More Batman Beyond Concept Art! (CGI DESIGN)

Remember when I found some 'Batman Beyond' poster concept art a little while back? Well look what I've found now. Here's a collection of CGI concept art for the character created by CGHUB artist Ritorian.

Take a look at them and join the thousands of people that want a 'Batman Beyond' movie!

If you missed my post on the concept posters (which look really cool!), here's a link below:
http://www.darthspock.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/batman-beyond-movie-after-dark-knight.html

Let me know what you think!

Possible Names For The Third Hobbit Film

Peter Jackson confirmed yesterday that he will in fact be making a third Hobbit movie. I know it seems a bit much to stretch out one book across three films, but when you listen to what he's saying, you understand what he's doing. Obviously he's keeping the people with the money happy because these films will make a fortune, and he is delving into arrears of the Hobbit that otherwise wouldn't ever make it to the big screen.

By this I mean that he has said that he is going to be using sources like The Silmarillion and the appendices to expand on certain aspects from the The Hobbit. Yes, it does seem like a big money making sceme, but I honestly don't mind. It is a well known fact that Peter Jackson loves Middle Earth and it is highly unlikely that he would do anything to offend Tolkien and his masterpiece creation.

So in Peter Jackson we must trust.

So what are these possible names you hear me speak of? Well Fusible has revealed that the company that's managing the existing URL's for 'The Hobbit' has purchased some new domain names. These are:

desolationofsmaug.com
riddlesindark.com
thedesolationofsmaug.com
thehobbitdesolationofsmaug.com
thehobbitriddlesinthedark.com
thehobbitthedesolationofsmaug.com
thehobbittheriddlesinthedark.com
theriddlesinthedark.com
desolationofsmaug.com


Obviously nothing is set in concrete at the moment and we cannot be sure what they're going to use these domains for. For all we know it could just be a new advertising campaign, or possible the domains for one or two new Hobbit based games.


But if within these domain names lies the name of the third part of the puzzle, then the movie will most likely be called either:


'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug'


or


'The Hobbit: Riddles in the Dark'


I'm leaning more towards 'The Desolation of Smaug' because anyone who has read the book knows that the main riddle part will be happening in 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'.


Let me know what you think. Possibly at the end of the week I will put up a poll to see which name you prefer, but I don't want to jump the gun. We could possibly be getting some more news about Middle Earth soon.

Movie Recommendation Of The Week: Ice Age (2002)

'Ice Age' is a 2002 American animated film by Blue Sky Studios and released by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Carlos Saldanha and Chris Wedge. It was based off a story by Michael J. Wilson. The story follows three Paleolithical mammals attempting to return a lost human baby to its parents. With Diego (Leary) secretly leading the pack into a trap, but throughout the journey he becomes fond his new 'friends' and is torn between them and his own kind. The film stars Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary and Goran Visnjic.

I picked 'Ice Age' this week due to the recent release of 'Ice Age 4: Continental Drift' and the fact that 'Ice Age 2: The Melt Down' seems to never be off the TV at the moment. i can't defend the sequels, they are pretty bad, but you can't deny the fact that the first one was a darn good film. It is funny, the voice acting is really good and the stories not bad either. Plus the little scenes with Scrat the squirrel chasing his beloved acorn are absolutely hilarious. It's a good film for all the family, it is just a shame that it spawned so many terrible sequels (the second ones not bad, I'll give it that much), and since in recent years we've only seen the bad ones, we forget that the first film was actually really enjoyable.


'Ice Age' is definitely worth a watch, I would give the film a 7.5/10. If you enjoy it then you might as well watch the sequels, I haven't seen the fourth one yet but the second and third are enjoyable if you like the characters. The stories are nothing special, they get quite ridiculous, especially 'Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs', don't know what they were thinking with that one.

Which Of These Action Fils Are You Looking Forward To Most? (Poll)

As promised here it is, this weeks poll. Now that we're finished with the hype from 'The Dark Knight Rises' I took a look at what else I was excited for this month, and basically all I found were action films (except 'The Hobbit', which isn't out until December).

So the action films I am really looking forward to are: 'The Expendables 2', 'Taken 2', the 'Total Recall' remake and 'The Bourne Legacy'. Out of all of these, 'The Expendables 2' I think will have the most gun fire and explosions. 'Taken 2' will be exactly the same as the first one. 'Total Recall' will either be really good or really bad and 'The Bourne Legacy' is risky, to do a Bourne film without Jason Bourne is a challenge, we'll just have to wait and see.

I'm edging towards 'Total Recall' being the best if it has been done right.

