tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14371465566716773482024-03-13T14:54:57.854-07:00Movie/TV ReviewsRich Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235467601059472682noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437146556671677348.post-3411776552964778692016-03-29T11:07:00.000-07:002016-05-09T17:06:49.569-07:00Batman v Superman [Spoiler Free Review]<div class="p1" style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Some of the thoughts in this review were presented on Twitter right after I got out of the theater (<a href="https://twitter.com/Umbralwalker">@umbralwalker</a>). They've been collected, updated, and expanded here, including a few observations that I've untangled from the emotional weave of my post-BvS confusion. There is one minor spoiler that I point out ahead of time, everything else is a discussion about the film as a film. </i></span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For a spoiler-full review and in-depth discussion, keep an eye out for the IndieApocalypse podcast recording this week and likely dropping next week. You can find our pre-release comics-in-media episode<a href="http://bzpmedia.podbean.com/e/great-big-huge-super-epic-podcast-episode/"> here</a>.</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Zack Snyder has a strange way of making me feel very little as I come out of his movies. I never take the emotional ride he seems to want to provide. </span><a href="http://richatthemovies.blogspot.com/2013/07/man-of-steel.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Man of Steel (MOS)</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> was fine, for example. It had seeds of interesting bits wrapped in jerky pacing, emotionless scene transitions, and strange plot choices. It was so “fine” that it was irrelevant to me, actually. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This one, though…</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To <b>TL;DR</b>, i</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">t was better than MOS; which I felt was "fine" so take that as it is. But the story is <i>far more complicated</i> than "did I like it" or "did I feel like it was a hot mess".</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bizarrely complicated.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Gal Gadot was hands-down fantastic, owned every short scene she was in, and was everything I wanted Diana to be on screen. The strongest emotion I have from this film is that I can not wait to see her in her own film. Diana was subtle, smart, intriguing, and every bit the wise, insightful, and physically imposing warrior I wanted her to be. I could not have been happier.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I enjoyed Ben Affleck in the role he was given. He had a presence on screen I didn't expect and I gladly eat crow for anything I said about him as Bruce/Bats. The more I think about it, the more I loved what he (and Jeremy Irons) did and I would love to see him play this Batman/Bruce under another director/writer.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I think Henry Cavill makes a great Big Blue/Clark, even in MOS. We know Amy Adams and Jesse Eisenberg are great actors, so I don’t think my issues were about actors not doing their jobs. Amy had more of a part in this than she did in MOS, which didn’t take much. Jesse played the part he was given well. The issue is more that live action producers have this weird desire to make Lex either a megalomaniacal idiot, or the Joker. Why they avoid the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6w2IsVdhmMo">deeply brilliant, subtly controlling, and terrifyingly human versions of him</a>, I’ll never know.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yet…was BvS a “hot mess" and/or a “waste of time”? Was it "as good as any film Marvel has put out to date"? Well, in my opinion, no to both. It had a couple major problems for me, but they don’t seem to be the same problems others had. Are those problems deal breakers for me? I honestly don't know yet, so I guess “no” is the answer. </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I did my share of eye rolling, and there were things I suprisingly enjoyed.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Unfortunately, scenes I knew were there for fan-service (i.e.: Easter Eggs) just…missed somehow. In Winter Soldier, when Cap jumps out of the Quinn jet without a parachute, it is a simple and character-developing homage to the opening panels of the Ultimates, while still holding to the movie’s storyline and internal consistency. I loved it. But the scenes in BvS, ones that I should be arguably MORE excited about being a huge DC fan, made me indifferent. I can only assume because 1) my previous statement about Snyder’s directing not taking me on the ride he wants me on, 2) the scenes are taken <i>exactly</i> from the comics so are less homage and more heavy handed, 3) because I saw them coming too far off, and/or they were shockingly out of place for the plot until I thought about them in retrospect.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Oh, this will be the scene from DKR when ::blah:: happens. Snapshot straight from the comic. Is he going to do 'the line'? There's 'the line'. Moving on.”</span></span> </blockquote>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“What the hell is happening right now? Oh, he was trying [comic names redacted] scenes there?! That’s an interesting idea. What was that all about? So weirdly jarring. Was the start of this in slow-mo? I think it was. I guess that's a thing to indicate dream sequences? Doesn't seem to be working. </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Oh, crap, back to the movie.”</span> </blockquote>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“I guess ::blah:: from DoS is coming up. Aaaand...there it is.”</span></span></blockquote>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Clearly I was so emotionally separated from the film that I was intellectually analyzing what was happening instead of taking this ride. And for me, that’s a problem.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>I just now went back to re-read my MOS review and had a revelation about why I'm never on this ride. The problem seems to be that Snyder presents things in an odd order, and in trailer-sized emotional snippets. He puts something on the screen I might be emotionally excited about IF I knew the thing he tells me in the next scene. In other cases, the scenes are so disconnected that they don’t emotionally build on one another in a way that makes me feel more at the end of the film than when I went in.</i></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>The opening to BvS is an example (this will be my only Spoilery thing in this review, but it is literally the first couple minutes so please forgive me):</i></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>We see Bruce and Martha gunned down in Crime Alley. This time after coming out of Excalibur instead of an opera or Zorro. Here are the issues, in retrospect:</i></span></span></div>
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<li class="li1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span class="s2"></span><span class="s1">We’ve seen it a lot and so I’m already waiting for something new to draw me in. The Excalibur choice made me chuckle in a good way.</span></i></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span class="s2"></span><span class="s1">The scene is fairly long, and is in slow motion on top of that, so I’m now waiting for something new for awhile. Fighting. Thomas gets gunned down. Fighting. Long shot on the pearl necklace. Martha gets gunned down. Bruce screams. Thomas mumbles Martha’s name. Sloooow Mo.</span></i></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span class="s2"></span><span class="s1">Time skip, still in slow-mo. Bruce is running through a forest. I’m waiting for him to fall down the now proverbial well into the future bat cave. That happens. I’m now really sad I’m not seeing something new. Less sad, more bored.</span></i></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span class="s2"></span><span class="s1">Scene is still going long. Still waiting for a twist. Getting more bored against my will. </span></i></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span class="s2"></span><span class="s1">The bats come flying out and surround Bruce. He stands up. Looks almost exactly like the Nolan scene with Bale.</span></i></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span class="s2"></span><span class="s1">FINALLY something new. And that new thing? The vortex from the bats circling Bruce lift him off the ground and he floats up. And up. Slowly. For a while. And I’m thinking “WTF is this?” It is so absolutely absurd that I can’t even process what’s happening and I’m losing faith immediately.</span></i></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span class="s2"></span><span class="s1">THEN, there’s a voiceover of old Bruce saying, “In the dream the bats carry me into the light.”</span></i></span></li>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>The intention is for this to be a Twilight Zone ending where you look back on the thing you saw with different eyes. The problem is, in a TZ ending, everything before the reveal made sense the way you thought you saw it, but then the new piece of the puzzle is revealed and you realize you were watching based on your own preconceptions. The flying-Bruce moment wasn’t a curiosity, it made me think the director was nuts and has no idea how physics actually works. Or that this Batman was actually going to fly?! Just odd.</i></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Now, there are two major things, and one minor, that this scene is supposed to set up. The most immediate major thing is that Bruce says something to the effect of “That light was a lie” i.e.: “I’ve spent the last 20 years fighting crime thinking I’m supposed to be doing something good in the world and it was a lie. I’m darker Batman now.” I don’t have an issue with this idea. What happened was me saying, “Oh! Snyder had wanted me to feel like ‘this’ about that scene I just watched,” instead of allowing me to actually feel the thing. It’s called Telling, instead of Showing, and is a Storytelling 101 mistake. MOS is rife with it. </i></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>The minor thing is that scenes that start with very long slo-mo intros will be dream-sequences/not actually happening in real time. It took several of these for me to stop being annoyed by the slo-mo and just be emotionally neutral toward it because I realized it was supposed to be a tool.</i></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>The second major setup is more of a spoiler than I think is appropriate so I won’t mention it except in that it’s entirely unnecessary and heavy handed to have it be the opening scene. It could have, and in my opinion should have, been folded into other scenes more subtly. Especially since its reveal later in the film involves a relatively long reviewing of this exact opening scene.</i></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Having said all that, there were definitely things I enjoyed more than I expected, even loved, as far as Snyder’s trailer-length bites of emotions would let me. There were plenty of choices I would have made differently, but those choices were almost all subjective and I think it’s important to separate the subjective (“I hate this interpretation of Luthor") with the objective (“This plot hole could be fixed with x, y, z script changes, or a review of a Storytelling 101 text.”). So, objectively, there were a couple of plot holes, but I have to admit that the Heart of the Trinity (Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman) was in there; barely holding on with fingertips in the case of Batman, and in two cases Superman, but just enough for me to be okay with the film’s internal consistency.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My friend Victor Allen said it best in that Dawn of Justice and Batman v Superman were 2 films grafted together. DOJ wasn’t tacked-on, really, because the DOJ plot hooks were folded in just fine for me and made me relatively excited. The BvS stuff, though, was dragged down by a few specific character choices by the scriptwriter/director, a couple of fight choreography WTFs, and plot decisions that pulled me out of the movie. I think this is why reviewers and some watchers feel the story is a "hot mess". </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, in the end, I left the theater emotionally confused and emotionally indifferent. As with MOS, it's fine. Less-irrelevant than MOS, thanks to the DOJ parts and the actors doing the best they could. I see what ride Snyder, et al, was trying to take me on, and it wasn't a bad attempt. Yet, I know that in a few weeks what warmth I may have had will be gone because the emotional ride was start-and-stop at best, instead of building to a mind-blowing crescendo that makes me want to take the ride again and again. And that's too bad. Because it's well documented how I'll support the things I love, and I feel so mediocre about this that other things will deserve my passion fairly quickly.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This screenshot from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eE4YgpkRGtI">HISHE's spoiler-filled review</a> parallel's my feelings pretty well.</td></tr>
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<div id="fb-root"></div><script>(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));</script><div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/victor.allen/posts/10153604183747582" data-width="500"><div class="fb-xfbml-parse-ignore"><blockquote cite="https://www.facebook.com/victor.allen/posts/10153604183747582"><p>I saw Batman v. Superman last night and I have some thoughts for folks who haven't seen it yet, and then some to share...</p>Posted by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/victor.allen">Victor Allen</a> on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/victor.allen/posts/10153604183747582">Monday, March 28, 2016</a></blockquote></div></div>Rich Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235467601059472682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437146556671677348.post-91900956369653825322015-10-26T11:25:00.001-07:002015-11-06T16:11:23.582-08:00Real Time Review: Supergirl Pilot<br />
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<span class="s1">In case you’ve never read one of my Real Time Reviews, it’s where I watch a show and write down my immediate impressions. I will sometimes pause the show if there is something particular I need to reflect on, but I typically wait until “commercial” breaks to do so. For some shows, there are long pauses because I’m so caught up in it I’m more interested in watching than writing. If there is a lot of exposition, it’s likely the show didn’t click with me because I’m happy to pause and reflect on my gut reactions.</span></div>
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<b><i>Interested in superhero movies and TV? The fantastic <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SupergirlUnburdened?_rdr=p">Crysstal Hubbard </a>(director of the upcoming fan film <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4wpoTQKDHM">Supergirl: Unburdened</a>) and I take over the <a href="http://bzpmedia.podbean.com/e/great-big-huge-super-epic-podcast-episode/">IndieApocalypse podcast</a> and don't hold back.<br /><br />From the IndieApocalypse site: </i></b><br />
