Batman Forever (1995) Review

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(More customer reviews)Okay okay,. everyone agrees that Tim Burton is the master of the Gothic, when it comes to films. Just look at some of the films he has done and that's proof enough. And everyone knows that Joel Schumacher isn't, plain and simple, neither does he have the impressive back-catalogue that Sir Burton has. (the only other film I have viewed by Schumacher is "The Lost Boys", which is actually a very good film. But it was the 80s, come on.)
However, that does not deter this film from being a fantastic one. I like the way he mouled Gotham into a really cool, bright-coloured and still dark and gothic city, with amazing glowing clothes and buildings. It seems like a real party city, one you'd definitely want to swing by.
In my opinion, Val Kilmer is a far better Batman than Micheal Keaton. To be Batman, you have to have the Bruce Wayne lips, as they are the only things you can really see with the mask on. And sure, Micheal Keaton had those. But take the mask off, and he just wasn't CONVINCING as Bruce Wayne. Not at all. However, Val Kilmer portrays Bruce Wayne perfectly; smooth and suave, and gorgeously serious. And then, as he steps into the suit, he is instantly the strong, tough Batman that we know and love. George Clooney was horrifying in this role, and I haven't yet seen Christian Bale's performance, but Val Kilmer is the winner, hands-down.
The two bad guys in this outing are Two-Face (played by a demented Tommy Lee Jones) and The Riddler (played by an absolutely amazingly freaky Jim Carrey). It is extremely unusual seeing Tommy Lee Jones in a role like this. I have no idea why he took it, but I'm glad he did, as he shows Harvey Dent's split-personality monster man with a certain flair. Plus he looks fantastic in that costume.
But Jim Carrey. Just wow. He is the most entertaining baddie I have ever seen in any movie, and that is a fact. His portrayal of Edward Nygma and his alter-ego is so hilariously silly and disturbing all at the same time, you sometimes wonder if he could possibly be two different people in the one body! He is an absolute joy to watch.
Nicole Kidman is suitably sexy as Chase Meridian, and does a good job as the girl. There's is nothing oustanding about her performance, but she is enjoyable to watch.
And Chris O'Donnell is extremely likeable in his role as the young cheeky orphan Dick Grayson, who becomes Robin, Batman's side-kick. The circus scene is one of the most dramatic and tragic scenes in the film, and is amazing to watch.
Plus, the songs in the credits are absolutely AMAZING. Two of my favourite songs of all-time now, "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" by U2 and "Kiss From A Rose" by Seal are two gorgeously authentic songs. Amazing.
This film is absolutely fantastic. I seriously recommend it, it is in my opinion the best one.

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Riddle me this, riddle me that, you'll adventure on the wings of bat! Brace for excitement as Val Kilmer (Batman), Tommy Lee Jones (Two-Face), Jim Carrey (the Riddler), Nicole Kidman (Dr. Chase Meridian) and Chris O'Donnell (Robin) star in the third spectacular film in Warner Bros.' Batman series. Joel Schumacher (The Client) directs and Tim Burton co-produces this thrill-ride of a movie that thunders along on Batmobile, Batwing, Batboat, Batsub and bold heroics. Hang on!

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Any Given Sunday (Special Edition Director's Cut) (Keepcase) (1999) Review

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(More customer reviews)No one can accuse Oliver Stone of being original. In 1987's Wall Street he took the age old story of a youngster being seduced by money and power and turned into one of the most scathing attacks on heartless Capitalism. So predictably Any Given Sunday doesn't really have anything new to say, just a lot of old things to shout.
One negative review of the film said "Stone directs like a deranged rooftop sniper". And with full frontal nudity, severed eyeballs on the feild and a general air of violent intensity it is clear that the film is excessive. But that is also why it works. Stone manages to give the viewer that voyeuristic delight of a peeping tom who's only allowed to look at something for two seconds before he pulls the camera away. As he did with JFK and NIXON, Stone uses every camera angle concievable, but unlike those two films Any Given Sunday never really becomes a flawless whole.
The film tells the story of the Miami Sharks head coach Tony D'amato(Al Pacino looking very angry). His team is on a losing streak, his quarterback(Dennis Qauid) is injured and is replaced by the talented but ego-centric Willie Beaman (Jamie Foxx), who according to D'amato "may sell a lot of T-shirts but is ripping the team apart". Now D'amato has got to battle this kid, the greedy ice cold team owner (Cameron Diaz) and a corrupt team doctor who lets injured players on the field despite fatal risks and then justifies it to himself with twisted morality(James Woods). The scenes between these four principles are stunning, and even there Stone refuses to let the camera sit still. It might have been a wiser descision to tone down the off-field scenes.
Any Given Sunday may seem from its reviews as a tradional sports movie, with the big game ending and bonding theme. While it has those, it far too cynical and ambitious to be just about that. Just incase you don't get it, Stone gives you images of Ben Hur (Football as the modern Gladiator arena) and even casts Charlton Heston as the league comissioner. And ofcourse you get the prescribed dose of anti-consumerism ranting.
In final analysis, Any Given Sunday is not a great film or a historical achievement. But its frequently inspired, always fixating and exhausting. When it hits, it hits very hard.

