Seth Harris

Book Review – Vernon God Little

Vernon God Little (2003)
Written by D.B.C. Pierre

vernon god little

Vernon Little is a teenager living in the nowhere town of Martirio, Texas. After a life of mundanity, one day his friend Jesus up and shoots 18 of their classmates and then kills himself. Without anyone to heap their collective anger and rage on due to the suicide, suspicious immediately turn to Vernon. Everyone becomes convinced he must have known Jesus had this planned and therefore his hands are covered in blood. A reporter rolls into town who is named Eulalio Ledesma (Lally for short), and he claims to work for CNN with a promise he will help clear Vernon’s name. This is just the beginning of the foul-mouthed teen’s manipulations, and Vernon quickly learns everyone is out to claim their own piece of him. Events begin to spiral out of control, and Vernon is confronted with the fact life as he knew it is effectively over.

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Movie Review – Avengers: Infinity War

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Written by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely
Directed by Anthony & Joe Russo

avengers-infinity-war

All of reality is threatened as the mad titan Thanos seeks out the Infinity Gems, objects forged in the creation of the universe that allows their wielder to manipulate everything from time to the fabric of reality and the very soul of living beings. Iron Man stands alongside Doctor Strange and Spider-Man when Thanos’ lackeys arrive in New York City to search for one of the gems. Meanwhile, the Guardians of the Galaxy come across what remains of the Asgardians and Thor deep in the void of space. Captain America and his rogue Avengers also come to the table when it becomes clear everything they know is in danger as long as Thanos is in possession of these items. Only Gamora, with her intimate knowledge as Thanos’ daughter, can help them, but is it already too late?

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Comic Book Review – The Flash by Mark Waid Book Three

The Flash by Mark Waid Book Three
Written by Mark Waid
Art by Mike Wieringo

The_Flash_by_Mark_Waid_Book_Three_Collected

After Professor Zoom’s defeat, Wally has cemented his place as The Flash and has a renewed confidence in this role. Right off the bat, he’s reunited with former lover and Titans’ ally, Magenta. As he tries to navigate helping her despite the protestations of his girlfriend, Linda Park. Former Titans’ teammates Nightwing and Starfire stop by Keystone City to help battle the organized crime syndicate The Combine. In a series of one-off stories, The Flash takes on Abra Kadabra, new villain Razer, and the terroristic cult Kobra. The most significant change in Wally’s life occurs with the arrival of Bart Allen, his nephew from the 30th Century. Bart is brought to 20th century Keystone City by Iris Allen, the widow of Barry and the aunt to Wally. Max Mercury lingers in the background and shows up to deliver a life-changing message to Wally.

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Comic Book Review – Wonder Woman by George Perez Volume 3

Wonder Woman by George Perez Volume 3
Written by George Perez
Art by Chris Marrinan & Tom Grummett

wonder woman perez 3

Princess Diana doesn’t have a moment to rest when an alliance of alien invaders attacks Earth. She teams up with the Justice League International to fight them off and makes surprising friends with Guy Gardner and Rocket Red. After Steve Trevor is abducted by these aliens, she teams up with Captain Atom to track down her friend. Then the main storyline of the collection kicks in as The Cheetah returns. We learn the villainess’ origins and the source of her power and madness. The chase for the Cheetah takes Diana around the globe to the middle east where she discovers a lost tribe of Amazons, the Bana-Mighdall. Rather than greeting Diana as a sister in arms, the Bana-Mighdall appear to have no use for a Themysciran and force Wonder Woman into deadly combat.

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Movie Review – Tusk

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Tusk (2014)
Written & Directed by Kevin Smith

tusk film

Wallace Bryton is a cruel man. He co-hosts a podcast, The Not-See Party where he and his partner Teddy mock whatever viral videos are currently fresh in the collective psyche. His most recent acquisition, The Kill Bill Kid (an allusion to The Star Wars Kid) brings him to Manitoba in search of an interview. That opportunity goes bust, and he scrambles for a replacement, a touch of the strange to return to his listeners. A posting in the men’s room at a bar leads Wallace to the large manor home of Howard Howe, a reclusive man with stories to tell. Howe was a sailor for many years who regales Wallace with meeting Hemingway days before D-Day and his own eventually shipwreck in the waters of the North Atlantic. It was in those waters he befriended a walrus, nicknaming him Mr. Tusk. This friendship is the motivation behind Howe’s twisted plans for Wallace.

