Justice Society: World War II

 Hey all and welcome back to the blog. Today is Memorial Day and we are staying away from the typical Indie films and gore fest horror flicks. I thought we'd make our way back to Warner Brothers and enjoy an animated film. With the fate of the world in the balance, a traveler will be witness to these events and help where he can. This is Justice Society World War II. 

 

The pilot and the princess.

 

 

 

 

 

With something as simple as a picnic out of town, Barry Allen a.k.a.the scarlet speedster, The Flash (Matt Bomer of Tru Calling, Traveler, Chuck, Superman: Unbound, White Collar, Will & Grace and Doom Patrol) is on a date with his long-time girlfriend Iris West (Ashleigh LaThrop of Sirens, Fifty Shades Darker, Fifty Shades Freed, The 100, The Kominsky Method and Utopia). Barry is nervous and still not exactly how to balance being a hero, a forensic officer and boyfriend.

Granted I could slap Barry for choosing Metropolis for a picnic in the park. METROPOLIS?!!! What's a matter, Barry? Gotham at midnight was already taken? Iris makes her point, stresses her love and want of growth with Barry but isn't certain if he wants the same thing. An explosion occurs and Barry runs into action, teaming up with Superman (Darren Criss of Glee, American Horror Story, Supergirl, The Flash, Transformers: Robots in Disguise, American Crime Story, Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Midway and Superman: Man of Tomorrow)against the cybernetic organism known as Brainiac.

With a series of McGuffin events tied together, Barry gets chucked into the speed force, transporting him into another place and time. Clad in his suit and getting bounced about, Flash lands in front of all people during civilians being shot at by Nazis..? Confused but being the good man he is, Flash proceeds to take the soldiers down, leaving them unconscious when he is violently grabbed and slammed against the wall by the Amazon princess herself, Wonder Woman (Stana Katic of ER, 24, Quantum of Solace, The Spirit, Castle, Batman: Arkham City and Absentia). A military outfit of special forces and metahumans code-named Justice Society with archelogist/reincarnated warrior prince, Hawkman (Omid Abtahi of My Own Worst Enemy, Brothers, Last Resort, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, DuckTales, World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, The Mandalorian and American Gods), the martial artist with a sonic cry, Black Canary (Elysia Rotaru of iZombie, Supernatural, Countdown, Arrow, Reapers, Mass Effect: Andromeda, Residue, Lone Echo, Dead Again in Tombstone and The Age of Adulting) 

Flying the not so friendly skies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The chemist/physicist and speedster Jay Garrick/Flash (Armen Taylor of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Rage 2, One Punch Man, Crystar, Call of Duty: Mobile, Wicked Woods: A Descendants Halloween Story, Kingdom Under Fire II, Asgard's Wrath, Super Wings!, Darksiders Genesis, Yakuza: Like a Dragon and The Seven Deadly Sins), chemist/physicist and strong man Hourman (Matthew Mercer of Resident Evil: Damnation, Fire Emblem: Awakening, Fallout 4, Overwatch, Attack on Titan, Ghost in the Shell SAC_2045, The Last of Us: Part II and Blood of Zeus) and USAF Colonel and liason for the team, Steven Trevor (Chris Diamantopoulos of Family Guy, Skylanders Academy, Voltron: Legendary Defender, Go Away, Unicorn!, Disney Mickey Mouse, Silicon Valley, Harley Quinn, Dirty Diana and American Dad!).

 

TOO MUCH COFFEE!! Gotta pee, gotta pee, gotta pee!

 

 

 

 

 

The overseas combat stretches around the world (as the name World War would indicate) and our service men are hard at work. Their war correspondent dubbed Shakespeare tabulates their stories but has to keep the team out of the headlines as they're a secret weapon against the Axis powers. With Hitler's forces encroaching throughout the world, trying to claim religious artifacts for further the Reich, our heroes must work together, putting aside their differences and join in this struggle as one.

With Trevor being smitten by the Amazon princess, there is also a bit of sexual tension between the Canary and the Egyptian war prince. Hourman and Jay have common ground as scientists. Barry also connects to both scientist heroes. With all that is going on, the Alantians are also throwing in their weight to the surface world. With a few examples similar to Barry's time, he notices this isn't simply the past but a different world. An Earth-2 if you will.

 

AMAZON FURY!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can the heroes stop the awaiting onslaught? Can good triumph over evil?

This story gives credit to DC comics writing as far back as the early 60s when the JSA (Justice Society of America) and the JLA (Justice League of America) were establishing timelines and continuity. These stories are older than I am and this film tips its hat to, really projecting the Golden and Silver Age of DC Comics. Did I enjoy it? Yes, very much. Was there anything to complain about? A few things but not enough to give credence too. I know, me not complaining about a flick is almost unheard of. Young and old will enjoy the action-packed film and have a good time with it as well.

