Category: DC

When Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) took over from Ben Affleck to write and direct The Batman, he said he wanted to show the detective side of The Dark Knight. It has been part of Batman’s comic book persona for decades, but when it comes to the big screen we had seen him be several things: zany in 1966’s Batman, weird in the Burton films, silly in the Schumacher movies, a grounded ninja in the Nolan movies, and buff and angry in the Znyder flicks, but rarely smart. The closest we have gotten was in the ’66 movie were Batman solves Riddler’s ridiculous riddles in a blink of an eye, so it was only fitting that The Riddler would make Batman put on his thinking cap once again.

Of course this Riddler is nothing like Frank Gorshin’s classic take on the villain, Paul Dano plays a much more twisted version of the character. A serial killer with a message for Robert Pattinson’s Batman, and while Batman is a able to figure out the riddles, it will take him quite a bit of effort to figure out what they all mean. Even better it will make Bruce Wayne take stock and examine what it means to be The Batman. Giving him an actual character arc, and not just one where we see some pearls and some popcorn (we don’t see any pearls or popcorn) and now he runs around in a rubber suit.

Dano really gets in to this Riddler, and as dark and sinister as he is, his is still somewhat silly. Which was a nice touch. A nod to his past. Pattinson’s Batman is still trying to figure it all out. He has been Batman for a while, but Gotham doesn’t seem to be getting better, and he doesn’t know what it means to be Bruce Wayne. He is more lost than we are used to. Dano and Pattison are not alone, and the supporting cast all stand out. Write, Kravitz, Farrell, and Turturro are all fantastic. Giving memorable takes on their classic characters. Write in particular might be the most relatable Jim Gordon has ever been. Giving Batman a buddy when he needs one.

In style this movie seems like it would fit closer to the Nolan movies, but it is much darker and dirtier, and the movie isn’t a grand epic. It is a street level thriller that is a bit of a slow burn. Now, I know what you are thinking, a slow burn in a movie with a three hour run time is a bit of a red flag, and the movie is too long, but for most of the film’s run time it is quite engaging. It just takes a little too much time here and there, and it has two too many endings, but it is worth it for the other 90% of The Batman. Don’t worry, there are still some well done action set-pieces.

I had a lot of fun with The Batman, not something I thought I would say about a Batman version of Seven, but it did still manage to be fun. Matt Reeves figured out a way to have Batman solve crimes, and not just be a very strange episode of Columbo. I am curious to see what he does with the character next. Reports are that Warner Bros. is quite happy with this movie, so I am sure we will be seeing a lot of The Batman.

There have been as many takes on the Joker as there has been on Batman. From petty criminal that leaves practice jokes to psychopath that cuts smiles in to the faces of his random victims, but Todd Phillips’ version is unique even among those. He doesn’t fight Batman, Batman doesn’t even exist, instead he is a dark meditation on poverty, mental health and gun violence.

Joker is a hard movie to do a synopsis for. It is best not knowing anything about it going in to it, but it will be shock to those looking for Batman movie. This is a DC Comics movie almost in name only. They do add some connections to the Batverse, but they are the exception not the rule. Just know that Arthur Fleck’s (Joaquin Phoenix) life is a brutal and sad one.

Todd Phillips and the rest of the writers really took a swing for something with Joker. It is clear they wanted to make a riff on the 19070’s/80’s Martin Scorsese films. It would fit comfortably with Taxi Driver or The King of Comedy. In fact, Scorsese was attached to produce for a while until breaking off to do The Irishman for Netflix. Still, it is a pretty convincing imitation. You could have told me this was a Scorsese movie, and I would have believed you.

What really makes Joker work is Joaquin Phoenix in the titular role. He is mesmerizing, and keeps the audience rooting for Arthur for longer than they should. The rest of the cast is talented, but this mostly a one man show, and I think whether or not you like this movie will depend on how you feel about Phoenix’s performance.

Joker is not a movie for those looking for the next popcorn comic book movie. It is for people who want to see a dark tale about mental illness in America, but since this is 2019, your movie has to be based on some IP (intellectual property) or part of some ‘verse to get movie executives’ attention, and the fact Todd Phillips used Batman’s greatest villain to get his movie made, might be Joker’s best gag.

P.S. This movie is a hard ‘R’. Please don’t take your kids to see it.

Somehow here in the year 2019 DC has released a “Shazam!” movie. With this film, DC and Warner Bros are really testing if audiences are willing to see minor heroes make their way to the silver screen. Now to be fair, Shazam was in theaters before. Albeit he was then known as Captain Marvel (no, not that Captain Marvel), and that was nearly 80 years ago, so your grandparents may remember him if you alert them to the name change. Despite all that, Captain Marvel “Shazam!” is the best movie beginning to end so far of the new DCEU.

“Shazam!” like most superhero movies is about an orphan, but what makes this movie different is that he is still fourteen. You see an ancient wizard (Djimon Hounsou in his second Captain Marvel movie of the year) needs a champion to protect the world from the Seven Deadly Sins, but when things go south, he needs to settle on a troubled foster kid name Billy Batson (Asher Angel). When Billy says the wizard’s name, Shazam, he is transformed in to the perfect man. Who in this case is Zachary Levi.

If this makes you think the movie is a little like Big, but with superheroes, you would be right. Though, that would be unfair to “Shazam!” because it makes the most of its premise. Because while the trailers show that this film is funny, they don’t show all the heart, and its focus on the importance of family. Whatever that looks like. In this case a group home that Billy is placed in, and the movie is at its best when Billy/Shazam is with his foster brother Freddy Freeman played by Jack Dylan Grazer. The three leads have great chemistry. The rest of the family is very good too, but they are there mostly filler.

The villains on the other hand are not as good. Mark Strong’s Doctor Sivana is not given anybody to really play off for his scenes, so he falls a little flat, though I think his story pays off really well at the end. Also, the Sins are CGI characters that push the budget for this movie a little too much, so they stand out in a bad way, and they make the movie too creepy for younger children. Otherwise, this probably could have been a PG movie, but these are minor flaws in a great movie.

Wonder Woman would have been perfect if it had found a way to have a third act without a big grey thing to fight, and “Shazam!”‘s third act pays off the movie’s themes in a creative way, so while Wonder Woman is a better movie in parts, “Shazam!” is better as a whole. What I am saying is, “Shazam!” is probably the best movie in the DCEU and you should see it. Maybe take your grandparents, it might bring back some memories.