Alan Rapp

The Maze Runner

/ / Home Video
  • Title: The Maze Runner
  • IMDb: link

The Maze RunnerA thinly-veiled sci-fi version of Lord of the Flies, The Maze Runner (based on the novel by James Dashner) casts Dylan O’Brien as the newest member of a group of children abducted and forced to live in a small wooded clearing in the middle of a vast and deadly maze. Despite the rules against him entering the maze, Thomas (O’Brien) is drawn to it as his actions will have sever repercussions for both himself and the entire community.

By far, the most interesting character of the movie is the maze itself, and the scenes outside the gigantic moving and changing monstrosity suffer as they lose what little magic the film has to work with. The more Thomas remembers about his life and the maze itself the more the film struggles as the answers provided by the movie’s plot are far less interesting than the mystery itself. Pulling back in what is meant to be an epic Dark City style reveal, The Maze Runner flounders at its climatic moment foreshadowing what will be its inevitable sequel.

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Person of Interest – Control-Alt-Delete

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Person of Interest – Control-Alt-Delete
  • wiki: link

Person of Interest - Control-Alt-Delete

After one of the show’s must gut-wrenching episodes that saw the apparent death of Shaw (Sarah Shahi), Person of Interest continues to deliver the unexpected with “Control-Alt-Delete.” Rather than offer us an episode from the grieving Reese (Jim Caviezel), Finch (Michael Emerson), Root (Amy Acker), and Fusco (Kevin Chapman) dealing with the loss, the latest episode is entirely from Control‘s (Camryn Manheim) point-of-view giving us a look into the the Government’s use of, and frustration with, the intelligence provided by Samaritan. We also get the return of the computer system’s young avatar and glimpses of Samaritan’s plans to gain more power.

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American Sniper

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: American Sniper
  • IMDb: link

American SniperAdapted from the autobiographical story of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, Clint Eastwood offers an old fashioned character study with strong patriotic leanings and not as much introspection as one might ultimately like. Bradley Cooper is terrific in the starring role of a soldier obsessed with serving his country and protecting his brothers-in-arms overseas while struggling with even the idea of life back home with his wife (Sienna Miller). The result is an engaging, if incomplete, story as Eastwood careful cuts away anything that doesn’t quite fit Kyle’s heroic narrative including an ending that leaves much unsaid.

Following the soldier’s own interests, the scenes that take place during Kyle’s four tours of Iraq which made him the most lethal sniper in U.S. Military history work better than the limited amount of time we witness him back home. While acknowledging the character’s hero complex, Eastwood mostly shies away from how the length of Kyle’s service effected him emotionally choosing instead to celebrate (one might even argue glorify) the man’s war record. Eastwood tells the story he wants well, even if the result begins to feel a bit too much like pro-military propaganda.

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