Taking A Break

I know it has been over a week since my last review and I have news. I have recently started school and have kept up with the job. Unfortunately so much time has been put into both that really I barely have any time for myself. So just to kind of get settled in all of this school AND work time I will be taking September off and will return in October with a wave of horror movies every week. I cannot express how much joy I will have when I return. I want to thank everyone who takes time out of their day to read my reviews and I'll be damned the day I stop doing this once and for all. I will miss you all and I look forward to reviewing for you once more. Have an amazing September.

Batman Beyond Return Of The Joker

This is both a new and old Batman movie, made in late 2000 but taking place when Batman is in his 80's.

The story follows Terry McGinnis as the new Batman of the future, fighting new enemies and the greatest foe of the original Batman seemingly back from the dead. Where this movie excels greatly is the tone of the plot and the character dynamics between Batman and the Joker. And of course having the original voices for the Joker and Batman, Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy makes it that much greater. And the best scene in the movie I sadly can't tell you about because it has massive spoilers, and the reason why it is the best scene is because of how personal and how dark and disturbing it gets. It really does push the envelope as to what you can put in a kids movie. Now this movie actually has two versions, a PG and a PG-13 rating and the PG-13 version is the much better version so if you ever want to rent or buy this movie go for that version. One thing I am genuinely surprised at is how much story and very good character development they got in this not even an hour and a half movie. Yeah, this movie is barely over an hour long, so running time is no problem whatsoever. I'm serious I watched this movie right before I had to leave for work. They did a great job with this movie, and one thing I have noticed while watching all these animated Batman movies this week is how timeless they are, you have no real idea of the time frame of these movies and there is no real indication of what year they were made because the animation and voice acting is so outstanding. If I ever get around to composing my top 10 animated Batman movies you will most likely see all of these on it. You guys have got to give these movies a shot even if you are not the hardcore Batman fan like myself. These movies are really good, very well put together, and just give great stories, so of course I am going to recommend them. See if these movies make you more of a Batman fan or less of a Batman fan. I hope you enjoy them.

Batman The Dark Knight Returns

This is easily in my top 5 animated Batman movies, it's pretty damn great.

The Dark Knight Returns is in direct continuity with Batman Year One, set around the time where Batman has been retired for ten long years and is in his fifties, crime has overtook Gotham all over again and he must don the cape and cowl one last time to reclaim the city he loves. Now every good point I stated about Batman Year One has been made even better in this movie. The animation is drawn so realistically and it barely feels like you are watching an animated Batman movie and it is very thematic and adult in how it deals with many situations, the cast in this movie is absolutely perfect especially in the case of casting the original Robocop himself Peter Weller as a much darker, more older version of Batman and the casting of Ariel Winter as Carrie Kelly a young girl who becomes inspired by the Batman and becomes the new Robin, and she is friggin' awesome! The music is so memorable and triumphant, the action is great, it is a very dark and adult themed movie, and I'm gonna be honest here I greatly enjoy the first half of this movie more than the second. Don't get me wrong, the second half of the movie is still really good but it is very scattered, dealing with quite a bit of stuff and not just focusing on Batman. But it makes up for all of that in a true clash of the titans between The Dark Knight and The Man Of Steel....oh yeah! They throw down in this movie and it is glorious! Honest to God if the thought of Batman vs. Superman doesn't make you want to see this movie I don't even know why you are still here. This is a great Batman movie and I highly recommend it. And I'm going to help you out here, originally this movie came out in two parts but they combined it into one two and a half hour movie titled Batman The Dark Knight Returns Deluxe Edition, and if you want to buy it buy that version. There is so much extra stuff for you to watch and you get every dollar of your money's worth and there is no better way to see it than in that version. So go out and give it a watch and tell me what you think.

Tune in tomorrow same bat-time, same bat-channel where we will look at the Batman of the future!

Batman Year One

Well the good news for this week is I have no work so I can get out 3 reviews and don't have to stress about it. So this week I shall be reviewing 3 fantastic Batman animated movies.

