2.5 Razors

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – The Frenemy of My Enemy

  • Title: Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – The Frenemy of My Enemy
  • wiki: link

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - The Frenemy of My Enemy

“The Frenemy of My Enemy” is an odd episode all around. While everyone involved in the Inhuman storyline tries to unintentionally sabotage Skye‘s (Chloe Bennet) new life among “her people” Other S.H.I.E.L.D. attempts to track down Coulson (Clark Gregg) through Deathlok (J. August Richards) in a Three’s Company plot device designed to kick-in at the exact wrong moment, view a sequence of perplexing events completely out of context, and lead to a misunderstanding.

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Sharky’s Machine

  • Title: Sharky’s Machine
  • IMDb: link

Sharky's MachineA product of its times Sharky’s Machine feels every bit the early 80s cop drama it is. Adapted from William Diehl‘s novel of the same name Burt Reynolds stars as Police Sergeant Tom Sharky. In the movie’s opening scene the reckless hero cop is demoted from Homicide to Vice after a drug bust goes bad. Stuck in the lowest rungs of the department, Sharky begins investigating a string of high-priced call girls one of whom (Rachel Ward) he falls for while surveilling for weeks.

Slow-moving with much of the plot centered around surveillance of a prostitute’s apartment where not much actually happens, Sharky’s Machine is an R-rated film that could probably be shown today on prime-time network television today except for language and a dark final act involving the torture of our hero. It’s also filled with bizarre WTF? moments (such as when a police informant is killed by ninjas). And it features some old school Bond-style romancing of damsels in distress by slapping them around a bit when necessary.

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Olympus – Ring of the Magi

  • Title: Olympus – Ring of the Magi
  • IMDb: link

Olympus - Ring of the Magi

The Mercenary (Tom York), the Oracle (Sonya Cassidy), and Daedalus (Matt Frewer) continue their search for the ring of the Magi which is stalled both by Daedalus’ betrayal and by the travelers being captured by Queen Medea’s (Sonita Henry) minions. The episode also introduces the true purpose of the ring, the secrets locked within the Mercenary’s genetic code, and a new group of characters known as the Magi might not to be walk with the gods in Olympus but destroy them forever.

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Olympus – The Temple of Gaia / Daedalus

  • 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

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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