr. Strange sees monster attack happening outdoor. Great. Give me my cape. So he goes and he rescues this girl who he then sees and remembers from what he thinks was just a dream, the thing that I just told you about. Well, America explains, not a dream. Um, okay, not a dream. The beings are hunting her because she has the power to travel through the multiverse,

[00:16:49] but is unable to consciously control it. Dr. Strange says, okay, let me go talk to my girl Wanda about this, about these demons. Um, but he quickly realizes that Wanda is actually responsible for the attacks. Uh, she has a dark hold and is going full Scarlet Witch on you mofos. Wanda believes that taking America's powers, the ability to travel through the multiverse,

[00:17:19] will allow her to potentially reunite with Billy and Tommy, the kids that she's created. So when Dr. Strange refuses to give up America to Wanda, Wanda shows up and starts killing sorcerers. Scared, America accidentally transports them, her and Dr. Strange to another Earth, because being scared is what allows her to transport. Wanda uses the dark hold to do something called a dream walk,

[00:17:49] taking control of another Earth's version of her, who's living this like suburban life with Billy and Tommy. So she's going to do the same. Dr. Strange and America are captured by the Earth that they're now on, their sorcerer supreme, who is Carl Morta. And do you remember Morta? Carl Morta. And, uh, is brought before the, you guessed it, Illuminati. Nailed it.

[00:18:17] To help decide what to do with these travelers. Reed Richards, Professor X, and Alex Jones. That's exactly right. They explain that, uh, they explain that through their reckless... Delayed laughter from Ryguy was perfect. I was on mute. Sorry about that. They explain that through their, uh, traveling, um, their universe's dark holds in an attempt to defeat Thanos,

[00:18:46] they're like, we can't trust you, Dr. Strange. Because guess what? Our Dr. Strange, he did, he did it. He used dark holds. Not good. It's bad stuff. Bad stuff. Guess what? We had to kill him. We had to kill him. We killed him. He did. Pardon me for finding it hard to trust you, Mr. Dr. Strange. Mr. Doctor. Uh, Wanda shows up and kills all the Illuminati. Someone had to do it.

[00:19:14] Uh, except for Mordo. Dr. Strange helps free America, who was being held captive in this glass box, uh, with... With that eagle fly, you know? With this Earth's Christine. Yes. Christine is like, great, can I come along for the ride now? So the three of them go to find Ashanti. Sing them a song. Let's love. Which, this book, uh, holds the secrets that is gonna free the, uh, them from the dark holds.

[00:19:44] Wanda shows up to destroy it. Okay? So she then... I wish this was like drunk history. I wish you had to do this drunk. So I feel like I am reading it back. Like, the Illuminati shows up and then... So she then takes over America's mind and uses her powers to send Dr. Strange and Christine to a wasteland universe. Yeah. Okay?

[00:20:08] Our Dr. Strange then defeats the destroyed universe's Dr. Strange, who has been, uh, corrupted by this dark hold. And then uses that dark hold to dreamwalk. You following? You tracking? Yeah, man. With Wong's help, Dr. Strange saves America from Wanda and encourages her to use her abilities.

[00:20:31] She goes to find Wanda where she sees Wanda's kids crying for their real mom, Wanda. Right? Yes. So, Wanda realizing that she done goofed, gives up, uses her powers to bring all the copies of the dark hold throughout the multiverse down, sacrificing herself in the process. Everyone returns to their own universes except for America, who's going to stay and train

[00:20:59] with Dr. Strange, who now has a third eye. We then see Dr. Strange approached by a mystery person who warns him that his actions have triggered what is called an incursion that he has to help fix or else bad stuff is going to happen. And that, my friends, was Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. We did it. Bran, you hate this movie. I can tell. You hate it.

[00:21:30] Well, hot takes next, right? All right. Let's take a break. We'll come back. We'll break this movie down here on... Break the Hallmark. I'm a boy. Hi. Welcome back. We are talking about Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Excited to dive into it. We're going to start with the hot take. It's where we share exactly what we felt about this movie. We do not hold back. And I'll start with you, Ryguy. Ryguy.

