BLOGGERIN' TIME

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

BLOGGERIN' TIME: DREDDFUL 2D

BLOGGERIN' TIME: DREDDFUL 2D: Well; haven't blogged in a while; so, I guess I'll see if I can get back in the swing of things. So, what shall I do? Oh, I KNOW: how about ...

Well; haven't blogged in a while; so, I guess I'll see if I can get back in the swing of things. So, what shall I do? Oh, I KNOW: how about a geek film review? Hmm, and which geek film shall I review? Oh, I GOT IT! I heard a while back that were going to make a film featuring a favorite comic character of mine; JUDGE DREDD! Let's go with that one! So, here we go; my return to blogging starts here and now with a review of the new film DREDD 3D (Or, 2D if you're like me; and didn't want to watch IT, or, ANYTHING ELSE in 3D EVER) Firstly; let me begin by giving you a bit of my background with the character of Judge Dredd. From approximately 1982 - 1985 there was a comic book shop called Southland Comics. The first of it's kind in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and quite possibly in the gulf south. I helped the owner of this shop start up; and ran it for him for a few years. Southland actually started as a subscription service; and that's how I became involved in the business. I'll never forget; when I got my first order form; there were all of the standard Marvel and DC titles, of course. Also the Archie line, Gold Key, Charlton and so on. But, at the bottom of the form; were some strange titles I'd never heard of before. Elfquest? Cerebus? The Comic's Journal? What are those? Well; curiosity got the better of me; and I ordered this odd sounding thing called Cerebus; and The Comic's Journal (never really got into Elfquest; but, I had a lot of friends who did.) The Comics Journal blew me away! A magazine about COMICS! SHAZAM! I'd never even CONCEIVED of such a thing! And, Cerebus? And comic about an AARDVARK? A BRILLIANT one at that?!?!?!? My eyes were just being opened to a whole new world, and, I wasn't even flying on a magic carpet! Now; full disclosure; for those who don't know me; I WAS, BACK THEN AND AM STILL TO THIS DAY A HOPELESS SUPER-HERO JUNKIE! However; that didn't keep me from having me horizons broadened! This was just at the dawning of the Direct Sales market! The Renaissance, if you will, of the Alternative Comic Book market that flourished in the 1980's. Comics were about to see an era of creative prosperity that had not been seen since the Silver Age! What does all of this have to do with Judge Dredd? ONLY EVERYTHING! A few months after Southland opened it's doors; the owner had gotten the hair brained idea to order tons of these crazy looking, thin, wide, black and white trade paperbacks from a company called Titan. These albums contained reprints of comics characters I'd never heard of from a company I'd never heard of. All from an anthology series (2000 A.D.) from the UK that I HAD NEVER HEARD OF! Characters like Robo-Hunter, A.B.C. Warriors, Rouge Trooper, and Nemesis: The Warlock. Oh, and there was one other; he was called JUDGE DREDD! Well; even though I DID kind of like that off the wall B&W comic about the Aardvark; I was STILL way too immersed in mainstream comics to give these icky Brits the time of day! I'd pick up a Titan trade and flip through it and pretty much turn my nose up at it. This kind of thing just wasn't my bag, baby! Well; one day; after a few months of these books sitting on shelves, as if glued to them; the owner grabbed a handful and pretty much said "HOMEWORK!" I, of course; was OUTRAGED! He said; "TAKE SOME OF THESE HOME, AND READ THEM! You know EVERYTHING there is to know about all of the other product we have in the store; except these books! If you know what they are about; you can try and get the costumers interested in them!" It went something like that. Well; needless to say; I was less than enthused about this CHORE! But, he WAS the BOSS after all! So, I took ONE of the books home; and that night I decided to get it over with. And then; a funny thing happened; I read this book:

And; OH MY GOD!!! I was SO PISSED when I got to the end and realized that it was only part ONE!!! I couldn't WAIT to get to work the next day and read volume two of Judge Caligula!!! I had a new home; and it was MEGA CITY ONE!!! (even named my own comic show MEGA CITY COMICS when I open it in 1988;-) Anyway; I WAS HOOKED!!! I could NOT GET ENOUGH of JUDGE DREDD, Robo-Hunter, Rouge Trooper, Nemesis: The Warlock and others! I had to have all of the Titan albums!!!

