Detective Comics #959

Detective Comics #959 comic reviewOn one hand Detective Comics #959 is a middle issue of an Azrael arc. I’ll be honest, that’s not going to grab my attention or keep it, by itself, for that long. It appears the Order of St. Dumas, who programmed Azrael and sent him out in the world as their agent of change and vengeance, got tired of him choosing his own path and put together something even more fearsome in their new acolyte Ascalon. While the latest issue doesn’t offer much more information about the new threat, it does foreshadow a possible issue with Azrael looming in the very near future.

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Dark Matter – One More Card to Play

  • Title: Dark Matter – All the Time in the World
  • wiki: link

Dark Matter - One More Card to Play TV review

“One More Card to Play” picks up the thread of the Rasa’s missing doppelgangers from the parallel universe when the alternate versions of Portia (Melissa O’Neil) and Boone (Anthony Lemke) steal a Zairon transport ship, betray one the crew’s few remaining allies, and attempt to steal the Rasa. While the plan ulimately fails due to extra contingency plans by Five (Jodelle Ferland) and the Android (Zoie Palmer), the entire series of events ends in a stalemate with the other crew still at large (and now in possession of their own ship).

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Spider-Man: Homecoming

  • Title: Spider-Man: Homecoming
  • IMDb: link

Spider-Man: Homecoming movie reviewSpider-Man: Homecoming presents a problem that Marvel and it’s tightly-connected Marvel Cinematic Universe has been able to avoid… until now. Having not yet relaunched any of the Marvel Cinenamatic characters, Marvel hasn’t had to deal with recasting and repackaging the same old stories. Working with Sony, there’s no doubt this is a MCU movie, and not only because of the appearances of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau), and a cameo so good I wouldn’t think of ruining it here. For the most part, writer-director Jon Watts and his five (FIVE!?) other screenwriters succeed in building on the character’s small role in Captain America: Civil War.

Tom Holland returns as Peter Parker. Other than being a bit too buff, Holland’s take works well. Despite his good intentions and smarts, Peter continues to get himself in over his head (both in and out of costume) while failing to juggle his life as Peter Parker and as a web-spinning vigilante. And while I’m on the subject of webs, let me say that the comic nerd in me is happy that the new franchise has kept web-shooters as Peter’s creation rather than Sam Raimi‘s choice to go with organic web-shooters.

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The Big Sick

  • Title: The Big Sick
  • IMDb: link

The Big Sick movie reviewWell, here’s an unique love story. Adapted from the true events of his own life, and co-written by his wife, The Big Sick stars Kumail Nanjiani as comedian and Uber driver Kumail whose relationship with Emily (Zoe Kazan) goes into a rough patch just prior to her being put into a medically-induced coma for an illness doctors struggle to properly diagnose. With Emily hospitalized, Kumail finds himself in the uncomfortable position of dealing with her parents (Holly Hunter and Ray Romano), and the expectations of his own parents (Anupam Kher and Zenobia Shroff) concerning his future.

Not as dark (or unconventional) as it sounds, The Big Sick fits pretty easily in the dramedy category with pieces of the real events exaggerated for either comedic or dramatic effect (or sometimes both). While it certainly has some romantic comedy leanings, the best parts of the movie come not from the conflict but the building of relationships, first between Kumail and Emily and later between Kumail and her parents. If you’ve seen the trailer you’ve seen almost all the film’s best jokes, but there’s still an enjoyable (if predictable) story to watch unfold.

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