Joker: The Killing Bat

To celebrate its DVD release, there was a special one-night theater showing of Batman: The Killing Joke with a brief talk with Mark Hamill beforehand. This is an R-rated animated film with the best of the best lending their voices with Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill voicing Batman and The Joker respectively. Well, that’s what the movie should focus on right? First you have watch the Batgirl filled first half to get there. Actually, before I start getting too critical it’s vital to know how the plot develops. Batgirl and Batman have a couple bickering matches (that’s not entirely true-- Batgirl does the arguing and Batman will wait and then say one line that signals the end of the conversation) about Batgirl’s role in some of the crimes and investigations being tackled. And this fills the first half of the 76 minute film. Then it switches between the present with how The Joker alters the Gordon’s lives (and ultimately how Batgirl becomes Oracle) and the past of how The Joker came to be.

We’ll take this on half by half. When you think of animated films, you’ll think of in-your-face messages (unless you’re thinking of Pixar of course) told by huggable and adorable characters. But when it’s rated R, you totally change the target audience and the way to present your art to them. Subtle references will be picked up and understood and appreciated, and overall the small details will add to the big picture. That’s really not how this film starts off. Quickly, Batgirl is in conflict with Batman because she thinks he’s being too protective of her by not allowing her to pursue a villain. And Barbara Gordon relates her problems to her gay best friend by saying she is sort of seeing her yoga instructor but that they aren’t really together. To top off this very strangely presented sexual tension that is served with humor that just doesn’t really make the cut, the writers have to make sure the audience is on the same page. When Barbara leaves the library she works at, she listens in to a couple where a guy complains to his girlfriend that she’s being too clingy. It’s moments like these that make me cringe at how directly an outside situation relates to one of the main characters. The dialogue and presentation is sloppy-- only slightly being balanced by Batman yelling his cool phrases “Where is he??” and “I’m going to ask you nicely only one more time.” Don’t lie, guys, you know you read those quotes in your deep, dark, handsome voices.

It should also be of note that I watched this film with Amir Kaskas. This otherwise forgettable guy was useful because he has already read the comic and was able to inform me of how this first half introduction wasn’t in the comic. I guess I understand why they chose the route because of what happens with Barbara halfway through, but it just didn’t generate the development and conflict it hoped to.

This movie gets substantially better in the second half. Although I do feel some of facial structures looked weird at moments, the animation (and this applies to the first half in general as well) is superb. And it provides the most depth ever for Mark Hamill to stretch his laughing chords.

Although still a bit too direct, the writing is some of the best. The Joker gets some great monologues, Batman has cooler lines, and the messages play out so much better. Trying to show there’s craziness in all of us, The Joker formulates an ultimately disturbing plan that tests the body physically and psychologically. And as he does so, the story correlates to an average guy trying to build a family and how his day just continues to get worse. No, it isn’t done with subtlety, but its execution excuses for this.

The problem I will say is with the second half is ironically the story and presentation. I can’t confirm that the comic works it out better, but I presume it does. And I can presume so for a huge reason. I just praised The Joker for some monologues he gets; however, with this as an animated movie, the filmmakers hesitate to add pauses or include more lingering shots. There has to be a flow in everything that is done, so you can’t stay in one spot. Because of this, there’s not as much impact in the moment of the scene, instead it relies more on the audience recalling it in hindsight. That is where the comic would come in handy; you could stay on a page forever or flip back quickly if you think you recalled something. There’s really only one moment in this film where this lingering happens, and that’s the final scene going into the credits. People around us were muttering “Wait, is that it?” “Is it really over?” It’s an ending to either like or dislike, no middle ground. To me it was a special moment that worked prominently and is more of the subtlety I wanted to be presented throughout.

All in all, it’s a special screening that could have had more arguments to see it for the one night instead of just buying the DVD, but when you include a crowd that wasn’t all too pleasant to watch with, the DVD probably would’ve just been better. You will have to endure the first half, and although the second half isn’t perfect, it is still a quality watch. If you haven’t seen an animated Batman film, they have a distinct style that are interesting to watch, and personally from what I’ve seen, Batman: Under the Red Hood is what I would recommend watching.

Okay, the movie included a bad joke, so I have to follow suit. Actually, this isn’t so much a bad joke as it is just a short, black joke. Okay, so I was walking down the street, and I ran into Kevin Hart.

…

And on that note, I’m retiring as a comedian. But speaking of bad jokes and dark characters, Suicide Squad is coming out soon. I honestly have no idea what to make of it yet, and I will await further judgment and see what others think before I decide if I’ll give it a go or not.

What Even is Swiss Army Man

Last time we ventured into the strange SyFy world infested with sharks roaming around in tornadoes minding their own business, probably reading newspapers or something-- unless they’re hammerheads because that would be really difficult for them. ANYways, we are going from the strange and unknown to the even stranger and more unknown.

I recently watched Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind; both are unbelievably strange, even surreal (especially Mind), and both very well done and refined and entertaining. I won’t say tonight’s movie is more entertaining, but I will say it certainly is stranger. Harry Potter meets Brian Wilson-- we’re somehow reviewing Swiss Army Man.

