Hulk Vs. Wolverine Review

(I am not a comic otaku, I’m a manga otaku. But to appease the fans, I will try to reflect on the movie’s connection to the comic canon itself so as to demonstrate I do appreciate how it began. And there will be spoilers, since this is Direct to DVD anyway)

I know I implied I’d never review another Hulk film, but in this case, I’ll make an exception because it’s two short films more than a single feature length film. Not to mention it’s two of the most intriguing conflicts in Marvel Comics that many fans have imagined, not to mention they’ve technically happened, though not necessarily as these films depict. In any case, Hulk Vs. Wolverine is what we start with, since it’s both shorter and first in the sequence of short films included in Hulk VS.

It starts with a scene that we actually don’t get to until later, where Wolverine regains consciousness and relocates his shoulder, trying to figure out what happened when the Hulk jumps in and resumes the fight already in progress. We flashback to Wolverine getting an assignment (when he was still under government authority I suppose) to seek out the Hulk and either detain or kill him. He’s dropped off in a large forest/mountain area and eventually finds Bruce Banner. After interrogating him a bit, he transforms back into the Hulk and the fight progresses to where it left off. They fight underwater and then Wolverine starts using the claws, but Hulk eventually overwhelms him and pummels his lights out. But as we know, Wolverine is not only nearly physically unbreakable with his adamantium skeleton, but his healing factor overrides a lot of what Hulk can dish out to him. He gets back up, much to the Hulk’s surprise and they duke it out some more before they’re both tranquilized by some old friends from Weapon X: Deadpool, Omega Red, Sabretooth and Lady Deathstrike (all whom don’t like Wolverine at all). We’re then treated to the usual flashback of how Wolverine got the adamantium and eventually escaped, though he was tested on and cloned in the process, giving us a subtle hint to the existence of X-23 in the process. We then return to the present and learn that Weapon X has resurfaced and intends to manipulate the Hulk to use it as a weapon just as they did with Logan, which indirectly created Deadpool. There’s a general atmosphere of everyone in the facility besides the Doctor wanting to kill Wolverine, but that’s to be expected with three of his primary rivals involved with Weapon X. Lady Deathstrike is particularly insistent with her bloodlust. Overall, the group had apparently planned to betray the Doctor anyway, killing him and then trying to kill Wolverine. But it doesn’t work out too well. Wolverine escapes and goes to save the Hulk. They’re ambushed, but Bruce Banner can’t Hulk out, since the emotional catalyst has been suppressed somehow, but Wolverine gives him some incentive by stabbing him with the claws to get the adrenaline going. Wolverine proceeds to fight Weapon X, doing pretty well until they get their act together and nearly kill him. But of course around that time, the Hulk arrives and starts beating the hell out of them, punching Sabretooth out of the facility, ripping Lady Deathstrike’s arms off and pretty much handing everyone their asses. Eventually, Hulk starts tearing down the place and whacks Wolverine out of it. And the film concludes with a black out conclusion with the victor left up in the air.

Wolverine’s character is spot on, there is little to complain about. We get the Weapon X flashbacks and the present Wolverine’s experiences presented quite well for a film barely over 30 minutes. Hulk talks a surprising amount in comparison to the live action depictions and has funny nicknames for almost everyone in the film, including “little man”, “claw people”, “talking man” and “ugly girl” (You can imagine which person he’s referring to in each case). Bruce Banner is depicted little and he is less than mild mannered, one might say, being submissive, weepy and otherwise emasculated as a character, though one can hardly blame him for such behavior in his situation. And the Weapon X characters are depicted very well also, each distinguished as a person, especially Lady Deathstrike and Deadpool, with Sabretooth and Omega Red somewhat similar, the only difference being backstory that wasn’t explained with them. Lady Deathstrike has a distinct orgasm face when she’s jamming her claws into Wolverine at one point, and Deadpool is the king of bad one-liners, which is common of him even in his comic book counterpart. The idea that all four of them hate him is convincing though, even if there is the absence of complete justification from the perspective of a newcomer to the Marvel universe.
The only theme really indicated is the connection of Wolverine’s past, both to Weapon X and to the people associated, to the Hulk, though themes in such a case as this film are few and far between, since one could concoct a number of plotlines to put the Hulk and Wolverine in the same area so they could fight each other. Wolverine’s relationships with others are thematic enough in investigating this film, what with calling Bruce Banner a crybaby and treating any person, male or female, equally when they fight him, slicing off arms or otherwise.

