Showing posts with label Superman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Superman. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Supergirl Season 1 Episode 3 "Fight or Flight" - Recap and Review

melissa benoist kara danvers supergirl poster wallpaper image picture screensaver

The episode starts with a quick recap of the previous two episodes, right from the Krypton's scene to Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) whisking away Cat Grant (Calista Flockhart) away for an one-on-one conversation.

Supergirl's interview with Cat Grant has more than a passing resemblance to the one that Margot Kidder's Lois Lane had with the late Christopher Reeve's Supes. While Margot's Lois took notes, Cat Grant uses her smartphone to record the interview.

Over the course of the interview, Supergirl unintentionally reveals that she is Superman's cousin. Being the savvy businessperson that she is, Cat Grant makes sure that this piece of information becomes the talk of the town.

This attracts the attention of Reactron (Chris Browning), a super-villain with a long standing grudge against the Man of Steel. Since he is unable to kill Supes, he decides to try his luck with the Girl of Steel.


supergirl kara danvers boss cat grant catco office poster image picture wallpaper screensaver

On the personal front, Kara Danvers faces yet another challenge from her boss. Not content with publicizing Supergirl's connection to the Man of Steel, Cat also wants to host a gala occasion to publish her self-authored critical piece about Supergirl.

Supergirl faces Reactron and manages to cause enough damage to his suit to make him flee the scene. To get back into a fighting condition, Reactron infiltrates Lord Technologies with the intention of abducting someone with the necessary skills and knowledge to repair his damaged suit. Maxwell Lord (Peter Facinelli) willingly offers to be the hostage.

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Supergirl takes Winn Schott (Jeremy Jordan)'s help in zeroing in on Reactron's location. James Olsen (Mehcad Brooks) is against Kara taking on the supervillain, who has proven to be a match even for Superman. James' fears come true when Reactron overpowers Supergirl and is about to finish her off, when the Man of Steel himself appears out of nowhere and forces Reactron to make yet another escape.

Kara is not happy with Jimmy summoning Superman to help her. James explains that he did so more out of old habit and a fear of losing her.

Reactron makes his re-appearance during Cat's aforementioned function. With help from Alex Danvers (Chyler Leigh) and Hank Henshaw (David Harewood), Supergirl finally defeats Reactron.


kara danvers james olsen winn shott dance scene supergirl costume poster wallpaper image picture screensaver

The third episode of Supergirl turns out to be the best one yet. The actors are getting into the skin of their characters very well.

At the top of the list are Melissa Benoist and Calista Flockhart. Melissa has been under the costume and the cape right from the beginning. But her act as Kara Danvers was a bit too Tina Fey for my taste. In the last episode and particularly in this one, she finally manages to leave her own stamp on the role.

Same is true of Calista. Her Cat Grant is growing as a character. She hints at childhood trauma as well as a romantic past with Lords. Calista is clearly having fun with her part.

David Harewood continues to glower effectively as Hank Henshaw. This episode gives even more evidence that he is Martian Manhunter (MM). Hank Henshaw uses his telepathic powers to detect Alex's presence. Fingers crossed that he turns out to be MM.


lucy lane james olsen supergirl poster wallpaper image picture screensaver

There is a newcomer in town and this is Lucy Lane (Jenna Dewan Tatum). Lucy is the younger sister of Lois Lane and the former flame of James Olsen.

The writers included a number of winks and nods to current pop culture events (James Bond, Millenium Falcon from Star Wars, Caitlyn Jenner Vanity Fair, Keeping up with Kardashians).

But the best parts were the references to Superman mythology . The watch used by James to summon Superman to his help is a staple of the Superman Canon. James also accidentally reveals Superman's secret identity to Winn Shott.

Even better was the brief appearance by Supes himself. Needless to say, that was the highlight of the episode for me.

Melissa Benoist gets to mouth some of the best lines:
1. Supergirl's reply to waitress: “I am an alien”.
2. Supergirl's description of Cat Grant: She is a super interviewing villain

I also liked this line: Every Generation gets the Superhero it deserves.” A subtle nod to the Christopher Nolan's Batman movies, perhaps...

With great acting, fun action sequences and made by people who clearly love the DC Universe and especially Superman, this is becoming a must watch for fans of Superman/DC Comics.

