Friday Night Fights : Batman vs Batman (Burton vs Nolan's vision of Gotham)

 Typically, Friday Night Fights is a battle of the people, characters or films, but on this one I wanted to let the two directors versions of Gotham City, is the subject of this main event match!

The two are worlds apart in their vision and approach... which do you prefer?

Tim Burton went with a very dark & brooding version of Gotham with a very gothic look that made one completely unsure of the year or even the era the film takes place in.  The 1989 film took place in a very fictional surrounding.

Almost everything in Burton's world was outrageous, it was a great fit in theaters for the 1980s and early 90s, and I believe would still hold up today, perhaps that's the direction DC should head with it's films...

Burton took the fan into the world of the comic books, into the world of The Batman and the citizens of Gotham.  He did this early, using a family lost in Gotham as any of us would be, our first trip there, trying to find our way around.

While in the 2005 film, Batman Begins, director Christopher Nolan went with a much more realistic Gotham City, something similar that one might find in a New York, Boston or Detroit. 

Even stately Wayne manor seemed as if it were somewhere not that far away from where I was, maybe as close as just outside my town or up in the northeast but still part of my world.

Nolan brought Batman to the real world, in spectacular fashion, along with the citizens of Gotham, into a city that might be just outside the theater you were watching the film in.

When Bruce Wayne got beat up by the mob, and went out into the world to find a path to defeat the criminals, we felt as if he was crossing our own world.  This is the direction that the DCEU has taken but has all of it's characters in such dark versions of them, so serious, all the time.

Personally, I prefer the Tim Burton version, the one where we go into the comic book world, as great comic book movies have always done, draw us into their world to follow and share the adventures of those heroes in their own environment.   We have more than enough movies that take place in our own world and that might be happening right outside the theater we are in, but I go to see these to get away from that world, the same reason I'd pick up a comic book as a kid, an escape to another place.

Best Disney Live-Action Remakes

 

Movies are one of my greatest joys in life, have been for as long as I can remember, and I hope that never changes. 💖

When I was growing up, the Fox Theater in Springfield MO would show a different Disney matinee each Saturday afternoon, and so I got to see all the classics (and some not so classic) on the big screen. 

But in the last 20 years, Disney has had no real creativity to it, if not for Pixar, I’m not sure that Disney would ever been able to purchase the Star Wars or Marvel universes, and might not even be going.  The lack of new material out of Disney is truly disturbing, although some of their live-action remakes are actually pretty damn good.

Recently I made the mistake of watching another asinine video from the woke😝 fools at “watch mojo”, one of the internets collections of brainless little twits who wouldn’t know a good movie if a theater fell on them… with a dragon sitting on top of it.  So, when they put out a video trying to rank the, Disney Live-Action Remakes, I just had to chime in.  

1. Maleficent (2014)

This is easily the best of the bunch because it doesn’t give us a predictable copy of the animated original, it’s fresh, and creative as we get the point of view of the “evil” sorceress herself and learn that not all stories are as they were originally told, I personally like this telling more than the original.  The story is inventive, the characters are strong and the actors are really into their roles, especially Jolie.

2.  101 Dalmatians (1996)

They got the description for this one mostly correct, Glen Close makes this film, REALLY makes this film, she is over the top but also still gives us just barely enough believability that you are hooked in and enjoy the ride.

3.  Alice In Wonderland (2010)

I remember when I heard that Tim Burton was making this and how excited it would be to see his interpretation of this classic tale, and he really did not disappoint at all, it was incredible.  Those at mojo didn’t seem to get it, they didn’t seem to understand it at all, but their videos normally show off that it doesn’t take much push to get something over their heads.  This film is an all around visual delight, Depp is phenomenal at The Hatter, possibly his best role outside of Captain Jack Sparrow, he captured the real nature of The Mad Hatter.  I’m wondering if the children are “watch mojo” have ever read ANY of these books???

4. The Jungle Book (2016)

This one they did get a bit right but also over praised it a good bit, it’s very well done and the talking animals fit in very well and it all seems visually believable, although it misses the mark of the colorful playfulness of the animated version.  The voices are good, borderline on very good, but not great.