Overall, the film is good, but I’d only give it a 4 and maybe 80% recommendation, not only for the disappointing ending with no real victor noted (even though in all fairness there probably wouldn’t be a winner in the case of these two characters both indestructible for all intents and purposes). But if you want to see a brutal fight between X-Men characters, this is a good film for that, maybe even moreso than Hulk Vs. Thor, but we’ll see about that later. Until next time, Namaste and Aloha.

Hulk VS Dual Review Preview

I almost promised myself I'd never review another Hulk adaptation, but Hulk VS is too appealing not too. I have the rough drafts ready and I may start posting the first one tonight, but more than likely I'll put these off until next week to keep you interested (advertising tactics and all). Either way, here's a nice picture depicting the titles themselves

Doctor Strange Sorcerer Supreme Review

(I am not a comic otaku, I’m a manga otaku. But to appease the fans, I will try to reflect on the movie’s connection to the comic canon itself so as to demonstrate I do appreciate how it began. And there will be spoilers, since this is Direct to DVD anyway)

Doctor Strange is not a Marvel character I knew much about before I watched this film, and for good reason, since he’s very secretive and mysterious in the Marvel universe itself, only really being important with the Illuminati organization and the Defenders group, which ironically includes one of my other Marvel interests, the Hulk. This film is a good introduction to the character, even with deviations and additions to the original story that one can find. Not to mention at least one theme I will get into later that makes the film function on a deeper level than other films I’ve reviewed so far, since they haven’t confronted the issue as explicitly as this one.

The plot begins with a group of spiritual exterminators (if you will) that are chasing down a big ugly lizard. They succeed in taking it down, and in all the chaos, a man driving an expensive car almost crashes and manages to see the hunters even as they are supposed to be cloaked from the eyes of normal people. Later, the same man, Doctor Steven Strange, comes to the hospital and after prodding from the hospital administrator confronts a series of coma cases. After experiencing a strange vision after touching the forehead of the first patient, he leaves and has one of a few flashbacks about his sister who suffered from terrible migraines, no doubt a motivation for him to become a neurosurgeon. After leaving the hospital, Steven has a number of odd visions as he’s driving and spins out of control, crashing down a hill. After recovering, he is told that his hands are irreparably damaged from the crash and that he will never be a surgeon again. He desperately tries many treatments, bankrupting himself in the process. And after an attempt to kill himself, he is directed to Tibet by one of the mysterious “ghost hunters” from the beginning of the film. He gets there, nearly dying a few times and finally meets the Ancient One, who tells him he must look within himself for the cure, whatever it may be. He is given a modest room (just a bed of straw mostly) and is left to himself as the others take on “shadow hounds” in another “monster of the week” kind of mission where a few people die. Dr. Strange starts his training in earnest. The Chinese guide, Wong, inquires about the evil one Dormammu and how he is getting past his seal, but the issue is dodged from the moment. Strange continues the training, his quarters improving slightly as he smashes down a wall with a hammer, taking away the stones elsewhere and eventually having to start all over again because the wall is rebuilt. He eventually leaves in frustration, but after a final vision involving his failure to save his sister in surgery, he is confronted by the Ancient One in a vision and is motivated to continue, his room improving a bit again with a hot bath. The Ancient One sees another vision of Dormammu’s creatures and his guardian Mordo is sent to confront them, with orders to focus on one and then the next which Mordo is likely to disobey. Steven is confronted by the Ancient One again during his wall training and with a series of examples and progressively more spiritual feats, Dr. Strange progresses to the next level by beginning to “accept the unacceptable,” The two big ugly lizards with 8 eyes seen before are killed, but at the expense of 4 more students. Mordo is told he will not be the fabled Sorcerer Supreme’s successor because of his continued defiance. Instead he will train Steven for a time. He does this, but becomes frustrated as usual and Wong takes over, noting that Steven has a special power to absorb and redirect magic. Steven’s training progresses and he is able to do many things he was not before (like finally being able to shave, which was impossible before). His new appearance complete, he follows the group with the Ancient One to the Nexus of all dimensions, the Sanctum Sanctorum. We learn more about Dormammu and finds out that all the people in comas are being dominated and controlled by him, which Steven discovers through his heightened senses and the memory of the vision from before. He and Mordo are sent to recover the coma patients from the Dark Realm and after a while, it begins to work very well. But Mordo makes a deal with Dormammu and the Wing Mawg (or however it’s spelled) begins to attack the city. Many of the remaining students are killed and only the Ancient One survives the onslaught, before being slain by the new Mordo. Steven Strange takes on the Eye of Agamotto and is given the title of Sorceror Supreme in his master’s place. Wong and Mordo fight as Steven tries to stop Dormammu from being summoned. Wong is wounded and Steven easily defeats Mordo, who is then eaten by Dormammu who takes the Eye away and reconstitutes himself, releasing other evil spirits. Dr. Strange and Dormammu fight, and with Wong’s advice (subtle as it is) Strange defeats Dormammu, though it is indicated all the evil Dormammu released will have to be sealed or defeated in a future series. Steven then lets his colleague know (through a dream vision) that he is willing to give back now and with Wong they go to meet Strange’s future apprentice, Clea, leaving the film open to the future series or other films that may come.

