Author: Robert Greenberger

Ever since Loggins and Messina tugged on our heartstrings with the wistful ‘70s ballad “House on Pooh Corner”, the notion of saying goodbye to childhood playmates has tinged A.A. Milne’s delightful Winnie the Pooh stories. It was seemingly inevitable that the song would be turned into a story, which more or less explains this summer’s Christopher Robin. The film, out now from Walt Disney Home Entertainment is incredibly predictable but still charming in its own way.

We have an adult Christopher (Ewan McGregor) who has married Evelyn (Hayley Atwell) and they have a daughter Madeline (Bronte Carmichael). However, the joy of childhood is gone in his life, replaced with drudgery, as he has become the London equivalent of the salaryman, working for a gray luggage company with inept management.

While the audience is shown that the inhabitants of the Hundred Acre Wood gang – Winnie the Pooh (Jim Cummings), Owl (Toby Jones), Tigger (Jim, Cummings), Eeyore (Brad Garrett), Rabbit (Peter Capaldi), Kanga (Sophie Okonedo), and Roo (Sara Sheen) – are aware Christopher has grown and left them behind, they have no real sense of time.

Circumstances, though, allow Pooh to enter Christopher’s world and they have an awkward reunion, as at first, he’s delighted to see the “silly old bear” but has already given up his much-needed family vacation to find a plan to salvage the company or fire half the staff. Pooh becomes an impediment, as he has to bring the playmate back to the Wood.

Once home, we know he’s going to reconnect with his childhood, resolve the work issues, rekindle his family connections, and all will be well with the world. So, the question comes down to execution. The screenplay by Alex Ross Perry, Tom McCarthy, and Allison Schroeder is serviceable but lacking in whimsy and charm so director Marc Foster does what he can. The CGI is a delight and the interaction of humans and animals works just fine.

Foster makes an interesting choice in having London and the Wood but darker, overgrown, and less than welcome, equating the two is odd when we’re expecting more of a contrast. They certainly stand out in sharp contrast to the visual humor and wide-eyed reactions when people meet the animal gang for the first time.

The film is entertaining enough but you wanted more than the expected. At least the high definition transfer, retaining the original 2:39:1 aspect ratio, nicely captures the tonal differences in location. It comes with a fine 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio mix as well.

The Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD multiscreen pack offers up some nice, not great, special features. We start with “A Movie is Made for Pooh,” (5:28) the standard behind-the-scenes featurette with cast and crew chatting it up; “Pooh and Friends Come to Life,” (3:16) Carmichael narrates this look at the 3-D CGI renderings required for the production; “Pooh Finds his Voice,” (2:43) Cummings gets the well-deserved spotlight and he nicely credits his  predecessor, the late Sterling Holloway;  and then we end with “Pooh and Walt Become Friends,” (2:43) which revisits Walt Disney’s introduction to Pooh via his daughter Diane, and what happened next.

For those who use the Digital HD at Movies Anywhere, you get an exclusive feature: “In Which…We Were Very Young” (3:51), which gives us insight to the real Christopher Robin.

There have been few films as edited, re-edited, and repackaged as Superman the Movie. It has been resurrected and represented to a few generations of fans for good reason. Prior to 1978, any attempt at a super-hero movie was usually done on the cheap and/or with tongue firmly in cheek.

The tag line, “You will believe a man can fly”, and the S-shield was all you needed to whet your appetite back then. The first pictures released to the media certainly got us interested but until you sat in the theater and heard John William’s opening march, you had no idea what you were getting.

And what we got was, arguably, the first super-hero film to treat the genre with dignity and respect. Visually, it was stunning, and you could not ask for a more pitch-perfect lead than Christopher Reeve. He was Curt Swan’s Man of Steel made flesh and the world conceived by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster rarely looked better.

Director Richard Donner had a falling out with producer Ilya Salkind and the Mario Puzo script was a challenging mess requiring rewriting by Robert Benton and David & Leslie Newman. Once Donner was fired and Richard Lester brought in to replace him, the film and its sequel, Superman II, suffered.

