Fantasy

Once Upon a Time – New York City Serenade

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Once Upon a Time – New York City Serenade
  • wiki: link

“We’re back.”

Once Upon a Time - New York City Serenade

Split between two storylines, the Enchanted Forest immediately following the second curse and New York City one year later, Once Upon a Time returns with Hook‘s (Colin O’Donoghue) repeated attempts to get Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison) to remember her past. Given her happy and uncomplicated life with Henry (Jared Gilmore) and a would-be fiance (Christopher Gorham), and the crazy story which Hook presents her with, it takes more than a little convincing.

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Once Upon a Time in Wonderland – Nothing to Fear

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Once Upon a Time in Wonderland – Nothing to Fear
  • wiki: link

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland - Nothing to Fear

Returning from the show’s mid-season finale the roles of several characters are changed. Cyrus (Peter Gadiot) is free of both the Red Queen (Emma Rigby) and the bottle but only because the Knave‘s (Michael Socha) wish trapped him as the new genie. Alice‘s (Sophie Lowe) quest to find the man she loved may be over, but she will have to put off a happy ending with Cyrus and work alongside the Red Queen to save the Knave before Jafar (Naveen Andrews) gets his hands on the genie’s lamp.

…

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Journey Double Feature

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Journey to the Center of the Earth / Journey 2: The Mysterious Island
  • IMDB: link / link

Journey Double FeatureRe-released together as a two-disc set on both DVD and Blu-ray, 2008’s Journey to the Center of the Earth and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island star Josh Hutcherson as a young protagonist who discovers truth behind the writings of Jules Verne while looking for missing members of his family.

Of the two films, the first (co-starring Brendan Fraser and Anita Briem) featuring the group’s discovery of a secret world in the center of the Earth holds up better than its sequel (co-starring Dwayne “It’s Okay to Call Me The Rock Again” Johnson, Vanessa Hudgens, Luis Guzmán, and Michael Caine) and the discovery of a secret island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Family friendly, the effects of the two films and the magical settings of each might provide enjoyment for younger viewers and even interest them in Verne’s original works (not a bad thing), but adults aren’t likely to come back to either film too often.

[New Line Home Video, Blu-ray $19.98 / DVD $12.97]

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Li’l Sonja

/ / Comics

Li'l SonjaWhen Dynamite started putting out all of these cute one-shots inspired by the company’s current catalog, Li’l Sonja was the one that caught my eye. It took me a while to get to the issue, partially due to having to special order the terrific variant cover by Agnes Garbowska, and partly out of my own forgetfulness, but once I picked it up I was in heaven.

Written by Jim Zub, whose work in IDW’s new Samurai Jack comic I have been enjoying, with art by Joel Carroll, Li’l Sonja is the type of comic I want to see Dynamite start putting out monthly. The story centers around the heroine’s travels leading her to investigate disappearance of red objects and red-headed children caused by greedy red dragon.

Fighting off the dragon with her sword, wits, and a full page of wonderful puns, Sonja eventually outsmarts the dragon and saves the day. A hell of a lot of fun, my only disappointment comes from how long it took me to pick it up and the fact that there’s no issue #2 to look forward to. Must-read.

[Dynamite Entertainment, $3.99]

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Red Sonja #6

/ / Comics

Red Sonja #6I’ve got to admit I found the conclusion of “Queen of Plagues,” the opening arc of Dynamite Entertainment’s new Red Sonja series, to be more than a little anticlimactic. After teasing us for five issues of an epic battle between Red Sonja and the brutal (and completely insane) Annisia writer Gail Simone throws a curveball by throwing in a common enemy of both women who is the puppet master behind the entire plague storyline.

The arc comes to an end with the death of both Annisia and Bazrat meeting their doom, but neither at the hands (or blade) of our Sonja. Although Red Sonja dispatches quite a few soldiers in a rage, her only memorable kill is beheading a kneeling, and defenseless, scientist. Hrm.

The comic also apparently says farewell to Sonja’s loyal bodyguards Nias and Ayla who won’t be accompanying the She-Devil on her journey onward (although they do get to kick some ass in their final appearance). I think the comic may be hurt without their humor and interactions with our heroine. Hit-and-Miss.

[Dynamite Entertainment, $3.99]

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