The 2000 A.D. Comic itself, which I would soon get as many of as I could, was a weekly British publication that still runs today. And it would be years before Judge Dredd would achieve notoriety when Eagle Comics brought his reprinted adventures (in color) to the states.

After all; seemed a good fit; since Dredd's exploits take place here in the good ol' U.S. of A! Now; let's fast forward just a bit; to the mid 1990's. Sylvester Stallone makes his infamous Judge Dredd film. As a Dredd fan; you can probably guess that I found this movie mostly awful! "YO, ADRIAN, I AM THE LAW, YA KNOW!" Yes, Stallone was self cast and about as WELL CAST as....oh, I leave that up to you; make your own joke; it's just too easy, really. The biggest shame about the Stallone film (in edition to him taking his GODDAMN HELMET OFF every five minutes! (Something any Dredd fan will tell ya AIN'T COOL!!!) is NOT what they got WRONG: such as a miscast hero (and VILLAIN) and a crappy script! What kills me about the film is what they got RIGHT! The UNIFORM, for one thing!!!

DAMN! Such a WASTE! IT'S NEARLY PERFECT!!! Also; the overall look of the film, in terms of art direction and production design wasn't bad either. The Lawmaster (Dredd's bike) from the 90's film is pretty nice

The Lawgiver (Dredd's gun) was so-so. The Cursed Earth looked right; and the Angel Gang was almost spot on! Aside from these few pluses though, the movie was a sad missed opportunity! Fast forward again to 2012: DREDD (3D), starring Karl Urban is here.

Before I get this review under way (FINALLY, I'm sure you're saying!) let me just get this out of the way right now: Urban is a very good actor! He does a good job as Dredd, and LEAVES HIS BLOODY HELMET ON THE WHOLE FRIGGIN' TIME, so, points for that, Karl! It's just a shame his uniform is uninspiring, as is his Lawmaster! His Lawgiver is OK. But, just to speak to the aesthetics of the film for a bit; MEGA CITY ONE looks like; well; just any old modern day city! Not only doesn't it resemble the comic or the 90's film; it looks about as "futuristic" as....again; it just DOESN'T! I've heard some folks say there were budgetary concerns at play here. Well; if true; why bother to even MAKE a Dredd film? This thing looks like it was made in SQUALOR! ON PURPOSE! But, if it WAS due to a low budget, then I guess that explains a lot. As action films go; I guess this movie has it's moments; or, so I've heard said by others. Let me run though a few other things other than the budget that were low about this film while I've got ya here. Story: There is NOT MUCH OF ONE! Almost NONE, really! Hell, let me take a different tact; if I may! This blog is BY AND FOR GEEKS! So, I should have no compunction about speaking in geek! And, therefore; I will point out a few more things that were UN-DREDD LIKE about this film: NO HUMOR! Judge Dredd the comic; for my friends who don't know; was a satire. Filled with dark, ironic humor! There is NO TRACE of that nuance here! NONE! But, the absence of that KEY DREDD ELEMENT is made up for by relentless, repulsive in your face violence! Hey, when ya can't tell a compelling story with interesting characters, FUCK IT! IT'S 2012; BLOW SHIT UP IN SLOW MOTION! 3D. It's been trying to worm it's gimmicky little way into modern film for sometime now. You may say to that; "What do you MEAN "TRYING?" Well; I'm fully, PAINFULLY aware that 3D has been with us for a while; but, the fact that they are writing and directing films with 3D in mind now, as evidenced by "Dredd 3D" (and I'm sure others) is more than a little disturbing! You may ask how I know this if I watched it in 2D? Well; that's what is all the more disturbing about this pretentious, under produced blood bath! The movie's entire plot (and I GIVE it quite a BIT by calling it that) is geared towards a bunch of slow motion set pieces that I have no doubt are fully intended for 3D! That's right, boys and girls! The "story" was not meant to be a Judge Dredd adventure; rather to be a 3D thrill ride; filled with idiotic slow mo scenes of blood and guts images of violence slowed to a crawl so that you can really....uh, throw up, I guess! Believe me when I tell ya; I am NOT the squeamish type! But, I can tell when a gimmick is being worked into the "story" because the schlock peddlers of Hollyweird can't come up with any other way to suck their target demographic into the theaters for a 90 minute blood feast! The less said about the actual film the better. After all; I'm not in the spoiler biz. I'll simply say; this movie EPITOMIZES what is wrong with modern day cinema! There are few REDEEMING QUALITIES here! I know I am in the minority; and I have heard that so many who have seen the film have liked it. I'm not sure how many of them are long time Judge Dredd fans; but, I felt that as one of those, I should at least see it. And, now that I have; I am trying to ascertain just what it was about the film that appealed to them. For the Dredd fans; I speculate that it is simple relief that the subject matter was taken seriously. Which is true. To it's ultimate DETRIMENT, in my view. I think so many will say "At least it's better than that crappy Stallone movie!" Is it? I'm not so sure. The Stallone movie IS crap; and will NOT be defended here, by THIS Dredd fan! But, Dredd 3D (which, out of disdain, I shall forever refer to this film as) even LESS about the character of Judge Dredd than the Stallone fiasco! This new film is the typical modern day excursion into excess. Excessive violence and depravity and ugly dystopian images. All in glorious slow motion 3D for us to marvel at. If, you marvel at things like that. I can't say I do; but, hey, to each his own. As said, the fall back defense of this film, probably for the foreseeable future will be; "Well; it sure beats that Stallone crap from the 90's!" Yep; sure does! It BEATS IT, SHOOTS IT, STABS IT, BLASTS IT, PISSES ON IT, PUKES ON IT, CRAPS ON IT AND EVEN CALL'S IT DIRTY NAMES! All in GLORIOUS SLOW MO! Ah, I guess it's just sour grapes on my part because Dredd didn't say DROK in the movie! Either that; or, maybe seeing people skinned alive and dropped 200 floors to become street pizza just isn't the kind of fun it used to be! Oh, did I mention it was in GLORIOUS 3D SLOW MO? THANKS FOR PLAYING!

