Alan Rapp

Anora

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Anora
  • IMDb: link

Anora

Anora (Mikey Madison), or Ani as she prefers, is a fiery young stripper at a Manhattan club leading a mostly unremarkable life until the night Russian man-child Vanya (Mark Eidelshtein) walks into the club. Hitting it off, Vanya returns night after night eventually paying for private dates with Ani leading to a weeklong girlfriend experience of booze, drugs, sex, and partying ending in to a trip to Vegas, an unexpected proposal, and marriage. It seems Ani has hit the jackpot a rags to riches story. However, when Ani’s family discovers what Vanya has done things get nuts.

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Coraline

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Coraline
  • IMDb: link

Coraline

Returning to theaters for the film’s 15th Anniversary, I had much the same reaction to Coraline that I had the first time I saw it in a theater. The dark tale of a young girl (Dakota Fanning) discovering a secret world of “others” who resemble her family and friends but with buttons for eyes is a vivid and creative use of stop-motion. However, the first-half of the film of Coraline exploring the magical world, and comparing her drab reality to it, has always left me a bit cold. For me, the film only picks up when the more sinister elements of the “Other Mother” (Teri Hatcher) are exposed and Coraline goes into survival mode.

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NCIS: Origins – All’s Not Lost

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: NCIS: Origins – All’s Not Lost
  • IMDb: link

NCIS: Origins - All's Not Lost

In the best episode of the show so far, the murder of a deployed soldier’s girlfriend and the disappearance of his daughter (Hattie Hoskins) hits close to home for Gibbs (Austin Stowell). While instrumental in helping with the case and knowing how to talk with the girl to get what they need to identify the killer, events also trigger memories for Gibbs about the loss of his wife and daughter which are shown in flashbacks. We see him receive the news of their deaths immediately followed by an attack on the base in which Gibbs moves towards the shelling, rather than taking cover, providing insight to Franks (Kyle Schmid) actions this season concerned with Gibbs’ state of mind and whether or not something might trigger those suicidal tendencies again.

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