comic books | timotheories

Knight Time (Batman: The Dark Knight Returns review)

Posted on April 19, 2016 by Tim Kuefler

Sometimes a person falls out of favour with their circle of friends, and sometimes they find a way back into social graces. Timing, humility, and quality of interaction all play into this result.

If you were to travel back in time to the mid-nineteen eighties, you wouldn’t have though much of The Batman. He wasn’t particularly cool and people weren’t that interested in what he was doing.

But today’s Theatrical Tuesday entry tells the story that got him back at the cool kids table? That’s right, you guessed it, we’re reviewing…

The Dark Knight Returns (2013)

Cast: Peter Weller, Ariel Winter, David Selby, Wade Williams, Michael Emerson, Mark Valley
Director: Jay Oliva
re-released on blu-ray w/graphic novel on February 24, 2016
********** 10/10

IMDB: 8.4
Rotten Tomatoes: 100%, Audience Score 94%
The Guardian: N/A

Jay Oliva is a Filipino-American artist, producer and animated film director; one who happens to work for Warner Brothers Animation.

He got his start on the FOX Spider-man series of the 1990s, and has been involved in animated versions of Ghostbusters, Godzilla, Starship Troopers, and He-Man. Since then he has worked on numerous animations for both DC and Marvel and numerous years before he was assigned the task of creating the two-part animated movie The Dark Knight Returns.

If it it isn’t clear by now, Oliva has a good track record when it comes to creating comic book inspired worlds or adapting already written stories like The Dark Knight Returns mini-series.

For the sake of the review, let’s go over the story, if somewhat briefly.

Taken from Wikipedia and edited,

Set in a dystopian near-future version of Gotham City. Bruce Wayne, at 55, has retired for ten years after the death of Jason Todd. Wayne has a breakdown and assumes the role of Batman again. He first confronts Harvey Dent, who was thought to be cured after therapy and plastic surgery (which Wayne financed).

Batman saves 13-year-old Carrie Kelley from an attack by a gang called the Mutants. Kelley buys herself an imitation Robin costume and searches for Batman, seeking to help him. She finds Batman at the city dump, where he fights an army of Mutants. Though Batman defeats the Mutant army with his weaponry, the Mutant leader beats him in combat. With the help of retiring Commissioner James Gordon and the new Robin, Batman defeats the Mutant leader on his own terms. The Mutants disband and some rename themselves the Sons of Batman.

At the White House, Superman and the president discuss the events in Gotham, with the latter suggesting that Superman may have to arrest Batman. Superman is then deployed by Washington to the Latin American country of Corto Maltese where he fights Soviet combat forces in a conflict that may ignite WWIII.

Batman’s return stimulates The Joker to awaken from catatonia at Arkham Asylum. With renewed purpose, The Joker manipulates his caretakers to allow him onto a television talk show, where he murders everyone with gas and escapes. Batman and Robin track him to a county fair, where he is already killing people. Batman defeats The Joker in a violent confrontation, nearly killing him. To incriminate Batman for murder, The Joker seemingly commits suicide by breaking his own neck. A citywide manhunt for Batman begins.

Superman diverts a Soviet nuclear warhead which detonates in a desert. The United States is hit by an electromagnetic pulse, and descends into chaos during the resulting blackout. In Gotham, Batman realizes what has happened, and he and Robin turn the remaining Mutants and Sons of the Batman into a non-lethal vigilante gang. He leads them against looters and ensures the flow of essential supplies. In the midst of electromagnetic pulse, Gotham becomes the safest city in the country. The U.S. government sees this as an embarrassment, and orders Superman to remove Batman. Superman demands to meet Batman.

