It would be a rare treat if one of the many Batman rip-offs from one of the many foreign countries would actually get Batman right. I think my head would explode if I stumbled on to a Batman wannabe that channeled the tone of the Batman comic books. But, like every other Batman knock off, “James Batman” is a copyright infringing take off on the Adam West Batman series even including a variation of the iconic theme song. This version of Batman however is played as a buffoon by Filipino comedy star Dolphy who takes on the cape and cowl and makes Batman someone as immeasurably incompetent as Inspector Clouseau.
Tag Archives: Crime
Batman: Ashes to Ashes (2009)
I guess this can be considered a fan film worth watching. Only if you’re willing to endure what it has to offer in the way of pathos and cruelty. “Batman: Ashes to Ashes” pretty much re-thinks the mythos of Batman while knocking off classic movies in the process. Directors Samuel Bodin and Julien Mokrani take from “A Clockwork Orange,” “Batman Returns,” and heavily relies on imagery reminiscent of “Sin City” to get its story moving, while characters like Harley Quinn are turned in to femme fatales with major villains playing only small parts.
Dirty Laundry (2012)
I love 2004’s iteration of “The Punisher” starring Thomas Jane as Frank Castle also known as The Punisher. It’s a slow boiled crime thriller that eventually transforms in to a chaotic bloodbath with seemingly no limits on its cruelty. And it also has an admirable demented sense of humor. After 2004’s film, Thomas Jane dropped out of the role after a brouhaha with the studios and their direction toward the sequel that was apparently so bad and or radical that Jane just couldn’t abide by it. But since then many fans have argued that Thomas Jane’s performance of Frank Castle is the definitive cinematic performance of the character and his turn as Castle was admirable. It was layered, tragic, searing, bold, and genuine.
Alyas Batman en Robin (1991)
Holy Smokes, Batman and Robin! Oh my god, Batman and Robin! Praise the lord, Batman and Robin! Shoot now, shoot, Batman and Robin! Let’s Do Bruce Wayne now, Let’s do Dick Grayson now! They Are Apart of Me!
Come on, everybody sing along! What does “Alyas Batman en Robin” teach us? It’s always a good idea for any crime boss to gun down their own henchmen when they manage to apprehend new fire arms for their operation. No new henchmen to do your bidding? Hell, just hire new ones, they’re always available in the trades I assume. When you’re holding up a bank, it’s good to have a musical number while holding people at gun point. And the bank tellers will be so inspired by your musical prowess they’ll dance along while you sing. Crime bosses apparently do nothing but sit in their mansions donning their costumes awaiting guests like Catwoman does. Batman oddly has his own brand of tea and milk ready in the bat cave.
The Bad Seed (1956)
For the most part, “The Bad Seed” is a classic horror film that lives up to its reputation of being an infamous movie about a little monster who will stop at nothing for gratify herself and her own ego. She’s the product of over privilege and an abundance of deifying from the people around her. To get it out of the way, my one gripe with “The Bad Seed” is ultimately the ending. Since audiences couldn’t bear watching a film end on a downbeat with the villain winning, and the studios insistent on the bad guy losing in the end, no matter how contrived or tacked on it seemed, the climax to “The Bad Seed” keeps the film from being a perfect thriller.
Batman Forever (1995)
Burton out. Keaton out. Score out. And apparently, Bruce Wayne, out. “Batman Forever” is where the series started to eventually fall off the fails and Joel Schumacher’s approach toward these movies are completely different and absolutely radical from what Burton originally envisioned. Burton depicted Gotham as a sprawling endless canyon of darkness and shadows while Batman was mostly polarized and closed off outcast from the world. In Schumacher’s eyes, Gotham is now a bright and neon wonderland and Schumacher’s handling of Batman and many other key characters of the mythos make “Batman Forever” in to a veritable gay burlesque show.
Batman & Robin (1997)
It’s funny. Back in the day when I used to love any superhero movie that came in to theaters, I found myself getting excited by “Batman & Robin.” Why? Because he mentions Superman in the opening for a brief second. Nevertheless that was when fans and Warner were still considering a Batman and Superman movie, and that never came to fruition, thankfully. “Batman & Robin” is a glorious mess. It’s a movie so awful that it’s compelling at times.