I, Robot

All things considered, this has aged well for me.

I watched I, Robot a long time ago, around the better part of a decade since I last watched it and for a movie that entertained and intrigued 10 year old me as well as 25 year old me, I'm impressed. Based off of Isaac Asimov's short stories, this film takes place in the far off future of 2035 where robots have been manufactured and populated to help human beings in any way possible, with the first model of robots being released in 2020 and to be honest I wouldn't be surprised if it came to pass, where we meet Detective Spoony I mean Spooner played by Will Smith who is called in to investigate the death of the mind behind the company who crafts the robots in every facet. Spooner suspects foul play with the electronic beings but as a safeguard all robots are built around three laws, 1. A robot cannot harm a human being under any circumstances, 2. A robot must obey all orders given, 3. A robot must protect itself without conflicting on the first and second laws. Which is what makes this such a fascinating mystery, it creates a logic puzzle for the audience to decipher as we follow our main character who is trying to figure out who killed this man and more importantly why. Now I'll confess I have not read Asimov's stories, though they are on my list with other classic sci-fi stories like Frank Herbert's Dune, and Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game. And the movie has really good pacing and plot threads that keep your interest and keep you entertained. You'd expect this to be a sort of Blade Runner-esque world but truthfully it doesn't look super futuristic, hell the only major technological advances are the cars and robots so I'd almost say this is a great introduction to sci-fi movies for people who aren't big fans of the genre. The production is quite good, the cast takes it seriously and puts out good material, there's great shots now and then, the effects are executed well and because the robots aren't supposed to look realistic but more synthetic the CG hasn't aged poorly. I know some people gave a lot of good grief over the action scenes and how they wouldn't belong in a techno mystery, but this was essentially a summer movie and in recent years people have given the film more credit. From the brief research I did apparently the script had a huge rewrite, originally the film was going to be way more cerebral focusing on the detective's paranoia and more intricate complexities of the robot revolution, it honestly sounds so much like Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep the basis for Blade Runner, which is an excellent book by the way you should check that out, but not like in a derogative way but how the stroy progresses and more importantly what it focuses on. And it kinda breaks my heart because it sounds like an underrated sci-fi classic and could have been so much more than what we got, but again I do not hate this movie at all, it's just that the original script sounds so friggin' good. I think this is a totally fine movie, it gives us the mystery solving with a few action beats here and there, Will Smith and Alan Tudyk are the best performances in an already really good cast, the pacing is good, the effects are done well, and the story stays true to Asimov while still doing it's own thing. I give it 3 stars, 7.5/10, and easily my favorite scene is James Cromwell's brief monologue about the ghost in the machine which is a fascinating concept in and of itself and who knows how long that idea has been floating around for, but man do I love this man to the moon and back!

Under The Red Hood

Good job Brandon, you made an awesome movie man!

I gotta admit, I have heard constant good things about this movie and now that I have finally seen it, it didn't disappoint. It's an adaptation of the comic by the same name which I have to say I didn't read but if the book is anything like the movie it's awesome! So this takes place 5 years after the famous Death In The Family story where Jason Todd the second Robin is murdered by the Joker, and the mysterious Red Hood hits the scene in Gotham causing the Dark Knight to hunt him down and face the demons of the past. Now this is a great story, but it doesn't take the world's greatest detective to figure out who the Red Hood is. If you've played Arkham Knight you know who he is, if you have basic knowledge of the Batman comics you know who he is, you don't even need to pick up his own comic to know who he is, but the mystery is not the focal point. It's more about Bruce confronting the Red Hood and coming to terms with Jason's death. Tim Drake isn't Robin yet, but Dick is seen as Nightwing so you get a good past vs. present Robin standoff on who is your favorite, I stand by Dick Grayson anyday of the week but God dang it that ending tore into me. Jesus Christ movie, you want to end on a more just downright bummer ending? But there's a lot more to enjoy beyond the story. The animation is some of the best if not the best I have seen in any animated Batman movie, Bruce Greenwood is back as Bats which I do believe this was his first outing with the cape and cowl, Jensen Ackles is in my opinion perfect casting for Red Hood I mean this guy is a total wiseass and I love every minute of it, but oh sweet merciful Christmas John DiMaggio is perfect. Like...his Joker gives old Jack a run for his money he's that great. I have never laughed so often and deeply as I have with John DiMaggio's Joker. After this, John can do no wrong in my eyes, though I think it will ruin future viewings of Adventure Time more so than Futurama did. But screw it, this was a really good movie. I loved the inner conflict, the action was spot on like always, I would say I would buy this particular Batman movie but it is well worth a rental if you get the chance. So that ends this bat-tastic week, we got more movies next week so I will see all you then!

Gotham By Gaslight

You know Warner Bros. Animation, I don't think you understand what an R rating is. Both this and The Killing Joke could have been PG-13 and you wouldn't have to cut a damn thing. Is it the stigma of it being animation so in order to hammer your point home that it is heavy stuff you gotta make it an R rated movie so people take it seriously? Christ.

Yeah, Gotham By Gaslight is rated R which blew my mind when I picked it up at Redbox, I almost thought I got the wrong movie but nope. Now granted when you are dealing with a subject matter like Jack The Ripper, you're gonna get a body count and you're gonna get blood but an R rated film that does not make. Okay, slow down, go back, let's start basics. Gotham By Gaslight is an adaptation of the popular Elseworlds series DC has been making since the late 80s, taking classic superheroes and giving them unique spins. Like, what if Superman didn't land in Kansas but in the USSR and fought for communist values? Well this is a what if of Batman taking place in the late 1800s and one of his earliest cases is catching Jack The Ripper, based off the very first Elseworlds book. Now I do have to say, the book is okay, in fact I liked the movie better than the book. It's a very loose adaptation adding tons of new elements and centering the story on Jack whereas the book had 2 cases. So the story I genuinely liked, it's a very good mystery and to see a well known superhero in this time frame is a neat thing to see. I've always admired the Gotham By Gaslight suit, though I have never been a steampunk fan which it takes inspiration from. So the story and characters are really darn good, with one quiet scene between Bruce and Selina that really stole the whole movie for me, it was really good! I only had one major problem with the movie that I don't think was how it ended in the book, my memory is fuzzy and I should go back and read it one day, but I can't divulge what really pissed me off cause it spoils the mystery. But we will move to the technicals now! Animation is really great, the colors are dark and murky, and I must praise the unabashed unapologetic potrayal of late 19th century culture. Like they got their research down man, life sucked back then and it sucked even harder for women. Voice acting across the board is great, specifically Bruce Greenwood but you know what's weird? Bruce is a better Batman than he is...well, Bruce. But all in all, it's a decent movie, I enjoyed it more than the fraking Killing Joke that's for damn sure. Doesn't deserve the R rating even in the slightest, perfect for a rental, and if you know anything about me we can't leave this alone now. I don't got any other movies for the week, so let's watch some more animated Batman movies! Tune in tomorrow, same time same channel!