When “Batman Beyond” was introduced in 1999, fans of old and new were given a peek in to a Batman for a new generation while also exploring what happened to Bruce Wayne’s legacy many decades in to Gotham’s Future. When the series took off, fans were able to see that the legacy of the Joker lived on, as he inspired one of future Gotham’s most violent army of gang members “The Jokers,” however we were never given a definitive explanation as to what happened to the clown prince of crime. “Return of the Joker” holds true to its title, spending a feature length narrative explaining what happened to the Joker and how he left a lasting scar on Bruce Wayne and his family.
Category Archives: Movie Reviews
The Batman Superman Movie: World’s Finest (1997)
In 1997, Batman the animated Series moved over from FOX to the Warner Bros. Channel Kids WB and the two superheroes Batman and Superman were unofficially together. To maximize ratings, Warner teamed the pairing of DC Comics titans for “Batman/Superman” which involved new episodes of both shows on alternating weeks. They would also eventually cross over in to one anothers’ universe. Taking off from the successful series of crossovers, Warner launched the TV movie “World’s Finest,” and it’s a bang up success all things considered. “World’s Finest” manages to take what we love most about both series, and plays Superman and Batman off of one another beautifully.
Doppelganger (2010)
Good grief is Drew Daywalt one of the best indie horror filmmakers working today. It’s not many filmmakers that can deliver constantly frightening and surprising short films that pack wallops of surprise endings and twists that’ll leave you breathtaken. Daywalt is a master of drawing out the scare, and often times he even gets away with a jump scare. It’s not many filmmakers I allow to throw a jump scare my way, but Daywalt takes the often cheapened device and turns it in to a fun little way to book end his horror films. And damn it, he gets me every time.
10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
If you’re like me, you enjoyed “Cloverfield” a great deal and were shocked to see its spiritual sequel sneak up on America one day in February of 2016. It’s definitely a spiritual sequel in every way in the same idea that “Halloween III” was a spiritual sequel to “Halloween.” Director Dan Trachtenberg supplies a steady stream of surprises without ever really making audiences feel cheated. “10 Cloverfield Lane” is a masterful dramatic thriller that asks the big questions about survival. Its biggest themes about the setting feels like something out of a random survival website to arouse conversations. If something was going down in the real world, would you go outside and brave whatever was waiting for you, or would you live in a bunker with all the supplies and luxuries, but have to be under the watchful eye of a very unhinged individual who may or may not be lying to you? What hell is more managable?
CONTINUE ON FOR SPOILERS
Species III (2004)/Species: The Awakening (2007) [Blu-Ray]
For the small fanbase that loves the “Species” series, they’ll be interested to see where the studio takes the original 1995 hyper sexual science fiction thriller. Set directly after “Species II,” Brad Turner attempts to connect the dots and further the mythos of the alien clone Sil. After her experience with her male alien counterpart and dying at his hands in an awfully weird manner in the ein of hentai, she is revealed to be pregnant. What happened to his millions of offspring, one only knows, but this time as Sil is being transported, she produces two female offspring of her own.
Vicious (2015)
“There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it.” – Alfred Hitchcock
Oliver Park’s “Vicious” is a masterfully done short horror film that’s light on the exposition but packs in a powerhouse of a fright. I literally flinched back in my seat while watching “Vicious” and it takes a mighty good horror film to inspire that kind of reaction from yours truly. “Vicious” is indicative of a major directorial talent and Oliver Park deserves to go on to a bigger cinematic career. I think he can deliver a truly excellent feature length horror film if given enough resources.
The Corpse of Anna Fritz (El Cadaver de Anna Fritz) (2016)
(Mild Spoilers)
Ivan and Javi stop by Pau’s work at the hospital morgue on their way to a party. Pau lets them in on a secret: actress Anna Fritz is lying in his morgue, dead. The trio decides to go see her; to see how she looks as Pay says she doesn’t even look dead. Once in the morgue, Ivan decides to touch her and from there gets it in his mind that a bit of necrophilia won’t hurt anyone. However, he soon finds out that is not the case.







