Thor: Tales of Asgard
Netflix | Google Play | SEN | YouTube
DVD | Blu-ray
Directed by Sam Liu
Starring Matthew Wolf, Rick Gomez, Tara Strong, Cathy Weseluck, Ashleigh Ball
Lionsgate Home Entertainment
Originally Released: May 17, 2011

While Marvel’s Thor is better known for coming from Asgard to his excursions on Earth in contemporary media, Tales of Asgard acts as more like a prequel. Set in other realms aside from Earth, the animated movie focuses on Thor as a teen, approaching adulthood, and beginning to learn the hard lessons necessitated as the son of Odin.

Coddled and shielded by Odin from the realms beyond Asgard, young Thor is hungry for adventure – having a high opinion of his own skills than they actually are. Requesting the assistance of his brother Loki, the pair creep onto the ship of the Warriors Three – in quest of the Lost Flaming Sword of Surtur, believed hidden in the realm of the Frost Giants of Jotunheim.

But the perils of the expedition are immense, and while the Frost Giants are caused to seek war against Asgard because of Thor’s actions, another sinister menace threatens the realm of Odin – and it comes from within their own borders”¦

A Gang Story
Netflix
DVD | Blu-ray
Directed by Olivier Marchal
Starring Gérard Lanvin, Tchéky Karyo, Daniel Duval, Laurent Fernandez, Lionnel Astier, Dimitri Storoge, Patrick Catalifo, François Levantal
The Weinstein Company
Originally Released: November 10, 2011

One part Godfather, one part Mesrine, A Gang Story is honestly one of the most magnetizing films I’ve been engrossed with. The plot is detailed, but solid – cleverly paced, and strategically told in a manner that will keep you guessing and deliver surprises throughout.

The Lyons Gang, historically a real group of organized criminals in France, is attributed with a number of famous robberies – though the core membership never acknowledged guilt, following a mafia-like code of silence when facing law enforcement authorities. A Gang Story, while it takes some substantial artistic license with the history, is the long-term history of the fellows of the Lyons Gang – a compelling movie that is told across two major plots.

The Iceman
Netflix | Amazon | HitBliss | iTunes | SEN | Vudu | YouTube
DVD | Blu-ray
Directed by Ariel Vromen
Starring Michael Shannon, Winona Ryder, Chris Evans, Ray Liotta, James Franco, David Schwimmer, Stephen Dorff, Robert Davi
Millennium Films
Originally Released: August 30, 2012

Don’t call him a hitman, contract killer, or mass murderer – Richard Kuklinski will forever be known to history as The Iceman; a mob enforcer named as such for freezing his victims to confuse the authorities as to the time of death. Portrayed by Michael Shannon in the Ariel Vromen-directed biopic, The Iceman is a crime drama worth your attention.

Spanning several decades, The Iceman starts in the 1960s, first depicting Kuklinski’s first date with future wife Deborah (Winona Ryder). Coming from a tortured and abusive background, Kuklinski and his brother Joseph (Stephen Dorff) fall into lives of delinquency, and eventually murder. While Joseph is caught and imprisoned, Richard ends up becoming a mob enforcer for Roy DeMeo (Ray Liotta) as he attempts to also have a normal family life with his wife and daughters.

Doctor Who: Prisoners Of Time #12
Written by Scott & David Tipton
Art by Kelly Yates and Charlie Kirchoff
Cover by Francesco Francavilla, Charlie Kirchoff, Dave Sim
IDW Publishing
Release Date: November 20, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

Spanning fifty years, Doctor Who may be better identified for its impact on television viewers, but the universe of comics have had its share of significant tales of the Time Lord, and with the finale of Prisoners of Time, we reach a closing chapter on the comic book celebrations for the 50th anniversary.

With The Time Of The Doctor still to come on television on Christmas Day, there’s still much to come – but just like the impending regeneration into the Peter Capaldi Doctor, the concluding chapter of Prisoners of Time promises that the Doctor Who comic legacy will also continue into the future.

Doctor Who: Prisoners Of Time #11
Written by Scott & David Tipton
Art by Matthew Dow Smith and Charlie Kirchoff
Cover by Francesco Francavilla, Charlie Kirchoff, Dave Sim
IDW Publishing
Publication Date: November 13, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

If only it were possible that Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time could be a simulcast event. What an amazing spectacle it would be”¦ but therein lies the charm of this comic series: Scott and David Tipton are able to jump through time and grab Doctors and Companions as we remember them – amalgamating them into a major story that has become the comic book story of the year as far as I am concerned.

Issue #11 of Prisoners of Time shifts gears from the previous issues. Whereas 1-10 all had a particular stand-alone adventure for each Doctor, with an ongoing arc in which a Nemesis is kidnapping the companions; in this installment, the issue BEGINS with the kidnapping – forcing the Matt Smith Doctor to investigate where this man from his past (and now his enemy) could be.