Looking Back at the Films of 2023 Part Seven - The Last Voyage of the Demeter

 

Alright, yet another edition. Let's get to it!

Why Didn't I See The Last Voyage of the Demeter?

Simply put, there wasn't a showing. Which really bummed me out, because I really liked what André Øverdal did with Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.

What is The Last Voyage of the Demeter?

The Last Voyage of the Demeter is a supernatural horror movie, based on "The Captain's Log" chapter of Bram Stroker's classic 1897 novel, Dracula. It was produced by DreamWorks Pictures, Reliance Entertainment, Storyworks Productions, Studio Babelsberg, Phoenix Pictures, and Wise Owl Media and distributed by Universal Pictures. The Last Voyage of the Demeter was written by André Øverdal and Bragi Schut Jr. and directed by André Øverdal.

The story is, the crew of the Demeter think they're just making a simple drop off of ordinary cargo. But they soon realize one of the crates has a blood thristy creature in it and it has escaped. Now they're all praying they'll survive.

My Thoughts

The Good: One credit I'll give goes to André Øverdal's directing. He really did a great job with how the movie looked. This looks like a perfectly dark movie. Almost like something from a more old school horror movie. Then there's the cast. Even though the material was decent, they really did keep you engaged.

The Bad: I've got nothing.

The Okay: There's four mixed bags with this movie. One being the pacing. It's okay in some areas, others you can almost feel how slow this is. Then there's the scare factor. Now there are quite a few times where yes, it's a little creepy. Mainly cause you don't know exactly where Dracula is. However there's times where you're not scared, but hey you're entertained. But I don't think that really helps too much because the movie is shooting more for an almost claustrophobic feel. Now to move onto the characters. Some are okay. I won't be putting them in my favorites list anytime soon, but there okay. Others are very dry, so when they die you'll be like "Oh well". Which now brings me to the story. Now I do like how this movie did have a focus on being this truly monstrous creature, and not the more traditional smooth gentlemen. I really dug that. However who drove me a little crazy was the ending. Cause it felt like there was two endings and they were combined. One being somebody made a self-sacrifice and feeling as though the other character's fate was gonna be left ambiguous. That really fit the tone of the movie. But then who we thought was gonna be left ambiguous, shows up, sees Dracula, and feels like it we're baited into thinking a sequel will happen. That didn't fit at all.

Final Verdict: Okay.

That's all for today. Come Back on Thursday, Sept 5th, for my A Look Back at review of Beetlejuice. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

The Crow (2024) Review

 

The Crow (2024) is a gothic comic book movie, serving as a reboot to The Crow film series, the fifth overall movie, and the second adaptation of the 1989 comic book series after the 1994 film. It's produced by Hassell Free Productions, Davis-Films, The Electric Shadow Company, Pressman Films, Ashland Hill Media Finance, and Media Capital Technologies and 30West and distributed by Lionsgate. The Crow (2024) is written by Zach Baylin and William Schneider and directed by Rupert Sanders.

The story is, demons from Shelly's past have come to haunt her. Because of this dark past resurfacing, Eric and her are murdered. Now, wanting revenge for the love of his life being killed, Eric rises from the dead and plans to everyone who was responsible.

Initial Reaction

Unlike a lot of people, I don't dread remakes, reboots, reimaginings, whatever they're called. I won't overhype them, but I'll give them a fair chance. So when I heard a new Crow movie was coming, I was curious but I was also skeptical.

Cons

I've got nothing.

Middle Ground

One of two big gray areas stems from the pacing. While there are parts were the pacing is nicely done, the majority of it is very slow. The movie's only an hour and fifty one minutes long, yet it felt like an extra twenty or thirty minutes was attached to it. Then there's the characters. Eric and Shelly are given a love story from how they meant to their deaths, and while some moments are kind of sweet, for the most part it's all surface level stuff. But I think the worst character writing came from the villains. They're very generic and because of that they're gonna be very forgettable. Even if you weren't fans of the villains from the '94 flick, at least they had distinguishable personalities. I can't say that for these ones.

