Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Castle - XY / XX


Castle's two-part season premiere introduces some new faces as well as a new longterm obsession for the NYPD's sexiest detective. When the newly-promoted Captain Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) disappears on her very first day Castle (Nathan Fillion) becomes increasingly concerned, especially after he discovers she is tied to a shoot-out in an abandoned auditorium. While "XY" follows Castle and the NYPD attempting to find the elusive Beckett, who makes no effort to reach out to her husband or colleagues, "XX" gives us Kate's version of the story filling in gaps from the first episode of the season and explaining her odd behavior which is all linked to her short stint at the Attorney General's office and her old enemy William Bracken (Jack Coleman).

Scorpion - Cuba Libre


After Cabe (Robert Patrick) is contacted by a woman (Izabella Miko) from his past Scorpion heads to Cuba to find a Serbian war criminal (Dimiter D. Marinov) who has evaded justice for two decades. Needing both a blood sample to prove the man's identity and his ledger with the false identities of 23 other war criminals, while being limited by the technology of their surroundings and no back-up from the U.S. Government, the team has a narrow window to snatch their target, prove his identity, steal the ledger from a bank vault, and get out of the country. It also doesn't help that before his capture the war criminal framed the team for an a car bombing that makes the group public enemy number one.

Wander Over Yonder - The Loose Screw


Stopping to help an elderly hero whose starship has broken down, Wander (Jack McBrayer) and Sylvia (April Winchell) are forced to choose between staying to assist the marooned Stella Starbella (June Squibb) and her cat or leave to stop a planetary invasion. Believing the old woman, and not just her ship, may have a screw loose, Sylvia is unable to convince Wander to leave leading to the planet being conquered followed quickly by a surprise for our intrepid heroes as Starbella seizes the moment to take down her old adversary Mandrake the Malfeasant and prove the old dame still has what it takes.

The Big Bang Theory - The Separation Oscillation


Relationship problems are the common theme of the second episode of The Big Bang Theory's Ninth Season. Hoping to alleviate Penny's (Kaley Cuoco) discomfort, Leonard (Johnny Galecki) talks with the woman (Melissa Tang) he made out with during their time apart. After making a realization during that awkward conversation (mostly for the marine biologist), he finally sits down and talks honestly with wife about their mutual fears about the other leaving them for greener pastures. Although it's not the case with every relationship this week, by the end of the episode the Hofstadters appear to finally be be back in a good place.

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Once Upon a Time - The Dark Swan


Between the opening scene which teases Emma's (Jennifer Morrison) role in Arthurian legend and the closing scene which gives us our first look at a truly evil new Dark One, "The Dark Swan" features our small group of heroes working together to save Emma who has been reborn in the Enchanted Forrest. Realizing Emma needs their help, Regina (Lana Parrilla), Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin), Robin (Sean Maguire), David (Josh Dallas), Henry (Jared Gilmore), Hook (Colin O'Donoghue), Granny (Beverley Elliott), and the Dwarves, will do whatever it takes to find their savior - even if that means relying on the help of Zelena (Rebecca Mader).

Bizarro #4


The six-issue mini-series centering on the bizarre friendship between Bizarro and Jimmy Olsen continues when the unlikely pair run into Zatanna in Bizarro #4. The madcap adventures from writer Heath Corson and artist Gustavo Duarte (with a little help from Darwyn Cooke) get a little magical boost to the proceedings with this issue. What happens when you mix backward magic and Bizarro? Total chaos, that's what!

Doctor Who - The Witch's Familiar


It's official, I've already grown tired of Missy (Michelle Gomez). "The Witch's Familiar" concludes the opening arc to the Ninth Season of Doctor Who which began with last week's "The Magician’s Apprentice." The not-so-dead Missy and Clara (Jenna Coleman) spend most of the episode together, and apart from The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) whose comapssion is put to the test by his most hated enemies and the mind of the mad man who spawned them. As Dalek episodes go I wouldn't rank this pair against the best of Doctor Who, but the second-half does deliver The Doctor out-thinking his enemy once more (and surely not for the last time).

Hawaii Five-0 - Mai ho'oni i ka wai lana mâlie


Hawaii Five-0 opens its Sixth Season with a story about pirates and buried treasure when an author investigating a late 19th Century pirate attack on the islands is found murdered for what he may have uncovered. Investigating the murder leads the group to the great-granddaughter (Samantha Lockwood) of one of the pirates and her partner (Jay Hector) who are willing to do whatever it takes to find the lost treasure. The episode has fun with the pirate theme involving Jerry (Jorge Garcia) in the investigation before Five-0 eventually tracks down the killers but not the elusive treasure which turns out to be more legend than fact.

