Comics. Alliance Reviews ! This week, we begin our discussion of the fourth and final film of the Burton/Schumacher era, the much- maligned Batman & Robin. And as a special bonus, as we write this very article, David is watching the movie for the very first time. David: Because you demanded it, I’m walking into this one completely cold. It’s often regarded as one of the worst super- hero movies of all time, which, thanks to the dodgy reputation of super- hero movies as a whole, puts it in the running for worst movie ever. But those people are wrong. David: Explicate! Chris: Prepare to have your minds blown, Comics. Alliance readers: This movie isn’t just the best of the four we’ve watched, it’s a legitimate hoot. It’s the apotheosis of what these four films have been trying to do, ramping up all the campy stupidity — building on on the poison parade floats and rocket penguins of Burton’s messes — while dropping any pretense of having some sort of ham- handed, poorly scripted deeper meaning. It’s a full- on modernization of Batman ’6. David: I’m excited! I mean, I guess I know the broad strokes behind the stuff in here, like Alicia Silverstone as Batgirl and Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy and Ahnuld as Mr. But I have no idea who else is in it, if it has a love interest, what the evil plot is, anything. Teeny, tiny tidbits and mini morsels that are almost too cute to eat! The Project Gutenberg EBook of Babbitt, by Sinclair Lewis This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. Trying to find Yaoi anime? Discover more Yaoi anime on MyAnimeList, the largest online anime and manga database in the world! UNITED STATES EARLY RADIO HISTORY THOMAS H. WHITE: s e c t i o n 18: Broadcasting Becomes Widespread (1922-1923) Next Section: The Development of Radio. Ernest Shackleton was born on 15 February 1874 in Kilkea near Athy, County Kildare, Ireland, about 46 miles (74 km) from Dublin. Ernest's father was Henry Shackleton. Horror Films are unsettling films designed to frighten and panic, cause dread and alarm, and to invoke our hidden worst fears, often in a terrifying, shocking finale. Chris: It has all those things, and so much more. But I’m curious, as someone who hasn’t seen this movie, you’ve no doubt heard other people’s opinions, and mine tends to be in the extreme minority. So what have you heard? David: Just that it’s utter crap and it doesn’t “respect” the character of Batman, or whatever, and also that Alicia Silverstone is terrible in it. I’ve heard that it overplays the gimmicks. Chris: The latter two are legitimate complaints, I think. There’s some insane gimmicky stuff in the last act that makes no sense, and Alicia Silverstone is not very good. But there was also something of a controversy at the time where Silverstone was criticized for being fat, which is hands- down the dumbest thing I have ever heard. The first part of the complaint, though, is the most ridiculous. The stigma this movie got at the time, and continues to get today, centers on the idea that it’s silly and cartoonish, and of course it is. He dresses up like a bat and fights clowns. This is what he does, and there’s an inherent silliness and fun to it that no amount of poor lighting is going to remove. I know I’m harping on this, but it blows my mind that this is the movie that gets scorn heaped onto it, while Batman ’8. Batman does is get shot and fall down, is considered a modern classic. David: I really can’t imagine that this could get any more ridiculous than what we’ve seen so far. Chris: Well, I wouldn’t go that far. But before we get started, a little background: After Batman Returns underperformed at the box office, Batman Forever was a hit, prompting Warner Bros. I guess that’s the power of Bono. Chris: $2. 36 million in profit as compared to $1. Because in movies, one hundred and eighty six million dollars in profit is considered “underperforming.” For B& R, Val Kilmer dropped out as Batman, which was fine because he sucked out loud in Forever, and was replaced with George Clooney, who at the time was an up- and- coming star, shooting the movie and ER at the same time. Chris O’Donnell stayed on as Robin, bringing the age gap between Batman and his sidekick down to nine yeas, and Michael Gough and Pat Hingle remained the only two guys to make it through all four of these movies. David: Did they have careers after these roles? I forget. Chris: Hingle would go on to play the judge that Samuel L. Jackson throws his badge at like a ninja star in John Singleton’s reboot of Shaft, also starring — wait for it — Christian Bale. David: Hollywood is so incestuous. Hollywood and crappy fan- films, apparently. Chris: For the villains, Arnold Schwarzenegger was brought in as Mr. Freeze — beating out Patrick Stewart and getting top billing in a Batman movie over the guy who plays Batman — and Uma Thurman was brought in as Poison Ivy. This was only a few years after her breakout role in Pulp Fiction, and continued the downward arc from The Truth About Cats & Dogs to co- starring in The Avengers as Emma Peel, before her career was finally reborn like a phoenix in Kill Bill. That was dressed like Bruce Lee. David: It’s almost as if resurrecting actors’ careers is Quentin Tarantino’s mutant power. Chris: And the uncanny ability to make great movies while still indulging his foot fetish. David: Maybe one day we’ll get to see Tarantino’s Batman. He’d probably screw up the character, but at least it’d make for a great movie. Chris: Is there a part in “Hush” where Batman talks about ’7. David: No, but in Ultimate X, Nick Fury talks about Pulp