The first thing I have to say is every single DC animated movie based off of any source material is very accurate. Batman Year One is more or less an origin story not only for the Batman but for also Jim Gordon who is starting off as a cop in Gotham. And the story does span in over a year, and one bad thing about this movie is the pace of the movie is very fast and not only until past 2/3 of the movie in, does it start to slow down. Another negative criticism I have is Ben Mackenzie as Batman, now Ben Mackenzie is a great actor and one of the best Jim Gordons I have ever seen and he plays Jim on the series Gotham but his Batman voice is so forgettable. Think about any Batman, you remember his voice. Like Michael Keaton, you remember his gravely Batman voice! With Christian Bale need I say more? Hell even with Val Kilmer's Batman you remember his voice very well. Now I'm not saying Ben Mackenzie is a bad Batman but he is just okay, but every bad thing I say about Ben Mackenzie is quite the opposite of Bryan Cranston's performance as Jim Gordon. Yes Bryan "Heisenberg" Cranston is Jim Gordon in this movie. Do you really need another reason to see this? He is awesome in this movie, and he has the perfect voice for Jim Gordon. But the good stuff does not stop there! The animation is excellent, the voice acting is spot on for the most part, the fight scenes are fluid and well choreographed, the plot is very true to the graphic novel, and it's barely over an hour long so there is no reason why you shouldn't see it. If you are a Batman fan you should watch this movie, if you want to see a great Batman story you should watch this, if you just want to watch this because it has Bryan Cranston in it go for it! I hope you enjoy it and tomorrow we will look at a much older Batman.

The Thing (1982)

Well we already did a funny John Carpenter movie with Kurt Russell so why not a deathly serious one?

You know, rewatching The Thing has really reminded me why it's such a great sci-fi horror movie. The story follows a research team in Antartica who after investigating a Norwegian base close by them discover that an alien organism who can assimilate and copy another organism's likeness may have infiltrated their base. So the chase is on to destroy this creature before it can reach civilization and assimilate the entire base. What I love most about the film and the most prominent factor is the atmosphere. You believe the sense of isolation and deathly freezing weather in this movie, there are many shots of just empty rooms and hallways really showing how little life there is and several stated facts from the characters how dangerous the climate is at their south pole base. I'm serious I was freezing when I was watching this movie and I do not keep it seriously cold in my house. The music by Ennio Morricone is just friggin' creepy as hell, I mean you just have to listen to the main theme and you get freaked out. The characters are pretty good in this movie and the sheer paranoia and fear they have towards this thing is actually quite affecting, like I did not even want to touch my own hands after this movie it got to me that bad, just the thought of a malicious alien being who could take over your body at a mere touch is very unsettling. The acting is damn good in this movie, this is exactly how people would react to a situation like this, and everyone does a good job at keeping you guessing who's human and who's not. The film is very good at hiding who is the thing, because you can't tell at all until the horrifying transformations take place, and yeah the special effects are freaking unnerving and spectacularly shocking. The first transformation scene doesn't even happen until thirty minutes in giving lots of time to build atmosphere and characters, and the first time you see it your jaw will drop. This movie is awesome and a true science fiction classic if I have ever seen one. You have got to see this movie if you are a science fiction or horror movie fan. You will not be disappointed at all, unlike that BS remake/prequel movie they made in 2011! But I digress. Just watch this one.

They Live

Recently I saw a very touching tribute to famous wrestler Roddy Piper and one of the short clips they used was his performance from the cult film They Live, and I wish to dedicate this review to his memory.