Monday, September 28, 2015

Monday with Nina

Continuum - Power Hour


Kiera (Rachel Nichols) continues to struggle to deal with the future soldiers by continuing her shaky alliance with Garza (Luvia Petersen) on an information-gathering mission about their adversaries motivations that will leave another former Liber8 member dead. Meanwhile both Alec (Erik Knudsen) and Julian (Richard Harmon) take steps to change their futures as "Power Hour" continues to move Continuum one step closer to the series finale.

Scorpion - Satellite of Love


Scorpion returns for its Second Season with Walter (Elyes Gabel) leaving physical therapy early to lead the team back into action for the new Director of Homeland Security (Alana De La Garza) who brings Cabe (Robert Patrick) back into the fold and gives the team a new assignment in preventing a damaged nuclear Russian satellite from crashing into California. Alana De La Garza is an interesting addition to the cast and her character, who is more supportive of Scorpion than her predecessor while being primarily concerned with her own glory, provides a new spin on Scorpion's work for the Federal Government which should open new storylines for the show this season.

Scorpion - The Complete First Season

Based loosely on the real experiences of a group of geniuses helping the United States Government solve crimes and save the world, the First Season of Scorpion introduces us to Walter O'Brien's (Elyes Gabel) unorthodox team of Happy (Jadyn Wong), Toby (Eddie Kaye Thomas), Sylvester (Ari Stidham), Homeland Security agent Cabe Gallo (Robert Patrick), and Paige (Katharine McPhee) - a waitress who proves to be the missing ingredient needed to make the group successful.

Highlights of the First Season include the team heads to Las Vegas, prevents a nuclear meltdown, is forced to go through psychological tests, track a bio-hacker, protect Cabe's ex-wife (Jessica Tuck), stop terrorists planning to release a poisonous gas, save the lives of CIA witnesses who are endangered by Ralph's (Riley B. Smith) involvement in a video game, attempt to prevent a war, take an unexpected road trip, break into a lab controlled by a mad man, and save Walter's life in the season finale.

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Zathura: A Space Adventure

Danny (Jonah Bobo) and Walter (Josh Hutcherson) are brothers left alone by their father (Tim Robbins) one afternoon, with their older sister Lisa (Kristen Stewart) ignoring them upstairs.  Walter is the the bullying older brother who has outgrown Danny and thinks of himself as more mature than his little brother.  Danny finds an old board game in the basement.  Zathura is a game about space travel and to win you must be the first to the end.  After Danny pushes the button the boys are trapped in the game as all sorts of things start to go wrong:  meteor showers, spaceships full of Zorgons, the cryogenic freezing of their sister, a malfunctioning robot, and a stranded astronaut.

One of the best decisions in this movie is to center the movie on the boys and their reactions to what is happening.  The director gets the bickering of brothers so good that in parts I wanted to pull out my hair to stop the whining.  Kudos, but I wish you had turned it down just slightly.

Blindspot - Pilot


Created by Martin Gero, Blindspot opens with a strong visual that sets up an extremely shaky premise for an ongoing series as an naked amnesiac whose body is covered in tattoos is discovered in the middle of Times Square. Clues from Jane Doe's (Jaimie Alexander) tattoos lead to the involvement of Agent Kurt Weller (Sullivan Stapleton) on her case and prevent a terrorist attack in a (rather cheap) stage set of the Statue of Liberty. Just who Jane is, what her connection to Kurt is, and why his name appears so prominently on her largest tattoo are but three unanswered questions the show will no doubt continue to tease audiences with over the course of the season.

Batman '66 #25


Mashing up the classic and current versions of the character with a 60s take that fits the old television show, Batman '66 #25 introduces the world to its version of Harley Quinn complete with roller skates, giant hammer, and a new version of her classic black-and-red costume. After introducing the good doctor two years ago in Batman '66 #11, issue #25 gives us the first appearance of "the Harlequin" who begins terrorizing Gotham City with a series of madcap crimes including stealing the Bat Phone and putting together her own gang (which is where the Dynamic Duo finally catch up with the new villain).

