3 Razors

Bones – The Gunk in the Garage

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Bones – The Gunk in the Garage
  • tv.com: link

bones-the-gunk-in-the-garage

The Jeffersonian team is called into investigate the death of man killed in a hotel parking garage bombing only to discover the man whose murder they thought they were investigating is still alive. As Bones (Emily Deschanel) and her team attempt to identity of the actual victim, Booth (David Boreanaz) finds himself unexpectedly benched by Caroline (Patricia Belcher) to work on a budgetary proposal and help her justify his department’s hefty operating budget.

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The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1
  • IMDB: link

batman-dark-knight-returns-pt1-blu-rayI love Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. Originally released as a four-issue mini-series back in 1986 Returns gave us a look at the future of Gotham City, ten years after the last appearance of Batman (Peter Weller). So when DC Animated announced their plans for not one but two animated features I held my breath and hoped for the best. Much like last year’s Batman: Year One, this adaptation of Frank Miller’s work is, at best, a mixed success.

Ten years to the day after the Batman’s last recorded appearance, and one month before the retirement of Commissioner Gordon (David Selby), Bruce Wayne is lured out of retirement by a vicious new gang known as the Mutants who are slowly taking over the city. Part 1 gives us Batman’s return, Two-Face‘s (Wade Williams) short reign of terror, and the always jabbering talking heads who continue to debate whether Gotham is better or worse off with Batman’s return.

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Teen Titans #0

/ / Comics

teen-titans-new-52-0-coverNever a huge Teen Titans fan to begin with, I’ve stayed away from the New 52 relaunch of the title with the exception of the first issue or two. However, I was curious enough to see how Teen Titans #0 would tell the origin of Tim Drake as the third Robin.

Like most of the New 52 origins, Tim Drake’s story gets streamlined and simplified more than necessary. We still get the young detective who searches for Batman’s identity realizing Batman doesn’t work nearly as well without a partner. But how he eventually gets Batman to accept is damn awkward.

Scott Lobdell’s writing aside (which is clunky and has a couple of huge plot holes) the story works for the most part up until Drake puts his family in danger by stealing from the Penguin. Yes, this earns him his face-to-face with Batman, but it’s hardly the work of the genius the book espouses him to be. The comic also doesn’t explain how Tim is able to continue being Tim, and live publicly with Bruce Wayne, with his parents in witness protection and the Penguin still after him. For fans.

[DC, $2.99]

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The Flash #0

/ / Comics

the-flash-new-52-0-coverAlthough not all DC’s Zero Issues have been actual origin tales (which is weird, because I thought that was the point?), Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato deliver just that in this retelling of the Flash‘s origin, the accident that gifted a police scientist with super-speed, and Barry’s Allen’s first adventure as the Scarlet Speedster.

For those familiar with Barry Allen, especially writer Geoff Johns‘ recent retelling his origin which introduces the idea of the unsolved murder of his mother which drove Barry to become a cop, there’s no much new. However, the use of Barry’s father as the man, innocent or not, convicted of her murder is worth noting. As is Barry’s obsession with proving his innocence.

Flash #0 also gives us the lighting strike which gifted Barry with his super-speed (thankfully the New 52 doesn’t figure out a way to “improve” the classic retelling the way they screwed up Captain Marvel), Barry’s creation of the suit which fits in his ring, and his first action all clad in red and yellow. Worth a look.

[DC, $2.99]

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Looper

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

looper-posterWritten and directed by Rian Johnson (Brick, The Brothers Bloom), Looper gives us a time travel story that focuses on how far a man will go to protect his future, and how far the world will go to stop him. In the year 2072 time travel has been outlawed but is still used by gangsters and shady corporate big wigs who send their victims back in time to be killed in the days before the invention of time travel by hired assassins known as Loopers, thus creating the perfect crime.

The film centers around the actions of a single Looper named Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) whose largely empty life is filled by bad diner coffee, learning French, doing lots of drugs, shooting hooded strangers who suddenly appear in an empty field and disposing of their bodies, and carrying a torch for a stripper (an alluring, and scantily clad, Piper Perabo) who cares only for his money. In other words, his life is perfect (for what he wants out of life – money, women, and drugs), at least until the arrival of his Loop (Bruce Willis) derails his entire future.

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