![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
matt_zimmerAlso reviews for the latest episodes of DC Super Hero Girls Super Shorts, and Star Trek: Discovery, the season premiere of Marvel's Cloak And Dagger, the special Marvel Rising: Heart Of Iron, the latest episode Of Big Chibi 6: The Shorts, and my final review of Happy!
Batman: Gotham By Gaslight
That was super cheesy and more than a little bit tawdry. But in the end, I didn't wind up hating myself for watching it, which is about the best that could be hoped for. Let's talk about the good and bad things. But we'll start at the end and the mystery resolution.
I think the movie expected Gordon being the culprit to be a bigger shock than it was. He was my number two suspect after Alfred (I was hoping the butler DID indeed do it) for one reason: It's Elseworlds. It's juicier if it's a hero. Harvey Dent as a Red Herring is fine. As the actual culprit he would have been terrible. It was natural for the culprit to be a trusted friend in our Universe, whereas I think the movie wrongly believes it's a mindblowing gamechanger. And it's not. It's not at all.
I think the guy who voiced Gordon was miscast, simply based on his character design. That is something that you don't really think too much about because most voice castings are fine in cartoons. But when you get a miscast like this one, you realize how much you are counting on a fitting voice. It's not that he was a bad performer. He just sounds entirely too young for that character design, and his voice is much less forceful than a man that physically large should be. This is not usually a problem in cartoons, but I think we tend to take for granted the idea that most if not all cartoon voices sound like they could come out of the character portrayed. That should be a given. This miscast here tells me it's not a guarantee, and we are lucky to have the gifted voice directors we usually get.
I love Anthony Stewart Head as Alfred. I would love to see him get another crack at it sometime.
I feel like the R rating was arbitrary. These movies have done just as much on a PG-13. I felt there was a brief five second moment of horror in The Killing Joke that justified the R rating. Like Justice League Dark, here I felt it was mostly just for show.
The best thing I can say about the movie is that the dialogue, particularly pertaining to the mystery, was quite good and believable. And that's unusual for these DC Universe movies. As long as we don't have the Bat-kids doing the street urchin thing, it's fine.
Speaking of the street urchins, I thought the animation as they were scurrying away the first time was quite bad. Maybe I should be noting that the movie's animation was in general quite fluid and good. But it always seems to me that animation, particularly hand-drawn, has an exceedingly difficult time portraying realistic movement for children and babies. And as far as animation techniques have improved (as seen in this very movie) that is STILL something that gives 2-D producers trouble. Family Guy basically taught everybody in 2-D how to do decent slow-motion for once. Someday I hope there is an animated drama that does the same thing for animating kids in motion. It's REALLY tough for most projects. Unless you have a Disney budget, this is what happens.
Part of me dislikes that after The Killing Joke we go right back to another Batman story dealing with women being abused and terrorized. But I don't feel the revulsion for either the character of Batman or the movie itself that I wound up feeling for The Killing Joke. I'm not sure why that is, but I think this movie has clear lines of right and wrong, whereas I believed on some level Bruce was being just as abusive to Barbara as Joker was. As bad of a monster as Gordon is, I can properly root for Bruce to take him down. And believe it or not, that actually makes a difference in this kind of bummer subject matter.
I won't be calling this my favorite of these DC Universe movies. But I also didn't really have too many major objections, which isn't usually true for these things. ***1/2.
DC Super Hero Girls Super Shorts "Kara Care"
Honestly? I don't like seeing Kara act this way. *1/2.
Star Trek: Discovery "Through The Valley Of Shadows"
The idea that Pike knew ahead of time that he would be deformed and crippled really interests me. Because it contradicts nothing, even after 60 years. It's one of the smartest retcons I've seen the show do. Wheelchair Pike wasn't the most chatty fellow after all, so we never learned anything about what he actually knew.
I think Ash's kid turned out okay. His Klingon make-up still sucks, but he's a cool character.
Speaking of cool characters, I love Reno pointing out Culber's name rhyme with poo. Not every snap can be a winner.
The show has been trying my patience over the past couple of weeks, so I could really used a good episode right about now. And the show delivered it right when I needed it. ****.
Marvel's Cloak And Dagger "Restless Energy"
I think Tandy and Tyrone might be my favorite male / female relationship on television. I know no other couple exactly like them, and they are so cute together. Apparently Cloak and Dagger are supposed to fall in love at some point. But honestly, if they didn't, I'd have no objections. Their relationship is still pitch-perfect.
The refrain that kept going through my mind was "No good deed goes unpunished." Despite both Tandy and Tyrone's best of intentions, their heroics each wind up with the opposite results of what they wanted. And it maybe shouldn't be that simple to be a superhero to begin with. Vigilantism must take a fair amount of guesswork and blind luck to boot. I would like it if it were shown that sometimes Batman only wins the night because he's lucky. Because random stuff happens in real life that will never shake out how you plan.