Monday, September 21, 2015

Doctor Who - The Magician's Apprentice


Time travel is tricky. One of most commonly discussed issues with the ability to travel backwards it time and alter the future is the Hitler Paradox which debates both the morality and ability of killing someone before they grow into a fascist dictator with genocidal tendencies. The crux of that argument is at the heart of "The Magician's Apprentice" opening with The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) naturally reaching out to help a scared child lost in the middle of a battlefield. However, learning the child's name will force The Doctor to make an uncharacteristic decision which will bring the series full circle and cause The Doctor to return to face the creator of his most deadly adversaries one last time.

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Doctor Who - The Doctor's Meditation


Teasing the show's Ninth Season premiere, "The Doctor's Meditation" is a short six-minute episode that finds The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) in Camelot doing what he can to avoid confronting both an old adversary and one of the Time Lord's least proud moments of all his 13 lifetimes. Sequestering himself for the purpose of meditation before the upcoming confrontation, The Doctor quickly wearies and finds ways to distract himself first by getting Bors (Daniel Hoffmann-Gill) and some of the other locals to dig several new (and faulty) wells near the castle and finally relenting to a retaliatory party to celebrate the Time Lord's long life.

Saturday, September 19, 2015

Saturday with Joy

Usagi Yojimbo #148


One lazy autumn day Miyamoto Usagi's travels lead him to a small town where he encounters a one-armed ronin Mizuna Takashi. Saving the talented swordsman from an ambush on the road by a group of thieves, the two spend a short time together as Usagi learns the fellow's tragic tale before they part as friends. Months later another choice encounter brings him upon both Takashi and the villainous Te, the samurai responsible for the loss of Takashi's sword hand.

Friday, September 18, 2015

Everest


Based on a true story, Everest recounts the events of the 1996 Mount Everest disaster. There have been plenty of mountain climbing movies over the years and Everest does little to break from the pack. Working against the movie is the extended opening which plays like a Travel Channel infomercial attempting to sell the audience on traveling to Nepal to climb the world's biggest mountain with the help of experts like Rob Hall's (Jason Clarke) Adventure Consultants.

Black Mass


Black Mass is a semi-successful film highlighting the amazing story of Irish-American mobster Jimmy "Whitey" Bulger (Johnny Depp) and his rise to prominence in South Boston in the 70s and 80s as the head of the Winter Hill Gang in large part thanks to his role as an FBI informant for Agent John Connolly (Joel Edgerton). What should be a thoroughly engrossing character study becomes a by-the-book gangster movie that entertains but doesn't due justice to the source material.

The Scorch Trials


The sequel to The Maze Runner swaps out a complicated maze for an equally ill-defined desert landscape full of zombies for our surviving heroes to navigate. During a brief rest in a military complex obviously run by the same organization which experimented on them in the maze, Thomas (Dylan O'Brien) and his friends meet a group of kids from other mazes and begin to uncover the truth about why they are so important to WICKED.

Thursday, September 17, 2015

South Park - Stunning and Brave


South Park begins its 19th season by tackling Caitlyn Jenner, political correctness, fraternity culture, and Deflategate. The episode, and new troubles for both the school and the town, begins with a new principal being hired for the elementary school. An extreme mashup of frat boy and political correctness, PC Principal immediately enforces a no tolerance policy that even leaves Cartman considering following the herd (especially after the new principal literally attempts to beat his beliefs into the helpless 4th grader with his fists). With even Stan's father won over by the group, and everyone else scared into silence, it falls on Kyle to stand-up to the new bully in town.

Longmire - War Eagle


While continuing to investigate Nighthorse's (A Martinez) possible involvement in Branch's (Bailey Chase) death, Walt (Robert Taylor), Vic (Katee Sackhoff) and Ferg (Adam Bartley) look into the murder of a local history buff who obsessed with reopening a WWII Japanese Internment Camp as a national monument. The investigation in the CB enthusiast and history buff's life yields an unexpected family connection and eventually the man's murderer (Michelle Krusiec). It also leads to a revelation about Ferg who makes several leads in the case thanks to his familiarity with short-range radio.

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Malice

1993's Malice is your typical thriller, except for the fact that everyone involved isn't typical at all. Written by Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing, The Newsroom, and Sports Night) and Scott Frank (Out of Sight, the underrated Heaven's Prisoners, and The Lookout) and starring Alec Baldwin, Nicole Kidman, and Bill Pullman, the story takes an expected number of twists and turns down a dark road until the truth is fully revealed. And you also may have heard of its cinematographer Gordon Willis who shot a little series known as The Godfather Trilogy.

