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#1
The Batman (2022) / The Penguin (2024)
Fri, 22 Mar 2024, 19:11 #2
Misc. Burton / BATMAN SOARS (1989 - 1997) Ultimate Trailer
Tue, 9 Jan 2024, 14:12
Apologies if someone has already posted this, but I thought it was a beautifully edited trailer for the Burton/Schumacher series that deserved its own thread. For those of us who grew up with these movies, and remember the hype, the trailers, the tie-in albums, toys, Happy Meals, videogames and comic adaptations, this offers a pleasant dose of nostalgia.
#3
Animated Batman / Merry Little Batman (2023)
Tue, 2 Jan 2024, 16:48
I've been trying to watch a different Christmas film on each of the twelve days of Christmas, and last night I gave this one a shot. I'd never heard of it before it suddenly appeared on Amazon Prime a few weeks ago. It's a feature length animated movie about Damian Wayne trying to protect Gotham City from a band of familiar rogues on Christmas Eve.
As you can tell from the trailer, it's a very comedic festive film geared towards a family audience. The art style is pretty unique among Batman movies and the quality of animation is good. It doesn't match the rapid-fire concentration of gags in something like Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, and I don't find the comedy to be on a par with the funniest Batman films, but it's not bad. It contains numerous allusions to other Christmas films and older Batman movies.
The Penguin is clearly influenced by DeVito's version. He has his hideout beneath the penguin enclosure in Gotham Zoo, and at one point he alludes to his origin story and mentions how his father dumped his basinet into the sewers when he was a baby. He also has an army of penguin commandoes with rockets strapped to their backs, which he sends out to steal all of Gotham's presents on Christmas Eve.
Bane looks and acts like the Schumacher version. He appears alongside Poison Ivy and is ultimately defeated in the same way the Schumacher Bane was beaten.
Mr. Freeze speaks in ice puns, almost all of which are taken from Arnold's dialogue in Batman & Robin. See examples in the following clip, from the 1:12 mark.
There are lots of other Easter eggs for fans to spot. It's hardly a must-see movie, but it's diverting enough provided you're in the right frame of mind, and it makes for seasonal viewing at this time of year. There are still several more days of Christmas remaining, so now's a good time to check it out if you have Amazon Prime.
As you can tell from the trailer, it's a very comedic festive film geared towards a family audience. The art style is pretty unique among Batman movies and the quality of animation is good. It doesn't match the rapid-fire concentration of gags in something like Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, and I don't find the comedy to be on a par with the funniest Batman films, but it's not bad. It contains numerous allusions to other Christmas films and older Batman movies.
The Penguin is clearly influenced by DeVito's version. He has his hideout beneath the penguin enclosure in Gotham Zoo, and at one point he alludes to his origin story and mentions how his father dumped his basinet into the sewers when he was a baby. He also has an army of penguin commandoes with rockets strapped to their backs, which he sends out to steal all of Gotham's presents on Christmas Eve.
Bane looks and acts like the Schumacher version. He appears alongside Poison Ivy and is ultimately defeated in the same way the Schumacher Bane was beaten.
Mr. Freeze speaks in ice puns, almost all of which are taken from Arnold's dialogue in Batman & Robin. See examples in the following clip, from the 1:12 mark.
There are lots of other Easter eggs for fans to spot. It's hardly a must-see movie, but it's diverting enough provided you're in the right frame of mind, and it makes for seasonal viewing at this time of year. There are still several more days of Christmas remaining, so now's a good time to check it out if you have Amazon Prime.
#4
Batman (1989) / How Batman (1989) Should Have Ended
Fri, 22 Dec 2023, 22:40 #5
Movies / Beverly Hills Cop
Thu, 14 Dec 2023, 20:44
After years of development hell, Eddie Murphy is finally back as Axel Foley for Beverly Hills Cop 4. It looks like they've reassembled all of the old crew.
This is one of those sequels I'd given up waiting for, along with Beetlejuice 2. Let's hope it's more Top Gun: Maverick and less Terminator: Dark Fate.
This is one of those sequels I'd given up waiting for, along with Beetlejuice 2. Let's hope it's more Top Gun: Maverick and less Terminator: Dark Fate.
#6
Movies / Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024)
Wed, 8 Nov 2023, 19:04Should the different Ghostbusters threads be merged into a single topic? Or would everyone prefer they be kept separate?
#7
Comic Film & TV / The Punisher (1989)
Wed, 2 Aug 2023, 13:36
I can't remember if we already have a thread for this movie. If we do, I'll merge it with this one.
While browsing YouTube I stumbled across an unrated workprint of the Dolph Lundgren Punisher movie. I watched it last night and it wasn't bad. The temp score incorporates music from First Blood, Aliens and Lethal Weapon, and I think there might be a bit of Christopher Young's Hellraiser score in there too. Click on the link below to watch it on YouTube.
The most obvious difference is that the workprint includes a lengthy prologue in which we see Frank before he became the Punisher. We see him back when he was an ordinary family man, spending time with his wife and kids and working with his partner. Louis Gossett Jr. gets more screen time, which is a plus since he delivers the best performance in the film. We see the events leading up to the murder of Castle's family, then the story leaps forward five years to when the Punisher is already established. It would've been nice to see him transition from ordinary cop to vigilante, like the 2004 film showed us, but instead the 1989 movie abruptly skips over that.
The prologue scenes aren't particularly good, and Frank's wife is underdeveloped as a character so that we don't feel much emotion when she dies, despite the tender scenes between her and her husband. The best thing about the prologue is that it shows us how different Frank was before the loss of his family broke him, and that it establishes the fraternal camaraderie between him and his partner Jake, which has a payoff later in the movie during the scene in the holding cell.
The ending is also different. In the final version of the movie Franco delivers a villainous speech about how his organisation will become the most powerful criminal force in the world, and he gloatingly implies that he's used Frank to eliminate the competition. There then follows a fight scene between him and Frank, ending with Punisher killing him. In the workprint Franco comes across more sympathetically. It's clear that he's genuinely grateful to Castle for saving his son and doesn't want to kill him, but is only doing so because he knows that if he doesn't the Punisher will come after him later. There's no fight scene between them. Castle just kills him, quick and clean.
The bit where Franco's son holds the gun to Frank's head is also more intense. In the workprint it comes across as though Frank wants the boy to kill him. It reminds me of the scene in the Thomas Jane movie where Castle almost kills himself after avenging his family. I prefer the workprint ending to the one in the finished film. Dolph's acting is generally better served by the workprint edit. In the other version his performance comes off as one note, while in the workprint we see more emotion from him, more pain and humanity.
Punisher fans should give it a look.
On the trivia front, Frank's daughters wear Spider-Man pyjamas in one scene, and later in the movie there are two separate references to Batman.
If only Dolph had worn the skull emblem.
At least he finally got to don it during a photo shoot many years later.
While browsing YouTube I stumbled across an unrated workprint of the Dolph Lundgren Punisher movie. I watched it last night and it wasn't bad. The temp score incorporates music from First Blood, Aliens and Lethal Weapon, and I think there might be a bit of Christopher Young's Hellraiser score in there too. Click on the link below to watch it on YouTube.
The most obvious difference is that the workprint includes a lengthy prologue in which we see Frank before he became the Punisher. We see him back when he was an ordinary family man, spending time with his wife and kids and working with his partner. Louis Gossett Jr. gets more screen time, which is a plus since he delivers the best performance in the film. We see the events leading up to the murder of Castle's family, then the story leaps forward five years to when the Punisher is already established. It would've been nice to see him transition from ordinary cop to vigilante, like the 2004 film showed us, but instead the 1989 movie abruptly skips over that.
The prologue scenes aren't particularly good, and Frank's wife is underdeveloped as a character so that we don't feel much emotion when she dies, despite the tender scenes between her and her husband. The best thing about the prologue is that it shows us how different Frank was before the loss of his family broke him, and that it establishes the fraternal camaraderie between him and his partner Jake, which has a payoff later in the movie during the scene in the holding cell.
The ending is also different. In the final version of the movie Franco delivers a villainous speech about how his organisation will become the most powerful criminal force in the world, and he gloatingly implies that he's used Frank to eliminate the competition. There then follows a fight scene between him and Frank, ending with Punisher killing him. In the workprint Franco comes across more sympathetically. It's clear that he's genuinely grateful to Castle for saving his son and doesn't want to kill him, but is only doing so because he knows that if he doesn't the Punisher will come after him later. There's no fight scene between them. Castle just kills him, quick and clean.
The bit where Franco's son holds the gun to Frank's head is also more intense. In the workprint it comes across as though Frank wants the boy to kill him. It reminds me of the scene in the Thomas Jane movie where Castle almost kills himself after avenging his family. I prefer the workprint ending to the one in the finished film. Dolph's acting is generally better served by the workprint edit. In the other version his performance comes off as one note, while in the workprint we see more emotion from him, more pain and humanity.
Punisher fans should give it a look.
On the trivia front, Frank's daughters wear Spider-Man pyjamas in one scene, and later in the movie there are two separate references to Batman.
If only Dolph had worn the skull emblem.
At least he finally got to don it during a photo shoot many years later.
#8
Movies / The Mission: Impossible Thread
Sun, 16 Jul 2023, 20:08
This thread, should you choose to accept it, is for the Mission: Impossible franchise.
I went to see Dead Reckoning Part One today. I've seen every Mission: Impossible film on the big screen since the first movie came out in 1996, and I wasn't going to miss this one. The latest instalment is another satisfying entry in a franchise that ranks alongside Rocky for sheer consistency. Dead Reckoning doesn't do anything terribly innovative. These films are, after all, very formulaic. But they execute the formula well. Much better than the Bond films have over the past few decades.
Nobody's going to see a Mission: Impossible movie for deep storytelling or weighty drama. You see these films for the action, humour and suspense. The characters are developed just enough to make us like them if they're good guys, or dislike them if they're villains. But it's not a character-driven franchise, any more than it's plot-driven. Instead it's all about the set pieces and stunts, with the story, such as it is, serving to connect one suspenseful sequence to the next. Dead Reckoning sticks to the tried and tested formula, and the results shouldn't disappoint anyone who liked the previous films.
I've previously expressed frustration with the modern trend for popcorn flicks running over two hours in length, and Dead Reckoning is another example of that. But I wasn't bored during it, just as I wasn't bored during John Wick 4. However I do wish filmmakers would rediscover the art of tight editing and start getting their films down to two hours. Not every film needs to be that length, but most popcorn films should aspire for it.
There's a note of topicality in Dead Reckoning's antagonistic AI, the Entity. These movies have always been tech thrillers at heart, so having an enemy that can attack and misdirect the IMF through their technology is an interesting concept. Less interesting is the MacGuffin of the two keys, though I expect the significance of the Sevastopol submarine will be clarified and expanded on in the sequel.
(SPOILERS) I didn't know in advance that Ilsa was going to die, but I predicted she would based on two clues. The first was her fake death at the start of the movie. This reminded me straight away of Spock's fake death at the start of Wrath of Khan, which was used to lure fans into a sense of false security before hitting them with his real death later on. As soon as Ilsa turned up alive, I had a feeling they might kill her for real. The other clue came in the form of the scenes leading up to the party in Venice, where we saw Elsa and Ethan hugging and holding hands. The sole purpose of those scenes was to emphasise the emotional bond between them, which was an obvious portent of the tragedy to come. Still, her death was a bold move and Rebecca Ferguson's last fight scene was a good one.
Speaking of the cast, Tom Cruise once again proves he's the last real movie star in Hollywood. As you'd expect, he performs several breathtaking stunts that eclipse the bland CGI action of most other recent action movies. He might be in his sixties now, but he's still in excellent shape and is clearly physically capable of handling the workload, so I hope he'll continue entertaining us for many more years to come. If Dead Reckoning Part Two sticks the landing, he'll have had a hit movie three years in a row. That's an increasingly rare thing for an actor these days.
It was nice to see Henry Czerny return as Kittridge, and I enjoyed Hayley Atwell's performance as Grace. That female thief archetype can sometimes come off as annoyingly smug or unlikeable, such as Anne Hathaway's performance in The Dark Knight Rises. And while there are some obvious similarities between Grace and the Nolanverse Selina, what with both seeking a 'clean slate', I found Atwell's performance a lot more endearing. I'll look forward to seeing how well she adapts to being a member of the IMF in the sequel.
