Batman (1989) - Comic to Movie #22

"I made you; you made me first."

Director

Tim Burton

Cast

Michael Keaton - Bruce Wayne/ Batman

Jack Nicholson - Jack Napier/ Joker
Kim Basinger - Vicki Vale
Robert Wuhl - Alexander Knox
Pat Hingle - Commissioner Gordon
Billy Dee Williams - Harvey Dent
Michael Gough - Alfred Pennyworth
Jack Palance - Carl Grissom

I reviewed the 1992 movie "Batman Returns" - the sequel to Tim Burton's 1989 movie "Batman" - back in 2022. Well, after hearing some negative comments on the '89 Batman, I felt compelled to comment. I wanted to write something up about this movie after seeing Michael Keaton return as Batman in "The Flash." So, I'm just now getting to this.
I was a month short of being nine-years old when I saw Burton's "Batman" in the theater. That theater was the Grand Lake Theater in Oakland, California and it was one of the most intense movie experiences I've had.
I still remember the parts where the audience laughed.
I still remember the entire theater cheering at the scene when the Batwing flies above the cloud cover to juxtapose against the moon to create the bat emblem before soaring full-speed back down to Gotham City to take out the Joker.
Above all, I recall the Bat-hype this movie caused back in 1989. It got a hold of me, too. My nine-year old self grew obsessed with Batman thanks to this movie. Of course, it has subsided quite a bit since then.
Even so, after all this time, I have a special place in my heart for the 1989 "Batman."
In this movie, the masked vigilante, Batman, is just beginning to grace the dark crime-ridden streets of Gotham City.
News reporter, Alexander Knox (Robert Wuhl) is covering Batman sightings around Gotham, with little to no cooperation from Commissioner Jim Gordon (Pat Hingle), Harvey Dent (Billy Dee Williams) and Mayor Borg (Lee Wallace).
Photojournalist Vicki Vale (Kim Basinger) wants to work with Knox in covering the Batman.
They both attend a fundraiser at Wayne Manor hosted by billionaire Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton) as Gordon, Borg, and Dent will be in attendance. 

Knox and Vale hope to find out what the police and city hall know about "the bat." And Vale wants to meet with Wayne, whom she's never seen.
When they finally meet, Wayne becomes infatuated with Vale. 

Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson in "Batman."

Meanwhile, mob leader Carl Grissom (Jack Palance) sends his psychopathic top henchman, Jack Napier (Jack Nicholson) to raid the Axis Chemical Factory and steal incriminating evidence. What Napier doesn't initially realize is that Grissom is setting him up for murder by police in retaliation for sleeping with his mistress, Alicia (Jerry Hall).
Grissom has corrupt Lieutenant Max Eckhardt (William Hootkins), whom he has in his back pocket, to conduct an unauthorized police raid in order to shoot and kill Napier.
However, Commissioner Gordon receives an anonymous tip about what's going on and shows up to take over.
Batman also shows up as he eavesdropped on Gordon receiving that anonymous tip during the fundraiser.
During a confrontation at Axis Chemicals, Napier's life changes forever when an encounter with Batman leaves him horribly disfigured and transformed into the Joker.
While Grissom thinks Napier is dead, Jack surprises him, reveals what some plastic surgery can do, followed by a shower of bullets. 

Now, calling himself "Joker," he immediately pays Grissom a visit, kills him and takes over his operations.
Joker unleashes a wave of terror over Gotham City when he takes over the Axis Chemical Factory.
He starts manufacturing beauty and hygiene products at the chemical factory with chemical agents that, when different products are used together, create a lethal gas called Smylex. This causes victims to laugh uncontrollably until they die, leaving a permanent grin on their faces just like Joker's.
Joker also takes an interest in Vicki Vale, trying to lure her to his side.
However, once Batman breaks the Joker's deadly plans and hands his findings over to Vicki to be printed in the newspaper leaving Gotham to wonder if this Batman is a friend or foe, the Joker unleashes his fury on all of Gotham.
As the mayor postpones Gotham's 200th anniversary celebration parade, the Joker decides to hold his own parade.
He lures Gotham residents to the downtown area by promising to dump $20 million in cash during his parade. And, of course, the people come.
What they don't know is that the Joker's parade balloons are actually filled with Smylex which he begins releasing into the crowd since his plans with his cosmetic products didn't work out.
But Batman doesn't waste time in fighting for Gotham City and taking out the joker.
This movie is entertaining right from the credits. The opening soundtrack by Danny Elfman couldn't fit the movie any better.
The dialogue and entire production quality design is amazingly unique and unforgettable. 

The time of the movie's release is worth mentioning.
As the popularity of the "Superman" movies waned after "Superman II" - the worst of the Superman movies being "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" followed closely by "Superman III" - a Batman movie must have been a major risk.

Kim Basinger as Vicki Vale in "Batman."

While comic book enthusiasts might have been very familiar with dark Batman stories as seen in Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns" (1986) and "Batman: The Killing Joke" (1988) by Alan Moore, the general public were much more familiar with the campy television series "Batman" the theme song of which was written by Neal Hefti, who also wrote the theme to "The Odd Couple."   

The show ran from 1966 to 1969, and starred Adam West and Burt Ward as the dynamic duo. The show was anything but dark. So, coming up with a dark Batman was certainly ambitious.
And Tim Burton's "Batman" sure has a lot of ambitious decisions behind it beginning with Michael Keaton as Batman/ Bruce Wayne, as mentioned millions of times before. 

Putting Tim Burton in the director's chair was another decision that could be called such. Before "Batman," Burton was known for directing the comedies, "Beetlejuice" and "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure."  And making Batman a complete revision, again for general audiences whose idea of Batman is what they watched on T.V., was a big one. How would audiences take to such a reimagining of their beloved Batman?
It's dark and dank, but with a little splash of color which adds to the contrast between the shadow tone of Batman and the vibrant in-your-face personality of Joker. A lot of scenes and angles look like they're straight off comic book pages.
I love the tone of the film and atmosphere of this movie. The set design is dirty, gritty, dystopian, semi-futuristic as well as vintage. The movie has a dystopian vibe to it, similar to movies like "Blade Runner" with a little fairy tale feel to it. 

There's a wounded hero and a fair maiden whose affection becomes the object of rivalry between hero and villain.. In "Batman," that's a side story that's also used to bring the hero and the villain into battle.
When Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight" movies arrived, Burton's "Batman" remained appreciated by some, and pushed aside by others because something "better" was now among us. 

The story gets unfair criticism for Alfred bringing Vicki into the bat cave. My retort to that is that Bruce was going to tell her the truth anyway. Why does Vickie's presence in the bat cave bother people?
With the presence of British actor Michael Gough as Bruce Wayne's butler, Alfred, along with Jack Nicholson's performance that he surely borrows inspiration from his role in "The Shining," "Batman" is a movie that has improved over time. Maybe it's not as good as Nolan's films. But it doesn't need to be. It's a solid, foundational, strongly constructed and highly entertaining film. To be fair, if I must complain about one thing it's Prince's awful music video "Batdance" written for this movie. Cringe isn't a big enough word! 

More than three decades later, "Batman" remains one of the most influential superhero films ever made. What makes it stand out as the standard for what a superhero movie should be is the insanity and ridiculousness of the premise, while the characters take the situation with such seriousness and intensity. That's what pulls the audience in and want to go along with it.
It may not possess the realism of Nolan's films or the scale of modern comic-book epics, but Burton's gothic vision, Keaton's understated performance, Danny Elfman's superb and iconic film score, and Nicholson's unforgettable Joker still make it a solid foundational comic-book film.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) - Comic to Movie #21

"Ultimate mastering comes not from the body, but from the mind. Together, there is nothing your four minds cannot accomplish."

