Daredevil Season 2, Episode 4: Penny and Dime

It's been a while, but I figured it was about time we got back to this.  The same is going to go for "Legends of Tomorrow" as I really do need to get back up to speed, but for now, we'll dive back into "Daredevil".

For a longer episode, the hook for this one is surprisingly simple.  The mob has had enough of the Punisher's crap and decides to go on the offensive.  One Irish mobster in particular, named Finn, is intent on getting money that Frank took from him back.  Said mobster made for a great villain.  He was legitimately menacing and the accent just worked for the situation.

It was nice to see the mob presented as a credible threat.  Too often, they're just fodder for the admittedly badass protagonist and his anti-hero counterpart.  Here, we see them get the drop on Frank and actually succeed in taking him captive.  Not that he goes down easy, of course. It takes a dose of sedative, as well as a thorough tazing before Frank succumbs to unconsciousness.

While the torture Frank endures is no doubt brutal, he does seem to "no sell" the various hits. It isn't until Finn takes a power drill to his foot that Frank seems in any way affected.  Of course, even that pales in comparison to the sight of seeing the dog get threatened.  I am glad that the dog got out of it unharmed.  Considering how brutal it was up to this point, I don't know if viewers could stomach seeing that done to an animal.  Even having it done off screen would have been hard to sit through.

Frank does turn the tables in fairly impressive fashion, though it does ultimately fall to Daredevil to come bail him out.  It was kind of cool to see the two working together against a common foe.  Who knows? It might lay the groundwork for Frank to eventually join the Defenders.  Now, it is true that Matt had to keep checking on Frank to make sure he didn't kill anyone, but it's a big step in the right direction considering every other encounter consisted of the two beating the crap out of each other.  It makes sense for Matt to keep him in check, but it's a bit odd as Matt routinely chucks lead pipes and wrenches directly at people's faces with full force.  You'd think that would run a high risk of being fatal, but fortune favors them as the mobsters seem to survive.

As great as the action is, the following scene in a graveyard, where Daredevil and Punisher have a friendly chat is probably the highlight of the episode.  It showed the two start to connect and Frank gets to show his humanity in a way that he really hadn't had a chance to before.  Bernthal does a great job with the scene too.  I've praised his performance thus far and everyone says he's great, but this is probably one of the peaks that show just why he's getting as much credit as he is.

Karen has a subplot of her own where she uncovers details about Frank's back story.  It's largely just something for her to do.  I do wonder why she went through the trouble of breaking into Frank's house.  She already had his name by that point, you'd think a simple google search could have brought up old newspaper articles about what happened to give her an idea of what his deal is.  Granted, it may not be as dramatic or eat up as much time, but it seems like the more practical approach.

The episode also seems to take cues from Bale's Bruce Wayne.  Matt's conversation with the priest suggests that Matt is looking for a time where he can hang up the mask.  He also lets Officer Mahoney take the credit for Castle's arrest so that it will be easier for the law to step up and keep vigilantes from running wild and taking control of everything.

After this whole ordeal, I can't say that it doesn't make sense, but between the upcoming war that Stick spoke of and Thanos out there, I wouldn't mind seeing more costumed heroes popping up to bolster the forces for good.

I had read that unlike the first season's extended arc, this season is made up of mini-arcs.  It's an interesting way to structure things and it is very comic book-esque.  The episode ends with Frank in custody, but I'm guessing that he's not out of the picture just yet.  The conflict seems more or less wrapped up though, thankfully, the episode ends with a teaser as to what's to come, with Elektra making her first appearance.

Again, it's a very Batman thing; though in this case it's 1966 Adam West Batman, where there's hardly a break after one matter is taken care of before something else pops up.  It's one of those things that you just have to go along with, but it can come off as very strange.

I'm looking forward to this next arc.  I was very intrigued by Stick's talk about an oncoming war, and I have a feeling that the next few episodes are going to take that ball and really start to run with it.  I'm still fairly certain that this is going to be the central focus of "The Defenders", which makes it all the more interesting to me, so we'll see how that plays out.

It was good to get back into this.  The hiatus meant that I had to play some mental catch up regarding what was happening, but the episode still manages to work fairly well.  Even if you were watching this as a stand alone, I think you could get by just having a broad understanding of what's what.  So, it was probably a good thing that this acted as my re-entry point.  As a whole, it was a solid watch, which I've come to expect, but it still deserves credit.


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Batman: Assault on Arkham

You can read my review here.

Pros

- Hearing Kevin Conroy and CCH Pounder reprise their roles as Batman and Amanda Waller, respectively

- Has nice balance of action and humor

- Engaging plot with enough twists to keep it from becoming formulaic and predictable.

- Showcases lesser known characters

- Joker makes for a great villain and is well portrayed here.

Cons

- This isn't a Batman movie. He's in it, but he's a supporting character. Knowing this ahead of time, you'll likely enjoy the movie; just know what you're getting.

- Some of the developments don't make a lot of sense if you think about it

- Pushes the PG-13 rating to its limits.  It's fine for older viewers, but this isn't one for the kids

Overall

This was a fun movie.  If you're not a fan of heist movies or not a fan of the Suicide Squad, than this won't be the movie for you.  If you're interested in them, or at least interested in learning about the characters and the general premise, this gives you a good introduction to the major players.

                                  






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The Bazaar of Bad Dreams

Mile 81







Premium Harmony

Batman and Robin Have an Altercation

The Dune

Bad Little Kid

A Death

The Bone Church

Morality

Afterlife

UR

Herman Wouk is Still Alive

Under the Weather

Blockade Billy

As was announced last month, Stephen King released a short novella called Blockade Billy.  The story is about one of the greatest players who ever played the game, but was not recognized for it.

