arts | the m0vie blog

Realm of Kings (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on December 22, 2010 by Darren

This is the fifteenth in a series of comic book reviews that will look at the direction of Marvel’s shared universe (particularly their “Avengers” franchise) over the past five or so years, as they’ve been attempting to position the property at the heart of their fictional universe. With The Avengers planned for a cinematic release in 2012, I thought I’d bring myself up to speed by taking a look at Marvel’s tangled web of continuity.

Realm of Kings is a strange little chapter in the cosmic saga that Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning have been drafting. It seems to exist not really as a story in its own terms (although it does contain some interesting narratives) but rather as a bridge between War of Kings and The Thanos Imperative. It’s essentially the story of an attempt to find stability in a radically warped universe, one turned upside down by recent events. It feels somewhat smaller in scope than the other events that the pair have produced, not that there’s anything wrong with that. In fact, it’s nice to see a series exploring the consequences and aftermath of what has occurred, rather than simply pushing on right into the next big thing. While Realm of Kings does focus on “the Fault” opened at the climax of War of Kings that will become a galactic threat in The Thanos Imperative, the three miniseries are at their best when they explore the consequences of the political instability that the intergalactic war has produced.

That's gonna be Thor tomorrow...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: andy lanning, arts, cancerverse, captain america, comic books, Comics, cosmic marvel, crossover, dan abnett, ed brubaker, history, imperial guard, inhumans, kree, lovecraft, marvel comics, marvel universe, realm of kings, realm of kings: inhumans, realm of kings: son of hulk, retrospective, review, shi'ar, son of hulk, Thanos Imperative, the fault, war of kings, war of kings: imperial guard | Leave a comment »

Batman Beyond: Out of the Past (Review)

Posted on December 19, 2010 by Darren

This post is part of the DCAU fortnight, a series of articles looking at the Warner Brothers animations featuring DC’s iconic selection of characters. I’ll be looking at movies and episodes and even some of the related comic books. This is the last post of the week, and so I thought I should focus on where it all started, with the animated Bruce Wayne.

I don’t think Batman Beyond gets the credit that it so sorely deserves. It was really the first time that it was explicitly acknowledged that Bruce Wayne couldn’t be Batman forever – that, unlike so many other members of the DC pantheon, the character was a mere mortal who would pass away and that he couldn’t wear the cowl forever. The animated television show was the first to wonder what would happen to the concept of Batman, if Bruce couldn’t do it anymore. Would the hero die out and fade from memory? Or would he live on, somehow, enduring forever?

Batman always was a showman…

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: arts, batman, Batman Beyond, bruce wayne, dc animated universe, dc comics, dc universe, dcau, dcu, grant morrison, Grantmorrison, kevin conroy, out of the past, paul dini, Talia Al Ghul, Terry McGinnis | 4 Comments »

Batman Beyond: The Call (Parts I & II)

Posted on December 19, 2010 by Darren

This post is part of the DCAU fortnight, a series of articles looking at the Warner Brothers animations featuring DC’s iconic selection of characters. I’ll be looking at movies and episodes and even some of the related comic books. This review/retrospective was meant to go out over a week ago, when I looked at Justice League: New Frontier, but unfortunately my package was delayed in the mail. However, I thought it might be worth a look back at the first time we saw a Justice League in the DC animated universe.

It seems that Bruce Timm and his staff of writers had considerable advanced notice that they’d be working on a Justice League cartoon show. The last season of Superman: The Animated Series contained animated introductions of characters like the Green Lantern in In Brightest Day and the Flash in Speed Demons. However, the introduction of the Justice League as a concept, a team of superheroes working for the greater good, came in Batman Beyond of all places. Portraying the distant future of the animated universe after Batman retired, it proved an interesting way to look at the team without getting too involved in the personalities involved.

Batman goes Beyond the call of duty...

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: arts, bruce timm, Brucetimm, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, comic books, dc animated universe, dc comics, dcau, Greenlantern, Justiceleague, superman: the animated series, Television, Warner Brothers | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Batman – Gotham Knight

Posted on December 16, 2010 by Darren

This post is part of the DCAU fortnight, a series of articles looking at the Warner Brothers animations featuring DC’s iconic selection of characters. I’ll be looking at movies and episodes and even some of the related comic books. This is one of the animated feature films involving the characters from the creators of the original animated shows.

