Please Keep These 'Lego DC Comics' Direct-to-Video Movies Coming

In 2013, Lego Batman: The Movie – DC Superheroes Unite, a direct-to-video animated movie inspired by the Lego Batman game franchise, was released.  I extremely enjoyed it (it didn’t make my list for best 2013 movies for I saw it in 2014).  And I guess I’m not the only one pleased by it because Lego and DC decided to make more movies like this.  The short film Lego DC Comics: Batman Be-Leaguered (which I only saw earlier this year) premiered as a TV special in 2014.  And this 2015, two Lego DC Comicsdirect-to-video animated movies are released.

The first 2015 movie, Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League vs. Bizarro League, was released in February.  The second, Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League: Attack of the Legion of Doom, has just been recently released this month.  But I’ve seen them back-to-back recently.   That’s why this mini-review is for both.

In Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League vs. Bizarro League, Superman’s Justice League teams up with Bizarro’s Bizarro League to save both Earth and Bizarro World from Darkseid.  And in Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League: Attack of the Legion of Doom, the supervillains, tired of being constantly defeated by the Justice League, decide to form their own team – the Legion of Doom.  The plots of both movies are pretty uncomplicated that to give more elaborate synopses is unnecessary.

I like the second movie better, but both movies (as well as the previous Lego DC Comics films) possess similar attributes and nature; hence, the following evaluation applies to both.

The animation is wonderfully beautiful, and the voice work is impeccable.  The story is undemanding and light-hearted – these movies’ target audience are kids anyway – but it’s still appealing to adult sensibilities.  And, most importantly, the utilization and combination of Lego logic, parodies of DC Comics tropes, clever gags, non-annoying puns, and charming slapstick create a unique kind of hilarious, wholesome comedy that can’t be found anywhere else.

I hope that the Lego DC Comics franchise will be around for a while.  Even if there’s already that upcoming Lego Batman movie set for theatrical release, I hope the production of these brilliant direct-to-video animated movies won’t cease.  These Lego DC Comics movies are cartoon gems, and I don’t think I’ll get tired of them anytime soon.  

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Season 2 Downgrades 'True Detective'

The plot of True Detective season 2 centers on the investigation of the murder of Ben Caspere, the city manager of the fictional city of Vinci, by a task force made up of representatives of three different police departments.  The three main investigators of the case are Vinci Police Department detective Ray Velcoro (Colin Farrell), Sgt. Ani Bezzerides (Rachel McAdams) of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office CID, and California Highway Patrol Officer Paul Woodrugh (Taylor Kitsch).  Also interested in the murder investigation is Vinci mobster Frank Semyon (Vince Vaughn) whose dream of legitimization is ruined because the late Caspere has lost his money.  But as they go deeper into the Caspere murder investigation, they also get to learn how deep the appalling tradition of corruption and depravity has rooted on the city of Vinci, antagonizing those in power.

So how did this tale compare to that of True Detective season 1?  Not so well, unfortunately.  I’m greatly disappointed and unimpressed overall.

Now, don’t get me wrong.  Season 2 isn’t necessarily disastrously bad.  It has a thoughtful and complex story.  It has fascinating messed-up characters.  The dialogue and acting are riveting.  The opening theme, camera shots, editing, and directing are gorgeously-done in general.  And it does have a couple of awesome moments – the ending of episode 2 made my jaw drop, the start of episode 3 is quirky fun, the gunfight in episode 4 is brilliantly executed, and Ani’s undercover job in episode 6 was a smart and horrifying sequence.  It has the things that made season 1 terrific.

However, the first season was a masterpiece.  And season 2, regardless if it’s good or bad, is a massive step-down of quality.  Everything about season 2 is less interesting.  And since it’s less interesting, it suffered from the slow-pace.  There were several times that I got bored.  It also doesn’t have the kind of magnetism season 1 has.  Right from that first scene in season 1, the show gripped me and never let go.  Season 2 doesn’t have that.  In fact, it took time before an episode rouse my interest (except for episode 3, the opening was perfect).

By its own, despite being actually a solid drama, I don’t think I would have bothered watching it.  But I really loved the first season, and this somewhat made me feel oblige to see this show through the end.  I was hoping that it would eventually blow me away once it wrapped up – but it didn’t.

