4.5 Razors

Velvet #1

/ / Comics

Velvet #1The old adages of hiding in plain sight and not judging a book by its cover immediately come to mind while reading the latest collaboration between writer Ed Brubaker and artist Steve Epting. When we first meet her, Velvet Templeton is shown to be the highly intelligent secretary of the Director of Arc-7 (a secret government spy program whose agents and funding do not exist in any official records). The murder of an agent who Velvet was once close to has the middle-aged executive assistant thinking back on the past and doing some investigating of her own when she doesn’t trust the official story.

It’s while investigating Arc-7’s leading suspect, a retired spy who Velvet also spent some time with in and out of the bedroom, that the woman realizes she’s been played as the audience realizes Velvet is much more than your average secretary.

The twist of having Velvet be a highly-trained field operative in semi-retirement, without revealing much of her past, as she’s underestimated by those who choose to frame her for the murders, creates an intriguing set-up which I will happily stick around to read more of.

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Much Ado About Nothing

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Much Ado About Nothing
  • IMDB: link

Much Ado About NothingFilmed over the period of 12 days in director Joss Whedon‘s home, Much Ado About Nothing is a low-key character-driven of version of William Shakespeare’s play that comes off quite different than the far more lavish version Kenneth Branagh dazzled audiences with two decades ago.

Set in present day, shot entirely in black-and-white, and filled with performances of several of Whedon’s favorite actors, it could be easy to dismiss the film as a vanity project. To do so would be a mistake.

The film casts two of my favorite Whedon actors in Alexis Denisof, as the quick-witted Benedick, and Amy Acker, as the sharp-tongued Beatrice. Having spent many a night in Shakespeare readings with Whedon, as well as the time together on Angel, the pair have an obvious comfort level and chemistry that would impossible to create with such a short shooting schedule.

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Gravity

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

GravitySpace and underwater films offer the unique juxtaposition to explore both vastness and claustrophobia simultaneously. With Gravity writer/director Alfonso Cuarón offers a tense thriller, a moving character study centered around a single performance, and a roller-coaster that provides some of the best action scenes of this year. The result is a thrilling 91-minute thematic experience which easily ranks as one of the year’s best films.

Seeing the film in 3D IMAX, Cuarón’s vision is breathtaking. Although George Clooney has a supporting role as a throwback larger-than-life astronaut who would have been right at home during NASA’s heyday when astronauts were the country’s greatest heroes, Sandra Bullock carries nearly the entire film. And she does it well. As Dr. Ryan Stone,  a scientist sent to work on the Hubble Space Telescope, Bullock becomes untethered and lost in the vastness of space miles above Earth when debris from a Russian satellite rips through the shuttle and leaves her without anyone to rely on other than herself.

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Person of Interest – Reasonable Doubt

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Person of Interest – Reasonable Doubt
  • wiki: link

Person of Interest - Reasonable Doubt

After saving a veterinarian (Jennifer Ikeda) with the help of Bear, Reese (Jim Caviezel) and Finch (Michael Emerson) turn their attention to a former prosecutor (Kathleen Rose Perkins) charged with the murder of her husband (Daniel Cosgrove) at sea (even though the body has yet to be recovered). After slipping police custody by trading places with her defense attorney (Jennifer Restivo) their latest number goes on the run. Finch calls on Shaw‘s (Sarah Shahi) help to retrace the deceptive moves of the lawyer, still not knowing whether The Machine gave them the woman’s number to save her or help take her down before she does harm to someone else.

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Glee – The Quarterback

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Glee – The Quarterback
  • wiki: link

Glee - The Quarterback

Real life hits hard as current and past members of New Directions come together to honor the passing of Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith, who passed away from a drug overdose this summer) beginning with an ensemble empty stage performance of “Seasons of Love” from RENT. From there “The Quarterback” picks up three weeks after the funeral as Mr. Shue (Matthew Morrison)  gathers as many of his current and former Glee Club members as possible to find a way to memorialize their friend the only way they know how – through song. “The Quarterback” is a heartfelt goodbye containing several emotionally raw scenes and well-chosen performances providing a fitting farewell to both the actor and the character.

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