They Live is a fantastic science fiction movie directed by John Carpenter and starring Roddy Piper and Keith David. The story follows a drifter played by Piper as he moves to the west coast looking for work, he meets a construction worker played by Keith David who takes him into a shantytown where they both live. While there, several strange things happen that make Piper's character investigate a small church where there are dozens and dozens of cardboard boxes filled with nothing but mysterious sunglasses, he tries them on while walking through the city and soon discovers that an alien race has been slowly pushing the human race into conformity. So Roddy Piper and Keith David join the hunt to liberate humanity from the alien menace. To be honest this is a bit of a satire as well as a science fiction movie, since the film was made in the late 80's it takes a jab at Reagan era economics and how everyone and everything was selling out for a quick buck. But there is a hell of a lot more to the movie then just a punch at commercialism, the characters are normal everyday people who just try to rebel against something they just learned was real two days ago, Roddy Piper is the true star playing a wordly, strong, and a bit of a wise ass guy who is coping with the fact that aliens are treating the human race like cattle and it doesn't take him long to start kicking some ass. Keith David is a damn good actor, and this movie is no exception and the most memorable scene in the movie where he gets in a fistfight with Roddy Piper in an alley for six minutes, and seriously for six minutes the fight is insanely long and really funny at just how long it goes on is only just one highlight of the film. Not many people would fully understand the movie and it has grown a significant cult following in over 20 years, and I quite enjoyed it. It's a really good science fiction movie that has a lot of wit and cynacism to it. I would definitely say you should view it at least once in your life just to experience it. Give it a watch, and see what you think.

Big Trouble In Little China

Well seeing as how I've already done one John Carpenter movie, I decided to review another.

Big Trouble In Little China is one of the greatest cult films of the 80's, with such stars as Kurt Russell and Kim Cattrall and a fantastic crew of supporting characters. The story follows a truck driver named Jack Burton played by the amazingly bad ass Kurt Russell, who believe it or not is actually the comedic sidekick and not the action movie star you would expect, who meets up with an old friend of his and the true hero of the story Wang played splendidly by Dennis Dun, as he is swept away into a world full of sorcery and Chinese legends. Now I'm going to be honest here, the first time I saw Big Trouble In Little China I just thought it was an okay movie, but I watched it again and enjoyed it so much more. This is a very comedic, very funny movie, with lots of action and fighting, mysticism and magic, awesome acting, a fantastic soundtrack composed by John Carpenter, and is really just a fun little movie to watch, and seeing how the film is barely over an hour and a half long it won't take too much of your time if you are interested in watching it. Now this is a very different story and you probably won't understand and enjoy it the first time you view it, but let that in no way deter you from viewing this movie. It's a lot of fun, Kurt Russell steals the show as Jack Burton, the special effects are grand in that 80's sort of way with practical effects and all, and I really just found the movie interesting, it's not everyday that you run across a movie like Big Trouble In Little China and it is worth your time and money if you want to try something new and different. I recommend this movie for Kurt Russell fans, John Carpenter fans, cult film fans, and people who just love original and strange stories. It's a gamble, but it's on Netflix and Amazon Prime so you can watch it without paying money for it. Give it a shot and tell me what you think.

Star Trek Into Darkness

Two words why this movie is better than the first: Benedict Cumberbatch.

If you liked the first new Star Trek movie, you will love this one. It seriously fixed every damn problem I had with the last movie and made everything else better. So the story of Star Trek Into Darkness has Kirk and crew on a manhunt for a fugitive who has attacked the Starfleet headquarters. And it kinda sorta may have several parallels to the greatest Star Trek movie ever, Wrath Of Khan. Which only makes it better. I mean the writing in Wrath Of Khan was practically Shakespearean with it's storytelling of death, revenge, old age, and the reclaiming of one's youth and this movie really does a good job with those elements in their own way. But the man who steals the show is Benedict Cumberbatch who is a genius badass, who really is the greatest threat the Enterprise crew has ever faced, and he is awesome! I would almost recommend this movie solely for Benedicts performance but there is so much more than that. The action is fantastic, the acting is amazing, the special effects are still spectacular, the dialogue is still very good, we see more evolution of the characters and that is always a good thing, and we just get to see more of the Star Trek universe so this movie is well worth your time and money, and if you have seen Wrath Of Khan you will enjoy it a little more. And honestly, I cannot wait for the next Star Trek movie. I hear it has Idris Elba in it which makes me ecstatic, and it still has everyone on board with it so you better believe I will be seeing that in theatres. Hopefully I might be able to go to the theatre tomorrow and review Mr. Holmes, so fingers crossed!