The Toad's Burrow

      No Tim Drake, no Jason Todd, not even any real Barbara Gordon until the very end, but this movie kind of makes it work. I have been so thoroughly underwhelmed with the past couple of DCAMU movies, especially because they were quite Batman-centric. I felt like they didn't do anything interesting with their adaptations, that the movies were honestly kind of boring and didn't do enough to make them worth watching. I wouldn't say this one really reinvented the wheel in any major way, but it was fun, and frankly that's what I was really hoping for. Let's talk about it.     Honestly? This film just makes me want to go back and read Grant Morrison's Batman, especially runs like Batman Incorporated, which I just found to be very fun in general. I mean this film basically bastardizes much of it, especially with Dick Grayson being Batman in the first half with Damian as his Robin, then the Heretic storyline, only for it all to be dropped halfway through. That is not...

      Legitimately such a beautiful film. I had very high expectations for this film coming in, and it did not disappoint in any sense. I don't think it's for everyone, that's for sure, but for me personally I love everything this film tried to tackle, specifically shining a modern lens on religion and family. It had less action than I thought it would, and this film was significantly funnier than I thought it was going to be, but I think Tariq and Co. still made it work. Let's talk about it.     I do not think this film is for everybody. I was looking through comments on Reddit, which I do sometimes before I'm writing reviews to see how my consensus matches up with other people and I was surprised. I will say, I do come from a fairly religious background, I'm not Muslim, but my parents are quite religious so the story about grappling with ones own faith in the face of adversity appealed to me. I think if you have a very hardline stance on religion, or are just ...

      Huh? What? I was ready to give this movie a semi-positive score, not too positive, but just enough for attempting to try new things with a story that I admitted was very flawed. I felt the source material for this movie could have done more, though I'm just not quite sure this movie understood what it should have/was supposed to do. It definitely includes many of the same lines/imagery from the comics, and for that I appreciate it, but I feel like once again they've missed the mark about Bruce and Damian's relationship in these films, and I feel it is much too flimsy for me to care about. Let's talk about it.     First off, let's start with the good. They flesh out the court of owls, ever just slightly, but it's what I asked for. You see them with an actual leadership structure, you see them do more than just sit there and stare at Batman in their porcelain-white masks and they also even talk a little bit. By that same token it probably could have done jus...

      I remember when the Court of Owls was first introduced as a concept. Of course I was nine at the time so I thought it was pretty cool that there was this secretive society that Batman didn't know how to fight because they made up the city he was sworn to protect. Nowadays, whenever they're brought up people seem pretty mixed about them, at least on comic book Twitter. Personally? I couldn't actually remember much, though as a child I do remember looking back at Scott Snyder's time writing Batman quite fondly. As such, with rumours that they might be featured heavily in  The Batman Part II, and it being a main sticking point in Batman vs. Robin , which is my next DCAMU film to review, I thought it would be the perfect time to look back at this arc. Let's talk about it.     Oddly enough, the introduction regarding the Court of Owls is actually split up into two arcs and while I don't hate it, it leaves a lot to be desired. I will say the second half, Th...

      I doubted, and doubted, and doubted, but I have to admit, 30 Rock season two was pretty good. I was concerned it wouldn't really get any better, and since this season was already cut short due to the writers strike, making it only fifteen episodes, it was a real uphill battle. But they did it, the writing felt sharper, it felt like they had a better idea of how to both handle the characters, and balance the main cast so it didn't feel as Jack- and Liz-centric, even if I loved those characters. Let's talk about it.     I feel like the show is really starting to figure out how what to do with the side characters. I will say Dot Com and Grizz have risen up tremendously on my list of favourite 30 rock side characters, even as Rachel Dracht doing random roles has sadly disappeared. Like one of my original complaints from the first season was that they hardly actually did anything with the setting of it being on a show, and while I don't think they've actually d...

      This movie is so weak man. It's not even a good Aquaman adaptation, it's barely a Justice League movie, and they continue to push this unacceptable Superman and Wonder Woman relationship. What do I even write about this movie. It was just extremely underwhelming, and I would not recommend it under any circumstances. It's just a complete waste of your time. I can't believe I'm saying this but I kind of enjoyed the mandatory Batman glaze from this film, which is saying something about how boring the rest of it is. Let's talk about it.     Well first of all despite being titled as a Justice League movie this film could hardly be constituted as such. The Justice League fared significantly better against Darkseid than versus Ocean Master, it was quite pathetic. Not to mention the Justice League hardly even get any screentime together. I understand that there are a lot of characters. Like they made a good point about the league hardly feeling like a league yet, ...

      This is by far, the angriest book I have ever seen from Ursula K. Le Guin, and it kind of works. Don't get me wrong, the Vietnam War allegory is very, very thick. Like almost hilariously so. I'm not even an expert on the Vietnam war, but the "very definitely human" shorter species who live exclusively in forests and fight back using guerilla-style warfare is very on the nose. Yet I still liked it? It felt decidedly significantly less sci-fi than other Usrula K. Le Guin novels, and honestly could have simply been in separate continuity and very little would have changed. Let's talk about it.     Let me get this out of the way very quickly. The noble savage trope is very much well and alive with the  Athsheans, there's no other way to cut it. Their people view Terrans as these backwards creatures, who are oddly hairless, and have no strong connection to the Earth. They have this "mystical" way of dreaming that is so foreign to humans that even th...