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Atlas Shrugged Movie - Get Involved

Sunday, March 27, 2011

BLOGGERIN' TIME: WORLD'S BRAVEST CARTOON!!!

BLOGGERIN' TIME: WORLD'S BRAVEST CARTOON!!!: "Most of my friends know; BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD is my FAVORITE THING ON TELEVISION! Now nearing it's end, thanks to the Cartoon Net..."

Saturday, March 26, 2011

WORLD'S BRAVEST CARTOON!!!

Most of my friends know; BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD is my FAVORITE THING ON TELEVISION! Now nearing it's end, thanks to the Cartoon Network's infinite wisdom.

(BURN IN HELL, CARTOON NETWORK!!!!!)

For the first three seasons this wonderful series has been an extraordinary tour de force! A fantastic journey (Not to be confused with a short TV series from the 70's) through nearly every aspect and era of DC Comics history, with Batman as tour guide. B&B, is somewhat based on the DC Comics classic series that ran for 200 issues, from the 60's into the early 80's before being dropped in favor of Batman And The Outsiders.

Any DC old timer can tell you that B&B (eventually) became a Batman title; in which Bats teamed up with a different hero every month. Continuity rarely mattered, (especially during the Bob Haney era, but, that's a DIFFERENT blog!;-) It always felt like a separate universe unto itself, which was fine by me! Back then; there was another title called World's Finest; which (DUH!) featured the adventures of the BIG TWO! SUPERMAN & BATMAN teamed up every month! The two GREATEST SUPER HEROES were BEST FRIENDS! And they hung out and they saved the day together every month and all was right with the world!

But soon; the Bronze age would give way to the RUST AGE! An age in which, sadly; it became "uncool" for Batman to pal around with Superman! A dark, dank age in which Bats and Supes were on the same side; but often at odds, and even at times downright unfriendly to each other! Over the years leading up to the 2008 debut of the current B&B TV series, things have changed and now, Batman and Superman DO indeed share a title (one with an amalgamated Supes/Bats symbol as it's title: strange times indeed!) Even though the big two have patched things up, to a degree; some of the remnants of their differences remain to this day. Oh, at least their friends again, and that's great; but, it's never really felt quite the SAME as it once was!