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<b><i>"We discuss both Marvel and DC and pull out some deep cuts in film, comics and animation. Crysstal and Rich steal the show and we are now more educated on comics than ever before."</i></b></blockquote>
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Before starting Supergirl, I need to make it clear what I thought about the trailer, just in case I need to eat my words.</div>
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<span class="s1">Finally having a female-lead superhero show is just awesome. There are so many incredible things you can do with Kara over Kal, actually growing up on Krypton gives her knowledge of technology far beyond your average Earth human. She knew that her powers would manifest before even going to Earth, and as a teenager would be able to explore them more efficiently (especially if she gets Kal's help). She was fully aware of losing her entire planet, her friends, watching her family die, making her deep and interesting and contemplative in a way Kal can only imagine.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="s1">Unfortunately none of this was shown in the trailer.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="s1">The opening sequence on Krypton was awesome. As soon as they showed her with a coffee on the phone making appointments for her clearly terrible boss they lost me. Aside from the debates about whether or not Supergirl is more likely to be in that position than Black Widow, it’s just horrible, cliche writing. They pulled the first stereotype off the shelf and went with it. They could have done so much more, but chose not to.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="s1">Though the assumption by many was that she was working for a fashion magazine, I didn’t see anything that confirmed that. I think Cat Grant likely runs an actual news company. I’ll be incredibly disappointed if I’m wrong.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="s1">I hated the multiple times she needed the approval of a male authority figure to do what she does. Again, it’s just bad writing. Someone argued with me that she was simply being polite and there’s nothing wrong with a girl being polite. I agree. I want my daughter to be polite. I don’t want my daughter waiting to use her superpowers to help people because a male in authority said “I don't trust aliens”.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="s1">I didn’t mind the older sister and I think she could be an interesting add to the mythos. I also like Jimmy growing up to be James, as well as his casting. The actor seemed like he can hold his own on screen. Unfortunately, he also happens to be one of the many male figures she plays second fiddle to in the trailer.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="s1">Finally, the “It’s not a bird, or a plane, or a man. It’s a girl.” campaign tells me that this may not be a show about a hero who happens to be female, but about a heavy-handed point being made which is never good.</span></blockquote>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"><b>With that out of the way, let’s watch this thing.</b></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="s1"><b><u>Legend</u></b></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<ul>
<li><span class="s2"><span style="color: blue;"><b>Blue</b></span></span><span class="s1"> are positive thoughts.</span></li>
<li><span class="s3"><span style="color: red;"><b>Red</b></span></span><span class="s1"> are negative thoughts.</span></li>
<li><b>Black</b> are neutral observations, or issues I’m letting slide assuming they’ll address it later.</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
</div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<h3>
<span class="s1"><b><br /></b></span></h3>
<h3>
<span class="s1"><b>Real Time Review</b></span></h3>
</div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1">On Krypton. <span style="color: blue;">Even better than what I liked about the trailer because the Kara in the scene is an active participant, genuinely and bravely stepping into the unknown on a mission for her family. </span></span><span class="s4">The dialogue is overly formal and stiff, but I can get over it for now.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1">The math is weird. She says “24 years ago, my planet, Krypton, was in serious peril”, which means Kal would be 24 at the time she’s recording the voice over, which is fine. The problem comes when she lands (according to her) 24 years later at the age of 13. Which means if she’s, say, 24 in the series, 10 years have passed since she landed. Which means it was actually 34 years before that Krypton died.<b><i> [The math bothered me on this one so I did go back after the show and re-watch it in case I missed something.]</i></b></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1">They don’t say exactly how her pod escaped the Phantom Zone. Wonder if that’s going to be a reveal later in the season.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1"><span style="color: blue;">The Danvers family adopting her is a nice twist on the Kents. Makes more sense to have scientists that helped Superman help her. Dean Caine and Helen Slater are fun to see.</span></span></div>
<div class="p5">
<span style="color: blue;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1"><span style="color: blue;">I like the older sister. She’s looking like a strong and independent influence on the (strangely) meek and timid Kara.</span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p6">
<span class="s1"><span style="color: red;">I still <i>hate</i> that dating is the first personal plot point</span>,</span><span class="s4"> </span><span class="s2"><span style="color: blue;">but they seem to be blowing past that pretty quick.</span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p6">
<span class="s2" style="color: blue;">I really like James/Jimmy, both in casting and character.</span><span class="s4"> </span><span class="s1" style="color: red;">I <i>hate</i> that her first reaction to him has to do with falling “in infatuation” with him.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p6">
<span class="s2"><span style="color: blue;">Having Cat Grant be the head of an internet news outlet works.</span></span><span class="s4"> </span><span class="s1"><span style="color: red;">I don’t like Callista Flockhart in the role so far. Something about her superior arrogance bugs me in an “I don’t want to watch you” kind of way, which isn’t good for the show.</span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1"><span style="color: blue;">I love that they wasted no time diving into the plane rescue sequence and getting straight to the action.</span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1">Strange that the sister is worried about what people would do “if they find out” considering there is a direct parallel in Superman. So the answer is, "they’ll love her?"</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p6">
<span class="s1"><span style="color: red;">It still bothers me that a confident and brave 13 year old that watched her parents, and planet, die and had to spend her childhood processing that kind of loss is somehow this oddly passive wallflower. There really should be a middle ground.</span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1"><span style="color: blue;">I liked that they commented about the classic “save the plane” incident as the first thing Supes did.</span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="color: blue;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1"><span style="color: blue;">Only 20 minutes in and she’s already revealing her identity to someone close to her, which I like. </span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p6">
<span class="s1"><span style="color: red;">“Can you believe it, a female hero?” That line was freakin’ terrible. Yes, I can believe there is a female hero. WTH? Ugh.</span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1"><span style="color: blue;">“General’s arrival is imminent.” Zodd? Cool. Overly done, but cool.</span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="color: blue;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1"><span style="color: blue;">Costume/crimefighting montage was short and sweet.</span></span></div>
<div class="p5">
<span style="color: blue;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1"><span style="color: blue;">An entire prison within the Zone. Felt odd at first reveal, but after a few minutes to absorb it, that is actually kind of cool. Makes sense. If you’re going to use the Zone as a prison, which is classic, makes sense to build an actual facility there. </span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p6">
<span class="s1"><span style="color: red;">“Go back to to getting someone’s coffee.” Seriously. Ass. And not a well written one, either. Just a terrible person I’m not wanting to watch on screen.</span></span></div>
<div class="p7">
<span style="color: red;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p6">
<span class="s1"><span style="color: red;">The “she’s dangerous” cliche conversation was disappointing.</span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="color: red;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p6">
<span class="s1"><span style="color: red;"><b>What's Wrong with "Supergirl"? speech:</b> Calling a grown man “boy” is condescending. Though I appreciate what they were trying to do with the “aren’t you the problem” speech, and I do love Supergirl as Supergirl, that seemed a little heavy handed. I agree with Kara. There is nothing wrong with being a girl. Nothing wrong with being a boy. There is a maturity level associated with those pronouns I've never thought much about until Cat overshot her point. Now I want Kara to grow into her own name, like Robin graduating to Nightwing.</span></span></div>
<div class="p7">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s3"><span style="color: red;">James saving her from being fired was, ugh.</span></span><span class="s1"> I’m glad they painted it red, but not enough. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p6">
<span class="s1"><span style="color: red;">“On my planet, women bow to the men.” They really need to ease up on these heavy-handed lines. Can we please just accept her as a hero? Or at least not make 8 comments in a 45 minute show pointing out, badly, that she’s a woman?</span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1">Whoa. Firing full missiles into a civilian zone? That’s just terrible. Who the hell isn’t going to report that? Pretty clumsy secret organization. Also, she’s being rescued again. At least this time it was by her sister.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p6">
<span class="s1"><span style="color: red;">“Great job letting that guy nearly cut you in half.” Now he’s just a badly written, poor representation of a male.</span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1">I hope they explain what these criminals have been up to for 10 years. Also, is the military/DEO/Superman doing something about the prison-spaceship that landed in the desert? It’s not a huge complaint, just an observation to see if they’ll explain it at some point.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1">They didn’t give her the black box from her ship?! Her sister didn’t tell her about it? Kara should be more pissed about that, but okay.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p6">
<span class="s1"><span style="color: red;">“I told you, I don’t trust aliens.” Aside from the negative observations I’ve made, I’m actually enjoying the show enough to keep watching. If they don’t fix this terrible dialogue, though, that feeling will quickly go away.</span></span></div>
<div class="p7">
<span style="color: red;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p6">
<span class="s1"><span style="color: red;">“She’s not strong enough.” “Why, because she’s just a girl?” As much of a jerk as Henshaw is, that wasn’t implied in his statement. She is younger and untrained, irrelevant of her sex, so this comment just felt (once again) unnecessary.</span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1"><span style="color: blue;">The heat vision effects are awesome!</span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p6">
<span class="s1"><span style="color: red;">The “I can’t do it” line, so disappointing. Please, in the future, have her make the decisions to be a hero herself instead of relying solely on external support. We all need help sometimes, but good heroes make their own choices, like the Kara from the Krypton sequence of your own pilot for example. </span></span></div>
<div class="p7">
<span style="color: red;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p6">
<span class="s1"><span style="color: red;">“I wasn’t only recruited because of my sister, was I?” Her sister starts off the show being confident and focused, and ends by being meek and looking for outside (read in this case, male) approval. So disappointing.</span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1">And James proves my point. Making choices for yourself makes a hero. Thank you, James.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1">So the “general” that arrived is her aunt? Where did she arrive from? Not sure how I feel about this, mostly because it’s not that interesting a twist and she delivered terribly stale lines.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s2"><span style="color: blue;">I love that they have <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faran_Tahir">Faran Tahir</a> in the show. I like him as an actor.</span></span><span class="s1"> It’s unfortunate that his superior is a terrible actress because he’s great. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p8">
<h3>
<span class="s1"><b>FINAL THOUGHTS</b></span></h3>
</div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s2"><span style="color: blue;"><b>Blue</b></span></span><span class="s1">: 14</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s3"><span style="color: red;"><b>Red</b></span></span><span class="s1">: 15</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"><b>Black</b>: 11</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1">More positive comments than I expected, but still outnumbered by the issues. Also, the intensity of the issues were subjectively stronger than my passion for the positives.</span><br />
<br />
The first 30 minutes was better than I expected. They blew past most of the cliche rom/com stuff pretty quick and got to her becoming a hero. The final 15 minutes was packed with poorly written dialogue that undermined almost every character except James, who has a great presence on screen.<br />
<br />
I will give it a couple of more episodes, but will continue to mock terrible dialogue, any time she relies on someone else to make her decisions, and every moment that someone points out she’s a girl just to point out how <i>crazzzzy </i>it is that a woman could possible be a superhero.<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>ADDENDUM</b></h3>
<br />
Episode 2<br />
<br />
I couldn't make it to the end. It didn't take them 30 seconds to remind everyone that she's a girl. Just stop. Two seasons of Young Justice with arguably the most diverse team of any superhero animated show to date and I can think of only 1 episode where the sex of the heroes even came up (regarding an all-female team sent to scout Queen Bee's organization, and the person who made the comment was called out on it).<br />
<br />
