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Batman

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  • Title: Batman
  • IMDB: link

Vicki Vale: “I just gotta know, are we gonna try to love each other?”
Bruce Wayne: “I’d like to. But he’s out there right now. And I’ve gotta go to work.”

Tim Burton is obviously one of our greats in concerns to innovation, style and creativity towards filmmaking. His vision for Batman was dark and brooding, just like Keaton played him. Gotham City was dark and corrupt, it had dirty streets and always foreboding and controlled by mob boss Carl Grissom (Jack Palance) until the sadistic and charismatic Joker (Jack Nicholson) appeared and took over not only Grissom’s control of the city, but his gal Alicia (Jerry Hall). The Joker owned the streets and controlled the crime in Gotham with a “smile”, the Caped Crusader (Michael Keaton) created this monster and realized he was the only one who could put him down.

As I see it I must have always been meant to be a film critic. Do you know where I was at 11:00 PM the evening before Batman was released? I was sitting in a theater watching the film before anybody else (as far as I was concerned) got to view this masterpiece. Yes back then I would have considered Batman a masterpiece. If you were to compare it to today’s Batman Begins it would have been considerably dark for it’s time.

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Holy 60’s Movie Batman!

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  • Title: Batman: The Movie (1966)
  • IMDb: link

“What has yellow skin and writes?”
“A ball-point banana!”

Batman (Adam West) and Robin (Burt Ward) take on one of their biggest challenges yet as four of the villains from the 60’s Television show team-up to take down the Dynamic Duo and kidnap the World Security Council, turn them into dust, and hold the world hostage.  You know, just your average run-of-the-mill day in Gotham City.

Although not as good as the series itself (it was filmed during the hiatus between the first and second seasons), the film does capture the spirit and campiness fans of the show came to love.

We get ridiculous riddles which are reasoned (and I use that term loosely) in an insanely twisted logic to unexpected, and quite unbelievable, answers.  Oh, and don’t forget the suicidal porpoise.

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Batman the Animated Series

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  • Title: Batman: The Animated Series – Volume One
  • tv.com: link

No digital cartoon here folks.  Despite the fact that many cartoons had gone to digital at the time it came out Batman the Animated Series is old school, in more ways than one.  Hand drawn on cells with painted backgrounds with a limited color palate and a breath-taking style that merges old school images into a new and exciting storytelling.  Producers Eric Radomski and Bruce Timm deserve all the praise I can muster for this wonderful creation that got better and better year after year.

As you watch the main titles you notice they never say Batman (that’s pretty ballsy for a “kid’s show”).  From these early images you can see the importance of the visual look to the series, which is very important on a show where the main character doesn’t talk much.  Building on core concepts of who and what Batman is while adding a new dark art deco style and flair to the look of Gotham the creators make almost all the right choices including retuning the Joker‘s balls and allowing him to be a wickedly scary demented killer.

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Psych – The Complete Second Season

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  • Title: Psych – The Complete Second Season
  • tv.com: link

psych-season-two-dvdPsychic Detecive Shawn Spencer (James Roday) and his best pal Gus (Dulé Hill) return for a second season of wacky antics, 80’s references, and crime solving. The Season Two investigations include attempted murder of a reality-TV celebrity judge (Tim Curry), an FBI counterfeiting investigation, a former bully (Ben Giroux) in need of help, Gus taking a turn as the psychic, Henry (Corbin Bernsen) going undercover at a retirement community, murder at a secret society, a trip back to school, and evil nannies.

Also this season the pair (only somewhat successfully) try their hands at bounty hunting and male modeling, get a visit from Gus’ wife (Kerry Washington), spend time on the set of Spanish soap opera, and try to keep both of Gus’ parents (Ernie Hudson, Phylicia Rashad) out jail for murder.

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Appleseed

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  • Title: Appleseed
  • IMDB: link

Deunan Knute, the main character of Appleseed, has had a less-than-normal life.  As a legendary female soldier, and survivor of the Third World War, you could say she is something close to badass.  She is the main reason that I enjoyed this anime, not for the twist, or the CG animation, but for the hardcore female badass.  Usually with anime there is the alpha male and the weakling little girl who screams, cries and flashes her panties.  Now, not all are like that, Noir is about two badass girls, Aeon Flux has another badass lady, but for some reason I could never get through Noir’s entire series box.  As for Aeon Flux, I just could not stand the dreadful artwork, sorry to say, but it sucks.

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