Alan Rapp

The Wolverine

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Wolverine
  • IMDB: link

The Wolverine

Taking place several months after the events of X-Men: The Last Stand (yes, this movie states the atrocity that was Lamest Stand counts as X-Men movie canon), The Wolverine picks up with a haunted Logan (Hugh Jackman) coerced out of his cave by an assassin (Rila Fukushima) and taken to Japan for a meeting with an old friend (Hal Yamanouchi) who wants to repay Wolverine for saving his life at Nagasaki more than 70 years ago (in a terrific sequence) by offering the hero turned hermit the one thing denied to him – morality.

…

The WolverineRead More »

The Wolverine Read More »

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Enter Shredder

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Enter Shredder
  • wiki: link

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Enter ShredderDespite my initial distrust of a new CGI Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon, I have to say I’ve enjoyed the series. The single-disc set include a second-set of seven episodes from the series (the first seven are available in the Rise of the Turtles DVD): “Monkey Brains,” “Never Say Xever,” “The Gauntlet,” “Panic in the Sewers,” “Mousers Attack!,” “It Came From The Depths,” and “New Girl in Town.” For me “New Girl in Town” is the prize of the collection introducing The Shredder‘s (Kevin Michael Richardson) daughter as well as laying the groundwork for the complicated relationship between Karai (Kelly Hu) and Leonardo (Jason Biggs).

“The Gauntlet” is notable for the Turtles first face-to-face battle with The Shredder and gives us the first appearances of the mutated Dogpound (Clancy Brown) and Fishface (Christian Lanz), and “Mousers Attack!” offers plenty of the animated series’ version on the classic robot bad guys created by Dexter Speckman, I mean Baxter Stockman (Phil LaMarr).

…

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Enter ShredderRead More »

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Enter Shredder Read More »

The Shadow: Year One #4

/ / Comics

The Shadow: Year One #4Matt Wagner’s retelling of the origins of The Shadow continue as Margo Lane earns her spot the ever-widening web of spies working silently for The Shadow. Although the issue does nothing to explain the motives of the monstrous Dr. Zorn, it does confirm he is behind the gang war whose true purpose only he seems to fathom.

Now at the halfway point of the mini-series we do have Margo and Lamont Cranston working together, but I would have expected The Shadow to at least get some inkling, if not actually have met, the figure working against him to rid the city of crime. The storyline is beginning to feel like a six-issue arc that has been unnecessarily inflated and drawn out over two extra issues. That said, what we do get in the further teasing of Zorn and the showcasing of how The Shadow builds his silent army are both handled well.

I’m hoping Wagner speeds things up a little in the next issue involving The Shadow’s investigations as well as the reveal of Zorn’s motives and origins. For fans.

[Dynamite Entertainment, $3.99]

The Shadow: Year One #4 Read More »

Pretty Little Liars – Crash & Burn, Girl

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Pretty Little Liars – Crash & Burn, Girl
  • wiki: link

Pretty Little Liars - Crash & Burn, Girl

Despite their recent disagreements Emily (Shay Mitchell), Spencer (Troian Bellisario), and Aria (Lucy Hale) come together to try and help Hanna (Ashley Benson) get through her mother‘s (Laura Leighton) arrest and arraignment for the murder of Detective Wilden (Bryce Johnson). The three Liars even go so far as to break into Wilden’s apartment where they find a connection to A. Meanwhile, Caleb (Tyler Blackburn) and Toby (Keegan Allen) put their heads together to try and find Red Coat by attempting to track down the plane that landed in the woods on the night of the fire and the young man (Wyatt Nash) who took money from Cece Drake (Vanessa Ray) to file a fake flight plan.

…

Pretty Little Liars – Crash & Burn, GirlRead More »

Pretty Little Liars – Crash & Burn, Girl Read More »