I'm glad this show is back. It's the best Marvel show. ****.
Marvel's Cloak And Dagger "White Lines"
I really really really like the idea that the O'Reilly we spent season one with is not Mayhem. That is genius. It's a split person, but an entirely separate one. That will make Mayhem MUCH easier to root against. What a great concept!
I like that Evita's initial reaction to learning Tyrone had powers isn't fear, or even hatred. It's anger that he never used that specific power to comfort her when she needed it. It strikes me that superpowers are getting more and more easily accepted in the MCU, at least the TV division (which may or may not be canon).
I really am going to love this season. This was the perfect way to introduce and create Mayhem. Literally. ****1/2.
Marvel Rising: Heart Of Iron
Not as great as Secret Warriors, but miles better than Chasing Ghosts.
I love the fact that Daisy is the one who is reamed for Doreen's mistakes. And interestingly, she doesn't later rant at the team, even though I personally think she should have. It was a very adult, mature moment to have the person in trouble for the fiasco be Daisy.
"That's a choice." Proving once and for all Tony Stark is the d-word of the year.
For some reason, the idea that Tippy can actually follow Quake's orders doesn't sit right with me.
I really enjoyed this special. I love this franchise. ****.
Big Hero 6: The Shorts "Low Battery"
I like that Baxmax with a low battery is like he's drunk. ****.
Happy! "Tallahassee"
Yeah, that's enough of that.
In hindsight, it amazes me I made it through a whole season of this show last year. This is just not my scene at all. Dark and depressing, and only finds humor in people treating each other terribly. For the record, it was a little more nuanced than that last year, so maybe that's why I found it tolerable. But whatever spark of humanity the show had in its first season is gone. Who knows? Maybe it will come back later in the season. But I won't know. I won't be watching another skinless guy in a rubber suit in the off-chance that it does.
Before I end my final Happy! review, I have to give the episode its due about something. It had an absolutely amazing line by Sax: "That sounds like something I don't care about." That is so freaking brilliant and strikes me as something SO obviously great, that it should have become a catchphrase and saying two decades ago. Where were Seinfeld and Wayne's World when we truly needed them? My God, that is genius in its simplicity and yet, has depth, and it will still probably die on the basic cable. I'm letting you know before signing off for good, that that is some profound cr*p.
Still, I'm Happy this is my last episode. **.
Batman: Gotham By Gaslight
That was super cheesy and more than a little bit tawdry. But in the end, I didn't wind up hating myself for watching it, which is about the best that could be hoped for. Let's talk about the good and bad things. But we'll start at the end and the mystery resolution.
I think the movie expected Gordon being the culprit to be a bigger shock than it was. He was my number two suspect after Alfred (I was hoping the butler DID indeed do it) for one reason: It's Elseworlds. It's juicier if it's a hero. Harvey Dent as a Red Herring is fine. As the actual culprit he would have been terrible. It was natural for the culprit to be a trusted friend in our Universe, whereas I think the movie wrongly believes it's a mindblowing gamechanger. And it's not. It's not at all.
I think the guy who voiced Gordon was miscast, simply based on his character design. That is something that you don't really think too much about because most voice castings are fine in cartoons. But when you get a miscast like this one, you realize how much you are counting on a fitting voice. It's not that he was a bad performer. He just sounds entirely too young for that character design, and his voice is much less forceful than a man that physically large should be. This is not usually a problem in cartoons, but I think we tend to take for granted the idea that most if not all cartoon voices sound like they could come out of the character portrayed. That should be a given. This miscast here tells me it's not a guarantee, and we are lucky to have the gifted voice directors we usually get.
I love Anthony Stewart Head as Alfred. I would love to see him get another crack at it sometime.
I feel like the R rating was arbitrary. These movies have done just as much on a PG-13. I felt there was a brief five second moment of horror in The Killing Joke that justified the R rating. Like Justice League Dark, here I felt it was mostly just for show.
The best thing I can say about the movie is that the dialogue, particularly pertaining to the mystery, was quite good and believable. And that's unusual for these DC Universe movies. As long as we don't have the Bat-kids doing the street urchin thing, it's fine.
Speaking of the street urchins, I thought the animation as they were scurrying away the first time was quite bad. Maybe I should be noting that the movie's animation was in general quite fluid and good. But it always seems to me that animation, particularly hand-drawn, has an exceedingly difficult time portraying realistic movement for children and babies. And as far as animation techniques have improved (as seen in this very movie) that is STILL something that gives 2-D producers trouble. Family Guy basically taught everybody in 2-D how to do decent slow-motion for once. Someday I hope there is an animated drama that does the same thing for animating kids in motion. It's REALLY tough for most projects. Unless you have a Disney budget, this is what happens.
