Here we are folks, a movie franchise about a man who is on an unstoppable rampage of revenge, full of bloody violence - and we love it. We want more!

In this film, John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is stripped of all protections by the mysterious High Table and is forced to go on the rule, while his former allies are investigated by the Adjudicator (Asia Kate Dillon). 

Also lots of dudes die. 

Stevie and Emmet talk director Chad Stahelski's emphasis on stuntcraft, connections with other films - and the appearance of the one, the only, Jason Mantzoukas.

(For more of Priscilla Page's writing on John Wick, see her Twitter account, e.g. https://twitter.com/BBW_BFF/status/1129895235876581376 ).

*SPOILERS* *SPOILERS* *SPOILERS*

Well everyone else was doing one, so we did too. 

A review of Avengers: Endgame that is. 

So what did we make of this closing chapter to a series of 22 films? And is this the death of cinema, or just a good time at the movies that will in all likelihood make you cry? Listen to find out. 

 (Also we talk Hellboy...yes the new one). 

We review Marvel's Captain Marvel and DC"s Shazam!, who used to be Captain Marvel....confused yet?

First up Brie Larson's turn as the galactic superhero who lands in the 90s. How does this character introduction in a film that acts as a bridging chapter between Avengers movies pan out? And what did Stevie make of the use of chart music from the mid-90s (spoiler - not a fan). 

Then Warner/DC's Shazam! veers into a happier, sunnier superhero flick for that fictional universe (with occasional flashes of David F. Sandberg's horror credentials). 

Where Captain Marvel has to introduce a new character, Shazam! feels like a tonal course correction for a studio. We were big fans. 

Also if you are in Sydney on 26 April, check out the Ledger Awards ceremony at the State Library NSW for a celebration of all things Australian comics. For more information visit http://ledgerawards.org/

Speculating about the Oscars is clearly more fun *than* the Oscars. But the 2019 promises to be something of a shambles. 

From missing presenters, to nominee controversy, there's a lot to shake one's head at. 

But certain nominations - and snubs - have really got Emmet and Stevie's goat up. So that's what this episode is mostly about (also, Avengers Endgame and sad Steve Rogers, but that's more an aperatif). 

The marketers have declared - seniors at the cinema means big dollars. 

But while this commercial push for films aimed at older cinemagoers has produced some regrettable flicks - Last Vegas... - there are quite a few films about aging and reflection that are enjoyable. 

Stevie and Emmet talk Tea With The Dames and Last Orders, two films that capture a generation of British acting talent. 

This episode is also dedicated to the memory of Albert Finney. 

*Nice

Apologies for the late review, but Xmas descended suddenly and well - we didn't do it. 

So here is part one of a bumper episode, with part two discussing how Netflix dominated the holiday season. 

Mortal Engines is adapted from Philip Reeve's inventive fantasy series by the team behind the Tolkien films - but did they show the same grasp of how to play to the source material's strengths and invent more cinematic sequences? 

Next up - Bird Box and Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. 

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is the perfect Xmas present - a superhero film that is unashamedly comic book-y. 

A coming of age story that nails each and every emotional beat. 

Oh and it has Nicholas Cage!

Stevie raves about a whole bunch of films, instead of sticking to the 5*5 rule! Grrr. Arrg. 

While the reputation of this film has been coloured slightly by the loss of director Michael Reeves at a young age, it remains a cult classic. 

First off - happy birthday Stevie!

And here's her review of Shaun of the Dead. 

A flop on its release - and apparently used as roadfill! - The Wicker Man is a pagan folk horror curiousity that has endured over the years.

It is easy to understand why the film remained one of Christopher Lee's personal career favourites.  

It's the Exorcist - what more do you want!

Stevie revisits Friedkin's classic for her latest Halloween Horror Bite. 

Jordan Peele's Get Out feels like a horror chamber piece Shirley Jackson and Ralph Ellison maybe put together during the writing of The Invisible Man. It is timely, brilliantly unnerving and heralds the arrival of a new horror director with a vision. 

It's also Emmet's third Halloween horror pick. 

Before bringing about the downfall of Asgard in Thor: Ragnarok, Taika Waititi gave us - Wellington. Or Vellington, as this Kiwi horror comedy depicts the town as being overflowing with supernatural creatures. Stevie explains her love of What We Do In The Shadows. 

For his second horror flick recommendation, Emmet makes the case for George Romero's Night of the Living Dead. Not just a classic of the zombie genre, but a game-changer for independent cinema as well. 

