Justice League: Doom (Video 2012)

***S  P  O  I  L  E  R  S***

"The end of justice"

 
RATED- PG-13
RUN TIME- 90 MINS
WRITER(S)- DWAYNE McDUFFIE AND MARK WAID
STARRING- KEVIN CONROY, TIM DALY AND SUSAN EISENBERG
DIRECTOR- LAUREN MONTGOMERY 



Synopsis taken from IMDb
Vandal Savage steals confidential files Batman has compiled on the members of the Justice League, and learns all their weaknesses.




STORY: I usually don't like The Justice League. Batman is no doubt my favorite superhero, but I'm not a fan of the rest of the gang. Superman is alright but I don't care for Wonderwoman and The Green Lantern too much. Martian Man Hunter is one that I'm not too familiar with due to me having no interest in him. So, I was apprehensive about watching this one. I like Batman solo with maybe the company of Robin rarely.

The head villain in this film is Vandal Savage, and he gets Mirror Master to sneak into Wayne manor's lower level (Batcave) and download something off of Batman's computer system. What did he download? All the files Batman had on all of his teammates. Unknowingly to them, Batman shows his true genius and has come up with ways to stop any and all Justice League members who may possibly use their powers for the worse of humanity. This isn't a means to kill them, just neutralize them should they ever need it. However, Vandal Savage adds in a way to kill them all on his own.

Vandal Savage hires Bane, Ma'alefa'ak, Cheetah, Mirror Master, Star Sapphire and Metallo to take out the Justice League. One villain to match each hero and use Batman's scheme against them. Things get pretty bad when the villains show up. Bane actually digs up Bruce Wayne's parents and buries Bruce alive with them. Things look bad for the Justice League as their worst fears are exploited and used against them.

Eventually the Justice League preservers and win the war against them. Even the villains learn that Vandal Savage is a monster when they learn he plans to destroy the world. When Batman comes clean about the plans used against them being his he leaves the team on his own accord. Stating that he'd do it all over again if he had to, because their power is too great to risk not having his plans to neutralize them. Batman becomes a loner, which he's best at. Only Superman truly agrees with him and understands him.

The Justice League takes a stand

ANIMATION: The animation in this film is perhaps a bit too much like anime for my liking. It is well done though. The voice-over's are on point and I really enjoyed how they made Bane have a Latin accent. They kept it pretty close to the comics. The overall look and design of the characters is well achieved.



ACTION: This movie is very dark for an animation film and there's a lot of fighting and over-the-top violence. It's definitely meant for a more mature audience, but can be enjoyed by any comic book nerd like myself.



OVERALL: This movie is fresh and original. It's gritty and enjoyable. It's all you can want and expect from an animated film. And it sure as hell beats a real Justice League movie. It sickens me that they're rebooting the Batman film series in 2017. Because they want a "Green Lantern friendly" Batman so they can go ahead with a Justice League movie. Hollywood can never just let a good thing go. I'm convinced that all other Batman films will pale in comparison to Nolan's epic trilogy.

Especially if they want a friendlier Batman...

THIS FILM GETS 3 REAPER SKULLS OUT OF 5

Frankenweenie (2012)

*** S  P  O  I  L  E  R  S***

"The electrifying dog is back from beyond the grave."

RATED- PG

RUN TIME- 87 MINS

WRITER(S)- LEONARD RIPPS, TIM BURTON AND JOHN AUGUST

STARRING- WINONA RYDER, CATHERINE O'HARA AND MARTIN SHORT

DIRECTOR- TIM BURTON

Synopsis taken from IMDb

Young Victor conducts a science experiment to bring his beloved dog Sparky back to life, only to face unintended, sometimes monstrous, consequences. 

STORY: I first saw the original 1984 Frankenweenie short film about 7 or 8 years ago when I bought The Nightmare Before Christmas on DVD. I liked it a lot. It was dark and demented, but also sort of cute. However, that was at a time when I still was a fan of Tim Burton's work. One of the cool things about Frankenweenie was the teacher being a Vincent Price look-alike and they kept that true in this full feature film. I'm a big Price fan.

Victor Frankenstein is a filmmaker and a scientist. He is known around school as being extremely intelligent, but he has no friends and no life. So his father insists he gets out of the house and Victor follows suit. He gets involved in a baseball game and hits his first ever home run, but his victory is instantly turned to gloom. When his dog Sparky chases the ball Victor hit it leads to his demise when he's hit by a car and killed. Victor remembers a recent science demonstration he saw of electricity making dead frogs move. Victor digs up Sparky and makes a laboratory.