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Movie Review – The Captive

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The Captive (2013)
Written by Atom Egoyan & David Fraser
Directed by Atom Egoyan

the captive

In rural Ontario, a young girl named Cass vanishes from the back of her dad’s truck. Her father, Matt, and mother, Tina spend the next eight years going through stages of grief and disbelief about the well-being and whereabouts of their daughter. Detectives Cornwall and Dunlap pursue the case as part of their assignment on the Child Exploitation division and discover Cass being used as bait to lure other young girls into a child predator ring. The various people involved in this complex web slowly spiral closer and closer, with Matt pursuing who he believes to be the man behind his daughter’s kidnapping.

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Comic Book Review – The Flash by Mark Waid Book Two

The Flash by Mark Waid Book Two
Written by Mark Waid
Art by Greg LaRocque

flash mark waid book two

Wally West has finally found his footing as The Flash when out of nowhere the long-thought-dead Barry Allen has returned from the dead. Barry returns to his role as The Flash running alongside Wally and the Golden Age Flash, Jay Garrick. However, something is wrong with Wally’s resurrected mentor, and he feels himself being pushed away. It will take some speedster allies to help get to the truth behind Barry’s return. There are also brief ventures to Gorilla City with a Green Lantern team-up as well as a handful of one-off stories, but the main draw here is the year-long Barry Allen story.

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Movie Review – Loveless

Loveless (2017)
Written by Oleg Negin & Andrey Zvyagintsev
Directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev

loveless

Zhenya and Boris are in the final days of their acidic and hateful marriage. When they are forced to be around each other in their Moscow apartment, they fill the bitter silence with mouthfuls of venom spewed at each other. One thing that is agreed upon is that their twelve-year-old son Alyosha is going to be sent to a “boarding school” that will primarily act as an orphanage. Zhenya wants to move on with to her new life with an older, wealthy and established man while Boris has already gotten his twenty-something girlfriend pregnant. Alyosha is destined to be forgotten. One morning, Zhenya discovers that their son hasn’t been to school in two days and appears to have not been in the apartment during that time either. They realize he is missing and contact authorities. The subsequent search forces these two hate-filled people to spend hours together, but don’t expect a reconciliation.

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Comic Book Review – The Flash by Mark Waid Book 1

The Flash by Mark Waid Book 1
Written by Mark Waid
Art by Greg LaRocque

flash waid one

Since the tragic death of Barry Allen during the Crisis, Wally West has held the mantle of The Flash. On a visit to his grandfather’s, Wally uncovers an old scrapbook made by his late aunt Iris chronicling his days as Kid Flash. This triggers a series of flashbacks that retells Wally’s first short-lived run as Kid Flash (he would later go on to a much more prolific tenure as a member of the Teen Titans). Further, we get a series of adventures that have Flash teaming up with Aquaman and the return of the classic Rogue Abra Kadabra. There are also two large size annuals included that tie into the universe-wide events of Armageddon 2001 and Eclipso: The Darkness Within.

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Movie Review – American Psycho

American Psycho (2000)
Written by Guinevere Turner & Mary Harron
Directed by Mary Harron

american psycho

1987 in New York City was a time of gross consumption and wealth. Patrick Bateman is an investment banker who spends his life dining at exclusive restaurants amongst people whom he seems to regard with vile disdain. When Bateman becomes enraged by a social slight or what he perceives as personal digs at himself, he unleashes his anger in a private and extremely violent manner. Bateman stabs a homeless man to death and stomps his dog into oblivion. Later, he gets a colleague extraordinarily intoxicated and brings him home, only to hack the man apart with a chrome plated ax after opining on the virtues of Huey Lewis’ “Hip to Be A Square.” How long can Bateman sustain such an existence, especially as he feels his sense of individual self-being drowned out by the culture around him.

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