Earth 2: Society: Planetfall Review

Finished reading Earth 2: Society: Planetfall, beginning a new series for DC's Earth 2 characters, Earth 2: Worlds End co-writer Daniel H. Wilson brings the survivors of the original Earth 2 to another world to begin anew. The book opens up with the heroes of Earth 2 coming together to stop Huntress and Red Arrow form activating a device called the Genesis Machine form terraforming this new world into some thing that resembles their original world. The book then starts back up with this universe's new incarnation of Batman on the pursuit of Terry Sloan, who plans on terraforming this new world. Only to be stopped by the worlds heroes before Sloan can fully achieve his plan bout only to be found dead shortly after which causes a rise in tension between the former team until the killer has been found among them. Overall this was a decent book as it dives back into the universe of Earth 2 by telling a much more slower story allowing more time for some interesting character development. The structure of the story is great as the main and a nice pace as it also allows for some character development for the heroes of Earth 2 and what has been happening on this world since the survivors of the original Earth 2 inhabited it. The artwork is great as it makes the planet and the city's their own characters as much as the heroes with in the book. There are a few emotionally charged scenes that are amazingly put together. What does however let the book is the ending due to it being incredibly anticlimactic after having a large amount of set up. 6/10.

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back Film Review

Finished watching Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, directed by Edward Zwick and staring Tom Cruise, Jason Douglas, Cobie Smulders, Robert Catrini and Danika Yarosh. The film opens up with Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise) at a dinner in where he arrests the sheriff (Jason Douglas) for human trafficking with help from military police after being in contact with its head Major Susan Turner (Cobie Smulders). When Jack heads back to Washington DC to meet with Turner he discovers that she has been arrested on accounts of being involved with the death of two soldiers who went on a mission in Afghanistan under her command. With this news Jack tries to clear Turner's name which leads to the two going on the run when Reacher is arrested for the death of Turner's lawyer (Robert Catrini) who was beaten to death at his home. Overall this was a decent film as it is a good solid action film but is not without its faults. The subplot of Jack discovering that he may have a daughter (Danika Yarosh) is an interesting concept that helps to raise the stakes in the film but it does leave a lot to desire. The fighting choreography is great as it shows just how brutal each character fighting styles are extremely well but the editing doesn't flow as well as the choreography. 6.5/10.

New Suicide Squad: Monsters Review

Finished reading New Suicide Squad: Monsters, continuing writer Sean Ryan's run on the series the team of Task Force X find themselves infiltrating a terrorist organisation in hope to stop it from the inside. The book opens up with the small team of Captain Boomerang, Harley Quinn and Black Manta in a fight with a Russian Red Rocket in Ukraine. The rest of the book continues with the teams main mission of infuriating a terrorist splinter group of the League of Assassins who have made home in a war-torn city outside of Turkey as Amanda Waller and Vic Sage have given Deadshot, Captain Boomerang and Black Manta the mission of infuriating the group for reconnaissance. While the team is infiltrating the splinter group a secondary team consisting of Harley Quinn, Parasite and Reverse-Flash have also been deployed as backup for when the primary team is ready to escape form the group after they have completed the mission. However things don't go according to plan when the group decided to attack a British refinery nearby which leads to the secondary team being prisoners of the group. Overall this was a great book as writer Sean Ryan not only tells a very well action centric story but is also able to pull in some major news headlines of the time to influence the story. There is some great character development for Reverse-Flash and Black Manta who have a couple of great character arcs within the story. While Harley Quinn and Deadshot also have some interesting development as well thanks to the experiences they have within the story. The artwork by Philippe Briones does a great job with the location designs and also being able to an amazing jobs in being able to display different characters emotions extremely well. 8.5/10.

Constantine: The Hellblazer: Going Down Review

Finished reading Constantine: The Hellblazer: Going Down, this begins DC comics' second Constantine series since bringing the character into the main DC continuity as writers Ming Doyle and James Tynion scale back Constantine's world compared to the stories that Constantine has been a part of previously. The book opens up with John Constantine at a bar in the Lower East Side of New York meeting with a woman how makes clothes with the dead skins of daemons that she has summon. The next story opens with Constantine covered in blood and using his magic to persuade a shop attendant to give him a free set of clothes with the ghost of Constantine's friend Gary calling him out for what he's doing. With Gary and other ghosts following Constantine, he enters a local cafe to get away from them only to be eventually join by Blythe an old lover who is in need of his help. The book then continues with Constantine discovering that the ghost that haunt him are being killed of by a strange supernatural force and after failing to save the ghost Constantine reluctantly heads to England to meet with his old friend Georgie who is now a consultant exorcist of the secret service for help to deal with the problem facing the ghost which turns out to be caused by something very close to the two friends. The final story see's Constantine returning to New York and taking on a few smaller jobs that require his attention in order to find some money to pay his rent. Overall this was a good book as it dives back into the magical corner of the DC universe through the perspective of John Constantine while also very accessible to new readers. The flashbacks are a great addition to the book as it not only give more insight to what happen in Constantine's past and how it effects he present and the situations that Constantine has found himself in. The is some nice little comedic moments within the book that come from Constantine's own personality thanks to the way he reacts to some of the situations he finds himself in. The artwork throughout the book is great as the designs of the supernatural creatures and location bring across a great horror feel to the book which is also enforced by the paneling of the book. 7.5/10.