Director

Steve Barron

Cast
Brian Tochi - Voice of Leonardo

     *David Forman - Leonardo performer
Josh Pais - Voice and performer of Raphael

Corey Feldman - Voice of Donatello

      *Leif Tilden - Donatello performer
Robbie Rist - Voice of Michelangelo

      *Michelan Sisti - Michelangelo performer 

Kevin Clash - Voice and puppeteer of Splinter

James Saito - Oroku Saki / The Shredder

Toshishiro Obata - Master Tatsu
Judith Hoag - April O'Neil
Elias Koteas - Casey Jones
Jay Patterson - Charles Pennington
Michael Turney - Danny Pennington

If there's one thing I can say about the 1990 comic-based movie "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," it's that the movie is much better than a lot of folks and critics give it credit for.

Sure, the idea of four mutated talking juvenile turtles named after Renaissance painters is an outlandishly silly idea. Creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird knew that when they created these characters as a lark back in the early 1980s.  

I recently watched the 1990 "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" with my kids. And I've seen it several times before. So, obviously it was time for me to say something about it.

While I enjoyed this movie in my youth, it has taken some deeper meaning in my adult years. I'm not referring to any nostalgic investment I have in this movie specifically, or in the Ninja Turtles in general. 

This movie brings together the style of a children's movie against a gritty, dark comic book action story.

In this movie, New York City is suddenly plagued with a crime wave...as though crime waves are a new problem in the "Big Apple." 

April O'Neill (Judith Hoag), a news reporter for channel 3 news, has been reporting on this silent wave of crime involving a high level of theft and juvenile delinquency. 

She suspects that hotheaded Police Chief Sterns (Raymond Serra) knows more about the group behind this rise in crime than he's letting on. 

After getting off work one evening, April happens to catch a group of young thugs stealing from one of the news vans. 

They jump her, but she's saved by unseen vigilantes which are obviously the Ninja Turtles. Who doesn't know their names by now? Raphael, Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Donatello. Incidentally, Donatello - the brains of the turtles - was almost named after Italian sculptor and architect. Gianlorenzo Bernini. After a coin toss, Eastman and Laird decided on Donatello instead. So, the world almost got Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Bernini. Doesn't quite have the same effect. 

Anyways, the turtles live in a liar in the sewer along with their mentor, Master Splinter - a mutated rat who is a master of ninjutsu. He taught the turtles this form of martial arts while raising them himself. 

After the turtles rescue April, they return to their lair where Splinter instructs them to master the art of invisibility. 

Raphael, meanwhile, returns in a bad mood because he lost one of his weapons - a sai - during the rescue. She happened to see it just as the police arrived and stuck it in her purse. 

He decides to head to the street surface, disguised of course, to catch a movie and cool off. While up on the street, he gets into a fight with another vigilante called Casey Jones (Elias Koteas).

April keeps digging into this crime wave, discovering that the group behind it all is known as the "Foot Clan" who use an abandoned warehouse as a hideaway. As she reports it on television, the head of the Foot Clan, the Shredder (James Saito) orders some of his clan to silence her. 

The Shredder has been recruiting wayward kids to commit these crimes all around the city. 

Some of the Foot Clan ninjas attack April on a subway platform. Little do they know that Raphael happened to follow her down there. After they knock her out, Raphael attacks them, rescues the

unconscious April and takes her back to the sewer lair.

Thinking he took down all the ninjas, Raphael doesn't realize that one of the Foot Clan is following him back to the turtles' lair only to report back to the Shredder. 

After April wakes up and freaks out at the sight of four talking mutated turtles and a rat, Splinter reveals their origins to her. 

As odd as the situation is, she lets the turtles escort her home where she invites them in for pizza. As luck would have it, that's their favorite food. So, how could they say no.

After hanging out and having a laugh, they head back to the sewer only to find the place sacked and Splinter missing. 

They return to April's to hide and figure out what to do next. 

When April's boss, Charles Pennington (Jay Patterson) and his delinquent son, Danny (Michael Turney) drop by April's apartment to check in after her attack. 

The turtles hide like the ninjas they are. But Danny happens to catch a glimpse of one of the turtles, who disappears just before he can get a good look. 

Danny, who's involved in this Foot Clan, tells Shredder about what he saw and where he saw it. 

The Shredder sends his Foot Clan to April's apartment just as Raphael is up on her roof blowing off some steam. 

They outnumber him, and then attack the rest of the turtles. Casey Jones, who's up on his own apartment roof, happens to spot the Foot Clan attack Raphael from a distance. 

So, he goes to help. 

The fight leaves April's apartment up in flames. She and the turtles are forced to escape and hide in an abandoned farmhouse that belongs to April's family. Casey Jones joins them there. 

Danny quickly feels immensely guilty that his actions have caused so much chaos. 

He goes to speak to Splinter, who's being held captive by the Shredder inside the hideaway. 

Splinter's words give Danny a change of heart about the life of petty crime he's picked up, as well as a change in attitude towards his father whom Danny thinks has no interest in him. 

The turtles receive a message from Splinter through astral projection which spurs them to return to their lair back in the city.

There, they find Danny in hiding. 

Later that night, when everyone's asleep, Danny sneaks off back to the Clan's secret hideout to go talk to Splinter. Casey Jones catches him sneaking out and follows him there. 

Splinter confides in Danny, explaining that before he mutated, he learned ninjutsu from his master, Hamato Yoshi. A rival of Yoshi named Oroku Saki was immensely jealous of Yoshi as he had won the love of a woman named Tang Shen whom Oroku Saki also loved. 

Shen and Yoshi moved to New York together in order to escape Saki's jealous wrath. 

But Saki found out they were in New York, and killed them both. 

In retaliation, Splinter attacked Saki and scratched his face leaving a scar. Saki tried to kill the rat, only to slice Splinter's ear. 

Danny asks what became of Oroku Saki. Splinter replies that no one knows, but his emblem is on the headband Danny's wearing. 

Just then, Shredder catches Danny leaving Splinter's company and can tell he's hiding something. He pulls out a picture April drew of Leonardo from Danny's pocket. Shredder figures out that the turtles have returned. 

Now, the turtles are forced to face Shredder in order to save Splinter and severe the Foot Clan's grip on the city. 

This movie was made at the height of Ninja Turtle popularity. And as a comic book-based movie, it was released in the shadow of Tim Burton's popular 1989 comic book-based movie "Batman." I'll get to that movie in a later post. 

Jim Henson's creature shop does an amazing job at the designs of the turtle costumes and puppetry. Not only does each turtle bear a different color head band to distinguish them, but their facial features are distinct as well. 

On top of that, each performer gives their respective character a unique personality. 

Brian Tochi gives Leonardo a leadership attitude who calls the shots, but not without some uncertainty and trepidation as to whether he's making the right choice or not. 

For the first time, he's left to lead without Splinter's guidance. 

Josh Pais gives Raphael a closed-up personality. He needs his brother turtles, but he doesn't want that need to show. He's gruff and angry. Pais gives him a lower east-side New York accent which makes Raphael sound very sure of himself. But his vulnerabilities aren't as hidden as Raph thinks they are. 

Corey Feldman makes his character, Donatello, the brains of the turtles. He acts as their support. He gives the other turtles a silent respect as he lets them figure out their issues but not without a shoulder or extra ear. 

Robbie Rist makes Michelangelo the most juvenile of the turtles, as his character is more fun-loving and the most teenager-like, especially with his crush on April. He also comes across as the most emotional. 

Cartoon sound effects and corny gags are sprinkled within the gritty tone of the movie. Yet, some scenes are intense, such as the Shredder's initial entrance onto the screen with the camera above him as he walks into frame with a long dark shadow appearing before him. Youth surround him awaiting his instructions. The camera moves from above to behind the Shredder giving his entrance a strong feeling of dread and intimidation. 

