Blu-ray / DVD Review - Batman: Soul of the Dragon

I am a fan of Bronze Age comic books. So when I heard DC was planning and animated movie set in that era in the Bruce Timm style, I said to myself, "Self, you should watch that movie." And I did

Batman: Soul of the Dragon is a 2021 animated martial arts film. It is rated R for violence and is appropriate for tweens and up.

The Good

Vibe. This movie has a great vibe from the visuals to the music to the action to the pacing that really evokes 70s martial art films and 70s TV.

Characters. This film has a great variety of characters form 1970s DC comics that either haven't appears before on the screen or have had very small appearances. The cast of characters had great chemistry together and worked together well.

Art Direction. The look and feel of the characters, backgrounds, vehicles, and action was very nostalgic while still feeling current and not retro. The look was unique while hearkening to a familiar era.

The Bad

Corner Cutting. My biggest complaint is the filmmakers didn't explore this world as thoroughly as they could. The plot was pretty simple and straightforward which is perfect for lots of side trips to explore the world. And while there were a few along the way, they weren't as fully explored as I would have liked, and there weren't enough of them.

 

What I Would Like To Have Seen

I wish the filmmakers had gotten a little more excited about this project and had put a little more energy and heart into it.

Overall

Batman: Soul of the Dragon is a 2021 animated martial arts film. This movie has a great vibe from the visuals to the music to the action to the pacing that really evokes 70s martial art films and 70s TV. This film has a great variety of characters form 1970s DC comics that either haven't appears before on the screen or have had very small appearances. The cast of characters had great chemistry together and worked together well. My biggest complaint is the filmmakers didn't explore this world as thoroughly as they could. The plot was pretty simple and straightforward which is perfect for lots of side trips to explore the world. And while there were a few along the way, they weren't as fully explored as I would have liked, and there weren't enough of them. I wish the filmmakers had gotten a little more excited about this project and had put a little more energy and heart into it. Overall it's a very enjoyable film. I give it 4 out of 5 Boxes of Popcorn.

 

Blu Ray / DVD Review - Batman: Death in the Family

I really enjoyed Batman: Under The Red Hood and wished they had spent more time on the Death in the Family part of the film. Well Christmas came early this year because that happened.

Batman: Death in the Family is a 2020 animated superhero film. It is rated R for violence and gore and is appropriate for teens and up.

The Good

Concept. The concept is pretty clever. This is a choose-your-own-adventure style story where the story branches off and you can choose what happens. What I like about this is it really explores several of the what ifs which is really fun and opens up new story possibilities.

Stories. The storytelling was really strong and really engaging. This story went in a lot of different directions, many of them ending very differently.

The Bad

Corner Cutting. My biggest complaint is the filmmakers didn't go far enough. A lot of the footage was recycled from Batman: Under the Red Hood with the new footage at a much lower quality. Much of it was still frames or very limited animation with voice-over narration. While this wasn't necessarily bad and still provided a lot of entertainment, it was a sign of the whole approach to this. Many of the stories ended too soon not fully exploring the possibilities, and a few went in directions that were too similar instead of exploring a wider set of possibilities.

Additional Shorts. I like the characters they chose for the additional shorts, I just wish the filmmakers had chosen better stories to tell that weren't so dark and generic. I wish the stories better reflected the nature of the characters and what make them unique.

 

What I Would Like To Have Seen

I wish Warner Bros had put more money and resources into this project to fully realize it, because what they did do was really well done.

Overall

Batman: Death in the Family is a 2020 animated superhero film. The concept is pretty clever. This is a choose-your-own-adventure style story where the story branches off and you can choose what happens. What I like about this is it really explores several of the what ifs which is really fun and opens up new story possibilities. My biggest complaint is the filmmakers didn't go far enough. A lot of the footage was recycled from Batman: Under the Red Hood with the new footage at a much lower quality. Much of it was still frames or very limited animation with voice-over narration. While this wasn't necessarily bad and still provided a lot of entertainment, it was a sign of the whole approach to this. Many of the stories ended too soon not fully exploring the possibilities, and a few went in directions that were too similar instead of exploring a wider set of possibilities. I wish Warner Bros had put more money and resources into this project to fully realize it, because what they did do was really well done.  I give this film 4 out of 5 Boxes of Popcorn.

    

 

Movie Review - Scooby-Doo! Wrestlemania Mystery

I've been a Scooby-Doo fan for as long as I can remember. I haven't been a fan of all his incarnations, but they have been fun to see different ways he and his gang can be reinterpreted.

Scooby-Doo! Wrestlemania Mystery is a 2014 direct-to-video action comedy film featuring Scooby-Doo and the gang. If it were rated, it would be rated G and is appropriate for all ages.

The Good

Visuals. This movie has really nice character designs and background designs. It has the right balance of cartoony and realism to make the WWE wrestlers look like real people but still like they fit in Scooby-Doo's world.