We need more female heroes as the lead in their own shows, being heroes without comment as to their sex. It's just bad writing. Show, don't tell. Show us Kara being amazing, learning, filing off her rough edges. Try going 1 episode without even mentioning she happens to be female. Then try doing 1 more. Then, maybe, we'll have several seasons of a show where people are allowed to accept her as a hero instead of being constantly told that they shouldn't.</div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
Rich Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235467601059472682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437146556671677348.post-2741415188383121672014-10-16T13:09:00.000-07:002014-10-16T13:09:27.950-07:00Arrow, Season 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSQqAfEniUgjvpbmqKpwAGuHmSL7lB9PQM2nEWXJqjNnHxeYfSw2SrK4Yszk4qMieEEoXt2hMPlb7KBC63hxEZjawkREulSdPg8jY9VWQYMKyLF0bpt2upjdyzc7M7SG9qAJVkYGIC3g/s1600/Arrow-Season-3-Casting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSQqAfEniUgjvpbmqKpwAGuHmSL7lB9PQM2nEWXJqjNnHxeYfSw2SrK4Yszk4qMieEEoXt2hMPlb7KBC63hxEZjawkREulSdPg8jY9VWQYMKyLF0bpt2upjdyzc7M7SG9qAJVkYGIC3g/s1600/Arrow-Season-3-Casting.jpg" height="330" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
With the second episode of season 3, I'm giving Arrow its first official Strike.<br />
<br />
You can read about my early relationship with Arrow <a href="http://richatthemovies.blogspot.com/2013/11/arrow.html">here</a>. Season 2 continued to be excellent and finished very strong, but it also started to make its main weakness very clear. Laurel (played by actress, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1556320/">Katie Cassidy</a>).<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
I've heard some explanations of why Cassidy seemed to lose the acting skills she had in season 1, the most common being that she got skinner and, honestly, odder related to the addiction Laurel was dealing with. Not really a great excuse for her heavy-handed acting.<br />
<br />
Once Laurel's sister Sara was introduced as Black Canary I've been worried that, like in the comics, Laurel would become the second Black Canary (the first comics' Black Canary being her mother, who worked with the Justice Society). We did see Laurel fight in the first season, and even once or twice in the second, but her scrawny, Hollywood build would be hard enough to sell as the combat-heavy, street-savvy Canary even if her acting was stronger. It's not and it's been confirmed that Laurel will eventually take on the mantel of Canary.<br />
<br />
I could have given this first Strike during any number of episodes of Season 2 related to Laurel, but the rest of the story was intriguing enough that I could ignore any scenes she was in. With Sara's death at the end of the first episode and it becoming clear that Laurel will be taking on a stronger role, her weak acting in episode 2 has made this Strike a necessity.<br />
<br />
So far, the third season is paying off well and I'll continue watching it, though if Cassidy's acting skills don't improve, and they don't spend a significant amount of time training her (the Sara Black Canary trained with the League of Assassins for 5 years and had years of field experience on top of that), this could be the worst interpretations of one of my favorite DC heroes; since Huntress is regularly handled terribly in live-action (both Arrow and the short-lived, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birds_of_Prey_(TV_series)">Birds of Prey</a>), I'm not sure I can take watching a terrible Canary as well.<br />
<br />
If you want to see excellent versions of Canary (and Huntress, Batgirl, Zatanna and more for that matter), check out <a href="http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/70177044?trkid=13752289">Justice League Unlimited Seasons 1 & 2</a> and <a href="http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/70185194?trkid=13641907">Young Justice Season 1 & 2</a>.Rich Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235467601059472682noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437146556671677348.post-18804311349736067442014-10-08T13:16:00.001-07:002014-10-08T13:35:25.119-07:00Real Time Review: The Flash<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr5a0G2WQ6wOm_UuCUBVgbHbHfSJysRp1F_kDHQaBpj9BZ2rQm6pk2r0jK59-GRS1SIkWNDkcPDr0Hqbr_AjrlNDVohq-lo3px2G7xeU1m-y_ld4lL8O6vVPYWR2NXcDYstX8HRThiNw/s1600/Flash-TV-Show-Teaser-Trailer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr5a0G2WQ6wOm_UuCUBVgbHbHfSJysRp1F_kDHQaBpj9BZ2rQm6pk2r0jK59-GRS1SIkWNDkcPDr0Hqbr_AjrlNDVohq-lo3px2G7xeU1m-y_ld4lL8O6vVPYWR2NXcDYstX8HRThiNw/s1600/Flash-TV-Show-Teaser-Trailer.jpg" height="329" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>In case you don't want spoilers for the show, I put a spoiler-free summary of my RTR at the beginning. If you've seen the show, or don't care about spoilers, feel free to read past the TL;DR summary for my moment-to-moment reactions.</i></b><br />
<b id="docs-internal-guid-1022783b-f15e-4282-7516-5e06976aeb23" style="font-weight: normal;"><br />The Flash premier is everything I wanted it to be and the ending pushed it over the top. The acting is solid, though not spectacular. The effects were brilliant. They focused on all the aspects of Barry I love (intelligence, criminal investigator, caring, heroic) and wove the Flash elements, like his suit, into the overall story in a way that made sense. Though I said the acting wasn't spectacular, there were two moments in the episode where I teared up. Though I'm known for my emotional reactions to movies and TV shows, tearing up only happens when the writers have done their jobs well.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
TL;DR:<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>I heartily recommend The Flash to comic and non-comic fans, and can't wait to see more.</b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"></b><br />
<a name='more'></a><b><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Spoilers Below</i></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<b>Real Time Reactions</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well done history. I assume they’re going with the current New 52 version of Barry’s history where his mother was killed and his father was jailed for it. Seems a little obvious that the speedster involved has the colors of Prof. Zoom, but most people don’t know who that is, so it works.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Aha! They’re using the Sherlock method of clue presentation. I love it. Shows his intelligence.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The CSI procedurals are simple but already better than Gotham.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They changed Iris’ race, which is an understandable choice. Well, him being an adopted brother to Iris is a little creepy, but her first lines help to clear that a bit.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Keystone reference. Eddie Thawne. Linda Park?! Interesting. Makes me wonder if Wally will make an appearance.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Confirmation that Barry’s dad is in jail.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’ve got a plane to catch,” is a weird line.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Classic Barry origin. Handled solidly.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ARGH!!!! Shocking a flatline! Blah.*</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He was in a coma for 9 months! Wow. “Lightning gave me abs?” I like the explanation of his lack of muscle atrophy. Caitlin Snow. Excellent.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Grodd in a cage. Lol. Can’t wait for that to pay off.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A good balance of giggles and exposition.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Special effects are excellent.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Damaged himself when he hit the water barrels. Excellent. Shows his healing powers.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They should have skipped the intro and just went with the exposition after the running experiment.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Weather Wizard is handled pretty well, though I’m not sure continuing being a bank robber after gaining that much power makes much sense. People do what they’re familiar with, I suppose.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Commercial Break Catch-up</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So far, I really like it. Though they do introduce several heroes and villains in the first half (Dr. Snow, Thawne, Vib, Grodd references, Prof Zoom colors, Weather Wizard), they are more subtle about it than Gotham. They are handling the discovery of his powers very well and the special effects really hold up.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ouch. The confrontation with Detective West is awesomely rough.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There’s a Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock shirt.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nice! I like Wells’ practical argument for experimenting with his powers.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tearing up at the flashback to his mom. Still wish they hadn’t put in the intro now.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Crossover with Arrow was great. I like their mutual admiration.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The explanation of his suit is </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">brilliant</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. A design for a firefighter suit that monitors vitals, has built-in communication, an air mask and is heat and friction resistant. Also explains the red color. I love it.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Oh, Mardon went crazy. I like it. Also addressed the bank robbery issue.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Classic running opposite a whirlwind.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The effects are amazing, though he needs to lean forward more when he’s sprinting.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">West knows Barry is Flash from the start? Huh. I like that. Opposite of Arrow.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">J. Wesley Shipp is looking old, but I love that he’s in this.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wow. Talking to his dad is making me tear up again.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>HOLY CRAP! What an awesome ending. That final scene is...I don’t even know what to say. I love it! Reference to Barry's death in the Crisis? Implications of Flash's time-travel adventures? Seriously!? I already love this show!</b></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">* = Turns out, even though they were shocking a flatline, they were actually doing something right since Barry wasn't actually flatlined, but massively tachycardic. Shocking him in that case may have helped.</span></div>
Rich Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235467601059472682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437146556671677348.post-50541050313659138632014-10-01T14:25:00.000-07:002014-10-08T13:27:10.816-07:00Real Time Review: Gotham<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgehLOwoM8mMJ2ujJJynRVk_vNPBTzGrDdHcPQXjrBuu6lQE-q1nOgV6qCM0pkcLklIljOozHPjEJnjSBKIQ9GCfC-xXoczFGe8NOLXXapJqpMqSMC_pP1uE1Zm-PQxMsI6miLl4-iqdg/s1600/gotham.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgehLOwoM8mMJ2ujJJynRVk_vNPBTzGrDdHcPQXjrBuu6lQE-q1nOgV6qCM0pkcLklIljOozHPjEJnjSBKIQ9GCfC-xXoczFGe8NOLXXapJqpMqSMC_pP1uE1Zm-PQxMsI6miLl4-iqdg/s1600/gotham.jpg" height="411" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I was not excited about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotham_(TV_series)">Gotham</a>, the new police procedural from Fox set in Batman's famous city, at least not until the excellent trailer they aired 3-4 weeks before the Pilot. The show intends to give us insight into <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Gordon_(comics)">Jim Gordon</a>'s early career before Bruce Wayne becomes an adult. I decided to review this one as my impressions were fresh.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The show opens early with Thomas and Martha Wayne being mugged and blatantly murdered in front of young Bruce. I say blatantly because the writers decided not to go with the were-they-or-weren't-they killed because of a mugging gone wrong. The guy, Joe Chill I hope, clearly guns them down after getting what he asks for, but also just as clearly, chooses not to shoot Bruce for unknown reasons.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Acting is mediocre, directing is heavy-handed, Selina opening scene
was...odd...unbelievable; homeless, pickpocket girl with perfect hair and heavy makeup? I like my first impression of Alfred. Interesting that
they cast <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Bullock_(comics)">Harvey Bullock</a> instead of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_John_Flass">Flass</a> for this one. I'm guessing because fans are more familiar with Harvey from Batman: The Animated Series than Batman: Year One.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Commercial Break</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I'd be turning it off if it weren't, you know, Batman'ish. Far too predictable. Nothing interesting happening. Similar to SHIELD's early season,
except not quite as offensively bad. Just uninteresting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">23 Minutes</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Easter
Eggs are always fun, when they're subtle. Every scene introducing a familiar
name/face makes it very uninteresting. Penguin, Ivy, Riddler, Selina, all in
the first 23 minutes? Really? The only "subtle" egg so far was Grundy as a street name--quotes are because how the hell is Grundy
a street name. It jumps out too easily.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">31 Minutes</span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Harvey doesn't want to pursue the route that Pepper might have been
innocent because they would lose their jobs?!? The guy fired at police officers
and was going to kill Jim when Harvey killed him. That could not be a more
clear case of appropriate use of force. Harvey is clearly an idiot, but Jim
going along with it? That's ridiculous.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">A
new villain every 8 minutes, then an unnamed comedian on stage? Really. What is
up with the Hammer storytelling? [Addendum: I've since read that this guy may not have been the Joker (see below), though I think it's odd that they decided "We're being so blatant about everyone else, it will be a surprise when we aren't shoving it in viewer's faces with at least one villain" was the best approach.]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Final Verdict</span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The only character of any interest was Penguin, who was brilliantly portrayed. The mobster, Fish Mooney, was also handled well. Otherwise, not worth watching. There are too many good shows on the air to bother. It's far past time
for show-writers to understand that the first few episodes of a series needs to give us
a strong sense of what and why we're watching. They need to show us why their series is unique. Compel us to both want to watch the next episode and tell
our friends about it. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agents_of_S.H.I.E.L.D.">SHIELD</a> and Gotham are/were sad excuses for series starts,
weighing far too much on the rep of their subject material instead of solid writing.
