Nuking The Cat

Motion comic. Now, when I say those two words together, what do you think of? Comic book panels with limited animation, often times cheap looking, and a books-on-tape sort of narrator, right? Nuh-uh. Now that Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse exists, that term needs to be repurposed because this film is the truest representation of a comic book brought to life there has ever been up to this point. I’ll take it a step further: when the trailers for the movie first came out,

It was total happenstance. I’d just come off of the BoneBat Comedy of Horrors Film Festival and, aside from the parking debacle [Detailed here. – Ed.] I’d enjoyed myself. I had been surrounded by like-minded folks and even though I’m pretty socially awkward and didn’t talk to a soul there (aside from Lowell Dean, director of motherfucking WOLFCOP!)…I felt like I belonged. It felt great. Although I wasn’t out searching for another experience like that…well, events have a way

I think I’ve already said this…but personally I blame those bastards over at Disney. You see, as I sat watching my showing of the limited 2 day release of Mazinger Z: Infinity by Fathom Events and Viz Media, a tear started to swell up in my eye. It didn’t have anything to do with the story nor the catching up with an old, long-lost animated giant robot friend (as I was a huge Tranzor Z fan…the American dub of Mazinger...when I was little). It had EVERYTHING to do with seein

“From days of long ago, from uncharted regions of the universe comes a legend…” If you grew up in the 80s, well, you’ll recognize this as the opening of Voltron: Defender of the Universe…and when you hear that name, you more than likely snap to a very specific image, the robot formed from five separate lion ‘bots. After all, this was the basis for not only the show in the 80s but also the CG-animated Voltron: The Third Dimension show from the 90s, the Nicktoons 2-season sequ

You know, it’s hard to write about a movie you’ve seen about a hundred times. That should be an exaggeration, but if I had the wherewithal to be able to count, I’d wager that I’m actually low-balling this figure. So, what’s it gonna be? A film from the original Star Wars Trilogy? Blade Runner? Alien? Superman: The Movie? [You’ve already done that one…idiot. – Ed.] No…thanks to the fine folks at Shout Factory [Seriously, for as much as you talk them up, how is it exactl

I have to confess, I wasn’t terribly bowled over by Star Wars Rebels season 1. That’s part of why I didn’t review it on the site when it was released on blu-ray. Sigh…okay, I’ll be honest, it kind of annoyed the hell out of me. How the hell can you call something Star Wars and confine it to a single planet for the bulk of the season? Seriously, imagine that Episode 1 was five and a half hours long…and it ALL took place on Tatooine. Yeah, not exactly a thrilling thought,

At the end of 2013’s Evil Dead remake, if you sat through the credits there was a brief after credits sequence featuring the man himself, Bruce Campbell, uttering the famous line “Groovy”. Upon watching it, fans of the franchise (okay, probably just me) lost their shit and wondered…and hoped…what could be next. This. This was what was next. Starz had picked up a season [Now two. – Ed.] of Ash Vs. The Evil Dead…finally giving long-time fans what they wanted, a continuation

It was destined for greatness…right off the bat. [Ugh…really??? – Ed.] Bruce Timm was executive producing. Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill were reprising their iconic roles. Brian Azzarello was adapting one of Alan Moore’s most beloved stories and one of the two stories pointed to for the mid-80s redefinition of the Dark Knight himself. So why is it that, after two viewings, I feel all so ‘meh’ about it? Now, before we bring up the Bat-Fatigue, I’ll admit that I tend to put t

Back when we were still only seeing prototypes of what would prove to be the awesome new Machine Robo/GoBots toys, well…I got a little carried away. [Because that never happens. – Ed.] Not only did I purchase the remainder of Hannah-Barbera’s Challenge of the GoBots cartoon (and am very, very slowly slogging my way through that), but I was also able to find 3 discs worth of the Japanese Anime for Machine Robo: Revenge of Chronos. Great, I thought, now I’ll be able to see a

As I’ve said in an earlier review or reviews, the foundation of my character and morality is firmly rooted in two fictional characters: Superman and Optimus Prime. For my sense of humor…you needn’t look any further than a solitary Pillar Box in Mayfair. Although I was trying to be clever there, let’s face it, this review does indeed come with a title, so it should surprise no one that I’m referring to the one, the only Danger Mouse. The quick, intelligent, self-aware, self-

