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Singing In The Rain
And
It’s A Wonderful Life
Both clear classics of a brilliant era of cinema.
Generally any movie with James Stewart gives me a smile. His personal favourite of his own, still stands up well today.
The animation is something I have to overlook, but I agree, I have issues with them too, especially with that motorcycle helmet Batman is wearing in the "DC Animated Movie Universe" films. The animation is crude and often feels cheap. I presume it's a matter of money and time.
In comparison, look at some of the more recent Japanimation output, from Ghost In The Shell Arise to Your Name and Weathering With You. These films present a hundred times more detail, a vastly richer colour palette and sublime character design. I wish that we could get some of the DC animated films more on that level.
But lest I leave the wrong impression, I really like the DC films, and some do have very good animation, like Year One, or Showcase: Catwoman and Showcase: The Spectre. I seriously dig the "scary" stuff in Justice League: Dark and Constantine: City Of Demons. But while Japanese anime is often visually more stunning than their source manga, the DC animated films rarely even reach the visual splendour of their source comics.
Timecop (1994)
Until Death (2007)
SHAUN OF THE DEAD
This is one of the strangest cases of DD-vs-the-world for me. I simply don't understand what the hot fuzz (pun intended) is all about. Look, I understand the main joke and I like the cast. But that's where the politeness ends. The funny stuff isn't all that funny and what's fresh at the start loses its freshness almost right away. The repetitiveness of the comedy starts as "okay" but becomes "mèh" and then "ugh, please" before the film has hit the 15-minute mark. We know that Shaun can't hit a damn target; we spent five minutes unsuccessfully throwing records and other stuff at the dead but then, during the film's climax, Shaun must empty several rifles at the dead with an exceptionally low hit-rate. It's a gimmick, I get it, but it overstays its welcome quickly, like everything else in the film. And there are fart jokes... just not the kind that works. And Frost is one flavour Cornetto I absolutely cannot stand. He's overweight, annoyingly ill-mannered and lazy and he's dumb. That doesn't make the character funny, only recognizable. But after ten or so minutes, the air is completely out the balloon and Frost's character is now nothing more than a burden.
The entire zombie thing is part of the joke. I never expected any horror, scares or hard Romero-inspired satire--even if the reference to the latter's work is both nice and unearned--but it's not a particularly useful 'setting' either. Is the film talking about small-life in London? relationships? friendship? ... Is this film about how we're all droning through life as if we might as well be dead? Even then, the zombie element adds little. Sure, the other Pegg/Frost/Wright flicks have fun contrasting simple life to sci-fi implausibilities too. It's their "thing". But it's not a hilarious thing, just a messy one; and it wears down fast. There's surprisingly little original about the film and the dry British humour is done so much better in other films than in this one. Either as a knee-slapper, satire or zombie film, Shaun of the Dead fails for me. So what else is there?
In fact, Shaun of the Dead is the prime example of the difficult relationship I have with Edgar Wright. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Baby Driver are the only of his films I truly like. But the "Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy" I downright loath. No matter how often I have tried to give these films a fair chance, they blow it time and again. Where all the hyper-positive reviews come from, I have no idea. Either people are devoted fans of the cast--and why not, these are, for the most part, talented actors--or they really admire the genre-blending effort. Fine by me. Look, I know that comedy is exceptionally subjective. I'm the guy who laughs with at least half the stuff Kevin Smith's put out (not all, mind!) and I'm a huge fan of Seth Rogen, Ryan Reynolds, Jason Bateman, ... type of comedies. So yes, I have my own amends to make. ;) Except that most of those films receive more negative than positive reviews, so you're in little danger of seeing them. But Shaun of the Dead was released to universal acclaim, and that's what blows my mind. To each their own, of course; I'm glad that people have a good time with this movie. I'm just not one of them. Quite the opposite, in fact.
2 out of 5 (1 for effort and 1 for the 5 minutes of good stuff in the entire film)
I love the 'Cornetto trilogy!' Hot Fuzz is my favourite, but i laugh like a drain at all of them.
The humour i suppose is very British, but they're reminiscent of his 'Spaced' series that also featured Pegg and Frost, and if you love that series then You'll probably like his Cornetto trilogy. The humour and pop culture references are in the same vein.
