Arrow: 1.22 – Darkness on the Edge of Town

Hold on to your hats friends because the Dark Archer is back and ready to blow up whatever he has to! Oh and killing whoever he has to as well.

Brion Markov Unidac Industries

That includes Brion Markov, aka Geo-Force in the comics. It seems in the Arrow universe his superpower is being a decent enough seismologist to get a job at Unidac Industries, but being unable to talk his way out of an arrow in his chest. You win some and you lose some I guess.

After last week’s discovery that Walter is actually alive (yay!!!), he’s returned home in ‘Darkness on the Edge of Town’ and oh boy you can cut the tension with a knife. For all of you relationship-challenged out there – if you go in for a kiss and it’s diverted to the last moment to the cheek… all is not well.

Darkness at the Edge of Town

Damn them! I was really hoping they’d be able to sort it all out but of course once divorce papers enter the equation, things get a little dodgy. Before we go down that road though, let’s discuss the heartbreak that was the island this week.

So two weeks ago there was the whole “Yao Fei once again leads Fyers to Oliver and Co.” in which my love affair was declared as officially over. Well now we finally get to find out what Fyers’ plan is and oh boy is it a doozie. We already knew that Yao Fei was going to be the scapegoat for whatever Fyers had planned but I myself had no idea has to how in-depth his evil scheme would be. Destabilizing the Chinese economy by taking out a commercial airliner (note: I do believe the “I really need your help” guy was saying Ferris Air which would be a shoutout to the Hal Jordan/Green Lantern universe) with SAMs? Having a member of the Chinese military claim responsibility for it due to being sent to an island as punishment? It’s sort of genius.

Darkness at the Edge of Town
Never mind the dead guy – that’s a cool looking floor.

Then this happened. WHY?!?!?! I know Yao Fei and I have had our differences but was it necessary to shoot him in the head? As much as I’d like to believe he’ll bounce back from this, Deadshot did survive an arrow to the eye, a bullet to the brain is a bit of a different story. Let’s all pause in a moment of silence for the man who saved Oliver’s life, a couple of times.

Okay back to the main story. If Oliver and Laurel getting together means that this whole love triangle thing is over, then I’m all for it. However, I imagine it’s just going to lead to more “Sad Tommy” moments and blah that’s getting old.

Darkness at the Edge of Town

Much like the lesson up above about the denied kiss, this seems like common sense but seriously, I know it’s easy to get caught up in the moment but perhaps it’s best to make sure the curtains are shut before you get freaky with your ex while your other ex is standing outside. Or, you know, strangers walking down the street. Anyone really. Again, I would have thought this was everyday knowledge but it appears as if I’m wrong.

At the very least maybe now they can move the story along past this “she loves you, no she loves you, but you love her, you love her more, I can’t love her…” crap. Fingers crossed!

Darkness at the Edge of Town

Even though Thea annoys the ever-loving crap out of me, I can’t help but root for her and Roy’s Nancy Drew routine. Although I do have to laugh at the stalking of a crime scene in a stolen car, with a stolen camera. Oh that Roy Harper, what a smart boy he is! Now that Oliver has laid down the law about them looking for the vigilante, it’s only a matter of time before they do… perhaps the cliffhanger? Next week we’ll find out!

Of course the best parts of the episode had all to do with “The Undertaking”.

Felicity-Smoak-hacker

Let’s give Moira some credit here – how on earth she’s still somewhat sane is beyond me. One husband is dead, another husband is kidnapped only to return and ask for a divorce, she’s been “approached” by the vigilante now twice, the second time involving a tranq dart, her family has been under constant threat for years and she’s had to keep a rather large and awful secret for years. If that were me? I’d be seeking out a room with padded walls post-haste. Rather she just keeps on keeping on and that’s impressive.

Also impressive? The Arrow Crew’s plan for breaking into Merlyn Global. Although I do have to wonder, what kind of fast food place delivers? Granted I live a bit in the sticks but I’ve never heard of McDonald’s delivery. However, Big Belly Burger does deliver and thank the gods for that otherwise how on earth would they have delivered the drugged hamburger?

Darkness on the Edge of Town

Of course the Olicity shippers might have died a slow death at the Oliver and Laurel make out session, but you know they all have this image seared into their brains. Give it up guys, it’s not going to happen!! Oh well, at least it led to this which was pretty kick ass.

Felicity-and-Oliver-swinging

That looks like so much fun! Of course I would have pissed myself but still, fun. Thankfully this was followed by a scene full of brooding whiny Tommy and then nosy Thea so my heart rate was able to slow down before the awesome fight scene between John Barrowman and Stephen Amell. I will say this – the quality of the fight scenes seem to have gotten better as the season has progressed which is a major plus.

Malcolm-catches-arrowSo now there are two people in the show (the other being Huntress) who can catch arrows? This does not bode well for Oliver, at all. Plus the fact he got his ass kicked (again) by a man old enough to be his father. Oliver, you need to go ahead and start doing more shirtless hand to hand combat with Diggle to work on this. Let’s make that a priority next season okay?

