Motion Graphics & Video2 Class - Spring 2013: May 2013

Well, seeing as many greatly anticipated superhero movies such as “Man of Steel” “Iron Man 3”, and "Kick-Ass 2” will be released soon, I’ve decided to end this semester on a high note with my final countdown on this blog. It’s:

My Top 10 Favorite Comic Book Movies

The Ground Rules:

-Even though this is a personal countdown, I’ll keep this from being one-sided by including the “one per franchise” rule.

-Animated and straight-to-video(DVD) movies count.

-I will discuss my overall opinion as well as my favorite aspect of the movies.

Enjoy.

Number 10: The Amazing Spiderman (2012)

This reboot of the Sam Raimi trilogy retells the origin of one of my favorite superheroes. Unlike the Raimi trilogy, Peter Parker acted more like a modern normal teenager than the stereotypical shy and socially awkward nerd; for that matter, a lot of the characters didn’t act like stereotypical comic-book characters: Gwen Stacey wasn’t a damsel in distress, she’s intelligent and can take care of herself; Flash Thompson show’s some compassion in the movie; and Uncle Ben wasn’t constantly telling Peter inspirational life lessons and calling him “like his own son” (that’s Death bait). The acting was top-notch and the story was also engaging as it ties the Dr. Curt Connor’s history with Peter’s father. Speaking of the Lizard, he had one of the best motivations than other comic book movies. He doesn’t want to kill people simply because he’s gone mas with Science, he wants to make everyone equal to rid the world of neglect and loneliness, so the Lizard isn’t evil, but he can still be threatening. As for the action scenes, while they are brief, every second is nail-biting and exciting and one scene has the best Stan Lee cameo yet (suck it, Spiderman 3). If someone tells you not to watch this movie because they think it’s too similar to the Raimi Trilogy, give this a watch and judge for yourself. The Raimi Trilogy is about the nerdy Spiderman of the 60’s while this movie is about the adventures of the wise-cracking and subtly dramatic Spiderman that I grew up watching.

Favorite aspect: Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker. He isn’t too serious like the Raimi Trilogy Spiderman and he’s not too comedic like the Ultimate Spiderman…Spiderman. He’s in-between perfectly.

Number 9: Blade II (2002)

The sequel to the Daywalker’s first movie improves from the first like a sequel should: making the new villains a more serious threat, and making far better fight scenes. The story is about Blade working alongside the “Bloodpack” a gang of vampires led by Ron Pearlman (enough said). Blade and the Bloodpack must stop the threat of the “Reapers”, vampires immune to silver and garlic (think super vampires). To make this brief, Blade II has professionally made action scenes (if you don’t mind outdated CGI), an engaging story, memorable performances, new and interesting characters, and the best kills in the whole trilogy.

Favorite aspect: Any scene with Wesley Snipes and Ron Pearlman.

Number 8: Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)

Another sequel with Ron Pearlman, Luke Goss and Guillermo del Toro in the director seat and just like Blade II, Hellboy II is better than its predecessor. The story is about an elf prince who vies to obtain the unstoppable force, the Golden Army and it’s up to Hellboy, Abe Sapien, Liz Sherman, and the new German psychic, Johann Krauss to stop the prince. A lot of the characters are well developed, showing Hellboy as being too impudent, Abe hopelessly falling in love, Liz coping with the cryptic future, and even Johann gets some social advice. The costume design is out of this world (just about). Creatures are blinking, they’re drooling, they’re talking, and they pretty much look real. The action scenes are not only exciting, by also heart-stopping. Hellboy II: The Golden Army is a well-paced work of genius.

Favorite Aspect: The character development, especially with Abe. It’s not every movie where you see a fish-man get drunk and sing “Can’t Smile Without You”.

Number 7: V For Vendetta (2006) and Watchmen (2009)

While knowing well of Alan Moore’s scorn for Hollywood and the rage many fans of his have against movie adaptations of beloved graphic novels like V For Vendetta and Watchmen, these films are perhaps the most faithful adaptations of the two graphic novels we’re gonna get.Not only are the stories nigh-identical to the stories of the graphic novels, the performances by the majority of the actors are no less than the characters sprung to life especially thanks to Jackie Earl Hayley as Rorschach and Hugo Weaving as V. In V for Vendetta (movie) V was given much more of a personality than compared to the graphic novel; he’s giddier, he’s angrier, and even sadder. Both films carry the same dark atmosphere that were present in the graphic novels and even tend to dive deeper; Rorschach and V show more anger in the films and in all honesty, that helps identify the characters and even let the viewer relate to them.

Favorite Aspect: The performances of Jackie Earl Hayley and Hugo Weaving.

