2.5 Razors

Olympus – The Temple of Gaia / Daedalus

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Olympus – The Temple of Gaia / Daedalus
  • IMDb: link
  • IMDb: link

Olympus - The Temple of Gaia / Daedalus

Olympus is the latest live-action mythological fantasy to find its way to the Syfy Channel. The show’s first two episodes introduce us to an unnamed Mercenary (Tom York) whose name has the power to kill if spoken aloud, an Oracle (Sonya Cassidy) on the run, and the inner circle of the royal family of Athens to which both characters’ destinies are linked. When we first meet our Mercenary he’s taken a job to return the missing Oracle to the temple. Saving the woman from a cyclops and marauders (who are attempting to save her from him), the Mercenary’s payment is nothing but betrayal as he learns the secret to his parentage and why priests and queens will kill to get the knowledge locked in his genes.

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Convergence #0

/ / Comics

Convergence #0For the first time since the launch of the New 52 three-and-half years ago I’m actually excited about a mainstream DC event focused on offering classic versions of heroes from different decades. DC’s major Spring-Summer storyline kicks off her not with a roar but a whimper that despite giving us multiple versions of Braniac feels every bit a New 52 story.

Convergence #0 sets up the premise of the event with Braniac stealing cities from all over the Multiverse for his own collection. However the only hero we see in the first issue is the current version of Superman taken captive by the alien menace who changes form throughout the issue from the classic version to a zombie look and new version with various others in-between including the Bronze Age robotic version and his look from Superman: The New Animated Adventures.

After reading Convergence #0 I have more doubt about the event and whether the number of writers and artists tasked can get the right feel for the various characters. I have no doubt there will be gems to be discovered over the course of multiple months but after this incredibly overpriced $5 kick-off issue I’m less sure about the overall event. Hit-and-Miss.

[DC, $4.99]

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Guilty Pleasure – How to Beat the High Cost of Living

/ / Home Video
  • Title: How to Beat the High Cost of Living
  • IMDb: link

how-to-beat-the-high-cost-of-living-blu-rayReleased in 1980, How to Beat the High Cost of Living starred Susan Saint James, Jane Curtin, and Jessica Lange as an unlikely trio of friends who turn to crime to pay for the high cost of inflation slowly strangling each of their lives when Jane’s (Curtin) husband drains their bank account to run off with his secretary, Louise (Lange) is being sued by her husband (Richard Benjamin) fighting off an IRS audit, and the divorced Jane (Saint James) with a homeless father (Eddie Albert) and three kids is struggling to make ends meet with another baby on the way.

The goofy screenplay by Robert Kaufman involving the three women working to rob a giant glass ball full of money in the local mall during its anniversary sale isn’t exactly high concept, but the three leads, and a supporting cast that includes Benjamin, Albert, Dabney Coleman, and Fred Willard, somehow makes (most of) it work as a guilty pleasure heist flick most memorable for Jane Curtain’s striptease during the middle of the mall robbery.

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Furious 7

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Furious 7
  • IMDb: link

“Cars don’t fly.”

Furious 7The latest entry is neither the best (Fast Five) nor the worst (2 Fast 2 Furious) of the franchise. Taking place after the events of Fast & Furious 6, Furious 7 introduces Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) as the brother of Owen Shaw (Luke Evans), who the team took down in the last movie, and the man responsible for killing Han (Sung Kang) in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. Now Shaw is targeting Hobbs (Dwayne “It’s Okay to Call Me The Rock Again” Johnson) and every member of Dominic Toretto‘s (Vin Diesel) team.

Despite Paul Walker‘s death during filming, Brian O’Conner‘s role in the film isn’t truncated thanks to the use of CGI and a little trick photography involving his two brothers. The film ends with a nice farewell for its fallen star although, despite discussion of making more Fast & Furious films, the character isn’t killed off on-screen making you wonder what kind of role Brian could possibly play going forward.

As with all the previous movies, the strengths of the latest film are its stunts which get larger and more ridiculous. Like the last film, this one stretches all credibility during its climax.

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Backstrom – Give ‘Til It Hurts

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Backstrom – Give ‘Til It Hurts
  • wiki: link

Backstrom - Give 'Til It Hurts

While avoiding his latest mandatory appointment with Dr. Deb (Rizwan Manji), Backstrom (Rainn Wilson) and his unit investigate a rather pedestrian hit-and-run that leaves one wealthy woman dead. Believing the motive for the socialite’s murder is tied to one of the various charities she was involved in, Backstrom and his team go undercover (sort of) and a swanky charity benefit in hopes of discovering the real motive for the murder.

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