2.5 Razors

Birds of Prey #15

/ / Comics

birds-of-prey-15-coverWhile Gail Simone‘s Secret Six has been consistently good, this run of Birds of Prey is best described as a shadow of its former self. Part of the blame has to go Brightest Day which saddled the team with a pair of members (Hawk and Dove) who never really meshed with the group, but although this volume has had its flashes (such as the Catman and Huntress issue) it has seemed in need of major tweaking for awhile now.

I was surprised that Simone wasn’t on hand to do the final two-issue adventure, but writer Marc Andreyko does manage to breathe a little life back into the book (with absence of Hawk and Dove), even if the story itself, involving a Nazi scientist, clones, and mental displacement, is pretty lame.

That said, the issue is an improvement over part one and does have some nice moments between Zinda Blake and the Phantom Lady. I also thought Manhunter worked pretty well with the team. Is it a great finale? No, not really, but for a comic that has struggled to live up to its own legacy (and struggles here without its trademark writer) it’s about what I expected. Hit-and-Miss.

[DC, $2.99]

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Torchwood: Miracle Day – The Middle Men

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Torchwood: Miracle Day – The Middle Men
  • tv.com: link

torchwood-miracle-day-middle-men

As Rex (Mekhi Phifer) and Esther (Alexa Havins) discover the truth in the Los Angeles overflow camp Gwen (Eve Myles) and Rhys (Kai Owen) attempt go save her father from the same fate of Vera (Arlene Tur) and countless others who have deemed undesirables and burned alive in giant ovens.

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Torchwood: Miracle Day – The Middle Men Read More »

30 Minutes or Less

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: 30 Minutes or Less
  • IMDB: link

30-minutes-or-less-posterLoosely based on real story Jesse Eisenberg stars as slacker pizza deliver guy Nick who is kidnapped by two slackjawed buffoons (Danny McBride, Nick Swardson) who strap a bomb to Nick’s chest and give him 10 hours to rob a bank. Don’t you hate it when that happens?

Nick must quickly make up with his best friend (Aziz Ansari), who he recently had a falling out with, and come up with a plan to save his life. Despite having everything to loose, Chet (Ansari) agrees to help Nick rob a bank with a plan that makes the guys from Bottle Rocket look like the Ocean’s Eleven crew.

Somehow 30 Minutes or Less wins a prize for being overly simplistic and convoluted at the same time. I’m still not sure exactly how screenwriter Michael Diliberti managed to do this. It turns out McBride and Swardson don’t want the $100,000 for themselves but as a down payment for a hitman (Michael Peña), the boyfriend of a stripper (Bianca Kajlich) they have just met, to kill McBride’s character’s father (Fred Ward). Did you follow all that?

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Flashpoint #4

/ / Comics

flashpoint-4-coverOne of the most intriguing redesigns of the Flashpoint universe was Captain Marvel. Instead of Billy Batson alone calling on the magic of Shazam, he is one of six hosts who together all form Captain Thunder. The lightning also transforms Tawky Tawny into something which can only be referred to as Battle Cat. Now c’mon, that’s kinda cool.

The problem is after introducing Captain Thunder in the first issue of Flashpoint he’s been M.I.A. ever since. This issue rectifies the situation by having Batman and his team come to Billy and his friends to help the Flash. Sounds good right? Captain Thunder even agrees to help the team take on the Amazons and Aquaman.

Trouble is, even in the Flashpoint universe DC Comics seems intent on limiting the number of pages Captain Marvel can appear. The team is betrayed and Billy Batson is killed. But at least I’ll get to see him in the new DC Reboot, right? Oh, Captain Marvel isn’t part of that either? Sigh. Hit-and-Miss.

[DC, $3.99]

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Cowboys and Aliens

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Cowboys and Aliens
  • IMDB: link

cowboys-and-aliens-posterIt begins with a cowboy waking up in the desert with no memory of who he is and ends with cowboys and Indians fighting aliens for gold. Yeah, you heard me, gold.

Although I enjoyed it, with a title like Cowboys and Aliens I expected the film to be a little zanier, goofier, and far more of a fun summer popcorn flick. What director Jon Favreau delivers is entertaining, at times, but it also feels unimaginative and uninspired.

After waking up in the desert without any memories, Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig) makes his way to the nearest town. Almost immediately he gets into a tussle with the son (Paul Dano) of the town’s wealthiest man (Harrison Ford), is thrown in jail for a train robbery, and shoots down a giant alien spacecraft with a strange metal bracelet attached to his arm. You know, just your everyday activities in the Old West.

When several of the townsfolk are taken Jake is roped into helping rescue them as well as a woman (Abigail Spencer) from his past he thinks may have been taken as well.

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