 

Another budget meeting.

 

DC Showcase: The Spectre

 

Hidey-ho, Readers of the Rotten! Sorry but I had to change up that intro, otherwise it gets rather dull. Today, I wanted to look at some of DC Comics animated showcase. What I thought was going to be a fairly longer and more played out story line turned out to be a short. That will not detract my want to write this but it won't be all that detailed aside from my knowledge of the existing character. This is The Spectre.

The Dreaded Emo!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not to be confused with the alternative title to the 1963 Riccardo Freda's The Ghost ( A common misconception, I know.), the short film in question can be found on the 2010 release for Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths. An early morning in the hills of Los Angeles, a movie mogul name of Foster Brenner (Jeff Bennet of Johnny Bravo, Star Wars: Jedi Knight- Jedi Academy, Looney Tunes: Back in Action, Striperella, The Powerpuff Girls, Dave the Barbarian, Duck Dodgers, The Batman, Saul of the Mole Men, and Justice League: The New Frontier) lands a blockbuster and decides to take an 9 a.m.dip in the pool, only to have an explosion and shock-wave send him into the hereafter. Well at least his last flick wasn't something like Ishtar or Gigli.

Told you that Michael Bay kid had moxy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Police are notified by the butler (also voiced by Jeff Bennet) and homicide and probably the bomb squad's expertise is on the scene, along with veteran detective, Jim Corrigan (Gary Cole of Office Space, Crusade, Vamp U, The Penguins of Madagascar, An Officer and a Murderer, 30 Rock, Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, Archer, The Good Wife, Justice League Action, and F Is for Family) who is friends with the family, decided to survey the blast site and offer condolences to Aimee, (Alyssia Milano of Who's The Boss, Commando, Fear, Embrace of the Vampire, Deadly Sins, Charmed, My Name Is Earl, Hall Pass, Romantically Challenged, Tempting Fate and Insatiable)vowing to right this tragic wrong.

Things and people aren't always what they seem to be in this crazy town and...okay I have to tone this down or it's going to sound like a knock off of Mickey Spillane or Raymond Chandler. Sorry about that. Our detective is no slouch in the powers of observation, primarily around the wages of sin.   You see, Corrigan has a little secret he has kept quiet for some time.  He's been dead for quite a few years.   I know the whole inert investigator, the ghost gumshoe sounds awkward at best but he has been chosen by a higher power to redeem his soul.  This is the portion of the review of a bit of exposition dump.  I normally don't do such a thing buuuut, our short is 13 minutes long so we need a little background.

Oh yeah? What about the rights of that little girl?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jim Corrigan was LAPD detective 2^nd class before mobsters dropped him in an oil drum filled with cement and into the bay to sink. Given he was a hard nosed cop, he may have beaten a confession out of a few suspects in the day or threaten their rights so he is a soul that should head to redemption. His soul is linked to an ancient power. The Wrath of God known as The Spectre. (Not KHAAAAAAAN!!) He can be a physical person when he wants to and he can go ghost if needs be. Manifests over objects, warps reality and can do serious damage to the living and the physical plane. Hell, in the comics he ate the souls of the damned and sent them to judgement. Technically he has been with the department since 1932 when he got gacked but hey, who's really in charge of record keeping, right?

The police captain (Voiced by the late great character actor Jon Polito of C.H.U.D., Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, Highlander, Crime Story, The Equalizer, Barton Fink, The Rocketeer, Homicide: Life on the Street, Lands of Lore III, and The Tailor of Panama) is looking to bust Corrigan's chops for stepping into an investigation that isn't his, nor can it really be due to his personal involvement. The captain wants Corrigan to look into the sudden death of one of the suspects into the Brenner murder. Yup so go investigate the murder of one of the potential murderers of your family friend. Um, isn't that still a no-no due to personal involvement of the victim's potential victim?

Jim starts nosing around in these suspects' lives to come up with the clues needed to close his case and God's will. Unlike anyone else kicking this dirt clod of a planet, Jim is focused, capable and not easily distracted by Life's pursuits or fancies. That helps keep a sharp mind and well you can't very well bribe, cajole or distract with jiggly girls to a guy that pushed off the mortal coil.

Overall, while brief this short is got that gritty L.A. Noir vibe of the dogged detective, maybe a femme fatale and more than a few homicides. The music score sounds like something out of Dirty Harry or The French Connection.  While I wish it was a longer story, it had a great vo cast, gorgeous music score and the animation was top notch. Yes I would love a Spectre series Live Action or animated but so far, that is not in the works. C'mon DC! The fans would love it.

