Spoiler review of Justice League

By Jim Scroggs

JHScroggs on Twitter and Instagram

November 20, 2017

Edited by Katie Westbrooks

The DC Films franchise hasn’t had the best reputation overall, especially with what happened last year with BVS and Suicide Squad. Soon after those films release, there was a tonal shift within DC/WB to get the films on the right track. Wonder Woman surely started that upward momentum amongst the audience and now that the long-awaited Justice League is here, let’s see what happens when the league is finally united.

What I liked

Considering we’ve only seen half of the league’s backstory, they did a good job of diving into (pun intended) Aquaman’s, Cyborg’s and Flash’s origin right off the bat considering this is a 2-hour long movie. There is a great exchange between Victor and Silas that shows the tension in how Victor was really created and it shows how talented they both are as actors. When Diana asked Victor to talk and get to know more about him, he wasn’t up for it at all. Eventually, he did come around when Silas was kidnapped by some Parademons trying to get to a Mother Box.

It was a nice touch to see two characters instead of just the one to be reluctant to join the team. That other character, is Arthur Curry. He’s a loner and doesn’t really know his place in this world. He is even confronted by Mera about this in Atlantis when Steppenwolf gets one of the three Mother Box's in Atlantis. He had a great moment in the Batcave. He started to somewhat wax poetic on some things but come to find out, he was actually sitting on the lasso of truth. So, I’m glad to see that Momoa can play with a sense of humor.

Flash really stole the show for me. Ezra Miller as Barry Allen was a fanboy who really didn’t know how he could use his powers. Once he figured it out, he was just fine in dealing with whatever was thrown at him. He had a great moment when he zipped around the Batcave exploring everything then ended up in the Batmobile – his eyes were so big and dart around with pure joy that he was there.

Wonder Woman was clearly the leader and I wouldn’t have put it any other way. Bruce and Diana had a little disagreement and Bruce decided to use Steve Trevor to put it back in Diana’s face. She immediately responded by shoving him about 3 feet. Diana is clearly the star of this ensemble and that’s saying a lot when you look at the whole roster. 

Batman was a lighter, more hopeful dark knight in this go around but Affleck still portrayed him like the Bruce Wayne we know and love. He took a backseat to Wonder Woman and even Superman at one point – I’m glad that he seems to be playing well with others as Commissioner Gordon would say. He really seemed to finally be open to being a part of a team. In a montage of all our hero's at the end, he joins Diana and Alfred in Wayne Manor and they discuss a large table with 6 chairs. Diana adds that there could be room for more so I really hope they pay off Green Lantern or even a Martian Manhunter joining the team. 

Superman’s return was a tad surprising – I’ll get into that later. When he was brought back to life, they used a Mother Box and a spark from Flash to kick start his heart, in a way. I was worried that he would come back angry, much like the tone of BVS or MOS, but he was confused about being alive – I would compare it to someone waking you when you are asleep. Nobody is happy if someone wakes them up so that’s the closest thing I can describe it as. The rest of the team tried to contain Superman and even Aquaman pointed out early that he wasn’t OK. Flash tried to get behind him but Superman noticed and started to turn his head as fast as Flash was running. Miller’s reaction was so perfect in that situation which made me like him that much more.

The amount of comical moments was less than I was anticipating. Including Superman carrying an entire building as a response to Flash helping a family in a truck, Cyborg and Flash had a funny moment with a fist bump that paid off later in the movie, and when Superman saw Batman for the first time. Superman referenced “Do you bleed,” and knocked Batman to the ground followed by Batman on the ground in pain saying “Yeah, something is definitely bleeding.”

The mid and end credit scenes were really good. The mid credit was pure fan service with Flash and Superman in a rural area talking about who’s faster. Some light chit chat follows then Barry lights a firecracker with his fingers and they start running. This is a nod to Superman 199 with the cover of Flash and Superman racing with the other members of the team cheering them on. I’m glad that a little piece of comics history was thrown in there. The post credit scene was something I wasn’t expecting, I’d heard that the Lex Luthor scenes were going to be left out so I didn’t think anything about him being in it. However, we finally got to see inside Arkham Asylum and someone with a bald head in a cell. Turns out, it wasn’t Lex  – he’s on a yacht somewhere waiting on someone. There’s a silhouette of someone with handles with tassels and I knew immediately that was Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke. He boards the yacht, instantly tells Lex that he better not be wasting his time and removes the mask to reveal a white haired Joe Manganiello. He looks perfect as Slade so I really hope this leads into The Batman (rumored title, of course). Lex monologues about God’s return and suggests that they should start a league of their own. I was a little disappointed that we didn’t get the Legion of Doom as the villain but this is something that DC/WB can hang over Marvel Studios –  film with a team of heroes versus a team of villains. I really hope that we get the Legion of Doom or maybe The Injustice League.