Doctor Strange’s characterization is spot on, progressing from his selfish and otherwise skeptical persona in the beginning to his increasing acceptance of the unacceptable as the new Sorcerer Supreme. The appearance changes as well, from his initial appearance with black hair, his hair graying and his appearance disheveled as he attempts to fix his hands and his final appearance with some locks turned white and his changed outfit reminiscent of a true Sorcerer. His colleague Dr. Gina Atwater is minor, but her influence is important in the eventual change of personality Steven manifests in the conclusion. Wong and Mordo are the two most important of the various sorcery students under the Ancient One, most of them barely getting a name drop and dying in the series of battles. Wong is a traditional Chinese man, unassuming and devoted to his master, and Mordo’s equal in many respects, training Strange and serving as a constant mentor throughout the film. Mordo is ambitious and brutal, serving in the comics as Strange’s rival, though it seems unlikely that he will persist as such unless things change. His battle-addicted attitude shows through every conflict he has with people or spirit monsters through the narrative and is a great foil to the other varied characters. The Ancient One, similar to Wong in personality, is also more experienced and powerful, though his age is catching up with him and his training comes in the form of aphorisms in the vein of Buddhist masters, particularly such as in Tibetan Buddhism. The training of Strange reminds me of the Sage Milarepa’s somewhat, in that he is told to build and destroy three towers to suffer immense anguish and torment for his crimes in order to achieve nirvana in one lifetime. And Dormammu, while a bit extravagant in appearance, does fit the bill of a large demonic entity bent on conquering the world and bending it to his will. Though again the film seems to suggest he is gone forever, which ruins the possible future appearances he might have had in a series or another film.
The primary theme emphasized is the change of Strange in exposure to the many inexplicable spiritual experiences with the world of magic and sorcery, starting with the visions of the supposedly cloaked monster hunters and visions of flaming skulls and progressing to using magic himself as he accepts that there are mysterious forces in the world and yet with the proper mindset and talent, one is able to channel them. This is supplanted by the subplot involving a sister Strange technically didn’t have in the comics and his failure to save her as a surgeon, which made him desire fame and money in his later years because of his newfound distrust of trying to save people he cares for. This becomes especially important for Strange’s later acceptance of the unacceptable through his conversation with the Ancient One on how perception and experience are integral in determining how the world behaves for each individual, especially for those with magical heritage and powers. Not to mention the obvious idea that comes about with Mordo that sacrificing others for power is not exactly good for you, since you’ll get eaten by a fiery demon like a snack.

Overall, this film has a good plot, balanced protagonist and antagonists and conveys a message that resonates well with my own background in religious studies. Although admittedly the involvement of Marvel mythology only complicates this, not to mention the wasted potential of all the students tossed away like Star Trek extras. But this definitely gets a solid 5 in my book, though recommendation is probably 80-90% because of the esoteric nature of this Marvel character in particular, not nearly as accessible as Spiderman or the Hulk to just any person looking for an animated film. Until next time, Namaste and Aloha.

Secondary Introduction

I had put this off for about a week or so when I considered that it'd probably be a good idea to make two proverbial spheres for my writing. On the one hand, I can express my thoughts and opinions on current events (that run the gammut from GLBT to abortion to religious issues that pigue my intrigue). And on this hand I can post reviews on various films I see. I've done a lot already and while I imagine I won't run out any time soon, at least until I run out of DC and Marvel films in particular, I can't promise I'll update this one as much as To Hold Nothing, since that's my primary interest, one might say. In any case, you'll notice I've uploaded over 10 reviews already, so that you can get an idea of what my general interests are. I will review other films that don't fit the usual standard, but my common interest will be comic book adaptations, live action or otherwise. So, until then, keep reading and keep watching.