[00:22:00] Yeah. Multiverse of Madness. Mad. Yes? Fun. Oh, nice. Oh, because I get it. Yeah. Yeah, movies are right. I saw this in theaters twice. Yeah. Twice. I was higher on it than most people after that second viewing. The first viewing, I had the reaction that a lot of people had to this film, which is that my expectations for what it was going to be, for I think reasons that were valid

[00:22:28] that I'll get to in a second, were completely off. So the first viewing was very jarring. The second time, Dan, I think I mentioned this to you a few weeks ago when I saw you. I saw it in 3D, and I'm not exaggerating. I think it's the best 3D movie I've ever seen. Better than the avatars. I can imagine the 3D really popped. Rewatching it this time, because I don't think I've seen it since that second theater viewing, Sam Raimi cooks with the visuals. Like, this movie visually, I don't know if it always works, but it's always really interesting. How about that, right? There's always a lot of color going on.

[00:22:58] He's made a living off of making visuals that aren't state-of-the-art, but they're very much his thing. Like, they're never as good as... I think they're purposely unrealistic, but he's very creative and inventive with them. I agree. And also, I think he really caters to 3D, because although not as good, Send Help, which he did earlier this year, I saw in 3D, also really worked in 3D. So he might just be a 3D guy.

[00:23:26] But I really enjoyed the 3D experience, especially because I wasn't expecting it to, like, especially on second viewing, but it really enhanced the film for me. The problem people had with this at the time, which was the problem on first viewing for me and my problem on third viewing now, is that people really expected this to be like a Avengers-level movie. And so they thought it was going to... Spider-Man had set the stage for the multiverse. This is called the multiverse of madness. Yeah.

[00:23:54] And so that didn't really pan out. Now, granted, that's not necessarily an issue for me on this watch. However, what is, was, and always will be, now I can say officially, I think that Lizzie Olsen does a perfectly good job as the bad guy here. The problem is the setup is even more jarring than I remembered it being. And it was in the theaters. It's worse now. WandaVision sets this movie up. And they, off rip, they said, hey, you're not going to have to watch these Disney Plus shows to understand the movies.

[00:24:24] And they lied immediately out of the gate. Now, that in and of itself isn't a huge problem if the, if it wasn't such required viewing and such minutia required viewing. You have to see WandaVision before watching this. Not only do you have to see WandaVision, that maybe I could argue isn't that big of a deal. What sets this movie up is the end credit scene of the finale of WandaVision. And that even if you saw it, like I did, the end credit scene, because Bran, I'm sure you

[00:24:50] haven't seen it, is 15 seconds long of Wanda flipping through the dark hold. Which, by the way, in that final episode before that, the 38 minutes or whatever leading up to that moment, she actually turns baby face in that episode finally. She's fully redeemed. Now we're talking. Fully redeemed. Yes. So, again, as someone who, for as much as I like these movies and have absorbed over the years, I, that final scene of her flipping through the dark hold, all 15 seconds of it

[00:25:16] did not signal to me that the next time we see her within two minutes on screen, she is going to be a totally villainous person. It's not yet. 100% right. And so, and so that just gives this movie a real uphill climb because there's things I like afterwards. There's elements of this film that I like. By the way, the movie was advertised and this isn't a big deal necessarily either, but all these things put together, the movie is advertised as a Doctor Strange Wanda team up movie.

[00:25:46] And so, again, people went in expecting crazy multiverses, which, by the way, other than the quick scene where they're plummeting through all of them. Yeah, they're only in one universe the whole time. That's right. Like, so it's cool to see Professor X and the guy from the office and all that stuff. But, like, it's, but that stuff was kind of spoiled. It also makes, it's just a very imbalanced film.

[00:26:15] Like I said, it looks cool. It looks like a comic book most of the time, which is really fun. Very rarely do these MCU films look like comic books. But everything that I just, that whole opening salvo that I just gave you is tough to look past. Yeah. America Chavez is a really cool character. I don't know if we'll ever see her again, so that's a bummer. And I said last week that, hey, I know this is a bad stretch by the masses and Eternals

[00:26:43] is dead last for me, but I like Black Widow and I like Shang-Chi. This movie definitely dipped for me on third watch. I thought it would be higher for me than it was. It's not awful, but it's not great. I have it 17th out of whatever, 28 or whatever. So, which honestly some people might think is high, but very imbalanced. And the problems that I had with it years ago, Bran, do not make it possible to get past now. Well, you are right about a couple of things. One, I have not seen WandaVision.

