It seems fitting that Edgar Allen Poe, the author who invented detective fiction with "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" in 1841, should tackle a mystery involving his own stories.
That's the premise of "The Raven," an anti-biopic that casts Poe (John Cusack) as a reluctant hero out to catch a Baltmore serial killer who's using his stories as the basis for some grisly murderousness. Directed by James McTeigue of "V For Vendetta," you might call this one "P For Poe," or perhaps "A For Awesome."
1. The choice to use Poe came after an initial pitch for "One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Dead Fish: The Dr. Seuss Murders."
2. For a second we thought Alice Eve was re-enacting a scene as The Bride from "Kill Bill: Volume 2."
3. The killer gets the jump on a generic policeman who has "cannon fodder" written all over him.
4. "Let's see ... Pit? Check. Pendulum? Check. Anxious Victim? Big Check. Okay, let's do this thing."
