The Banshees of Inisherin

A musing on loneliness, depression, and the end of a friendship, writer/director Martin McDonagh's The Banshees of Inisherin offers stand-out performances from both Colin Farrell, as the dull but otherwise likable enough Pádraic, and Brendan Gleeson as his longtime friend Colm, who announces one day he wants nothing further to do with his best friend and will perform physical harm to himself should Pádraic refuse to leave him alone.

The film never reveals the catalyst for Colm's decision to distance himself from his friend and work in peace on his music nor offers an ending to the tumultuous situation the two become locked into, instead offering a front seat at the escalation as Pádraic's inability to accept the situation, and Colm's bizarre threats and actions as a brutal response leading to an apparently unresolvable stalemate as the credits roll.

Jack Ryan - Old Haunts

Jack (John Krasinski) relies on the help of a couple of old friends while on the run from the CIA, local police, and Russian Intelligence. There's not yet a plan of action for Jack as the second episode into the season is simply staying one-step ahead of pursuers, something which Tony (Numan Acar) helps him with giving Jack time to later sneak out of the country with Mike (Michael Kelly). Elsewhere we also get Russian politics, the squeeze of the Czech Republic, and a bit of the odd pairing of Greer (Wendell Pierce) and (Betty Gabriel) looking for Jack but, like the Russians, ultimately going home empty-handed. The second episode is also notable for an expected tease suggesting the identity of the source of Jack's intelligence. A solid episode that keeps its tension high before moving Jack on to set up the next stage of the season.

The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries #2

The second issue of the second volume of The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries is notable for setting up the opportunity for Daphne Blake to stand-in for Batgirl and help the city fight off the latest attack by Poison Ivy who has poisoned nearly everyone in Gotham including Barbara Gordon. Not only does The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries #2 offer us Daphne suited up as Batgirl, and an introduction to the Clock Tower, but Barbara working behind-the-scenes offering support as Oracle. Gotta admit, that's pretty cool.

Leverage: Redemption - The Walk in the Woods Job

The apparent murder of Eliot's (Christian Kane) old friend sends the Leverage team after a former soldier (Eric Nenninger) turned head of a private security company who bombed the clinic to prevent the victim from sharing damaging information. To find evidence of the man's misdeeds, the team crashes a gathering of a (rather kooky) secret organization made up of the country's power brokers which their mark's company is providing security for.

Mary Jane & Black Cat #1

I'll admit to being a bit lost at the opening of Mary Jane & Black Cat #1 where apparently Ben Reilly is now a villain again and going by a new name (meaning Marvel has somehow managed to screw up the one thing needed from the character - swinging through New York as the Scarlet Spider - yet again. Goddamn Marvel, it's not that hard!). Oh, and Mary Jane also has super-powers now?

The Sandman - Calliope

The Sandman doesn't offer a very flattering view of humanity. In "Calliope" we are introduced to the former wife (Melissanthi Mahut) of Dream (Tom Sturridge). Calliope, a muse who, like him, becomes trapped by a human for years. In this case it's an author (Derek Jacobi) who has used the muse's gifts to earn fame and fortune. At the end of his life, rather than releasing the muse, as was their agreement, he sells her to another young writer (Arthur Darvill) struggling to write a second book who too finds the allure of fame and fortune too much to ever let her go.

NOPE

There's quite a bit worth noting about writer/director Jordan Peele's NOPE which touches on themes of spectacle and exploitation, the legacy of film, and science fiction. While the individual parts of the film, highlighted by some terrific scenes, are better than the combined whole, the film still delivers an interesting take on the fascination of UFOs and fame.

We get Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer as the children of a longtime rancher (Keith David) who years ago started the family business of raising and training horses for Hollywood films. After his freak death (which could easily have been a movie unto itself - a common theme in this script), the siblings discover something looming in the skies above their ranch.

Willow - The Whispers of Nockmaar / Wildwood

"The Whispers of Nockmaar" give us the characters stuck in a haunted castle which they escape only to be taken prisoner by the not-at-all-scary Bone Reavers in "Wildwood." Over the two episode's Elora (Ellie Bamber) confidence and magical abilities will continue to improve and Kit (Ruby Cruz) will, with excruciating slowness, begin to evolve into someone remotely likable and not a the character we're rooting to see killed off in the next skirmish. We see the darkness from Prince Graydon (Tony Revolori) past leading to some concerns from Elora. Either the guy is a possession magnet for evil or there's something seriously wrong with him. We'll also meet another group who Thraxus (Amar Chadha-Patel) double-crossed, and Jade (Erin Kellyman) will make a discovery that will change her view of the world.