What endures and remains the measuring stick for all other heroic films is the first half from Krypton’s destruction through Superman’s first night in Metropolis. Once we meet Otis (Ned Beatty), the tone shifts to something lighter, a massive disconnect more jarring today than back then, when we were so eager for a good Superman movie that we forgave its flaws including its illogical mind-warping time travel denouement.

Much was cut from the theatrical version to fit a hefty running time of 0:00 so missing pieces were added when ABC first ran the film. Since then, various cuts have been released but now, Warner Home Entertainment has delivered a 4K release of that theatrical version (and it’ll be in movie theaters for three nights this season).

The scan was taken from the camera negative, color-corrected and upgraded for this release in a 4K, Blu-ray and Digital HD combo pack. The Blu-ray is the same from the 2011 Superman Anthology box set with extras from that and the original DVD release. The sole bonus on the 4K disc is the audio commentary.

So, is it worth the extra bucks? Visually, the 2160p, HEVC/H.265-encoded UHD transfer is lovely. Given the way special effects were shot back then, the Krypton scenes tend to have a lot of grain, which may mar your enjoyment of the early minutes. The new, sharper definition also means you see more of the flaws, the matting, and occasional cheap props or sets, which also may spoil the fun. On the other hand, the color correction keeps Superman’s uniform a consistent set of colors. Geoffrey Unsworth’s photography, especially the Kansas scenes, is gorgeous.

Superior, though, is the newly remixed Dolby Atmos track, which is accompanied by the more traditional Dolby Digital 5.1 track. We have an upgraded version of the original score without any of the 2000 additions from Donner.

The movie still stands tall and is a joy to watch once better but this edition is only for those with the most current audio and visual players.

I will admit that I skipped Teen Titans Go! since I was far beyond their target audience, I was happy to see a scaled down, entry-level animated series succeed so well on cable. It honored its Marv Wolfman/George Pérez roots and had a nice run. What I never expected was to see it make the leap to the big screen and succeed as well as it did.

Back in the spring, Teen Titans Go! To the Movies was among the least anticipated summer films by theater owners at Movie Con but then arrived to superlative reviews (91% fresh at Rotten Tomatoes) and stronger than anticipated box office with $51.8 million earned worldwide against a $10 million budget.

On the five season series, the young heroes were seen having ordinary every day adventures, focusing more on pizza than the Fearsome Five. One recurring theme seems to be that the adult heroes looked down on them as being far from ready. Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, out on disc now from Warner Home Entertainment, goes meta as the kids worry about their shot at a feature film. They’re told they’re just too goofy to be taken seriously enough for a film so Robin (Scott Menville) leads the team  — Cyborg (Khary Payton), Beast Boy (Greg Cipes), Raven (Tara Strong), and Starfire (Hynden Walch) — to Hollywood to prove them all wrong. Hilarity ensures for the next 84 minutes.

Taking a cue more from 20^th Century Fox’s Deadpool than any heroic film Warner has released, the movie is a rapid-fire collection of wit, comical asides, and recurring gags including, yes, mistaking Deathstroke (called Slade here given the target audience) as Deadpool. Writers Michael Jelenic and Aaron Horvath clearly had a lot of fun with this and were well-served by director Aaron Horvath. For knowing adults in the room, you can appreciate that Superman is voiced by Nicholas Cage (fulfilling his dream). There is additional fine voice work from Will Arnett and the ubiquitous Kristen Bell. Nothing is sacred, notably the flawed DCEU films.

