3 Razors

Elysium

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Elysium
  • IMDB: link

ElysiumWith District 9 writer/director Neill Blomkamp crafted an original character study of a man (Sharlto Copley) trapped on the wrong side of the Earth’s treatment of alien refugees as a thinly-veiled metaphor for the social segregation in Blomkamp’s home country of South Africa. The result was one of 2009’s best films. Sadly Elysium, Blomkamp’s latest, is no District 9.

While dealing with similar themes of class warfare, inequalities, and a greedy one-percent, Elysium trades in metaphor for far less subtle preaching about the evils of social inequality between the haves and have nots.

The haves include the wealthiest members of the human race who have abandoned their world to live in luxury on the space station Elysium, leaving the polluted planet to the less fortunate. The inequality doesn’t end there, however. Whereas as the rich partake of miraculous medical advancements that can literally cure any affliction in the matter of seconds, the rest of the world is left with nothing more advanced than current medical devices and training.

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King & Maxwell – Locked In

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: King & Maxwell – Locked In
  • tv.com: link

King & Maxwell - Locked In

While dropping off a piece of evidence for analysis at the FBI, King (Jon Tenney) and Maxwell (Rebecca Romijn) get locked in the federal building when a key whistlebower is killed on Rigby’s (Michael O’Keefe) watch only hours before his testimony would have taken down the CEO (Derek Green) of a chemical manufacturer that poisoned the water supply of a small town. As the pair of detectives help Rigby hunt down a killer inside the FBI, Benny (Dichen Lachman) and Edgar (Ryan Hurst) work to find a second whistleblower in less than six hours to save both the case and Rigby’s career.

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Franklin & Bash – Out of the Blue

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Franklin & Bash – Out of the Blue
  • tv.com: link

Franklin & Bash - Out of the Blue

As Franklin (Breckin Meyer) and Bash (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) get involved in a legal dispute between their client (Scott Michael Campbell), his landlord, and the Department of Homeland Secruity over who owns the meteorite that crashed through his store Infeld (Malcolm McDowell) jumps in to defend Damien (Reed Diamond) who is accused of murdering Judge Densdale (Buck Henry) who the lawyer threatened on the golf course less than an hour before the judge accidentally walked into Damien’s backswing and died from a nine iron to the head.

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G.I. JOE: The Cobra Files #4

/ / Comics

G.I. JOE: The Cobra Files #4The series wraps up its first arc with Chameleon being forced into action with Lady Jaye and Ronin to rescue Flint and stop the Night Creepers who detonate a dirty bomb under the Potomac to attack the JOE’s bunker.

With all the new G.I. JOE titles each wrapping up their first arc I’m still waiting for one to stand-out and match the enjoyment I got out of Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow. The Chameleon, a former Cobra agent now using her skills for the other side is a character I expect could lend itself to some interesting arcs and the art of G.I. JOE: The Cobra Files has been more consistent than the other titles.

Even if I find Chameleon intriguing, I’m not quite sold on the rest of the team. I’ve always found Flint to be a blander version of Duke and the wild cards of Clockspring and Tomax haven’t quite worked for me so far. I’m also not wild about the nuclear event which never feels as big and dangerous as it should. That said, I did like this issue giving us Chameleon’s take on her female teammates and would like to see that kind of insight continue. For fans.

[IDW, $3.99]

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Green Hornet #4

/ / Comics

Green Hornet #4With the city within his grasp Britt Reid‘s world comes tumbling down. What started last issue with Kato abandoning their partnership and The Sentinel accusing and old family friend of being the terrorist known as “The Voice” continues here as Reid’s mayoral campaign goes down in flames before it ever gets started when Kato proves Winston Mills isn’t The Voice after all.

Although the issue continues to deal with the ramifications of the Green Hornet’s recent actions I’m not sure I want to see Reid sued and broke anymore than I’d want to see that same story with Bruce Wayne or Tony Stark. I trust writer Mark Waid knows where he’s going, but things are obviously going to get worse for the character before they get better.

Even if I have issues with where the arc is heading, I’ll admit this might be the kind of story that could appeal more to new readers of the the Green Hornet rather than those of us carrying decades of the character’s history with us. For fans.

[Dynamite Entertainment, $3.99]

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