Superman tries to reason with Batman, but Batman uses his technological inventions and mastery of hand-to-hand combat to fight him. During the battle, Superman compromises Batman’s exoframe, while Green Arrow shoots a kryptonite-tipped arrow to greatly weaken Superman. Batman reveals that he intentionally spared Superman’s life by not using a more powerful kryptonite mix; before he can finish his monologue, Batman suddenly has a heart attack, apparently dying. Alfred destroys the Batcave and Wayne Manor before dying of a stroke, exposing Batman as Bruce Wayne, whose fortune has disappeared. After Wayne’s funeral, it is revealed that his death was staged. Clark Kent attends the funeral and winks at Robin after hearing Wayne’s heartbeat resume. Some time afterward, Bruce Wayne leads Robin, Green Arrow, and the rest of his followers into the caverns beyond the Batcave and prepares to continue his war on crime.

I tried to edit that down as much as I could folks, but it was important to include all of those details for the next part of the review.

I will start by saying this, if you like animated films, but don’t know a lot about the Batman mythology, start here. The Dark Knight Returns is a great Batman story and because it is set in an alternate future, it won’t screw up or confuse you with subsequent readings of other books. The animation is well done, and echoes the source material as well.

That being said, it is an incredibly long story which includes what seems like almost every single detail of the original mini-series. So be prepared for a narrative which expects you to pay close attention.

Pros: As is the case with most of the DC line of animated films, it’s faithful to it’s source material and very entertaining. Peter Weller does a great job as Batman, as does Michael Emerson as The Joker. You have to follow the entire story through to appreciate everything, but it’s well worth it.

Cons: It is difficult to sit through 2 hours and 30 odd minutes of an animated feature. TBH, I blame Disney for conditioning us to expect animated films to wrap up in 90 minutes or less.

Runtime: 2 hours 32 minutes

Points of Interest: The Joker visits the David Endochrine Show which is based off the David Letterman Show. However the David of the animated movie is voiced by Conan O’Brien and as such resembles him. Though not explicitly stated, the POTUS in the film looks like and sounds like Ronald Reagan.

What I find most interesting about this story is not that we get to see how Batman would act if he returned to crimefighting after a hiatus, but that he is clearly themed around a fascist messiah, and most people who read the book, watched the animated film or went to see Batman v Superman didn’t really care to recognize that. Which says something about humanity even now in the wake of Batman v Superman.

This Batman is one who “realizes” the world is broken and that only he can judge it properly, so after cleaning up his city, he fakes his death, and builds an underground army while he waits for an opportunity. Almost 20 years later, Frank Miller wrote a follow up to this story titled The Dark Knight Strikes Again which details how Batman goes about “savining” the United States from rule by Lex Luthor. A third mini-series, The Dark Knight: The Master Race is also currently in the works, and makes me wonder about the conclusion of this Batman story.

You should definitely watch and/or read The Dark Knight Returns, IF you want to better understand how easily fascism can crop up in society; because we all want a hero to save us, but maybe that’s not the best solution. This story definitely helped drive Batman back into pop culture, and incidentally, tomorrow’s post has some wisdom about Buzzworthy content. I’m out of theories for now, please comment, subscribe, and share this post if you liked it!

Tim!

The Good, The Bad And The Last Airbender (Cross Talk Ep. 4)

Posted on April 17, 2016 by Tim Kuefler

Another week, another Stimulating Sunday on the horizon! Which technically is appropriate for both the beginning of the day and the ending of the day, dear readers. Especially now that the days are getting longer and dusk arrives around 9pm MST!

Conveniently for us, this is also the same time as when this post published!

Of course most of us already know the English language is mired with words with multiple definitions, a result of it adapting from other languages as it formed and slowly became one of the most common spoken languages on the planet. We that extra bit of daylight, I think we have time for a bit of quick trivia.

Did you know that for 339 million people, English is their first language, and that it is the second most common language after Mandarin, of which 900 million people claim it as their first choice?

But let’s look at the word adaptation as an example of this problem.

In biology an adaptation is a change or the process of change by which an organism or species fits into it’s current environment in a better way. However, in film an adaptation is a a transfer of work (written or otherwise), whether the whole work or a part, to make a feature film. It is a type of derivative work. A common form of film adaptation is the use of a novel as the basis of a feature film.

Both words are about change and originators, but for our purposes we’re gonna stick with the second option.

