Road to Superman (2025) - All-Star Superman Review

 

Another day another Superman review on this little road to the newest Superman movie.

All-Star Superman was a 2005 twelve issue maxiseries. DC Comics published the series while Grant Morrison wrote with Frank Quitely drawing every issue.

The story is, after saving a doctor and his teammates during a mission, Superman cells are overloaded with solar radiation. It made him more powerful but sadly this is also killing him. With so little time left Superman first reveals his identity to the love of his life Lois Lane then do what he does best, be a hero.

• Negatives

I've got nothing.

• Mix

I just know I'm gonna lose some geek credit for saying this...but I'm not the biggest fan of Frank Quitely's art. Now let me get to the positives. Frank does a spectacular job having characters express emotions through facial expressions and body language both with and without dialogue. He also applies great details with clothing, buildings, weapons, and so forth. However even though I praise his facial expressions he kind of loses me with how he draws faces. Often time they'll look puffy and have some extra details in then, like extra wrinkles. Because of this characters can look way older then what they're suppose to be.

Then we have the story. Let's start off with the positives. For starters Superman's relationship with Lois Lane. We get great tender emotional moments between them and because of that we see another side of how much dying is effecting him. He maybe solving huge issues in the world, but he still wants to make time with those closest to him. But other than love we have the theme of legacy. Like I wrote earlier Superman is trying to solve a lot of the world's problems both in strength and science. It's all about him leaving something great behind and ensure humanity's survival when he's gone. So what's the slight issue then? Well while the story is great in it's own there's one aspect I don't recall being mentioned too much, and that's the story is gonna appeal to more of a niche audience than casual readers. Grant Morrison has a lot of the Silver Age history/weirdness sprinkled throughout the story. So it does feel more like a story for longtime fans, then fans who can just jump right in.

• Positives

If there's one truly good thing it's the pacing. It's pretty good. Slow in some areas but for 99.99% of the time it's easy to read through.

While there are many aspects of the comic series I liked, there was also stuff I was okay with. Having said that though, I still liked overall. So if you're willing push forward with the Silver Age stuff, then go right ahead and give this a chance.

My final rating is, Good.

That's all for now, come back on Saturday, Mar 29th for my review of the newest Jason Statham film, A Working Man. And if I can't get a review for that, then come back on Monday, Mar 31st, for the first part of my Road to The Fantastic Four: First Steps with my of the 1994 Fantastic Four movie. Yes, that exists. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Batman: Hush Review

 

Initially I wasn't gonna do this, but and this is gonna sound so geeky, I got so pumped up that Batman (2016) #158 is gonna be the sequel to this storyline along with Jeph Loeb & Jim Lee returning, so with that info I just had to review this. Especially since it's one of my top favorite Batman stories.

Batman: Hush was a 2002 storyline and was published by DC Comics with the 1940 edition of the comic book series simply titled, Batman. The story arc can be find in issues #608-619. It was written by Jeph Loeb and the art was done by the one and only, Jim Lee.

The story is, Batman's old enemies are attacking him on a level they've never tried before. All these new methods are linked to a new villain in Gotham City who wants to destroy the Dark Knight in a psychical and psychological way. Now, Batman must stop this villain before he wins, but at the same time he's having complicated feelings when he realizes both him and Catwoman are falling for each other.

• Negatives

I've got nothing.

• Mix

It's the story, but let's get through all of the good stuff, and trust me there's a lot of good stuff. Let's start off with the action. There's plenty of action in this. Anytime Batman's gonna throw down with somebody or a chase scene or a combination of the two, it's exciting. But the best thing about it is how balanced it is. While Jeph Loeb wrote lots of action scenes, it still left plenty of room for more quieter moments. Whether it'd be just two characters talking or stuff focusing on detective work. Now there's a lot of Batman stories where the scale is grand, this isn't one of them. Despite how big the story sounds it's actually very small. A matter of fact this small story is always diving deep into Batman's thoughts on the case as well as if he can trust some like Catwoman not only as an ally, but as a possible romantic lover. Speaking of trust, that's a very big theme. You'll read about how trust is a very fragile thing and how no matter how big or small an alliance or friendship is, there's sadly a good chance that kind of trust can be broken. So with all of that good stuff there is a slight issue. When the storyline first starts the conspiracy is very interesting and for awhile keeps you guessing, but I fully admit once you keep going you do start to get a full idea who Hush [the new villain introduced to this story] is way before the big reveal in issue #619, or chapter 12 if you're reading this in a collected edition.