Fiction for 2. Because he’s Samuel L. Anyway, execs were so impressed with the dailies that they immediately greenlit a fifth Batman movie by Schumacher and Akiva Goldsman, Batman Triumphant, but reconsidered when the bad press from B& R tanked it at the box office. Assuming, again, that one considers $1. Either way, since Batman Triumphant was rumored to involve Harley Quinn as the Joker’s daughter played by Madonna and the Joker coming back in an extended hallucination sequence, it’s probably for the best that it never happened. David: That does seem like a terrible idea, largely because Harley Quinn is a terrible character, or at least that’s my longstanding opinion. Chris: Address those emails to David. Uzumeri@Comics. Alliance. Harley Quinn fans! David: Was the plan to have Nicholson reprise his role? Chris: I’m not sure if they were planning on getting Nicholson back or not. I imagine they probably were, though. I mean, it’s not like there could ever be another actor who could do such a great, defnitive take with that role, right? David: Knowing this franchise at this point, they’d have gotten, like, Adam Sandler. Chris: Not out of the realm of possibility. But now, if you’re ready. Only this time, it’s twice as long because there are two of them, and the codpieces are EVEN BIGGER. This will not be the last of these sequences in this movie. David: They’re like Darren Aronofsky’s quick- cuts in Pi or Requiem, except completely gimmicky. Oh Lord, the opening dialogue exchange is horrendous. I had the novelization of this one, too, and I remember there being a thing in there about how he wore a different style of costume every night. My memory’s hazy, but I believe there was a reference to his Titans- era high collar. David: It’s funny, because Robin wore the actual Robin outfit for, what, ten minutes in the last movie? Oh no, we get a shot of Alfred looking really pained! Of old age! Chris: You have tumbled to a plot point, my friend. Once they’re suited up and robin’s motorcycle emerges from a giant egg that has two neon Robin symbols inside of it. And it starts when Commissioner Gordon shows up on a little TV on Batman’s steering wheel and tells him that “a new villain has commandeered the museum!” I love that this is how Commissioner Gordon phrases it. Not “We have multiple murders from a massive armored bodybuilder,” but “there’s a new villain.” I’m just surprised he didn’t call him an arch- criminal. David: Arch- criminal is, I think, actually more sensical than villain. The word “villain” basically completely exposes the narrative nature of this. Life doesn’t have villains, stories do. He might as well have just gone “Yo, Bats, the movie’s starting.” An arch- criminal is at least something that could exist in real life. It’s not like they call Obama after terrorist attacks and go “yo, the United States has a new villain!”Chris: Wait ’til Freeze tells his goons to “kill the heroes.”David: When we get to the museum, we’re introduced to Schwarzenegger’s Mister Freeze, whose first line of dialogue is actually “THE ICEMAN COMETH!” “I’m afraid that my condition has left me COLD to your pleas of mercy.” Man, Akiva Goldsman knows exactly the kind of movie he’s making here. Chris: Freeze also says “in this universe, there is only one absolute: Everything freezes!” And. I mean, a frozen substance just has zero molecular movement — some substances probably just require absolute zero to get there. So it’s actually even the same pun, two different ways. Chris: But really, he’s just saying nonsense. Which is actually one of the things I like about this movie: No one seems to be under any illusions of grandeur, or even of deeper meaning. According to one of the actors (whose name I won’t mention because I want him to be a surprise to you, Uzi), Schumacher would preface every take by yelling “Okay everyone, remember, this is a cartoon!”David: Did Batman just skate down a dinosaur’s spine?! Chris: Yes. Now try telling me that’s not awesome. David: This really is a cartoon. I wish they’d had the balls to cut in the BIFF! People would’ve hated it. I would’ve loved it even more. So then, Robin crashes through the door on his motorcycle, which somehow makes a hole in the shape of A PERFECT ROBIN LOGO. And it’s about this time that i start laughing hysterically and don’t stop for the next two hours. David: I mean, this is an action sequence where Robin is moving a diamond around with his hockey stick on ice, dudes just falling behind Mister Freeze with nobody commenting on it, and completely shameless Saturday- Morning Cartoon music. Aahahahahahaha “Do you know what killed the dinosaurs?! THE ICE AGE!!!!!!”Chris: Freeze also commands his goons to “destroy everything,” because he is way into Hatebreed. Then, Batman and Robin click their heels together to give their shoes ice skate blades. Because as we all know, Batman believes the victory is in the preparation. David: I love how the Batsuits in this movie are basically engineered to have whatever they need to get out of the situations in this movie. Chris: And sometimes you have to prepare for ice skating in a frozen natural history museum while fighting hockey goons. David: It’s straight- up Shark- Repellent Bat- Spray stuff. Horrible Bosses 2 Reviews - Metacritic. Published: November 4, 2. Watch all of this week's new film trailers, including new looks at Wonder Woman, The LEGO Batman Movie, T2: Trainspotting 2, La La Land, 2. Century Women, Wilson, and more. Plus, get a quick update on the latest movie news and release date announcements.
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