There's a warm sense of family through the movie. It starts with Splinter and the four turtles against Shredder's Foot Clan and the wayward children he instructs to steal and terrorize New Yorkers for his sake operating under the false pretense that they're a family. 

The Foot Clan's hideaway, full of stolen goodies like stereos, video games, and electronics, is like a dark inner-city version of Pleasure Island from "Pinocchio."  The Shredder's recruitment of these kids while convincing them that they're all family and he's their father parallels the story, "Oliver Twist" in which children are trained to be thieves and pickpockets by the infamous criminal Fagin. 

On top of that, we see April's boss, Charles Pennington, trying to keep his relationship with his son Danny, who's involved in Shredder's Foot Clan, together.

It's not clear where the fracture in their tumultuous father and son relationship comes from. Maybe a divorce? But it's clear that Danny is looking for guidance and a father who's not too busy for him. He tells Splinter, "My father could care less about me." 

Splinter's response makes him think about himself from his father's point of view.

"I doubt that. All fathers care for their sons." 

"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" may be a movie tarnished just a little by the ludicrous but highly imaginative idea of four anthropomorphic turtles who practice ninjutsu, the movie works well thanks to its writing and masterful puppetry and costume designs from Jim Henson's Creature Shop. This movie spawned two sequels, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze," and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III" which I reviewed back in 2020. 

The film is certainly well cast. And the chemistry between the actors is clearly present. In my opinion, Hoag portrays April O'Neill the best compared to the following sequels. Her version is lively with personality, likeability and great chemistry with the four turtles she has to work alongside with. Her April is the most unforgettable. 

Sure, comic book enthusiasts and Ninja Turtle fans give this movie the most credit. Looking past the concept of "teenage mutant ninja turtles," this movie is well executed and deserves that credit and attention. 

Blue Beetle (2023) - My thoughts relatively quick

* Some spoilers ahead *

The 2023 superhero flick, "Blue Beetle", based on the DC character, came and went quickly with favorable reviews while bombing at the box office back in August. I think the best days of current superhero movies for DC and Marvel have passed. Too much of a good thing isn't very good. And DC came a bit late to the game. 

My interest and enthusiasm for comic book movies, particularly those from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, faded considerably after "Avengers: Endgame" (2019). 

DC comic character Blue Beetle was created by Charles Nicholas Wojtkoski, and first appeared in Mystery Men Comics no. 1 in 1939. 

The original Blue Beetle's real name in the comic books was Dan Garret. 

Garret's former student, Ted Kord, later replaced him as Blue Beetle. 

Later, Jaime Reyes, a teenager from El Paso, became the third Blue Beetle. And that's where this movie picks up. 

Xolo Maridueña (Miguel from "Cobra Kai") plays Jaime as he returns to Panama City just after graduating from Gotham Law University. 

His nana (Adriana Barraza) as well as his Uncle Rudy (George Lopez), who's preoccupied with conspiracy theories, also live at home. 

Though his family is glad to see Jaime, they welcome him home with a load of bad news. For one thing, his family is facing eviction from their home as they can't meet their financial requirements. The family auto repair business is failing. And Jaime's father, Alberto (Damián Alcázar), suffered a heart attack which Jaime wasn't told about. 

Later, Jaime and his younger sister Milagro (Belissa Escobedo) are fired from their cleaning job at Victoria Kord's (Susan Sarandon) mansion after Jaime interferes with an argument between Victoria and her niece, Jenny (Bruna Marquezine) - Ted's daughter. 

Victoria is the current CEO of Kord Industries and Ted Kord's sister. Her main ambition is to get her hands on a blue scarab artifact, that is actually a sentient weapon, for her one-man army project. 

But Jenny recognizes her greed and unethical intentions and questions her leadership ability within her father's company. She's determined to stop Victoria. 

Feeling bad for what went down, Jenny tells Jaime to meet her at Kord Tower the next day to discuss another employment option. 

So, Jaime goes to meet her. 

As he arrives and is waiting to speak with her, Jenny meanwhile steals the scarab from the laboratory in Kord Tower. When Jaime approaches her about a job, Jenny gives him the scarab hidden inside a Big Belly Burger to-go box in order to get it past security. She tells him to take it home and to not open the box under any circumstances. 

Jaime takes it, and of course his family convinces him to open the box and see what's inside. 

When he does, Jaime touches the scarab which activates it. The scarab fuses with his body and encases him in blue body armor. 

Now, he's the Blue Beetle though he has no idea what's happening. Jaime can fly around and has superhuman strength. 

The pacing of the movie is awkward. It's quick when it shouldn't be. There's a lot of tragedy and emotion in this movie, and it's pushed out of the way rather quickly. It doesn't strike me as sincere. 

The father dies of a heart attack in the second act, and the Reyes house burns down. The characters are given a couple seconds to grieve until its back to work. 

Susan Sarandon nails her character in that the audience wants to hate her and see her get what's coming to her. 

The only interesting characters are Jaime and Rudy. 

It's strange that I say that about Rudy because I'm not a fan of George Lopez. But I'll give credit where credit is due. His performance is hilarious in this role, and he puts in a lot of energy and effort. Lopez looks comfortable in this role. 

The writing is pretty cliché. For instance, in one scene, Rudy tells Jaime "The universe has sent you a gift, and you have to figure out what to do with it." Yeah, we've heard it before. 

In a scene towards the third act, Jaime has a vision of his deceased father who tells him to embrace his new Blue Beetle identity. It's a bit like Peter Parker's with his Uncle Ben in "Spider-Man." "With great power comes great responsibility," blah, blah, blah. Same stuff. Different movie.

At the end, it's another superhero movie that barely offers anything different or new. 

And Jaime doesn't learn much except that bad things happen, society stinks, and family is crucial for our support, which he already believed in the first place. 

To Jaime's credit, he doesn't let those awful things hold him down. Neither he nor his family don't succumb to a victimhood mentality. They continue to fight against all that's working against them. 

While I appreciate the strong family bond, the rest is empty platitudes heard again and again, sprinkled on top of a storyline seen many times before.

The Flash (2023) - My Thoughts Relatively Quick

(Minor Spoilers ahead)

I guess multiverse movies are the trend in movies now.  Everyone's crossing timelines and popping into different universes and all that. Then they just get themselves into a world (or worlds) of a mess. 

This is the premise for the recent superhero movie "The Flash" based on the superhero from DC Comics. 

Andy Muschietti, who did a decent job directing the 2017 horror film "It" and its 2019 sequel, "It Chapter Two," based on Stephen King's novel about a child-eating clown, sits in the director's chair for this latest flick for DC. 

Anyways, we've seen this alternate timeline premise a lot in the last several years such as in 2009's "Star Trek" movie where young Spock meets old Spock. Disney/Marvel used it in the "Doctor Strange" movies, and Marvel's 2021 movie "Spider-Man: No Way Home" used the alternate timeline premise to mix the different Spider-Mans into one flick. 

This kind of trope is a playground for movie producers to throw in all kinds of callbacks and old characters as callbacks and the return of old characters are also a current trend in films. 

In "The Flash," Ezra Miller plays Barry Allen who can move at superhuman speeds, calling himself "Flash." Flash, nicknamed "the Scarlet Speedster," is a member of the Justice League. 

His mother was murdered when Allen was a young boy. His father, played by Ron Livingston, was accused of his wife's murder even though he was at the grocery store at the time, buying a can of tomatoes which his wife forgot to pickup. 

In a moment where Allen is overcome with sadness thinking about that day, he starts running at a speed force so fast and accidentally forms a "Chronobowl." This gives him access to past timelines. 

So, he goes back to that fateful day, and changes his history. Back in the Chronobowl, a mysterious speedster knocks him into a parallel universe. By chance, he's kicked back to the day back in 2013 when he obtained his powers. But his past is now changed as his mom is alive.

