Reviews
Batman: The Animated Series (1992)
Finally, someone got Batman right.
Forget the camp & cheese of the previous Batman cartoons...this is a masterpiece! The depiction of Batman fighting both the psychos of Gotham City and his inner demons spawned from the murder of his parents years ago is superb. For years Anime had proved that animation need not be just for kids. Batman: The Animated Series solidifies that conclusion.
Kevin Conroy has the perfect voice for both Batman and Bruce Wayne (there is a very obvious distinction). Mark Hamill gives the Joker sadism, sarcasm, and lunacy without resorting to goofiness. Efram Zimblast Jr. makes an excellent Alfred by being loyal, yet openly concerned about his employer's choice of career.
This series is coming to DVD soon - I'm getting in line!
Batman & Robin (1997)
This movie is complete and utter garbage!
My wife and I paid matinee prices to see this when it came out and still felt the movie was overpriced (maybe if we were paid to watch this rubbish I wouldn't think so). The story framework was a bad rehash of Batman Forever, the sets and special effects looked cheap (like the car chase scene that looked like it was done with Matchbox cars), the plot was weak and contrived, and the premise of Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy teaming up was ludicrous. Turning Bane into a mindless grunt was a travesty to comic book fans. And did Clooney phone this one in?
Just like the odd-numbered Star Trek films seem to have a curse, so do the even-numbered Batman movies (Batman Returns was gross, but at least it was somewhat watchable).
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
It had potential, and then the rest of the movie happened.
I saw this when it came out. The first few minutes of the film were promising even with the lackluster production values. However, the movie went downhill from there and became a disjointed mix of serious reflection and rampant silliness (where's Graham Chapman when you need him?). Too many elements didn't deserve to be canon (Sybok, for one, and the fact that the Enterprise-A has ninety-some decks while the larger Enterprise-D only has 40-42).
The dancing Uhura scene was atrocious. If there was any more light in that scene I would have needed extensive therapy.
All in all, I was disappointed in the direction Star Trek V - "The Search for God" - went.