SHIELD only got good when they blew up the show and started with something
completely different.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I hear it all the time and I'm tired of the "give it time to get its feet" excuse. Yes, shows
sometimes take a while to hit their stride. That's NO EXCUSE for the terrible,
basic writing mistakes being made in these shows. Great writing is a challenge,
yes, but good writing with a team of editors, writers and directors shouldn't
be falling in these holes. The lack of understanding about <i>basic</i> police procedures is just lazy!<br />
<br /><a href="http://www.richatthemovies.blogspot.com/2013/11/arrow.html">Arrow</a> was a wildcard that managed to do something surprising instead of giving us the expected "pretty boys on parade" superhero shows we typically get. Arrow got it right and hopefully the upcoming <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flash_(2014_TV_series)">Flash</a> series will as well. Gotham and SHIELD, though, are powerhouse properties deserving
strong writers and production teams in an era of blockbuster superhero films. This amateur crap is a waste of time and money for everyone involved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2014/09/29/scrutable"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE6sIB0uHle0B4QJ0eOEJ-k6z82rVi4dtF3W8gARy-U9aayuvimfrJcmG9tAUixmKVALG172ogZkngXFzXtWrTWB_ezZVp-cUBcw1YU37h_H9h7xwaB7Cpmqw2ttVsq9c552OuZcSkgA/s1600/i-hjJh2gv-1050x10000.jpg" height="320" width="640" /></span></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2014/09/29/scrutable"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Penny Arcade seems to agree.</span></a></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Joker Appearance?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">"Basically, every episode in the first season will
introduce a character that might be a future Joker, each emphasizing aspects of
the character's iconography, a card sharp, a flower seller, a clown, or just a
guy with a very big grin," according to <a href="http://www.hngn.com/articles/36277/20140716/gotham-tv-show-will-feature-multiple-jokers-throughout-first-season-trailer.htm?exe=reporter"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Bleeding Cool</span></a>.
"All relatively unknown actors. All potentially a Joker. But only one of
them being the actual Clown Prince Of Crime."<br />
<br />
Read more: <a href="http://www.hngn.com/articles/43485/20140924/gotham-introduces-joker-in-pilot-episode-the-crown-jewel-of-batman-villains-debut-isnt-what-it-seems-spoilers.htm#ixzz3EvflKRjs"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://www.hngn.com/articles/43485/20140924/gotham-introduces-joker-in-pilot-episode-the-crown-jewel-of-batman-villains-debut-isnt-what-it-seems-spoilers.htm#ixzz3EvflKRjs</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Rich Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235467601059472682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437146556671677348.post-32478800486969817662014-03-30T11:56:00.001-07:002014-04-06T22:58:44.969-07:00Young Justice on Netflix<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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Finally, one of the best animated superhero shows of all time makes it to Netflix. Looks like they only have Season 1 for the moment, but don't wait for them to post Season 2. Start now!</div>
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Curious why so many are excited about this, check out my review, commonly found at the top of Popular Posts to the right.</div>
Rich Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235467601059472682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437146556671677348.post-5605143763233558512014-01-23T15:44:00.000-08:002014-01-24T06:24:47.231-08:00Justice League Double FeatureDC Animation recently released a double feature in their line of highly acclaimed animated films, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice_League:_War">Justice League: War</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice_League:_The_Flashpoint_Paradox">Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox</a>.<br />
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<b>WARNING</b>: <b>Similar to the brilliant and highly recommended, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman:_Under_the_Red_Hood">Batman: Under the Red Hood</a>, these films are for adults only. Parents should watch them before deciding if they're appropriate for their children.</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Gwc1tF5WMZy4ckdioKSR4wv-jEcxllEXbqlr_rgEIRbwAf5LdSeXnxa2LZ915AaRpMGpVqxOhShrkwFb25KiJHRGqxQVN7Ex6Mril4Yvf5SbX2Gvp4rBKQ_37Gk8HaRFmOL_OpKWEw/s1600/Justice_League-War.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Gwc1tF5WMZy4ckdioKSR4wv-jEcxllEXbqlr_rgEIRbwAf5LdSeXnxa2LZ915AaRpMGpVqxOhShrkwFb25KiJHRGqxQVN7Ex6Mril4Yvf5SbX2Gvp4rBKQ_37Gk8HaRFmOL_OpKWEw/s1600/Justice_League-War.jpg" height="320" width="226" /></a></div>
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The classic origin of the <a href="http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Justice_League_of_America_Vol_1_9">Justice League of America (JLA Vol 1, #9)</a> brought <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman">Superman</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Lantern">Green Lantern</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquaman">Aquaman</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonder_Woman">Wonder Woman</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_(comics)">Flash</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman">Batman</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martian_Manhunter">Martian Manhunter</a> together to fight an invasion by aliens called the Appelliax (reference to this origin is made in the several episodes of the animated series <a href="http://www.richatthemovies.blogspot.com/2012/08/young-justice.html">Young Justice</a>). The most recent revision of the DC universe, called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_52">The New 52</a>, tweaks this story so that the invading force is from the hellish planet <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apokolips">Apokolips</a>, Martian Manhunter has been replaced by the pre-52 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teen_Titans">Teen Titan</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyborg_(comics)">Cyborg</a> (aka: Victor Stone), and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shazam_(character)">Shazam</a> (aka: Captain Marvel/Billy Batson) is added to the line up. JL: War is the animated story of this new origin.<br />
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<b>Impressions</b></div>
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The animation in War is passable, but not impressive. The voice acting is weaker than many of DC's other productions as well. I'm a huge fan of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0876138/">Alan Tudyk</a>; his work as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Arrow">Green Arrow</a> in both <a href="http://www.richatthemovies.blogspot.com/2012/08/young-justice.html">Young Justice</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Injustice:_Gods_Among_Us">Injustice: Gods Among Us</a> is perfect for his tone and humor. Unfortunately, he was cast as Superman for War and his vocal skills can't carry the strength and authority needed for Big Blue. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0641816/">Jason O'Mara</a>'s Batman sounds like a flat imitation of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Greenwood">Bruce Greenwood</a>'s Batman from <a href="http://www.richatthemovies.blogspot.com/2012/08/young-justice.html">Young Justice</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman:_Under_the_Red_Hood">Red Hood</a>; in his defense, Greenwood's Batman is one of the best since <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Conroy">Kevin Conroy</a>'s classic <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman:_The_Animated_Series">Batman: TAS</a>, so if you're going to imitate someone, he's it. The most significant downside to War is, unfortunately, the writing. With the notable exceptions of Cyborg and Flash, the Leaguers are all immature at best. They just aren't heroes. Even Superman revels in his power and superiority too much to be the role model he should be. At one point Wonder Woman chides Shazam for being immature, but since she, GL, Superman, and even Bats are so childish themselves, the condemnation strikes hollow.<br />
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<b>Final Verdict</b></div>
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JL: War is a basic introduction to the modern origins of the League and if you're going to give it a shot, I recommend watching it before the far superior, Flashpoint Paradox.<br />
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Flashpoint focuses on the rivalry between Barry Allen and his time-traveling nemesis, Eobard Thawne (aka: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professor_Zoom">Professor Zoom</a>). Barry wakes one day to find the world he knew replaced by one on the brink of destruction. Atlantis and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Themyscira_(DC_Comics)">Themyscira</a> are at war with the surface world and each other. Worse yet, the accident that gave Barry his connection to the Speed Force never happened so he can't do much to stop it. Other heroes lives have also taken dramatic turns.<br />
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<b>Impressions</b></div>
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I don't want to spoil the twists, but I was shocked by the fascinating and brutal events the time-shift creates. This is not your standard What If time paradox. The animation is better than War, but still not the best in the DC library. The voice acting and dialogue is far better than War, with the return of fan-favorites <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001127/">Dana Delany</a> as Lois Lane, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0277213/">Nathan Fillion</a> as Green Lantern, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0551223/">Vanessa Marshall</a> (Black Canary from Young Justice) as Wonder Woman, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0175834/">Kevin Conroy</a> as Batman, and Superman Classic <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004857/">Tim Daly</a>'s son <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2301600/">Sam Daly</a> voicing Big Blue. Fronting these powerhouses is an impressive debut by <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0413573/">Grey's Anatomy</a>'s <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0150362/">Justin Chambers</a> as The Flash.<br />
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Flashpoint Paradox is even less accessible to younger audiences than JL: War. The combats are lethal, the story complex, and the turns in characters' lives are depressing at best. Having said that, the uplifting final scene touched me like few other stories have.<br />
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<b>Final Verdict</b></div>
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Flash fans will love that Barry is finally featured in his own film. More than just an origin story, this film gives insight into the lives of many of your favorite DC characters. A great introduction to the Flash legend, <a href="http://www.richatthemovies.blogspot.com/2013/11/arrow.html">Arrow</a> fans in particular will find this a solid primer to the <a href="http://www.denofgeek.us/tv/the-flash/230970/the-flash-tv-series-pilot-will-be-a-standalone-not-through-arrow">spin-off Flash series</a> later this year.Rich Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235467601059472682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437146556671677348.post-73536459760070003642013-11-18T23:05:00.002-08:002014-03-30T12:33:38.560-07:00Arrow<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="text-align: start;"><b>"...if you're enough of a Green Arrow fan to know what I mean when I say 'Longbow Hunters', give this show a few episodes. I bet it will grab you the same way it did me."</b></span></div>
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As a DC fan who dropped <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smallville">Smallville</a> after season 1, I've avoided this show since the day I saw the pilot at SDCC several years ago. I have a few friends who told me they liked it, and I respect their opinion, but the overall reviews were so mixed I didn't want to waste my time. Green Arrow is one of my favorite heroes and I didn't want to see him mauled by a pretty-boy <a href="http://www.theatrecrafts.com/glossary/pages/chewingthescenery.html">scene-chewer</a>. Changes like making Star City into Starling City were a red flag that some producer or director wanted to make stupid changes for no apparent reason. Last week a friend browbeat me into watching it now that Season 1 is free on Netflix <i>and</i>...I am absolutely shocked by how good this show is.<br>
