History of man is defined by war. And war is defined by the men who fight it.”

Well, it is definitely more high-tech than the 2007 version, but is that necessarily a good thing? That’s what you are here to find out in this reboot to the popular video game of the same name (minus the Agent 47 part, that is). Rupert Friend is Agent 47 in this updated version, and I will say that despite my initial upset feelings about the recasting of the character, he does an excellent job as the highly motivated and proficient assassin. As far as reinvention goes, I was pleased with this despite it being theoretically ridiculous in some areas, but hey, isn’t that what fantasy is anyway?

"Let's do it!"

NCIS has become the number-one-rated television show in the world. It might stand alone in that distinction, but it certainly doesn't stand alone. Last season saw a new spin-off that took us to New Orleans. It's hard to believe that it was six years ago now that NCIS: Los Angeles took to the West Coast streets and developed its own brand of Naval criminal justice. It's a franchise that rivals Law & Order or CSI in its ability to stretch out and continue to build a fan base. It's part of a powerhouse lineup at CBS that has plenty of shows going double digits in seasons. I suspect that this one will be around long enough to join that group, if this season is any indication.

by Dustin P. Anderson

This is a biopic of Marilyn Monroe, and there is not much more to it than that; regardless, here is a quick synopsis. This mini-series follows the life of the famous (and sometimes infamous) Marilyn Monroe.  It goes through her battle with mental illness as well as the history of mental illness in her family. It leads us into what caused her drug/alcohol abuse and frequent lovers/husbands and how the world came to know her as Marilyn Monroe.

"And then there's Maude."

In football there's always a lot of talk about coaching trees. You know the idea. Some great mastermind who saw his assistants go on to have success of their own and who passed that lucky charm down to others for, perhaps, generations. All In The Family would be the television equivalent to a coach with a long tree. There were an incredible number of spinoffs that lead to other spinoffs. Archie's neighbors The Jeffersons moved on up to the East Side and had their own several years of success. That show saw maid Florence had her spinoff from that show called Checking In. Meanwhile Archie's daughter had her Gloria series, and after Edith's death Archie settled into Archie Bunker's Place. Even the Bunker home had a spinoff called 704 Houser Street when a new family moved in.

“You have the skills of a cop, and the constitution of a cold-blooded killer. What better combination can there be.”

There are clearly no heroes in this revenge tale, making it kind of hard to decide who to root for. If anything, it is bad versus slightly less bad. Dean Cain stars as Mason Danvers, a once-honest cop who gets himself locked up on to seek revenge against the criminal who murdered his wife. Revenge, now there is a subject that never gets old; however, in the case of Vendetta it is likely it will get old very fast. I had high hopes, as the premise had my interest, but the overall presentation was a lot less cerebral than I had hoped, coming off more cause-and-effect rather than cat-and-mouse.

“We like to believe that it’s false reporting because we just, in general, don’t want to believe that rape happens at the level that it does.”

These words are spoken by Diane Rosenfeld, and are probably some of the most poignant words spoken in this documentary. Lisa Jackson’s film It Happened Here tells the story of young women who have been raped during their stay at college. Each one of the girls recount their traumatic experiences and each one do everything in their power to make this horrifying reality known to the public. Having been active in some of America’s universities over the past seven years (both as student and faculty), the message being conveyed in this film is one that hits close to home.

In a relatively short amount of time, Moguldom Studios has built up a diverse stable of bite-size documentaries that focus on contemporary African American life. Some would say these independent “docutainment” films are limiting themselves to a niche audience, but I appreciate them for tackling well-worn topics from a different cultural perspective. When the Checks Stop Coming In is easily the best out of the recent trio of Moguldom offerings I’ve gotten a chance to review. The film understands that going broke is not a problem unique to the African American community, but is insightful enough to show some of the factors that uniquely affect that segment of the population.