That's about all I have to say on Dead Reckoning. I didn't like it quite as much as Top Gun: Maverick, and I don't think it's the best Mission: Impossible film, but it's a good action flick and a worthy addition to one of the strongest movie franchises around. So it's a thumbs up from me.
This post will self-destruct in five seconds if nobody replies.
I went to see Dead Reckoning Part One today. I've seen every Mission: Impossible film on the big screen since the first movie came out in 1996, and I wasn't going to miss this one. The latest instalment is another satisfying entry in a franchise that ranks alongside Rocky for sheer consistency. Dead Reckoning doesn't do anything terribly innovative. These films are, after all, very formulaic. But they execute the formula well. Much better than the Bond films have over the past few decades.
Nobody's going to see a Mission: Impossible movie for deep storytelling or weighty drama. You see these films for the action, humour and suspense. The characters are developed just enough to make us like them if they're good guys, or dislike them if they're villains. But it's not a character-driven franchise, any more than it's plot-driven. Instead it's all about the set pieces and stunts, with the story, such as it is, serving to connect one suspenseful sequence to the next. Dead Reckoning sticks to the tried and tested formula, and the results shouldn't disappoint anyone who liked the previous films.
I've previously expressed frustration with the modern trend for popcorn flicks running over two hours in length, and Dead Reckoning is another example of that. But I wasn't bored during it, just as I wasn't bored during John Wick 4. However I do wish filmmakers would rediscover the art of tight editing and start getting their films down to two hours. Not every film needs to be that length, but most popcorn films should aspire for it.
There's a note of topicality in Dead Reckoning's antagonistic AI, the Entity. These movies have always been tech thrillers at heart, so having an enemy that can attack and misdirect the IMF through their technology is an interesting concept. Less interesting is the MacGuffin of the two keys, though I expect the significance of the Sevastopol submarine will be clarified and expanded on in the sequel.
(SPOILERS) I didn't know in advance that Ilsa was going to die, but I predicted she would based on two clues. The first was her fake death at the start of the movie. This reminded me straight away of Spock's fake death at the start of Wrath of Khan, which was used to lure fans into a sense of false security before hitting them with his real death later on. As soon as Ilsa turned up alive, I had a feeling they might kill her for real. The other clue came in the form of the scenes leading up to the party in Venice, where we saw Elsa and Ethan hugging and holding hands. The sole purpose of those scenes was to emphasise the emotional bond between them, which was an obvious portent of the tragedy to come. Still, her death was a bold move and Rebecca Ferguson's last fight scene was a good one.
Speaking of the cast, Tom Cruise once again proves he's the last real movie star in Hollywood. As you'd expect, he performs several breathtaking stunts that eclipse the bland CGI action of most other recent action movies. He might be in his sixties now, but he's still in excellent shape and is clearly physically capable of handling the workload, so I hope he'll continue entertaining us for many more years to come. If Dead Reckoning Part Two sticks the landing, he'll have had a hit movie three years in a row. That's an increasingly rare thing for an actor these days.
It was nice to see Henry Czerny return as Kittridge, and I enjoyed Hayley Atwell's performance as Grace. That female thief archetype can sometimes come off as annoyingly smug or unlikeable, such as Anne Hathaway's performance in The Dark Knight Rises. And while there are some obvious similarities between Grace and the Nolanverse Selina, what with both seeking a 'clean slate', I found Atwell's performance a lot more endearing. I'll look forward to seeing how well she adapts to being a member of the IMF in the sequel.
That's about all I have to say on Dead Reckoning. I didn't like it quite as much as Top Gun: Maverick, and I don't think it's the best Mission: Impossible film, but it's a good action flick and a worthy addition to one of the strongest movie franchises around. So it's a thumbs up from me.
This post will self-destruct in five seconds if nobody replies.
#9
Movies / The Conjuring Universe
Sun, 2 Jul 2023, 15:22
This thread is for discussion relating to The Conjuring Universe created by James Wan. So far this franchise consists of the following movies, presented here in chronological order:
The Nun 2 comes out later this year, and The Conjuring 4 – titled The Conjuring: Last Rites – is in production. Warner Bros also recently announced a new HBO Max TV show set in The Conjuring Universe: https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/the-conjuring-tv-series-hbo-max-1235580586/
There aren't many details yet, but I'm hoping for a Tales from the Crypt style anthology series focusing on some of the more obscure cases the Warrens investigated.
We might as well use this thread to discuss the Insidious films too, since that's a related franchise. Continuing a discussion we started in The Exorcist thread...
The first Insidious film is very, very creepy. I've seen it multiple times, and there are certain scenes that still scare me on repeated viewings. Not the jump scares, but the more subtle moments. Like the bit with the baby monitor, or the bit where Patrick Wilson's character goes downstairs in the middle of the night to switch off the alarm and finds the front door wide open. The most frightening moment of all though has to be the scene where Barbara Hershey's character recounts the story about the old woman in the photographs. That always reminds me of M. R. James's short story 'The Mezzotint' (1904), which concerns a picture haunted by a ghost that gradually moves closer to its victim inside the image when no one's looking at it.
I assume Hershey was cast as the grandmother because of her role in Sidney J. Furie's The Entity (1982), which is one of the many classic horror films that influenced Insidious.
And while we're on that subject, isn't the plot of Insidious rather familiar?
The suburban home of a middle-class American family is disturbed by a series of ghostly happenings. The activity is centred around one of the children, who is soon spirited away by a supernatural force. The family try to recover their child, and in the process invite paranormal investigators into their house. The investigators bring in a female spiritualist who is able to detect the evil presence haunting the family. She tells the parents about one specific entity which is trying to use their child to somehow escape the afterlife. Acting on the spiritualist's guidance, one of the parents has to journey into the spirit world and bring back the missing child. But even then, the horror isn't over...
Which film have I just described?
I don't highlight these similarities as a criticism. On the contrary, I like the fact Wan didn't just produce a straight-up remake, but rather took the basic plot of Spielberg and Hooper's film and created his own version of it which is stylistically very, very different. There's a lot of his trademark creativity on display in Insidious, and that elevates it above being just another rip-off. Besides, Spielberg borrowed the basic plot of Poltergeist from Richard Matheson's 1953 story 'Little Girl Lost' and The Twilight Zone episode of the same name, so he and Wan essentially did the same thing in taking an earlier story and putting a fresh spin on it. I personally prefer Poltergeist and think it's a superior film, but Insidious unnerves me in a way Poltergeist doesn't. So they're both worth watching.
I suspect the success of Insidious contributed to the disinterest that greeted the 2015 remake of Poltergeist. Why would horror fans want to see an uninspired remake when they'd just recently seen an inventive reimagining presented as a fresh IP?
Regarding the sequels, I have seen the second and third Insidious films, but I didn't think much of them. They were ok, but not as good as the original. I haven't seen the fourth one yet. I'd be interested to know how it compares with the others and if it's worth watching.
In general, I agree with your assessment that The Conjuring films are better than the Insidious series. Maybe it's because they're R-rated, but the best entries in The Conjuring franchise (i.e. the first two movies) feel darker, more mature and sophisticated than Insidious. Hopefully they'll be able to recapture that quality in the upcoming films.
Is anyone else around here besides me and colors a fan of these movies?
The Nun 2 comes out later this year, and The Conjuring 4 – titled The Conjuring: Last Rites – is in production. Warner Bros also recently announced a new HBO Max TV show set in The Conjuring Universe: https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/the-conjuring-tv-series-hbo-max-1235580586/
There aren't many details yet, but I'm hoping for a Tales from the Crypt style anthology series focusing on some of the more obscure cases the Warrens investigated.
We might as well use this thread to discuss the Insidious films too, since that's a related franchise. Continuing a discussion we started in The Exorcist thread...
Quote from: thecolorsblend on Sun, 2 Jul 2023, 04:22re: Insidioushttps://www.batman-online.com/forum/index.php?topic=4189.0
Very enjoyable film. I've got another horror franchise to follow now. I definitely understand what SN means by referring to Insidious as a warm up for The Conjuring.
Here's hoping the sequels can measure up.
So far, I think I like the storyline and the characters of The Conjuring better. But at the same, Insidious has creepier and more atmospheric visuals. So, I guess it's kind of a wash.
Both franchise are definitely worth checking out for those of you who haven't done so already. In a thread ostensibly dedicated to The Exorcist, if you enjoy that film, then Insidious and The Conjuring should be in your wheelhouse.
The first Insidious film is very, very creepy. I've seen it multiple times, and there are certain scenes that still scare me on repeated viewings. Not the jump scares, but the more subtle moments. Like the bit with the baby monitor, or the bit where Patrick Wilson's character goes downstairs in the middle of the night to switch off the alarm and finds the front door wide open. The most frightening moment of all though has to be the scene where Barbara Hershey's character recounts the story about the old woman in the photographs. That always reminds me of M. R. James's short story 'The Mezzotint' (1904), which concerns a picture haunted by a ghost that gradually moves closer to its victim inside the image when no one's looking at it.
I assume Hershey was cast as the grandmother because of her role in Sidney J. Furie's The Entity (1982), which is one of the many classic horror films that influenced Insidious.
And while we're on that subject, isn't the plot of Insidious rather familiar?
The suburban home of a middle-class American family is disturbed by a series of ghostly happenings. The activity is centred around one of the children, who is soon spirited away by a supernatural force. The family try to recover their child, and in the process invite paranormal investigators into their house. The investigators bring in a female spiritualist who is able to detect the evil presence haunting the family. She tells the parents about one specific entity which is trying to use their child to somehow escape the afterlife. Acting on the spiritualist's guidance, one of the parents has to journey into the spirit world and bring back the missing child. But even then, the horror isn't over...
Which film have I just described?
I don't highlight these similarities as a criticism. On the contrary, I like the fact Wan didn't just produce a straight-up remake, but rather took the basic plot of Spielberg and Hooper's film and created his own version of it which is stylistically very, very different. There's a lot of his trademark creativity on display in Insidious, and that elevates it above being just another rip-off. Besides, Spielberg borrowed the basic plot of Poltergeist from Richard Matheson's 1953 story 'Little Girl Lost' and The Twilight Zone episode of the same name, so he and Wan essentially did the same thing in taking an earlier story and putting a fresh spin on it. I personally prefer Poltergeist and think it's a superior film, but Insidious unnerves me in a way Poltergeist doesn't. So they're both worth watching.
I suspect the success of Insidious contributed to the disinterest that greeted the 2015 remake of Poltergeist. Why would horror fans want to see an uninspired remake when they'd just recently seen an inventive reimagining presented as a fresh IP?
Regarding the sequels, I have seen the second and third Insidious films, but I didn't think much of them. They were ok, but not as good as the original. I haven't seen the fourth one yet. I'd be interested to know how it compares with the others and if it's worth watching.
In general, I agree with your assessment that The Conjuring films are better than the Insidious series. Maybe it's because they're R-rated, but the best entries in The Conjuring franchise (i.e. the first two movies) feel darker, more mature and sophisticated than Insidious. Hopefully they'll be able to recapture that quality in the upcoming films.
Is anyone else around here besides me and colors a fan of these movies?
#10
The Flash (2023) / The Batwing (SPOILERS)
Thu, 22 Jun 2023, 20:16
What did everyone think of the updated Batwing? It retains the look of the 1989 model, but with some notable upgrades. It's capable of intercontinental flight and has an advanced autopilot system that allows Batman to leave it in the air unmanned. The autopilot system could come in handy if Bruce ever needed to airlift a nuclear bomb out to sea and fake his own death.
The thing I find most intriguing about the new Batwing is that it's capable of carrying passengers. The cockpit of the original Batwing was only big enough for one person, but this new version is designed to carry at least two extra people. Why? At first I thought maybe these spaces were reserved in case Batman needed to airlift someone to safety. But the passenger seats are rigged to the same airdrop mechanism as the pilot's chair, which suggests the two passengers would be deployed on missions along with Batman. Were these seats built for Robin? Catwoman? Nightwing? Or just members of the military that Batman might collaborate with?
Any theories?
The thing I find most intriguing about the new Batwing is that it's capable of carrying passengers. The cockpit of the original Batwing was only big enough for one person, but this new version is designed to carry at least two extra people. Why? At first I thought maybe these spaces were reserved in case Batman needed to airlift someone to safety. But the passenger seats are rigged to the same airdrop mechanism as the pilot's chair, which suggests the two passengers would be deployed on missions along with Batman. Were these seats built for Robin? Catwoman? Nightwing? Or just members of the military that Batman might collaborate with?