Additional; holy crap Gary Cole did awesome voice work! Keep tossing him in front of the mic!

 

Stop crowding and just go around me!!

 

Young Justice

Howdy. I wanted to write about a cartoon that has been constantly enjoyable and yes I am a forty something watching this. What of it? Not since Justice League has a cartoon been well thought out, written, voice cast and brilliant art. With primary characters hailing from Teen Titans, without the cutesy story-lines and pizza parties, a more serious approach is done still giving a blend of humor and drama. This is Young Justice.

I wonder why I get so many movies.  Oh right, I'm Batman.

With this young team of partners/sidekicks calling the shots on what to do and how to dispense justice, the Justice League feels their young partners are now ready to begin the next level and become closer to the League. Unfortunately, the Leaguers still hold secrets over them and this irks Speedy a.k.a. Red Arrow (Crispin Freeman of Naturo:Shippuden, For Honor, Teen Titans: The Judas Contract, Doomfist Origin Story, Justice League Action) and he splits on Green Arrow.

The rest of the team consisting of Robin/Dick Grayson(Jesse McCartney of Pizza, Jesse McCartney: Get Your Shine On, Kingdom Hearts II, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Horton Hears a Who!, Tinker Bell and The Hardy Boys: The Hidden Theft), Kid Flash/Wally West(Jason Spisak of Everything Must Go, Piranha 3D, Time Lapse,Young Justice and LEGO DC: Batman: Family Matters) and Caldur/Aqualad (Khary Payton of Dracula II: The Ascension, Batman: Arkham Underworld, Mafia III, Young Justice, The Lion Guard, DC Super Hero Girls: Legends of Atlantis and The Walking Dead) go and investigate a weird happening near their school. The project black ops funded cloning process called CADUMUS is less than legal, moral or ethical.

There's something squishy in my boot!

One of their projects is to create a Superman they can completely control for government black ops. Yeah a demigod with a kill switch. Comforting and clearly what tax dollars should be allocated for. Upon finding this Superboy (Nolan North of Uncharted, Uncharted 2, Deadpool, Hulk Vs, Spider-Man, Lego DC Super-Villains, The Lion Guard, Voltron: Legendary Defender and Marvel's Avengers), the team hold their own against villains and stand up for what is right with their mentors. Joining their motley crew is Meg'ann Marz or Miss Martian (Danica McKellar of The Wonder Years, Good Neighbor, The Year That Trembled, Justice League, Sex and the Teenage Mind, Static Shock, X-Men Legends, Inspector Mom and Young Justice) to round out the team.

As their adventures need a bit more stealth and motivation, Batman (Bruce Greenwood of Knots Landing, Passenger 57, Treacherous Beauties, Nowhere Man, Class of the Titans, Star Trek, Batman: Under the Red Hood, Star Trek Into the Darkness and Young Justice) trains the kids in martial arts, espionage, counter-terrorism and subterfuge. So this is a Titans team under Batman tutelage. Their levels just went up. Later new members join the ranks and get to learn how dangerous the really real world is and good and evil isn't so cut and dry. It's a high stakes game of patience, combat and execution of plans.

Not even warmed up, Robin.

Understand, there is more than a few Justice League based story-lines but the primary characters are this Young Justice team. Following them as they grow into their roles and still behave as teens and friends.

For the avid DC Fans, we get plenty of villain appearances, characters we thought the WB and DC forgot about, stakes, actions and consequences. Voice cast alone is worth this.

This is DC Comics at its best. Taking a hiatus due to ratings around Season 2, the gang has come back for Season 3 and is still going strong. Honestly I have not enjoyed DC like this since Justice League. Completely worthy of the hardened DC fans, casual viewers and all ages. You will get a lot from this 25 minute cartoon. Oh and kids, you may have to field questions like the following: "Which one is that one?" "Do all these kids have powers?" "How come they listen to that guy?" and so on.

So why are you down capes and tights?

Constantine: City of Demons

Well who knew there would be entertainment in 2018? Back again gals and guys, I am checking out some DC Comics animated. This ran 6 minutes apiece webisodes voiced by Matthew Ryan who played John Constantine in CW's live action series. DC's supernatural shamus, magi and all around pain in the ass is back and up to his hips in paranormal activities. This is Constantine: City of Demons.

Bloody Imp! Gimme my ciggies back!

With a flashback sequence of Constantine in Ravenscar Asylum, and his buddy Chas trying to bolster enthusiasm, you can tell Chas loves John like a brother. Yup, a Newcastle event flashback.