I was OK with it

I would put these next points in an in between category. I don’t hate how Superman came back to the team but I wish there had been a little more fanfare to it. When Steppenwolf seems to have the team on the ropes, all we hear is Superman’s voice to get his attention. Maybe if he used a heat vision quick strike to stop Steppenwolf from attacking, see him levitate down and then start his lines, it might have been more effective.

The editing seemed tight but not as tight and somewhat disjointed as Suicide Squad. There really wasn’t much time to let things breathe and when it did, it was a bit of a surprise since it wasn’t a regular thing in this movie.

In the battle sequence between Steppenwolf and the combined forces of Amazon's, Atlanteans, and other forces in the universe (one of those other forces were the Lanterns), I’m glad that I got to see that part of the DC lore into this film but I wanted to see more. Maybe they aren't ready to tell that tale of John Stewart and Hal Jordan but I really hope we hear “In brightest day, In blackest night,” real soon.

Not so much

Many jokes were made about how Henry Cavill’s re shoot's taking place with a mustache since he was also shooting the latest Mission:Impossible film but I thought that since there were very talented VFX artists in Hollywood, this could be pulled off. (I actually saw a screenshot on Twitter of his face 5 minutes before the trailers started so I kind of blame myself for that) Sadly, it wasn’t pulled off very well. The very first scene are kids shooting cellphone video of Superman helping at an accident scene and it’s clear that was a re shoot. I’ve never seen the uncanny valley on half a human's face but I can now cross that off the list. I’ll make the same criticism with this film as I did with Thor:Ragnarok – the CGI backgrounds weren’t the best all the time but that’s forgivable in my opinion with how heavy CG’d this movie is at times. Maybe the effects artists ran out of time or maybe the budget didn’t allow them to go further. Who knows? But I hope this doesn’t become a trend or consistent in the future, regardless of movie. Little side note: In order to bring Clark back from the dead, they took him to the same place that Doomsday was born and you can tell it’s a “dummy” of Cavill. I wish they had actually used him for that scene.

This has nothing to do with the movie in itself but rather the marketing for the film. I really, and I do mean really, wish that Warner Brothers or whoever is cutting the trailers for this universe will stop putting out 3 or 4 fairly long trailers. Almost every part that I laughed at or enjoyed seeing in the movie, I saw it in a trailer that was a large portion of an entire scene. For instance, 70-80 percent of the scene or sequence with Bruce and Barry when they meet was in one of the trailers. That shouldn’t happen at all when you are trying to promote a film and I don’t want to see fairly large sequences in trailers.

Final Verdict

            I’m glad we got the tonal change with this movie instead of continuing with the tone that Man of Steel, BVS and Suicide Squad set. This movie isn’t perfect by any means but I think this is a good start to what could come from here on out (with or without Ben Affleck). It’s fun, it’s got heart, and shows the value of teamwork. I know that sounds like the synopsis of a Justice League cartoon but in a way, it felt like an episode of Justice League Unlimited put on the big screen. I know the reviews and box office dollars aren’t saying much but I really think this movie should be given a chance and the same goes with the future of the DC Films universe. I would put it at number two in the DC Films slate above Man of Steel and below Wonder Woman.

Justice League is in theaters now

Geektified's review of the Justice League Comic-Con trailer

     

By Jim Scroggs
JHScroggs on Twitter and Instagram
July 24th, 2017
Edited by Katie Westbrooks

    

        Wonder Woman was a global success for WB and DC Films, which was what we as fans all wanted so the momentum for this film is swinging in the right direction. The cast of Justice League, minus Henry Cavil, gathered in San Diego to celebrate the release of the newest and I pray, final trailer of Justice League.  So, what our favorite DC heroes are up to?

      The trailer starts with faceless thugs breaking into a public place with children. The children appear to be on a school trip so maybe it could be the museum that Diana works at. Wonder Woman comes dodging bullets, taking a gun to the back of the head  - which obviously does nothing - and it ends with her sweeping the legs out from under these guys. The next shot is a coworker asking Diana what she did over the weekend -  of course, she downplays her activities.

     The next series of shots has a voice over of a news broadcast detailing how the world is still mourning Superman from London to Metropolis – so, it's clear he is missed. Jim Gordon is seen turning on the Bat signal as well as another voice over asking where the Gotham bat is – as Batman looks over the city of Metropolis, I believe. Diana and Bruce are talking with Diana saying "You said the age of heroes would never come again" with Bruce responding "It has to."

     A shot of Themescyrara comes up with someone saying "something is coming." A beam of light comes from the sky into a chamber of some sort on the island and Hippolyta looks really concerned. I'm not quite sure if that's a flashback or in what context she shows up but It's always great to see her, especially after the performance Connie Neilsen gave in Wonder Woman.  What comes from the sky is our first look at Steppenwolf. I believe it's the voice of Steppenwolf and it sounds like he says "No protectors here". Theres a shot of Aquaman swimming up to a throne or something like that then it gets a little interesting.

