3 Razors

The Fighter

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Fighter
  • IMDB: link

Far more about family than boxing, The Fighter stars Mark Wahlberg as Mickey Ward, a middling junior welterweight professional boxer from Lowell, Massachusetts, who grew up with several sisters and an older half-brother, Dicky Eklund (Christian Bale), a once talented boxer who wasted his career away on crack and tomfoolery.

Everyone is well-cast and the performances, especially that of Bale, are top notch. The film includes clips of the real Mickey and Dicky during the closing credits and Bale is spot-on in his portrayal. The biggest surprise for me, however, was Amy Adams putting out a strong performance far outside her comfort zone by playing against type.

The script has been kicked around Hollywood for the better part of the decade with several names attached to direct (Martin Scorsese, Darren Aronofsky) and star (Brad Pitt, Matt Damon). Eventually David O. Russell was given the chance to direct Wahlberg and Bale. Maybe they should have waited a little longer.

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Red Robin #18

/ / Comics

Red Robin‘s “Hit List” has taken him to Russia in an attempt to crack a super-villain communication grid. Along the way he runs into an old friend, meets yet another attractive woman, and worries over his relationship with Tam Fox.

A “super-villain communication grid” isn’t exactly a sexy target, and since I’m not that familiar with Red Star or his time with the Teen Titans the use of the character doesn’t do much for me personally. However, the character of Promise does show, well… um, some promise.

That this is the first real push of the “Hit List” storyarc doesn’t do much to get me excited about an idea I was only lukewarm on to begin with. I’m also less than thrilled that Birds of Prey baddie Calculator looks like he’s being woven into the yet another bat-title. Unless he’s bringing his bitchin’ 70’s costume with him I’m just not interested.

Even with these quibbles, the issue is still a good read. As long as the character of Tim Drake continues to be written so well I’m willing to forgive quite a bit. Worth a look.

[DC $2.99]

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The Tourist

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Tourist
  • IMDB: link

I haven’t seen Jérôme Salle’s Anthony Zimmer, the original French film on which this American version is loosely based. What I can tell is The Tourist is the kind of enjoyable summer flick you don’t usually find in the midst of family holiday flicks and more dramatic Oscar fare.

Johnny Depp stars as American tourist Frank Tupelo who just happens to be in the wrong place at the right time when the lovely Elise (Angelina Jolie) sits down next to him on the way to Venice.

Unfortunately for the math teacher, this mysterious woman isn’t so much caught up by his charms as she is using him as a stand-in for the man she loves. On instructions from the mysterious Alexander Pearce, Elise chooses a man on the train the same height and build of her former lover in order to throw suspicion away from the thief who is evading both police (Paul Bettany, Timothy Dalton, Alessio Boni, Giovanni Guidelli) and the mobster (Steven Berkoff) from who he’s stolen millions.

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Justice League: Generation Lost #14

/ / Comics

The latest issue of Justice League: Generation Lost is one of those alternative future tales both DC and Marvel love to dish out from time to time. After Captain Atom becomes lost in the timestream he arrives more than 100 years in the future with a brand new Justice League battling legions of OMACs. He manages to make a small contribution to the ruined world, and learn the event which must be stopped, before he’s returned to his own time.

The new team consists of Batman (Damian Wayne), a Black Canary (a “descendent” of Hawk and Dove), a Plastic Man clone, a sword-weilding Shazam, J’onn J’onzz, the Creeper, a Blue Scarab, a descendent of Dick Grayson, and Power Girl.

Like most of these futuristic snapshots, this one offers little more than a chance to dream-up new characters or design new costumes for current ones (none of which are all that memorable). One thing we do learn is Maxwell Lord will attempt to kill Wonder Woman unless Captain Atom and his League can stop him (guess Max is holding a grudge over that whole ‘broken neck’ thing).

[DC $2.99]

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Astounding Wolf-Man #25

/ / Comics

The final issue of Robert Kirkman and Jason Howard’s tale of CEO turned werewolf turned super-hero wraps things up with a bloody battle between Wolf-Man and the Elder, leaving only one standing.

As conclusions go issue #25 does what it needs to do but even with extra-pages feels a bit rushed. The vampire Zecheriah’s final fate is far from satisfying (blink and you’ll miss it), and the amount of exposition jammed into Wolf-Man’s battle with the Elder comes close to ruining the series final big fight. For a comic that’s been centered mainly around character-driven issues we’re given an overabundance of plot.

That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the issue, I did. The final few pages present several new opportunities should Kirkman and Howard ever decide ever decide to return to the character. And just the thought that they’ve unleashed an army of werewolf covert opps into the Image universe, answerable only to their new leader, does make me smile.

[Image $4.99]

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