G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero #300

A comic 40 years in the making, G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero #300 wraps up Larry Hama's continuation of his Marvel Comics run which moved over to IDW in May 2010. IDW's run had its ups-and-downs and controversial stories including the death of Snake Eyes. To no surprise Hama wraps up the run (but not the full story) with the return of Snake Eyes who is brought back to life by Dr. Mindbender's experiments only to immediately break out of Cobra's control and help the Joes win on Cobra Island.

Wednesday - Wednesday's Child Is Full of Woe

The first episode of Netflix's Wednesday sets the stage for the show around the oldest child of the Addams family heading off to a private boarding school after getting in trouble at her latest high school for the attempted murder of the several students in the school pool. While the opening scenes certainly provide a vivid introduction to Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega), the first episode doesn't every really explore why Gozmez (Luis Guzmán) and Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) kept trying to put their daughter in regular public schools (or how she's stayed out of jail). Now headed to the private school where her parents met, it doesn't take long before Wednesday attempts her first escape. However, she will make some discoveries that lead to reasons to stick around.

The Whale

Not many films from 2022 brought me to tears, but director Darren Aronofsky's managed it with the payoff to his emotional tale of an isolated Internet professor (Brendan Fraser) suffering from guilt, loss, and an obesity that has grown to life-threatening levels. With its small cast and singular locale of nearly every scene taking place within Charlie's apartment, designed and organized to fit his needs, we feel his isolation in every moment of Aronofsky's chamber drama.

Despite his pain and removal from the world, Charlie still boasts a warm heart on display with Fraser shining through the fat-suit and imbuing the character with heart and wonder as he has throughout his career. While The Whale is filled with flawed human beings in pain, the film somehow still manages to be uplifting thanks to Fraser's performance and Samuel D. Hunter's layered script.

Bob's Burgers - The Plight Before Christmas

"The Plight Before Christmas" uses the basic narrative of the show with Bob (H. Jon Benjamin) and Linda (John Roberts) being overwhelmed to give us separate storylines for each of their kids on the same night. While Bob goes with Gene (Eugene Mirman) for his class' musical recital, Linda takes Tina (Dan Mintz) to her holiday play which leaves Louise (Kristen Schaal) the odd kid out when one of her poems is chosen to be read at a yearly contest at the local library. While downplaying the event, Tina suspects that it means more to her sister than she's letting on leading to the parents scrambling to hit all three kids' events on the same night.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

Arguably the best thing to come out of the Shrek franchise, the legendary hero Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) returns for a sequel to his 2011 solo film. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is exactly what you'd expect. Opening with a big action sequence, the script then sets up the main plot of the movie with Puss in Boots being down the the ninth, and last, of his nine lives. After a bit of hiding, the character reemerges learning of a wish that could restore his lives and his courage.

As with other Shrek films, the plot attempts to overfill the film with characters. Some of the new ones work, others are more hit and miss. The sequel does fall into a bit of a lull at one point but picks back up with the return of Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek). Along with a nameless cheery chihuahua (Harvey Guillén), the trio will work together to beat Goldilocks (Florence Pugh) and the Three Bears and the malevolent Jack Horner (John Mulaney) and his minions to the wish.

Zorro: Feliz Navidad

Zorro gets his own Christmas one-shot with Zorro: Feliz Navidad which offers three separate Zorro tales with holiday themes fans may enjoy (although there's no must-read story here). On Christmas Eve our hero fights the soldiers and Don Alvarez who have stolen the Christmas presents from the pueblo in "The Fight Before Christmas" which ends with Zorro delivering the presents to the children.

Good Night Oppy

Examining the lifespan of the two NASA Mars rovers launched in 2003 which explored the planet for years longer than the expected 90 days, Good Night Oppy captures the spirit of space exploration from the creation of Opportunity (nicknamed Oppy) and Spirit to Oppy's final transmission (lasting nearly a decade longer than Spirit, continuing to send data back to NASA as it navigated the Mars surface rewriting the record books on off-world travel for nearly 15 years).