Any theories?
#11
Arkhamverse Video Games / Batman: Arkham Trilogy Coming to Nintendo Switch
Wed, 21 Jun 2023, 20:38
Ever wanted to play the Arkham games on the go? Perhaps while perched atop a gargoyle on a dark and stormy night? Well later this year you'll be able to.
Batman: Arkham Trilogy is coming to Nintendo Switch in October, just in time for Halloween. The collection will include the original game, Arkham City and Arkham Knight plus all the DLC.
I'm definitely getting this. It's been years since I played through the first two games, and I never got around to playing Arkham Knight.
Batman: Arkham Trilogy is coming to Nintendo Switch in October, just in time for Halloween. The collection will include the original game, Arkham City and Arkham Knight plus all the DLC.
I'm definitely getting this. It's been years since I played through the first two games, and I never got around to playing Arkham Knight.
#12
The Flash (2023) / Batman’s Fate (SPOILERS)
Fri, 16 Jun 2023, 22:45
So what did everyone think about Keaton's fate at the end of the movie? Obviously the whole multiverse situation means he could still be alive, and could still return in future films. But if this was his final appearance, how would you feel about it?
I thought it was a great way for him to go out – literally fighting to the death against a much more powerful adversary. Nolan teased Batman's demise in TDKR, but ultimately balked at the idea. I know some fans think Batman did die in that movie, and that Alfred was imagining Bruce's appearance at the end, but Baleman's fate is ambiguous at best.
In The Flash, Keaton's Batman is definitely dead. There's ambiguity surrounding his ongoing existence in the multiverse, but we definitely see him die during the final battle in that particular universe. And he goes out like a man.
Had his first death been final – the one where he crashes the Batwing into Zod's ship kamikaze-style and fails to make a dent – then I would have been angry. That would've been a terrible way for him to throw away his life.
But his second death, following a final one-on-one fight against Nam-Ek, was awesome. Keaton's Batman must've had balls of concrete to take on someone that powerful. Even Cavill's Superman struggled against Nam-Ek in Man of Steel, and yet Keaton was able to floor him, dodging his attacks and strategically tagging him with bombs until he wore him down. It doesn't get more badass than that.
This death also echoes two precedents from the comics. Firstly the death of the original Earth-Two Batman, who also came out of retirement in his sixties for one final battle before being killed by the superpowered criminal Bill Jensen. And secondly The Dark Knight Returns Batman, whose final battle (ignoring the terrible sequels) was also a one-on-one bout against a Kryptonian. Only Superman was holding back against the TDKR Batman, whereas Nam-Ek wasn't pulling his punches against Keaton, and Keaton's Batman didn't have the advantage of kryptonite that the TDKR Batman had.
Both the TDKR and Keaton Batmen take on a Kryptonian in single combat as their final challenge, and both manage to floor their opponent and gain the upper hand on him before collapsing from their injuries. In the case of the TDKR Batman, his heart attack was induced by a drug he'd taken to fake his own death, but the parallel still stands. I thought it was a suitably heroic way for Keaton to die.
I still want to see him return for a standalone Batman Beyond movie, but if The Flash is his final appearance then I'm satisfied with the heroic way he made his exit. It was certainly a lot more dignified than what happened to Han Solo or Luke Skywalker.
I thought it was a great way for him to go out – literally fighting to the death against a much more powerful adversary. Nolan teased Batman's demise in TDKR, but ultimately balked at the idea. I know some fans think Batman did die in that movie, and that Alfred was imagining Bruce's appearance at the end, but Baleman's fate is ambiguous at best.
In The Flash, Keaton's Batman is definitely dead. There's ambiguity surrounding his ongoing existence in the multiverse, but we definitely see him die during the final battle in that particular universe. And he goes out like a man.
Had his first death been final – the one where he crashes the Batwing into Zod's ship kamikaze-style and fails to make a dent – then I would have been angry. That would've been a terrible way for him to throw away his life.
But his second death, following a final one-on-one fight against Nam-Ek, was awesome. Keaton's Batman must've had balls of concrete to take on someone that powerful. Even Cavill's Superman struggled against Nam-Ek in Man of Steel, and yet Keaton was able to floor him, dodging his attacks and strategically tagging him with bombs until he wore him down. It doesn't get more badass than that.
This death also echoes two precedents from the comics. Firstly the death of the original Earth-Two Batman, who also came out of retirement in his sixties for one final battle before being killed by the superpowered criminal Bill Jensen. And secondly The Dark Knight Returns Batman, whose final battle (ignoring the terrible sequels) was also a one-on-one bout against a Kryptonian. Only Superman was holding back against the TDKR Batman, whereas Nam-Ek wasn't pulling his punches against Keaton, and Keaton's Batman didn't have the advantage of kryptonite that the TDKR Batman had.
Both the TDKR and Keaton Batmen take on a Kryptonian in single combat as their final challenge, and both manage to floor their opponent and gain the upper hand on him before collapsing from their injuries. In the case of the TDKR Batman, his heart attack was induced by a drug he'd taken to fake his own death, but the parallel still stands. I thought it was a suitably heroic way for Keaton to die.
I still want to see him return for a standalone Batman Beyond movie, but if The Flash is his final appearance then I'm satisfied with the heroic way he made his exit. It was certainly a lot more dignified than what happened to Han Solo or Luke Skywalker.
#13
The Flash (2023) / The Cameos (SPOILERS)
Fri, 16 Jun 2023, 21:56
I'm sure lists have been compiled on other sites noting all the cameos in this film, but I thought we should make one of our own.
Wonder Woman appears briefly during the opening heist scene.
Cavill's Superman appears in a couple of scenes, but only in CG form. I don't know why they didn't get Cavill himself to appear, but his absence is disappointing.
Aquaman appears during the post-credit scene, which I thought was a wasted opportunity to tease the plot of Aquaman 2.
During the multiverse sequence, George Reeves' Superman appears in CG form.
Christopher's Reeve's Superman and Helen Slater's Supergirl appear, both CG. I'm glad they were shown coexisting in the same universe. I find those scenes easier to accept as part of the Donnerverse canon than Superman Returns or the Superman '78 comic.
Nicolas Cage's Superman appears battling a giant mechanical spider. Now I want to see more of his Superman.
Adam West appears in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo. I was disappointed with that, as I was hoping we'd get a clearer look at him and Ward's Robin, the latter of whom is absent altogether.
Jay Garrick appears, though I couldn't tell who was playing him. Was that the John Wesley Shipp version from the CW Flash show?
Then of course there's Clooney phoning it in as the Schumacher Bruce Wayne during the final scene. I wish it could have been Kilmer. Actually, I wish they'd kept the original scene with Keaton. Unless they're planning to continue with Clooney as the new DCEU Batman (are they?) then the scene won't have any lasting effect anyway, so why not just have Keaton and Calle return for the curtain call as originally intended? That way fans could see they were still alive. I'd have preferred that ending to sticking Clooney in for a cheap gag.
Are there any other cameos I've forgotten? What did everyone think of the cameos? Were they cool? Lame? Did you have a favourite?
Wonder Woman appears briefly during the opening heist scene.
Cavill's Superman appears in a couple of scenes, but only in CG form. I don't know why they didn't get Cavill himself to appear, but his absence is disappointing.
Aquaman appears during the post-credit scene, which I thought was a wasted opportunity to tease the plot of Aquaman 2.
During the multiverse sequence, George Reeves' Superman appears in CG form.
Christopher's Reeve's Superman and Helen Slater's Supergirl appear, both CG. I'm glad they were shown coexisting in the same universe. I find those scenes easier to accept as part of the Donnerverse canon than Superman Returns or the Superman '78 comic.
Nicolas Cage's Superman appears battling a giant mechanical spider. Now I want to see more of his Superman.
Adam West appears in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo. I was disappointed with that, as I was hoping we'd get a clearer look at him and Ward's Robin, the latter of whom is absent altogether.
Jay Garrick appears, though I couldn't tell who was playing him. Was that the John Wesley Shipp version from the CW Flash show?
Then of course there's Clooney phoning it in as the Schumacher Bruce Wayne during the final scene. I wish it could have been Kilmer. Actually, I wish they'd kept the original scene with Keaton. Unless they're planning to continue with Clooney as the new DCEU Batman (are they?) then the scene won't have any lasting effect anyway, so why not just have Keaton and Calle return for the curtain call as originally intended? That way fans could see they were still alive. I'd have preferred that ending to sticking Clooney in for a cheap gag.
Are there any other cameos I've forgotten? What did everyone think of the cameos? Were they cool? Lame? Did you have a favourite?
#14
The Flash (2023) / Box Office Thread
Thu, 25 May 2023, 10:35
Obviously it's too early to make predictions about the final gross, but I've been keeping an eye on the forums over at Box Office Theory, where they track presales, and so far it's not looking great. The opening weekend presales are currently lower than those of Guardians of the Galaxy 3 at the equivalent time prior to its release. It sounds like they're closer to Black Adam's presales. Of course that could all change. People might just show up on the day. Word of mouth and fan response will be crucial factors. But based on these early presales, it looks like WB might have another underperformer on its hands.
Factors working against it:
• The Ezra controversy
• The CGI in the trailers looks pretty bad and the action scenes look bland and cartoonish
• Intrusive and annoying humour, which is evident in some of the trailers and the screenwriter's previous work
• Superhero fatigue (the past few DC films have all underperformed)
• Everyone knows the franchise is getting rebooted, which makes this feel like a leftover from the previous administration
Factors in its favour:
• Nostalgia for Keaton's return
• The multiverse element – Keaton and Affleck, two Batmen, in the same movie
• Final appearances by Affleck and Jeremy Irons in their respective roles
• It's based on Flashpoint, which is a popular story
• The cameos
We can use this thread to track box office, and to post our own predictions nearer the release date.
Factors working against it:
• The Ezra controversy
• The CGI in the trailers looks pretty bad and the action scenes look bland and cartoonish
• Intrusive and annoying humour, which is evident in some of the trailers and the screenwriter's previous work
• Superhero fatigue (the past few DC films have all underperformed)
• Everyone knows the franchise is getting rebooted, which makes this feel like a leftover from the previous administration
Factors in its favour:
• Nostalgia for Keaton's return
• The multiverse element – Keaton and Affleck, two Batmen, in the same movie
• Final appearances by Affleck and Jeremy Irons in their respective roles
• It's based on Flashpoint, which is a popular story
• The cameos
We can use this thread to track box office, and to post our own predictions nearer the release date.
#15
Movies / The Hammer Horror Thread
Sun, 7 May 2023, 19:23
This is the all-purpose Hammer Horror thread. If anyone wants to create separate threads about individual movies made by Hammer Studios, such as The Mummy thread we've already got, then that's fine. Otherwise, post any random Hammer-related thoughts, reviews or discussion here.
In order to provide an introduction for those not familiar with these films, or a nostalgic retrospective for those who are, I thought I'd post short reviews of my top ten favourite Hammer horror films. I'll note some trivia for each, illustrating how they connect with other Hammer movies and how they influenced later filmmakers. For anyone who's interested in getting into these films, this might be a helpful guide on where to start.
So here are my personal top ten:
This one was a coproduction between Hammer Studios and Honk Kong's Shaw Brothers Studios, who were the leading makers of martial arts movies at the time. It's essentially a vampire-themed variation on the old Seven Samurai formula. Peter Cushing's Van Helsing is recruited by seven siblings to help defend their Chinese village against the titular kung fu vampires and their undead army of zombie-skeletons. What Van Helsing doesn't realise is that his old arch nemesis Dracula has also journeyed to China to assume command of the 7 Golden Vampires.
This film marked Cushing's final appearance as Van Helsing and was Hammer's last movie to feature Dracula. Christopher Lee did not want to reprise his role as the count and so another actor replaced him, which makes this the only Hammer Dracula movie not to feature Lee. Considering the main selling point of this film is its fight scenes, I have to say that the final showdown between Van Helsing and Dracula feels very anticlimactic. Dracula just punches Van Helsing a couple of times before the latter stabs him through the chest with a spear. This was the last time these two characters faced off against each other in a Hammer production, and their final battle doesn't measure up to their earlier screen bouts.
