September 23, 2025

BW’s Daily Video> The Batman Movies Never Made

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Quick Thoughts:

  • Points for recognizing Tim Burton isn’t the one who brought Batman to its roots as the comics already broke away from the Silver Age during the Bronze Age. Not much said about the 1978 script.
  • The 1986 offering has too many villains for one movie. It was a problem with everything from Batman Returns onward. Just focus on one villain. It’s literally the only thing I’ll give Matt Reeves credit for. It’s just the Riddler as the antagonist…or someone called the Riddler while being nothing like him.
  • I’m of two minds (fitting) about Williams as Two-Face, but Marlon Wayans as Dick Grayson/Robin? No. There is no way that ever works either due to his acting style or his complexion. Williams at least could act the part of Dent, though I would have to be convinced about Two-Face as I’ve never seen him play a villain role. At least this is one time you can’t blame DEI.
  • Am I the only person not impressed with Burton’s Catwoman? Nothing against Pfeiffer, because my issue is the presentation, not the actress. Being better than the Halle Berry movie is hardly praise. Maybe because there are so few Burton films I actually enjoy. Actually, just Beetlejuice. Still need to see the sequel.

The only things I have to say about the others is that I wouldn’t have been interested in any of them.

Posted by on September 23, 2025 in DC Spotlight, Movie Spotlight and tagged , , , .

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September 22, 2025

Chapter By Chapter> Tom Clancy’s Op-Center: Mirror Image chapters 66 & 67

Chapter by Chapter features me reading one chapter (or possibly multiple chapters for this one) of the selected book at the time and reviewing it as if I were reviewing an episode of a TV show or an issue of a comic. There will be spoilers if you haven’t read to the point I have, and if you’ve read further I ask that you don’t spoil anything further into the book. Think of it as read-along book club.

Two chapters this week, though both are four pages long. Ordinarily I wouldn’t think that so bad, but the way this book operates and the fact that I kind of want to be done reading this already, I’m willing to do a two-for-one deal this week.

Last week, saw Peggy and George trying to get home, with a possible shot at payback for Peggy. We’ll see how that plays out, but not this time. We’re going between the train and Washington, DC, probably Op-Center for the latter.

We’re getting close to the end and I am long since out of ways to pad the intro, so let’s get on with the review.

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Posted by on September 22, 2025 in Chapter By Chapter, Op-Center: Mirror Image and tagged , , , , , , , , , , .

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September 22, 2025

“Yesterday’s” Comic> Warstrike #2

Pretty sure the human body can’t do half of the things you’re doing.

Warstrike #2

Malibu Comics/Ultraverse (June, 1994)

“Darkness”

WRITER: Dan Danko

PENCILER: Hoang Nguyen

INKERS: Bob Downs & Larry Welch

COLORING: Micky Rose & Violent Hues

LETTERER: Dave Lanphear

EDITOR: Roland Mann

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Posted by on September 22, 2025 in Yesterday's Comics and tagged , , , , , .

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September 22, 2025

BW’s Daily Video> The Original Day Of The Doctor Plans

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For more of Eccleston’s problems with the show, that was a different BW’s Daily Video. Also, here’s my review of the “Day Of The Doctor” we got.

Posted by on September 22, 2025 in Television Spotlight and tagged , , , , , , , .

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September 21, 2025

Jake & Leon #655> Superchoosy

 

Considering there are animated Superman movies I still haven’t seen that I’m interested in, I only have so much time in my life.

James Gunn, who I’m not a fan of to begin with, has said that he didn’t want to make a Superman movie until he learned about Krypto, which he breed-swapped into his own dog. Between negative and positive reviews as well as official promotion (most of which was about Gunn, earning the title James Gunn’s Superman By James Gunn here) just didn’t sound like it was really that focused on Superman, and didn’t get him quite right when they did. Not Zac Snyder levels of wrong, but enough that, as someone still on the fence about watching Superman Returns and never got into Superman & Lois despite the praise, I’m just not really sure I want to go through. Maybe things will change, but there are still a bunch of animated Superman movies between HBO Max and YouTube that I haven’t seen, so I’d rather go through those first. Remember, this is personal preference. If you liked what Gunn did, more power to you. I don’t care for what I saw and there’s only so much time in my day. My Finally Watched list is big enough as it is.

