2.5 Razors

Red Sonja #22

/ / Comics

Red Sonja #22 comic reviewRed Sonja #22 offers the introduction of a mysterious new character in the Bird Overlord while focusing on Red Sonja‘s quest to kill the child king Cyril, son of Dragan the Magnificent. Most of the action centers around Sonja barely making it out of Cyril’s throne room alive by wounding the giant and then escaping when Cyril uses his magic to nearly squeeze the life out of the She-Devil with a Sword.

I have to admit I was far less interested in the Bird Overlord pieces, including an opening backstory whose narration somewhat fits into Sonja’s desperation as the comic shifts its focus back its title character and a dungeon escape. It’s weaved throughout the issue, leaving me with a mixed reaction.

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The Last Vermeer

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Last Vermeer
  • IMDb: link

The Last Vermeer movie reviewBased on true events, and adapted from 2008’s The Man Who Made Vermeers by Jonathan Lopez, The Last Vermeer is set in 1945 and centers around Captain Joseph Piller (Claes Bang) of the Allied Forces charged with returning art stolen by the Nazis to its rightful owners. Piller’s latest investigation is of art seller Han van Meegeren (Guy Pearce) who is a suspected Nazi collaborator after tracing a sale of one of Johannes Vermeer‘s paintings back to van Meegeren. Over the course of his investigation, and during van Meegeren’s trial, Piller becomes aware of facts which lead him to doubt the suspect’s guilt.

The film’s biggest problem is how the screenplay by James McGee, Mark Fergus, and Hawk Ostby is framed. We’re given the wrong leading man. As a main character, Pillar is your typical bland police officer. The script isn’t helped by subplots spending time delving into his troubled marriage and his feelings for his assistant leading in large part to the melodramatic air of the tale. The trial’s inevitable big reveal, which takes an amazing amount of Hollywood liberties to show off facts the audience has known for an hour or more, is laughably over-the-top.

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Darth Vader #7

/ / Comics

Darth Vader #7 comic reviewCrippled and left to fend for himself on Mustafar, Darth Vader begins putting himself back together again. However, the Emperor has left another surprise in the form of the Sith assassin Ochi who only gives the Dark Lord of the Sith enough time to connect new robotic limbs before beginning his attack.

Ochi’s involvement offers a tie-in to Rise of Skywalker, although it also confirms that both the assassin and Vader will make it through their confrontation alive (since w know Ochi died on Pasaana and Vader on the Second Death Star).

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Operation Christmas Drop

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Operation Christmas Drop
  • IMDb: link

Operation Christmas Drop movie reviewOperation Christmas Drop is your typical schmaltzy holiday fare featuring a character rediscovering the meaning of Christmas. In this case, our leading lady is Kat Graham starring as workaholic Congressional aide Erica who is sent halfway around the world on Christmas by a Grinch of Senator (Virginia Madsen) to find reasons to shut down a military base that dares spread goodwill during the holidays. I half expected Madsen to start looking for Dalmatians to skin as the script by Gregg Rossen and Brian Sawyer requires so many one-note characters to force the plot along.

The military operation that gives the film its title, where U.S. Forces drop crates of humanitarian aid across several isolated islands, has been going strong since 1952 providing the backdrop of the base in Guam and the reason for Erica to be in tropical paradise at Christmas. Alexander Ludwig plays the goodhearted pilot who lives for Christmas and helps the base make the most of the occasion. He’s even able to help rekindle a bit of Christmas spirit within Erica despite the entire reason for her arrival being to deliver a report justifying the base’s closure.

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Star Wars Adventures: Shadow of Vader’s Castle

/ / Comics

Star Wars Adventures: Shadow of Vader’s Castle television reviewThe oversized one-shot returns to one of IDW’s favorite locales for the Star Wars Adventures title – Fortress Vader. The main story that loosely ties together a collection of tales involves two young Mustafarians who get the idea to blow-up Darth Vader‘s fortress following the Empire’s defeat at the Battle of Endor in which the character will apparently play a major role.

The collection of tales center around stories the boys either know or are told about the castle, it’s legend, and curse. Vader’s assistant Vaneé, briefly seen in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story makes an appearance in more than one of the stories which sets the stage for IDW’s next comic Ghosts of Vader’s Castle.

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