Wonder Woman 2009 Review

(I am not a comic otaku, I’m a manga otaku. But to appease the fans, I will try to reflect on the movie’s connection to the comic canon itself so as to demonstrate I do appreciate how it began. And there will be spoilers, since this is Direct to DVD anyway)

The Wonder Woman franchise is not nearly as appreciated as it probably was back in the 40s and 60-70s period. Wonder Woman has aged awkwardly, even if she still is popular, evidenced by sales of her comics today. But I imagine there’s something of an opposition by some feminists today if only because of her clothing choice (scantily clad and all) and a general problem with her weakness being bondage by men (Curse of Aphrodite I believe). I’m not sure if the latter is actually emphasized as much, but I imagine she still needs a weakness: and what better weakness to use than a Greek mythology reference to when Aphrodite and Ares were caught by Hephaestus in the middle of sex?

The animated film is supposed to be a reference to the “Gods and Mortals” arc that was a reboot of Wonder Woman in the late 80s and it does follow the plot in the basic premises, though I’ll get to the discrepancies later. It begins with a flashback to a fight between the Amazons (who apparently lived with men at this point in time and only became ultra feminists afterwards) and the forces of Ares, the primary antagonist in the film. There is a particular clash between Hippolyta and Ares alongside the fighting we see between Amazons and baddies, all concluding with Hippolyta’s beheading of Thrax, her son with Ares. Before this, a bookworm Amazon called Alexa causes Persephone (the Amazon, not the Goddess) to be wounded in the face. Afterwards, Hera and Zeus stop Hippolyta from killing their son (one of the few kids they had together), binding his power to draw energy from the chaos of humans with gauntlets that can only be removed by another god (gee I wonder which god would be bad enough to remove them…) Anyway, the Amazons are given the island of Themyscira to have the utopia they wanted. And then we get Wonder Woman’s origin story; she was sculpted from sand/clay by her mother and with a little blood from her thumb and a prayer to Hera, a lightning bolt strikes the effigy of the baby and a real daughter comes from the sand falling off. And so Diana was born. She grows up to be a great warrior, but her mother, as many protective parents do, says her daughter cannot go to the outside world, for all men are pigs (or something like that). She shows Persephone as an indirect example, who is guarding Ares, still imprisoned after probably 20 years of being punished. We then shift over to our male protagonist, Steve Trevor, piloting his jet. His other partners are killed and he crash lands on Themyscira. He’s eventually captured and they decide that he’s harmless after using the Lasso of Truth on him. Diana sneaks into the competition to decide who will be the emissary, in effect dooming her replacement, the scholarly Alexa from before, to be killed by Persephone, who has betrayed the Amazons to Ares and frees him. Diana wins the competition and travels with Steve back to the outside world. She has the usual reaction that all females in the outside world are in bondage and to men as their servants and housewives. But she is a stand out gal and demonstrates her Amazon upbringing very well, out-drinking Steve with ease at the bar. Deimos, one of Ares’ many other sons, stalks out Diana and fights her and after being defeated, kills himself with one of the snakes on his head, turning into dust (charming). Diana and Steve track Ares to a location where he plans to do a ritual which will grant him access to the underworld. He succeeds even with Diana and Steve’s help, Steve taking Diana away after she’s injured during the fight. Ares succeeds in getting to Hades’ throne room and he then gets the bands taken off by his “loving” uncle. We shift to Diana and Steve bitching and moaning about gender relations and they get over it with the help of Steve’s military values of not leaving anyone behind and having an aching and obvious crush on the Amazon princess. Ares proceeds to wage war on the entire world, and after a bit of struggle on Diana and Steve’s part, the Amazons suddenly break their vow of isolation and journey to the outside world to stop Ares. Diana and Ares fight while Steve stops the big nuclear missile shot by the president at Themyscira (because we must destroy that which we know little about if they are an enemy according to much U.S. logic). There is a fight between Hippolyta and Persephone, as well as one between Artemis (another Amazon who’s kind of Diana’s bodyguard) and Alexa (resurrected from the dead as a pseudo zombie). Diana eventually tricks Ares into shocking himself with Zeus’s lightning and kicks his butt accordingly, chopping off his head. He is then made a slave of Hades alongside his son who was revealed beforehand. Diana then returns to Themyscira, but is told by her mother that her real mission is to bridge the gap between the Amazons and the outside world. She returns and the movie ends with her fighting The Cheetah to connect to a potential future Wonder Woman animated series.

