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Welcome back to our VIP video series "Off the Beaten Path," featuring my friend Christian Toto of Hollywood in Toto! Christian and I start off our week by discussing stories and ideas that may fly under our radar, in culture, politics, sports, and more. Plus, Christian previews his latest podcast at HiT!
Do we love superheroes again? We love them enough to recycle them, apparently. With the astounding success of the latest Spider-Man film, the buzz for Avengers: Doomsday that predicts a $400 million opening weekend seems almost rational. Clearly the market still exists for good-quality comic-book movies even after the crashing flop of Supergirl, but Ed sounds skeptical about the prospects. How many times will Marvel be able to sell another end-of-the-universe plot, especially when converting Robert Downey Jr into the villain Victor Von Doom?
Spider-Man and The Odyssey ruled the box office this weekend, again, and that was bad news for a more worthy debut. Brink of War is Angel Studio's look at Ronald Reagan at Reykjavik in the moment where he defied the Soviet Union and set the stage for its collapse. Christian criticized the marketing strategy for the film and praised Jeff Daniel's honest and fair portrayal of Reagan. Christian and Ed discussed the difference between Daniels' portrayal and Dennis Quaid's in the earlier Reagan.
What happened to Hayden Panittiere? Her death has produced one surprising media reaction – rational restraint. It's an unusual outcome, but it has held up for the first couple of days after news of the actress' passing, which appears to involve a congenital cardiac issue.
Watch it all and join us in the comments!
