May 2014

The Flash #31

The Flash #31I’ve got very mixed reactions on the latest issue of The Flash. On one-hand the new creative team offers up a storyline involving the theft of Central City villain weapons leading to a future peek at an old-style Mirror Master adventure complete with original costume, gun and hall of mirrors. Set 16 years in the future (is that how long we have to wait for The Rogues to be cool again?), and the future version of Barry Allen working his way back through time, it’s the strongest part of the comic by far.

Sadly the current storyline, other than Barry discovering the theft of the weapons, leaves much to be desired. Brett Booth’s choice to feature that awful yellow piping of the Flash’s costume in every frame goes from distracting to downright infuriating before long. And the continuing B-story does nothing to sell me on the New 52 Wally West who continues to share far too many bad traits with the rebooted schmuck version of Billy Batson. The cover is also one of the weakest of the series, however if you want to spend some extra cash you can shell out for Mike Allred‘s fun classic-style variant. Hit-and-Miss.

[DC, $2.99]

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Vampire Academy kinda sucks

  • Title: Vampire Academy
  • IMDB: link

Vampire AcademyBased on the series of young-adult novels by Richelle Mead, Vampire Academy is a mash-up of Harry Potter, Underworld, and Mean Girls that is far less interesting than it sounds. Set in an actual Vampire Academy, the story centers around a vampire princess (Lucy Fry) and her half-human/half-vampire protector and best-friend (Zoey Deutch) traversing not only the terrors of high school but a much dangerous plot as well.

The confusing tale of vampires, mind-control, magic, teen drama, student vs. teacher dynamics, secrets, and first love is a clunky mess only saved, at times, by Deutch whose charms are wasted on this dog of a film that struggles to make use of a large ensemble which includes Sarah Hyland, Olga Kurylenko, and Gabriel Byrne.

Released on both Blu-ray and DVD, extras include an alternate opening better explaining the three vampiric races, a short introduction by Mead, and a collection of deleted scenes. The Blu-ray also includes an Ultraviolet digital copy of the movie.

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The Pretender – A Virus Among Us

  • Title: The Pretender – A Virus Among Us
  • wiki: link

The Pretender - A Virus Among Us

Searching for the truth about a missing scientist of the Regional Infectious Disease Authority, Jarod (Michael T. Weiss) assumes the role of a scientist specializing in viruses and deadly diseases. While discovering that one of the missing man’s colleagues (Jon Polito) was working off the books on mutating a deadly level-4 virus into a level-5, Jarod learns the truth of what happened to the missing husband and father.

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Black Canary and Zatanna – Bloodspell

Black Canary and Zatanna - BloodspellFishnets Unite! Taking place in a glorious world before DC’s New 52 reboot, this graphic novel from writer Paul Dini and artist Joe Quinones unites Black Canary and Zatanna on case involving a dead killer and a blood curse which threatens Dinah’s life. Offering us a glimpse at the pair’s friendship over the years which began with a snowball fight on a Himalayan mountain, Dini and Quinones provide one of the most satisfying and FUN stories from DC that either heroine has been involved with in years.

The logic of the story itself is a little odd (did Black Canary really need to go undercover to take down this gang?), but the execution and choice to center it around two DC’s most intriguing female figures, each of whom has made some questionable wardrobe choices over the years (also on display here), is an enjoyable read ending with a madcap final act involving the ghost jumping bodies pitting the pair against each other. Hopefully this refreshing old school take on the characters will prove successful enough to inspire DC to release other such projects. I certainly hope so.

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