Movies are awesome

A general discussion forum, plus hauls and silly games.
User avatar
andersonh1
Moderator
Posts: 6323
Joined: Fri Jul 18, 2008 3:22 pm
Location: South Carolina

Re: Movies are awesome

Post by andersonh1 »

BWprowl wrote:
138 Scourge wrote:Of course, I like "Batman '66" more than "Batman Begins", so perhaps my two cents there is suspect. "Dark Knight" was awesome, though.
Oh hell yeah! Batman The Movie easily beats all four of the movies being discussed here. None of those movies had an exploding shark, or dehydrated world leaders.
I haven't seen that movie in ages. I have the feeling that I'd find it hilarious these days. I've got to track down the DVD.
User avatar
138 Scourge
Supreme-Class
Posts: 2833
Joined: Thu Jul 17, 2008 7:27 pm
Location: Beautiful KCK

Re: Movies are awesome

Post by 138 Scourge »

Yeah dude. When I watched Batman 66 as an adult, I was just floored by how damn funny Adam West is. That whole movie is amazing.

And on the other hand, probably my second favorite Batman movie is the "Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker." Just watched it again recently and was blown away by how good it was.
Dominic wrote: too many people likely would have enjoyed it as....well a house-elf gang-bang.
User avatar
andersonh1
Moderator
Posts: 6323
Joined: Fri Jul 18, 2008 3:22 pm
Location: South Carolina

Re: Movies are awesome

Post by andersonh1 »

Adam West is hilarious. Does he do a commentary on the DVD?
User avatar
138 Scourge
Supreme-Class
Posts: 2833
Joined: Thu Jul 17, 2008 7:27 pm
Location: Beautiful KCK

Re: Movies are awesome

Post by 138 Scourge »

andersonh1 wrote:Adam West is hilarious. Does he do a commentary on the DVD?
You know, I'm not sure. I don't actually own the DVD. Yet. Saw the movie on the television fairly recently, it was being shown on the American Movie Classics channel, if I recall right, making that the most accurate that network's name has ever been.
Dominic wrote: too many people likely would have enjoyed it as....well a house-elf gang-bang.
User avatar
andersonh1
Moderator
Posts: 6323
Joined: Fri Jul 18, 2008 3:22 pm
Location: South Carolina

Re: Movies are awesome

Post by andersonh1 »

138 Scourge wrote:
andersonh1 wrote:Adam West is hilarious. Does he do a commentary on the DVD?
You know, I'm not sure. I don't actually own the DVD. Yet. Saw the movie on the television fairly recently, it was being shown on the American Movie Classics channel, if I recall right, making that the most accurate that network's name has ever been.
Yeah, I remember watching that channel back when I had cable (over five years ago now) and I was surprised at some of the so-called classics they showed. Thelma and Louise? Huh?
User avatar
andersonh1
Moderator
Posts: 6323
Joined: Fri Jul 18, 2008 3:22 pm
Location: South Carolina

Re: Movies are awesome

Post by andersonh1 »

I just bought and watched "Under the Red Hood" this evening. "A Death in the Family" was the Batman comic on the rack when I first started reading comics, so literally the first story I read was the one where Jason was killed. That alone made me interested to see how his return would be handled. It's kind of sad that he's gone bad, even if there were hints that he was going that direction anyway back when he was Robin. Kind of ironic that all Batman ultimately did was make Jason a far more effective criminal.

The story's got a number of differences from the comic, even if the movie and comic are recognizable as much the same story. The changes to the movie make it more self-contained, which is certainly preferable. The Joker's role in everything makes more sense in the animated version, at least from my point of view.