Relying on recreations and video both from NASA and the rovers themselves, along with interviews from NASA scientists and engineers, the documentary captures the highs and lows of the rovers' mission and pride and the problem-solving skills of NASA personnel dealing with unforeseen trouble lightyears away. Good Night Oppy provides an engaging look back at Oppy and heart of NASA who couldn't be prouder of its accomplishments.

White Noise

When 30 minutes into a comedy which has failed to make you laugh, even once, you know you are in for trouble. Quirky, without ever being funny, White Noise is full of supposedly smart dumb people dealing with situations outside their control. Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig star in roles more befitting a stage performance given the unnatural words and candence from writer/director Noah Baumbach's script which never once feels anything more than scripted satirical content.

Driver is a Hitler expert at the generically-titled College-on-the-Hill dealing with his wife's secret tied to a medical trial, supporting a colleague (Don Cheadle) by helping to Hitlerize Elvis Pressley, and leading the family through the traumatic events after an airborne toxic event occurs just outside of the sleepy college town.

Jack Ryan - Falcon

Jack Ryan's (John Krasinski) big brain gets him into more trouble in the first episode of the show's Third Season which centers around a defunct Soviet weapons plan to expand the USSR to the Rhine. Part of that plan involved the Sokol Project, an untraceable prototype Soviet nuclear tactical weapon, the manufacturing of was shut down with extreme prejudice decades ago but has been pulled out of mothballs. Heading out into the field with a small unit to find proof of his hunch, Jack will end up running for his life with the realization that the 50 year-old Soviet plan has already been put into motion and he has no idea who he can trust.

The Woman King

Inspired by true events, The Woman King examines the life of the general (Viola Davis) of an all-female army of the African kingdom of Dahomey during a period where a crop of new recruits, including the opinionated young Nawi (Thuso Mbedu), and rivalries with their neighbors, will reawaken ghosts from her past.

An epic tale with a heart from screenwriter Dana Stevens, director Gina Prince-Bythewood delivers a film as notable for its action sequences as its dramatic moments (even if several of those moments rely tenuously on fate and/or coincidence). Davis and Mdedu lead a strong cast who also include Lashana Lynch as one of the most fearsome warriors of the and John Boyega as the forward-thinking, but still quite pompous, king.

TÁR

As writer/director Todd Field's film opens, we meet the formidable Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett) at the height of her power. One of the greatest living composers, and the first female chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, Tár seems to have it all. However, as Field's character study delves deeper in the conductor's life we begin to see cracks in the veneer which will eventually lead to her downfall.

The History of The Rocketeer

Daredevil #6

Remember that time Iron Man failed to stop Elektra from killing the President of the United States? Yeah... Okay, so it wasn't really the President, he'd been replaced by some kind of Hand puppet to do really bad things, but I'm guessing this isn't going to look to good in the press (even if the non-President's body does dissipate into dust on-camera proving he wasn't the real President).

National Treasure: Edge of History - I'm a Ghost

More inspired by than adapted from the National Treasure films, the first episode of National Treasure: Edge of History introduces us to twenty-something puzzle solver Jess Valenzuela (Lisette Olivera) and her group of unimpressive friends. Although Jess has a familial tie to treasure, which we see in the opening scenes taking place two decades earlier, she's completely unaware of them and lacks decades of yearning to see a quest completed. For her, the adventure begins when her boring day job leads her to cross paths with former FBI Agent Peter Sadusky (Harvey Keitel) who starts her on a quest involving an ancient treasure protected by the Freemasons.

Avatar: The Way of Water

2009's Avatar made its way into my list of that year's best films by delivering an unique and wholly immersive cinematic experience quite unlike anything released in theaters in years. 13 years later, the return to Pandora feels a bit more well-trodden than I'd like. Not learning from the mistakes of The Matrix sequels, writer/director James Cameron chooses to resurrect the same villain despite having an entire world in which to discover newer (and far more interesting) ideas and conflicts.

Bowie: Moonage Daydream

The first documentary to be authorized by David Bowie's estate, Moonage Daydream is filled with clips, performances, interviews, and both public and private moments from Bowie's life chronicling his career. While making use of a tremendous amount of archival footage, it touches on all aspects of the artist's life championing his experimental nature without ever needing to rely on talking heads to explain specifics instead allowing Bowie's own words to do all the heavy lifting.

