Author: Robert Greenberger

Now that the DC Animated Universe has solidified its characters and reality, it makes sense to go exploring. After all, if there’s a Robin, surely there must be other teen heroes. We meet some of them in the newly released Justice League vs Teen Titans.

Robin (Stewart Allen) is the focal point as his go-it-alone and I-know-better-than-everyone-else attitude actually gets him into trouble on a case that foreshadows the arrival of the demon Trigon (Jon Bernthal). A frustrated Batman (Jason O’Mara) arranges for Damian to spend time with Starfire (Kari Wahlgren) and the Teen Titans. Interestingly, this interpretation of the Tamaranean princess positions her a caring, mentor figure as opposed to the current fish-out-of-water incarnation or the innocent warrior she was originally seen as. She is training the next generation composed of the Jamie Reyes Blue Beetle (Jake T. Austin), Beast Boy (Brandon Soo Hoo), and Raven (Taissa Farmiga).

As you would expect, Robin does not fit in and upsets the nascent team chemistry. Starfire eventually hits on the idea of a fun outing, a team bonding trip to the carnival where icy exteriors soften amid the friendly competition.

Meanwhile, Trigon’s forces have been seeping into the world and Superman (Jerry O’Connell) has been possessed and has fled, leaving a depleted League to figure out what’s happening. Why Shazam and Green Lantern are absent is never properly covered which is shame but Cyborg (Shemar Moore), Wonder Woman (Rosario Dawson), Flash (Christopher Gorham), and Batman get to work.

Once the connection between Trigon and Raven is established, the inevitable conflict between teams is brought forward and the battle is mercifully brief. While Sam Lu’s direction is solid, it’s a shame that, I gather, budget concerns limited the fight to showing any two opponents at one time as opposed to nearly multiple figures making for a richer battle. The only two rule grew annoying throughout the entire production.

The DC Universe Animated Original Movie benefits from Bryan Q. Miller and Alan Burnett co-writing the screenplay since it treats all the characters with respect and allows time for characterization. There’s some nice byplay between Starfire and Nightwing (Sean Maher) and Superman and Wonder Woman that strengthens the overall production.

The generation gap between the teams is no longer as wide as it once seemed in the comics and the bickering between sides is kept to a minimum, in favor of the teen’s sticking up for one of their own. While this might be about the obvious Robin learns the obvious teamwork theme, it’s also about a young girl confronting her destiny and dealing with the world’s worst parent.

DC clearly intends on doing more with the Titans in the animated world given the final scene just before the credits roll.

The 79-minute animated film comes in a Combo Pack with Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD in addition to a collector’s edition complete with Robin figurine. It looks and sound just fine, as one would expect.

There are a smattering of extras including Growing Up Titan (23:46) wherein Marv Wolfman, Mike Carlin, co-publisher Dan DiDio, and producer James Tucker explore the nature of sidekicks and why the Teen Titans has remained one of DC’s most enduring titles for five decades. The same gang reunited for Heroes and Villains: Raven (6:05) and Heroes and Villains: Trigon (5:17) does much the same for this satanic arch-villain. Rounding out the collection is A Sneak Peek at DC Universe’s Next Movie: Batman: The Killing Joke (10:15) and Batman: The Brave and the Bold: “Sidekicks Assemble!” (22:52) and Teen Titans: “The Prophecy“(23:02).

A new film from Quentin Tarantino is never anything short of an event. For his eighth film, The Hateful Eight, he insisted on it being shot in 65mm using Ultra Panavision then arranged with the Weinstein Company to go back in time and release a roadshow version of the film. That is, the 70mm version would play in select theaters and become a Must See film.

The movie is wonderfully cast and beautifully shot with award-winning music from Ennio Morricone. But this is the first time I can say with genuine feeling that I was bored to tears.

Eight people find themselves waiting out a blizzard in an out of the way location, Minnie’s Haberdashery, and no one is as they appear which we learn over the course of two and a half tedious hours. While in some ways this is a thematic sequel to the far superior Django Unchained, this offering lacks the verve of its dialogue and the outrageousness of its characters.

Part of the problem is that fate and a sloppy script bring these eight together and they all seem to know one another in one way or another. Since they all arrive in various ways, it cannot be said to be by design but once they are in the building, its front door repeatedly nailed shut to fight the wind, they talk.

And they talk and they shout and they reminisce and they taunt one another but really, there’s very little said.

The standard release is 20 minutes shorter and probably a tighter story which may have been prudent. Watching the wide screen version at home, you see the gorgeous exteriors which probably benefitted from lenses but once we’re inside, the feeling of closeness is absent, robbing the film of some of its intended tension.