I'll take Van Damme kicking people in the face for 80 minutes, over a 4 1/2 hr foreign film about a man sat in an empty room, doing nothing for the entire runtime, that gets awarded an oscar. ;) Not a specific film, just a broad generalisation. If anyone wants to use the foreign film idea, drop me a pm, and we'll negotiate my fee.
I understand. :) It is very British humour and, in fact, I love British humour. Fawlty Towers, Blackadder, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Little Britain ... I'm having a blast with all of these no matter how often I dive back into them. What I dislike most about the "Cornetto trilogy" is that as films, they rely too much on repetitiveness, on the mistake of confusing "telling a good joke" with "telling a good joke far too often". But hey, I'm not going to press the issue. I know that a great many people love these films and I'm glad for that. :)
Looking at those comedies you listed you have great taste!
If you get a chance give Spaced a go. I think there were 12 episodes. Lots of cool film and TV references to spot and enjoy :D
Thanks. I might actually do that now. :)
The "sequel" to The Flashpoint Paradox (it's a whole thing), War is a nice origin story for the DC Animated Movie Universe version of the League. It maybe feels a tiny bit rushed, because so far as has happened, Darkseid's just attacking Earth because he wants to make more parademons to attack more planets. It's not like in most other continuities where Earth has done something to gain his attention, so he's kind of a weak villain here. Luckily, the League members themselves are great. Everybody establishes themselves well within their first few minutes, and once they all come into contact with one another and actually start interacting, it just works from start to finish. I wasn't all that fond of Green Lantern's voice actor, Justin Kirk, because he just didn't fit the character, although that could just be because his dialogue was utter s*** anyway. Luckily, they replaced him with Nathon Fillion later on, everything worked out better. I'm quite disappointed that Alan Tudyk didn't get to stay on as Superman after this movie, because he made the character something special, and Jerry O'Connell just never could. Sean Astin is just inspired casting for Shazam, I've gotta say. Just like most of the other films, there's hardly any real misfires among this cast (save for Green Lantern and Darkseid). Despite the lackluster way Darkseid is portrayed, this is probably my favorite Justice League animated film. Much like the first Avengers, it brings together a bunch of people who work beautifully together.
Son of Batman
Ah, the moment I've been dreading. I'm not going to mince words here: I hate Damian Wayne. Damian is a pretentious little s*** who does every stupid thing that sent people to their phones to kill Jason Todd back in the 80s and apparently because he's Bruce's blood, he's allowed to get away with it. The movie itself isn't bad, makes good use of its premise, even if Deathstroke sounds and acts like the least threatening college professor you could ever get. Thomas Gibson's a great actor, but a terrible Deathstroke. In my opinion, they either should have gone for Ron Perlman a la Teen Titans (and The Flashpoint Paradox) or maybe sprung some cash for Manu Bennett from the Arrowverse shows. Hell, I woulda taken Will Arnett. They wasted Giancarlo Esposito on a two minute cameo as Ra's Al Ghul and ruin Deathstroke. Congrats, guys. I'd say this is the lowest point the animated Batman movies could reach, but I haven't gotten to The Killing Joke yet, and I will have plenty to say about Batman V Batgirl: Dawn Means We're Just Friends.
Batman: Assault on Arkham
Suicide Squad: Assault on Arkham is a tie-in to the Arkham games, of which I've only played two and beaten neither (I've been meaning to get around to them). The plot is somewhat muddled, because it starts off with Amanda Waller capturing the members of the soon to be Suicide Squad and sending them on a mission to kill the Riddler. Then, out of friggin' nowhere, the Joker's got a dirty bomb and suddenly that's the mission. Deadshot, Harley Quinn and Black Spider are the three important members of the Squad here, though Captain Boomerang, Killer Frost and Killer Croc, I mean King Shark all get their little moments to do something. After being wasted as Ra's Al Ghul in the last movie, Giancarlo Esposito does fantastically well with Black Spider here, and Neal McDonough shines as Deadshot. Kevin Conroy is a master at Batman, as always, as is CCH Pounder as Amanda Waller. Troy Baker is doing his best at a Mark Hamill impersonation and there are times when it works and times when the difference is so obvious you'd wish he'd just stop talking. The music here deserves special mention, because it somehow manages to capture a mix between the excellent Batman: The Animated Series score and The Dark Knight Trilogy score. This isn't a bad movie by any means, it's more just average. It doesn't really break any molds, doesn't really give us anything spectacular. By-the-numbers is probably the best compliment I can give it.
