DVD Review: Batman: Gotham Knight - Finest Take Yet on the Dark Knight

Why someone hadn't thought of this yet is a surprise to me. Available on July 8, Warner Premiere's newest direct-to-DVD release, Batman: Gotham Knight, is an anime-influenced feature that ostensibly bridges the gap between Batman Begins and the yet to be released The Dark Knight. It is reminiscent in tone and design to Warner's earlier tie-in to the Matrix trilogy, The Animatrix. But just as that film proved to be superior than the two Matrix sequels, Gotham Knight is much more than a promotional tie-in.

Written by some of the Batman's most well known storytellers, and directed by some of Japan's most renowned animators, the six segments that comprise the film can be enjoyed separately or taken together. Together, as veteran Batman comic book writer Denny O'Neil points out in the commentary, the stories form a mosaic of different perspectives on Gotham's guardian that inform each other, and are greater than the sum of its parts.

"Have I Got a Story For You" - dir. Shoujirou Nishimi (Akira), writ. Josh Olson (A History of Violence) - In this first segment, three skaters each tell their versions of personal encounters they had with Batman during his fight with the criminal Man in Black. A fourth friend who has never seen Batman (Kevin Conroy, reprising his voice acting from the animated series) is then put in the position of being an active participant in the continuing battle. Reminiscent of other stories, in both comics and cartoons (including animated episode, "Legends of the Dark Knight"), in which outside characters introduce different iterations of the Caped Crusader, it is clear why this one opens the film. It sets the tone for the rest of the film, informing the viewer that each segment will have a different take on Batman. Among the versions seen here, look for the one that resembles a certain Marvel hero tearing up the summer box office.

"Crossfire" - dir. Futoshi Hiashide (Air), writ. Greg Rucka (Gotham Central) - Here we get Batman as seen through the eyes of Gotham Major Case Detective Crispus Allen (Gary Dourdan). Unconvinced of the heroism by what he sees as just a simple vigilante, his partner Anna Ramirez (Ana Ortiz) tries to convince him to the contrary as they deliver the Man in Black to Arkham Asylum. Rucka, who wrote Gotham Central for DC Comics, uses his affinity for Gotham's detectives to show us a more objective view of the crimefighter. His comic characters play a central role here, although Renee Montoya was changed to Anna Ramirez in this film. Apparently, Ramirez ties to a plot point in The Dark Knight that mandated the change. Look for an appearance by another longtime character who'll cameo in the new film, gangster Sal Maroni, and mentions of how the Narrows became Arkham Island after the climactic asylum breakout of the last film.

"Field Test" - dir. Hiroshi Morioka (Tsubasa Chronicle), writ. Jordan Goldberg (associate producer of The Dark Knight) - This one continues the feud between Maroni and rival gangster, The Russian. Bruce Wayne's tech expert, Lucius Fox, provides him with a special suit designed to ward off any dangerous projectiles. When it unwittingly causes another person harm, Batman reconsiders using the technology. Notable primarily for being the closest interpretation to anime in the whole film.

"In Darkness Dwells" - dir. Yasuhiro Aoki (The Animatrix), writ. David Goyer (The Dark Knight) - Goyer follows up on a loose end from his Batman Begins story. After his escape, Jonathan Crane, that film's evil Scarecrow, has taken up residence in the city's sewers, where he controls the monstrous Killer Croc. Batman must save a prominent kidnap victim from certain death, after getting a dose of Scarecrow's fear toxin courtesy of Killer Croc's bite. This segment is most reminiscent of the Darknight Detective's comic stories.

"Working Through Pain" - dir. Toshiyuki Kubooka (Lunar), writ. Brian Azzarello (100 Bullets) - Perhaps the best story of the bunch, Batman, still suffering from his wounds, calls Alfred (David McCallum) to help him out of the sewers. While managing his pain, he remembers training he received in that skill from Cassandra (Parminder Nagra), an outcast in India. The flashbacks to India give the movie scope. Cassandra serves as a great counterpoint to the young brooding Batman-in-training, and a welcome female presence. Look for a sad, and loaded, metaphorical image at the end of this segment that will surely be remembered by Batman fans for years to come.

"Deadshot" - dir. Jong-Sik Nam (He-Man and the Masters of the Universe), writ. Alan Burnett (Batman: The Animated Series) - Straight up action at top speed as we wrap up the movie with marksman/assassin Dead Shot lining up his sights on Lieutenant Gordon. The plot is pretty straightforward, save for a reversal midway through the action on a hurtling elevated train. This one probably has the best animation of the entire movie. Dead Shot's costume redesign is flamboyant, but inspired.

On standard DVD, Gotham Knight includes a great commentary by Kevin Conroy and Dennis O'Neil with Gregory Noveck moderating. It also has a sneak peek at Warner Premiere's upcoming direct-to-DVD feature Wonder Woman starring Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion , and Rosario Dawson. On two-disc standard DVD and Blu-Ray, look for additional extras such as four episodes of the animated series that might inform your viewing of the film, and two documentaries, one on Batman's creator, Bob Kane, and one on his villains.

This entry first appeared on Blogcritics on 7/3/2008.