Of course we don’t know what next season will hold as far as actual combat between these two because…

Darkness on the Edge of Town

Now Malcolm knows it’s Oliver!!!!! OMG what does this mean?!?!?! Where do we go from here????? More punctuation needed!!!!

Seriously, loved this episode. Even though Yao Fei is dead (sob), so much action and so much story progression. Although if it had been me, this would have been the season finale and I’m having a hard time seeing what kind of cliffhanger they are going to leave next week. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Going to have to go with 4.5 out of 5 because it was that good.

grizzly rating 4-5of5

Season finale next week -see you then Arrow fans!

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – Charles Gunn & Sam Jackson…

ABC is set to announce their fall schedule on May 14th so we figured it was about time to round up all the news we could find on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and put it in one handy dandy place.

First, let’s look at confirmed cast members. Of course we all know about Carl Gregg and his Agent Coulson returning from the dead (or was he ever dead?) but there have been quite a few other cast members added, not the least of which is Angel alum and most recently, Arrow assassin, J. August Richards. It hasn’t yet been announced who Richards will play, but I think we can all agree, it doesn’t really matter because he is that good. Maybe it’ll just be the return of Charles Gunn

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

In addition to the three cast members we’ve already discussed here, those being Ming-Na Wen, Iain De Caestecker, and Elizabeth Henstridge, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. also includes Chloe Bennett from Nashville and Brett Dalton. Bennett is Skye and Dalton is the up and coming Agent Grant.

While it is nice to hear about these new characters and who will be playing them, we all are asking the same thing… what about Nick Fury and Maria Hill? Well as for Nick Fury, Samuel L. Jackson was asked about it during an interview with MTV and here’s what he had to say.

So Nick Fury as S.H.I.E.L.D.’s version of Charlie? I could live with that. Of course it would be even better if Jackson were to make cameos occasionally, but that might be asking a bit much. As for Maria Hill? Well Joss Whendon told TV Line that we shouldn’t “expect” her because obviously Smulders has a busy schedule with not only How I Met Your Mother, but also various other projects, but that she could make an appearance. In my dream world, Smulders would wrap up HIMYM and immediately take off her Robin Sparkles costume and put on her S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform. Throw in a stop at SNL (how has this not happened yet?) and, well that would just be great.

Of course everyone is looking for more news and insight to the show and who better to go to than Agent Coulson himself, Clark Gregg. Screenrant caught up with Gregg at the Tribeca Film Festival.

It’s always nice to see when an actor has such a fondness for the character they play and Gregg certainly does for Coulson.

So that gets us all caught up and ready for the upfront next Tuesday where it’s pretty much a sure thing that Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will be announced. Could ABC finally making a run at beating CBS? They certainly have that potential so we’ll have to wait and see.

What we’ll also have to wait and see? If Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark/Iron Man makes an appearance on the small screen. When asked by EW about it he said, “You know what? There’s no telling. I am open to everything.” which doesn’t mean no. That’s pretty much all fans need to get their hopes up so here’s to Iron Man on S.H.I.E.L.D.!

Kristen Wiig is Back in Studio 8H and All is Well…

She’s back!!!! It really was only a matter of time before Ms. SNL 2000’s herself would return to the hallowed stage and this week is that time. As usual, the show’s promos have been released and it does nothing to quell the excitement.

http://www.nbc.com/assets/video/xnxx-92/widget/widget.html?vid=n36522

I’d be lying if I said I haven’t watched it multiple times. In the last hour.

Because Saturday seems so far away (although there is an Arrow episode tonight which is good), I figured it would be best to go out and find some of the best of Kristen Wiig to pass the time.

“Real Housewives of Disney” is perhaps one of my favorite pre-recorded sketches in recent years. It’s hard to beat a broke Jasmine, drunk Cinderella, and gay Prince Charming.

http://www.nbc.com/assets/video/xnxx-92/widget/widget.html?vid=n13429

As with all returning hosts/former cast members, I’m sure some of Wiig’s character will be making a return appearance as well. If that doesn’t include the Lawrence Welk Show, well I’m sure I won’t be alone in my disappointment.

http://www.nbc.com/assets/video/xnxx-92/widget/widget.html?vid=n13207

There were a lot of people out there (typical internet commenters who seem to hate everything) who really did not like the Target lady but I love that sketch. It is rare, even to this day, that I will check out and not say “Approved!” in my head when my card goes through.

http://www.nbc.com/assets/video/xnxx-92/widget/widget.html?vid=n12501

Of course no list of favorite Kristen Wiig characters would be complete without one of her many Weekend Update characters. I can easily see them bringing back Garth and Kat this week. No complaints here!

http://www.nbc.com/assets/video/xnxx-92/widget/widget.html?vid=n12831

That’s a few of my favorites but surely there are some I’ve forgotten. Let’s hear it – what Kristen Wiig characters do you want to see come Saturday night?

