Princess Peach Cosplay by CandyLion

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Yakuza Princess

Yakuza Princess is as dumb, although sadly not nearly as bonkers, as its title suggests. The straight-faced Brazilian martial arts film is a joyless experience that struggles with a heavy dramatic tone that simply doesn't fit the B-Movie plot of a Yakuza leader's daughter (MASUMI) and an amnesiac assassin (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) coming together to find their destiny.

The tone is completely wrong for a film that struggles to entertain for more than a few minutes at a time over its near two-hour running time. While there is some action to be had, it's few and far between and nothing compared to the Japanese films Yakuza Princess hopes to emulate. Instead we're left with a dour drama about destiny as not one but two characters previously oblivious to their connection to the Yakuza discover their path in the world as they get caught up in a war within the syndicate. 

The Book of Boba Fett - The Tribes of Tatooine

"Chapter 2" of The Book of Boba Fett follows the same formula of the first episode offering us the current troubles of Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) attempting to become a crime lord on Tatooine and his time with the Tusken Raiders before reappearing on The Mandalorian. Rather than jump back and forth between the two stories, this time we open with new trouble for Fett as he deals with the captured assassin and faces a challenge to his throne in twin cousins of Jabba who have laid claim to Jabba's territory. A public standoff results in no resolution or bloodshed, but does suggest where the assassins came from and what other dirty tricks the Hutts may come up with.

NCIS: Hawai'i - Spies

The two-part "Spies" story brings back Tennant's (Vanessa Lachey) mentor from the CIA Maggie Shaw (Julie White) when a colleague of hers is kidnapped. Thanks to the help of an intelligence officer (Beulah Koale) from New Zealand, NCIS knows to be on the lookout of a legendary Far East spy, who eventually kidnaps Maggie as well. However, holes in the story after Maggie's rescue make Tennant begin to suspect her closest friend may not be exactly who she appears to be.

Moon Knight #7

Moon Knight wants answers. The unknown villain calling himself Zodiac. has tortured Marc mentally, psychologically, and physically. He's left him beaten with his home in ashes. Now Moon Knight wants answers and retribution.

Hawkeye - Echoes

The third episode of Hawkeye finally finds Clint (Jeremy Renner) and Kate (Hailee Steinfeld) working together. The pair survive their encounter with the Tracksuit Mafia and Echo (Alaqua Cox) by fighting their way out of the abandoned warehouse and through the streets of New York (leaving quite a bit of destruction in their wake thanks to the variety of Hawkeye's trick arrows). The arrows, and Kate's reaction to them, aren't the only humorous slant to the episode as Clint's hearing aid gets damaged during the escape leading to some miscommunication between the pair. 

Usagi Yojimbo #25

Attempting to avoid crowds heading to local festivals, Usagi and Yukichi split off and take a less-traveled path in the first issue of the two-part "Crossroads." First they pass a group of unsavory characters, but without conflict. Later, they find a group of slaughtered pilgrims and, realizing what has happened, the pair go after the killers. However, when the trail runs cold and the road splits the two warriors must split up as well.

Single Drunk Female - Pilot

The opening episode of Single Drunk Female introduces us to walking dumpster fire Samantha Fink (Sofia Black-D'Elia) whose alcoholism costs the young woman her job, 30 days in rehab, community service for assault, and court-mandated attendance at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Forced to move back home, Sam's sobriety only lasts a day before old habits resurface. Picking herself up once more, ignoring the passive-aggressiveness of a mother (Ally Sheedy) on her last nerve, who may have not been as supportive in the best of times, Sam's new sober life begins again, this time in earnest.

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Alex Rider - Strike

In the Second Season finale of Alex Rider, Alex (Otto Farrant) and his friends are unable to prevent the launch of Damian Cray's (Toby Stephens) game which secretly links the computers of various users all over the world creating a super computer for the evil billionaire. The evil plan makes just enough sense for YA fiction, and, despite it being a bit goofy, plays out fairly well. Cray's targets include Air Force One, where he can obtain the final piece necessary to launch his attack, and Middle East drug fields which he plans to wipe out with a nuclear strike. 

