Leverage Continues in Paperback Form

Submitted by anthonyletizia
on Mon, 05/13/2013 - 00:00

Over the course of five television seasons, Nate Ford and his team of highly-skilled former criminals assisted an assortment of ordinary citizens who were left with little recourse in the face of corporate greed and government corruption. The TNT drama not only provided “leverage” against such injustices but hours of entertainment for fans of the series as well. On December 25, 2012, Leverage aired it series finale, bringing closure to the character arc of Nate Ford while setting up a future for the rest of his colleagues that ensured that the “little guy” would continue to have someone looking out for them, especially during situations in which the legal system failed to provide protection.

Although Leverage the television show may have ended, the story of “hitter, hacker, grifter, thief and mastermind” lives on through a series of paperback novels published by Berkley during the first five months of 2013. Instead of picking up where the series left off, however, the books fit within the narrative of season four, when the Leverage Team was based out of John McRory’s Bar and Grill in Boston. Thus while not an actual continuation of Leverage, the setting does allow all five major characters to play a role in the proceedings and the novels themselves remain true to the group’s dynamics as well as the mythology already established on the television show.

The Mop and Lucky Files Review

Submitted by anthonyletizia
on Tue, 05/07/2013 - 00:00

What’s a girl to do when she’s over thirty, has no current romantic interests and no longer has the tolerance to work as a waitress? The answer is easy—form a personal espionage business with her equally bitter and unemployed best friend. That’s the premise, at least, for The Mop and Lucky Files, a comedy webseries that has won multiple awards from the Best Shorts Festival in Southern California and the Indie Gathering Film Festival in Cleveland, Ohio. Although the narrative may share similarities with the HBO comedy Bored to Death, in which an unlicensed private detective finds his cases on Craigslist, The Mop and Lucky Files uses its storyline for more than just laughs as it also examines the differences between men and women as well.

The first season of The Mop and Lucky Files is divided into five episodes, ranging from nine to twelve minutes in length, that relate the beginnings of the under-the-radar agency started by the two main characters in addition to their first case together. The idea of “personal espionage” is the brainchild of Mop (Chloe Taylor), who comes up with the scheme when her former roommate leaves behind a copy of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Private Investigating. The bunkmate in question had suspected her boyfriend of cheating, and bought the book in order to spy on him. Rationalizing that there must be others questioning the fidelity of their own love interests, Mop convinces Lucky (Jennifer Erholm) to go into business together and offer a cheap, unofficial way to keep tabs on wandering boyfriends.

Revolution: Swords Instead of Lightsabers

Submitted by anthonyletizia
on Tue, 04/30/2013 - 00:00

The NBC drama Revolution is a contemporary narrative with a setting reminiscent of the past. The storyline is relatively simple—the electricity that runs our everyday lives is suddenly “shut off” without explanation, and remains off for the next fifteen years. The United States government falls as anarchy rules the land until small bands of militias divide the country into their own private fiefdoms. With limited supplies of both guns and bullets, the right to bear arms is quickly abandoned for most citizens, who must rely on knives and swords for protection instead. Not that there is much protection against the Monroe Republic that controls the American Northeast as their president and commanding officer, General Sebastian Monroe, rules with an iron fist.

Although Revolution takes place a mere fifteen years in the future in what used to be the United States of America, the NBC drama draws heavily from another narrative set “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.” The Star Wars Saga of George Lucas likewise contains a modern society that still relies on the old ways of the Jedi for protection against the more advanced blasters of the times. The Galactic Empire, meanwhile, is ruled with a similar iron fist by Empire Palpatine, a Dark Sith who thinks nothing of destroying his enemies and keeping his subjects in line by any means necessary. And just like Star Wars, Revolution is populated with heroes and villains facing each other with swords instead of lightsabers as they battle for the future of mankind.

Death Star PR Review

Submitted by anthonyletizia
on Sun, 03/31/2013 - 00:00

In the Kevin Smith film Clerks, fellow convenience store employees Dante and Randal debate the destruction of the Death Star in Return of the Jedi. “The first Death Star was manned by the Imperial army stormtroopers, dignitaries—the only people onboard were Imperials,” Randal explains. “The second time around, it wasn’t even finished yet. They were still under construction. All those innocent contractors hired to do a job were killed, casualties of a war they had nothing to do with.” The comedy webseries Death Star PR, however, proves Randal wrong, as the original Death Star was not only equipped with stormtrooper but a small public relations office charged with putting a positive spin on the treacherous actions taken by the Galactic Empire.

The first episode of Death Star PR places public relations director Wilson (Grant Cartwright) and his assistant Sharpe right in the middle of Star Wars: A New Hope, with the planet Alderaan being destroyed by the Death Star. After taking hundreds of phone calls and attempting to remain upbeat about the turn of events, Wilson is directed by the Emperor to make a detailed presentation to Darth Vader outlining a new PR strategy. “You do realize that Vader just chopped his best friend in half in the hangar bay, don’t you?” an exasperated Sharpe replies. After rejecting the first set of “pitches” made by Wilson and Sharpe, Darth Vader does accept their final proposal of blaming the rebels themselves for the destruction of Alderaan. “They’ve been running around all over the place anyway,” Wilson rationalizes. “Who’s to say they didn’t fire the laser?”