Batman: Brave And The Bold seems to have been created to SPECIALIZE in making things feel the "SAME" (Same as in LIKE OLD TIMES!) An amazing, and nostalgic throwback to a simpler, BETTER TIME! When comics had but ONE FUNCTION! ONE PURPOSE! FUN! Yes, one simple word rules the day with this show: FUN! The kind of fun you had when you were picking up these crazy four color pamphlets; even BEFORE you could READ! The sense of sheer WONDER you felt as a child, as you dreamed of being these heroes and having great, preposterous adventures, saving the world, doing the right thing, and always standing up for what is good and decent and RIGHT... and well; all those dusty, outdated, "CAMPY" old concepts.

Before this show came along, I was pretty sure that when I wanted to experience such feelings; the kind that take me back to those wondrous times; I'd have to pull out the old back issue box, or, perhaps a DC Archives or a Marvel Masterworks or other reprint. Sure, I still collect current comics, and while there a few good titles out there; they rarely transport me back to those magical days of riding my bike to the 7-11 and darting straight for the "HEY KIDS COMICS" spinner rack, and then grabbing an Icee in a cool super hero cup for the ride home! It's ODD, that a CARTOON, produced in 2008 to the present, would be the source of recapturing those cherished childhood memories! But, take it from wherever you can GET it, I guess.

B&B is aimed at TWO distinct audiences: 5-10 year old's; and 40-50 year old's who like to feel like 10 year old's again! Now, that in NO WAY diminishes the intelligence and wit of this show! FAR from it! It's simply my way of complementing it's producers for hitting such a broad range of viewership! A 45 year old man can watch this show with his 5-10 year old children and get just as much out of it! ALL are entertained! The man; taken back to his youth; getting a HUGE KICK out of all of the arcane references to various bits of DC Comics lore! As well as all of the great cameos by some of the more obscure DC characters from days gone by! And the kids just roll along for the ride; and get to see a fresh (for the time) undiluted take on Batman that beautifully contrasts the harsh, darker (though certainly NOT illegitimate) aspects of Batman. Aspects of Batman that have regrettably over shadowed the lighter ones, and are, unfortunately INVALIDATED and often RIDICULED by today's cynical, jaded fanboy base!

Batman: The Brave And The Bold is for those who truly LOVE Batman for EVERYTHING that he IS! And is NOT for the knuckle dragging fools who just think it's cool to see Batman go psycho and get blood on his gloves! Those myopic fanboys with no sense of wonder and imagination frankly once sickened me! But, as I've grown older, I'd be more inclined to use the term "sadden", I think. THEY are the ones who have caused the comic book industry to swerve down a dark road, one that is only ugly, and one that thrives on total darkness and insane carnage! THEY are the ones who scoff at what they consider to be "CAMP" or "CORNBALL" and other catch phrases of the imagination-challenged! But, I DIGRESS ("I'LL SAY YOU DID" says anyone who is kind and patient enough to still be reading this!

For clarity's sake; I SHOULD, at this juncture, point out that I TOO love the Dark Bat stuff! When done well; and when handled correctly, the BAT has had some GREAT STORIES that lean towards darker, more serious material! I'm simply trying to make the case that there is MORE to Bats than that! That there are MANY interpretations of Batman; and that ALL ARE VALID! There is ROOM for all of them! Just wanted to put that out there, for those unfamiliar with my take on Batman.

Back to my original point; which was to express my joy over the fact that the rocky relationship between Supes & Bats that has tiresomely plagued comics for pretty much TWO DECADES, got a SPECTACULAR REPRIEVE this Friday night on the Cartoon network! Ever since fairly early on in the series' run; fans of B&B have asked the question: "WHEN is SUPERMAN going to pop in for a visit?" Well; after 50 episodes and two seasons; (and one BRIEF glimpse in an earlier ep) Season Three, episode 51 FINALLY delivers the goods! WITH A VENGEANCE!!!

Now, I SHOULD mention, in fairness; that this LONG WAIT; was NOT the fault of the show's producers! Indeed, they were just as excited to see this teaming as the fans! But, legal proceedings in the never ending battle between DC Comics and the Siegel estate prevented it; and it looked, for a while, as if we'd NEVER see it happen. DC, of course; over the past couple of years has had a comic book tie-in to the series; which was canceled, re-titled, then re-released with a new number one issue. Seen here.