It also happens to be the time when General Zod (from "Man of Steel") is attempting to invade Earth.

So, this alternate timeline is the means by which writers bring back Batman/ Bruce Wayne, played by Michael Keaton, from Tim Burton's 1989 movie "Batman." It's also the means by which writers include Kara Zor-El / Supergirl (Sasha Calle) as having come to Earth from the planet Krypton instead of Kal-El/Superman. 

I was primarily interested in seeing this movie just to watch Keaton play Batman once again. As I sat and watched, I imagined it to be the third Batman we never got after Burton's 1992 sequel "Batman Returns." "Batman Forever" didn't cut it back then. 

For me, it was the selling point of "The Flash." I have a huge nostalgic soft spot for Burton's "Batman." All in all, Keaton didn't disappoint. I enjoyed seeing him in the batsuit one more time. 

Plus, a bunch of multiverse DC superheroes show up including George Reeves as Superman, Adam West and Burt Ward as Batman and Robin, Jay Garrick as Flash, and Nicholas Cage as Superman. 

Cage as Superman?

Well, Cage's appearance as Superman comes from an abandoned Tim Burton movie that never came to fruition called "Superman Lives." Test shots and stills of Cage dressed as the Man of Steel have made the rounds online. Now, CGI Cage as Superman is reality in "The Flash." Even in CGI form, nobody can Nicolas Cage better than Nicolas Cage. He's so Nicolas Cage that he can be both verb, noun, and adjective all at once. Seriously, his CGI cameo looks like he's a wax museum figure. In fact, most of the CGI characters look completely fake, including an initial scene in which Flash rescues several newborn babies plummeting from a hospital window. 

In one scene, Christopher Reeve as Superman flies in along with Helen Slater as Supergirl standing next to him. Reeve was initially supposed to appear alongside Slater, at least for a cameo, in the 1984 movie "Supergirl." I guess this makes up for that a little. Unfortunately, they also look laughably fake. 

My wife accurately pointed out how lousy the CGI is commenting that it would be great for a video game, maybe.  

The pace and storyline feels clumsy and too convenient at the same time. As Barry messes with the timeline, each problem that arises seems to have a conveniently timed solution. This is especially true when older Barry attempts to get his powers back, with the help of Batman and Supergirl, by recreating the circumstances in which he initially got his powers in the first place. And this doesn't happen once, but twice. 

The constant scenes of younger and older Barry Allen together are impressive and well-acted. But young Barry is insufferable. 

Despite its problems and weaknesses, and there's a good number of them, somehow I still found "The Flash" an entertaining and a passable superhero film.

"My Thoughts Real Quick"

I tend to put in more effort on my site 1000daysofhorror.com while this blog gets much less traffic. In an attempt to remedy that, and write more posts especially on new releases, I plan to jot down my thoughts rather than write up lengthy reviews.

Oh, there will still be lengthy reviews on older films. But for newer releases, I'll try to make them quick. 

Nicholas Cage (CGI) as Superman in "The Flash."

Superman Returns - Comic to Movie #19 (2006)

"You wrote that the world doesn't need a savior, but every day I hear people crying for one."

Director

Brian Singer

Cast

Brandon Routh - Clark Kent/ Superman

Kevin Spacey - Lex Luthor

Kate Bosworth - Lois Lane

James Marsden - Richard White

Frank Langella - Perry White

Parker Posey - Kitty Kowalski

Sam Huntington - Jimmy Olsen

Eva Marie Saint - Martha Kent

Tristan Lake Leabu - Jason White

Potential spoilers ahead

"Superman Returns" was the first Superman film in almost 20 years. It's a continuation, and the last installment, of the film series beginning with "Superman" (1978) through "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" (1987). The 2013 movie "Man of Steel," starring Henry Cavill and directed by Zack Snyder, is a reboot of the series. That's another review for another time - maybe.

In "Superman Returns," it has been about five or six years since the world has seen Superman (Brandon Routh). He hasn't been around since astronomers think they discovered pieces of his home planet, Krypton, floating out in space.

The story opens with Superman's infamous foe, Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) who has since been released from prison, married to an elderly rich widow who's on her deathbed. 

Moments before she passes on, she signs over her entire fortune and huge estate to him. 

Meanwhile, Superman returns to Earth after finding no signs of any surviving Kryptonians out in space. 

After crashlanding back on the Kent farm in Kansas, and visiting his Fortress of Solitude, Superman picks up as his alter ego Clark Kent and returns to his job at the Daily Planet. 

He finds that his old love interest, Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth), has hooked up with Daily Planet Editor Perry White's (Frank Langella) nephew, Richard White (James Marsden). The two are engaged to be married. She also has a young son named Jason (Tristan Lake Leabu). 

Also, much to Clark's chagrin, Lois previously won a Pulitzer Prize for an article she wrote entitled "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman." Ouch!

While Clark is busy getting his old newspaper gig back, and getting reacquainted, Luthor uses the fortune the old lady left him to venture up to the Fortress of Solitude to steal some of the Kryptonian crystals that hold information regarding Superman's origins and instructions from his father, Jor-El.

He takes them back to the mansion, again left to him by the old lady, to conduct some experiments. 

It turns out when even the smallest specs of the crystals make contact with water, they grow into massive land formations. His initial experiment causes a huge power outage all over Metropolis. 

This power failure interrupts a space shuttle launch which is piggybacking on an airliner. Being that it is an initial launch, several members of the media are on board the plane covering the story, and Lois is one of them. 

Brandon Routh as Superman in "Superman Returns."

The engines and the unlocking mechanism fail after the shuttle rockets are dragging the plane into space. 

News quickly airs about both the unexplained power failure and the effected shuttle, catching Superman's attention. 

He rescues the plane, detaching it from the rocket and returning it safely to the ground placing right in the middle of a baseball stadium during a game. All the world sees that Superman is back. While the world rejoices, Lois probably feels like a major tool as she was just rescued by Superman. 

Luthor takes advantage of Superman's return. 

He stages a runaway car incident with his henchwoman, Kitty Kowalski (Parker Posey) to distract Superman while he steals kryptonite from the Metropolis Natural History Museum. 

Meanwhile, Perry gives Lois an assignment to interview Superman in regard to where he's been, and why he's back. However, she's more interested in covering the mysterious blackout that affected all of Metropolis, and the space shuttle. She discreetly covers the blackout, with leads that take her to Luthor's boat.  

Of course, she heads over to the docs to try and talk to Luthor by sneaking onto his boat. And, for some reason, she takes her son with her and has him wait in the car. Of course, he doesn't wait in the car. He also makes his way onto Luthor's boat. The boat sets sail to the middle of the Atlantic before anyone, including Luthor, knows there's uninvited company onboard. 

Luthor finds the two on board and there's not much he nor they can do about it. He doesn't intend to turn around. She links the blackout with whatever Luthor is plotting. And he reveals his plans to create huge landmasses out in the middle of the Atlantic using a mix of Kryptonian crystals and kryptonite. "You can print money, manufacture diamonds, and people are a dime a dozen, but they'll always need land," he says to Kitty. "It's the one thing they're not making any more of."

This landmass will destroy parts of the United States and kill millions. Luthor intends to be head of this new land, and Superman will be powerless to do anything about it, or so he thinks.

One of the film's major selling points at the time of its release, after the return of Superman onto the big screen, was the post humous appearance of Marlon Brando as Kal-El's (i.e. Superman) father, Jor-El, thanks to the use of CGI. Brando plays Superman's father in the first film.  

This continuing Superman story, which was hugely anticipated back in the early 2000s, should have been much more action packed. If only producers utilized the capabilities to throw in a lot more eye popping affects and a Superman story unlike what audiences have seen before, it may have been a great and unforgettable movie. As special effects came a long way in the 20 years between "Superman IV" and this story, the potential was there but was missed.