Webcomic Wednesday A-Z: Jackdaw

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: rich corporate type takes to wearing a mask and fighting crime by night, accompanied by a sidekick. Okay, I’ve stopped. But how about this: the story is told using really interesting art (grey pencils, lots of shading) and from the point of view of the sidekick — who is not only more or less a grownup (early 20s, I’m thinking), but is a woman, and, so far, the position seems like more of a career position than the Batman-esque crime-fighting family dynamic.

Continue reading Webcomic Wednesday A-Z: Jackdaw

The World’s End: First Trailer for the New Flick From the “Shaun of the Dead” Team

First they had a show in the UK called Spaced, which was a bit hit or miss, but worth a watch. Then, in 2004 the creative team of Nira Park, Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost made a movie; Shaun of the Dead. It was a huge cult hit and created for them a loyal fan following here in the states. Three years later they returned to make Hot Fuzz. This was maybe even better than Shaun of the Dead, though met with less fanfare. Shortly after that Wright, Frost, and Pegg made a short without producer Park which was included in the Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino double feature Grindhouse. In 2011, Pegg and Frost reunited with Park to do the movie Paul, but Edgar Wright this time was not involved. So now, the four of them are all back together again for what looks to be another gem; The World’s End (not to be confused with This is the End). 

Continue reading The World’s End: First Trailer for the New Flick From the “Shaun of the Dead” Team

‘Ender’s Game’ Trailers are Here, Looks Gamey!

I have a confession to make: I’ve never read Ender’s Game. I know, a part of me should have my nerd credentials ripped off, torn into pieces, spat upon and then skinned and turned into some kind of floppy ruck sack. The issue was while in middle school and high school I was too busy reading Heinlein and Douglas Adams, and the contrast between those two types of SF left me a bit frazzled and unable to try anything else for a while, until I found Philip K. Dick and boy did that open a whole new can of worms. Enough my waxing poetic about books I’ve read in the past though, and more about Ender’s Game itself. Sadly, all I have to go on now is how it’s supposedly a great story, written by a man who now unfortunately has tainted his own name pretty horribly. There’s been a pretty large, and justified row about Orson Scott Card due to his incredibly awful personal beliefs, and I’m fairly certain that will affect the perception the public at large has of the film. Especially for folks like me, who haven’t read the novel itself, and only know about OSC’s reputation. Regardless of that stigma however, the trailer is certainly interesting enough.

The problem I have with that trailer is it doesn’t really explain what the story is at all, and relies on the fact that you already know the story to be pumped for it. It makes me think what most non-SF loving people must think of the genre as, because all I see are weird swarm/alien bee-ships, and a little kid using an Mega-Xbox-Kinect (Oh I get it, a GAME okay) to control giant laser beams that are blowing up a planet maybe? And somehow that’s a heroic thing, I think? Plus there’s someone in it named Asa Butterfield, which I swear to god I’ve named an old Dungeons & Dragons character of mine before. Along with Jakk Hornsblood and Magnus Graverock, but that’s neither here nor there. Plus did you see Ben Kingsley’s weird face tattoo? If I didn’t inherently love SF and everything about the genre, I would assume this was a bunch of weird nonsense of The Last Airbender proportions. Then again, Avatar was the biggest hit movie of all time, so what do I know? All I have to go off of is the synopsis give to the film from press releases anyway.

Ender's Game
No but seriously. Look at his face. I can barely take that seriously.

via [Bloody-Disgusting]

[quote]

After an alien race called the Formics attacks Earth, the International Fleet prepare for the next invasion by training the best young children to find the future leader to lead the International Military. Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield), a shy but strategically brilliant boy, is pulled out of his school to join International Fleet and attend the legendary Battle School. After easily mastering the increasingly difficult war games, distinguishing himself and winning respect among his peers, Ender is soon ordained by Colonel Graff (Harrison Ford) as the military’s next great hope, resulting in his promotion to Command School. Once there, he’s trained by Mazer Rackham (Ben Kingsley) himself to lead the military into a war that will determine the future of Earth and the human race.

[/quote]

There’s also this preview trailer, which I guess is a trailer for a trailer, which is a thing they do now. How incredibly redundant that is I suppose is up to your personal choice, but I find it utterly dumbfounding.

http://www.traileraddict.com/emd/73847

The only thing worth seeing in that preview was hearing how Asa Butterfield pronounces his name, which hilariously sounds like “Butts field”, which is now going to be a town in my next Dungeons & Dragons game. But enough about my Dungeons & Dragon’s games. This is about ENDER’S Game, (Ooooh segue master!), and if you like Ender’s Game and can ignore how much of a douche OSC is, I suppose you’ll be psyched for this. I’m reserving a cautious “Meh”, just in case it ends up being a weird, homophobic, terrible polemic.