• Positives

Let's start off with the pacing. Despite this story being twelve issues long this a breeze to get through. Jeph didn't waste a single beat.

The biggest praise goes to Jim Lee's art. I'm a big fan of his art. Let so you some samples. Starting with...

Just look at this. The coloring, the smoke, this is just pure Batman. I remember when I was a kid, before I cared about reading and the people who made these comics possible, I remember seeing this and being blown away.

Then we have this iconic image where I'm pretty sure Batman and Catwoman shippers have this as their wallpaper be it on their computer or phone.

First let me just say this isn't a spoiler to how they end up by the end of the storyline. Having said that, I'm not very much of a romantic guy, but that's just a gorgeous piece of art. Jim's art throughout this entire story is just larger than life and has his own cinematic flair to it. His got details whether it'd be for the buildings in Gotham City or Metropolis, vehicles, or the design of the characters. And when his art is combined Scott Williams' inks and Alex Sinclair's colors, you get imaginary that not only worked in the 2000s, but even today looks amazing.

Now while I mentioned that slight flaw in the story I still love Hush. It's still fun and I say you should give it a read.

My final rating is, Great.

Anyways, that's all for now, fingers cross the sequel is good and hopefully I can give a review when that story is done. Preferably for this year. So, come back on Thursday, Mar 27th, where I return to the Road to Superman (2025), with my review of yet another comic, All-Star Superman. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Snow White (2025) Review

Snow White or Disney's Snow White is a musical fantasy movie and a live-action remake of the 1937 film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Productions was Walt Disney Pictures and Marc Platt Productions with Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures in charge of distribution. Erin Cressida Wilson wrote while Marc Webb directed.

The story is, the Evil Queen rules over a once peaceful kingdom with an iron fist. After seeing an enough of this ruthlessness, Show White decides to join others to put a stop to the Queen's rule and liberate the kingdom. But the Evil Queen won't go down without a fight.

Initial Reaction

This wasn't a movie I was really looking forward to mainly because apparently the PR department forgot to tell Rachel Zegler not to make an ass out of herself. But I figured I might as well review because I thought you guys would like that.

Cons

We've got three big negatives. Let's start off with the songs. A majority of them are very forgettable. I mean it. I only remember two of them. There's "Heigh-Oh" but that's not this movie's own original song that's from the 1937 film. Sure they changed just a little bit, but it's still a song people are gonna affiliate with the 1937 film. Then there's the villain song "All is Fair", but I'm gonna remember that one for a very different reason. I'll go into details why when I touch upon performances. But all of the other songs, nobody's gonna remember them. Then there's the Seven Dwarfs. Sure they have their personalities, but the CGI on them is so uncanny that whenever they're on the screen you're just gonna be taken out of the experience. I mean it, if you thought they looked creepy in the trailers, just watch them go through entire scenes, you'll feel very uncomfortable very quick. Disney will more than likely NOT learn any lessons from this but if they learn one, hopefully it's let never give realistic skin texture to designs that are meant to be cartoony. And what's funny is Disney could've avoided this if they had just hired actual actors. But no, they thought uncanny valley was a better idea. Then there's the story. Remember all those times Rachel Zegler was saying stupid things like how Snow White won't be rescued by the prince and all that other crap? Well that stuff didn't happen. When watching this movie there's a clear as day clash going on. It's trying to recapture stuff the original movie did but at the same time trying to be different from the original. You really start to notice it when after Snow White leaves the Dwarfs' house and meets the bandits aka the group of characters who were gonna replace the Dwarfs. Cause after that meeting you can tell that stuff was just reshoot to hell. So we get a Frankenstein of a movie.

Middle Ground

The only thing I've got is Marc Webb's directing. Now if you watch his previous films such as [500] Days of Summer & his Amazing Spider-Man films, the guy clearly has a great style. But here don't see much of it. Mainly because he more than likely had to work with what he got from those previously mentioned reshoots. So hey, A for effort.