Number 6: Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Captain America is my favorite superhero. He’s one of those characters that define what a hero is by fighting for Liberty, Justice, etc. When I was younger, I dreaded that he has yet to get the inevitable big-budget superhero movie that the X-Men and Spiderman keep getting. Thankfully, First Avenger was made and it exceeded far beyond my expectations. It was faithful to the history of Cap in WWII by writing him as the heroic and patient person he is. I was skeptic about Chris Evans portraying as Captain America, but after I watched some trailers, Chris proved me (as well as many people) that he could pull it off. Hugo Weaving’s performance as the Red Skull was well done. He was menacing, calculating, and evil. Hayley Atwell, Tommy Lee Jones, and Toby Jones, as well as the rest of the cast made a stunning performance and represented the characters with enough passion. I loved the 40’s-like patriotic song “Star Spangled Man”, the original Captain America issue cameo, and this movie used three different versions of the Cap’s red, white, and blue outfit (including the original). I also liked the nods to all the previous Captain America movies such as the 1940’s serials, the wings being painted on Cap’s final outfit (similar to the helmets in the Reb Brown movie from the late 70’s), Cap’s motorcycle having his shield in front of it (again similar to the Reb Brown movies), Steve's drawing talent (again from the Reb Brown movies) and the Red Skull having a fake human face (similar to the 1990 movie). Everything fits together to make a well-paced faithful story to my favorite superhero.

Favorite Aspect: The well-paced plot that’s on the perfect balance of light-hearted and dark-hearted storytelling. I also liked the Easter Eggs that foreshadow:

Number 5: The Avengers (2012)

Much like what the prequel Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep did for the upcoming Kingdom Hearts III, First Avenger helped set us the events for The Avengers to deliver a supremely satisfying crossover movie. Since Iron Man (2008), Marvel has strategically made films in the Marvel film continuity with other films following such as The Incredible Hulk (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), and Thor (2011). What makes The Avengers work is that all the characters interact with each other so well, heroes and villains alike; especially the scene with Iron Man and Thor in the forest. The story is well-paced with all of the characters developed well enough to build-up to what is perhaps the greatest “battle in a city” scene in the history of “battle in a city” scenes. The acting is perfect, the action scenes are built-up and satisfying, the score is exhilarating, the costume design is top-notch, and the humor is unexpected and it will leave you laughing for days. This movie is a welcome close to the “Avengers Phase 1” era from 2008-2012. Here’s hoping Phase 2 will be even better, if that’s possible.

Favorite Aspect: What I love the most about this movie are the nods and references to previous movies in Phase 1 and the animated Avengers movies. Such as:

· *Bruce Banner sarcastically suggesting to swallow the Tesseract. Referencing the part in The Incredible Hulk (2008) where he swallowed the flash drive to hide it from the military.

· *Tony Stark telling Steve Rodgers about his father constantly mentioning him. Referencing the animated Ultimate Avengers 2 (2006)

· *The Hulk trying to lift Mjolnir (Thor’s hammer). Although in the animated Ultimate Avengers (2006), he lifts it successfully.

· *The evil alien race, the Chitauri invading Earth like they did in both animated Ultimate Avengers movies.

· *Iron Man using all of his suit’s power, willing to sacrifice himself to save the world. Referencing Ultimate Avengers 2.

· *Jane Foster from Thor (2011) is mentioned.

· *Hulk battling Thor, similar to Hulk VS (2009).

· *Small portions of the fight scenes from The Incredible Hulk (2008) are shown.

· *Agent Phil Coleson makes another appearance in the Avengers continuity.

Number 4: Scott Pilgrim VS The World (2010)

The Canadian, video game playing, guitar playing, slacker gets his own movie and it’s so good, I’m glad I live on this planet. Based on the first five volumes, this movie is about the 22 year-old Scott Pilgrim, who started dating 17 year-old high-schooler, Knives Chau, but after a little while, he falls for the mysterious Ramona Flowers and starts dating her and now he must defeat her seven evil exes if he wants to keep dating her. Yeah, on paper, Scott sounds like a dick (no intentional reference to South Park), but the film is executed so well with the cleverly written character interactions, witty dialogue, and creative fight scenes. Like V For Vendetta and Watchmen, this movie is faithful to the original source material and with its changes, can even rival the overall story of the original volumes. Michael Cera is the perfect actor to play Scott Pilgrim. They’re both Canadian, in their early twenties, and have their fair share of awkward moments. Throughout the movie Michael Cera has a balance of quirky to personal to badass moments. It’s hard not to like his performance. The other actors have done spectacular as well, doing their best to make the characters seem real.

Favorite Aspect: The professionally executed humor from the character interactions to its cartoonish imagery.

Number 3: Superman VS The Elite (2012)

This straight-to-DVD animated movie is based on the comic mini-series “What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice, & the American Way?”. So far this is my favorite Superman movie because the story asks the tough questions about the Superman universe: is it right to kill to protect? Can we take the law into our own hands? Superman encounters foreign superhuman characters, who call themselves the Elite, who use lethal actions to save the day. Superman, seeing the error in this, tries to convince them that there is always another way. I love the way Superman is portrayed in this movie. He is what defines Superman, a powerful superhero who will give it all to save the world and loathes violence. While the Elite are intimidating, they are likable as we know where they come from and their hearts are in the right place.