Still, I won’t give up on True Detective yet.  I would still welcome a third season.  This show might still bounce back after all, and maybe – how I wish – even exceed season 1.  However, I’m no longer interested on following this show by watching a new episode as soon as it’s out.  I’ll let the season have its run first, then, depending on the buzz it will create, I will make my choice if I will binge-watch it or proceed to finally give up on True Detective.

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August 2015 Crusade & Evangelistic Concert

An evangelistic crusade was conducted last August 7 at Joy Church.  These were the first two songs of the opening praise and worship...

Then, the next night, August 8, an evangelistic concert was conducted at Barangay Rizal, Legazpi City.  These were two of the numbers we performed...

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'Shaun the Sheep' Is Yet Another Stop-Motion Animation Gem

“If it’s a stop-motion animated movie, then it must be good” is a presumption that have always held true to me through the years.  Yes, like traditional hand-drawn animation, stop-motion animation has a soft spot in my heart and appeals to my old-school sensibilities.  But it’s not only that.  I truly haven’t encountered a bad widely-released stop-motion animated feature before.  Of course, not all have the makings of a classic like The Nightmare Before Christmas or Coraline, but I found all of them to be fun, thoughtful, and very entertaining.  There’s the possibility that a bad stop-motion animated feature is out there, but I haven’t seen one yet.  You are welcome to point it out to me.

Shaun the Sheep – also known as Shaun the Sheep Movie – is, so far, the only stop-motion animated movie out this year (I also watched The Boxtrollsearlier this year, but that was a 2014 movie).  I haven’t seen the TV series of the same name that this movie is based on – a spin-off of another great stop-motion property, Wallace and Gromit – so I have no preconception, except for my usual presumption for the guaranteed good quality of stop-motion animated movies, before I watched this.  And I’m pleased to say that this movie further enforces that presumption.

Shaun the Sheep focuses on the titular Shaun who grows tired of the monotonous daily routines of being a sheep at Mossy Bottom Farm.  Conspiring with the other sheep, Shaun hatches a scheme that will give them a day off.  The plan goes smoothly, until a mishap sends the Farmer to the city and makes him lose his memory.  So Shaun, along with the other sheep of Mossy Bottom Farm and Bitzer the farmer’s dog, goes on a hilarious city adventure in search of the amnesiac Farmer.

As what was already stated earlier, Shaun the Sheep is a gem.  It is effortlessly pleasant, lovely, funny, and likable.  The animation is painstakingly detailed and beautiful.  Its kid-level slapstick humor is the kind that adults will also enjoy well.  The story lacks substance, but the dialogue-less narrative is brilliantly coherent and thorough in expressing both comedy and plot.

As of writing, Shaun the Sheep absurdly sits at 99% in Rotten Tomatoes, making it the best reviewed summer-season movie of 2015.  I personally don’t quite agree with the critics’ consensus – I think it’s overrated, considering that Inside Out, which, as implied by the general thought of the reviews it has received, is supposedly set to become the best animated film of the year (I haven’t seen it yet to know for sure), only has a 98% rating – but that’s still saying something about how good Shaun the Sheep is.  It’s a wonderful family-friendly animated movie, and (maybe until I finally get to see Inside Out) my most favorite animated movie of the year next to Justice League: Gods and Monsters.

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'Terminator Genisys' Wastes a Brilliant Reboot Concept

Terminator Genisys is the fifth installment of the Terminator franchise.  It was an attempt to drag the fallen franchise out of the muck.  Unfortunately, Genisys further dragged it deeper into it instead.

The plot of Genisys reboots the Terminatortimeline.  Just the same with the first movie, Kyle Reese is sent back in time by John Connor to ensure his existence by protecting his mother, Sarah Connor, from a Terminator that is sent back in time intending to assassinate her, as well as to make his conception possible (since, as everyone familiar with Terminator mythology knows, Kyle is actually John’s father).  However, in this new timeline, an enemy T-5000 has infiltrated the resistance.  And Kyle sees it attack John Connors while he’s about to be sent back in time.  Moreover in this new timeline, a reprogrammed T-800 – the good guy Terminator – has been sent back further back in time to protect a 9-year-old Sarah.  This Terminator, which Sarah has affectionately named “Pops”, serves as her father figure while growing up.  When the original bad guy T-800 arrives in 1984, an adult Sarah and “Pops” are ready for him and destroys him.  Meanwhile, a T-1000 is also sent back to 1984 by Skynet to kill Kyle Reese, but he’s rescued from it by Sarah and “Pops”, who has also prepared for it.  With the events of the prior movies now negated, the three of them – Sarah, Kyle, and “Pops” – now has a new objective: to prevent “Judgment Day” from happening in this altered timeline, now set on 2017 instead of 1997, which Skynet would bring about through an app named “Genisys.”  Unfortunately for them, the T-5000 that attacked John Connor has infected him at the cellular level, transforming him into a T-3000 Terminator.  John is then also sent back in time by Skynet to protect its own development from being sabotaged by Kyle and Sarah.  (In my opinion, John Connor as the villain would have been a cool plot twist if marketing didn’t spoil it.)

