December 2012

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #17

tmnt-17-coverAs Splinter tries to bring his refocus his family after their recent loses, the latest issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles brings in our first extended look at Dimension X and the Neutrinos who General Krang is out to destroy.

As you’d expect with any story that features the Neutrinos and Dimension X, this one gets a little weird. For our heroes in half-shell the craziness begins when April reaches out to a fellow Stockton employee who is actually a fugitive Neutrino android in hiding from Krang and his forces. When other Neutrinos show up to take Professor Honeycutt home the Turtles step in to stop what they see as an attack on April and her co-worker.

Although the version of the Neutrinos we see her are far more comfortable with violence than the original characters created for the cartoon, the comic does a good job at dealing with the fallout of the previous issue while spending the proper amount of time introducing the group, without giving too much away too soon, and staring a new arc featuring the Turtles traveling to Dimension X. Worth a look.

[IDW, $3.99]

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KCFCC 46th Annual Loutzenhiser Awards

Philip Seymour Hoffman, The MasterEarlier today the Kansas City Film Critics Circle, the second oldest critics’ group in the country (of which I am proud to be a member), got together to vote on the 46th Annual Loutzenhiser Awards choosing the best in film we saw this year in 12 separate categories. The big winner of the afternoon was Paul Thomas Anderson‘s The Master which took home the award for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Original Screenplay. Best director went to Ang Lee for Life of Pi. Daniel Day-Lewis won Best Actor for his performance in Lincoln, and Jennifer Lawrence narrowly beat out Beasts of the Southern Wild‘s Quvenzhané Wallis for Best Actress for her performance in Silver Linings Playbook. You can find the full list of winners inside.

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Scandal – Blown Away

  • Title: Scandal – Blown Away
  • tv.com: link

scandal-blown-away

As Olivia (Kerry Washington) continues work at the White House now that Vice President Sally Langston (Kate Burton) has assumed the duties of the President following the assassination attempt on Fitz (Tony Goldwyn), Olivia Pope & Associates are approached by Huck (Guillermo Díaz) who has been framed for the crime. The former government assassin was lured to the hotel room where a remote controlled sniper rifle was used to try and kill the President of the United States and is now in possession of the murder weapon.

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Batman #15

Batman #15In the only comic that has really been focused on the Death of the Family crossover, writer Scott Snyder gives us an awkward standoff between Batman and the Joker and an even more unnecessary rehashing of events with the entire Bat-Family over whether or not the Joker knows who they all really are and why Batman would keep that from them.

The comic picks up from the end of the last issue with Batman trapped by the Joker who keeps flirting with the Dark Knight about knowing all the Bat-Family’s identities without ever proving it. Batman’s escape includes the Dark Knight Detective removing his gloves (off-panel, and for no logical reason shown or discussed in the comic) which allows the Joker to dose Batman with Joker toxin and make his escape.

The New 52 version of the Bat-Universe, in nearly every way from Harley Quinn‘s makeover to the gritty feel of every story, has screamed Arkham Asylum ripoff. I guess it’s fitting then that this is exactly where Snyder was headed all along. The Joker in recent months has taken over the asylum and has been preparing it for a very special party.

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Burn Notice – Odd Man Out

  • Title: Burn Notice – Odd Man Out
  • tv.com: link

burn-notice-odd-man-out

Despite her initial reluctance Maddie (Sharon Gless) joins Michael (Jeffrey Donovan) and the group on the run. Sam (Bruce Campbell) and Jesse (Coby Bell) run into a snag while trying to procure the passport chips from a smuggler associate (Kevin McNally) of Schmidt (Patton Oswalt) who has started taking over Schmidt’s business and plans to hunt down his former competitor and kill him.

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