The Bad Batch (Season 3)

Okay, I can roll with this.

Final season but likely not the end of the batch, how is it? Way way more story focused for all the people who harrumphed about the second season, centered squarely on two things: finding Mount Tantiss and rescuing Omega. Told over the course of 15 episodes I feel it did tell it's story super well, I still absolutely hold that standard that I did with Clone Wars in it's final season that you got one chance so you better make it as good as you can. Bad Batch season 3 does this far better. Obviously there is a lot I can't say but let's discuss some details. Animation style and quality is gorgeous, I'm not sure if it's gotten better since last time but ooh those backgrounds have never looked more picturesque and the detail on the character models and environments they interact with is clean! Like maaaaan these Star Wars kids got it so good today, I seriously can't even imagine how good life would be if the slate of new Star Wars stuff today came out when I was like 7 or 8. It would be like walking through the pearly gates of heaven itself, it almost brings a tear to my eye thinking about it. Characters are just as we like them, with Hunter and Wrecker giving Din Djarin a run for his money in the best dad in the galaxy category, they truly want to finally put the soldier mantle behind them and just be there for Omega. Hell you could easily argue more than ever this is Omega's season, she is the center in which the galaxy turns for this show and seeing them dig more into why the Empire hunts her and how she's kinda becoming the soldier her brothers have made is a good arc. Crosshair turns babyface and while not much is truly said you can read so much into his past decisions and how he's progressing now, it's proper good stuff truthfully. We get guest cast galore in these episodes, I almost want to say every major player we have seen in episodes past are here once again save for Cid but we make up for that with a new addition to The Bad Batch show of a force sensitive variety. It's pretty great if you ask me. The stakes do feel pretty definitive and high, each episode builds so well upon the last all the way to the finale. Now I do find it a shame we don't really get to peek into every nook and cranny of Mount Tantiss but it further sets the stage for Project Necromancer, as say it with me everybody, "All roads lead to Exegol". This is the way. I very much liked this season, it has plenty for Star Wars fans novice and experienced to enjoy, it caps off the series in a super nice way, and now that I've finally seen it all for myself I can't wait to hear what others have to say. But I don't think it's the last we'll see of Clone Force 99, and there are pockets of info that need to be filled from the flowing mind of Dave and Lucasfilm. This song is ending but the story never ends. 3.5 stars, 8/10, we'll take a quick break but get right back on that hyperspace lane so I'll see you soon.

BONUS: Straight Outta Nowhere

Ridiculous title but a solid movie.

Why the hell am I not told about stuff like this? You do not f*** with me when it comes to either Scooby-Doo or Courage The Cowardly Dog, you just don't and yet this crossover that I have been waiting for 84 years to happen, has gotten here and I just now know about it. There isn't a doubt in my skull that I would have adored this when I was younger, cause you know cartoon crossovers really weren't a thing at that time. I lost it when Mystery Inc. met Johnny Bravo, I just never had the concept of such a thing, and to see all the cartoon characters that I have watched my whole life have these little bumpers where they all live in a city and interact with each other was the coolest damn thing once upon a time. So what did I honestly think of this movie? Well I will get the very few negatives out of the way. First off, the fact that John R. Dilworth had nothing to do with his creations on the Courage side is inexcusable in my eyes, he had a lot of input on that show and I feel we needed his touch of horror here. Again I'm not that gaga about the title and the fact that Eustace Bagge has a rap number in this makes me break inside. Other than that, I'm fine with everything. Despite the more modern animation style they faithfully get the look of the characters and settings of Nowhere, and throw every easter egg they could think of from the show's history which is great. It is not some cash in bullshit like Return To Zombie Island you worthless, waste of what little time I have left on this earth, piece of ****, they do it with love and appreciation. They get Marty Grabstein and Thea White back to do their characters, and to know this was Thea White's last film coming back to voice such a beloved character that is the scottish angel Muriel is both so lovely and yet so heartbreaking. I'll miss her everyday and I think she has just as much magic and love in this movie as she did 30 odd years ago. Now on the Scoobert side of things, we still have our main cast who all do great work and my appreciation for Kate Micucci grows daily, it's so interesting to see them be in another show and it works just as well. I think anybody can watch it and follow it but it was made for the fans of both shows. It's a bottle movie, you crack it open, you enjoy it, you pop the lid back on and are happy you had it. It's nothing grand or special, but it has some good humor with even callbacks to Abbot and Costello and Mel Brooks, it's a decent story, you can tell they had some fun making this, and I think you'll enjoy it. I personally give it 3 stars, 7.5/10, and it made me want to dig my Courage DVD's out and watch the whole show. And that sprung an idea, an impossible idea, an idea that would take so much time and the hills would run red with the blood of movies and other shows. Sacrifices abound to achieve an impossible dream. I don't know if I can do it, cause I would review as many Cartoon Network shows, in full, one a month every month. Like wow, I'd love to do it but geez. We'll see. In the meantime get ready for a whole series, spread out starting tomorrow and ending well into December. I think we might be done with Christmas from henceforth.

