Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker

Before watching this movie, I will admit I have not actually seen the Batman Beyond cartoon, nor have I seen Batman: The Animated Series. However, I am aware of both shows and their relation to the DCAU, as well as how highly praised they are (especially the latter). What spurred me to watch Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, however, was learning about how well thought-of it and Batman: Mask of the Phantasm are, though let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Despite not having any prior knowledge of Terry McGinnis’ tenure as the dark knight, I found his battle against the Joker to be a very solid movie.

Batman & Robin

When watching movies, you’ll sometimes see one that already has a certain reputation, either good or bad. At this point, it’s best to watch it yourself just to see whether or not it deserves said reputation. You may find that the movie is either overhyped or underappreciated depending on your point of view or how other people have told you about it. In this case, the movie we happened to watch was Batman & Robin (1997), which, even from its initial release, gained and maintained a reputation as one of the worst movies of all time. Even though I haven’t seen Batman Returns (1992) or Batman Forever (1995) from the Burton/Schumacher tetralogy, I still found myself understanding this film’s reputation, though I feel it’s somewhat exaggerated.

Pokémon Detective Pikachu (Film)

With Pokémon being one of the largest pop culture juggernauts since its introduction as a video game in 1996 in Japan, it's understandable that an IP that’s lasted this long would eventually want to experiment with its formula. In 2016 (2018 in the West) came Detective Pikachu, a somewhat obscure 3DS game that put the Pokémon Pikachu in a detective setting wherein it had to team up with a human in order to solve a mystery. When the announcement of a live-action film adaptation was announced, I was a little worried how it might look considering the track record of live-action video game adaptations, however the first trailer was enough to win me over. As some one who has some experience with Pokémon, I found the movie, Pokémon Detective Pikachu, to be one of the best video game movies I had ever seen, possibly even the best one made in live-action.

Stubs - Batman (1989)

Batman (1989) Starring: Jack Nicholson, Michael Keaton, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl, Pat Hingle, Billy Dee Williams, Michael Gough, Jack Palance. Director: Tim Burton. Screenplay by Sam Hamm. Warren Skaaren. Characters appearing in magazines published by DC Comics, Batman characters by Bob Kane. Produced by Jon Peters, Peter Guber. Runtime: 124 minutes. USA Color. Superhero

By now superhero films seem to be everywhere, at least on the list of top grossing films. But back in 1989, when Warner Bros. released Batman, they were not. In fact, even an intellectual property like Batman was considered a risk. By the end of the 1970s, Batman’s popularity was waning. The last major adaptation of the comic book had been the 1960s campy Batman TV series, starring Adam West.

Ghost Giant

As VR technology evolves, it has become a place for game developers to experiment with some interesting gameplay mechanics and storytelling opportunities. This, combined with its visual style, are what attracted me to Ghost Giant by Swedish Fe developer Zoink, as it presents an interesting diorama style and attempts to immerse the player by incorporating them into the story. The game delivers on these promises in a unique way that makes it one of the most interesting VR experiences I have played.

Stubs - Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders

Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders (2016) Starring the voices of Adam West, Burt Ward, Julie Newmar, Steven Weber, Thomas Lennon, Jeff Bergman, William Salyers, Wally Wingert Directed by Rick Morales Produced by Michael Jelenic Runtime: 78 minutes USA Color Animated, Superhero

You hear all the time about actors being typecast in a particular role. Adam West will forever be associated with his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman on the Batman TV series from the 1960s. While the actor is hardly what we think of as Batman now, he was, for an entire generation, the only Batman there was.