Alan Rapp

Giles #1

/ / Comics

Giles #1 comic reviewWe may never have gotten the Giles television show Joss Whedon wanted, but the Watcher now earns his own four-issue mini-series written by Whedon and Erika Alexander. To catch up those who don’t know, after being killed by Angel, Giles was resurrected but as a teenager. After helping the Scooby Gang, Giles has now been sent in undercover at an inner-city Los Angeles high school (partly to hide him from the anti-magic government and partly to allow the teenage Watcher to investigate odd occurrences in the high school).

Chronologically taking place somewhere near the end of Season 11, there’s more than a little deja vu here as Giles uncovers odd things happening in the high school basement and also falls for a female student named Roux who turns out to be a good vampire, a fact which doesn’t stop him from flirting with her.

…

Giles #1Read More »

Giles #1 Read More »

Jessica Jones – AKA Start at the Beginning

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Marvel’s Jessica Jones – AKA Start at the Beginning
  • wiki: link

Jessica Jones - AKA Start at the Beginning television review

Despite having killed off her personal boogeyman at the end of the show’s First Season, little has changed for low-rent super-hero private investigator Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter). Drinking too much, making enemies wherever she can, taking seedy jobs from clients, and pretty much being pissed off 100% of the time, Jessica continues stumbling through life when Trish (Rachael Taylor) and a prospective client (Jay Klaitz) both force her to examine a past she’d done her best to ignore. While the search into what made Jessica into who she is isn’t surprising, the episode struggles with selling the concept to both its protagonist and its audience for most of what turns out to be a very flat premiere.

…

Jessica Jones – AKA Start at the BeginningRead More »

Jessica Jones – AKA Start at the Beginning Read More »

A Wrinkle in Time

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: A Wrinkle in Time
  • IMDb: link

A Wrinkle in Time movie reviewI don’t know if writing the original story required heavy doses of LSD, but I have a hard time believing that there wasn’t some serious drug use putting this film together. Based on Madeleine L’Engle‘s 1962 novel of the same name, A Wrinkle in Time stars Storm Reid as troubled teenager who, along with her younger brother Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe), heads of on a fantastical adventure with three total strangers (Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, and Mindy Kaling) who inform the children that their missing father (Chris Pine) is alive, trapped in a far off world, and needs their help. Oh, and Meg’s classmate (Levi Miller), who isn’t really even a friend, comes along as well. Because why not?

The film’s strengths lie in its overabundance of CGI and young stars. While somewhat emotionally empty, the settings which Meg finds herself in are visually appealing (even if it appears there’s little actual thought put in to how things work). While the various adult actors appear to be having fun making a kid’s film, all the emotional weight is left for Reid to shoulder. And McCabe succeeds in jumping from quirky to downright creepy when required.

…

A Wrinkle in TimeRead More »

A Wrinkle in Time Read More »

Life Sentence – Pilot

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Life Sentence – Pilot
  • wiki: link

Life Sentence - Pilot television review

The new series form The CW stars Lucy Hale as Stella Abbott. In the opening scene we learn about Stella, her struggle for years with cancer, a wirlwind romance and marriage in Paris, and a mission to live each day as if it could be her last. On the heels of all of this Stella discovers that an experimental procedure has saved her life. Following her family’s jubilation over the news, however, life begins to set in with all kinds of changes Stella isn’t prepared to face including her parents’ sudden separation, eight years of family secrets her brother (Jayson Blair), sister (Brooke Lyons), mother (Gillian Vigman) and father (Dylan Walsh) have been keeping from her, and a husband (Elliot Knight) uncertain if he can keep up the same level of wedding bliss indefinitely.

…

Life Sentence – PilotRead More »

Life Sentence – Pilot Read More »