Scooby-Doo And The Cyber Chase

The ending of a second golden age, but certainly not the end.

I gotta say The Cyber Chase was a fun ride, it's definitely one of the more nostalgic Scooby movies but the quality is still high and it's an interesting new concept for a mystery. I will fully admit though the movie nearly rips off Tron, you see the gang are visiting a computer programmer friend at a university and soon are told of a Phantom Virus which emerged from cyber space and wreaked a bit of havoc, and soon after that they get zapped into the computer. Now they're forced to play the games and finish it if they want to make it back to the real world and promptly delete the Phantom Virus. Seriously this is Tron meets Scooby-Doo, just this time Sark/Clu enters the real world, and true there's no Lightcycles or Recognizers but come on now. But they utilize the concept, with each level of the game having a centerpiece whether it be on the moon, in prehistoric times, a fairy tale landscape, or just a retro city malt shop and all, it's interesting but kind of a shame we couldn't spend time on each level we only really get to see 4 out of 10 with the rest being in a montage but you know what, for a movie that's about an hour and fifteen minutes long I'll cut it some slack. What really bugs the living hellfire out of me in this one is the lazer that zaps the gang into cyberspace, mainly because not only did two university students create it but they are entering it for an invention exchange with the grand prize winning $250,000. Excuse me, whaaaaat?? You...made, created, engineered a device that can digitize literally anything and place it in a computer world which you can program at will and you are content with an award and a small cash reward? I would patent that and make it a trillion dollar business! I mean what in the rings of Saturn are you thinking? I know I know, it's a kid's movie that doesn't bring much real world logic into it. Duh. But I almost say the ending makes up for that major lapse in mental faculties, where the gang meets Mystery Inc. literally they meet themselves dressed as their original character designs which is pretty rad already but then they throw in a handful of classic monsters from various series in the last level. So for a hardcore fan it's a nice surprise and gives you some nostalgic memories, and it's interesting to see these new millenium designs side by side with the 1969 designs with most being very different save for Velma, which is almost identical except for a slightly shorter skirt (No complaints there, you do you honey.) but it's just a neat concept that works. You could very easily make this a bit more dark and grim for the video game characters cause even they flat out say they haven't beaten the game because if they did they'd just start right back at level one, I mean I understand they couldn't do that because of the audience age group but Christ could you imagine? The mystery aspect is significantly better since last time, okay it's not flippin' Agatha Christie but at least they tried and dropped hints throughout going from subtle to, okay we get it shut up. The animation is refined, with a lot more clean lines and vibrant colors than emphasis on shading and scratchy designs, obviously both have their place but for this high tech sci-fi edge, it works better. If memory serves this was the first time Grey Griffin voices Daphne and while my heart will forever mourn Mary Kay Bergman she does great work and has been doing it for almost 20 years so you go girl! All in all, it's a fun movie and does rank in the higher ups with the likes of Zombie Island and Witch's Ghost but like man, we've barely scratched the surface of all the Scooby-Doo movies. 3 stars, 7/10! After this it took about 2 years before another animated Scooby-Doo movie hit video and it has been significant time since I last saw it so I shall be interested to see how Legend Of The Vampire holds up so join me next time!

