Change Your Image
grifter78
Reviews
Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow (2008)
Marvel's best animated movie yet! Did I just say that?
I can't believe I'm saying this but this is the best animated movie Marvel has done so far! And believe me, when I first saw the trailer and read the premise I did not like it. I think what scared me about this one is that after several offerings from Marvel animated movies (some OK, some decent, and some great), suddenly we're getting what seemed like a "kid-friendly" movie which to me completely went against the point of doing these direct-to-DVD movies. Kid friendly Marvel stuff should be left for regular T.V. Well I'm happy to say I was wrong about this one. I think the fact that it's an original story is where its strength lies. First off, the setup for the story is well executed. Ultron defeats all the original Avengers and Tony Stark escapes with their offspring. Another strength is the characters. James Rodgers, the son of Captain America and Black Widow, is first portrayed as a slacker so it's cool to see his father come out in him as things progress. Torunn is the daughter of Thor and I think she may be my favorite character. Plus she has my favorite seen in the movie where she prays to her dad and the way he 'answers' her is awesome! Azari is the son of Black Panther and Storm (not a spoiler, they're now married in the comics). He's kind of the level headed one and it's cool to see the powers of his parents combined in him. Pym, the son of Wasp and Giant Man, was the only one I really didn't like because he's basically the annoying one of the bunch. And Francis Barton is the son of Hawkeye and he's pretty much identical to his dad. They really portray Ultron as a real threat here and they make me believe that he could actually defeat all the Avengers. We also get some action from an aged Hulk and it's great to see him let loose. I wouldn't be surprised if Marvel includes these characters into their comic continuity somehow because they've got some really great material here. Highly recommend checking this out.
Heavy Metal (1981)
Super 80's
Wow! It's been so long since I've seen this. Most of it doesn't stand the test of time. The nudity is so gratuitous that it had me laughing after a while every time it'd come on screen. Even though there is a loose plot throughout the entire movie, it's basically a bunch of shorts:
"Soft Landing/Grimaldi"- The opening sequence definitely sets the tone of the movie with the 80's rock blaring while we watch an astronaut navigate a car in space towards Earth. Then we get the loose thread through all the stories which is the dreaded green glowing Loc-Nar- the sum of all evils!
"Harry Canyon"- This is one of my favorites. The animation's a little crude but I think it fits the'dirty' world that they're portraying. And I love the old noir detective feel it has as Harry narrates the story. It's got good action, and of course, boobs.
"Den"- I just can't take this one seriously, especially with John Candy narrating, whom I love as a comedian so it just cracks me up the way he narrates it. This truly is every nerd's dream to be whisked away to an alien world, transferred into a perfect body, and making it with hot babes. Who could ask for more?
"Captain Sternn" The animation kind of lost me with this one and the story isn't that great. Plus the fact that one of the characters literally "Hulk's out" just makes it seem unoriginal. Sorry, but can't really salvage anything from this one.
"B-17" This is my absolute favorite one out of the whole movie. It's the reason I wanted to go back and check it out. It's like an episode of the Twilight Zone. I love War World II stories so to set a horror idea with that as the backdrop was brilliant. I love the animation here and it still creeped me out after all these years.
"So Beautiful, So Dangerous" In case you forgot that most of the creators contributing here grew up in the 70's, this one is a goofy reminder. A robot and two aliens capture a hot chick. The robot makes it with the chick while the two aliens get high on an insane amount of cocaine. Did I spoil the story for you? What story!
"Taarna" This is the epic finale that ties the movie together (loosely) in grand fashion. The Loc-Nar creates an evil army on another world that decimates the local population. Enter Taarna, an elegant, beautiful,tough, and mute warrior who is like Wonder Woman on crack. The music and the animation evoke a fittingly grandiose finish to the project that is
Heavy Metal!
Definitely check this out if you're a fan of adult animation.
Justice League: The New Frontier (2008)
DC knocks it out of the park with this one!
Now THIS is how DC is going to put Marvel's animated movies to shame. It blows their previous release, Superman: Doomsday, completely away! I was only able to read Vol. 1 out of the two trades released from the DC comic series, and the trade was very good. The movie glazed over several plot points in the interest of time but what we have left is 75 minutes of heart-felt story that takes our favorite DC characters and adds new dimensions to them. At it's heart, New Frontier is mainly Hal Jordan's story. Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman all play their roles but I think Hal is the core of this story. It tells the story of how the DC heroes reacted to the world giving in to the Red Scare during the beginning of the Cold War years and shows how they deal with it. The main antagonist of the story is a being called The Centre, an ancient creature that has been on Earth since before the dinosaurs and hates that humans have taken it over. We also get The Flash and Martian Manhunter heavily ingrained in the story. And with the PG-13 rating, the violence is not held back. Plus, the DVD bonus features are great! I especially loved the history of the Justice League feature. I highly recommend this one.
Turok: Son of Stone (2008)
A decent film, but lacking something...