     Individual shots of the Justice League members follow with possibly the voice of Steppenwolf saying "No Lanterns," "No Kryptonian," and "This world will fall like all the others." But the coolest shot of the members of the Justice League is Barry Allen vibrating his finger to break through the glass by stretching it.

     Alfred and Bruce are seen talking with Alfred saying, "One misses the day when one's biggest concern was wind up exploding penguins." Arthur Curry doesn't have much confidence in this whole thing saying, "We're all going to die," as the Batmobile flies out of the flying fox ready for battle. Bruce has a speech ready to go asking everyone to not hold back as Diana says, "Don't engage alone. We do this together.”

    Barry seems a little out of place with doing battle since he says he "just pushes someone and runs away." The Nightcrawler seems to have hit a snag somewhere and Cyborg uses his technological abilities to take over the situation telling Alfred, "I've got it from here." Alfred has a nice line of confusion asking "Do I know you?"

    Some battle shots that are just extended from what we've already seen but the coolest of them is Aquaman riding a dead parademon like a surf board in the sky. The trailer somewhat concludes with Jim Gordon on the roof with Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash and Cyborg asking how many are there. Batman responds with not enough and everyone disappears except for Flash. He realizes it and calls it rude how they just vanished, then he does it himself. The trailer closes with Alfred working on something but the ripples of a water glass tip him off that something is close by. He looks up, recognizes someone and says "He said you'd come. Let's hope it's not too late."

    The biggest mystery of the trailer is the last scene – and I think it's either Superman or a Lantern. I know the obvious choice is Superman, so if WB is trying to pull the wool over our eyes, maybe Bruce has been doing research on the Lantern lore. Who knows, but over all this movie looks fun and a nice direction that everyone has wanted from WB and DC.

Justice League hits theaters November 17th

Justice League 2017 Comic-Con Trailer

Geektified's review of the Justice League trailer

By Jim Scroggs
March 25, 2017
JHScroggs on Twitter and Instagram

         I've certainly been critical of the WB/DC Films in how they've handled their marketing. They released one or two unnecessary trailers for their last films, Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad and I was praying that they would get the memo to stop this trend. I think they finally have done that with release of the first official trailer for Justice League. Yes, this is big first step because we got 4 trailers for BVS if you include Comic-Con. With less than 8 months out, this isn' a teaser or a sneak peak that somehow would be 90 seconds long but just a simple official trailer with a good amount of action and plenty of wow moments so lets jump right in, shall we?

         The trailer opens to a snowy, mountain environment, someone attaching a saddle to a horse and riding off. Cut to a flyover shot of icy ranges and voice over of Bruce saying "We need to be ready. You, me, the others. There's an attack coming from far away" We see Bruce at the top of a mountain looking down to a village, presumably where Aquaman/Arthur Curry is. The voice of Diana warns Bruce that the attack is already here.  Dr. Silas Stone is then shown in his home as a Motherbox starts to stir and when they cut back to him for a reaction, you can see a Parademon over his shoulder enter the frame. Diana wants to know where the others are and like classic Bruce fashion, he gives a little smirk.

         The first look at Arthur Curry/Aquaman is him saving a sailor, taking him to a bar and taking a little souvenir of scotch, whiskey or whatever he drinks. Diana introducesk us to Victor Stone describing him as having "Organic and Biomechitronic body parts. A Cyborg" He stops a car from hitting someone and tells him that he should probably move. The first quip of the trailer but I'll get more into that later. We've all seen the first meeting of Barry Allen and Bruce but this has a little more  like Barry running and him being in shock when he realizes that Bruce is Batman. Batman then swings into action against some parademons and quickly gets them out of the way. Diana is heard saying" They said the age of heroes would never come again" as we see quick shots of Flash, Cyborg Wonder Woman, Aquaman and that leads to shots showing off what they can do. Aquaman takes a leap and throws his triton into two parademons, Wonder Woman sweeps the legs of a some random guys, similar to what we've seen in the trailers for her solo film, Cyborg flys into the night sky and Flash is just too fast some someone and pushes something through a door and into a wall. I'm guessing after the Barry meets Bruce scene, both of them are in Bruce's car and Barry asks bruce what his super power is? Bruce's response is "I'm Rich".

         The sounds of Come Together by Gary Clark and Junkie XL is a solid theme for this trailer as Batman flies into a hole, gets into The Night Crawler to help Diana. There are quick shots of Victor Stone playing football, Diana using her gauntlets and shield, Barry using what looks to be the speed force, a shot of Lois Lane, Aquaman using his power of the ocean, a first look at Amber Heard as Mere,  Billy Crudup as Henry Allen in a jail phone call with Barry,  A giant battle scene with what looks to be Amazons, which would be amazing if Diana instills the help of her fellow warriors of Themyscira, the Batmobile trying to blow away more parademons, which Diana helps with and Diana landing between Aquaman and Cyborg ready to do battle with two words: Shall We? The trailer ends with Jim Gordon talking to Batman on a roof top about how it's good to see him working with others again while Wonder Woman looks on. That little line is a big one because that seems like is another reference to past Robin's so maybe this could lead to an appearance from Tim Drake. Aquaman joins in and simply says "Dressed like a Bat. I dig it" Bruce says this could only be temporary and the final shot is of Aquaman giving Batman a head nod and riding the Batmobile in order to take out some parademons. Yes, I will repeat that. Aquaman is riding on top of the Batmobile.