Pros

Now there are a few things the movie has going for it. One of those being it's look. The cinematography is great. It perfectly captures the movie's dark tone. Then there's the special effects. While some things were a bit iffy, nine times out of ten, the CGI is really good. The overall best thing about this version of The Crow is Bill Skarsgård's performance. While the material isn't very strong, Skarsgård manages to given a really intense performance and I loved what he did throughout the movie.

While I do believe the 1994 Brandon Lee movie is a far more superior movie, I don't consider this a bad movie. Yes, it's without a doubt flawed, but there are far worse Crow movies out there. Looking at City of Angels.

My final rating is, Okay.

That's all for now. Come back on Thursday, Aug 29th, for part seven of Looking Back at the Films of 2023. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Road to Superman (2025) - Superman III Review

 

Superman III is a comic book movie and the third installment of the original Superman film series. It was produced by Dovemead Ltd. and distributed by Warner Bros. Superman III was written by David and Leslie Newman and directed by Richard Lester.

The story is, a business tycoon has tricked down on his luck computer programmer Gus Gorman to use his talents to help him seize control of anything he wants. Superman does find out about this, but before he can put a stop to them, he first must stop a dark change that's happening to himself.

• Negatives

We've got three major issues with the movie, the biggest one being the tone. This is a very campy and comedic movie, and the film itself let's you know that with the opening. It's just one unfunny gag after another. Hell, even Dark Superman felt more like a comedy bit. Because other than destroying an oil tanker, he mainly just does petty stuff like he's a teenager going through a rebellious phase. But when there's thankfully not comedic scenes happening we do get some, only some good serious moments. The best one being Clark and Lana spending time together. Those were really sweet moments. Then there's one pretty scary scene of somebody being forcibly turned into a cyborg. But these scenes clash with the campy tone. So it feels like the movie itself doesn't know what it wants to be.

Now let's move onto the villain, Ross Webster. To put it simply, he's diet Lex Luthor. That's it. Because they couldn't get Gene Hackman, the writers just made a cheap copy of Lex to fill in for Hackman. And that's really all you need to know about Ross.

Then there's my biggest complaint, which is, A LACK OF SUPERMAN! Sure he's still in the movie, but a huge proportion of his story was pushed to the background to make way for Richard Pryor's character, Gus. I'm not joking, Gus had more of a character arc then Superman. We see him at his lowest point in his life, his rise to the top, his guilt for doing bad deeds, and kind of help Superman beat the bad guys. Now I get it, it's Richard Pryor. A legendary comedian before his untimely passing, and I imagine back in 1983 some people went to see this because they were fans of him. But a majority of the audience was there for The Man of Steel. For crying out loud, it's titled Superman III, not Richard Pryor & Superman.

• Mix

Now I know it seems like I just trashed Richard Pryor, but that complaint was mainly based on the writing not him. So what do I think of him? Well honestly I think his performance got way too many harsh criticisms. I think he did pretty alright all things considered. He's got a few truly funny bits, like that whole thing about robbers and rapists, that was a good bit of dark comedy. But I think what probably would've helped was if the filmmakers allowed him to imrov here and there.

Then there's the special effects. It's mainly the same slight issue I had with the previous Superman films. Some good here and there, but sometimes things are just plain noticeable.

• Positives

To the surprise of nobody, Christopher Reeve does an incredible job. Even if there's a lack of Superman on display.

While there are a lot of issues with Superman III, it doesn't drive me crazy like other poorly made comic book movies.

My final rating is, Bad But Harmless.

Now yes, I'll unfortunately be reviewing Superman IV, but that won't be the next stop. What will it be? Well you're gonna have to wait until Sept 12th. But do look forward to my review of the upcoming The Crow starring Bill Skarsgård. That'll be uploaded on Saturday, Aug 24th. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

A Look Back at The Crow (1994)

 

With the newest Crow moving coming out this Friday, it's time to look at the first movie.

The Crow is a gothic comic book movie based on James O'Barr's 1989 comic book series. It was produced by Entertainment Media Investment Corporation, Pressman Film, and Jeff Moss Productions and distributed by Dimension Films and Miramax. The Crow was written by David J. Schow and John Shirley and directed by Alex Proyas.

The story is, On Devil's Night, rock musician Eric Draven and his fiancé Shelly were brutally murdered by a violent gang. Now, one year later on the anniversary of their deaths Eric is resurrected as The Crow and he's seeking vengeance.