    I have finally done it. I've found another sitcom to sink my teeth in, and this time I think it might just be good enough for me to really sink my teeth in. Truth be told, the only reason I did not start this show sooner is because the first time I was watching this show, I actually cut off a small chunk of my fingertip, and so I was so mad with myself for the month or so every time I thought about picking up the show again I'd be reminded of my finger slowly growing back. Then, that list of the top 100 shows was released, and people started comparing this TV show to my beloved Community , which in my heart remains one of the greatest peaks television has ever reached, and I just had to see if it was any good. Let's talk about it.          Off the bat, I will say, this TV show definitely feels like one in its first season. It really does not know/struggles to balance between who are the main characters/who is going to be showcased. You start off th...

    Well, there I am, slowly going through the DC Animated Movie Universe. Honestly, you won't get much from this film, and that's what I expected, which is why it took me a little bit to get to this film. I'm not planning on doing the Tomorrowverse, so I'm really just trying to get to The Death of Superman  and Justice League Dark: Apokolips War . Like I'm not really that excited to watch some of these films. And sadly, I would say I have been quite vindicated on my stance about this film being quite weak. It's not bad, I mean it's a nice change of pace from reading comic books at night all of the time, but I would not call it particularly strong. Let's talk about it.     I think part of the issue with this film is that it's too contained. Part of the appeal of introducing Damian Wayne was that there was this whole other "Bat-family" out there to interact with him. As Batman's "only" real son by blood, it was interesting seei...

    I do have a weird relationship with It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia , on one hand some of it's earliest seasons are some of the best seasons of television I've ever experienced, especially comedy-wise. But nowadays? It mostly just hovers are the fine-enough stage, and I watch with half-enthusiasm, hoping to get some laughs if I'm lucky. Oddly enough, Season 17 ended off on quite a large cliffhanger. Frank was getting married, so I expected some nice big changes, but nope. They nipped it as quickly as it came, and they wrapped it up in about two episodes, both of which had their moments but were kind of eh. Let's talk about it.     I will say, I thought this season ended much stronger than they began. There were some real standout episodes this season. " The Gang Goes to the Ren Faire" was quite fun. I loved that gag where Dennis forces Charlie to watch him having sex with a random women who hates it, and then Charlie comes out of the shadows and chas...

      This movie was.... surprisingly good? I remember seeing a tweet not too long ago basically disparaging the New 52. Which is kind of fair. They had some pretty bizarre storylines, and for an era that was supposed to be a reset it just made everything messier. They also made fun of the first justice league cover from that time, which was a story that this movie adapted. I have to say though, I honestly kind of enjoyed this film, significantly more than I thought I would. Like it's not my favourite, but considering it barely clocks in over an hour, it's a good time for a starting point. Let's talk about it.          Don't get me wrong, I don't have complaints about this film, but the list is surprisingly shorter than I thought. First of all, this Cyborg design is ugly. I always preferred Martian Manhunter and was never a big fan of moving Cyborg up to the big leagues since I liked him in the Teen Titans, but if you're going to promote him at le...

      I must say, when I first read this comic, I expected something quite different. After all, with the Alex Ross art, and the idea of it being dystopian universe, I just expected something much closer to DC;s  Kingdom Come. Sort of like Avengers: Twilight, but I was mistaken. Instead what I found was quite a comprehensive sort of evaluation/look back on the history of the Marvel universe, and some bizarre decisions that made the ending feel quite flat. Let's talk about it.     I will admit I am a bit more of a DC fan than a Marvel fan, but even still I can't help but feel like this comic is missing something. I almost think it's trying too much? Don't get me wrong, I actually like quite a few of the elements in this comic. I appreciate it doing a sort of retrospective on every single hero people have come to know and love. It's not really anything I haven't heard before, but hearing the conversations between X-51 and Uatu as they go through them is quite...

      You know now that I think about it, if you told me that the "boombox serenade" as it is so affectionately named on TV Tropes, originated in 1989 and not something much earlier like in the 60's or 70's I would be surprised. Like I had never heard about this film until my sister suggested it tonight, but I had seen so many countless iterations of what has truly become a timeless trope. Surely someone else had to have thought of this before, it's kind of great. And this film is pretty good too. I'm not quite sold on it being this amazing rom-com yet, but perhaps by the end I'll even convince myself. Let's talk about it.     As it is almost the halfway point of October, I must admit this film encapsulates an autumn rom-come atmosphere quite nicely. Perhaps it's because they're leaving their small town for school, or just because it provides quite heavily emits a small-town energy that is just perfect for this film. But listening to Modern Bas...

