Lego Batman: The Movie Review

When I played LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes for the first time, it was probably the most fun I’ve ever allowed myself to have playing a videogame. You run around collecting coins, breaking bad guys to pieces and building miniature LEGO sets in fast forward time. Well, the movie is more of the same experience, but the only thing you have to do with your hands it press Play!

Before we get started, let’s clear up one thing: if you have played the game, you know the story. Except for a few added scenes to smooth everything together, the movie is essentially comprised of all the cutscenes in the videogame. That being said, the storyline of LEGO Batman: The Movie is absolutely awesome. It’s the classic tag team power match-up of Batman and Superman (and Robin – everybody forgets Robin) going against Joker and Lex Luthor. Ultimately, as the lesson is learned, Batman realizes that it is going to take more than just the two of them to defeat the duo, and the Justice League is called into the mix to fix off the baddies. In fact, my only knock of the film is that the Justice League isn’t featured more in it. I know that it would have taken focus off the relationship between Batman and Superman, but it would have been great to see more Easter Eggs like Wonder Woman’s Invisible Jet made with clear LEGO pieces. Overall though, it’s a story that would translate into pretty much any format and the writers should be very proud of themselves for creating an experience that both three-year olds and their nerdy parents can enjoy.

Quite possibly the best part of LEGO Batman: The Movie is the LEGO. LEGO Everything. Nub-heads, cheap cloth LEGO capes, and a ton of other LEGO translations that I won’t spoil are really proof that the small things matter. Somehow, with all the malarkey of  exploding LEGO chickens turning into LEGO drumsticks, the movie somehow is able to remain true to form. The Danny Elfman Batman: Returns tribute of an introduction, along with the absurd need to play John Williams’ Superman theme everytime he does something cool makes the characters feel bigger than LEGOs.

That isn’t rock candy…

Batman is arrogant and stoic, while Superman is a total bro. It’s a great yin-yang relationship that the Superman/Batman comics explored and I think that it translates well to a 71 minute film. While it can be a bit corny at times, the charm injected to each and every moment will have you secretly wishing for more. It’s basically your inner child’s imagining of the Dark Knight. If you’re not too cool for school, you could be in for a great time. Take your pants off in the comfort of your own home and enjoy!

Batman secretly wears Superman pajamas around the Batcave…

“Listen to your… listen to your Batman” and buy this movie. It’s noticeably cheaper than the usual DC Animated movie and it includes an awesome Clark Kent LEGO piece.

SCORECARD:

Category	Explanation	Score
Plot	While not Oscar-worthy, the story has enough substance that it will keep you wondering what will happen next and the ending fits.	8/10
Voice-acting	All voices are fitting of their characters and LEGO Batman knocks it out of the park with experienced but relatively unknown actors.	9/10
Representation of Source Material	The buddy cop bromance between Batman and Superman is in full effect in this film and it pays off in the end.	9/10
Animation	Again. LEGO EVERYTHING. In a good way.	10/10
Sound Effects and Music	The themes that Danny Elfman and John Williams made famous return in classic form.	10/10
Captivity	There are a lot of slow transitions here where you can tell it was pieced together from previous material that kind of mess up the flow of the film.	7/10
Overall awesomeness	The movie does a great job at being cute versions of the things we love about the DC Universe, especially Batman.	10/10
Creativity	Anytime LEGO does a project, they go all out. Half the fun is finding little details they tweaked for the sake of being LEGO.	9/10
Replayability	It’s a fun movie, but I’m pretty sure it will find it’s way to the back of the collection	6/10
Special Features	There are a couple of cute stop-motion shorts, and extra vault episodes are always nice, but nothing really to write home about.	5/10

 

 

 

IF YOU LIKED THIS, CHECK OUT THESE:

Superman-Batman: Public Enemies

Justice League: Doom

 

NEXT FOR DC ANIMATED:

The Flashpoint Paradox, based off Geoff John’s awesome Flashpoint run (Flashpoint #1-5), out July 30, 2013 . I personally cannot wait for this. It has an All-Star cast, led by director Jay Oliva (The Dark Knight Returns: Part 1 and 2), and an incredible take on Batman’s orgin. I’ve attached a teaser below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAc9Br_MUoU

Written by Sherif Elkhatib

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 2 Review

When Part 1 of DC’s animated version of The Dark Knight Returns was released in late September last year, fans were pretty upset that they would have to wait four whole months for the second half to drop. Well the wait is finally over and the entire story is now on DVD for your eager minds to digest. For those of you new to comics, the films are based off of Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, a 1986 story arc set in a futuristic 1980’s Gotham where government control is almost as bad of an issue as the youth’s grammar is. Bruce Wayne had been retired as Batman for ten years when some punk group of degenerates called the Mutants force him to pull a Michael Jordan and come out of retirement to kick some serious ass.  In short, Part 1 ends with Batman defeating the Mutants and bringing attention to himself in a major way; the media, the President, newly appointed Commissioner Ellen Yindel, and unfortunately, the Joker.

