Showing posts with label Batman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Batman. Show all posts

Saturday, March 25, 2017

Justice League Trailer

I'm sure you guys are seeing this everywhere, and that's great! I just wanted to show it off a bit and then I'll do my own little review of it. I've decided that this blog is going to expand to trailers, posters, reviews, drawings, and anything that's cinema related because hey, it's all a piece of cake.





                  Alright, I'm not the biggest fan of the DCEU, but I have to admit that this trailer is pretty sick. I really enjoyed all of the different scenes, and so far, it looks like the movie is going to be exectured well. Hopefully Zack Snyder doesn't mess it up like Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.
                  Okay, the first thing that struck me was that the beginning of the trailer is set in a very similar region like that of Batman Begins. Now maybe that's a coincidence, but c'mon, you can't tell me that the icebergs and everything don't remind you of Christian Bale's first climb to meet Ra's al Ghul. Alright, so Bruce Wayne gives some voice-over about a threat coming to Earth, to which Diana
responds that it's already here.
                  I'd like to know how Bruce Wayne is even aware that a threat is coming from off-world. Now, granted, he's rich and he's probably got a secret satellite floating up in space, but that's something I'd like explained.
                  Okay, next thing that comes up that I think is worth a mention is the little box that morphs into a sort of Blue Beetle/robot bug looking thing that is obviously bad. I don't know much about DC, but based off of what people have been saying, I guess it's some minion of Steppenwolf? Don't kill me DC Fan boys.
                  Up next! We have Aquaman, who I must admit looks like an absolute boss. His costume I think was done very well in the sense that Zack Snyder tried to modernize it. The trident is something I wouldn't want to be on the other side of.
                  Cyborg! I dunno, I'm used to the Teen Titans version of Cyborg, so I'm not really digging
the whole skinny Cyborg look, but I like how he's still got the one red eye and that his mechanical figure is definitely a force to be reckoned with.
                  Now, the Flash is probably going to be my favorite character in this film. He's quirky, fast, and weird. Kinda like me. But I like that he's going to be sorta the comic relief in the movie. He's basically everyone's kid. Annoying, but they keep him around. The suit looks stunning, and I really like what they are doing with his zooming and how there's a blue electric aura around him whenever he goes super speedy-like.
                  Alright, next up: Diana's next line in the voice-over. "They said the age of heroes would never come again." Who's "they?" Cuz last I checked, everyone likes a hero. I guess it's just one of those catchy and cool lines that every movie tries to throw in to make it more appealing, y'know?
Probably just to give it an epic feel. If that's it, I dig it.
                  "Justice For All" are the captions we get, which... I guess. But it doesn't seem to pertain to anything. Another epic buff most likely.
                  I think my favorite part of this whole trailer was the dialogue between Barry and Bruce: "So what are your superpowers again?" "I'm rich." Haha, basically. It's good that DC can make fun of themselves a little bit.
                  Right after that, the remix of "Come Together" didn't really click with me. If they had left it with the original version, it probably wouldn't have fit the trailer, but I still didn't like the new singer and heavier chords. It's just not right, and as an 70s and 80s fanatic, that kinda turned me off.
                  But the trailer saves itself by showing A LOT OF ACTION. Oh my gosh, this is definitely going to be a jam-packed movie. I just hope they don't overstuff it like they did BvS, that was just too much. I want a lot of punching, cool one-liners, and stunning visual effects, which is what Zack Snyder seems he's going to be delivering.
                  Overall, I was very impressed with the trailer, and I can't wait to see what they're going to do in the three hour frame they're formatting the movie in.


Bibliography:

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

The Lego Batman Movie

Who didn't love The Lego Movie am I right? If you didn't, please leave. I'm just kidding, but if you seriously did not enjoy The Lego Movie, there's no way you're going to enjoy this film. And if you say you enjoy this one but not The Lego Movie, you are most definitely lying about not enjoying The Lego Movie. Because you can't enjoy this without enjoying the movie before it. Deal with it.