Still provided courtesy of Warner Home Entertainment.

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Tribeca Film Festival 5/3: Speed Racer World Premiere

5:53 pm - Speed Racer, the new film directed by the Wachowski Brothers, had its world premiere this past Saturday at the Tribeca Film Festival. Among the stars arriving via the red carpet were Robert De Niro, co-founder of the festival, and Limp Bizkit front man Fred Durst. Also in attendance were the film's producer, Joel Silver, and most of the cast, including Christina Ricci (Trixie), Susan Sarandon (Mom), Christian Oliver (Snake Oiler), and Paulie Litt (Spritle).











Also there, John Goodman, who plays Speed's dad, Pops, and is a fan of the original show, said "[The cartoon] was different from anything that was on before." When asked if he would appear in the Wachowskis' next film, he responded, "They're great. Andy gives me all kinds of great fiction to read. We're kind of tuned into the same stuff. I hope so."

Peter Fernandez voiced Speed Racer on the American version of the Japanese import, but now plays a race announcer in the new summer movie. Primarily a voice actor, he hadn't appeared in front of the camera in some time, joking, "I make a feature film every 60 years."

Kick Curry, who plays Sparky, Speed's mechanic, spoke of the difficulty with working on a film with no actual props. "John [Goodman's] character has to design the cars, and I have to fix them. We'd always laugh, because we actually had absolutely no idea what the hell the cars were made of, or what they were doing. In fact, most of the time, there wasn't even a car sitting there. It was all computer generated."











Lead actor Emile Hirsch, echoed the sentiment, "You really have to put your imagination to work."

8:34 pm - In the movie, Speed Racer, potentially the greatest auto racer of all time, refuses to break the records set by his late brother and idol, Rex. Sought by industrialist Royalton (played with evil relish by Roger Allam) to join his race team, he refuses to betray his father, who wisely sees the depth of Royalton's corruption. But when that leads to Speed being blacklisted in the racing community, he must join the masked Racer X (Matthew Fox) to bring the villainous businessman down.

Fox deepens his voice a notch to play the mysterious Racer X. X is much more charismatic than his more famous role, the tiresome Jack in the TV hit, Lost. Clever, agile, and clad in a cool suit of black leather, I'd be very surprised if Racer X doesn't get his own movie spin-off, as he is arguably more popular than Speed.

Exciting and fast-paced, Speed Racer can be hard to keep up with if you're not tuned in. Approaching the film as if it were animated, the Wachowski's take advantage of the flexibility the medium affords in telling a story. They use wipes to transition from shot to shot rather than cuts. Foreground and background are always in focus simultaneously, as in most animated fare. Awash in brilliant colors and effects meant to duplicate some of the conventions of Japanese anime, it might lose some older folks, but kids and the young at heart should have no problem keeping up.

11:17pm - Took the train up to the Village with my friend, J.C. Alvarez, to get dinner at the Waverly Inn and Garden (16 Bank St., New York, NY, 10014, 212-243-7900). The Waverly is a bustling, hip restaurant owned by Graydon Carter, editor of Vanity Fair. There's always a few celebrity sightings, and this night was no different. Sitting in the back of the restaurant when we arrived was Ron Perlman of Hellboy fame, and Miami Steve of the E Street Band, aka Silvio Dante of The Sopranos, Steven Van Zandt.

And the food? It was delicious, I started off with a Tuna Tartare, with avocado and dijon emulsion, that was perfect both in taste and presentation. That was followed with the Brook Trout on Cedar plank with roasted carrots, which were appropriately toasty and savory. For dessert, an awesome warm Bananas Foster served with a scoop of ice cream. J.C. enjoyed the Amish Free-Range chicken followed by a warm apple crisp, also served with ice cream.

The service was excellent, as we were well taken care of by five different waiters on a crowded Saturday night, with no one dropping the ball even once.

This was the perfect way to end my time at Tribeca, before heading home to Miami the next day.

A slightly modified version of this entry first appeared on Blogcritics on 5/5/2008.

Still provided courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.
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Film Review: Horton Hears a Who - My First Venture to the Cineplex with my Son

My wife thought Jake was still too young to go see his first movie at a theater. He'd get restless. He'd cry too loudly. How would others be able to enjoy their time at the theaters while this "terrible two"-er ran around wreaking havoc? Not to mention, what kind of enjoyment could we derive from it if we're too busy changing diapers, or shushing him to enjoy the movie? I was determined to introduce him to one. I wanted to start our father-son bonding over my love of films soon. But it would have to be the perfect one. One both of us could enjoy. Based on the Dr. Seuss book of the same name, Horton Hears a Who seemed to fit the bill.

The fourth computer-animated film from 20th Century Fox's Blue Sky Studios, Horton Hears a Who tells the story of Horton the Elephant who discovers that the world of Whoville resides on a tiny speck of dust floating by him in the jungle of Nool. The speck was accidentally blown away from its original home, and the Mayor of Whoville enlists Horton's help in finding a new home for the speck before all the jostling it's receiving destroys Whoville. Kangaroo, another Nool resident, tries to stop Horton from his seemingly quixotic journey, worried that he will influence the other jungle dwellers to believe in non-existent things.

