DC Animated Movie Review: ***Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010)

 This is an intriguing story.  Batman (Bruce Greenwood) is too late to save Robin (Alexander Martella) from the Joker (Joe DiMaggio).  The Joker beats him to death with a crow bar.  Batman does take him home and bury him.  Years later, a vigilante in a red hood (Jensen Ackles) appears and begins taking out the mob.  One of the mobsters finally breaks the Joker out of jail to protect them.  The Joker arranges for the Red Hood to be put in an awkward position of having to save people from the Joker.  Turns out however this is what the Red Hood wanted.  He is seeking revenge on the Joker, who killed him.  Robin was brought back to live by Ra's al Ghul (Jason Isaacs).  This lead to a classic confrontation.  Nightwing (Neal Patrick Harris) is also involved.  Very good show with lots of action.

DC Movie Review: **^ Catwoman (2004)

 Patience Phillips (Halle Berry) is basically a struggling commercial design artist, working for and belittled by her boss, George Hedare (Lambert Wilson) and his wife, Laurel Hedare (Sharon Stone).  She happens upon them as they discuss negative reports about their new beauty product; it causes bad skin problems.  Laurel orders her to be killed, and she is.  But she had met a cat who gave her multiple lives, and catlike abilities.  And so Phillips takes on two personalities, as Patience and as Catwoman.  She also has a love interest, a police officer, Tom Lone (Benjamin Bratt).  Catwoman had forgotten, but when she realizes she was really killed, she wants to get even with those who killed her.  

This will eventually lead her to Laurel, but after she killed her husband.  She frames Catwoman for the murder.  

This movie was corny through out.  There was some action, but sometimes it really looked fake.  I thought some interaction with Batman may have improved things.  

Music Review: Andrea Bocelli: My Christmas

 Andrea Bocelli: My Christmas was released in 2009.  It includes many traditional Christmas songs with Bocelli's high tenor voice.  It is very relaxing and mellow.  Several of the hymns are duets, "The Christmas Song" with Natalie Cole, "What Child is This" with Maty J. Blige has a very nice arrangement, and "Blue Christmas" with Reba McEntire.  He performs the "Lord's Prayer" with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and "Jingle Bells" with the Muppets.  "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" includes a children's choir.  It is a very catchy arrangement.

James Bond Movie: ****^ The World Is Not Enough (1999)

 James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) must save the world again.  This time from an oil heiress, Elektra King (Sophie Marceau); who has long schemed taking over her father's company.  And she manages this while making herself seem the victim.  She is helped in this by planning with Renard (Robert Carlisle) who is seen as the murderer of her father, and her enemy.  He kidnapped her when she was young, and M (Judi Dench) advised not to pay the ransom.  There is an addition to the Bond support staff.  In addition to Q (Desmond Llewelyn) there is R (John Cleese) his replacement in training.  Moneypenny (Samantha Bond) also provides support.  The men of Renard infiltrate a nuclear storage site and steal a bomb.  Here Bond meets nuclear scientist Dr. Christmas Jones (Denise Richards).  She becomes an ally and will play a key part in recovering nuclear material.  Bond is captured, and rescues by Valentin Zukovsky (Robbie Coltrane).  The goal of Renard and Elektra is to cause a nuclear submarine to have a melt down by using nuclear material they took from the bomb.  This will pollute Instanbul, and close the area to oil shipments; so they will all have to ship through Elektra's pipeline.  

I enjoyed this Bond episode more than most.  Lots of action.  It starts with a boat chase, but Bond is in a boat that also goes on land.  It also includes a balloon ride with Bond hanging off the bottom.  It includes gambling and torture

and lots of intrigue.

DC Animated Movie Review: ***^Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (2010)

I really enjoyed this Batman/Superman movie.  It is a sequel to Public Enemies.  In Public Enemies Batman (Kevin Conroy) and Superman (Tim Daly) stopped a meteor.  In this movie we learn that it was actually a spaceship from Krypton and Superman's cousin, Kara (Sumer Glau) was inside.   She has some difficulty adjusting to her powers as she is no longer n Krypton.  Wonder Woman (Susan Eisenberg) takes her to home of the Amazons where she can train.  However Darkseid (Andre Braugher) learns of this, and sends his minions to kidnap her.  The Amazons and the minions have quite a battle, but while they battle Kara is kidnapped and her friend killed.

Superman recruits Big Barda, (Julianne Grossman) Darkseid's former underling to take him to the Darkseid world, Apokolips.  Darkseid tries to capture Wonder Woman as an alternative, but fails, and Superman takes Kara home to the farm to meet his folks, and Darkseid is there.  He has incredible power in his eyes; more than Superman.

I liked the cusi showing up.  I thought she was a good addition, and trying to find her place.  

DC Animated Movie Review: ***Superman/ Batman: Public Enemies (2009)

 This movie asks the question, What would the world be like if Lex Luthor (Clancy Brown) became president.  It doesn't go well for Luthor's enemy Superman (Tim Daly), and also Superman's friend, Batman Kevin Conroy).  It seems every superhero in the world has been sent to bring Superan in.

In the meantime a meteor from Krypton is heading toward earth.  Luthor says he will handle, but a nuclear missile fails to alter its course.  He then tells people he will stop it but in reality does nothing.  So a few people will die. However Batman and Superman are planning on intervening.  But Luthor comes out in an Iron Man type suit.  The other super heroes are starting to see through him.  

Robin Williams Movie Review: *** Jack (1996)

 The premise of this movie is a child has a strange ailment which causes his cells to magture 4x faster than normal.  Jack Powell (Robin Williams) is ten with the body of a 40 year old, with shaving and everythig.  His mother (Diane Lane) is very protective, but finally convinced to allow him to go to school.  Father (Brian Kerwin) is more open to the idea.  You can imagine someone with a 40 yo body attending elementary school.  The other kids, initially don't treat him very well, but he is tall when when they play basketball he finds a niche, and begins to fit in.  He actually makes a few friends, Louise, Edward, John-John, George and Johnny (Adam Zolotin, Todd Bosley, Seth Smith, Mario Yedidia and Jer Adrienne Elliott.). They invite Jack to their tree house.  Before Jack went to school, he had a private tutor (Bill Cosby),  The tutor comes to the tree house has well, and the tree falls.  I didn't understand the motivation for having th tutor in the tree house.  It didn't make sense to me.  Jack has some difficulty navigating his world looking like an adult.  He makes a pass at his teacher (Jennifer Lopez) and is rejected.  His life spirals down and he quits school until his friends convince him to come back.

Enjoyable but I didn't understand the tutor character.  Seems the motivation was off.