THE
 LEGO BATMAN 
MOVIE


                  Will Arnett reprises his role as the best incarnation of Batman since The Dark Knight Trilogy directed by visionary director Christopher Nolan. And this time, he's dealing with some personal issues while also having to deal with the new Commissioner in town: Barbara Gordon.
                  Now if you're a big DC Comics buff, you'll probably be a little confused about this whole
version of Barbara and Bruce's relationship. I was, too since I played the Arkham Trilogy (phenomenal game series by the way) and their relationship was almost intimate. In this Lego adaptation however, Barbara Gordon is completely unaware of Batman's true identity as Bruce Wayne.
                  Also, Barbara, as I mentioned before, becomes the new Gotham City Police Commissioner, relieving Jim Gordon from duty. Now Jim is not as complex or as driven as the Jim Gordon we know from Nolan's film trilogy. Instead, Lego Jim is completely reliant on Batman and whenever there's trouble, he just pushes a button that turns on the Bat signal. And conveniently, Batman comes to the rescue.
                  At the beginning of the film, there's the typical villain release, crazy plot to drop a huge boat-load (actually a plane load) of bombs on the city and Batman comes and saves the day. The way he beats all the villains is actually the best thing I have ever seen. It was Arkham Trilogy sick, it was Lego hilarious.
                 He comes in with a song and it's actually got a pretty sweet beat to it. So once he starts his rapping, he just wrecks everyone in a matter of a minute or two. The Joker takes maybe an extra 30 seconds to beat, but overall he makes quick work of everyone.
                 Then he goes home to Alfred and his Batcave. From there, he meets Richard Grayson at the party that's held to honor Jim Gordon's retirement. He adopts Richard (later known as Dick) and he takes him on a daring mission to get the weapon that will be able to send villains into the Phantom Zone.
                 And finally, all the villains escape from the Phantom Zone, and Dick, Batman, Barbara, and Alfred save the city. Overall, it's a hilarious ride full of heartwarming storytelling.



THE
 LEGO BATMAN 
MOVIE




Ratings:
Family Friendliness- 9/10 Batarangs This is probably one of the most family friendly movies you'll see out there since The Lego Movie. There's some pretty funny references to past Batman films, and there's one part where when Bruce meets Richard, Richard says "The other kids call me 'Dick'", to which Bruce replies "Well children can be cruel."
Humor- 9/10 Batcaves Left and right jokes, puns, and insults are being thrown around, and they're all (relatively if not completely) clean! It's one that not only kids will enjoy. Adults will have a ball, too!
Story-line- 7/10 Batmobiles It's a pretty cliché story. The bad guy wants to destroy the city because the hero does something to him that hurts him and the hero has to wrestle with his greatest fear in order to team up with other heroes and beat the bad guys. At the end of it all, Batman and the City of Gotham are once again in harmony.
Overall- 9/10 Stars The score should have been 8, but c'mon. This is a Lego movie, and it's one of those films that you'll watch over and over again on Friday nights to lay back and relax. You may even forget about that big project at work you have or that big exam coming up!


Bibliography:
"The Lego Batman Movie Trailer" <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGQUKzSDhrg>

Monday, August 15, 2016

Suicide Squad

                  I've gotta admit, this movie rocked. I haven't really been a fan of DC Movies much what with BvS being such a disappointment (except for Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman) and Green Lantern being a flop (except for Blake Lively, I think you know that the girls were the only good parts in those films). But I highly respect Christopher Nolan for making The Dark Knight Trilogy (one of the best trilogies I've ever seen). So anyway, I really enjoyed this movie. It was real fun!