Scooby-Doo Return To Zombie Island

What....was that?

I mean wow, that was a special kind of bad. I've never seen a truly bad animated Scooby-Doo movie until now. I mean you had the potential to make a funny, creepy, and welcome return to one of the most beloved and influential Scooby-Doo movies ever, and this is what you do with it?? A subpar, tongue in cheek, and completely unoriginal movie? I mean, God guys! There was still stuff I enjoyed but it doesn't amount to a hill of beans in this whacked out movie. The voice cast is just as good as always with the first instance of Kate Micucci voicing Velma for me and I really liked her! The animation is still done very well, in fact every aspect except for story was done well and competently. I'll admit I wasn't getting good vibes from this movie from the start, okay so the gang has shut down Mystery Inc. for what the sixth time, and they're not sure what to do now. Okay strike one immediately, because the gang in this say they never do anything normal and it's always solving mysteries to the point they never talk or know each other all too well, but that's just not true. Sure character interaction hasn't been a major part of the series, but they know who everyone is because their personalities as individuals is clearly spoken through their actions and words, and them not knowing how to do normal stuff is the one that kills me. Because I know for a fact that they never really have searched for mysteries often, very rarely have they went case hunting because the mystery always finds them and they always do normal things before getting whisked away into a new mystery. What do they do you might ask? Well they go to the beach, they go to a dance at a barn, they go to the malt shop and spend time together, and for some new instances, they go to music festivals, they they take cruises, they go to fraking Hawaii! What is this, "We do not know this normal you speak of, we only know the mysterious mysteries to solve" bullcrap?? Strike two hits pretty close after that when the bombshell drops that Fred actually sold the Mystery Machine. For what reason you might ask? Never explained! I thought he still had friggin' PTSD from seeing it blow up in Frankencreepy but I guess in a previous adventure he sold the damn thing so goodbye beloved and classic vehicle! And strike three, you dragged poor Cassandra Peterson to do her Elvira thing cause apparently Vincent Van Ghoul was unavailable, and she has nothing to do. I mean it's kinda hard to bring the appeal and funny personality of Elvira in a kid's movie, when well Elvira isn't exactly family friendly, she can't exactly make dick jokes and have that sultry yet valley girl persona. Now I love Cassandra, she is a funny, talented, and genuinely entertaining lady and when I heard she was going to be in this I was really excited even if it was just a bit part and she's wasted! Christ on the bleedin' cross it's been awhile since I have been this angry. And this all happens in the first...10, maybe 15 minutes of this hour and twenty minute film. Oh it keeps getting dumber! Now I will admit I like that Shag and Scoob made the gang solemnly promise to not solve mysteries at all and go on a vacation, which does lead to some funny stuff with Velma practically having a breakdown since she can't use her intelligence to solve things, but it just further made me feel detached from the story cause the gang doesn't act like their usual selves. But not in a clever way where we learn about their passions and lives much like in the outstanding Mystery Incorporated show, they just don't have anything to do or say and are beyond dull until about the halfway point. Oh my God and the mystery itself, ooh boy here we go. Okay so Mystery Inc. head to totally not Moonscar Island and already suspicious events are taking place, natives telling them to get away, side characters that look almost exactly like the villains from the first movie, and zombies are up and about. Man you're going to think I am bullshitting you straight to your face but here it comes, so the twist is.....it's all a movie. The hotel manager is actually a director putting together a film. Does this lead to any cute or funny fourth wall breaks or have a meta sense of humor? Of course not, what were you expecting?!! Oh and the director's name is Alan Smithee. Ha....Ha. The movie still goes on by the way after this, they solve the "mystery" and the movie still has like half an hour left. Now throughout the vacation we actually see a legit cat person stalking our heroes and this made me think oh well they'll actually for really realsies this time actually touch base on the original film and build on the lore previously established. You poor bastard, you had hope for this movie back then. Yeah, they don't do anything with it. They don't explain who it is, how he came to be a cat person like Lena and Simone in the first movie, they pull the trope! They pull the motherf***ing s*** sucking trope of "Oooohhhh he's still out there, another mystery to never solve guys, oooohhhh!!", agggghhhh!!!

