Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Castle - Habeas Corpse


When a personal injury lawyer is found tortured and beaten to death in an alley Beckett (Stana Katic) and Castle (Nathan Fillion) search for a motive in a bizarre murder mystery that includes an old debt needing to be repaid and the victim burying a crash test dummy in the woods the afternoon before his death. With the help of Lanie (Tamala Jones) and Tory (Maya Stojan), Castle and Beckett are able to retrace the victim's movements the day of his death and eventually discover how the true motive for the crime was tied to the case of recently-hospitalized young woman who wasn't even one of the dead lawyer's clients.

Darth Vader #3


Facing the wrath of the Emperor who lays the recent defeats, including the destruction of the Death Star, at his feet, Darth Vader begins to put together his own private force to ensure his plans (including learning the identity of that meddlesome farm boy with his old lightsaber who despite being the biggest hero the Rebellion has ever known or celebrated the vast Imperial network has yet to learn so much as his name).

Ultimate Spider-Man - The Spider-Verse Part 4


Wrapping up the Spider-Verse saga (which was really just a thin excuse to showcase various alternate versions of the character), Spider-Man (Drake Bell) returns home to confront the Goblin (Steven Weber) who has successful extracted DNA from all the other Spideys. After the villain transforms himself into the new Spider-Goblin, Peter needs all the help he can get and decides to enlist the various Spider-Men from other worlds to fight the Spider-Goblin.

Battle Creek - Old Flames


The search into the truth about Milt's (Tad Hamilton) past is put on hold in an episode that hits home for several characters when Commander Guziewicz's (Janet McTeer) home is set afire with her inside. As suspects include criminals she put away, a long line of former boyfriends, and an estranged adopted son (Rotimi) recently returned to Battle Creek "Old Flames" gives us our largest glimpse into the life of any single character yet. Even if the explanation of what actually occurred that night is clumsily handled, the episode succeeds in large by focusing on Guziewicz's propensity for getting out while the getting is good, a trait she likely developed due to the struggle with raising a troubled boy on her own.

Monday, March 30, 2015

Once Upon a Time - Best Laid Plans


In an episode that reveals the truth about Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) and David's (Josh Dallas) big secret and the fate of Maleficent's (Kristin Bauer van Straten) child, "Best Laid Plans" also introduces us to the Author (or at least the one trapped in the book - which is an interesting choice to reveal many have played that role over history) and gives the audience an understanding of how and why he came to be trapped inside the story book he was chronicling. Tempted to destroy the page to avoid telling Emma (Jennifer Morrison) the truth, the Charmings eventually decide to come clean about their secrets in a move that all of Storybrooke may come to regret.

Samurai Jack #17


As I'm a fan of both Samurai Jack and countless heist films Samurai Jack #17 delivers its share of fun right in my wheelhouse. Teaming up with "the Thief" (we have still yet to learn his real name), Jack and his new partner spend most of the issue breaking into the Master of Time's highly-guarded compound. This includes guards, alarms, death traps, laser grids, and the need for a good deal of stealth from both characters (and when that fails swift legs and forceful fisticuffs).

Backstrom - Give 'Til It Hurts


While avoiding his latest mandatory appointment with Dr. Deb (Rizwan Manji), Backstrom (Rainn Wilson) and his unit investigate a rather pedestrian hit-and-run that leaves one wealthy woman dead. Believing the motive for the socialite's murder is tied to one of the various charities she was involved in, Backstrom and his team go undercover (sort of) and a swanky charity benefit in hopes of discovering the real motive for the murder.

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Entertainment Weekly Supercut: Women Who Kick Ass

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #44


The Turtles battle to stop the Technodrome while their plan to thin the ranks of The Foot is successful. Sadly its not a compelete success as the island itself is terraformed into a Dimension X environment and the one Turtle left behind must deal with the enraged Rocksteady and Bebop. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #44 is a game-changing issue as IDW certainly sets out to break new ground after the fallout of this issue. Caution: Major Spoilers below!

