Alan Rapp

1984 – Lassiter

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Lassiter
  • IMDB: link

lassiter-dvdOn this date 30 years ago Lassiter opened in theaters which makes an opportune time to re-share my review of the movie on DVD.

1984’s Lassiter was a pretty obvious attempt to cash in on Tom Selleck‘s popularity from Magnum, P.I. It’s also surprisingly good. The film was directed by Roger Young, who also helmed the first episode of for Magnum (as well as the TV mini-series adaptation of The Bourne Identity starring Richard Chamberlain and Jaclyn Smith). Although a little dated in spots, the film holds up fairly well nearly 30 years after its initial release.

On the eve of World War II, framed for a crime he didn’t commit, London’s premiere cat burglar Nick Lassiter (Selleck) is pressured by a British Police Investigator (Bob Hoskins) and an agent of the FBI (Joe Regalbuto) to use his unique skill set to break into German Embassy in London and steal $10 million in precious uncut gems.

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True Detective – The Secret Fate of All Life

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: True Detective – The Secret Fate of All Life
  • IMDB: link

“There’s a shadow on you son.”

True Detective - The Secret Fate of All Life

Meeting Reggie Ledoux’s (Charles Halford) meth cooking partner leads Cohle (Matthew McConaughey) and Hart (Woody Harrelson) to the man have been hunting for months. As the pair relate the collar which would make both of their careers to Gilbough (Michael Potts) and Papania (Tory Kittles) we notice, not for the first time, that the series of events described in the interviews immediately following the events and 17 years later don’t match up with the events from the flashbacks. However, for the first time in the series we see just how far both men are willing to lie to obscure what really happened and cover their asses.

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All-New X-Men #23

/ / Comics

All-New X-Men #23Continuing the story from Guardians of the Galaxy #11.NOW, the time-displaced original X-Men along with Kitty Pryde, X-23, and the Guardians of the Galaxy head into space after Jean Grey who has been taken by the Shi’ar to be publicly tried for crimes she hasn’t committed yet. The odd circumstances the X-Men find themselves in leads to quite a bit of offbeat humor highlighted by Iceman‘s glee over interacting with a talking raccoon.

Of course, as often happens with the Guardians’ plans, things don’t go as smoothly as possible when they ship comes under attack from a Shi’ar warship. Unexpectedly, the heroes are saved by the arrival of the Starjammers led by Cosair whose relationship with this version of Cyclops is less cordial than his present day counterpart.

Filled with action, suspense, and an awful lot of humor and inside references (such as Kitty Pryde’s mention of her uncomfortable past with space travel), the pairing of the two teams is a lot of fun while the pre-trial moments between Jean Grey and a Shi’ar telepath continue to set the stage for the trial yet to come. Worth a look.

[Marvel, $3.99]

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Ender’s Game

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Ender’s Game
  • IMDB: link

Ender's GameA longtime fan of Orson Scott Card’s book, I was pleased enough with the recent adaptation of Ender’s Game to the big screen to find a spot for it on my Top 13 Movies of 2013. The movie holds up well on Blu-ray as we follow young Ender Wiggin‘s (Asa Butterfield) story as child prodigy sent to Battle School to transform him into to humanity’s best hope in their war against the ant-like race known as Formics.

Adapted and directed by Gavin Hood, the script streamlines Ender’s journey while ignoring large subplots from the book including that of Ender’s siblings (Abigail Breslin, Jimmy ‘Jax’ Pinchak) on Earth after his departure. What the film does deliver on is the complicated character study of a child genius striving to understand the aggression both in himself and the enemy he will be ordered to destroy, all set inside a collection of amazing effects and production design. For more on the film check out my original review.

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Astro City #9

/ / Comics

Astro City #9As the conspiracy behind framing Winged Victory as a super-villain continues, the heroine is forced to abandon her schools. Continuing to investigate the elaborate frame, the Samaritan and The Confessor urge the heroine to go into hiding until they can uncover the proof to clear her name.

Winged Victory’s only respite comes from answering the call of the voice which has slowly grown in strength over recent days. On an inaupsicious rooftop garden she will come face-to-face with one the Council of Nike (those whose power flows through her veins) who offers the hero the story of her only life, a brief moment of rest, and the support to continue to fight for her cause.

Although the overall story isn’t advanced much (the investigation hits dead ends and the evidence against Winged Victory mounts), in terms of exploring the effect of the attack on the hero Astro City #9 works well. And before it’s over we get the tease of how the young man who came to her door just before her world started crashing down might have a big role to play in the arc’s final issue next month. Worth a look.

[Vertigo, $3.99]

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