S   U   I   C   I   D   E      S   Q   U   A   D



                  Superman is dead. The US Government is afraid of future superhuman threats. The question that they have been asking is “What if the next Superman comes and kills us all?” What are
they gonna do? The idea of one particular individual, Amanda Waller, is to assemble a team of very dangerous people who can take on a threat as big as a superman.
On this team are Deadshot (Will Smith, Concussion, Independence Day, MIB Trilogy), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie, The Wolf of Wall Street), Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney, Terminator: Genisys), El Diablo (Jay Hernandez, Quarantine), Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Pompeii, Concussion), Katana (Karen Fukuhara), and the Enchantress (Cara Delevingne, Paper Towns). The film takes some time to give background to some of the villains in the beginning, then continues onto the main plot.
I will relay the story of the Enchantress, seeing as it is quite important to the rest of the
film. An archaeologist by the name of June Moon goes hunting for ancient artifacts, and she landed in the wrong hole. She found a little voodoo doll it looks like, and she accidentally snapped the head off of it. Then a dark being came out of it and possessed her. June now hosts the Enchantress.
The US Government then read up on the Enchantress and saw that whoever had her heart would be able to control her. So they looked for her heart and found it. Alright so the trouble starts when June and her boyfriend, Rick Flag, the military leader of the Suicide Squad, are in their room together. June starts writhing and then when Rick goes over to her, she's turned into the Enchantress.
She teleports out of the room and goes to the military vault where they are holding another voodoo doll that holds her brother. She then teleports to a local subway men's bathroom and breaks the head off the doll. The spirit comes out and possesses the man closest to it. The Enchantress tells her brother to gather his strength, because she's got a plan to make the humans bow down to them again. Apparently, they were considered gods back in the time before they were confined in the dolls.
So the Enchantress poofs outta there and back to Rick and turns back into June. Meanwhile, the brother goes destroying the subway and eating people… I guess? I think that's what
happens. But basically, he gets super strong and starts to destroy all of New York. So June is called in by the US Government while the Suicide Squad is being rounded up. June and Rick go into the sewers to blow a bomb at the brother. In order to do that, June has to let the Enchantress out.
June turns into the Enchantress, but instead of taking the bomb to the brother, she sets it off and then poofs outta there. Rick shuts it off and reports that the Enchantress bailed. Pissed off, Amanda Waller starts stabbing the Enchantress's heart. The brother gives her sister some power so that she can start executing her plan to rid the world of its armies so that they'll bow down to the Enchantress and her brother.
The Suicide Squad comes together and they go in to stop the Enchantress, and well… I'll let you see how that plays out. It's worth your time, probably one of the best DC Films since Man of Steel. Yes, I enjoyed that movie, but hated BvS. Sorry folks.





 S   U   I   C   I   D   E      S   Q   U   A   D




Ratings:
Family Friendliness- 7/10 Stars This isn't a film to take your kids to. I mean, it's funny, but it's kind of dark. The fact that it takes place during one evening contributes I guess.
Story Line- 7/10 Bats (as in baseball bats) It was a good story, but it was kind of weak. I mean, it was enough to carry the movie through to completion, but it wasn't astounding. Now I haven't mentioned the Joker at all because his role was so small, it's like they didn't even need him. He wasn't that important. But everything was well done.
Story-Action Balance- 8/10 Guns  For the amount of story that was present, there was a very good balance between the action and what the story being told. The action was really cool, especially El Diablo. He was awesome near the end of the movie. I won't say what happens but it was awesome
Soundtrack- 10/10 Skulls Now I don't normally do this with my movies, and it might become something that I regularly include, but I cannot neglect how amazing this soundtrack was. There was an awesome blend of classic 70's and even some rap like Eminem that really brought the whole film together and gave it so much character. I absolutely loved it, and I've been listening to it on Spotify over and over again. PLEASE GIVE IT A LISTEN!!!
Comic Accuracy- 8/10 Enchantresses  I don't really follow DC Comics, but for what I know, they did a very good job for their casting. Margot Robbie was a gem, Adewale was a funny but menacing Killer Croc, Jay Hernandez was a cool Diablo, but the only thing I wasn't too happy with was Jared Leto as the Joker. I will always love Heath Ledger, and I don't think that Leto could live up to Ledger's legacy. But I'm hoping that they'll take Leto's Joker into a new direction where I can learn to respect him for his context as the Joker, like Jack Nicholson in Michael Keaton's Batman.
Overall- 8/10 Hearts  Now I will admit that I gave this an additional rating (soundtrack) to give the movie review a bit of a boost for its overall score, but I really loved this movie. I would see it two more times in a row and I'd still love it. I highly recommend this film. DC Fanboys and Fangirls... here is a DC Film worth seeing and giving credit. The critics were definitely wrong about this one.