This story arc is widely considered one of the greatest of comic books ever – and it is not without reason. Considering that comics up to that point (at least mainstream comics like DC and Marvel), were for the most part very happy-go-lucky and very politically correct. They just wanted to stay in their little bubble – tell their story, catch the bad guy, get the girl. Rinse, lather, repeat. Frank Miller comes along and uses one of the most loveable characters in comic history to entertain the idea of fighting the government. It’s paramount to the Batman mythos that we follow today and asks us to question whether authority is just or not. One of my favorite quotes from this movie (and believe me, there are quite a few quotables and inspirational speeches in this one) is “You say you answer to some sort of authority. They only want me dead because I’m an embarrassment. Because I do what they can’t. What kind of authority is that?” That’s a damn good question, Batman. Part 2 is not only the more introspective of the two parts, but the most action-packed, as well. Not only does Batman battle the Joker in this movie, but he also takes on: Gotham City PD, a chaotic Gotham City, the United States government and their tool of a soldier, Superman, and untimely arthritis. The Superman part, to me, was the most intriguing. This back-story of an “agreement” for superheroes to cease being is one that I always wanted to see in full and I wish they could go into more detail (Note: For more stories exploring the government regulation of heroes, try DC’s “Kingdom Come” or Marvel’s “Civil War”). Miller also comments quite a bit on the human condition. Through a series of telecast interviews, it is pretty apparent that just about everybody in Gotham is a total asshole! Even Batman gets his Donald Trump on by repeatedly threatening to fire Robin. Half the people in the interviews make you feel like punching them in the face, and it’s a good reason the world is “going to hell in a handbasket (that quote is via Adrian).” Hopefully, both will be read and reflected upon. Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns has really changed the game in comics and helped turn them from children’s books to being some of the most cerebral works of literature out there.

As far as comparing the movie to the graphic novel, director Jay Oliva and writer Bob Goodman have done a terrific job of figuring out which pieces of the book need to be cut out or elaborated on to really captivate what Frank Miller was trying to get across. You can tell that he and his team really appreciate the source matter. What seems to impress me most is how the team was able to take a four-chapter novel and turn it into a 2½ hour long film while not really adding anything unnecessary or leaving out anything vital. One of my biggest gripes about DC Universe Animated Original Movies’ last Batman adaptation (Batman: Year One) is that it too close to the source material. This is unfortunate because it keeps fans new to comics from really enjoying the comics as much as they could have. The Dark Knight Returns: Part II does not have this issue; I feel that somebody could watch both parts to TDKR and still thoroughly enjoy the novel as a new experience. One of the biggest pieces missing from the animated show is the internal thought-process that Batman has. One of the biggest recurring themes of the novel is that Batman is no longer the bulletproof God that he once was. Every panel is full of  “stupid old man” this and “senile fool” that. It really helps build the concept that Batman is a true hero, and there is no sure bet that Batman will emerge victorious.

Animation-wise, the visuals are very clean. They somehow manage to take Frank Miller’s art, which has very unique and manic style, and make it into something that translates into a strong animated movie. The fight scenes are incredible – drawn out in the interest of brutality. Both of the epic battles, one against the Joker, and one against Superman, are terrifyingly exciting and either match or exceed the impact of the ones in the original. The voice-acting is also superb, with the one exception being Michael Emerson’s Joker. As far as voice-acting goes, the bar is set at Mark Hamill every time and the performance of the actor playing Joker is based on how close to the bar he can reach. I believe that Emerson tried hard, but is cursed with sounding too much like Seth McFarlane’s Roger from American Dad. However, Peter Weller’s old man Bat’s was perfect for the image Frank Miller painted him in, and Mark Valley’s Superman was very reminiscent of the Animated Series.

Overall, my recommendation is to go out, buy both parts of the movie, and the graphic novel. It’s a special piece of history put into a format that the masses can truly appreciate it. The great thing is, you don’t need to be a comic book whiz to appreciate it. With all the small details that Miller and Oliva alike put into the final product, fans new to Batman comics will find themselves wanting to dig deeper in the catalog. Trust me, you need to give this a go!

TRIVIA:

– Dave Endorcrine, the show host that guest stars the Joker at the beginning, is a parody of Dave Letterman, and is played by Conan O’Brien.