Part of me dislikes that after The Killing Joke we go right back to another Batman story dealing with women being abused and terrorized. But I don't feel the revulsion for either the character of Batman or the movie itself that I wound up feeling for The Killing Joke. I'm not sure why that is, but I think this movie has clear lines of right and wrong, whereas I believed on some level Bruce was being just as abusive to Barbara as Joker was. As bad of a monster as Gordon is, I can properly root for Bruce to take him down. And believe it or not, that actually makes a difference in this kind of bummer subject matter.
I won't be calling this my favorite of these DC Universe movies. But I also didn't really have too many major objections, which isn't usually true for these things. ***1/2.
DC Super Hero Girls Super Shorts "Kara Care"
Honestly? I don't like seeing Kara act this way. *1/2.
Star Trek: Discovery "Through The Valley Of Shadows"
The idea that Pike knew ahead of time that he would be deformed and crippled really interests me. Because it contradicts nothing, even after 60 years. It's one of the smartest retcons I've seen the show do. Wheelchair Pike wasn't the most chatty fellow after all, so we never learned anything about what he actually knew.
I think Ash's kid turned out okay. His Klingon make-up still sucks, but he's a cool character.
Speaking of cool characters, I love Reno pointing out Culber's name rhyme with poo. Not every snap can be a winner.
The show has been trying my patience over the past couple of weeks, so I could really used a good episode right about now. And the show delivered it right when I needed it. ****.
Marvel's Cloak And Dagger "Restless Energy"
I think Tandy and Tyrone might be my favorite male / female relationship on television. I know no other couple exactly like them, and they are so cute together. Apparently Cloak and Dagger are supposed to fall in love at some point. But honestly, if they didn't, I'd have no objections. Their relationship is still pitch-perfect.
The refrain that kept going through my mind was "No good deed goes unpunished." Despite both Tandy and Tyrone's best of intentions, their heroics each wind up with the opposite results of what they wanted. And it maybe shouldn't be that simple to be a superhero to begin with. Vigilantism must take a fair amount of guesswork and blind luck to boot. I would like it if it were shown that sometimes Batman only wins the night because he's lucky. Because random stuff happens in real life that will never shake out how you plan.
I'm glad this show is back. It's the best Marvel show. ****.
Marvel's Cloak And Dagger "White Lines"
I really really really like the idea that the O'Reilly we spent season one with is not Mayhem. That is genius. It's a split person, but an entirely separate one. That will make Mayhem MUCH easier to root against. What a great concept!
I like that Evita's initial reaction to learning Tyrone had powers isn't fear, or even hatred. It's anger that he never used that specific power to comfort her when she needed it. It strikes me that superpowers are getting more and more easily accepted in the MCU, at least the TV division (which may or may not be canon).
I really am going to love this season. This was the perfect way to introduce and create Mayhem. Literally. ****1/2.
Marvel Rising: Heart Of Iron
Not as great as Secret Warriors, but miles better than Chasing Ghosts.
I love the fact that Daisy is the one who is reamed for Doreen's mistakes. And interestingly, she doesn't later rant at the team, even though I personally think she should have. It was a very adult, mature moment to have the person in trouble for the fiasco be Daisy.
"That's a choice." Proving once and for all Tony Stark is the d-word of the year.
For some reason, the idea that Tippy can actually follow Quake's orders doesn't sit right with me.
I really enjoyed this special. I love this franchise. ****.
Big Hero 6: The Shorts "Low Battery"
I like that Baxmax with a low battery is like he's drunk. ****.
Happy! "Tallahassee"
Yeah, that's enough of that.
In hindsight, it amazes me I made it through a whole season of this show last year. This is just not my scene at all. Dark and depressing, and only finds humor in people treating each other terribly. For the record, it was a little more nuanced than that last year, so maybe that's why I found it tolerable. But whatever spark of humanity the show had in its first season is gone. Who knows? Maybe it will come back later in the season. But I won't know. I won't be watching another skinless guy in a rubber suit in the off-chance that it does.
Before I end my final Happy! review, I have to give the episode its due about something. It had an absolutely amazing line by Sax: "That sounds like something I don't care about." That is so freaking brilliant and strikes me as something SO obviously great, that it should have become a catchphrase and saying two decades ago. Where were Seinfeld and Wayne's World when we truly needed them? My God, that is genius in its simplicity and yet, has depth, and it will still probably die on the basic cable. I'm letting you know before signing off for good, that that is some profound cr*p.
Still, I'm Happy this is my last episode. **.