[00:27:11] And two, I hate this movie. Those two things are true. And you've seen it before. I had seen it. I saw it in the theaters and I remember they say Illuminati and I go, ah, I'm out. You should have seen Bran's face when I told him he had to watch season two, one and two of Loki for Doomsday, which they announced. He was not happy. You'll like that show. It's a great show. I won't watch it, but I will watch the movie.

[00:27:39] I, this movie is such a mess. And if it wasn't for the wonderful folks out there that wrote the synopsis on Wikipedia for me to follow along and be like, okay, I understand that now. I would have been absolutely lost. And I still feel like my synopsis was an absolute mess. I just, and I really like the first Doctor Strange movie. It is in my top 10.

[00:28:06] And I went into this movie pretty excited about it because I do like Doctor Strange and it just lost me so fast. I agree. I do think America Chavez is a cool character and she is the bright spot in this movie. The actor I think gives a swell performance, but overall an absolute mess. I actively hated this movie. It is not last. It's second to last for me. I have it at 20. Oh, wow. I hated it. Dana? This movie sucks. It sucks.

[00:28:35] It's so bad. Like Ryan has it 17, which is, and I will say kudos to him because he told me he really liked this movie in the theater. He talked to me about the 3D and he clearly didn't like it as much. And I appreciate that. Everything Ryan said critically about this movie is right. But I don't think, like, I think for Ryan, all of that stuff bothered him. The rest of it worked. I like Sam Raimi as a director. Now, there are Sam Raimi apologists, one of my dearest friends in the world who was

[00:29:04] up visiting me this weekend, talked about how much he loved Multiverse of Madness. And I was like, you just like Sam Raimi getting an open palate and getting to do whatever the heck he wants to do. And this guy was like, yeah, that's exactly right. And so there are people like that. And if you love anything Sam Raimi does, have fun. For the rest of us who need something cohesive that makes sense and follows logic or a plot that we've been watching ARC over the course of 28 movies, this is not it.

[00:29:32] Also, if you like the first Doctor Strange movie at all, this movie takes a big fat dump on it. It doesn't matter. None of those, all those characters are very serious. Look, Thor Ragnarok reinvents what Thor is. And that works because it's funny and it's engaging. This is neither of those things. It's just stupid. The WandaVision, look, I watched with everyone else that wasn't Bran when WandaVision came on after COVID.

[00:30:00] And the first episode, we didn't know what was going on. 1950s sitcom, what's happening? And then we watch as Wanda proceeds to process her immense power and grief and come to a point of redemption. Don't give me Darkhold magazine flipping. You redeemed a character over the course of six hours all for her to be a big bad in a silly 12 Benedict Cumberbatch multiverse horror movie by Sam Raimi? No thanks.

[00:30:29] Hard pass. Guys, you want to know what's the most insulting? None of that. It's when we get a multiverse version where we get alternate superheroes that are just killed leisurely and we feel nothing. I adore the X-Men. What are you doing rolling Professor X out here? Why are you doing that to me?

[00:30:54] We don't need all of these cameos in a movie that really has nothing else going for them and it also manages to ruin the cameo. I didn't find the humor funny. I didn't find the multiverse to make any sense. I hated Wanda being the bad guy and I loved the first one of these movies. It's eight on my list. I debated this and Thor the Dark World at second to last and Thor the Dark World is shorter and I cared more. This is second to last right by Eternals.

[00:31:23] That's right. We didn't watch it together either. Wow. This movie sucks, right? I have no argument. I will say this. I feel like I did a pretty good job with this one. The one thing I will say is I am such a sucker for a great 3D movie. If stuff is just throwing at my face from the screen and it feels like it's going to hit me, I am immediately invested in the thrill ride roller coaster that is that movie.

[00:31:50] So had I seen it in 3D, maybe it would be a little bit higher. But as it stands, I can't believe I had to watch this again. And this is for only the second time ever, I sped up the last 30 minutes of this movie. Whoa. Wow. How did you do it? I was watching it on a big screen and I switched to my laptop and I moved it to 1.5. Wow. Look at you. I hated it. No, I don't think I'll ever watch this again. I would say the 3D experience, that experience helps it.