And because it’s about time for a Cross Talk post, and we decided to tackle film adaptations this month, it only makes sense that we define the rules of the game first. Yeah! We are going to go over the the challenges of producing an adaptation and what happens when you look back at the source material, fondly or otherwise.

You see dear viewers, there are still some issues with #whitewashing in film, gender inequality, character rewrites, and of course visual misrepresentation, so Chris and I decided to focus our attention to tackle the problems that happen when going to the movies or result in a debate on the couch.

I’ve included a direct link to the full video for you here, but as always the real action is just below for your convenience. Otherwise, please sit back and enjoy Episode 4 of Cross Talk!

I’m out of theories for now, but please check back tomorrow for a rather illuminating album review. It should be a good one! Please comment, subscribe and share this with you friends. We want to hear your feedback!

Tim!

Books, and Audio, and Video, Oh My! (Public Library)

Posted on March 10, 2016 by Tim Kuefler

Back when I was a just a wee one, we would spend a lot of time on Saturday afternoons and sometimes week nights, in a fairly small building, located near a mini-mall.

Over the years I watched that building swap out it’s wooden swinging doors for automatic ones, the introduction of scanners to prevent theft, switching from rolodexes, to Apple 2’s, then finally Dell computers. Even an eventual re-brand of bright colours everywhere and a functioning website that offered pickup became normal for this place.

I loved spending time there, and I think probably spent more time reading snippets of books, magazines, and movie summaries, then I did actually focusing on one topic.

Come to think of it, I’ve always had that “curiosity” attitude about books. I couldn’t just read any old book for 10’s of hours. I was very particular about what I committed to, but that was my personal journey through the experience of reading and eventual maturity of my adult tastes.

I may have mentioned this once or twice before, but my parents didn’t have a bunch of money laying around when we were growing up, so the library was an incredibly inexpensive way for me to be entertained and grow into knowledge.

But now that we have the internet, kids don’t have to use the library to pursue their interests do they?

Like everything in life, it depends.

Because of this fast development of digital communication, it seems to be quite common for social services like public libraries to face heavy scrutinization and threat of budget cuts in today’s world of lean politics and business. At least that’s the impression I often get from people whenever I bring it up. But as is often the case, public perception and personal assumption aren’t that close to reality.

It appears to be more realistic that the city is doing all sorts of things to keep it’s populous invested in learning and participating in self-improvement.

This is a very good thing, like this quote from blogger Kathy Dempsey states.

Libraries are portals to all of the world’s knowledge. And librarians make sure that knowledge continues to be recorded and saved for the future, even as information-storage devices and formats change.

– Kathy Dempsey, Libraries Are Essential

There was a time when larger retail services and public services could be very particular about what they participated in, but with this information shift, brick and mortar services need to be more diversified and inclusive than previously. That means more outreach programs AKA assistive services for those who don’t know where to start, are new to the community, are young or are elderly.

That also means providing online solutions too. In the case of the library, we can now temporarily download ebooks and audio books, and participate in seminars online. The website is online 24-7, so planning your next visit becomes even easier, you can place items on hold and then quickly drop-in to grab your books or whatever you want to borrow.

And because the library keeps archives of books, music, film, and other learning resources, the likelihood of them having something I want to see on my Watch List or Back Catalogue is quite high.

As I’ve mentioned previously in the current Wisdom Wednesday series on self-improvement – Attitude Is Everything. It is so important to participate in library culture, no matter where you are in life or what your personal goals are, the public library is an excellent way to entertain and engage your mind.

Even if you don’t like what you find your first time out, the brilliance of it all is that you haven’t spent money, and you have a wealth of titles available to look into as an alternative. And librarians are so knowledgeable of ways you can focus your efforts, they can look up material by subject, recommend authors, even tell you about local events the library is hosting which might benefit your journey.

I recently rewatched Night at the Museum, because it was in my list of blu-rays I had acquired but not opened, and there was this quote in it about the museum being a place “where history comes to life,” and while that is true the library is even greater, because it’s a place where ideas come to life. As cheesy as that sounds, dear readers.

And the theories are done for the week, my friends. Have a lovely weekend. Please comment! Please subscribe! Please contact me if you want to participate in the future!

