lusiphershangout

This is a review of  'Batman: The Dark Knight Returns' based on Frank Miller's 1986 graphic novel. Blu Ray If you want to go directly to the source to see the Batman that seeded Christopher Nolan's reinvention of the caped crusader, this is the uncut brainchild of Frank Miller's 1986 game-changer, The Dark Knight. Director Jay Oliva stays as faithful to the graphic novel as you could ask for, the style so perfectly mimics Miller's artwork that it's like reading the graphic novel. The plot has a gray, middle aged Bruce Wayne coming out of retirement, 1st to do battle with a gang calling themselves the mutants, then a revived Joker who is a ward of a mental institution and finally, his ultimate foe, Superman himself who is reduced to America's tool. This is a great animated feature that is, in a lot of ways, better than the films Nolan did because it does a clearer job of showing Batman's personality through his foes. Again, DC kicks Marvel's ass w...

This is review of Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, an animated feature produced by Warner Brothers Animation and DC Comics Great flick. Marvel's got DC Comics beat in live action but DC kicks Marvel *ss in animation. The plot is around Superman's cousin who happens to be superpowered also. There's also a subplot involving a pimp/prostitute like relationship between her and Apocalypse that I found interesting. Parents please read the box: this isn't for your kiddies! There are plenty of kiddie movies out there so please review this film accordingly and not by it's suitability for your children. This and Public Enemies are the best I've seen of these animated movies. Lauren Montgomery does a great job directing this one. I have the DVD but I would advise getting the blu ray for the added oomph!

Francis Ford Coppola's 'The Godfather' Part 2 Blu Ray Michael has a flashback of his father’s birthday, the day he announced that he’d joined the United States military . This scene is ironic in a couple of ways: 1) he separates himself from the Family business on the day of his father’s birthday and becomes the new Don of the Corleone Family at his father’s death; 2) Michael joined the Army to fight and kill foreigners on behalf of his countrymen and at the end of the sequel he gives the order to have his own brother executed. Everyone’s disappointed by his decision to join the Army because his father (symbolically, God) already has plans and a purpose for him . Michaels decision to join the military is out of rebellion against having his free will usurped by his all-powerful all-knowing father. Yet, in the end, he ends up being exactly what his father had originally designed for him to be. In the book, the Don says “ every man has one destiny” and the film ends with ...

Francis Ford Coppola's 'The Godfather' Part 2 Kay's Abortion The themes of Michael’s half of this sequel are death, extinction, suicide, murder; unlike the 1st film, life does not complement death . First, Hyman Roth tried to have him killed and now, in this scene in which his wife, Kay, threatens to take their children and leave him and he finds out the truth about her miscarriage. She had an abortion, she murdered his son! Her intentions for doing so are explicit; she wants to extinguish the Corleone Family. She is upset at the hypocrisy she sees in Michael at how he wiggled his way out of being prosecuted by flying in an alibi from Sicily. It isn’t a coincidence that Mama Corleone dies in this film. She was the last family connection to the homeland. Kay represents America hypocrisy, blind to its own evils yet critical of the evils committed by others. In her world and her courts, she would have succeeded in depriving Michael of his children. However, in Michael’s ...

Francis Ford Coppola's 'The Godfather' Part 2 Fredo tells Michael everything. Hyman and Johnny Ola wanted regime change because Michael was a tough negotiator. Fredo helped them but he did not know that they would try to kill Michael. They had promised Fredo something of his own for a change. Fredo was fed up with getting handouts from his baby brother and running errands. Fredo  pours out his pain and frustrations and when he finishes Michael calmly asks for any info that could help him in the Senate hearings. And after getting the information he needs, Michael disowns his brother. Michael orders his bodyguard Al Neri not to let anything happen to Fredo while their dying mother is alive. The attempted murders of Don Corleone in the 1st Godfather film and Michael in this film are identical; they are both betrayed by someone in the family. In the 1st film, the Don was betrayed by Sonny’s impulsiveness, and Michael is betrayed by Fredo’s greed.  I want to mention a couple of...

Spike Lee's 'Do The Right Thing' There are movies and there are miracles; Spike Lee's 1989 film, Do The Right Thing, falls into the latter category. Here is my interpretation of the themes contained in the movie, some of which have been covered by others, some that probably weren't. In any case, this is the way that I see this film and if you agree or disagree, I  appreciate you stopping by to read it. Enjoy! The heat The heat in this film represents pressure. And just as everyone in his or her own way is trying to stay cool, each person has a different way of dealing with pressure and unpleasant realities such as joblessness, loneliness, powerlessness, police brutality, and racism. Ways that people cool off water snow cones the shade open window ice cubes Ways that people escape pain (heat is pain) This film is set on the hottest day of the year, a day so hot that people seek relief from it in his or her own way. The heat in this film corresponds to pain and the th...

Spike Lee's 'Do The Right Thing' There are movies and there are miracles; Spike Lee's film, Do The Right Thing, falls into the latter category. When this vibrant, ferocious little film came out in 1989, most of the top reviewers rated it as the best film of the year, and among the best of the decade . This film is one of the purest crystallizations of not only racism but of all the problems in our society and Mr. Lee lays as much blame for the problems in the Black community as he does in regards to Whites. A very even-handed film that pulls no punches to avoid polarizing the viewers when the film came out and even now the film is as  palpable  as when it came out almost 30 years ago. I've put together this detailed plot summary that follows the film scene by scene. Thanks for stopping by and  taking the time to read it . Love Daddy at WeLove Radio wakes up the inner city neighborhood of Bed-sty with alarm clock. The weather for today is 100 degrees. The color for ...