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: Foreign
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 Gate (2011)
Director Matt Westrup is the latest indie success story as his 2011 directed short film “The Gate” is being turned in to a feature length film by Wayfare studios. As a short film it’s a product of a premise that definitely could benefit from a feature length treatment, because Westrup inadvertently serves up so much story for us and throws so many questions in the air, that eleven minutes just isn’t enough to keep us satisfied.
Zombi 2 (1979)
For the uninitiated, back in 1978 when George A Romero’s “Dawn of the Dead” was released in foreign countries, it was renamed “Zombi” and re-cut for Italian audiences sans the dark comedy. When the movie became a hit, Lucio Fulci took it upon himself to direct the “sequel” entitled “Zombi 2.” Basically, Fulci’s “Zombi 2” is not actually a sequel to Romero’s “Dawn” but unofficially his horror film acts as a pseudo sequel/prequel for “Dawn.” So basically “Dawn” has two sequels, one official, and one unofficial. I of course prefer “Day of the Dead,” but Lucio Fulci’s “Zombi 2” is not without its merits. It’s a terrifying and often haunting zombie film filled with such effective gore and grue that you could smell the stench of the walking dead permeate off the screen at times.
Apocalypse Pizza Video (2012)
As is the case with most short films these days, “Apocalypse Pizza Video” is only really existent as a pitch for a feature film. It’s a small glimpse in to a humongous world and massive narrative that promises to be wide in scope should it ever become a feature film. Or a series. I’m not sure which. Some information I’ve read claims this film is part one in a series, while other sources claim it’s a “trailer” for the feature film the producers are trying to get funding for to make in to a feature film. None of that matter as I’m a complete sucker for any form of fiction that concerns the apocalypse and the film from Je Suis Bien Content is one of the most creative piece of post-apocalyptic cinema I’ve seen in a while.
We Are What We Eat (2012)
I appreciate ambition. I love ambition. It’s an admirable quality, especially in the possession of storytellers and filmmakers. Sadly, ambition doesn’t always equate quality, and that’s the problem with “We Are What We Eat.” It’s ambitious, sure, but it’s not exactly the greatest short zombie film I’ve ever seen.
Submarine (2011)
“Submarine” isn’t just the anti-teen romance, it’s actually a film that doesn’t glamorize the romance even though it’s essentially about falling in love and losing love. Almost like a lost Wes Anderson film, director Richard Ayoade’s dramedy is a bold cinematic venture that dares to defy any preconceived freshman notions about his film making and fully grasps on to pretension (featuring title cards and monotonous narration et al). This is basically because our main protagonist Oliver is anything but a humble heroic young man. In actuality, he’s very much filled with enormous pretension, and enough self-loathing to garner expectations from the girls of his dreams that are rock bottom.