Batman: Gotham Knight was somewhat misleadingly advertised as a “missing link” between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Released in the run-up to Christopher Nolan’s superhero sequel, the film was clearly intended to call to mind the Animatrix, with a strong sense of anime flavouring the variety of shorts on display here. Each was produced by a different studio in a different style from a different author. The result is, as you’d expect, a mixed bag. Some stories are good, some stories are bad – there are interesting stories let down by poor animation and strong stories featuring weak animation. It’s a very mixed bag, which never really seems necessary or exceptional.

Yes, that is a batarang in his hand. And yes, he is happy to see you...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: animation, anime, anthology, arts, batman, batman begins, batman: gotham knight, cartoon, Christopher Nolan, Crispus Allen, film, gotham knight, gothic, kevin conroy, Lucius Fox, Movie, Movies, non-review review, review, Sal Maroni, The Dark Knight, tim burton | 3 Comments »

Final Crisis (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on December 15, 2010 by Darren

This post is part of the DCAU fortnight, a series of articles looking at the Warner Brothers animations featuring DC’s iconic selection of characters. I’ll be looking at movies and episodes and even some of the related comic books. Later on today, we’ll be reviewing Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, so I thought I might take a look at a comic book tale which was heavy on Superman, Darkseid and Batman…

This epic elegy for a doomed civilisation, declining from splendor to squalor. This Final Crisis. This last ditch attempt to save creation itself from a loathing and greed beyond measure.

– Grant Morrison outlines the whole point of the book, in case you weren’t paying attention… in a narration which deserves to be read in the most pompously ridiculous style possible

Look, I could hitch a ride back with you. I have a real talent for gritty drama no one’s ever thought to exploit.

– Merryman makes a pitch for “relevance” in the hopes of escaping comic book “limbo”

Destruction or creation. Everything or nothing. A universe full or a universe empty. Life or anti-life. Grant Morrison certainly lives up to his reputation as a frustrating and challenging author – is Final Crisis the statement of a genre looking to make peace with itself, or nonsensical Silver Age surrealism repackaged for a modern world? Is it pretentious or profound? Insightful or devoid of interest? Can’t it be both, or are these mutually exclusive states?

We all knew Obama was Superman…

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: analysis, anti-life, arts, barry allen, batman, batman r.i.p., black lightning, comic book, Comics, crisis, darkseid, dc comics, doug mahnke, final crisis, final crisis: submit, final crisis: superman beyond, fire, flash, fourth wall, grant morrison, graphic novels, green lantern, j.g. jones, jack kirby, jg jones, justice league, mandrakk, metafiction, monitors, Narrative, narratives, new gods, retrospective, silver age, stories, superman, superman beyond, the anti-life equation, vampire | 7 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Superman/Batman – Public Enemies

Posted on December 9, 2010 by Darren

This post is part of the DCAU fortnight, a series of articles looking at the Warner Brothers animations featuring DC’s iconic selection of characters. This is one of the “stand-alone” animated movies produced by the creative team that gave us the television shows.

Explain our guy love, that’s all it is.
Guy love; he’s mine, I’m his.
There’s nothing gay about it in our eyes.

You ask me ’bout this thing we share…
…and he tenderly replies:
It’s guy love…
…between two guys.

– Turk & JD explain “guy love”

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies is essentially a superhero bromance. It’s part buddy cop movie, part long-term married couple, but all action. It’s not really anything more, but would you want it to be?