The transfer to Blu-ray is just fine, with strong visuals and audio. The simple style is deceptive and the colors pop here. Being a kids film, the special features appear more geared to them than the parents buying the disc. There’s a Lil Yachty Music Video (2:09) and three Sing-A-Long songs — Rap (1:56), Inspirational Song (2:41), My Super Hero Movie (2:23) — featuring Starfire’s pet Silkie, who was left out of the film proper. WB Lot Shenanigans (3:56) features costumed adults as the Titans making noise around the film studio. Red Carpet Mayhem (2:10) has some of the cast have fun at the premiere. We also have a DC Super Hero Girls Short: The Late Batsby (4:14). Interestingly, Teen Titans GO!: Translated (2:18) shows scenes translated for international audiences.  We have two Storyboard Animatics: Time Cycles (1:07) and The Final Battle (1:34). Finally, there’s a one-minute deleted scene.

The second wave of Batmania was ignited in 1989 when Tim Burton finally got a big screen adaptation of the comic book hero into theaters. It was such a wild success in terms of merchandising that Warner Bros wanted more and quickly. Since features take two to three years, they needed something sooner and the success of their Tiny Tunes and Animaniacs encouraged them to bring the Dark Knight back to television.

Thankfully, the project was placed in the hands of Alan Burnett, Bruce Timm, and Paul Dini who were not only fans of the character but the earliest cartoon fare. Taking a visual cue from Burton and a stylistic one from the Fleischer Brothers Studio, they produced a Batman cartoon unlike anything from the 1960s or 1970s. Batman the Animated Series was sampled on prime time in September 1992 before launching on Fox Kids and for three seasons, there was nothing quite like it.

The episodes have been collected before; including a beautiful DVD box set in 2008, but now, Warner Home Entertainment has remastered the files for high definition and gifted us with Batman: The Complete Animated Series. This lush 12-disc collection has not only every episode of the series but the two feature films – Batman: Mask of the Phantasm and Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero — it spawned as well.

Not only did the series look grim and gritty, it was blessed with a Danny Elfman theme, further connecting it with the features. The stories were far from kiddie fare as the writing staff took the gruesome, tragic, and mentally deranged rogues and reinvented them for the small screen. This is where Mr. Freeze got an origin that made you feel for the scientist, and benefitted from the Mike Mignola redesign.

One of the series’ greatest strengths was in its voice casting, led by Kevin Conroy (Batman), Clive Revill and Efrem Zimbalist Jr (as Alfred), Melissa Gilbert (Batgirl), Brock Peters (Lucius Fox). The villains were led by Mark Hamill’s Joker, Richard Moll (Two-Face), Arleen Sorkin (Harley Quinn), Adrienne Barbeau (Catwoman), Paul Williams (The Penguin), Ron Perlman (Clayface), Ed Asner (Roland Daggett), and Roddy McDowall (The Mad Hatter). The show also paid tribute to the first era of Batmania with Adam West portraying The Gray Ghost.

Dini and Timm struck a nerve when they created Harley Quinn, designed as a one-off character but everyone fell in love with her, from the design to Sorkin’s voice. She has become DC’s answer to Deadpool in terms of ubiquity and is getting her own series on the DC Entertainment streaming service (although Sorkin is being replaced with Kaley Cuoco).

There was something for children, teens, and adults in every episode with visuals taken from the comics, stories adapted from the comics by scribes including Len Wein and Martin Pasko. It was such a well-crafted show that it earned multiple Emmy Awards and critical acclaim while the features, in lesser hands, crashed and burned.

The Blu-ray scans of the film negatives means we’re presented with the original 1.33:1 aspect ratio but the look is cleaner and clearer than ever before. This series was among the last to be predominantly hand animated and you can enjoy every frame. The video accompanying this review demonstrates the differences. The audio is offered as a 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio lossless audio track and sounds tremendous.

The 12-discs are lovingly packaged with fine graphics and offer viewers the 109 episodes in production order, including the ones entitled The Adventures of Batman & Robin and The New Batman Adventures.  Most of the Special Features from previous editions are replicated here so you get commentary from Timm, Dini; writer Michael Reaves; directors Glen Murakami, James Ticker, and Dan Riba; and producers Eric Radomski, Boyd Kirkland, and Kevin Altieri. (Missing are the Timm intros from the 2008 box set but it’s a minor quibble.)