The story centers around a young couple (Pullman and Kidman) whose lives are shattered when their friend (Baldwin) operates on her making a mistake in surgery that costs her the ability to have children. The fallout for the couple and the doctor leads to grief, a lawsuit, and the husband to begin looking into a situation that he discovers is far more complicated than he ever imagined.

Bat-Mite #4


Bat-Mite teams-up the Batman-obsessed imp with the greatest hero you've never heard of: Booster Gold! Booster's timely arrival helps Bat-Mite extracate himself from an embarrassing situation involving his new roommates. And after realizing Booster isn't a super-villain, and his failed attempt to give Booster a grim makeover that's no worse than what the New 52 did to the hero, Bat-Mite finally agrees to help Booster hunt down a villain (Gridlock) who is obsessed with reversing time back to when he was younger. (Hey, after reading all the mediocre New 52 comics I've put up with I'm on your side Gridlock!)

Allegiant trailer


We now have our first trailer for the third film of the Divergent franchise. The Divergent Series: Allegiant returns Tris (Shailene Woodley) and Four (Theo James) as the pair journey outside the wall into the unknown where their understanding of themselves and their world will be put to the test. Maggie Q, Zoë Kravitz, Miles Teller, Naomi Watts, and Jeff Daniels also star. The Divergent Series: Allegiant opens in theaters on March 18th.

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - The Fourfold Trap


Divide and conquer is the theme of "The Fourfold Trap" as a fully-brainwashed Karai (Kelly Hu) leads the Shredder's (Kevin Michael Richardson) forces to separate and capture each of the Turtles. Placing them each in a specially-designed trap, Karai awaits the inevitable arrival of Splinter (Hoon Lee). The traps are a bit goofy, as well as deadly, furthering the episode's (and show's) theme of the Turtles being stronger when they work together which eventually leads to their escape.

Castle - The Complete Seventh Season

Although the weakest of the show's seven seasons so far, opening with a convoluted storyline to explain Castle (Nathan Fillion) missing his own wedding (a storyline which would rear its ugly head later in the season as well), Season Seven is not without its share of memorable moments. There are that cases that involve an invisible man, a crash test dummy, murder at 30,000 feet, and a mission to Mars, Castle lives out his fantasy as an 80s action star, Beckett (Stana Katic) and Castle head into the Old West to solve a murder, Jerry Tyson (Michael Mosley) returns and abducts Beckett, Castle begins life as a private eye, Linda Park guest-stars as a Hong Kong version of Beckett, and the season finale explains Richard Castle's life-long obsession with death and murder.

The five-disc set includes audio commentary for two episodes by cast and crew, Castle's "Raging Heat" webmercial, a Ryan (Seamus Dever), and Esposito (Jon Huertas) music video, bloopers, and deleted scenes.

[Walt Disney Studios, $45.99]

Monday, September 14, 2015

Continuum - Lost Hours


Continuum begins its shortened final season with a big shift for its heroine. By last season's finale Kiera Cameron (Rachel Nichols) had finally come to terms with helping to create a better future than the one she was separated from. The arrival of Brad's (Ryan Robbins) fellow soldiers from an even bleaker future controlled by Kellog (Stephen Lobo) who knock the Protector into a hallucinatory reunion with her son reignites Keira's desire to make it back home. It's a pretty quick one-eighty (even if it may be necessary given the limited time remaining to wrap-up the show's various storylines), and it also stunts some of Kiera's growth as a character over the past couple of seasons.

The Wicked + The Divine #14


Writer Kieron Gillen's attempt at a "remix issue," The Wicked + The Divine #14 is a pause before the storm covering the major events of the series from an alternative point of view. From the perspective of Woden we see larger plans of Ananke unfold as the issue confirms the head of the Pantheon was responsible not only for Lucifer's death but also for framing the god for the very public murder of a judge.

Beauty and the Beast - Destined


Beauty and the Beast closes out its Third Season with the conclusion of the Liam (Jason "Iron Eagle" Gedrick) storyline. With their adversary continuing to put pressure on each member of the group by manipulating the government to take a closer look at the unsolved murders which Vincent (Jay Ryan) played a major role (by, you know, killing them all), Vincent chooses to come clean about everything to the FBI in a last ditch effort to save his friends and take down Liam. And if in doing so he admits to, and gets away with, multiple murders to keep the show going another season that's just a bonus (wait, so the government knows he's a murdering super-human with anger issues and doesn't have a problem with this?).