Johnny Boy is his usual gloom and doom self, wallowing in his standard self-pity in a Liverpool flophouse when signs of darkness start showing him evil is not only on the rise but plans to drown everything in a tide wave of terror. For example: A physical manifestation of his subconscious inner demons. The size of imps clawing and biting him. His old friend Chas (Damian O' Hare of Fable, The Royal, Risen, Fable III, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, Assassin's Creed III and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation) shows up at John's doorstep after 9 years of being happily married and having a daughter when she fallen into a mysterious coma, that science cannot determine cause or origin. Hmm dark magics perhaps?

With an innocent's life and very soul on the line, John grabs his kit and assorted mystical nick knacks and is on the case. With seasoned cartoon/Sci-Fi and comic book graphic style writer J.M. DeMatteis (The Real Ghostbusters, Superboy, Earth: Final Conflict, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited,Legion of Superheroes, Ben 10: Ultimate Alien and Young Justice) taking graphic novelist/comic book writer Alan Moore (Swamp Thing, Hellblazer, Watchmen, V for Vendetta) magi detective and running him through the ringer.

The Doll and the Demon: Coming this fall on CW.

With Chas' blessing, John proceeds to do that voodoo he do so well as he observes Trish (Laura Bailey of Diablo III: Reaper of Souls, Vampire Knight, Avengers Assemble, Batman Unlimited, Batman: Arkham Knight, Digimon Fusion and Spider-Man) to see her very mind is in torment.

John extends a call to a specialist, Asa the Nightmare Nurse (also Laura Bailey), a demoness that adheres to her mistress Alice Winter, in the hopes a second opinion can reach a better conclusion. Big shocker, John's knocked boots with her. He does get around. A bippity boppity boo later, and Nightmare concludes the girl's soul is missing or rather taken. (quick nerdy facts, Asa actually possesses Alice and does good deeds in spite of being a demon and is a member of Justice League Dark, the mystical heavyweights of the JLA)

What's happen, spell slinger?

With a demon appearing through Nightmare, taunting John and telling him to make his way to the City of Angels. Yeah, it's going to be one of those cases. Chas insists on coming with John to L.A. Whether that is for his protection, his daughter's soul or if needs be punching John has yet to be revealed.

Sid Vicious in rehab YET AGAIN.

Nightmare Nurse and Renee (Emily O' Brien of Rogue One: Recon- A Star Wars 360 Experience, Guardians of the Galaxy: The TellTale Series, Batman: The Enemy Within, Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul and Dishonored: Death of the Outsider), Chas' wife girl talk about Chas and Constantine being friends since they were 10, forming a punk band and getting into the wrong club in Newcastle. Yup it always comes back to Newcastle for you Constantine fans.

With an address presented via Hellfire; John and Chas make their way to 1247 Enstrom. Clearly the trap is there but John already knew that. Well with a bit of a piggish butler, our duo make their way in a gothic house looking to be constructed in the 1920s. Don't kid yourselves about Spanish Colonial, kiddies. These stone and mason jobs are pretty common on the coast, if you have the bucks. Granted I wouldn't step foot one in it without a team of exorcists and unlicensed nuclear accelator on my back but that's just me. Probably some cold iron and salt too. For those playing the home game, this is a house of extremely bad juju. If the owner offers to let you join him in the pool, SKIP IT!

The demon Beroul (Jim Meskimen of Lego Marvel Superheroes: Avengers Reassembled, StarCraft II: Nova Covert Ops, The Last Tycoon, World of Warcraft: Legion, Final Fantasy XV, Avengers Assemble and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) greets John for a game of wits, cunning and downright underhanded deviousy. All John's hallmarks. Seriously don't be letting the kiddies watch this particular animated movie unless you like paying gargantuan therapy bills.

With a few obscure notions, rings of truth and random babbles, a contest is underway between Beroul and John. He's a glutton, bored and frankly a bit of a knob.

Beroul has many competition for the souls of L.A.and makes business topside difficult but Beroul has many names and many designs. He mustn't have anyone else fouling the waters. He has coffers to fill.

The personification of Los Angeles comes before John and makes a plea that he rids her town of the demonic scourge that runs rampant. Gonna fight five ranking demons? Better have a pretty big stick.

Overall, this feels like it came right off the pages of Hellblazer, clever snark from Constantine, Matthew Ryan has got his number of good and bad. The artwork is similar to that of the New 52 approach of the animated films such as: Batman and Son, Justice League War, Flashpoint and Reign of the Supermen. It's dark, eerie and all things in John's corner of the supernatural. Plenty of tongue in cheek gags, gore and things and monsters getting ripped up.

Again I cannot stress enough, parents DO NOT let the little ones watch this. Clearly the big kids viewing. So if you enjoy 90 minutes of a blonde git in a tie and trench coat constantly pissing off demons, devils and the damned, this is a fine edition to Constantine.

