Video Thoughts: The Dark Knight Returns I & II

Not to be confused with Chris Nolan’s latest installment of Batman: The Dark Knight Rises this two part animated movie is tightly based on the four part limited series comic books by Frank Miller published in 1986. The comics where issued in what was called (not sure if they still are or not) “prestige format”. Thicker card paper, no ads between the pages and rich painted panels instead of printing ink. The exceptional artwork was done by Lynn Varley. You might remember Frank Miller from other projects of his such as Sin City and 300 (both made into movies). He also lead the post Crisis on Infinite Earths re-vamp of Batman with Batman: Year One and Batman: Year Two.

The story was a whole new concept for me. I’ve always preferred Batman to any of the other heroes in the comic book universes. But this series was something completely different for me. It takes place in a future where Bruce Wayne is nearing 60 and Batman has been retired for 10 years or more. Commissioner Gordon is retiring and medical science has progressed enough that doctors were able to fix Harvey Dent’s (a/k/a Two Face) face and finally let him out of Arkham Asylum. The Joker has been in a coma for more than a decade and all the heroes have quit doing their thing.

There is a history alluded to where some agreement was made between the world’s heroes and the governments. We aren’t really let in on that completely, but we know that Superman still is around and more or less working for the government.

The movies follow the book almost to the letter. One thing I miss is that in the books there is a narrative. A kind of Mike Hammer-ish first person telling of things. This really helps the reader to get into the head and thoughts of Batman. It is missing from the movie. I don’t know why they didn’t include it in the movie – it worked well in the Batman: Year One animated movie adaptation that was released a few years ago.

The artwork in the movies is spot on with the artwork in the books. They didn’t do any updating to the tech from the book either. There are a few scenes where you see people with giant boom boxes (you remember those, right?).

If you like Batman, or animated movies, or can just appreciate great art and great story telling, these videos should be on your “to watch” list.

And, let’s face it, anytime you get to see Batman kick the crap out of Superman, it is a good day!

Television Thoughts: The Americans

A new television series started this past Wednesday. I had been seeing commercials for it even as far back as while watching the past season of Sons of Anarchy. Didn’t pay all too much attention at first. I thought “ho hum, Russian spies – how good could that really be with no more KGB?” But later I realized this is a period piece. It takes place in 1981, towards the climax of the cold war, just before the Soviet Union collapsed under it’s own idiocy ( or before Saint Ronald Reagan spent them into the poor house – however you want to go with that one).

The show centers around Phillip and Elizabeth Jennings. Typical suburban couple with two kids and a mortgage and jobs – everything but the white picket fence actually. Though they look and act like a married couple for all intents and purposes, they are not. They are Soviet spies. Part of the KGB S-directorate (if you remember much about the cold war, that was the rumor of KGB sleeper cells living and working in the good ol’ US of A).

Their kids (teenage daughter and pre-teen son) of course know nothing of their parents’ true identities.

The pilot was at times fast paced and at times seemed to be a bit slower. But in true FX original programming fashion, it was anything but boring or generic. From the opening scene where Elizabeth is “coaxing” information from a high-level white house employee (and not violently, I might add), to the closing scene where Phillip – dressed up as a left-over from the 70’s beats the crap out of some guy who earlier in the show made some sexual remarks about Phillip’s daughter – you never got to a point where you thought “isn’t this over yet?”

Whether it continues to be as good as the pilot only time will tell. For now though, it stays on the DVR record list.

Oh, yeah and the music was great. A very good and nerve wracking kidnap and escape sequence was set to Fleetwood Mac’s “Tusk”, and other scenes paired against music of the times made the music seem like a character all of it’s own.