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Movie Review: ‘Batman: Year One’

 Animation, Marvel / DC, Movie Reviews, Movies  No Responses »
Feb 282013
 
Batman Year One 2011 Hollywood Movie Poster
Reviewed by Movie Moxie’s Alicia Glass

Batman Year One 2011 Hollywood Movie PosterStudio: Warner Premiere, DC Entertainment

MPAA Rating: PG 13

Director: Sam Liu, Lauren Montgomery

Review Rating: 7

Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham after years abroad, along with Chicago cop James Gordon, and their lives intersect in unexpected ways over the course of a year.

It is exactly as one might expect, at least from the Batman story point of view. Bruce Wayne (Ben McKenzie) comes home all tormented, still, by his parents death, and is ready to kick the butts of the bad guys in his beloved city, yet he’s still lacking a few things. Real life practice, and a symbol to strike the fear into the villains, mostly. After a run-in with the corrupt cops, and hey a newly appointed Lieutenant Gordon, Wayne is bloodily lamenting his weakness to his fathers bust, when a bat crashes through the window and screams at him awhile: eureka! Yawn.

On the opposite end of the scale, James Gordon (Bryan Cranston) and his pregnant wife Barbara just moved to Gotham. Jimmy, as he’s now known to his new corrupt partner Detective Flass, just wants to do his job and clean up Gotham from all its’ dirt, both illegal and legal. The cops, the ones in crime boss Carmine Falcones pocket especially, don’t see it that way and conspire to beat the snot out of Gordon, threaten to expose his affair with another lady cop, and even menace Gordon’s wife and her newborn. We know Jim ain’t havin none of this, and he just ends up going to town on all the bad guys, aided whether he likes it or not by Batman in the end.

Selina Kyle is tossed in there, first as observer of the newly returned Wayne making his practice runs in the East End, and then taking her cue from Batman, Kyle dons a mask of her own and turns to burglary that just happens to end up aiding her future nemesis. The pace of the movie flows without interruption, giving us proper glimpses of only the things we need to see that tell the story, and leaving out extraneous bits of fluff that just get in the way. The style of animation is gritty and wonderful, reminiscent of the 90’s Batman cartoons, as it should be. Month by month, Gordon and Batmans’ paths cross and recross, the light and the dark and how necessary they both are for each other is brought forth in glorious storytelling.

Each icon gets his own monologue, sadly their voices are a bit similar so sometimes it’s hard to determine who’s thinking out loud. Unfortunately, in this take on the early Batman years, Gordon’s story is the more entertaining of the two. Frankly, everyone knows Batman’s original story at this point, the slaughter of his parents by a villain and how he vowed to strike fear into the hearts of the wicked and clean up his city of crime from behind a mask. What we didn’t know, and what we learn in Batman: Year One, is how much his legal counterpart James Gordon is a badass!

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Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 1

 Comics, Marvel / DC, Movie Reviews, Movies  No Responses »
Jan 302013
 
darkknightreturns
Reviewed by Movie Moxie’s Alicia Glass

Studio: Warner Bros., DC Entertainment

Director: Jay Oliva

Review Rating: 8

Batman, like Superman, is a timeless vigilante superhero, the brooding caped crusader who swoops in from the shadows to tromp those bad guys. So when we’re offered Frank Miller’s (300, Sin City) 1986 comic book story arc made into an animated movie? We say yes please!

The animated film has Bruce Wayne as a much older man, bitter and haunted by his past, especially the death of the second Robin, Jason Todd. (Several oblique references are made to “what happened to Jason” throughout the film, so there you go.) He hung up Batman’s cowl some ten years ago, to concentrate on philanthropic things like having Harvey Dent’s face fixed while he’s in Arkham House. But in the meantime, even with the Joker and other classic villains stuck in Arkham, a new terror has arisen to plunder Gotham City. Calling themselves the Mutants, they talk and dress oddly, but apparently possess no actual mutant powers other than unnatural strength (in the Leader anyway) and violent psychosis. The same night Harvey Dent (Wade Williams) is released from Arkham and disappears, Wayne has a break and dons his cowl in remembered fury.