[00:32:20] And then I really, Wanda Scarlet, whatever you want to call her, is one of my favorite characters in these movies. So even though I don't think they really do her any justice in this, it was cool to have her so heavily featured. But no, it's an incoherent mess by and large. I just think one of the cool things about Doctor Strange is that movie can be very silly, but it takes itself very seriously. Yeah, I agree. Right, like the time stone, him going to the temple, like, you know, them doing this thing where they're making the buildings do the inception thing. They never blink.

[00:32:49] They never wink at the camera. They take it very, very seriously. This movie doesn't take it seriously at all. It's a big, fat joke. Benedict Cumberbatch has a, one of his Doctor Stranges is from the dead and like half his mouth is gone and he's doing evil dead bits. And look, the evil dead trilogy by Sam Raimi, Army of Darkness is just a phenomenal film. Like, phenomenal. Spider-Man 2, Sam Raimi directed it. One of the best superhero movies of all time. Drag Me Back to Hell, Sam Raimi movie.

[00:33:18] If you've not seen it, amazing. Send Help, really solid. Quick and the Dead, I've already talked about. I like this guy. This was not it. I just, this is not what I, 27 movies in, this is the first one that felt like an utter, an utter miss. At least to the Eternals, it was like, this movie sucks and it's two and a half hours long, but at least I see they were really trying to be a prestige. They're like, we're going to do prestige filmmaking here. And it didn't work. This just is not nonsensical. I, not for me.

[00:33:45] The last thing before it feels, Brian, I think this is important context is that this was supposed to come out before No Way Home and then COVID schedules screwed up. I never knew that until you said it last week. Yeah, but even with that, that still doesn't necessarily explain the massive leap of WandaVision to literally three minutes later on screen Wanda being the big bad. The movie could have worked a lot better if you massaged that idea over the course of, I don't know, five or six or seven scenes in this movie.

[00:34:14] But it happens instantaneously and it just never feels right. So I guess they went back, like they have a line where he's like, she's like, do you have experience with the multiverse? And he says, Spider-Man. And then she's like, what's that? So I guess they went back and they filmed that. Yeah, which is tough because he's not supposed to remember Spider-Man at all. But I guess he remembers the person, but not that it's Peter Carr. How would he remember? But how would he remember? Dude, that bothered me again in Brand New Day. That he had. Like, I was just like, how are we doing this? Well, that's, I mean, we'll talk about this more in Brand New Day.

[00:34:43] But the smartest thing Brand New Day does is not try to make sense. No, no, no. They just skim right over the top of that bad boy. They're not digging any further than with that one. I will say, for WandaVision's sake, she lit, like Vision dies because of the stones in the Avengers movies, Endgame and Infinity War. Like he literally. Rest in peace. Yeah, rest in peace, obviously. And WandaVision basically is her, Wanda has created an entire world, like a force field where she can live with Vision forever. It's a really cool show and it's well done. It's amazing.

[00:35:12] It's just one of the better, like, swings by Marvel ever. And she, like, comes to terms with her grief by the end of it. It's really. And they introduce another big bad at the end of that season that should have. And I'm just like. I guess the one other thing worth noting is that the heavy rumor, although there's also rumors she's going to be in Doomsday, but those are unfounded at the moment. Lizzie Olsen, I think, just wanted to be done with Marvel. And so maybe some of this is reaction to that, but even then they could have done a better job. Could have been. But now they did it. Yeah.

[00:35:43] All right. All the feels. What you got, Ryguy? Hearing that X-Men theme, albeit briefly, really made me feel something. And so on first watch, it's like once you know that. Yeah. Dude, I freaking love the X-Men. I love. I love the Days of Future Past, First Class, X, X2. I love Logan. Like, I love those characters maybe more than the Marvel characters. And this hurt my heart. But I get the theme is nice. Yeah. Yes. So, I mean, that's it.

[00:36:10] No, again, to the point of me being down on it this time, I didn't have a ton. But hearing that X-Men theme was cool. Yeah. I like that. You got to have something, Bran. I got nothing. Wow. I was pretty grumpy the whole movie. Yeah, true. I'm always here for a Bruce Campbell cameo. Bruce Campbell shows up in all of Sam Raimi's movies. He even pops in to send help briefly early on.