Pros

I've got two, one goes to the performances from Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot. Now Rachel isn't gonna set the world on fire with this performance, but given the polar opposite mishmash of material she had to work with, it's amazing she was able to get a good performance. Then there's Gal Gadot. Now I've heard complaints about how hammy she is, but ya know what? I liked it. Much like Rachel, she's got a mess of script to work. So yes, it's a bit over the top, but hey, it's much pretty than being a bore. And because of that hammy acting it's one of the reasons I remember her villain song. The last aspect I'll write about is the pacing. While the movie isn't good at least it's a breeze to get through.

So yeah folks, not very good. But yet at the same time I have seen much worse.

My final rating is, Bad, But Harmless.

That's all for now. Come back on Monday, Mar 24th, for my comic book review of Batman: Hush. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

A Look Back at Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

 

With the live-action remake just around the corner it's time to review the classic.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is an animated musical fantasy film based on the Brothers Grimm's 1812 fairy tale. Walt Disney Productions produced with RKO Radio Pictures distributing. The writers were Ted Sears, Richard Creedon, Otto Englander, Dick Rickard, Earl Hurd, Merrill De Maris, and Dorothy Ann Blank and Webb Smith, with directing duties handled by David Hand, Perce Pearce, William Cottrell, Larry Morey, Wilfred Jackson, and Ben Sharpsteen. It's is also the first in two categories. It was the feature length animated film and the first cel animated feature film.

The story is, the Evil Queen has been told by her magic mirror that the fairest one of all isn't her, but Snow White. Driven by jealous the Queen sets a plot to kill Snow White and be crowned the fairest of them all.

• Negatives

I've got nothing.

• Mix

If there's one mix bag it's character. Let's start off with our the best ones, those being the Dwarfs. I don't know if I can add any more praise to them? Cause everything has already been said. They are charming, they can be funny, and the best dwarfs are Doc, Grumpy, and Dopey. Okay that last one was my bias opinion but those previous statements are true. Then we got Snow White and Evil Queen. We don't get too much about them BUT, we can identify what their characteristics are. Snow White is kind and seems to be able to make the best out of a bad situation. The Evil Queen is extremely vain and cold. So their characters are simple but it works. The worst definitely goes to the Prince. We get nothing with him. He shows up for a couple of minutes in the beginning has like three or four lines, disappears, then we don't see him until the end. Sure he's part of an iconic ending but that's all he's got.

• Positives

Now for the fun stuff starting with humor. There are quite a few moments that'll get a good chuckle out of you. Not a full belly laugh, but still enough to get a laugh out of you. Some of the best, unsurprisingly comes from the Seven Dwarfs.

The next thing I'll touch on is the more dark moments. I forgot how dark it can get. I knew about the Huntsman and the poison apple, but I completely forgot about stuff like the Queen demanding to have Snow White's heart be put in a box. Yeah, that's actually in the movie, pretty shocking isn't it?

The last aspect I'll praise is the animation. I get some could argue it's a little rough but keep two things in mind. 1) Disney's VERY first animated feature film and 2) 1937 technology. But even with those factors it's still amazing with what they made. Like I said previously, this beautiful work was done in the 1930s. They were no where near close to the tech we have now. Hell a simple ripple effect for water looks fantastic.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is an essential film to watch. Not just in the animation genre, the fantasy genre, or etc. It's movie making history that has to be seen if you're gonna have a love for movies.

My final rating is, A MUST WATCH!

That's all for now. Come back on Saturday, Mar 22nd, for my review of the live-action remake of Snow White. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie Review

 

The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie (or just The Day The Earth Blew Up) is an animated sci-fi comedy based on the Looney Tunes. While it's the fourth movie to release in theaters, it's the first fully animated Looney Tunes flick. Warner Bros. Animation produced with Ketchup Entertainment distributing. The story is written by oh boy, here comes a list folks, it's written by Kevin Costello, Alex Kirwan, Peter Browngardt, Derrick Bachman, Eddie Trigueros, David Gemmill, Ryan Kramer, Johnny Ryan, Jason Reicher, and Michael Ruocco and with Peter Browngradt also directing.