Bibliography:
"Suicide Squad Trailer" <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmRih_VtVAs>  

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Batman: Arkham Knight

Hey everyone! I wanted to do another game review, and I thought that this was the perfect choice. I absolutely love the Arkham Video Game series and I am so happy with how Rocksteady finished it off. I hope that I can convince you to buy the game if you haven't already and enjoy it as much as I did!


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                  The game begins with the Joker being cremated at Christmas time. When the flames burst
and spit, the Bat symbol shows up, and Jim Gordon says, "This is how it happened. This is how the Batman died."
                   So you now know that the game is a flashback, a story told to someone listening. And that someone is you as the player. You begin as a cop in a coffee shop that grabs some coffee and a bite to eat. A civilian approaches you and says that there is a man smoking in the corner of the restaurant. You confront him and are blasted with fear toxin by none other than Scarecrow himself. 
                    Scarecrow makes a city-wide broadcast warning that Gotham would be covered in a cloud of his new and more lethal fear toxin. The city evacuates within several hours and Jim shines Batman's light in the sky. You assume control of Batman and fly over to him. 
                    You guys talk, and if you look closely, you can see the raindrops rolling down Jim's jacket, and the mist in his glasses. You can also see Batman's breath as he talks in the cold, and there is an occasional riffle to his cape as the wind blows here and there. In short, the graphics and visuals are stunning, Playstation 4 or XBOX ONE. 
                    You then begin the hunt for Jonathan Crane (the Scarecrow if you didn't already know
that) and are aided by Oracle, our trusty and dearly loved tech operative. Here you are introduced to the all-new, all-purpose, and totally sick Batmobile, the vehicle every Arkham fan has wanted to drive since it was first introduced in Arkham Asylum. 
                     Learn how to use it properly in driving and blowing things up with a Vulcan Gun and a 60 mm Canon that rips apart anything standing in your way to shreds. It is AMAZING!!! Free-flow combat is back and better than ever, with all new challenges, enemies, and some old friends that you can team up with to take down your opposition. 
                    Predator system is as beautiful as ever, and your foes have new technology that can detect your Detective Vision, so you better learn how to make due without it, as they can also pinpoint your location if you use it for too long. Sentry drones are now a new challenge on top of the Arkham City-introduced land mines. 
                    But don't worry! The vents are still here and are your best friends... that is until your enemy soldiers send bombs down them and try to smoke you out. But to escape those, vents can now
be traveled to and from each other using vent chutes. If you're on a perch point and you spot a wall vent, grapple to that sucker and you'll travel down to below your enemies' feet. There we see the brand new takedown system that will make you pee your pants. 
                   That new system ladies and gentleman is called the "Fear" System. When you're below two or three enemies, you can shoot out of the grates and take three armed men down in quick succession before they ever have time to aim down the sights and pull the trigger at you. 
                   However, as O.P. as this new feature is, it's a one-time use until you silently takedown a single individual without getting caught. So make sure you don't abandon your old-time Arkham Asylum and City tactics. After taking down one guy silently, the "Fear Multi-Takedown" ability is recharged.
                  Loved the Wayne Tech upgrades? Well, they're back and now, they're harder to get. You'll still get upgrade points, but now if you want to buy new abilities further down the tree, you've gotta be patient and save those suckers for later. Cuz if you spend em all in one place, you'll have a tough time advancing in the game. Seems like Rocksteady went Grandma on us saying "Don't spend it all in  one place now, dear!" 
                   And don't get me started on the new travel system! You can still grapple up to places and fly off of em hella fast, but now, with your new suit, there is a Grapnel Mark III that makes you shoot up faster than ever before. Remember how you had to double tap "A" or "X" to make yourself go faster in Arkham City? Well, try triple tapping it and you'll go CRAZY fast! 
                   Diving system is amazing like before and now that you can jump from crazy high buildings like Wayne Tower, Angel Diving has never been more fun. You'll want to find Wayne Tower and just Angel Dive over and over again when you're bored. Bored of that? Blow stuff up with your Batmobile. 
                  And I haven't even gotten to the story, bro. But lemme tell you, it is a solid campaign, full of twists and turns and on-the-edge-of-your-seat moments. I'll drop a little egg for you guys: The Joker is back. And Mark Hamill has returned to play his iconic role, funnier and darker still. He's there for some nice comical relief when a situation's gone really bad, and a lot of those show up lemme tell you. But ol' Uncle J is there for ya, don't worry.