The script is a bit hokey though I enjoyed the action, the insane FPS make some of the visuals absolutely stunning at times.
I dig the whole Damian Wayne thing. Grant M. wrote a credible son to Batman and Thalia, IMO. His pretentious nature is the antithesis of most of the (other) Robins. I'm looking forward to your review of Batman vs Robin, which is partially based on The Court Of Owls.
@mattjoes Loved it, ending was pretty shocking, as someone who studies psychology, it was a joy to watch something like this, hope i don't end up like Dr Stevens :))
Best part for me was when Dr Stevens was so frustrated (he suspected he was in that situation because one of patient) yet he didn't gave any details of his patients to the police officer , his quote -
"Try and understand, I deal with people with serious emotional problems, if you start questioning them, you will shattered them, they'd loose all their confidence in me. I'd never ever be able to treat them."
Still who shoot Mrs blake in the end i wonder?
As for who did the shooting, I presume it was just more of the same people as before. After all, it's not like they arrested everyone. It's a large business.
Hope you've learned something with this film, haha!
Don Bluth directed this flick based on a novel called 'Mrs Frisby and the Rats of Nimh'. Wonderful old style animation, giving Disney a run for their money! Good story and characters, and quite dark for a cartoon, with beautiful hand drawn animation, gorgeous detailed backgrounds and thrilling set pieces. Good voiceover talent from Peter Strauss and veteran John Carradine, with a score from the great Jerry Goldsmith! I once did a cel painting test for Sullivan/Bluth studios when they were based here in Dublin! Didnt get the job, it wasnt really for me, and to be honest, Bluths output after this strong debut, was quite poor, and his films became twee and unengaging. A pity, for this film is an underrated gem!
I am not a fan of the director though this ended up being a decent thriller, Rooney Mara was a standout, I really need to finally watch Girl with the Dragon Tattoo remake.
WOW! Just blown away, outright masterpiece.
Fantastic movie, and Viggo is fantastic in it. Fantastic tragedy and fantastic fun come together in a good way.
Here we have an Aquaman movie under the guise of a Justice League movie, though the League do have a big role. Basically, take the live action Aquaman movie, condense it down to its barest necessesities, throw in the Justice League, you've got this movie. Both are based on roughly the same source material, the New 52 origin of Aquaman, so this isn't too surprising, but it can feel like retreated material if you've seen one or the other of them recently. Matt Lanter, of Star Wars: The Clone Wars fame, plays Arthur Curry/Aquaman here, and he does a pretty good job. Sam Witwer (also of Star Wars: The Clone Wars...) plays his half brother Orm/Ocean Master, and fares significantly better. The League has changed a couple voices, namely Superman, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman are now voiced by Jerry O'Connell, Nathan Fillion and Rosario Dawson respectively, and with the exception of Jerry O'Connell, who simply does a passing job, the roles are better cast here than in the previous film, Justice League: War. Animation's top notch, the story feels somewhat rushed (in particular, there's a scene midway through where Arthur, having learned the truth of his heritage, has to go and "get some air", and all he does is jump out of the water, stand on a rock for all of a minute, stare at a puddle and then Mera comes behind him and asks him if he's done), and maybe the Atlanteans are a bit too eager to jump to war, but on the whole not a bad sequel to Justice League: War. The movie also comes with an incredibly short "Robin and Nightwing" where Robin and Nightwing take on Scarecrow, a minor plot point from early in the film. According to the producer, it's little more than a deleted scene they decided to separate from the movie.