Story. The story is one of the strongest for a Scooby-Doo tale with some real thought to motivation and twists. It's still not going to win any awards.

Action/Animation. The animation is really well done with the wrestling looking smooth.

The Bad

Opening Titles. The song wasn't great and there was no logic or reason to show the villains from the first season. They don't make an appearance here. It looked more like an anniversary title sequence than WWE.

What I Would Like to Have Seen

A little more wrestling.

Overall

Scooby-Doo! Wrestlemania Mystery is a fun direct-to-video movie appropriate for all ages--safe for the youngsters and entertaining for the older crowd. The animation is very smooth and fluid, the character designs are both cartoony enough to be Scooby-Doo and realistic enough to make the WWE wrestlers look like actual people, and the story is much stronger than most direct-to-video cartoons with actual thought put into motivation and twists. While nothing groundbreaking, it is a lot of fun with the usual troupes one expects from this kind of movie. I give this film 4 out of 5 Boxes of Popcorn.

   

 

Blu-ray Review - Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

I'm a huge Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fan, but the idea of them crossing over with DC or Marvel characters never seemed like a good idea. The first comic book mini-series this film is based on was pretty disappointing. But Amazon had the rental on sale, so I thought, "What the hay?"

Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a 2019 direct-to-video action superhero film featuring the DC Comics hero Batman (created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger) and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird). It is rated PG-13 for language and violence and is appropriate for teens and up.

The Good

Story and Pacing. This movie had a solid story that made sense, wasn't contrived, and moved logically from one scene to the next. The pacing was deliberate and slow enough to develop the story but fast enough to never become boring.

Animation and Art Direction. While this wasn't my favorite look for the characters, it worked really well for the story and the movie.

Action. The fights were so fun and so well done showcasing so many characters and most of their abilities and unique traits. It was fun to see Batman and Shredder so evenly matched and such a long struggle to fight each other without a quick resolution.

Titles. The titles were gorgeous with black and white cityscapes and colored characters in front. The end credits with famous comic book covers recreated with Batman and the Turtles were also very clever.

Fan Nods. There were a lot of easter eggs and nods to the fans as well as references to previous incarnations both in film and print of the characters that really made the world rich.

Voice Acting. All the voice casting choices were new, but they felt classic.

The Bad

Violence and Swearing. I get this movie is meant to appeal to an older audience, but the action and sophistication of the story would have done that. The extreme violence and cussing actually detracted from the film.

Science of Ooze/Mutagen. The fact that the ooze works instantaneously and can only be cured within a short window makes absolutely no sense. Everything else was well thought out and well considered. The major McGuffin of the story not being well considered was kind of strange.

What I Would Like to Have Seen

I wish the Batmobile had been a cooler design.

Overall

Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is one of the best animated films I've ever scene. The story is solid and well considered, the action is fast and fierce and showcases each character's unique abilities, the voice casting sounded classic, and the titles were gorgeous. Even though this film was targeted to an older audience, the amount of violence and harsh language detracted feeling contrived and forced. I give this film 4.5 out of 5 Boxes of Popcorn.

   

Movie Review - Searching

I heard about this movie and thought the concept was unique, but I wondered how could they sustain an interesting story without ever leaving a computer screen?

Searching is a 2018 thriller drama. It is rated PG-13 for language and intensity, but is appropriate for tweens and up.

The Good

The Concept. This entire movie takes place on a computer screen, usually the father's laptop, but other screens, including security camera footage, is used. It's a really unique way to tell a story, and the filmmakers pulled it off. Everything made sense. Everything worked.

The Story. The story was amazing. I was hooked from about five minutes into the film. It moved quickly, yet never became confusing. I really felt for all of the characters. There were twists and turns I didn't see coming. I was at the edge of my seat until the end.

The Twists. I'm really good at predicting "twists" in movies. Most murder mysteries I know who it is from the first introduction of the guilty party. But this movie had twists I didn't even know where coming, let alone know what they were.

The Relevance. This movie is very much a 2018 movie with the social media platforms, but I think it will age well, because the real heart of the story is about a father who discovers he doesn't know his daughter and is shocked by his search to discover her. That is a timeless story that will reverberate throughout the ages.

The Bad

...

What I Would Like to Have Seen

...

Overall

Searching is one of the best movies I have ever seen. The concept of using only a computer screen to tell the story was brave but so well executed. The story was solid, exciting, and kept me at the edge of my seat. The twists were so unexpected and truly surprising. The heart of the story, a father learning he doesn't really know his daughter and is surprised by the revelations he uncovers is timeless and powerful. I give this film a solid 5 out of 5 Boxes of Popcorn.

       

Quick Movie Review: Goodbye Christoper Robin

I love the Ernest Shepard art of the Winnie the Pooh books, so I was curious to see the story behind their creation. Goodbye Christoper Robin is not at all what I expected it to be. I was surprised by all the drama and domestic problems behind the creation of the beloved classic. The story was interesting, it just wasn't well told. The movie chose to jump around in time chaotically instead of presenting the story linearly, which made it a bit confusing. The actors weren't likable and the pacing was very slow. I give this film 3.5 out of 5 boxes of popcorn.

