3 Razors

Battle Creek – Mama’s Boy

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Battle Creek – Mama’s Boy
  • IMDb: link

Battle Creek - Mama's Boy

Candice Bergen guest-stars on the latest episode of Battle Creek as Russ’ (Dean Winters) convict mother who is temporarily released from prison into the custody of Russ and Milt (Tad Hamilton) to help solve a murder tied to the world of counterfeiting which the woman knows all too well. Of course the fact that Russ can’t trust a word the woman says, including her unwillingness to admit to having $1,000,000 in cash conned from a murderer with ties to organized crime, makes solving the case harder than usual.

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Woman in Gold

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Woman in Gold
  • IMDb: link

Woman in GoldDirector Simon Curtis‘ Woman in Gold is an odd film not good enough for awards consideration but also choosing not to become an action-suspense film about stolen Nazi art. Much more a straightforward drama, I’d compare it to 1998’s A Civil Action, a more engaging film with a similar arc of a lawyer whose money-first philosophy is changed by taking on an emotional case he can’t possibly win.

Based on the true story of Maria Altmann‘s (Helen Mirren) attempts to regain possession of her family’s lost masterpiece from the Austrian government, Woman in Gold is a slow-moving drama starring Ryan Reynolds as the lawyer hired by Maria to take on a foreign government. Reynolds and Mirren work well together as the unlikely pair to take on Austria (even if Reynolds casting seems like an odd choice). Well-acted and shot against the backdrops of Vienna and southern California, the story is intriguing if never fully engaging. Despite its cast (which also includes Katie Holmes, Tatiana Maslany, Elizabeth McGovern, and Jonathan Pryce) Woman in Gold is a good film that never fully lives up to the promise it offers flashes of early on.

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Guardians Team-Up #4

/ / Comics

Guardians Team-Up #4The latest issue of Guardians Team-Up pairs Gamora and She-Hulk together when Thanos‘ daughter ends up on Earth hunted by an army of Chitauri. While She-Hulk is mistaken by the aliens as their prey Gamora is mistaken for local police for New York’s favorite green-skinned lawyer/super-hero.

I wouldn’t call Guardians Team-Up disappointing exactly but with the wide range of possible team-ups the Marvel Universe offers the comic hasn’t exactly lived up to its premise. Although I had a mixed reaction to Otto Schmidt’s artwork, the pairing of Gamora and She-Hulk is the first issue of the series to really capture the madcap fun such a title can be used for.

I could have done without the flashbacks to Gamora’s childhood with her father which feel a bit unnecessary, and take pages away from the damage the two women can inflict on an entire spaceship of baddies (especially after they start dressing alike). And at $4 a pop the comic still feels a bit overpriced for what its offering. Worth a look.

[Marvel, $3.99]

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Batman ’66 #21

/ / Comics

Batman '66 #21The latest issue of Batman ’66 takes Batman and Batgirl to Japan to take on 60s throwaway Bat-villain Lord Death Man (who got a revamp in Grant Morrison‘s recent Batman Incorporated run after basically being forgotten for the better part of five decades).

Standing in for Robin, who is in no condition to travel with the Caped Crusader (complete with slapstick walking into walls) on a transatlantic crimefighting trip, Batgirl tags along on the latest adventure.

Batman ’66 #21 is a niche issue in an already niche title. Fans of the character and the idea of Batman Incorporated (such as Batman having a special Japanese Batmobile made just in case he ever needed to work in that country) are likely to enjoy the story more than I did.

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Backstrom – Inescapable Truth

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Backstrom – Inescapable Truth
  • wiki: link

Backstrom - Inescapable Truth

Noticing an unexpected physical resemblance with Valentine (Thomas Dekker), along with an offhand comment from Niedermayer (Kristoffer Polaha), sends Backstrom (Rainn Wilson) down a rabbit hole wondering if Val might be his son. As such thoughts continue to fester, leading Backstrom to make a trip to see a former prostitute (Lolita Davidovich) he frequented in his youth (who is roomie’s mother), the squad is called in to investigate a missing musician who disappeared after escaping rehab.

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