Batman: The Killing Joke (2016) - Movie Review

Yep, it’s a Caped Crusader double-feature today as I look at yet another animated film about Batman. However, rather than being connected to the nostalgia of the 60’s, this is instead connected to the nostalgia of the 90’s with a production by Bruce Timm. The number of comic book fans that owe their entire childhoods to Timm is staggering, given he’s the man largely responsible for the modern DC animated universe starting with Batman: The Animated Series, considered by some to be the definitive depiction of the Batman universe. Not only that, this is an adaptation of a certified classic Batman story originally penned by Alan Moore, the man who also gave us the source material for Watchmen and V For Vendetta. Once again, we have an iteration with high hopes behind the scenes. But how does this compare to what we’ve already seen this year? How does it compare as a superhero film in its own right?

Batman: Return Of The Caped Crusaders (2016) - Movie Review

I think it’s a safe bet to say that my primary exposure to the 60’s Batman TV show is on the same level as most Millennials; that being, a meme-level awareness of the show without really understanding why it was so popular. I mean, good or not, it was undoubtedly influential as pretty much everything about it, from the costumes to the action to the music, has been satirised, spoofed and deconstructed in the decades since its original airing. I bring this up because, as one of the three Batman-centric films released this year alone (possibly four, if you count Batman's cameo in Suicide Squad), this one is most definitely meant to appeal to that era of Batman’s history. Bringing back the old school cast in vocal roles for an animated film, this particular feature is going to be rather a strange outing. And yet, even with that in mind when I first watched this, this feature would end up being even stranger than I ever could have anticipated, in the best way possible.

Love & Friendship (2016) - Movie Review

Given my willingness to accept frankly insane and rather low-brow themes and narratives in my cinema, I might have depicted myself as a fairly low-brow critic, despite my intentions of reading into films as best I can. And no other statement I’ve made will end up lending more credence to that than this: I’m really not that big on costume dramas. Not to say that there are examples that I have come to like: Branagh’s Much Ado About Nothing is one of my favourite adaptations of the Bard on screen. It’s just that the usual unmistakable stuffiness that pervades a lot of what we consider to be costume dramas never really works for me. It’s often too ingrained in a lifestyle so far removed from my own that, even for a guy who loves the fantastical, I find it hard to get invested. But hey, maybe today’s film could change that; if I’ve learnt anything this year, it’s that potential for success can exist in just about any sub-genre. But somehow, I doubt it.

Risen (2016) - Movie Review

Since I’m talking about yet another religious film, with a biblical story no less, I’d remiss not to mention how I feel my own paradigm has shifted regarding religious cinema. Have I finally seen the light and thrown aside my blasphemous ways and accepted our Lord and Saviour? I just got done giving a one-two punch to good taste and feminism with my last two reviews; I’m still the same arsehole I’ve always been.

However, since seeing Hacksaw Ridge, I will admit that my expectations when it comes to Christian films has definitely softened a bit, mainly because I now know that it is possible to do it right even in this day and age. Sure, mainstream biblical epics like Exodus: Gods And Kings are just as capable of being garbage as the independent scene, but as long as the potential for good is there, I am willing to be receptive. Hell, that’s one of the big reasons I love Ouija: Origin Of Evil as much as I do: Because of the further potential it could lead to. So, with all that in mind, let’s get started with today’s look into the theological mindset. This is Risen.

Tallulah (2016) - Movie Review

A common misguided opinion when it comes to most media is that the moral fiber of the characters translates to the quality of the work; or, in layman’s terms, having hateful people as our leads means that the film sucks. Now, even though I’ve echoed similar ideas in the past like with the Eli Roth films that I’ve reviewed on here before, I want to try and clear up that misconception. It is possible to make good stories using not-so-good characters; the entire popularity of shows like Seinfeld exists because of that very reasoning.

The problem is that the characters require the right thematic framing to work. If they’re conveyed as awful people and we’re not supposed to sympathise with them, it shows that the creator at least knows what the reality of the people in the work is. It’s when these same character traits are portrayed as something we’re supposed to agree with that things start to fall apart; unless there’s extenuating circumstances involved, finding sympathy in the loathsome is a difficult task. It’s because of this that I feel Bad Santa 2 works as well as it does… and why I honestly think that this film doesn’t. But I’m getting a bit ahead of myself; we should start from the beginning.

Bad Santa 2 (2016) - Movie Review

Over many decades of cynicism burrowing their way deeper into the collective subconscious, what was once the most wonderful time of the year is now incredibly demented. Yuletide cheer has given way to soaking those festive colours in many darker shades, resulting in a time of year that is joyous but for entirely different reasons and for entirely different people than it was originally intended.

It’s with this in mind that Terry Zwigoff’s Bad Santa might be the most perfect representation of our incredibly warped and yet still loving attitude towards Christmas. Dark and bitter with a foul-mouthed and violent demeanour, Billy Bob Thornton’s titular character brought a whole new kind of Christmas champion to mainstream attention, one that was more likely to smack the baby Jesus than bring it any gifts. It was delightfully demented without really sacrificing the sense of goodwill associated with the holiday (not entirely, at least) and made for a quite enjoyable watch, especially around this time of year. And then the guy who made Mr. Popper’s Penguins was brought on to make a sequel to the story thirteen years later. Insert your own joke about unlucky numbers here because, quite frankly, this film has had enough unnecessary derision laden on it already.

Red Ribbon Reviewers 2016