A celebration of Bowie's life and work, Brett Morgen's documentary is a film Bowie fans will unapologetically salivate over while taking an unconventional approach to his subject matter that produces an audiovisual delight. Even if the film's length feels excessive while not delving all that deep into some aspects of Bowie's life, Moonage Daydream is packed to the gills with music and clips from one of rock's most iconic stars making it a must-see for fans.

Hellboy in Love #2

"Goblin Love," the opening two-part story to the five-issue mini-series concludes with Hellboy and Anastacia capturing one of the goblins who stole her artifacts from the British Museum. True to the name of the series, we get some more flirting between the pair as their adventure continues its danger leading into a swarm of attacking birds and then an auction of unsavory folks bidding on items like those that were stolen.

Batwheels - Secret Origins of the Batwheels

Created for preschool viewers, with plenty of merchandise to sell based on its characters, Batwheels brings the Batmobile and several other vehicles to life in an odd Batman meets Cars mashup. The first three episodes of the series give us Batman, Robin, and Batgirl along with several Bat-villains the trio put in jail. However, with the heroes lured away, a break-in at the Batcave calls for unorthodox security procedures by the Bat-Computer which brings the Batmobile to life. Over the course of the episode more Bat-Family vehicles will be brought to life as will the vehicles of the villains we saw in the opening.

I Quickly Grew Disenchanted With This Sequel

The follow-up to 2007's Enchanted is the kind of middling Disney sequel you often expect from the studio outside of its Pixar theatrical properties. Amy Adams and Patrick Dempsey return as Gisele and Robert moving to the suburbs with teen daughter Morgan (now played by Gabriella Baldacchino) and baby Sofia. Despite her hopes of finding a magical new start in the suburbs, the family struggles in their new home leading to Gisele to make a wish turning the entire town into a fairy tale.

Leverage Redemption - The Date Night Job

On the eve of Hardison (Aldis Hodge) going into space, the show's excuse to write off the character again, both he and Parker (Beth Riesgraf) separately talk to members of the team enlisting their help to break into a tax-free port housing millions in treasures including those of a recently-deceased woman whose collection will be on display at a private party. We get flashbacks filling in the various characters' roles in setting in the night's event, before jumping back to the present to deal with an unexpected problem. There's fun Hardison and Parker back-and-forth leading to the break-in where things take a turn with the arrival of armed robbers at the party below who unintentionally trap the thief and hacker inside the safe.

Gargoyles #1

Narrated by NYPD Detective Elisa Maza, the first issue of Dynamite Entertainment's new Gargoyles title introduces readers to the main characters from the show including Elisa's boyfriend who is the leader of a group of cursed Gargoyles who only awake and night and help Elisa keep the city safe. 

Stargirl - The Reckoning

Reading the writing on the wall, the season finale of Stargirl was filmed with two possible endings. One would tease next season's arc and the other, in case the show was indeed cancelled, would wrap-up the series' various storylines. With the announced cancellation of the series, it was the latter that aired which not only concluded the JSA's battle with Icicle (Neil Jackson), Dr. Ito, and the Ultra-Huminate inside Sylvester (Joel McHale) body, but also offered a series of epilogue scenes to say farewell to fans and suggest what might have happened in upcoming seasons had the show been renewed.

Aftersun

Offering a very natural feel of a father/daughter dynamic, writer/director Charlotte Wells' Aftersun offers a moment of time between Calum (Paul Mescal) and Sophie (Frankie Corio) on a vacation in Turkey which occurred on her 11th birthday. Intercutting between filmed scenes and those from the father's camcorder, a large amount of the movie feels like life playing out naturally making me curious as to how much of smaller moments were scripted. 

There are few moments where the movie loses this natural feel with obviously scripted moments between Sophie and other kids at the hotel and where it jumps forward to an older Sophie (Celia Rowlson-Hall) looking back on the camcorder footage where it veers away from the father and daughter dynamic that works so well in the other segments. Other than as a possible bookend to frame events, I don't know that the older Sophie adds much to the narrative.

Bad Axe

Near the beginning of the pandemic filmmaker David Siev, who, like his siblings, moved back home to support his parents and the family business they started decades earlier, begins to record a film which will grow into a portrait of the American experience of an Asian-American family through their struggles and triumphs of 2020 in the decidedly white Conservative small town of Bad Axe, Michigan. 