Demon and chiropractor.

Random Goofy: Justice League: Flashpoint Paradox

Welcome back to Random Goofy. Man I so needed a better title for the week. Oh well. Today we explore an animated film. One that brings it all. Paradox, alternative timelines, a world where heroes have gone as bad as the villains they fight. Two metahuman armies poised at destroying one another and damn all of humanity in the way. One man must rally support to stop this madness before it's too late. This is Justice League: Flashpoint Paradox.

Aunt May will be pissed if I miss breakfast...wait...what?

Based on the five part mini-series written by Geoff Johns (Blade: The Series, Justice League Unlimited, Green Lantern: Emerald Knights, Justice League: War, Superman: Unbound, Arrow and The Flash) and drawn by Adam Kubert (Action Comics, Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine, X-Men, The Incredible Hulk, Wolverine and Ultimate Fantastic Four) we see Barry Allen a.k.a. The Flash dealing with the loss of his mother on her birthday when a JLA alert tells him of a hit on his own museum by a slathering of his rogues. Top, Mirror Master, Captain Cold and Captain Boomerang trashing the place. Apparently that is their gig and a slice of revenge on the guy that sent them up river. The fiendish foursome (Lord I have got to cut down on the comics) attack Flash with next to no success when Thawne a.k.a. Reverse Flash or Professor Zoom announces bombs planted to take out 10 square blocks and all the lives along with it. Flash however is nowhere near the idiot Zoom thinks him to be and he already dialed in his own team of the leaguers.

Battle ready amazons??

Bombs defused and Thawne thwarted, Zoom gets in a little snotty remark of Barry not being fast enough to save all those that matter to him. Barry goes for a run to clear his head only to wake up in his office of criminology and discovers things are different. For example, no superhuman speed and his mother is alive, The Amazons of Themyscira are at war with the Atlantians. Yeah Aquaman, Wonder Woman and their collective armies have destroyed chunks of Europe warring against each other. With no speed, no Superman, JLA communications or contact with any of the other metas or heroes is out, he knows that Batman is in Gotham so a logical conclusion to stop by there and sort this madness out. Only to find a completely different Batman in the cave who deals out a much more stern form of justice. Between the two of them they attempt to figure what happened and it all comes up Zoom. Zoom, notorious for time travel has to have altered the timeline creating this twisted and bizarre deviation of the world.

Gotta love the build and red lenses.

With a handful of metas, Flash and Batman have to stop this crazy train before there is no more world to speak of, stop Zoom and get things back to normal. Will the insanity be stopped? How come the Green Lantern Corps isn't looking at Sector 2814? Do I know way too much about DC Comics?

Let's talk voice cast for a minute. Kevin Conroy back for Bruce Wayne/Batman, Nathan Fillion for Hal Jordan/Green Lantern, Vanessa Marshall reprising her role as Diana/Wonder Woman, Dana Delany for Lois Lane, Ron Perlman for Deathstroke, Kevin McKidd as Flashpoint Batman but the most important roles of the two gents right at the center of it all. Justin Chambers as the Flash and a pleasant surprise as C. Thomas Howell as Zoom.

A view of your childhood heroes behaving in a fashion you never thought possible, a world turn upside down and Armageddon at their doorstep, this is intense, good writing and a wonderful voice cast. Hell, I was blown away to here Michael B. Jordan as Cyborg. The kid's got chops, baby. So Flash fans, JLA fans, Super-Fans, Wonder-Fans and Bat-Fans (See that? I did a thing there.) this is an impressive flick at a hour and fifteen minutes that is true to its source material in the likes I haven't seen in a while.

Oh hey, Aquaman.  Um..love the orange shirt?

Comic Flicks of 2016: Suicide Squad

Howdy folks and we are back for Day 2 of the Comic Films of 2016. This next flick got mixed reviews, constant nitpicking on theme, standing and casting. For me, it followed a group of loners that do not trust easy, world in jeopardy and we all come together to overcome the odds formula of which this particular collection of tropes can fall back as far as The Dirty Dozen but hey, I still had fun with it regardless. To combat the popularity of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, DC Comics really had to step up their game and brother they did their level best. The rest is up to the viewers. This is Suicide Squad.

We good for the poster?

Superman, the Earth's mightiest hero has fallen saving his town. Who will be there for the next Doomsday (Dead Zod!) to occur? What champions can we call upon to save us in our darkest hour? No we are not bothering Optimus Prime dammit! Amanda Waller (Viola Davis of City of Angels, The Shrink Is In, Solaris, Jesse Stone: Stone Cold, Jesse Stone: Night Passage, World Trade Center, Doubt, Madea Goes to Jail, It's Kind of Funny Story, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him and Get on Up) U.S. Intelligence officer, former CIA and string of alphabets and black ops has a plan. To create a team made up of the most deadly and dangerous talented normals and metahuman villains for government disposal. A team that can be officially denied if they screw up, so expendable assets (No not Stallone's team!).

