madness at the movies « Ideology of Madness

Madness at the Movies: BATMAN: UNDER THE RED HOOD

It’s not easy to make a good superhero movie. It’s really difficult to get the nuances that will please comic book fans, while still pleasing a general audience.

While the DC Animated movies do still try to appeal to a general audience, the focus is definitely on pleasing that core comic book fanbase. With films like Crisis on Two Earths, The New Frontier, and Green Lantern, you can still come in with just a passing knowledge of the main cast, but it helps to know the comics upon which the stories are based.

We talked on a recent Funnybooks After Hours about our love for Batman animated movies. Mask of the Phantasm and Return of the Joker are not only among the best Batman animated movies, but the best Batman films of all time, and maybe even the best comic book movies. Batman: Under the Red Hood is due out next Tuesday, July 27th, adapting the controversial Judd Winick storyline that brought Jason Todd back to life. Does this film live up to the standards set up by previous Batman animated cinema? Review after the jump.

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Written on July 21st, 2010 , Animated, Movies & TV, Superhero Tags: madness at the movies

Madness at the Movies: Inception

I don’t know of a single movie watcher who doesn’t think that Christopher Nolan is a talented director. I, personally, think of Christopher Nolan as a more tech-savvy Michael Mann. I could imagine Nolan directing a film like Heat, were it to somehow involve some kind of sci-fi element. He’s one of my favorite modern directors, and listening to him talk about filmmaking (especially his distaste for 3D) makes me respect the guy even more.

That being said, he’s not perfect. I really kind of hate Insomnia, the movie he did after his big breakthrough Memento. I love The Prestige and, obviously, his Batman films, but I do find that he needs to inject a little more humor and brevity into his movies. There’s very little human warmth and lightness to brighten up the intense emotions. Like I said, I still enjoy the films, but it would be nice to have some comedic relief in them.

Inception was released this past Friday with many critics already calling it the best film of the year. The commercial promises a big, stunning blockbuster full of action like we’ve never seen before. Does it live up to the high standards that Nolan has set with his previous movies? Or does a movie about robbing people’s minds while dreaming put its audience to sleep. Full review after the jump.

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Written on July 20th, 2010 , Movies & TV, Science Fiction Tags: madness at the movies

Madness at the Movies: Eric Hulk, Ed Hulk…Who Hulk?

So the big news all over the web is that Ed Norton, who starred as Bruce Banner in The Incredible Hulk, will no longer be playing the Hulk. First, Marvel said it wasn’t a monetary decision, but instead because Norton wasn’t someone who “embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members.”

Norton’s agent got pissed, saying that Marvel’s remarks were “offensive” and “a purposefully misleading, inappropriate attempt to paint our client in a negative light.” (more info here)

Norton finally chimed in, deciding to play the bigger man in the situation, saying, “I know this is disappointing to many people and that makes me sad. But I am very sincerely grateful to Marvel for extending the offer and even more so for giving me the chance to be a part of the Hulk’s long and excellent history.” Read the rest of this entry »

Written on July 13th, 2010 , Movies & TV, Superhero Tags: madness at the movies

Madness at the Movies: Predators

This past Friday, the Robert Rodriguez produced Predators, the third entry in the popular franchise (not counting the AvP entries), was released, and fan enthusiasm is at an all time high for the franchise. With mostly positive reviews and a decent box office opening, is this a revitalization of the beloved franchise?

I loved the first two Predator movies, and with talent like Robert Rodriguez, and direction from Nimrod Antal (Vacancy), was definitely excited about this newest entry. Does Predators live up to the hype? After twenty years, does it bring life back to the alien hunters? Or should they have been left dead?

Warning: very MILD spoilers after the jump!

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Written on July 12th, 2010 , Action Adventure, Horror, Movies & TV Tags: madness at the movies

Madness at the Movies: ASTRO BOY

Astro Boy is available now on Blu-Ray

I remember a lot about the cartoons I watched as a kid – Underdog, Inspector Gadget, TMNT, Heathcliff, The Disney Afternoon, etc. – I remember most everything with a decent amount of detail. Now, I know I watched Astro Boy as a kid, but I can’t remember anything about the show for the life of me, other than the design of the titular character. Which may explain why, whenever I mention that the new Astro Boy animated movie, which didn’t do stellar box office numbers, was based on an old animated series and manga series, people are actually surprised to hear that. I thought the image of Astro Boy himself was pretty iconic, but apparently not enough for the general public to really know who the character is.

I didn’t actually see Astro Boy in theaters – I had considered it, but I guess, even though I remember the character from when I was a wee Paul, it just wasn’t enough of a draw to see it theatrically. It was released recently on DVD and Blu-Ray, and I finally got a chance to give it a watch.

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Written on April 12th, 2010 , Animated, Movies & TV, Superhero Tags: astro boy, madness at the movies

Madness at the Movies: Push

Push

So…I had a tagline for this article before even going to the theaters to see Push. It was going to read “The best comic book movie not actually based on a comic!” I mean, it had to be…Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning, Djimon Hounsou, and the dude who played the villain in the Blade TV Show. Plus, it’s directed by Paul McGuigan, who may not have had many good features (Wicker Park, Lucky Number Slevin), but directed the pilot to that TV Show on FX called Thief (with Andre Bragher) that I really enjoyed. I mean, it seems like sometimes the best comic book movies are directed by the guy’s who you normally wouldn’t expect to jump in our genre (you know, like Chris Nolan). Everyone wanted Sam Raimi to do a comic book movie…now we have three crappy Spider-Man films, and a fourth on the way. Ugh.

Anywho…off topic.

Push kinda stinks.

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Written on February 9th, 2009 , Action Adventure, Movies & TV Tags: madness at the movies

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