The Death of Doctor Strange: X-Men/Black Knight

A tie-in issue to The Death of Doctor Strange ongoing Marvel story arc, The Death of Doctor Strange: X-Men/Black Knight is more an issue to flesh-out Jacks Chopra than anything else as both daughter and father work out their trust issues in the middle of a battle against demons.

The Man, The Cartoon, The Cereal: The Story of the Mr. T Cartoon

Supernatural Academy - Parallel Lives

Adapted from the "sexy urban fantasy" series by Jaymin Eve, the new animated Peacock series introduces us to a world of magic hidden from the regular world feeling quite reminiscent of Harry Potter and Legacies, giving us a cloaked school whose students include were-creatures (wolves, dragons, etc.), or shifters as they are called here, vampires, fairies, magic users, and more. It turns out students in the school are nearly as oblivious about the outside world (learning about it through old movies) as the outside world is of the Supernatural Academy. Although the books are for older readers, the plot, characters, tropes, and setting for the show is all typical Young Adult Fantasy.

Silk #1

Cindy Moon gets a new comic and new writer. First up, Cindy dealing with the unexpected surge in celebrity of her spidery-alter-ego and the sarcophaguses of a hidden South Korean temple getting opened in a New York museum by some rather stupid kids who discover the hard way that putting themselves in danger for social media followers is going to end badly.

The Top Ten Movies of 2021

It's that time again to look back on the year that was and celebrate the best in film. While there may not be a common theme working its way through the entire list, music will play a large role (although the musical remake you may most expect isn't to be found as it's one of many solid films that narrowly missed the cut). 2021 offered a number of good movies, a solid amount of very good films, perhaps the best concert film of all time, and one amazing piece of cinema to top our list. Without further ado, here are the best movies of 2021.

Naomi - Unidentified Flying Object

The second episode of Naomi continues to make some pretty substantial changes to the comic as Dee (Alexander Wraith) becomes more mentor to Naomi McDuffie (Kaci Walfall) than just her introduction to a brand-new world. Her parents' casual disinterest in Naomi's current "school project" (looking into the UFO sighting on the day she was adopted) seems to suggest they aren't aware of their adopted daughter's origins (or maybe just oblivious to what's happening?). If true, that's a shame as some of the comic's best moments come within those shared family reveals which further open up Naomi's world.

Last Night in Soho

Writer/director Edgar Wright's nostalgic love letter to the 1960s is glamorous spectacle. The story involves would-be designer Ellie (Thomasin McKenzie) who, shortly after starting university in London, begins dreaming life alongside a would-be singer named Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy). The dreams start vibrant and hopeful, influencing Ellie's actions during the day, but soon turn dark and violent before they spill into Ellie's life even further.

Despite its lavish beauty, Last Night in Soho is a mess. If not for the great soundtrack, I'd say it would work better with the sound off as the story often gets in the way of the terrific visuals. Sadly, Ellie isn't all that interesting as a character, nor are her struggles fitting in at college worth screen time. It's only in the 60s when Sandie's life takes over does the film come to life. And when the two stories crash together the film becomes a jumbled mess.

How I Met Your Father - Pilot

Spin-offs and sequels are tricky. One episode in, the How I Met Your Mother redux feels more like That 80s Show than Frasier, but I would guess Hulu will be willing to give the show as much time as possible to try and find a groove. The set-up of How I Met Your Father follows the same pattern with an older version of the main character (Kim Cattrall) relating stories about their past. In the case here, our lovelorn lead is New York photographer Sophie (Hilary Duff) who misses out on love yet again in the first episode while making some new friends. Like the original, the show teases an obvious answer to the unanswered question of the series, but still leaves the door open for plenty of movement on who Sophie may eventually end up with.

That'll Do, Nicolas Cage

Nicolas Cage stars as former chef turned hermit and truffle hunter who is pulled out of his seclusion when his pig is kidnapped. With the reluctant help of the supplier (Alex Wolff) to whom he was selling his truffles, Rob (Cage) begins a search for his missing pig (who, despite the love Rob obviously has for the pig, doesn't appear to have a name).

