Post E3 2011 Impressions...

E3's over, the show has rapped, and I've got a list of games I'm looking forward to.

Just click over to my Giant Bomb profile HERE to peep what those games are, and why I'm excited about each.

It's going to be a pretty awesome two years of video games. Hope you're excited as me.

Top 15 Justice League Unlimited Episodes THE VIDEO (FINALE)

Wondering where the finale was? NO? Well it's right here, so nyeh...

If you managed to stick with the countdown, thanks a bunch. It was a lot of fun to do, and not too hard at all to pull off. I look forward to doing more.

Until next time...

Top 15 Justice League Unlimited Episodes THE VIDEO (9-5)

Back with fairly better sound quality, but still poor quality overall, it's part II of my JLU countdown video project!

The finale is coming up next week, and with it... an emptiness will take hold of my heart. Overall, with how well I think these vids are coming out, it'll probably lead to more in the future.

Now just to figure out what that MORE entails.

Until next time...

Top 15 Justice League Unlimited Episodes THE VIDEO (15-10)

To all five or so frequenters of my website, you may recall my Top 15 Justice League Unlimited Episodes countdown from a few months back. Well, as I'm constantly attempting to test my "creative" abilities in new forms.

That brings me to my latest project, a video "interpretation" of my Justice League Unlimited episode countdown. Heck, I figgered a countdown is an easy enough thing for a novice like me to tackle, so I dove into head first. After a few hours of work, I came out with a lot more experience, a more realistic look at the undertaking I've set forth for myself, and a video I'm relatively happy with.

But I've built it up enough, so without further ado, here's my Top 15 Justice League Unlimited Episodes (15-10)

There are a few things I could have done better that are obvious even to me, but I won't scrutinize my own work without giving others that opportunity! I hope to continue writing text reviews until I can set aside some time to tackle the next part.

Until next time..

Questionable Review: Batman: Under the Red Hood

This review was originally posted on ComicVine.com and Screened.com. If you so wish, those reviews are HERE and HERE respectively.

It's amazing that, more often than they should, the big screen adaptations of our favorite super heroes can fail so grandly. One hero that's actually managed to succeed more often than not in these ordeals is the caped crusader. Tim Burton's original effort, Christopher Nolan's latest installments; cinema has mostly been kind to Batman (heck, even the horrendous Batman and Robin can be enjoyed for its... Schwarzenegger).

It could be argued, however, that the animated universe of DC comics is wholly superior to anything the Hollywood big wigs could churn out. Look at Batman: The Animated Series for any proof you need that just because something is a cartoon doesn't make it not compelling, deep, dark, and complex. Following in that pedigree is Warner Premier's latest DC Comics home release, Batman: Under the Red Hood, an adaptation of a more obscure story-arc in the Batman mythos. Does it live up to its legacy, or fail to meet expectations?

SO WHAT'S THIS MOVIE ABOUT?

Under the Red Hood takes place in what could be described as "recent" Gotham city, the birthplace, home, and troubled dominion of Bruce Wayne, AKA Batman. After a suspenseful and surprisingly brutal opening depicting the Joker's murder of Batman's second protege, Jason Todd, the film cuts to the modern day. The crime lords of Gotham are under the control of maniacal gangster, Black Mask, until a mysterious thug going by Red Hood enters the fray and takes control of some of Black Mask's top earners. This starts an all out gang war between the established kingpin and the new gun in town, with Batman getting caught in the middle trying to clean up. To further complicate things, the mysterious Red Hood begins to more and more resemble Bruce's long dead protege, and his savage and manipulating methods are making him question what kind of teacher he actually was to the boy. Batman stalwarts Nightwing, Ra's Al Ghul, and of course, The Joker play pivotal roles before the film reaches a heart-wrenching climax, one that's both thrilling and somewhat depressing.

SO WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT THIS MOVIE?

As I've already said, if ever you were to doubt the gravitas of what can be portrayed in animated form, look no further than Batman: Under the Red Hood. This is a DARK story (rated PG-13, in fact) that comic author Judd Winick has penciled here, and it's pulled off so well by all the moving pieces involved. The movie moves along at a blistering pace (totaling 75 minutes in all), but manages to make you feel for all the characters involved and stresses their human elements. Part of this is due to the excellent voice cast. It might take a while to get used to one Bruce Greenwood voicing the Dark Knight, but he brings an uncertainty and humanity to role while still being very Batman-y. Jensen Ackles plays a great charismatic villain as the Red Hood, and Jason Isaacs tears it up in a limited role as Ra's Al Ghul. Who I feel really steals the show, however, is John Dimaggio (veteran voice actor best known for voicing Bender from Futurama and Marcus Fenix from Gears of War) as the Joker. He manages to give the villain a more sarcastic humor, and plays him much more menacing than he's been in some time, making it actually plausible how such a ridiculous villain commands so much respect. Lastly, the action sequences in this film are amazingly animated and directed. They literally pull no punches when it comes to depicting the brutality of a fist fight between highly trained vigilantes and criminals, and it is to the film's ultimate benefit.

SO WHAT SUCKS ABOUT THIS MOVIE?