Take part in the poll to the right hand side of this post and the results will be published on Saturday 4th August.

Weekly Blu Ray Review: I,Robot, Batman: Gotham Knight and Hellboy

This week has actually been a pretty good week (starting 23/7/12) for me watching blu rays, every one I've watched has been very high quality. Granted one of the films wasn't very good (cough Gotham Knight cough), but at least it looked good.

I,Robot (2004)
Possibly my favourite Will Smith film. Its god a good story, great acted and a Will Smith swearing and shooting robots, awesome right? The picture quality is consistant throughout, the sound is brilliant (especially during the car chase scene) and it come with a good amount of special features. This includes commentary from directer Alex Proyas, and annotated guide, production diaries and film introduction by the directer, featurettes on the CGI and design and visual effects, stunts and robotics. Also "How To" segments from Production House WETA Digital, extended and deleted scenes including two alternate endings (I won't spoil) and five easter eggs (and more). So it is definitely worth buying, I only aid £5 for it, its a straight up 10/10 for blu ray quality and its a good film.

Batman: Gotham Knight (2008)
I reviewed this film earlier in the week, it isn't great, not my best purchase, but as for blu ray quality it is one of the best. The picture is sharp and is pretty much consistant throughout, although it does drop a bit in parts. The sound is decent enough, not brilliant, but the best part of it is the special effects, we have a documentary on Bob Kane the creator of Batman, a featurrete exploring Batman and the evil denizens of Gotham City, commentary by some senior people at DC, an exclusive sneak peak at DC Universe's Wonder Woman and here's the best bit...four bonus episodes from the award winning 1992 'Batman: The Animated Series'! Granted these were probably taken out of the series for a reason, but after watching them i can conclude that the first one 'Legends of the Dark Knight' isn't that good, 'Heart of Ice' (the introduction to Mr. Freeze) is alright and the final two 'I Am The Night' and 'Over The Edge' are brilliant. 'Batman: Gotham Knight' is probably worth getting just for the special features. I am going to give it a 9/10 for blu ray quality.

Hellboy (2004)
I really like this film, even though loads of people didn't. To be honest this film is like' Raiders of the Lost Ark' compared to the sequel 'Hellboy II: The Golden Army', which was absolutely awful. The picture and sound is top notch and the special features are very extensive. It comes with deleted scenes with optional commentary, directer's commentary and a documentary on the making of the film. I know that doesn't look like a lot, but the documentary on the making of the film (called 'Hellboy: The Seeds Of Creation') is one of the most in depth looks at a film I've ever watched. It goes into the creation of the comic, the transaction from comic to film, the casting, the prosthetics, the special effects, the filming and much much more. It also takes us through the different stages of filming, from beginning, middle to end. It is really really interesting. I am going to give 'Hellboy' a 10/10. Definitely worth the £8 I paid for it. There is a special steelbook edition coming out in October, I'm not aure whether or not I'll be getting that, it all depends what else it comes with, because I doubt it'll come with much more that the current blu ray has.

That's it for this week. I would give you all a heads up on what I'm reviewing next week but at this moment I have no idea. I'll probably buy something new over the next week.

Running A Bit Late

Sorry everyone I'm running a bit late with my Weekly Blu Ray Review post. Been busy at work and stuff. I will be posting it tomorrow a few hours before my Movie Recommendation Of The Week and a new poll.

I'll find some way of punishing myself for being late. I'll keep you posted.

The Five Robins

As any follower of my blog will know, I made a mistake earlier in the week. I thought that a third Robin didn't exist, which was stupid of me because I did know there was a third Robin, I just jumped the gun and didn't think about what I was typing. So out of respect for Robins everywhere, this post goes through all five of the Robins (not including the 2012 Robin).


Dick Grayson
Richard John 'Dick' Grayson was Batman's first sidekick, the original Robin, before becoming Nightwing and even taking on the mantle of Batman when Bruce was thought to be dead, but once again becoming Nightwing after the events of Flashpoint. He was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger and illustrator Jerry Robinson, he first appeared in Detective Comics #38 in April 1940.


Throughout Dick's adolescence, Batman and Robin were inseparable. However, as Dick grey older and spent more time as the leader of the Teen Titans, de decided to take on the identity of Nightwing to assert his independence. His Nightwing persona was created by writer Mary Wolfman and artist George Perez, and first appeared in Tales of the Teen Titans #44 (July 1984). As Nightwing, Dick led the Teen Titans and later the Outsiders.


Dick Grayson has been played by Burt Ward (in the 1960s TV series and movie) and Chris O'Donnell in the 1995 'Batman Forever'. Dick is also appears in the animated Batman movies 'Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero' (1998) and 'Batman: Under The Red Hood' (2010).