Trivia
The song Wish I Could Fly” by Roxette plays during the scene in which Kara Danvers is entering the venue of Cat Grant's event.

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Image Sources: Berlanti Productions, Warner Bros. Television, Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), DC Comics DatabaseWikipedia

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Justice League: Gods and Monsters (2015) - Review


Justice League Gods and Monsters movie dc trinity poster image picture screensaver wallpaper

Spoilers ahead. Readers who wish to avoid spoilers are recommended to skip the post.

I was not impressed with the companion web series (Justice League: Gods and Monsters Chronicles) that was released last month and was not sure about this movie.

This movie proved to be a pleasant surprise. Featuring alternate versions of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, the movie has an excellent script, screenplay, direction and astounding action choreography (as most DC Animated Movies do).

Superman is not the son of Zor-El, but of General Zod and is raised by Mexican immigrants.

Batman is Kirk Langstrom and not Bruce Wayne. In the Batman Canon, Kirk Langstrom is Man-Bat. In this universe, he becomes a pseudo-vampire in his attempts to cure his cancer. He feeds on the blood of the bad guys.

Wonder Woman is not the Princess Diana of Themyscira, but is Bekka. Bekka is a New God of New Genesis, the daughter of Himon and the wife of Orion.


Mexican Superman Son of Zod in Justice League Gods and Monsters poster image picture screensaver wallpaper

A pre-credit sequence is set in Krypton. (DC fans can rest easy. The similarities with Man of Steel ends right here). Jor-El (Yuri Lowenthal) is about to imprint his DNA on his wife Lara Lor-Van's (Lauren Tom) using a machine to send their soon-to-be born son to Earth. General Zod (Bruce Thomas) intervenes and forcefully puts his own DNA instead.

The baby is adopted by migrant Mexican parents. Named Hernan Guerras, this version of Superman is a bit arrogant because of the difficulties he endures in his upbringing, 

Cut to the present. Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are based at the Tower of Justice. Unlike the regular versions, these characters are ruthless when it comes to punishing bad guys.

The government, headed by President Amanda Waller (Penny Johnson Jerald) is not willing to take any steps to challenge the Justice Leaguers.

Trouble starts for our characters, when leading scientists are killed off one by one by unidentified assassins with the specific purpose of framing Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. The victims include Dr Victor Fries (Mr Freeze), Ray Palmer (Atom) and Silas Stone.


Vampire Batman Kirk Langstrom Justice League Gods and Monsters poster image picture screensaver wallpaper

The public's hatred of the Justice League increases, thanks to the media campaign run by reporter Lois Lane (Paget Brewster). President Waller is forced to execute “Project FairPlay”, which is a brainchild of Lex Luthor (Jason Isaacs). Lex has always been wary of Superman and has put plans in place to neutralize him and his colleagues, should they go rogue.

Are the heroes able to prove their innocence? Who is out to frame them? What happens when Waller initiates FairPlay?

I would recommend the readers to check out the movie for the answers.

The story is credited to Bruce Timm and Alan Burnett, both of whom have worked on some of the best DC Animated projects including Superman: The Animated Series and Batman: The Animated Series.

Like these classic shows, the movie also delves deep into the lead characters. Each of the DC Trinity characters get an extensive back story.

Considering that this is an animated superhero movie, the script manages to hold our attention for the most part, until the mystery is resolved. Kudos to Bruce and Alan for the excellent story and screenplay. 


Bruce Timm Justice League Gods and Monsters poster wallpaper picture image screensaver

The animation is done in Bruce Timm style which is refreshing after all the anime and other styles that have dominated animation in the recent past.

The action sequences are executed very well, especially the last one between Supes and the bad guys which is exceptional. The last 20 minutes has non-stop action and successfully combines great character moments and action beats.

This is classic DC Comics and a must watch for fans of Supes, Bats and Wonder Woman.

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Check out the trailer below:



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Image Sources: DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Animation, Warner Premiere 

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Comic Con Trailer - Review

Batman v Superman fight scene Dawn of Justice poster wallpaper image picture screensaver DC Cinematic Universe

Dear Readers,

The Comic-Con trailer for the upcoming DC Comics movie has been released.

Directed by Zack Snyder (Man of Steel300), the movie stars Henry Cavill as Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman, Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman and Gal Gadot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman.

Supporting cast includes Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth and  Laurence Fishburne as Perry White.


