Watch Justice League: Gods and Monsters!

There are a lot of religions in the world. Some people worship Jesus. Some worship Muhammad. Others prefer Buddah, but I (like many others) follow the one true god, Bruce Timm! The man, the myth, the animation legend! Bruce has returned to WB animation with some more incredible DC Animated Universe  goodies. This time though he has tinkered with DC's classic Trinity (Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman) to bring us a newer and darker take on our favorite heroes. Superman is Zod's son, not Jor-El's. Dr. Kirk Langstrom is under Batman's cowl. And Wonder Woman is from now New Genisis not Themyscrira. It's an "What If" story for the ages. So check out 4 mini prequel episodes from Machinima. Then be sure to buy Justice League: Gods and Monsters when it comes out in July.

Screw Jim Gordon "Robo" Batman. I wanna see Kirk Langstrom Batman fuck bad guys up. Murdering villains by sucking their blood is pretty damn effective. Make it happen Scott Snyder!

Fan Cast Friday! (4/25/14)

Its Friday, Friday, I'm not gonna finish that last part because Rebecca Black is a disgrace, but It is Friday and that means Fan Casts from your favorite informers!

Fan Cast: James Purefoy as The Joker

Why?:
I chose James Purefoy as The Joker. Purefoy has been in a lot of projects such as Solomon Kane, Rome, John Carter, and most recently The Following. Now his role in The Following is the soul reason why I think he would make a great Joker. As we all know, The Joker is a mad man, a psychopath, and just flat out crazy person whose one mission is to destroy everything around him including Batman. James Purefoy's character in The Following is very similar. He plays a psychopath killer with no regard for human life. They share the same resemblance there, but that is not the only reason why. In one of the most recent episodes, he comes face to face with the protagonist of the show and tells him  "you will not kill me and I will not kill you. Why? Because we need each other we make each other feel alive, we push each other to keep going that next step". Now if that's not Joker to Batman talk right there, I don't know what is. Leading up to that scene I always thought Purefoy's acting in this role reminds me a lot of a live action Joker, but now I was sold after watching that scene. So James Purefoy, maybe work on a laugh? Learn to put white make-up on? Keep up the good work and maybe we could see you playing the clown prince of crime one day.

-Brady

Fan Cast: Jensen Ackles as Matt Murdoch/Daredevil

Why?:
For the last 9 years Jensen Ackles has been salting corpses and exorcising demons as the sexy Dean Winchester on CW's Supernatural. Jensen has the athletic build to be able to pull off Daredevil's physique. and the intimidating presence that demands respect in a court room. Hell, for 9 seasons he and Jared Padelecki have basically been doing what Matt and Foggy do, except instead of stopping human evil-doers they stop ghosts. So I think it's finally time for Jensen to take that the leap from demon hunter to superhero. He has been taking baby-steps towards super-heroism for years. Back in 2004, he played Clark Kent's football coach Jason Teague on season 4 of Smallville. Then in 2010, he voiced Jason Todd/Red Hood in the much beloved DCAU film Batman: Under the Red Hood. So now in the year 2014 with a Daredevil Netflix series preparing to cast it's lead role, I ask Jensen to put down the stake and pick a White cane and some sunglasses.
THIS FAN CAST IS DEDICATED TO MY BIG SIS, ANDREA. HAPPY 24TH, YOU OLD BITCH!

-Christian

Tune in every Friday for a new Fan Cast! Who do you think should play the Joker? Who should play Daredevil? 

Son of Batman Review/Thoughts

Son of Batman is DCAU's 20th direct-to-video release. It is based off of Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert's 2006 storyline Batman and Son. This is the first film set in the continuity started by Justice League:War and in my opinion Son continues the trend of mediocrity started by War. DCAU has produced much better films than this, but there are some bright spots. Here is my spoiler free thoughts and my review with some minor spoilers.

What I Liked:

• Damian and Bruce's interactions
• David McCullum's spot-on Alfred
• Damian vs. Deathstroke Pts. 1+2
• Killer Croc and Nightwing Cameos 
• Deathstroke's raid on The League of Assassins 
• Damian's characterization
• Mature Humor- Lots of sex jokes
• Brutal and Bloody Battles
• Old Robin vs. New Robin

What I Disliked:

• A watered-down Deathstroke voiced by Thomas Gibson
• Morena Baccarin's voice acting of Talia
• Deathstroke's "Master Plan"
• Batman's fight with Deathstroke
• League of Assassins are easier to kill than ants
• Still not digging Jason O'Mara as Batman

Review with Minor Spoilers:           

          The highlights of this film all come from it's title character the Son of Batman, Damian. He is vengeful like his father, but Damian is willing to go a step further and kill. This aspect of Damian causes much of the antagonistic relationship between him and his father. Batman has never had to deal with a Robin like Damian before nor has he ever been a biological father. So best parts of the movie come from Batman guiding his son down the path of justice.

          Speaking of Papa Batman by the way, he likes to get down. He finally admits he likes sex. In fact there are a fair amount of funny sex jokes through the film. Dick talks about how Bruce always lectured him about using protection. Deathstroke calls Batman, Damian's "sperm donor". This humor is much more mature than most other DC animated projects and I hope that trend continues.

          The fighting between Deathstroke and Damian is bloody, brutal, and unforgiving. Which is great, except it leads to the real letdown of the film, when Batman fights Deathstroke. Their fight lasts maybe 20 seconds and Deathstroke is easily defeated. This water-down version of DC's greatest assassin gets his ass handed to him by pretty much everyone. Not to mention, he ends up running away from most of his encounters. Thomas Gibson's voice didn't help matters much either. He sounds like a cheap James Earl Jones rip-off. I was waiting the entire film for him to tell Damian he owns all the land the light touches and not to go to the elephant graveyard.

          Besides the lackluster battle between Batman and Deathstroke, what really was disappointing is Deathstroke's plan. He wanted to create an army of ninja man-bats. It was a nifty idea that was easily defeated by Batman throwing a few batarangs that produce sonar. Thank God, Damian had to fight Deathstroke a second time in the climax or it would have been Batman's easiest victory in all of his DCAU outings. 

          Overall this is a mediocre film for DCAU standards. You won't be saying that this film is better than the Dark Knight Returns or Flashpoint Paradox anytime soon. But for all it's flaws, this is not a bad film by any means. Damian is the saving grace. His personality provides plenty of action and humor. I give Son of Batman an 7 out of 10.

The film has yet to be released on Blu-ray, but has been made available for digital downloading. Get your Blu-Ray or DVD copy, May 6th.