The thread holding things together, is ostensibly that bounty hunter John Ruth (Kurt Russell) is bringing Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh) to Red Rock to be hung. By chance, the Haberdashery also hosts The Hangman Oswaldo Mobray (Tim Roth), the Sheriff Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins), Sanford Smithers (Bruce Dern), a seemingly addlepated former Confederate General; and Joe Gage (Michael Madsen), a laconic cowboy.  Their host is Bob (Demián Bichir) and one is left to wonder where Minnie is. But central to the story is bounty hunter Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson), who forces the issue of race to be discussed in the post-Civil War portion of the 19^th Century. Warren has a personal letter from President Lincoln, which makes him a minor celebrity and cause for suspicion.

Told in five chapters, with odd narrative interludes, the story does have a major surprise towards the second half and explains a lot but by then I was beyond caring since things just poked along without being quirky, fun, or engaging. This was a supreme let down from a far better storyteller.

Thankfully, the 1080p transfer in 2.75:1 is gorgeous, one of the bets high definition experiences I’ve had in a while. The immersive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 is just lovely.

Ironically, the extras here are uncharacteristically brief, a sign of the film’s box office disappointment. No expense was invested in tricking this out with special features we get a Combo Pack with Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD and just the electronic press kit release Beyond the Eight: A Behind the Scenes Look (4:58) and the slightly more interesting Sam Jackson’s Guide to Glorious 70mm (7:49).

The release arrives tomorrow from Anchor Bay Entertainment.

That resulting thud you hear is the disappointing opening weekend numbers for Allegiant, the third part of the four part adaptation of the Divergent trilogy. Its arrival coincides with Lionsgate’s release of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 as a Blu-ray Combo Pack. The commercial demands that the final book of a series be broken into two films made sense for the final Harry Potter novel but certainly not for Mockingjay as witnessed by the poor critical reception Part 1 received in 2014.

Now we have the finale and while stronger, continues to lend credence to the argument it didn’t need to be two separate films (and the year’s wait, in retrospect, was probably a mistake).

The bloom may be off the YA Dystopian rose as the films rushing to the screen in the wake of The Hunger Games’ well-deserved respect failed to measure up. What many of the authors and filmmakers neglected to do was create a protagonist with as many layers as poor Katniss Everdeen.

Fortunately, screenwriters Peter Craig and Danny Strong have not sanded off Katniss’ (Jennifer Lawrence) edges and she remains the most reluctant protagonist in the recent memory. All she wanted to do was protect her sister and bit by bit, page by page, volume by volume, she was dragged kicking and screaming (sometimes literally) into becoming a symbol.

This final installment wavers between her being the focal point of the rebellion against President Snow (Donald Sutherland) and the residents of decadent District 1 and being part of something greater. We see her swearing she will kill Snow and sneaks out of District 13 to make her way to District 2 but then she’s part of Unit 451 and taking orders from others. She is not in the forefront of the fighting, in fact the unit is made of photogenic icons, survivors of previous games and therefore representing the fight against the cruel treatment of Panem’s residents.

She suffers and is made to suffer as those around her manipulate her mother (Paula Malcolmson) and sister Prim (Willow Shields), her friends Peeta Josh Hutcherson) and Gale (Liam Hemsworth), twisting the Mockingjay to their own purposes. At no point does she really stand up and take control of her own fate and make the demands necessary to be the hero we expect her to. And that is Suzanne Collins’ brilliance in her trilogy, that Katniss remains a heroine thrust into situations by circumstance and struggles to survive, but rarely getting to choose how.

Of the adaptations, this one has the most substantive changes from the source material as the violence is toned down to maintain the PG-13 rating and various threads are dropped or truncated in favor of action, mayhem, and tears. As a result, some characters get short-shrift, notably mom, Prim, and Haymitch (Woody Harrelson). Poor Philip Seymour Hoffman lost his life before filming a key scene towards the end but Plutarch’s hand remains strongly felt throughout. Snow and President Coin (Julianne Moore) deliver indelible performances that help remind us of the political stakes. The screenwriters smartly elevated the role played by Commander Paylor (Patina Miller) so her later participation makes sense.

Director Francis Lawrence makes up for the slog that was Part 1 with a tauter paced tale with sweep and scope. He coaxes nice performances from his cast and delivers a satisfying conclusion to the epic.

The high definition transfer is excellent, preserving the colors and allowing us to see the shadows, notably in the sewer sequence. We can luxuriate in the rich colors of the costumes, explosions, and details in the final scenes. It is well-matched with the Dolby Atmos soundtrack.

The Blu-ray offers up Audio Commentary from Lawrence and Producer Nina Jacobson.

Additionally, we get the right-part documentary Pawns No More: Making The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2which is 2:30 of detailed behind-the-scenes footage from every possible angle and is fascinating at time. There is also The Hunger Games: A Photographic Journey (10:12), which examines still photographer Murray Close’s career; Cinna’s Sketchbook (10:00), which explores the costuming for the final films; Panem on Display, focusing on the traveling museum exhibits and Jet to the Set, a contest.

