3.5 Razors

Batman/Catwoman #1

/ / Comics

Batman/Catwoman #1 comic reviewWriter Tom King and artist Clay Mann continue their idea of a Batman and Catwoman couple that dissolved at the end of their run but is now back in force in the first issue of this twelve-issue maxi-series as part of the Black Label imprint. Told across three timelines, we see Batman and Selina working together, an earlier timeline with Catwoman still working as a thief but having begun a romantic tryst with the Dark Knight Detective, and a later timeline with Selina as Bruce Wayne’s widow.

The person apparently tying all three stories together is Andrea Beaumont who returns to Gotham in search of her missing teenage son in the present timeline. The Joker, who makes an appearance in two of the three stories, will also play a prominent role. While I’m curious to see how King wanted to end his Batman run, I’m not sure that I’m prepared to stick around for a dozen issues to find out (especially with a large chunk of the story set in a future that, so far, is of no real interest).

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Scooby-Doo! – Mystery Mask Mix-Up

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Scooby Doo, Where Are You! – Mystery Mask Mix-Up
  • wiki: link

Scooby-Doo! - Mystery Mask Mix-Up television review

Throwback Tuesday takes us back to Scooby Doo, Where Are You! for another mystery involving some meddling kids and their talking dog. After Daphne (Heather North) buys a golden mask in a Chinatown shop, the gang is followed by a pair of zombies who eventually make off with both Daphne and the mask taking them to a temple in the hills. The episode is unusual in how Mystery, Inc. is dragged into the mystery, it also features some questionable racial elements that likely wouldn’t get the episode on the air today. “Mystery Mask Mix-Up” includes a ridiculous car chase in which the zombies follow the Mystery Machine through a hotel and over the rooftops of several buildings before it eventually crashes at the wharf (because of a banana peel) and the zombies have a chance to grab Daphne who refuses to give up the mask.

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The Mandalorian – The Tragedy

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: The Mandalorian – The Tragedy (Chapter 14)
  • wiki: link

The Mandalorian - The Tragedy television review

Directed by Robert Rodriguez, “The Tragedy” is primarily an attempt to make Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) cool again (albeit and older and fatter version, maybe we can call him Boba Fatt?). While the character had quite a history in the Star Wars Expanded Universe, with the introduction of the sequel trilogy all of that history was wiped away. While on Tython, allowing Grogu to make a connection through the remains of a Jedi Temple, the Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) is surprised by unwanted guests in an episode that marks a turning point for the season from returning Grogu to the Jedi to saving him from the Imperial remnant. Teased in an earlier episode, it was expected that Fett would eventually show up for his armor (although you wonder, if he could get his ship back why did he need to wait so long to retrieve his armor?). The surprise here is the not-so-dead Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) who was saved by Fett.

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Dear Santa

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Dear Santa (2020)
  • IMDb: link

Dear Santa movie reviewIn a year of quarantine, social distancing, and both political and social unrest, Dear Santa is the salve we need. Not to be confused with the 2011 film starring Amy Acker, the documentary from Dana Nachman highlights the work being done in several cities around the United States to get Christmas presents to families in need. The documentary focuses on the United States Postal Service Operation Santa program which collects letters sent to Santa and allows anyone to adopt and send gifts on behalf of Santa Claus.

Nachman’s documentary highlights the history of the program, those currently in charge in multiple cities, how the program works, and volunteers from an elementary school classroom to a group of friends to an organized coalition who work every year to identify and offer Christmas cheer to those who need it most. In a year about what pulls us apart as a nation, Dear Santa reminds us of what can be achieved when we come together. If you are looking for some cathardic holidy schmaltz to make you feel better about where we stand, or if you are interested learning more about the program and helping out on your own, Dear Santa might be the right gift for you this Christmas.

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Black Bear

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Black Bear
  • IMDb: link

Black Bear movie reviewA filmmaker (Aubrey Plaza) facing writer’s block travels to a remote house in the Adirondack Mountains hoping for inspiration to strike. What happens next is subject to debate as any or all of the events could be nothing more than the actress turned director’s dark musings and may or may not have any connection to reality. Written and directed by Lawrence Michael Levine, Black Bear is primarily a vehicle to showcase Aubrey Plaza who owns the screen playing two different versions of the same character each trapped in a situation spiraling out of control.

In one version, Allison (Plaza) is greeted by the house’s owners (Christopher Abbott and Sarah Gadon) who are stuck in a failing marriage with a baby on the way. Allison’s arrival only further exacerbates the couple’s problems by introducing an attractive unknown variable into their lives. In the second storyline, Allison is an actress starring in her husband’s (Abbott) small independent film. With shooting nearly complete, he uses Allison’s jealousy towards her co-star (Gadon) to force the best possible performance no matter what his psychological games to do her emotional state.

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