Wonder Woman’s design is nice, adjusted a bit, not nearly as in Justice League Unlimited, but also keeping the femininity alongside her fighting spirit. Her hair seems more like a black blotch on her head, but it still behaves like hair, so the complaint is more a superficial critique of its appearance. Steve Trevor is the masculine lead, but is subdued by Wonder Woman’s near equal assertiveness into a comic relief character most of the time with his interactions with both Amazons and women in general. And his blond hair is maintained, which is not so portrayed in the TV series, popular as it was. Ares differs a bit from the Ares depicted in Justice League Unlimited (my first experience with him), but the general warmongering and yet gentlemanly manner still makes him an excellent Olympian villain. He changes forms at least once into a form reminding me of Eric the Red from X-Men. Hades’ depiction is oddly fat and hedonistic, like the robot from Futurama almost, but one can imagine that he could fight relatively well even as heavyset as he is, like a Kingpin figure almost. He does give you the feeling of the lord of the dead, lazy and not having much to do, but also seeing ahead three moves in the proverbial chess game that the film depicts between Ares and everyone else. The other Amazons, such as Artemis, Alexa, Persephone and Hippolyta depict the variety of personalities within the spectrum that is the Amazon kingdom. Artemis in particular is the far extreme of one ready for battle and willing to hurt anyone that threatens Themyscira or Princess Diana in particular. Hippolyte is strict and matronly, but ready to fight as well. But she also has more flexibility than Artemis on the issues plaguing the Amazon kingdom. Persephone as an antagonist depicts the theme throughout of the conflict between the Amazon’s female nature and their training as warriors, as does Alexa in a sense, being more interested in academia and not willing to be a fighter until she is resurrected as a zombie of sorts. And the end version of the Cheetah is a nice change from the version in Justice League, though related, making me hope they go through with a Wonder Woman animated series.

The themes to speak of are already mostly explained. The Amazons themselves show a cornucopia of different female perspectives, not to mention how they interact with Steve Trevor, the only good male depicted in the series alongside Ares, who was indicated to have raped Hippolyta and seduced Persephone. There is also that inevitable paradox that people would bring up that the Amazons are raised against their essential nature. None of them are ever truly mothers, nor are they ever given the chance to love a man as a woman usually does. It begs one to ask if all the women on Themyscira are lesbians, but it would not be the best way to go, since it assumes a number of things not demonstrated either way in the film. The film doesn’t exactly do anything regarding the issue of war, but does point out that without tempering by some virtue like justice or honor, war becomes little more than a manifestation of fear and raw desire that only hurts everyone involved, including the one instigating it. This is especially clear with what happens to Thrax and Ares, slain in battle in the same way and both becoming slaves of Hades, making one curious if he’ll be the main antagonist through the potential animated series in the future. There’s a discrepancy or two with how Ares is involved with Steve Trevor, the army and such, not to mention the absence of a subplot involving two halves of an amulet, one of which Wonder Woman has, but the simplicity of the film is necessary for what is a feature length project anyway.

Overall, the film gets a great rating from me, as it does what many have wanted for a decade or so since Wonder Woman was rebooted in the late 80s, to reshape and modernize her for today’s audience. Now we have a way to introduce her through the animated medium alongside Lynda Carter’s popular live action depiction in the 70s and the Justice League version, a nice midway form relating to the most recent depiction. It has a basic and easy to follow plot, unlike Superman: Doomsday in many regards, and introduces a character that needs to be appropriated into today’s culture with women advancing more in the working force. I give it a solid 5 and a recommendation of about 90%. Until next time, Namaste and Aloha.

Superman: Doomsday Review

(I am not a comic otaku, I’m a manga otaku. But to appease the fans, I will try to reflect on the movie’s connection to the comic canon itself so as to demonstrate I do appreciate how it began. And there will be spoilers, since this is Direct to DVD anyway)

I’ve recently been interested in the DC Direct to DVD animated films, my first being the Wonder Woman film indicated in the Gotham Knight special features. I watched that, but that review will be next. For the moment, I thought I’d get the Superman: Doomsday review out of my hair, since Superman is not my favorite superhero in DC. Doomsday, on the other hand, is always an interesting villain, even in passing, along with Lex Luthor (because bald is sexy to women apparently). So without further ado, here we go.