Speaking of big lists, over at The Clutter Reports this week I was going to do more digital organizing, but I wanted a project that gave me more of a sense of satisfaction. So instead I tackled a drawer in the kitchen with my dad that really needed decluttering. Now if I can only decide what to call it. It also led to a second drawer cleaning. So it’s a two for one project.

This week at the Spotlight we’re doing two chapters for the Chapter By Chapter review of Tom Clancy’s Op-Center: Mirror Image because of length, and getting into the first attempt at creating a Transformers cartoon for CBS, plus whatever else goes on this week worth covering. If anything since real world stuff seems to be burying storytelling discussions. Have a great week, everyone!

Posted by on September 21, 2025 in DC Spotlight, Jake & Leon, Movie Spotlight, Streaming Spotlight and tagged , , , , , , .

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September 20, 2025

Saturday Night Showcase> The Banana Splits In Hocus Pocus Park

Earlier this week I talked about how making a kids TV show into a horror movie was just wrong, and that was official from Warner Brothers. Then again, we’ve seen how they treat kids TV over there these days. Not surprising, given how little Hollywood cares about kids these days and even less about kids spending quality time with their parents. Just look at Disney these days. Childhood innocence is looked down upon as they try to make kids into little adults. It irks me to no end.

Kids TV is not relegated to a handful of networks while “family” programming looks a lot like grown up shows that kids can safely watch at best. However, back in the 1970s ABC had The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie, a collection of shorter films (maybe an hour) that kids and parents could enjoy together. In 1972 we had a better adventure for the Banana Splits with Banana Splits In Hocus Pocus Park. With live-action segments filmed in Kings Island, one of many amusement parks the show would use to have Fleegle, Drooper, Bingo, and Snorky run around and goofing around over the years, most of the show takes place in animation. I’m pretty sure that’s a first as usually the costumed characters would just host the other cartoons, adventure and comedy alike. Sadly this was not our chance to finally meet their rivals, the Sour Grapes Bunch, and no preteen go-go dancing messengers either.

Instead, our crazy quartet journey to a magic forest via billboard. An evil witch wants to kidnap little Suzi and make her a witch. I don’t know why she’s perfect. The story isn’t about Suzy learning to not be a mean kid or anything. It’s just an excuse for the Splits and a pair of wacky wizards to have shenanigans trying to rescue her.

You may notice a couple of times the voices seem off. Howard Morris, who voices Hocus and Pocus, gets swapped out for Don Messick a couple of times for some reason while Morris had to give a few lines to Bingo. I don’t know why, but I wasn’t even born when this came out. There are also some pretty obvious animation errors. This is not going to be a deep story. That’s not what the series was about, although another movie from 2008, where the horror movie got their costumes, had the Splits trying to reclaim their fame…only to fail and have to learn to live with it. According to the Ideas Wiki (don’t know what it’s doing there), fans weren’t happy with that message and I have no reason to look at that anymore than I do the Five Nights At Freddy’s ripoff…which another wiki claims WAS an early Freddy’s movie script. Nope, for all it’s faults, THIS is the only Banana Splits movie that treats the show and the Splits themselves properly. Enjoy.

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Posted by on September 20, 2025 in Animation Spotlight, Saturday Night Showcase, Television Spotlight and tagged , , , , , , .

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September 20, 2025

BW’s Saturday Article Link> Chris Columbus’s Fantastic Four?

No, we’re not getting it…but we almost did. Bounding Into Comics has part of an interview that movie director Chris Columbus did, bringing up that at one point he wanted to make a Fantastic Four movie, and maybe even a Daredevil one. Instead he went on to Harry Potter…so I think he did okay. Still it shows that failing to respect the source material isn’t a new mistake by Hollywood. The pecking order has existed for a very long time.

Posted by on September 20, 2025 in Marvel Spotlight, Movie Spotlight and tagged , , , .

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