• Negatives

I've got nothing.

• Mix

Now let's be honest with ourselves, the vengeance story is very simple. BUT, But what saves the movie from being casted away like many other revenge movies is the more interesting aspects. Such as it's gothic look and the whole premise of The Crow. And as I've said many times before, as long as you have some sort of entertainment factor people will forgive your simplistic story, and despite some seriously dark subject matters, The Crow does have some great action sequences. There's also some lighter moments, primarily between Eric and Sarah (a little girl who Eric and Shelly took care of due to her mother being absent most of the time). So combine the action and other aspects you can easily forgive the story being simple.

• Positives

Let's move forward to the better parts of the movie, one being that gothic look. Proyas gave this movie a nicely dark look to it. The cinematography, the shots, everything about this movie's look is amazing. I also liked how there were sort of dashes of a noir film in this.

I also want to praise Graeme Revell's score. Some of you more than likely probably haven't heard of his work, but he has done a lot of high profile movies. Such as From Dusk Till Dawn, Bride of Chucky, Freddy vs. Jason, Sin City, Pineapple Express, and Vin Diesel's Riddick movies. Now with that out of the way, his score for this was great. What you'll really love about it is how it really elevates the movie's more emotional moments as well as it's darker moments.

Then we have the special effects. Sure I did notice a shot or two that might not have looked right, but the movie's effects are still nicely done. They may have been made back in the early 90's but a lot of them still hold up very well.

The last thing I'll give credit to is Brandon Lee's performance. Brandon Lee was astounding in this and definitely set a high bar for Bill Skarsgård to live up to in the upcoming movie. And after seeing his performance here it makes it all the more tragic that he was taken away from us so soon. Because the guy clearly still had so much to give.

The Crow is a great comic book movie and I strongly recommend you watch, whether you're a fan of comic book movies or not.

My final rating is, Great.

Okay that's all for today. Come back on Thursday, Aug 22nd, for part three of my Road to Superman (2025) with my review of Superman III. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Alien: Romulus Review

 

Alien: Romulus is a sci-fi horror movie, serving as the seventh installment of the Alien franchise, and as serving as a standalone interquel set between Alien and Aliens. It's produced by Scott Free Productions and Brandywine and distributed by 20th Century Studios. Alien: Romulus is written by Fede Álvarez and Rodo Sayagues and directed by Fede Álvarez.

The story is, a group of young space colonists go aboard an abandoned spacecraft plan to salvage the cryonic stasis chambers and then head off to a planet with greater living conditions in the hopes of better lives. But when one of them is attacked by a facehugger, a new xenomorph is born. Now the remaining colonists must find a way to survive.

Initial Reaction

Now I was already excited for this movie simply because it's Alien, then I heard Fede Álvarez was directing and I got really excited, because I really liked what he did with Evil Dead (2013).

Cons

I've got nothing.

Middle Ground

One of two mix bags was the characters. Now we do have some good ones, such as Rain and Andy. I really liked their dynamic and was rooting for them to survive. But then you do have characters who are just there for a body count. Then there's the pacing. It wasn't too much of problem, but it was kind of dragging near the end.

Pros

One praise to give goes to the special effects. Now I do imagine there was a few times CGI was used, but I didn't noticed a lot of it. Because that was some nice flawless CGI. But of course we also have some stunning practical effects as well. Especially with the Facehuggers, they looked great. I also want to praise Álvarez's directing. This guy is just a truly amazing talent. He had some really great space shots, and of course he nails it with the horror aspects as well. The last thing I'll give credit to is the tension. Yes we know there's gonna be Xenomorphs, but the challenge is always how to use them. And thankfully Romulus doesn't use them too much. It was very reminiscent of the first movie. Where you're always guessing where they are, and because of that you get very anxious while watching this. Then there was that...thing during the last act. I'm not giving out spoilers, but that thing was straight up body horror.

While Alien: Romulus does have its fair share of flaws, I found myself really enjoying this. I actually wouldn't mind having this in my collection.

My final rating is, Good.