[00:36:39] He, like, he's, Bruce Campbell's hilarious. He's awesome. He's been in a Hallmark movie. And he's in virtually every Sam Raimi movie. And him being the hot dog cart guy who's punching himself in the face for three weeks. I just enjoy seeing him. And I think he's funny. That was the extent of my feels. All right. Well, let's get to a break. And we'll come back. We'll get to the Wait One and the What a Marvel here on Deck the Hallmark.

[00:37:14] Welcome back, everybody. We're talking about... What are we talking about? Doctor Strange Mom. Multiverse of Madness. Yeah. Is this the first time you've not had feels? Not in my life. I was going to say ever. Not in my life, I don't think. On an episode of Deck the Hallmark? No, I don't think so. Okay. All right. I don't think so. It's happened a few times. It feels for Stoney with a Christmas Prince. Not in Multiverse of Madness. Not a problem. Not a problem for me, brother. All right. Wait What? Let's get to it. So what made you go Wait What, Ryguy?

[00:37:44] There's a big one-eyed octopus monster early on. It felt like Men in Black. It felt like Men in Black. It's so funny you make a comparison. Listen, I'm pretty sure James Gunn's Suicide Squad came out. Maybe it came out a couple months after. It probably came out after. But either way, there's a one-eyed starfish monster in his movie. And these are basically identical creatures.

[00:38:08] And it just seems like I know that Marvel and DC aren't talking like exchanging notes ahead of their big releases. But it just seems like somebody should have figured something out. That's a good one. It came out August 6th, 2021. So a few months after. So exactly three months later. What are the odds? I mean, literally, this is a one-eyed octopus that's big and creepy. And in that one, it's a one-eyed monster starfish. I tell you what. It was wild out there. I remember it well. So Dr. Strange has never heard the term Illuminati.

[00:38:38] That's crazy. He goes Illuma-what-y. It's a pretty common phrase. It's a pretty common word to people. It's in the lexicon. And then to that point, I know that the bit, and I have issues with it as well. You know, the bit is that Wanda kills all of the Illuminati, and it's these big, you know, other multiverse versions of characters we know. And it's supposed to be like, wow, she is not messing around, and we get it.

[00:39:06] And you can argue fairly that that is not the best way to, for example, introduce, even if it's briefly Mr. Fantastic, into the MCU. You can make that argument. I'm totally fine with that. My problem is the Captain Marvel, I believe it's Monica Rambeau, or that's who we know as Monica Rambeau. It's just, she just kills her by throwing a statue on her. That's it. Done. It's ridiculous. Ridiculous.

[00:39:35] It doesn't matter that we're in a different, it's Captain Marvel. Captain Marvel cannot be destroyed by a statue falling on her. Even in a different universe, I have to imagine that Captain Marvel is among the strongest out of like, you know, it's crazy. I don't think she's going to be like Bobby Bonilla on the Mets. Like, I mean, like, I would think that it would take more than a statue. So. Well, that's Bobby Bonilla reference. I thought you'd get a big kick out of that. I love it. He's not very good on the Mets. He's still getting paid to this day. Still getting paid. Bobby Bonilla day.

[00:40:04] I hope that Captain Marvel is also still making money in that universe. Yeah. That's it for me, Bran, on the Weight Watch. There is, I mean, I guess this device could have been my feels. The thing where you go and you step and you can see a memory. Yeah, man, sure. That's nice. I like that idea. It does seem dangerous to just have it out in the public. Yeah, man. For sure. Anybody can just watch what your memory is. That's wild. That's tough. Yeah. That's a wild thing.

[00:40:33] And also, like, it happened pretty quick, too. Like, what if you're walking and you step on it, you bend down and tie your shoe, and it's like, oh, no, not that one. Oh, no. Crazy. I was just trying to have a nice shoe tie. Dan-o. Thanks for that guy. He's trying to have a nice shoe tie. I say that all the time. He's trying to have a nice shoe tie. It's a nice shoe tie. It's a nice shoe tie. It's a nice one. We're in it. Nice cash shoe tie. Dan, you did mention the guy punching himself in the face for two, three weeks, whatever it is. Funny bit.

