Batman: Ashes to Ashes (2009)

1243708565_ashes-to-ashesI 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.

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Megaman X (2012)

My main weakness ever since I acquired the internet in 2000 is fan films. I can’t get enough of them, no matter how good or bad they are. The good thing about them is that if they’re good, they show us that some properties have potential to really shine as great movies. Director Olan Rogers proves that with his fantastic adaptation of “Megaman X.”

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Batman: The Line (2011)

batman-thelineI don’t know too much about Batman lore and I don’t pretend to. So it’s a tall order to ask viewers to keep in mind that this film is set between two issues of Batman that they likely never read before. Surely enough though, “Batman: The Line” works within the context of the Jason Todd storyline and really doesn’t take much time to expound on the scenario we’re witnessing save for a newspaper clipping of what occurred before we set down on Batman and the current Robin.

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Superman: Requiem (2011)

Speaking as a hardcore Superman geek, I’m especially happy to see more indie filmmakers come out of the wood work to put on display their storytelling chops for Superman. What with the newest Superman film arriving in theaters in 2013, it’s especially pleasing to see more of the Man of Steel in the fan film circuit. I mean why the hell should Batman get all of the good fan films, anyway? “Requiem” is an admittedly ambitious and intimidating undertaking. Much like “Superman Returns,” it owes much of its mood and tone to the classic Christopher Reeve pictures, and director Gene Fallaize pretty much acquires the same atmosphere and implements the classic score the original Reeve films once had.

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S: A Superman Fan Film (2011)

Director Johnny K. Wu thankfully doesn’t try to re-invent the wheel when it comes to “S: A Superman Fan Film.” Essentially it’s an homage to the classic tropes of the Superman mythos that tells its story under thirty minutes and uses its array of dazzling green screen effects and top notch costumes to get the job done in conveying a simplistic and rather meat and potatoes Superman tale. While at times a bit campier than I would have liked, “S: A Superman Fan Film” is a loyal and rather entertaining Superman fan film that pits the man of steel against his two greatest nemeses.

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Based on Billions of True Stories: The Long, Slow Death of a Twenty-Something

We’ve known Larry Longstreth for a long time as a person and as a filmmaker. It’s no big surprise that we here at Cinema Crazed are big fans of Longstreth and his work in the fan film and internet arena. Longstreth is one of the finest filmmakers working in independent film today and our friendship with him is no bearing on the man as a filmmaker. We discovered Longstreth years ago when he sent us his screener for a short film about a zombie musical and we were instantly hooked on whatever he sent our way.

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Superman Classic (2011)

supermanclassicIt seems like every single year there is always someone paying tribute to Superman. Last year a slew of animators created an amazing life-like model of Christopher Reeve as Superman taking off in to the sky. This year we have “Superman Classic,” a 2011 treat that’s all too brief, but goes down so well nonetheless. In lieu of the upcoming reboot from Zack Snyder, I think this is an apt variation that presents what could be and not what should be, as most fan boys are prone to insisting upon with their fan films.

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