Batman swings into the night and begins taking out bad guys, saving one Carrie Kelley (Ariel Winter) from some Mutants and putting the hero-worship stars in her eyes, to the point where she thinks to take up Robin’s costume and join him in crime-fighting. Commissioner Gordon (David Selby), close to retiring but still ready to crack skulls on crime, turns the Bat signal on the city and a shiver of fear runs through the heart of every criminal. Public opinion swings back and forth like a pendulum; is Batman a hero or a menace, and how can we stop or help him? Wayne’s Butler Alfred is still about, dry and helpful as ever, constantly patching up his master and tsking at every opportunity. All too soon things culminate, and Batman arranges a showdown between the Mutant Leader, a “man” in his prime and built like a tank, and himself, the aging and yet fiercely determined Dark Knight!

The atmosphere all but reeks of Frank Miller’s unique style, similar to Sin City without the lack of coloring. Like Tim Burton’s two Batman movies, or the Batman the Animated Series from the 90’s, dark colors in greys and blues and browns (not a ton of black) dominate the landscape and give the viewer a treat of almost actually being there. The generation gap between the younger and veteran cops, the common and wealthy folk of the city, and the enduring legend of Batman, is very noticeable in the film. Particularly an awesome scene with a rookie and veteran cop chasing down Mutants that Batman’s already gone after, the rookie wants to haul Batman in for vigilantism, while the veteran calmly stands back and is all like, hey let Bats do his thing. Peter Weller is the voice of Bruce Wayne and Batman, and manages to bring across a feeling of an older man who can still kick your ass when roused. He gets the best lines too, especially where he’s fighting the Mutant Leader in a mud pit and declares that this is actually an operating table, and Batman is the surgeon. The constant news reports and opinions from both spectrums of life, law and order vs. necessary vigilantism, give the whole picture for the viewer to enjoy. And the generation gap, while glaring and obvious, gives way to the idea that what Batman stands for is timeless, an idea, a symbol, a way of living that can turn around even the most hardened criminal into a Son of Batman!

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Krypton Radio Reviews: Batman: Puppet Master

 Comics, Editorials, Fan Films, Fandom, Hero Community, Marvel / DC, Movies  No Responses »
Aug 172012
 
Batman PuppetMaster

Krypton Radio Film Review by Senior Editor, PK

“How do you bring the Dark Knight out into the Light?”

 

Edward Nigma, otherwise known as The Riddler, asks that question as he unveils his plot to draw out Batman and turn Gotham City against him. I rarely say this, but this is one fan made film that really blows me away on not just film quality but the acting and story. If you’re familiar with the amazing phenomenon of fan made movies and television shows, then it’s possible you’ve already come across this wonderful piece of cinematic art BATMAN: PUPPET MASTER, by Director Bryan Nest and writer Chris Wiltz.

Synopsis:

In the wake of the summer’s most anticipated film, The Dark Knight Rises ,comes a new short fan film that expands on and enhances the universe of The Dark Knight.

Following the events of The Dark Knight, Batman has become a wanted criminal after assuming responsibility for both Harvey Dent’s crimes and Dent’s murder. When Gotham P.D.’s manhunt yields no results it attracts national attention and outside law enforcement decides to step in. 

FBI Special Agent Edward Nigma is brought in to assist Gotham P.D. Nigma is the best of the best – a man who has caught many of the world’s most notorious criminals, fugitives, and terrorists. He’s a man that lives for the hunt-for solving the case. Nigma’s investigation soon leads him to believe that Batman may be innocent of the charges against him, but Nigma also discovers a much greater challenge than catching Harvey Dent’s murderer. He wants to unmask the Batman. But for Nigma it won’t be enough to just catch Batman, he wants to outsmart him, he needs to be the one to figure out Batman’s secret identity – it’s the only way to prove he’s the world’s greatest detective.