As much as the movie packs into its 75 minutes, it still can feel a bit rushed at points. We're dealing with existing characters here, and an audience that likely knows all about them, but for the unacquainted, there can be a lack of character development that can be somewhat troubling. Also, as excellent as the animation is in dealing with action sequences, there are some instances of long dialogue where it seems like the animators had troubling conveying the right emotions in their "cast". Lastly, although I generally like Neil Patrick Harris in his acting AND voice acting jobs, he just seems an ill fit for Nightwing here. He's only in a few scenes, but it seems like he's trying just a bit too hard, playing more Peter Parker than Dick Grayson... if that makes any sense.

ANYTHING ELSE?

The copy of this movie I got didn't come with the Jonah Hex animated short film, which is disappointing. I guess I'm gonna have to get the new Superman/Shazam short film collection if I wanna see it. Bummer.

SO WHAT'S THE FINAL VERDICT?

Even with some missteps, this is a fantastic Batman film. Period. No qualifiers are needed. It's dark, it's brutal, and it tells a tragic tale all within an excellently animated format. If you're a fan of comic books in the least, this movie is definitely worth the 75 minutes it takes to watch it.

Top 15 Justice League Unlimited Episodes: Part 2

Welcome to part 2 of my countdown of the greatness that is Justice League Unlimited, and to all nine people who read part 1, welcome back! Ya know, doing this countdown has actually given me greater appreciation for this series. Apparently, my already creepy fanboyism towards it still had room to flower and grow into a monstrosity of even greater creepiness. WHO KNEW?!

But enough of this fuzziness, it's time to do this thing. This portion definitely has a lot more variety and in the storytelling. Here is the continuing countdown of the Top 15 Justice League Unlimited episodes, numbers 9-5.

9.) Episode 17: Task Force X

Starting this part off with a bang, we get a radically different episode that focuses on villains. More specifically, this is JLU's take on teams like the Suicide Squad and Secret Six; teams made up of villains attempting to shorten their sentences and repay their debt to society by being forcibly made to do the dirty work of shadowy government agencies. Here, the Task Force, made up by Rick Flagg, The Clock King, Plastique, Deadshot, and Captain Boomerang, plan on breaking into the JLU Watchtower to steal a weapon of devastating destructive power (hint hint). What really makes this episode is the whole "bank heist" feel of it. Each character has a specific job and, despite their motivations being less than noble, you kinda wanna see them succeed. It's a shame that there weren't more episodes featuring Task Force X, but luckily the thoroughly entertaining Captain Boomerang shows up in another episode (and one that perhaps lands higher on our countdown?)

8.) Episode 33: Patriot Act

Like I said in part 1, Justice League Unlimited is mainly about celebrating those little-known heroes that don't get a lot of fan-fare. No episode does that better than "Patriot Act", as when none of the original 7 Justice League members are available for a parade happening in Metropolis, Green Arrow takes a group of non-powered heroes to fill in. Before long, General Eiling (a recurring antagonist on the show), shows up as an Incredible Hulk-like creature and promptly starts beating the snot out of them in an attempt to provoke Superman into showing up. Outmatched as they are, all these heroes just refuse to give up as long as human lives hang in the balance. This is punctuated by an amazing final stand by the heroe, Shining Knight, in a sequence that shows that being a hero isn't about having super-powers, and exposes the dichotomy of the attempt to prevent violence with more violence. Truly a great moment in this, the series' waning episodes.

7.) Episode 5: This Little Piggy

This is a WEIRD and hilarious episode that really needs to be seen, so I'll make the description relatively brief. This one's written by Paul Dini (genius behind Batman: The Animated Series) and unsurprisingly, it focuses on Batman. Apparently he has some feelings for Wonder Woman, but before long she's turned into a pig. No, that's not a typo. Circes the Sorceress turns Wonder Woman into a pig, and now Batman must enlist the help of a (presumably?) old flame in the form of Zatanna in order to change the Amazonian princess back. And that's how I'm going to leave this one... ridiculousness ensues, but it's really better left to your actual watching of the episode.

6.) Episode 20: Clash

The age old crowd pleaser of having Superman fight Captain Marvel is enough motivation for this episode to make the top 15. However, it actually does manage to distinguish the two characters and spin a tale of the dual nature of being a hero. Does one try to preempt crises or must we give people the benefit of the doubt? The ambiguity of this storyline and the fact that it actually makes the audience question whether or not Superman is really right in his methods is what makes it such a great pit-stop in the series. Sadly, it's the only one featuring Captain Marvel, who really could've been used to a greater extent.

5.) Episode: Double Date

What better way to close out this installment of the countdown than with some romance? To be honest, the actual villain and conflict of this episode is kinda lame (outside of some truly haunting and pretty edgy re-tellings of Huntress's troubled childhood), but what makes it is the concept of two super-hero couples pitted against one another. It's funny, mostly thanks to The Question, and it's also genuinely cute. Of course Green Arrow is in it with Black Canary, but Question and Huntress and their truly odd burgeoning romance really steal the show. Don't believe me? TAKE A LOOK FOR YOURSELF!!

And that'll about do it for this part. Next time, we'll head into the home stretch and close this one out with the crop of the cream in the Top 4. Hopefully you'll continue to be inspired to check out this phenomenal series, and any input you may have is greatly appreciated.

Stay tuned, true believers!