3.5 Razors

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten #22

/ / Comics

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten #22The calm before the storm. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten #22 takes a step back from the ongoing battle of Buffy and the Scoobies with all manner of demons being let into this reality by the stolen “Restless Door” to focus on relationships central to the series and lay the foundation for potential problems somewhere down the line.

While initially apprehensive, Willow finds the military’s offer to help use her unique knowledge of technology and magic to keep the worlds safe appealing. Buffy on the other hand is less inclined to forget her past dealings with the military as the comic teases a split between best friends who may be starting to grow apart. While the issue makes sure to bring the two women together before the end, the disagreement that caused the fight is far from settled suggesting it may return to raise its ugly head before the end of the season.

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Darth Vader Annual #1

/ / Comics

Darth Vader Annual #1For its first annual Marvel’s Darth Vader series sends Darth Vader to the planet Shu-torun where the grip of the Empire is loosening following the Rebellion’s destruction of the first Death Star. Sent to make it clear to the planet’s king that their continued loyalty is required, the Dark Lord of the Sith is betrayed as the King prepares to sacrifice his own daughter to free his planet from the control of the Empire.

Darth Vader Annual #1 gives us a Vader at his most intimidating. Despite the King’s attempts to have the Sith Lord killed, Vader is able to overcome each obstacle. The issue also brings in Aphra‘s killer robots (who we’ve seen in Marvel’s ongoing Darth Vader comic) to help Vader fulfill his mission. And if that’s not enough, our protaganist underlines his point by not only crippling the King’s daughter but also leaving her a damning reminder of what happens to those that dare defy the Emperor.

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The Librarians and the Final Curtain

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: The Librarians – And the Final Curtain
  • wiki: link

The Librarians and the Final Curtain

The Second Season of The Librarians comes to a close with an amusing time travel storyline as Flynn (Noah Wyle) and Eve (Rebecca Romijn) travel back to the age of Shakespeare to stop Prospero (Richard Cox). Since his introduction in the season premiere Prospero has been an ill-defined, and largely absent, villain. “And the Final Curtain” helps explain the character’s creation and true motivations, although it doesn’t sell the character or help him look better compared to the much more intriguing Moriarty (David S. Lee), a character who is sadly cast aside like so much rubbish.

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Concussion

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Concussion
  • IMDb: link

ConcussionAdapting Jeanne Marie Laskas’ 2009 GQ article, Concussion delivers the film the NFL doesn’t want you to see this Christmas. Beginning with Nigerian-American forensic pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu‘s (Will Smith) autopsy of former Pittsburgh Steeler Mike Webster (David Morse) which will create a new category of degenerative disease known as CTE, writer/director Peter Landesman‘s film focuses more on the effect of Omalu’s work as the work itself.

Fighting opposition from his own superiors (Mike O’Malley), intense backlash from fans, anger from current players, pressure from the government, and a campaign of organized disinformation by the NFL that the Republicans usually reserve for discrediting Global Warming, will force the doctor to fight for the truth every step of the way.

Concussion is an interesting, if a little straightforward and simplistic, look at Omalu. Smith proves he still has some acting chops in his best role in the last couple of years. Alec Baldwin, Albert Brooks, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw lead a supporting cast as the few friends Omalu relies on while taking on the NFL.

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The Danish Girl

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Danish Girl
  • IMDb: link

The Danish GirlAdapted from the novel of the same name by David Ebershoff, The Danish Girl is a movie that is constantly telling the audience it is an important movie without ever showing us why. The movie gives us the story of artist husband and wife Einar Wegener (Eddie Redmayne) and Gerda Wegener (Alicia Vikander) and Einar’s struggle with his own sexual identity leading him to take on the identity of Lili Elbe.

The movie tackles the issues of Lili’s sexual identity head-on while examining the effect of his changes on both his relationship with his wife and his artistic career. First, Vikander and Redmayne are both terrific in the film. However, aside from giving the leads meaty roles to dive into, The Danish Girl struggles in making the story of one of the first recipients of sex reassignment surgery interesting.

Don’t get me wrong, The Danish Girl a capable film that does justice to its sensitive subject matter, given Elbe’s standing in the LGBT community, but it’s certainly more notable for the performances of its two lead actors than its script. One could argue it’s dangerously close to the category of Oscar-bait.

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