Superman hardly does a thing in this return of his. He rescues an airplane in the beginning. In one scene, he takes down a guy blasting him with a gatling gun. It's a cool scene. So much so, I once saw a collectible statue depicting this one particular scene in a comic shop. Aside from that, Superman lifts a huge kryptonite-filled island and hurls it into space. There's a rescue here and there, and that's about it. He doesn't do much. He's not utilized as much as he should be. 

The plot is decent but doesn't stand well enough amid the disappointing writing and lack of anything interesting for Superman to impress the audience with. 

Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor.

Good writing and great new affects (for the time) could have gone so well together and taken the story to new heights (no pun intended). Instead, we got a boring story with nothing much new than before. This movie is a wasted opportunity. The only thing that's unique is that Superman has a son - a plot point that's intriguing but goes nowhere. 

A good story mixed with comic book action are what make "Superman" and "Superman II" enjoyable films. Those are the two best movies in the series, in my opinion. 

In part two for instance, the whole friggin' world is threatened by three outsiders with the same powers and strength as Superman. And Superman loses his powers before he's aware of what's happening. What'll happen next? It's a great story that holds up well.

The decision to cast Brandon Routh as the Man of Steel, following the legendary Christopher Reeve, is a great decision. Routh captures the character impressively well. He even resembles Reeve. But he isn't given a lot to work with for a chance to really be an unforgettable Superman. What a shame. 

Unfortunately, Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane isn't such a good casting call. Her version of Lois is boring and void of emotion unlike the late, great Margot Kidder from the original flicks. Kidder is spunky and lively. Bosworth is the opposite. She's brooding and depressing. And there's no chemistry between her Lois and Superman, unlike Kidder and Reeve. 

Kevin Spacey, despite the bad news currently surrounding him, makes a decent Lex Luthor. He's more intimidating in the role than Gene Hackman from the original films. Gene Hackman is great as Lex Luthor, don't get me wrong. Spacey, though, makes the character his own.

Noel Neill, who plays Lois Lane in the classic television series "Superman" from the 1940s as well as in "Atom Man vs. Superman" (1950) portrays the elderly rich widow whom Lex Luthor is swindling at the beginning of the film. 

Anyways, "Superman Returns" should have been a fantastic opportunity to bring Superman back to the big screen with a heroic bang strong enough to blow the audience away. Instead, Superman's return is an underwhelming one with a humdrum story that bores and certainly fails to impress. 

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) - My Thoughts Relatively Quick

(Minor Spoilers ahead)

After the Marvel movie "Avengers: Endgame" (2019) - the 22nd movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) - I lost a lot of interest in the MCU. Too much of a good thing simply loses its savor after a while. I'll still watch Marvel movies when they cross my path if I'm interested enough, but I don't make a lot of effort to see whatever the latest movie in the franchise happens to be. 

Before "Avengers: Endgame" I was just as excited as anyone else when new Marvel movies were coming out. And once "Avengers: Endgame" hit screens, it felt like a grand finale of sorts. The novelty of these stories simply wore off. That's not to say recent Marvel movies are boring or dull. Many of them, though, seem too similar to previous ones. Others continue to feel like nothing more than build-ups to future movies. 

I love the "Ant-Man" films. I hated the "Dr. Strange" films along with the pretentious and dull 2019 movie "Capt. Marvel." The "Thor" movies are hit or miss - more hits than misses. But the ones I really love above all else are the "Guardians of the Galaxy" movies, starting with the first of the three from 2014. Wow! Has it been that long? 

"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" (2017) is even better than the first. It's among the most entertaining of the MCU movies out there. The humor and style in both films are great. The atmosphere is bright and brilliant. The pacing is spot-on. Overall, the characters are memorable and easy to get invested in. They're among the best comic book-based films. 

"The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special," which aired on the streaming service Disney+ in November 2022, is a fun and entertaining film to cleanse the palate until a new theatrical release would come about. 

So, I was a little more Marvel-excited than usual (post "Endgame") when "Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 3" hit theaters on May 5, 2023.

While this third installment is enjoyable, overall entertaining and satisfyingly full of action, it feels just a bit (and I do mean just a bit) more mundane than the previous two. 

I wasn't as excited as before while sitting through it, though maybe that's because I've sat through two other movies plus a "holiday special." Still, I wouldn't hesitate in saying this is definitely one of the better Marvel movies in a while after "Endgame." 

To the movie's credit, the storyline shifts focus onto the character Rocket's (voiced by Bradley Cooper) origin story. 

Rocket, the anthropomorphic racoon, is a likeable character in the films. This story of his in part three really helps solidify his role in the overall storyline. 

Rocket affirms who exactly he is, and not what he perceives himself to be. It's a message I can get behind. 

There's a lot more emotion within volume three than in the previous two films. It's heavier in that regard, giving the movie a darker tone. That dark tone pushes the humorous parts out of its way to make room for itself.

I appreciate Rocket's backstory though it's not what I was expecting. I don't want to say the movie is a letdown. I wasn't let down. I sat through the movie expecting that familiar humor I've seen in the previous movies. But it wasn't quite the same the third time around. 

The entire experience is more nuanced compared the other flicks. The vibe overall feels different. It's a little weaker. The movie's strongest aspect is the story.

There are a few surprises thrown in that made the audience I was a part of gasp - literally.

Volume three has flare but not to the extent as the previous movies. It's not lacking but it's facing that direction. 

There's a running joke which begins when Kraglin (Sean Gunn) calls Cosmo a bad dog. Throughout the rest of the movie, Cosmo protests and begs him to take it back. It's a corny gag. 

The juke box soundtrack has songs that I enjoy more than the previous soundtrack for volume two. It includes songs like "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" by the Beastie Boys, "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" by Alice Cooper, and "Badlands" by Bruce Springsteen. It's a decent mix. 

Honestly, if Marvel actually ends the series with volume three as they claim they will, it wouldn't be a bad decision. 

"My Thoughts Real Quick"

I tend to put in more effort on my site 1000daysofhorror.com while this blog gets much less traffic. In an attempt to remedy that, and write more posts especially on new releases, I plan to jot down my thoughts rather than write up lengthy reviews.

Oh, there will still be lengthy reviews on older films. But for newer releases, they'll be quick. 

The Belles of St. Trinian's (1954) - Comic to Movie #18

"When the girls leave here, it is the merciless world which has to be prepared."

Director

Frank Launder

Cast

Alastair Sim - Headmistress Millicent Fritton/ Clarence Fritton

George Cole - Flash Harry

Joyce Grenfell - Sgt. Ruby Gates

Hermione Baddeley - Miss. Drownder

Lloyd Lamble - Kemp Bird

Richard Wattis - Manton Bassett

Eric Pohlmann - The Sultan of Makyad
Lorna Henderson - Princess Fatima
Vivienne Martin - Arabella

I'm finally coming around to reviewing another obscure comic-based movie. I started this trend back in January of 2020 with the movie "Dick Tracy, Detective" from 1945 up to my last comic-to-movie review, "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm" posted last May.  

As I've mentioned before, most of the obscure comic-based movies I've wanted to write about are difficult to come by. Many of them I can't find. So, I've pretty much moved on to other things. However, I haven't given up on this side project entirely. 

To my surprise, I stumbled across one film I have on my comic movie list, and it stars one of my favorite British actors, Alastair Sim. You never know when these things will pop up. 

"The Belles of St. Trinian's" is a 1954 British comedy, directed by Frank Launder, and based on a comic strip called "St. Trinian's School" by British cartoonist Ronald Searle. 

The premise of Searle's cartoon centers on a girl's school in which the female student body are juvenile delinquents while the teachers aren't really any better than the students. 

The cartoon was first published in "Lilliput" magazine in 1941. After the war, Searle started making new cartoons which ran from 1946 to 1952. 

