Animated Movie Review: Batman: **** Mask of the Phantasm (1993)

 Mask of the Phantasm is a very good animated Batman movie.  A person, the Phantasm (Stacy Keach) dressed like Batman is taking out Gotham's crime bosses.  This feature also talks of Batman (Kevin Conroy) almost being engaged, but his girlfriend, Andrea Beaumont (Dana Delany) leaves town and he doesn't see her for several years.  She returns about the same time as the Phantasm showing up.  One of the crime bosses goes to the Joker (Mark Hamill) for protection.  The Joker goes too far and kills the man himself.  

Turns out the criminal element is out to kill Miss Beaumont's father based on past debts.  That is why they left town.  He is the Phantasm.  The mobsters eventually kill him, the Joker.  Miss Beaumont takes his place and goes after the Joker.  

Great movie, and the romance was just not meant to be.  

Tom Hanks Movie Review: ****A Man Called Otto (2022)

 Otto (Tom Hanks) is the grouchiest man there is.  Not only that he has appointed himself keeper of the neighborhood rules.  He is forcibly retired from his job, but leaves the retirement party.  His wife, Sonya (Rachel Keller) passed away six months ago.  He took care of her since she was in a bus accident and sustained a spinal cord injury; and lost their baby.  (Young Otto is played by Truman Hanks.)  He wants nothing more than to join his wife.  He turns off the power and gas, having determined to take his life after buying five feet of rope at the hardware store.  But the neighbors keep getting in the way.  New neighbors, Marisol (Mariana Treviño) and Tommy (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) who don't know how to back up their trailer; so he does it for them.  They have two daughters, Luna (Christiana Montoya) and Abbie (Alessandra Perez.). They become friends, Otto in his grumpy way and Marisol making food and reaching out.  He actually calls Otto on his gumpiness, "Don't be rude Otto."  Otto continues with his idea of joining his wife, until he adopts a cat.  He must stay around for the at.  Otto teaches Marisol to drive, gives her rides, and they become friends.  He eventual tells her about his own life.  Otto forms a team to save their neighbors, Anita (Juanita Jennings) and Reuben (Peter Lawson Jones,) from being expelled from their house.  This includes standing up to the business managers.  

Very good movie about relationships and their importance.  My complaint is the many ways this movie shows how to kill yourself.  Might not be for someone looking for ideas.  Otto does finally get his way, but not by suicide.  He succumbs

to a genetic heart condition.  

Animated Movie Review: *** Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman (2003)

 There is a new actor in town, Batwoman (Kyra Sedgwick) .  She is attacking Penguin's (David Ogden Stiers) organization who are smuggling weapons to outside the country.  He is preparing for a big shipment.  Batman (Kevin Conroy) and Robin (Eli Marienthal) Are trying to figure out who Batwoman is, even though they have the same aims to a degree.  But in truth there are three women who make up the Batwoman.  Kathy Duquesne (Kimberly Brooks) is the daughter of Carlton Duquesne (Kevin Michael Richardson), Penguin's security.  Penguin's henchman Bane (Hector Elizondo) destroyed the business of detective Sonia's (Elisa Gabrielli) parents, and the tech geek, Rocky (Kelly Ripa) is struggling because Penguin framed her fiancé and he is in jail.  All three are motivated to take down the Penguin.  But it doesn't happen without th efforts of all three, and Batman and Robin.  Alfred (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) is valways present and always supporting Batman.  

I enjoyed this animated feature.  Each of the women had their own talents and they worked well as a team.   

Animated Trilogy Movie Review: *** Batman: Son of Batman, Batman vs. Robin and Bad Blood (2014, 2015, 2016)

 This is a Batman (Jason O'Mara) trilogy of animated movies which tell the story of Batman's son Damian/Robin (Stuart Allan) Damian's mother, Talia (Morena Baccarin), and Nightwing (Sean Maher) who previously was Robin but outgrew the costume.  

In the movie Batman's son is living with his mother and grandfather. Ra's al Ghul (Giancarlo Esposito) at a monastery, League of Assassins.  Deathstroke (Thomas Gibson) and his men attack the monastery, leaving it in ruins and killing al Ghul.  Mother then brings Damian to Batman to care for him for a time. 