       I've never been one to say that "DC Films should be "serious and gritty" because at the core of most of those characters, they are bright and vibrant. I'm very, very ok with how this looks a tad dark but still has fun to it. Look at how bright the speed force is and even with Wonder Woman's costume, it's not a muted color palette. These characters have different personalities and humor to some extent so of course they will crack a joke or two and that's ok. Barry is a kid, Victor has a bit of a strained relationship with his father, Arthur and Diana are royalty and Bruce, as he put it, is "rich" with Ninja like abilities. That collection shouldn't work but it does. Aquaman stole the show and I really believe he could do the same in the film. I didn't want to see Superman at all and I'm glad that didn't happen. If they want to tease him in the next on, say with a shot of a black suit or long hair, I'm perfectly fine with that because we all know he's going to come back. Hell, Henry Cavil was on set so it's not a huge secret. I really want WB/DC to succeed, put out good films that we can all love and I really think that this is a step in the right direction.


Justice League will hit theaters on November 17, 2017


Justice League Trailer

Part 2 of Geektified's "What If?" series

By Jim Scroggs
JHScroggs on Twitter and Instagram





Have you ever wondered what a Batman rogue's gallery movie or a Superman movie starting Nic Cage would have looked like? These are the films that we've all wondered if they would have worked or very thankful that they didn't get out of developmental hell.

Joss Whedon's Wonder Woman


Between his time of working on Firefly and leading the charge for Marvel's The Avengers, Joss Whedon was making plans to bring Diana to the big screen. Warner Brothers tapped him to write the first movie adaptation of the princess in 2007 but it was a short lived process after the studio kicked him off the project. Some of the drawings that were leaked of the costume showed a fashionable but warrior ready Diana, almost similar to how Whedon's previous works looked like on Buffy, Firefly and Dollhouse. Nobody was cast in the title roll but I still think this could have been a solid attempt to get a strong character on the silver screen but I'm so glad we finally saw Gal Gadot steal BVS and I hope that momentum will carry on into her solo film in June.

James Cameron's Spider-Man

Long before Marvel and Sony decided to play nice with our favorite wall crawler, a certain director who was looking to "Terminate" the way we thought of comic-book movies with the "Titanic" notion of making the first big screen adaptation of Spider-Man. (Yes, I know the Cameron jokes were forced) That's right, coming off The Abyss and Terminator 2, James Cameron agreed to direct,  wrote a small version of the script for the movie and that would've hopefully put Marvel on the same standing as DC when it comes to films. This version would have put Leonardo DiCaprio in the suit and to be honest, I wonder how much of Peter Parker we would've seen or even if the character would have been correct. The villains would've been Sandman and Electro but with different human names instead of the regular Flint Marko and Max Dillon. Lance Hendrickson was tapped to play Electro and Micheal Biehn, an actor who I don't have that much familiarity with, would have been Sandman. Robyn Lively, who's known from her time on Twin Peaks,  was to play Mary Jane Watson. The rest of the script called for a love scene between Peter and MJ on top of the Brooklyn Bridge, Organic Web Shooters,  and it was fairly heavy on the profanity so this would've been a more grown up version of Spider-Man. So far, I don't have a huge issue with these casting choices but the next two characters certainly peaked my interest. The joke on the Internet is by the time Aunt May gets cast again, she'll look 25 but I think the one character that all the Spider-Man films have gotten right has been Aunt May. Rosemary Harris did an amazing job in the Raimi trilogy, I'll certainly give Sally Field her due as well, even though the "Amazing" films didn't live up to it's name and I'm excited to see what Marisa Tomei will bring to the table in the MCU version of May Parker. Now, with all that said, I think the Cameron version could have been better than all of those. His Aunt May was to be Dame Maggie Smith. I do wonder if she would have kept her accent but I'm certain that it would have been a good performance. Finally, the character that I think is the perfect translation from page to screen that I've ever seen.  J.K. Simmons portrayal of J. Jonah Jameson is up there with Christopher Reeve as Superman/Clark Kent and I'd even put Alfred Molina's Otto Octavius in that conversation but my point is, I didn't think I would've wanted to see anyone else run The Daily Bugle than Simmons. That might be up for debate now after I saw who James Cameron wanted to step in those shoes. R. Lee. Ermey was tapped to play Jameson and I think the tirades would have put Simmons to shame. I think this was a product of the late eighties/ early nineties action films. A little dark with some comedy as well so I get what they were going for but I'm glad we finally have an appropriate version of Peter/Spider-Man in the MCU almost 25 years later.