An intimate look which could only be achieved through being part of the lives which he documents, Bad Axe embraces the uncertainty of uncertain times for the family while touching on family history, fear, partisanship, racism, the American dream, internal family conflict, the immigrant experience, love, and community. It's unlike anything else I've seen this year and easily one of the best films of the year.

Atomic Robo & The Agents of C.H.A.N.G.E. #1

It's a challenging time for Atomic Robo with Alan entering a rebellious streak, Robo's neighbor attempting to shut down Tesladyne's latest (and often explosive) project, Dr. Dinosaur living with them, and Robo and his team taking back possession of Tesladyne Island from the government. With the team spread thin to cover a variety of needs, new dangers seem to spring up at once as old villains Tyrantula, Helsingard, and Undead Edison all hit Tesladyne looking for a fight with the absent Robo.

Cat-Man and Kitten #1

Set after the events of WWII, Dynamite Entertainment's one-shot resurrects the 1940s heroic duo of an orphan raised by tigers in the Burma who would return to civilization to use the powers discovered in the jungles to help the innocent and the young circus acrobat he would take on as his ward. If it sounds a bit like Batman meets Tarzan, well that's exactly what it is. And if that unusual mashup of comic characters sounds good to you, then track down this comic.

Willow - The High Aldwin / The Battle of the Slaughtered Lamb

While the second episode of Willow primarily focused on the failures of Willow (Warwick Davis) to teach Elora (Ellie Bamber) magic while the group theoretically started their search for the captured Airk (Dempsey Bryk), "The High Aldwin" ended with Elora captured by the zombie soldiers following them setting up the events of "The Battle of the Slaughtered Lambs" with our fellowship once again abandoning the quest to find the prince and instead searching for Elora.

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

Based on the shorts of the same name, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is a weird, and heartwarming, little film about a talking shell named Marcel (Jenny Slate) who has been separated from the rest of his family other than his grandmother (Isabella Rossellini). A recently separated documentarian (Dean Fleischer-Camp), who moves into the Airbnb where Marcel lives, begins filming Marcel and his inventiveness around the house which will eventually garner attention from YouTube viewers and even 60 Minutes.

The brainchild of Slate and Camp, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On fits into the same niche as Paddington in exploring ideas of family through the eyes of an adorable character without ever being afraid to touch on emotions such as grief and loss. The result is an unusual but uplifting film for audiences of all ages and one of the most unexpected films of 2022.

NCIS: Hawai'i - Desperate Measures

NCIS butts heads with a local DEA task force after Commander Chase (Seana Kofoed) is kidnapped by one of the DEA's confidential informants who the DEA believe is responsible for killing one of their agents. The episode never quite sells us on the idea of Santino (Ian Verdun) as a killer leading to an unsurprising twist when the captive medical examiner starts believing in his innocence. The trigger-happy agents of the DEA also make it all too easy to figure out what's really going on.

007 #4

Looking for answers, Bond begins working for Myrmidon with his first assignment stealing secure information from the British Government. Seducing a young woman at MI5 for access and then breaking into a secret government server room, Bond looks for answers about Gwendolyn Gann and for what his government is doing in bed with a terrorist and dictator.

The Santa Clauses - Good to Ho

Picking up the threads of The Santa Clause film franchise 28 years after the original film (and 16 years since the last entry), the new series deals with an aging Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) dealing with a dwindling list of kids still believing in Santa Claus and his Christmas magic beginning to fail. While first ignoring his problems after trouble one Christmas, he must face the truth when circumstances repeat the next year. If Santa feels a bit worn down so does the series trying to squeeze some Christmas magic out of a franchise that dried up over a decade and a half ago.

Crimes of the Future

Writer/director David Cronenberg returns to science fiction and body horror in a film about the evolution of the human race and the spectacle of surgery as entertainment. Viggo Mortensen and Léa Seydoux star as a pair of artists in this new world. His body continues to grow new organs which she removes in front of an audience as both spectacle and, as both admit to each other, sex.

Not approving of his methods, the government doesn't have a problem with the artists as much as those facing the same medical conditions and choosing to keep the organs, becoming something different than human. This plotline introduces Scott Speedman as one such person, and a pair of organ registration bureaucrats (Don McKellar and Kristen Stewart) tie the two stories together. We also get a pair of technicians (Nadia Litz and Tanaya Beatty) who work for the biotechnology company doing their part to keep the status quo.