Even so, it's a fun action horror movie with lots of kung fu. Not a great film by any stretch, but a very entertaining one. Audiences nowadays are accustomed to seeing martial arts combined with horror, particularly when it comes to vampire movies, but this was one of the first films – if not the first – to hybridise the two genres.
If you enjoy this one, then you should also check out Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974) and Shatter (1974). The eponymous hero in Captain Kronos also uses martial arts against vampires (specifically the Japanese martial art Iaido mixed with European fencing), while Shatter is another kung-fu co-production between Hammer and the Shaw Brothers featuring Cushing (in his final Hammer film) and shot on location in Hong Kong.
Oliver Reed appeared in nine Hammer films and also narrated a documentary series about the studio during the early nineties, but The Curse of the Werewolf marked the first time he starred as the lead character in one of their productions. It was also Hammer's only cinematic excursion into the werewolf genre, though they did also make a werewolf-themed episode of their eighties TV show, Hammer House of Horror: 'Children of the Full Moon'.
The makeup effects are good, Reed's performance is suitably intense, and the sets evoke a reasonably effective approximation of the Spanish setting. I don't think it's as good as The Wolf Man (1941), but it's still a minor classic worth seeing.
Just make sure you watch the uncut version.
George Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968) is usually credited as the first modern zombie film and the one that ushered in the depiction of zombies as flesh-eating corpses. Earlier zombie films had generally portrayed them as mindless slaves controlled by voodoo magic. The Plague of the Zombies bridges the gap between the two interpretations and foreshadows Romero's movie in several key aspects.
To my knowledge, it was the first film to show zombies clawing their way out of their graves, as well as the first to depict them as shuffling, decaying corpses with bluish-grey skin and white eyes. It was also one of the first zombie films to feature graphic gore and to be shot in colour.
The Hammer zombies aren't explicitly flesh eaters, but other than that they're more or less consistent with what modern audiences expect from the living dead. The film also retains a connection with the earlier zombies of Haitian folklore by having its main villain resurrect a horde of the living dead with voodoo so he can use them as slave labour in his mine. This one's an overlooked gem that occupies an important place in the history of zombie cinema, and it came out two years before Night of the Living Dead.
Screenwriter Jimmy Sangster admitted that he never actually read Mary Shelley's novel, and it shows in the finished film. The characterisation of Peter Cushing's Frankenstein has less in common with his literary namesake than with H. P. Lovecraft's Herbert West. He lacks the sympathetic qualities of the former and shares the latter's amoral single-mindedness and willingness to do terrible things in the service of his experiments. Whereas the Universal Studios Frankenstein series focused on the creature, the Hammer series instead focused on the doctor himself as he continued creating new monsters in each movie.
Christopher Lee portrays the creature in this first film, which makes this the first of the many Hammer collaborations between him and Cushing. This was also the first gothic horror film that Hammer produced, as well as the first film of theirs to feature graphic gore in colour. It really pushed the boundaries of screen violence for that time.
The second film in the series is The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958), which picks up exactly where The Curse of Frankenstein ended. Three more sequels followed – The Evil of Frankenstein (1964), Frankenstein Created Woman (1967) and Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969) – though the continuity between them is sketchy. Hammer then attempted to reboot the series with The Horror of Frankenstein (1970) starring Ralph Bates, but when this proved unpopular they went back to the original series and made one final film starring Cushing: Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974).
Despite the misleading title, Dracula does not appear in this film. It does however feature Peter Cushing in the second of his five appearances as Professor Van Helsing. In place of Dracula, the main antagonist in this movie is a new character named Baron Meinster, played by David Peel, who is said to have been a nobleman corrupted by the cult of vampirism. Dracula's brides were among the many elements from Bram Stoker's 1897 novel that were downplayed in Hammer's first Dracula film, and this movie attempts to address that oversight.
The highlight of the film is the final showdown between Van Helsing and Baron Meinster, which takes place in a burning windmill. This sequence influenced the windmill scene in Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow (1999), and specifically the moment where the hero (Van Helsing/Ichabod Crane) exits the burning structure by leaping onto one of the sails and riding it to safety.
The Brides of Dracula was also referenced in The Matrix Reloaded (2003), where it can be glimpsed in the background during the scene where Persephone introduces Morpheus, Trinity and Neo to the vampires.
The Brides of Dracula was also the film that inspired Italian director Jesús Franco to get into the horror genre, and the villain Baron Meinster inspired the character of the same name in the Vampire Hunter D manga by Hideyuki Kikuchi. So this film's legacy is far reaching.
Quatermass influenced numerous movies and TV shows, ranging from Doctor Who to Ridley Scott's Alien (1979) and several of John Carpenter's films (Carpenter even used the pseudonym 'Quatermass' on the credits for Prince of Darkness). The cinematic trilogy, adapted from the original BBC drama serials, includes the films The Quatermass Xperiment (1955), Quatermass II (1957) and Quartermass and the Pit (1967). All three are science fiction horror films involving extraterrestrial threats to Earth.
The plot of the first movie concerns a rocket that returns from space containing only one of the three astronauts who departed in it. The surviving astronaut soon escapes from hospital and begins transforming into a hideous monster.
In Quatermass II Professor Quatermass discovers a moon base he designed has been secretly constructed outside a small town. Meteorites have been falling in the area with alarming regularity, and the locals are acting strangely, as though possessed by an alien force. Quatermass II was clearly a major influence on several Pertwee-era Doctor Who serials, and the scenes of the alien parasites exploding from the meteorites to infect people foreshadow the scene in Alien where the facehugger leaps out of the egg and attaches itself to Kane.
Quatermass and the Pit is generally regarded as the best of the trilogy, and with good reason. The plot kicks off when construction workers digging a new tunnel on the London Underground exhume a skull belonging to a missing link in human evolution. Adjacent to this they also discover what appears to be an unexploded bomb, but is later revealed to be an alien spacecraft. Ghostly and demonic apparitions abound as the unearthed ship exudes a psychic influence over the people of London, and chaos ensues.
This is one of those rare trilogies where each entry improves upon its predecessor. The first film is decent, but very slow and dated. The second film is better. But if you can only watch one, I recommend the third film, Quatermass and the Pit.
Released in America as Horror of Dracula, this film follows The Curse of Frankenstein's example of only loosely adapting the source material. Christopher Lee's Dracula is portrayed in a somewhat demystified manner in this first film. He would display more traditional vampire powers in the sequels, but in the 1958 movie his abilities are limited to superhuman strength and mind control.
Michael Gough appears alongside Cushing's Van Helsing in the role of Arthur Holmwood, the only one of Lucy's three suitors from the novel to be included in the film. Only in this version of the story, Arthur is Lucy's brother and Mina's husband. Mina's fiancé in the book is Jonathan Harker, but in the Hammer version Jonathan is engaged to Lucy. Moreover, the Hammer Jonathan is a vampire hunter acting on Van Helsing's orders when he first travels to Transylvania. So this is not a faithful adaptation.
Despite all that, the 1958 film remains one of the most entertaining screen versions of Dracula, and it was the first adaptation of Stoker's novel to utilise graphic colour gore. The plot, while deviating significantly from the book, is pacy and intense. Lee's Dracula doesn't need lots of special effects to frighten people. His commanding presence is enough to intimidate.
The Dracula Hammer series also includes the following sequels, all of which starred Christopher Lee: Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966), Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968), Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970), Scars of Dracula (1970), Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972) and The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973). Brides of Dracula and The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires also take place in the same continuity, though neither of them features Lee. Tim Burton has often cited Dracula A.D. 1972 as one of his favourite films. Both that and its sequel, The Satanic Rites of Dracula, take place in the modern day. But to my mind, the 1958 original is still the best in the series.
The Hound of the Baskervilles is tied with The Lost World as my favourite novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This adaptation, while taking some liberties, nevertheless adheres more closely to the source material than Hammer's Frankenstein or Dracula films did. The book takes place in October and has an autumnal atmosphere that is usually absent from screen adaptations, but the Hammer film comes closer to capturing that Halloween ambience than most other versions.
Peter Cushing plays Sherlock Holmes, while André Morell, who starred in The Plague of the Zombies, portrays Watson. Christopher Lee gets a rare non-villainous role as Sir Henry Baskerville, and it's nice to see him and Cushing on the same side for once. They were close friends in real, yet nearly always ended up killing one another on screen.
This is another Hammer film that appears to have influenced Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow, this time with regards to the plot twist concerning the identity and motive of the human villain that controls the monstrous killer. Cushing would go on to portray Holmes again in several non-Hammer productions: firstly a BBC television series in 1968 (which included a two-part adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles), a 1971 series of audiobooks, and a 1984 TV movie titled The Masks of Death. But the 1959 version of The Hound of the Baskervilles was Hammer Studios' only excursion into Holmesian territory. They could have made equally gothic adaptations of other Holmes stories, but the one they did make was superb.
I've come to realise that a major reason why Hammer's The Mummy (1959) is so good is that it takes the best pieces from the Universal Mummy movies and combines them into a single superior film.
The flashback scene depicting the back story of Kharis in the Hammer film is clearly based on the similar flashback scene depicting Imhotep's back story in The Mummy (1932).
The opening act of the Hammer film is a remake of The Mummy's Hand (1940), with the character of Steven Banning searching for the Princess Ananka's tomb in Egypt and unwittingly awakening the mummy Kharis.
The middle act of the Hammer film is a remake of The Mummy's Tomb (1942), with an evil Egyptian priest taking Kharis to Steven Banning's home country so he can kill the surviving members of the expedition. The scene where Kharis enters Steven's room through his window and strangles him, as well as the later scenes of Steven's son, John Banning (played by Cushing in the Hammer version), doing battle with the mummy, are based on The Mummy's Tomb.
The final act of the Hammer film, with the subplot about the female love interest resembling Ananka and the last scene in the swamp, is largely taken from The Mummy's Ghost (1944).
The Universal Mummy series is fun, but in my opinion Hammer's 1959 film is superior.
Hammer made three other mummy films: The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (1964), The Mummy's Shroud (1967) and Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (1971). Each of these is a standalone film featuring a different mummy, so there's no continuity between them.
This is a rare example of a screen adaptation that is superior to the book on which it's based. The script was written by American author Richard Matheson, who managed to retain all the important elements from Dennis Wheatley's 1934 bestseller while streamlining the narrative and improving both the pacing and tension. Christopher Lee stars as the heroic Duke de Richleau who tries to protect his godson from a cult of Satanists. The leader of the cult is the sinister Mocata, played by future Blofed actor Charles Gray
The best sequence in the film comes after Mocata visits the country house of two of the protagonists and warns them that "something" will be coming to their home that night to claim the souls of their friends. It's a chilling moment that leads to an excellent set piece where Lee's Duke de Richleau draws a protective circle on the ground and urges his allies to remain with him inside it, no matter what they might see or hear during the night. I won't spoil it by revealing what happens next, but it's a great scene that still conjures a feeling of dread over fifty years later.
Christopher Lee had hoped to adapt more books in the Duke de Richleau series, but for some reason Hammer never produced any more. They did however adapt another Dennis Wheatley novel for their final feature film, To the Devil a Daughter (1976), but it ended up being one of the worst films they ever made. Wheatley, who had approved of their adaptation of The Devil Rides Out, wrote the studio an angry letter condemning To the Devil a Daughter, and Lee, who had starred in it, wrote back with a personal letter of apology.
Hammer's only other foray into Wheatley's work was an episode of the Hammer House of Horror TV series titled 'Guardian of the Abyss'. This was basically an inferior TV remake of The Devil Rides Out, and the female lead was played by Rosalyn Landor, who appeared as a child in the 1968 film version.
The Devil Rides Out is one of my favourite horror films, and to my mind it's the best movie Hammer ever produced. If you can only watch one Hammer film, or if you're new to the brand and are looking for an accessible place to start, then I strongly recommend this film. It's a corker.
There are many other Hammer classics I haven't mentioned here, but I'll come back and highlight them later. What about everyone else? Are there any other Hammer fans on the site? Do you have a favourite Hammer movie or series of films? How would you rank the Frankenstein, Dracula and Mummy series? Who are your favourite Hammer stars, directors, monsters and scream queens?
In order to provide an introduction for those not familiar with these films, or a nostalgic retrospective for those who are, I thought I'd post short reviews of my top ten favourite Hammer horror films. I'll note some trivia for each, illustrating how they connect with other Hammer movies and how they influenced later filmmakers. For anyone who's interested in getting into these films, this might be a helpful guide on where to start.
