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.

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                  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 

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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" <https://i.ytimg.com/vi/HbwrGI_NbfY/maxresdefault.jpg>

"The Lego Batman Movie: Barbara Gordon" <https://images.moviepilot.com/image/upload/c_fill,h_470,q_auto:good,w_620/bmzh6yjgut1g4o52vr0z.jpg>

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

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!

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                  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.

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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 Poster" <http://sdccblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Suicide-Squad-2016-Poster.jpg>

"Suicide Squad Enchantress" <http://cdn.hitfix.com/photos/6282994/suicide-squad-cara-delevingne-enchantress.jpg>

"Suicide Squad" <http://img.cinemablend.com/cb/c/e/b/a/4/6/ceba46ed7c7cd79ac9d8670ea86cb41b6644604b95aac7927cde7e2655f97c19.jpg>

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

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 Joker" <http://img14.deviantart.net/2f71/i/2015/194/6/2/batman__arkham_knight___wallpaper___joker_by_minionmask-d913ud1.jpg>

"Batman: Arkham Knight Trailer: Father to Son" <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsf78BS9VE0>

"Batman: Arkham Knight Poison Ivy" <http://cdn.wccftech.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Batman-Arkham-Knight-Poison-Ivy.jpg>