4 Razors

Bolt

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

“If I stare at the lock long enough it will burst into flames.”
“Now I’m concerned on a number of levels.”

It’s been quite awhile since I’ve used the word impressed to describe a Disney animated film.  Bolt proves two things: 1) Disney bringing Pixar into the fold was a very smart move and is starting to bear fruit, and 2) the Magic Kingdom may still have a little fairy dust left after all.  Bolt is one of the most pleasant surprises of the year.

Bolt (John Travolta) is a super-dog whose powers include laserbeams which shoot out of his eyes and a super-bark which can take out an entire army of Dr. Calico’s (Malcom McDowell) evil agents.  There’s just one thing, none of it is real.

Bolt is the star of a television show and believes the special effects done during the scenes are his own doing.  When the script calls for his owner Penny (Miley Cyrus) to be abducted Bolt breaks out of the studio and finds himself in a world which he is ill-prepared for.

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Hellboy Kicks Ass on DVD

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army
  • IMDb: link

“You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll wet your pants.”
—Ron Perlman describes Hellboy 2: The Golden Army

Although I enjoyed the first Hellboy I wasn’t blown away by it.  This time however Guillermo del Toro gets it just right.  With more monsters, more special effects, a stronger story, and more humor, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army is one of the few sequels which outshines the original.

Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones (this time voicing his character), and Jeffrey Tambor all return as agents of the B.P.R.D. This time they’re out to stop a mad elven Prince (Luke Goss) who plans to awaken an unstoppable robot army to wage his war against humanity.

There are several new characters introduced who stand out most notably the ectoplasmic scientific expert Johann Krauss (voiced by Seth MacFarlane), Abe’s love interest Princess Nuala (Anna Walton) and the intimidating Mr. Wink (Brian Steele).

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I Served the King of England

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: I Served the King of England (Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále)
  • IMDB: link

“It was my luck to run into bad luck.”

From the Czech Republic comes this tale of a waiter with dreams of being a millionaire who finds himself caught up in love, money, desire, and the Nazi invasion of his homeland. The story follows the remembrances of Jan Dite (Oldrich Kaiser) who, recently released in prison after almost 15 years, begins a new life and thinks back of the experiences of his younger self (Ivan Barnev).

We follow the young waiter’s experiences as he works himself up the ladder at various restaurants and hotels over the years.  Dite’s slow rise takes some unexpected, and often humorous, turns over the years.

His emotional journey also takes him through the arms (and out of the beds) of beautiful women before falling hopelessly in love with a card carrying Nazi (Julia Jentsch).

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The Life Story of The Flash

/ / Comics
  • Title: The Life Story of the Flash
  • Comic Vine: link

“His legend will be emblazoned across the centuries, his heroism and unselfish sacrifce revered and remembered a thousand years hence.”

When I sit and ruminate on my favorite comic characters of all-time a certain Scarlet Speedster always finds himself racing up the list.

Part comic and part biography The Life Story of The Flash is one of the most unconventional graphic novels you will find.  Written by Mark Waid and Brian Augustyn, the life of the Flash is told from beginning to end (not counting our hero’s return in Final Crisis) through the eyes of his wife Iris Allen.

The majority of the material is written as a book with occasional pictures, comic panels, and pages inserted for clarification of the major events of Barry Allen’s life.  The book celebrates the first hero of the Silver Age from childhood through that fateful night that lightning stuck, his villains and comrades, his sidekick Wally West, marriage, the loss of his wife, his final act of saving the entire DCU, and his legacy.

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The Return of the Secret Six

/ / Comics
  • Title: The Secret Six #1
  • Comic Vine: link

“Grant’s characters [from Final Crisis] are high-minded lunatics with visions of universal conquest, while mine are more like desperate carny roustabouts with the clap.”
—writer Gale Simone

The Secret Six return with this new series from writer Gail Simone and artist Nicola Scott.  For those unfamiliar, the Six are a group of villains banded together for mutual interest and money making endeavors.  The new team returns Catman, Deadshot, Ragdoll, and Scandal Savage. and introduces the newest member, Bane.

Here we’re introduced to a new behind-the-scenes villain (or better described as a villain in a box), and by the end of the issue the team has a mission which no one thinks is a good idea.

The first issue is a bit too much set-up, but once the story gets moving and we can see these guys interact, the fun really starts.  There are two great moments worth talking about.

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