Scooter McGavin's 9th Green: Batman

Showing posts with label Batman. Show all posts

Monday, January 09, 2012

The Twelve Events That Will Make 2012 Awesome

Sure the world might be coming to an end December 21 but that does not mean we cannot have a little enjoyment before it happens. Here are twelve things that could lessen the blow of the world ended by the end of the year.

12. Detox - Dr. Dre: I put this at number eleven last year just in case it was not actually released and twelve months later no sign of it even if the first single was release in 2009 with the second last year. Maybe because neither really caught fire is why we are still waiting. Dre has eleven and a half months until the world ends, so hopefully he can get it out by then.

11. Work It: I have been waiting way too long for a Bosom Buddies reboot and I have a feeling this will be as close as I will get. And I will enjoy all three episodes that air before it is canceled.

10. The Amazing Spider-Man: When they first announced they had dropped Sam Raimi from the Spiderman franchise I was all ready for a boycott (even if it freed him to do another Evil Dead movie). Then they cast Emma Stone (number one on my list of the 100 Most Entertaining People of 2011) as Gwen Stacy and even though I do not care for her as a blonde, or with bangs, I will see anything she is in until she makes a bad film. Plan your July 4th weekend accordingly.

9. Bruce Springsteen: Yeah The Boss does seem to do his best work when a Republican occupies the White House (Born in the USA, The Rising) but with the economy in the tank maybe the working man’s hero of the past four decades may just have another good one in him despite the Democratic president which will be the first since the passing of his longtime sax man Clarence Clemmons. Plus the new album cannot possibly be worse than Working on a Dream.

8. In Living Color: I have long nothing is as good the second time around, then Beavis and Butt-Head came back funny as ever (granted their television watching habits have been less to be desired) so maybe the return of In Living Color for its specials (and possible regular series) will still be funny. And it will be see if any of the original cast will show up.

7. The Avengers: All of the individual Avengers movies have been at the very least solid and hinted at a collective movie and have now assembled under the tutelage of Joss Whedon. Sure I would have rather seen a Justice League movie this year instead, but you will take what you can get. The movie hits theaters May 4.

6. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter: There will be two Lincoln starring movies released this year and who would have guessed that the one with Steven Spielberg directing Daniel Day-Lewis as the titular character (along with Sally Fields, Joseph Gordon-Levett, Tommy Lee Jones, Lee Pace, Walton Goggins, John Hawes, and Hal Holbrook) would not be the most anticipated one. I guess he should have added more vampires and cast Ramona Flowers as Mary Todd. The movie is set to hit theaters June 22.

5. The Mayans and Roman Emirich Could Be Wrong: Sure, the Mayan calendar maker may not have had any insight into when the world end and stopped in 2012 just because he figured taking the calendar out 5000 years in the future was good enough. In any case, you may want to spend the year partying like its 1999 just in case.

4. House of Lies: Sure I did not love the first episode (see Previewing House of Lies) but is nice to see Veronica Mars back on weekly television without having to slum it on a horrible show like Heroes.

3. The 2012 Olympics: The greatest sporting even comes around every four years (two if you include the winter version) and I may watch even more this year as this will be the first one I will be able to watch in high definition. Get ready to plop yourself on the couch starting July 27.

2. Mumford and Son / The Avett Brother: As you may have noticed there was a lot more folksier music on my 100 Best Songs of 2011 list than in previous years and these two bands kicked open that door two years ago with a pair of great albums. Both should be back early this year with new material. Bassist Ted Dwane recently called their second album "Black Sabbath meets Nick Drake." The Avett Brothers again worked with uber-producer Rick Rubin who worked on I and Love and You.

1. The Dark Knight Rises: If you need to ask why this is number one; obviously you have not seen the first two films of the trilogy. You might want to get in line now for the July 20 release date.

Wednesday, August 03, 2011

The 10 Most Anticipated Movies of 2011-12

It has been a while since I counted down what upcoming movies I am looking forward to so here are my most anticipated films that will hit theaters sometime before the world ends (You don’t think Roland Emmerich would lie to us, do you?). Click the movie names to be taken to their trailers.