After the events of Batman R.I.P., Dick has moved operations to Gotham to protect the city after Bruce's apparent death in Final Crisis. Despite Bruce's will wanting him not to succeed him permanently as Batman, the chaos in Gotham following Batman's disappearance prompts Dick to take up his mentor's identity once again and turns to operating as the new Batman. His Nightwing mantel would be passed on to Chris Kent.

Jason Todd

Jason Todd first appeared in Batman #357 (1983). Though initially popular, following a revamping of his origin by Max Allan Collins, the Jason Todd version of Robin was not well-received by fans. fOR 1988's Batman: A Death in the Family storyline, DC Comics held a telephone poll to determine whether or not the character would die at the hands of the joker, Batman's arch nemesis. The character was killed off by a vote of 5343-5271. Subsequent Batman stories dealt with Batman's guilt over not being able to prevent Jason's death. However, in 2005's story arc 'Under The Hood' the character was resurrected, eventually becoming the second Red Hood and assuming a new role as an antihero who resembles Batman in many ways, except with a willingness to use lethal force and weapons.

Tim Drake
Tim Drake (sometimes known as Tim Wayne) was little more than a toddler when he attended the circus with his parents. In order to ease his wife's concerns that the circus might frighten Tim, Jack Drake asked to take a picture with the Flying Graysons, who were the starring act. It was here that Tim first met Dick Grayson, who offered Tim special attention, and even promised to dedicate his performance to the toddler. Soon after, Tim and his family bore witness to the murder of Dick's parents. As his parents rushed him out of the circus tent, Tim managed to catch sight of the mysterious Batman consoling Dick. Feeling sorry for Dick, Jack and Janet sent hom a copy of the photo they had taken prior to the murder.


A few years later at the age of nine, Tim saw footage of Batman and Robin apprehending the Penguin. Robin performed a quadruple somersault, a rare manoeuvre that only Dick Grayson was Robin and that of course Wayne was Batman. Tim continued to follow the adventures of the Dynamic Duo, as well as Grayson's becoming Nightwing and Jason Todd succeeding him as Robin. After Jason's death, Tim began to take notice of a drastic and almost psychological change in Batman's behaviour, in which he became convince that Batman needed a Robin to maintain his sanity.


When Nightwing left the Titans for a short time in order to find himself, Tim followed him and after helping Dick solve a mystery at Haly's Circus, was able to convince Dick that Batman needed Robin more. Dick ignored these pleads and raced off to help his mentor, only for Dick and Bruce to be captured by Two-Face.


Realising that his idols were in danger, Tim donned the costume of Robin, at only thirteen years old and with the help of Alfred Pennyworth, was able to rescue them. Batman, although extremely reluctant, accepted Tim as the new Robin on a trial basis after being convinced by the boy, as well as Dick and Alfred. He was trained over several months, first by Alfred, then Batman, and finally Nightwing before ever being allowed to wear the costume again or go into the field. Tim distinguished himself from Jason Todd by being far more reserved in temperament and from Dick Grayson by being more of a detective and less of a great acrobat. Whereas Dick had been brought up from a very early age to be an acrobat, Tim had to work hard for it. He proved himself more than capable of holding his own in a fight though. However, Batman did have strict orders with Tim; whenever he came across a known killer (such as the Joker and Two-Face) he was supposed to withdraw and summon help.


Tom Drake appears in the movie " Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker' and in this movie he is captured and experimented on by The Joker and Harley Quinn. They turn him into a mini-Joker. Batman and Batgirl arrive to save Tim, resulting in Tim killing The Joker. It took years of therapy and surgery to make Tim himself again. When Terry McGinnis takes over as Batman, The Joker returns, and he and Bruce find out that The Joker had transfered his consciousness onto a microchip and installed it in Tim's brain when he had captured him as a child, turning him into The Joker in his adult years. Obviously there are other story lines that have Tim grow up to become Red Robin.

Stephanie Brown
Stephanie Brown, Tim Drake's girlfriend and the costumed adventurer previously known as the Spoiler, volunteered for the role of Robin upon Tim's resignation. Batman fired the girl Wonder for not obeying his orders to the letter on two separate occasions. Stephanie then stole one of Batman's incomplete plans to control Gotham crime and executed it. In order to prove her worthiness, Brown inadvertently set off a gang war on the streets of Gotham. While trying to help end the war, Brown was captured was tortured by the lunatic crime boss Black Mask. She managed to escape but died shortly after due to the severity of her injuries. Tim Drake keeps a memorial for her in his cave hideout underneath Titan Tower in San Francisco. She recently appears alive, stalking Tim since his return from traveling around the globe with his mentor, which led into the question of whether she truly died in the first place. It is later revealed that Dr. Leslie Thompkins had faked her death after the gang war in an effort to protect her. For years she operated on and off as The Spoiler, but it now Barbara Gordon's replacement as Batgirl. She has her own series as well as making appearances throughout the other various Batman and Batman spin-off series.

