Alone since the loss of Amy (Karen Gillan) and Rory (Arthur Darvill), The Doctor‘s (Matt Smith) travels have led him to 1892 England into semi-retirement… at least until he meets an unusual young barmaid/governess named Clara Oswin Oswald (Jenna-Louise Coleman) and a miser (Richard E. Grant) mysteriously tied to killer snowmen which feed on the thoughts and fears of human beings.
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Doctor Who – The Snowmen Read More »
With Inglourious Basterds writer/director Quentin Tarantino strode a fine line between between drama and revenge fantasy in his depiction of a select group of Jewish soldiers taking on the Nazis during WWII.
With his latest, Tarantino returns to the well of his revenge fantasy, the theme he’s been stuck on for nearly an entire decade (since 2003’s Kill Bill Vol. 1), to push the envelope even farther with a blaxploitation western that leaves good taste in the dust. If there’s ever a film that so thoroughly argues for a director to be shackled to studio pressure it’s the inarguable trainwreck that is Django Unchained.
Jamie Foxx stars as Django, a slave freed by a bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) in need of his help to hunt down and kill the Speck brothers (James Remar, James Russo). After Django shows promise, Shultz (Waltz) agrees to train the newly freed slave in the art of bounty hunting and help retrieve Django’s wife (Kerry Washington) from a ruthless plantation owner (Leonardo DiCaprio).
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Tarantino Unchained Read More »
As someone who has never read Victor Hugo’s novel nor seen the musical adaptation on stage I was hardly going in to Les Misérables completely blind, but I was certainly coming from a different perspective from that of people who know either version of the source material by heart.
Clocking in with a running time of more than two-and-a-half hours, Les Misérables refuses to skimp in big set pieces (such as the opening sequence set in the Bagne of Toulon), large themes (faith, freedom, liberty, and morality), or filling out its roster with several big name stars.
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I put Marvel’s .1 issues in the same unnecessary column as DC’s Zero issues and foil comic covers. Marvel has no problem releasing multiple comics for a paticular title during the same month (hell, it’s become common practice for Marvel NOW!) and slapping a .1 on the cover (which originally meant a reintroduction to the character) doesn’t really mean the same thing anymore because of the sheer number of these the House of Ideas has pushed out.
That said, Scarlet Spider #12.1 is an interesting read. I’d call it a one-shot, featuring Houston’s hero taking on white slavery, but the fact is the comic lays the groundwork for huge changes for our killer turned hero (which, when you think about it, is kind of a dick move for a .1 issue to do).
While tracking a killer whose mark reminds Kaine of his past, the Scarlet Spider takes on the gangs of Houston and The Hand who have shown up to make their presence known in the port city. And, if that news isn’t bad enough for our hero, the Kingpin appears to have major plans for Houston as well. Worth a look.
[Marvel, $2.99]
Scarlet Spider #12.1 Read More »
Had I paid a little more attention odds are I wouldn’t have picked up this latest issue of Fables. Instead of a one-shot or the start of a new arc, the issue is wholly devoted to the final three chapters of the back-up story “A Revolution of Oz” (which has been running for the past several months) and the further adventures of Bufkin and Lily Martagon. That’s not to say what writer Bill Willingham delivers here is bad, it’s just the fact that I haven’t been reading the back-up story and felt a little lost for the first few pages.
That said, the further adventures of Bufkin and Lily, even if it seems to be all 80’s style montage, is actually quite a bit of fun delivering a love story, fights for freedom, a mad scientist, weird transformations, and the peaceful end to an adventurous life.
Odds are those who have been keeping up with the backup story and know these characters far better than I are going to get more out of this issue than I did, but even for someone jumping in blind there’s still plenty here that’s worth a look.
[Vertigo, $2.99]
