4 Razors

Castle – The Fast and the Furriest

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Castle – The Fast and the Furriest
  • tv.com: link

“You’re saying someone framed Bigfoot?”

Castle - The Fast and the Furriest

Castle (Nathan Fillion) and Beckett (Stana Katic) investigate a murder victim who worked at a primate sanctuary and whose mauled body was dumped at the emergency room in the middle of the night by a convicted killer (James Madio) recently released on parole. A talk with the convict who found the woman in the alley, before unceremoniously dumping her in front of the ER, leads Beckett and Castle to the crime scene which boasts some unusual circumstantial evidence (in the form of giant footprints) that convinces the mystery writer the crime was committed by Bigfoot.

…

Castle – The Fast and the FurriestRead More »

Castle – The Fast and the Furriest Read More »

Star Wars #4

/ / Comics

Star Wars #4As Han Solo and Chewbacca manage to evade the Imperials by plunging the Millenium Falcon deep into the core of Coruscant, Leia and Wedge discover their position has been given away as the pair of X-Wing pilots find themselves cut off from the rest of the Rebellion with two Star Destroyers and an entire fleet of Tie Interceptors between them and rejoining the fleet.

Although grounded, Luke gets a message from an old friend warning him of Leia’s danger. With the help of C-3PO and R2-D2, Luke gets the clearance codes he needs to stage a rescue mission on his own, but given the odds it may be too little too late. The comic makes an interesting choice to allow Prithi to overhear Ben‘s message making me wonder if she’s Force-sensitive or if Ben’s message is audible, not telepathic, and could possibly be overheard by anyone in the vicinity.

In the comic’s other ongoing storyline Darth Vader looks for new ways to motivate the second Death Star workers to get them back on schedule. Worth a look.

[Dark Horse, $3.99]

Star Wars #4 Read More »

Doctor Who – Cold War

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Doctor Who – Cold War
  • tv.com: link

Doctor Who - Cold War

After a bit of a miscalculation The Doctor (Matt Smith) and Clara (Jenna-Louise Coleman) materialize on a sinking Russian nuclear submarine near the North Pole in 1983 which has just picked up a rather unusual passenger in the form of a Martian Ice Warrior whose mere presence on the sub puts the entire crew, and perhaps even the entire world, in danger. While the ships first officer (Tobias Menzies) dismisses The Doctor’s explanation of events as pure rubbish, the ship’s Captain (Liam Cunningham) and scientist (David Warner) try to keep an open mind.

…

Doctor Who – Cold WarRead More »

Doctor Who – Cold War Read More »

42

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: 42
  • IMDB: link

42Written and directed by Brian Helgeland, 42 chronicles the struggle and rise of Jackie Robinson (Chadwick Boseman) as Major League Baseball’s first African American player. Although a bit formulaic (it seems we’ve got several similar racially-themed sports movies over the past decade or so with The Express, Pride, and Remember the Titans), Helgeland successfully delivers an emotional and uplifting tale that’s more concerned with the historical importance of Robinson’s ascension to the majors than the any specific game of baseball in which he played.

In a straightforward story like this that doesn’t dig too deep into the hidden recesses and personal life of its main character to offer new insights not already available to the general pubic much of the success or failure is going to rely on the performances to carry the film. Here Helgeland makes terrific choices as Boseman (who coincidentally played Floyd Little in the similarly-themed The Express) carries the film with the ease Robinson swung a bat or caught a fly ball.

…

42Read More »

42 Read More »

Batman and Red Robin #19

/ / Comics

Batman and Red Robin #19Damian may be dead, but he won’t stay that way if Batman can help it. Batman and Robin begins anew with Batman getting a different member of the Bat-Family filling-in for the recently departed Robin. That doesn’t mean you can classify Batman and Red Robin #19 as a team-up by even the loosest definition of the term.

Overcome with grief Batman has sought out Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E. in an attempt to learn what keeps the undead creature alive and find a way to resurrect his son. It’s certainly an unexpected cameo, and the first time we’ve seen the New 52 version of the Dark Knight driven to such extremes. That said, the story worked for me (especially as the New 52 has been vague about both the existence and Batman’s knowledge of Lazarus Pits leaving that option, at least for now, off the table).

Carrie Kelley, the young woman who would become Robin in Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns is given new life as a Gotham City College student who had been tutoring Damian before his death. Bruce is unlikely to forget his first face-to-face meeting with the spunky young woman as she opens her door dressed in a Robin costume.

…

Batman and Red Robin #19Read More »

Batman and Red Robin #19 Read More »