[00:41:04] Mean. It's mean of Doctor Strange to do this to this guy. Like, honestly, villain behavior. Yeah. If that guy's punching himself nonstop for three weeks, he gonna die. Like, not gonna go well for him. That's villain stuff from Doctor Strange for this poor man. He sells hot dogs in the multi-house. It's not like he's in a real place. He's just tough out there. Yeah, I don't understand.

[00:41:30] And then my last one is he is at Ashanti watching her sing a song or whatever, and he decides we're gonna open this sucker up. I'm gonna do the dark world thing or whatever. Best way to do this is with hecka candles. And I just don't think you should be able to light that many candles at once.

[00:41:59] It's too many candles. And I know Doctor Strange... And then you step on a memory during your shoe tie, and it's a whole problem. Forget about it. I understand that you're Doctor Strange and that you probably have a pretty good handle on things. Too many candles. It's too many candles. It's too much power for me. I didn't like that. Dano? Yeah, when he is burying the other Doctor Strange, he casually... Doctor Strange casually says, I've buried worse. I'm sorry? What?

[00:42:29] You've done what? Maybe he is a villain. What do you mean? Was that just supposed to be a one-off joke we weren't supposed to think of? Or was that a callback to something I don't remember? He's buried worse. Doctor Strange out there burying bodies of worse people than himself? Yeah. What? I don't know. One of my big ones we talked about a lot in the hot takes, so I won't spend too much time on it, but the WandaVision, like, of it all was really tough.

[00:42:57] I know that if you read the comics, I guess the Darkhold is a very big deal, but to spend six hours in the better part of, you know, two months telling us the story of Wanda, like, really recovering from grief and now needing to fight Agatha, an actual bad guy, to turn around to do this to her, just was crazy. They just isolate her and make her terrible again, and I hated every second of it. Maybe this was just my disdain for this movie as a whole, but Benedict Cumberbatch, an amazing actor.

[00:43:27] Like, Imitation Game? You kid me right now? War Horse. He's really good at War Horse.

[00:43:57] One more. Strange anymore, and it was very weird, and I don't know if he was over it. It was just me just hating the movie. Lastly, and there is, I guess, a minor, there is a spoiler alert for Brand New Day in this next one. Spoiler alert. Spoiler alert. I don't read the thank you. I don't read the comments. I don't read the comments. Oh, the comics. Excuse me. I don't read the comments either. I don't read the comments. I don't read the comics.

[00:44:26] I don't read the comics. I love the X-Men. Go ahead. Just go. You sure? Yeah. Do you read the comments? I don't read the comments. I will die in a small town. I don't read the comics. I do love the X-Men, and I do know that in most of the comics, Professor X comes alongside a young mutant in need of help.

[00:44:53] And it is probably, arguably, the most powerful mutant. That mutant is Jean Grey. And he, from a very young age, takes Jean Grey in, keeps her from using her powers, and then teaches her how to use them successfully. And she even becomes a different, more powerful mutant later on called the Phoenix. It seems like there was a better use for Professor X than this, and maybe it was in a different movie.

[00:45:24] I'll just leave it at that. Okay. Let's get to What a Marvel. It's where we talk about things that we're wondering or anything else, really. It's a catch-all. Ryguy? Brent, I appreciate that thorough explanation of What a Marvel. You are a catch-all of box shirts. You got 10. You got 10 box shirts headed your way. No, I mean, I just only have them in two colors at the moment.

[00:45:50] But maybe I return the 10 and get one in each primary color. So you just normally are out rocking a solid black or solid white tee? To work, primarily. Oh, to work. Okay. I guess you and I have that in common. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. So there's a lot of internet. Think about Hawaiian shirts. That's all I'm saying, boys. Next recording, we got to figure it out to do Hawaiian shirts next recording just so we can say we did it. Just see how it feels. That's fair. I'm game. Guys, I'll do whatever.

[00:46:17] There's a lot of internet theory and conjecture at the moment that this post-credit scene, which Brian actually did talk about in the synopsis. Thank you for that. You're welcome. That currently means nothing. It means almost as little as the guy, Harry Styles, one from Eternals. Charlize Theron shows up. I don't know her character's name. Apologies. At the moment, present day talking about this movie, five, six months before Doomsday, means nothing. We haven't talked about it since.

