3.5 Razors

Hanna – City

  • Title: Hanna – City
  • IMDb: link

Hanna - City television review

“City” offers the first major divergences of the series from the source material as Hanna (Esme Creed-Miles) and Erik (Joel Kinnaman) reconnect in Berlin and he brings in his old Army contacts to plan a hit on Marissa (Mireille Enos). Unlike in the film where both Hanna and Erik believe she killed the real Marissa, Hanna recognizes the deception from the show’s second episode allowing her father to gather support on a contingency plan to trap their foe. Despite Marissa being able to turn one of Erik’s old friends by offering to settle his substantial debts, the episode still concludes with Marissa staring down the barrel of Erik’s gun.

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Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

  • Title: Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
  • IMDb: link

Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Blu-ray reviewAdapted from the comic book mini-series, Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles brings the Teenage Mutant Turtles to Gotham City on the trail of the Shredder (Andrew Kishino) and the Foot Clan who are on a crime spree which Batman (Troy Baker) has just become aware. The movie offers the obligatory misunderstanding pitting Batman versus the Turtles for a time before realizing they are both on the same side and need to team-up to stop Shredder and his new business partner Ra’s al Ghul (Cas Anvar) who plans to use the Ooze to destroy Gotham.

While the animation isn’t quite up to snuff with some of DC’s better animated movies, I do appreciate the story sticking with Batman’s classic design and the look of both the Shredder and Ra’s al Ghul work pretty well (even if I can’t say the same for some of Batman’s other villains who are brought into the plot when Ra’s mutates Arkham Asylum as a distraction for Batman and Turtles). Some of the mutations work better than others (such as the joke made at Poison Ivy‘s expense).

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer #5

Buffy the Vampire Slayer #5 comic reviewXander Harris is a vampire. However, their may still be hope for one of the original Scoobies as Giles comes up with a possible way to save their friend’s soul before the demon takes over completely. With Xander being turned within the first four issues of the new series we definitely see an even larger break with the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer continuity. At this point writer Jordie Bellaire and artist Dan Mora have me unsure just how this will turn out. While this last-second, available through Anya‘s magic shop, offers hope, I do wonder just what the creators of the new Buffy have in mind for Xander as the story unfolds.

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Black Cat #1

Black Cat #1 comic reviewBlack Cat #1 introduces us to our main character in the middle of a heist by Felicia Hardy which is as much about her skill as a thief as her ability to use that reputation for misdirection in order to snag the big score. The issue ends with the introduction of the Black Fox who trained Felicia’s father. A far younger version of the character also appears in the back-up story “The Black Fox in Leaving Miami” which shows the thief’s skill and guile in stealing from Dracula.

Along with an appearance by the Black Fox, the main story also offers introduction to the Black Cat’s crew and the added obstacle for Felicia in the New York Thieves Guild who believe the Black Cat owes them and will stop at nothing to collect.

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Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan – French Connection

  • Title: Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan – French Connection
  • wiki: link

Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan - French Connection TV review

After returning home, Jack Ryan (John Krasinski) and Greer (Wendell Pierce) continue to investigate Suleiman (Ali Suliman). Despite being commended on their work, the politics of the CIA create some conflict about who will continue to head the investigation forcing Jack to choose between the boss he’s not sure he can trust and his boss’ boss (Timothy Hutton) who is more interest in who gets the credit than the actual capture of the the terrorist. Choosing the moral move rather than the offer to jump up the ladder, Jack’s latest lead sends the two men to Paris where Ali (Haaz Sleiman) is collecting the money necessary to complete Suleiman’s work.

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