My shorties are riding up D.S. so hurry up and wack these guys.

With the green light, Waller has been moving these villains all to the off-site location maximum penitentiary Belle Reve consisting of Floyd Lawton a.k.a. Deadshot (Will Smith of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Independence Day, Bad Boys, Men in Black, Enemy of the State, The Legend of Bagger Vance, I, Robot, Hitch, I Am Legend, Hancock, Focus and Concussion) a man with perfect aim, high kill count, love for his daughter Zoe and one of the best hitmen on the planet. Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie of Vigilante, Neighbours, About Time, The Wolf of Wall Street, Focus, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot and The Legend of Tarzan) a former psychologist turned lunatic partner and femme fatale alongside the Joker. George "Digger" Harkness a.k.a. Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney of Stoned Bros, Spartacus: War of the Damned, Jack Reacher, A Good Day to Die Hard, Felony, Terminator Genisys and Man Down) bank robber, thief and expert marksman with a barrage of deadly boomerangs.

Beer me!

The reptile man Killer Croc (Adewale Aknnuoye Agabaje of Oz, The Mummy Returns, The Bourne Identity, Preaching to the Choir, Lost, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Best Laid Plans, Bullet to the Head, Thor: The Dark World, Trumbo and Concussion) the hellfire imbued king of the barrio Diablo (Jay Henandez of Crazy/Beautiful, Hostel, Quarantine, Takers, Gimme Shelter, Gang Related and The Night Is Young) master thief and infiltrator Slipknot (Adam Beach of Song of Hiawatha, Smoke Signals, Mystery, Alaska, Joe Dirt, Windtalkers, The Big Empty, Turok: Son of Stone, A Warrior's Heart and Cowboys and Aliens). All assigned to one Special Forces Army Ranger Colonel Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman of Storm, Vinnarskallar, In Your Veins, Johan Falk: National Target, Easy Money, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Safe House, Easy Money II: Hard to Kill, Robocop, The Killing and Run All Night) the squad is called in to deal with a catastrophic issue but uninformed that one of the team a former archeologist/possessed succubus sorceress Enchantress (fashion model/actress Cara Delevinge of The Face of an Angel, Paper Towns, Pan, Kids in Love and Suicide Squad) may be the direct cause of the current mission. Attached to this mission is samurai sword master or mistress Katana (Karen Fukuhara of Suicide Squad and Stray) aiding Flag whenever needed.

With explosions, charcoal ridden minions of a big bad incubus and mass chaos now is an appropriate time of the clown prince of crime to make waves as well. Joker (Jared Leto of My So-Called Life, Switchback, Basil, Urban Legend, The Thin Red Line, Fight Club, American Psycho, Sunset Strip, Panic Room, Lord of War, Dallas Buyers Club and Suicide Squad) and cronies are out and about to scoop Harley back for the master of chuckles' Netflix and chill time.

Will the squad survive its first mission? Will Deadshot ever see his little girl again? Will anyone explain to me the need for a pink unicorn at the behest of Captain Boomerang?

Few comments now. I covered most of this in my Rotten Ramblin' On podcast with my co-host on this flick but the following things are thus. Since the Brave and the Bold title in 1964, The Suicide Squad has had a revolving door of baddies ranging from Flash, Batman and even some Aquaman villains being used as cannon fodder for missions. This particular title has seen many a retcon but the jist has always been bad guys doing bad things for their country.

Many view this as the Margo and Will show and okay yeah, it did center around them. Guess what? The film still worked, all the actors managed their parts very well and my only complaint is there was no smackdown with Batsy and the Croc sending him to jail. Would have loved to see a sewer fight with Affleck using his brains and skill to drop Croc but oh well. We have not seen Will play a bad guy let alone bad ass to the same standing he got in Independence Day so yeah well deserved Will. You rocked the role. Again. Is this the best comic book movie? That is open to discussion. Is this the better faithful movie to the comic? I would have to agree.

Look it's either this or we rely on the Teen Titans.

With a budget of 175 million it managed to kick back over 325 million so they made a frickin' profit folks. To be objective, the formula for this film is nothing new but I enjoyed the hell out of it. Like Guardians of the Galaxy, the fans of the comic probably went in droves and had a blast watching it. I feel bad for it not making even more money because the comic is a bit obscure. Overall, I could watch it again and again. Make your own decision but a bit of mindless violence, decent one liners and bad ass action gives it a thumbs up from this guy.

