Alan Rapp

The Cabin in the Woods

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Cabin in the Woods
  • IMDb: link

the-cabin-in-the-woods-poster

Despite languishing in obscurity for three years (the film was completed back in 2009) Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard collaborative effort is a stunning success. Co-written by the pair, and directed by Goddard, The Cabin in the Woods pokes fun at horror movie convention before providing one of the most memorable final acts you’ll see in theaters this year.

The perspective of the film is broken into two groups. On one hand we have a quintet of college kids (played by Hollywood actors in their late 20’s and early 30’s: Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Jesse Williams, Fran Kranz) out for some weekend fun in the mountains. On the other hand we have a group of scientists (Bradley Whitford, Richard Jenkins, Amy Acker) preparing for the most important night of the year.

Without giving two much away, the two stories are linked. Those in the secret compound are controlling the horrors that will unfold on the unsuspecting group of students whose every choice will lead to how they will meet their end.

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The Shadow #1

/ / Comics

the-shadow-1-coverDynamite Entertainment brings another old-timey public domain hero back into the spotlight with The Shadow written by Garth Ennis with art by Aaron Campbell. As first issues go it’s certainly not going to knock your socks off.

The character of The Shadow has been around since his first radio show back in 1930. Set in the early days of WWII, the comic does a fair job of reintroducing Lamont Cranston and Margo Lane to both old and new readers alike.

Ennis wouldn’t be my first choice to write this character and so far I’m less than impressed with Campbell’s art. The comic certainly takes the character back to his darker roots (fans of the Alec Baldwin version might be surprised by the body count in the first issue).

At best the first issue of The Shadow is a mixed success with a great cover by Alex Ross. Is that enough to keep me reading the title? Maybe, but much like Dynamite’s Green Hornet titles it’s going to have to get better for me to plop down $4 each month. Hit-and-Miss.

[Dynamite Entertainment, $3.99]

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Glee – Saturday Night Glee-ver

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Glee – Saturday Night Glee-ver
  • tv.com: link

glee-saturday-night-glee-ver

Disco hits McKinley High in Glee‘s latest theme episode (complete with a disco dance floor and white polyester suits). Concerned about the lack of direction of several of the New Directions students, and jumping on the cue of Disco from Blaine (Darren Criss) and advice from Sue (Jane Lynch), Mr. Shue (Matthew Morrison) tries to inspire Finn (Cory Monteith), Mercedes (Amber Riley) and Santana (Naya Rivera) with the music of Saturday Night Fever.

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Glee – Saturday Night Glee-ver Read More »

Beware the Batman teaser

/ / TV News 
  • Title: Beware the Batman
  • Wikipedia: link

Premiering next year on Cartoon Network, here’s a tease at Beware the Batman which it appears will look more like the CGI-heavy Green Lantern: The Animated Series than the initial artwork suggested. The cartoon will focus on “a classic-looking Batman (sans classic yellow oval Bat-logo) teaming up with a gun-toting Alfred Pennyworth and a female ninja sidekick” named Katana.

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Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
  • IMDB: link

extremely-loud-and-incredibly-close-dvdBased on the novel by Jonathan Safran Foer Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close follows the search of nine year-old with Asberger’s Syndrome who finds a key in his father’s (Tom Hanks) possessions and embarks on the kind of adventure his father used to create for him before his death on 9/11.

Oskar Schell’s (Thomas Horn) adventure takes him all over New York in an attempt to find a man or woman with the last name of Black who may be the only person who knows what lock the key fits. Over the course of his search Oskar meets several people including the mysterious mute renter (Max von Sydow) of his grandmother’s (Zoe Caldwell), who Oskar begins taking with him on his search.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is too cute for its own good. Although similar in the type of story told in Foer’s Everything Is Illuminated (one of my favorite films of 2005) director Stephen Daldry struggles with framing the tale.

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Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close Read More »