Justice League Mortal


For the Justice League fans out there, November can't get her soon enough and I think it's going to be a really solid outing for WB/DC when we finally see the historic team up on the big screen. George Miller was signed on to direct the film and the cast was a nice mix of young actors. Adrian Brody was Flash/Barry Allen, Armie Hammer was Batman/Bruce Wayne, Megan Gale was Wonder Woman/Diana, Hugh Keays-Byrne was Martian Manhunter), Santiago Cabrera was Aquaman/Arthur Curry with Zoe Kasan as Iris Allen. The villains side were Jay Baruchel as Maxwell Lord and Teresa Palmer as Talia al Ghul. The script called for plenty of story lines coming straight from the comics like Tower of Babel, where Batman's files on his friends get stolen to be used against them, Crisis on Infinite Earths and The OMAC project, kind of Age of Ultron-y. The writers strike of 2007-08 was one of the bigger causes of the failed project, as the studio tried to get a script done it time. The other was involving Australia and allowing the film to be shot there. A documentary is being worked on now so I hope that will shine some light on to this project that sounds like it would have been a win for DC/WB

Batman Unchained

Say what you will about the Joel Schumacher Batman films but I somewhat enjoyed them for what they were. They were an obvious 180 from the Burton films, which were to appease the mid 90's colorful period with marketing and to be family friendly. WB thought  (that is the key word here) they had a good thing so when they saw the dailies for Batman and Robin, they hired Shumacher to make his third film in the franchise. The film was to be called "Batman Unchained"and it would have brought back George Clooney, Chris O'Donnell, Alicia Silverstone and added Scarecrow, played by Nic Cage,  along with Harley Quinn, rumored to be played by Courtney Love. Personally, I would have gone with Brittany Murphy in that role. The little caveat in this was Harley would have been Joker's daughter instead of being in a relationship, which on paper sounds decent considering the really messed up relationship they have but it's not true to the origin so that might have put some fans off. The script called for Joker, Catwoman, Penguin, Riddler and Two-Face to be played by the original actors(Yes, even Jack Nicholson) in a hallucination brought on by Scarecrow's fear toxin. The concept alone of seeing Jack, Michelle Pfiffer, Danny Devito, Tommy Lee Jones, and Jim Carrey all interact in something this crazy would have been worth giving this movie a chance but I totally get why WB put the brakes on the franchise.

Super-Man Lives

This was the closest movie to getting made on this list. So much so that Jon Schnepp produced a documentary on it, which I recommend you watch. At the time, which was mid 1990's, Tim Burton signed on to reinvigorate the Superman franchise and a lot of people thought it would be a success considering what he did for Warner Brothers with the Batman franchise.  The film started out as 'Superman Reborn" with Brainiac and Doomsday as the villains.  The storyline was based off the recent "Death of Superman" comic and that seemed to be the one constant in the pre production process. Director Kevin Smith wrote the first draft of the film that included a cameo from Bruce Wayne/Batman and he was eyeing Ben Affleck for that role. Smith was later replaced by other screenwriters, Wesley Strick and Dan Gilroy, which had scripts that were a little darker than what Smith had penned. Nic Cage was cast as Clark Kent/Superman and I can be certain that it would have been an amazingly bizarre but believable performance. I believe they wanted to copy the look from Superman 75 and give him long hair so to see Nic Cage in a possible black suit and maybe some late 90's neon looking thing would have been amazing. Sandra Bullock was eyed to play Lois Lane, Chrisopher Walken was set to be Brainiac, Lex Luthor was to be played by Kevin Spacey and I think at one point, Chris Rock was cast as Jimmy Olsen. Producer Jon Peters wanted to put his stamp on this project so much so that he suggested there be polar bears at the Fortress of Solitude and having Superman fight a gigantic spider. Smith appeased Peters by calling it a Thangarian Snare Beast and I think in one of the following scripts, Brainiac turned into a giant spider so Peters must have had a thing for them. Peters did get his giant spider in Wild Wild West so not all was lost.  One of the main reasons why this didn't happen is at the time, Warner Brothers had a string of flops, failures and disappointments coming out of the studio and considering the amount of money that was probably going to be spent, they pulled the plug on it. I get why from a financial standpoint but some of the artwork and seeing Nic Cage in a Superman suit is the biggest "What If" on this list.



