8/6/2008 - Batman : The Dark Knight Movie Review

Today marks another milestone in this blog: it's the 365th post! That means you can read one post a day for the entire year... yay! I'm going to use this occasion to take a respite from daily blogging and post entries as good videos become available. I'll still try to post as often as I can, but I'm not going to strain myself into writing about a video that's only mediocre.

Okay, I've featured many videos that feature foul-mouthed reviewers who critique everything from video games to movies. Most of the time, they use profanity to bash certain products they don't like. This is what you would expect. However, there are things out there that are so well-received, that swearing also emphasizes how good these products are. Here's a good example of this:

7/29/2008 - Top 10 Riddler Riddles

Christopher Nolan could make sinister yet realistic villains out of R'as Al Ghul, Scarecrow, the Joker, and Two-Face. But there is just no way that he could include the Riddler in any future Batman movies of his. The Riddler only works as camp material as in the Schumacher crapfests or the 1960's TV series. Don't get me wrong... I actually like the Riddler as a comic book villain. Someone who would leave cryptic clues to his own crimes just to challenge the authorities is one sick individual with some kind of superiority complex.

James Rolfe, AKA the Angry Video Game Nerd, not only does reviews of bad video games... he also comments on pop culture media by doing movie reviews and Top 10 lists, all very interesting, and all edited with skill. Here is his list of Top 10 Riddler Riddles from the 1960's TV series, and I always get a chuckle out of the way Frank Gorshin's infectious laugh:

7/26/2008 - The Dark Knight Trailer Spoof

The summer of 2008 definitely belongs to the superhero in terms of movies. It started out with the excellent Iron Man, then came the outstanding Incredible Hulk, and of course finished up with The Dark Knight. What can I say about this movie that hasn't been said? How much more praise can I give it? First of all, watching a movie like this at a midnight showing is the only way to go. Having an enthusiastic crowd makes even a so-so movie seem good. For this movie, people showed up dressed as Batman and Joker, of course. But there was also somebody in a full Spider-Man outfit! Ah, the comic book/sci-fi/fantasy crowd is the best group of people you'll ever meet. And this movie definitely catered to us... we ate it all up and wanted seconds.

I have to say that after watching the The Dark Knight, I never want to watch another bad movie again. Doing so would be like a waste of life. That's not to say that the movie is perfect... there are plenty of flaws that I could point out, compared to Iron Man which I believe was the perfect summer movie. But The Dark Knight is on such a higher playing field in terms of the acting and storytelling that it's hard to compare it to Iron Man. Everything I liked about Batman Begins is amplified in this movie... the character relationships, the heightened realism, and the uncompromising grittiness.

For a movie like this, you must have a great villain. My favorite movie villain was Khan in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Note the word "was". It is now the Joker in The Dark Knight. Much praise has been given to Heath Ledger for his performance and it is much deserved. But what I saw on the screen was not Heath Ledger. It was not an actor reciting lines and "acting". What I saw was the definitive Joker... a deranged maniac with a deep hidden intelligence who only wants to create chaos. If something like that existed in the real world, it would scare you to your soul.

Speaking of which, something else that was scary (intentionally) was Harvey Dent/Two-Face. And it's not just the CG makeup (which showed how ballsy the producers were in greenlighting such a gruesome visage for the movie). If you know anything about the comics, you know the destiny that's in store for Harvey Dent and the way they present the character before his disfigurement really makes you dread his fate. It may be an inappropriate comparison, but I liken it to watching historical footage of September 10, 2001. And when you see Harvey fall to the dark side, it's a real shot to the gut.

The Dark Night is not just another superhero movie. In fact, Batman is not really a superhero at all. He has no super powers...just gadgets, training, and dedication. The Joker and Two-Face have no super powers either. And yet, you could not classify this movie as just a crime-drama, the genre it's probably closest to. And that's because there is this heightened reality by nature of its extreme characters and situations. It's this heightened reality that allows you to forgive its flaws and leaps in logic. For example, could the Joker really have rigged the hospital with explosives without anybody noticing? Of course not, but we accept it because, well, it's the freakin' Joker!

The bottom line: The Dark Knight is a once-in-a-lifetime movie you must experience. You don't have to be a superhero fan... just a fan of movies. So now we get to today's video, which is nothing more than a spoof on The Dark Knight's trailer. Even though it's a spoof, it feels like a tribute. After all, it takes some dedication to dress up like Batman and Joker and film in public:

7/7/2008 - Hi, I'm a Marvel...and I'm a DC: Hulk and Batman

I can't believe I initially liked Batman and Robin. Yes, it's the movie now known as the worst modern superhero movie of all time. I don't know what I was thinking. I mean, I know I was a lot younger and more impressionable to pop culture, but damn... I thought I would have at least some taste. Looking back at it now... holy crap. I know what the director Joel Schumacher was thinking. Batman Forever made a bundle at it was campier than the Tim Burton ones... why not make the next movie even campier? The problem with that thinking is the success of Batman Forever was misplaced. It was more a Jim Carrey movie than anything else. And after the mega-hits of Ace Ventura and The Mask back-to-back, his turn as the Riddler was the big draw of Batman Forever.

The thing is, not even Jim Carrey could save Batman and Robin. I have to say it again... holy crap. You know those YouTube videos of people reacting to watching gross videos on the internet? Just record comic book fans watching Batman and Robin and you'll get the exact same reactions. It's just pure torture. Every other line in the movie has some lame pun. I'm not kidding on that. Watch it and see. There are so many idiot choices they made for the movie, it's hard to enumerate them all. Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze? Bane as a mindless brute who doesn't even fight Batman? Commissioner Gordon acting like a doofus? Alfred's niece as Batgirl? Bat-nipples? I want to down a beer every time I think about it... and I don't even drink!