Ohh what I'm going to do to the person who wrote this movie.....I'm so angry!! First I'm going to rip their lips out, yeah, that's what I'm gonna do. Then, I'm gonna gouge their eyes out! Yeah....that's what I'm gonna do. And then I'm gonna tear their arms outta the socket! And you wanna know what else? I'm gonna hit em' and they're gonna faaaaallll. And I'm going to look down and I'm gonna laugh...

Whoa. That got heavy.

They didn't even bring back Terror Time Again, you know the one thing everyone remembers from the first movie. They slapped Return To Zombie Island on another Scooby movie, this is not the sequel to Zombie Island. No, no, no, this is another movie that was about halfway made and then the producer kicks the door down and goes, "Alright people change of plans we're making a Zombie Island sequel! Oh you already made half of an original movie already? Well we can squeeze the script in, anyway have fun writing the rest of the movie!", and you know why? So that they could get old school fans like me to watch their horrible movie, to have fans of this franchise who grew up with movies like Zombie Island, and Witch's Ghost to slap down money for their poorly written, Highlander 2 style sequel. But I have fantastic news everybody, the movie doesn't start selling until October 1st at all stores, so spread the word. This movie won't make a dime if it's the last thing I do. You do not screw with my Scooby-Doo movies. You do not slap on a title that has next to nothing to do with the movie you are making, and thusly spit in the face of every fan of the original movie by bait and switching them just so that this horrible excuse for entertainment can make more money. Go to hell.

The Clone Wars: Season 3

*WARNING what follows is the geekiest review you have ever read. You will witness the true scope of my lifelong love for Star Wars. Be advised!*

Another fine addition to this collection, and the best season yet all around. We begin very much how we ended last with further situations arrising on Mandalore before we are whisked away to bounty hunting with Cad Bane, an invasion of the clone world of Kamino, more backstory into Asajj Ventress and the introduction of an old Sith's brother, the introduction of Captain Tarkin, and quite possibly the best story arc in the entire series. So yeah, lots to talk about! Mandalore is an interesting planet and the stage for even more future events, and always seeing Satine is a pleasure. She's such a well rounded character, and we see a friendship begin with Padme which is a lot of fun and starts the season off well. Then we jump straight into Cad Bane further proving why he is the best at what he does as he accepts a job from the Hutt's to hunt down a member of their family, and yeah it hardly feels like Star Wars and more an episode of In The Heat Of The Night but hey, any episode with Cad Bane brings the entertainment factor to the max for me! Then we move along to a massive invasion of battle droids at the very heart of the Republic's army and you know what, this episode bugs the shit out of me! Why? One simple answer, it isn't long enough. You'd think with such a pivotal battle with a lot on the line, they would take multiple episodes to show off this siege but it's wrapped up in one episode. Granted, they utilize every single last second and make it absolutely amazing but it just made me really want to see more. We get some decent episodes of Ahsoka, who's developed a lot more in terms of power and character and is forced to acknowledge the fact that war is far from simple, and it's great to see her grow up a bit and to become her own Jedi, though of course still taking after Anakin. And we'll get back to him in a moment. Then we get some much needed Ventress screen time, her episodes are excellent, not only showing off a new world and culture of literal witches, magic and all no powers drawn from the Force, that delve into her history and how she came to be the way she is. That was incredibly interesting, and leads to the best lightsaber duel yet with Count Dooku that wows me everytime I see it. Even if you don't watch the show, watch the duel. It really does show off how much better the combat, animations, and graphics have gotten, and they only get better from here which says a lot! And last but certainly not least we have the Mortis story arc. Oh my gawd! This does everything right. We get new character insights, a return to the mystical Force and not just scientific betrayals, literal personifications of Light Side, Dark Side, and Grey Side of the Force with so much allegory and parallels to the Star Wars...everything that it would take me weeks to fully talk about it. I really don't think future episodes surpass this, until perhaps the end of the 6th season and even then I'd have to think about it. I mean wow, they really did some inventive, great, and entertaining things with this season. But you can't have your resounding successes without your crippling failures which aren't that many, hardly at all but it has it's fair share of skippable episodes. About 5 in my count, most of them don't matter in the grand scheme of things whether in plot or character, including a murder mystery so uninteresting I planned better ways to eliminate my enemies, Ahsoka dealing with a bunch of f***ing kids who go full Scooby-Doo mystery solving that made me do other things besides watch it, and this weird like, Star Wars meets The Most Dangerous Game where Ahsoka and a bunch of other kids get hunted down by Trandoshans and Chewbacca is there and I really, really could not care less. Also what the hell is with the voice acting this season? Nothing horribly wrong with our leads but I caught at least 3 major WTF accents, one of the Hutts Ziro and his girlfriend sound like there from the bayou boy, it's like whaaaat?? And this guy, this like warden of this super duper impossible to escape super prison tower....I have no idea what he sounds like. Other than an asshole. The best I came up with is if you took Willem DaFoe and Christopher Walken with a splash of Jersey dickhead, I have no idea what this guy is on. Well, at least they got a good actor for Tarkin. So yeah, it has problems but few and far between with such excellent stories. And Season 4 is right around the corner.

