3 Razors

Detective Comics #37

/ / Comics

Detective Comics #37After taking down a delusional Mad Hatter, Batman turns his attention to a crime that Harvey Bullock has been persuing for weeks without any real leads other than graffiti left as a signature for each crime. The death of a Wayne Enterprises’ executive brings the detective and Batman both to Wayne Tower just in time to discover what explosive situation Anarky has left for them.

After a couple of months off, Brian Buccellato and Francis Manapul return to Detective Comics with the opening of this new arc. I’ve never been a huge Anarky fan, but the villain does have his uses especially if (as this issue suggests) this is the first time he’s been active in Gotham City.

The method which the super-villain uses to turn the office building into a bomb works (at least for a Batman comic book), although we still don’t know why he has chosen to target a building full of Bruce Wayne’s employees or what Anarky’s end game might be. Worth a look.

[DC, $3.99]

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St. Vincent

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: St. Vincent
  • IMDb: link

St. VincentSt. Vincent is a perfectly fine (if all-too-familiar) by-the-numbers dramedy about a grumpy old man’s relationship with a nice kid who, to absolutely no one’s surprise, will show his new friend isn’t as bad as everyone believes him to be. Comparable to last year’s Bad Words, it lacks the dark wit of Bad Santa or the soundtrack and amusing race sequences of Six Pack, and is far less moving than Up, but writer/director Theodore Melfi‘s film does allow space for Murray’s talent to flourish and finds a way to use Melissa McCarthy in a way which reminds us she is capable of acting when not stuck in crappy films such as Tammy, Identity Thief, or The Heat.

The premise is relatively simple, Murray stars as a grumpy bastard with a pregnant hooker girlfriend (Naomi Watts) and general disdain for nearly every other living person. Desperately needing money, Vincent (Murray) agrees to babysit his new neighbor’s (McCarthy) son Oliver (Jaeden Lieberher) after school. From there Vincent shares with the kid useful, but mostly inappropriate, knowledge that eventually raises the ire of Oliver’s mother and threatens her custody case with her ex-husband.

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The Homesman

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Homesman
  • IMDb: link

The HomesmanProduced, directed, and adapted from Glendon Swarthout‘s novel by Tommy Lee Jones, The Homesman is an odd little pet project with good intentions which eventually gets away from its creator.

Set in the mid 19th Century, Hilary Swank stars as tough-as-nails 31 year-old spinster Mary Bee Cuddy who would gladly trade a portion of her thriving Nebraska farm for the love of a man. Despite the danger, Cuddy agrees to take three local women (Grace Gummer, Miranda Otto, Sonja Richter) all driven insane by harsh western life back east and deliver them to a preacher who will reunite each with their families. Her time with the woman brings to the surface Cuddy’s own internal struggle to achieve the kind of life expected of her complete with husband and children.

As a companion she selects a surly claim jumper named George Briggs (Jones) who she saves from the noose and agrees to pay $300 dollars at the completion of their journey. Despite being the best thing about the film, Swank’s character is eventually overshadowed by Briggs whose madness and antics eventually take over the film.

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Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – …Ye Who Enter Here

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – …Ye Who Enter Here
  • wiki: link

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – ...Ye Who Enter Here

The slow moving progression to the reveal of the hidden city and Skye‘s (Chloe Bennet) reunion with her murderous father (Kyle MacLachlan) moves ever so slightly forward in “…Ye Who Enter Here.” Despite locating the location in the last episode, and racing Hydra to discover its hidden secrets, the team barely gets a couple of steps into a tunnel to the city before the closing credits. We’re also given some foreshadowing about a (possibly nefarious) secondary purpose for some of Coulson‘s (Clark Gregg) new recruits including both Mac (Henry Simmons) and Bobbi (Adrianne Palicki) other than serving S.H.I.E.L.D. that unnecessarily draws your attention away from what little progress is being made to the overall season arc this week.

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Justice League United #6

/ / Comics

Justice League United #6Continuing the events from Justice League United Annual #1 half the League faces off against both the Legion of Super-Heroes and the Cadre who want to get their hands on Ultra the Multi-Alien. And if that isn’t enough the other half of the league (Green Arrow, Animal Man, Supergirl, and Stargirl) has to deal with the villainous Byth and the brainwashed Hawkman before the mad scientist can transform young Ultra into a universe-destroying weapon.

The action allows the latest issue to highlight the powers and limitations of a questionable number of characters all in one book (and I’m always okay with Stargirl getting to kick a little ass). Starting the second-half of the Ultra arc in the annual was a bit of a dick move on DC’s part as those who missed picking up the issue may struggle a bit for why everyone (including heroes from the future) seems to be fighting over killing, controlling, or worshiping an awkward alien kid, but even for as messy as it is the story still holds together (although I have doubts whether it can continue to do so for three more issues). For fans.

[DC, $3.99]

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