The Batman vs. Dracula

Note: This review contains spoilers for The Batman vs. Dracula.

Of all the Batman TV series out there, one that seems to fly under a lot of radars is The Batman (no relation to the 2022 film of the same name), which debuted on the Kids’ WB Saturday morning block in 2004 and ran for a total of five Seasons. I actually have some personal connection with this show, since it was the first Batman cartoon I ever watched as a kid, though admittedly I only ever watched the first three Seasons at the time. Perhaps lesser known is the one DTV movie based on the series, The Batman vs. Dracula, which came out in 2005 and escaped my notice even when it aired on TV. After finding out the movie existed while browsing HBO Max, I made the time to watch it and found something much more than I initially anticipated.

Hitman GO: Definitive Edition

In a series as extensive as Hitman, there is one side entry that’s easy to overlook. Back in 2014, Square Enix released the series’ first mobile game, Hitman GO, which gained critical acclaim for successfully translating the Hitman formula to a portable device. In 2015, a console and PC port, Hitman GO: Definitive Edition, was released with improved visuals and all of the DLC included. This was the version I later bought for only $0.80 during a massive sale Square Enix held when the game’s developer, Square Enix Montréal, was acquired by Embracer Group. With the chance to finally play this lesser-known title, I’m now left wondering why I didn’t do it sooner.

Stubs - The Batman - Less Can Be More

The Batman (2022) Starring: Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard, Andy Serkis, Colin Farrell. Directed by Matt Reeves. Screenplay by Written by Matt Reeves, Peter Craig. Based on Characters from DC. Produced by Dylan Clark, Matt Reeves. Run Time: 176 minutes. Color. USA. Superhero

Note: This review contains spoilers for The Batman.

Batman is perhaps the most popular character to come out of DC and one that Warner Bros. tries to use any way they can. There are numerous animated features with the character and now what seems to be the nth reboot of the character in feature films. While The Batman is not part of the DCEU, it does mark a new multiverse with Batman, sort of like with Spider-Man there is The Amazing Spider-Man and other storylines to draw from.

Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne.

This is a millennial take on Batman with Robert Pattinson playing a much younger version of the caped-crusader than we may be used to in films and on television. Here, Bruce Wayne is probably in his late twenties/early thirties and somewhat new to the vigilante persona.

Destroy All Humans! 2 - Reprobed (PS5)

Note: This review contains spoilers for Destroy All Humans! (2020) and Destroy All Humans! 2 (- Reprobed).

Following the success of the Destroy All Humans! remake in 2020, it seemed like the next logical step would be a remake of Destroy All Humans! 2, so much so that I tracked down a copy of said game so I could see what happens next. A remake of the second game would eventually come in the form of Destroy All Humans! 2 – Reprobed (Reprobed), with the PlayStation version skipping PS4 and going straight to PS5. While I did ultimately have fun playing the PS5 version, I couldn’t ignore the various technical problems I ran into over the course of the main campaign.

Stubs - Batman: Under the Red Hood

Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010) Voices of Bruce Greenwood, Jensen Ackles, John DiMaggio, Neil Patrick Harris, Jason Isaacs, Wade Williams Directed by Brandon Vietti. Screenplay by Judd Winick.  Based on Batman: Under the Hood by Judd Winick, Doug Mahnke and characters created by Bob Kane (and Bill Finger). Produced by Bruce Timm and Bobbie Page. Run time 75 minutes. USA Color. Animated, Action, Superheroes.

Batman is a staple of the DC comics, if not the staple. There seems to be no other character to have appeared in so many live-action and animated features. For some reason, the stories seem to work better animated than they do in live-action.  The animated films seem to tell a wider range of Batman stories, while the live-action films seem to be constantly rebooting the story.

Case in point, Batman: Under the Red Hood, which is based on "Batman: Under the Hood" a comic book written by Judd Winick with art by Doug Mahnke, originally published in 2005. The story brings back to life former Robin, Jason Todd, a character first created in 1983 by writer Gerry Conway, and artist Don Newton and killed off in 1988 following a telephone poll that voted for the character to be killed off.

Hitman 3: Ambrose Island (DLC)

Note: The following review contains spoilers for the Hitman World of Assassination Trilogy.

After about eighteen months of single-player content focused largely on Elusive Targets, Contracts and weapon variations, IO Interactive finally added a new level, Ambrose Island, to Hitman 3 in a free update. As someone who enjoyed the base Hitman 3, the announcement of Ambrose Island intrigued me, partly because it acted as a sign that IOI had finally decided to add more meaningful content to increase player retention instead of timed missions. Although Ambrose Island doesn’t actually last that long, it’s still a great step in the right direction for any future Hitman 3 content.

Stubs - Bullet Train

Bullet Train (2022) Starring Brad Pitt, Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji, Hiroyuki Sanada, Michael Shannon, Bad Bunny, Sandra Bullock. Directed by David Leitch. Screenplay by Zak Olkewicz. Based on the novel Maria Beetle by Kōtarō Isaka. Produced by Kelly McCormick, David Leitch, Antoine Fuqua. Run time: 126 minutes. USA Color Action, Comedy

Saturday, September 3, 2022 was National Cinema Day in the United States, with tickets at about three-fourths of the theaters priced at $3. With prices like that, chances can be taken and the chance we took was on Bullet Train, a recent release starring Brad Pitt but which did not get glowing reviews when it was released.

Stubs - Batman vs. Two-Face

Batman vs. Two-Face (2017) Voices of Adam West, Burt Ward, William Shatner, Julie Newmar. Directed by Rick Morales. Screenplay by Michael Jelenic, James Tucker. Based on Batman by William Dozier, Bob Kane, Bill Finger. Produced by Michael Jelenic. Run time: 72 minutes. United States. Color. Animated. Action. Superheroes. Direct to Video.

For DC and Warner Bros, Batman is a franchise that keeps on giving and one that they keep asking to give. Following the success of Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders (2016), Warner Brothers Animation decided to go back again to the world of the 1960s Batman TV series created by William Dozier based on the comic book created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. This would prove to be the last time they could with Adam West, as this production wouldn’t be released until some four months after his death.