Batman Vs. Robin
I don't know if it was the (then) upcoming release of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice that prompted this title, because much like that movie, the actual "Vs" is a minor fight and mostly just philosophical differences because Damian wants out of the house every once in awhile and Bruce is basically "Nope". I've gotta say, much as I'm not a fan of Damian, at the beginning of the movie, Bruce is way too quick to assume he's reverted back to his killing ways when he finds the kid near the freshly dead body of Dollmaker. Anyway, Damian's getting a little better on the pretentiousness. For a few brief moments, it's almost like he's settled into a less douchey life, but it's pretty obvious neither he nor Bruce have actually acclimated to being father and son yet. In the midst of all this Batfamily turmoil, the Court of Owls... is there. Honestly, they feel very secondary to Bruce and Damian, which is strange. Talon takes the role of corrupter to Damian, leeching on that element of mistrust Damian has in his father and trying to turn it into something more. The Court themselves actually take a backseat to Talon midway through the movie, and are eliminated by the three quarter mark. The main thrust being Bruce and Damian is the best way this plot would work, so I'm quite frankly surprised they even included the Court here rather than down the line in a movie where they could better take the spotlight. Maybe a villain of lesser importance, say Scarecrow or the Mad Hatter, or someone else, would have better suited this story. Overall, an improvement over Son of Batman, and I liked that movie quite a bit, but this is significantly better.
Justice League: Gods and Monsters
In an alternate universe, the Justice League is hated and feared, considered a terrorist organization by the media and openly met with hostility and rioters, but Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman aren't the three people we've known for decades. Superman is the son of General Zod, found on Earth by a family of illegal immigrants. Batman is vampire Kirk Langstrom, an unfortunate victim of an experiment gone wrong. Wonder Woman is Bekka of New Genesis, who left the New Gods after Highfather murdered Darkseid in the most bloodthirsty wedding since that one at Red Robin on South Park. This ain't your daddy's Justice League, that's for damn sure. Right off the bat, we're shown the origin of our new Superman, where Zod shoots Jor-El and implants his own genetic material in the pod that was meant to serve as Kal-El's birth chamber. Throughout the movie we're shown flashbacks to the origins of the other two Leaguers, and it makes me wish we saw reinterpretations of other members like Flash, Aquaman and the like. Yet again, the cast shines here. Michael C. Hall moves from serial killer with a conscience to... vampire with a conscience. Benjamin Bratt plays an excellent Superman, and Tamara Taylor is quite possibly one of the sexiest sounding versions of Wonder Woman ever, even though this isn't Princess Diana of Themyscira. Yet again, we have C. Thomas Howell as the villain in a Justice League animated movie, though his character here is very different from Flashpoint Paradox's Reverse-Flash. Still just as petty, though. The animation style is that of the DC Animated Universe, though even characters shared between the two don't completely resemble one another. This is no coincidence, as Bruce Timm is the mastermind behind both. It wouldn't be difficult to view this as an alternate universe to that franchise, really. This movie was originally to have a sequel, but sadly underperformed. Shame, too, because it's an excellent movie and has a lot of world to build upon. Three shorts, collectively known as Justice League: Gods and Monsters Chronicles, were released before the film, each one focusing on an individual Leaguer. None of them really tell you anything the movie doesn't about these new versions of the characters, so if you can't track them down, don't worry about it.
This is honestly a step down to me. I don't know if it's the bloat of adding two more members of the Batfamily (Batwoman and Bat-Wing), I don't know if it's the lackluster plot thread of Talia Al Ghul trying to take over the world with mind control, I don't know if it's just the fact that none of the characters outside Damian and Dick are all that interesting. Kate Kane/Batwoman is effectively co-lead in this movie, and she's a board. She's better than the version in the current live-action CW series, but that one's getting thrown out anyway. The "Bad Blood" in this movie's title can actually be interpreted a few different ways. There's metaphorical "bad blood" between Bruce and Dick because Dick has never felt like he's left Bruce's shadow; between Dick and Damian because Damian thinks Dick is happy Bruce has disappeared because it means Dick can claim the mantle of Batman; and between Bruce and Kate because Bruce thinks Kate isn't ready for this yet. There's also literal "bad blood", because the villain here is Talia Al Ghul, who is a blood relative of Damian and is obviously very bad. Honestly, there's little set up for this in her last appearance. Though she reclaimed the League of Assassins at the end of Son of Batman, she didn't seem like she wanted to go the rule the world path and become a generic villain. She almost seemed like she could have redeemed the League into something that wasn't a murder cult, but that's all thrown out the window here. Damian is his least annoying for me in this movie, as he seems to have fully come around from being the little snot-nosed punk he was in Son of Batman and some of Batman Vs. Robin. He still holds a great deal of resentment toward Dick for essentially being Bruce's first son, and that sense of pride that makes him almost unbearable at times, but he's mellowed considerably in the apparently almost two years between the two films. Dick is the one who takes the spotlight here, as Bruce's disappearance early in the film allows him to take up the cowl and be Gotham's Batman for a few weeks, and he shines at it. In the comics, Kate Kane is Bruce's cousin, but if you don't know that (it's never mentioned once in this film), you'd think she has more of a connection with Dick, because it almost seems as though the two grew up together to some extent, at least that's how their dialogue makes it sound. The voice cast is once again a highlight, with the lovely Yvonne Strahovski providing the voice for Batwoman. Despite how weakly the character's written, she's wonderful in the role, and it's almost a shame that according to Wikipedia, this is her last speaking appearance in the DC Animated Movie Universe. I can't say this is on par with either Son of Batman or Batman Vs. Robin, but it's also not the weakest movie in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line.
