Alan Rapp

Justice League International #8

/ / Comics

justice-league-international-new-52-8-coverWith several of the team members still out of action, and the United Nations Security Chief still doing her best to dismantle the team before more trouble lands on her doorstep, Batman reaches out for some help by bringing Batwing in on the case.

Although Batwing certainly makes sense with the makeup of the team being from countries all over the world, it is a little too coincidental that the African hero just happened to be in town right when Batman needed him. (And why wouldn’t Bats go to someone close by, like say his former partner Nightwing, for help?)

After taking an almost immediate dislike to Booster Gold the three heroes fight off Lightweaver as Breakdown escapes custody. Things are no easier for the heroes still at the hospital as Guy Gardner, Godiva, and August General in Iron try to stop a rampaging O.M.A.C.

There’s plenty of action, and the inclusion of two more New 52 characters, but the execution is only so-so. Still, it’s worth a look.

[DC, $2.99]

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Avengers vs. X-Men #1

/ / Comics

avengers-vs-x-men-1-coverHow far would you go to protect your planet? How about your entire species? With the Phoenix Force returning to Earth for the obvious chosen new host of Hope Summers, the Avengers and the X-Men find themselves with opposing viewpoints that aren’t going to solved by mere words.

Captain America wants to take Hope and sequester her away from the Phoenix Force before it arrives. Cyclops wants Hope to embrace the power, and with it help Mutant-kind back from the edge of extinction. Not surprisingly, given the stakes, neither man cares much for what Hope wants for herself.

The rise in tension leads to Cap and Cyclops having a frank discussion on the shores of Utopia that ends far from peacefully with Cap blasted back into the sea, the Avengers assembling overhead, and the X-Men preparing to defend their homes and Hope from the invaders (who include former X-Men Wolverine and Beast) who have arrived to kidnap a teenage girl from a sovereign nation.

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Community – Pillows and Blankets

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Community – Pillows and Blankets
  • tv.com: link

community-pillows-and-blankets

Forced into mediation by Dean Pelton (Jim Rash), a unconcerned Jeff (Joel McHale) attempts to negotiate a peace between Troy (Donald Glover) and Abed (Danny Pudi) whose disagreement over pillow forts and blanket forts has grown into a campus wide war between Pillowtown and Blaketsburg.

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The Hunger Games

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Hunger Games
  • IMDb: link

hunger-games-poster

Long before the young adult novel by Suzanne Collins on which The Hunger Games is based, Hollywood has enjoyed the idea of a culture putting murder on display as reality television for the enjoyment of the masses. From the enjoyable The Running Man to the deplorable The Condemned the results have been mixed.

And we’re not even going to get started on the dozens of gladiator and horror movies that use some version of the tale as well. Originality is not this film’s strong suit. And with a running time of 142 minutes neither is brevity.

The Hunger Games gives us a world in which the twelve poor outlying districts attempted to rise up against the rich capital state 74 years ago only to be thwarted and beaten back down. Now, in memory of the events and to keep the populace in line, one male and one female between the ages of 12 and 18 are chosen by lottery to kill each other on live television in “The Hunger Games,” with as much pomp and circumstance as they can muster. Murder, of and by children, it seems is to be the sport of the future.

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The Hunger Games Read More »