The story is, Porky Pig & Daffy Duck were once job hunting until they find one at the Goodie Gum factory. It started off as on ordinary job until Daffy finds out the gum is all part of an alien plot. Now, Daffy & Porky become Earth's only hope and must put a stop to this cosmic threat. But first, they got to make sure they don't drive each other crazy.

Initial Reaction

Having reviewed previous Looney Tunes movies, minus Looney Tunes: Back in Action, I thought it'd be fun to review another, especially since I want to forget Space Jam 2. But I was also curious because for some reason Warner Bros. didn't want to distribute it. And with recent news about Max removing the Looney Tunes from their streaming service, I thought it'd also be good to support this iconic franchise.

Cons

I don't have anything. So just move on.

Middle Ground

The only mix aspect I had with the movie was the humor. Now for at least for a majority of the runtime it is very. Great gags, some funny lines, and sometimes just funny character designs. Looking at you Farmer Jim. But there were some moments when it's just loud noise or something stupid.

Pros

Now for the good stuff. Let's start off with Eric Bauza's voice work. I love what this guy does. I think he plays a perfect Porky and Daffy. He captures their characters, or least this version of them, very well and I hope he continues to play these two in the next movie. Well, hopefully the next movie. Then there's the pacing. The movie clocks in at one hour and thirty-one minutes, and not one once of time is wasted. This is a breeze to get threw. The next thing I'm gonna praise is the animation. Browngradt and co. were shooting for a style very reminiscent of the Looney Tunes shorts of the 1950's. And I think they did a good job capturing that, and it's not just the character designs alone. They also got the wacky style as well. So if you like stuff that has a more old school look to it, here's your movie. The last thing I'll give the filmmakers credit for is them focusing on other characters. Now I'll always be a Bugs Bunny fan, but I do like that Porky and Daffy are the central focus. Hell, even though I just said Bugs is my favorite, I'm actually glad Daffy got some sort of spotlight.

I gotta say I came out liking this a lot more than I thought I would. Sure there was a slight issue but that's almost forgivable.

My final rating is, Good.

So folks, give this movie a chance. Do not let this be another Transformers One, where despite the good quality it bombed at the. Especially now, since apparently Warner Bros. isn't showing this franchise any love. Anyhow, that's all for now. Come back on Thursday, Mar 20th, for my A Look Back at review of the classic Disney film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and give this movie some love.

The Electric State Review

 

The Electric State is a sci-fi adventure comedy-drama that's loosely based on Simon Stalenhag's 2018 illstrurated novel with the same name. Production was done by AGBO and Skybound Entertainment with Netflix handling distribution. Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely wrote while The Russo Brothers directed.

The story is, it's been years since a war broke out between man and machines. One of the many effected by that war was Michelle Greene, who believes she lost her parents and her brother. But one night a robot finds her and gives her clues that her brother might be alive. With this possibility she sets off into a dystopian landscape to find him.

Initial Reaction

Originally I had no intention of watching or even reviewing this. But then I read that the Russo brothers were directing, so that got me interested. Then I saw the "teaser" (seriously when did two minutes of footage become the new standard for a teaser trailer?) and finally decided to give it a chance.

Cons

I've got nothing.

Middle Ground

There are a lot of gray areas, one being the humor. Sometimes it works. There's plenty of times when I laughed, especially with a robot named Harmen. But we also have some moments that didn't work and folks rightfully criticizing it as "MCU humor". I get the Russo's have done that before, but they need to do less of that for theit next projects, even if it is part of the MCU. Then there's the pacing. It wasn't too bad but there were moments that could've used just a slight trim. Nothing too drastic just enough where we won't loose too much of the story. Speaking of the story let's move onto to that. Now am I aware that it differs from the source material, and what I'm about to say will undoubtedly ruffle some feathers but, even if you ignore that the story we have is just fine. No it's nothing incredibly mind blowing, however it still does offer quite a bit of entertainment.