5.  Dumbo (2019)

Again, the crew at mojo missed SO much on this one, but they were busy being “woke”😝 about the original and its “bad parts”, which in reality, were not and still aren’t, not for the era it was made.  The film was a bit darker than the original and the humor went with it and was a bit more grown up (that explains why they didn’t get it).  The lil fella is ADORABLE though… and the, “monkey in the desk” bit was hysterical! 

Then there are two that aren’t even remakes/reboots….

Cruella (2021)

This isn’t a remake, it’s a prequel, “the making of Cruella” not a remake of, 101 Dalmatians at all.  Unique and BOLD, this film deserves to be on many great lists.  Stone isn’t Close, but she’s not trying to be, she’s being a young Cruella.  Great flick!

Christopher Robin (2018)

This one isn’t a remake either, it’s a sequel, it’s what happens after Robin grows up, grows away from his friends from the 100 Acre Woods, and it’s magical to an older soul.

My guess is that as they get older, the folks at mojo will understand this film better, or maybe not, they are a bit thick.  This movie is a reconnection to youth, letting one know that it’s okay to not totally grow up and that some thing, no matter how childish they seem, are worth believing in and worth holding onto.

Two very high honorable mentions here…

The Jungle Book (1994) & Mulan (2020)

Both of these are for sticking much closer to the source material, to the point that they aren’t remakes of the Disney animated films, they just have the same names and produced by the same company, again, another part of all this that just flew over their heads.  Both are really great films! 👍

Then there are ones on their list that simply NEVER should have been made… remade… however you want to look at it...

Aladdin (2019)
Without Robin Williams, this remake shouldn't have even been considered.  All respect to Will Smith but he just isn't in the same universe as Williams for this role.  If they were determined to make this, it should have had a heavy rewrite and darker tone (no pun intended), for the big kids, instead of trying to copy Williams.

Beauty and the Beast (2017)

Now I am ALWAYS ready to see Emma Watson💘 on the big screen, that lil lady is a spectacular actress and to me, absolutely STUNNING! 😍 but the other characters just don’t do it.  Gaston comes off as a really wimped out version of the original, the Beast looks like a bad oil painting and the other castle characters just have no real personality to them, like the plates, they are just flat.  Then there is the “wokeness” 😝, the push of an lgbtq character on the film, it would have been no big deal if the media hadn’t shoved it down our throat… maybe that’s not the best way to put it… 😆

The Sorcerers Apprentice (2010) 
Was just LOUSY from start to finish, why they even put it on the list is a mystery unless they just like hearing the sound of their own voice… which is most likely.

The Lion King (2019)
Although the thought of the visuals would be insanely great on a big screen, my interest stopped completely when it was announced that Beyonce’ and Oprah were part of the project, and after seeing it, it was just boring as hell, and the visuals were not as cool as a lot you get from the National Geographic Channel.  This film is the epitome of showing just how desperate Disney is these days, it’s sad to the point of pathetic.

Lady and The Tramp (2019) and Pete’s Dragon (2016) 
Were more of the same, showing that they just want to make a new film to see how much $$$ they can make, to hell with the originals.  Both are barely watchable, not to mention the parts left out of Lady and the Tramp due to the mental illness of “wokeness” 😝.

Cinderella (2021)

Of all the animated Disney classics to put on the big screen in live action, THIS is one of the two tops to go for, along with Snow White, but it fell flat.  Kenneth Branagh did a great job and it has some stunning visuals, but who cast the lead?  Cinderella is supposed to be the definition of beautiful Disney Princess and that young lady is somewhat pretty… okay, not really, she’s just not, this character should be STUNNING Beautiful when fixed up, but … no.  We’ll see what happens when Snow White comes out.  If this makes me seem cruel or “mean”, to the small minded, so be it, even if it’s just an honesty you don’t like.

Heads Will Roll .... time and again, with this classic

One of the movies that will forever have a place in my, Top 10 Favorite Films, is one that, even when not watched in the Fall will bring a chill to the bone and a bit of gloom to the day, Sleepy Hollow. 💀🎃

Yet another classic collaboration of a great film trio, Tim Burton (director), Johnny Depp (actor) & Danny Elfman (score).  