Inferno Film Review

Finished watching Inferno, directed by Ron Howard and staring Ben Foster, Tom Hanks, Ana Ularu and Felicity Jones. The film opens up with scientist Bertrand Zobrist (Ben Foster) being chased to a tall building were he jumps to his death because of his views and plans to deal with overpopulation. The film then cuts to a hospital in Florence, Italy were Professor Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) is being treated for a head wound that has caused some memory loss. Suddenly without warning a police woman (Ana Ularu) starts shooting at him, which causes doctor Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones) to get Langdon out of the hospital to her home for safety. Once the two are at Sienna's home Langdon come across a object within his clothes made out of human bone that contains an image of Sandro Botticelli's Map of Hell, based on Donte's Inferno, which contains a clue to the location of a virus that Zobrist created and planed to unleash onto the world. Overall this was a decent film as it brings another film the this franchise that began with the Da Vinci Code in 2006 with the same interesting premise that has continued with the franchise thanks to the character of Robert Langdon. The use of Langdon's amnesia in the film is good as it brings almost two mysteries into the film with Langdon's amnesia being the most interesting of the two. Some of the twist and turns within the film don't have the impact that they should as the reveals to some characters true intentions come across as predictable. 6/10.

Harley Quinn and Power Girl Review

Finished reading Harley Quinn and Power Girl, this tells the story of what happened to Harley and Power Girl when they were teleported by a ring in villain Clock King's possession as Harley Quinn writers Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti are joined by cowriter Justin Gray as the two heroes find themselves on an alien planet. The book opens up with Harley Quinn and Power Girl finding themselves on the alien planet Valeron after the two were teleported by Clock King and Sportsmaster during a fight on Earth. The two set out to find another teleportation ring to get back to Earth only for Harley and Power Girl being caught in the middle of an invasion on Valeron and the only way for the two to get back to Earth is to find and save the planet's leader Vartox. Overall this was a good book as it teams up Harley Quinn once again with Power Girl that fits perfectly as a standalone story as well as a great addition to the main Harley Quinn series. There is a great amount of comedy throughout the book thanks to the different situations Harley and Power Girl find themselves and reactions they have not just to the situations their in but also their interactions with the characters they meet and each other. The artwork throughout is not only captures the 1970's aesthetic of Valeron and its populous extremely well, while the art also does a great job in showcasing the action scenes and the characters emotions as well. 7.5/10.

Teen Titans Earth One: Volume Two Review

Finished reading Teen Titans Earth One: Volume Two, this continues the story for the Earth One version of the Teen Titans as writer Jeff Lemire continues the story of the superpowered teenagers on the run from the people that gave them their powers. The book opens up with Tera, Gar, Vic along with Tempest on the run from Star Labs and the authorities since the events of the previous book as the group have set up home in a construction site in Seattle. While in New Mexico Raven has been learning more about Starfire's past as Starfire is still learning to speak English after flying from Starlabs when she was saved by the group earlier. While all of this is happening Slade Wilson is still being possessed by his son Joey who then breaks into the headquarters of Starlabs to meet with Doctor Niles Caulder, the leader and one of the lead scientists of the project that gave the kids their powers and hopes to retrieve them all to continue with his experiments. Overall this was a good book as it continues the story of these characters that began with the previous book as we get to see how each character is dealing with their new found powers and explore more of their history. The art by Andy Macdonald is great as the art style is similar to the previous book but also works for the more darker tone of the book with how the addition of Doctor Caulder is introduced and how much of a threat he is to the group. 7/10.