– Corto Maltese, the island that the Russians try to invade through the movie, is actually based off a1960’s Italian comic book of the same name

 

SCORECARD:

Category	Explanation	Score
Plot	This movie is full of plot twists and surprises! The film goes by so quickly due to the superb pacing of the story, sectioned off in multiple parts.	10/10
Voice-acting	Although the Joker sounds like a Seth McFarlane character, the rest of the cast more than make up for it, as fans could probably name most of the characters with their eyes closed.	9/10
Representation of Source Material	Jay Oliva and crew do a great job of portraying Frank Miller’s vision, knowing what to keep and what to cut out or expand upon. However, it would have been nice to get the internal monologue that Batman and Superman had throughout the novel.	9/10
Animation	TDKR Part II excellently portrays the gritty, 80’s style art that Frank Miller originally had. There is an obvious difference in animation between The Dark Knight Returns and the other DC animated movies.	10/10
Sound Effects and Music	Every bone-jarring punch, every slice-n-dice stab, it’s all in there. Background music also helps build suspense and intensifies emotion.	10/10
Captivity	I found myself glued to the screen for the entire film. Also, the characters really grow on you. You easily find yourself loving and hating a few by the end.	10/10
Overall awesomeness	The action and fight sequences were really enjoyable. Batman really goes all out against his foes.	10/10
Creativity	Gotta dock a point just for the fact that it’s a remake of a book. That aside, the creative team does a good job keeping the movie and the source material distinctly different.	9/10
Replayability	This is the type of film you can watch over and over. Especially when coupled with the first part, it makes for one, long entertaining show, again and again.	9/10
Special Features	Where these DC movies really make it or break it for me are the Special Features.  This movie is packed with goodies: When Heroes Collide examines the fascination of a Superman-Batman showdown, a documentary about the Joker’s character, and a good explanation of scenes that differed in the movie from the novel.	9/10

 

 

 

IF YOU LIKED THIS, CHECK OUT THESE MOVIES:

Batman: Year One

Superman-Batman: Public Enemies

Batman: Under the Red Hood

 

NEXT FOR DC ANIMATED:

Superman: Unbound follows Geoff John’s Brainiac storyline. We’ve attached a trailer below.

Written by Sherif Elkhatib

Broken City Review

Genre: Thriller/Crime/Drama

Director/Writer: Allen Hughes/Brian Tucker

Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jeffery Wright

What’s Unique: An enticing story with mystery and excitement, even when the guns are holstered.

Check It Out If You Liked: Michael Clayton, The Departed, The Wire (TV Series)

SCORECARD:

Plot 9/10

Acting 8/10

Representation of Genre 7/10

Cinematography 8/10

Effects/Environment 9/10

Captivity 9/10

Logical consistency 6/10

Overall awesomeness 7/10

Creativity 8/10

Soundtrack/Music 7/10

 

 

       Hollywood had a slow week.  If you visited Rotten Tomatoes or another fellow review site then you probably noticed that critics weren’t too hyped on any of the new releases.  The top two grossing movies, I’m sure, will be The Last Stand with Arnold Schwarzenegger (**cough RETIRE cough**) and the film I went to see instead – Broken City.  Good choice.

Broken City takes place in fictional New York City in 2012, right in the midst of election season.  The film opens up seven years before 2012 with a slow-motion shot of police officer William James Taggart, played by Mark Wahlberg, pointing a pistol while the camera pans to his feet where a young teen, gangbanger lies dead with bullet holes through his body and forehead.  No words.  Just slow motion images.  I love films that draw you in right away with silent mystery – gets the brain pumpin’ fast.  That scene gives way to a court case where Taggart is on trial for “murder” of this youth.  Taggart and his council tout self-defense and eventually Taggart walks.  Meanwhile, the mayor of New York, Nicholas Hostetler, played by Russell Crowe, and the chief of police, Carl Fairbanks, played by Jeffery Wright, discuss the questionable heroics/atrocities of Taggart and some evidence that was never introduced in court due to “misplacement” on the part of NYPD. Ooooo – more mystery!!!  Taggart is brought to Hostetler and Fairbanks immediately following his acquittal to be congratulated and then, fired.  The streets wanted Taggart’s head for shooting down a kid and the Mayor seemed to have something up his sleeve for this now ex-cop.  Seven years pass, Taggart starts his own private investigation office, the Mayor is up for reelection and all things seem to be as normal as it gets in New York.  While Taggart tries to keep his successful, but unprofitable P.I. career afloat he receives an unexpected call from none other than Mayoral incumbent, Hostetler.  Soon Taggart is following Hostetler’s wife, played by Catherine Zeta-Jones under suspicion that she is having an affair.  But it doesn’t take long for this Mrs. Hostetler’s infidelity to evolve into something much more diabolical and dangerous.  There are more to the Mayor’s motives and Taggart sets out to find out what while risking his life.

