2.5 Razors – Page 83 – RazorFine Review

Project Power

Alan Rapp / August 21, 2020 / Home Video

Title: Project Power
IMDb: link

There’s an intriguing kernel of an idea in Project Power about the possibility of a drug that could deliver short-term super-powers. Set in New Orleans where the drug has popped-up, we’re introduced to morally-ambiguous but self-righteous cop Frank Shaver (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who uses the drug to fight off criminals using the drug to get away with crimes. Frank buys the drugs from a teenager (Dominique Fishback), who is a nice drug dealer that only sells drugs to get her mother much needed surgery just like Frank is a nice drug user only taking Power in order to become temporarily invincible and take down those with worse intentions.

That’s enough for story for the film to delve into, but there’s also a former soldier calling himself Major (Jamie Foxx) rousting local dealers in hopes of working his way up the chain to the supplier. As for the supplier, the script feels a bit unsure if they are government or corporate (we know from Frank that the experiments started in the United States Armed Forces, but we see no actual government agents at work other than a couple of Men in Black stand-ins who are never identified).

…

Project PowerRead More »

Project Power Read More »

Wizards: Tales of Arcadia – Spellbound

Alan Rapp / August 9, 2020 / Television Reviews

Title: Wizards: Tales of Arcadia – Spellbound
IMDb: link

The first episode of Netflix’s Wizards: Tales of Arcadia is a bit of a mess. It offers unnamed villains, ill-defined heroes, and because our characters are transported to a different world at the end of the episode it doesn’t even adequately explore the world in which the story will take place. The only character we really get to know in “Spellbound” is Douxie (Colin O’Donoghue), an apprentice to Merlin (David Bradley) for a thousand years who has yet to prove himself. After a brief opening scene in Camelot, the series jumps forward 900 years to modern times where Douxie, who apparently has spent most of that time sweeping floors while workshopping his magic, receives an appearance by Merlin who informs the apprentice it is time to gather up the Guardians (of who? what do they guard? apparently they don’t know either?).

…

Wizards: Tales of Arcadia – SpellboundRead More »

Wizards: Tales of Arcadia – Spellbound Read More »

October Faction – Presidio

Alan Rapp / August 4, 2020 / Television Reviews

Title: Presidio – Presidio
wiki: link

The first episode of October Faction introduces us to monster hunters Fred (J.C. MacKenzie) and Deloris (Tamara Taylor) who head back to their hometown with their son Geoff (Gabriel Darku) and daughter Viv (Aurora Burghart) after the death of Fred’s father (Stephen McHattie) who was also a member of the shadow agency. “Presidio” doesn’t offer much in the way of monsters other than a short tease prior to the credits and a relatively uneventful encounter back home at the supermarket. Instead, the episode mainly centers around the wake for the departed patriarch while dropping breadcrumbs who the monsters are and beginning a confusing subplot about the daughter’s mystical abilities (which may or may not have been linked to a carnival fortune teller machine?). I may eventually circle back around to October Faction, but the first episode doesn’t do enough to sell me on the adaptation of the IDW comic just yet.

…

October Faction – PresidioRead More »

October Faction – Presidio Read More »

6 Underground

Alan Rapp / July 31, 2020 / Home Video

Title: 6 Underground
IMDb: link

Even for a Michael Bay film, 6 Underground is a dumb action flick which isn’t much more than problematic story used to tie together a series of impressive action sequences. Despite these limitations, the film offers some basic dumb fun largely due to a cast better than its source material and several lengthy stunts including parkour, magnets, car chases, guns, explosions, and lots of dead bodies.

Our heroes are a no-name team brought together by billionaire turned would-be savior (Ryan Reynolds) who operates a private group hoping to do good in the world by performing coup d’etat (apparently under the nose of every intelligence organization on the planet). His team includes a spy (Mélanie Laurent), hitman (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), acrobatic thief (Ben Hardy), doctor (Adria Arjona), driver (Dave Franco), and sniper (Corey Hawkins).

The group’s mission, what we’re told is the first of many, after a botched opening mission that left one of them dead, involves taking down a foreign head of state (Lior Raz) and replacing the dictator with his more moderate brother (Payman Maadi).

…

6 UndergroundRead More »

6 Underground Read More »

The Witcher – The End’s Beginning / Four Marks

Alan Rapp / July 29, 2020 / Television Reviews

Title: The Witcher – The End’s Beginning / Four Marks
wiki: link
wiki: link

As one who never read the fantasy series on which the series is based or played the various video games inspired by the novels, I found the first episode of The Witcher perplexing. “The End’s Beginning” offers two disconnected tales. The first involves the introduction of the title character, a wandering nomad and monster killer Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill) who is a Witcher. Just what a Witcher is the episode doesn’t take much effort to explain. The other story involves a princess named Ciri (Freya Allan) and the fall of her kingdom. Both characters are touched by magic, the Witcher being stronger and faster than mortal men and Ciri holding a hidden power only glimpsed at as she flees the burning remains of her home. While touching on both these tales, the second episode introduces an entirely separate thread involving a woman with a twisted spine but hidden gifts for magic as well who is purchased for a meager sum by a witch (MyAnna Buring) with plans for Yennefer (Anya Chalotra).

…

The Witcher – The End’s Beginning / Four MarksRead More »

The Witcher – The End’s Beginning / Four Marks Read More »