So here are my personal top ten:
10: THE LEGEND OF THE 7 GOLDEN VAMPIRES (1974)
This one was a coproduction between Hammer Studios and Honk Kong's Shaw Brothers Studios, who were the leading makers of martial arts movies at the time. It's essentially a vampire-themed variation on the old Seven Samurai formula. Peter Cushing's Van Helsing is recruited by seven siblings to help defend their Chinese village against the titular kung fu vampires and their undead army of zombie-skeletons. What Van Helsing doesn't realise is that his old arch nemesis Dracula has also journeyed to China to assume command of the 7 Golden Vampires.
This film marked Cushing's final appearance as Van Helsing and was Hammer's last movie to feature Dracula. Christopher Lee did not want to reprise his role as the count and so another actor replaced him, which makes this the only Hammer Dracula movie not to feature Lee. Considering the main selling point of this film is its fight scenes, I have to say that the final showdown between Van Helsing and Dracula feels very anticlimactic. Dracula just punches Van Helsing a couple of times before the latter stabs him through the chest with a spear. This was the last time these two characters faced off against each other in a Hammer production, and their final battle doesn't measure up to their earlier screen bouts.
Even so, it's a fun action horror movie with lots of kung fu. Not a great film by any stretch, but a very entertaining one. Audiences nowadays are accustomed to seeing martial arts combined with horror, particularly when it comes to vampire movies, but this was one of the first films – if not the first – to hybridise the two genres.
If you enjoy this one, then you should also check out Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974) and Shatter (1974). The eponymous hero in Captain Kronos also uses martial arts against vampires (specifically the Japanese martial art Iaido mixed with European fencing), while Shatter is another kung-fu co-production between Hammer and the Shaw Brothers featuring Cushing (in his final Hammer film) and shot on location in Hong Kong.
9: THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF (1961)
Oliver Reed appeared in nine Hammer films and also narrated a documentary series about the studio during the early nineties, but The Curse of the Werewolf marked the first time he starred as the lead character in one of their productions. It was also Hammer's only cinematic excursion into the werewolf genre, though they did also make a werewolf-themed episode of their eighties TV show, Hammer House of Horror: 'Children of the Full Moon'.
The makeup effects are good, Reed's performance is suitably intense, and the sets evoke a reasonably effective approximation of the Spanish setting. I don't think it's as good as The Wolf Man (1941), but it's still a minor classic worth seeing.
Just make sure you watch the uncut version.
8: THE PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES (1966)
George Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968) is usually credited as the first modern zombie film and the one that ushered in the depiction of zombies as flesh-eating corpses. Earlier zombie films had generally portrayed them as mindless slaves controlled by voodoo magic. The Plague of the Zombies bridges the gap between the two interpretations and foreshadows Romero's movie in several key aspects.
To my knowledge, it was the first film to show zombies clawing their way out of their graves, as well as the first to depict them as shuffling, decaying corpses with bluish-grey skin and white eyes. It was also one of the first zombie films to feature graphic gore and to be shot in colour.
The Hammer zombies aren't explicitly flesh eaters, but other than that they're more or less consistent with what modern audiences expect from the living dead. The film also retains a connection with the earlier zombies of Haitian folklore by having its main villain resurrect a horde of the living dead with voodoo so he can use them as slave labour in his mine. This one's an overlooked gem that occupies an important place in the history of zombie cinema, and it came out two years before Night of the Living Dead.
7) THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1957)
Screenwriter Jimmy Sangster admitted that he never actually read Mary Shelley's novel, and it shows in the finished film. The characterisation of Peter Cushing's Frankenstein has less in common with his literary namesake than with H. P. Lovecraft's Herbert West. He lacks the sympathetic qualities of the former and shares the latter's amoral single-mindedness and willingness to do terrible things in the service of his experiments. Whereas the Universal Studios Frankenstein series focused on the creature, the Hammer series instead focused on the doctor himself as he continued creating new monsters in each movie.
Christopher Lee portrays the creature in this first film, which makes this the first of the many Hammer collaborations between him and Cushing. This was also the first gothic horror film that Hammer produced, as well as the first film of theirs to feature graphic gore in colour. It really pushed the boundaries of screen violence for that time.
The second film in the series is The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958), which picks up exactly where The Curse of Frankenstein ended. Three more sequels followed – The Evil of Frankenstein (1964), Frankenstein Created Woman (1967) and Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969) – though the continuity between them is sketchy. Hammer then attempted to reboot the series with The Horror of Frankenstein (1970) starring Ralph Bates, but when this proved unpopular they went back to the original series and made one final film starring Cushing: Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974).
6: THE BRIDES OF DRACULA (1960)
Despite the misleading title, Dracula does not appear in this film. It does however feature Peter Cushing in the second of his five appearances as Professor Van Helsing. In place of Dracula, the main antagonist in this movie is a new character named Baron Meinster, played by David Peel, who is said to have been a nobleman corrupted by the cult of vampirism. Dracula's brides were among the many elements from Bram Stoker's 1897 novel that were downplayed in Hammer's first Dracula film, and this movie attempts to address that oversight.
The highlight of the film is the final showdown between Van Helsing and Baron Meinster, which takes place in a burning windmill. This sequence influenced the windmill scene in Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow (1999), and specifically the moment where the hero (Van Helsing/Ichabod Crane) exits the burning structure by leaping onto one of the sails and riding it to safety.
The Brides of Dracula was also referenced in The Matrix Reloaded (2003), where it can be glimpsed in the background during the scene where Persephone introduces Morpheus, Trinity and Neo to the vampires.
The Brides of Dracula was also the film that inspired Italian director Jesús Franco to get into the horror genre, and the villain Baron Meinster inspired the character of the same name in the Vampire Hunter D manga by Hideyuki Kikuchi. So this film's legacy is far reaching.
5: THE QUATERMASS TRILOGY (1955-1967)
Quatermass influenced numerous movies and TV shows, ranging from Doctor Who to Ridley Scott's Alien (1979) and several of John Carpenter's films (Carpenter even used the pseudonym 'Quatermass' on the credits for Prince of Darkness). The cinematic trilogy, adapted from the original BBC drama serials, includes the films The Quatermass Xperiment (1955), Quatermass II (1957) and Quartermass and the Pit (1967). All three are science fiction horror films involving extraterrestrial threats to Earth.
The plot of the first movie concerns a rocket that returns from space containing only one of the three astronauts who departed in it. The surviving astronaut soon escapes from hospital and begins transforming into a hideous monster.
In Quatermass II Professor Quatermass discovers a moon base he designed has been secretly constructed outside a small town. Meteorites have been falling in the area with alarming regularity, and the locals are acting strangely, as though possessed by an alien force. Quatermass II was clearly a major influence on several Pertwee-era Doctor Who serials, and the scenes of the alien parasites exploding from the meteorites to infect people foreshadow the scene in Alien where the facehugger leaps out of the egg and attaches itself to Kane.
Quatermass and the Pit is generally regarded as the best of the trilogy, and with good reason. The plot kicks off when construction workers digging a new tunnel on the London Underground exhume a skull belonging to a missing link in human evolution. Adjacent to this they also discover what appears to be an unexploded bomb, but is later revealed to be an alien spacecraft. Ghostly and demonic apparitions abound as the unearthed ship exudes a psychic influence over the people of London, and chaos ensues.
This is one of those rare trilogies where each entry improves upon its predecessor. The first film is decent, but very slow and dated. The second film is better. But if you can only watch one, I recommend the third film, Quatermass and the Pit.
4: DRACULA (1958)
Released in America as Horror of Dracula, this film follows The Curse of Frankenstein's example of only loosely adapting the source material. Christopher Lee's Dracula is portrayed in a somewhat demystified manner in this first film. He would display more traditional vampire powers in the sequels, but in the 1958 movie his abilities are limited to superhuman strength and mind control.
Michael Gough appears alongside Cushing's Van Helsing in the role of Arthur Holmwood, the only one of Lucy's three suitors from the novel to be included in the film. Only in this version of the story, Arthur is Lucy's brother and Mina's husband. Mina's fiancé in the book is Jonathan Harker, but in the Hammer version Jonathan is engaged to Lucy. Moreover, the Hammer Jonathan is a vampire hunter acting on Van Helsing's orders when he first travels to Transylvania. So this is not a faithful adaptation.
Despite all that, the 1958 film remains one of the most entertaining screen versions of Dracula, and it was the first adaptation of Stoker's novel to utilise graphic colour gore. The plot, while deviating significantly from the book, is pacy and intense. Lee's Dracula doesn't need lots of special effects to frighten people. His commanding presence is enough to intimidate.
The Dracula Hammer series also includes the following sequels, all of which starred Christopher Lee: Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966), Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968), Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970), Scars of Dracula (1970), Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972) and The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973). Brides of Dracula and The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires also take place in the same continuity, though neither of them features Lee. Tim Burton has often cited Dracula A.D. 1972 as one of his favourite films. Both that and its sequel, The Satanic Rites of Dracula, take place in the modern day. But to my mind, the 1958 original is still the best in the series.
3: THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (1959)
The Hound of the Baskervilles is tied with The Lost World as my favourite novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This adaptation, while taking some liberties, nevertheless adheres more closely to the source material than Hammer's Frankenstein or Dracula films did. The book takes place in October and has an autumnal atmosphere that is usually absent from screen adaptations, but the Hammer film comes closer to capturing that Halloween ambience than most other versions.
Peter Cushing plays Sherlock Holmes, while André Morell, who starred in The Plague of the Zombies, portrays Watson. Christopher Lee gets a rare non-villainous role as Sir Henry Baskerville, and it's nice to see him and Cushing on the same side for once. They were close friends in real, yet nearly always ended up killing one another on screen.
This is another Hammer film that appears to have influenced Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow, this time with regards to the plot twist concerning the identity and motive of the human villain that controls the monstrous killer. Cushing would go on to portray Holmes again in several non-Hammer productions: firstly a BBC television series in 1968 (which included a two-part adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles), a 1971 series of audiobooks, and a 1984 TV movie titled The Masks of Death. But the 1959 version of The Hound of the Baskervilles was Hammer Studios' only excursion into Holmesian territory. They could have made equally gothic adaptations of other Holmes stories, but the one they did make was superb.
2: THE MUMMY (1959)
I've come to realise that a major reason why Hammer's The Mummy (1959) is so good is that it takes the best pieces from the Universal Mummy movies and combines them into a single superior film.
The flashback scene depicting the back story of Kharis in the Hammer film is clearly based on the similar flashback scene depicting Imhotep's back story in The Mummy (1932).
The opening act of the Hammer film is a remake of The Mummy's Hand (1940), with the character of Steven Banning searching for the Princess Ananka's tomb in Egypt and unwittingly awakening the mummy Kharis.
The middle act of the Hammer film is a remake of The Mummy's Tomb (1942), with an evil Egyptian priest taking Kharis to Steven Banning's home country so he can kill the surviving members of the expedition. The scene where Kharis enters Steven's room through his window and strangles him, as well as the later scenes of Steven's son, John Banning (played by Cushing in the Hammer version), doing battle with the mummy, are based on The Mummy's Tomb.
The final act of the Hammer film, with the subplot about the female love interest resembling Ananka and the last scene in the swamp, is largely taken from The Mummy's Ghost (1944).
The Universal Mummy series is fun, but in my opinion Hammer's 1959 film is superior.
Hammer made three other mummy films: The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (1964), The Mummy's Shroud (1967) and Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (1971). Each of these is a standalone film featuring a different mummy, so there's no continuity between them.
1: THE DEVIL RIDES OUT (1968)
This is a rare example of a screen adaptation that is superior to the book on which it's based. The script was written by American author Richard Matheson, who managed to retain all the important elements from Dennis Wheatley's 1934 bestseller while streamlining the narrative and improving both the pacing and tension. Christopher Lee stars as the heroic Duke de Richleau who tries to protect his godson from a cult of Satanists. The leader of the cult is the sinister Mocata, played by future Blofed actor Charles Gray
The best sequence in the film comes after Mocata visits the country house of two of the protagonists and warns them that "something" will be coming to their home that night to claim the souls of their friends. It's a chilling moment that leads to an excellent set piece where Lee's Duke de Richleau draws a protective circle on the ground and urges his allies to remain with him inside it, no matter what they might see or hear during the night. I won't spoil it by revealing what happens next, but it's a great scene that still conjures a feeling of dread over fifty years later.