Terminator Genisys is not that awful as I thought it was going to be.  I think it’s fourth in quality among Terminator films (Salvation is still the worst, and I actually enjoyed Rise of the Machines).  Maybe because I was already prepped of its mediocrity that I didn’t have any big expectations about it to be disappointed about.  Hence, knowing what I’m getting into allowed me to actually find chunks of enjoyability in it.   And it does show some brief flashes of how it could have been a fresh and smart movie.  However, they’re exactly just that – flashes.  Nothing more.  It lacks the well-thought and cohesive narrative to make them concrete.

Genisys has a lot of stupid things going in its plot (for starters, the Genisys app isn’t that kind of app everyone will be excited about in real life).  Several things don’t hold up well.  Even if one doesn’t take time to think about them, these are pretty noticeable.  The convoluted story leaves an uncomfortable amount of dumb plot holes and problematic plot questions left unanswered (which, to be fair, might be revealed in a sequel).  And even if logical sense can be achieved if one would put an effort to sort the narrative out – which I doubt – the chore isn’t worth it for such story that I found unrewarding.

Maybe if one is able to turn his brain off and be capable to let these plot problems go, there’s some degree of satisfaction to be found in the story.  Unfortunately, I was unable to do such thing.  The story’s problems bugged me.  A lot. 

Besides, the Terminator franchise shouldn’t actually just be a series of dumb action movies.  It shouldn’t merely settle with brainless, passable fun.  The first two movies are deep science fiction masterpieces.  Being just purely “dumb but fun” isn’t good enough.

Heck, Genisys isn’t even interesting as an action movie.  The thing about the Transformer films is that, though they are generally awful movies, they do have eye-popping action going for them.  Genisys doesn’t even have that.  The action sequences are uninspired and badly shot.  Those who still remember the thrill given by the action sequences of Judgment Day will find the action in Genisys boring.

I sincerely hoped Terminator Genisys would have turned out to be good.  A revitalized Terminatorfranchise is something that would have been nice to be excited about.  The whole “alternate timeline” thing actually has the potential to be awesome – it was a brilliant reboot concept.  But the concept is wasted by using it on a film consisting of a problematic, messy, and flat story; terrible dialogue; unlikable characters (with the exception of the Terminator, who has his badass reputation to thank for this goodwill); unexciting visuals; and casting Jai Courtney in a big role.

I don’t really hate Genisys.  Again, seeing it this late helped for I wasn’t expecting much from it anyway due to what others have already said about it.  So I was entertained at least.  Nevertheless, it’s a forgettable movie that I will not deliberately seek to re-watch.

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Top 10 Crossovers

Crossovers happen when two (or more) characters or properties are joined together in one story or project.  And the best kinds are those you don’t expect to happen because they belong to different fictional universes and/or different companies; hence, when it does happen, it’s pretty mindblowing.

Here are my favorites...

Honorable Mention: JUSTICE LEAGUE/TRANSFORMERS

Before we start with the number 10 spot, I want to give an honorable mention to Phil Jimenez’s Justice League/Transformers crossover.  Unfortunately, this comic book project never went further than the two concept artworks above as DC turned down Jimenez’s pitch.  What a bummer.  It would have had Wonder Woman’s invisible jet becoming a Transformer, a Batman-themed Transformer, and – coolest of all – Optimus Prime wielding a Green Lantern ring.  It would have been epic.

10.) THE JIMMY TIMMY POWER HOUR

The Jimmy Timmy Power Hour is a TV special featuring a crossover between The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius and The Fairly OddParents.  Both are Nickelodeon shows, but a crossover happening between this two seemed unlikely because the two shows’ respective universes are too different.  One universe deals with science, and the other in magic.  Moreover, the two shows have different animation styles – Jimmy Neutron is computer-generated, and Fairly OddParents is hand-drawn.  But these distinctions wonderfully meshed in bringing about a charming narrative and visuals about Jimmy and Timmy switching places.