I've always liked the character of Turok. My dad grew up reading Turok so when Valiant comics released new Turok comics in the 90's, we followed them. I had read a lot of good reviews about this movie but I have to say that overall it was just OK. There are two sides to this movie. First, we have no-holds bar action and violence. There are severed heads, blood splattering, and Turok delivering good old fashion beat-downs on enemy warriors and dinosaurs alike. Turok's design is good and stays true to his comic origins. His sidekick from the comics, Andar, is there too. And the designs for the Lost Land and the dinosaurs within are all very well done. On the other hand, the animation reminds me of some of the recent Marvel and DC animated projects. And while I think that style is good, it just didn't seem to fit with all the violence. Overall, the voice cast is just OK. No one, not even Turok, seems to stand out. The musical score is great at times- very orchestral and moving. But other times, it's almost synthesized and doesn't fit with the movie. It's an origin story for Turok and covers all the basics while adding new reasons for him to venture into the lost land. I just think this more mature movie would have benefited from more mature animation. But, it is one I recommend anyone give a try because I'm really on the fence about this one.
Doctor Strange (2007)
Marvel's getting better with each new film...
This is by far the best animated movie Marvel has produced so far. It takes a lot from Batman Begins as we watch Stephen Strange go on a similar journey. We have a man who is a cold-hearted surgeon (and as we find out later, has good reason to be) yet he is tasked with helping people on a daily basis. This makes for some great drama when we see how people react to Stephen Strange knowing this to be his personality. It is only when Dr. Strange becomes broken does he learn how to truly heal and it is that kind of spiritual journey that makes this story so interesting. As with most origin stories there is a slow build as the character learns about himself and what he must become in order to overcome his current situation. There is also influence from 'The Matrix' here as Dr. Strange is introduced to a world which is invisible to most but is all around us. This is where the action comes in as we see The Ancient One's warriors take on creatures from another world that are at the command of one of Dr. Strange's classic nemesis, Dormammu! It all leads up to a climactic battle that will not disappoint. Marvel is definitely learning how to improve with each new animated film and I hope this trend continues.
Babylon 5: The Lost Tales (2007)
Please sir, can I have some more!
If you're a B5 fan, you will really enjoy this! It's obvious that JMS had a budget, but I think he did a great job with it. Lochley's story was really great new territory for the series and brought up some great points about religion in this world and even had a really cool revelation about it. Sheridan's story set up a potentially great new character in Prince Vintari and set up a dilemma for Sheridan that was very well done. It was also cool to see Sheridan and Galen interact. If I had any complaints it was the music. I couldn't believe it was Christopher Franke. I loved the work he did in the B5 series but it just didn't seem as good here. Regardless, it was a great start to what I hope turns into bigger and better future B5 productions!
Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (1980)
A glimpse of what could have been...
I love to claim that I was born in "The Year of Superman", meaning that being born in 1978, I didn't get to see Superman: The Movie on the big screen. I grew up watching parts 1-4 on T.V. so I didn't know any of the back story about Donner and his Superman fiasco. It wasn't until the 2001 DVD releases that I realized all of this. So this is the angle I'm coming from with this review.
It's obvious from the special features of Superman: The Movie DVD that Donner and company had a real love for the material. I came to enjoy Superman: The Movie more after this and finally understood all the goofy moments in Superman II as well as the weird powers. So I was looking forward to the Richard Donner Cut.
(SPOILERS)
It's a little strange to watch it in this form at first. I actually watched it twice. It definitely portrays Zod, Ursa, and Non in a more threatening manner (gotta love Zod firing a machine gun with that maniacal smile on his face). I've read the original script for Superman II by Tom Mankiewicz so I know where they were going with part II once upon a time.
That is why I say this is a glimpse of what could have been. In the original script the villains caused so much destruction (destroyed a lot of Washington and monuments around the world like the Eiffel Tower from what I remember reading) that turning back the Earth was the way they wanted to fix it all (which of course is later moved to the end of Superman: The Movie). Unfortunately, Donner never got to shoot all those scenes so all we get is the destruction of a small country town, some of Washington, and some of Metropolis.
I do like the Marlon Brando scenes. It really does suit the whole father/son story and it adds an interesting dynamic as we see Superman act selfish for once (which ultimately is why all this happens). Overall, if you go into this film knowing the whole story behind the film, you can forgive some of the content (although I had no problem with the Screen Test footage used, despite Clark's hair-style shifts ).
I just wish there would have been a way to do an ending that would fit with Bryan Singer's Superman Returns more neatly.
BUT...
I will say this. The fact that the villains survive at the end of this film, leaves it open for Singer to use, at the very least, Zod, in a future Superman film. And in that respect, this film would lead into Superman Returns.
(END SPOILERS)
But all and in all, it was an interesting experience to see it, but I think Richard Donner says it best in the special features, when he says that had they been allowed to continue this saga with Christopher Reeve, it would have been an impressive series of films. Thanks for showing us a glimpse of what could have been, Mr. Donner.