10. The Muppets (November 23, 2011) – There has been a run of movies that want to bastardize why childhood, CGI Smurf and Transformers, live action Scooby-Doo, it is only a matter of time before Jerry Bruckeimer ruins He-Man too, but at least Jason Segal had the common courtesy of not messing with TheMuppets formula and keeping them as puppets and corny, just like I like them.

9. Tower Heist (November 4, 2011) – This is purely wishful thinking because Eddie Murphy has not been in a funny movie since I was in grade school and not allowed to actually see his movies, and Ben Stiller recently has only been funny when he writes and directs his movies, but I did laugh more times at the trailer than I did in the last ten live action movies Murphy has been in. And it is hard not to think 48 Hours when Murphy shows up in jail.

8. The Help (August 10, 2011) – I do not know about her hair in the movie, but Emma Stone is the best comedic actress of her generation and it looks like she will be able to stretch her drama chops in this film too which will give us a sense of how she might fair in the upcoming Spiderman flick (where she takes Gwen Stacy over from Bryce Dallas Howard who is also in The Help).

7. 30 Minutes of Less (August 12, 2011): Danny McBride, Aziz Ansari, the director of Zombieland and the dude from Zombieland? Yes please.

6. 50/50 (September 31, 2011) – If there is one thing we learned from Funny People, also starring Seth Rogan, cancer can make you laugh. It also helps that the movie co-stars the highly likeable Anna Kendrick.

5. The Ides of March (October 14, 2011)

4. Drive (September 16, 2011)

I have a kingship to Ryan Gosling every since I constantly being told I looked like the dude from The Notebook. Apparently nobody knew his name probably becaude besides The Notebook, Gosling has been in some heavy and weird films like the drug addled teacher in Half Nelson and the doll lover from Lars and the Real Girl. Now he is making some assessable movies like the recent Crazy Stupid Love and the upcoming political thriller with George Clooney and action flick with Carey Mulligan.

3. Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter (June 22, 2012) – No trailer for this yet, but this is one of those movies, much like Snakes on a Plane, that you can tell will be awesome by title alone. And the movie gets bonus points for featuring Ramona Flowers herself as Mary Todd.

2. The Avengers (May 4, 2012): I am more of a DC guy, but I am interested how they are going to fit all these Superheroes, most that have their own standalone films, into one movie. Hopefully it will lead to a Justice League movie.

1. The Dark Knight Rises (July 20, 2012) – Seriously, does this really need an explanation?

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Batman's Rich History Allows Him to Be Interpreted in a Multitude of Ways

With Batman hitting a critical peak with the Christopher Nolan trilogy, you would think a cartoony version, both in visual and execution, may bring down the bat brand. But Cartoon Network’s Batman: The Brave and the Bold is entertaining in its own right even though it conjures up more parallels to the Adam West version than Christian Bale. And unlike recent 3-D cartoons like Star Wars: The Clone Wars, or stylized animation of the recent Young Justice, The Brave and the Bold is animation at out your eighties Saturday morning cartoon memories.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold, own it on DVD now, features the caped crusader teaming up with a different superhero (or two) from the DC Universe battling different bad guys from the same pages. Most episodes are divided into two segments, opening usually with Batman and a Super Friend already in mid mission before launching into a longer full mission after the title sequence. Oddly, the two other biggest members of The Justice League, Superman and Wonder Woman are not featured in the first season. And many of Batman’s famous rouge gallery members like The Joker, Catwoman, Penguin, Riddler, Scarecrow, Two-Face, and Mr. Freeze have blink and you’ll miss it cameos.

But the more famous DC Superhero/villains are not missed because the cartoony style is a great way to highlight some of the company’s lesser characters like Booster Gold, the Outsiders, even Sherlock Holmes to take on the likes of Gentlemen’s Ghost, Psycho-Pirate, Gorilla Grodd, and to prove not all villains are equal: Calendar Man.