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The writers of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrow_(TV_series)">Arrow</a> have an obvious love for the source material, planting subtle Easter Eggs throughout the season (look for references to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Nodell">Nodell</a> Tower, and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teen_Titans#The_New_Teen_Titans_.281980.E2.80.931996.29">Wolfman and Perez</a> law firm). Other locations in the DC universe, such as Bludhaven, Central City, and Coast City (home to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nightwing">Nightwing</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_(comics)">Flash</a>, and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hal_Jordan">Hal Jordan Green Lantern</a>, respectively) are folded into the dialogue in ways that give DC fans hope for more to come (see links below). Characters like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deathstroke">Deathstroke/Slade Wilson</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_Vertigo">Count Vertigo</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Flush_Gang">The Royal Flush Gang</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadshot">Deadshot</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merlyn_(DC_Comics)">Merlyn</a> have counterparts in this "real-world" drama that make sense. The fight choreography is jaw-dropping at times, particularly because the main actor, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1854386/?ref_=tt_cl_t1">Stephen Amell</a>, is pulling off many of these stunts himself. Just as shocking is that the archery is fairly well represented. What I'm most surprised about is that they found an actor who could do the physical scenes and still actually act! Ollie has some subtlety, but is not overly complex in this series, so I'm not seeing the actor pull off major emotional stretches, but he is being directed well and is able to pull off believable emotional cues with skill.<br>
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The same love for the DC heroes, unfortunately, isn't given to the DC heroines. The storyline introducing the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntress_(comics)">Huntress</a> was written well, but the actress was heavy-handed and so a fan favorite fell flat. Laurel Dinah Lance will eventually become <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Canary">Black Canary</a> (we guess), and though the character of Laurel is well handled and we see she can fight, so far I'm not seeing anything that makes me believe she can pull off Canary onscreen. The rest of the show becomes so good by the end of season 1, though, that I'll give the creative team some credit.<br>
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So, if you're enough of a Green Arrow fan to know what I mean when I say "Longbow Hunters", give this show a few episodes. I bet it will grab you the same way it did me.<br>
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<a href="http://www.denofgeek.us/tv/the-flash/230970/the-flash-tv-series-pilot-will-be-a-standalone-not-through-arrow">The Flash's secret identity, Barry Allen, will appear in two season 2 episodes of Arrow, then get his own pilot set in the same universe.</a><br>
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<a href="http://io9.com/nightwing-joins-the-growing-dc-tv-universe-of-arrow-1464019694">It's now been confirmed that my all-time favorite DC hero, Nightwing, will also make an appearance at some point.</a><br>
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<b>Addendum 12/14/2013</b>: We're now 9 episodes into season 2 and it is just as good, if not better, than season 1. The writers inject great emotional payoffs to plots seeded in the first season and the Barry Allen episodes are making me long for The Flash pilot. It's rare to see the kind of understandable character growth they show between 1 and 2 as well. Finally, the Black Canary storyline forced some changes to the character, but worked out far better than I would have expected.Rich Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235467601059472682noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437146556671677348.post-65364449071269416072013-07-02T10:47:00.001-07:002013-12-14T11:08:47.754-08:00Man of Steel<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Spoiler-Free Verdict</b>: It was fine. Better than Superman Returns. Stable--though unimpressive--foundation for a trilogy. </span></span><br />
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My issues with Man of Steel weren't with the overall plot or the adaptations they made to modernize his story for the big screen. The heart of the character was clear throughout the film (except at the end, see <b>The Kicker</b> below). I thought Henry Cavill made an excellent Big Blue. The setup for kryptonite was well handled. I liked exploring his childhood. I enjoyed the twist on the Fortress of Solitude, and the nods to several DC heroes, villains, and supporting cast. I normally hate the TV/Movie need to kill Jonathan Kent (which has never happened in the comics or the Animated Series), but I found this version both interesting and touching. My issues, and they are significant, were with the storytelling.</span></span><br />
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Though moved to tears by several scenes, I was never emotionally invested in the story or characters. I was being told a story, not experiencing it. The film was a collection of mini-trailers, jumping from one to another with no emotional bridge in-between. The fate of every fight scene was irrelevant, the life threatening events affecting Lois, or Perry, or Martha, or Kal, or even Earth actually bored me at times (with the singular exception of Jonathan).<br />
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On a similar note, the relationship between Clark and Lois was based on a single incident of her not outing him. There was no chemistry, no longing, no cultural urge for a relationship, no mutual respect even. Most of their scenes are the two of them talking <i>at</i> each other. Lois came off as a borderline-stalker fan-girl and Clark...well, awkwardly naive at best. He's been desperately lonely his entire life (which is a brilliant take on Supes, BTW), so his attraction is presented like falling for the first girl who discovers his secret, even though he knows nothing about her (and honestly, neither do we).</span></span></div>
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David Goyer and Chris Nolan put together a great story. It's always interesting to watch a scene and think, "Wow. I bet that looked good on paper." What a writer writes and what a director/ producer/editor puts on the screen is sometimes shockingly different. Sometimes it's culture shifting (like the editor that saved Star Wars: A New Hope from George Lucas). In a movie like Man of Steel it's clear when you're enjoying a few specific scenes, even tearing up in them, but can't figure out why you don't really care that much about the movie.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Still, Zach Snyder didn't break the character. There weren't any giant plot holes for me to point out (see <b>Geek Rant</b> below). If there's another one, I'll watch it (which wasn't the case with Superman Returns). And if there's a Justice League movie with this Superman, I'm sure I'll throw my money down.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><b>Geek Rant</b></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 14px;"><b>This is where I let my Geek go to town on the things I loved, the missed opportunities, and the absurd elements that irked me that most watchers won't care about. Geek Rants are chocked full of spoilers, so if you don't take your movies that seriously or you haven't seen the movie yet, you'll want to stop reading.</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 14px;"><b>Jor-El vs Zod</b>: I'm pretty sure the intent was for Jor and Zod to have a history, perhaps best friends, longing for political, economic and ecologic change on their world. Jor tried to make change from inside the system, including having Krypton's first natural birth in generations (awesome plot element, IMO), while Zod went Dark Side and tried to take over the government. This could have been a movie in itself and I'm sure it looked great on paper. Unfortunately, as with the rest of the film, we were being told about this history with not a single moment where we actually felt a friendship coming apart at the seams.</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 14px;"><b>Krypton</b>: Loved that the instability in Krypton's core was caused by attempts at sustainable energy. I loved the glimpse of the unique ecology, architecture, and culture. I loved that personal computer/robots were following characters around ala: Superman the Animated Series. I loved that Krypton had a birth-management system and that Kal was an exception that symbolized freedom of choice. It was unfortunate that they didn't bother to have the floating robots be Braniac. It was unfortunate they didn't make reference to Kara or Zor-el. It was odd and biologically bizarre that a single skull held the genetic diversity of the race (not much diversity in a single skull). It was absurd that Jor had a machine that could break down that DNA and hide it in a kryptonian's cells! And why in the world would you want to when blood cells (at least in humans) die and regenerate every 2 weeks?</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 14px;"><b>Flashbacks</b>: This is where the disconnect started happening for me. Jumping between flashbacks without an established character to care about yet doesn't work. It becomes telling instead of showing. Let us experience the emotional moments <i>with</i> Clark, not have him say "Remember that time on the bus," and we say, "Well. No. Tell us about it." I would have loved to either be buried in the emotional and cultural conflict of his modern life first and <i>then</i> reference his past, or live through his childhood with him and <i>then</i> be standing beside him when modern life's choices emotionally affected him. Having said that, the individual scenes for some of the flashbacks were emotionally brutal and thematically excellent, which made me long to take that ride with him instead of being an outsider.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><b>Missed Opportunity #1</b>: Big Blue crashes into an IHOP during one of the not-so-climactic fight scenes--an IHOP his childhood friend Pete Ross now works at. Will Pete recognize his old friend? Will Clark's only childhood support be put in danger by the villain?! Will this scene set up drama and tension for the next film!?!? Nope. Apparently this was just an ad for IHOP.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><b>Missed Opportunity #2</b>: Emil Hamilton, director of S.T.A.R. Labs, ally and friend to Superman, a man Supes trusts to safely and responsibly research the technology from his home world, a man who has often been portrayed as the friend who loses faith in the superpowered and leads the underground fight to defend humanity--dead in the explosion of a military vehicle he had no reason to be in. [In fairness, it's possible he may have been trapped in the Phantom Zone, but the plot seems hazy on this point.]</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><b>Missed Opportunity #3</b>: Someone cared enough to reference the obscure Metropolis hero, Guardian, and make him a key player in the film, but then kills him. Okay. Thanks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><b>Missed Opportunity #4</b>: So Kal's biological dad gets downloaded into an ancient scout ship that has nanotech capability. Okay. His dad presents him with an armored suit similar in design and feel to the ones we've seen on Krypton. Weirdly handled on screen, but okay. This suit has a flowing red cape unlike anything we've seen in the movie. Eh? What?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">It was vaguely established that Zod had some kind of mind-control/interrogation tech. In a flashback shown at the end, Kid Clark is running around with a red towel or something pinned to his shoulders. Cute, but what the hell is he referencing? Himself? And then, what, his dad somehow reads Kal's thoughts and produces this outfit? Awkwardly handled at best. Why not the following:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 14px;"><i>Flashback of Clark playing with his dog as he runs through his mom's hanging laundry. A red towel/shirt/whatever gets caught on him. At first he tries to get it off, but then tucks it into his t-shirt and starts to play with it. Self-discovery. THEN, we see the scene as an adult and when Jor-El produces the suit we have some emotional attachment to the costume, something connecting him to his home world of Krypton and his adopted childhood on Earth. Gives me geek chills just thinking about it.</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="line-height: 14px;">Missed Opportunity #5</b><span style="line-height: 14px;">: The "Big Reveal". The "Giant Easter Egg". The "Man of Steel Blows the Lid Off the DC Movie Universe!" is a barely perceptible, vague reference to a C string hero no one but comic fans know and almost no comic fan wants to see on the big screen? Hell, I'm actually a Booster Gold fan and I never, ever want someone to waste money putting him in a movie. Two other "reveals" were a Wayne Enterprises satellite and a LexCorp truck. Cool. Appreciated. Expected.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 14px;">The only subtle reference I caught was the female officer at the end named Ferris, referencing Hal Jordan's love interest, Carol Ferris of Ferris Industries. Carol was never in the military that I know of, but that's cool if it works.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 14px;"><b>Missed Opportunity #6</b>: No post-credit carrot. I don't care how much people would bag on you for duplicating Iron Man 1. IT WORKED! We were so excited about a potential Avengers movie we were free advertising that couldn't stop talking about the film! We tried our best not to spoil the excitement and made our friends go pay money to see it for themselves. Of all the things I Geek Rant here, this, THIS is the stupidest mistake I can think of.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><b>Hero?</b>: Zod wants you dead. He's willing to nuke a city to make that happen. The absolute best way to save the people of your adopted world is to:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><i>A) Fly into space and make the bad guy follow you.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><i>B) Fly into the desert and have the bad guy follow you.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><i>C) Fly over the ocean and have the bad guy follow you.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><i>D) Fight the bad guy in the heart of the largest city in the US, raining buildings on innocent people below.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><i>E) A, B, C and WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING?!?!