Rutherford Falls – Pilot

  • Title: Rutherford Falls – Pilot
  • IMDb: link

Rutherford Falls - Pilot television review

The “Pilot” episode of Rutherford Falls introduces us to the sleepy town of Rutherford Falls which won’t remain sleepy for much longer. Our two main characters are Nathan Rutherford (Ed Helms), descendant of the town’s founder and proud owner of its museum, and Reagan Wells (Jana Schmieding), a member of the Minishonka Nation, Nathan’s best-friend, and a woman struggling to get the funding to see her people’s heritage get honored and celebrated in the community. The event that shakes up things in the town is the Mayor’s (Dana L. Wilson) decision to move the statue of the town’s founder which sends Nathan over the edge (leading to a complete meltdown in front of the town). The episode is a fine sitcom pilot, successfully introducing the main characters, teasing Nathan having to reconsider long-held beliefs and compromise, and Reagan becoming more self-assured, while the town’s drama begins to be noticed by the larger world.

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The Protégé

  • Title: The Protégé
  • IMDb: link

The Protégé movie reviewFor having a single writer and no directorial or production upheaval, The Protégé is one hell of a schizophrenic film. I don’t know if director Martin Campbell and screenwriter Richard Wenk had conflicting takes on what the film should be or if The Protégé is simply an example of the final result being far less than the sum of its parts. The action-thriller stars Maggie Q as a bookshop owner/assassin saved as a child from violence in Vietnam by a professional killer (Samuel L. Jackson) who raised and trained her to be his, wait for it, protégé.

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Red Sonja: Black, White, Red #2

Red Sonja: Black, White, Red #2 comic reviewThe black, white, and red anthology series continues with three more tales of Red Sonja from different writers and artists. “Proelium Finalis” features Queen Sonja defending her kingdom against a legion of Lemurians led by Al-Ammon while suggesting the possibility that it might be the warrior’s last battle.

The most comical (and by far the least bloody) of the three tales, “Edible” leads Sonja in search of a missing young girl inside a mysterious bog that wants to devour them both. It’s by her wits, rather than her sword arm, that Red Sonja survives.

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G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero #285

G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero #285 comic review“Murder by Assassination” concludes as the Joes track Al Kawbra to the jungles of Amara Wapoor where they find an army of upgraded Cobra B.A.T.s protecting a secret facility. Although the team is able to fight their way into the facility and ultimately capture their target, Overkill manages to escape with containers full of specialized B.A.T. soldiers foreshadowing some future plan the Joes will have to stop.

Most of the comic centers around the firefight to get into the facility, although several panels are set aside at the end for a final battle between Sherlock and Al Kawbra. The capture of Al Kawbra gives Sherlock some closure to her early journey with G.I. JOE. The character is revealed to be one of the Fred series of Crimson Guards who have troubled the Joes in the past. Although his schemes may have come to an end, the escape of Overkill suggests the events Al Kawbra set into motion are far from finished.

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