The plot is not the most believable and not exactly what you’d expect with Doomsday in the title. Less than 30 minutes into the film, Doomsday’s gone and we never hear from him again. This contrasts with Justice League Unlimited where he was lobotomized by Justice Lord Superman and then came back to fight again even stronger. His primary power, among others, is regeneration, albeit in this case he had to regrow his frontal lobe. In this film, the primary antagonists are Lex Luthor, (which is okay) and a conglomeration of three of the 4 Superman following in the Man of Steel’s footsteps after his untimely death fighting Doomsday in the comics. These are Superboy (since the bad guy is a clone), Eradicator (since he kills people) and Cyborg Superman (since he tried to make people think he was the real thing come back to life). There is the involvement of Toyman from the comics, but he’s been modernized. Not that it’s a problem; it just becomes awkward when he’s abruptly removed from the plot after being dropped from 100 stories in the air onto a car. The fight between Superman and Doomsday is not even the big event of the film which has both their names in it. Our story begins with Lex Luthor, who is involved with a tunneling project that unearths Doomsday sealed in what I assume is his Calatonian prison ship (a comic storyline thing that’s not really investigated at all). He then escapes and wreaks havoc, and Superman stops him, but at the cost of his own life. It’s certainly an epic finish to the battle when Superman flies himself and Doomsday into space and then slams them down into Metropolis, leaving a huge crater in the aftermath. Afterwards, everyone’s sad; people start changing personality and jobs and otherwise get depressed. But then, Superman returns. Or does he? Turns out it’s a clone and Lex Luthor is behind it. He’s trying to make an army of them, but of course fails. Eventually the real Superman (who never really died, since the yellow sun radiation revived him like Jesus) fights the clone and then saves the day. Overall, it’s good, but I will say it makes for an unnecessarily complex idea when we start confusing between two Supermen in the final fight, not to mention the disappointment on my part when I find that the main focus of the film is not the fight between Doomsday, but the aftermath. And it would’ve been especially cool to make a reference to Doomsday’s appearance in the comics, which involves, among other things, Doomsday beating off the entire Justice League (with one hand tied behind his back no less).

The characterizations are excellent, making the jump to modernize the characters to new fans of Superman. Doomsday isn’t changed drastically, but he does seem to be more like an android with his Terminator display screen. And he has no speaking lines, which disappoints me in contrast to Doomsday’s appearance in JLU. He’s not as much of an organic entity as you’d think, but they don’t really get into that, so his character suffers anyway. Superman has a distinctly chiseled square face, but he’s certainly recognizable in any depiction throughout the film (red and blue, black, Clark Kent, etc). Lois Lane takes on a new image as well, with her hair framing her face differently, but the wit and the feminine appeal come through. And you don’t feel like she’s been completely destroyed; though I would accuse her of being a Lana Lang clone in some regards. There’s not much to say on Jimmy Olsen or Perry White; they keep their characters pretty well as the impressionable young adult and stubborn old man. Mercy Graves is a short lived character who isn’t nearly as cool as she was in Superman: The Animated Series. Not to mention she gets shot in the face not 5 minutes after the Superman Doomsday fight. Lex Luthor is probably the most changed, at least in appearances. He’s slimmer and generally more of a coward than any other version in the animated series. He hardly confronts Superman just as he is, he always needs his technology and gadgets and such. Even Batman can talk on an even ground with Superman in virtually every depiction, but this Lex Luthor is a freaking pussy half the time, even if the film does a good job of making him Superman’s true nemesis, as opposed to Doomsday or the Superman Clone. But I really would’ve liked the film to have Doomsday and Lex team up in some twisted fashion, even if it involved Lex turning him into some sort of slave. It would’ve worked better in some respect. Though it also would’ve taken away from the connection you can make to the Death of Superman arc, where people need a new Superman, and yet they’re shocked when the new Superman is not what they expected, which is what the film excels at in the plot. They did, however, make the Superman Doomsday fight rushed and seemed to use Doomsday as an excuse to make more sales for the film. I guess it would’ve been boring to call it something like “Superman: Identity Crisis” which could’ve worked, but that idea wasn’t evident until at least 40 minutes into the film.

The most interesting of the themes throughout the film is the investigation of Superman’s god- complex that might occur when he takes the law into his own hands. This is not unlike the Justice Lords storyline in Justice League Unlimited, though that extended to the entire Justice League. There’s also the involvement of the Lois/Superman/Clark Kent relationship and how Lois knows Superman is Clark Kent, but she wants Superman to admit it, which I don’t get (female thing that I don’t understand well). And there’s Lex Luthor’s general love-hate relationship with Superman. This comes in the form of a scene that takes the movie down to a maximum of 4. He has gloves with Kryptonite crystals on the knuckles and a red sun radiation room that weakens Superman as he walks in. Lex proceeds to note that they are Christmas colors and that Superman has been a naughty boy. I’m not kidding, he says that, and pummels Superman’s lights out in the process. But the overall narrative works, even if they spread out the antagonists a bit too thin and don’t really confront Doomsday’s potential resurrection and Superman fighting him a second time with reduced powers. The themes are there, but the method of bringing them out leaves much to be improved, not to mention the general Superman feel isn’t there, since it suffers from Spiderman 3 syndrome in having more than 2 villains in the same film, which inevitably makes for a convoluted and confusing film.