Pig is something like John Wick or Taken with all of the violence taken out (okay, almost all of the violence). The film relies on Cage's performance and the atmosphere provided from the visuals of cinematographer Patrick Scola in exploring both Rob's wilderness experience and also the underbelly of big city restaurants. Pig glosses over some nagging plot questions and supplies a not-completely-satisfying ending, but that don't detract too much from Rob and Amir's (Wolff) unusual journey.

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NCIS: Hawai'i - The Game

Lucy's (Yasmine Al-Bustami) skills both at poker and undercover work will be put to the test when NCIS inserts her into an underground poker game involving a drug boss who has managed to avoid prison on a technicality. Even the B-story is a bit Lucy-centric as her relationship with Whistler (Tori Anderson) is thrown for a loop with the arrival of an old girlfriend who seems to think she and Whistler are still an item. The later isn't necessarily a bad development for the character in the long-term, but I am sad to see CBS bailing on the lesbian relationship so quickly.

Basil Rathbone Remix

Alex Rider - Assassin

Alex (Otto Farrant) and Kyra (Marli Siu) spend much of "Assassin" running for their lives trying to get out of Damian Cray's (Toby Stephens) compound alive as the mad billionaire chases them down with a killer drone. With his friends needing all the help they can get, Tom (Brenock O’Connor) calls on Jack (Ronke Adekoluejo) putting her in an uncomfortable situation which will cost her both a new job and a new friendship. With Jack's help, our heroes make it out and hand the code to Mrs. Jones (Vicky McClure).

Daredevil: Woman Without Fear #1

A tie-in to Marvel's current Devil's Reign event, the first issue of Daredevil: Woman Without Fear teases us with moments from Elektra's past including glimpses of her training under both Stick and the Hand (introducing the character most responsible for her training within the cult).

MLK/FBI

Director Sam Pollard's film examines J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI's extensive, and legally ambiguous, investigation into Martin Luther King Jr.'s life through recently declassified documents, archival footage, and interviews from those involved.

The documentary is a sobering reminder how the broad brush of Communism could justify nearly anything during the height of the Red Scare, even allow Hoover and his minions to wiretap King in hopes of discrediting one of the leaders of the Civil Rights movement based not on his political or civil rights agenda but the man's private life taking place behind closed doors. With the wiretaps themselves not declassified until at least 2027, the documentary mainly has to speculate what is on those tapes (and their legitimacy), but the range of the FBI's dirty tricks to discredit a black man who they saw as dangerous to their own interests couldn't be more clear.

The Cleaning Lady - The Lion's Den

The second episode of The Cleaning Lady cements Thony's (Elodie Yung) lifestyle when Arman (Adan Canto) steps in to get the urgent medical care her son needs and she proves her worth to Arman's boss by leading them to a thief whose actions caused a gun fight with a disappointed buyer. Two episodes in, it's obvious the health of Luca (Valentino LaSalle) is going to be the show's go-to plot device whenever Thony even thinks about trying to leave her new friends. For better or worse, this is the cleaning lady's life now.

The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries #10

When a number of resorts are terrorized by a series of creatures all resembling a sasquatch, Batman enlists the help of Mystery, Inc. and the Question to solve the case. The reason for the attack comes from the land each of the resorts were built on, as General Eiling was making use of the Shaggy Man for his own devious ends in order to put each of the resorts out of business so he could then plunder an old military cache buried deep underground.

Superman & Lois - What Lies Beneath

Superman & Lois returns for its Second Season with characters trying to get back to normal after the summer. Lois (Elizabeth Tulloch) is in uber-bitch mode while still not dealing with the emotions that a daughter from a different reality is walking around Smallville. Most of the episode deals with teens as Natalie (Tayler Buck) struggles with fitting in to a new world (and apparently will become part of the family), Sarah (Inde Navarrette) begins pulling back from Jordan (Alex Garfin) after returning from her summer trip, and Jonathan (Jordan Elsass) continues to struggle with the team while also getting a little frisky with his girlfriend sending an already tense Lois over the edge. Although less featured, Lana's (Emmanuelle Chriqui) role in the political campaign seems to set the stage for a larger arc which will play out over the season.

