Recent posts

#1

Current Runs / Re: Batman Resurrections (Batm...

Last post by Slash Man - Today at 03:50

If Miller wanted another villain to appear Clayface does make sense with the cosmetic products poisoning carrying over from the first movie.

Agreed. Clayface is just below the A-list villains, but still has enough of a history to be recognized as a classic villain. I'm not one for making comic book characters so grounded that they lose all style, and I think Clayface struck a good balance when it comes to resembling the character, but only gradually leaning into the more fantastic elements. I'd love to have seen him brought to life through practical effects in the early 90s and not a giant shapeshifting CGI monster as would likely be the case in more modern times.

I do like how it reiterates how important the first film is and doesn't try to minimize it. We see the whole scope and the fallout of the Joker's chemical attack on the city, which isn't something that would go away overnight. The pattern with sequels is to take the lazier route by making the threats larger and the stakes higher (i.e. another, larger Death Star-like superweapon in Star Wars films). Even though the Joker is dead and can't go on to be Batman's constant rival, it's well established that he left a legacy and continues to haunt Batman.

Batman is too chatty even during the first encounter with Knox I've just read. But I feel this book is shaping up to be better than the comics.

This was tough to portray in a lot of the older comics, and likely tougher to portray in a novel. I believe Keaton fought Daniel Waters when it came to the Batman Returns script, arguing it was too wordy. He successfully trimmed down the dialogue. Keaton does one of the best Bat-voices, but I also can't imagine him doing it very long when reading some of the dialogue.

But I agree, this had much more of the feel of films than the comic.

#2

Animated Batman / Re: Batman Beyond

Last post by Travesty - Yesterday at 19:29

Yeah, I watched this last weekend. I liked it a lot.

#3

Current Runs / Re: Batman Resurrections (Batm...

Last post by The Dark Knight - Yesterday at 11:15

I'm finally reading this, and while it's early days, for what Miller went for I think it's a decent read so far. The general flavor of B89 is there regardless of how you feel about certain decisions, eg. Lawrence surviving. If Miller wanted another villain to appear Clayface does make sense with the cosmetic products poisoning carrying over from the first movie. I liked the appearance of BR's remote control batarang. Batman is too chatty even during the first encounter with Knox I've just read. But I feel this book is shaping up to be better than the comics.

#4

Animated Batman / Re: Batman Beyond

Last post by Silver Nemesis - Tue, 19 Nov 2024, 23:15

This is one of the best Batman fan films I've ever seen.

#5

Movies / Re: The Star Trek Thread

Last post by Silver Nemesis - Mon, 18 Nov 2024, 23:20

Shatner returns, along with some other familiar faces.

#6

Movies / Re: Cobra Kai

Last post by Silver Nemesis - Mon, 18 Nov 2024, 19:17

I finished watching the latest batch of episodes last night. I like this show a lot, but I think it should've ended with season 5. They're spreading the material extremely thin at this point, which leads to a lot of repetition. Characters go through the same formulaic cycles of bickering (this is particularly tiresome when it comes to Daniel and Johnny), the youngsters keep running into their rivals when out socialising and then getting into predictable confrontations, the same thematic conflicts about aggression versus balance keep cropping up, and we're fed familiar scenes of characters changing sides, falling out, cheating on each other, forgiving each other, etcetera.

I was bemused by Demetri getting selected for the Sekai Taikai during the previous batch of episodes, and after seeing his performance in the tournament I stand by my initial judgement that he has no business being there. I'm also not mad about the dark revelations concerning Mr Miyagi's past. On the surface it appears they've included that storyline to create internal conflict in Daniel, but I suspect the real reason is to set up a prequel series or movie about Miyagi in which they'll deconstruct the wise old mentor and portray his younger self in a less than favourable light.

Remember the school fight at the end of season 2, where the show effectively switched genre from sports comedy/drama to a full-on action series? Well something equally over-the-top happens in the tenth episode of season 6, only it's far more abrupt and ridiculous. I suppose they wanted to end these episodes on an explosive note that would build tension for the finale, but to me it felt like a contrived detour to prevent the show arriving at its natural conclusion five episodes early.

Despite these criticisms, I still really enjoyed the latest episodes. While the writing's not as sharp as in the early seasons, and the comedy has lost its edge and become a little too predictable, I still enjoy the melodrama and action. The cast remains excellent and the fight choreography is fun to watch. I like the characters, including the villains, and I had fun spending time with them again. I'll feel sad when this show ends, and I've enjoyed every season of it, but I do think it's reached the point where they need to conclude the story.

One final thing to mention is that it was great to see (SPOILER) Thomas Ian Griffith return as Silver. He's one of the best characters in the franchise and always gives a terrific performance. (end SPOILER) I just wish they hadn't spoilt the surprise of his return by including his name in the opening credits.

#7

Batman (1989) / Re: Batman: Reanimated

Last post by Travesty - Sun, 17 Nov 2024, 07:57

Ok, this I liked a lot.

A Lot, a lot!

Damn, that was good. 

#8

Current Runs / Re: Batman Resurrections (Batm...

Last post by Slash Man - Sun, 17 Nov 2024, 04:58

The goons hierarchy is shown by the number of Joker cards on their jacket's right shoulder. Bob had five of them. I'll have to go look how many Lawrence had.

Edit: Lawrence looks like he had only two.

That's an interesting observation that I never picked up on before. I went back to check and see how the hierarchy was set up in the film, but it looks like only Bob got a special jacket with five cards, everyone else hard one card.

#9

Comic Film & TV / Re: X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019)

Last post by The Joker - Thu, 14 Nov 2024, 07:22

Write up on Hugh Jackman stepping in to replace Dougray Scott as Wolverine.

#10

Other comics / Re: Superman 80th Anniversary ...

Last post by The Joker - Thu, 14 Nov 2024, 07:20

Another Year 2000 piece.