You get the gist.  Lots of mystery, just the right amount of action and, my personal man-crush, Mark Wahlberg , all make Broken City an all-around solid film.  It had been a while since I’d seen a really well done political-crime thriller and Broken City was a breath of fresh air.  It was also nice to wash off the disappointment of Gangster Squad released the week before – yuck.  This film maintained a great balance throughout.  Wahlberg played his usual character – a total badass with street smarts and a touch of “big-picture” insight.  He does well to complement Crowe’s character, who comes off as how I’m sure most of us see politicians – two faced, thieving and arrogant.  The two of them are what really make this movie awesome.  I imagine there are movie-goers out there who might complain that there wasn’t enough action or that the plot didn’t make perfect sense (more on that in a moment).  I have to disagree with those folks.  I was completely sucked into the plot and guessing at what was going to happen next.  Explosions and gunshots are not always needed to make a crime film juicy.  The suit and tie affairs were just as riveting as Mark Wahlberg kicking in the door to some sucker’s house followed by a good beat down.  I also have to give props for Jeffery Wright’s performance (you’ll probably know him as US Agent Felix Leiter from the most recent round of James Bond flicks).  His portrayal of a kinda-crooked cop that, deep down, really just wants what’s best for his city was a homerun.  I also especially like the last little twist thrown into the film.  I won’t say more than that – you’ll have to see it yourself for details!  Overall, this film was well conceived and nicely executed.

Now, no single film is perfect… well except one (**cough The Empire Strikes Back cough**)… and Broken City is no exception.  The movie hits it mark in nearly every single category except the one that matters most – consistency!!!  Without giving away any critical plot twists – the film creators didn’t adequately explain the big mystery Wahlberg’s character spent the whole movie trying to unravel.  Viewers weren’t left completely high and dry, but we didn’t get the full closure I think was necessary to make this film truly superb.  I walked out of the theater with questions about the legality of certain issues and occurrences.  And not just minor, or developmental issues and occurrences, but the ones that this entire story is based upon!!  I’m no private eye or detective, but I’ve seen The Wire and that pretty much makes me a crime expert – I have a right to be skeptical.  Another downside to this film is the “in-between” as I like to call it.  A good chunk of this film was dedicated to filler and focus on events that just flat out didn’t have to be there.  Usually that makes for a terrible movie.  But upon serious reflection I’m actually really glad they were there.  I might even argue that they were necessary as it provided depth and realness to the characters I was watching on screen.  Or maybe it’s my Mark Wahlberg crush… Who’s to say?!  Some of it may have been more drawn out than was really needed, but without any of it this movie would have been much worse for the wear.

Hush Comics gives Broken City a 78% on its awesomeness scale.  It’s a great example of a crime, thriller done right.  It’s full of mystery and excitement and contains real, down to earth conflict that is truly hard to find in films nowadays.  I recommend this one while it’s still in theaters, especially if your other option is Gangster Squad.  Trust me – I’m doing you a favor.  Until next time Hushers!

Written by Taylor Lowe

 

Gangster Squad Review

Genre: Crime

Action Director

Writers: Ruben Fleischer/Will Beall, Paul Lieberman

Cast: Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Sean Penn, Emma Stone 

What’s Unique: A story from the pages of America’s recent history. 

Check It Out If You Liked: Pretty much any other gangster movie…but don’t expect much.

 

SCORECARD:

Plot:7/10                                                   Acting: 6/10

Representation of Genre:  4/10       Cinematography: 7/10

Effects/Environment: 6/10               Captivity: 4/10

Logical consistency:  5/10                Overall awesomeness: 6/10

Creativity: 3/10                                     Soundtrack/Music:  4/10

2012 ended in awesome fashion.  With films like Django Unchained and The Hobbit, the Hush crew and millions of Americans were left in anticipation for a great start in oh-thirteen.  Couldn’t be a better way to kick off the New Year than with the new crime thriller Gangster Squad!?  Right?… Wrong.  Sad to say folks, this star studded film was as lackluster as Lady Gaga in normal people clothes.  Let’s talk about the basics before I start dishing my beef.