Some of the standout episodes in this set include the very meta Legends of the Dark Mite! where Bat-Mite attends a Batman fan convention (where he defends a lighter incarnation of Batman) and features Biker Santa’s. And really whenever the over the top gregarious Aquaman shows up. But the episode the stands above all other is when Neil Patrick Harris shows up as the Music Meister and gets the heroes and villain alike to break out into a song and dance for his own amusement. Batman: The Brave and the Bold is a perfect Batman primer for young kids that the parents can still enjoy. Though it should be pointed out aside a trailer, there is nothing in the way of bonus material included.

Diedrich Bader may not be the first name to come to mind when casting the Dark Knight, but his deep gravely voice works well in the role (just as long as you don’t conjure up visions of his work on The Drew Carey Show or his current gig on Outsourced) and his comic background work does help in the show’s lighter moments. Other vocal talents are provided by the likes of Will Friedle as the Jamie Reyes version of Blue Beetle, Oded Fehr as Equinox, R. Lee Ermey (from History’s Mail Call) as Wildcat, Carl Lumbly as Tornado Tyrant, Phil Morris (who plays the live action Marian Manhunter on Smallville) as Jonah Hex, Paul Reubens as Bat-Mite, Tom Everett Scott as Booster Gold, , Armin Shimerman as Psycho-Pirate, Jeffrey Tambor as Crazy Quilt, Tony Todd as Astaroth, Kevin Michael Richardson as Black Manta and B’wana Beast, and Wil Wheaton as the Ted Kord version of Blue Beetle. Check out a synopsis from Warner Brothers below:

Batman wings into an exciting new era, teaming with a mighty honor roll of DC Comics Super Heroes in this action-packed series. Through the show’s final 13 Animated Adventures in this 2-Disc Collection, the Dark Knight allies with Aquaman, Plastic Man, Blue Beetle, Red Tornado, Green Arrow, Wildcat, Deadman, Bronze Tiger and Atom to take on an array of evildoers ranging from mad scientists to intergalactic crooks, from power-mad dictators to out-of-control teenagers. He even travels to a parallel world, becoming the villainous Owlman! (Scooter’s Note: The Owlman episode is actually part of Season Zone, Part One and not part of this set) In this cool, cutting-edge and often funny series bringing back old-school comic-book styling and dry wit to crimefighting, Batman faces any peril – including other heroes stealing the show – in his relentless pursuit of justice.

Full Disclosure Notice: This DVD was given to me on behalf of Warner Bros. for the purpose of reviewing the series.

Saturday, October 09, 2010

Best of the Week vol. XLVII

Quote of the Week: He’s out there on the street and he’s kicking (expletive deleted) like Batman. You’re married to Christian Bale. Or Michael Keaton at least. (Katie, No Ordinary Family)

Song of the Week: American Girl – Tom Petty (as sung by Jimmy T, Survivor)

Big News of the Week: The Baseball Playoffs Begin: Who knew? I really haven’t watched the sport since I realized that everyone was medically enhanced. Maybe when they finally clear the sport of the cream and the clear and add a cap so I actually think my team may have a chance to make the playoffs, I start paying attention again.

Gratuitous Token Hot Chick Picture of the Week:

Free Download of the Week: Law & Order: Los Angeles, Season 1 - Law & Order: Los Angeles (iTunes): For those the missed the first west coast version of the franchise, here it is for free.

Deal of the Week: The Happy Birthday Sale (The Big Bang Theory, Eastbound and Down, The Hangover [Blu Ray], The Wire)

Video of the Week: ABC Family’s syndication of Friday Night Lights has soften the blow that I will have to wait another four to seven months for the start of the new season. Of course for those with DirecTV, you only have to wait another two and a half weeks. Below is a promo for the DirecTV return featuring The Black Keys When the Lights Go Out.

Friday Night Lights Season 5 Promo

Next Week Pick of the Week: Rubicon, Sunday at 9:00 on AMC: Rubicon really kicked into gear last week and with only two episodes left (tomorrow and next week), we may be in for an explosive season finale. Quite literally with an extremist entering the country and the API boss apparently profiting from catastrophes his group identifies.