Forever - Dead Men Tell Long Tales


The murder of the captain of a salvage ship alerts Henry (Ioan Gruffudd) to the fact that the ship he was murdered on (the first time) has been found. While helping Jo (Alana De La Garza) and Hanson (Donnie Keshawarz) solve the case Henry becomes increasingly obsessed with the ship and what happened to those aboard after his murder.

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Lady Rawhide / Lady Zorro #1


After faking the death of Zorro to protect Don Diego's identity while he is out of town helping to build a new mission, Lady Zorro and Lady Rawhide discover a town full of kidnapped girls and agree to continue working together to return the young women home safely before they are turned into slaves and whores by those responsible for their abduction.

The Majestic


I've always had a soft spot for director Frank Darabont and screenwriter Michael Sloane's sentimental (many would argue overly sentimental) 2001 movie The Majestic. Jim Carrey stars as screenwriter Peter Appleton who while fleeing an appearance in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee during the height of the Red Scare has a car accident and finds himself stumbling into a sleepy small town without his memory and a striking resemblance to one of the town's missing sons.

The Blacklist - The Longevity Initiative


While Tom (Ryan Eggold) and the Major (Lance Henriksen) are forced to deal with the fallout of Reddington's (James Spader) actions leaving them both at the mercy of the pissed-off Aryan Nation group Die Entretetchen, Lizzie (Megan Boone) and the FBI look into a tech billionaire whose side project gives the episode its name. Obsessed with finding the secret to escaping death Roger Hobbs (Ralph Brown) has hired scientists across the globe including Julian Powell (Joshua Close) who has now started using human test subjects in his high-risk procedures.

Friday, March 27, 2015

Person of Interest - Skip


While Reese (Jim Caviezel) deals with women trouble protecting his latest number, Finch (Michael Emerson) gets a number of his own whose threat comes directly from him. Immeadiately after sitting down to dinner with Beth (Jessica Hecht) the Machine spits out her number. With Root's (Amy Acker) interest piqued, Finch is forced to reveal the true nature of his relationship with Beth who he befriended solely to use as a way to install a Trojan Horse inside Samaritan via her now completed predictive algorithm. Now that Decima has become interested in her technology, with his hidden program inside, it seems the time to strike. However, one member of the team isn't willing to live with the consequences of Finch's plan.

Home


Alien occupation has never been so cute. Based on the children's book The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex, Home begins with the invasion of Earth by an alien race known as the Boov who relocate the entire world's population to suburban-style camps while taking the rest of the planet for their own.

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Happy Birthday with Keira

Arrow - Suicidal Tendencies


Ra's al Ghul's (Matt Nable) attempts to force Oliver (Stephen Amell) to accept his offer lead to more dead bodies with green arrows stuck out of their chests. Pledging to bring the vigilante to justice, Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh) takes his new A.T.O.M. suit for a spin only to discover the true identity of the man under the hood. Despite a pair of confrontations, both in and out of costume, the heroes eventually come to an understanding although the episode's closing scene suggests thing are going to get far worse for Oliver and his friends before the situation with the League of Assassins is resolved.

iZombie - Brother, Can You Spare a Brain?


The second episode of iZombie settles into the murder-of-the-week template of having a coroner's assistant, who is actually a zombie, but pretending to be a psychic, help a police detective (Malcolm Goodwin) solve murders after eating the brains of the victim. This week those brains involve a murdered artist whose passionate nature influences Liv (Rose McIver) to begin painting as well as reconsider her very practical reasoning for staying away from her former fiance Major (Robert Buckley) so as to not accidentally zombify him as well.

Rihanna - Towards The Sun


Here's Rihanna with the official video for "Towards The Sun," the first single from the Home soundtrack. The new animated film stars Rihanna, Jim Parsons, Steve Martin, Jennifer Lopez, and Matt Jones. Remember to check back tomorrow for my review.

