4 Razors

The Umbrella Academy

/ / Comics

“Forty-three extraordinary children were born to mostly single women, who had shown no signs of pregnancy, in seemingly random locations around the world.  The children were either abandoned or put up for adoption.  Enter Sir Reginald Hargreeves, a.k.a the Monocle, world renown scientist and wealthy entrepreneur…  For reasons unknown Sir Reginald set out with his bodyguard Abhijat aboard his private vessel The Minerva, rumored to be powered by the remains of King Amen-Kharej IV.  Using methods undisclosed, he sought to track down and adopt as many of the children as he could.  He only found seven of them…

umbrella-academy-apocalypse-1-coverThe first issue, “The Day the Eiffel Tower Went Berserk,” gives us the brief background of Sir Reginald before jumping into one of the team’s early adventures against Zombie Robot Gustave Eiffel (that’s right folks, the guy who built the Eiffel Tower has been living inside as a robotic robot zombie for years waiting for his opportunity to launch the Tower into space! – oh, did I mention that the Eiffel Tower is really a spaceship!!).

From here we jump 20 years into the future to the members of the long disbanded team who learn of the death of their mentor.  00.01 – Space Boy, the team’s leader, returns from his post at the moon for the funeral only to discover one more surprise – 00.05 has returned un-aged from his long disappearance with a terrifying tale to tell.

A great first issue that flushes out some of the characters, their origins, and the dynamics of the group while still moving on at a fun and brisk pace that isn’t lost under heavy narrative or exposition.

[Dark Horse, $2.99]

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Michael Clayton

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Michael Clayton
  • IMDg: link

“I’m not a miracle worker; I’m the janitor.”

michael-clayton-poster

Michael Clayton (George Clooney) is a lawyer, though not in the traditional public perception of the term.  Michael doesn’t practice law, he doesn’t show up in court, and he doesn’t work on legal documents behind the scenes.  Michael is the firm’s “fixer” who comes in to solve problems.  Some refer to him as a miracle worker but in his own words he’s a bag man, a janitor who is called in to clean up the mess.  And he’s the best at what he does.

The firm’s latest problem involves its senior litigating partner Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson), a manic depressive off his medication who seems to have lost his mind.  After Arthur undresses in a deposition and proclaims his love to the plaintiff (Merrit Weaver) in a three-billion dollar case which in which he is defending U-North, a company who is merging with his law firm, Michael is sent to straighten his friend out.  But the more time he spends on the case the more questions are raised about the cause of his friend’s behavior and the validity of the plaintiff’s claims.

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First Blood

/ / Home Video
  • Title: First Blood
  • IMDb: link

“You’re dealing with an expert in guerrilla warfare, with a man who’s the best with guns, with knives, with his bare hands.  A man who’s been trained to ignore pain, ignore weather, to live off the land, to eat things that would make a billy goat puke.  In Vietnam his job was to dispose of enemy personnel; to kill, period.  Win by attrition.  Well, Rambo was the best.”

First BloodBack in 1982 a young Sylvester Stallone, with only a half-dozen movie roles under his belt, and no hits outside the Rocky franchise, decided to take on the starring role in a film based on David Morrell’s 1972 novel about a Vietnam War Veteran finding himself involved in war against a sheriff in a small town.  The script had been passed on by many actors, needed an extensive rewrite, and production held its own difficulties in the cold forests of British Columbia.  What came out of the experience, one which Stallone admits he was foolish to attempt, is one of his most memorable performances and the start to a new franchise.  Come inside the Full Diagnosis and meet John Rambo.

After learning the only other surviving member of his squad has died from a illness carried back from Vietnam, John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) drifts into a small town where he draws the ire of the shit-kicker chief of police (Brian Dennehy) and his band of hick deputies (who include a young David Caruso).  Pride and misunderstanding begin a situation that finds Rambo on the run, the Sheriff’s deputies injured, the National Guard called in, and a man hunt which brings in Rambo’s commanding officer (Richard Crenna) with a plea to stand down.

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Meet the Savages

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Savages
  • IMDb: link

The SavagesWritten and directed by Tamara Jenkins (Slums of Beverly Hills) The Savages tells the tale of a dysfunctional family brought back together to deal with illness and the hovering specter of death.  With a bittersweet tone, finding humor in human frailty and the stark drama, it’s a film definitely worth you time.

Jon Savage (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is a college professor and writer of scholarly work in Buffalo.  Wendy Savage (Laura Linney) works temp jobs and is a struggling playwright in New York City.  The pair are brought back together to deal with their estranged father’s (Philip Bosco) increasing dementia and failing health.

This is a film about the tough choices and circumstances families go through with the ailing of their parents.  It doesn’t shy away from the pain and guilt inherent in the tough but necessary choices so many families are put through dealing with parents who can no longer take care of themselves.

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Charlie Wilson’s War

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Charlie Wilson’s War
  • IMDb: link

“You can teach them to type, but you can’t teach them to grow tits.”

Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks), a junior Congressman from a small district in Texas, did the impossible.  Not only did he spearhead the largest covert war in United States history, but he kept it a secret for years.

Wilson, a member of the Defense Appropriations subcommittee and the only Congressman from a district “who doesn’t want anything,” was in an unique position to change the world while nobody was looking.

After learning about the Afghan resistance against the Soviets, and being cajoled into providing more assistance by a powerful political contributor (Julia Roberts), Wilson with the help of his friends and CIA operative Gust Avrakotots (Philip Seymour Hoffman), over the course of the decade began increasing the money, weapons, and training being put into Afghanistan and began fighting a covert war which only a scant few even knew was taking place.  And we aren’t talking a small increase here; we’re talking about hundreds of millions of dollars.

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