That's going to do it for me. Come back on Monday, Aug 19th, for my A Look Back at review of the 1994 version of The Crow. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Watchmen: Chapter I Review

 

Watchmen: Chapter I is an animated comic book movie based on the comic book, Watchmen. This is second movie to adapt the legendary comic, the first being the live-action Zack Snyder film. The movie's produced by DC Entertainment, Paramount Pictures, and Warner Bros. Animation and distributed by Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Watchmen: Chapter I is written by J. Michael Straczynski and Dave Gibbons and directed by Brandon Vietti.

The story is, when one of their own has been murdered, a group of superheroes investigate why. What they don't realize is this the one responsible is aware they're looking into this and is planning to take them off the board, one by one.

Initial Reaction

Now initially I was looking forward to this,but then I remembered the live-action, and wondered what could they possibly do that wasn't already done in that movie?

Cons

I've got nothing.

Middle Ground

One mix bag came from the voice acting. Now the actors and actress playing Dan Dreiberg/Nite Owl, Dr. Manhattan, and Laurie, I thought were pretty good. They fit the characters. However while I didn't hate what the actors for Comedian and Rorschach were doing for them, I did think they tried a little too hard to make them sound gruff and rough. My overall thoughts of their performance was they were okay. Then we have the pacing. Much like the comic it's based on, the pacing can be very slow in same areas. Whether or not we cut to The Black Freighter story or not.

Pros

One aspect that was really good was the style. The movie did a good copying Dave Gibbons' art, but there were also moments where the movie was doing its own thing. Then there's the animation. Now there did seem to be a few times when people move just a bit like a robot, but those were only a few moments. Some you'll more than likely miss. With that out of the way, 99.99% of the movie actually does have some really good animation. The last thing I'll touch on is the tone. The movie really did capture the growing tense with an upcoming war, but also gave you a sense of danger for our characters and the investigation. Just like the graphic novel.

While not perfect, I do see quite a few fans being pleased with this, whether they're fans of the Zack Snyder film or not. Hell, I enjoyed and I am a fan of the Snyder film.

My final rating is, Good.

I'm all done here. Come back on Saturday, Aug 17th, for my review of, Alien: Romulus. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

The Umbrella Academy - The Final Season Review

 

The Umbrella Academy is a comic book web show based on the Dark Horse comic series of the same name. It's produced by Borderline Entertainment, Irish Cowboy, Dark Horse Entertainment, and Universal Content Productions and distributed by Netflix. The series is developed by Steve Blackman and Jeremy Slater. The final season consist of only six episodes.

The story is, it's been six years since the events of the last season, and the Hargreeves have all gone their separate ways. But when they hear word of something called "The Cleanse", they reluctantly team up again and put a stop to whatever is going on.

• Negatives

The thing I disliked about the final season were the villains, Gene and Jean. Honestly, I just didn't find them all that interesting. They were bland cult leaders and quirky in the most trademark way possible. Not to mention but they're a downgrade compared to the previous villains. Season one had Leonard Peabody, a crazed former fan of The Umbrella Academy who was smart enough to manipulated one of the most powerful members of said academy, which resulted in the first apocalypse. Season two had the Handler, an egotistical and controlling time traveler who wants revenge on Five for his betrayal. Then season three was Reginald, the Umbrella's own father, who also manipulated the team to get what he wants. Season four, these two. Quirky™️ scientists.

• Mix

One gray area was the special effects. Now, there were a lot of times when the effects looked pretty good. Nothing to complain about. However you do have some moments where they went very good. But hey, some of those still looked a lot better than season three.

Then there's the story. Now there was a great sense of impending doom, and I think this was a pretty good ending for the Umbrellas. But, the character development just didn't feel as strong as the previous seasons. Hell, some characters don't have any storyline at all. Then there's also the fact this season raised too many questions. Which isn't a good thing for a series finale. Questions like, how does Five know about the Marigold? From what I remember, he didn't know about it in the previous seasons. And that's only one of many questions you'll ask yourself after the last episode. And speaking of episodes, there just wasn't enough this season. This season truly needed more episodes. That way the story could've flown more smoothly.

• Positives

The only positive, once again, goes to our cast. Despite working with material that just wasn't all that strong, they still did a fantastic job, and since this is the last time they'll be playing these characters, I hope in the future they're offered great movies and/or other great TV series to work on. They've earned it.