Once the experiment goes right Sparky escapes into the neighborhood and is spotted by Igor, a kid Victor sees and interacts with now and again. Igor blackmails Victor into giving him his secret. Igor shows off his invisible goldfish to some "cool kids" at school and they make Victor give up his formula. The bullies ensue the Victor's whole class to make their own experiments and his secrecy of Sparky to even his parents is over. Soon after, the town is in fear of their lives as the monsters their sons and daughters created and it's up to Victor and Sparky to stop it. 

I had heard this movie has a sad ending and it did. However, it is short lived. This is just another story about how playing God only makes things go a billion times worse than possible. It's about letting go and moving on. It's about not compromising the laws of physics and moral for the sake of ones benefit. And ultimately, it's about how attempting to create life is a bigger burden than anyone can handle and too much power.

Victor greets Sparky upon his arrival back to life.

ANIMATION/FX: The animation in this film was great but also typical. It's a cool idea but it's nothing we haven't seen before. It's very generic and was better understood as a short film. Instead, you have a full length movie with black and white claymation. It's just unimpressive.

OVERALL: This story hits a spot with me that will always be a fan of Burton, but it's not enough. This, like all his other recent movies show how tired his material is. It's the same package wrapped in a different paper. Frankenweenie is probably the only last decent film Burton has left and it's not even original. To the Burton that brought us Sleepy Hollow, Beetlejuice, Big Fish, Batman and Edward Scissorhands, I ask you to please move on and do something new or hang up the goofy hat.

THIS FILM GETS 3 REAPER SKULLS OUT OF 5

ParaNorman (2012)

"You Don't Become A Hero By Being Normal"

RATED- PG
RUN TIME- 92 MINS
WRITER(S)- CHRIS BUTLER
STARRING- KODI SMIT-McPHEE, ANNA KENDRICK AND CHRISTOPHER MINTZ-PLASSE
DIRECTOR- CHRIS BUTLER AND SAM FELL

Synopsis taken from IMDb

A misunderstood boy takes on ghosts, zombies and grown-ups to save his town from a centuries-old curse.

STORY: Norman Babock is a young boy who can speak with the dead, including his grandmother that lives with him and his family. Due to this reason he is looked down on by a lot of people and he's bullied in school. Soon enough Norman meets a friend at school named Neil Downe, a chubby boy who's used to ridicule and bullying himself. They get along just fine.

During a rehearsal of a school play commemorating the town's witch execution from 300 years ago, Norman gets a ghastly vision that he's being pursued as a witch by the townsfolk. And Norman's uncle, Mr. Prenderghast, a local bum, warns Norman that the vision was a sign that he will have to take up the regular ritual to protect the town. The same ritual Uncle Prenderghast has been doing up until this point. A ritual that shields the town from the witches curse.

Soon after, the small New England town of Blithe Hollow, Massachusetts is being relentlessly pursued by zombies. Norman must find the answers on how to save the town before it's too late, and that includes contacting the witch the town executed 300 years ago.

Norman and his friends run from the living dead taking over their town

ANIMATION: The animation in this film was really good, I love good old claymation. CG is incredible and all, but it was a breath of fresh air to see a movie that went a little old school with things, though there was still some CG in the film. I liked the overall appearance of this film.



ACTION/FX: The scenes of intense action were well done, the CG looked great and I really liked how they didn't hold back with this movie. It's a horror film for children, what's not to love? It gets a little violent when the residents of Blithe Hollow strike back against the zombies, and it really puts a new perspective on things.


OVERALL: This film is funny, cute and fun. It does get a bit too serious at the end and I think it may go deeper than some kids can understand, but it's a solid film that adults will love just as much as kids. It's creepy and a good way to introduce your kids into horror, or to just have a good time with some friends. ParaNorman is a must-see for all ages. The main message in this film is acceptance and forgiveness.

THIS FILM GETS 3 1/2 REAPER SKULLS OUT OF 5

Batman Year One

This was one of the many movies I asked for for Christmas and luckily Santa didn't hold out. Now I know it's not likely for me to do a comic/animation movie review but because it's Batman I'll make an exception.

The graphic novel of this title was great so I was really excited to see this movie. I really enjoyed it. I thought for what it was it was very cool and well done. The action scenes were done just right. The story was good and kept me entertained and the animations were on point.

This story centers around Bruce Wayne and how he became Batman and how Commissioner Gordon moved to Gotham and his struggle with corruption in and outside the police station. I liked how the stories of these two interacted and to see where Gordon and Batmans relationship stemmed from.

3 stars for me. Check it out if you're a Batman fan.