Shades of the Bat: Batman’s Animated Evolution is absent with the 22-minute featurette replaced with the three-part Heart of Batman, hosted by Dini. Reunited for the discussion are Dini, Timm, Radomski, Burnett, Fox’s Jean MacCurdy, now-retired voice director Andrea Romano and her finds, Conroy and Strong. Hamill’s is included via welcome archival footage.

The feature film discs are replicas of previous editions so some animated episodes are repeated as bonus features.

The Limited Edition box set also includes seven lenticular animation artwork cards, and a set of three Funko Pocket POPS figures: Batman, Joker, and Harley Quinn. There is also a Digital Copy code and initially, there was a problem with SD not High Def versions available and Warner has been working on the issue, promising an upgrade in the future.

Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales: Lafayette
By Nathan Hale
Abrams Amulet, 128 pages, $13.99

There really is a Nathan Hale providing guided tours through American history, neatly playing off his namesake’s name recognition. The Eisner-nominated creator has explored the first Hale, the Donner party, and World War I. Here’s back with his eighth fun volume spotlighting the French adventurer and American patriot Marquis de Lafayette (revitalized thanks to Hamilton).

We get the Frenchman’s aristocratic background and upbringing, explaining how he found himself coming to America early during the War for Independence, well ahead of France’s more formal declaration of support,

Hale uses a masked version of himself to narrate the tale, pausing to help us identify the supporting figures in Lafayette’s life, enriching the overall narrative. The Frenchman arrives, seriously sea sick, in 1777 and is initially dismissed by the Continental Congress, considering him a dilettante. He’s dispatched to General George Washington, who welcomes him with open arms, making him an aide-de-camp, and puts him right to work while the military leader is also feuding with a frustrated Congress, some of whom are trying to remove him.

Lafayette, not yet twenty, is off to do battle, accompanied by Alexander Hamilton, Washington’s right-hand man. They grow to respect one another and Hale takes us through their various battles, demonstrating how Lafayette was more helpful than the Americans ever could have imagined.

Hale’s pages are filled with detail, using black, white, and shades of red to vividly bring the past to life. While aimed at middle grades, this would certainly be a fine supplemental work for slightly older readers. There are helpful maps and a useful bibliography along with a cheeky author’s note of sorts.

For people who claim history is boring, Hale through his works proves history is anything but.

Ten years ago, Iron Man was released and was hailed as brilliant interpretation of a B-list hero few outside of comic shops knew. Just three years ago, Ant-Man was lauded for taking an even more obscure hero and making the same magic. Where the former’s sequel stumbled, the latter’s soared.

Ant-Man and the Wasp, out today on 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray/Digital HD from Walt Disney Home Entertainment, is possibly even more enjoyable but wouldn’t be that way without having the first film to build on. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) was the first diminutive hero, using the Pym particles to shrink and perform feats on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D., eventually sharing his adventures with his equally brilliant scientist wife Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), until there was the mission where she didn’t return.

Heart-broken, the mercurial Pym withdrew, overly protective of his adult daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly), who yearned to be a hero. Instead, she watched over her father’s company until circumstances forced Hank to bring in Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) for help. The first film, reviewed here, was charming and focused on family and redemption as sub-text.

But we got a glimmer of Janet in the Quantum Realm and rescuing her became the launch point for the sequel. Wisely, they pick up two years later, with Scott under house arrest for violating the Sokovia Accords and participating in Captain America: Civil War. While he made the most of his time with Cassie (Abby Ruder Fortson), the Pyms were building a quantum tunnel to attempt a rescue. When things go sideways thanks to unscrupulous antics of Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins), the Pyms need Hank’s help once more.

All the threads from the first film are extended and enriched here, from Luis (Michael Peña), Kurt (David Dastmalchian), and Dave (Tip “T.I.” Harris) struggling to keep X-Con Security afloat to Cassie’s strong bond with her father. There’s a weird frenemy relationship that has formed between Lang and his keeper, FBI Agent Jimmy Woo (Randall Park), and their final scene together is a delightful study of awkwardness.