Sunday, September 13, 2015

Sunday with Alexis

Wander Over Yonder - The Axe


Blaming Commander Peepers' (Tom Kenny) for his declining ranking among galactic villains, which is punctuated when one of Hater's conquered planets is taken over by the ridiculous Sourdough, Lord Hater (Keith Ferguson) fires his right-hand man. After discovering villainy is more complicated than simply showing up with an evil cackle, Hater keeps asking Peeper for advice over the course of the episode while refusing to admit he might have made a mistake.

Jumanji (20th Anniversary Edition)

Adapted from the award-winning book of the same name, 1995's Jumanji centers around a magical board game where jungle-themed events from inside the game become real forcing the players to finish the game to properly reset the increasing disaster the game creates in the real world.

The players are young Judy (Kirsten Dunst) and Peter Shepherd (Bradley Pierce) whose discovery of the game frees Alan Parrish (Robin Williams), a previous player who was trapped in the game for 26 years. Along with Alan's childhood friend (Bonnie Hunt), the group will attempt to survive the mayhem and finish the game.

Released in a new 2oth Anniversary Blu-ray, Jumanji holds up pretty well after 20 years, although some of the film's special effects have aged better than others. Extras include episodes of Jumanji TV series, trailer, special effects commentary, new featurettes, and a digital copy of the movie.

Saturday, September 12, 2015

Happy Birthday with Emmy

Longmire - Down by the River


The Fourth Season of Longmire, and the show's first season on Netflix, begins with the death of a major supporting character when Walt (Robert Taylor) discovers Branch (Bailey Chase) dead of an apparent suicide. Already twisted up in knots about his strong beliefs that Jacob Nighthorse (A Martinez) was the man ultimately responsible for the murder of the Sheriff's wife, Longmire begins to suspect that Branch's suicide may have been staged for the sole purpose of Nighthorse hiding secrets the former deputy may have unearthed shortly before his death.

Friday, September 11, 2015

Aloha

Writer/director Cameron Crowe wastes both the likable stars and their strong performances in an ill-conceived cinematic misadventure about a military contractor (Bradley Cooper) returning to Hawaii at the crossroads of his life. A half-assed attempt to tap into the same themes that Crowe used nearly a decade before with Jerry Maguire, Aloha lacks both the heart and brains of the filmmaker's earlier work.

What's sad is Crowe gets strong performances across the board. Cooper is well cast as are Rachel McAdams, as his ex with a secret, and Emma Stone, as the younger soldier he will inevitably fall for. Sadly, it's Crowe's story telling that's the downfall here (and his choice to largely ignore any Hawaiian actors in pivotal roles doesn't help the staging of the film which, for the most part, could have been done completely on a Hollywood sound stage). It's been 15 years since Crowe crafted a film I've loved, and a decade since he's made one I even like. Aloha is simply the latest misfire of a once promising career.

Darth Vader #9


Given his recent actions Darth Vader finds himself responsible for helping to lead an investigation into a theft against the Empire that he helped plan. While outwardly supporting Imperial Inspector Thanoth's investigation of the destruction of an Imperial ship and the theft of a large stockpile of credits, Vader also swiftly hides his own tracks by doing whatever is necessary to distance himself from the series of events.

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Dragons: Race to the Edge - Reign of Fireworms


While the Dragon Riders' home is infested by a flock of Fireworm dragons whose appearance threatens the island they also have to deal with the fallout of Ruffnut (Andree Vermeulen) and Tuffnut (T.J. Miller) finding a claim stone stating that the island and everything on it belongs to one of their ancestors. The new rules, job assignments, taxes, and complete disregard for the Fireworms leads to increasing problems for everyone on the island other than its new owners.

Punk Rock Wonder Woman by LeeAnna Vamp


Justice League: Attack of the Legion of Doom!

Despite unfortunately trapping our heroes in their less colorful and far blander New 52 costumes, the follow-up to LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League vs. Bizarro League proves to be even more entertaining than the original. In Super-Friends style, LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: Attack of the Legion of Doom! gives us an entire legion of villains teaming together to take down the Justice League.

Bringing back the core group from the first movie, with the exception of replacing Guy Gardner with Hal Jordan (Josh Keaton) (whose rivalry with the Flash, thankfully still in his classic costume, proves to be a fun running gag), the sequel also gives us a cameo by the Trickster (Mark Hamill), whose minifig is included with both the DVD and Blu-ray releases, and makes Batman (Troy Baker) the head of the Justice League as the heroes fight off the new super-villain team and the insecure Cyborg (Khary Payton) learns to grow into his role as a true hero.