Ratings: 
Story-line: 9/10 Batarangs- I loved the story. Well, the main campaign that is. I'm at the end and am trying to 100% it right now, so I can't tell you what happens when you do. But I'm sure it'll be great. The story really engages you and once or twice I was on the verge of tears. Yes I'm afraid we lose some dear friend(s). [You'll see why I did that () once you've gotten to the part ;)]
Graphics: 9/10 Batmobiles- Stunning, lifelike, and breathtaking. Get on top of Wayne Tower and look at Gotham. It is truly a beautiful city, and you'll have plenty of time to soak it in. Just make sure that when you're going on a chase that you explore as much as you can and appreciate all the columns you're about to demolish. And don't worry, it's only you, cops, and bad guys. So nobody minds a couple of buildings and highways missing pillars and windows.
Fighting Mechanics: 10/10 Buildings- There is no such thing as perfect, but this Free Flow System is about as close as you'll get to stunning perfection when fighting a hoard of grunts. As soon as you get the hang of it, you'll just want to pick fights everywhere you go. And don't worry about singing, they already know who you are, and you don't need to tell them that you're the mighty mighty Batman. ("Everywhere we go, people wanna know, who we are. So we tell them, we are the __, mighty mighty __" but Batman version. Don't get it? Sorry, can't help you there.)
Replay Probability: Very High (9/10 Batsuits)- Don't put down that controller, don't you dare. There is so much to this game that you can play with, explore, upgrade, and destroy that it is impossible to get bored. Oh! And once you beat the primary campaign, New Story+ is back. Just make sure you're prepared, cuz it's gonna feel like hell.
Overall:  9/10 Stars- What are you waiting for?!?! 





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"Evening the Odds"


"Father to Son"



Bibliography: "Batman: Arkham Knight" <http://siliconangle.com/files/2015/02/54e51560da563.jpg>
"Batman: Arkham Knight Batmobile" <https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7AykgIIWdPM/maxresdefault.jpg>
"Batman: Arkham Knight Trailer: Evening the Odds" <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxa34RatmSc>
"Batman: Arkham Knight Trailer: Father to Son" <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsf78BS9VE0>

Saturday, March 26, 2016

Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice

Well, here you have the DC Fanboy's greatest anticipated movie of the year that officially kicks off the DC Cinematic Universe (DCCU). And I am here to tell you fanboys and fangirls that this is the perfect DC Film for you. I'm happy for you guys finally getting the Cinematic Universe you deserve. So enjoy it!


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D A W N   O F   J U S T I C E


                  WARNING!!! SPOILERS AHEAD!!! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE MY RATINGS, THEY ARE AT THE BOTTOM.

