2 Razors

Phantom Lady and Doll Man #1

/ / Comics

The reintroduction of a Golden Age character and a cover that resembled something published by Image Comics rather than the grittier version of DC’s current New 52 piqued my interest enough to pick this one up. It’s not exactly what I expected.

Based on the cover and title I was hoping for a somewhat goofy adventure/super-hero comic. What writers Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti deliver instead is organized crime comic centered around a completely brand new character who steals most of the backstory of the second (and now shelved) version of the Huntress – Helena Bertinelli. Seriously, it’s almost the exact same origin including the young girl watching her father die gangster style from the shadows and growing up seeking vigilante justice.

Phantom Lady was originally introduced way back in the Golden Age by Quality Comics in 1941. Over the years there have been several versions of the character including three different characters using the name in the DCU after DC Comics acquired the rights to the character in 1956.

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Margaret

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Margaret
  • IMDB: link

Completed and originally scheduled for theaterical release in 2007 Margaret, writer/director Kenneth Lonergan‘s film about a self-absorbed teenage girl (Anna Paquin) whose life is affected by a bus crash she witnessed (and inadvertently helped cause) was finally released in theaters last year to mixed results. Maybe it should have stayed on the shelf a little longer.

The Blu-ray of the film includes the theatrical cut of the film as well as a DVD with the director’s extended 186-minute version. Although the movie provides several strong performances, the extended cut features extended cutaways, random shots of New York set to an operatic score, often buries the conversation of the main characters among the bustle of New York City, and gives us several subplots that never really fit together, creating a pretentious mess that is often more maddening than entertaining.

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Mirror Mirror

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Mirror Mirror
  • IMDB: link

mirror-mirror-blu-rayDirected by Tarsem Singh (The Cell, The Fall) Mirror Mirror was the first of two movies this year adapting the fairy tale of Snow White for the big screen. Mirror Mirror, much like Snow White and the Huntsman, is a bit of a mixed bag. The film definitely targets a younger audience with its PG Rating, but Lily Collins‘ Snow White is a pretty drab leading lady (at least until she starts her bandit career), and, despite what we’re told in the film’s opening narration, this is certainly Snow White’s tale and not that of the Queen (Julia Roberts).

After a brief opening narration, the film opens on Snow White’s 18th birthday where she ventures out into the village for the first time since the death of her father, the King (Sean Bean), years before. On her journey she will learn just how ruthless the Queen has become, meet a charming young prince (Armie Hammer) and a motley crew of dwarf thieves pretending to be giants, and find a way to live happily ever after.

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Red Hood and the Outlaws #10

/ / Comics

red-hood-and-the-outlaws-10-coverKori is approached by Orn, a former comrade, who enlists the princess’ help to save her homeworld. Soon Arsenal, Red Hood, and Jason’s date for the evening find themselves on Tamarian battle cruiser with Starfire preparing for war.

Although the story introduces the new arc I’ll admit to being a little lost as Starfire’s choice to return home (to save a people who enslaved her) doesn’t really sit well with the New 52 version of the character. We get short reunions with Starfire and members of the ship’s crew (with more revelations for the heroine’s past to come), but “the Blight,” the invading alien force, is pretty damn generic.

The issue also begins an ongoing back-up story of Essence and a man with a “Life Hammer” hunting the Untitled (who he may, or may not, once been a part of – clarity is not this issue’s strong suit).

Although it has some fun moments (including Jason’s date), the latest issue is by far the weakest of the series so far. Hit-and-Miss.

[DC, $2.99]

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Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Journey 2: The Mysterious Island
  • IMDb: link

journey-2-the-mysterious-island-blu-ray

Although Journey 2: The Mysterious Island returns only a single character from 2008’s Journey to the Center of the Earth the sequel feels very much like a retread of the same adventure. Once again we get the teenager on a quest to find a lost family member with the help of an older authority figure in the middle of a Jules Vernian landscape come to life.

In an attempt to bond with his stepson, Hank (Dwayne Johnson) agrees to take a trip to find Jules Verne’s Mysterious Island after Sean (Josh Hutcherson) deciphers a code sent from his grandfather (Michael Caine) who went missing a few months ago. The pair enlist the help of a Pacific helicopter pilot (Luis Guzmán) and his daughter (Vanessa Hudgens) and soon the foursome find themselves stranded on the island no one, other than Sean, really believed existed.

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