Rick and Morty - A Rick in King Mortur's Mort

Remember that time Morty (Justin Roiland) started a war across the entire solar system by refusing to cut off his penis? That's the basic idea in "A Rick in King Mortur's Mort" where a bored Morty becomes a Knight of the Sun only to then disillusion the lot about their religion and, unknowingly, start a war between the various tribes of the solar system. A wacky take on King Arthur, the episode is also notable for Rick's (Roiland) attempts to be less of an asshole for an episode which eventually gets on Morty's nerves before leading to a callback from "The Vat of Acid Episode" to solve Morty's problems.

The Super Messy History of James Bond Jr.

Stargirl - The Last Will and Testament of Sylvester Pemberton

Following the death of the Crocks, the long-brewing Sylvester (Joel McHale) decides to take action, burning bridges with both Courtney (Brec Bassinger) and Pat (Luke Wilson) and leaving a few words of advice for the other new members of the JSA to continue to honor his fallen friends and build the ranks of the new JSA. Despite his friend's harsh words, Pat refuses to let Starman face Icicle (Neil Jackson) alone, although he's not prepared with how the night ends with the big reveal of the reasons behind Starman's unstable behavior throughout the season.

Darth Vader #29

As Sabé searches Brentaal IV for Jul Tambor, who Darth Vader has ordered her to assassinate, Ochi sneaks one of the other handmaidens disguised as Sabé on to an Imperial Star Destroyer to learn more about what her fellow handmaiden has been up to. While good enough to fool Stormtroopers, Dormé's disguise can't stand the scrutiny of a Dark Lord of the Sith who doesn't take kindly to another handmaiden sneaking aboard his ship.

Kung Fu - Villains

As Zhilan (Yvonne Chapman), Nicky (Olivia Liang), and Henry (Eddie Liu) work together to use the soul-sucking sword to rid Pei-Ling (Vanessa Kai) of Xiao, the imprisoned Xiao sends her own apprentice to use the trust Bo (Ben Levin) has built up to betray Nicky and allow his shifu to take over the body of her shifu. With Bo throwing a wrench into their plans, Xiao's spirit is able to escape into the body of one of Nicky's friends as she contemplates the next step of her plan.

Nanny

From writer/director Nikyatu Jusu comes a slow-burning drama that teases darkness and trouble around the edges surrounding a young woman far from her homeland and family who begins seeing and dreaming things she can't explain after taking a new job as the script waits to reveal just what is behind her haunting for nearly all of the film's 98-minute running time.

Anna Diop stars as Aisha, an undocumented nanny from Senegal who takes a job in New York working for a couple (Michelle Monaghan and Morgan Spector) in the Upper East Side taking care of their daughter (Rose Decker) while hoping to save enough money to bring her own child (Jahleel Kamara) to America.

Four Samosas

Set in Little India and fitting into the same sub-genre of comedy heist flicks like Wes Anderson's Bottle Rocket (but better), Four Samosas features a would-be rapper (Venk Potula) who bands together with his friend (Nirvan Patnaik), a repoter (Sharmita Bhattacharya) of a small free local paper, and a malcontent engineer (Sonal Shah) to rob a local grocery store run by the disapproving father (Tony Mirrcandani) of his ex-girlfriend (Summer Bishil) who has just gotten engaged.

Leverage: Redemption - The Tournament Job

In "The Tournament Job" the team takes on an unscrupulous e-sports team owner (Pierson Fode) mentally and physically abusing his players for his own gain. The con allows Eliot (Christian Kane) to once again play a chef and offers Breanna (Aleyse Shannon) a larger role as a producer attempting to get their mark to publicly cheat. Although Leverage: Redemption has a different feel than the original series, "The Tournament Job" is one of the closest episodes of the reboot to a more classic Leverage episode including complications and a late twist, more of Parker (Beth Riesgraf) being Parker, some off-screen Hardison involvement, and a very public victory over the mark. Harry (Noah Wyle), who we learn is a gamer, also steps up with some non-legal help that turns out to be crucial to the con.

Daredevil #5

After stalling, or getting sidetracked with other matters, Matt Murdock's battle with the hand has finally begun. Having married Elektra in a Fist ceremony and unlocked new-found power for his followers, Daredevil turns to more recruiting as the Fist infiltrates the Myrmidon and frees any willing to join him. Along the way Daredevil will also need to deal with US Agent and various soldiers before the Fist disappears back into the either but not without leaving a message for Matt's old friends.