While I wasn't fully disappointed with the final season, I do feel like out of all four, this was the weakest.

My final rating is, Okay.

That's all for now. Come back on Thursday, Aug 15th, for my review of the newest DC animated movie, Watcmen - Chapter I. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Borderlands Review

 

Borderlands is a sci-fi action comedy movie, that's based on the video games with the same name. It's produced by Media Capital Technologies, Arad Productions, Picturestart, Gearbox Studios, and 2K and distributed by Lionsgate. Borderlands is written by Eli Roth and Joe Crombie and directed by Eli Roth.

The story is, a bounty hunter named Lilith has been hired to by a powerful man to find his daughter. She finds out the girl is on her home planet that she hasn't been to since she was a child. Now, Lilith along with her new band of misfits must not only return the kid to her dad, but also try to survive of the chaos that's coming after them.

Initial Reaction

Not I'll fully admit, not the biggest Borderlands fan. Hell, I've never even played any of the games. My only connection to this franchise is that one song Team Headkick did. So then why am I reviewing this? Well Eli Roth finally gave us Thanksgiving, and as a thank you I decided to see this movie.

Cons

There are three big problems with the movie. One of them being the humor. Really the only good moment was Tina saying "Time to make it rain, with your body parts!" Other than that...nothing. Every joke afterwards just fails. Then there's the action. Now after doing research, the Borderlands games are rated M for mature. So why make this movie PG-13? You could've had some way more intense and bloody action scenes, especially since we're in a day and age where people want more rated R movies. But what really got me about the action scenes and maybe it's just me, but it felt like some scenes were supposed to be more violent but they got edited so they can keep that PG-13 rating. Like it said, maybe that's just me, but it really did feel like that. The last thing for this section is the characters. These were some very bland characters. Even when Lilith and Tina are giving backstories, there's just not enough to make you care about them. And if they're not bland, then they're just forgettable. I know the movie had a villain, but I'm honestly drawing a blank on what his name was.

Middle Ground

Now I'll some credit to the cast. Even though the material they're given isn't good, they're clearly trying their best. Having said that, I do gotta agree with everyone when I say they're were miscasted. The biggest examples being Cate Blanchett and Jamie Lee Curtis. There's no doubt they're talented actresses, but they were just too old to being playing Lilith and Dr. Tannis. Two characters who are in their 20s or 30s.

Pros

I'll give the movie this, it's short. So you won't be sitting down and watching this for too long.

Despite some of my more harsher criticism, I honestly wasn't too mad about the movie. Probably because again, never played the games, or maybe it's because I've seen much worse. Looking at you Uwe Boll video game flicks.

My final rating is, Bad, But Harmless.

Okay, that's going to do it for me. Come back on Monday, Aug 12th, my review of the final season of The Umbrella Academy. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

A Look Back at The Umbrella Academy - Season 3

 

With season four finally out, it's yet again time to look back at the previous season.

The Umbrella Academy is a comic book web show based on the Dark Horse Comics' series of the same name. It's produced by Borderline Entertainment, Irish Cowboy, Dark Horse Entertainment, and Universal Content Productions and distributed by Netflix. The series is developed by Steve Blackman and Jeremy Slater. This season has a total of ten episodes.

The story is, after their actions in the 60's, the Umbrella Academy realizes their in an alternate 2019, where their father didn't adopt them but different kids and made The Sparrow Academy. However, this is going to be the least of their problems. Especially since a grandfather paradox is resulting in the universe being destroyed.

• Negatives

I've got nothing.

• Mix

One mix bag was the story. Now let's get into the positives first. Firstly, while there is action and the team trying to find out what caused their current problem, the storyline much liked previous seasons, continues the tradition of focusing on character. We hear and see how this alternate timeline is effecting, along with other changes in their lives. However, I don't think the Sparrow Academy got much of that character development, expect for two members. I understand the other members weren't gonna be around long, but still. It was just a little bit hard to feel something for them whenever something bad happened to them, because we knew so little. But if there's one thing that I absolutely hated was how one female character was basically the second villain of this season, and gets no punishment. She treated almost everybody like they were lower than dirt, made a deal that damn near killed everyone else, killed a character who's basically somebody's stepson, and never once gets called out or truly gets a beating. She just played victim and used her kid who was erased from the timeline as an excuse for her terrible actions. And worse of all, GETS HER HAPPY ENDING! Like I said previously, no proper punishment. She got off scot-free.