KCFCC 56th Annual James Loutzenhiser Awards

The Kansas City Film Critics Circle met for the 56th time for our annual James Loutzenhiser Awards on Sunday, January 16th. Winners awarded included Drive My Car, The Tragedy of Macbeth, Mass, Licorice Pizza, Summer of Soul, West Side Story, Flee, and The Power of the Dog which took home awards for film, director, and lead actor Benedict Cumberbatch.

Drive My Car

Movies find you in interesting ways. Drive My Car is the film I'd been searching for through all of 2021, a true cinematic experience that enveloped me, taking me on a completely unexpected journey built on strong storytelling and great performances.

Suicide Squad #11

The big throwdown between teams assembled by Amanda Waller and Rick Flag is put off for one more issue (which does kill some of the momentum of the ongoing arc) as Flag waits for Peacemaker to try and convince Bloodsport to join their side and Waller sends her team to Earth-8 to fight a variety of odd-ball characters like the Retaliators as some form of audition to prove they have what it takes to be part of her team going forward (but with Flag's team now assembled and hitting her secret base, it doesn't look like she has much of a choice).

Naomi - Don't Believe Everything You Think

Based on the six-issue mini-series by Brian Michael Bendis and David Walker, the opening episode of The CW's latest super-hero series introduces us to adopted teenager, and Superman mega-fan, Naomi McDuffie (Kaci Walfall). There are some differences to the original comic as Superman is more myth than fact in this reality (making you wonder which world in the Arrowverse Naomi takes place in) adding a different take on Naomi missing the Man of Steel's appearance in the out-of-way town of Port Oswego when even several witnesses are willing to believe was some kind of stunt.

Batman #119

Batman's investigation in Badhnisia continues as he has a run in with Lex Luthor but as Batman and Bruce Wayne. After buying up Batman, Inc., now incarcerated for the murder of the villain Abyss (who it turns out is far from dead), Luthor has a preposition for Batman. One our hero doesn't exactly take all that well.

Hellboy: The Bones of Giants #3

Hellboy: The Bones of Giants #3 offers the first face-off between Hellboy and the restricted Frost King Thrym which results in a draw when the Frost Giant retreated to build up his strength setting up a final confrontation in next issues' series conclusion.

NCIS: Los Angeles - A Land of Wolves

With the help of Hanna's (LL Cool J) visiting friend (Briana Marin), a short-staffed NCIS team searches for a missing Kensi (Daniela Ruah) who disappeared near the Mexican border while working undercover investigating a smuggling operation. It takes some time to make sense of a crime scene involving five dead who weren't killed by the cartel but by a local militia group led by a cultish whackjob (Jolene Andersen) out to protect America from those seeking the American dream by gunning down unarmed refugees in the woods.

Mass

Written and directed by Fran Kranz, Mass offers an intimate setting to delve into two families' pain. Six years after a school shooting, the parents of two children involved agree to meet in the basement of a local church. On one side we have Jason Isaacs and Martha Plimpton as the parents of one of the victims and on the other Reed Birney and Ann Dowd as the parents of the shooter who also took his own life. Both couples are still wracked with pain and seeking answers to a brutal event that changed both families forever.

Mass is a film designed to put its four characters, and the audience, through the wringer as both sides work through their pain attempting to make sense of a senseless crime as the family of the victim and that of the perpetrator discover a shared pain.

Asuka (Evangelion) Cosplay by Jessakidding

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Black Widow #13

Taking an opportunity to offer context to the final panel of the previous issue, Black Widow #13 offers a flashback issue to Black Widow's time in Madripoor and her first meeting with the Living Blade, featuring limited dialogue (but plenty of narration from Natasha) we watch our heroine do her best to survive someone who appears more force of nature than man.

It's Holiday Matsuri 2021 Cosplay Christmas Part 2

The Card Counter

Writer/director Paul Schrader examines the worlds of gambling and torture, which turn out to not be as mutually exclusive as you may think. In terms of gambling, The Card Counter doesn't offer any new information or insight we haven't seen presented before by movies like Rounders and 21.