Christopher Lee had hoped to adapt more books in the Duke de Richleau series, but for some reason Hammer never produced any more. They did however adapt another Dennis Wheatley novel for their final feature film, To the Devil a Daughter (1976), but it ended up being one of the worst films they ever made. Wheatley, who had approved of their adaptation of The Devil Rides Out, wrote the studio an angry letter condemning To the Devil a Daughter, and Lee, who had starred in it, wrote back with a personal letter of apology.
Hammer's only other foray into Wheatley's work was an episode of the Hammer House of Horror TV series titled 'Guardian of the Abyss'. This was basically an inferior TV remake of The Devil Rides Out, and the female lead was played by Rosalyn Landor, who appeared as a child in the 1968 film version.
The Devil Rides Out is one of my favourite horror films, and to my mind it's the best movie Hammer ever produced. If you can only watch one Hammer film, or if you're new to the brand and are looking for an accessible place to start, then I strongly recommend this film. It's a corker.
There are many other Hammer classics I haven't mentioned here, but I'll come back and highlight them later. What about everyone else? Are there any other Hammer fans on the site? Do you have a favourite Hammer movie or series of films? How would you rank the Frankenstein, Dracula and Mummy series? Who are your favourite Hammer stars, directors, monsters and scream queens?
#16
The Flash (2023) / The Flash Merchandise Thread
Fri, 3 Mar 2023, 20:26
Post anything merchandise related here. I know merchandise played a role in our nostalgia for the older Batman movies, so let's chronicle all the new merch in this thread.
To begin with, McFarlane Toys is releasing a 12-inch statue of Keaton's Batman in April.
I love the art on the back of the box.
Here's the product description:
There's also a Flash figure in the same line.
https://www.entertainmentearth.com/product/dc-the-flash-movie-12inch-scale-statue/mf15531
To begin with, McFarlane Toys is releasing a 12-inch statue of Keaton's Batman in April.
I love the art on the back of the box.
Here's the product description:
QuoteDC The Flash Movie Batman 12-Inch Scale Statue:https://www.entertainmentearth.com/product/dc-the-flash-movie-batman-12inch-scale-statue/mf15532
From The Flash comes this incredibly detailed DC The Flash Movie Batman 12-Inch Scale Statue! Expertly recreated, this rendition of the hero captures the Dark Knight's appearance in The Flash movie. Batman is featured in an iconic fighting stance and comes with a display base. Also included is a collectible art card with character art on the front, and a character biography on the back. Batman comes packaged in a window box.
When Barry Allen arrives in an alternate 2013, he urgently seeks out the expertise of his friend and mentor Bruce Wayne - but the one he finds in the Multiverse is different on all fronts: older, long-retired from service as Gotham City's protector and somehow even more hardened than the billionaire superhero Barry has grown to know. With a global threat on the horizon, Bruce Wayne must decide whether he can become Batman once more.
There's also a Flash figure in the same line.
#17
The Flash (2023) / The Batsuit Thread
Tue, 14 Feb 2023, 20:25
This thread is for observations, opinions, images and speculation concerning the new batsuit, as well as those displayed in the armoury. Anything batsuit-related is welcome here.
I'd like to comment on each of these costumes in turn, starting with the one on the far left. For now I'm going to call this one the proto-batsuit. Here's some analysis Joker posted in another thread.
Knox's reference to "eight sightings in just under a month" suggests Bruce Keaton had been active for several weeks prior to the events of the 1989 film. Of course his crime fighting activities might have gone back further than those eight sightings, but for now let's assume he was active for about a month. It was during those four weeks that Knox began investigating his activities and the late Johnny Gobs met his untimely fate. Was Bruce wearing this proto-batsuit during that time? Did his confrontation with Nick and Eddie mark the debut of the 1989 suit?
In a much older thread (https://www.batman-online.com/forum/index.php?topic=2087.0), I speculated that Keaton might have already defeated Ratcatcher and Kite Man prior to the events of the 1989 film. If so, perhaps this is the costume he was wearing at the time. Perhaps there should be a Batman: Month One comic exploring those mysterious early weeks of Bruce's adventures.
The costume standing second from left is obviously based on the more traditional blue and grey design from the comics, and it even appears to have white eye lenses in the cowl. The only thing missing is the trunks.
The cowl features a furrowed brow similar to the Alex Ross batsuit.
I don't know where this would fit into the timeline. Unless the proto-batsuit was something Bruce whipped up during his travels, and this blue and grey outfit is the one he wore during the earliest weeks of his career. Or is it just an alternative to the 1989 suit that he never actually used? It's the only other suit to have the 1989 chest emblem. Perhaps the proto-batsuit was one he wore for training purposes only, and this blue and grey costume was the first suit he wore in public.
Here's something Joker posted about it in another thread.
There's no commentary needed for the three central suits. Each corresponds to one of Keaton's big screen outings. Each has its own story, and we know what those stories are.
I wonder what happened to all the spare suits he had in Batman Returns.
The costume standing second from the right appears to be a diving suit built for underwater purposes.
This one has a strong dieselpunk vibe that feels very consistent with the Burtonverse aesthetic. It looks like the most heavily armoured suit in the vault, it has goggles built into the cowl, and breathing apparatus covers the lower half of the wearer's face. Presumably those tubes connect the mask to an oxygen cylinder on the back. One of the most interesting details is the two wing-like protuberances on his back. Some method of underwater propulsion, perhaps?
Some people have pointed out that this costume somewhat resembles the Deep Dive Batman figure from the Batman Returns toy line.
Did Bruce don this suit to fight an aquatic villain? Killer Croc? Orca? Professor Bubbles? Or did he wear this suit to infiltrate the Riddler's island lair, the Burtonverse equivalent of Claw Island? I imagine Keaton would have approached the Riddler's hideout more stealthily than Kilmer did. He might have taken the Batskiboat or Batsub part of the way, and then covered the remaining distance using this suit. Is this what he was wearing when he faced off against the Riddler?
The costume on the far right appears to be some kind of Arctic suit.
It has goggles to protect the wearer's eyes and a hood added to the cape for extra protection against the elements. The colour is paler than the other suits, suggesting winter camouflage. It resembles the Victorian and WWII batsuits featured in the Elseworlds books Gotham by Gaslight and JSA: The Liberty Files.
It could be that Batman used this suit when abroad in cold environments, but the more obvious scenario is that he wore it while fighting Mr Freeze. It's positioned two spaces along from the BR suit, and Batman & Robin was two films after BR. Is this the Burtonverse equivalent of Clooney's Arctic suit? Could be. Let's not forget that there was a picture of Arnold Schwarzenegger on the wall of Shreck's office in BR.
Was Fries a former employee of Shreck Industries? Did Batman adopt this special suit after Victor froze Gotham? There was also an Arctic Batman figure in the Batman Returns toy line. In place of a hood and goggles it had a glass helmet.
I'm glad they didn't include the batsuit from the Batman '89 comic. Its absence suggests that series is apocryphal to the live action canon. The Superman/Supergirl situation further confirms that. Instead the Earth-789 comics seem to exist in their own pocket universe, similar to the old Batman newspaper strip that followed the release of the 1989 film.
Here's one final thing to think about: will Batman debut another new costume in The Flash? Notice that the trailers don't show any clips of Keaton from the final battle. We see the Batwing in action, but we don't see Keaton piloting it? He's going up against an army of Kryptonians, so wouldn't it make sense for him to don mech armour like Batfleck did? Is that a final surprise the filmmakers are keeping under wraps?
I'd like to comment on each of these costumes in turn, starting with the one on the far left. For now I'm going to call this one the proto-batsuit. Here's some analysis Joker posted in another thread.
Quote from: The Joker on Tue, 14 Feb 2023, 03:20https://www.batman-online.com/forum/index.php?topic=4243.msg68099#new
From looking at the 'Vault of Suits' image again, and upon closer inspection, I like that the (apparently) first Keaton batsuit takes inspiration from the original 1939 Kane/Finger iteration.
EDIT
Pretty cool that it's confirmed the '66 West symbol is also used on the 1st suit. I like it even more now than I did before.
Knox's reference to "eight sightings in just under a month" suggests Bruce Keaton had been active for several weeks prior to the events of the 1989 film. Of course his crime fighting activities might have gone back further than those eight sightings, but for now let's assume he was active for about a month. It was during those four weeks that Knox began investigating his activities and the late Johnny Gobs met his untimely fate. Was Bruce wearing this proto-batsuit during that time? Did his confrontation with Nick and Eddie mark the debut of the 1989 suit?
In a much older thread (https://www.batman-online.com/forum/index.php?topic=2087.0), I speculated that Keaton might have already defeated Ratcatcher and Kite Man prior to the events of the 1989 film. If so, perhaps this is the costume he was wearing at the time. Perhaps there should be a Batman: Month One comic exploring those mysterious early weeks of Bruce's adventures.
The costume standing second from left is obviously based on the more traditional blue and grey design from the comics, and it even appears to have white eye lenses in the cowl. The only thing missing is the trunks.
The cowl features a furrowed brow similar to the Alex Ross batsuit.
I don't know where this would fit into the timeline. Unless the proto-batsuit was something Bruce whipped up during his travels, and this blue and grey outfit is the one he wore during the earliest weeks of his career. Or is it just an alternative to the 1989 suit that he never actually used? It's the only other suit to have the 1989 chest emblem. Perhaps the proto-batsuit was one he wore for training purposes only, and this blue and grey costume was the first suit he wore in public.
Here's something Joker posted about it in another thread.
Quote from: The Joker on Mon, 13 Feb 2023, 04:43https://www.batman-online.com/forum/index.php?topic=4243.10Quote from: Slash Man on Mon, 13 Feb 2023, 04:04
The blue and gray is obviously a standout.
The blue and gray suit could be viewed as something a nod towards Bob Ringwood's concept art for B89 back in the day.
Heck, it even appears to have the white eye lenses from what I can tell.
There's no commentary needed for the three central suits. Each corresponds to one of Keaton's big screen outings. Each has its own story, and we know what those stories are.
I wonder what happened to all the spare suits he had in Batman Returns.
The costume standing second from the right appears to be a diving suit built for underwater purposes.
This one has a strong dieselpunk vibe that feels very consistent with the Burtonverse aesthetic. It looks like the most heavily armoured suit in the vault, it has goggles built into the cowl, and breathing apparatus covers the lower half of the wearer's face. Presumably those tubes connect the mask to an oxygen cylinder on the back. One of the most interesting details is the two wing-like protuberances on his back. Some method of underwater propulsion, perhaps?
Some people have pointed out that this costume somewhat resembles the Deep Dive Batman figure from the Batman Returns toy line.
Did Bruce don this suit to fight an aquatic villain? Killer Croc? Orca? Professor Bubbles? Or did he wear this suit to infiltrate the Riddler's island lair, the Burtonverse equivalent of Claw Island? I imagine Keaton would have approached the Riddler's hideout more stealthily than Kilmer did. He might have taken the Batskiboat or Batsub part of the way, and then covered the remaining distance using this suit. Is this what he was wearing when he faced off against the Riddler?
The costume on the far right appears to be some kind of Arctic suit.
It has goggles to protect the wearer's eyes and a hood added to the cape for extra protection against the elements. The colour is paler than the other suits, suggesting winter camouflage. It resembles the Victorian and WWII batsuits featured in the Elseworlds books Gotham by Gaslight and JSA: The Liberty Files.
It could be that Batman used this suit when abroad in cold environments, but the more obvious scenario is that he wore it while fighting Mr Freeze. It's positioned two spaces along from the BR suit, and Batman & Robin was two films after BR. Is this the Burtonverse equivalent of Clooney's Arctic suit? Could be. Let's not forget that there was a picture of Arnold Schwarzenegger on the wall of Shreck's office in BR.
Was Fries a former employee of Shreck Industries? Did Batman adopt this special suit after Victor froze Gotham? There was also an Arctic Batman figure in the Batman Returns toy line. In place of a hood and goggles it had a glass helmet.
I'm glad they didn't include the batsuit from the Batman '89 comic. Its absence suggests that series is apocryphal to the live action canon. The Superman/Supergirl situation further confirms that. Instead the Earth-789 comics seem to exist in their own pocket universe, similar to the old Batman newspaper strip that followed the release of the 1989 film.
