Usagi Yojimbo: The Dragon Bellow Conspiracy #6

/ / Comics

The reprinting of the classic Usagi Yojimbo storyline “The Dragon Bellow Conspiracy” concludes here in the aftermath of the defeat of Lord Tamakuro and his planned uprising. Mostly an extended epilogue to the earlier events of the series, both Miyamoto Usagi and Gen separately say their farewells, declining service to Lord Noriyuki before returning to their lives as wandering ronin.

The rest of the issue deals with the fate of the wounded Zato-Ino who is rescued and taken to an isolated village. Although planning to move on when healed, he provides service by dispatching a gang of bandits troubling the town (in the issue’s one big action sequence) who become more violent after realizing the bounty on the town’s new resident. He loses his loyal companion in the process, but finds a new home to call his own and the chance to begin a different life.

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The Lost Symbol – Order Eight

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: The Lost Symbol – Order Eight
  • IMDb: link

The search for portal and the mysterious power continues as Robert (Ashley Zukerman) uncovers a clue on the pyramid and hopes to use that knowledge to lure Mal’akh (Beau Knapp). Of course, things don’t go as planned. Much of the episode is devoted to more clue deciphering, with increasing ridiculousness making it feel like the worst possible National Treasure sequel, we also get Robert and the FBI betraying each other, and Mal’akh quite easily seeing through the ploy. The episode also teases the power of the technology Mal’akh got from the Freemasons, and how its ability to create specific frequencies might play into his plans to unlock the power he is searching for. By the end of the episode, the madman has once again outplayed the other characters and taken one step closer to his goal.

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Ghostbusters: Afterlife

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Ghostbusters: Afterlife
  • IMDb: link

It’s impossible to make a Ghostbusters film funny as the original; even the original cast and crew could only muster up Ghostbusters II. Realizing this, Ghosbusters: Afterlife takes an unexpected approach of not offering a comedy but rather instead a family drama wrapped in the trappings of the Ghostbusters franchise. The choice is likely to surprise and anger some fans. Sure, there’s humor (much of it from Paul Rudd as the wacky summer school teacher), but the driving momentum behind the story isn’t for big laughs but for the family, and their new friends, coming together to save the town, and the world, from ghosts.

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King Richard

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: King Richard
  • IMDb: link

King Richard offers a different type of sports biopic with the focus not on the athlete, coach, or team, but on the father of a pair of promising young tennis players. The fairly conventional film showcases the unconventional path to tennis stardom Richard Williams (Will Smith) led his daughters Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena (Demi Singleton) to while pissing off pretty much everyone in the tennis world.

Because of how early the film is set, ending on Venus’ professional debut (which doesn’t paint a flattering picture of her opponent Arantxa Sánchez Vicario played by Marcela Zacarias), and how little the Williams sisters played in junior tennis, the younger Serena draws the short straw here and we don’t get as much tennis as you may expect. What King Richard does offers is a character study of the often rigid Richard Williams and the environment that raised two tennis stars who would change the sport.

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