Blood & Treasure – The Secret of Macho Grande

  • Title: Blood & Treasure – Code of the Hawaladar
  • IMDb: link

Blood & Treasure - The Secret of Macho Grande TV review

Danny (Matt Barr) and Lexi (Sofia Pernas) head to Germany in search of the castle where the Nazis hid Cleopatra’s sarcophagus during WWII. Although they have found the latest clue before Farouk (Oded Fehr), his men are close behind. “The Secret of Macho Grande” plays up the clues and secret tombs and our intrepid explorer and his ex-girlfriend thief discover hidden code by a a secret society pointing them to yet another location on their treasure hunt. The episode is notable for Lexi coming face-to-face with the man responsible for her father’s death and Danny getting trapped in the tomb as the enemy absconds with his ex. Given what we’ve seen so far, I’m betting neither will be much of an obstacle for too long. Flashbacks bring back James Callis as antiquities dealer Simon Hardwick, suggesting he’s more involved in the web of Cleopatra, Farouk, Danny, and Lexi than his initial appearance suggested.

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Daredevil #6

Daredevil #6 comic reviewTwo things have been true for Matt Murdock for most of the character’s comic run. First, he is a lawyer (mostly defense attorney, though he has dabbled as a prosecutor). (He was also mayor and the head of the Hand… the less said about both the better). Second, he enjoys putting on red spandex and jumping off of rooftops. Neither of these things is true in the latest incarnation.

It has been eight weeks since Daredevil has been seen in New York. Murdock has moved on to a new job as a parole officer, using his enhanced senses to scare his clients onto the straight and narrow path. In the meantime, the Kingpin‘s unfocused rage continues to search for his target and the cop who has been hunting Daredevil for months finds himself under siege from the Kingpin’s goons.

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Good Omens – The Book

  • Title: Good Omens – The Book
  • IMDb: link

Good Omens - The Book TV review

The second episode of Good Omens introduces a few more characters into the fold as it jauntily strolls towards the end of the world. Adria Arjona (Pacific Rim: Uprising, Emerald City) is introduced as Anathama Device, the last decedent of witch Agnes Nutter (Josie Lawrence) who prophesied all that has happened and all that is yet to come. Despite knowing where to look, Anathama doesn’t recognize the Antichrist when she runs into Adam and his friends (or an angel and demon when she runs into them later that night). The explanation for the trouble in finding the boy comes from Crowley (David Tennant) who offhandedly remarks on the the spawn of Satan’s adaptive camouflage in place to hide his existence until the time is right. We also get a flashback to Agnes as well, and her book of predictions which gives the episode its title and unexpectedly falls into the hands Aziraphale (Michael Sheen) when Crowley runs over Anathama with his car.

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X-Men: Dark Phoenix – The Last Stand (Really This Time)

  • Title: X-Men: Dark Phoenix
  • IMDb: link

X-Men: Dark Phoenix movie reviewAbandoning any further attempts to reconnect with the original timeline in Bryan Singer’s X-Men, Dark Phoenix offers Sony a second chance at the “Dark Phoenix Saga,” so thoroughly botched in X-Men: The Last Stand. Set in the early 1990s where the X-Men have gone from outcasts to national heroes, the film centers around Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner as X-Man Jean Grey struggling to deal with new powers after exposure to a cosmic entity that overwhelms her personality and breaks down walls in her mind meant to hide traumatic events.

Dark Phoenix clears the lowest bar fairly easily, it’s better than X-Men: The Last Stand. Then again, so is a lukewarm Diet Coke. While Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, and James McAvoy are all holdovers from X-Men: First Class, the film primarily focuses on Jean Grey who was only introduced in (the mostly forgettable) X-Men: Apocalypse forcing fans to think back to Famke Janssen‘s performance to have any real connection to the character. It doesn’t help that Jean’s main relationships in the film are with the bland Tye Sheridan as the boyfriend with which she shares no on-screen chemistry or Professor X (McAvoy) in full-on asshole mode for most of the film.

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Zorro: Sacrilege #1

Zorro: Sacrilege #1 comic reviewWhile further issues promise to take the mini-series down another strange occult/demonic storyline, the first issue of Zorro: Sacrilege is more classic Zorro storytelling involving the powerful taking advantage of the poor (some of whom are forced to work in the dangerous mine and others who are given specific commands by those in power). The issue finds Don Diego on the road, traveling to a monastery in Santa Leticia after a personal loss and still keeping up the pretense of the oblivious lazy landowner.

Despite appearances, Zorro’s instincts are on point and it doesn’t take too long for our hero to discover something is rotten at the core. His keen observational skills also take notice of a woman working on the grounds.

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