The Girl on the Train Film Review

Finished watching The Girl on the Train, directed by Tate Taylor and starting Emily Blunt, Justin Theroux, Rebecca Ferguson, Haley Bennett and Luke Evens. The film opens with Rachel Watson (Emily Blunt) on her daily train ride into New York that goes past her old house that her ex husband (Justin Theroux) is currently living with his current wife (Rebecca Ferguson) and their daughter. One day after Rachel gets extremely drunk the night prior news comes of the disappearance of Megan Hipwell (Haley Bennett), a woman who lives a couple of door down from Rachel old home and who she has been fixated on due to Megan seeming to have a perfect marriage with Scott Hipwell (Luke Evens) only for Rachel to see Megan with another man on the train earlier on the day she went missing. This leads to Rachel trying to help find Megan in her own way that leads to many different twist and turns along the way. Overall this was a good film as it deals with the constant build of tension throughout the film story while also being very character driven for Rachel with how she tries to uncover the truth of what happened to her while she was drunk and also what happened to Megan. The mystery itself of Megan's disappeared is dealt with very well while the other mystery of what Rachel saw that night is just as good and the way the two intertwine is just as great. The layout of the film is very intriguing and captivating in the way that it's been executed as it show how Megan's life was like leading up to the events of her disappearance as the audience and Rachel discovers more during the duration of the film. 7/10.

Wonder Woman Earth One Review

Finished reading Wonder Woman Earth One, this book finally establishes Wonder Woman's existence within DC comics' Earth One continuity as writer Grant Morrison tells the origin of this version of Diana before she begins to have adventures in the world beyond Paradise Island. The book opens up 3000 years in the past as queen Hippolyta of the Amazons leads a uprising against Hercules and his army after being used as slaves which leads to the Amazons building their home on Paradise Island secluded from the rest of the world. In the present the Amazons have gathered for the trial of their queen's daughter Diana who has broken the laws of Paradise Island by venturing into Man's World when pilot Steve Trevor crashed landed onto the beach of Paradise Island to give him the medical attention he desperately needed. Overall this was a great book as it retells the origin of Wonder Woman by the use of the settings of a courtroom which helps to tell the story from different perspectives. The changes that writer Grant Morrison has done for this version of Wonder Woman and her supporting cast is great and helps to bring some social commentary to the book with the change of Steve Trevor's ethnicity to being an African American works well as it allows for the Amazons to be a more relatable and understanding people thanks to the parallels it makes to America's history which is more recent to that of the Amazons'. Additionally Diana's reactions to Man's world also helps to show how different the world is to someone who has come from a literal paradise try's to understand things like death that we know to be facts of life but yet with most of the book coming from Diana's point of view it brings more social commentary with how the people in the hospital are and with one mistaken Diana as an angel. The artwork by Yanick Paquette is amazing as the design of Paradise island and the book itself feels very much like a story out of ripped out of Ancient Greece especially with the inclusion of some Ancient Greek imagery between the panels at the beginning of the book which helps to set the books aesthetic. 8.5/10.

Star Wars: Rebel Jail Review

Finished reading Star Wars: Rebel Jail, continues Marvel's ongoing Star Wars story writer Jason Aaron slits the into two groups with Leia leading a group to one of the Rebellion's most fortified prisons while Luke and Han find themselves in a situation the neither of them expect to be in. The book opens up with a story written by Kieron Gillen from the perspective of rebel spy Eneb Ray who gets information form Princess Leia of a mass execution of senate members. Which leads to Emeb and the other spy's on Coruscant to infiltrate the prison complex where the senator are being held as news comes of the Emperor coming to watch the execution. The next part of the book features the main story as Leia is joined by Sana who helps Leia to escort Doctor Alphra to a rebel prison which is orbiting a star which makes it almost inescapable. Once Alphra has been taken to her cell Leia and Sana find themselves trapped inside the prison as a mysterious figure has taken control of the prison and begins to unleash prisoners on Leia and Sana. Meanwhile on the other side of the galaxy Luke and Han find themselves is a sticky situation when Han loses most of the Rebellions money of a game of Sabacc that he was cheating at which leads to the two to make more money by taking a smuggling job. The final story is another flashback story with Obi-Wan on Tatooine as he continues to watch over a young Luke Skywalker and helps if he can. Only for Luke's uncle Owen to discover what Obi-Wan is doing and tell him to leave the family alone as he doesn't what a repeat of what happened to Anakin to happen to Luke. Overall this was a great book as its a scaled back story compared to the Vader Down crossover that proceeded this as writer Jason Aaron tells a much more personal story for Leia that gives hers some great character development but also help to build a relationship between her and Sana. While there is great comedic moment that bleed into the the main story thanks to the interplay of Leia, Sana and Alphra while the Luke and Han story is full of no stop hilarity which is a credit to Jason Aaron's storytelling. The  attention of the story featuring rebel spy Eneb Ray is great as its not only a nice little short story but also ties into that large story in a nice way. While the Obi-Wan story's are always a welcome addition to the series and never seems to be filler or padding to the book as the story is always incredibly captivating. The artwork through of the book is great as each artist's style works well for each story from Angel Unzueta conveying the emotions of each character to Leinil Yu's style that simply lends itself to the setting of the jail with the constant glaring sunlight and even Mike Mayhew's art that is incredibly cinematic that makes the Obi-Wan story feel even more like its own movie. 8.5/10.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children Film Review