Gangster Squad is about an undercover band of honest, but misfit Los Angeles cops in the late 1940’s whose purpose is to take down the meanest, baddest gangster in the west, Mickey Cohen.  Sgt. John O’Mara (Josh Brolin) leads this ragtag team – all of whom have a (somewhat) unique background and special abilities – in their dangerous mission to topple this mobster’s empire.  Their pursuits put the lives of their loved ones on the line, all while struggling to achieve a seemingly impossible goal.  Also of critical note is the fact that this plot is inspired by real events.

Now … I’ll go over what is good about this movie; this won’t take long.  This film’s saving grace came from the big name cast.  With a crew like Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Anthony Mackie, and Robert Patrick (all who’ve had leading roles in some pretty popular films) it’s hard to completely write off this film.  Mix in a bit of Sean Penn and Emma Stone and it’s hard not to be impressed.  I love it when a crack team of cool guys with unique talents are assembled for a specific purpose.  Gangster Squad showcased a duty driven leader, O’Mara (Brolin), the smooth, nonchalant badass, Sgt. Jerry Wooters (Gosling), an old cowboy marksman, Max Kennard (Patrick) and his native protégé, Navidad Ramirez (Michael Pena), a nerdy genius, Conway Keeler (Giovanni Ribisi) and – my favorite – a no nonsense black guy that throws pocket knives like a ninja, Coleman Harris (Mackie).  One would expect to see lots of character interaction, gritty dialogue, and just plain-ol’ great acting.  Well, pour one for the homie “expectations,” because of what little amount of character focus the producers implemented, there was STILL much to be desired come credits.  There just wasn’t enough character development (or Emma Stone) to redeem this vintage 40’s car crash of a film.  In fact, the only memorable action scene from the film (in this Hush-ers opinion) was the solitary car chase scene in which the Gangster Squad attacks one of Cohen’s drug shipments; and even THAT was pretty cliché.  That concludes my “positives” paragraph – get ready for some real talk now.

One word to describe Gangster Squad?  Choppy.  This film was riddled with logic inconsistencies, lack of creativity, action lags and an overwhelming sense of cheesiness.  The only time I like overwhelming cheese is when it’s on my nachos (of which I did NOT have during my viewing).  Movie makers with “inspired by true events” tags on their films already have half the work done for them.  This story already HAPPENED, thus the plot comes wrapped in a pretty bow.  All producers, writers and directors have to do is tell the story and tell it awesomely.  I typically frown on movies with this type of foundation – where creators don’t have to be creative.  But when done well, these bits of history can make for some of the most compelling stories (ergo Argo – HAH!)  Instead I was left with the following thoughts:  Where were all the other cops?!  No one is going to argue that LA in the 40’s wasn’t significantly affected by crooked cops.  But were there really only 5 good cops in all of LA?!?!  And if Cohen was supposed to be this über bad dude, why was his portrayal mostly that of a not so bright, not so scary, not so tough, whinny boss man?  As it turns out, this actually may not have been far from the truth.  A little Google research indicates that Cohen really wasn’t such a self-made crime lord.  He rode the coat tails of other notorious gangsters of the time and didn’t seem to have the know-how to stay on top for very long.  Accurate and boring – the lamest of combos.

Another thing that really irked me was the mechanism (or portrayal, rather) of Cohen’s downfall.  [SPOILER ALERT:] Grace Faraday (Emma Stone) volunteers as a witness to a murder Cohen personally commits.  In reality, Cohen was imprisoned on counts of tax-evasion, not murder [END SPOILER ALTER].  This could have been a function of the deep seeded corruption of the time, sure, but the film never clearly states.  Speaking of deep seeded corruption, one of the biggest mistakes was the gross lack of any behind the scenes, under-the-table, shady dealings.  I love films that take the time to make the non-action scenes as exciting and suspenseful as the gun fights.  The best we ever get in Gangster Squad is a scene where Cohen beats up a cop for not preventing an unpreventable stash-house raid and a scene of him yelling at a Chicago gangster while at dinner.  More points are deducted for failing to clearly explain or emphasize Cohen’s ultimate, evil plan for world domination – which, in actuality, was just a scheme to become the biggest bookie on the West Coast.  Add in really predictable deaths and an otherwise happy ending, and you end up with one bad movie.  I could continue, but this film is really not worth it.

Gangster Squad left a bad taste in my mouth, one that I’m anxious to “rinse out” with some other promising films dropping in early 2013.  Hush Comics gives Gangster Squad a 52% rank on its awesomeness scale.  Don’t waste your money on this film while it’s in theaters.  Wait until this one shows up in the instant queue on Netflix or when it comes on FX in 3-years’ time.  Even then, I couldn’t say with certainty that it’d be worth the wait.

Written by Taylor Lowe