Justice League Vs. Teen Titans
Here's another one of those Vs movies that I think owe their titles to Batman V Superman, because the Vs in this movie is a good three-four minute scene where the League is controlled by Trigon and fight the Titans. Other than that, this is very much a Teen Titans movie and... Oooh boy... Right off the bat (no pun intended), you'll see that the only way Damian Wayne makes sense in this movie is if it takes place directly after Son of Batman, because all of his character development from Batman Vs. Robin and Batman: Bad Blood is literally erased. Everything relating to Damian is a call back to Son of Batman. I sort of understand, if people don't watch the Batman movies in this universe, they'll only have cursory knowledge of Damian and thus he keeps his original characterization. It's understandable, but weak, as far as I'm concerned. On the subject of "weak", there's a 10 minute sequence of the Titans at a carnival with pop music playing. It would make all the sense in the world in the Teen Titans animated series from 2003, or Power Rangers, but it's so out of place here that it's nothing but cringe. Cool, we get to see Damian kicks ass at DDR, but... we're watching Damian kick ass at DDR... It's like the writers are very out of touch with what a teenager is, and that's not a good thing to be when you're writing the Teen Titans. The main plot thread is that Trigon wants out of Hell and Raven is his only way out, so he sends demons onto Earth to possess the League in order to get Raven. There's some nice bonding between Raven and Damian, there's definitely a spark there that could become something more, and that's probably the best written part of the movie. The side characters are pretty good. Beast Boy is written as if he were from the 2003 cartoon, which is never a bad thing. I hate Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle about as much as I hate Damian Wayne, but I didn't actually mind him here so that's a plus. Nightwing is a glorified cameo. Starfire is an excellent Team Mom, essentially. The cast does their job well, with the notable exception of Jon Bernthal as Trigon, but I guess there's only so much you can do when your character sheet probably reads "Demon from Hell, wants out". As the seventh movie in the DC Animated Movie Universe, it feels more like it would be the fourth. The opening has the League celebrating the opening of the Hall of Justice when a Lex Luthor-led Legion of Doom (five minutes of screentime if that) attacks it, and Damian has lost all his characterization, basically making it feel like a sequel to Justice League: War and Son of Batman, as if Throne of Atlantis, Batman Vs. Robin and Batman: Bad Blood never happened since then. It's disappointing, really, as developments in those movies could have greatly helped this one. Also, for whatever reason, Damian's just hanging around with the League at the beginning of the movie. He's basically just there for the plot to happen. It's not a bad movie, but it's not a very good one, either.
