3.5 Razors

Hidden Gem – Playing by Heart

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  • Title: Playing by Heart
  • IMDb: link

“Talking about love is like dancing about architecture.”

Playing by Heart

Released in 1998, Playing by Heart follows the formula of several romantic dramedies (Love Actually being the best) which feature interlocking stories of couples in various states of their respective relationships. Written and directed by Willard Carroll, the film is notable for it’s impressive ensemble cast as well as a pair of the six stories which slowly come together during the film’s final act.

My favorite of the group features Angelina Jolie, as the beautiful but high-maintenance Joan, and Ryan Phillippe as the aloof young man with a dark secret who seems immune to her obvious charms. Also worthy of note are Sean Connery and Gena Rowlands as an elderly couple dealing with both the looming specter a life-threatening medical condition and a long-simmering old argument as the pair prepare to renew their vows on their 40th wedding anniversary.

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House of Lies – Hostile Takeover

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: House of Lies – Hostile Takeover
  • tv.com: link

House of Lies - Hostile Takeover

With his eyes set firmly on getting the financing to leave Galweather Stern and open his own shop, Tamara (Nia Long) convinces Marty (Don Cheadle) to stick things out and finalize the Carlson (Mather Zickel) deal before he jumps ship. However, when Carlson’s attempt to settle their differences means driving out into the middle of the desert to watch the crazy man blow up watermelons with Ernest Hemingway’s rifle, he begins to have second thoughts.

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XIII – Phoenix

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: XIII – Phoenix
  • tv.com: link

XIII - Phoenix

After being betrayed by Jones (Aisha Tyler) and loosing the weapon he fought so hard to obtain, XIII (Stuart Townsend) goes into hiding in the show’s Season Two premiere. After being shot and left for dead on the bridge XIII lays low, hiding out  in a peaceful Occupy-style rally, but when the members are brutally assaulted by the local police force XIII intercedes to save one of the protesters, Betty Barnowsky (Roxane Mesquida) who introduces her protector to the head of the protesters known as The Veil, a man named Vargas (Bruce Ramsay) in need of someone with XIII’s skill set to take down a company known as Synequanon who is testing an ecological damaging weapon in Alaska.

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A+X #6

/ / Comics

A+X #6Poker is the name of the game in this latest issue of A+X. We’re given two stories, each involving an Avenger and X-Man sitting down for a friendly game of cards.

The first story features Wolverine and Captain Marvel and is primarily of interest for the side conversation (inspired by Joss Whedon‘s Angel TV-series) concerning who would win in a fight between astronauts and cavemen. The fight, intermixed with other topics between the two, goes on through the entire story and doesn’t even stop when a super-villain bursts through the wall looking for a fight. My only real complaint with this first story is the art from Italian artists Giuseppe Camuncoli and Michele Benevento which is passable, but not great.

The second story, although not nearly as entertaining, also features two heroes winding up at a poker game as the Yancy Street friends of Ben Grimm invite Gambit, over for the weekly poker game. There’s some okay back-and-forth between the characters and late twist, but it’s the less interesting of the two stories. Worth a look.

[Marvel, $3.99]

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G.I. JOE: Special Missions #1

/ / Comics

G.I. JOE: Special Missions #1With G.I. JOE going public in IDW’s recent relaunch of the main title, there’s still plenty of quieter jobs for a covert force to do around the globe. Written by Chuck Dixon, G.I. JOE: Special Missions focuses on Scarlett and her team dropped into the middle of the action in southern Libya while around the globe an old enemy is making plans of her own.

Discovering the location of Cobra’s sunken $40 billion treasure (the one Snake Eyes scuttled while working with the Arashikage) Cobra’s former lieutenant has gone into the salvage business. To retrieve the gold she’ll need the help of some capable sailors (the ones she doesn’t cripple in a bar fight), and to stay one step ahead of Serpentor‘s Coil soldiers (who have been dispatched to kill the traitor) as well as Scarlett’s team who heads after the treasure as well after an unorthodox extraction by Wild Bill.

I’m glad to see Dixon getting another G.I. JOE title, although the covert team is sorely missing the most covert JOE of all – Snake Eyes. We’ll have to wait and see if the still presumed dead JOE turns up or if Dixon has any plans for the masked man’s protege Helix in the coming months. Worth a look.

[IDW, $3.99]

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