3.5 Razors

Detective Comics #551

Throwback Tuesday takes us back to another classic adventure involving the Dark Knight Detective. Continuing a storyline begun in Batman #384, Detective Comics #551 is the middle chapter of a story in which Calendar Man has been hired to kill Batman. Making it appear that the villain has plans to kill Robin, pushing Batman to protect the Boy Wonder (a choice that really pisses off Jason Todd who is already in prime bratty little shit form), Calendar Man continues to commit a series of robberies centered around holidays since the beginning of the year.

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The Mandalorian – The Foundling

  • Title: The Mandalorian – Chapter 20: The Foundling
  • wiki: link

In an episode that keeps its focus on our main characters (amazing how much better that works!), “The Foundling” spends more time with the Mandalorian cult that have embraced both Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) and Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) after their return from Mandalore. Along with Grogu finally beginning his Mandalorian training, whose abilities shock some members of the tribe, and flashbacks to his escape from the Jedi Temple (which feel a bit unnaturally shoehorned in here to make use of Coruscant sets and visuals used in the previous episode), we also see Bo-Katan lead a group of warriors including Din after one of the children is snatched by a local predator.

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John Wick: Chapter 4

  • Title: John Wick: Chapter 4
  • IMDb: link

John Wick: Chapter 4 has the same strengths and weaknesses of the earlier films. We get bloody, brutal, and at times spectacular, violence set against the backdrops of music video sets brought to life, which are dragged down at times by stretches of world building unnecessary for our enjoyment of the former. The fourth entry of the franchise plays at cross purposes with John Wick (Keanu Reeves) looking to work his way back into the life he abandoned for his wife in order to get out again. In terms of story, it’s a bit of a mess. In terms of action, there are a couple of long sequences which fans will not doubt enjoy.

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The Blacklist – The Four Guns

  • Title: The Blacklist – The Four Guns
  • wiki: link

The third episode of the latest season of The Blacklist continues the old home week theme, bringing back another character from the show’s 10 years on the air, but takes a break from the Wujing (Chin Han) season arc when the team discovers a threat to Senator Panabaker‘s (Deirdre Lovejoy) life. There are some nice twist and turns here involving a notorious group of pickpockets (who give the episode its title) and in the identity and motives of the assassin who hires them for the job. It is an interesting choice to cutaway at a few crucial moments in the episode to allow us to wonder just what actions Panabaker took off-screen prior to her rescue (and whether or not the career politician may have found a way to turn some vital information to her advantage).

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Dragonslayer

  • Title: Dragonslayer
  • IMDb: link

Given the path of his career, it’s still difficult for me to imagine a point where anyone saw Peter MacNicol as a potential action star, even one so far in over his head as Galen. In the 1981 fantasy film, MacNicol stars as a sorcerer’s apprentice who takes on the responsibility of vanquishing a dragon after his master (Ralph Richardson) is killed. The film, relying on practical effects (including life-size segments of a giant mechanical dragon), the use of version of stop motion known as go motion, and dozens of matte paintings, holds up fairly well today. And the film’s dragon remains one of the favorites ever put to film by both fans and other filmmakers, including Guillermo del Toro.

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