The trailer focuses primarily on why Ben Affleck's Bruce Wayne/Batman has a grudge against Henry Cavill's Man of Steel.

In the first movie, Man of Steel, we only got a quick look at one of Bruce Wayne's satellite that was damaged in the climactic fight between Superman and General Zod (Michael Shannon). But it seems, Bruce Wayne was more directly impacted than what the movie suggested.

As seen in the trailer, Bruce Wayne loses a number of his employees, when his office gets trashed in the battle between the two nearly invulnerable Kyrptonians. This convinces Bruce that he needs to step up to the alien, before he inflicts further destruction on the human race.

Alfred tries to convince his master that Superman is not their enemy, but fails to succeed. Hey, we need them to fight to justify the movie's title after all...

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We also get our first look at Gal Gadot as the Wonder Woman, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Tao Okamoto as Mercy Graves and Holly Hunter as a US Senator. 

Lex seems to have convinced Holly Hunter's Senator to initiate legal proceedings against the Man of Steel. I am sure she will change her opinion at the end of the movie.

After romancing Hugh Jackman's Logan as Mariko in The Wolverine (2013), Tao Okamoto has entered the DC Universe as Lex Luthor's assistant/bodyguard, Mercy Graves.

The two new major players who get a lot of screentime are Gal Gadot and Jesse Eisenberg as the Amazon and Lex Luthor respectively.


Ben Affleck Gal Gadot Bruce Wayne Batman Diana Prince Wonder Woman Batman v Superman Dawn of Justice poster wallpaper image

Gal Gadot's character does not get to mouth any dialogue and is reduced to looking beautiful as Diana Prince and then in full battle mode as Wonder Woman. It is too early to judge her performance right now.

Jesse Eisenberg seems to be miscast as Lex Luthor. His dialogue delivery seems to be modeled on Kevin Spacey's version in Superman Returns. He also seems to be channeling his usual arrogant genius shtick that we have already seen many times (The Social Network, Now You See Me).


Jesse Eisenberg Lex Luthor with hair Batman v Superman Dawn of Justice poster wallpaper image picture screensaver

At least, his evil plans seem to be different. Instead of the usual land grabbing scheme we have seen in Superman (1978) and slavishly repeated in Superman Returns (2006), Lex seems to be experimenting with General Zod's corpse. My guess is that he is going to create Doomsday, the unstoppable Kryptonian villain who killed Superman.

This would also explain the reason for DC Comics Trinity to band together to stop Doomsday. And of course, other superheroes include Cyborg (played by Ray Fisher), Aquaman (played by Jason Momoa) and The Flash (played by Ezra Miller) can also lend a helping hand.

As interesting as all this sounds, the trailer indicates that the movie suffers from two major problems, that can potentially prevent the movie from being the pop culture behemoth that it intends to be.

The first one is that none of the actors/actresses seem to be in character. The only exception might be Holly Hunter and she is not playing a DC Comics character at all.

Every one from Ben Affleck to Jeremy Irons look and act in a one-note mode. Ben Affleck is all angry and Jeremy is all serious. Henry Cavill is bland as ever and for some unexplained reason, still gets to play the most iconic superhero ever. As I mentioned earlier, Eisenberg seems to be miscast. Even the reliable Diane Lane looks bored as Martha Kent, while giving some motherly advice to Clark.


New Batmobile Batman v Superman Dawn of Justice poster wallpaper image picture still

I guess one possible reason is that Zack Snyder is not an actor's director i.e. one who gets some great performances from his actors. Zack's strengths seem to be in the special effects department, which brings us to the next point: Bad Special Effects.

I had hoped that this sequel would improve on the shockingly bad CGI that was quite obvious in the previous movie. Unfortunately, that does not seem to be the case here. The special effects look as bad as ever. Perhaps, the finished product will look better when the movie releases in March 25 2016. But history does not inspire confidence...

Irrespective of the box office success, in my humble opinion, the reason this movie will suck big time is because this is a studio product, as opposed to being a passion project for a visionary filmmaker. Richard Donner and Christopher Nolan made amazing movies that will stand the test of time.

This one has been made with the sole purpose of making money. Just for the sake of competing with rival studios, Warner Bros. is doing a big disservice to these classic comic book characters.