Finished watching Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, directed by Tim Burton and staring Asa Butterfield, Terence Stamp, Alison Janney, Chris O'Dowd, Eva Green and Samuel L. Jackson. The film opens up with shop assistant Jake Portman (Asa Butterfield) receiving a call at work from his grandfather Abe (Terence Stamp) who Jake is very close to begins to worry about him and once Jake finds himself at his grandfather's home he finds out that Abr has been kill by a monster. This leads to Jake being in therapy with doctor Golan (Alison Janney) for the next three weeks and when Jake receives a gift from late grandfather he and his father (Chris O'Dowd) travel to Wales under a he suggestion of Jake's doctor in hope to find closer only for Jake to find Miss Peregrine's (Eva Green) house that is within a time loop that protects the children see is looking after form any danger. Overall this was a good film as it explore the relationship that Jake has with is grandfather extremely well by making it very relatable while also giving the children of the home some nice development thanks to the interactions they have with Jake and the journey they go on within the film. The villain of Mr Barron (Samuel L. Jackson) doesn't get a lot of screen time but what actor Samuel L. Jackson brings to the character makes him a villain that rivals the children and Miss Peregrine thanks to his performance and the storytelling. The special effects are great as the look and feel very much like the stop motion effects that director Tim Burton has been know for and also works perfectly in sync with the more conventional special effects. 7/10.

Star Wars: Darth Vader: The Shu-Torun War Review

Finished reading Star Wars: Darth Vader: The Shu-Torun War, coming hot of the heels of Vader Down as writer Kieron Gillen continues the Darth Vader series with Vader having to deal with a rebellious uprising on the imperial planet of Shu-Torun. The book opens up with Vader arriving on the Imperial planet of Shu-Torun after hearing that a rebellion against the Empire is brewing and has been tasked to reinforce their rule by Vader ordering the droids BeeTee and Triple-Zero to poison the King and the royal family leaving princess Trios the only surviving because she was escorting Vader which leads him to make her the Queen of the planet and presenting her with a pice of destroyed Alderaan as a reminder of what happens if anyone defies the Emperor. The rest of the book continues shortly after the events of Vader Down as Vader has gone back to Coruscant with the body of Commoner Korbin to meet with the Emperor who debriefs Vader on the situation of Shu-Torun and gives him the mission of joining the planets queen in helping to take out the rebellious barons as the planet is one of the Empires source of rare metals and minerals. Overall this was a great book as shows how the Empire deal with rebellious planets in a very captivating way while also continuing with the storyline of Cylo that has been present throughout the series. The storytelling by writer Kieron Gillen as he weaves some great dark comedy with the use of BeeTee and Triple-Zero along with the intense drama between Vader and the appointed queen of Shu-Torun as well as Vader trying to stop Doctor Cylo and his cyborgs from taking his position within the Empire. The action set pieces and locations drawn by artists Leinil Yu and Salvador Larroca is great as the action keeps you on the edge of you seat which is helped by the location and design of the planet with its volcanic aesthetic and expensive palaces. 8.5/10.

Star Wars: Obi-Wan and Anakin Review

Finished reading Star Wars: Obi-Wan and Anakin, writer Charles Soule brings a story from a simpler and still unknown time in the Star Wars history of the current cannon as the book follows a journey that Obi-Wan and Anakin Skywalker took during a period which Anakin is questioning about his course of life between the Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones films. The book opens up with Oni-Wan and his apprentice Anakin Skywalker crash landing on the planet Carnelian IV where the Jedi Order received a distress call. After jettisoning themselves to safety the two are caught in the middle of a war between two factions called the Open and the Closed who's leaders reluctantly band together to help Obi-Wan and Anakin on their journey to find the source of the signal. Overall this was a good book as it dives into a time where Anakin Skywalker was still a Padawan in the Jedi order and through his point of view the book helps to show the sub-surface of Coruscant with Palpatine as one of the biggest foreshadowing moments of the book with how Palpatine is with Anakin and it works extremely within the context of the book. The transition between the main storyline on Carnelian IV and the flashback story of Anakin back on Coruscant flows very well as the scenes on Coruscant help to show what has been happening to the two Jedi and what has put a strain on the relationship between master and apprentice. The art by Marco Checchetto is stunning as the designs of the location, people and vehicles on Carnelian IV to the familiar setting of Coruscant are great while colourist Andres Mossa helps to bring a sense of how grand every thing is. 7.5/10.