Pretty Little Liars - Welcome to the Dollhouse


As expected, the Pretty Little Liars season finale "Big A Reveal" wasn't what fans were expecting, but that doesn't mean serious ground wasn't made in the final episode of the show's Fifth Season. There were three reveals to discuss. The first, that someone connected to the DiLarentis family named Charles is likely A raises more questions than it answers (and could quite easily be nothing more than the show's latest red herring). The second involves the surprise return of another character from the dead. It's the third, however, which is the important reveal as Peter (Nolan North) and Veronica Hastings (Lesley Fera) and Linda Tanner (Roma Maffia) all learn of the existence of A and get a good look at the horror the Liars' nemesis has put the girls through. Although the season ends on a cliffhanger with the fate of Mona (Janel Parrish) and all the Liars in doubt, the army against A has grown considerably over the course of a single episode.

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

The Flash - Rogue Time


"Rogue Time" isn't a bad episode by any stretch of the imagination but it's hard not to feel disappointed when it undoes so much of what made last week's show the best episode of the series so far. Stuck "a day and some change" in the past, Barry (Grant Gustin) has the chance to relive the events the past two days. Despite warnings from Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh) about not diluting the time steam with any changes, Barry chooses to act on his knowledge of the past taking down Mark Mardon (Liam McIntyre) before he can threaten Joe (Jesse L. Martin) or paralyze Singh (Patrick Sabongui).

Batgirl: Endgame #1


Aside from being unclear as to why there is a Jokerized mob terrorizing all of Gotham I enjoyed Batgirl: Endgame #1 featuring Batgirl striving to save as many people as possible from the infected including using charades to help one little girl who nearly gets left behind before the bridge is blown.

Scorpion - Young Hearts Spark Fire


Team Scorpion is hired to find a church group of lost hikers in the Los Angeles wilderness who have been missing for 36 hours. The situation is further complicated when the team's helicopter goes down starting a wildfire that quickly spreads. The (latest) life or death situation, which thankfully this week doesn't have any global consequences, allows Toby (Eddie Kaye Thomas) to continue to chip away at Happy's (Jadyn Wong) reluctance to date and for Walter (Elyes Gabel) to seriously consider Toby's diagnosis that he's in love with Paige (Katharine McPhee).

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Castle - At Close Range


One late night of Ryan's (Seamus Dever) part-time work as a security guard for his brother-in-law's (David Conrad) company ends in tragedy when the Congressman (Ricardo Chavira) he was protecting and the speaker (Annie Little) at the event are both shot on his watch. Based on descriptions from both Ryan and the Congressman of a radical blogger (Charlie Hofheimer) fleeing the scene, the NYPD is able identify the likely shooter although Ryan channels his inner Castle (Nathan Fillion) and believes there's far more to the story and the blogger, despite his motive and actions, is nothing more than the perfect fall guy for the crime.

Blade Triple Feature

Re-released in a new three-pack Triple Feature Blu-ray Wesley Snipes' Blade trilogy is far from the best comic book movies have to offer. Collecting Blade, Blade II, and Blade: Trinity, the set has one good movie, one mediocre flick, and one so awful it might as well be an Underworld movie. Each comes with its original special features including commentaries for each film and assorted featurettes and trailers.

Snipes is fine as a human/vampire half-breed based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. The first film, other than introducing the world and its core characters, is largely forgettable. Blade II, involving the hero teaming with a group of vampires (most notably Leonor Varela and Ron Perlman) to take on a new deadly version of vampires known as reapers, is the only one that holds up to multiple viewings. As for the horrifically bad third film, introducing Ryan Reynolds and Jessica Biel as vampire hunters and Dominic Purcell as the most ridiculous version of Dracula ever, the less said the better.

