Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Proves That Batman Belongs In Animation

Most live-action Batman movies tend to be more interested in Batman's baddies than Batman himself. It's hard not to argue against being super interested in Michelle Pfieffer's Catwoman or Heath Ledger's Joker. Still, that's meant thoughtful examinations of Batman as a character have been left unexplored by the live-action Batman movies. Luckily, one 1993 animated feature is here to correct that. Much like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a much more thoughtful film than most live-action Spider-Man movies, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm eats the lunch of other live-action Batman movies. Between Phantasm and The LEGO Batman Movie, maybe Batman should just star in animated movies from now on?

Child's Play Is A Surprising Cut Above Typical Horror Movie Remakes

I've never seen a Chucky movie before (though I'm certainly familiar with the character), so I had little in the way of expectations for what I expected to be yet another subpar horror movie remake in the form of Child's Play. After all, 21st-century horror movie remakes, unless they're Suspiria, rarely turn out well, as the likes of Pet Sematary can attest while the peculiar decision to make a new Chucky movie while the original creator of the character, Dan Mancini, was doing his own series of separate Chucky movies really left a sour taste in my mouth. So color me shocked to report that the new Child's Play remake, hailing from director Lars Klevberg, is actually a pretty well-crafted and fun enterprise!

The Force Is Strong With Writer/Director Rian Johnson's Work On The Excellent Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Waking up this morning after seeing Star Wars: The Last Jedi last night, I was shocked to discover that the film has already generated a bunch of controversy from various corners of the internet populated by Star Wars fanboys who are irritated that the feature didn't spend its runtime clarifying every aspect of Supreme Leader Snoke's backstory or validate their fan theories that have been stewing int he two year gap between The Force Awakens. It's been kind of fascinating to watch this unfold since none of this stuff was anywhere near my mind when I exited my screening of The Last Jedi (though I'm notoriously anti-fan theory and, for that matter, never had any expectations that The Last Jedi would flesh out the backstory of Snoke).

"Now That's How You Make a Movie!" - A Review Of The Brilliant Brigsby Bear

It takes a lot of passion and soul to make any piece of art. Whether it's a film, a book, music, whatever artform it manifests in, the act of putting all of yourself into some kind of creative expression is incredibly admirable. There's many moments in the monologue Anton Ego gives in the final scene of Ratatouille that really resonate with me, but I'm particularly fond of the one line that goes "in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so." That's very much something that needs to be kept in mind when examining any piece of art and it's an idea most definitely reinforced by Brigsby Bear, a superb new indie dramedy that put a big smile on my face and warm n' fuzzy feelings in my heart.

Batman: The Killing Joke Is A Melting Pot Of Very Bad Ideas

Batman: The Killing Joke has been mired in praise for its 28 year existence, but it's also experienced heavy and well-deserved criticism throughout the decades, primarily for its treatment of Barbara Gordon, the sole notable female character in the graphic novel whose shot and sexually assaulted by The Joker solely so said actions can motivate the other male characters in the tale. It's fairly obvious the first 25-ish minutes of the animated movie adaptation of Batman: The Killing Joke is intended as a mea culpa by the filmmakers as they attempt to boost up Barbara's role prior to her encounter with The Joker (yeah, they still leave her being sexually assaulted by The Joker instead of just cutting that icky bit from the graphic novel out).