Ender’s Game

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Ender’s Game
  • IMDB: link

Ender's GameA longtime fan of Orson Scott Card’s book, I was pleased enough with the recent adaptation of Ender’s Game to the big screen to find a spot for it on my Top 13 Movies of 2013. The movie holds up well on Blu-ray as we follow young Ender Wiggin‘s (Asa Butterfield) story as child prodigy sent to Battle School to transform him into to humanity’s best hope in their war against the ant-like race known as Formics.

Adapted and directed by Gavin Hood, the script streamlines Ender’s journey while ignoring large subplots from the book including that of Ender’s siblings (Abigail Breslin, Jimmy ‘Jax’ Pinchak) on Earth after his departure. What the film does deliver on is the complicated character study of a child genius striving to understand the aggression both in himself and the enemy he will be ordered to destroy, all set inside a collection of amazing effects and production design. For more on the film check out my original review.

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Astro City #9

/ / Comics

Astro City #9As the conspiracy behind framing Winged Victory as a super-villain continues, the heroine is forced to abandon her schools. Continuing to investigate the elaborate frame, the Samaritan and The Confessor urge the heroine to go into hiding until they can uncover the proof to clear her name.

Winged Victory’s only respite comes from answering the call of the voice which has slowly grown in strength over recent days. On an inaupsicious rooftop garden she will come face-to-face with one the Council of Nike (those whose power flows through her veins) who offers the hero the story of her only life, a brief moment of rest, and the support to continue to fight for her cause.

Although the overall story isn’t advanced much (the investigation hits dead ends and the evidence against Winged Victory mounts), in terms of exploring the effect of the attack on the hero Astro City #9 works well. And before it’s over we get the tease of how the young man who came to her door just before her world started crashing down might have a big role to play in the arc’s final issue next month. Worth a look.

[Vertigo, $3.99]

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Star Wars #14

/ / Comics

Star Wars #14The second-half of Ensign Nanda‘s five days with Darth Vader on a secret mission of revenge concludes with Vader collecting Tag Rogaren from the asteroid fields of Alderaan and swiftly dealing with the elite Stormtroopers who decide they’d rather turn in the man for a bounty than see him returned to the Empire.

The final piece of the puzzle locks into place when Vader and Nanda head to Bircher‘s homeworld and discover the traitor’s connection to Mon Mothma whose family home the Dark Lord of the Sith obliterates from low orbit with Nanda as the only silent witness to his actions.

I’m sorry to see what has been the best arc of the series so far come to and end. Although Nanda survives her two days with the most dangerous man in the known universe, and even gets what was promised to her, we see how the emotional scars left from the five days will last a lifetime. Best of the Week.

[Dark Horse, $2.99]

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Sherlock – The Complete Third Season

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Sherlock – Series Three
  • wiki: link

Sherlock - The Complete Third SeasonSherlock Holmes‘ (Benedict Cumberbatch) return from the dead, the marriage of John Watson (Martin Freeman) to Mary (Amanda Abbington), and a new evil enemy in Charles Augustus Magnussen (Lars Mikkelsen) at the three major storylines to dominate the show’s Third Season. The season’s first episode deals primarily with Holmes attempting to repair his relationship with Watson as he returns to London to stop a terrorist attack. It’s the season’s middle episode, however which is the real standout not only for the humor that is offered by Watson’s wedding (and bachelor party), but also because its the only episode that centers on a real mystery.

Sadly the season ends on a down note with the weakest episode of the series to date involving a twist for Mary and a new adversary who actually is proven smarter than Holmes. Ending on a cliffhanger by teasing the possibility of a return of Moriarty (Andrew Scott) from the dead for as well, the Third Season is a bit of a mixed bag containing only a couple of short featurettes on Sherlock’s return and the villains of the series.

[BBC Home Entertainment, DVD $29.98 / Blu-ray $39.98]

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Kate Mara heats up GQ

/ / Books & Magazines

Kate Mara - GQ (March 2014)

Helping promote the return of House of Cards to Netflix, actress Kate Mara can be found in March issue of GQ for both an interview and photo shoot. In her interview Mara discusses the how serious her family takes NY Giant football games, the new season of House of Cards, the Rooney “Tricia,” and working on Transcendence with Johnny Depp, You can find the pics inside.

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