Taken from the classic story,  The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, by Washington Irving, this version still holds it's own as the most popular theatrical version of the tale.

Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean) plays the odd, Ichabod Crane, a constable from New York City, sent to Sleepy Hollow to solve 3 gruesome murders, where the victims were decapitated.  It's not until Crane arrives to the quiet upstate town ("mainly Dutch") that he learns of the details of the killings, supposedly done by a maniacal horsemen who is himself, decapitated.

In Disney's classic animated adaptation, with a great song about the Horseman sung by legend, Bing Crosby, Crane is a schoolteacher who falls in love with the local beauty, Katrina Van Tassell, in the film, portrayed by, Christina Ricci (The Adams Family).

Part of her story remains to the classic, as she is the daughter of a local land owner, Baltus Van Tassell, but in this tale, her mother died and her nurse marries into the family and begins a plan of vengeance against the town and family, with the wild horseman as her demonic servant of doom.

Depp's version of Crane varies greatly from many past tales, this one is very cerebral who is always questioning the towns superstitions of the occult, denying the existence of the Horseman and insisting that the killer is "a man of flesh and blood, and I will seek him out."  This version, although still a bit timid, is a valiant hero compared to the Disney's animate one.

The men of the town is like a who's-who from popular film, half of them recognizable from the Harry Potter films. ...don't hate the Magistrate for how he treats Harry in another life or wonder why Dumbledoor doesn't just wave the Horseman away, if anyone was going to do anything, Batman's butler Alfred should have called for help, or the local minister calling the ghost with the most... 😆

The visuals in the film are outstanding and really draw you into the town and the era, along with the constant chill that seems to be in the air.  The film seems to have been perfect for director, Tim Burton, and the chilling music of Danny Elfman (Batman).

It's one of those films that I never get tired of watching, and hopefully never will ... until the horseman comes for me... 💀🎃

 

Movie Monday : Batman Returns, Parenting ENDS

 Who knew the Dark Knight would be used as a weapon against responsible parenting and to strip filmmaker Tim Burton of his grasp on the franchise which made his career...

After the incredible success of Batman in 1989, it was easy to see why Tim Burton would be handed the reigns for a sequel, but it would be this sequel that studio execs would use to take the franchise from him and stop his third installment.

Not only was this going on, but the film was also used by certain special interest groups to attack the film industry and fast food franchises for marketing to children, to the point an entire episode of a talk show was done about it.

Parents were "angry" that the 2nd Batman film was so dark and thought that it scared their children, to the point that these obviously coached kids were drug out and used as props on Jenny Jones talk show, an entire episode attacking Batman.  They were also attacking McDonalds and toy companies for making toys from this film to market to children.

Instead of telling their children "NO, that's too mature for you." they attacked everything else, they didn't want to be parents anymore, they wanted to lay the blame elsewhere, rather than say "no" to their whining brats, and it's only gotten worse from there.  Since then, good parenting is considered a crime by some and poor parenting is rewarded & glorified.

At the same time the studio was angry with Burton's vision because they didn't sell enough toys from the second film, they thought it was too dark and too far from the campy, colorful comic book version they wanted ... so they could sell toys.

Burton has always been one of my favorite filmmakers because he doesn't give a crap about selling toys, just making the best film he can from his own vision of the story and characters and I thought his vision for Batman was outstanding and awesome.  Very gothic, tragic, moody, as the best stories from the comics have been for the Bat, it's what makes The Bat unique to the other heroes who are bright and positive (yet now, we've seen how miserable a fail it is when you try to make the other heroes dark like the Bat, it does not work).

So, this film was taking a strong attack from two different sources, neither should have ever happened, they should have let Burton have that 3rd film.  If they wanted toys about Batman, concentrate more on, the Animated Series.  

Burton had a vision of Billy Dee Williams as Two-Face, of Robin Williams as The Riddler, of Patrick Stewart as the dark and VERY cold, Mr Freeze, it would have been epic, but now we just have to sit and wonder how good it could have been.

Another example of how outsiders can destroy an industry they know nothing about, because the only vision they have is their own greed for money and power, rather than what is best for that industry.