Check out the latest trailer for Zero Dark Thirty, a dramatization of the decade-long hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden from director Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker). Jessica Chastain, Taylor Kinney, Scott Adkins, Joel Edgerton, Mark Strong, Mark Duplass, Kyle Chandler, and James Gandolfini star. The film opens in limited release in select cities on December 19th.
After growing disinterested in the end of Ed Brubaker‘s run on the character I was ready for a new writer to breathe life into Captain America. The first issue of the new series written by Rick Remender is a bit of a mixed blessing as Cap contemplates marriage to Sharon Carter and take on an old enemy in Armin Zola.
Yes, Remender takes the character in a new direction, but he also gives us a questionable introduction of Steve Rogers abusive father and a message (hamfistedly delivered at least three times over the course of the issue) that has been Cap’s guiding philosophy since childhood. I understand what Remender’s going for, but to start out a new series with a gross oversimplification of a character’s origins isn’t the best way to begin.
Although I don’t hate the art, I’m not sure John Romita Jr. is the right choice for the comic if, as Remender states in the afterward, the point is to take the series into the weird sci-fi stories the character enjoyed under Jack Kirby‘s run in the 1970’s. Hit-and-Miss.
[Marvel, $3.99]
Captain America #1 Read More »
With Superman, Superboy, Captain Atom, Captain Marvel, and Wonder Woman all trapped on the moon and several other members of both Young Justice and the Justice League trapped inside an impenetrable sphere surrounding Metropolis the remaining members of the team work together with the Atom, the Flash, and the Martian Manhunter to figure out just what the hell is going on as Miss Martian and Lagoon Boy head to the moon on a rescue mission.
The story is a little more focused this time around, but we still get more more five-year flashbacks involving Dick Grayson‘s relationships with the ladies of the team. As good as these are by themselves, these flashbacks continue to be somewhat disorienting, especially as they have yet to be tied directly to the current situation our heroes find themselves in.
The issue is certainly packed with characters including several of the newer members of the Young Justice team including Batgirl, Wonder Girl, Zatanna and Blue Beetle, and even a surprise cameo by Plastic Man. Worth a look.
[DC, $2.99]
With 360 director Fernando Meirelles and screenwriter Peter Morgan offer an ensemble piece featuring several tangentially related stories about love, sex, and money. The idea to weave separate elements such as these together is hardly a new one, but (as is often the case with this type of film) not all the stories measure up, and despite the film’s insistence that it has some great wisdom to impart by throwing all these characters together, in the end 360 is still something of a mess.
The stories involve a man (Anthony Hopkins) searching for his lost daughter who meets a young woman (Maria Flor) who has recently broken up with her boyfriend (Juliano Cazarré) on a flight to the United States, an aspiring prostitute (Lucia Siposová) and her sister (Gabriela Marcinkova), a recently released sex offender (Ben Foster) stuck in a Colorado airport, a couple (Jude Law, Rachel Weisz) each having secret affairs, and a dentist (Jamel Debbouze) struggling with his feelings for his assistant (Dinara Drukarova) who is married to the driver (Vladimir Vdovichenkov) of a Russian gangster (Johannes Krisch).
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Check out this pretty cool 14in. TRON Polystone Statue which can be yours for the low, low price of $150.
TRON Black Light Polystone Statue Read More »
