Alan Rapp

River’s End

  • Title: River’s End: California’s Latest Water War
  • IMDb: link

Using California, specifically Southern California’s heavy irrigation and consumption of water pumped in from Northern California and elsewhere, director Jacob Morrison examines a growing water crisis involving far too many players fighting over far too scarce a resource.

At the heart of the film is the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta which provides water to much of the state including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and one of the largest (and most profitable) corporate industrial agricultural businesses in the world. The Delta also provides water to its existing area, including farms and an increasingly fragile ecosystem feeling the effects of decades of too much water being taken out of the Delta. The documentary offers examples of the ecological disaster of Lake Erie and the destruction of the Owens Valley as potential futures for the Delta unless changes are made.

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Come from Away

  • Title: Come from Away
  • IMDb: link

“We honor what was lost, but we also commemorate what we found.”

Twenty years after 9/11 and 14 months into the COVID shutdown, Broadway reopens for a performance of Come from Away featuring many of the original Broadway performers for a live recording on the musical about 7,000 strangers from all over the world stranded in the small town of Gander for five days. While originally planned to be a more traditional film, with scenes filmed in Newfoundland, the live performance of the first returning Broadway show brings its own kind of magic that is wonderful to watch unfold.

Based on true events, the Canadian musical by Irene Sankoff and David Hein offers plenty of both laughter and tears over its 106-minute running time featuring a small cast playing multiple roles of both the shaken visitors and incredibly hospitable locals. And director Christopher Ashley knows just how to frame each sequence, giving us the best seat in the house. 

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The Lost Symbol – Diophantine Pseudonym

  • Title: The Lost Symbol – Diophantine Pseudonym
  • IMDb: link

This show is getting dumber by the episode. Along with revealing (the rather obvious and idiotic) true identity of Mal’akh (Beau Knapp), “Diophantine Pseudonym” also showcases the cult leader having the very power he’s been searching for this entire time as he wills a bullet out of his own body. It looks as ridiculous as it sounds. If he already has the power, what the hell has all this been about (other than fucking with the Solomons)? And, of course, he survives a literal cliffhanger into some of the most convenient fog ever captured on film.

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The Amazing Spider-Man #77

Peter Parker is in the hospital fighting for his life. The Beyond Corporation has bought the rights to Spider-Man. And Ben Reilly is back as Spider-Man. Things certainly have changed. Personally, I’d much prefer to see Reilly as the Scarlet Spider which was far more successful that his last stint stepping in for Peter. But it looks like that’s not in the cards. Ben Reilly is now Spider-Man (and with an entire conglomerate working on gadgets and doodads for him).

After seeing Ben in action for the past couple of issues, The Amazing Spider-Man #77 takes a step back and examines the life of a corporate super-hero trying to live up to both internal and external expectations. If Ben is likely to have struggles, they may be more from Beyond than what he faces on the streets. It’s more building block than standalone issue, although it does offer Spidey versus Morbius for a late fight cliffhanger.

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Silk Stalkings – Witness

  • Title: Silk Stalkings – Witness
  • IMDb: link

The murder of the week involving the death of an actor shot in the middle of a cuckold threesome takes backseat to Rita’s (Mitzi Kapture) interest in the 15 year-old homeless girl (J.C. Brandy) who witnessed the body dump. While there is a murder to solve, Rita’s attention is focused on keeping the girl safe from the killer and attempting to get her the help she needs (even after she steals from the soft-hearted detective). Morgan Brittany guest-stars as the woman whose bed the victim dies in while Barry Laws plays her jealous murdering husband. The episode also introduces Kristen Cloke as former model turned clothing designer Annie Overstreet who will stoke Chris’ passions for a handful of episodes before exiting, stage left.

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