heartofdorkness0818 Reviews

Knuckles (2024)

The title is kind of deceiving.

[7/10 · 30 April 2024]

A better title would have been "Wade Whipple with occasional appearances by his friend Knuckles".

Not to say that it is a bad show. I actually liked a lot of of it and when Knuckles does appear he is pretty great. But, that has everything to do with Idris Elba because that dude is awesome. The guest stars are mostly good. My personal favorite was Julian Barratt of "The Mighty Boosh". However, Adam Pally, who is really the star of the show, kind of wears on you. I am all for the loveable lover, I am one myself, but after awhile his antics wear thin. There is a family subplot that was resolved in a pretty obvious way, but I still had fun with the show.

X-Men '97 (2024– )

The original formula turned up to 11.

[10/10 · 15 April 2024]

I was a big fan of the original series when it started. I was just beginning my own journey into a lifetime of Geekery and watching this on Saturday Mornings was a lot of fun. I had not seen the show in over 25 years so I re-watched it before beginning X-M'97. Well, Cyclops' Rose-Colored glasses have come off and I can tell you that animation was not great, the voice over work at times was awful and over the top and there was a lot of continuity errors between (and sometimes within) episodes. I still love it, but it is not as great as I remembered.

This follow-up took out all that was bad about the original series and cranked up all the good. The characterizations are better. The designs, while similar, are better (my personal favorite update is Storm as she is now rockin' her mohawk, which is a look I really dig from the comics). The voiceover work, even from returning cast members, is better.

But the animation, oh, the animation is the icing on a delicious cake. The action scenes are as kinetic as Gambit's deck of 52 and the team-ups are brilliant. Several times, team members combine their powers in ways I never would have thought.

This show is so much better than I expected it to be. It is a love letter to not only those who watched the show during its original run, but to those of us who also loved the comics that inspired it.

Poor Things (2023)

Very interesting and unique film.

[8/10 · 26 January 2024]

Beautifully Shot, exceptionally acted, weird, funny, and very unique.

Reminiscent of the films of Terry Gilliam, "Poor Things" has a visual style that is equally familiar and fantastic. From its steampunk like vehicles to its man-made amalgamated animals, I have not seen anything quite like it.

Emma Stone gives a performance that, at first is quite sociopathic, but evolves into a woman who is intellectual, both of the world around her and of her own body and physical desires. She deserves her Best Actress Academy Award nomination this year.

It is a very exposing performance as she has many intimate scenes with Mark Ruffalo (who is also nominated for Supporting Actor) as well as many others as she develops her understanding of the world and her place in it. So, I would prepare yourself for quite a lot of skin and sexual exploration. I watched the film alone (literally the only person in the theater) but it may not be a comfortable viewing experience with a family member or friend.

I do recommend this if you like the unusual art film. But I can see it as not being everyone's idea of a fun time at the movies.

I might almost pair it up with "Barbie" as a thematic double feature as both films explore feminism in 2 very different ways.

Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls (2023)

I dunno? Onyx Is Pretty Cool?

[8/10 · 20 October 2023]

"Onyx The Fortuitous And The Talisman Of Souls"

written & directed by Andrew Bowser starring Andrew Bowser & Jeffrey Combs

Beginning as a series of YouTube comedy shorts, the character of Onyx has developed a unique mythology as well as a devoted fanbase. In order to secure financing for his independent film, writer/director/star Bowser turned to crowdfunding website Kickstarter where he was able to raise $610,467. When compared to big Hollywood blockbusters, that amount is small potatoes, but with that small budget, he was able to create a film that looks and feels like it cost 10× that amount. The makeup, costumes and creature effects are all great. They pale in comparison to their big budget brethren, but this film was designed to look as if it was made in the heyday of 1980s creature films (i.e. "Gremlins" or "Fright Night") and at that they succeeded beautifully.

As of this writing (10/19/2023), the movie has played at many film festivals, including the prestigious SUNDANCE, but for now is playing in theaters one night only as part of a FATHOM EVENTS screening. The audience I saw this with all seemed to enjoy themselves. They laughed at all the right moments and seemed moved by the sadder ones. Overall, I would say it was a success with that crowd. I hope the film finds its audience as it is something I think many people will enjoy.

My Adventures with Superman (2023– )

Superman at his best.

[9/10 · 11 August 2023]

This may be the best version of Superman and Pals I have seen in a long time. It is fun and charming and modernized in a way this is fresh but not too different than what came before. It has an anime inspired style that I did not care for at first, but the writing and voice acting won me over right away and then the animation did shortly after.

Each episode adds to the new mythology that they are creating wirh this incarnation of Clark, Lois, Jimmy and company and as a lifelong fan of the Big Blue Boy Scout, I look forward to each new episode (to date there are 7) and really encourage those of you who may be interested into checking this one out.

Available on MAX.

The Flash (I) (2023)

Run out to see this one.

[9/10 · 16 June 2023]

The Flash is my #2 favorite comic book superhero (Superman is #1). I own every issue of comics with his name on the cover from 1987 to last week.

Needless to say, I was really excited to see this movie. Only there was a problem...it's star Ezra Miller. Real world issues aside, I did not care for his performance as The Scarlet Speedster in his previous outings. He was annoying and not what I was expecting the character to be.

Then I watched this film and his performance was so much better this time around. He was still kind of annoying, but he had matured as an individual. It had never occured to me that his behavior in "Justice League" was because he was young. He was a stupid kid who was given amazing powers. I definitely would have behaved exactly the same as a young man. Heck, I would act that way now as a middle aged man.

The story was mostly what I was expecting it to be. Like I said I have a pretty expensive collection of his printed adventures, but it was a lot funnier than I was expecting. The laughs didn't feel forced and came out naturally with the story and tone they were presenting.

As for the cameos, some were known ahead of time, like Michael Keaton's return as Batman, and there were some others I expected but I will not spoil. Then there were some others that took me completely by surprise and I audibly squealed in my seat. But no matter who showed up, all of these little appearances were a love letter to the history of DC.

Is it the best superhero movie ever like some people are saying? No, but is is a darn good one and a lot of fun. I highly recommend seeing this one in theaters as its scope and action should be experienced on the big screen.