Damian Wayne
Damian Wayne is the child of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul and thus the grandson of Batman's villain Ra's al Ghul. The character was created by Grant Morrison, and first appeared in Batman #436 (1989). Having spent his gestation in a laboratory, Damian was raised by his mother until ten years of age, at which point she left him in the care of his father, who had not been aware of his son's existence until that point in time. Damian was violent and self-important, and was trained by the League of Assassins, learning to kill at a young age. After the events of Batman R.I.P. and Batman: Battle for the Cowl, Damian takes up the identity of Robin, becoming the fifth and current person to use the Boy Wonder's identity. He worked with Dick Grayson, who replaced Bruce as Batman for a certain time period. Morrison's Batman #666 (2007) depicts a future wherein Damian becomes Batman.

There we have it, all five of the Robins. Will there be many more in the future? Most definitely. After doing the research on these characters I have to say that my favourite Robin has to be either Dick Grayson or Tim Drake. They just seem like the most interesting characters.


Let me know what you think.

What Is Your Favourite Batman Film? (Poll Results)

Sorry these results are a little late, had a slightly busier Saturday than I was intending, but here they are, your favourite Batman films.

In 3rd Place: Tim burton's 'Batman' (1989)

In 2nd Place: Christopher Nolan's 'The Dark Knight' (2008)

In 1st Place: Christopher Nolan's epic conclusion 'The Dark Knight Rises' (2012)

To be honest the results don't surprise me, they're all fantastic pieces of cinema. Personally I would have preferred 'The Dark Knight' to have won, but I am not complaining that 'The Dark Knight Rises' beat it because that too is a phenomenal film, one of the best films that has came out this year.

Thanks to everyone that voted. I'll try and work up a new poll over the next couple of days (possibly tomorrow).

Review of Batman: Gotham Knight (2008)

'Batman: Gotham Knight' is a 2008 direct-to-DVD anthology film of six short animated superhero films set between 'Batman Begins' (2005) and 'The Dark Knight'. It tells the story of Batman battling against the mob in Gotham City, as well as other villains, including Killer croc and Scarecrow. The producers have said that it is not necessarily meant to be canon to the "Nolanverse", and that any of the six segments could easily fall into any Batman continuity. The films/segments are written by Josh Olson, David S. Goyer, Brian Azzarello, Greg Rucka, Jordan Goldberg and Alan Burnett.

The short films are al based on Japanese anime art style, each segment has its own writing and artistic style. All six films of the feature star Kevin Conroy, reprising his voice role as Batman (from 'Batman: The Animated Series'). Personally, when i starting watching this, I felt like I'd wasted my money. Mostly because the first segment looks terrible, they started with one of the weirdest and crappiest looking anime I've ever seen. Plus the story isn't that good either. I will admit that they do get better as they go on, as does the animation. By the end i was quite enjoying it, but it is by no means better than other animated Batman films I've seen, like 'Batman: Under The Red Hood' and 'Batman: Mask of the Phantasm'. I do like how all the stories interlink, but due to the constant change in animation, it becomes difficult to follow. It does paint a clearer picture of the mob situation we see in 'The Dark Knight'. 

If there's any reason to buy this film, then it is the special features, which I will be going through on Sunday in my Weekly Blu Ray Review, but I will tell you this, it comes with four bonus episodes from 'Batman: The Animated Series', the second of which ('Heart of Ice') is what part of the story for 'Batman & Robin' was based on (I know that film brings back bad memories but remember, the animated series is critically acclaimed and award winning).

So this one isn't a must buy, it doesn't feel like your watching a movie. The animation is annoying, it's difficult to follow (due to the changes in animation). So I'm going to say only purchase 'Batman: Gotham Knight' if you are interested in seeing a few links in the "Nolanverse". You could even buy it just for the special features. I am going to give the film a 6.5/10.

Review of Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000)

'Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker' (also known as 'Batman of the Future: Return of the Joker' in Australia and Europe) is a 2000 direct-to-video film based of the animated TV series 'Batman Beyond' (or 'Batman of the Future') starring Will Friedle, Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill.