In "Batman vs. Robin" Talon (Jeremy Sisto) plays a large part; especially in turning Damian/Robin against his father.  He is working with a group called Court of Owls.  However in the end he betrays the court as he is actually working on a way to create immortality, so people can regenerate.  He uses these as his minions.  Robin was actually going to join Talon, but he realizes he is still loyal to Batman and the thought, justice not vengeance.  Leads to a large battle at the end, including Batman, Robin and Nightwing, and even Alfred (David McCallum).  

Finally in the last movie, Bad Blood, we are introduced to two more characters, Batwoman/Katherine Kane (Yvonne Strahovski) and Batwing/Luke Fox (Gaius Charles).  Batman wants to keep the fighting inside the family, meaning he and Robin and Nightwing.  However without the help of others they would not have survived.  Infact Batman is taken captive, and Nightwing and Robin cover for Batman.  They eventually rescue him, but he has been brainwashed with the use of a trigger.  The same trigger has been put in many prominent people.  It is Damian's mother who is actually wanting to control the world as leader of the League of Assassins.  

James Bond Movie Review: ****^Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

 The Bond movies just keep getting bigger and. bigger.  James Bond is a tried and true formula.  Pierce Brosnan plays Bond in this movie.  The support cast are the same, M, Q, and Miss Moneypenny; as well as CIA agent Wade (Joe Don Baker).  

Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce) is working at being on top of the media world; even if he must create the story.  In this case the story is war between the Chinese and Britain, which he is manipulating into existence with a stealth boat in which he sinks a British frigate.  He also steals a cruise missile.  Stamper (Götz Otto) provides the muscle.  Helping Bond is Wai Lin (Michelle Yeoh) of Chinese intelligence.  The make a very good team.  The key is making it so people can see the stealth boat.  Bond accomplishes this with a bomb on the ship, and Lin sabatoges the engines so the British can fire on the boat.

This movie is excellent.  I really like Yeoh as the Chinese spy.  The people fighting against Bond are very bad shots.  Great fun.

Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep Movie Review: ****^ The Post (2017)

 This is a movie exploring the inner workings of the Washington Post and the decision to print the Pentagon Papers, secret documents that were stolen.  The documents disparaged the Viet Nam War pointing out that for some time the American government did not think the war winnable.  Howev er they kept on to avoid the embarrassment of losing the war.  Daniel Ellsburg (Matthew Rhys) stole the documents in an efort to end the war.  Ben Bagdikian (Bob Odenkirk) tracks down Ellsburg and gets the documents for the Post.  Bob Bradlee (Tom Hanks) directed the operation, including asking Bagdikian to pursue Ellsburg.  Kay Graham (Meryl Streep) is the publisher at the Post.  Her husband had the position before he passed away.  They take the documents to Bradlee's home rather than to the newspaper office for more security and a more peaceful place.  Bradlee's daughter sells lemonade and his wife (Sarah Paulson) becomes involved in the process.  

This movie is very intriguing as they are decided whether or not to publish or whether or not to wait on things.  Th government already has an injunction against the Nwq York Times about publishing.  Watching the struggle is very interesting.  In the end it is Graham who has to make the final decision.  She has to make the decision several times as more information comes to light.  

This movie was Oscar nominated for best picture and Meryl Streep for best actress.  Steven Spielberg directed.

The Marksman (2021)

 The Marksmen, Jim (Liam Neeson) falls into the crosshairs of the Mexican cartel.  They are after a mother (Teresa Ruiz) and son, Miguel (Jacob Perez) who have just crossed the border.  The cartel already killed the uncle.  In the firefight over the border the mother is shot, and the Jim agrees to take the boy to Chicago.  The mother passes away.  Jim decides to actually take the boy when he realizes the cartel is not stopping at the border.  At first he takes the boy for the bag of money the mother had.  But his attitude changes over time.  

Jims daughter, Sarah (Katheryn Winnick), works for the border patrol, and tries to keep track of him as he travels north.  But it is hard as they are on different sides of the law, and who knows who will take money from the cartel.  

The cartel has good technology.  They track his credit card usage as they follow him north.  They also buy people as they go, including a police officer who pulls them over.  With the dog's help they are able to get away, and then the cartel kills the officer.  

Eventually they get to the final show down, the Marine with his gun, and the cartel members with theirs.

Vewry tenseful movie.  The burning of the bag of money shows they have created a relationship.