Batman: The Killing Joke
Strangely, this collection of two very unrelated short films is named after the second film, a very faithful adaptation of the seminal graphic novel The Killing Joke, in which Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill of Batman: The Animated Series fame lend their voices to perhaps one of the best Joker stories ever put to paper. The first film in this set is untitled, but I believe Fifty Shades of Cape suits it just fine, as it's all about the relationship between Batman and Batgirl, both in and out of costume and I mean that exactly the way you think, as halfway through it is a sex scene that is so very undeserved. The entire thing is a story of Batgirl dealing with her insecurities and trying to win over the man she loves. It's so soap opera, it's literally painful. Kevin Conroy and Tara Strong do their damnedest with the material, but there are just some stories you can't do justice when they're trash. The villain of the piece is an implied rapist and definte mobster trash piece of crap named Paras Franz or some s***. He's a weak villain who exists for nothing other than to make Batgirl's Girl Power moments feel... powerful? I don't honestly know. Fifty Shades of Cape is definitely the lowest a Batman film can go and it should be avoided at all costs. The Killing Joke immediately after is an excellent and unwaveringly faithful adaptation of the classic graphic novel. Panels are replicated shot for shot, and what little dialogue is changed is only done so to make it flow better when actually spoken. The Joker crosses lines all the time, but here takes the final step and paralyzes Barbara Gordon, who isn't Batgirl in this film for some reason, and takes Commissioner Gordon hostage in order to drive him insane. It culminates in one of the most ambiguous endings ever, as we don't actually know if Batman crosses his own line and kills the Joker at the end. And now that the joke is told, it's time I be serious with this review. Yes, I know this is one single film with a pointless Batgirl-focused, Batsex-centered original piece tacked onto the beginning. I call it pointless because it is. The Killing Joke hit hard because it took one of Batman's most trusted supporting characters and took her off the board up until she became Oracle. This movie, however, shows us every reason Barbara Gordon shouldn't be Batgirl by turning her into a selfish brat who with the hots for her teacher. It still, for some reason, wants us to feel sympathy for her when she's shot when all we've seen of her so far is one dimensional. This is all compounded by the fact that the first half of the movie has nothing to do with The Killing Joke. It ruins the phenomenal second half, and as such brings down the entire movie. It's disappointing, greatly so, and makes what should be a highlight of animated Batman features nothing but a farce with the name The Killing Joke pasted on the front of it. If I could go back in time and beat some sense into the writer, I'd do it.
@DaltonCraig007 still blown away by it, just an astounding achievement and the 4K UHD just makes it look incredible.
As well as looking amazing, the acting and writing are exemplary, for once the Academy won't be chastised in the future for awarding it all those Oscars.
It would definitely be in my films of the last decade alongside BR2049 and Tinker Tailor.
Anyone considering the Blu-ray or the 4K UHD, I've not seen it on Blu-ray but I have been informed by plenty that the UHD is the way to go the upgrade is considerable enough.
Wow, that is high praise. I am thinking of perhaps seeing it later this week. It is showing in the local cinema again, but is also for rent at a streaming service. Would you say it is worth a cinema viewing?
Definitely. It is not only the script that is amazing, but the cinematography too. Obviously not as grand scale as Blade Runner 2049, but Parasite is masterfully directed. I have rarely seen a house depicted in such fine detail.
Thanks for the tip. Appreciate it.
Mostly a Constantine/Zatanna/Batman movie with some Deadman thrown in for good measure, the villain here is Destiny, a guy who's had a stick up his ass for over a century and is using Constantine's friend as his conduit to return to life. The story here is almost ridiculously simple for an R-rated movie of over an hour in length. I don't really have much else to say. The movie was okay, but nothing special. The voice acting was great, which is nothing new. Matt Ryan steals the show here reprising his role as Constantine from the short lived NBC show of the same title, as well as the Arrowverse. Camilla Luddington as Zatanna makes a great leading lady. I don't know who the hell voices Deadman because I didn't really pay attention to the credits, but he did a good job. The League plays a minor role here, as the JL Dark is... not really a thing during or after this movie, really. Still, it was nice to see what little of the League that we did, though when the hell the John Stewart Green Lantern, Hawkman and Martian Manhunter joined the League, I'll never know. Woulda been a nice thing to see, DCAMU. Thanks for not sharing. On the whole, an average movie in all sense of the term, really.