The movie starts with the Sultan of Makyad (Eric Pohlmann) as he enrolls his daughter, Fatima (Lorna Henderson), into St. Trinian's - a fictional all-girls school in the U.K. 

The school is run by headmistress Millicent Fritton (Alastair Sim) who, underneath her posh and slightly gaudy exterior, is just as anti-authoritarian as her students. She's just a little more well-mannered about it. 

Fritton believes the best way to prepare her students for the merciless world is to fight against the authority that makes the world merciless in the first place. Of course, nothing good flows from this. 

The girls certainly aren't squeaky clean. Let's just say many of these girls "know people" - the wrong people. 

The students are more involved in shady dealings rather than educational opportunity. Such schemes take up a lot of the focus over the otherwise faulty curriculum at St. Trinian's. 

Fritton is struggling to keep the doors open as the school faces bankruptcy and debt. 

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education and the local police are investigating the uncouth and criminal behavior they suspect is taking place among the faculty and students.

Police Superintendent Kemp Bird (Lloyd Lamble) assigns P.W. Sgt. Ruby Gates (Joyce Grenfell), who's also Bird's girlfriend, to go undercover as a teacher for hire, infiltrate the school, and report what's going on within its walls. 

Alastair Sim in dual roles as brother and sister
Clarance and Millicent Fritton in "The Belles of St. Trinian's." 

At the same time, the Ministry assigns a new school inspector Manton Bassett (Richard Wattis) to St. Trinian's after the last two inspectors disappeared. What the Ministry doesn't know is that those last two inspectors ended up working for the school. 

Fritton's twin brother, Clarence Fritton (also played by Alastair Sim), stops by the school to see how Millicent is fairing. She tells him that the Sultan's daughter is enrolling which catches his attention. 

Clarence is well aware that the Sultan owns a racehorse which is scheduled to race in a major event soon. 

Seeing this as a hefty income opportunity, he enrolls his own daughter Arabella (Vivienne Martin) into the school with instructions to make friends with Fatima and see what information she can dig up about the Sultan's horse. 

Arabella does as she's told and informs her dad that the horse is most likely to win. 

So, she comes up with a plan of her own. Arabella suggests that she muster up a gang of girls to knock out the stable guy, kidnap the horse, and hide it until after the race. 

Some of the girls fill Millicent in on the Sultan's horse and its likelihood at winning.

Unaware of what her brother is up to, Millicent meets up with an inconspicuous illicit bookie named 'Flash' Harry (George Cole) who's been lurking around the school. She places a bet on the horse hoping it'll bring in the dough necessary to keep the school open. 

Fatima catches wind of the horse-napping lead by Arabella. So, she gathers a gang of classmates to rescue the horse and throw it back into the race. 

When the horse does win, Millicent still has to face a mob of angry parents. What does it matter, though? Her horse won!

Sim doesn't over perform his role as a female headmistress. If there's one thing he masters, it's satire. In this case, it's the educational structure of the British boarding school system. The idea of the rebellious girl, as they're depicted in this movie from nearly 70-years ago, is more facetious than it is now. The comedy and goofiness of it is clearly apparent. It's just as apparent as the comedy behind seeing a man portray a woman for the sake of laughs. 

Today, the portrayal of the "bad girl" is depicted all too often as something to be aspired to and admired because it means doing whatever they want because they can, rules be damned. It's often currently depicted as independence though nothing could be further from reality! 

Sim's character is dainty on the outside, but just as uncouth as the belles themselves. His facial expressions really speak for Millicent. 

His performance definitely falls in a long comedic line of men playing women - Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis as Daphne and Josephine in "Some Like It Hot" (1959), Dustin Hoffman as Dorothy Michaels in "Tootsie" (1982) and Robin Williams as Euphegenia Doubtfire in "Mrs. Doubtfire" (1993). In fact, according to a 2020 "Sunday Mail" article by John Dingwall, Sim's performance in "Belles of St. Trinian's" inspired Robin Williams to play Mrs. Doubtfire.  This movie, with its gender swapping comedy, also brings to mind Laurel and Hardy playing themselves and their own sisters in the 1933 comedy short "Twice Two." Audiences often saw this comedy exactly for what it was - absurd. It's hilarious because its out of the ordinary. Laughter is a human reaction to seeing and hearing things that are intentionally nonsensical. Case and point...Alastair Sim playing someone like Millicent Fritton. 

"St. Trinian's School" comic strip by Ronald Searle.

Sim's performance as Millicent Fritton is just as outlandish as these movies are. But Sim's impersonation of a woman doesn't pop out like those other roles. Sim keeps Millicent's appearance refined. Inside, she's impulsive, and will lean towards that impulsiveness when she thinks no one's watching. She can't hide that part very well. 

The humor behind the staff's inadequacy to teach their respective courses is just as comical as Sim dressed as a headmistress. 

For instance, the English teacher speaks with a thick cockney British accent. Best of luck to her English students. 

In another scene, the sports trophies which the girls win go directly to a place of honor - the front window of a pawn shop. 

Sim, as you of course recall, is well known for playing Ebenezer Scrooge in the 1951 British film "A Christmas Carol."

"The Belles of St. Trinian's" stars Hermione Baddeley, who also stars with Sim in "A Christmas Carol" as Mrs. Cratchit. Baddeley is perhaps more well known for playing Ellen in Disney's "Mary Poppins." 

George Cole is also in "A Christmas Carol" as young Scrooge. He and Sim are a bit of a team (sort of) as they appear together in several other British productions such as "Laughter in Paradise" (1951), "Folly to be Wise" (1953), "An Inspector Calls" (1954) and "The Green Man" (1956). Cole was 15-years old when he and Sim starred in their first film together, "Cottage to Let" (1941).

Evidently, Sim took Cole under his wing as a mentor after "Cottage to Let," and helped him shake off his cockney accent. 

"The Belles of St. Trinian's" is the first in a film series which includes "Blue Murder at St. Trinian's" (1957), "The Pure Hell of St. Trinian's" (1960), "The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery" (1966), and "The Wildcats of St. Trinian's" (1980). Sim does have a cameo in the second film of the series as Miss. Fritton. 

A sixth installment simply called "St. Trinian's" was released in 2007. It spawned a sequel in 2009 called "St. Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold." 

"The Belles of St. Trinian's" is a fun movie, rich in satire, but a little dry in humor. The satire is right up my alley. 

While I've seen bits and pieces of Sim's various performances here and there, I'm very familiar with his role as Scrooge. For me, he is the best Scrooge in film, with George C. Scott following by a hair. I watch this performance of his every December, and I never grow tired of it. Seeing him in something different makes want to explore his career and acting roles more. Thankfully, I found a few other Alastair Sim movies to throw in the "Springtime for Classics" line-up. 

For its place in cinema history, as a satirical comedy, and with Sim's performance in dual roles, "The Belles of St. Trinian's" deserves continued recognition.

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993) - Comic to Movie #17

"Vengeance blackens the soul, Bruce. I've always feared that you would become that which you fought against. You walk the edge of that abyss every night, but you haven't fallen in and I thank heaven for that."