You know what the one redeeming thing about Batman and Robin is? That there will never be another superhero movie as bad as it. The fans won't allow it. The internet has made it such that script leaks and fan reactions will steer a movie to the right direction most of the time. That's not to say there will not be bad superhero movies (i.e. Ghost Rider). There just won't be any AS BAD AS Batman and Robin. For a humorous take on all of this, once again we have "ItsJustSomeRandomGuy" with his usual brilliant action figure skits:

6/11/2008 - Iron Man and Batman (3 Videos)

Before we get to the video, my review of the Iron Man movie: it rocks! And yes, the main reason why it rocks is because of the man who plays Tony Stark/Iron Man: Robert Downey Jr. There are maybe a handful of comic character roles that become intertwined with the actor playing those roles: Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Christopher Reeve as Superman, and now Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man. With these three characters, we know what gruff is, we know what nobility is, and with Tony Stark, we know what it means to be a playboy and yet a hero at the same time.

This is not to say that the other actors in Iron Man weren't excellent... they were. It was hard for me to imagine that the hero in Tron would make such a good villain, for example. And I can't wait to see Terrence Howard in the War Machine costume. The story and dialogue was top-notch, as well. I've heard elsewhere that Iron Man was the perfect superhero movie, and they may be right about that. The only valid criticism perhaps was that the end fight sequence was too short. But to me, that's like one grain of salt on the best cheesecake you ever had.

Now, many might say that Iron Man is a complete rip-off on Batman... and that's what these series of videos play off of. However, the core of the characters are complete opposites: Batman is a vigilante who masquerades as a playboy while Iron Man is a playboy who masquerades as a superhero. See? Who says there aren't original ideas in comic books?

2/16/2008 - The Dark Knight Trailer. IN LEGO!!!

After watching the sub-par Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem in the theaters and realizing how much they have raised the prices to watch a movie, I decided that I'm watching ONLY superhero movies in the theaters from now on. Fortunately, this year is bringing forth a bunch of superhero movies. First, there's Iron Man, which looks awesome so far and has a perfect cast in my opinion. Then, there's the Incredible Hulk movie which is supposed to be a reboot after the unpopular Hulk movie from 2003. Personally, I liked the first Hulk movie, but I can see why the general movie going population didn't. What's exciting about the Iron Man and Hulk movies is that I hear they are going to have some crossover elements in them so that they can lay the foundation for an Avengers movie! Now that would be awesome. I know a Hellboy sequel is coming out too, but I've never read the books or have even been interested in the character, so I'm skipping that one.

I was going to skip Batman: The Dark Knight until I recently re-watched Batman Begins and found it to be a better movie that I originally assessed it to be. Yes, there are still those annoying plot holes I have problems with, but as a whole, I think it's a great origin movie with a pretty good cast (I still prefer Michael Keaton as Batman). The last scene of the movie sets up the Joker as the bad guy in the sequel and everybody was really curious in the Heath Ledger casting of the role. Sadly, he is no longer with us, but from what we see in the trailer, he looks pretty convincing as the hyena-like maniac. For those who haven't seen it, here it is... in Lego form!

12/9/2007 - 200th Post!

Wow, 200 posts already... I can't say it's not difficult going through so many YouTube videos to pick out a few gems for me to put on this little blog here. I don't know how many views this page is really getting, but I don't really care. It's just been fun venting my thoughts, and I don't feel as guilty as I would if I were just to watch videos all day without being a little productive while doing so.

So I think I'll take a little break from blogging like I did after my 100th post. I'll definitely be back in the new year with a reloaded queue of videos. So I wish happy holidays to all my readers and I have the perfect video for such an occasion. It's from the great YouTube user "ItsJustSomeRandomGuy" who made those great Marvel/DC videos. He is a true fan of the genre and produced this cool holiday-themed skit featuring Batman as a natural Scrooge-like character. Let's just say it's easier to believe a man can fly than it is for Batman to believe in the holiday spirit...

7/6/2007 - batman dead end

Today's video is probably the most popular fan film of a comic book character...in this case, Batman. There's good reason it's such a hit. Unlike the multi million dollar movies depicting the Dark Knight, this short film features Batman AS HE IS in the comics. In particular, the costume is how Batman's costume should look like. No spandex, no rubber molding, no fake muscles or body armor, and most importantly, NO BAT-NIPPLES!

They get the characters of Batman and Joker pretty right on... almost exactly like they are in the 90's animated cartoon, which in itself is probably THE definitive version of the characters. Batman is portrayed as the hard-boiled avenger of the night and he actually looks pretty scary. And the Joker's grin here is not the latex implant that Jack Nicholson put on. Rather, it's the manic smile coming directly from the actor himself. I really don't know what to think of Heath (Brokeback Mountain) Ledger as the Joker in the next Batman film, but he'd be wise to look at the Joker in this fan film.

As for the appearance of the Aliens and Predators... yeah, it's a bit random. It's not out the realm of the comics, however. In a few miniseries with the crossover companies of D.C. Comics and Dark Horse Comics, Batman has fought against the Aliens and the Predators on multiple occasions. It's not completely unrealistic, either... well, I'm speaking in the realm of the comics, again. After all, if the Aliens got beat by Sigourney Weaver, and the Predators got beat by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny Glover, then what chance do they have against Batman???