Batman Ninja

Why not call it Ninja Batman? I don't know.

Boy was this a trip. Where to begin with this movie? Well I was hoping to see it in theaters, it came out just 3 days shy of my birthday but thankfully it hit video not all that long after. I didn't hear much about the movie beyond a trailer and it looked interesting. It has a cool and fascinating premise, it's almost Elseworlds material! What if Batman, the Bat Family, and a collection of his rogues gallery instead of 21st century Gotham, were in 14th century Japan? The result is...bat shit insane (no pun intended). I mean Jesus fish, what did I just watch? Only in Japan folks. Okay, gotta back up. So Bruce and company are trying to take down Gorilla Grodd who has collected Joker, Harley, Two-Face, Penguin, Ivy, and Deathstroke when suddenly all the characters get time warped (or should I say TARDIS-d?) away to feudal Japan where the rogues have become warlords, while Batman has arrived two years later thus forcing him to gather his forces and take out the tyrants. Told you it was insane. Now things must be said, I love the designs. They fit the era and look incredible. The voice cast, both in Japanese and English are really damn good. My hat especially goes off to Wataru Takagi in the Japanese version, he is having the time of his life playing Joker and it is awesome! The english cast is standard but great, we got Roger Craig Smith back to do Batman after Arkham Origins, Grey Griffin as Selina, Tara Strong as Harley, and Fred Tatasciore as both Grodd and Deathstroke. All excellent as always and a joy to see again. I highly suggest you see both the Japanese and American version, because both are good but neither are better. I get the immense feeling though you are not meant to bring logic with you into this movie. There are multiple points where you ask basic questions and no good answers are given. How do they have 21st century tech to create war mech/Gundam/Voltron castles? No I'm not making that up. This movie is hopped up on something and my God is it glorious. Logical? No. Awesome? Actually, yeah! So don't expect say, Mask Of The Phantasm or Under The Red Hood levels of plot and character. Just say the title, that's all you need. It's meant for spectacle, and the animation is amazing yet something I have never seen. The backgrounds are 2D with a very older look to them, think Samurai Champloo yet less defined and done more in a Japanese woodblock painting. You can even see the imprint of the texture of the paper in the sky! But here is the odd part, the character models are 3D, yet are drawn in a 2D fashion. You follow me? They are 3D models walking along a 2D background, yet made to appear 2D, with stencil marks and shading you do with hand drawn animation. And the whole friggin' movie is just as weird as that. Granted it's a fun movie, that is great for a popcorn night with friends, but the meat is not in the story or characters but the atmosphere, animation style, and spectacle of the action. And you know what the bad part is? I don't think I have ever seen a samurai movie. I mean, ever. Closest thing was this, and I've seen Samurai Champloo 2 or 3 times, and of course Samurai Jack. But no Kurosawa and you know, it's hard to call yourself a film critic when you have not experienced one of the most well known and influential director's work in history. So no doubt we will do a Kurosawa week, hell it may even be longer than a week. But next week we say sayonara to Japan, and hello to Vegas.