Category: Reviews
“Pan’s Labyrinth” is an endlessly imaginative, oddball fantasy-coming-of-age story that takes place against the backdrop of Fascist Spain and seamlessly blends influences such as classic literature like Alice in Wonderland, European folklore, children’s fairytales, gothic body horror, and world religions.
“They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead” is a surprisingly impassioned, meticulously researched, and artfully crafted portrayal of perhaps the biggest victim of one’s own success in history; someone whose entire career was always in the shadows of his original, shadowy masterpiece; an artist who spent most of his life chasing the glory of his very first artwork which was forever deemed by everyone else and without his say the very greatest in the medium. How can you ever top that?
This three-part episode is both a launching pad for the most successful and loving cinematic exploration into the Superman mythos ever and a delightful, imaginative stand-alone story that powerfully tells the poetic story of the last son of Krypton.
This documentary lovingly chronicles the history of DC Comics, but more importantly the characters — particularly Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman — and the imaginative genre to which they belong that the company introduced and built upon for the subsequent 75+ years; characters and storytelling tropes whose widespread and iconic influence no one could’ve predicted.
As opposed to so many modern superhero movies that sometimes use CGI as a crutch, “Superman and the Mole-Men” culminates in a very straightforward, story-driven scene in which Superman must bring the wounded Mole-Man back to his people before they are killed by perhaps the most unambiguously evil, yet all-too-real, xenophobe vigilante Luke Benson. This ending is not an incomprehensible, ultimately dull fist fight between super-beings, but a simple act of good will.
“Batman: Assault on Arkham” doesn’t reach the peaks of the DC Universe Originals, but with excellent voice acting and a smart script, it manages to be a fun little installment.
A story of such grimness, such depression borders on unendurable without characters that you can sympathize with, even in the most minor and marginal of ways. Even the protagonists of “The Godfather” enjoy a degree of sympathy; we understand the oppression Italian-Americans have endured and we understand how motivating family and tradition can be. But “Apocalypse Now” doesn’t feature any sympathetic characters, only sociopathic robots engaging in tortuous violence for two and a half hours.
The desperate yearning for answers and clarity shared by viewer and protagonist makes “The Big Lebowski” an emotionally unique experience that deeply resonates with anyone who’s been confused by the vastness and indifference of the universe. In its whimsical, chaotic, and even frustrating tone and structure, it encourages the viewer to aspire for the Dude’s Sisyphean resilience in the face of the absurd.
Following up “Batman: Mask of the Phantasm,” “Batman: Sub-Zero,” and “Batman Beyond,” this installment had a very high bar to live up to. But I think it deserves a second look by many fans of the DCAU as it makes for quite the enjoyable standalone Batman story.
“Joker” has gorgeous cinematography, outstanding performances, and a riveting score but it’s all wasted on a predictable and inert script that approaches its themes with a bludgeon when it needs a scalpel.
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