      Damn. I'm so conflicted. On one hand, this might be the greatest "surf dracula" show of all time. I've never seen a show legitimately put off and resist so much of it's source material for so long, yet work so damn well. Half of it is just the ending too. I don't think it will affect my score that much, but my mind is just abuzz for where this show should go, and where I hope it does. It's just such a delicate push and pull between trying to make something your own while still respecting what it's supposed to be adapting. I can see why this show is divisive. Don't get me wrong, it's great, but if you can't enter this with an open mind about seeing a new iteration of characters, you might want to look away. Let's talk about it.     This might be the best superhero TV show I've ever watched, and that's saying something because they try their damndest to reel in any sort of desire for anything CGI-heavy or too spacey. Everyth...

      Let me level with you. I mostly decided to read this comic because people keep on sharing the artwork from this series, especially since Lanterns  is about to wrap up its first season and everyone seems to be buzzing with excitement. Even still, I had decently high hopes, people seemed quite adamant this was a good Green Lantern  run even if it was two volumes at best. And I have to say? It's pretty solid. I don't think it particularly reinvents the wheel, but there are some changes to the GL mythos that I think people can appreciate. Let's talk about it.     During Geoff John's famous Green Lantern run much of it was about showing the Guardians of the Galaxy as the villains they were, with the creation of the Manhunters and everything they chose to hide about the universe and their workings. This series does not change that aspect, but it feels more liberating in the sense that it doesn't feel shackled by years of lore and mythos it has to work ...

      I was never a big fan of the original Ghost Rider. No disrespect to Johnny Blaze but I never quite felt any particular connection to him or his design. You know who I enjoyed reading about as a kid, and whose design I love even more now? Robbie Reyes as the Ghost Rider. Whether it's the car, or the cool metallic skull, respectfully it sort of feels like an update that Ghost Rider as a character could have used. I remember reading about this character when he first came out, and so I decided to revisit it finally. Let's talk about it.     What can I say, this dude looks cool. I just prefer his design and the car so much more than the original Ghost Rider design. Though, I don't quite like that during this original run Robbie keeps on shaving his head or doing dumb things with his hair. The hair he has on this cover, with the white streak through it was just perfect as is, and I'm glad it's become the look he's been most remembered for. Funnily enough, I onl...

      My review for this film feels like the film itself. I feel like I have a lot to say, but in reality I'm not quite too sure. In the same way the film can feel longer than it really is at times, yet you finish and realize only about 80 minutes have passed in total. For this review I don't even need to start it off with any real anecdote. The Blair Witch Project  is quite an iconic film in pop culture, and while I do not lean any particular way when it comes to horror or found footage, I always knew this films name. Yet as technically impressive as this film was, I can't help but feel like my enjoyment of it was always capped by the genre itself. Let's talk about it.      I'm not saying that I went into this film believing it had a ceiling of enjoyment for me, but part of the appeal to this film is the fact that it's so limited on purpose. This film very much feels real, it does feel like if you let three college students go shoot an amateur documen...

      Well there it is I've done three Wonder Woman comics in a row. A common theme between the three is that once again I think this comic is just too short. However, unlike the other two I think there's some real proverbial meat on the bone to chew on that keeps you intrigued. Let's talk about it.     So, basically this comic is about 100ish pages, and is based around the premise of the Hiketeia, which is the Greek rule of hospitality, which Diana extends to a young girl after she's being chased by Batman for murdering the people who destroyed her sisters life. The biggest criticism of this comic I've managed to see online is people think Batman acts out of character, but I'd argue for the purposes of a relatively small one-off comic I think tha's fine.     He's mainly just there to represent the lack of nuance. After all the book is all about social laws and upholding them, you even see the comic mention littering being worse than murder. In that se...

       Yeah I'm going through random Wonder Woman stories? So what? It's pretty easy to argue that this comic is super edgy. It's post-apocalyptic, the art style is decently grimey, and Wonder Woman literally uses Superman's spine as a new whip. And to that I say? Honestly, I think Wonder Woman's allowed to have an edgy comic. I mean like I still enjoyed Wolverine:  Old Man Logan , and I really think Mark Millar is complete edge lord, so I think Wonder Woman is allowed to have one edgy story. Let's talk about it.     Like the last Wonder Woman story I reviewed, this one is also quite short so I won't have too much to say about it. Honestly though, my only complaint is about that random human character that Wonder Woman interacts with. I understand their purpose, someone needs to really hold Wonder Woman accountable/remind her of her own atrocities, btu at the same time she was kind of annoying. Would I have preferred if it was just a Cheetah and Wonder...

      This review will be relatively short. I mean it's only a one-shot that's around a hundred pages or so anyways. Even still, I thought I might enjoy highlighting/talking about this comic briefly just to catalogue it since I really don't read many Wonder Woman comics in the first place. Let's talk about it. In concept this comic is pretty simple. It involves Wonder Woman taking down the rest of the league, Tower of Babel style, because of some prophecy.      I mean this in the nicest way but I think the best aspect of this comic is the art style. it's quite pretty and it's kind of nice seeing all of the textures and shadows within it. It's just a very simplistic comic which is why I'm kind of struggling to write a very comprehensive review. And I think the simplicity is intentional? It is a very mystical/magical story, relying heavily on Wonder Woman's origin as a woman whose lore is based on myth. Final Score: 60/100     On one hand I want to ...