3.5 Razors

Tomb Raider

  • Title: Tomb Raider (2018)
  • IMDb: link

Tomb Raider (2018)Lara Croft is back. After the pair of financially successful (if pretty dumb) films starring Angelina Jolie in the early 2000s, the most famous video game archaeologist (sorry Mr. Jones) returns to the big screen. Because origin stories are all the rage, the latest Tomb Raider (following in the footsteps of the character’s more recent comic adventures) takes Lara back to the beginning to showcase how she became the world’s best tomb raider.

Alicia Vikander is a solid choice for a younger version of the character showcasing skills she hasn’t yet completely mastered. More grounded, with less emphasis on staging sequences for the sole reason to make her look cool, it’s certainly a more dramatic role that Jolie was given. The storyline, while taking a bit long to get going, is also better than either of the previous two movies as this time around Lara goes all Oliver Queen on a lost island where evil mercenaries hope to uncover a dangerous tomb. As an action film based on a video game Tomb Raider is surprisingly successful, even if, at times, certain sequences feel based more on questionable video-game logic than solid writing.

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The Flash – Subject 9

  • Title: The Flash – Subject 9
  • wiki: link

The Flash - Subject 9 television review

“Subject 9” continues the season’s larger arc as DaVoe seeks out another of the meta-humans created by the Flash‘s (Grant Gustin) return from the Speed Force in a musician with the ability to control sound waves. Prompted by Barry and Ralph (Devon Graye), a reluctant Izzy (Miranda MacDougall) agrees to train with the heroes who believe, for a brief second, they might stand a chance against the super-villain who has stayed one-step ahead of them this entire season. While earning his freedom, Barry discovers his return to the crime lab will have to wait until there is more closure with the DaVoe case. For now it appears Barry will have to do his crime fighting in a blur of scarlet and gold.

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iZombie – Are You Ready for Some Zombies?

  • Title: iZombie – Are You Ready for Some Zombies?
  • wiki: link

iZombie - Are You Ready for Some Zombies? TV review

It’s a brave new world for iZombie as the Fourth Season opens with Seattle cut off from the rest of the world over fear that the zombies may spread outside the walled-off city limits. Life is relatively normal for Liv (Rose McIver) who continues her role as assistant medical examiner helping Clive (Malcolm Goodwin). Things are a bit less normal for Ravi (Rahul Kohli) whose zombie vaccine is 90% effective except for his zombie-benders every few weeks. Major (Robert Buckley) is given a new role at Fillmore-Graves which allows him to put some old skills to use (although it takes him longer than expected to discover just why his boss wants him to help teen zombies on the streets). As for the city at large, some are taking the new status quo in stride while others have begun singling out zombies and forming gangs attacking the creatures who they believe have ruined their lives.

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The Cutting Edge

  • Title: The Cutting Edge
  • IMDb: link

“Those are figure skates, pal.”

The Cutting EdgeThis week’s Winter Olympics inspired Throwback Tuesday post takes us back to 1992’s sports comedy The Cutting Edge starring Moira Kelly as ice queen Kate Moseley and D.B. Sweeney as retired ice hockey player Doug Dorsey who becomes her unlikely figure skating partner in hopes of winning an Olympic Gold Medal.

After an injury at the previous Olympics prematurely ended his hockey before it began, and with the tempermental Kate unable to make it work with any potential partners, the pair get thrown together for an unlikely Olympic run. Terry O’Quinn and Roy Dotrice round out the cast as Kate’s father and her figure skating coach.

The script by Tony Gilroy (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Michael Clayton, The Bourne Ultimatum) doesn’t stray far outside on box featuring and odd couple pairing who come together both on and off the ice. That said, there’s certainly some charm seeing two characters, both rough around the edges in their own way, come together. And while the skating is far from Olympic quality, it works well-enough to sell the story.

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Xena: Warrior Princess #1

Xena: Warrior Princess #1 comic reviewThe new series from writer Meredith Finch and artist Vicente Cifuentes goes back the beginning as a wandering Xena comes across young Gabrielle at the mercy of three of the warrior princess’ former soldiers turned marauders. Stepping in to teach the trio a lesson on how to treat a woman, our heroine finds herself stuck with a talky companion on the road to Athens.

Although I was afraid how far the issue might take the sexual overtones of three burly men jumping a beautiful girl in the middle of nowhere, Finch keeps the story from going too dark too quickly and more in tune to what fans would expect. Cifuentes style seems a good match for the comic, and he certainly enjoys drawing the smirking Gabrielle.

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