Anti-Hero Week: V for Vendetta

Good day and hello readers!  Welcome to Day 1 of Anti-Hero Week.  To start us off right how about a dystopian timeline under a white supremacist (No I don't mean Ron Paul won the elections) regime?  With anarchy in the streets of the United States, a pandemic called St. Mary's Virus raving the better portion of the known Europe, The UK is about the only still stable country ruled by fear and oppression.   Anything deemed unsavory by Norsefire was removed to concentration camps including homosexuals, racial minorities, free thinking leftists are all taken away within the first year of power.  This is V for Vendetta.

Now you have erred!

V: I told you, only truth.  For 20 years, I spoiled only this day. Nothing else existed...  until I saw you.  Then everything changed. I fell in love with you Evey.  And to think I no longer believed I could.


With oppression made to look like order, the tyrant leaders of Norsefire have a new problem to worry about.  On November 5th, a man in a outlandish black outfit wearing a Guy Fawkes (member of the Gunpowder Plot attempting to blow up House of Lords in 1605) mask calling himself V (Hugo Weaving of Sky Pirates, ...Almost, Proof, The Matrix, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Transformers and Captain America: The First Avenger) saves a young girl Evey (Natalie Portman of  Beautiful Girls, Garden State, Star Wars: Phantom Menace, Free Zone, No Strings Attached, Thor and Thor: The Dark World) from the Fingermen planning to violate her for being out after curfew .  Making his way into a private broadcast, he announces to the viewers of said channel that are watching to meet him in one year, on November 5, outside the Houses of Parliament of which he decrees he will destroy,  Norsefire's "Fingermen" secret police attempt to capture V but ultimately fail.

Is my nostril hair apparent???

Inspector Finch (Stephen Rea of  The Crying Game, Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles, The Last of the High Kings, The Musketeer, On the Edge, Bloom and Tara Road) has been assigned the dubious task of capturing and unmasking the vigilante known as V but must dig deep into investigation to find who this man is or was to have been made such a public enemy of the land.  As his investigations go further and more deaths attributed to V he finds his country is a much darker place than he could have imagined.

All hangs on the impending year as defacto dictator Adam Sutler (John Hurt of Alien, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Aria, Spaceballs, Wild Bill, Hellboy, The Oxford Murders and Doctor Who: Day of the Doctor) demanding order and that this masked social deviant will cause the downfall of their utopia.    Will the people rise up against this totalitarian state and have their freedom or will V's words fall on deaf ears?

A few points of difference from the source material vs the movie.
Graphic novelist Alan Moore (Swamp Thing, The Watchmen, V for Vendetta and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) wrote this as he view the 1990's would become under the extreme views of Margret Thatcher's conservative being down on what she deemed subversive behavior.  in the graphic novel, the Norsefire was freely elected and bio-weapons were not plot based.  Fascism seems almost neutered in the film with the exception of the note by Valerie Page an actress incarcerated for being a lesbian.  Racial purity is not covered and is actually seems almost it was completely avoided.
 
The domino scene where V tips the black and red dominoes to for the large V involved 22,000 dominoes and took 4 professional assemblers 200 hours to set up.   During the fight sequence in Victoria Station, the stunt-men are moving in actual slow motion while Hugo Weaving's stunt double (David Leitch) moved in real time.  Shooting the whole scene in 60 frames per second gives the illusion V was a whirlwind among the grass.

This is not the masquerade ball?  

Blog #325!!! Wil Wheaton Week: Legion of Superheroes

Good day and hello to Day 5 of Wil Wheaton Week and many are no doubt asking, “Jake is there anything else you want to touch base on?”  As luck would have it yes there is.  Wil Wheaton has had a voice-over career for over a decade now ranging from video games, independent cartoons via web and CW based cartoons.  I thought it might be nice to explore into one of those cartoons for two reasons. One it was a bit shocking finding a predominant character being helmed by Wil and two I love the obscure DC comics titles.   So stitch up that spandex, grab your flight ring and get ready for action.  This is Legion of Super Heroes.

Fear not Brainiac for I too was a child star!

Lightning Lad: Where’s Spoiler when you really need him?

It is the 30^th Century and a super villain gathering known as the Fatal Five has been slapping around the Science Police, the primary law enforcement on Earth.  An autonomous collection of young heroes known as the Legion of Superheroes; ranging from different planets in the Galactic Federation and allowing to be among fellow teens and harness their powers for the good of all.  With a skeleton crew watching over New Metropolis the team members are concerned they lack the necessary firepower to take on the Fatal Five.  Brainiac 5, the team’s resident tech whiz informs the group they can time travel and acquire a temporary legionnaire from Smallville.  

Okay, this is the last time I am showing you how to program the DVR.