Well, looks like the late Christopher Reeve and Christian Bale will continue to be the definitive real life impersonators of Supes and Bats respectively.

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Image Sources: DC Entertainment, Dune Entertainment, Syncopy, Warner Bros.

Monday, June 15, 2015

Justice League: Gods and Monsters Chronicles "Bomb" "Big" - Recap and Review

Mexican Superman Son of Zod Justice League Gods and Monsters Chronicles Bomb poster image picture screensaver wallpaper

Spoilers ahead. Readers who wish to avoid spoilers are recommended to skip the post.

The second and third episodes of Justice League: Gods and Monsters Chronicles debuted online few days back. This series features alternate versions of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman.

The first one, Twisted” featured Kirk Langstrom (the Man-Bat) version of Batman.

The second episode (Bomb) features a Superman, who is not the son of Zor-El, but of General Zod and is raised by Mexican immigrants.

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This Superman is not a friendly one and the Government has created Brainiac to keep the super-powered being under check. But plans do not go as expected and it is Brainiac who needs to be controlled. As can be expected, military and other forces are unsuccessful in their attempts.

The Government led by Amanda Waller is forced to take Superman's help. Brainiac is a lost child, unable to control his powers. Superman has no choice but to kill him. This decision pains Superman, but nevertheless does it in order for the greater good.

This was a pretty boring take on the Man of Steel. I am saying this as being a long time fan of the character. The scenes between Superman and the infant Brainiac were very cliched.

The animation and voice work was OK.


Wonder Woman Bekka Justice League Gods and Monsters Chronicles Big poster image picture screensaver wallpaper

The next one, Big focussed on the Bekka version of Wonder Woman (WW). Bekka is a New God of New Genesis, the daughter of Himon and the wife of Orion.

The entire episode is how she saves Steve Trevor from Kobra and the big android, Giganta - essentially one long action scene. The Batman episode too had a similar simple plot, but at least it had a far more interesting setup and a villain.

But this one has no such redeeming factors. The only characterization for WW is that she is a nymphomaniac. This is so strongly emphasized that at the end, WW forces Trevor to have sex with her. This is what I called Elementrification of a classic character.

To clarify: Elementary is a CBS TV show that is supposedly an adaptation of the classic literary character, Sherlock Holmes. Instead, it is just a mockery of the character and the genius of Arthur Conan Doyle. Jonny Lee Miller's version craves for sex with as many women as possible (sometimes even having threesome) while the original version did not trust women and kept a safe distance from them.

Here's hoping that the movie will be better than what we have seen so far.

Update: I saw the movie and enjoyed it. Click here to read my review of the movie.

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Image Sources: DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Animation, Warner Premiere 

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Justice League: Gods and Monsters Chronicles "Twisted" - Recap and Review

Justice League Gods and Monsters Chronicles poster image picture screensaver wallpaper

The upcoming DC Universe Animated Original Movie is Justice League: Gods and Monsters. The movie features alternate versions of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman.

The story is credited to Bruce Timm and Alan Burnett, both of whom have worked on some of the best DC Animated projects including Batman: The Animated Series and Superman.

Spoilers ahead. Readers who wish to avoid spoilers are recommended to skip the post.

As a sort of prequel/primer to the characters, DC Entertainment has released a companion series consisting of three videos. The first one, Twisted” is focused (no surprises here) on Batman. In this universe, it is not the human Bruce Wayne but Kirk Langstrom (the Man-Bat) who is Batman.


Vampire Batman Kirk Langstrom Justice League Gods and Monsters Chronicles Twisted poster image picture screensaver wallpaper

He arrives at a house whose family members have been brutally killed by an even-more-crazier-than-usual Harley Quinn. Batman does save one remaining family member just as she is about to become the last victim. Batman subdues Harley, but instead of taking her to the police, takes a bite out of her.

This series has a strong tone of horror. The animation was OK. Not bad, but not exceptional either. Hopefully, the movie will fare better.

The next two will feature Superman and Wonder Woman. Like Batman, they too have been given a twist (pun intended). Superman is not the son of Zor-El, but of General Zod and is raised by Mexican immigrants.

Wonder Woman is not the Princess Diana of Themyscira, but is Bekka. Bekka is a New God of New Genesis, the daughter of Himon and the wife of Orion.

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Update: I saw the movie and enjoyed it. Click here to read my review of the movie.