Directors

Eric Radomski and Bruce Timm

Cast

Kevin Conroy - Batman/ Bruce Wayne 

Dana Delany - Andrea Beaumont

Mark Hamill - The Joker

Abe Vigoda - Sal Valestra

Dick Miller - Chuckie Sol

Efrem Zimbalist - Alfred Pennyworth

Bob Hastings - Commissioner James Gordon

 

The animated film, "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm," released in 1993, feels like an attempt by Warner Bros. to correct some of the shortcomings they made in their earlier Batman films - namely, Tim Burton's 1989 film "Batman" and its 1992 sequel, "Batman Returns." That's just an assumption. If that was the intention of their executives back then, kudos to them. 
By the time this movie came out in theaters, I was at the threshold of my teenage years. Animated movies simply didn't interest me like they used to. So, I passed on seeing "Mask of the Phantasm" until years later. 
This movie comes by way of "Batman: The Animated Series" which aired of the Fox Kids network from 1992 to 1995. I watched the first season fairly regularly. By the time the second season began airing, other things must have grabbed my attention. 
"Batman: The Animated Series" picked up later with a sequel called "The New Adventures of Batman." This ran on the Kids WB Network from 1997 to 1999, and was a sort of third season. 
It's followed by the animated "Batman Beyond" which ran from 1999 to 2001. Other series follow such as "The Batman" (2004-2005), "Batman: The Brave and the Bold" (2008-2011), and "Beware the Batman" (2013-2014).   
Honestly, I haven't seen any of these except for the original animated series.
The film starts as Batman (Kevin Conroy) crashes in on a meeting of Gotham City crime bosses, led by Chuckie Sol (Dick Miller).

Amidst all the chaos of Batman beating everyone up, Sol makes a run for it to the parking garage. As he gets in his car and tries to get away, he sees a mysterious masked figure shrouded in smoke - the Phantasm - a new masked vigilante spreading fear into the criminal gangland of Gotham City.
As Sol tries to ram his car into this mysterious person, the Phantasm dodges his attempt causing him to die in a fatal crash. 
A witness sees Batman at the scene in the garage. Therefor, he's blamed for Sol's death.
City councilman Arthur Reeves, whose on the mob's payroll, wants Batman arrested but Commission James Gordon is quick to defend Batman as he's convinced of Batman's innocence.
The story cuts back to ten years prior, as Bruce Wayne reminisces about Andrea Beaumont (Dana Delany), a young, attractive woman whom he met at the cemetery while visiting his parents' grave. 
The two start a relationship rather quickly. He soon proposes to her, which she initially accepts. But she ends up leaving town with her father, businessman Carl Beaumont (Stacy Keach).  
She ends their engagement with a letter, breaking Wayne's heart.
At this same time, Wayne begins his secret of life of vigilantism. Initially, he doesn't take on the Batman identity. His simple presence at the scene of the crime, even when beating up criminals, isn't instilling fear among the criminals of Gotham City. So, he tries to come up with a way that'll accomplish that.

Soon after, he takes on the identity of "Batman." And fear spreads quickly through the criminal underworld of Gotham City. 

After the incident in the parking garage with Sol, the Phantasm kills gangster, Buzz Bronski (John P. Ryan), at the same cemetery where Wayne met Beaumont years ago. 
Bronski's bodyguards witness the Phantasm and think it's Batman. 
When Batman investigates the crime scene, he wanders over to his parents gravesite. Nearby, he sees Beaumont. When she sees him, he unwittingly reveals his true identity to her because he's standing next to the Wayne's gravesite. 
Hearing the news of all these criminal deaths, another crime boss, Salvatore Valestra (Abe Vigoda) finds an old picture of himself with the now deceased boss. This terrifies him as he now thinks Batman is coming for him next. He turns to the Joker (Mark Hamill) for protection.
When the Phantasm comes to Valestra's house to kill him, he finds that the Joker beat him to it with some of his own deadly venom.
The Joker spots the Phantasm on a security camera. As he realizes that Batman isn't the culprit killing off all these crime lords, he blows up Valestra's mansion with a trap he set to ultimately take out Batman.
The Phantasm escapes the blast, and Batman pursues him. During the chase, Batman finds himself bruised and cornered by police. 
Beaumont happens to drive by the scene, and rescues Batman at the last second.
Bruce Wayne thinks Carl Beaumont is the Phantasm. But when he finds the photograph Valestra had in his possession, he recognizes one of the mobsters in the picture as the Joker. 
He soon determines the Joker is behind the Phantasm. However, the truth will turn out to be something Wayne never anticipated.

There is a lot of effort behind "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm" to make a compelling film and it shows.

This film presents Batman/ Bruce Wayne in a more tragic way not necessarily scene before in movies. That might not be the case when it comes to the pages of comic books. 

When I first saw this movie, it was the first time I saw Batman as a truly torn figure. It was the first time I saw more into his origin than what Tim Burton presented in his movie. Burton's "Batman" touches upon Bruce Wayne's chilling and sad past, but the focus is unevenly split between him and the criminal shenanigans of Jack Napier/ Joker. There's more focus on the Joker than on Batman/ Bruce Wayne. 

Batman films after 1993 also touch upon the superhero's origin, especially Christopher Nolan's film, "Batman Begins." 

"Batman: Mask of the Phantasm" makes this aspect of Batman a major focus.  

And, what's great about it is that this animated movie works. It provides a backstory to Batman/ Bruce Wayne, depicting him in a manner different from those scene in movies before.
Batman is truly human in this story. For a crimefighter, he's much more vulnerable, emotionally speaking. 

The animation is well done. The sound track fits in well. And the storyline is nicely balanced between drama and action. Thankfully, this movie doesn't overdo it with a lengthy run time. It's only 78 minutes long. That's perfect!

In the story, Bruce doesn't become Batman until after he receives Andrea's note. And the two are very similar people, at least as far as where their personal tragedies pushes them. 

In one scene, when Bruce puts on his mask for the first time, his butler, Alfred Pennyworth (Efrem Zimbalist) stops dead in his tracks and gasps. 

"My God!" Alfred says, reacting at the sight of Bruce, whom he's known all his life, as he embraces a life of retribution to the fullest extent. 

This reflects another scene where Bruce tells Alfred, "You think you know everything about me, don't you?"

"I diapered your bottom. I bloody well ought to, sir," Alfred says.

I seem to recall this movie wasn't marketed well when it was released. The story line is deeper than an average animated movie directed at children. Even Siskel and Ebert gave it positive reviews. Still, it bombed at the box office, which is a shame. 

This Batman story deserves recognition along side other well-loved and admired Batman films that have come before and after. It presents the caped crusader with depth, anguish and pain that carries on even past the story. As far as the Batman films of the 1990s, "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm" is the best we got. I'll add that I still have a special place in my heart for Burton's '89 film.

Dick Tracy (1990) - Comic to Movie #16

"You know, Tracy, for a tough guy you do a lot of pansy things."

Director 
Warren Beatty

Cast

Warren Beatty - Dick Tracy

Al Pacino - 'Big Boy' Caprice

Charlie Korsmo - The Kid

Madonna - Breathless Mahoney

Glenne Headly - Tess Trueheart

Dustin Hoffman - Mumbles

William Forsythe - Flattop

Charles Durning - Chief Brandon

Seymour Cassel - Sam Catchem

James Keane - Pat Patton

When Disney, via Touchstone Pictures, released the movie "Dick Tracy" in 1990, it was promoted everywhere. The movie, directed by Warren Beatty, was treated like the next big blockbuster following Tim Burton's "Batman" which came out the year before. The movie has an all-star cast with Beatty taking the lead role. And it has a soundtrack starring Madonna. Surely that's enough to make a huge hit. 

The yellow trench coat wearing, no nonsense, crime fighting, chili eating detective was created by cartoonist Chester Gould. The comic strip "Dick Tracy" premiered in the Detroit Mirror newspaper on October, 4 1931. 

In the strip, Tracy faces a wide-ranging rogues gallery of distinctly strange gangsters like Flattop, Itchy, the Stooge, Shoulders, Pruneface, Johnny Ramm, Nails, Little Face, Influence, Mumbles, 88 Keys... the list is long. These villains each have strange and unique appearances, quarks, and distinct peculiarities. Characters like these show that crime is just as ugly on the outside as it is on the inside. 