The story revolves around Terry McGinnis ( Friedle) as the new Batman having to face off against one on Bruce Wayne's (Conroy) worst enemies, The Joker (Hamill), who has mysteriously come back from the dead. Bruce has to battle with his own demons whilst Terry has to adapt to take on an old school villain. While trying to uncover the Joker's secrets, Terry discovers the greatest mystery in the career of the original Batman, the true story of the night Batman fought the Joker for the last time. Though when Bruce Wayne is almost killed in one of the Joker's new attacks, it's up to Batman beyond to avenge his mentor and out the Joker to rest forever.

This is my favourite Batman animated movie, it brings the classic characters from the 1992 'Batman: The Animated Series' and combines it with the new high-tech world of 'Batman: Beyond'. This film was hit with serious re-editing because Warner Bros. believed that it was far too violent. I have watched both the cut and the uncut version and I must say that the uncut version is so much better. I don't like it when they water things like this down. The animation in this film is really good, and it still looks good twelve years after it was made. The story is strong, but starts to get predictable towards the end, also the final confrontation between the new Batman and the Joker wasn't as good as it could have been. It's like it builds and builds, then the end isn't as good as expected. I'm not saying it's bad, I'm not saying that at all, I thought it was the best Batman movie ever made when I was younger (I was seven when this came out).

it's proof that a 'Batman Beyond' movie can work, we've never seen a live-action Batman film set in the future, it would be something totally unlike the recent Batman films. With the reboot in the works, they could tie it in really well. I still think this movie is great apart from the problems with the story and the ending that I've mentioned. I would highly recommend this film to anyone who liked the original animated series from 1992, but make sure you watch the uncut version. I am going to give 'Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker' an 8.5/10.

My Apologies: I Was Wrong About The Flaw In Batman: Nightwing

I have to admit I was wrong. I accused the creators of 'Batman: Nightwing' of creating a third Robin which I believed didn't exist.

I was proven wrong. One of my friends (who isn't a fan of Batman!) pointed out a few days ago that I had forgotten about Tim Drake.

How could I possibly forget him?! I am going to blame the fact that I was near the end of a nightshift at work and that I was really tired, but that is no excuse. I should have remembered because Tim Drake is in my favourite Batman animated film 'Batman beyond: Return of the Joker', which I watched last week! Perhaps I can go as far as saying the chronology of the short film is wrong, but that still doesn't excuse my mistake.

Drake is probably one of the more cooler Robins (often referred to as Red Robin). Here's a picture.You can get this suit as part of the Robin DLC in the game 'Batman: Arkham City'.

To rectify my mistake, in a few days I will write a post dedicated to the Robins, all three of them, who they went on to be and who played them in movies (only Dick Grayson appears in the live-action movies).

Other Villains Hinted At In Nolan's Trilogy (Apparently)

You read the title right, there are more villains in these films than we all first thought. I am going to quickly take you through them.

Starting in 'Batman Begins', we see Victor Zsasz escaping Arkham Asylum. Zsasz is one of Gotham's most feared serial killers and is the only other easter egg that we acting properly see.

Apparently there are no hidden villains in 'The Dark Knight' but in its sequel 'The Dark Knight Rises' there are apparently three. Starting with Killer Croc. After Commissioner Gordon escapes being captured by Bane's minions, John Blake attempts to start an investigation, unfortunately people aren't too quick to believe his story about an army hiding in the sewers and ask him if he knew anything about giant alligators in the sewers. This is obviously a subtle hint at Killer Croc.

Another very mildly referenced (this one is very far fetched but people online are swearing by it), character is Mr. Freeze. Obviously even Nolan wouldn't make a freeze gun realistic, but he is very capable at giving hard core Batman fans a little hint. The hint towards this character comes when Fox says to Bruce "So you've came out of your cryo-sleep", which could be referring to the cold loving Freeze's and keeps his wife in cry-sleep whilst he looks for a cure to the disease that's  killing her.

The final easter egg character is Clayface. in the animated series, Roland Daggett develops a cream that allows people to change their appearance. While the cream was denied to be sold in stores due to its addictive qualities, Daggett gives it to an actor named Matt Hagen for use in a series of crimes, eventually leading to Hagen becoming the villain known as Clayface. While this doesn't happen int he final Batman movie, and that character is renamed "John" Nolan does have Daggett appear as a corporate rival of Wayne's who hired Bane to take Gotham's most famous citizen down to street level. Much like in the animated series, Daggett's plans don't exactly turn out as well as he planned.

Unless anything is confirmed these are all merely speculation, but I hope they have given you some food for thought.