</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><b>Final Solution</b>: "Zod is terraforming the planet to resemble Krypton and there's a destructive gravity wave destroying things within miles of the machine!" "Let's crash another starship drive into the machine and create a black hole! That will stop that pesky gravity problem." Outside of the terraforming-couldn't-possibly-work-that-way issue, I say again WTF?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="line-height: 14px;">The Kicker</b><span style="line-height: 14px;">: Most of you know that I believe comic characters are like Greek Myths--each has key traits that make them who they are, but their stories are so flexible that they have been successfully molded and reinterpreted for decades (nearly a century, actually). As long as you get the heart of the character right, go ahead and have Batman be trained by the League of Shadows, tying him to Ras al Ghul. Just don't mount machine guns on the batmobile.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 14px;">So, Supes has Zod in a headlock. Zod is threatening to murder three innocent people with his heat vision (why he didn't just glance a little to the right, I have no idea). Out of options, Superman kills Zod. Under normal circumstances this would have really pissed me off. Superman, like Batman, does not kill. Period. The times they've shown him kill (see the brilliantly handled<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice_Lords"> Justice Lords episodes</a> of the Justice League Animated series), a skewed timeline occurs where we get to see what happens when the good intentions of Big Blue get warped. Having said that, this scene didn't bother me as much as I expected. It's possible that my emotional disconnection from the character made it so I didn't really care, but for whatever reason I thought "Huh, that's interesting. What are the consequences of <i>that</i> going to be?"</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 14px;">The Answer?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 14px;"><i>Nothing</i>. Not a single damn thing. Supes screamed, very upset apparently at the genocide he just committed. And I think he got a hug and a pat on the head from his new stalker girlfriend.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 14px;">No emotional scene sitting on the porch with his mother talking about being forced to murder the last member of his race.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">No moment where he swears he will never, ever kill again (giving us a personal motivation behind why he never kills).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">No lesson about how Zod's psychotic behavior showed him that his powers could be used for evil and he will never let himself go there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">No questioning look on Lois' face about the murder she just witnessed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">The next scene we get is him intimidating at best, nearly killing at worst, a couple of military officers with a drone, then saying "I'm here to help you. I love the people of Earth. Don't try to find me or I'll come back and intimidate/nearly kill you again. By the way, I grew up in Kansas, and the Bad Guy landed in my mom's yard, but, you know, don't think too hard about that."</span><br />
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<span style="color: #4e5665; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></span>Rich Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235467601059472682noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437146556671677348.post-14473109541090266762013-05-18T20:40:00.000-07:002013-05-18T20:40:00.980-07:00Star Trek: Into Darkness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Spoiler Free Review:<br />
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Into Darkness outdoes its predecessor, ranking as one of the best Star Trek films in the series. Go see it before someone spoils it for you. Or before you read the spoiler-filled review to come.<br />
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Seriously.<br />
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Go now.<br />
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<br />Rich Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235467601059472682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437146556671677348.post-73745981148045584572012-12-01T12:07:00.000-08:002013-02-07T23:31:12.551-08:00Retro Review: Ultimate Avengers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG9BZc5W_runuhaTvTIKO7sujSgHNxK6gMzxlT-rwEf4xrMaEY1nLvx9T_auYb4lpWmAUUK-ihub7o2V3PPsKgmahsIarXNwWqQtU9nSkQhyXuOfLPJa-fzeovhC0xLwJwFycnuHdnrw/s1600/Ultimate+Avengers+DVD.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG9BZc5W_runuhaTvTIKO7sujSgHNxK6gMzxlT-rwEf4xrMaEY1nLvx9T_auYb4lpWmAUUK-ihub7o2V3PPsKgmahsIarXNwWqQtU9nSkQhyXuOfLPJa-fzeovhC0xLwJwFycnuHdnrw/s320/Ultimate+Avengers+DVD.jpeg" width="213" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
If you read Ultimate Avengers by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch, you probably felt like I did when you heard this animated movie was being released. Even the cover, reminiscent of Bryan Hitch's work, promised something special. I should have set my bar lower. Actually, I should have sent my bar back to the 70's.<br />
<br />
Any single Justice League animated episode makes this film look like the Superfriends from the 1970's, and there simply is no excuse. Animation studios with amazing talent are everywhere, and Marvel certainly has enough cash after successes like the Spiderman and X-Men films. Though they tried to put in elements from the brilliantly developed characters in the Ultimates comic series, each scene was rushed, giving no time for emotional involvement. That, combined with chunky animation, leaves you with little ability to suspend your disbelief and really feel for these characters.<br />
<a name='more'></a>The animation of Giant Man's growth was unimpressive, when it should have been awe inspiring. Wasp's growth, having her wings disappear into nothing only after she's fully grown shows a ridiculously poor understanding by the animators and directors of how her power is supposed to work.<br />
<br />
Outside of the animation issues are the pacing, directing and editing of this film. Each segue was hard and roughly paced. Camera angles were sharp and characters badly proportioned--possibly in an attempt to be stylized. Scenes were poorly framed. Character dialogue was unrealistically fast and either emotionally shallow or over the top. The best voice actor in the film was Andre Ware as Nick Fury, but he's had a lot of experience in the DC animated universe, and it's apparent that experience helped him here.<br />
<br />
Marvel studios haven't shown an increase in technical or storytelling skill from the Spider Friends, Spiderwoman or original X-Men animated series in any way and it's unfortunate, because with Mark Millar's incredible storytelling and Bryan Hitch's innovative character design, this could have launched a whole new era for Marvel animation.<br />
<br />
I even tried to give this a 2 star rating, just for seeing these characters on the screen, but I can't bring myself to do it. JLU and the DC animated universe have raised the bar on both storytelling and animation quality.<br />
<br />
Step up to the plate, Marvel. Play time's over.<br />
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p3" style="text-align: center;">
<span class="s1">"Avengers Disassemble"</span></div>
<div class="p3" style="text-align: center;">
<span class="s1">Originally posted on Amazon.com in February, 2006</span></div>
<div class="p4" style="text-align: center;">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p4">
Addendum: Since this review was published, Marvel Studios <i>has</i> stepped up to the plate. "Wolverine and the X-Men" is an original and engaging interpretation of the X-Men myth, with modern animation techniques and excellent voice acting. A separate review will be posted, but I can't point out the flaws in Ultimate Avengers without giving credit where credit's due.<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">The more recent Marvel productions "Black Panther: The Animated Series", "Iron Man: Extremis", "Doctor Strange" and "Planet Hulk" are also strong offerings to the animated market. Here's hoping they keep it up.</span></div>
Rich Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235467601059472682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437146556671677348.post-51933701444316759762012-10-15T10:23:00.000-07:002013-02-07T11:36:55.548-08:00Retro Review: Batman: The Brave and the Bold<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWlDMf0Icd9eFCQiCR8Zl_UwqGirD_kgsiVCkQO2_oOQudus7y83LG1eF4mf7wvR06ntpR_wh3BC_BT0KWoCO2-MKu6UO_PkXNyVAOrS-DNGa8YIcEY8diO8ZAa_COpGN6dnPWJblEfQ/s1600/Batman+Brave+and+the+Bold.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWlDMf0Icd9eFCQiCR8Zl_UwqGirD_kgsiVCkQO2_oOQudus7y83LG1eF4mf7wvR06ntpR_wh3BC_BT0KWoCO2-MKu6UO_PkXNyVAOrS-DNGa8YIcEY8diO8ZAa_COpGN6dnPWJblEfQ/s400/Batman+Brave+and+the+Bold.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image drawn from <a href="http://www.dccomics.com/graphic-novels/batman-the-brave-and-the-bold">www.dccomics.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">There is a list of reasons why I shouldn't like this show. As an adult, the "classic" Adam West Batman makes me cringe, though it was my favorite show as a kid. When writers can't get past the camp, or try to use "it's a comic-based TV show" as an excuse for terrible scripts and acting, it pisses me off. So, naturally, when I heard the premise of this show I wanted none of it. Batman is never in Gotham? Tons of guest stars? Throwback to the 50's Bill Finger stuff? Yikes. Really?!<br />
<br />
I was totally wrong.<br />
<br />
The writers have put together something brilliant, hilarious, and a beautiful homage to how FUN comics were when I was growing up.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span class="s1">The cameos are fantastic and don't overwhelm the series. So far I've seen Atom, Fire, Plastic Man, Green Arrow, Blue Beetle, and Aquaman. Half of them show up in 007-style intro shorts where Bats is already at the end of a previous adventure. This allows us to see some favorites, set up the DC Universe, and still only focus on one main story at a time without falling into the "too many supervillains/heroes" problem that plagued the Tim "I've never read a comic and never will" Burton Batman movies.<br />
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On other fronts, the music is up-beat and reminds me of Saturday mornings in front of the TV eating cereal. I just now realized it's the Johny Quest-like style!<br />
<br />
The silliness is high but they've created a bizarre internal consistency to their universe that makes everything work.<br />
<br />
To top it off, the writers know their DC universe. Their spin on characters like Aquaman is definitely different, but they keep the heart and soul of the characters which is the most important part. Classic comic characters are archetypes, ripe for interpretation, and they take full advantage of that. Their knowledge and love of the material shows in the little details, like an opening scene where Batman is fighting the Gentleman Ghost in Brazil. I prepping to explain to my wife that G.G. is from the Hawkman rogues gallery. Hawkman is able to fight the incorporeal villain because of the Nth metal based technology which is the basis for the Hawk's harness and weapons. Nth metal has several properties, including anti-gravity effects and the ability to affect objects in other dimensions. Before I could get any of that out, Bats pulls out Nth metal brass knuckles and cuffs. Awesome.</span><span class="s2"><br />
</span><span class="s1"><br />
So, despite my reservations about the silliness, villainous monologuing, over-the-top death traps and space adventures, this show is the best, most unique Batman adaptation since The Animated Series. If you know me well, you know how much of a compliment that is.</span><br />
<span class="s1"><br /></span>
<span class="s1"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="s1">"Agreed on all Fronts"</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="s1">Originally posted on Amazon.com in January, 2010</span></div>
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Rich Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235467601059472682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437146556671677348.post-84995892688699743072012-08-29T12:47:00.001-07:002016-02-08T23:58:48.132-08:00Young Justice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8cGWMhCPMDrmOPVd_DVAIB8NQprUNgf3r2TUzwF4nlZZIU2YkNRhSWYbVn9Q5osE31m7oe9gvAxQjkQ21ScrRAo-RXgPO5sToirMdmNMQ4gnEyOsxbJHzPZzt5rJE7E-FiQZx5r030g/s1600/young-justice-wallpaper.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8cGWMhCPMDrmOPVd_DVAIB8NQprUNgf3r2TUzwF4nlZZIU2YkNRhSWYbVn9Q5osE31m7oe9gvAxQjkQ21ScrRAo-RXgPO5sToirMdmNMQ4gnEyOsxbJHzPZzt5rJE7E-FiQZx5r030g/s640/young-justice-wallpaper.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><b>"Season One of Young Justice is one of the best written, plotted and developed pieces of animation I've ever seen on American television."</b> </span></div>
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<br />
I'm a Teen Titans fan.<br />
<br />