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Geektified's Review of The Lego Batman Movie

By Jim Scroggs

February 14, 2017

@JHScroggs on Twitter and Instagram

          In Brightest Day, In Blackest....no, that's not it. Look, up in the sky! It's a bird....nope, not it either. Ah, yes, I know...... I'm Batman. Two words in the last 30 years haven't had as much meaning as those but with another Batman movie, we have to compare it to the last one and even those before it. The Lego Batman movie is a love letter to those who love Bruce Wayne, Batman and anything to do with that universe.  Let's take a look at what this iteration of the Caped Crusader has to offer


What I liked

The story

        The Joker and Batman are arguably the greatest adversaries in the last 100 years of literature/media. There are so many layers that have been expanded upon in comics, movies, video games and cartoons but this story between the two characters should be up there with some of the best Joker/Batman stories. Joker plans an elaborate heist involving a huge amount of villains from Batman's rogue's gallery and like usual, Batman finds away to take out almost everyone and saves the day to plenty of admiration from the citizens of Gotham City. Joker tries to get Batman to admit the gravity of their relationship but Batman shrugs it off and says he doesn't do relationships. He then goes back to Wayne Manor, to relax with his favorite movie, Jerry Maguire. I'm sure you can see the irony there. While attended the retirement party of Commissioner Gordon, Bruce meets the orphan Dick Greyson at the same time of being love struck by seeing Barbara Gordon and inadvertently agrees to adopt Dick. Barbara is named new commissioner, announces she wants to work with Batman and that really irritates the Caped Crusader. Joker crashes the party and comes up with a plan to turn himself, along with all the villains in to Arkham Asylum and that leads to Joker becoming very zen and using the Phantom Zone to get his biggest revenge on Batman. He uses all the villains in the Phantom Zone to take over Gotham City to break it in half. Yes, it's a slight retread of the previous plot but the amount of villains they got was quite impressive and I'll hit that later. There is an underlining theme of longing for a family, not wanting to get too close to people and is delivered in some very heartfelt monologues by Batman but that shouldn't be surprising considering how that has been portrayed in all media for the last 30 or so years. I think Seth Grahme-Smith did a fine job with the story and is a credited with working on the screen play but the directing by Chris McKay was really great and if that name doesn't sound familiar, he's worked on some episodes of Robot Chicken and other Adult Swim shows. The film does end on high note with Batman admitting to the Joker how much of a relationship they have and after thinking that Batman was going to win the final battle all himself, the Bat Family comes together to save the day.



Cast

        The cast list is very random but very effective especially with some of the bigger roles. Will Arnett should be considered as a great Batman, even up with with Keaton, Conroy and Affleck. Rosario Dawson is great as Barbara Gordon, the same goes for Micheal Cera as Robin and Ralph Finnes as Alfred. I feel like some of the villains fell a bit flat like Harley Quinn. Jenny Slate played her and I wasn't looking for a complete Tara Strong impression but maybe a little more Brooklyn/New York accent would have helped. Zach Galifianakis as The Joker was fine but nothing mind-blowing. Some other surprising roles were Mariah Carey as Mayor McKaskill, Adam Devine as The Flash,  Brent Musburger as a reporter and Conan O'Brien as The Riddler.


Easter Eggs

        There are so many here that I might have to see it a second time to get a full spectrum of what was on screen. The first act is so fast with the jokes and the past Batman references that it was like an overload at one point but it was still fun. There's a Batman Beyond suit, Alfred dressed in the 1966 Batsuit, references to the Nolan Dark Knight Trilogy, Batman v Superman, General Zod gets mentioned, but the big plan by The Joker included Daleks, Gremlins, Raptors, King Kong, Sauron and Voldemort so you definitely got your pop culture fix for this film.



Not so much


       This is going to be short because there were only two things that I would have done to change it. I think Barbara Gordon should have already been Batgirl instead of naming her that and getting her suit at the end of the movie. There's a training montage at the retirement party of all her accomplishments and considering how ego driven Batman is, would he really have noticed another person dressed in a Batsuit in Gotham City? It could have been a nice reveal at some point during the film. I thought it was a hair too long, maybe 5 minutes cut from it and it could have flowed better but that's me being nit picky.


   

        Considering how underwhelming the 2016 movie slate was, I couldn't think of a better way to start 2017 with something different and fresh. Yes, it's from the Lego universe, which we've seen but this is a movie for both kids and adults, in my opinion. The amount of easter eggs are enough to keep some older fans intrigued while the poppy, bright colors and solid story is something great for almost every kid. It's a great but simple movie, I definately recommend seeing it, maybe multiple times and oh yeah, Iron Man sucks.



The Lego Batman Movie is in theaters now

Review: Detective Comics #949

Review: Detective Comics #949

Submitted by: Theresa Stier

25 January 2017

“Batwoman Begins: Finale,” by James Tynion IV, Marguerite Bennett, and artist Ben Oliver, is a very action packed comic. Between the flashback of Batwoman meeting Batman and then the present day, there is a lot of action for the reader to enjoy. You also get that little bit of a back story about Batwoman and Batman, due to the flashback in the start of the comic. At the end, you have a bit of closure about Kate and what her future is going to be. With 'finale' in the title, my mind went to the worst. I'm glad that this didn't go in the direction of Batwoman getting hurt or killed.

