Based on a wildly popular bestseller, directed by a filmmaker hot off his buzzy breakthrough, and starring a mega-wattage cast headlined by a certified superstar, the film adaptation of Interview with the Vampire was one of the splashiest movie releases at the tail end of 1994, seemingly preordained to be a monster blockbuster and the… Read More Tom Cruise Sucks – Interview with the Vampire (1994) Blu-ray
Based, at least nominally, on the open-world RPG video game Cyberpunk 2077 (which was in turn based on a 1988 tabletop game originally just called Cyberpunk), the new Netflix anime series Cyberpunk: Edgerunners plays like it could be a gonzo extension of the Ghost in the Shell franchise, if hopped up on meth and hallucinogens.… Read More Psychosis in the Shell – Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (2022) Season 1
The history of video games based on movies is littered with poorly conceived duds that were quickly rushed to market to capitalize on publicity for their source material. That was especially true in the 8-bit era, which inflicted numerous outright unplayable disasters onto naive fans hoping to relive their favorite movies in game form. Somehow,… Read More 8-Bit Replay – Batman: The Video Game (1990) for NES
Looking back to my teenage youth in the summer of 1989, I remember talking to my friends about the upcoming Batman movie with some skepticism. Hard though it may be to fathom now, comic book superhero movies were actually out of fashion at that time. Batman in particular was mostly remembered for the campy 1960s… Read More Those Wonderful Toys – Batman (1989) 4K Ultra HD
The latest Lucasfilm series to premiere on Disney+ streaming, Andor is easily the least Star Wars-y of any Star Wars project to date. It’s also the most mature and adult-oriented installment in the franchise’s history. This leaves me feeling very conflicted. On the one hand, as a middle-aged adult who still has interest in Star… Read More Going Rogue Again – Star Wars: Andor (2022) Series Premiere
Of all the comic books Batman has headlined over the decades, perhaps no single title has proven as influential, especially to movie adaptations, as Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. For better or worse, the 1986 graphic novel set the template for every “dark” and “gritty” depiction of the character to follow. The comic was… Read More Read-Only File – The Dark Knight Returns (1986)
For a TV show whose premise is supposedly all about “putting right what once went wrong,” NBC’s new Quantum Leap reboot seems curiously uninterested in fixing any of the weaknesses or failures of the original series it’s based on. Ultimately, the show is exactly what I expected it to be from the ads. Unfortunately, I… Read More Oh Boy… – Quantum Leap (2022) Series Premiere
As modern interpretations of the Batman character grow increasingly dark and grim and morose, I find myself drawn back toward older adaptations of the comic book hero, especially those that didn’t take the idea of a guy who dresses up in a bat costume to fight a clown so damn seriously. The 1966 Batman: The… Read More Holy Unholy Alliances! – Batman: The Movie (1966) Blu-ray
A convergence of several recent events put me in the mood to start a Batman marathon. I’m not sure exactly how far I expect to go with this, as DC Comics’ famed Caped Crusader has of course been the subject of numerous movies, TV shows, cartoons, video games, and more over the decades (not to… Read More The Batathon Begins – Batman (1943)
The new Showtime drama series American Gigolo is technically neither a remake nor a sequel to the 1980 film by Paul Schrader, yet almost bends over backwards to tie itself to that movie in ways that don’t always make sense. With just one episode to judge by, I’m not exactly sure what the show wants… Read More Life Goes on Without Me – American Gigolo (2022) Series Premiere
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