Favorite Aspect: The voice acting is done so well, especially with George Newbern (notable for voicing Sephiroth in Kingdom Hearts II and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children) as Superman. There’s a scene in the movie where Superman sounds like Sephiroth; it's the scariest thing ever.

Number 2: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)

Back in the late 80’s, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were well-known solely because of the 1987 animated series, which was worlds different from the original, darker Mirage comics where the turtles made their debut. When this movie was released, the general audience was expecting it to be as cheesy as the cartoon, but in actuality, what was released was a movie very faithful to the original Mirage comics and it's one of my favorite movies of all time. The turtles have their first battle with the Foot Clan led by the Shredder and this leads to Splinter being kidnapped and the world blanketed by caution and fear. The turtles must cooperate with their newly befriended news reporter, April O’Neil and vigilante, Casey Jones. However, unlike the Mirage Comics where the turtles fight the Shredder only out of vengeance, in this movie, the turtles are more heroic and they fight for just reasons. Speaking of which, all four turtles were developed well. We see them have fun, argue, eat pizza, fight together, and briefly cry together. The costume design, animatronics, and acting were executed so well, we forget that they are guys in costumes and puppets. There are genuine emotions expressed in this movie. It’s the best Ninja Turtles movie yet and this movie should be up there with “The Dark Knight” and “The Avengers” as the best comic book movies.

Favorite Aspect: Every scene with Splinter. He was the best character in the entire movie. Kevin Clash did an excellent job voicing him. His theme music is majestic and calming. The best scenes in the movie, such as when he speaks to Raphael about his anger, telling Danny about Hamato Yoshi, and the campfire scene (which is my favorite part of the movie). I am always on the verge of tears every time I watch these scenes.

Honorable Mentions:

· Hulk VS (2009)

· Iron Man (2008)

Iron Man 2 (2010)

· The Punisher (2004)

· The first X-Men Trilogy (2000-2006)

· Daredevil: Director’s Cut (2004)

· Kick Ass (2010)

Superman (1978)

· Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (2006)

· Batman The Movie (1966)

· Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)

· Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000)

· The Dark Knight (2008)

· Batman (1989)

· The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

· Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010)

Number 1: Batman Begins (2005)

This is not only my favorite comic book movie, it is my favorite movie period. This movie gradually taught me about writing an engaging story for a movie. I was never bored in this movie (140 minutes long). Obviously telling from the title, this movie shows pretty much every step Bruce Wayne took to becoming Batman. It also tells Bruce to his face that there are so few people in the world who can relate to a famous billionaire like Bruce, even though he lost his parents. Bruce trains under Ra’s al Ghul of the League of Shadows who teach him how to fight and turn invisible through Ninjitsu. After his training, Bruce has a revelation that he must fight the underworld of Gotham as “a creature who cannot be corrupted or broken”. The supporting characters are very likable, especially Alfred (well obviously since he’s portrayed by Michael Caine). Rachel Dawes is another likable character since she helped teach Bruce the difference between revenge and justice and she’s also incorruptible and she can defend herself. This movie’s highlights are where the previous movies missed, such as in Batman (1989), where it’s revealed that Bruce’s parents were murdered by the Joker, who’s the main antagonist of the movie. In Batman Begins, the killer is a common bum, Joe Chill, who murdered Bruce’s parents out of desperation. If Bruce’s parents were killed by the main villain; that would make things too simple and say that it’s okay to get revenge. When it comes to Joe Chill, it proves that life is complicated. And finally, FINALLY, this is the first Batman movie since the 1940’s that doesn’t have villains who try to be funny. After over a decade of villains trying to one-up Jack Nicholson’s Joker, the main antagonist of this movie, Ra’s al Ghul, forms a bond with Bruce as they train together and discuss about vengeance, judgment, etc. That’s something that cannot be done with a comedic villain. Cillian Murphy was a great Scarecrow. He didn’t need to be in too many scenes, no second was wasted on him, he got his point across and he was a key character in the movie. Victor Zsasz even makes an appearance. The story, the characters, the score by Hans Zimmer, the action, everything was executed to nigh-perfection making this my favorite movie of all time.

Favorite Aspect: Bruce’s development from a frightened child to the vengeful youth to the League of Shadows member to the incorruptible and just Caped Crusader. Bruce Wayne was just as interesting as Batman in the movie. As hell-bent he is on his goal, he also has a subtle sense of humor. Christian Bale is my favorite Bruce Wayne/Batman performance and I think it’s unfair that most people hate Christian Bale’s performance just because of “the voice”. Well, in Batman Begins, Bale has two Batman voices. Compare the scenes when he interrogates Flass (“SWEAR TO ME!!!”) and when he instructs Rachel in the Batcave. If you don’t like the movie, then give it another try and maybe it’ll be one of your favorites as well.

Motion Graphics & Video2 Class - Spring 2013

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