Tim!

Mage User VS Art Producer (Artist As Genius, Assumptions PT 2)

Posted on November 29, 2015 by Tim Kuefler

Are you ready?

For this week’s instalment of Stimulating Sundays, I’m going to write about the fantasy genre and provide a relationship between it and the development of creative ability between family members, dear readers.

The story I’m about to weave could very well be rather complex or overly simplistic, the only way to know is to stick with me and see this through. I have no doubt that you will get there.

I also know that by the end of it, when all is writ and your minds are full, not only will you be satisfied with the results; you will be just a tad more knowledgeable and considerate about the subject we’re covering this evening.

That’s right, this is part 2 of last week’s entry on assumptions.

When I think of fantasy, I cannot help but stop to ponder the Vertigo comics title Fables – I was first introduced to these stories by my mom (who never reads comics) back in either the summer of 2004 or 2005, I can’t remember which, but that isn’t super important for the purpose of this point.

It does provide a cool anecdote about the length this series has been in my mind though.

If you haven’t read the title before, I would highly recommend the series because it takes characters from the public domain of folklore and mythology and gives them a fun new twist. Regardless if you loved these kinds or stories or not growing up, one of two things will happen when you invest some time in the series (or possibly both). First, you will get reacquainted with familiar characters and have a grand time. Alternatively, you’ll enjoy the stories and the artwork, thus gaining an appreciation for their source material. Or as I said, both things.

So what does this have to do with artist families you ask? I’m getting there, I promise.

Now that I’ve got you thinking about magic, castles, princesses, and morality tales, it shouldn’t be too much of a stretch to bring up the concept of classes within the form. As we know, fantasy is a genre of fiction that uses magic and the supernatural to help tell a story or which features it in the theme.

The classes of fantasy are pretty straightforward, comprising fighter, magician, rogue, cleric, and ranger, with several variations thereof, as well as specific classes that exist in certain worlds. If you want a more detailed list – check out TV Tropes for more info. Just don’t get stuck there.

Great, so for the purpose of the remainder of this post, let’s assume that artists represent the magician class of a fantasy story, okay?

Which also helps because magic is central to the universe these characters inhabit.

Well, there are a number of reasons why people become magicians, and while most of the time it has to do with natural ability, authors recognize that said ability doesn’t just appear out of thin air. It takes significant time and/or another type of sacrifice in order to gain the experience needed to wield that ability.

Just look at this handful of resources I found about the topic. They all suggest different reasons for why creativity abounds in certain individuals, but the conclusions that nurture plays a role in the development of artists in truth throughout.

And just for fun, an article for you to check out and for us to come back to regarding artistic spaces. Cleanliness versus mess.

Article number 5 raises an excellent point about why creativity exists

But while creativity may appear to be a spontaneous burst of new ideas, it is really the art of deriving the new from the old – the relentless reassembly of information we already possess.

So for the sake of argument, maybe magicians exist in fantasy because that material needs to be assembled and reassembled, to be used in a way that it takes form and has function. Whether aesthetic or practical. It’s potentially an obvious association, but one that helps to tie back into creativity and why it continues to persist in our genetics.

We need people to exist who help us innovate and evolve. Who move us onward and upwards. As culture shifts, we need pioneers who can help define the way and take problems head on.

Environments that produce generations of artists can provide that role, but the parents/predecessors need to be especially cognizant of their stake in the process.

I think we will also discover that out of opportunity do artists find ways to exist. For example, my loving childhood home of convention and specific moral qualities allowed not only myself to pursue the arts but both of my younger brothers. But that’s a theory for another day.

What do you think of that theory folks? That creativity harnesses from the created world and furthers the creative cycle?

Tim!

Not Just Another Sequel (Avengers: Age of Ultron review)

Posted on October 13, 2015 by Tim Kuefler

Do you like to watch epic movie universes? I know I personally do. My all-time favourite cinematic universe is The Fast and The Furious, but there are lots of others that do a fantastic job.

Today I have a great universe to share with you, one that is constantly improving upon its ethos and pulling us further in so that we can enjoy and relate to its characters.