Battle Creek - Heirlooms


Despite learning something about his new FBI buddy's past last week that doesn't stop Russ (Dean Winters) from continuing to pry and illicit information from Milton Chamberlain (Tad Hamilton) about what really brought him to Battle Creek, Michigan. While working to solve a case involving the natural death of a rich old man and the brutal murder of a former hooker (which takes them a little too long to find the proper motive of greed) the pair trade a few lies about their pasts leaving no one the wiser.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Casey Jones VS. The Underworld


Left out of all the city-saving action in Dimension X, Casey Jones (Josh Peck) works to prove himself which isn't helped when he's taken down by the new leader of the Purple Dragons (much to the delight of the Turtles). As Leonardo (Seth Green), Raphael (Sean Astin), Michelangelo (Greg Cipes), and Donatello's (Rob Paulsen) spend most of the episode cleaning their home the episode follows Casey on his various adventures including picking fights with the Purple Dragons and the Shredder (Kevin Michael Richardson).

Monday, March 23, 2015

Happy Birthday with Keri

Once Upon a Time - Poor Unfortunate Soul


The search for the mysterious Author continues in an episode that features a pair of storylines involving Ursula (Merrin Dungey) and her connection to Hook (Colin O’Donoghue). While the flashbacks focus on the pair's previous meeting and Ursula loosing her most precious gift, the present day storyline centers on Hook attempting to make amends for his previous actions and, in so doing, learning just what Ursula, Cruella De Vil (Victoria Smurfit), Maleficent (Kristin Bauer van Straten), and Rumpelstiltskin (Robert Carlyle) are truly after.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten #13


The afterglow of Buffy and Spike's romantic night together is short-lived as the vampire seeks out the help of Xander, and eventually Giles and Willow, when his nightmare about killing appears to be true. With the magic users seeking for any control of the vampire Xander keeps Buffy away by inviting her along for a long overdue conversation with Andrew.

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation teaser


Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Ving Rhames, and Simon Pegg are back to take on the "anti-IMF" in the first teaser trailer for this summer's Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation. Alec Baldwin, Rebecca Ferguson, Jingchu Zhang, and Sean Harris also star. The latest impossible mission opens in theaters on July 31st.

The Blacklist - Tom Keen


With Lizzie's (Megan Boone) indictment for the harbor master looking more and more likely Reddington (James Spader) makes good use of the information forced out of the Major (Lance Henriksen) last week to track down Tom Keen (Ryan Eggold) now working undercover as an Aryan Nazi thug.

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Red One #1


Originally written as a French comic under the title Red Skin, Xavier Dorison and Terry Dodson's spy-thriller opens in 1977 during the Cold War when the Soviet Union's best agent is tasked with her latest assignment: work undercover in America to become the country's greatest super-hero.

Arrow 2.5 #6


Taking place before the events of Arrow's Third Season Arrow 2.5 has dealt predominantly with the fallout of Season Two and a new villain taking on the role of Brother Blood. Arrow 2.5 #6 shifts away from that storyline to focus on the ongoing back-up story involving a madman in Kahndaq who has come to the attention of Amanda Waller and A.R.G.U.S.

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Perception - Run


Premiering in the summer of 2012 TNT's Perception was an intriguing premise of casting Eric McCormack as a schizophrenic consultant for the FBI who would work through a case by discussing it with hallucinatory figments of his imagination. McCormack and Rachael Leigh Cook, as the professor's former student turned FBI agent, helped sell the murder-of-the-week which often involved Dr. Daniel Pierce (McCormack) diagnosising an unusual mental condition that would often exonerate one suspect and eventually help lead the FBI to the true culprit of the crime.

Friday, March 20, 2015

A is for...

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Retreat!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Retreat! collects the first seven episodes of the show's Third Season which is most, but not quite all, of Leonardo (Seth Green), Raphael (Sean Astin), Michelangelo (Greg Cipes), and Donatello's (Rob Paulsen) time in the country licking their wounds following the Kraang mutation of New York City.