Here's one final thing to think about: will Batman debut another new costume in The Flash? Notice that the trailers don't show any clips of Keaton from the final battle. We see the Batwing in action, but we don't see Keaton piloting it? He's going up against an army of Kryptonians, so wouldn't it make sense for him to don mech armour like Batfleck did? Is that a final surprise the filmmakers are keeping under wraps?
#18
The Flash (2023) / Trailer
Sun, 12 Feb 2023, 23:04
The real Dark Knight returns. This deserves its own thread.
#19
Other DC Films & TV / Superman Returns (2006) and the Comics
Sun, 15 Jan 2023, 20:18
I started working on this back in 2013 but never got around to finishing it until now. While this analysis will be chiefly focused on Bryan Singer's movie, I'll also briefly touch upon some of Brandon Routh's other performances as Superman – in deleted scenes, the 2006 Superman Returns videogame, and the 2019-20 Crisis on Infinite Earths TV event.
This is not intended to be a defence or critique or Singer's movie, but rather an attempt to examine how closely it resembles the comics. As always, many of these parallels will be coincidental (the vast majority in fact), but in a few instances I'll highlight connections to support the argument that certain similarities might be intentional. I'm not going to bother listing all the things that were inspired by the Donner films, as that subject's probably best reserved for a separate thread.
Director Bryan Singer cited the work of comic artist Alex Ross as an influence on the movie, and when promoting the film he occasionally made broad references to 'the comics' without naming specific stories. I haven't been able to find any quotes from Singer or the screenwriters identifying which particular comic arcs might have influenced the movie's plot. Most of the time they would just talk about the influence of the earlier Superman films, and in particular Superman: The Movie (1978) and Superman II (1980). SuperHeroHype noted the following at a Comic-Con panel with Singer in 2005:
One of the film's central themes is whether or not the world needs Superman. This might have been influenced by the writing of Elliot S. Maggin, who first suggested the possible negative ramifications of Superman's existence in 'Must There Be a Superman?' (Superman Vol 1 #247, January 1972). In this comic the Guardians of the Universe question whether humanity's dependency on Superman might be hindering its advancement, and consequently whether mankind mightn't be better off without Superman watching over them. Apparently Maggin revisited these themes in his 1978 novel Superman: Last Son of Krypton, which was released with an image of Christopher Reeve on the cover to coincide with the first Richard Donner Superman movie.
The theme of whether or not the world needs Superman was also later referenced in Kingdom Come (1996) by Mark Waid and Alex Ross. The second chapter features a headline reading 'Must There Be a Superman?' – similar to Lois's 'Why the World Doesn't/Does Need Superman' headlines in the film.
Kingdom Come is one of several comic storylines to portray Superman returning to active duty after a prolonged absence. In Waid's story, Superman had retired to the Fortress of Solitude for 8 years after rival hero Magog was lauded for executing the Joker. Superman eventually returns to confront Magog and lead an army of yesterday's idealistic heroes against the younger and more cynical generation of vigilantes that have supplanted them. Behind-the-scenes materials show the Superman Returns production team referencing numerous samples of Alex Ross's art in the development of the film's visuals, including excerpts from Kingdom Come. The film's 'bible' even had one of Ross's paintings on the cover. So the filmmakers were certainly familiar with his work.
Another story that deals with Superman leaving and returning to Earth is the 'Exile' arc that ran from February to July in 1989. This storyline took place in the wake of 'The Price' (Superman Vol 2 #22, October 1988), in which the Man of Steel visited the Pocket Universe created by the Time Trapper and killed alternate versions of General Zod, Quex-Ul and Zaora. Superman then suffered a mental breakdown triggered by the guilt of his actions, and this prompted him to embark on a self-imposed exile from Earth beginning in 'Superman in Exile' (Superman Vol 2 #28, February 1989). He does eventually return to Earth, but not before visiting numerous planets in search of penance. His exile included a subplot in which he encountered Mongul and was forced to fight as a gladiator on War World. The Superman Returns videogame begins with a training sequence loosely adapted from this storyline, where Brandon Routh's Superman is captured by Mongul on his way back to Earth and must win his freedom in War World's arena.
Brandon Routh was a decent physical match for the Superman in the comics. He stands at around 6'2 ½, which is only half an inch shy of Kal-El's 6'3 height in the comics. He also trained for several months to cultivate a comic accurate physique. The padding in his costume tends to conceal this in the finished film, however behind-the-scenes footage gives a clearer look at the kind of shape he was in. His eyes are brown, but were coloured blue in the movie.
The first time we see Superman in the film is when he emerges from the wreckage of his Kryptonian spacecraft and collapses in his mother's arms. The reason for his weakened state in the finished film is never explained. However the Blu-ray includes an elaborate deleted prologue (which apparently cost $10 million!) in which we see Superman exploring the remnants of his birth planet. This sequence has strong parallels with a comic story titled 'Return to Krypton' (Superman Vol 2 #18, June 1988). Coincidentally (or not), the deleted scene in the movie is also titled 'Return to Krypton' on the Blu-ray.
In both stories Superman uses a spaceship to journey to the site of Krypton's destruction. In the comic he travels on a Thanagarian ship piloted by Hawkman, while in the movie he travels alone using a Kryptonian vessel.
In the comic Superman discovers the debris cloud that was once Krypton has now coalesced to form a new planet comprised entirely of kryptonite, not unlike the kryptonite continent featured in Singer's movie. He then proceeds to explore a ring of debris that is orbiting that planet. In the movie he explores the hollowed out remnants of Krypton until he discovers a lethal deposit of kryptonite within its canyons. He attempts to escape the canyons, only to encounter more kryptonite floating in the surrounding debris field.
The k-radiation soon starts to affect him in both stories and he becomes ill.
Superman then has to escape the debris field and set a course for Earth before the kryptonite overwhelms him completely.
It's a shame this sequence was cut from the finished film as it offers an intriguing prologue to the central narrative. Although this prologue did not make it into the finished movie, it was included in the comic book adaptation by Martin Pasako, Matt Haley, Mike Collins and Ron Randall.
Superman does not wear his signature costume when he first returns to Earth. Instead he sports a new outfit, sans cape, with a silver s-shield emblazoned across his chest. This was probably inspired by the outfit he wore during The Reign of the Supermen/Return of Superman arc.
This is also the outfit he wears during the Warworld prologue of the videogame adaptation. The Return of Superman is of course another comic story that deals with Kal-El returning to active service following a prolonged absence. The producers of Superman Returns had spent several years trying to adapt this storyline in the form of Tim Burton's unmade Superman Lives, so the similarities between that particular comic and Singer's movies could well be intentional.
Eva Marie Saint plays Martha Kent in Singer's film.
One of Saint's most famous screen roles was opposite Marlon Brando in Elia Kazan's classic film On the Waterfront (1954). Brando himself posthumously reprises his role as Jor-El in Superman Returns thanks to a combination of digital effects and repurposed footage from Donner's Superman films.
Martha's introductory scene begins with her bidding farewell to a man as he drives away from her home. This character is Ben Hubbard, played by James Karen, although this is not made clear in the theatrical cut of the film. Hubbard was first mentioned in Superman: The Movie and was later incorporated into the comics.
There was originally meant to be a whole subplot about Ben dating Martha, and Clark's discomfort with the situation, but it was cut from the finished film. You can however see these deleted scenes on the DVD/Blu-ray.
Kevin Spacey was originally cast as Lex Luthor in Tim Burton's Superman Lives, and he was the only cast member from that unmade production to carry over into Singer's film. For much of the movie he wears a white coat similar to the ones Lex has often sported in the comics.
One of his sidekicks in the film is a woman named Kitty Kowalski. She was probably inspired by Eve Teschmacher, a character who debuted in the Richard Donner Superman films and was later referenced in several comics. The following panel shows Miss Teschmacher as she appears in JLA: Earth 2 (2000).
The grey and gold Art Deco look of The Daily Planet building reminds me a little of the version from Superman: Red Son (2003).
Hollywood producer Tom DeSanto wrote the introduction to the trade paperback edition of Red Son, praising it as "a sharp social commentary on capitalism vs. communism and current American foreign policy [...] RED SON is great writing." While DeSanto was not directly involved in Superman Returns, he did produce several of Bryan Singer's earlier films, including Apt Pupil (1998), X-Men (2000) and X-Men 2 (2003). So it's possible he may have discussed the Superman project with Singer, perhaps recommending this book as a useful reference. There's one scene in the movie that is practically identical to a scene from Red Son, but I'll get to that later. Incidentally, Red Son is another comic that features the character Eve Teschmacher.
Working at The Daily Planet are Lois Lane, Perry White and Jimmy Olsen. Obviously these three characters were all introduced in the earlier Donnerverse films and there's not too much to say about Singer's take on them, so I'll move on.
The barman who serves Jimmy and Clark is played by Jack Larson, who had portrayed Jimmy Olsen in the Adventures of Superman (1952-1958) television show, as well as the 'Brutal Youth' (s04e05) episode of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993-1997). Larson's character is referred to as 'Bo the bartender' in the movie's credits, but the novelisation makes it clearer that he is intended to be Ace O' Clubs bartender Bibbo Bibbowski, who first debuted in the comics in 'Personal Best' (Adventures of Superman Vol 1 #428, May 1987). Bibbo featured prominently during the Return of Superman arc.
Routh's Superman costume is faithful to the comics.
The sequence where Clark rescues the experimental shuttle with Lois on board was almost certainly inspired by the first chapter of John Byrne's Superman: The Man of Steel (1986) miniseries.
In the Post-Crisis canon, this marked the first time Lois met Superman. In the movie it marks the first time Lois meets Superman after his return to Earth. The sequence with the shuttle is also visually indebted to the animated Superman film 'Japoteurs' (1942). Singer cited this series of animated shorts as an influence on Superman Returns when promoting the movie.
This is not intended to be a defence or critique or Singer's movie, but rather an attempt to examine how closely it resembles the comics. As always, many of these parallels will be coincidental (the vast majority in fact), but in a few instances I'll highlight connections to support the argument that certain similarities might be intentional. I'm not going to bother listing all the things that were inspired by the Donner films, as that subject's probably best reserved for a separate thread.
Director Bryan Singer cited the work of comic artist Alex Ross as an influence on the movie, and when promoting the film he occasionally made broad references to 'the comics' without naming specific stories. I haven't been able to find any quotes from Singer or the screenwriters identifying which particular comic arcs might have influenced the movie's plot. Most of the time they would just talk about the influence of the earlier Superman films, and in particular Superman: The Movie (1978) and Superman II (1980). SuperHeroHype noted the following at a Comic-Con panel with Singer in 2005:
QuoteAccording to Singer, Alex Ross was his favorite Superman artist as far as visual style, but he also recommended the Max Fleischer cartoons, as well as the George Reeves television show for anyone interested in his film, which he admitted will be spring boarded from Richard Donner's 1978 film, and its 1980 sequel.https://www.superherohype.com/features/89177-bryan-singer-on-superman-returns
One of the film's central themes is whether or not the world needs Superman. This might have been influenced by the writing of Elliot S. Maggin, who first suggested the possible negative ramifications of Superman's existence in 'Must There Be a Superman?' (Superman Vol 1 #247, January 1972). In this comic the Guardians of the Universe question whether humanity's dependency on Superman might be hindering its advancement, and consequently whether mankind mightn't be better off without Superman watching over them. Apparently Maggin revisited these themes in his 1978 novel Superman: Last Son of Krypton, which was released with an image of Christopher Reeve on the cover to coincide with the first Richard Donner Superman movie.
The theme of whether or not the world needs Superman was also later referenced in Kingdom Come (1996) by Mark Waid and Alex Ross. The second chapter features a headline reading 'Must There Be a Superman?' – similar to Lois's 'Why the World Doesn't/Does Need Superman' headlines in the film.
Kingdom Come is one of several comic storylines to portray Superman returning to active duty after a prolonged absence. In Waid's story, Superman had retired to the Fortress of Solitude for 8 years after rival hero Magog was lauded for executing the Joker. Superman eventually returns to confront Magog and lead an army of yesterday's idealistic heroes against the younger and more cynical generation of vigilantes that have supplanted them. Behind-the-scenes materials show the Superman Returns production team referencing numerous samples of Alex Ross's art in the development of the film's visuals, including excerpts from Kingdom Come. The film's 'bible' even had one of Ross's paintings on the cover. So the filmmakers were certainly familiar with his work.