    

Movie Review - Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold

I loved Batman: The Brave & the Bold and was really sad when it was cancelled and replaced by that joke Beware the Batman, which didn't even last a season. (Who honestly thought THAT was a good idea? Even the concept stunk. Let's not even get into the execution.) Batman: The Brave & the Bold was a love letter to the Silver Age of Comics, Dick Sprang's weird cartoony style, and Jack Kirby-style action. It was probably the closest to a direct translations of comics coming alive on the screen possible. And I love Scooby-Doo and all the crossovers and adventures he and the gang undertake.

Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold is a 2018 direct-to-home-video superhero animated movie. It is appropriate for all ages.

The Good

Premise. The Scooby-Doo gang is invited to join a secret mystery solving club consisting of several DC Characters. They end up working on Batman's only unsolved case. Cool idea!

Action. This movie is filled with heroes and villains from the DC Universe with lots of fighting and other superhero action, which is exactly what a fan wants to see.

Characters. This movie included a lot of DC characters, some we haven't seen before and others in versions we haven't seen before, which was one of the things that made Batman: The Brave and the Bold so much fun.

Animation Style. This movie was in the style of Batman: The Brave and the Bold which was basically the Dick Sprang and the Silver Age of Comics. Even the Scooby-Doo characters were redesigned to match this style, and they work incredibly well in it. It's one of my favorite interpretations of them.

The Bad

The Story. While this movie had a great premise, there wasn't a lot to the actual story. It was mostly a clue leading to a new location so the gang could fight a handful of villains, find another clue, go to another location, and fight more villains.

Pacing. Most of this movie moved at a decent pace, but there were times when the story lagged and I found myself looking at the time.

What I Would Like to Have Seen

I wish the story had been stronger. This movie was little more than an excuse to showcase a bunch of villains, which was cool, but could have been cooler.

Overall

Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold is a fun movie featuring over a dozen of Batman villains from the heavy hitters like Joker, Penguin, and Riddler, to the lightweights you probably wouldn't recognize the names of. The animation style, the action, and the premise are all solid and top notch. The story is a little thin and the pacing slow as the gang travels from one clue to the next mostly so a new group of villains or characters gets screen time. This movie is exactly what you expect it to be. I give this film 4 boxes of popcorn out of 5.

    

Blu-Ray/DVD Review - Cartoon Roots: Halloween Haunts

I am a huge fan of early film and early animation. I love how original and innovative they were. I love how surreal the stories are. Many people look back at Looney Tunes shorts from the 40s and 50s and say how clever and innovative they were, but really they were only copying what had been done for decades before.

Cartoon Roots: Halloween Haunts is a Blu-Ray/DVD anthology of short films from 1907 to 1948. All feature animation, and many feature live action mixed with animation. They are unrated and appropriate for most ages.

The Good

Restoration. Some of these films are 110 years old, so it is really incredible to see them looking this good. Considering the projection technology that existed when these were first created and shown, they may look better than they ever have. I really have to hand it to Tommy Jose Slathés' Cartoons on Film for preserving and presenting these treasures.

Innovation. One of my favorite things about early film is how creative and innovative the early filmmakers were. This was all new with no real precedents, and the animators were a lot of young kids with wild ideas, so they were really free to experiment and fail. I don't think we'll ever see such an era again.

History. Included with this set is a booklet with background information on the shorts that is fascinating and helps put them in perspective.

Three Felix the Cat Cartoons. I love Felix the Cat. His early cartoons are still some of the most original, fun, feisty, and original adventures I've ever seen or read. I think he could be a big hit today if a filmmaker would go back to his roots and make something that daring, bold, and irreverent. And we get THREE cartoons on this set. Granted, one is a mediocre color cartoon that lacked the feistiness of early shorts, but it was still fun.

The Bad

Mundane Selections. Not every film that has ever been made is a classic and deserves to be viewed or preserved. There are a few examples on this set.

No Real Special Features. This definitely targeted to a small and specific audience. While we love these old films and a beautiful presentation of them, we also love the story behind them. It's a shame there weren't more special features beyond a few newspaper clippings on the DVD and a small booklet with a little background information.

What I Would Like to Have Seen

Honestly, this set is everything I could hope for when I first saw it advertised. I've purchased several sets like this in the past and have always been disappointed in them. This one I was truly pleased with. My only minor gripe is a documentary about the films would have been nice. A lot of the work has already been done on the Cartoon Research website.

Overall

Cartoon Roots: Halloween Haunts is a true treat. The short films are beautifully restored. Most feature amazing, innovative techniques and original storytelling. And THREE Felix the Cat cartoons! Does it get better than that? I give it 4 out of 5 boxes of popcorn.