July 2008

Batman Begin Again!

/ / Movie Reviews, Theme Week
  • Title: Batman Begins
  • IMDB: link

Diehard fans of The Dark Knight have long since given up on a cinematic treatment that gives us a definitive Batman.  We all long to forget Adam West’s camp-o-rama, Burton’s Batman was just weird and violated some central tenets of the Batman mythology, and Schumacher?  Well, the less said the better. (Two words: Bat Nipples).  So news that Christopher Nolan was giving us a Batman: Year One tinged reboot of the series was met with equal anticipation and dread.  Nolan is certainly a genre-fan favorite, considering the success of Memento, but he’s otherwise unproven, and the superhero film is not an easy one to get right.

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Batman: Mask of the Phantasm

/ / Home Video, Theme Week
  • Title: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
  • IMDB: link

“I need it to be different now.  I know I made a promise, but I didn’t see this coming.  I didn’t count on being happy.”

The return of Bruce Wayne’s (Kevin Conroy) lost love (Dana Delany) to Gotham and the arrival of a new mysterious villain are the ingredients to what is, at least so far, the best Batman film ever made.

Taking pieces from both Frank Miller’s Barman: Year One and Mike Barr’s Batman: Year Two this animated flick gives us a new villain for Batman to fight and ghosts from the past which must be confronted.  The best scenes of the film involve the flashbacks of Bruce Wayne weighing his new feelings for Andrea (Delany) versus the vow he made to his parents.  Of all the Batman movies made Mask of the Phantasm does the best job of capturing the continually tortured soul of Bruce Wayne on screen.

Also included are flashbacks scenes of Bruce Wayne’s first night out as a vigilante, with missed success (something missing from Batman Begins) and a look back at the first moment Bruce Wayne donned his famous costume in one of the best Batman scenes ever.  Neither Tim Burton nor Christopher Nolan have given us anything as perfect in this simple shadow non-reveal reveal of Batman’s first appearance.

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Batman: A Comic History

/ / Comics, Theme Week

When you’ve been around almost seven decades you tend to rack up quite the history.  Not to fear Bat-fans!  Your pals here at RazorFine have got you set for Bat-101 with this simple comic timeline capturing everything from the Batmobile’s first appearance, the death of Jason Todd, the creation of the Justice League of America, Batman’s broken back, Barbara Gordon getting shot, Ace the Bat-Hound, and so much more!  Enjoy all the Bat-timeline goodness inside!

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Holy Absolute Awesomeness Batman!

/ / Comics, Theme Week
  • Title: The Dark Knight Returns – Absolute Edition
  • Comic Vine: link

“Every year they grow smaller.  Every year they hate us more.  We must not remind them that giants walk the earth.”

Frank Miller’s classic The Dark Knight Returns is a masterpiece.  Comic books get a bad rap in our society, but, as in any art form or genre, there are those pieces that perpetuate the mundane stereotypes, and then there are those that transcend.  Dark Knight is the later.

Forty years after the character’s introduction to pop culture, Frank Miller was able to craft something uniquely different, that would not only change the character forever, but begin a tidal wave movement of celebrating the legend of the hero while paradoxically showing the heroes themselves, as real people struggling in a real world.

Miller reminds us of the tortured young boy behind the mask, filled with a vengeful rage that has not yet, and perhaps never will be, quenched.  Batman, more than ever before, took his place as a legend, an icon, a super-man if you will.

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Holy Absolute Awesomeness Batman! Read More »