This is actually a trilogy now, but I only got to watch the first one.

9.) PHINEAS AND FERB: MISSION MARVEL

Phineas and Ferb, one of the best cartoons of the 21^st century so far, also had a crossover with Star Wars.  That was cool, too, but I liked the team up of these two boy geniuses with Spider-Man, Thor, Iron Man, and Hulk more.  It’s immensely fun; easily my most favorite two-part episode of the show.

8.) WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT?                     

They only made cameos, but it’s only in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? where we get to see Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse together on screen.  Various other classic cartoon characters from Disney and Warner Bros. and other companies also made appearances in this movie.  But seeing Bugs and Mickey was what blew me away back when I saw this movie for the first time.

7.) SUPER SMASH BROS.

I extremely like this game franchise.  I will not pretend that I enjoy playing this game franchise when I’ve never played any Super Smash Bros. game ever.  But I do enjoy watching Youtube videos of replays of other people playing it, especially in tournaments.  I love the premise of this fighting game, which features different characters and motifs from various video game franchises.  It’s a brilliant crossover concept.     

6.) DC VS. MARVEL COMICS and AMALGAM COMICS

 

One of my biggest regrets in life was losing my Marvel vs. DC “tex” (Filipino mini-cards) collection (along with my other “tex” collections).  I loved that crossover back then, and I still have fond memories of it. 

DC vs. Marvel Comics(alternatively known as Marvel Comics vs. DC) was a 90’s limited comic book series that involved duels between Marvel characters and DC characters, of which the winner was to be decided by fan votes.  In the aftermath of this story, a temporary universe was created – the Amalgam Universe – which had characters resulting from mergers between Marvel and DC characters.   My favorite Amalgam characters were Dark Claw (merger of Batman and Wolverine), Spider-Boy (Spider-Man and Superboy), Doctor Strangefate (Doctor Strange and Fate), Iron Lantern (Iron Man and Green Lantern), and Hyena (Sabretooth and the Joker).

Dark Claw vs. Hyena

5.) LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN

I don’t think the lineup is perfect – I think Sherlock Holmes should have been part of it – but I think Alan Moore is a genius for thinking of this: a Victorian superhero team made up of classic Victorian literary characters.  That’s why it’s one of my most favorite superhero teams ever.

4.) LUPIN THE 3RD VS. DETECTIVE CONAN

This crossover came as a delightful surprise to me when I learned about it.  Having anime’s best detective and best thiefmatching wits seems just a product of fan fantasy.  But more than the inherent charm of being a dream matchup/teamup, the two Lupin the 3^rdvs. Detective Conan movies – the first one came out in 2009 and its sequel came out in 2013 – truly give justice, not only to the characters of Lupin and Conan, but to the tones and themes of the two anime properties.

3.) MARVEL VS. CAPCOM

Now, this is a fighting game that I got to play with.  I really loved this franchise as a kid.  I was kind of addicted to it.  It started with X-Men vs. Street Fighter.  Then, other Marvel characters joined the X-Men in Marvel vs. Street Fighter.  Then, other game characters from other Capcom games joined Street Fighter in Marvel vs. Capcom.  And, then, since the source of the pool of characters can’t be expanded anymore, a sequel with additional characters came out instead (Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is the last game of the franchise that I was able to play).  And then another sequel followed.  And then another.  If Super Smash Bros. had never existed, this franchise would have been the ultimate crossover fighting game. 

2.) BATMAN/SPIDER-MAN

 

Batman and Spider-Man are my top two most favorite comic book characters ever.  Thus, I was ecstatic when they crossed-over twice in the 90’s.  First was “Distorted Minds” – which had them teaming up against the Joker and Carnage – and then “New Age Dawning” – which had them teaming up against Ra’s al Ghul and the Kingpin.  Those two comics were really well-written and perfectly depicted how the two characters would have behaved if they existed in the same fictional universe and had to team up.

