3.5 Razors

X-Men: Red #1

/ / Comics

X-Men: Red #1 comic reviewCyclops is still dead, but X-Men founding member Jean Grey (the original, not some alternate timeline version of her) is back among the living. Troubled by the divisive and hateful world she she’s around her, the X-Man chooses to put together her own team with a new mission of bringing acceptance of mutantkind to the forefront of the public consciousness starting with an address at the United Nations.

Jean is certainly the star of the show, but there are some ringers amongst the group’s members including Nightcrawler, Namor, and X-23 Wolverine (seriously, I have no idea what to call this character now). Like pretty much every on of the half-dozen or so X-Men team titles these days the team is packed with other superfluous characters, but it’s pretty obvious which characters will drive the major plotlines.

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Altered Carbon – Out of the Past

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Altered Carbon – Out of the Past
  • IMDb: link

Altered Carbon - Out of the Past

Adapted from the science fiction novel of the same name by Richard K. Morgan, the new Netflix series Altered Carbon introduces us to super-solider Takeshi Kovacs (Joel Kinnaman, and played in flashbacks by Byron Mann) awoken 250 years after his death in the new body paid for by a wealthy degenerate (James Purefoy) who expects his recent acquisition to solve a murder attempt on the billionaire’s life. You see in the future, a body may die but the memories (housed in a “stack” at the base of the spine) can be plugged into a new “skin” allowing those with enough money to effectively live forever, as long as the stack itself is never compromised. The concept proves to be a little goofy is spots, but there’s enough here (at least so far) to keep my interest.

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Batman: Gotham by Gaslight

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Batman: Gotham by Gaslight
  • IMDb: link

Batman: Gotham by Gaslight Blu-ray reviewThe latest DC animated feature adapts the first Elseworld story in which DC characters are reintroduced in other times and places. Taking several liberties with the source material, Batman: Gotham by Gaslight still takes place in Gotham of the late 19th Century where the new vigilante Batman (Bruce Greenwood) will match wits with the serial killer Jack the Ripper butchering women in the streets.

There are quite a few changes to the story in that the character revealed to be the killer in the graphic novel doesn’t even appear in the film, more of Bruce Wayne’s supporting cast is included, and Selina Kyle (Jennifer Carpenter), who wasn’t a part of the source material, is given a major supporting role as a friend to both Bruce Wayne and the Batman. The movie goes a bit out of its way to earn it’s R-rating (including an unfortunate take on Poison Ivy), but the setting and design, the mystery itself (including some nice misdirection), and fight sequences all make for a memorable (if flawed) feature.

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Black Lightning – Black Jesus

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Black Lightning – Black Jesus
  • wiki: link

Black Lightning - Black Jesus television review

When a dangerous new drug hits the streets and his school, Black Lightning (Cress Williams) hits the streets, including looking up an old friend (Jason Louder) who it turns out is the city’s major dealer. On the home front the family drama continues with Lynn (Christine Adams) hating her husband’s return to the spandex lifestyle, Jennifer (China Anne McClain) reacting to Khalil’s (Jordan Calloway) shooting by ignoring other responsibilities and Anissa (Nafessa Williams), inspired by the example of Black Lightning and emboldened by her new powers, decides to take justice into her own hands. The later holds the most promise, although the young woman’s ability to process putting a half-dozen people in intensive care (if not killing them) certainly raises reasons for concern.

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SEAL Team – Getaway Day

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: SEAL Team – Getaway Day
  • wiki: link

SEAL Team - Getaway Day television review

After a bombing takes out an entire team, Bravo team finds their time at home cut short.and is asked to deploy overseas in only 18 hours. The first two-thirds of “Getaway Day” spends most of its time showcasing the turmoil of family and friends due both to the attack and Bravo team leaving well-before they had planned. After arriving in Afghanistan, Hayes (David Boreanaz) and his men turn their attention to the terrorists responsible for the trap which killed Echo team ending on a cliffhanger heading into a four-week break. Given the entire team is now deployed overseas, rather than the separate strike missions we’ve seen so far, it will be interesting to see how much of the show’s focus moves away from the family drama of the separate soldiers’ home lives (which are often the weaker scenes of the show, but here are a strength with the characters given far more to play against than normal).

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