While this was nice; and I've enjoyed the comic; in THIS CASE; the SHOW IS THE THING! And, well; you know what they say about all good things! What we got on Friday night was in a word; MAGICAL! Yes, I KNOW; Supes is highly vulnerable to magic! Fortunately; his fans are not! This was, as in keeping with this great show; a loving stroll through many aspects of the Superman mythos! It's funny how the spell check doesn't even acknowledge the word "mythos" Let's face it; it's pretty much a GEEK WORD!;-)

There have been MANY GREAT EPISODES of Batman: The Brave And The Bold so far; and season Three's premiere episode; "BATTLE OF THE SUPER-HEROES" ranks at the very TIP TOP!!! (SHOULD have been titled "WORLD'S FINEST" but, oh well; can't have EVERYTHING!;-) However, even though it's TRUE that you can't have EVERYTHING; when it comes to THIS episode; you can't ask for much more!

This was an EXTRAORDINARY ROMP through Superman's rich history, the likes of which even I could not have dreamed of! You NAME the era; GOLDEN, SILVER, BRONZE, EVEN RUST, they all get touched on in this one! ESPECIALLY SILVER!!!

******SPOILER ALERT*********
From MXYZPTLK to Jimmy Olsen as a giant turtle (not to mention MANY other strange faces Jimmy has worn) from silver age mad scientist Luthor, to silver age Brainiac! From red kryptonite, to the bottle city of Kandor! From the Fortress Of Solitude to Mayor Swan (YES, DRAWN AS CURT SWAN IN FACT!!!) From Krypto to the Toyman! Oh, and even Batman wearing his exo-skeleton suit from Miller's Dark Knight Returns! (Hence the rust age reference!) And the list goes on! There are SO MANY references that it would and no doubt WILL take multiple viewings to catch them all!

The story is simplicity itself: Lois and Jimmy receive gifts from (they are led to believe) Superman. For Lois, a red jewel necklace. For Jimmy; a new signal watch. As soon as they come in contact with Supes again; he is effected by what Batman later deduces is Red K! Superman immediately begins to act like a jerk! And there is even a nod to a famous website Superdickery.com An HILARIOUS site with zillions of REAL covers from the golden and silver age on which Superman is acting like, well; a TOTAL DICK! ;-)

Supes IS being a DICK in this episode, thanks to the effects of Red K! And it's up to Batman and Krypto to stop him; or, at least keep him in check until it wears off; which it always does after 24 hours! MANY comics from the old days are payed homage to in this ep; this is very simple stuff. It's ALSO VERY FUN STUFF!!!

*****SPOILER ALERT ENDS*****

It's hardly necessary to continue with the details of the episode. I believe I've made my point, or, at the very least, conveyed my excitement about this great cartoon tribute to DC comics' past! Is it my number one out of all of the incredibly excellent episodes of this wonderful, soon to to be, (UNFORTUNATELY) canceled series? Perhaps! It's hard to say. It's a good possibility! At any rate; what's most relevant is that this wonderful show and it's producers, and indeed ALL involved get the kudos and credit they deserve!

If you had told me back in 2008, just before the show's debut, and the same year that mainstream audiences were blasted with the EXTRAORDINARILY OVERRATED, OVER BLOWN FILM: THE DARK KNIGHT; (or, as some of us call it, BATMAN: FOR DUMMIES!;=) that we were going to get such a wondrous ride through our childhoods, I'd have been skeptical in the extreme!

BTW; I'll elaborate on my disdain for Christopher Nolan's Dork Knight movie another day. THIS, is a day for rejoicing, after all! For appreciating a simpler, lighter time, when HEROES WERE HEROES and they were pretty damn SUPER TOO!

I will TRULY be sad the day that we have seen our last episode of BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD! And, UNFORTUNATELY, that day is soon to come. And as much as I CURSE the GODDAMN Cartoon Network for taking it away from us; fairness forces me to acknowledge the utter unlikelihood of the show's very existance in the first place! Therefore; I AM thankful that when it's all said and done, we'll have had 65 episodes of one of the most awe inspiring animated series' of all time! And that fact, like Friday's episode is; well; in a word....

SUPER!!!