What I loved about the Teen Titans, beyond the fact that they were led by my favorite DC hero, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Grayson">Dick Grayson</a> Robin, was that they were <i>not</i> the Justice League.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLggkmQCbm5fSHstXWrsPIpwcWxtz9UHlvxWQUMvkGDv0wsVmtYk89mNaiFzZ5mWJHdlM1Zpofb8EU3xzz1HKPfmAMc3W3se2K31DpfN1SMv2lprp4Qha4QayqB_LNlvj7aIVARCG4vA/s1600/1164_400x600.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLggkmQCbm5fSHstXWrsPIpwcWxtz9UHlvxWQUMvkGDv0wsVmtYk89mNaiFzZ5mWJHdlM1Zpofb8EU3xzz1HKPfmAMc3W3se2K31DpfN1SMv2lprp4Qha4QayqB_LNlvj7aIVARCG4vA/s200/1164_400x600.jpeg" width="132" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXtqRhYfGR5SfjMjB-ChCqOcBCyEwhvDKcxmtPvQ6gjKyEcsYx4GTEB1HBK4bmU4qXvsyF-92kSNYy88J-RRY8IcA2r31xX9k4uuX6mDEqMdNjQa7V9y6px9nNox9rVwCuJTEKAOO-Xw/s1600/tt_silveragearchivev1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXtqRhYfGR5SfjMjB-ChCqOcBCyEwhvDKcxmtPvQ6gjKyEcsYx4GTEB1HBK4bmU4qXvsyF-92kSNYy88J-RRY8IcA2r31xX9k4uuX6mDEqMdNjQa7V9y6px9nNox9rVwCuJTEKAOO-Xw/s200/tt_silveragearchivev1.jpeg" width="130" /></a>At first glance, the original team looks like a miniature version of their better-known, older counterparts: Batman, Green Arrow, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Flash. In the 1960's that's all they were meant to be, but in 1980, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marv_Wolfman">Marv Wolfman</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_P%C3%A9rez">George Perez</a> changed all that.<br />
<br />
What made the Wolfman/Perez "New Teen Titans" series different and, in my humble opinion, better than the Justice League were their interpersonal relationships. JLA stories were about fighting alien invasions and ultra-powerful supervillains. If you wanted to read about Clark Kent's personal life, you had to read the Superman comics. Since none of the Titans had their own series, Wolfman and Perez could explore the lives of our favorite sidekicks in relationship to one another. The team became more of a family than the JLA could every be, because the JLA had their own lives, their own villains and their own problems outside of the team.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi79G05J4HOabfKaZeUdGGzvhgRN4HKQZ_TTLR9Hr4ru2qJgDCTbRGc5hlnNT8Jtk4VEbMuJcY8ColPNCqZVfUPGLfg6Nb0FAkHMeODTINDoqqGIZS0H0XGNS8UnfXacaB1NIz8waC3HQ/s1600/hhi_ttg.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi79G05J4HOabfKaZeUdGGzvhgRN4HKQZ_TTLR9Hr4ru2qJgDCTbRGc5hlnNT8Jtk4VEbMuJcY8ColPNCqZVfUPGLfg6Nb0FAkHMeODTINDoqqGIZS0H0XGNS8UnfXacaB1NIz8waC3HQ/s320/hhi_ttg.bmp" width="320" /></a></div>
When I heard the DC animated studios were doing a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teen_Titans_(TV_series)">Teen Titans series back in 2003</a>, I couldn't have been more excited. The show was very popular both in and out of its target age group and I have many friends who loved the show. Unfortunately, it was not the Teen Titans I was looking for. The writers offered no explanation for how or why these pre-teens were living on their own in Titans Tower or what their personal lives were like outside of fighting villains. It was difficult for me to suspend my disbelief. The animation style drew heavily from Korean and Japanese anime, which I enjoy, but fell back on sillier emotional expressions that made the storytelling feel heavy-handed.<br />
<br />
In early 2010 I stumbled on an off-hand post about a new Titans-like series called Young Justice airing on Cartoon Network later that year. There wasn't much press about it and since I don't have cable, I rarely catch commercials. I'd forgotten about it until November 2010 when the first two episodes aired as a one-hour pilot.<br />
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I loved it.<br />
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I watched the first four episodes excited that DC Animated had finally aired a Titans-like show with excellent animation and a firm grasp of what made Titans a great comic. That's really all I wanted. It was the fifth episode that made me realized the writers were aiming for something truly special.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuZ1Sz9NIMs1xIrpxM1reTwZJ1NGC_bjM8jwoJMIBnNiyXwUarytvvkCX7_mWzkEtohK4UUlJV8nhWkzBQs0ntyJ4aMyrMws7lFNFbFiKkp9YhZxSBGLPeC3FhgSX20-Jb8dUSc-QawA/s1600/1ayoung-justice-premieres-january-7th-on-cartoon-network1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuZ1Sz9NIMs1xIrpxM1reTwZJ1NGC_bjM8jwoJMIBnNiyXwUarytvvkCX7_mWzkEtohK4UUlJV8nhWkzBQs0ntyJ4aMyrMws7lFNFbFiKkp9YhZxSBGLPeC3FhgSX20-Jb8dUSc-QawA/s640/1ayoung-justice-premieres-january-7th-on-cartoon-network1.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>The Characters</b></div>
<br />
Most of the core Titans characters made the transition to the series: the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Grayson">Dick Grayson</a> Robin, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wally_West">Wally West</a> Kid Flash and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Harper_(comics)">Roy Harper</a> Speedy. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_(comics)">Garth</a> Aqualad had been replaced by an entirely new character and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donna_Troy">Donna Troy</a> Wonder Girl wasn't in the show at all. Still, the heart of the characters were accurate and by the end of the first two episodes they had added the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superboy_(Kon-El)">Conner Kent</a> Superboy to the mix, along with a character from recent comics known as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Martian">Miss Martian</a> (the niece of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martian_Manhunter">Martian Manhunter</a>). A sixth core character, Artemis, joins in Episode Six.<br />
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[A young <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zatanna">Zatanna</a> and the Milestone hero, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_(comics)">Rocket</a>, also join the team by the end of Season One but are not tied to Season One's story arc.]<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Robin</b></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI-Vp12wTHy6-g5fGDsz0h4ptI19Vg6xlUBXOat5o_YA52Ax2THclK51VMDRLtVSBatbOt0bK4R-KIMCUTGTr4q8e-WwNDmp5xc3rCD6ovaWWoy5f61tPkRGuHVOgRBodVP9sUPr-81A/s1600/YJ.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI-Vp12wTHy6-g5fGDsz0h4ptI19Vg6xlUBXOat5o_YA52Ax2THclK51VMDRLtVSBatbOt0bK4R-KIMCUTGTr4q8e-WwNDmp5xc3rCD6ovaWWoy5f61tPkRGuHVOgRBodVP9sUPr-81A/s200/YJ.jpeg" width="138" /></a>The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Grayson">Dick Grayson</a> Robin and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wally_West">Wally West</a> Kid Flash are two of the oldest, most developed sidekicks in DC history and it shows. Robin is the same wise-cracking, charismatic tactician I always loved. The writers took artistic license by merging him with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Drake">Tim Drake</a> Robin, making Dick a master hacker as well as a professional acrobat and skilled martial artist.<br />
<br />
A twist that threw me was that Robin does not become the leader of the team. Though he's the most experienced member, Robin is use to working side-by-side with a mentor he rarely has to communicate with. Batman and Robin anticipate each other's tactics in any situation. During Season One, Robin hasn't learned the communication skills necessary to lead a team; he expects everyone to know what he's thinking and act accordingly. As such, team leadership falls to the more mature Aqualad.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Kid Flash</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD9d-n8S_T_IkzqFZ68UJLXLdM_HBEprCwKA7s8m_kCNr_jL148pZzJvuuMQw7KIgQ4l0e1B0FYxV2qH3pdFTPPypmO0j7BOya1F-OkV_mVFc_QuFWiiiq1yV5aNPXMy2ZcNZe3IRycQ/s1600/young-justice-kid-flash.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD9d-n8S_T_IkzqFZ68UJLXLdM_HBEprCwKA7s8m_kCNr_jL148pZzJvuuMQw7KIgQ4l0e1B0FYxV2qH3pdFTPPypmO0j7BOya1F-OkV_mVFc_QuFWiiiq1yV5aNPXMy2ZcNZe3IRycQ/s200/young-justice-kid-flash.jpeg" width="200" /></a>What makes the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wally_West">Wally West</a> Kid Flash unique in comics is that he <i>loves</i> being who he is. Unlike many heroes, Wally doesn't have a tragic past--his parents weren't murdered, he hasn't lost a love, he isn't a clone, he isn't an alien trapped on another world.<br />
<br />
As a kid, Wally was the Flash's biggest fan and as a pre-teen he discovers that his uncle, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_(Barry_Allen)">Barry Allen</a>, is actually his favorite hero. Wally gained Flash's powers through a freak accident and is now living the dream. Unlike Robin, who is dealing with the loss of his family and a difficult relationship with an emotionally distant adoptive father, Wally is happy. His only problems are an overactive metabolism, an inappropriate sense of humor and overconfidence.<br />
<br />
Wally was the obvious choice for comedy relief on the team, but that doesn't make his character any less developed or emotionally significant. The only tweak the writers made to his original character is that he's the tech expert on the team. Wally and Dick often work together to solve problems, MacGyver-style. Wally's love for science is a natural evolution from his uncle's forensic science background and balances well against some of the more mystically oriented characters like Aqualad and Zatanna.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Speedy</b></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAe3aN1nwjMeodl1DY3j31EUv2IdetE7cuJiebMOHjJQqVNmSJULBLkGwcHghsIaB_lwooBPir7aF9i0NYyoNqIaCQ1Aq1kBQ-pihK_VYgQGjdY9Mw5HI9y3p68SVtHBYKGnZ4oJVLNQ/s1600/2052716-22.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAe3aN1nwjMeodl1DY3j31EUv2IdetE7cuJiebMOHjJQqVNmSJULBLkGwcHghsIaB_lwooBPir7aF9i0NYyoNqIaCQ1Aq1kBQ-pihK_VYgQGjdY9Mw5HI9y3p68SVtHBYKGnZ4oJVLNQ/s200/2052716-22.jpeg" width="121" /></a></div>
The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Harper_(comics)">Roy Harper</a> Speedy never officially joins the team. Being older than both Robin and Kid Flash, Roy expects to join the Justice League and not the sidekick team the others are forming. He leaves both Green Arrow and his friends behind to become his own hero, Red Arrow. Though never an official member of the team, Roy and his journey are integral to the Season One arc. Roy's is the story of throwing off the expectations of your elders and becoming your own person. I love Speedy for sentimental reasons and I'm a sucker for the super-archers no matter what company writes them, so I didn't know how to feel when Roy didn't join. What I can say is that Roy's relationship with the team takes a fascinating turn that I can't go into without spoilers.<br />
<br />
Roy earns his role in this series.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Aqualad</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2KnUD8rH_QKh5ZiKt3vpO_W4QGDmLJTYBdidA5RqHWc-xQz24gVVugGI01A8bI9_Wn-2BkKZ9ijZwyHExPw85-PWTF8mqTt3iOxbzwGFRZXfVAEXw8t9GkdL55hp3snhCrCud2UVk5A/s1600/young-justice-aqualad.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2KnUD8rH_QKh5ZiKt3vpO_W4QGDmLJTYBdidA5RqHWc-xQz24gVVugGI01A8bI9_Wn-2BkKZ9ijZwyHExPw85-PWTF8mqTt3iOxbzwGFRZXfVAEXw8t9GkdL55hp3snhCrCud2UVk5A/s200/young-justice-aqualad.jpeg" width="200" /></a>The new <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aqualad_(Jackson_Hyde)">Kaldur'ahm</a> Aqualad concerned me. The original <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_(comics)">Garth</a> Aqualad was undeniably the weakest of the original team--both in power and personality--but I wasn't sure if the creators had changed him to make his character stronger or simply to add the understandably lacking minority element to the show. I'm happy to say that they managed both.<br />
<br />
Along with the speed, strength, endurance, durability, and the ability to breath both air and water of the original Aqualad, the Kaldur'ahm Aqualad possesses the ability to manipulate water (similar to the powers of Aquaman's wife, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mera_(comics)">Queen Mera</a>). He also bares magical tattoos that allow him to channel electricity like an eel; water-manipulation and electricity make a powerful combination and the fight choreographers take full advantage of that throughout the series.<br />
<br />
Aside from these powers, this new Aqualad has what all great leaders need--tactical skills, an understanding of his team's strengths and weakness, and the ability to inspire loyalty (though it is tested time and again). Aqualad's powers, charisma and personality made him one of my favorite characters in the show. Even the fanboy in me was sated by the episode "Downtime" when the original Garth Aqualad was introduced and their divergent paths were explained.<br />
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<b>Superboy</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEoQKIDndG-iBT5JclbKM-fXDUEpaji5Y-RdPMv6cf9ahBZayuzT2qYKQI-VJdRq5V8Vb4wp4Iuga0_TPr00SO8YOj1BnC6BF3abHR7RdE7NiWno9nyqcVY3CV9F-gocTJF_hfaFXWVg/s1600/YJsuperboy.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEoQKIDndG-iBT5JclbKM-fXDUEpaji5Y-RdPMv6cf9ahBZayuzT2qYKQI-VJdRq5V8Vb4wp4Iuga0_TPr00SO8YOj1BnC6BF3abHR7RdE7NiWno9nyqcVY3CV9F-gocTJF_hfaFXWVg/s200/YJsuperboy.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div>
In Episode One, Aqualad, Robin and Kid Flash respond to what is supposed to be a minor building fire while the Justice League deals with a planet-wide threat. The building turns out to be a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Cadmus">Cadmus</a> cloning facility and the three old friends discover a clone of Superman stored deep in the research facilities lower levels. The clone had been designed to take Superman's place should he ever die, or kill him if he ever went rogue.<br />
<br />
Like the Superboy in the comics, this Superboy has a fraction of Superman's powers--he can't fly, he has relatively limited enhanced senses and no heat vision. He does have a significant percentage of Superman's invulnerability, speed, strength and the ability to leap extreme distances. Though educated through psychic downloading, the clone is immature and has a difficult time controlling his anger. This could have been used as an excuse for heavy-handed teenage angst. Instead, the writers play up Superboy's loneliness and abandonment issues. He knows that he had been created as a weapon, yet must also live up to the expectations of filling Superman's cape should he die, all while being ignored by the Man of Steel himself. The clone knows nothing about Superman's private life; even his adopted secret identity of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superboy_(Kon-El)">Conner Kent</a> comes from suggestions by Martian Manhunter and Miss Martian.</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ipj1YZ8eFQjG9_IjDfMuhkf6Cl9-MIeLRxeFme5-RSw85N2tTyLtVfl_ssWRgSPl-cpxohwrQGZaTnxSzjIg8Ps1nCIhj-IataiiXjbR1eUEPliIvHaLF4ChxDoa-nz47iYEk0cScQ/s1600/conner15.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ipj1YZ8eFQjG9_IjDfMuhkf6Cl9-MIeLRxeFme5-RSw85N2tTyLtVfl_ssWRgSPl-cpxohwrQGZaTnxSzjIg8Ps1nCIhj-IataiiXjbR1eUEPliIvHaLF4ChxDoa-nz47iYEk0cScQ/s320/conner15.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In a brilliantly awkward scene, Conner reaches out to Superman<br />
