Alan Rapp

Cleopatra in Space – My Pharaoh Lady

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Cleopatra in Space – My Pharaoh Lady
  • wiki: link

“My Pharaoh Lady” brings back Pharaoh Yosira (Kari Wahlgren) who needs to oversee delicate talks attempting to bring to separate alien races into the fight against Octavian. But when in intelligence suggests someone at the summit is already working for Octavian, Cleopatra (Lilimar) takes her place going in undercover as Yosira in hopes of discovering the traitor before it’s too late. There’s some fun Cleo in over-her-head moments here, and Yosira rubbing off on the the impulsive time-traveler. The unexpected piece of the episode involves Cleo rubbing off on the Pharaoh as Yosira discovers she quite likes Cleo’s more adventures lifestyle. 

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Noir Burlesque #1

/ / Comics

Enrico Marini’s Noir Burlesque #1 begins a noir tale set around a local mob boss, a returning solider turned professional thug with a debt to pay, and the beautiful dancer who will come between them. Marini’s first issue gets the tone of the genre with Slick being a bit too rough for his own good getting into trouble with Rex and his former love Caprice who is now married to the mob boss he owes money to.

Noir Burlesque has the feel of a story which won’t turn out well for any of our characters. The muted art with splashes of color captures the feel of 50s noir while the story unfolds leading to a confrontation between Slick and Rex and an impossible task to clear our protagonist’s ledger.

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Cry Macho

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Cry Macho
  • IMDb: link

Clint Eastwood, who also directs, stars as an old cowboy sent to find the son (Eduardo Minett) of a rancher (Dwight Yoakam) in Mexico and bring him to the United States. Cry Macho is a slow-paced stalled road trip movie with Mike (Eastwood) and Rafo (Minett) getting stuck in a Mexican town for most of the film while hiding from authorities and the boy’s mother (Fernanda Urrejola) who doesn’t want him to leave Mexico.

Knocking around Hollywood for the better part of 50 years, the script offers some minimal commentary on machismo while the title of the movie comes from Rafo’s prize cock-fighting rooster. The story unfolds as expected with no stand-out scenes or surprises. Of course, Mike keeps a secret from Rafo leading to inevitable conflict in the final act before Cry Macho eventually limps to the finish line. It’s not a bad film, but there’s little of interest other than some nice cinematography of Mexico.

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Scarecrow and Mrs. King – The First Time

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Scarecrow and Mrs. King – The First Time
  • IMDb: link

Throwback Tuesday takes us to 80s Washington, D.C. and the unusual partnership between a housewife and a spy. “The First Time” introduces us to unconventional spy Lee “Scarecrow” Stetson (Bruce Boxleitner) and suburban mother Amanda King (Kate Jackson) who meet at the train station when Scarecrow hands Amanda a package he’s unable to deliver while being pursued. The pair keep getting thrown together over the course of the episode to recover the package and uncover the identity of the leak within the Agency which is leading to several agents being killed. Part spy story, part odd couple pairing, and part farce, the show’s first episode sets the tone for the series.

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The Eyes of Tammy Faye

/ / Home Video
  • Title: The Eyes of Tammy Faye
  • IMDb: link

We get the rise and fall of Tammy Faye (Jessica Chastain) and Jim Bakker (Andrew Garfield) in this examination of the televangelist couple. While recreating moments of the pair’s life, there’s no real point or perspective offered to the events. The Eyes of Tammy Faye isn’t a character study. It isn’t commentary of events. Nor is it a satire.

The film is simply a shallow collection of events that never digs beneath the surface to provide anything of much interest. While we see the odd pair begin their their time as televangelists, the movie isn’t concerned with the rise of the PTL Satellite Network nor the good or ills of the The PTL Club, nor really the fall of grace of the Bakker’s which makes up only a small percentage of the film.

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