I am curious to see what is next for Batwoman and how much her father is going to be involved. I do not think that she's going to break him out of jail or anything like that, but I'm pretty sure this isn't the last time we see her father in the next series. I would recommend this comic, for anyone that loves Batgirl or Batwoman. If you like Batman, I would also recommend it too, but this comic focuses more on Batwoman than Batman.

The Verdict: I did like this comic because there was action in it, but it wasn't the full comic. It also gave a nice introduction to Batwoman for her next series. Her story is definitely not over and this won't be the last time we see Batwoman. 

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2017 Movie Preview: Part 3

You can read Part 2 of this series here: 2017 Movie Preview: Part 2

by Jim Scroggs
December 2, 2016

Thor: Ragnarok

The Thor franchise has been the hardest egg to crack in the MCU and I can certainly understand that. It’s not quite Game of Thrones but it isn't quite a space epic. The first film in the trilogy is the best one so far and The Dark World is considered by many to the worst film in the MCU. The heads at Marvel Studios had to think outside the box on this one and I think they accomplished that given some of the rumors/confirmations of appearances from new actors and MCU staples. Jeff Goldblum will be the Grandmaster, an eccentric character that can go across the galaxy to learn as many gaming styles as he can so he can outsmart anyone that he comes across. I think this is perfect for an actor like Goldblum, especially with his history of playing Dr. Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park. Other notables that shouldn’t be downplayed are Cate Blanchett as Hela, who could be the “Death” that Thanos is courting, Tessa Thompson will play Valkyrie, Sam Neill has been cast in the film as well and I’m praying there is a scene between him and Jeff Goldblum.  Mark Ruffalo will appear in as Hulk and maybe Bruce Banner in a small adaptation of the Planet Hulk/World War Hulk storyline. (My next sentence contains a spoiler for Doctor Strange so i’m giving you the chance to stop reading if you haven’t seen it…..Ready……...Ok.) Thor will get some help from Doctor Strange as they both search for Odin and probably come across the final Infinity Stone as well so add those arcs with the direction of Taika Waititi and Ragnarok will clearly be something new and desperately what the Thor franchise needs. Thor:Ragnarok will be in theaters on November 3rd, 2017

Justice League

I’ll file this under “Cautiously Optimistic”. The usual analogy when something doesn't perform is saying it hasn’t been a home run. It’s fair to say that in the eyes of some, the DC Films have been a base hit that strands the lead runner because he collided with the 3rd base coach who couldn’t get out of the way in time. Man of Steel was fine, BVS should only be judged by the Ultimate Edition meaning I'll never watch the theatrical version ever again and Suicide Squad had some interesting choices in regards to editing, song placement and writing but it’s a passable film for fans. I think this is when we’ll see the first couple but not full changes with the structure at DC/WB with Geoff Johns in charge. If I’m playing Marketing Executive for a second, the first thing that needs to be done is only release 2 trailers. That's it. I count what was released at Comic-Con as a full trailer so you've got 1 more to release before November of next year. In my opinion, one of the many reasons why BVS didn't perform as well was the amount of trailers and we didn't need to see 4 full trailers for that movie. Leave something to the imagination and you could actually have more excitement for this than what we saw leading up to March. The casting has never been an issue and I really hope they focus on Arthur Curry, Barry Allen, Victor Stone and how they come into play in all this.  Maybe get some insight on Bruce and if he has regrets on the amount of killing that he’s done and with the news of the Green Lantern Corp possibly making an appearance, this could be a nice redirection that DC/WB needs going forward. Justice League will be in theaters on November 17th, 2017

Star Wars: Episode 8

I'm going to be upfront about this. I'm not the biggest Star Wars fan and that's not to say that I don't appreciate and care about the characters. I know that compared to some of my friends, I will never come close to their level of knowledge and fandom, which I greatly respect. I thought Episode 7 was a great start to this new era of films and even with the loss of a major character, the new cast of Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver and Oscar Isaac should give fans plenty of confidence in the next 2 films that could close out the Skywalker saga. The questions of how does Luke play into story along with is Rey a Skywalker have been asked ever since opening night and to be honest, I hope Rey has her own family name, own roots and not part of the Skywalker legacy just to show that there is much more to this universe that one family. I have faith in what Kathleen Kennedy is doing and along with the influence of JJ Abrams that will continue on with Rian Johnson into another chapter of this epic series. Star Wars: Episode VIII will be in theaters on December 15th, 2017



This truly is the Golden Age of movies for geeks and nerds alike but we should always remember that it wasn’t like this a decade ago. All it takes is a few less than stellar films in a row to put an end to this gravy train so as I write this, cherish each moment that we see Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man and even Hawkeye because it won’t be like this forever. The characters will probably survive but the way we see and experience them will change before we know it so even if you hate Superman or Spider-Man, I hope you can appreciate their appearances on the silver screen

Review: All-Star Batman #4

Review: All-Star Batman #4

Submitted by: Theresa Stier

12 November 2016

I enjoyed “My Own Worst Enemy: Part Four”, by Scott Snyder and artist John Romita Jr.. I like when comics bring in Harvey Dent. I feel like he's a bit underrated at times. The Joker is Batman's main villain, so Dent is sometimes in the sidelines. When he blinded Bruce, it had me on the edge of my seat to see if Two Face was going to be able to succeed in turning Bruce into....well him basically. This is a very action packed issue and besides Two Face, Penguin is also in this issue. I enjoy the comics that bring in more than just one villain, so I enjoyed seeing the both of them in this comic.