What makes the movie unique is William Tell's (Oscar Isaac) past as a disgraced MP who served 1o years in federal prison for torture in Abu Ghraib. His past causes him to befriend a troubled young man (Tye Sheridan), hoping to dissuade him from taking vengeance out on a man (Willem Dafoe) both characters have reason to hate. The relationship between the pair is a peculiar one as Will takes accepts a job on the poker tour to help his new friend who wants a completely different kind of assistance from him.

MacGruber - The Hungry Lion

With everyone believing he is dead, MacGruber (Will Forte) struggles to stay alive as old frenemy Constantine Bach (Timothy V. Murphy) attempts to torture him and Enos Queeth (Billy Zane) moves forward with his plans involving Brimstone. Forte is naked for the entire episode, strapped down, in a plexiglass prison, or running around like an idiot in some kind of industrial facility the bad guys had just laying around. The blind Constantine turns out to be harder to outwit than he should be, but then again MacGruber is pretty fucking stupid. The episode's title comes from a bastardized version of "The Lady, or the Tiger?" which makes absolutely no sense with how it is used here since our protagonist is neither given two choices nor ever comes across two literal doors.

Elektra: Black, White & Blood #1

Elektra becomes the latest comic character to get her own black-and-white mini-series featuring separate tales of the comic character, and, like both Red Sonja and Deadpool, hers will have a splash of red.

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Alex Rider - Heist

After travelling to Amsterdam, Alex (Otto Farrant), Kyra (Marli Siu), and Tom (Brenock O’Connor) work on a plan to how to sneak Alex and Kyra into Damian Cray's (Toby Stephens) company to download the full code of The Feathered Serpent video game in hopes of learning what it is for. The episode works well with the pair smuggling themselves into the company through a delivery truck and then working their way to the upper offices. They also come across a shipment of gas masks and hazmat suits foreshadowing the evil that Cray has planned. 

The 355

There's a fun, if not bright, story in The 355 once things get going and the female operatives from various spy agencies around the globe decide to work together. I don't know that the movie is going to do well enough to earn a sequel, but I would suspect a second film, without the need for such lengthy set-up, would be superior. The main takeaway from The 355 seems to be that a female-led action movie can be just as dumb as any with an all-male cast.

The plot, so to speak, involves a technological super-drive (the kind of device you only find in these types of movies) that can crack anything (planes, financial records, power plants, your Spotify account, etc.). Discovered by accident on a drug raid, an agent (Edgar Ramírez) in Columbia attempts to sell it only to see it fall into the hands of a black market auctioneer who plans to sell it to the highest bidder giving them the power to destabilize the world with the press of a few buttons.

The Tender Bar

Adapted from the memoir of J. R. Moehringer, The Tender Bar is a comfortable warm sweater wrapping up the childhood and college life of JR (played by Tye Sheridan and Daniel Ranieri) and his colorful family, most notably his Uncle Charlie (Ben Affleck) in whose bar he learned as much about life as four years at Yale.

Directed by George Clooney, The Tender Bar isn't great drama, nor outrageous comedy, but it's a light and breezy look at a young man's life who would be raised by his mother (Lily Rabe), in the often-overflowing home of his grandfather (Christopher Lloyd), and his uncle who would instill in him a love of books leading to his eventual profession. With solid performances and some witty narration by Ron Livingston as an older, and perhaps wiser, version of JR, The Tender Bar doesn't ask much of the audience other than to enjoy a good story.

Hit Monkey - Run Monkey Run

Tired of dealing with Hit-Monkey, the Yakuza put a price on the monkey's head that even makes his ghost sidekick blush. He's also got to deal with the undead ghost assassin Yuki (Reiko Aylesworth) who arises to restore order to the streets of Tokyo and targets both Hit-Monkey and Bryce (Jason Sudeikis). With a ghost (who can harm them both) and host of assassins after them, there's plenty of action in "Run Monkey Run." Although Yuki comes to an understanding with the monkey, our protagonist has plenty of threats still coming after him as the Yakuza raise the price on the contract even higher.

The Nowhere Inn

The Nowhere Inn has one of my favorite opening scenes of the year as American musician Annie "St. Vincent" Clark, playing herself, is being driven by a confused limousine driver (Ezra Buzzington) with no idea who his latest passenger is, or why she's famous, only to stop in the middle of a desolate highway and disappear. Seeds of the larger themes of the film are planted here, even if it never reaches the same heights.