My wife and I watched it after the kids were in bed, because it's not a kid's movie obviously. It's interesting to hear a non-comic book fan's perspective. A number of Nightwing and Jason's comments got a laugh out of her, and we both thought the Joker's comments about "I need some guys... but not these, they're kind of dead" was the funniest thing in the movie. She didn't care for the cursing, and hoped parents would do what we did and not let young kids watch without previewing the movie first. She got into the story too, and picked up on the fact that the Red Hood knew just how Batman worked. All of that is anecdotal, but judging by her reactions it seems like this is a movie that anyone with a general knowledge of Batman could follow. You don't have to be a dyed in the wool continuity expert to understand the plot

A good purchase. I'd definitely recommend it.
User avatar
Onslaught Six
Supreme-Class
Posts: 7023
Joined: Fri Jul 18, 2008 6:49 am
Location: In front of my computer.
Contact:

Re: Movies are awesome

Post by Onslaught Six »

Oh, yeah. I saw Scott Pilgrim opening night. That's a damn good movie if you're a gaming nerd. Michael Cera doesn't ruin it!
BWprowl wrote:The internet having this many different words to describe nerdy folks is akin to the whole eskimos/ice situation, I would presume.
People spend so much time worrying about whether a figure is "mint" or not that they never stop to consider other flavours.
Image
User avatar
138 Scourge
Supreme-Class
Posts: 2833
Joined: Thu Jul 17, 2008 7:27 pm
Location: Beautiful KCK

Re: Movies are awesome

Post by 138 Scourge »

Yeah, I loved Scott Pilgrim. What a rad movie, though...now I've got to get caught up on the comic. I've only read the first couple of books, I need to get on the stick.
Dominic wrote: too many people likely would have enjoyed it as....well a house-elf gang-bang.
User avatar
Onslaught Six
Supreme-Class
Posts: 7023
Joined: Fri Jul 18, 2008 6:49 am
Location: In front of my computer.
Contact:

Re: Movies are awesome

Post by Onslaught Six »

I need to 'start' reading them. The damn local bookstore Does Not have the first two.
BWprowl wrote:The internet having this many different words to describe nerdy folks is akin to the whole eskimos/ice situation, I would presume.
People spend so much time worrying about whether a figure is "mint" or not that they never stop to consider other flavours.
Image
User avatar
andersonh1
Moderator
Posts: 6323
Joined: Fri Jul 18, 2008 3:22 pm
Location: South Carolina

Re: Movies are awesome

Post by andersonh1 »

Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths

Picked this up today.

"Crisis on Two Earths" is a popcorn action flick with some deeper themes struggling to get out here or there. The action is quite good of course, as the Justice League fight evil versions of themselves. The "how far can we push them before they won't cower any more" plotline between the Crime Syndicate and the people of the alternate Earth needed to be developed far more than it was. I suspect the glut of characters made that difficult. Owlman's growing nihilism in the face of his (supposed) lack of free will made him the strongest and most interesting character in the movie.

The voice acting was generally very good, though Batman sounded a little off, in my opinion. The animation is pretty good... a few steps above TV animation, but not quite at the level of a theatrical film.

I guess how much I like the movie depends on what I'm looking for. As a superhero action film, it's probably a B. If I'm looking for good old fashioned universe-hopping evil twin conflict, it's about the same. If I'm looking for a deeper examination of the movie's themes and philosophies, it's not so good. It succeeds as fun, lightweight super-heroics, and I enjoyed it quite a bit on that level.

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies

"Public Enemies" adapts the first storyline of the Superman/Batman comic series. I've read the comic recently, and though some characters and events are cut out of the animated movie for time or other reasons, it's a fairly faithful adaption. Lex Luthor uses an economic crisis to get elected President (ripped from the headlines? ;)) and after a few years in office, he frames Superman for murder. All the while, a Kryptonite asteroid is heading for Earth, and someone has to stop it.

The animation, music and voice acting are pretty good. Clancy Brown, Kevin Conroy and Tim Daly reprise their roles of Lex Luthor, Batman and Superman from the DC animated series I mentioned earlier, which gives the characters an immediate familiarity. The plot is a little thin, but that leads to a lot of the running time being taken up with Superman and Batman fighting various friends and former allies. Action takes precedence over multi-layered storytelling, but the action is good and so it's worth it. Why anyone would take on the combo of Superman and Batman is beyond me... does anyone really think they're going to win against those two? Heh. If you want to see Power Girl or Starfire or Major Force in animated form, you'll enjoy the movie.

Overall: this is definitely more of an action flick as opposed to dtv's like New Frontier, which has a better mix of plot and action, but "Public Enemies" is a fun video for fans of DC comics or just Superman or Batman. If you enjoyed the old animated series, you might enjoy this movie for the returning voice actors, even though the continuity isn't related.
Post Reply