That’s right I am referring to the Marvel comics we all know and most of us are starting to love. I’ve written about the power of superheroes in previous posts and this review details them outright…

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, with James Spader, and Samuel L. Jackson
Director: Joss Whedon
released on blu-ray October 2, 2015
********* 9/10

IMDB: 7.7
Rotten Tomatoes: 74%, Audience Score 86%
The Guardian: ****/*****

Joss Whedon is getting to be a pretty big deal at this point in his career. With director/writer credits for The Avengers (and now Avengers: Age of Ultron), 2012’s Much Ado About Nothing, and Serenity, not to mention writing credits for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Toy Story, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Firefly, Angel, the Astonishing X-Men TV series, and The Cabin in the Woods, Whedon has shown he can tell a story.

But was Avengers: Age of Ultron a good movie?

With so many high ranking actors in this movie and a writer like Whedon at the helm, I would argue a big yes. I have no major issues with the visual, the story or the relationships as they develop, and the set ups for future Marvel films are enjoyable as per audience expectations at this point.

Much like the first film, we are treated to a few location hops throughout the story (read: New York City, Seoul, and Wakanda), but the plot mainly focuses on the made up nation of Sokovia.

The movie begins with a raid by the Avengers – Tony Stark / Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr), Steve Rogers / Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Bruce Banner / Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Clint Barton / Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) – on a secret HYDRA base which has been conducting experiments on Sokovians. They are using the sceptre previously wielded by Loki to accomplish this.

Enter the only two surviving enhanced – Pietro (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen). Rogers finally captures Baron von Strucker, the head of the base, while Stark retrieves the sceptre. But only after Wanda uses her hex powers to implant a fear-filled vision of future end-game scenario that sees the world conquered and The Avengers defeated, save Iron-Man.

When the team arrives back at Avengers Tower the group plans a party while Tony coerces Bruce into helping him use the sceptre to design the AI needed to create the Ultron defence system he has in mind for the world. The AI program finally takes while the whole team is out celebrating at the party.

What happens next is pretty wild as Ultron (James Spader) comes to life, and decides it is his sole responsibility to not only take care of the Earth, but that he will need to get rid of the Avengers and force humanity to evolve at the same time. JARVIS (Paul Bettany) is the first casualty in this process.

In a creepy rendition of “I’ve Got No Strings” we get to see Ultron embed himself into one of the drones Stark has been using as of late, then he surprise attacks the Avengers in their home base, and then leaves with the sceptre to create a better body and his own army.

I can’t tell you too much more without giving away the rest of the plot, but it gets even better from there.

Pros: The jokes are infinitely better, and the more of the movies you watch, and more of a fan of the comics you are, the more you will be rewarded as watch. In particular, the exchange with Hawkeye and Pietro towards the end of the film where Clint makes a joke, and also the fact that Ultron’s personality mirrors Tony’s in very funny ways.

Cons: There is a very unnatural death at the end of movie which I didn’t really care for, and which apparently was intentionally done as an F U to another distributor. It felt forced and didn’t really hold me, but you’ll have to watch to see what I mean.

Points of Interest: Seeing the nation of Wakanda, if only for a brief moment, the Hulk buster armour, the tension between Bruce and Natasha, and the unveiling of the new team at the end of the movie were pretty cool moments

Runtime: 141 minutes

New comer Elizabeth Olsen is worth the price of admission alone as her portrayal of the Scarlett Witch was very on point, though admittedly we never hear her superhero name? If you haven’t watched the first Avengers movie, you can probably get by without seeing it, but you are definitely doing yourself a disservice. So do yourself a favour and watch that one first. But I bet you dollars to donuts, you’ll want to see the rest of the Marvel cinematic universe if haven’t yet.

Avengers Assemble!

It really is hard not to enjoy these stories because there are so many archetypes explored and something there for everyone to relate to. Maybe you disagree? Either way, leave your questions and comments. You could even suggest a review for an upcoming week.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this review, because I’m spent for the day. I can only handle so many theories at a given time.

Tim!