When the Checks Stop Coming In focuses on black celebrities while conceding that plenty of rich famous white people (Gary Busey, Tori Spelling, The Osbournes) squander their fortunes. We get some quick clips and a rundown of athletes (Dennis Rodman, Warren Sapp, Allen Iverson) and entertainers (50 Cent, Lionel Ritchie, MC Hammer) whose financial troubles have been well documented. The doc spends a little extra time on a few of those more famous names, including soundbites from singer Toni Braxton (apparently the various people who tended to her were better compensated) former NBA star Antoine Walker (he advises active athletes to wait until they’re retired or not as busy to invest money), and Mike Tyson (if he ever shares the same space with Don King again, I don’t imagine it would end well for Don King).

In a relatively short amount of time, Moguldom Studios has built up a diverse stable of bite-size documentaries that focus on contemporary African American life. Some would say these independent “docutainment” films are limiting themselves to a niche audience, but I appreciate them for tackling well-worn topics from a different cultural perspective. Knifed Up is one of two largely superficial plastic surgery docs released by the production company this week. The film’s subtitle is The Evolution of Cosmetic Surgery, so it operates from the premise that women have gone from wanting to look like Barbie to wanting to look like Nicki Minaj or a Kardashian.

Of course, what that really means is that physical features more closely associated with African American women — fuller hips, bigger busts/butts — have become more desirable in recent years. Knifed Up reveals that white people still account for 70 percent of plastic surgeries, but the number of black people opting to get cosmetic work is absolutely on the rise.

In a relatively short amount of time, Moguldom Studios has built up a diverse stable of bite-size documentaries that focus on contemporary African American life. Some would say these independent “docutainment” films are limiting themselves to a niche audience, but I appreciate them for tackling well-worn topics from a different cultural perspective. Bottoms Up: Rise of the Backside is one of two largely superficial plastic surgery docs released by the production company this week. The cheeky (ha!) title was my first clue that this wouldn’t be a totally serious examination of the subject.

“Ass opens doors…literally.”

CBS has finally decided to release the number-one-rated show in the world on high-definition Blu-ray. It's a milestone event for the network and for fans of the show, and it only took 12 years to get it done. To be fair, Blu-ray hasn't quite been around for 12 years, but many networks have gotten us caught up with popular shows in high definition by this time. It's remarkable that it did take this long to get a season of NCIS on Blu-ray. Let's hope the numbers warrant that future seasons be given the same treatment and that we'll then be able to get the previous 11. It's an experiment CBS has tried with both CSI and NCIS: LA. Unfortunately, numbers must not have supported that move. But if ever a series deserved to live a long life in high definition, this is the one.

Special Agent Gibbs (Harmon) heads up this group of criminal investigators. Harmon has always been good, but I dare you to find a character he’s played better. He just eats up the part. You won’t have any trouble believing that Gibbs is the seasoned veteran investigator leading this team. Special Agent DiNozzo (Weatherly) is a former Baltimore homicide detective who often lets his determination run his investigation into trouble. He’ll bend a rule or throw a punch, whatever it takes to bring down the bad guy. Pauley Perrette plays the goth chick/forensic specialist Abby Sciuto. She reminds me a ton of the Penelope Garcia character from Criminal Minds. She’s flirty, far too informal for Gibbs, but is a lot smarter and tougher than she appears. Making himself more visible in this series is David McCallum as pathologist Ducky Millard. Ducky is the Quincy of the group as he checks out the bodies. His dry wit makes him my favorite character on the show. Sean Murray plays Tim McGee, who we've seen go from a young man with little self-confidence to a strong agent in the field. That doesn't mean he still doesn't suffer the barbs of Tony's sarcasm. Last season we were introduced to Emily Wickersham as Agent Ellie Bishop. She comes with a little history. She had applied for the job years ago, and something about her stayed with Gibbs. She's not a copy of Ziva by any means. She's a fresh face who also brings a lot of odd quirks. She loves to sit on the floor or often on desks or tabletops. She's a bit bouncy and likely will bond well with Abby. She rubs the old-school guys the wrong way a little at first, but they quickly respect her unique perspective. She's a good fit, and I don't think it will take long for you to warm up to her. She's settled in and already feels like a part of the team dynamic.