Filmwhys #47 Boyz N the Hood and Robocop
Episode 47 of the Why Haven’t You Seen This Film Podcast where my guest is Shane Slater from Film Actually who asks me why I haven’t seen Boyz N the Hood, the breakout film from director John Singleton loosely about his life in the hood of South Central Los Angeles filled with many breakout performances from now-famous black actors. And in return, I ask him why he hasn’t seen the original Robocop from director Paul Verhoeven which was the ultra-violent 80’s action film with a satirical undercurrent and stellar practical special effects.
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The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water
The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water 2015
Next up on the kids movies agenda is the second foray into the theatrical realm for a certain animated sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea. Similar to last year’s Birdman (and this is one of the only places that will ever compare those two movies) it is a stretch to call this a “superhero movie” as the aquatic tee-am mates only take on their superhero roles for about ten minutes out of the entire movie. I can’t say that I’m a regular watcher of the Spongebob cartoon and haven’t actually watched it in years, but I am a sucker for the psychadelic, pun-filled, non-sequitur show. What other show is going to have a reference to the creepy twins in the Shining during a trip inside Spongebob’s cotton candy and rainbow filled brain? Underneath the trippy animation and occasional bathroom humor lies a smartly written tale featuring a Greek Chorus of seagulls, Antonio Banderas hamming it up as Burger Beard, Bikini Bottom turning into a Mad Max-like post apocalyptic wasteland, a supreme being dolphin named Bubbles, and plenty of laughs throughout.
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Lego Justice League vs. Bizarro League
Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League vs. Bizarro League 2015
Starting my unintentional batch of superhero movies intended for younger audiences with the latest home video Lego movie release. There’s been a small handful of these Lego home video releases, though many of them are extremely short. Even this one clocks in at just under an hour. If you’re familiar with the Lego brand of entertainment outside of just the Lego movie then you know that it is generally filled with a large number of rapid fire gags and jokes and Bizarro League is no different. It is a bit of a misnomer though, as the entire “vs” aspect of the movie is over within just a few minutes and instead the two groups spend most of their time working together to fight Darkseid. It’s by no means a great film that you should go seek out immediately, but if you have kids of your own, this is a great way to spend an hour together and I bet you will spend quite a bit of it laughing your minifig head off. There’s even a bit of a message buried under all the laughs.
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Filmwhys Extra #22 Le Fear 2 Interview
Episode 22 of Filmwhys Extra where I had the opportunity to talk with writer, director, and actor Jason Croot about his latest film Le Fear II: Le Sequel about a director who is trying to make a horror movie but the only thing horrific are his cast and crew. For more information, you can visit the film’s IMDB page or follow the film on Twitter.
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This Week at Channel: Superhero
Instead of my previous weekly superhero TV re-caps, I wanted to help spread the word a bit more on my new site, Channel: Superhero so I thought that the best way to do that is to continue to share the weekly superhero shows on TV, though if you want to read more about the episode and comment, feel free to do that over on my sister site, which you can also find through the link in the sidebar that looks like a remote control.
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Justice League: Throne of Atlantis
Justice League: Throne of Atlantis 2015
And right onto the first new release of the year. This seems like it’s one of the first follow ups in the DC Animation home video releases as it almost directly follows last year’s Justice League: War. Even though Son of Batman was also part of DC’s New 52 continuity, that movie felt much more self-contained where this really felt like a sequel, especially when I did revisit War shortly before watching Throne of Atlantis. While Aquaman is often the butt of many jokes, he is actually a popular and powerful member of the Justice League and long since deserving of his own movie. There are a few jokes tossed at the king of the sea’s expense, but for the most part it’s a typical origin story with a very similar tone and feel to War, with a few of the same voice cast returning along with some new and familiar voices like Rosario Dawson who got upgraded from Artemis in the Wonder Woman movie to Wonder Woman herself, and Nathan Fillion returning to voice Green Lantern. I thought it was a decent sequel to War, but if there’s one aspect of superhero movies I have had my fill of, it’s origin stories and this didn’t really do anything different or interesting to set it apart from any of the dozens of other origin stories I’ve seen already.
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Filmwhys #46 The Prestige and The Flashpoint Paradox
Episode 46 of the Why Haven’t You Seen This Film Podcast where my guest is Shah Shahid from Blank Page Beatdown as well as my own Channel: Superhero who asks me why I haven’t seen one of Christopher Nolan’s lesser acclaimed films the Prestige but no less accomplished. And starring the likes of Batman, Alfred, Wolverine, and Black Widow to boot. And in return, I ask him why he hasn’t seen Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, one of my favorite DC animated films that takes a look at the world shattering story arc that led up to DC’s new 52 with the Flash, time travel, and alternate realities.
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Top Superhero & Comic Book Films of 2014
It’s the beginning of a new year and time to look back on the year that was, and in most movie communities that also means awards season. I tend to be a bit of a completest when it comes to lists so I’m really glad that this year I was able to accomplish my goal to watch all 29 superhero and comic book films that came out in 2014. There are a few in here that have questionable release dates where some people got to see them early in festivals and small screenings, there are also a couple questionable inclusions and a couple questionable exclusions. But it is my list and I do have my reasons for not including some of them, like Transformers which has been a comic book, but it was a toy line and cartoon before then, and Noah which was adapted into both a comic and feature film simultaneously. And on the other side of things Birdman has a questionable connection to superheroes, but it does capture superhero culture within Hollywood, Edge of Tomorrow was originally a novel but was adapted into a Manga before the film adaptation came about, and the Lego Movie isn’t exactly a superhero movie though it does have superheroes in it. But whatever, I just want to celebrate the films that I enjoyed this year and forget about the ones that I excluded for now. In fact, I had such a great year in general, that I couldn’t narrow down my list of favorites to 10 so I have a couple lists for you so I can feature just over half of the films that I saw this year, excluding the brilliant documentary Legends of the Knight because it made my list last year.
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Filmwhys Extra #21 Channel: Superhero
Episode #21 of Filmwhys Extra where I am announcing my new website, Channel: Superhero and some of the people who have joined me to write about all the superhero TV shows past, present, and future. With me are Rachel Thuro, Shah Shahid, Bruce Leslie, and Todd Liebenow. We discuss what shows we’ll be covering at Channel: Superhero as well as some of the superhero shows we grew up with and ones we’re watching this season.
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Squid Man
Squid Man 2014
Finally, my quest to watch all of the films released in 2014 (that I know of) is finished with Squid Man. Even though it is yet another one of those questionable release dates. It was completed in 2012, ran the festival circuit for a couple years, and was released online early this year. It’s a low budget comedy/drama about the life of a third rate superhero down on his luck. Even though most of the comedy in the film is low-key and situational, the characters are quite fascinating and relatable with just enough fantasy thrown in to remind you that you are watching a superhero movie in a world full of superheroes. There’s a few special effects, a couple fights, but it’s mostly just the life of Squid Man when he’s not out fighting crime. And at the start of the film, he’s not doing much of anything besides drinking at the bar with his friend.
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Flights, Tights, and Movie Nights 