[00:46:47] We haven't seen it since. Of course, they've continued the multiverse storyline over the last several years leading up to Doomsday. But a lot of people think that Forehead Eye, Doctor Strange, and Charlize Theron doing whatever they do at the post-credit scene will be a big, pivotal building block of Doomsday. I think I've even read some stuff that they think Doctor Strange will be with Doctor Doom, all the doctors. It's a conference, if you will.

[00:47:18] It's a medical conference. So we'll see. Mr. Doctor. That's just stuff I've read. Again, I have no point of reference from the comics, and I'm trying to very much stay away from any of these rumored leaks or script things from Doomsday, because a lot of them are bollocks and fake. Bollocks? Live from foggy old London town. Right, guys? What are those? That's just... They're all bollocks.

[00:47:46] Yeah, but so at the moment, at the moment, this one's pretty close to the top of meaningless post-credit scene power rankings. But if these rumors are true, Bran, then this could really mean a lot in a few months. So I'm glad you watched it. All right. Very good. What is Doctor Doom... What is his medical expertise? Doom or Strange? Doom.

[00:48:14] What is Doom's medical expertise? Victor Von Doom? I don't know what his doctorate's in, but I'm going to look it up. Or is it just like alliteration? They liked it. I don't think you can just take doctorate. What's Victor Von Doom's doctorate in? You know what's interesting, though? He does not actually hold a legitimate, formally earned doctorate from an accredited university. He was expelled from Empire State University before graduating after a fateful experiment scarred his face. His doctor title is self-awarded

[00:48:44] or an honorary degree granted by the University of Latveria, where he is the absolute sovereign. If Doc Doom can do it, we can do it. We can do it. Dr. Thompson? Dr. Gray? Dr. Gray? Dr. Gray? Dr. Gray? Thank you. Thank you, Doctor. Thank you, Doctor. Dr. Thank you. That's crazy. How about that? And there's a real... Like, Doctor Strange is real. Like, he's a real doctor. Yeah. Yeah. That's why we call him that. Doctor Doom is not. It's not just something we just, like, play around with. He's a physician. No, it's serious stuff. Is there a doctor?

[00:49:14] Is there a doctor on the plate? Dr. Doom gets up and kills you. You rang. You picked the wrong doctor. That's right. Yeah. How about that? Could have been anybody. Absolutely. Dano? Yeah. So, you know, we've talked about how they released Captain Marvel. Was it right before Endgame? Yeah. Like, right before... Like, too much before. Maybe last. I think it was, like, six weeks before. And then how they kind of did Black Widow wrong.

[00:49:39] Do you want to know how incredibly insane it is, how important when your movie is released? This movie comes out after No Way Home, which was a world beater at the box office. This movie made almost a billion dollars. Yeah. With a B. A billion. And if it had come out before No Way Home, there is no universe where this movie makes anywhere near a billion dollars. Probably not. No way. Probably not.

[00:50:10] This Black Widow and Captain Marvel, two movies that are miles better than this movie, in my opinion, got the short end of the stick. Well, no, no, no. Remember, Captain Marvel... Sorry, I think you're misspeaking. Captain Marvel does make a billion, remember? Oh, Captain Marvel did do very well. You're right. That's right. And it still came out. But we still remember when it came out. You're right, though. It did make a billion. But your Eternals, I don't believe, does very well. I think that's what you're... Yeah. Yeah, yeah. That was the lead-up. But the, like, where your movie comes out and in what order it comes out is so important.

[00:50:40] And this movie making almost a billion dollars still is crazy to me. Like, I just don't know how it happened. I just... And it happened, I do know. No Way Home happened. And people went nuts for that movie, rightfully so. I think it's the best of the Spider-Man lot. And so that, you know, of the Tom Holland ones, anyway. This was definitely, for me, the start of, I don't think I want to do this anymore. Yeah. For more. Like, I... In real time? No, in real time. Because I didn't see Eternals.