Another story that deals with Superman leaving and returning to Earth is the 'Exile' arc that ran from February to July in 1989. This storyline took place in the wake of 'The Price' (Superman Vol 2 #22, October 1988), in which the Man of Steel visited the Pocket Universe created by the Time Trapper and killed alternate versions of General Zod, Quex-Ul and Zaora. Superman then suffered a mental breakdown triggered by the guilt of his actions, and this prompted him to embark on a self-imposed exile from Earth beginning in 'Superman in Exile' (Superman Vol 2 #28, February 1989). He does eventually return to Earth, but not before visiting numerous planets in search of penance. His exile included a subplot in which he encountered Mongul and was forced to fight as a gladiator on War World. The Superman Returns videogame begins with a training sequence loosely adapted from this storyline, where Brandon Routh's Superman is captured by Mongul on his way back to Earth and must win his freedom in War World's arena.
Brandon Routh was a decent physical match for the Superman in the comics. He stands at around 6'2 ½, which is only half an inch shy of Kal-El's 6'3 height in the comics. He also trained for several months to cultivate a comic accurate physique. The padding in his costume tends to conceal this in the finished film, however behind-the-scenes footage gives a clearer look at the kind of shape he was in. His eyes are brown, but were coloured blue in the movie.
The first time we see Superman in the film is when he emerges from the wreckage of his Kryptonian spacecraft and collapses in his mother's arms. The reason for his weakened state in the finished film is never explained. However the Blu-ray includes an elaborate deleted prologue (which apparently cost $10 million!) in which we see Superman exploring the remnants of his birth planet. This sequence has strong parallels with a comic story titled 'Return to Krypton' (Superman Vol 2 #18, June 1988). Coincidentally (or not), the deleted scene in the movie is also titled 'Return to Krypton' on the Blu-ray.
In both stories Superman uses a spaceship to journey to the site of Krypton's destruction. In the comic he travels on a Thanagarian ship piloted by Hawkman, while in the movie he travels alone using a Kryptonian vessel.
In the comic Superman discovers the debris cloud that was once Krypton has now coalesced to form a new planet comprised entirely of kryptonite, not unlike the kryptonite continent featured in Singer's movie. He then proceeds to explore a ring of debris that is orbiting that planet. In the movie he explores the hollowed out remnants of Krypton until he discovers a lethal deposit of kryptonite within its canyons. He attempts to escape the canyons, only to encounter more kryptonite floating in the surrounding debris field.
The k-radiation soon starts to affect him in both stories and he becomes ill.
Superman then has to escape the debris field and set a course for Earth before the kryptonite overwhelms him completely.
It's a shame this sequence was cut from the finished film as it offers an intriguing prologue to the central narrative. Although this prologue did not make it into the finished movie, it was included in the comic book adaptation by Martin Pasako, Matt Haley, Mike Collins and Ron Randall.
Superman does not wear his signature costume when he first returns to Earth. Instead he sports a new outfit, sans cape, with a silver s-shield emblazoned across his chest. This was probably inspired by the outfit he wore during The Reign of the Supermen/Return of Superman arc.
This is also the outfit he wears during the Warworld prologue of the videogame adaptation. The Return of Superman is of course another comic story that deals with Kal-El returning to active service following a prolonged absence. The producers of Superman Returns had spent several years trying to adapt this storyline in the form of Tim Burton's unmade Superman Lives, so the similarities between that particular comic and Singer's movies could well be intentional.
Eva Marie Saint plays Martha Kent in Singer's film.
One of Saint's most famous screen roles was opposite Marlon Brando in Elia Kazan's classic film On the Waterfront (1954). Brando himself posthumously reprises his role as Jor-El in Superman Returns thanks to a combination of digital effects and repurposed footage from Donner's Superman films.
Martha's introductory scene begins with her bidding farewell to a man as he drives away from her home. This character is Ben Hubbard, played by James Karen, although this is not made clear in the theatrical cut of the film. Hubbard was first mentioned in Superman: The Movie and was later incorporated into the comics.
There was originally meant to be a whole subplot about Ben dating Martha, and Clark's discomfort with the situation, but it was cut from the finished film. You can however see these deleted scenes on the DVD/Blu-ray.
Kevin Spacey was originally cast as Lex Luthor in Tim Burton's Superman Lives, and he was the only cast member from that unmade production to carry over into Singer's film. For much of the movie he wears a white coat similar to the ones Lex has often sported in the comics.
One of his sidekicks in the film is a woman named Kitty Kowalski. She was probably inspired by Eve Teschmacher, a character who debuted in the Richard Donner Superman films and was later referenced in several comics. The following panel shows Miss Teschmacher as she appears in JLA: Earth 2 (2000).
The grey and gold Art Deco look of The Daily Planet building reminds me a little of the version from Superman: Red Son (2003).
Hollywood producer Tom DeSanto wrote the introduction to the trade paperback edition of Red Son, praising it as "a sharp social commentary on capitalism vs. communism and current American foreign policy [...] RED SON is great writing." While DeSanto was not directly involved in Superman Returns, he did produce several of Bryan Singer's earlier films, including Apt Pupil (1998), X-Men (2000) and X-Men 2 (2003). So it's possible he may have discussed the Superman project with Singer, perhaps recommending this book as a useful reference. There's one scene in the movie that is practically identical to a scene from Red Son, but I'll get to that later. Incidentally, Red Son is another comic that features the character Eve Teschmacher.
Working at The Daily Planet are Lois Lane, Perry White and Jimmy Olsen. Obviously these three characters were all introduced in the earlier Donnerverse films and there's not too much to say about Singer's take on them, so I'll move on.
The barman who serves Jimmy and Clark is played by Jack Larson, who had portrayed Jimmy Olsen in the Adventures of Superman (1952-1958) television show, as well as the 'Brutal Youth' (s04e05) episode of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993-1997). Larson's character is referred to as 'Bo the bartender' in the movie's credits, but the novelisation makes it clearer that he is intended to be Ace O' Clubs bartender Bibbo Bibbowski, who first debuted in the comics in 'Personal Best' (Adventures of Superman Vol 1 #428, May 1987). Bibbo featured prominently during the Return of Superman arc.
Routh's Superman costume is faithful to the comics.
The sequence where Clark rescues the experimental shuttle with Lois on board was almost certainly inspired by the first chapter of John Byrne's Superman: The Man of Steel (1986) miniseries.
In the Post-Crisis canon, this marked the first time Lois met Superman. In the movie it marks the first time Lois meets Superman after his return to Earth. The sequence with the shuttle is also visually indebted to the animated Superman film 'Japoteurs' (1942). Singer cited this series of animated shorts as an influence on Superman Returns when promoting the movie.
#20
Movies / Most Anticipated Films of 2023
Wed, 11 Jan 2023, 22:23
2022 was pretty much the worst year ever for western cinema. I've been saying for the past few years that Hollywood is creatively in the worst state it's ever been, and some film buffs are even calling this era the Dark Age of movies. But 2023 can't be as bad, right? There are some definite stinkers heading our way, like Indiana Jones's Direful Destiny. But there are a few films I'm looking forward to. In the interests of starting the year on a positive note, here are some films I plan on seeing in 2023.
John Wick is one of the two best American action movie franchises around these days. I enjoyed the previous three films a lot and I'm looking forward to this one. Great fight choreography and stunt work, distinctive visual flair, and a healthy sense of humour should make this another strong addition to the series.
I've been a big Nintendo fan since I was a kid (I'm presently extremely hyped about Fire Emblem: Engage and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, both of which I've pre-ordered), and I even went to see the live action Super Mario Bros. movie back in 1993. I don't know if this new film is going to be any good. The animation looks decent, but I don't like the studio behind it or some of the casting choices. However my eldest nephew has his heart set on seeing it, so I'll probably tag along. I'm not confident it'll be good, but I will see it.
One word renders this unmissable: Keaton. This film might be terrible, but I'm still hyped and I'll definitely catch it on the big screen.
I said John Wick was one of the two best modern American action movie franchises. Mission: Impossible is the other. I've seen every instalment of this franchise on the big screen, going right back to the first movie in 1996, and I won't be missing this one. Cruise knocked it out of the park with Top Gun: Maverick, and I'm sure he'll deliver some equally impressive thrills and breathtaking stunts in this. Dead Reckoning and John Wick 4 should be the two standout action movies of 2023.
I don't know much about this, but it's an animated feature film from Studio Ghibli and director Hayao Miyazaki. That's reason enough for me to see it.
Christopher Nolan's latest film boasts a strong cast and fascinating subject matter. Nolan said he wanted to recreate the atomic bomb blast using practical special effects. I've no idea how a filmmaker goes about doing that, but I'm excited to see the results. This should be one of the year's best historical dramas.
I read all of Frank Herbert's Dune novels back when I was a teenager. I've seen all the previous screen adaptations, played through most of the videogames, and I'm a long-time fan of the franchise. I've been waiting years for a good new screen adaptation of the first book, and barring one or two minor quibbles I was largely satisfied with Denis Villeneuve's 2021 film. If the second movie matches the quality of the first, then this will likely be the best science fiction film of 2023.
Directed by Martin Scorsese, this historical crime drama centres on an FBI investigation set in 1920s Oklahoma. It's adapted from the book of the same name by David Grann, and the cast includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Brendan Fraser and John Lithgow. It sounds promising.
There are some other films I'm potentially interested in seeing this year, but also wary of. These include Creed III, The Expendables IV and The Exorcist. I've enjoyed previous entries in all of those franchises, but I'm not sold on these latest instalments. I'll probably see them eventually, but I might wait until I can watch them for free on television. I'm sceptical about all of them.
What about everyone else? Which movies are you most looking forward to in 2023?
John Wick: Chapter 4 (March 2023)
John Wick is one of the two best American action movie franchises around these days. I enjoyed the previous three films a lot and I'm looking forward to this one. Great fight choreography and stunt work, distinctive visual flair, and a healthy sense of humour should make this another strong addition to the series.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie (April 2023)
I've been a big Nintendo fan since I was a kid (I'm presently extremely hyped about Fire Emblem: Engage and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, both of which I've pre-ordered), and I even went to see the live action Super Mario Bros. movie back in 1993. I don't know if this new film is going to be any good. The animation looks decent, but I don't like the studio behind it or some of the casting choices. However my eldest nephew has his heart set on seeing it, so I'll probably tag along. I'm not confident it'll be good, but I will see it.
The Flash (June 2023)
One word renders this unmissable: Keaton. This film might be terrible, but I'm still hyped and I'll definitely catch it on the big screen.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (July 2023)
I said John Wick was one of the two best modern American action movie franchises. Mission: Impossible is the other. I've seen every instalment of this franchise on the big screen, going right back to the first movie in 1996, and I won't be missing this one. Cruise knocked it out of the park with Top Gun: Maverick, and I'm sure he'll deliver some equally impressive thrills and breathtaking stunts in this. Dead Reckoning and John Wick 4 should be the two standout action movies of 2023.
How Do You Live? (July 2023)
I don't know much about this, but it's an animated feature film from Studio Ghibli and director Hayao Miyazaki. That's reason enough for me to see it.
Oppenheimer (July 2023)
Christopher Nolan's latest film boasts a strong cast and fascinating subject matter. Nolan said he wanted to recreate the atomic bomb blast using practical special effects. I've no idea how a filmmaker goes about doing that, but I'm excited to see the results. This should be one of the year's best historical dramas.
Dune: Part 2 (November 2023)
I read all of Frank Herbert's Dune novels back when I was a teenager. I've seen all the previous screen adaptations, played through most of the videogames, and I'm a long-time fan of the franchise. I've been waiting years for a good new screen adaptation of the first book, and barring one or two minor quibbles I was largely satisfied with Denis Villeneuve's 2021 film. If the second movie matches the quality of the first, then this will likely be the best science fiction film of 2023.
Killers of the Flower Moon (? 2023)
Directed by Martin Scorsese, this historical crime drama centres on an FBI investigation set in 1920s Oklahoma. It's adapted from the book of the same name by David Grann, and the cast includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Brendan Fraser and John Lithgow. It sounds promising.
There are some other films I'm potentially interested in seeing this year, but also wary of. These include Creed III, The Expendables IV and The Exorcist. I've enjoyed previous entries in all of those franchises, but I'm not sold on these latest instalments. I'll probably see them eventually, but I might wait until I can watch them for free on television. I'm sceptical about all of them.
What about everyone else? Which movies are you most looking forward to in 2023?