Overall, I’d have to give the film a 4, but a low 4, at 40-50% recommendation. There’s a lot of awkwardness and general confusion that ruins your expectations, even if they’re admittedly naïve to begin with. But it does present a compelling Superman story to look into his psyche and his relationship with Lois Lane, as well as showing his determination to protect the people even in a situation where he’d otherwise lose. So I’d recommend it, but probably just as a rental. Until next time, Namaste and aloha.

Walt Disney's Alice in Wonderland Review

After watching Walt Disney’s Alice in Wonderland, I thought I should take my inspiration and channel it into this review. While oriented more towards a depiction of the events within Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland with only a spattering of connections to Through the Looking Glass and the poem “Jabberwocky”, it still has a great deal to offer for both children and adults. As a child, it brings amusement at the songs interspersed and the colorful and bizarre characters, especially the Cheshire Cat and the Mad Tea Party participants. But as an adult who may either have never heard of Lewis Carroll or has read him in depth, there is much literary appreciation in the references to Carroll’s lyrics, prose and general nonsensical logic and sayings. For a film that has long since crossed the threshold into antiquity, it still holds value for comparison to the 2010 reimagining of the Carroll canon into the cinema, though for the purposes of time and expression, I will keep this concise and pointedly in the direction of the creation of Walt Disney himself.

The plot, as already mentioned, follows very closely to the events in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The involvement of Alice’s sister seems absent, though the woman teaching her history may be a much older sister. And Dinah the cat is present, though her involvement, much like in the text, is short and almost unimportant. She does have the amusing qualities of animals in Disney that have not yet stepped into anthropomorphism and yet manifest reactions that suggest they understand us nonetheless. After one of many songs, a theme present in many Disney films even today, Alice sees the eponymous White Rabbit, following him into a hole. She then discovers the bottle saying “Drink Me”, shrinking to 3 inches tall, being directed by the talking doorknob that showed her said bottle to find the key. Unable to reach it, she eats a small cookie with “Eat Me” written on it from a box magically appearing like the key before. She then grows to 20 feet tall and after crying a flood of tears, she drinks from the bottle again, being washed away in the tides through the doorknob’s mouth. Absent from the series of events in the book is the conversation with a mouse about her cat, which predictably upsets the rodent. But continuing on, Alice sees other animals (mostly birds) swimming or boating their way through the sea of tears and eventually attempting to dry themselves off in an endless race in a circle, the Caucus Race from the novel. She then chases after the Rabbit again and runs into Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, from Through the Looking Glass, who, along with teaching her logic and manners, tell her the story of the Walrus and the Carpenter, animated accordingly with a variety of additions and changes to the poem. She manages to sneak away as they recite “Old Father William” and stumbles into the White Rabbit again, who instructs her to get his gloves, a reference to a similar account in the novel where Alice is instructed to get the Duchess’s gloves, a character wholly absent from the film. Alice then eats another cookie with “Eat Me” written on it, growing to 20 feet again inside the house. The Rabbit enlists the help of the Dodo seen guiding the Caucus Race from before and he suggests to burn the house down after failing to smoke Alice out with the help of Bill the Lizard. Eventually, Alice snatches a carrot from the Rabbit’s garden which, after being consumed, shrinks her back to 3 inches tall. She then tries to find the rabbit, running into talking flowers singing songs, another reference to Through the Looking Glass. After the song, they realize she is a “common weed” and shoo her away, contrary to what the rose, the only nice flower in the bunch, would have wanted. Eventually she meets the blue caterpillar, with his smoking habits, who eventually helps her after much sputtering about with his hookah and Alice’s attempt to question him. He covers himself in smoke and flies away as a butterfly, giving her advice to eat the mushroom on one side or another to change her size. She grows to 20 feet again and scares a panicking bird who thinks she is a serpent and eventually returns to 3 inches with the other side. After licking the growing mushroom she is returned to normal size. After meeting the Cheshire Cat, voiced by, to my memory, the same actor as Kaa from The Jungle Book, she is guided to the Mad Tea Party, having many inane conversations with the Mad Hatter, March Hare and the sleepy Dormouse (conforming to the original text now, it seems). She leaves after the White Rabbit is thrown out after an incident with his watch and becomes quite lost and frustrated with all the nonsensical creatures in the forest. She then becomes sad and weepy at the thought of never getting home as the creatures all disappear. The Cheshire Cat then directs her through a tree to the Queen of Hearts. She meets a trio of card soldiers painting the roses red for the Queen who hates white roses for some reason. After the Queen’s entrance, she has the cards in question executed off screen and Alice befriends her, the Queen inviting her to play croquet. The Cheshire Cat eventually plays a prank on the Queen and Alice is put on trial before the presumed execution that is waiting for her. The trial progresses as the farce that it is and Alice eats the remnants of the mushrooms, finally having her say about what she really thinks of the Queen before returning to normal size. She then flees from all the manner of characters giving chase as the setting continues to change before her eyes. After the chase concludes in an odd flash of colors, she awakens to find she was dreaming almost the entirety of the story. And her sister, or teacher or whatnot, excuses her laziness and directs her for teatime as the film ends.

