Category: comics

Watchmen (The TV Series)

Warning! There’s a prediction/possible spoiler near the end!

In my less-than-humble opinion, a TV series based on a movie based on a graphic novel is never going to go well. It’s a bit like the sci-fi view of cloning: successive copies are always a little less perfect than the first generation.

The Watchmen franchise has managed to get around this by making a perfect copy of the original, and then pretty much rewriting the original for the TV series. So far, the results are … encouraging. Couple of things to bear in mind though:

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Film review: Joker

Every time I review a DC film, I say pretty much the same thing: they have to stop taking themselves so seriously. Well, once again, they ignored me: Joker is about as serious as you can possibly get, and it’s a much better film for it. For me, this is their best outing to date, and it’s pretty grim.

Joker is set in Gotham, before Batman and before Arkham became a rest home for homicidal super villains. The connection is there, but it’s very loose: this is not a film about super heroes, this is a film about how we’re all just a few steps removed from becoming a menace to the public.

So much for the healing power of laughter …

Joaquin Phoenix, unsurprisingly, turns in a masterful (and I mean masterful, as in ‘Oscar worthy’) performance as Arthur Fleck, a failed clown and failing stand-up comedian suffering from a range of mental ailments and perpetual bad luck. As his life spirals out of control and his past unravels around him, he becomes increasingly unhinged, delusional, and of course, homicidal.

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Film review: Aquaman

Okay, I’m going to start straight off by saying that Aquaman was a pleasant surprise. If you’ve read any of my other reviews then you’ll know I’m not a huge fan of the DC’s big screen efforts so far. Biggest complaint? They lack a sense of fun. I get that superhero movies don’t have to be a laugh a minute, but there’s just something in everything they’ve done so far; it’s not just humour – it’s heart. Character and heart.

Aquaman is still lacking in character development (and a little in the script), but on the whole, the film works … just about.

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