Alan Rapp

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Retreat!

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Retreat!
  • wiki: link

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Retreat!Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Retreat! collects the first seven episodes of the show’s Third Season which is most, but not quite all, of Leonardo (Seth Green), Raphael (Sean Astin), Michelangelo (Greg Cipes), and Donatello‘s (Rob Paulsen) time in the country licking their wounds following the Kraang mutation of New York City.

Seth Green takes over the voice of the injured Leonardo with “Into the Woods” whose rehabilitation is one of the major storylines of the set. The Turtles also meet Bigfoot, deal with leftover Kraang tech which takes the appearance of April‘s (Mae Whitman) mother, fight to survive their dreams, and deal with new mutants including mutant frogs, Casey’s car, and the bizarre Chimera. The episodes aren’t without charm (such as the introduction of Crognard the Barbarian) but they’re among the weakest of the series lacking any of the trademark villains. I also find it quite odd that “Vision Quest” (the last episode of the arc) isn’t part of this collection. The single-disc DVD does include short featurettes for each of the episodes included.

[Nickelodeon, $14.98]

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Arrow – The Offer

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Arrow – The Offer
  • wiki: link

Arrow - The Offer

Oliver (Stephen Amell) returns home to Starling City with Diggle (David Ramsey) and Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman) to think long and hard about the offer from Ra’s al Ghul (Matt Nable). Receiving a frosty reception from Captain Lance (Paul Blackthorne), who now knows the truth about Sara‘s death, watching Thea (Willa Holland) continue to struggle with what Malcolm has done to her, and learning about Felicity‘s (Emily Bett Rickards) romantic relationship with Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh), combined with the self-doubt of whether or not he’s actually made a difference in the city, lead Oliver to seriously consider Ra’s offer to take his place as the new head of the League of Assassins.

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Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – One of Us

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – One of Us
  • wiki: link

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - One of Us

While Coulson (Clark Gregg) calls in outside help to evaluate Skye (Chloe Bennet) in the wake of learning about her transformation and occasional earthquake side-effects, Cal Zebo (Kyle MacLachlan) scrubs the bottom of the barrel to enlist the help of some D-list villains (Drea de Matteo, Geo Corvera, Ric Sarabia, Jeff Daniel Phillips) to cause Coulson and his team a relatively small amount of trouble. (Seriously, with the list of all the super-powered baddies S.H.I.E.L.D. has ever come across this is the best he could do?)

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2005 – The Upside of Anger

/ / Home Video
  • Title: The Upside of Anger
  • IMDb: link

The Upside of AngerReleased ten years ago, writer/director Mike Binder‘s The Upside of Anger is an underrated film built around a terrific performance by Joan Allen as the pissed-off matriarch of a family struggling to keep it together after her husband has disappeared (presumably to live with his secretary in Sweden). The woman’s life is further complicated by varying states of disrepair of her relationships with her three daughters (Erika Christensen, Keri Russell, Alicia Witt, and Evan Rachel Wood) and a burgeoning romantic relationship to a former Major League pitcher turned radio host (Kevin Costner) who, despite the woman’s rough edges, quickly falls for Terry and her family.

Along with Allen’s performance (arguably the best of her career as the unlikable but somehow still lovable Terry) the film gives each of the daughters strong roles dealing in their own ways with their mother’s constantly boiling disposition. Russell, Christensen, and Witt each bring something different to their roles as Evan Rachel Wood shines as the youngest sibling who is forced to grow up too quickly due to her father’s abscence and mother’s consequent behavior.

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Star Wars #3

/ / Comics

Star Wars #3Star Wars #3 continues the opening arc of Marvel’s new main Star Wars comic as Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, and the droids attempt to make it out alive where their plan to cripple an Imperial weapons factory blows up in the face thanks to the timely arrival of reinforcements and Darth Vader.

Mostly action (and multiple nods to the classic trilogy including C-3PO getting blown apart, Leia joking about the Falcon‘s condition, and Luke on a speeder bike), the third issue of the series does end on an interesting note suggesting that Obi-Wan Kenobi had left something for Luke in his hovel on Tatooine that will likely become important in the series somewhere down the line.

The storyline also explores Luke’s need to prove himself worthy of a father’s legacy and Kenobi’s teaching while still not understanding how to grow into the Jedi is destined to become which leads him to taking dangerous risks to protect his friends and complete their mission despite the Dark Lord of the Sith standing in his way. For fans.

[Marvel, $3.99]

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