4.5 Razors

Astro City #41

/ / Comics

Astro City #41 comic reviewAfter 22 years and issues spanning more than a dozen series, mini-series, and one-shots, Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson deliver the 100th issue of Astro City with Astro City #41. Very much in the same vein of those stories that have come before, the over-sized issue is presented not from the perspective of a hero but an ordinary man whose life was touched by heroes. Beginning in the Great Depression, we’re told the story of the the Astro-Naut (a world-class inventor and hero responsible for giving the town its name) through the narration of a City Councilman who witnessed the ups and downs of the city and the hero over the years.

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Detective Comics #950

/ / Comics

Detective Comics #950 comic reviewA prelude to the series next arc, Detective Comics #950 centers around Cassandra Cain. From her spying on the Gotham City Metropolitan Ballet’s prima ballerina Christine Montclair to taking down a gang of human traffickers, the entire issue is presented (and narrated) from the character’s point of view. We see her fear of her own training and nature, and her inability to tell those closest to her in on the thoughts and feelings bottled up inside. In many ways it’s a sad (even melancholy) standalone issue, but at the same time writer James Tynion IV and artist Marcio Takara create an unexpectedly quiet and beautiful character-driven issue that should be a must-read for any fans Cassandra.

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Jessica Jones #5

/ / Comics

Jessica Jones #5 comic reviewJessica Jones #5 leaves Jessica‘s secret undercover mission, and her drama with Luke Cage (although we do get an interlude with Luke and Ben Urich), to focus back on the case she involving a scared client who should couldn’t save from her homicidal husband. Sitting down with the man, who turned himself in and asked for Jessica specifically, our normally tough-as-nails private eye gets her world rocked by a kind of crazy that makes more and more sense the longer the man explains his actions and view of the world.

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Supergirl – Luthors

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Supergirl – Luthors
  • wiki: link

Supergirl - Luthors television review

Perhaps better than any episode of the series so far, “Luthors” highlights just who Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) is and what she stands for. When Lena Luthor (Katie McGrath) is accused of helping break Lillian (Brenda Strong) and Metallo (Frederick Schmidt) out of prison only Kara stands up for her friend despite overwhelming evidence. When Metallo breaks Lena out of prison as well, further cementing the public’s perception yet another bad apple from the Luthor tree, Kara continues to believe in her friend. While revealing more about Lena’s relationship to various members of the Luthor clan, what makes “Luthor” work is that Supergirl is correct in her evaluation of Lena here… but from the final flashback, the show continues to tease that there’s likely more to the youngest member of the Luthor clan than meets the eye.

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Hidden Gem – State and Main

/ / Home Video
  • Title: State and Main
  • IMDb: link

State and Main DVD review

It’s about purity. We’ll double-down on Throwback Thursday this week to take a quick look at David Mamet‘s underrated 2000 comedy State and Main in which a movie set is forced to relocate to the sleepy town of Waterford, Vermont when their star’s (Alec Baldwin) love of underage girls gets them thrown out of New Hampshire. Immensely entertaining and highly quotable, this one never fails to make me laugh.

Go you Huskies. Featuring an amazing cast, Mamet gives us Philip Seymour Hoffman as the playwright turned screenwriter, William H. Macy as the film’s director, Baldwin and Sarah Jessica Parker as the film’s stars, and Rebecca Pidgeon, Clark Gregg, and Julia Stiles as townies. All turn out to be perfect fits for Mamet’s quick dialogue that takes equal swipes at Hollywood and small town life but still finds ways to celebrate each.

Everybody needs a hobby. The conflict in the film comes from the dysfunction of the set, the uproar the movie folks have on the town (in both positive and negative ways), and their star’s latest dalliance which puts the entire project in jeopardy.

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