Alice is probably the only important character to consider, but there are a few others that bear reflection on. Alice’s initial mannerisms are reflective of the rest of the film’s complete irrationality. As she stipulates about her imaginary world she’s creating, “Whatever something is, it isn’t and contrariwise whatever it isn’t, it is,” no doubt around the point where she starts falling asleep. Her cat, Dinah, is almost too cute with a little ribbon around its neck and its interactions with Alice making it almost human in its level of understanding. And its behavior with flowers would probably make any person, regardless of feelings towards real cats, smile slightly at its antics. Alice’s change as she enters Wonderland is not surprising since it’s a reversal of her external behavior, considering logic and reasoning out things as she communicates with the many bizarre denizens of her mental creation. And she becomes quite morose at realizing she misses home after many misadventures in searching for the White Rabbit. And in the end, the whole internal psychological dynamics are forgotten since we know that she is going to be fine, since she still lets her imagination take over and maintain the childishness that got her into the situation to begin with. The White Rabbit is a decidedly minor character, though he is similar to Alice in her dreams, being quite reasoned and rational about things, only panicking when the obvious shock appears in front of him like a 20 foot tall girl or when someone like the Dodo suggests they burn the house down to get rid of it. But his role is decidedly minor throughout, overshadowed by the Queen of Hearts who serves as the main antagonist. She is temperamental and otherwise a despotic tyrant who changes her whim and feelings at the drop of a hat and generally towers over her husband, literally and figuratively, in ruling whatever kingdom they possess. She isn’t a direct parallel to Alice’s instructor/sister, since their temperaments are decidedly opposite, but Alice could be making a caricature of the authority her sister has over her for the sake of the dream’s absurdity. The Cheshire Cat’s involvement is probably short in terms of screen time, maybe 15-20 minutes at the most, but he does serve as a twisted projection of her memories and experience with Dinah the cat. He guides her through Wonderland the best a cat can and even aids in confronting the Queen of Hearts, which Dinah does in the real world with the flower crown made by Alice.

There are hardly any themes to speak of except the general absurdities associated with Lewis Carroll’s works, twists of logic, aesthetic expectations and the general idea that the entire thing is a psychotropic drug or head trauma induced hallucination. It’s Disney, so you can’t expect bad animation quality in the slightest, so no doubt you’ll enjoy that as well. The Cheshire Cat, always my favorite Carroll character, is presented in a surreal and mindbending fashion that makes any adaptation of Carroll’s works worth watching at any age. Similarly with other violations of general norms of the real world, the animation portrays it in a lighthearted and yet abrupt fashion that gives you the Wonderland experience all over again in action.

All in all, this is more a reflection than a review, since you can’t help but recommend for aspiring cinematographers, animators and the like to watch Disney’s classics, ranging from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Cinderella to Bambi and Lady and the Tramp; all made within the 30s-50s period. But even if you have kids in the 2020s, I would highly encourage you to introduce your children to this piece of adaptation that has only been matched by the company’s recent collaboration with Tim Burton. It’s a tad heavy on songs, but they’re probably the best method to introduce young minds to poetry without putting them to sleeps, so it’s tolerable. A solid 5 and another solid 100% (seems like most of my film reviews now are 100%, but I’m reviewing select films to begin with, aren’t I?). Until next time, Namaste and aloha.