Seth Green takes over the voice of the injured Leonardo with "Into the Woods" whose rehabilitation is one of the major storylines of the set. The Turtles also meet Bigfoot, deal with leftover Kraang tech which takes the appearance of April's (Mae Whitman) mother, fight to survive their dreams, and deal with new mutants including mutant frogs, Casey's car, and the bizarre Chimera. The episodes aren't without charm (such as the introduction of Crognard the Barbarian) but they're among the weakest of the series lacking any of the trademark villains. I also find it quite odd that "Vision Quest" (the last episode of the arc) isn't part of this collection. The single-disc DVD does include short featurettes for each of the episodes included.

[Nickelodeon, $14.98]

Arrow - The Offer


Oliver (Stephen Amell) returns home to Starling City with Diggle (David Ramsey) and Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman) to think long and hard about the offer from Ra's al Ghul (Matt Nable). Receiving a frosty reception from Captain Lance (Paul Blackthorne), who now knows the truth about Sara's death, watching Thea (Willa Holland) continue to struggle with what Malcolm has done to her, and learning about Felicity's (Emily Bett Rickards) romantic relationship with Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh), combined with the self-doubt of whether or not he's actually made a difference in the city, lead Oliver to seriously consider Ra's offer to take his place as the new head of the League of Assassins.

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - One of Us


While Coulson (Clark Gregg) calls in outside help to evaluate Skye (Chloe Bennet) in the wake of learning about her transformation and occasional earthquake side-effects, Cal Zebo (Kyle MacLachlan) scrubs the bottom of the barrel to enlist the help of some D-list villains (Drea de Matteo, Geo Corvera, Ric Sarabia, Jeff Daniel Phillips) to cause Coulson and his team a relatively small amount of trouble. (Seriously, with the list of all the super-powered baddies S.H.I.E.L.D. has ever come across this is the best he could do?)

Elektra by Ivette Puig


Ivette Puig is a Spanish cosplayer from Barcelona. You can follow her on deviantART, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and her official blog.

Star Wars #3


Star Wars #3 continues the opening arc of Marvel's new main Star Wars comic as Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, and the droids attempt to make it out alive where their plan to cripple an Imperial weapons factory blows up in the face thanks to the timely arrival of reinforcements and Darth Vader.

iZombie - Pilot


What if Veronica Mars was a zombie? Based on the comic series of the same name created by Chris Roberson and Michael Allred The CW's latest show bares more than passing resemblance to a certain young plucky high school detective from Neptune, California. Adapted for television by Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas along with Diane Ruggiero the new series centers around a spunky outsider whose personal pain and dark past push her into a life of solving crime. Oh, except this time she's a zombie.

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

The Flash - Out of Time


The Flash delivers a game-changing episode including removing any doubt as to the identity of the Reverse-Flash, allowing Iris (Candice Patton) to admit her feelings for Barry (Grant Gustin) and discover his secret, and deliver the death of a major character. Or did it? The show's creators have been teasing us for some time that time travel will play an important role of the show's run and that all begins with "Out of Time," first when Barry catches a glimpse of another version of himself and later as the character discovers he has been offered a second chance to change the events the past day and alter the timeline.

Alessandra Ambrosio takes an Ocean Drive


Brazilian model Alessandra Ambrosio is the cover model for the latest issue of Ocean Drive. You can find the pics from her photo shoot along with a behind-the-scenes video inside.

Pretty Little Liars - I'm a Good Girl, I Am


Paving the way for next week's season finale (and promised big reveal), Alison's (Sasha Pieterse) comes to a close and the remaining Liars are set to join her in prison (although what they are actually being charged with is unclear). Alison's guilty verdict isn't a surprise but her insistence to avoid the truth like the plague (such as explaining the archery trophy which, as bizarre as it seems, was the final nail in her coffin with the jury) when it could have possibly changed the outcome is confounding. Nor does Alison get any help from Mike (Cody Allen Christian) as Aria (Lucy Hale) takes steps to protect her bother leading to Mike, Ezra (Ian Harding), and Caleb (Tyler Blackburn) into an ambush by A.