Lionsgate has simultaneously released a box set of all four films which boasts 14 hours of bonus content including previously unseen deleted scenes.

The Creeps: The Trolls Will Feast!
By Chris Schweizer
Amulet, 122 pages, $17.95/$9.95

Last August, Amulet introduced us to Chris Schweizer’s middle school gang The Creeps. Their inaugural appearance, Night of the Frankenfrogs, was packed and didn’t entirely work so I was curious to see how he would deepen the characters or expand their world in his sophomore book.

To my pleasant surprise, Schweizer offers up a far more satisfying effort. The kids start off already in trouble with the local constabulary in Pumpkins County but quickly we get the impression bigger problems are developing. Something is interfering with electronic signals so cellphones and Wi-Fi connections are not working. And there’s something about Jock Brogglin that makes him more than just a troublemaker.

In short order, the kids learn from Jock that he is the last survivor of a previous generation of troll fighters and now, after too short a hibernation period, the trolls are ready to attack and feast on the inhabitants. One problem: no one can see the Trolls.

The Creeps need intel and here we learn more about the bizarre beings that are a part of their universe; not just the trolls, but also Mitchell’s older brother. While we still haven’t met their parents, we at least know they are not a collection of single children. Actually, the absence of parental figures rings false as the book opens with the kids in police custody, having their mug shots taken. As minors that would demand parental involvement.

Be that as it may, the four kids – Carol, Mitchell, Jarvis, and Rosario – prove tight and functional with distinctive personalities being rounded out. What seems like a throwaway bit, a video of Rosario singing (very badly) that has gone viral, prove pivotal later on.

Schweizer also gives us Jock, proving not every adult in the books (teachers last time, police this time) are idiots, which is refreshing.

Each of his 122 pages is packed with six to eight panel pages proliferating throughout. At times the pacing is a little off, especially towards the end where it feels like he was cramming things in to finish the story, but it’s all clearly laid out and colored so it makes for a good reading experience for the young adult reading audience.

This is a stronger offering and shows greater command of the characters and their setting so the series is taking on a nice shape.

Every now and then, you see a film that transports to you another time and place that feels very familiar but is also alien in many respects. It weaves its magic in subtle and quiet ways so you don’t even realize how transported you have become.

Brooklyn is not flashy but it tells its immigrant story with heart and soul, allowing actors to work through scenes so you feel like you are gazing on the real borough during the 1950s. Based on Colm Tóibín’s novel, the film was adapted to the screen by novelist/screenwriter Nick Hornby and director John Crowley.

This is the Brooklyn where a generation of comic book writers and artists were raised and the one I visited to see my grandparents. It is where a city’s heart was broken when the beloved bums, the Dodgers will soon leave for California.

The sense of change is shocking to Eilis Lacey (Saoirse Ronan), who arrives in 1952, fresh from Ireland in need of a job. Back home, there’s just no work in the post-World War II economy but America is booming with opportunity. Her older sister, Rose (Fiona Glascott), arranges with Father Flood (Jim Broadbent) to bring Eilis over and find her work at a local department store.

Everything and everyone is alien to Eilis who is already shy and homesick so she withdraws even further, failing to successfully bond with the other girls in the boarding house, overseen by Mrs. Keogh (Julie Walters). (Among the residents is Emily Bett Rickards, in a role unlike that on Arrow.) In time, though, she thaws just enough to win over her supervisor Miss Fortini (Jessica Paré) and then capture the heart of the Italian plumber, Tony Fiorello (Emory Cohen).

But she’s not the only one changing. Brooklyn is beginning to alter its complexion as the expansion to the suburbs is underway and as nature abhors a vacuum, new people move into the area. This current is touched on in the finished film but one of the missed deleted scenes emphasizes the point.

Eilis falls in love but when her beloved sister succumbs to a heart condition, she returns home but not before marrying Tony. While home, the differences in culture and attitude deeply affect her and she lingers longer than expected, ignoring her husband’s frequent letters. She is a woman caught in two worlds as the ground beneath is shifting of its own volition.

The film is beautifully shot and superbly acted, earning its 97% freshness rating at Rotten Tomatoes along with the armload of awards and nominations it has garnered. Out now on disc from 20^th Century Home Entertainment, this is a cultural and character study well worth your attention. Thankfully, the high definition is pristine and the colors rich and satisfying.

This was a tightly produced film and the 11 deleted scenes that make up the bulk of the special features are all very short and demonstrate how carefully considered each shot and edit was. The optional director’s commentary explains each excision. From the electronic press kit come six promotional features: The Story, Home, Love, Cast, Book to Screen, and The Making of Brooklyn. There is additional, interesting Audio commentary from Crowley. It should be noted that the combo pack comes with just the Blu-ray disc and Digital HD, as the day of the DVD appears to be waning.

This is not your typical ComicMix genre offering but film’s this well-crafted and performed is well-deserving of your attention.