Added to the cast is Bill Foster (Laurence Fishburne), a former friend and rival with Pym, who once adventured as Goliath. He’s been harboring and aiding Ava Starr (Hannah John-Kamen), whose molecular structure was damaged in a Pym experiment gone wrong that also killed her parents. When Foster and Pym need the same piece of tech, held by Burch, competing needs clash and the fun begins. Ava, known as Ghost, proves a damaged, desperate woman trying to survive much as Hope needs to find her mother, adding a nice level of pathos to the conflict.

The size-changing is amped up throughout the film, mostly for comedic effects and it works but there’s little consideration of the physical toll this must take on Lang and Pym. It seemed to stop Foster at some point, but it never comes up.

Despite there being five credited writers — Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Paul Rudd, Andrew Barrer, Gabriel Ferrari – we learn from the special features that director Peyton Reed wisely allowed a certain amount of improvisation. As a result, the finished film is funny, action-packed, heart-warming, and vastly entertaining. The mid-credits sequence also dramatically establishes exactly where the film fits in with Phase Three.

The film has been released in a variety of formats including retail exclusive editions with varying content. The one under review is billed as the Cinematic Universe Edition. The dual-layered UHD66 disc brilliantly shows off the vivid colors with a stunning HEVC H.265 encode. Filming used digital photography allowing the 4K disc to be noticeably superior to the Blu-ray. Accompanying is a fine Dolby Atmos soundtrack. The Blu-ray has a satisfactory 7.1 DTS-HD MA audio track.

Special features found on the disc includes Audio Commentary from Reed, complete with an intro (1:08). From there, we have a series of interesting but not terribly informative Making of Featurettes (22:30): Back in the Ant-Suit: Scott Lang; A Suit of Her Own: The Wasp; Subatomic Super Heroes: Hank & Janet; and Quantum Perspective: The VFX and Production Design of Ant-Man and The Wasp.

Additionally, there are surprisingly short Gag Reel (1:31) and Outtakes, featuring Stan Lee adlibbing for his cameo (:46) and Tim Heidecker (1:29). We have just a two Deleted Scenes, with Optional Commentary by Reed (1:38).

There are some Digital Exclusives, with Movies Anywhere offering It Takes Two (:59) and Vudu including the previously seen 10 Years of Marvel Studios: The Art of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (10:19) and Leader of the Colony (2:36), spotlighting Reed

John Constantine, done right, is one of DC Comics’ strongest characters. The current incarnation in the Rebirth universe is a pale comparison to his Vertigo roots and the NBC series didn’t push the horrific elements far enough (being a prime time series, after all). Matt Ryan’s wonderful interpretation has been further watered down for the CW’s Legends of Tomorrow, so hearing him in all his weary glory in Constantine: City of Demons is most welcome.

This is one of the best animated adaptations of a comic book character, thanks to letting it be an R-rated film ensuring the horror/supernatural elements were true to the source material and not just curse words tossed in for “authenticity”. Kudos to J.M. DeMatteis for bringing Alan Moore, Stephen Bissette, and John Totleben’s character to proper life. His original script loosely adapts Hellblazer: All His Engines graphic novel by Mike Carey and Leonardo Manco.

We open with hints of what happened in the past, sending a young, irresponsible Constantine to Ravenscar. His guilt, especially as the past is revealed throughout the 90-minute film, drives his actions and decisions, building to a most satisfying climax.

Constantine is cursed to fight the good fight but at a terrible cost and that has never been truer here. His longtime pal, Chas Chandler (Damian O’Hare), seeks him out to help find out what’s ailing his young daughter Trish. Of course, it’s supernatural in nature and off we go.

While Constantine and Chas jet from London to Los Angeles, Chas’ estranged wife Renee (Emily O’Brien), watches over their comatose child. Watching over her though is Asa the Nightmare Nurse (Laura Bailey), who is, of course, not what she appears.