Batman In The Movies Part Two: Nolan's Villains

Why do we go and see Batman movies? Is it for Batman himself? The compelling story? Or the villains? Personally I go for the villains, because the one thing that's the same about all these movies is Batman. I like to see something new. I was originally planning to talk about all the villais across all the Batman films, but that would take far too long, and when you consider the amount of villains in the 1966 film alone, the post wold take anyone all day to read by the time I made it to 'The Dark Knight Rises'. So I am going to talk about the villains Nolan used, and how they differ from previous incarnations. I am not including the 1966 'Batman'. I am also not going to include 'The Dark Knight Rises' version of Catwoman, because she is more of an anti-hero than a villain. Warning, this blog entry contains spoilers.

Ra's Al Ghul and The League of Shadows and The Scarecrow
In the 2005 'Batman Begins' we see how Bruce Wayne is trained by The League of Shadows, who are led by Ra's Al Ghul (played by Liam Neeson), we have never seen these in previous live-action films, but they have appeared many times throughout the comics and the animated TV series. What makes them such dangerous foes? Well for one thing they're all trained assassins. Also they are large in numbers and have been around for hundreds of years. We find out in the film that they want to cleanse Gotham, because it has apparently became too corrupt. We also find out that they are responsible for events like the fire of London, they claim that after these traumatic events, the cities they target are given a new start. They had previously attempted to destroy Gotham through new tactics like economics, but we find out that people like Bruce Wayne's parents interfered and slowed the progress. So the fact that they aren't after Batman in particular (although they do make an attempt on his life), makes them dangerous, because he isn't fighting for himself, but for the whole city. A noticeable change from the comics is the lazarus pit, which Ra's uses to keep himself young and live forever, unfortunately the pit has certain side events, most notably insanity. This was left out from Nolan's film, probably because he wanted to use the characters, but didn't want to stray from the realism he was trying to create.

Dr. Jonathan Crane a.k.a The Scarecrow (Cillian murphy) also makes an appearance in this film, he also appears in 'The Dark Knight' and 'The Dark Knight Rises'. Crane is a psychiatrist that is fasciated by fear, it is mentioned in the the movie that he conducted experiments on patients from Arkham Asylum. He uses a concentrated hallucinogenic gas to force his victims to imagine/think that their worst nightmares are happening to them. He uses the image of a scarecrow to put fear into his poisoned victims. Depending on how much poison he uses, his victims can have permanent brain damage and even die from a concentrated dose.

 The Joker and Two-Face
In the 2008 'The Dark Knight' Nolan introduced the audience to his version of the Joker, as you can see (left) he varies from the typical comic book look. Nolan's version of this character (Heath Ledger) is more of a terrorist than a super villain. He uses war paint to intimidate his prey, it is clear that he is crazy, but at the same time he is a genius. The origins of this character are unknown in this film, throughout the film The Joker provides with with different stories about how he got his scars, each one is highly convincing, but we are given no indication which one, if any of them, are true. The Joker is the polar opposite to Batman, which is what makes him such a threat. He's unpredictable, he claims to be a man who doesn't make plans, but he always seems to have a back up, or an "ace in the whole".

The character previously appeared in the 1989 'Batman' (portrayed by Jack Nicholson), as you can see by the picture beneath this paragraph, Nicholson's character was much more related to the comics, and although his make-up doesn't look that good by todays standard, his performance is still top notch. Nicholson's Joker uses comedy a lot more in his plans, with more prank related traps and devices. He uses more props than Ledger's Joker.

Harvey Dent/Two-Face also makes an appearance in 'The Dark Knight' (portrayed by Aaron Eckhard), who starts off as a protagonist trying to clean up Gotham city, but after his fiance Rachel is killed in an explosion, which leaves him horrible scarred, The Joker manages to push the blame to Gordon and Batman, corrupting Dent. Potentially this could undo all the good that Dent as done, because if the courts find out anything bad about him, then all the criminals he got locked up would be released. This character previously appeared in the 1995 'Batman Forever' (picture below), again this was a much more comical related character (played by Tommy Lee Jones), and as you can see in the picture, that version of the character got his wounds from a chemical related attack, which was so traumatic that it split is personality in too, whereas Eckhart's character was always fond of making it look like he left things to dance but didn't (using a coin with heads on both sides) and his appearance was brought about by petrol tanks exploding (then one side of his coin was burnt too). What makes both of these characters so dangerous is that they too are unpredictable, everything they do depends on chance, on the flip of a coin.