Teen Titans: The Judas Contract
AKA the one where Kevin Smith makes a guest appearance as himself for no reason other than Kevin Smith. No, but seriously, here we have a sequel to Justice League Vs. Teen Titans and a story that has absolutely no sign of Batman for the first time since the DC Animated Movie Universe began. That's impressive, but also when the Titans are captured three quarters of the way through the movie, you'd think Nightwing could maybe call up Batman and go "Hey, Deathstroke's back and he's got my team, maybe haul your ass over here and help once in a while? Your son is on that team, too." Speaking of Damian, he's getting better. Not by much, as he's still an annoying little turd, but he's starting to mature a little. We begin things five years before the main plot when Starfire arrives and Dick's earlier version of the Titans (who apparently just drive around in his dune buggy), which includes Kid Flash, Speedy and Bumblebee, are the first to meet her. This flashback does nothing except reinforce the Dick/Starfire relationship that we've already had established since Batman Vs. Robin when we hear Dick's side of a phone call, so either the writers once again forgot any Batman related movie in this universe after Son of Batman, or they just felt we'd need a reminder. Regardless, it's a nice little scene and Bumblebee is obviously not having the guys' s***. Either way, that scene is quickly forgotten and we're introduced to our villain, Brother Blood, on a TV talk show. The man is wearing a damn costume already, so in a world of superheroes, maybe this is already a sign that you shouldn't trust someone who's name is "Blood". Terra, introduced in a post credits scene in Justice League Vs. Teen Titans, is a full member of the team and it's been a year since she arrived. Naturally, because he's Damian Motherflippin' Wayne, Damian doesn't really trust her, and this turns out to be a good thing because holy hell she's working for Deathstroke. Now voiced by the late, great Miguel Ferrer (in what I believe was his last role), Slade Wilson is far more menacing than his earlier appearance in Son of Batman (see, I think the writers forgot all the other movies after that one). For whatever reason, once Damian is captured, Deathstroke makes a personal enemy out of Dick. I don't know why, as they don't have that relationship established here, but what the hell. Blood wants the Titans so his handy dandy life transfer machine can give him their powers, which he succeeds at for all of five minutes. I'd call this one of the better movies in this universe, and the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line as a whole, really. Tightly paced, well written, beautifully acted, the whole nine yards. Which is good, because the next movie, Batman and Harley Quinn, is a severe downgrade.
Batman and Harley Quinn
I s*** you not, the highlight of this movie is Rob Paulsen (voice of Yakko on Animaniacs) performing a duet of "Don't Pull Your Love" with himself. A return to the DC Animated Universe (at least in style; there are YouTube videos dedicated to whether this is or isn't canon to that franchise, but I personally say it is), this action comedy (?) looks beautiful, has at least four great cast members (Kevin Conroy, Loren Lester, Paget Brewster and Kevin Michael Richardson), but falls flat in so many ways. There are jokes that land, there are jokes that don't (most of the ones that land are basically Batman stoicly looking at something), and a terrible fart joke that has no place in a Batman movie. Melissa Rauch (of The Big Bang Theory fame) isn't a particularly great Harley Quinn (her co-star Kaley Cucuo has it down pat, though), and drags down the movie even further than the bad jokes. Now, don't get me wrong, the DCAU was the peak of DC adaptations, but it had its low points as well. There was an episode where Wonder Woman was turned into a pig and Batman had to console her, for instance. This movie, however, just takes those low points and drags them out across 70 minutes, turning it into a giant love letter to the low points, and that's disappointing. Flouronic Man and Poison Ivy are the villains here, and so Batman and Nightwing get Harley to come along for the ride to find Ivy. On paper, that's a fantastic premise. In execution, it's not. Luckily, the next DCAU effort in this line of films, Justice League Vs. the Fatal Five, is a significantly better attempt.
Agree about it falling flat, but it looked more bland than beautiful. I was glad to see Timm's designs reused, but the film lacked atmosphere. The compositions and staging were dull and the action--aside from some unremarkable fistfights--was lethargic. The lighting is flatter than a porno's and the backgrounds scream computer coloring in their blandness.
That was a great episode though, genuinely fun and funny. And unlike this film, it was written by Paul Dini, Harley's creator. Batman and Harley Quinn plays like a hamfisted remake of the Batman episode "Harleyquinade," with Ivy in the Joker's role. But it lacks the genuine wit and heart that Dini brought to his scripts.
When the strongest gags in a film are bad are fart jokes, that's a bad sign. The non-comedic storytelling is just as sluggish: expository scenes drag on, long minutes are wasted on a pointless duet by Two-Face's henchmen, and Harley follows them with a song that has none of the humor or charm of her performance in "Harleyquinade."
First major Hollywood movie starring Clint. Supposedly they tried to get Sergio Leone to direct this, but Ted Post did a magnificent job as well. Probably one of my favourite Eastwood Westerns beyond the Dollar Trilogy.