The story has an odd meta quality that made it a bit more interesting to read.  The narrator is basically talking to Stephen King, telling him the story so that King could, in turn, tell us.  It worked really well and it was an interesting way of presenting the tale.

It's a smooth read and I enjoyed it.  I'm not a big baseball fan, so I'm sure people who are into the sport will enjoy it on a much higher level than I did.  Even putting that aside it was a good story.

The only thing that was really eye roll worthy was when one of the characters posits that Billy somehow sliced through an opposing player's Achilles' tendon with his fingernail.  Luckily, one of the other characters points out how stupid that sounds.

Billy himself was an interesting fellow.  Everyone liked him well enough, but there was definitely something off about him.  Even the other characters notice it.  He refers to himself in the third person, which David finds most amusing.  He doesn't really talk to people, but he just sort of repeats what's said to him.  One character freaks out because before big plays he'll utter things like "You can do this, Billy" or he'll apologize to himself when he makes a mistake.

That doesn't seem all that weird to me.  I mean, self assurance can be a powerful tool and is apologizing to yourself really any different than cursing under your breath?  It's unorthodox, maybe, but nothing really to sound the alarm over.  Granted, there was ultimately reason to sound the alarm, but the aforementioned aspects are pretty tame in the grand scheme of things.

If you read the reviews on Amazon, one of the biggest complaints is regarding the price.  Even the discounted Kindle edition is 8 bucks.  On top of that, the story is rather short.  I can't really argue against that.  It's about the price of a movie ticket and you could write it off as a minor inconvenience, but it is something to consider.  

I think it would've been better if this had been part of a collection like Four Past Midnight.  Heck, it could've been a nice addition to the upcoming "Full Dark No Stars".  Releasing it as a stand alone was an odd choice.

The hardcover alleviates this somewhat, featuring another short story, but that was not included in the e-book.

It was a good read though.  If you're the type to hang out in a Borders or Barnes & Noble and read, this one won't take you that long, an hour, two tops.  It's a nice way to pass an afternoon.

Mister Yummy

Tommy

The Little Green God of Agony

That Bus is Another World

Obits

Drunken Fireworks

Summer Thunder

                                

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New Stephen King Novella Announced

*Originally published on 3/30/10

It was announced that Stephen King will be releasing a new novella called Blockade Billy.  It is being published through Cemetary Dance and is set to be released on April 20th. 

The plot of the novella concerns a once in a lifetime baseball player whose name has been removed from the record books and his impact is erased to the point where even his team is forgotten.  What was it that drove them to take such a drastic action? According the the announcement, it is because of a secret much worse than mere pills or injections.  

The book can be ordered directly through Cemetary Dance's website.  According to the FAQ, if there are copies available after filling all of the direct orders, copies will be sent to chain bookstores and will be made available through other online stores.  

King himself commented on the story saying,

"I love old-school baseball, and I also love the way people who've spent a lifetime in the game talk about the game. I tried to combine those things in a story of suspense. People have asked me for years when I was going to write a baseball story. Ask no more; this is it"

Daily Dose of Awesome: Everlasting Love

No, not the song (though to be fair, it is a great one); rather, I'm referring to this.

Daily Dose of Awesome: Dog Hula Hoops

Cute Puppy Likes To Hula Hoop
If you were wondering how to hula hoop...
Posted by Kyoot Animals on Saturday, September 5, 2015

Daily Dose of Awesome: Flash and Aquaman Collaborate

Source: TextsFromSuperheroes.com

11.22.63

Episode 1: The Rabbit Hole

Episode 2: The Kill Floor

Episode 3: Other Voices, Other Rooms

Episode 4: The Eyes of Texas

Episode 5: The Truth

Episode 6: Happy Birthday, Lee Harvey Oswald

Episode 7: Soldier Boy

Episode 8: The Day in Question

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Daily Dose of Awesome: Baby Goat

Violet the Adorable, Sweater Wearing, Hand-Reared Baby Goat
To brighten your Saturday morning :) (via Jukin Media)
Posted by HuffPost Parents on Saturday, February 13, 2016

Stephen King Team Up Novel is Announced

*Originally published as an April Fool's Day article.  Thus, this isn't actually happening (though it totally should.)

Shared universes are all the rage.  Since the Marvel Cinematic Universe took off, everybody has been scrambling to replicate the formula.  DC has two shared universes, with CW's "Arrowverse" on television (which is doing quite well) and the DC Extended Universe in film.  Universal is relaunching its horror franchises in a shared universe and the new "Godzilla" and "King Kong" movies will be taking place in the same world.

However, Stephen King was building a shared universe in his books for decades, long before it was cool.  His books frequently make quick mention to events that transpired in other novels and characters from earlier works have made cameo appearances in later entries.  

It all came to a head in his "Dark Tower" series, which featured multiple nods and links to Stephen King novels and appearances from several characters from earlier stand alone novels.  Those who thought that the series was the be all end all for huge crossovers in the "King-verse" got a big surprise when it was recently announced that Stephen King's upcoming novel was going to feature another assembly of characters spanning several books.

According to official sources, the still unnamed novel is summarized thusly...


When another evil arises to threaten the multiverse, it is up to Roland Deschain to assemble another ka-tet to confront the evil head on.  Mere guns and orizas won't do it, so the gunslinger gathers pyrokinetic Charlie McGee; telekinetic Carrie White; psychics Danny Torrance, John Smith, and Abra Stone; healer John Coffey; and Lois Chasse to ensure the continued safety of existence itself.



It's unclear whether this will span several novels or just be a single (likely door stopper) novel.  Given that it is gathering King's heavy hitters, readers are sure to be getting something epic.

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