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Image Sources: DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Animation, Warner Premiere 

Sunday, May 24, 2015

Justice League: War DC Universe Animated Movie - Review

Batman Superman Wonder Woman Justice League Team Movie War DC Universe Animated Original Movie 2014

Justice League: War (JL: War) is based on the graphic novel “Justice League: Origin by Geoff Johns and Jim Lee. JL: War features the The New 52 a.k.a. the rebooted DC Universe.

One of the most prominent visible changes is the new look Superman who has a significantly better fashion sense than the previous one...

The movie's plot focuses on an invasion by Darkseid on planet Earth. Our heroes team together to stop the takeover attempt.

Jay Oliva directed the movie that stars the voice talents of Alan Tudyk as Superman, Jason O'Mara as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Michelle Monaghan as Wonder Woman, Justin Kirk as Green Lantern/Hal Jordan, Shemar Moore as Cyborg/Victor Stone, Christopher Gorham as The Flash/Barry Allen, Sean Astin as Shazam, George Newbern as  Steve Trevor and Steve Blum as Darkseid.


Wonder Woman vs Darkseid Justice League War DC Universe Animated Original Movie 2014

The movie has some of the best action sequences that I have seen in an animated movie in a long time. In fact, the movie has almost non-stop action right from the start and never lets up. It only gets better... The climactic showdown between Darkseid and the Justice League lasts for nearly 30 minutes and features some intense and breathtaking choreography.

The movie also boasts of some excellent humor, mostly thanks to the Green Lantern. I also liked the  Super Friends” reference.

There are some subtle nods to other DC Universe properties, including the 1978 Superman movie, The Dark Knight Rises and Man of Steel.

The voice work is superb. As good as the entire cast is, Jason O'Mara, Shemar Moore and Steve Blum leave a strong impression.


Black Superhero Cyborg Victor Stone Justice League War DC Universe Animated Original Movie 2014

Among the characters, Cyborg/Victor Stone has the most compelling character arc. Cyborg is a fascinating character and presents a lot of potential for fun due to the unique nature of his superpowers.

As much as I like Bats and Supes, Cyborg represents a new breed of DC superheroes that combine the imagination of man with the power of machines. I am interested to see how Ray Fisher brings Cyborg to life in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Another character with similar powers is the Blue Beetle, whom I discovered in Batman: The Brave and the Bold and the Young Justice series. His powers are derived from Scarab, an advanced alien technology.

Speaking of Supes and Bats, they are in fine form too. Especially, Supes who not only looks better in his new costume, but has some real attitude as well.


Batman v Superman Justice League War DC Universe Animated Original Movie 2014

The Kryptonian has near physical invulnerability on our planet and his mental outlook reflects that. He is not the self-effacing individual as played by the late Christopher Reeve.

This Man of Steel is quite a showboat and loves to get into scrapes. Personally, I prefer this version to the bland real life version portrayed by Henry Cavill.

The clash between Superman and Batman/Green Lantern is one of the best action set pieces in this movie. The action choreography, background score, voicework and the animation all come together flawlessly to present a very fun and memorable scene.

Click on the link below to buy both the graphic novel and the movie combo pack:


I like Batman for his flaws and relatability. But Supes is just way too powerful even for Batman to face off.  And JL:War even has Batman and Green Lantern teaming up to stop Kal-El and still they come up short. Which is exactly how it should be...

I hope that the encounter between Ben Affleck's Batman and Henry Cavill's Superman will be even better than the animated version seen here.


Shazam Wonder Woman Green Lantern Cyborg in Justice League War DC Universe Animated Original Movie 2014

Bats, as usual, gets a lot of screen time and Jason O'Mara does a fine job of voicing the Dark Knight. There are some really gorgeous shots of Batman and Bat fans will enjoy them immensely.

Batman has a lot of scenes with Green Lantern and their conversations are funny and lively.

Other superheroes are paired up too. Shazam and Cyborg and more importantly, Supes and Wonder Woman. It is only natural that such super-powered individuals of opposite sex would be attracted to each other.

This is the second movie directed by Jay Oliva that I have had a blast with. His Batman: Assault on Arkham also had equally great sense of humor and fantastic action sequences. That movie had a more mature tone as well.

Check out the trailer below:


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Image Sources: DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Animation, DC Comics, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group, Warner Home Video