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Arrow Season 4 trailer


Despite being pretty satisfied with Oliver Queen's (Stephen Amell) arc over the show's three seasons, I have some major concerns (starting with some unintentionally humorous costume changes for both hero and sidekick) with this trailer for Arrow's upcoming Fourth Season. The new season begins on October 7th.

Star Wars Rebels - The Complete First Season

Set five years prior to the events of the original Star Wars, Star Wars Rebels introduces us to the motley crew of the Ghost: ship's captain Hera (Vanessa Marshall), Mandalorian artist and explosives expert Sabine (Tiya Sircar), Zeb (Steven Blum), insane robot Chopper, Jedi in hiding Kanan (Freddie Prinze Jr.), and the newest member of the crew in thief turned padawan-in-training Ezra (Taylor Gray).

Capturing the feel of the original film while introducing us to an entirely new set of characters (and a few familiar faces). I was immediately hooked. Highlights of the First Season include the two-part season premiere, the arrival of Grand Moff Tarkin (Stephen Stanton), Ezra earning his lightsaber, Empire Day, the battle against The Inquisitor (Jason Isaacs), the introduction of a familiar scoundrel, a look inside the Imperial Academy, and the season finale which brings back a pair of familiar faces who will likely have a large impact on Season Two.

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Rookie Blue - 74 Epiphanies


The Sixth Season (and possibly the entire series) comes to a close with the wedding of Andy (Missy Peregrym) and Sam (Ben Bass), and the day is not without the added drama fans have come to expect from the show over the past six years. Despite the various obstacles, the pair eventually get their journey down the aisle completing the arc of the show's longest running relationship. The officers of 15 Division also gets some good news as the core group learns they will all be staying together (whether or not the show comes back for a Seventh Season).

Saturday, September 5, 2015

Scooby-Doo! Team-Up #11


When secret peace talks between two warring nations are put in jeopardy by a medieval ghost it becomes a job not only for Mystery, Inc. but also a chance for the group to team-up with Secret Squirrel and his sidekick Morocco Mole. What happens when a talking dog, a talking squirrel in trench coat, and a bunch of meddling kids get in on the action? Wacky fun, that's what.

Friday, September 4, 2015

Astro City #26


20 years after the very first issue of Asto City hit comic shops the latest issue of the current harkens back to that very first story as, once again, the series takes a look into the dreams of the world's mightiest super-hero - Samaritan. It seems out hero still dreams of flying, but lately those dreams have turned into nightmares which are beginning to concern the hero even in his waking hours.

Jubilee by Song Ja Park

Thursday, September 3, 2015

Live Long: A Cosplay Music Video‏

Dragons: Race to the Edge - Gone Gustav Gone


The arrival of Gustav (Lucas Grabeel) at Dragon's Edge puts every one on edge as the 16 year-old seeks out Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) proclaiming his readiness to become a Dragon Rider. The others are far less certain, especially after spending time with the boy who nearly burns down one of huts, spends most of his time creeping Astrid (America Ferrera) out with his boyhood crush, and comes close to losing the Dragon's Eye while heading out on his own treasure-seeking adventure.

Thursday with Troian

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Top Ten Super-Hero Movies (Before They Were Cool)


Head over to RazorFine to check out my list of the Top Ten Super-Hero Movies (Before They Were Cool)

Magneto #21


Magneto is dead. Again. Despite being my favorite villain in the Marvel pantheon I somehow can't get moved by the the X-Men's greatest enemy, and sometimes friend, stepping in to save the world which he's always viewed as lesser than himself and has always viewed him as little more than a monster.

I have spent my time avoiding Marvel's new Secret Wars crossover and its tie-ins so I don't really understand why the world is being destroyed, what exactly is destroying it, where the other heroes seem to be, or what Magneto actually does to save the world in an issue that reads an awful lot like a cheap rip-off of The Final Night. Still, I will admit I enjoyed the flashabacks to the character's more flamboyant past (and his trademark red and blue costume).

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Wander Over Yonder - The Wanders


After entering a crystal cave which fragments his personality into hundreds of aspects of him it falls to Sylvia to capture and reconstitute a single Wander (Jack McBrayer). "The Wanders" offers a nice moral as Sylvia (April Winchell) struggles with collecting all the various aspects of her friend, even those she finds annoying or the pieces that inevitably get her into trouble. Learning Wander isn't whole without every aspect of his personality Sylvia manages to come to terms with even the most annoying aspect of her best friend. And it doesn't hurt that watching Sylvia deal with extreme examples of Wander's personality turns out to be quite amusing.