Shmee.Me

December 9, 2013December 9, 2013

Spending Some Time With The DC Showcase Original Shorts Collection!

The guys and gals over at DC Universe have made a quite a few good animated films, so when I saw Superman and Shazam: The Return of Black Adam on Netflix I decided to give it a watch. It turns out that it was actually a collection of DC shorts called the DC Showcase Original Shorts Collection. It was a cool way to see a few characters that don’t get a lot of coverage.

On Netflix there were four shorts: Superman and Shazam: The Return of Black Adam, The Spectre, Jonah Hex, and The Green Arrow. If you check this out on DVD/Blu-Ray there is also a short Catwoman feature, but since I didn’t see it, I can’t review it.

Superman and Shazam: The Return of Black Adam is the longest of the shorts clocking in at twenty-five minutes. It features the origin of the new Captain Marvel (different from Marvel’s Captain Marvel, yes it is very confusing) as he enlists Superman’s help to take out Black Adam.

The Spectre is different from most of the DCU stuff because they set it in the 70’s, and it follows The Spectre as he terrorizes the people that killed a movie mogul. The Spectre unlike most DC Heroes has no problem killing guilty people.

Jonah Hex rides in to town to find a bounty, but it turns out he will have to take out a gang that has been killing rich people and stealing their money.

The Green Arrow is planning a special night with Dinah Lance/Black Canary when Merlyn the Magnificent shows up to kill the Princess of Perdita, so it is time for a Green Arrow versus Black Arrow shoot off.

All of the shorts are well done, and like I said before it is fun to check out some of the lesser DC Heroes. You almost never hear about The Spectre, and after the awful Jonah Hex movie is great to see him in something good. It is also nice to see a more true to the comic book Green Arrow over what is presented by the TV show. Marvel’s Captain Marvel is better, but DC’s is still good, and I was happy to see him.

DCU continues to pump out great animated flicks, and I stand by my assertion that they should be heading up DC/Warner Brothers live action super hero movies because everything that I have watched that they have done has at least been interesting. But I guess we will see how the new Batman versus Superman movie turns out before I get too judgmental. Maybe.

December 5, 2013July 7, 2015

They Finally Cast A Wonder Woman!

Well it must be very cold someplace hot because they have finally cast Wonder Woman for the Batman vs Superman movie, Gal Gadot! I have not seen much of what Gal Gadot has been in, but maybe that is good since I will not have any preconceived ideas about her acting abilities unlike the man set to be Batman. She may not be my choice, but she has got the look, and has been in a few action movies, so I wish her the best. With the main cast set, I hope this movie gets DC’s comic book cinematic universe rolling!

December 3, 2013December 3, 2013

The Walking Dead Continues To Improve!

The Walking Dead has been known for its tense action, and its ability to kill off main characters. However, it has also been known for some boring filler episodes, and its at times dodgy writing. This is highlighted by the fact it has had a new show running producer for just about every season, but with Scott Gimple I think they have found a winner!

There were still a couple of filler episodes in this first half of the season, but at least they actually let us learn more about the characters, and the promise of the prison showdown of last season was finally brought to fruition during the mid-season finally. I am not going to spoil anything, but you should probably stock up on Kleenex if you haven’t seen it yet.

Everything about this season has been better: The drama has been more hard hitting; The action has been more explosive, and the acting has been kicked in to high gear. It is clear that The Walking Dead no longer just wants to be the most watched show on TV, but it also wants to be the best show on TV. That is a goal I can get behind.

I am hating AMC’s new split season scheduling because that means I have to wait until February to find out what is going to happen next, but because of the higher quality of the show, it is now worth waiting for. Well played AMC, well played.

November 9, 2013

Shmee Enters The Dark World With Thor!

Thor: The Dark World is the sequel to 2011’s Thor, but it follows the events of The Avengers. All the major stars return, but this time it is directed by Alan Taylor who is most well known for directing several Game Thrones episodes, so fantasy is well within his wheelhouse. This movie is not perfect, but it is very good.

The Dark Elves who ruled the universe before time began, have returned because Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) has found their ancient weapon the Aether. Thor (Chris Hemsworth), who was busy bringing peace to the galaxy, must reunite with Jane to stop the threat. In other words, it is very similar to the plot of the first Thor movie, but don’t worry the story really doesn’t matter.

I say the story doesn’t matter because they infused this movie with both a darker theme and lighter and wittier dialog, so it really makes this movie feel more important while making sure you know that the characters still have a sense of humor, and it might actually be fun to be super hero. Joss Whedon’s fingerprints are all over this movie, and while he may not have written it or in been charge of it, everyone is doing their best follow the model he made with The Avengers.

Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston (Loki) are pitch perfect in this movie. This is their third time around as the gods of Asgard, and they know their parts inside and out. They really make us all believe that all the craziness going on around them is reality. The rest of the cast is fine and do their parts well, but this movie is all about the brothers, and they are fantastic!

Yes the story is unfortunately bland, but everything else about this movie is great. I have no problems recommending this movie, and I am sure that you will have good time in theater. Also just an FYI, be sure to stick around after the credits because there are two scenes not just one, and they are not to be missed. Let’s see if they can keep up the good work in Captain America: The Winter Soldier!

November 8, 2013November 8, 2013

Shmee Watches Arrow!

After being frustrated with DC a couple of days ago, I thought I would give their hit show Arrow a shot since the first season is now on Netflix. I am glad I did. The guys and gals over at CW have done a great job with character, and I can’t wait to see what they do next.

The show follows billionaire playboy Oliver Queen as he comes home from being stranded on an uncharted island that took the lives of one of his friends and his father. He did not come home just to return to his family, but to clean up the city his father helped destroy.

If you think that sounds a little like Batman, you would be right, and that has not been lost on comic book fans for years now. The big difference is that Green Arrow has always been a little more left leaning and will kill people from time to time. There are some differences between the TV Green Arrow and the comic book Green Arrow. For one thing they changed the name of the city to Starling from Star, and Speedy is his hard partying little sister not his side kick though that my be coming. They also don’t call him the Green Arrow a lot, and if they do it is in jest. Probably due to the awful Green Lantern movie, and they don’t want to confuse people.

Stephen Amell is a little stiff as the Arrow but being interesting as a brooding super hero is hard, but he is getting better as time goes on. The rest of the cast is very good, and the middle aged cast is full of great industry genre vets like, John Barrowman (Jack Harkness), Paul Blackthorne (Harry Desden), and Colin Salmon (All sorts of stuff but Dr. Moon from Dr. Who).

There is a little of the CW random teenage drama thrown in here and there, but overall it is a great super hero TV show, so it is no wonder that they found success. Plus they have been working in all sorts of cool DC villains and heroes, so it has been fun to see who shows up. If these are people in charge of the new Flash and Hourman TV shows than we are in for a treat.