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Life is a contact sport and football is life when three-time academy award-winning filmmaker Oliver Stone and a dynamic acting ensemble explore the fortunes of the Miami Sharks in Any Given Sunday.At the 50-year line of this gridiron cosmos is Al Pacino as Tony D'Amato, the embattled Sharks coach facing a full-on blitz of team strife plus a new, marketing-savvy Sharks owner (Cameron Diaz) who's sure Tony is way too old school. An injured quarterback (Dennis Quaid), a flashy, bull-headed backup QB (Jamie Foxx), a slithery team doctor (James Woods) and a running back with an incentive-laden contract (LL Cool J) also provide some of the stories that zigzag like diagrams in a playbook. and throughout, there's the awesome spectacle of motion, sound and action orchestrated by Stone.

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Catwoman (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)...and I loved every minute of it.
I went into this movie as a not expecting much - but hoping to be entertained and I was. The movie was bright, colorful and camp as Christmas.
Like the other reviewers said - it has nothing to do with the comic lore - but if you can get past that and want to see a cheesy super "hero" movie - then go for it.
I had a good time and sometimes that's all you want from a movie.

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CATWOMAN - Blu-Ray Movie

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The Dark Knight (+ BD Live) (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)What has been said about the Dark Knight cannot be elaborated on - so I won't. The film is muscling its way into my #1 favorite comic movie adaptation of all time.
The reason for my review is in hopes of saving you some money. This double disc Special Edition doesn't deliver the price you pay for it. There isn't even deleted scenes!!! I would save your very hard earned dollars and buy the single disc version and wait for the inevitable ULTIMATE re-release that will come later on down the road.
But nonetheless, a great film - you will not be dissapointed; I just wish the studio would have given a better Special Edition release than what we have here. So enjoy!

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The follow-up to Batman Begins, The Dark Knight reunites director Christopher Nolan and star Christian Bale, who reprises the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne in his continuing war on crime. With the help of Lt. Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to destroy organized crime in Gotham for good. The triumvirate proves effective, but soon find themselves prey to a rising criminal mastermind known as The Joker, who thrusts Gotham into anarchy and forces Batman closer to crossing the fine line between hero and vigilante. Heath Ledger stars as archvillain The Joker, and Aaron Eckhart plays Dent. Maggie Gyllenhaal joins the cast as Rachel Dawes. Returning from Batman Begins are Gary Oldman as Gordon, Michael Caine as Alfred and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox.

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Batman - The Complete 1943 Movie Serial Collection (1943) Review

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(More customer reviews)Before the big glossy Batman movies and the campy 1960's television series there was this little masterpiece. It starts strong with the spooky music over the opening credits. Lambert Hillyer was an experienced B-movie director but this was his first and only serial. He makes it an enjoyable adventure with an unusual sense of humor for a serial. Note the banter between Alfred, Batman, and Robin in the third chapter after Alfred fires a few shots with his eyes closed.
The film has been criticized as racist, which it certainly is, rife with comments like "Since a wise government rounded up the shifty-eyed Japs..." and "your twisted Oriental brain." But that's exactly the way it was at the height of World War Two, so this is really a historical document of the pervasive attitude at that time. The War was still unsettled in 1943, and people were terrified of the Japanese threat. The serial has also been issued in a cleaned-up version, but this one is much more realistic even if it wouldn't be acceptable today. Just try to enjoy it for what it was.
I particularly like Lewis Wilson when he's Bruce Wayne, with his tongue-in-cheek portrayal of a lazy playboy, even though in his Batman guise he displays a bit of a gut that kept him out of the 1949 sequel. He's really a cool dude for 1943.
J. Carrol Naish was a great character actor, garnering two Oscar nominations in a long and distinguished career. He specialized in foreign dialects, and as Dr. Daka he does his best Peter Lorre imitation. Any villain would kill for that living room with the built-in alligator pit.
Douglas Croft (nee Douglas Wheatcroft, 1926-1963) was a successful child actor in the early 1940's. The year before he played Robin in this serial he was in both "Pride of the Yankees" and "Yankee Doodle Dandy," playing Lou Gehrig and James M. Cohan, respectively, as a boy. Not much is known of him as he dropped out of acting later in the decade, and died at the age of only 37.
Shirley Patterson (1921-1995, later known as Shawn Smith) was Miss California of 1940. After this performance she played in B-Westerns opposite Charles Starrett, Johnny Mack Brown, and others. Even Charles Middleton, that all-time favorite serial villain, puts in an appearance starting in Chapter Six, but this time he's on the right side of the law as Dan Colton, who has discovered a radium mine and of course Daka needs radium for his nefarious schemes.
As usual with Columbia serials the fights and the chases don't measure up to Republic's standards, and in general the cliffhangers aren't as good either. But the way Batman escapes from the old room-with-sharp-blades-closing-in routine at the end of Chapter 13 is a classic. The Chapter 14 cliffhanger isn't bad, either.
Be sure to watch for a cameo appearance by Bob Kane, the original creator of Batman. He's the young man who plays a newsboy who sells a newspaper to Bruce Wayne early in the first chapter.

