Alan Rapp

The Cleaning Lady – The Lion’s Den

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: The Cleaning Lady – The Lion’s Den
  • IMDb: link

The second episode of The Cleaning Lady cements Thony’s (Elodie Yung) lifestyle when Arman (Adan Canto) steps in to get the urgent medical care her son needs and she proves her worth to Arman’s boss by leading them to a thief whose actions caused a gun fight with a disappointed buyer. Two episodes in, it’s obvious the health of Luca (Valentino LaSalle) is going to be the show’s go-to plot device whenever Thony even thinks about trying to leave her new friends. For better or worse, this is the cleaning lady’s life now.

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The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries #10

/ / Comics

When a number of resorts are terrorized by a series of creatures all resembling a sasquatch, Batman enlists the help of Mystery, Inc. and the Question to solve the case. The reason for the attack comes from the land each of the resorts were built on, as General Eiling was making use of the Shaggy Man for his own devious ends in order to put each of the resorts out of business so he could then plunder an old military cache buried deep underground.

Renee, appearing both as herself and the Question, is a fun addition that fits right in with Scooby-Doo and the gang. Unlike the gang’s usual traps, the one Batman sets captures both Shaggy Man and the General without a hitch (although I don’t know if Batman really needed to surf in able to pull that off, but to each his own). 

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Superman & Lois – What Lies Beneath

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Superman & Lois – What Lies Beneath
  • wiki: link

Superman & Lois returns for its Second Season with characters trying to get back to normal after the summer. Lois (Elizabeth Tulloch) is in uber-bitch mode while still not dealing with the emotions that a daughter from a different reality is walking around Smallville. Most of the episode deals with teens as Natalie (Tayler Buck) struggles with fitting in to a new world (and apparently will become part of the family), Sarah (Inde Navarrette) begins pulling back from Jordan (Alex Garfin) after returning from her summer trip, and Jonathan (Jordan Elsass) continues to struggle with the team while also getting a little frisky with his girlfriend sending an already tense Lois over the edge. Although less featured, Lana‘s (Emmanuelle Chriqui) role in the political campaign seems to set the stage for a larger arc which will play out over the season.

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KCFCC 56th Annual James Loutzenhiser Awards

/ / Announcements

The Kansas City Film Critics Circle met for the 56th time for our annual James Loutzenhiser Awards on Sunday, January 16th. Winners awarded included Drive My Car, The Tragedy of Macbeth, Mass, Licorice Pizza, Summer of Soul, West Side Story, Flee, and The Power of the Dog which took home awards for film, director, and lead actor Benedict Cumberbatch.

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Drive My Car

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Drive My Car
  • IMDb: link

Movies find you in interesting ways. Drive My Car is the film I’d been searching for through all of 2021, a true cinematic experience that enveloped me, taking me on a completely unexpected journey built on strong storytelling and great performances.

Adapting Haruki Murakami‘s short story, writer/director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi delivers a beautiful look at loss, moving on, and the unexpected relationships that form when you least expect them. Our main character is Yûsuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima), a stage actor and director. The script spends more than a half-hour developing his relationship to his wife Oto (Reika Kirishima), including some shocking discoveries by Kafuku, which works as backstory for the main film still yet to come, but is still presented with such care it could easily have been fleshed out into its own film.

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