Alan Rapp

Motherless Brooklyn

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Motherless Brooklyn
  • IMDb: link

Motherless Brooklyn movie reviewWith Motherless Brooklyn, Edward Norton stars, directs, and adapted the novel of the same name. It’s in his choices, and likely his performance, where you will decide what you think of the film. Moving the events back in time allows the story to be reframed as a noir fitting our detective’s narration and the style of a gumshoe tale.

Motherless Brooklyn is shown from the perspective of private detective Lionel Essrog (Norton). Despite being burdened with tics he cannot control, Lionel is the star of Frank Minna’s (Bruce Willis) P.I. business (and car service). But when something goes wrong on a case it falls to Lionel to step-up and unravel a web of criminal conspiracy and murder.

If you can accept Norton’s showcasing Lionel’s tics the film will likely work for you, as it did for me. The character is fascinating and we do see how his nature helps him in other aspects of his job, while admittedly leading to some problems dealing with people. Norton builds on his performance and the strengths of a novel to create a smart and entertaining film (even if it isn’t quite as clever as it thinks it is).

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Jojo Rabbit

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Jojo Rabbit
  • IMDb: link

Jojo Rabbit movie reviewAn irreverent comedy centered around a Nazi 10 year-old (Roman Griffin Davis) whose imaginary friend is Adolf Hitler isn’t going to appeal to everyone. Writer/director Taika Waititi (who also stars as the Fuhrer) crafts an odd little film about a devout, although not very good, Nazi who completely believes in the propaganda he’s been fed since birth about Jews and the military dominance of the father land despite those around him seeing the writing on the wall that the end of the war is vast approaching.

Waititi, who adapted the story from Christine Leunens’ novel Caging Skies, gets the most out of his young star while surrounding him with an impressive supporting cast who understand the vibe the director is going for in the film. Scarlett Johansson is terrific as JoJo’s mother who is hiding more than a few secrets from her young Nazi son. Sam Rockwell, as a demoted Nazi officer now forced to work with children, sets the tone of the film early on in his presentation to a Hitler Youth training camp. Jojo’s misadventures at the camp do nothing to make him question his belief in the Nazi Party but meeting a girl named Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie) leads to several questions.

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Harriet

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Harriet
  • IMDb: link

Harriet movie reviewWhile watching director Kasi Lemmons‘ take on the story of Harriet Tubman (played by Cynthia Erivo) I was constantly reminded of Walt Disney’s old tall tale cartoons exploring characters such as Paul Bunyan. While Erivo is terrific in the leading role, Harriet‘s main struggle is the director and screenwriters (Gregory Allen Howard and Kasi Lemmons) stalwart refusal to simply tell the fascinating life of a slave turned abolitionist in favor of building up Tubman’s legacy to mythic proportions by spending so much time focusing on her visions from God and refusing to acknowledge (even after showing on-screen) those who helped Harriet escape the South be immediately rewriting events in favor of a single-handed narrative.

Lemmons’ style of filmmaking also adds very little to the film’s production leading to a rather bland cinematic experience any moment where the camera isn’t on Erivo. The choice of visually representing Harriet’s “spells” comes off rather amateurish as well. Because the legend of Harriet Tumban smothers every frame of film, it leaves little air for any of the actors who come across mostly as cliched slave owners or unremarkable side notes to history.

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Jack Ryan – Cargo

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan – Cargo
  • wiki: link

Jack Ryan - Cargo TV review

Set an indeterminate length after the the show’s First Season, “Cargo” opens with Jack Ryan (John Krasinski) and Greer (Wendell Pierce) both investigating the same case from different angles. In Moscow, Greer struggles to uncover intelligence about a secret satellite launched from a ship in the China Sea. In Washington, Ryan links the same ship to Russian weapons smuggling and a secret government facility in the politically-unstable Venezuela where the two will meet up once more. Benito Martinez guest-stars as Jack’s longtime friend Senator Moreno who, along with Jack, confronts the Venezuelan President (Benito Martinez) who denies any knowledge of the ship, the secret compound, or any smuggling into the country.

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Hellmouth #1

/ / Comics

Hellmouth #1 comic reviewHellmouth #1 officially begins the five-issue crossover event that has been building in both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Drusilla has the key and the Hellmouth is open. Get ready, ’cause Hell is literally set to break loose. And if you missed anything, Cordelia is here to sum up things for you.

The first issue of the mini-series offers the first official meeting of Buffy and Angel as the ground underneath Sunnydale cracks open and all manner of creatures begin to pour out. Hellmouth #1 also explains why Drusilla needed to stab Spike with the key (other than her being bat-shit crazy).

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