He ain't heavy, he's my superpowered bro'...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: allison mack, arts, batman, batman superman, bruce timm, clancy brown, dc, dc animated universe, dc comics, dcau, jeph loeb, john c. mcginley, kevin conroy, levar burton, lex luthor, lois lane, power girl, public enemies, Solomon Grundy, superman, superman/batman, superman/batman: public enemies, tim daly, timmverse, xander berkley | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Green Lantern – First Flight

Posted on December 7, 2010 by Darren

In case you weren’t aware, director Martin Campbell (the man who saved the Bond franchise twice – with both GoldenEye and Casino Royale) will be bringing a big screen adaptation of DC comic’s Green Lantern our way next summer. I am really looking forward to it, which might seem odd – Green Lantern has never really had the popular exposure that Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman or even Flash has had. Of course, that might be down to the fact that nobody has produced a television show based entirely around the character – hell, even Aquaman had that aborted Ving Rhames pilot and that fictional movie. So, it’s understandable if Green Lantern isn’t exactly lighting up the radar in the same way that, say, Kenneth Branagh’s Thor is. That said, if you’re looking to get a taste for the character, you could do a lot worse than checking out Green Lantern: First Flight.

Shoulda put a ring on it, indeed...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, bruce timm, christopher meloni, comic book, Comics, dc, dc animated universe, dc universe, dcau, geoff johns, green, green lantern, Green Lantern: First Flight, hal jordan, martin campbell, Movie, oa, sinestro, victor garber, yellow | Leave a comment »

DCAU Fortnight Kicks Off!

Posted on December 4, 2010 by Darren

Right, I am taking a little break from work and blogging and everything for the next little while, just trying to clear my head a bit, so I won’t be around quite as much as I would like to be. However, I do have a treat for the nerdier children of the nineties out there – I’m going to take a retrospective look at the animated DC universe, the Warner Brothers cartoons produced during the nineties and into the last decade which gave us Batman: The Animated Series among many other things. Anyone who grew up during the decade can’t possibly have missed these wonderful little shows, which perhaps got me interested in comic books in the first place.

And he always times it juuust right to catch the bolt of lightning...

Note: Over the course of this two week event (and a schedule can be found below), I will occasionally return to cover something big or huge (like our scheduled Tron: Legacy review, for example). I also hope to have more time to get back into reading and engaging with other bloggers. It has been far too long.

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Filed under: Comics, Television | Tagged: animation, arts, batman, batman: the animated series, Comics, dc, dc animated universe, dc comics, dcau, dcau fortnight, dcu, justice league, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, Justiceleague, superman, superman: the animated series, Warner Brothers | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: El Mariachi

Posted on December 2, 2010 by Darren

El Mariachi is the first film from director Robert Rodriguez. Although his first major success, Desperado, borrows heavily from the Mexican Western, there’s a certain playful exuberance which underpins his debut. It’s a very rough film – one which doesn’t quite have the shine of a finished major motion picture release – but there’s enough charm and wit bubbling away to carry the film over the line. It’s quirky and perhaps a little cheeky, but it’s also surprisingly respectful of the genre and of the films around it. It almost lacks the ridiculously gratuitous nature of his later efforts, though perhaps here he was restrained by a tiny budget.

An unconventional choice of instrument...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, desperado, el mariachi, film, Mexico, Movie, Movies, non-review review, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, review, robert rodriguez | Leave a comment »

Meme of the Moment: Cinema Code of Conduct

Posted on December 1, 2010 by Darren

Note: You can find the full list of participating blogs here. Kudos to all involved, and especially to CinemaScream for putting it together.

I feel somewhat humbled to open this post with an admission of a breach of blogging etiquette. Those who frequent the site might have noticed that I have been somewhat absent from the blogging world in the past few months – my postings are sporadic, cobbled together from a car ride or bus ride on an iPhone screen. I won’t dare to make a series of excuses about how things have gone upside down of late, or make reference to increasing commitments. We all have those, and yet most manage it far better. Anyway, I owe a sincere apology to CinemaScream – I agreed to take part in this rather ingenious (and thoroughly practical) meme, but it completely slipped my mind. So this post is somewhat more haphazard than usual. But only somewhat.

Basically, the Cinema Code of Conduct (as proposed by Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo) is intended to make going to the cinema a far more pleasant experience for those involved. In this era of mobile phones and iPods and such, it’s a rather wonderful idea to attempt to codify the behaviour that should be considered acceptable in modern cinemas. I really wish that a few major chains would consciously publicise the list to promote it among movie-goers. The ten items, included below, are not excessively harsh or intrusive – they are in fact relatively minor things which, if everybody did them, would make going to the cinema a much more enjoyable experience.