Alan Rapp

Jumanji (20th Anniversary Edition)

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Jumanji
  • IMDb: link

JumanjiAdapted from the award-winning book of the same name, 1995’s Jumanji centers around a magical board game where jungle-themed events from inside the game become real forcing the players to finish the game to properly reset the increasing disaster the game creates in the real world.

The players are young Judy (Kirsten Dunst) and Peter Shepherd (Bradley Pierce) whose discovery of the game frees Alan Parrish (Robin Williams), a previous player who was trapped in the game for 26 years. Along with Alan’s childhood friend (Bonnie Hunt), the group will attempt to survive the mayhem and finish the game.

Released in a new 2oth Anniversary Blu-ray, Jumanji holds up pretty well after 20 years, although some of the film’s special effects have aged better than others. Extras include episodes of Jumanji TV series, trailer, special effects commentary, new featurettes, and a digital copy of the movie.

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Longmire – Down by the River

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Longmire – Down by the River
  • wiki: link

Longmire - Down by the River

The Fourth Season of Longmire, and the show’s first season on Netflix, begins with the death of a major supporting character when Walt (Robert Taylor) discovers Branch (Bailey Chase) dead of an apparent suicide. Already twisted up in knots about his strong beliefs that Jacob Nighthorse (A Martinez) was the man ultimately responsible for the murder of the Sheriff’s wife, Longmire begins to suspect that Branch’s suicide may have been staged for the sole purpose of Nighthorse hiding secrets the former deputy may have unearthed shortly before his death.

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Aloha

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Aloha
  • IMDb: link

AlohaWriter/director Cameron Crowe wastes both the likable stars and their strong performances in an ill-conceived cinematic misadventure about a military contractor (Bradley Cooper) returning to Hawaii at the crossroads of his life. A half-assed attempt to tap into the same themes that Crowe used nearly a decade before with Jerry Maguire, Aloha lacks both the heart and brains of the filmmaker’s earlier work.

What’s sad is Crowe gets strong performances across the board. Cooper is well cast as are Rachel McAdams, as his ex with a secret, and Emma Stone, as the younger soldier he will inevitably fall for. Sadly, it’s Crowe’s story telling that’s the downfall here (and his choice to largely ignore any Hawaiian actors in pivotal roles doesn’t help the staging of the film which, for the most part, could have been done completely on a Hollywood sound stage). It’s been 15 years since Crowe crafted a film I’ve loved, and a decade since he’s made one I even like. Aloha is simply the latest misfire of a once promising career.

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Darth Vader #9

/ / Comics

Darth Vader #9Given his recent actions Darth Vader finds himself responsible for helping to lead an investigation into a theft against the Empire that he helped plan. While outwardly supporting Imperial Inspector Thanoth‘s investigation of the destruction of an Imperial ship and the theft of a large stockpile of credits, Vader also swiftly hides his own tracks by doing whatever is necessary to distance himself from the series of events.

Given Thanoth’s prescence Vader’s plans to use the wealth to further his own goals are put on indefinite hold, however the storyline does put the Dark Lord of the Sith in an unusual situation which should be enjoyable to see play out.

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