[00:51:09] For whatever reason, I didn't see Eternals. And so I see Spider-Man, which I'm always going to love. But then I see this, and I'm like, I don't... Like, and I was already like, I wonder what's going to happen. And then we get Black Widow, which I liked. And then we get Shang-Chi, which I loved. And then you get Spider-Man, which I love. And then you get Doctor Strange in the multiverse. And I'm like, this... I... This is when I started to be like... And it was a lot. Good news. Thor loving Thunders next week. Yeah.

[00:51:36] This is the fourth... Fifth movie in a year? Plus WandaVision, plus... That's right. A fifth superhero movie in a year. Well, remember, COVID stopped them from... Right, right, right. But still, it's just like a lot. Falcon and Winter Soldier's probably already out or close to it at this point. A lot. Yeah. And then Thor's not going to help things. Quantumania is... Quantumania. Quantumania is...

[00:52:04] I think the true downturn is probably, you know... Granted, by box office standards, to Dan's point, not yet. But I... It really never happens. Like, I think that's an over-fabricated story. It's like... I think we'll see what happens with... A few of these movies are bombs. Spider-Man is... Like, every Spider-Man movie makes three quarters of a billion dollars minimum. Like, that's a... But, like, the Marvels doesn't do well. But, like, I'm sure Black Panther 2 did well at the box office. Thunderbolts did okay. Right. Yeah, no, I mean, there's a few that didn't blow. Black Panther 2 did great. Yeah.

[00:52:33] But that was a big deal. You're never going to... All I'm saying, and this isn't me arguing that the MCU's not been on a downswing, but, like, you're never going to see a consistent downturn in the box office. Like, Guardians 3 did well, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Did you... Are we about to watch... Love and Thunder. We're about to watch Love and Thunder. But are we about to do Multiverse of Madness, Love and Thunder, Quantumania, back-to-back-to-back? No, and we Black Panther... Wakanda Forever is in there. Okay, thank God. Because I think those three movies may all end up in my bottom five.

[00:53:02] I am most excited, and by excited I mean intrigued, from the Quantumania rewatch. Because that was where I was. I was at my lowest with the Marvel. Yeah. And I was like, I just... And then I absolutely hated everything about my time there, except sitting next to you. You and I had a blast. But it was terrible. So I'm excited to rewatch, because I honestly was like, I don't know why I'm doing this anymore. I'm not having fun anymore. That's right.

[00:53:30] I just want to say, I think this is important. I debated whether or not I should say this. I think it's important to say this to set up next week. I'm higher on Love and Thunder than just about anyone you'll meet. And so just keep that in mind. Everyone take a week to digest that. The ghosts are hilarious. I don't know where. I haven't watched it yet. I don't know where it's going to land. I'm going to pray about it. But I just want everyone to know ahead of time. Yeah. Thank you for that. Thank you for the floor, Brad. Big Natalie Portman movie. I'm looking at... I'm not joking. I look at a Thor Love and Thunder poster every week when we were there. Big Natalie Portman movie.

[00:54:00] It would make sense that you would love it. She's the superhero. Yes. Right there. It's just her on the poster. She is the love and she is the thunder. No. That's the kid. That's actually... It's actually got his father-son thing. No spoilers, dude. She's the love and she's the thunder. It's an arthouse film. It's an arthouse film. People appreciate it. All right. We did it, everybody. Congratulations to us. Coming back next week for Love and Thunder. It's going to be a lot of fun. And until then, maybe the first to wish you a Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas, Doctor. It's Deck the Hallmark. It's a Bramble Jam podcast produced by Dr. Brandon Gray. Thank you.

[00:54:30] And you have that Greenville, South Carolina. For more information on the show, you can go to deckthehallmark.com. Follow us on the socials at deckthehallmark. Leave us a five-star rating and review on Apple Podcasts to help others find the show and help others help us help the show financially. Go to bramblejamplus.com. Become a double-decker with ad-free podcasts and live video watchings, movie chats, so much more. That's bramblejamplus.com. Aluma what-y? A perfect tag there. Perfect tag.

[00:54:56] You're about to hear some ads that help keep the lights on here in the old studio. Thanks for listening or don't listen. It's really up to you at this point. It's at the end of the show. I mean, you're listening to me. Hi. But here they come. I promise they're coming. Yep. Here they are. Happy day. Bye.