Not only does Tracy sport his famous yellow coat and Fedora, he also wears a two-way wrist watch which he uses to communicate with the police department.
Incidentally, I started this broken chain of "comic to movie" movie reviews with the early Dick Tracy film, "Dick Tracy, Detective" (1945). That movie is the first of a four-part installment of film-noir pulp style films. It's followed by "Dick Tracy vs. Cueball" (1946), "Dick Tracy's Dilemma" (1947) and "Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome" (1947) which stars Boris Karloff. 
I've played with the idea of reviewing these other films.  And now that I'm throwing in this "Dick Tracy" movie, I'm leaning towards foregoing commentary on those early Tracy movies. Time will tell.
As I've previously mention on this blog, the comic-based movies I initially wanted to review for this thread are still hard to come by. Some, I have to pay for through streaming services. I don't want to get into that habit. Others I just can't find. Earlier adaptations such as Superman, Batman, Captain Marvel, and Flash Gordon are multi-episode serials. I found a bunch of those, but I just need time watch them all. So, once again, I'm straying off my list (and I do have a handwritten list) of "not-so-popular" or "off-the-radar" comic book movies to blog about.
"Dick Tracy" is a movie I've liked since I first saw it back in 1990. I even dressed as Dick Tracy for Halloween that year. I was in second grade at that time. Mom packed my lunches back then in my Dick Tracy lunchbox. And I still have the Dick Tracy action figures which came out in time for the movie. They're all proudly displayed on a bookshelf at home as they somehow survived being thrown away. 
I've talked about this movie before on this blog where I tossed a few talking points around rather than give it a proper critique.
The film starts as a young street kid (Charlie Korsmo) rummages through a garbage can outside a warehouse looking for food. 
He hears a commotion inside, and sneaks in to see what's going on. He stumbles upon a group of mobsters playing a game of cards.
As he spies on them, possibly hoping to get his hands on some of the cash they have on the table, a car crashes through the doors and showers bullets onto the unexpecting card party. 

Warren Beatty in "Dick Tracy."

Once they're all dead, two gangsters, Flattop (William Forsythe) and Itchy (Ed O'Ross), get out of the car, tommy guns still in hand. They both work for crime boss, Al "Big Boy" Caprice (Al Pacino). 

The Kid, as he's later called, escapes without harm into the night. 
The massacre is part of Big Boy's ultimate goal to take over small businesses in the city, and grow in power. Taking out rival gangs and making sure police and officials are kept in his back pocket is crucial. 
Next, he kidnaps rival crime boss, "Lips" Manlis (Paul Sorvino), and his girlfriend Breathless Mahoney (Madonna). Lips owns the popular night spot, the Club Ritz, where Breathless works as a singer. 

Big Boy has them taken down to the docs where he forces Lips at gunpoint to sign over the Club Ritz to him, and then bumps him off by giving him "the bath."
It's not as pleasant as it sounds.

With one rival gone, Big Boy declares all of Lips's territory now belongs to him, and everyone who works for Lips is now working for him. 
Dick Tracy begins investigating the whereabouts of Lips. He starts with interrogating Flattop and Itchy. He also finds evidence that places Breathless Mahoney at the docs where Lips was killed.
Tracy tries to persuade her to testify against Big Boy. She's torn, however. Breathless falls in love with him, but is worried what Big Boy will do to her if she testifies. 
Also, Tracy stumbles upon the Kid as he steels a man's watch inside a diner and tries to run off. 

He follows the boy down to a ramshackle little shed where he presumably lives with an abusive bum who goes by "the Tramp." 
Tracy beats up this bum after he pushes the Kid around. The Kid soon warms up to Tracy and sees him as a hero 
Outside of work, Tracy wants to start a family with his girlfriend, Tess Trueheart (Glenne Headly) but can't get himself to propose. She, however, thinks Tracy cares more about his job than about her. Being a cop is extremely demanding.

Since Big Boy can't buy off Tracy, he ruthlessly does what he can to get Tracy out of his way - permanently. 

A mysterious mobster with no face (literally) appears on the crime scene and hatches a plan to get Tracy out of the way. 

"The Blank," as he's called, gets to Big Boy's piano player, 88 Keys (Mandy Patinkin) in order to talk to Big Boy on his behalf. After some persuading, Big Boy goes along with the Blank's scheme. The plan is to kill the corrupt District Attorney, John Fletcher (Dick Van Dyke), and pin it on Tracy who'll then end up in jail.

Tracy continues to pursue Big Boy. And when he puts Big Boy's right-hand henchman, Mumbles (Dustin Hoffman), under the interrogation light, he finds that Mumbles has a lot to say. It's just a matter of understanding what it is he's saying.
The big selling point for this movie was its huge all-star cast such Al Pacino, Warren Beatty, Madonna, Dustin Hoffman, William Forsythe, Dick Van Dyke, and Paul Sorvino. There's also an array of notable cameos -Catherine O'Hara (Texie Garcia), James Caan (Spaldoni), and Kathy Bates (Mrs. Green). 

There's no other comic-based movie I've seen that matches the atmosphere and style of "Dick Tracy." 
You can pause any moment in this movie, and it looks like a comic panel with all its vibrant colors, creative framing, mood, and stylized dialogue of the 1930s and 1940s. The use of light and dark also gives the film its true comic book feel. This movie has no dull scenes. Not one! 
The matte drawings, and the universe this story exists in, is amazing and impressive. There's a lot for the eyes to take in, scene by scene. It's like a film noir that takes advantage of the best modern production quality that Disney could offer at the time. 

It's soundtrack adds to that element. The opening musical score, composed by Danny Elfman, is a regimental commanding piece complimented with radio chatter about brazen gang activity taking place throughout the city. No one is safe out there. 
Where the movie lacks with most audiences, I think, is with the story. It's a bit lackluster but it does fit in with the types of stories found in the Dick Tracy comic strip. I don't think it transitions well enough onto a film platform. 

It's not a bad nor even an uninteresting story. It simply doesn't jump out and grab audiences like other crime movies. There's some action, and a huge gun fight in the last act with tommy guns going non-stop. But it's not enough. 

Many of the characters aren't fleshed out well enough, either. While there's no back stories (not that there needs to be any), and Dick Tracy is already well established within his world, a lot of the characters aren't as interesting as they could be. For instance, 88 Keys, the piano player at the Club Ritz, plays a pivotal role in trying to get Big Boy Caprice to go along with the plans of the Blank. But he's a completely forgettable character. He's simply there because someone has to be. 

Mandy Patinkin and Al Pacino in "Dick Tracy."

The most lively among them is Pacino. He plays his character as unpredictable, and as one hell of a loudmouth. He misquotes historical figures and spews out verbose lectures. Yet Pacino pulls off an intimidating villain rather well. 
In one scene were Big Boy calls all the crime bosses of the city together to partner up and take out Tracy, he grows frustrated the more they question him. He starts slamming the table as his voice grows louder to the point where he's shouting. 

"You get behind me, we all profit. You challenge me, we all go down! There was one Napoleon, one Washington, one me!"

Madonna is the biggest mistake in the movie. Not only is her performance lazy and boring, but she brings nothing but trash to her performance. I understand her character is supposed to be a gorgeous club singer. But even a gorgeous club singer can have class. Madonna has none. She simply works to flaunt herself and be as sexually deviant as Touchstone will allow her. She's the major stain on this otherwise good movie. 
I think the storyline and character development are the reason why the Dick Tracy hype quickly faded into footnote shortly after the movie's release. Many of the characters are only memorable because of their humorous appearances and weird quirks. 

As much as I love this movie, I would love to see a new film based on the famous detective.  

As much as Tim Burton's"Batman" holds a special place in my heart, I honestly think "Dick Tracy" is a comic book movie that's more impressive.

Despite what may be lacking, "Dick Tracy" remains one of the truest comic book movies out there. 

Dick Tracy comic stripped published on
July 23, 1979 by Chester Gould.