Alan Rapp

Captain America #7

/ / Comics

captain-america-7-coverMaybe I’m getting Captain America fatigue (three issues in three weeks is quite a bit of old Cap). Or maybe I’m just not quite on board with this new story arc by Ed Brubaker.

The comic opens with three pages involving a prison riot caused by Codename: Bravo. The attempt here is to create ominous foreshadowing for something down the line, but it comes off more like a waste of 10% of a comic I spent $4 for.

The main story, which feels something taken right out of a Captain America comic of the 70’s complete with mindbending bombs, riots, and the Falcon, features Steve Rogers still trying to figure out what the Serpent Squad did to him in the last issue to turn him back into puny Steve Rogers (and then punching him a couple times before… letting him go?).

The issue does have some bright spots such as focusing much of the story on a conversation between Cap and Sharon Carter. And the action, drawn by Alan Davis, looks like we want a Captain America comic to look like. Not great, but still worth a look.

[Marvel, $3.99]

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The Shiny Trinket Maneuver

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: The Big Bang Theory – The Shiny Trinket Maneuver
  • tv.com: link

big-bang-theory-shiny-trinket-manuever

After inadvertently hurting Amy’s (Mayim Bialik) feelings Sheldon (Jim Parsons) is forced to turn to Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and later Penny (Kaley Cuoco) for suggestions of how to make things right – without putting out too much effort. The solution for Sheldon, someone who can’t apologize or show real remorse, is obvious – buy her a present.

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The Shiny Trinket Maneuver Read More »

The Iron Lady

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Iron Lady
  • IMDb: link

the-iron-lady-poster

The Iron Lady is as perplexing as it is forgettable. Coming off like a sanitized made-for-TV film that was given a bigger budget once it landed arguably the greatest living actress, the film is centered around some of the least important moments of one of the most important British politicians of the 20th Century. Like I said, perplexing.

In her waning days, after losing her husband, Margaret Thatcher (Meryl Streep) looks back on her career as she rose to power as Britain’s first female Prime Minister during one of the country’s most tumultuous periods. Despite detractors, and the fact that many of her monetary policies helped lead to high unemployment and social unrest (some of which is still felt today), the film certainly takes a pro-Thatcher stance.

The strangest choice the film makes is to center so much of the story around Thatcher’s days after her years in office. Yes we get flashbacks of her days in office, but except for a segment of the the film that deals with the Falklands War, they are short, fragmented, and don’t fit together all that well.

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The Most Overrated Movie of 2011

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Bridesmaids
  • IMDB: link

bridesmaids-posterBack in May a little film starring a mostly female cast and led by Kristen Wiig hit theaters and became the unexpected breakout comedic hit of the summer. Marketed to audiences as a The Hangover for women, Bridesmaids won favor not just with critics but with movie goers who stuffed theaters for months ballooning the film’s total domestic box office to almost $170 million. What follows is a dissenting opinion.

In the past, along with my Best of the Year list, I’ve occasionally done a list for the worst films I’ve been forced to sit through as a film critic over the same year. Rather than do that for 2011 I decided to take a look at films which generated discussion and praise and find the one which rankled me the most. There was one clear winner.

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The Most Overrated Movie of 2011 Read More »

The Scarlet Spider #1

/ / Comics

scarlet-spider-1-coverI’m a fan of the Scarlet Spider. For those of you who don’t know who that is, the Scarlet Spider was the alter-ego assumed by Peter Parker‘s clone when he was reintroduced to comics in the 1990’s.

The Clone Saga has earned the animostity of several Spidey fans (some of it well-deserved), but despite many problematic elements (including its purpose to replace Peter with his clone as Spider-Man and its awful ending where the character literally disovled into dust for Marvel Comics to sweep under the rug) I’ll look back on it fondly for introducing the character of the Scarlet Spider.

When I heard a new Scarlet Spider comic was in the works I was excited but confused. After all the character was long dead. Learning the new series would center around the character of Kaine (another clone reintroduced in the Clone Saga), a character I have no real fondness for, I was a little less sure of what to expect.

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The Scarlet Spider #1 Read More »