For Nigma, the ends justify the means and he soon sets about playing both sides of the law in a deadly bid to wear Batman down and reveal the man behind the mask. Nigma enlists the help of a number of Arkham Asylum escapees, turning Gotham city into his own private chessboard. As Nigma’s obsession grows Batman finds himself forced to confront Nigma on his own terms in a dangerous game that could leave Gotham burned to the ground…

Batman: Puppet Master is a short fan film set in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight  universe. The story is meant as a sequel to The Dark Knight and that takes place between  that film andThe Dark Knight Rises. This is a film created by fans for fans and it delivers an exciting storyline that will introduce fans to new versions of Mr. Zsasz, The Ventriloquist, and Edward Nigma (aka The Riddler), who fans were expecting to appear in Nolan’s third Batman film.

I found this to be particularly engrossing, in that The Riddler has in most screen adaptations been portrayed as a games master, or a computer programer whose genius intellect and ego drive him mad when he’s wronged by some big corporation. This is a refreshing take on Nigma’s character who is expertly played by actor Wil Daniels, combined with an excellent performance by Frank Birney who stars as Arnold Wesker the infamous Ventriloquist behind Scarface, voiced by John DiCrosta. The film is not without it’s minor faults, as I didn’t find myself all that enamored with Puppet Master’s version of Batman, portrayed by Michael Connolly. I could tell that Mr. Connolly was giving a very heartfelt performance as Batman, and perhaps it’s just some bias on my part but my beloved version of Batman has always been the stone-faced type who speaks with the Kevin Conroy voice.

I’ll admit as wonderful as an actor as Christian Bale is, even his performance as Batman irked me slightly when he speaks in his version of Batman’s gruff disguised voice. Connolly’s Batman doesn’t disappoint on action at all, and shows perhaps a side of the Dark Knight that we’re not always used to seeing, Batman at his breaking point. And if you haven’t seen The Dark Knight Rises yet, that’s something you’ll get plenty of, when you witness Bane’s near destruction of Batman. Overall, Director Bryan Nest and his crew deliver a wonderful performance that I would highly recommend to any Batman fan; and I know that I would absolutely love to see Wil Daniels reprise his role of Edward Nigma with Frank Birney as Arnold Wesker in a big budget adaptation to follow Christopher Nolan’s trilogy.

I have to say that in Batman: Puppet Master, the villains really steal the show. Five out of Five Stars!

http://batmanpuppetmaster.com


Police & Firefighters Grant Wish of 7-Year Old With Leukemia to Be Batman

 Activities, Charity, Comics, Community, Events, Hero Community, Real Life Heroes, Special Reports, Superhero  8 Responses »
Apr 152012
 
Batman Kye

The Everyday Heroes of A City Pull Together To Help A Superhero

By Staff Editor, PK

Courtesy: City of Arlington

The greatest battle that any man will face, is his own mortality. For a 7-Year old Arlington-Texas boy named Kye who is suffering from leukemia, that must be the greatest battle he could possibly imagine facing. But thanks to some wonderful volunteer efforts and the a Wish with Wings organization; Kye was able to live out a dream of his, and for one day in his young life, he became the legendary Dark Knight and helped fight evil in the city of Gotham Arlington, Texas.

Members of the Arlington Police and Fire Departments, along with the Mayor’s Office and several others setup an elaborate day of crime fighting events for Kye. Starring as a Little Batman, he joined forces with the caped crusader himself and helped defeat volunteers dressed as the Joker and the Riddler who were engaged in nefarious plots. With Batman and the Police, Kye stopped the Joker who tried to rob a bank, and with the Fire Department he outsmarted the infamous Riddler who tried to blow up city hall.

After a day of intense crime fighting, a catered chicken lunch and some quality time with Arlington’s men and women in uniform; Kye met with the Commissioner Assistant Chief of Police who presented him with the Key to the City.
Video after the break.

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