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See how BATMAN really began. BATMAN started it all, and it's now available on DVD for the first time ever! Watch as mild-mannered Bruce Wayne (Lewis Wilson) becomes Batman, the classic superhero who, with Robin (Douglas Croft), protects Gotham City from the evil schemes of Dr. Tito Daka (J. Carrol Naish). Packed with adventures involving a radium-powered death ray, a deadly alligator pit, electronic zombies, and even the original Bat Cave, the BATMAN 2-disc set is a must-own DVD for any fan of the Caped Crusader!

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Batman: The Video Game Review

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(More customer reviews)Batman for the nes is quite possibly one of the best sidescrolling games based off of a comic book liscense and sheer quality of this game is not often found with old games that are usually rushed to coincide with a movie's release date. Thiat is not the case here, what we have is a fun and challenging game that is leaps and bounds better than most of the nes competition.
For a game that's over twenty years old, the graphics are very detailed with lots of nice background effects like buzz saws spinning on the ground and the joker's face appearing on the computer moniters. Another cool effect is the spinning gears in the clock tower which also happens to be one of the most epic last levels in 8 bit. The only real problem graphically is that many of the middle levels don't really match the Batman theme very well and appear to be lifted from another game entirely whcih is really less of a complaint and more of a curiosity.
The gameplay is pitch perfect and the Batman handles in such a natural way.From the wall jumping to switching your three weapons on the fly, everything is mapped out to perfection. Many times playing this, I forgot I was even holding a controller, it really is that intuitive.
Last but certainly not least, there is the music. Each level has it's own melody that ranges from sweeping thatrical action compositions to moody more subtle sound. One thing is for certain, few nes games can manage to utilize the hardware and make the sound as quality as this. This here is a soundtrack that easily compares to megaman or castlevania and in case your new to 8 bit, that's a huge compliment.
Anyway, if you have an old nes lying around, dust it off and play this little gem. Even if your not a fan of Batman but can appreciate some old school platforming, this is worth checking out. Sunsoft really did a tremendous job on this one and it's a shame more people don't include this in their listmania lists because I would pick this up over super mario 2 any day of the week.

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This listing is for a Nes Video Game Version. Batman the Video game. Storyline:The citizens of GOTHAM CITY are busy planning the city's 200th Anniversary Festival, but there is not much to celebrate. Crime and violence rule the city.The only man who can free the city from THE JOKER'S evil clutches is the one and only - BATMAN!With your help, the CAPED CRUSADER can defeat THE JOKER and save the good people of GOTHAM CITY. BATMAN is armed with special weapons and acrobatic strength. He must destroy 15 different types of enemies and 5 bosses, while traveling through 5 stages.Finally, BATMAN comes face-to-face with THE JOKER! But who will prevail? It's up to you!--From the NES Batman instruction manual.Overview:Batman is based loosely on the Michael Keaton/Jack Nicholson movie. Batman is out to stop the Joker from terrorizing Gotham City. There are some cinema scenes between levels, that show the Batmobile driving around or confrontations with the Joker. The cut-scenes have nice graphics to look at. The in-game graphics are good, too.There are some quotes from the movie included, and much of the scenery came right from the movie, too, such as the Axis Chemical Plant, and Batman's final showdown against the Joker in the clock tower. The sounds were also reminiscent of the movie.The controls were a little tricky at first, but easy to use once you get used to them. The ability to make Batman jump off the walls was a really fun feature. This platformer based on the movie was definitely an exception to the rule that all games based on movies are crappy.