LEGO Jurassic World trailer


We now have our first trailer for LEGO's new Jurassic World game which will be released on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and Microsoft Windows this summer.

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Castle - Hong Kong Hustle


It's been awhile since we've seen a jealous Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) but that's just what "Hong Kong Hustle" delivers when Beckett crosses paths with the impressive Inspector Zhang (Linda Park) while investigating a homicide in Central Park. Initially a suspect, who makes Ryan (Seamus Dever) and Esposito (Jon Huertas) look foolish with very little effort, once her identity is confirmed Zhang joins the official investigation into the death of her oldest friend who got himself in over his head.

Battle Creek - Man's Best Friend


While the episode's B-story continues poking into how Milton Chamberlain (Tad Hamilton) found himself transferred to Battle Creek by sending Erin (Liza Lapira) to an FBI seminar in Detroit, the main plot of "Man's Best Friend" concerns an elementary school student found with a kilo of heroin in her backpack. Despite multiple attempts to get the truth out of the girl and her parents Russ (Dean Winters) and Milt are unable to learn the truth forcing them to track down multiple leads including the recent incursion of Dominican drug dealers into the area and the possibility that the girl's uncle, a local cop, stole the drugs from the evidence room.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - The Battle for New York


Wrapping up the storyline involving a mutated New York controlled by the Kraang, the two-part "The Battle for New York" introduces a new team of old faces to help the Turtles in their hour of need - The Mighty Mutanimals (Slash, Leatherhead, Dr. Rockwell, and Pigeon Pete). Although their some uneasiness to the alliance early on, particularly between Leonardo (Seth Green) and Slash, eventually the mutants find a way to work together to save the mutated populace of New York City and return them home from Dimension X.

Monday, March 16, 2015

Once Upon a Time - Enter the Dragon


Regina (Lana Parrilla) goes undercover to learn just what Ursula (Merrin Dungey), Cruella De Vil (Victoria Smurfit), and the recently resurrected Maleficent (Kristin Bauer van Straten) have in store for the people of Storybrooke. Realizing a trap when he sees one, Rumpelstiltskin (Robert Carlyle) still wonders if the villains can't turn the Evil Queen's recently broken heart to their advantage and bring the old Regina back for good. It's this question that looms over the entire episode but isn't directly answered... at least not yet.

Spider-Gwen #2


Set on an alternate Earth where Gwen Stacy was bitten by a radioactive spider, I felt a bit lost reading the first issue of the series that, other than the look of Gwen as this world's Spider-Woman, did little to sell me on the concept. The second issue, which picks up following our heroine getting her ass kicked by the Vulture, is a little more entertaining thanks in large part to the appearance of Spider-Ham as a delusional sidekick only the heavily-concussed Spider-Gwen can see and hear.

Hawaii Five-0 - Kahania


Offering the return of Michael Imperioli as local barber Odell Martin, the latest episode of Hawaii Five-0 focuses largely on McGarrett (Alex O'Loughlin) who finds himself in a stand-off with the barber and a young man (Steven Krueger) being hunted by the Armenian mob. Trapped in the barber shop without a phone (or any neighbor capable of hearing the hundreds of shots fired), Five-0's commander manages to get all three men out alive, although a late twist puts the series of events in an entirely different perspective for McGarrett (as is evident by the episode's tearful final reaction).

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Keira Knightley is one 'Elle of a woman in any country


Keira Knightley is the March cover model for both Elle UK's March issue and the March issue of Elle France. You can photos from both cover shoots inside.

The Blacklist - The Major


The investigation into the death of harbor master Martin Wilcox (Michael Kostroff) puts Lizzie (Megan Boone) in front of a judge (John Finn) forced to tell the truth about the task force while doing her best to hide the truth about how the harbor master met his end. To convince the judge of the reasons for keeping the task force classified Lizzie reveals her odd relationship with Red Reddington (James Spader) as the episode relies on a collection of clips and flashbacks as an overview for the show's first 36 episodes.