Science Fiction

Altered Carbon – Phantom Lady

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Altered Carbon – Phantom Lady
  • wiki: link

Altered Carbon - Phantom Lady television review

One of the most intriguing aspects of both the show’s premise and the open-ended Season One finale, is that Altered Carbon can be reset with a new actor and new story whenever necessary (not unlike Doctor Who). 30 years after the events of last season’s finale, “Phantom Lady” opens with Takeshi Kovacs living in the body of a lounge singer waiting for payment. The arrival of a bounty hunter (Simone Missick) working for Horace Axley (Michael Shanks) forces Kovacs back to Harlan’s World in the body of a new sleeve (Anthony Mackie) with a new mystery to solve and a new lead to the whereabouts of Quellcrist Falconer (Renée Elise Goldsberry). The circumstances of Kovacs being reborn in Mackie’s body make sense (even if it leaves questions unanswered about the sleeve he ended Season One in), and the set-up will offer a new mystery to solve, although I’m mixed on the choice to make the new mystery as personal (involving the love of his life) at the outset as last season (which involved his sister).

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Samurai Jack – Episode XX: Jack and the Monks

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Samurai Jack – Episode XIX: Jack and the Monks
  • wiki: link

“It. Is. Impossible.”

Samurai Jack - Episode XX: Jack and the Monks television review

Throwback Thursday takes us back to the adventures of the time-displaced samurai and his quest to make his way home. Jack‘s (Phil LaMarr) faith and perseverance is tested in “Episode XX.” After the minions of Aku destroy a time portal before the samurai can use it to travel home, a disheartened Jack encounters three monks who are on a quest to climb a mountain where, it is said, truth can be found at the mountain’s summit (while admitting no traveler has ever made it that far). While neither welcoming or discouraging the samurai, Jack joins them on their quest only to face obstacle after obstacle which further break his spirit.

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Bloodshot

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Bloodshot
  • IMDb: link

Bloodshot DVD reviewBased on the comic of the same name, Bloodshot is a sci-fi action flick starring Vin Diesel as United States Marine Ray Garrison resurrected using nanite technology which can repair his body making him an ideal candidate to join the team of enhanced soldiers (Eiza González, Sam Heughan, and Alex Hernandez). Haunted by fragments of memory, Garrison leaves Rising Spirit Tech to kill the man (Toby Kebbell) responsible for his wife’s (Talulah Riley) death… or so he thinks.

The character seems tailor-made for Diesel with simple motivations (honor, family revenge) and a desire to kick-ass. The basic set-up works fine for an action flick, even if the value of the other soldiers is questionable. Then there’s the twist of the CEO (Guy Pearce) reprogramming and sending the half-cocked Garrison after targets by fabricating memories that never existed. The problem, of course, is once the truth is revealed the movie doesn’t really have anywhere interesting to go as it devolves into a basic shoot ’em up with hacking and science-driven subplots that get increasingly ridiculous as the film slogs its way to the finish line.

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Samurai Jack – Episode XIX: Jack Remembers the Past

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Samurai Jack – Episode XIX: Jack Remembers the Past
  • wiki: link

Samurai Jack - Episode XIX: Jack Remembers the Past television review

Throwback Thursday takes us back to the adventures of the time-displaced samurai and his quest to make his way home. “Episode XIX” is a melancholy episode even for a show about a wandering warrior stranded in a dystopian future. After a short action sequence involving our hero saving a village from the tyranny of the Cossacks, the show takes our hero on a journey home… or what’s left of it. Without realizing it, Jack‘s (Phil LaMarr) wanderings have led him to the ruins of the home he knew as a child prompting several memories including playing the once lush fields, his first encounter with a samurai (in a reference to Lone Wolf and Cub), and using his wits to stand-up to bullies. Jack makes a cute kid, and it’s fun to get to see a more carefree version of the character in his youth before the evil that is Aku.

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