Alan Rapp

Snowpiercer

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

SnowpiercerI had a very mixed reaction to writer/director Joon-ho Bong‘s Snowpiercer. One one-hand I’m increasingly tired dramas using the trappings of sci-fi to offer up dystopian futures and thinly-veiled class struggle that offer no message other than the fact that such inequality is wrong and ultimately disastrous to the human species. My rebelling against the form isn’t really Snowpiercer‘s fault other than the fact it adds to the glut of similarly-themed films in recent years. On the other hand the film certainly embraces the literal interpretation of rising above your class to offer a bizarre struggle of less fortunate train passengers attempting to climb their way upward.

At its worst Snowpiercer feels preachy and overreaching in its visual style presenting each train car as a bizarely impossible worlds for the voyagers to walk through. It’s also not well served by a performance so over-the-top by Tilda Swinton it’s amazing she doesn’t hit her head on the roof in every scene. At its best the film does serve its message and offer Chris Evans a role as a would-be hero forced to face the deficiencies in both himself and the world he hopes to make more equitable through his struggle.

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten #9

/ / Comics

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten #9The storyline of Andrew attempting to resurrect Tara thus unintentionally powering and Old One and sealing the fate of all mankind comes to a close as Buffy and Spike hold off the creature while Willow is forced to argue against bringing the love of her life back to the land of the living.

In a TV series and comic which has already brought back multiple dead characters (Giles, Buffy, Spike, Angel, Fred as Illyria, and ghost version of both Wesley and Anya) it seems fan favorite Tara doesn’t make the cut and like Joyce reminds us that some deaths are permanent even in the Buffyverse. The big takeaway of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten #9 is Willow admitting out loud that resurrecting Buffy, for whatever reason, was a mistake and one that she doesn’t plan on repeating.

In the midst of the action the comic continues to pull Buffy and Spike together teasing the possibility of reuniting the couple. And although Andrew admits to his bad judgement he doesn’t exactly learn from his lesson as the final panel foreshadows more trouble on the way. Worth a look.

[Dark Horse, $3.50]

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Castle – Last Action Hero

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Castle – Last Action Hero
  • wiki: link

“My hero was a liar and a goat herder.”

Castle - Last Action Hero

When a washed-up 80s action star turns up dead on the eve of his possible big return Beckett (Stana Katic) and Castle (Nathan Fillion) investigate the actor’s world including his rumored past as a covert agent for the Spanish Government. Some investigating by Esposito (Jon Huertas) and Ryan (Seamus Dever) uncovers some odd behavior in the week leading to the victim’s murder including contacting an old source within the Spanish Government (Gonzalo Escudero), miscellaneous surveillance equipment, a secret meeting with his ex-wife (Kathleen York), and choosing to hole up in a crappy apartment under an assumed name.

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A Most Wanted Man

/ / Home Video
  • Title: A Most Wanted Man
  • IMDb: link

A Most Wanted ManNotable for being the final non-Hunger Games role of Philip Seymour Hoffman, A Most Wanted Man is a slow-burning espionage thriller involving a secret German anti-terrorism unit tracking a potential suspect (Grigoriy Dobrygin). Although it’s based on the work of the same author, sadly, it’s not Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (which surprisingly moves at a far better pace than A Wanted Man).

The main takeaway from the film is how little actually happens in surveillance and much of what we do see (including a flailing romantic subplot) isn’t always that interesting. The cast is well chosen, and Hoffman leads a group of talented actors (Robin Wright, Rachel McAdams, Willem Dafoe) each providing strong performances, but the movie lacks the will or motivation to put them to better use than we see here. It’s certainly not a bad film by any means, and is certainly worth viewing for the performances alone, but the end result is less than the sum of its parts.

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Once Upon a Time – Fall

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Once Upon a Time – Fall
  • wiki: link

Once Upon a Time - Fall

In the final day before the Snow Queen‘s (Elizabeth Mitchell) spell of Shattered Sight descends on Storybrooke the residents prepare for the worst. Realizing Anna‘s (Elizabeth Lail) previous exposure to the spell might hold the key to breaking the curse, Emma (Jennifer Morrison) redoubles her efforts into helping Elsa (Georgina Haig) find her sister. By the end of the episode the sisters will indeed be reunited while flashbacks offer a look back at Anna’s unusual journey to Storybrooke.

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