That’s right teen gang the group is off to require Superman (would have been Superboy but there were some financial and copyright issues DC was stuck with).   So young Clark Kent/ Superman (Yuri Lowenthal of Rave Master, Dungeon Seige, SSX 3, Duel Masters and EverQuest II: Desert of Fire) tends to an accident in his hometown when he is greeted by Saturn Girl (Kari Wahlgren of Marvel Super Hero Squad, X-Men: Destiny, Spider-Man: Edge of Time, Fate/Zero), a telekinetic/telepath combo, Bouncing Boy (Michael Cornacchia of Hot Parts, Reservoir Dogs, Happy Feet, Wasting Away, L.A. Noire and Last Call) a lad that alters his body density and Brainiac 5 (Ada, Wylie of The Swan Princess,  Hey Arnold, Gilmore Girls and Superman/Doomsday) a living robotic humanoid that happens to be neon green with blonde hair.  Yeah he kinda stands out.   The trio persuades Clark to join them in their adventures as their time machine will get him right back the very same minute he left.

Primary leader Cosmic Boy (Wil Wheaton) is out helping other planets with little to no defense of their own and Lightning Lad (Andy Milder of Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Weeds and Austin & Ally) is second-in-command is left in charge of which he is not thrilled with.

Grasping new fangled technologies such as a flight ring that translates almost any language into English, creates a life support force field for being in space, the air and underwater and heck the coffee pots must be baffling, Clark finds this timeline to be fascinating and makes new friends almost overnight.  Finding out that he will one day be the driving force that helps create the Legion of Superheroes is a bit overwhelming but hey take it in stride, kid.

Want some? Roll for initiative, tin man!

This ain't yo daddy's Super Friends...

Hello all, I am back again with a new review and this time we are tackling cartoons. Yeah I know those are for kids.  Don’t care.   Today I am touching base on DC Comics biggest triumph on the little screen. So grab your tights, do some stretches to limber up and get ready to save the day.   This is Justice League.

Spoilers make Batman paranoid…

Growing up in the era of the Superfriends and Super Powers, DC superheroes came off as hokey, overbearing and frankly kind of a joke.  In 1992 with the first appearance of Batman the Animated Series, we saw a broken man remake himself to better himself and his city against forces of the absurd and insane.   In 1996 we see the shining city of Metropolis under siege by similar villains of Gotham but a champion from another world, Superman approached this bizarre men and women with super powers and tempered by compassion of honesty and courage.   Throughout both these series, a myriad of more obscure DC characters appeared but you never really got the full scope of whom they are and why they stood for justice.    2001 changed all of that in introducing characters that have been on the comic book pages for more than 60 years.   DC Comics writer Gardner Fox (Justice Society of America, Mystery in Space, Amazing Stories, Planet Stories and Justice League of America) gathered a cadre of different men and women all hailing from unique backgrounds with a common goal.  To dispense justice towards villainy and protect the innocent no matter the cost.

Animators Bruce W. Timm (Blackstar, G.I. Joe, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Batman the Animated Series, Batman Beyond and Superman the Animated Series) and Paul Dini (Creator of Harley Quinn, villainess sidekick to the Joker) set out on a venture to create a cohesive Justice League for kids and adults to enjoy.  Dipping into more than 60 years worth of comic history as well as stories of their own; the duo managed to bring about some of DC comics greatest heroes and villains all under a 25 minute cartoon and a cornucopia of voice actors under the wing of veteran voice casting director Andrea Romano (Batman the Animated Series, The Adventures of Batman and Robin, The New Batman Adventures, Pinky and the Brain and Static Shock) Reigning in actors from previous series, Romano had her pick of the litter if you will.   Batman (Kevin Conroy of Batman the Animated Series, The New Batman Adventures, Batman Beyond, Justice League, Batman: Arkham City and Justice League: Doom) Joker (Mark Hamill of Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi,  Batman the Animated Series, Justice League, Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! and The Super Hero Squad Show) as well as newcomers to the voice acting gig like Phil LaMarr (MADtv, Clerks Animated Series, Invader ZIM, Static Shock, Samurai Jack, The Proud Family and Wolverine and the X-Men) Susan Eisenberg (Justice League, Golden Axe: Beast Rider, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, The Super Hero Squad Show and Mass Effect 3).  

The main issues Dini and Timm had was to make these superheroes more human in the eyes of their viewers by giving them the very strengths and flaws we all have, deliver a thought provoking story and plenty of action all under one name.     No easy task when the fans are this demanding for their hero or heroine not getting enough lines or always deemed in reserve.   While you cannot please everyone, I think Justice League fans of whatever incarnation they grew up reading will be proud of this product and want to share it with other like minded folk.