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LEGO Batman Review

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(More customer reviews)If you liked LEGO Star Wars and LEGO INDY, then LEGO BATMAN is already in your Xbox....'nuff said. If you didn't like them...you won't like BATMAN...if you didn't try them, you should.
The LEGO games are fun for the whole family, young and old, the animated LEGO movie links to the gaming threads are wild & wicked and worth the purchase on their merits alone. The format for Batman is much like the Lucasfilm game sets, just not directly connected to any particular movies...although (thankfully) the Danny Elfman music (circa 1989) runs throughout the game, the style is generic Batman via LEGO LAND. The villains have teamed up to escape Arkham Asylum and the Dynamic Duo must stop them...each villain has a story arc to unlock, before free play is possible in the related locations...so like the previous installments, replay value is high, you can return to the story setting later as several optional characters including the villians themselves in order to find hidden "trophies" to build in Wayne Manor (part of the Batcave hub, where menus, story progress and unlockables lie). This way the same tales have many variations for players to explore, collecting the coin-like "studs" as currency for upgrades and unlockables. There's roughly about 30 separate levels to play, 15 in the hero chapters and 15 levels i the villain chapters.
LEGO BATMAN characters have individual moves, Batman for example can put baddies in a choke hold and throw them. An exciting addition to LEGO combat is the BATARANG, which will lock on targets for distance attacks. Introduced also, are special suits for Batman and Robin, these make certain combinations of characters a necessity for passing stages or solving puzzles...For example, in true comic book fashion,Robin can get a Magnetized-suit to scale metal walls, I can't explain the pleasure that came from watching Robin lumbering and buzzing up surfaces (sound fx here are classic) Other moves are standard for the LEGO games: grappling hooks for platforms and punching and kicking.
The character design is great and Gotham looks good...there are lest characters to be unlocked here than in any other LEGO game so far and lest upgrades as well. But as for the characters there are so good choices from the Batman Universe....Joker, Penguin, Catwoman, Two-Face, Poison IVY, Mr. Freeze, Riddler, Killer Croc, Scarecrow, The Mad Hatter, even Bane.Like the heroes, each villain has their own special weapons and moves...I bet you can guess Banes.
Another LEGO staple is the mix and match at the hub, where you can customize a character for free play by swapping the pieces around.
No major complaints, it just seems smaller than previous efforts, maybe because no direct movie-tie-in was done...like the Trilogy format.
I do miss the "character quirks" introduced for LEGO INDY, like the fear of snakes and rats, effecting character behavior. Admittedly it doesn't work well with the superhero genre. Also, since this is a Traveler's Tales project with Warner Bros. and not Lucasfilm, don't expect to find any hidden Star Wars characters this time....sorry.

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The makers of Lego: Star Wars return! Players can choose to be Batman and save the city with Robin and Nightwing--or, they can choose to wreak havoc as one of a whole selection of infamous Gotham villains, including The Joker and Catwoman. Xbox 360, Wii and Nintendo DS, PS2 and PS3, PSP and Windows PC. Rated E 10+, WB Interactive, $49.99 (PSP, PS2, DS and PC $29.99)

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LEGO Batman Review

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(More customer reviews)...but "LEGO Batman" could have been so much more. While I am generally pleased with the graphical quality and overall presentation of the game, the gameplay is in sore need of an overhaul
But anyway, let's begin with:
THE GOOD:
1) The character diversity is impressive. I was happy to see some fanboy additions, rather than merely the main offenders, and overall, I was pleased at the number and variety of characters appearing.
2) The vehicle stages are impressive. While the main nemesis of the game (control) rears its ugly head at times, in general, the movement was fast-paced and frantic, if a little easy.
3) The graphics are nice. Crisp, colorful and clean. While it could have been better, the payoff would have been slight (these are LEGOs, after all).
4) There are a good number of extras in this game. Hidden stages, hidden characters, hidden facts, hidden upgrades - they are all here. If I had one gripe here, it's that there isn't a super-challenging mode (or at least one which I could find).
THE BAD:
1) Control. It's painful. It's unforgivable. This same game has been made three times before - why can't they get it right? Walking along narrow pathways can be a chore, and jumps are often missed, causing much frustration.
2) Environment. At times, it's difficult to determine where you can and can't go - until you die, over and over. While the puzzles are generally not difficult, their appearance is often masked, and it can be unclear if there is a puzzle at ALL. Combined with bad point one, this yields an incredible amounnt of frustration.
3) Difficulty. With the exception of the cheapness factor due to the horrible control, the game itself is very easy. One-on-one battles are a joke (you can just hit one button, over and over), and the general rule of the levels is ...just to smash everything. Some more variety here would have been appreciated.
THE UGLY:
1) Size of game. This game is just too small for the PS3/XBox/Wii. It would have been nice to see some challenge modes, or hidden stories, etc. etc.
So, that's that. If you've liked these games before (as have I), you will like this one, but will probably feel a slight tinge of disappointment. If these games have not appealed to you, don't buy this one, unless you really like Batman.

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