For the second Hallowee Horror Bite Stevie chooses Tremors - and gives a sneaky shout-out to Irish horror flick Grabbers. 

Hereditary is our first pick for this Halloween season. Not just a good scary flick, but a genuine horror classic. 

This year we're trying something different. From now until Halloween, Hopscotch Friday will be posting short reviews of our personal favourite horror films - in case you're looking for something to watch over the season. 

This episode we review - Damien Chazelle's biopic of Neil Armstrong First Man, Tom Hardy's cannibal alien flick Venom, and the latest adaptation of Nick Hornby 'Juliet, Naked'. 

And we also shout-out Fearscape from Vault Comics, by Ryan O'Sullivan and Ram V. 

Mission Impossible: Fallout follows on from the events of Rogue Nation, and continues to mark the franchise's upswing in quality. 

Partly this is due to the rewarding collaboration between star Tom Cruise and director/writer Christopher McQuarrie. 

But this is also a franchise that has found its feet after the initial post-Cold War confusion as to who the enemy is. 

Turns out, it's us. Anyway we dive in to what we liked about the most recent entry and trace the series' growth over the years. 

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and Neve Campbell star in this Hong Kong-set riff on Die Hard. There's a building - but a bigger one. There's terrorists - but they're beefier. And there's an unstoppable family man on the loose to stop them - but instead of Bruce Willis, it's the Rock. 

What did Emmet and Stevie make of it all? Listen to find out.

Also discussed - 

PCAF
Ant-Man and The Wasp/Incredibles 2
Top five 'good' comics from the past ten years

Eleanor Davis - How to be Happy
Roger Langridge - Snarked.
The Long Weekend in Alice Springs - Joshua Santospirito.
Gary Spencer Millidge's Strangehaven serialised in the Meanwhile... anthology from Soaring Penguin Press.
Emily Carroll - Through the Woods.

Cinemascore be damned - Hereditary is great!

Gee people whaddya want?

Beyond the conversation about the difficult measures horror cinema is held to by both critics and fans, we also review Ari Aster feature film debut. 

J.A. Bayona's Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is discussed, as well as the declining appeal of Chris Pratt. 

In addition:

The Trauma Cleaner: One Woman’s Extraordinary Life in Death, Decay & Disaster by Sarah Krasnostein 

Bloomsday in Melbourne, as well as the Bloomsday theatrical production Holy Cow! 

PCAF - Perth Comics Arts Festival, featuring both a symposium and a market day 

Halloween (2018) and Here Alone (2016)

*SPOILERS FOR DEADPOOL 2*

Firstly - Stevie is back! And then we open our review episode of Deadpool 2 by discussing Ireland's Repeal the 8th Amendment referendum. Other points raised include

• Marvel UK's Knights of Pendragon and Schitt's Creek
• Deadpool 2
• Was Shatterstar ever cool?
• Deadpool as a blend of badass and camp.
• Did the screenwriters employ the hoary comic book trope of 'fridging?'
• 'Would that this hoodie were a time hoodie'.
• Black Tom Cassidy!

Neevon is back - and he comes with reviews of Amy Schumer's I Feel Pretty and the Martin Freeman zombie flick Cargo. 

This episode we:

• Talk about Avengers Infinity War quickly, without any spoilers
• What comics you should read to catch up on the events of that film, including Jim Starlin's Warlock
• I Feel Pretty's theme of body confidence
• Emmet's simmering resentment that Cargo didn't win Tropfest
• The use of Indigenous peoples as fantasy figures in genre stories
• The potential advantage of Cargo landing on streaming for horror in Australian cinema

Till next time, cheers folks. 

Kay Cannon's Blockers really surprised me. While I went in expecting a grossout comedy after catching the trailer (which caused Stevie to bow out), what I discovered instead was a sincere and sharply witty film about our attitudes to sex. 

Concerned more with the hang-ups of parents played by Leslie Mann, John Cena and Ike Barinholtz than their onscreen children (Kathryn Newton, Geraldine Viswanathan and Gideon Adlon), Blockers does indulge in scenes with bodily fluids flying hither and thither - but it's also an interesting investigation of the pressures we put on young women when it comes to sex. 

Next we discuss Alex Garland's long-awaited Annihilation, adapting the first novel of Jeff VanderMeer's The Southern Reach trilogy to the...well our smallscreen as it turns out.