Pros

Now for some positives. Let's start with the special effects. The effects team did a tremendous job, all of the robots were flawless and I was amazed with what was accomplished. Then we have Alan Silvestri's score. Even though I don't hear his name thrown out a lot with composers such Hans Zimmer, or probably more accurately not searching far and wide enough to find his name, from what I heard from him hear, is really good. I especially love his more emotional bits of music. There's one moment during the final battle where there's a heartfelt goodbye and Silvestri's music fit so well and was very beautiful despite the matter at hand. My next bit of praise goes to the action. Even if you didn't like the story, there's no doubt the Russo's don't slack off with the action scenes. They're fun and exciting. Speaking of the Russo's I gotta write about there directing. I don't know if it's just natural evolution, budget, or both, whatever it is it's amazing. The Russo's directing this time is great. Here's some nicely done daytime shots.

Then we've got this nicely done darker tone shots.

But I think some of there best stuff was at nighttime, I really like what they did with the nighttime scenes.

Whatever sort of techniques the Russo's used for this movie I hope and pray they use them again for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. Because all of these shots looked great.

If you didn't like this movie that's fine, you clearly read how I myself had some issues. But at the same time I can't say I was bored.

My final rating is, Okay.

So that's a wrap. Due come back on Monday, Mar 17th, for my review of the newest animated movie, The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Road to Karate Kid: Legends - The Next Karate Kid Review

Oh boy, this was a tough one folks.

The Next Karate Kid is a marital arts drama movie and the fourth installment of the Karate Kid film series. Columbia Pictures both produced and distributed, the story was written by Mark Lee and Christopher Cain directed.

The story is, Mr. Miyagi goes to Boston to attend a military reunion. During this he meets the widow of his old commanding officer and her granddaughter Julie, who is still struggling with the recent deaths of her parents. One day Miyagi is surprised with her knowledge of karate. He sees this as a opportunity to teach her the true ways of karate as well as help her with her anger issues.

• Negatives

Oh boy...do we have a lot of problems, starting with the humor. I laughed maybe twice, any other time I just sat on my couch in silence. Sure the previous three's comedy weren't breaking the mold, but they at least had more to offer.

Then there's the dialogue...wow. Just bare witness to this.

Did you get that? Did you get all of that info? Are you well informed that her parents are dead? Just...wow! The only reason that was said was to tell us, not the grandmother who already knows this, but was to tell us that the parents are dead. It's like the writer had no faith in the audience putting the pieces together, so poor Hilary had to say this clunky exposition line.

Speaking of Hilary Swank, let's move on to her character, Julie. This isn't a very likable character. For a major of the movie she sucks. And I get it, typically when someone loses their loved ones, in this case the parents, people will lash out. But there was a way to do this without making Julie so insufferable. And even when she becomes a "better" person it doesn't feel good. Mainly because she doesn't spend a lot of time with Mr. Miyagi. Yeah those two don't really do a lot of bonding. So when Julie has a more chilled attitude, it doesn't feel like a good moment, because it doesn't feel like we went a full journey, but an abridged version of that journey.

I'm gonna continue with characters with the next being the villains, Alpha Elite. Boy were they boring. I mean it, out of all of the Karate Kid villains, they were generic. They're so uninspired I forgot a lot of stuff they did. The only thing I remember was them bungee-jumping during the school prom.....don't bother asking me what that's about, the movie doesn't give any explanation.

Then there's the fighting, sadly it's just not very good. It's lackluster. There's no real energy or excitement to them. Which really sucks because the previous movies had great fighting in them. Even Karate Kid Part III, despite the poor quality it has still had some good fights for us to look forward to.

The last thing I'll touch on for this section is the story. Sure it has some focus on Karate and introduces SOME new stuff, but some of its just retreading stuff we've seen. But even with that, the primary focus is teen drama queen stuff. So if you like one-dimensional teenager angst, this movie's got you covered.

• Mix

I've got nothing.

• Positives

There's only two good things about Next Karate Kid, one is Pat Morita. Despite the absolute dog shit of a story he has to work with, he still manages to put his talents to good use. So he makes this movie almost of tolerable, almost.

Then there's how the credits just pop up quickly. No seriously, the moment Pat says his last line to Hilary we don't get some sort of epilogue, no! In what felt like the snap of a finger the credits start rolling. So good news, after the final fight no more of this movie.

Jeez, what a waste of time.

My final rating is, Awful!

That's all for now. Come back on Saturday, Mar 15th, for my review of the newest Russo Bros./Netflix movie, The Electric State. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.