Alright, now with that rant out of the way, let's move onto the special effects. Some of them were really good, but other times, yikes. Just get a look at this one example.

How could anybody look at this, and get it the okay?

• Positives

One pro goes to the performances. Even though I slightly criticized the bits and pieces of the story, the cast both new and old did a fantastic job with the material. They're a very strong cast.

Then there's the action. Again, we don't get much because of a strong focus on character and the mystery of the paradox. But we do get is very well done, but most importantly very fun. My favorite is the fight with Umbrella Academy vs. Sparrow Academy in the first episode, and the fight with a group of guardians during the final episode.

While I do have issues with this season, especially one character NOT getting punished! There were still some aspects of this season that I did like.

My final rating is, Good.

That's going to do it for today. Come back on Saturday, Aug 10th, for my review of, Borderlands. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Rebel Moon - The Director's Cut Review

 

Rebel Moon - Chapter One: Chalice of Blood and Chapter Two: Curse of Forgiveness are the rated R director's cuts of Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire and Part Two: The Scargiver. The films were produced by The Stone Quarry and Grand Electric and distributed by Netflix. Both movies were written by Zack Snyder, Kurt Johnstad, and Shay Hatten and directed by Zack Snyder.

The story is, a group of rebels are fed with the Motherworld's military The Imperium ruling over innocent people. Now, these rebels will do whatever it takes to put a stop to this tyrannical rule.

A Change of Plans

Now initially I was gonna review both films separately, but then I realized that there's a big chance all I'm gonna do is repeat myself. So instead I decided to give you a two for the price of one deal.

My Thoughts

One of three things I'll give praise to is the flow. With the PG-13 versions, we still do get a pretty good story, I mentioned how the pacing just didn't feel right. Mainly because things had to be cut out, here, the stories are moving pretty well. Nothing that'll set the world on fire, but still a major improvement. Basically, PG-13 cuts are an abridged version, well obviously the R cuts are the full story.

Then there's the action. Oh, it feels soooo good to see these scenes fully unedited. Snyder delivers great action, but man were these action scene bloody. I remember one where soldiers were getting fired at, and then the upper half of their bodies got completely eviscerated. Yeah, Snyder really didn't hold anything back.

The last thing I'll touch on is the writing. While the PG-13 cuts did have character development (primarily The Scargiver), the Director's Cuts go much further. We get great stories about these characters. But it's not just characters that touched upon. One thing I forgot to write about in my reviews for A Child of Fire and The Scargiver is we never got to explore the world of Rebel Moon. Not the case with Chalice of Blood and/or Curse of Forgiveness. We get so much more. Whether it'd be lore, mythology, or  world building, we got to see what this universe is like, as supposed to a more surface level with the PG-13 versions.

Unsurprisingly Zack's films are better suited when things aren't cut out. While I won't be hating the PG-13 cuts of the Rebel Moon, It'll be a long, long, long time before I watch those, because the Director's Cuts are far superior.

My final rating is, Great.

Okay that's all for now. Come back on Thursday, Aug 8th, for my A Look Back at review of season three of The Umbrella Academy. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Trap Review

 

Trap is a psychological thriller movie, that's produced by Blinding Edge Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. Trap is written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan.

The story is, Cooper is taking his daughter to a concert for her favorite pop star. Soon, Cooper finds out the concert is actually a trap for a serial killer known as The Butcher, who happens to be Cooper himself. Now, he must stay one step ahead of the authorities in order to avoid capture.

Initial Reaction

The reason why I wanted to see this movie is because I feel as though Shyamalan hasn't truly disappointed, I've liked some of recent. Is he Sixth Sense perfect? No. But his quality of work is in a far better place then it was with movies such as The Last Airbender or After Earth.

Cons

I've got nothing.