Freak of the Week. You follow up one of the best, most epic Transformers TV series with a show that boils down to a very weak Freak of the Week trope. Sigh. Look, I could give you the short, short version of this review simply by telling you that this is time I’m never going to get back in my life, but, since I had to go through hours of Transformers: Robots in Disguise, well, I should probably try at the very least to air some intelligent, well worded commentary on the matte

Ooof. Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s not Agents of SHIELD bad…or Gotham bad, but Daredevil season 2 apparently has been met with rave reviews on the internet…and I just didn’t feel that. [Of course, you ARE someone that liked Batman V Superman, so this combination of facts CLEARLY means there’s something wrong with YOU. Just sayin’. – Ed.] Overall, I felt there were great moments, great performances and great casting…but ultimately none of it really gelled into a cohesive wh

“Accident.” “Experiment.” And with that small exchange, that’s as close to an origin for the powers of both Jessica Jones and Luke Cage in Marvel’s newest Netflix series, Jessica Jones. That’s just fine with me. With Marvel’s stated intent that their TV shows tie in to their cinematic universe, do we really need origin after origin? Instead, we start ‘in medias res’ and that’s fine. We’ve already established a world where the Avengers exist and by accepting the central co

I get that I’m going to sound like an old fart who is clearly a child of the 80s, but man, they just don’t make ‘em like this anymore…and to be perfectly honest, in today’s oversensitive/overprotective climate, I EXTREMELY doubt they’d be allowed to! Set your preferred method of time travel (WAYBAC, TARDIS, DeLorean, sling-shot-ing around the sun…) back to the decade where the Reagan Administration had lifted restrictions on children’s programming, allowing for toy companies

Dear Warner Bros. This. This this this this this! You want to know how to make Wonder Woman work on the big screen? Take the screenplay for this animated movie, expand on it (and really, all you have to do there is just let the more spectacle moments of the animation be even more spectacle-y on film) to fill up 2-ish hours instead of the 72 minute running time of this feature and blam…done. But don’t you dare touch the banter. The Diana/Steve moments? Leave them alone. S

As punishment for the rant-y nature of my Throne of Atlantis review, I made myself sit down and watch Batman: Gotham Knight. Happy now, Bat-fans? The format of Gotham Knight is a bit of an outlier from most of the DC Universe animated movies is that it’s comprised of 6 short stories with a few common narrative threads all done in different styles, as each story was shopped out to notable Anime studios in Japan. In addition, it is supposed to serve as a connective thread bet

So my big plan was to do all these DC Animated Movies in order. Then two things happened. First, severe bat-fatigue and the next one up for review was Batman: Gotham Knight. Second, well, during the whole re-vamping of the site, I noticed that the Cartoons section was looking pretty anemic. Thus, we have here today Justice League: Throne of Atlantis…which may or may not be completely out of context for you depending on how many of these you’ve watched or whether or not yo

I have an impulse control problem. It used to be just for toys…but as the day job has increased my budget somewhat, it’s spilling over into movies now. Upon seeing War of the Worlds: Goliath on the shelf at the local Best Buy, I figured “Meh, what the hell?” and grabbed it. Must’ve been that kinda day, since I also picked up the live action version of Space Battleship Yamato that day too, again, just on a whim (okay, I’ll admit, and the $15 for Blu-ray didn’t hurt any eithe

I think this is what they had in mind. If you read my Superman: Doomsday review, I touched on what Warner Bros and DC Comics had in mind when they started their DC Universe direct-to-video animated films: stories and character designs straight from the comics, new voices to bring the characters to life and so on. Of course, there is the concession that most comic book art wouldn’t work in animation, it’s too detailed, but it should capture the spirit or at least harken to the

When Green Lantern: the Animated Series and Young Justice were brought to an end on Cartoon Network, well, there was a mystery as to what new series would fill the now vacant DC Nation. Given the timing…and the fact that I’m a huge Superman fan…I was hoping that WB animation would commemorate the 75th anniversary with giving the Man of Steel another shot at TV. While Superman: the Animated Series, was well-received and still fondly remembered (and helped to serve as the sprin