for recognition, only to have Supes fly off to an emergency. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
By the begining of season two, Conner grows out of his angsty teenage self, but the writers don't leave the character development just to the teens. In Episode Five, "Schooled", Bruce Wayne confronts Clark Kent about his behavior toward the newly discovered Superboy clone. Clark is understandibly disturbed at finding out that he has a full-grown teenage son and has no clue what his role in Conner's should be. The scene is an incredible piece of character development for Clark, Bruce and Conner.<br />
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<b><br /></b><b>Miss Martian</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg462qpb-0BeDLnDtAS7siWtpnNC-vPHLxgyoyNaavxCICrTlLqkWZeX_35ZMi-ahhHHcD2CTiFCL1udhSF49yjD5tafqkqV0MR9ceprjFSxX9kN5iFwIMV8hp827YSbKXWA6Ptz7n0iQ/s1600/young-justice-miss-martian.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg462qpb-0BeDLnDtAS7siWtpnNC-vPHLxgyoyNaavxCICrTlLqkWZeX_35ZMi-ahhHHcD2CTiFCL1udhSF49yjD5tafqkqV0MR9ceprjFSxX9kN5iFwIMV8hp827YSbKXWA6Ptz7n0iQ/s200/young-justice-miss-martian.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div>
The most annoying character of the first several episodes is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Martian">Megan Morse</a> Miss Martian. I wasn't familiar with her character from the comics and her ditzy, overly cheerful personality reminded me of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starfire_(comics)#Television">Teen Titans Animated version of Starfire</a>--a strong female character that they turned into a high-pitched, naive alien pre-teen.<br />
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On my first viewing of the series, I believed that the writers had heard complaints by fans and found a way to explain her annoying personality traits through several emotionally poignent episodes toward the end of Season One. On my second viewing I caught hints of Miss Martian's character arc in nearly every episode, telling me that the writers hadn't <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retroactive_continuity">retconned</a> her personality, they had known exactly what they were doing all along. As with Superboy, Miss Martian becomes a confident, skilled member of the team. The arc of her character growth is one of my favorites in the series.<b><br /></b><br />
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<b><br /></b>
<b>The Team</b></div>
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After a lone mission that ends in the discovery and rescue of Superboy from a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Cadmus">Cadmus</a> cloning facility, the Justice League reluctantly agrees to sponsor the younger members as a covert operations team secondary to the League. Being a covert ops team is a perfect vehicle for the show, allowing the characters to train together under experienced, adult supervision while still performing key missions.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZeLh0m3B3yYpJoBL8JnT6OwYreyEAwSA89alXkPsOcTmdEt-TaWCua6q43fDjfPDsPk3fbASt8nBUptOGC-jX3_Z-uHYaZVHownOPy7IbidxwLA5vFs7Oqbo3sCcIAfa-kTe6beUExQ/s1600/Young-Justice-01x02-Independence-Day-Part-2-33.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="359" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZeLh0m3B3yYpJoBL8JnT6OwYreyEAwSA89alXkPsOcTmdEt-TaWCua6q43fDjfPDsPk3fbASt8nBUptOGC-jX3_Z-uHYaZVHownOPy7IbidxwLA5vFs7Oqbo3sCcIAfa-kTe6beUExQ/s640/Young-Justice-01x02-Independence-Day-Part-2-33.jpeg" width="640" /></a><br />
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One nice touch is that the show never referes to the new group as the Teen Titans or even Young Justice. They are only referred to as "The Team." Another is that we get to see the characters in their non-superhero lives. We are treated to glimpses of Wally, Dick, Megan and Conner at home or at school, and get to see how they integrate their teenage lives into their superhero responsibilities. Aqualad doesn't have a secret identity on the surface world, but the writers give him the staring role in an episode where he visits Atlantis. Even Artemis, a down-and-out kid with a disabled mother, receives a scholarship to Gotham Academy from the Wayne Foundation and we get to see her adapt to life off the street.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Final Verdict</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Season One of Young Justice is one of the best written, plotted and developed pieces of animation I've ever scene on American television. Every character is important, their challenges are faced and by the end of Season One they have honed themselves into both a team and a family. The Easter Eggs scattered throughout the season make multiple watchings <em>a must</em> and the season finale brings an impressive web of subplots to a chilling and satisfying conclusion. While you are left with a sense of completion, the final line of Episode 26 will leave you begging to know what's in store for Season Two.</div>
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<b>Post Script</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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As of the posting of this blog, Season Two has aired seven episodes and has laid the groundwork to meet or surpass Season One on plot, character development and surprises. The rest of Season Two is set to air <b>September 29th</b>.</div>
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Rich Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235467601059472682noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437146556671677348.post-84665236742707721932012-08-11T16:36:00.003-07:002012-09-04T16:08:25.878-07:00"Dark Knight Rises": A superhero trilogy that didn't choke<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: start;"><b>"'The Dark Knight Rises' fulfills its destiny as an epic a conclusion to Nolan's Batman universe..."</b></span></div>
<br />
Comic characters possess a particular quality unique to literature. Malleability. Like the stories of the Greek Gods, or Arthurian knights, or Aboriginal animal tales, Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman are archetypes, icons whose stories can be told again and again in different ways while keeping the heart of the character intact. Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer understand this. Creators like Burton and Schumacher lost, or never understood, the idea that you can mold a Batman story however you like as long as you stick to certain core traits.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<ul>
<li>Batman does not murder.</li>
<li>Batman is a detective. </li>
<li>Batman uses gadgets.</li>
<li>Batman wears a costume with the theme of a bat. </li>
<li>Batman has a deep, psychological aversion to using guns. </li>
<li>Bruce Wayne is a human being dealing with the death of his parents. </li>
</ul>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJo8Z8K80bU9x_YoQxZ2DVKaAJKl44At1dx0I6W4NR6iUBHQHC5bvOZd97NYhPNidD_TgCy4nF3rBxXNIcZn34CvplyDXq5gXjitLx4FwklWjypBuow4E5pJYID98chtBQB5lH9UfYoA/s1600/Gotham+by+Gaslight.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJo8Z8K80bU9x_YoQxZ2DVKaAJKl44At1dx0I6W4NR6iUBHQHC5bvOZd97NYhPNidD_TgCy4nF3rBxXNIcZn34CvplyDXq5gXjitLx4FwklWjypBuow4E5pJYID98chtBQB5lH9UfYoA/s1600/Gotham+by+Gaslight.jpeg" /></a>As long as you stick with these themes you can create a seemingly endless array of stories, like "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotham_by_Gaslight">Gotham by Gasligh</a>t" (set in 1889, Batman's origin is tied to Jack the Ripper) or "<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1806589.Batman?auto_login_attempted=true">The Doom That Came to Gotham</a>" (set in the 1920s pitting Batman against Lovecraft-inspired monsters) while still feeling like a Batman story. Mounting rocket launchers onto Batman's vehicles is fine--he's well known for using explosives to deal with obstacles. Firing those rockets at human beings (like the Joker in the 1989 Burton "Batman") or mounting heavy machine guns on the batmobile makes fans shake their heads.<br />
<br />
Throughout the series, Goyer and Nolan twist the Batman mythos while keeping the core of the character intact. In the comics, Bruce Wayne didn't meet Ra's al Ghul until well into his career as Batman. He did, however, train with the detective/manhunter <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Ducard">Henri Ducard</a>, who Ra's poses as in the first film.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIXt9XZE2RDaHxzhhD7sGT1M9oFZpHNgSjtZtyhmjp4L5Hma8y2LhqBWRGNg3fmHXcKaPSmp0pAsNCX15k1f-fhv47FWdy1hUxfy-vKIrakj55CadJQ-zdqQBNBxHPff0iz8gQY2UsIg/s1600/Bane++Knightfall.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIXt9XZE2RDaHxzhhD7sGT1M9oFZpHNgSjtZtyhmjp4L5Hma8y2LhqBWRGNg3fmHXcKaPSmp0pAsNCX15k1f-fhv47FWdy1hUxfy-vKIrakj55CadJQ-zdqQBNBxHPff0iz8gQY2UsIg/s1600/Bane++Knightfall.jpeg" /></a>The same techniques are used in "The Dark Knight Rises" to bring the best superhero trilogy in movie history to a close. The legend of Bane's origin stays intact, while twisting it to the needs of the story. Characters from the first two films return, if briefly, to present the audience with a feeling of continuity. Classic comic imagery, like Bane's confrontation with Batman in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman:_Knightfall">"Knightfall"</a>, are used without being overdramatized. Though the movie has some arguable flaws (Bane's plan to break Bruce Wayne, physically and psychologically, is overly complex), I had very few issues with the story or characters (see Spoilers below).<br />
<br />
The two biggest surprises of the film were Nolan's handling of Rogue's Gallery classics, Bane and Catwoman.<br />
<br />
Bane is presented as he always should have been--a highly educated antagonist who also happens to be physically superior to Batman in many ways. I had some disappointment that a version of Bane's venom wasn't used in the film (see comments), that Bane wasn't South American and that Santa Prisca was set somewhere in the Middle East, but I understood why Nolan made the changes he did for the story.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwzk961zyJI1hymv6KN3tKHSiS7fGrM1u0Eo4xWBW0VT499qu7qq2lufOdVbsQ_w7mWfhzUDZyBz-d_m2OFL_iiMQ5w92cC8qcRW2Jqz3uU0C7wmGVqHOTQVwAFQ7HmKA2uUCB4FlKIQ/s1600/Catwoman+Year+One.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwzk961zyJI1hymv6KN3tKHSiS7fGrM1u0Eo4xWBW0VT499qu7qq2lufOdVbsQ_w7mWfhzUDZyBz-d_m2OFL_iiMQ5w92cC8qcRW2Jqz3uU0C7wmGVqHOTQVwAFQ7HmKA2uUCB4FlKIQ/s200/Catwoman+Year+One.jpeg" width="146" /></a></div>
For Catwoman, Nolan pulls from the grittiest of her comic origins (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman:_Year_One">Batman: Year One</a>) to bring the best movie interpretation of our favorite femme fatale to the screen. Anne Hathaway gained my respect pulling off this role. In one scene she flips from combat-savvy expert thief to terrified bystander in a breath.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Final Verdict</b></div>
<br />
"The Dark Knight Rises" fulfills its destiny as an epic a conclusion to Nolan's Batman universe and though a part of me yearns for more, the conclusion of this arc frees Mr. Nolan and Mr. Goyer for other projects (writing and producing 2013's "The Man of Steel" for example). Here's hoping this dynamic duo can bring the DC movie universe the level of respect its animated universe has earned for decades.<br />
<br />
SPOILERS<br />
(Highlight to read)<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: black;">I'm not sure why Nolan, after handling every character with such respect and aplomb, chose to make this version of "Robin" not one of the original three. Dick had become a cop in the Nightwing comics, so that would have worked nicely. Having Joseph Gordon-Levitt's last name be Drake, instead of Blake, would have led into him being Tim, who, in the comics, had deduced Batman's secret identity as well. I was expecting his first name to be Terry, though, making his adoption of the mantle after Bruce's retirement fit into the widely loved Batman Beyond franchise. As Dick Grayson and Tim Drake are two of my favorite DC characters, it would have left me with an even higher admiration of the trilogy.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: black;">Another issue I had is a common one: I missed several lines because of Bane's Vader'esque mask and Bale's stage voice (which didn't bother me in the first two as much as it did other people). I love the Bane/Ras/Talia twist as it exists in the Nolan-verse. I would have wanted Talia to be more of an ass-kicker and she had always been on the fence about her father's goals, but her devotion needed to be clear for this story.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: black;">My one writer-related issue was with the end. When Selina asks if he is going to autopilot the bomb over the ocean he says "There isn't an autopilot." The only people present were Gordon and Selina. Since Bruce was going to hook up with Selina later and let Gordon know he was alive by repairing the bat-signal, the only people to convince that there wasn't an autopilot was the audience. Minor, maybe, but a bit of an emotional cheat.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><br /></span>
Apologies for the Highlight Spoilers. Having an issue getting a proper spoiler box to show up. Will keep working on it.Rich Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235467601059472682noreply@blogger.com1