                   Okay, now that that's out of the way, let's begin.
                   The film begins at its end, and you'll know what I mean if you've already seen it. If not, read on. But anyway, there is a funeral march. Ben Affleck begins by saying that there were beautiful
things, good things.
                   We re-live his parents' death, which is actually important to the story later on, as it affects Bruce Wayne in a way that defines the rest of the film. Then we fast forward to the time of Man of Steel, when the world was first introduced to Superman. 
                   Superman (Henry Cavill) and General Zod are dishing it out, knocking out a crap ton of buildings and killing a lot of innocent people. One of Wayne's towers in Metropolis is falling apart, and Bruce calls one of his guys, Jack, to get out of there. Most of his employees get out, but Jack doesn't make it. Bruce runs into the smoke and finds Wallace, an important figure later, whose legs have been smashed by a giant steel pole. 
                    Bruce and some other guys pull him out and Bruce saves a young girl who is devastated because her mother died in the Wayne Tower. Fast forward 18 months.
                    Lois Lane (Amy Adams) has gone to the desert to speak to a terrorist because (obviously) she wants the scoop. However, one of her camera guys is caught as a CIA or FBI Agent (can't remember) and is killed in front of Lois. Then there's a big shootout and Lois's reporter book/journal thingy gets shot. She recovers it and is taken inside and held hostage. 
                   Superman smashes down into the building where Lois is and takes out the guy holding her hostage easy-peasy. When Lois gets home, she examines the bullet and puts it into a Ziploc bag. Hey! it's interesting! It is actually not government manufactured, so it is something completely off the US Books, which means the men in the desert were funded by a private company. We'll get to that
later. 
                   Batman is still in business and is interrogating people to try and find out what the "White Portuguese" is. All he knows is that it's connected to Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg). He believes it is a person and is looking for this mysterious figure. The guy he brands with a bat symbol is the sixth man he has interrogated about the "White Portuguese." 
                   This makes Daily Planet news, and the Batman is still seen as a threat. Clark doesn't like it at all and wants to do a story on it, but Perry White (Laurence Fishburne) forbids him to do so. He then takes matters into his own hands when Batman is on a high speed chase and rips open the Batmobile. Batman stands and faces him.
                   "The next time they shine your light in the sky, don't go to it. Consider this mercy." 
                   "Tell me, do you bleed?" Superman looks back, and flies away.
                   "You will."
                   Batman heads back to the Batcave. He's gotta make repairs to it, but he's not worried about that right now. He lost the guys that he was chasing, but luckily he threw a tracker on them. He tracks them back to LexCorp. 
                    That means he needs to break into LexCorp and get the information he needs. Instead of having to break in though, he is invited to a LexCorp party/ball or whatever you want to call it. There, Bruce hacks into the mainframe and gets his data, but it'll take 7 minutes to fully download. So he goes and mingles, meeting Clark Kent there. 
                   Clark asks him about the Bat vigilante and they have a little conversation where Lex Luthor drops in. Lex is then called to attention to meet the mayor and when Clark looks to see where Lex was going, Bruce slips away and goes to get his data. But it's been taken by Diana Prince (Gal Gadot). 
                   I've told you quite a lot, but just know that there are some things you should be aware of when you see the movie. A lot of easter eggs are dropped like Flash, Cyborg, and Aquaman, opening up the DCCU. Also, Jason Todd's suit is on display, and when Bruce has his nightmare (Knightmare Batman) he also sees the Red Hood (Jason Todd) yelling at him that he was right about Superman. 
                  So really, they crammed in so much trying to set up this new universe, and I think it was a bit too much, but oh well. Prolly do your research if you're not up to speed with all of this. 
                  Who's funeral were the people at? Why do Day and Night, god and bat, Red and Black fight? Well, see the film for yourself. I think that if you're a DC Fan, you'll absolutely love it.


Ratings:
Family Friendliness- 7.5/10 Bat Symbols: There is a lot of violence and death in this film. It's not really the swearing, it's just that there's a lot of shooting, punching and stuff. Not for your youngins. But it definitely makes for a pretty sweet film.
Storyline- 8/10 Metahumans: The story itself was not bad. It's just that there was a lot of jumping around, y'know? It was very choppy. For example, when Bruce is dreaming, you don't know until he wakes up. Then it doesn't really do a good job of jumping back and forth between Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, and Diana Prince. Also it's kind of slow until the giant explosion in D.C. Washington, D.C. that is. 
Rewatch Probability- Medium-High (7/10 Amazons): Personally, when I was in the theatre, the film was not the best view. But once I got out, I couldn't stop thinking about it and everything that transpired. It was well done, but getting out of the theatre is the only thing that prompted me to contemplate the movie. I will say that Ben Affleck actually did a good job of portraying a rageful Bruce Wayne, although in general, he's probably not the Bruce Wayne I would've chosen. He did a good job of showing anger, and it was definitely in the way he fought. I loved his fight scenes. Those were sick, because it reminds me so much of the Arkham games. The fluidity and brutality of his fighting style were beautiful. Thanks Batfleck.
Overall- 7.5


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