Bane and Talia Al Ghul
Bane (Tom Hardy) is the latest villain to be added to Nolan's collection. Unlike the comics where he is a mexican wrestler who make himself extremely strong through the use of a toxin called venom, Nolan's incarnation is an extremely strong and violent man who's methods are too extreme even for The League of Shadows. He was cast out by Ra's Al Ghul. We find out that he and Talia Al Ghul have a forbidden love relationship, which also added to the reason why he was cast out. What makes Bane so dangerous is that he has the destructive capability of The Joker, but also the strength to take on Batman in hand to hand combat. Bane iconically breaks Batman's back int he comics. Comparing him to the Bane (Robert Swenson) from 'Batman & Robin' (1997), see picture beneath this paragraph, Nolan Bane is much cooler. Although the 1997 Bane was more relatable to the comics, 'Batman & Robin' is a terrible film and Bane is portrayed as Poison Ivy's servant with no mind of his own. Notice that their masks are different, whereas the 1997 mask looks like a wrestles mask, which has tube going into his head for the venom and the 2012 mask clearly doesn't serve that purpose. The 2012 mask turns out to be a giant pain reliever. Bane was involved in something that resulted in him being in permanent, unbearable Bane, so he has to wear that mask to be able to function. As a result of this he can feel no pain. The mask also makes his voice sound quite menacing, and makes it difficult to read his expressions (so you can never read him).

I previously mentioned that Talia Al Ghul and Bane had a love interest. Talia is the daughter of Ra's Al Ghul. She has a vendetta against Batman after he caused the death of her father (note that she didn't kill him, but he chose not to save him). Together with Bane she planned to finish her fathers work in Gotham, she uses Bane to break Batman, and force him to watch helpless as his city tears itself apart. She wants him to feel her pain before he dies. She played a major part in the downfall of Wayne Enterprises.

I hope that you have enjoyed reminiscing the villains from Nolan's Batman films, and seeing how much better they are from previous incarnations by other directors.

Personally for me, The Joker is the best villain, Nicholson and Ledger both portray the character brilliantly, but none of them have managed to do a better laugh that Mark Hamill's (Hamill a.k.a Luck Skywalker, voiced The Joker in 'Batman: The Animated Series', many of the animated movies and the Arkham Asylum/City games).

Batman Beyond Movie After The Dark Knight Rises? (includes Batman Beyond Concept Art)

Where will Warner Bros' go next? It is already well known that they want to reboot the franchise in order to aline it more with the planned 'Justice league' movie. If they wish to do that, they could easily do a 'Batman Beyond' movie as well, because when they watch the series, the original Batman is part of the Justice League, and he becomes the mentor to the new Batman, who eventually has a run in with the Justice League of that time. So they could do a new Batman film series, one linked with the Justice League, and a 'Batman Beyond' film series set in the future, far after the events of the Batman and Justice League movies. They could potentially create a DC Universe that matches that that Marvel has created. This could then lead on to a 'Justice League Unlimited' (the 'Future league' era ) movie. It could work.

Here's some concept art/posters by Guy Bourraine Jr.

They look pretty good to me. 

What do you think?

Don't Forget To Vote On Your Favourite Batman Film!

The poll ends on Saturday! What is you favourite Batman film?

The current leader is the 2012 'The Dark Knight Rises' and in tied second place is the 2008 'The Dark Knight' and the 1989 'Batman'. Let's see  if you guys can turn the tables a bit.

VOTE!

Review of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)

'Batman: Mark of the Phantasm' is a 1993 animated Batman movie based off the award winning 'Batman: The Animated Series' and was the first attempt at a Batman movie of this style. The films stars Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne/Batman and Mark Hamill as The Joker. It was Warner. Bros' first use of computer-generated animation.


The film tells the story of Batman's most difficult battle as well as his confrontation with a mysterious killer, The Phantasm, who holds the key to Batman's secret past. The infamous Joker also has a part to play in this story. Bruce encounters his long-lost love Andrea Beaumont (Dana Delany) and considers giving up his cape and cowl forever. This came came out the year I was born, this film is as old as me! I think the animation of the characters has stood the test of time quite well, the same can't be said for the scenery, but come on, the animation is nineteen years old now, we can cut it some slack. As for the story, I think it's really good, at the beginning it there's a lot of mystery but by the end you can easily work out what is going on. I agree with The New York times claim that it is "a cartoon noir", because you can really see the that the story is influenced by Americas gangster history. I only real complaint apart from that is the that the pacing is quite slow, there's not nearly enough action from a Batman film.


Its got great voice acting and provides a unique insight to Bruce Wayne's struggle to balance his personal life and his life as Batman. It also shows us why he decides to dress as a Bat. The story itself is praised for being closely related to the DC Comics, unlike the current Batman live-action films of the time. I am going to give 'Batman: Mask of the Phantasm' an 8/10. Its just too slow for me. A definite must see for anyone who is a fan of the animated series.

