3.5 Razors

Iron Man #2

/ / Comics

iron-man-marvel-now-2-coverIron Man travels to the tiny nation of Symkaria to stop the spread of Extremis technology by engaging in gladiator-style combat with an Arthurian legend obsessed group known as the Circle.

The comic plays to the strengths of Greg Land as it offers several different types of armor and action without giving the artist too many opportunities to draw in porny women (although he still finds a way). The various armor of the Circle was created by an old enemy of Stark known only as Meredith who blames him for ruining her promising career. Knowing her armor couldn’t stand up to Stark’s one-on-one she put her faith in pilots by choosing gymnasts and marital artists including the talented Russian Alex Draguno.

Although writer Kieron Gillen is pretty heavy-handed with the Arthurian references and let’s Iron Man cheat his way out of a competition he should be able to easily win, the comic introduces a couple of intriguing ideas and a new stable of enemies for our hero. Worth a look.

[Marvel, $3.99]

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Young Justice #22

/ / Comics

young-justice-22-coverWith Superman, Superboy, Captain Atom, Captain Marvel, and Wonder Woman all trapped on the moon and several other members of both Young Justice and the Justice League trapped inside an impenetrable sphere surrounding Metropolis the remaining members of the team work together with the Atom, the Flash, and the Martian Manhunter to figure out just what the hell is going on as Miss Martian and Lagoon Boy head to the moon on a rescue mission.

The story is a little more focused this time around, but we still get more more five-year flashbacks involving Dick Grayson‘s relationships with the ladies of the team. As good as these are by themselves, these flashbacks continue to be somewhat disorienting, especially as they have yet to be tied directly to the current situation our heroes find themselves in.

The issue is certainly packed with characters including several of the newer members of the Young Justice team including Batgirl, Wonder Girl, Zatanna and Blue Beetle, and even a surprise cameo by Plastic Man. Worth a look.

[DC, $2.99]

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Doctor Who – Series 7 (Part One)

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Doctor Who – Series Seven (Part One)
  • tv.com: link

doctor-who-series-7-part-one-blu-rayThe first half of Doctor Who Series Seven is collected here including The Doctor‘s (Matt Smith) final farewell to Amy (Karen Gillan) and Rory (Arthur Darvill), dinosaurs on spaceships, a cyborg assassin in the Old West, an invasion of mysterious black cubes, the introduction of Mark Williams as Rory’s father, and an entire planet of insane Daleks which teases the future introduction of Jenna-Louise Coleman as The Doctor’s new companion in this year’s Christmas episode.

Centered around single one-off episodes rather than an ongoing story arc, these episodes get the season off to a good start (even if the western episode is a little flat), before returning the Weeping Angels to their original glory and saying a tearful farewell to the Ponds. “Dinosaurs on a Spaceship” is the real stand-out among the set which feels very much like a throwback to Doctor Who‘s old Douglas Adams days complete with an absurd premise and pair of quarreling robots.

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Doctor Who – Series 7 (Part One) Read More »

A Royal Affair

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: En kongelig affære
  • IMDB: link

a-royal-affair-posterSet in the last half of the 18th Century, during the Age of the Enlightenment, A Royal Affair examines the reign of the mentally unstable King Christian VII of Denmark (Mikkel Boe Følsgaard) from the perspective of his queen (Alicia Vikander) and most trusted advisor, German doctor Johann Friedrich Struensee (Mads Mikkelsen) whose wide sweeping reforms (the abolishment of censorship, torture, the slave trade, and an increase on taxes of the aristocracy for the good of the people) and affair with the queen, albeit briefly, changed the course of Denmark’s history.

Unable to acquire the rights to Stuensee’s story, director Nikolaj Arcel choose instead to adapt a Danish romantic novel of Bodil Steensen-Leth. Because of the source material, far more emphasis is put on the relationships the Queen has with both her husband and Struensee, and the behind-the-scenes palace politics and court intrigue, than the reforms themselves or their effect on the Danish people. The story also never questions the doctor’s noble purpose or motives for grabbing so much power (including so thoroughly dismantling the King’s government) that, along with his affair with the Queen, ultimately led to his downfall.

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Castle – After Hours

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Castle – After Hours
  • tv.com: link

castle-after-hours

The murder of priest in an abandoned building that tracks back to a mob enforcer (Tony Denison) leads Beckett (Stana Katic) and Castle (Nathan Fillion) to a witness (Patrick Fischler) to the crime who is being hunted a pair of mobsters (Devin McGinn, Bryan Friday). Relieved of their phones and wallets (not to mention and Beckett’s gun, badge, and car), Beckett and Castle manage to escape with the witness but find themselves on the run in the wrong neighborhood with no way to call for support.

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