This is the Constantine who practices magic, who smokes too much, drinks too much, carries too much pain with him, and is at his best when his back is up against the wall. While he tries to free Trish’s soul from Beroul (Jim Meskimen), he also has to contend with the Aztec god, Mictlantecuhtli (Rick D. Wasserman). The only assistance he receives is from the enigmatic Angela (Rachel Kimsey), who acts like Deadman, but has less altruistic motives. He makes deals, double-crosses whoever or whatever he needs to, all for the right reasons. However, there’s a price, always there’s a price. You suspect you know who pays it but it’s far steeper than imagined.

In Director Doug Murphy’s capable hands, the film is dark, atmospheric, and graphic in its violence. Whatever awkwardness existed when it ran on CW Seed in six parts is gone in this compilation.

The film has been released by Warner Home Entertainment in a 4K/Blu-ray/Digital HD combo set. Obviously, the 2160p, HEVC/H.265-encoded UHD definition is sharp, but here, it’s noticeably better than the Blu-ray disc, with more subtle colors popping off the screen. It is well served by the DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio track.

Both 4K and Blu-ray come with a scarcity of bonus features. The most interesting is The Sorcerer’s Occultist: Understanding John Constantine (13:38), exploring the character with director Doug Murphy, producer Butch Lukic, executive producers David Goyer and  so-called “Occult Expert” Jason Louv. Entertaining but less interesting is the WonderCon Panel—2018 where we hear from Ryan, DeMatteis, and Blue Ribbon Content’s Peter Girardi. There are also trailers for other animated fare all of which pale in comparison.

Note: Some version of the film will air tonight on the CW, but I suspect some of the gore and language will be scrubbed.

The Faithful Spy
By John Hendrix
Amulet Books/368 pages/$18.99

Every time you think you’re done hearing amazing stories about individual acts of courage during World War II, another one comes along. In this case, the true story of the German plot to assassinate Adolph Hitler comes in a unique graphic novel that is compelling reading for Middle and High Schoolers.

Dietrich Bonhoffer was a devout Lutheran, a member of a large German family, and destined to be a leader. He went to school, became ordained and was a theologian, teaching and preaching while the storm clouds gathered around Germany. The Nazi Party took advantage of the diaspora surrounding the citizenry, instill outrage at their economic plight and hatred towards the ones responsible for their plight – the Jews.

Bonhoffer’s story is told parallel and intermingled with the rise of Nazi power, a primer to pre-World War II history. Once it became clear that Hitler and his part wanted absolute power, resentment grew in a select few who saw through the artifice. As Chancellor Hitler changed the national dialogue and rebuilt their war machinery in direct violation of the Paris Treaty that ended World War I. A weary Europe tried to ignore them until Hitler seized absolute power in the wake of President Hindenburg’s death. Then the war drums began beating.

Hitler’s actions within Germany are carefully detailed so we see how he incrementally seized control, with events not usually included in historic works, such as Hitler altering prayer so rather than praying to God above all, it was God then Hitler. Yikes.

Concerned, Bonhoffer found himself slowly drawn into a cabal that was determined to exterminate Hitler before he could not be stopped. Yet, while Hitler blitzed his way through Europe, the conspirators proved either inept or unlucky (perhaps both). Obviously, the conspiracy failed as we know, but that makes the book no less interesting. While he was never directly involved in planting failed explosives, he was close enough to eventually be captured and imprisoned.

Even while in jail his spirits and faith rarely flagged despite missing his family and his bride. The ending is somber as Hitler failed and Bonhoffer died a prisoner.

Hendrix works in a complex style, mixing long stretches of text with illustrations and graphic storytelling elements. There are wonderful sidebars that provide context for events and personnel and much of the dialogue comes straight from Bonhoffer’s own writings, giving the work authenticity. The work is visually interesting, printed in black, magenta, and cyan tones. His style is compelling and clear, just cartoony enough to avoid looking scholarly.

The creator provides notes on sources and a limited bibliography for those interested in learning more about Bonhoffer and his colleagues. By all means, check this one out.