Alan Rapp

Taken 2: The Wrath of Nameless Eastern European Thugs

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Taken 2
  • IMDB: link

taken-2-posterDirected by Pierre Morel and written by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen, 2008’s Taken starred Liam Neeson as retired CIA Agent Bryan Mills – a man forced to use his “particular set of skills” to rescue his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) who was abducted by an Albanian human trafficking ring while vacationing in Paris. Over the course of the film Mills racked up an impressive amount of property damage while assaulting, torturing, and killing dozens of people including shooting the wife of a French police officer (Olivier Rabourdin), and close friend, in front of him.

Taken 2 returns Neeson, Grace, and Famke Janssen (as Mills’ ex-wife), who take a family vacation in Istanbul only to find their past finally catch up with them. Mills and his family are hunted by members (who may, or may not, have ties to the trafficking ring) of the families of the men he killed in the first movie. When Mills and his ex-wife are taken the super bad-ass senior citizen will have to rely on the help of his daughter to wreck another city, rack up a hefty body count, and save both himself and her mother.

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Super Dinosaur #14

/ / Comics

The “Inner Earth” story arc continues as Derek and his kidnapper, the Exile, try to stay one-step ahead of the soldiers who want them both dead on orders by the Exile’s brother. After making their escape from the palace Derek meets the rest of the resistance, other Reptiloids that believe life could exist on the face of the planet. With one side wanting him dead (as his very existence is sacrilege) and the other wanting to invade the surface of the planet, Derek is stuck in the middle. Thankfully, for him, he’s a clever kid.

We also get more of Derek’s rescue team (Super Dinosaur, Elliot, Erika and Erin) braving the various dinosaurs and creatures while searching for their missing friend, and Super Dinosaur comes to the sad conclusion that the truth of Inner Earth is far less glamorous than his dreams.

The issue keeps the story moving forward, although with the time split between the groups we don’t get as far down the road as I’d like. Still, there are plenty of action scenes for both Derek and his friends and some humorous moments, such as Derek introducing himself to the non-believers. Worth a look.

[Image, $2.99]

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #14

/ / Comics

The fate of Casey‘s father! The secrets of the Utroms! The first appearance of the Technodrome! All that and The Shredder picks his new second-in-command… so why am I not happier with the latest issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?

There’s a ton of story here as General Krang explains the history of his race, and his home planet of Utrominion in Dimension X. And, much to Karai‘s dismay, The Shredder announces he’s chosen his new protege – Leonardo.

We also get a philosophical discussion between Splinter and Raphael as to what fate should befall the abusive father of Casey Jones. It’s an important issue, and deserves the time the issue spends on it, but the writing does feel preachy at times when dealing with such a hot-button topic as child abuse.

My real problem with the issue is the art of Andy Kuhn which I like even less than I did in last month’s issue. It’s a big departure from the art of Dan Duncan without being any closer to the original look of the characters by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird.

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With Regard to Amanda Righetti

/ / Books & Magazines

The Mentalist‘s Amanda Righetti sat down for an interview and cover shoot for the August issue of Regard Magazine. In the interview the 29 year-old actress discusses working on The Mentalist (which is now in it’s Fifth Season), the independent film Cats Dancing on Jupiter, her experiences with other TV pilot episodes, what’s in store for the CBI this season, playing a detective on television, her favorite designers, and appearing in Captain America: The First Avenger. You can find the pics from the photoshoot inside.

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