The film's plot involves Annie hiring her friend Carrie, also playing herself, to make a documentary about the band which the pair hope will help both of them reach wider audiences. What Carrie soon discovers, however, is life on the road isn't all that interesting off-stage for the band. Carrie's attempts to find an interesting hook for the story and Annie drastically changing her behavior slowly devolve into a situation where neither Carrie nor Annie can differentiate what is actually real.

It's Holiday Matsuri 2021 Cosplay Christmas Part 1

NCIS: Hawai'i - Lost

While the team searches for military ordinance smuggled onto the island in a cargo container, Tennant (Vanessa Lachey) struggles with a personal decision after discovering an issue involving the father of one of her son's friends. The search for the missing guns brings back Sharif Atkins as Boom-Boom and offers a few twists and turns including an even more valuable item hidden in the cargo container that was worth a thief cutting off two of his own fingers to avoid suspicion.

Seven Secrets: Volume One

Volume One collects the first six issues of Seven Secrets about a secret order of Keepers and Holders who are charged with protecting the seven most dangerous secrets from being released upon the world by a different secret sect known as Seekers.

The Cleaning Lady - TNT

Adapting the 2017 Argentinian television series La Chica Que Limpia for American audiences, the opening episode of The Cleaning Lady introduces Elodie Yung as Cambodian medical doctor Thony De La Rosa who, after witnessing a murder, gets pulled into a job as a cleaner by local mobster Arman Morales (Adan Canto) removing all evidence from a crime scene. "TNT" introduces multiple subplots such as Thony's son struggling with a life-threatening immunodeficiency disorder, the antics of her less-reliable Filipino sister-in-law Fiona (Martha Millan), a teasing a possible relationship between Thony and Arman (who risks his life to save his cleaner). 

Josie and the Pussycats

I'm still waiting for a Du Jour spinoff. Even 20 years after its release, 2001's adaptation of the Archie Comics series and the Hanna-Barbera cartoon is simply a delight. A satirical take on pop culture and consumerism underneath a tale of a band's meteoric rise to the top of the pop charts, Josie and the Pussycats was well before its time carving out a cult status in the years since its lukewarm reception in theaters.

Following the plane crash of the delightful boy band Du Jour (Donald Faison, Seth Green, Breckin Meyer, and Alexander Martin), who discover something unexpected when listening to their latest mix tracks, their manipulative promoter (Alan Cumming) seeks another band to hide subliminal messages within their music and so we meet the Pussycats: Josie (Rachael Leigh Cook), Melody (Tara Reid), and Val (Rosario Dawson).

Devil’s Reign #2

Devil's Reign continues with the heroes on the run (and others already in prison), Spider-Man being lured into a trap at The Daily Bugle to get the crap kicked out of him by Taskmaster, and the Kingpin making threats against Elektra. While Dr. Octopus engineers a way for the Mayor of New York to make use of the Purple Man to win the election, the heroes throw a swerve and decide it's Luke Cage (instead of Tony Stark) who should run against him for control of the city.

The Djinn

Written and directed by the team of David Charbonier and Justin Powell, The Djinn plays on several classic horror tropes including children and monsters and the unforeseen price of asking for wishes from a demonic source (Hint: it's never a good idea).

The film takes place entirely within the apartment of the mute pre-teen Dylan (Ezra Dewey). On night when his father (Rob Brownstein) is at work, Dylan makes use of a satanic book of spells left over from the apartment's previous tenant and makes a wish. To see his wish granted, he'll need to survive an hour of being hunted by a malevolent creature known as the Djinn (a mix of CGI and performances from multiple actors including John Erickson, Donald Pitts, and Tevy Poe).

Once and Future #23

Most of Once and Future #23 involves the armed standoff between Bridgette and her daughter hoping something in the secret armory of William Shakespeare can help her other son who is now being hunted by another Galahad. Eventually mother and daughter come to an understanding, Nimue decides not to shoot her mother and Duncan, Bridgette, and Rose leave her whatever they aren't taking to help summon a water god as an ally in the increasingly out-of-control conflict. Despite the tension, no one dies and both sides go their separate ways.