Batman was definitely having a rough day in this comic, but that comes with the price of being Gotham's greatest hero. I would recommend this comic to anyone that is looking for a comic with a good amount of action, but also not just action. There are parts where it's not just Batman fighting the bad guys. As much as I like the comics that are action packed, I do enjoy the ones that tell the reader a bit more about characters featured in the comic as well. It makes it interesting and you sometimes gain a new respect for the character.

The Verdict: I would highly recommend this comic to anyone that is looking for a good action Batman comic. I would also recommend this to anyone that is looking for a comic that doesn't have The Joker as the main antagonist.

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Review: Batman #10

Review: Batman #10

Submitted by: Theresa Stier, Comic News Writer

5 November 2016

“I am Suicide: Part Two,” by Tom King and artist Mikel Janin, is a quick read and is narrated by Catwoman (even though she doesn't show up until the end of this comic). The reader learns a bit about Catwoman's life, when she was an orphan, and her relationship with Bruce Wayne. Bane is no longer....well Bane. He doesn't have the venom flowing through his veins, which makes him a little bit more on Bruce's level. However, Bane still ends up with the upper hand. It's going to be interesting to see how Batman is going to defeat Bane, considering Bane isn't truly the Bane that he has been up against in the past. Without the venom, he's weaker, but he's also going to be using different tactics now that he can't rely on the venom and “breaking Bruce's back.”

 

He's still plenty strong, but he now has more of a weakness. It's going to be interesting to see who has the upper hand in the next issue, especially if Catwoman is going to be helping Bruce out. Even though if you were asked who would win in a fight, Catwoman or Bane, you would probably pick Bane, Catwoman has plenty tricks up her sleeves and can be a valuable asset.

The Verdict: I enjoyed this comic, especially learning a bit of what Catwoman has felt in her past and her present. I'm also looking forward to the next comic, seeing another fight between Batman and Bane. 

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Review: Batgirl #4

Review: Batgirl #4

Submitted by: Theresa Stier, Comic News Writer

27 October 2016

“Beyond Burnside: Part Four,” by Hope Larson and artist Rafael Albuquerque, is not what I was expecting. I have not read the first three comics in this series, so I'm used to Batgirl being in Gotham and working with Bruce (sometimes Nightwing). The storyline is different than the Batgirl comics I am used to reading, not just because of the absence of Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne. I felt like it wasn't as dark as some of these comics are and I felt it was more towards young teen girl readers. This, of course, is just my opinion.

It does have multiple pages where Batgirl is involved in some action. However, I was expecting a bit more than what there was. Even though this comic wasn't for me, it wasn't a bad comic. Albuquerque sketches are great and it really does bring Batgirl to life. I hope, in the next issue, we see Batgirl back fighting in Gotham and or teaming up with Batman or Nightwing. I feel like the additions will make this storyline more appealing, at least for me. As much as I love strong female characters, which Batgirl definitely is, I do enjoy seeing the team work as well.

The Verdict: This comic wasn't for me, but that doesn't mean that it's not a good comic. It's just a bit different than Batgirl comics I have read in the past. Batgirl is drawn well and the colors are definitely eye catching. I hope to see Batman or Nightwing in the next issue. 

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Review: Dark Knight the Master Race #6

Review: Dark Knight the Master Race #6

Submitted by: Theresa Stier, Comic News Writer

19 October 2016

Don't let the page numbers discourage you from this one. “Dark Knight the Master Race: Book Six,” by Frank Miller, Brian Azzarello, and artist Andy Kubert is a great comic. There's not much dialogue, so this comic goes by quick. Kubert does a great job with the visuals of this comic. One of the things that I enjoyed was Batman and Superman teaming up. I do like both characters and seeing them both in action is very eye catching to me (we're not going to mention the movie Batman vs. Superman though). The first appearance of Superman, I had to do a double take to make sure it was him. The S on his chest and the red cape will always give him away.

The ending of this comic makes me wish that this one was just a little bit longer. We know that Bruce is human, so he can't live forever. However, he's Batman. Killing off Batman is unlawful. I'm curious to see what is going to happen to Bruce, if he's going to live or if he's going to die. It wouldn't surprise me if Clark knows a way to save him (without breaking his promise to bring him to a hospital).

The Verdict: This is a great comic for visuals. If you're looking for a comic with a lot of dialogue, this isn't the one for you. If you enjoy reading comics where Superman and Batman work together, I recommend this comic. The cliffhanger will make you want the next issue ASAP. 

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