1.) JLA/AVENGERS

This is not only one of the greatest comic books I’ve ever read but is also the most epic crossover ever.  Kudos to Kurt Busiek (writer) and George Perez (artist) for rising up to the challenge of delivering a thoughtful and exciting story that is rightful for a crossover of this scale.  Not only is this limited series a perfect crossover story between the premier all-star superhero teams from DC and Marvel, but it has also taken upon itself to effectively analyze and contrast the DC and Marvel universes.  In fact, it’s actually as much of a crossover between the two universes (with plenty of cameos) as much as a mere crossover between the Justice League of America and the Avengers.  The convergence of the two universes – which resulted into awesome reality-bending sequences – is part of the central plot of the story.

This convergence is depicted in the cosmic plane as the living embodiments of the Marvel and DC Universes making love with each other.  This resulted to a conception of an "egg" that could hatch into a new "baby universe" someday.  Insane, but awesomely clever.

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'Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation' Feels Like a Perfect 007 Film

In my opinion, this fifth Mission: Impossible installment is the franchise’s best yet.  Seriously, this franchise ages as gracefully as its star, Tom Cruise (can you believe that he’s already in his 50’s!) – both only get better with age.

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation sees the return of Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF colleagues Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), William Brandt (Jeremy Renner), and Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames; the only character that appeared in all five films aside from Ethan Hunt) as they go against “The Syndicate”, a secret terrorist organization made up of rogue highly-trained international spooks presumed to be dead by their governments.  Teaming up with Ethan and his team is the enigmatic British agent Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), whose allegiance is wrapped in ambiguity.

Growing up, I’ve developed a deep fondness for the 007 films – yes, even the silly ones – that I’m restricted by sentimentality to have Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation as my most favorite spy movie ever.  However, the greatest compliment I can give this movie is it’s what I imagine an ideal 007 movie should be.  Really.  The plot, the opening sequence, the tech, the villain, the tone, the world-hopping, etc. – Rogue Nation has the vibes of a 007 movie.  Heck, Ilsa Faust seemed like the greatest Bond girl ever (more on her later).  The only thing missing is the womanizing, but that’s a facet of Bond that I don’t care too much for anyway.  If Rogue Nation is a 007 movie, it could even have been my most favorite one ever.

Rogue Nation has flawlessly melded the exciting elements of a “spy movie as an action film” and the intriguing elements of “spy movie as an espionage drama” to create a perfect spy movie experience.  It’s equally action-packed and cerebral; its dose of humor isn’t out of place, works very well, and doesn’t cheapen the tension.  The plot may seem as unlikely as that of a 007 movie, but it’s not too far-fetched to be dismissed as something stupidly unrealistic.  The narrative is enthralling from start to finish; I found no dull moment.  And I find (MILD SPOILERS) the way Ethan Hunt won against the main antagonist extremely, fist-pumping-ly satisfying.

The stunts and action sequences are insanely stunning.  Intense hand-to-hand combats, shootouts, parkour, car chases, etc. – this movie has them all.  The notable scene from the trailers in which Ethan Hunt is hanging outside a flying plane was truly just the tip of the iceberg.

All of the main cast members – Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner, Ving Rhames, Alec Baldwin, and Sean Harris – deliver great performances.  They really put a lot of personality into their characters – making all these characters fascinating.

But the most fascinating character in this movie is definitely Ilsa Faust.  Among this year’s movie female characters, she’s only next to Mad Max’s Imperator Furiosa in greatness.  There are plenty of badass female spy characters (greatest of which is, of course, Black Widow) out there already, but Faust is definitely among the top of them.  I love the fact that she’s not an ultra-competent fighter who overwhelms opponents with ease.  She kicks butts, but she also gets hit.  This vulnerability adds additional depth to the character (and also reminds me of Buffy Summers, my most favorite female character in fiction) as much as her struggles as a spook assigned with an impossible mission.  The Mission: Impossible franchise tend to replace female characters with each new movie, but I hope I’ll see more of Faust in future installments.

Spin-off, anyone?

Prior to Rogue Nation, I’ve already been enjoying the Mission: Impossible movies very much.  But it’s only with Rogue Nation that I could really say that I’ve finally become an invested fan of this franchise.  If I will redo my list for top 10 fictional spooks, Ethan Hunt will definitely be in it now.

I’m now excitedly looking forward to the next one (I admit that I was a bit indifferent for new installments before).  As long as Tom Cruise can remain dedicated to this franchise and succeeding directors will be consistent in keeping everything fresh and thrilling, I would love to see this go to Mission: Impossible 10 (and, again, I hope we’ll  get to see more of Ilsa Faust).                                                        

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