Batman In The Movies Part One: The Suits

Batman films have been on cinema screens as early as the 1960s, and the most iconic thing about these movies, is the suit, which has changed a lot over the years. As part of my Batman Week I am going to explore the evolution of the Bat Suit.

Lets start with 'Batman' (1966), often referred to as 'Batman: The Movie' which was based off the television series starring Adam West (Family Guy) and Burt Ward. The suit you see to the left is the costume used in the TV series and the movie, as you can see it is based off the costume from the original comic (which was still newish at the time). It has a very typical superhero look about it, it looks like a pair of pyjamas, it has a bright symbol of the chest and he looks like he is wearing his underwear on the outside of his trousers. This design comes with a bright yellow utility belt and for some reason, they put eyebrows on the cowl, never quite understood why. Also the suit doesn't leave much to the imagination, it is quite tight fitting, and unlike the later designs it doesn't have latex moulded muscles. You see he's a bit on the large side.

 Now we move onto Tim Burton's 1989 'Batman' starring Michael Keaton. This suit (left) may have kept the bright yellow yellow utility belt and chest symbol, but apart from that it is quite different. This is the first time we see moulded muscles to make the actor look fitter and the suit in general has ditched the grey and purple colouring and has instead adopted completely black. The cowl is has also been changed to rubber so is actually more of a cowl than a mask (notice the ears are much more extended). The suit to the right hand side is the one from Tim burton's second Batman film, Batman Returns' (1992), also starring Michael Keaton. As you can clearly see, the suit is identical to the one from the previous movie.

The suit to the left is the one from the beginning of 'Batman Forever' (1995), this time with Schumacher at the directing helm, starring Val Kilmer. Again the suit is very similar to the previous one, the main changed are the change to the muscle mould, the addition of longer spikes on his forearms and his utility belt is now black. Later in the film Batman is forced to use his new experimental suit after The Riddler (Jim Carrey) destroys most of the equipment in the Bat Cave. This suit was the first one to drastically move away from the original, as you can see, it is now a dark silver colour, the Bat symbol is larger but is blended into the chest.

In 'Batman & Robin' (1997) Val Kilmer was replaced by George Clooney. This film is criticised for not just being an awful movie, but for the homosexual vibe geven off between Clooney and O'Donnell (Robin). The suit (left ) has changed from the one we saw at the end of 'Batman Forever', this incarnation shows the return of the Bat symbol enclosed in a ring on the chest, the colour of the suit also has a blue tint to it. The worst thing about this suit, is the fact that they put nipples on it. Seriously, why put nipples on the Bat suit?!

By the end of the film we are provided with another suit (below) which is designed specifically to fight Freeze (Schwarzenegger). Basically it is the same as before but it has a big silver Bat symbol on the chest and is covered in various random silver stripes. It's pretty crap.

Now we reach the golden era, the Christopher Nolan films. 'Batman Begins' (2005) starring Christian Bale, is the first Batman film where we actually see how he makes the suit. It is constructed from a black face mask, some prosthetics that look like bat ears, an experimental military armoured kevlar body suit (which he spray paints with a special black paint to disguise his heat signature), a utility belt and a cape made out of a special material that goes rigid when an electric current passes through it (which allows him to use his cape as a gliding device, the electric current comes from his gloves).

I'm not sure which poster for the 2008 'The Dark Knight' this is, something to do with milk I assume. But none the less we can clearly see the upgraded suit. At the beginning of the movie Batman used the same suit from 'Batman Begins', but after a nasty attack by some gangs dogs, Bruce decides that he needs to be able to move his head better. So the new suit allows this, but it cames at a price, with separe armoured plates rather than a one piece suit it means that he is in more danger from knives and gunfire. This to me is the coolest looking suit, and the most realistic design.

As we get to the final Batman film to date 'The Dark Knight Rises' (2012), we can all see that the suit hasn't changed from 'The Dark Knight', which doesn't really matter because this film is the most story driven out of all of the Batman films.

So that is all of the Batman suits from the movies up until 2012, hope you enjoyed the flashes from the past. I certainly enjoyed writing it (except when I got to 'Batman & Robin', god damn nipples on the Bat suit!).

So what suit will we see in the future? With a Batman reboot possibly on the horizon will we be seeing a revamped version of the original suit? Or something new entirely.

We could even be seeing Terry McGinnis on our screens?

I'd be up for a 'Batman Beyond' movie.