Jim Carrey as Horton, Steve Carell as the Mayor of Whoville, and Carol Burnett as the mean Kangaroo, are among the well-known voice cast. They do a fantastic job of telling the story at a level that a child can understand while their parents enjoy the humor in it. One of my qualms about the film was the casting of Carrey and to a lesser extent, Carell. While each of these actors are popular and extremely talented and funny, I have found that if they do not have a strong director shaping their performance, left to their own devices they can really ham it up. Recall Carrey as the Grinch in his previous Seuss outing. His characterization of the evil Grinch got old really fast. Happily, I can say that the obvious constraints of animation, one being the fact that much of it is animated before the voicing, gave these fine comedians a relatively short leash to work with, to greater effect in making us laugh.

Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino, the directors of the film do a good job of making the movie appealing to the eye. Frequently, the recent crop of animated movies outside of the Pixar domain, don't always do a great job of keeping the art clean, bright, and attractive. For instance, Shrek seems a little dull, saturation-wise. And another example is the recent Robots, which is so busy and colorful, it is hard to keep focused on the plot. This film strikes a good balance visually, which may be due in part to Hayward's graduating out of the Pixar house of animation. I hope to see other studios benefit from this in the future, as it would be sad to have Pixar be the only game in town.

Surprisingly, there is a simplified parable of philosophy to be gleaned from the story. Horton's and Kangaroo's battle is the eternal battle between the believer and the skeptic, faith and reason. At a certain point Kangaroo is trying to dissuade her son Rudy from listening to Horton's ravings. But Horton makes a strong case, asking how the jungle dwellers are sure that they are not similarly living on a speck of dust, while others are observing them.

This was the most surreal moment for me. It was at this point when my son turned around and started realizing his surroundings for the first time. He was no longer transported to Whoville by the immense size of the screen. He saw that we were in a room, surrounded by strangers, all experiencing the wonder of a story cast on celluloid, projected onto a wall by a beam of light. In effect, we were gazing at the figurative speck of dust that is Horton Hears a Who. And that is why I got into this line of work to begin with.

This entry first appeared on Blogcritics on 3/14/2008.

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Movie Trailer: Speed Racer

This one's been around for a little bit. I had to share it because the visuals are great, AND it's the first movie from the Wachowski brothers since The Matrix trilogy.

Click on the picture above to be directed to the trailer.

Let me know what you think of it.

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DVD Review: Justice League: The New Frontier - Animated Spotlight On Real-World Issues

Taking advantage of the current superhero genre craze, Warner Premiere has just released its second DC Comics-inspired direct-to-DVD feature, Justice League: The New Frontier. Animated in a style reminiscent of Darwyn Cooke's original comics series, it is a sight to behold.

It also carries a PG-13 rating, so don't go running to the store to get it for your kids. Like the comic, it has decidedly mature themes. The story is seen through the eyes of test-pilot Hal Jordan, future Green Lantern. He embodies the type of new hero emerging at the dawn of the Kennedy era. While still cut from the cloth of "true American heroes" like Chuck Yeager, this generation has to deal with more gray areas than their predecessors. Even establishment heroes like Superman and Wonder Woman find themselves at odds with each other when it becomes evident that the new villains are not as clearly defined.

For Superman, it means realizing that the government he so dearly upholds the values of is capable of secretly conducting weapons tests. For Wonder Woman it means siding with women villagers raped and imprisoned by male oppressors in Vietnam, then known as Indo-China. When Batman, always with his guard up, confronts a new alien hero whose weakness is fire, he warns, "I have a $70, 000 sliver of radioactive meteor to stop the one from Metropolis. With you, all I need is a penny for a book of matches." This is not your average episode of Super Friends.

It is a nice capsulization of Darwyn Cooke's love letter to the Silver age of comics, DC: The New Frontier. A far more involved masterwork by the former animator, its cartoony style belies its serious examination of civil rights, anti-communism, and the turbulent late 50s-early 60s in which these concerns were distorting the notion of what the American Way really was. Much of the movie is shot with a definite eye to preserving Cooke's distinctive style. My only complaint, is that so much of the story is compressed into a 75 minute running time. By the story's end you may not be aware of what the film's villain represents without having read the original comic, or seen any of the DVD's featurettes for clarification. This movie would benefit from having a longer cut.

Warner Premiere is obviously attempting to pursue quality in their new direct-to-DVD feature series (check out the featurette promoting their anime-inspired Batman: Gotham Knight in this DVD's special features). The voice actors include such actors as David Boreanaz, Keith David, Miguel Ferrer, Neil Patrick Harris, John Heard, Lucy Lawless, Kyle MacLachlan, Kyra Sedgwick and Jeremy Sisto. And director Dave Bullock has since been busy directing George Lucas' new CGI-animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, to air this fall on TNT and The Cartoon Network. Justice League: The New Frontier is a fine entry to list on any one of these professionals' resumes.

This animated film demonstrates the full potential of what superhero stories can comment on in a way that no live-action release (with the possible exception of Unbreakable and The Incredible Hulk TV series) has as of yet. Check this DVD out to see what the superhero genre is truly capable of.

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