The Librarians and the Rise of Chaos

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: The Librarians – And the Rise of Chaos
  • wiki: link

The Librarians and the Rise of Chaos

After the Librarians defeat some druids from using a rune stone (and a giant wicker statue) for nefarious purposes, the team heads to Boston where the Egyptian God of Chaos has inhabited a former Navy man and is using his host in an attempt to release pure evil into the world. It seems things won’t be slowing down for the team this season as the battle between good and evil is just heating up. Aside from the magical threats, this season the team will also have to deal with the Department of Statistical Anomalies which have their own interest in the mystical events (and it seems the wrong perception of the Librarians and their mission).

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Infamous Iron Man #2

/ / Comics

Infamous Iron Man #2Doctor Doom‘s stint as the new Iron Man continues here with the reformed villain paying a visit to another former associate. As with the first issue where Doom confronted Diablo, in Infamous Iron Man #2 Victor von Doom confronts the Mad Thinker. When his associate refuses to see the world through Doom’s new hero-colored lenses, the two fight out their issues.

Along with Doom targeting another villain, the second issue of the new series also features the Thing hunting down the Fantastic Four villain in methods that don’t befit an Avenger or member of the Fantastic Four (including busting his way into the sovereign soil of the Latverian embassy and demanding to see Doom). Sadly, we’ll have to wait until the next issue to see how these former associates work out their issues. (I’m just guessing here, but I’m not expecting them to work over their issues over coffee).

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Star Wars Rebels – Iron Squadron

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Star Wars Rebels – Iron Squadron
  • wiki: link

Star Wars Rebels - Iron Squadron

A forgettable episode in pretty much every respect, “Iron Squadron” introduces the crew of the Ghost to a trio of young Rebels defending their homeworld of Mykapo from the Empire. While the young members of Iron Squadron have been able to fight back a little Imperial presence, the Empire turning their attention to the sector has brought the Ghost in to evacuate the locals and attempt to talk some reason into Iron Squadron before they pick a fight they won’t survive. Although Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) makes a token apperance here, the episode is largely disconnected from the bigger themes of the season. And with the focus of the episode being on (the far less interesting) Iron Squadron, the result is the weakest episode of the show’s Third Season.

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Subpar Prequel and Where to Find It

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
  • IMDb: link

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find ThemHarry Potter Lite? Based on the spin-off novella by J.K. Rowling, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is the first Harry Potter movie without Harry Potter. Taking place decades before Harry’s birth, the story is set in New York with wizard Newt Scamander’s (Eddie Redmayne) arrival in the city with a suitcase full of magical creatures. When some of Scamander’s creatures escape he attempts to hunt them down with the help of some new friends.

The beasts themselves, in all shapes, colors and sizes, are certainly one of the film’s strengths. So to are Redmayne and Dan Fogler as Jacob Kowalski (the non-magical would-be baker who literally stumbles into a world of magic he never knew existed). However, the prequel isn’t without its problems.

First, the film is too long given its simplistic setup. Feeling every bit its 133-minute running time, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them drags in several spots with more than 45 minutes which could be trimmed from its bloated carcass. Even with all this extra filler the film doesn’t feel fully formed as half the work here is, of course, to set-up in inevitable sequels.

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Bleed for This

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Bleed for This
  • IMDb: link

Bleed for This

It would be easy to look at Bleed for This and dismiss it as nothing more than another inspirational sports movie adapting a real-life athlete’s adversity into a feature film. However, that would be a mistake. Bleed for This is better than I expected as the tale of world-champion boxer Vinny Pazienza‘s (Miles Teller) rise, fall, and struggle to reclaim his dream turns out to be worth all the sports cliches you find in such films.

Offering 40 minutes of Vinny’s life before the accident which nearly paralyzed him, writer/director Ben Younger gives the audience plenty of time to learn about Vinny and the unwavering determination which will play a crucial role over the rest of the film.

While some supporting characters outside the boxing ring get the short shaft (Vinny’s girlfriends appear and disappear without ever letting us learn more than a name – if that), the movie hangs on Teller’s performance, and he pulls it off with aplomb. Younger also makes several interesting decisions throughout the film in how he shoots boxing sequences (getting us into the action without shaky cam) and even in one memorable moment dropping all sound completely except for the sound of each punch landing.

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