Middle Ground

Alright, one gray area with the movie was the dialogue. Much like with a previous Shyamalan movie [Old], there's been some complaints about the dialogue. Much like with Old, I found some of the dialogue to be totally inoffensive. Nothing to get bent out of shape about. But! Yes, we do have some weird moments. Then there's the pacing. For the most part, the movie's pacing is pretty good. Scenes go by nicely while still giving us some much needed info for the story. However there were a few times when things could get slow. The last thing for this section goes to the story. The story is pretty decent, but you really got to use your suspension of disbelief. Because there's a few times when Cooper is a very lucky killer. One very small example is Cooper pushed a woman down some steps. Surprisingly despite there being 30,000 people at this concert and a couple of security guards, nobody saw that. Like absolutely nobody. And that's just one tiny example in the grand scheme of things. So yeah, the story can be good, but again, for the most part use your suspension of disbelief.

Pros

Now I've read and watched many reviews about this movie. Not all, but many. And I'm happy to know we can all agree that Josh Hartnett's performance is the best thing about Trap. The guy nailed this role. He really makes you believe he's this caring father, just wanting his daughter to have a good time. But he was always very believable as a psycho killer. I also really enjoyed the suspense. Even though the story isn't perfect, M. Night Shyamalan still managed to deliver some really intense moments.

Trap may not be perfect, but there's still some enjoyment to be had.

My final rating is, Okay.

That's all. Come back on Monday, Aug 5th, for my review of the director's cut of Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon films. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

A Look Back at Batman: The Animated Series

 

With Bruce Timm coming back to make another Batman animated series [Batman: Caped Crusader], I thought what better way to celebrate, then review a fan favorite. Also, I'm only gonna be reviewing the original series and the not follow-up, The New Batman Adventures. Maybe if Caped Crusader gets a second season, then maybe I'll review that one, until then, it's just this series.

Batman: The Animated Series, or often shortened to Batman TAS or BTAS. It was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and distributed by Warner Bros. It was also the very first installment of the DC Animated Universe. The series consisted of two seasons with a total of 85 episodes. Batman: The Animated Series was created by Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski.

The story is, after a great tragedy during his childhood, billionaire Bruce Wayne becomes the Batman. He vows to keep Gotham safe whether it'd be gangsters, supervillains, or people just needing a hero.

• Negatives

I've got nothing.

• Mix

Got nothing here either.

• Positives

Let's get one of the biggest pros out of the way, Kevin Conroy. I don't think there's a single bit of praise I can give him that hasn't already been said. The guy was the voice for Batman, and not just for 90's kids, but for generations of kids. The guy was absolutely talented and it's sad that he's no longer with us.

Alright let's move on to the animation. The show premiered on Sept 5th, 1992, and the animation blew people away. 31 years later, it's still incredible. It still holds up well to this day, and I hate to come off as someone who thinks all modern day animation sucks, but it can put a lot of animation we currently have to shame.

Then there's the art style. Bruce Timm has an iconic style. It's recognizable and some of the DC animated movies have used a similar style, or it is Bruce's style. His art has influenced many and for good reason. I also want to give credit to Steve Perry and his hand painted title cards. That might sound ridiculous to some of you that haven't seen the show, but believe me. The art for the title cards are quite good. They're very simplistic but have such a great style to them.

The last thing I'll praise is the writing. Now, before I gush over the writing, I do want to take a step back for a moment. Now some episodes aren't bad, there just solid, get the job done, but they're not as memorable as some. Having said that, when the episode has spectacular writing, wow, it's amazing. You do get humorous moments, but man, it's those darker and more mature moments that hit hard. Two examples that come to mind are Baby-Doll and If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich? With Baby-Doll, the day was saved, but it ends with a emotional breakdown. And If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?, again, the day is saved, but it ends with someone to paranoid to sleep. Yeah, pretty dark stuff. Then there's the fact that the writing team really did focus on character. With developments, motivations, or just charming moments of them enjoying each others company.

I firmly believe that Batman: The Animated Series isn't just a great cartoon, Batman show, or superhero show, but an essential show to watch. It's incredible and a stable of great tv shows.

My final rating is, A Must Watch!

That's all for now. Come back on Saturday, Aug 3rd, for my review of M. Night Shyamalan's newest film, Trap. It's gonna feel refreshing to take a slight break from comic book media. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.