If you watched the trailer, that gives you a good, brief overview of the absurdity that takes place. Paul Dano is stranded on an island and is about to commit suicide when a body washes ashore. It’s a dead Daniel Radcliffe, but as soon as Dano returns to trying to hang himself, the weird starts happening. Perhaps it’s just his imagination, more likely it’s a hallucination from his starvation, but Radcliffe’s body starts acting in only the ways the writers could think up while I assume certainly intoxicated. There’s certainly a very juvenile aspect to his motorboat farts and regurgitated water, but enough is done to provide ample laughter that doesn’t die down as much as I first assumed it would.

Dano realizes he has a chance to get back to civilization with the multi-purpose titular Radcliffe body, and this is the thread to propel the story. But if all you get or all you assume you’ll get from the movie is physical comedy with a simple story of trying to return from the wilderness, then you sir aren’t looking deeply at all.

As he returns back to life, Radcliffe is hilariously rude and ignorant because he doesn’t remember society at all, so Dano begins teaching him. The topics of family, friends, girls, etc. is all light-hearted and fun, and it also provides the time to reflect on Dano and how he himself never totally fit in with society to begin with. It brings about a little more existential problems, and adds a couple threads to story. It’s not the most developed and it doesn’t have to be because that’s not what the movie is. And anybody who has seen the film can and will agree with me that there’s no way to say what exactly this movie is.

Dano is charming, but the gold star goes to the derpy-smiling Daniel Radcliffe. His childish antics never loses wit and lust as he determinedly wants to learn the ways of society and how to be happy. It’s surprisingly funny and endlessly charming, but it is also so incredibly strange and that is a huge reason why it never really went to mainstream theaters-- it just doesn’t have that kind of audience. Really I think it’s much more individual-based on who would like the film.

I will end with the ending (no spoilers, don’t worry). I’ve heard complaints about how it ends, and the more I have thought it through, the more I am willing to defend it. The movie ending any other way just wouldn’t be fitting strangely enough. It’s a jigsaw piece that doesn’t match any puzzle, yet it fits in with this film. Truthfully, the only question this movie will have you asking at the end will be, “What did I just watch?” Take that as you may, whatever I watched, I actually enjoyed it.
I could do reviews on the aforementioned films near the top, but we’ll see. I also definitely plan on watching Jason Bourne,so there could be a review related to that in some way.

3 Shark Tornadoes

I’ve been trying to get motivated to write a review for a film recently, but nothing really clicked. I considered an early Quentin Tarantino film, but I wasn’t sure how much I would add to the discussion. I was very close to doing a Finding Dory review-- talking about Pixar using more camera techniques and whatnot-- but decided against that as well. I will say, however, one review I saw said to imagine a scale for Pixar sequels ranging from Cars 2 to Toy Story 3, and Finding Dory would rank around a Monsters University. That’s really probably most of what you need to know. But then, after weeks of grueling searches for the right movie to review, I stumbled upon a recent trilogy-- one that people might even consider cult classics. The drama, romance, comedy, and plot twists! Oh yes, the title of this review was definitely not a giveaway. I’m reviewing the Sharknado films (because I hate myself).

Starring Ian Ziering and Tara Reid, these are Syfy films with huge storms that sweep up sharks in tornadoes and carry them over to coastal states (California, New York, and Florida respectively). Do you want to know how or why this is considered possible? Well, besides throwaway snippets of global warming and a 2nd grade science lesson of warm and cold air colliding, the movie purposefully doesn’t make much of an effort. And let’s be honest, if you’re watching one of these films, then you really can’t care that much either. One of my favorite things (I said favorite hahaha) is how a character will be like, “Sharks in tornadoes over land?? That can’t be possible!” Then someone like the main character will say authoritatively, “It totally is possible, and it is happening.” Of course, side characters hear the confidence in that voice and think well, if he says so then who am I to say otherwise? They shrug it off, and continue to the next area the plot drags them.

I came in with the mentality of this is going to be so bad it’s funny. I am hear to say the first 2 are just bad. So bad. Jaws looks more realistic. That was unfair, I apologize. I should never belittle Jaws so much as to compare it with these films. The lack of budget and writers is so evident in the first that you can create a checklist of cliches concerning both story and character. If you’re wondering if one of your items on the list happens in the films, the answer is yes. I will say the weird sensation of the first allowed a little more freedom with the second, including more ridiculous cameos, but that doesn’t help much. And the characters annoy me. The sharks purposefully are either really good or really bad at eating the humans-- simply depending on if the character is important or if the story calls for more tension. It’s a mess that didn’t receive much from me except a few chuckles mixed with plenty of groans.

With all of that being said, the third actually delivered with some clever jokes and cameos. It made it semi-enjoyable. Well, probably until the sharks started swimming in space. “How do the sharks survive in space?” “How do they survive in tornadoes?” To both of you characters, those are excellent questions! And the fact that the movie recognizes it does not save it from explaining it. Oh what am I saying, I just want to get to the end so that the screen can say fin.

If you have a suggestion for a film for me to watch or review, please feel free to comment. I have more ideas on what to do with this blog, but some of them would take up a bunch of time. So in the meantime, hopefully I can com back soon with a review with a serious analysis and insight. Until next time, be like Batman and always carry your shark-repellent spray.