Animated "Wonder Woman" Thunders

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 30 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux

Wonder Woman (2009) – straight-to-video
Running minutes: 74 minutes (1 hour, 14 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for violence throughout and some suggestive material
DIRECTOR: Lauren Montgomery
WRITERS: Michael Jelenic; from a story by Michael Jelenic and Gail Simone (based on characters created by William M. Marston)
PRODUCER: Bruce W. Timm
EDITOR: Rob Desales
COMPOSER: Christopher Drake
ANIMATION STUDIO: Moi Animation Studio

ANIMATION/SUPERHERO/SCI-FI/ACTION with elements of drama

Starring: (voices) Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion, Alfred Molina, Rosario Dawson, Virginia Madsen, Vicki Lewis, Marg Helgenberger, Oliver Platt, and Skye Arens

Wonder Woman is a 2009 direct-to-video superhero animated film from Warner Bros. Animation. Starring DC Comics character, Wonder Woman, this is also the fourth feature in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line. The movie pits the most famous comic book super-heroine, Wonder Woman, against Ares, and is loosely based upon the stories by acclaimed comic book writer/artist, George Perez.

Wonder Woman begins during an epic battle between the proud and fierce race of warrior women, the Amazons, and the forces of Ares (Alfred Molina), the Greek god of war. After Amazon Queen Hippolyta (Virginia Madsen) defeats Ares, the gods force a peace. The Amazons are granted an island, Themyscira, where they can be eternally youthful and isolated from men, but Ares will also be imprisoned on the island.

Over a 1000 years later, United States Air Force pilot, Colonel Steve Trevor (Nathan Fillion) crashes on Themyscira. Modern man’s trespass of the island also leads to events that enable the imprisoned Ares to escape with the help of an Amazon who betrays her sisters. Princess Diana (Keri Russell), daughter of Hippolyta, wins the right to return Trevor to his world and to also recapture Ares. However, Ares plans to not only regain his former powers, but also to bring total war to Earth. Will Princess Diana triumph and become Wonder Woman?

First, I must say that I am surprised at the amount of violence in Wonder Woman, and I’m not just talking about standard science fiction and fantasy violence. Although it is not explicitly depicted, murder and killing are prominent in the film from beginning to end. That doesn’t offend me, but does surprise me, and I thought that I should mention it.

Anyway, this is a terrific movie, and although I have many films to go in the series, I think this is the best of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies I’ve seen. The animation is good, but even better is the action. Wonder Woman’s action set pieces are like having the Lord of the Rings films and the 2007 hit, 300, turned into animation for our viewing pleasure, and it’s pleasurable, indeed. The writing is solid, especially the character development, which emphasizes the relationship between Diana and Steve and also allows both characters to go on a journey of growth.

The voice acting is good; you know that voice acting is good when you see the animated character and voice actor as one. I know that not all DC Universe Animated Original Movies are going to be as good as Wonder Woman. How could they since Wonder Woman is so good.

9 of 10
A+

Wednesday, February 01, 2012

Review: "Slither" is a Truly Funny Horror Movie (Happy B'day, Nathan Fillion)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 224 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Slither (2006)
Running time: 96 minutes (1 hour, 36 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong violence and gore and language
WRITER/DIRECTOR: James Gunn
PRODUCERS: Paul Brooks and Eric Newman
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Gregory Middleton, CSC (director of photography)
EDITOR: John Axelrad

HORROR/COMEDY

Starring: Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Banks, Tania Saulnier, Michael Rooker, Gregg Henry, Don Thompson, Brenda Gutierrez, Jenna Fischer, and Lorena Gale

Screenwriter James Gunn has a diverse filmography of horror screenwriting credits, including Tromeo & Juliet (for famed B-movie studio, Troma Entertainment) and the 2002 TV-to-film, Scooby-Doo. In March of 2004, he became the first screenwriter in cinema history to write the back-to-back #1 movies at the weekend box office – for the “re-imagined” Dawn of the Dead (March 19) and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (March 26). He takes his talent at cartoon scares, comic horror, and zombie movies and blends them into his debut as a writer/director, a creepy horror/comedy, Slither, that’s pure B-movie entertainment and that pulls no punches when it comes to gross out fun.

In the north woods town of Wheelsy, the redneck locals are preparing for deer hunting season, but something from the deep dark of outer space has crashed in the woods outside of town, and it’s ready to hunt in Wheelsy. When Grant Grant (Michael Rooker), one of the town’s richest citizens, starts acting strangely, his young wife, Starla (Elizabeth Banks), thinks that his behavior is something worse than what Grant says it is – a minor illness. When pets and livestock start turning up mutilated, Sheriff Bill Pardy (Nathan Fillion) and his deputies peg Grant as their prime suspect, but they’re all about to find out that Grant is now a blood-thirsty monster. Soon Bill and Starla (former childhood sweethearts) are battling scores of giant slugs. A teenaged girl, Kylie Strutemyer (Tania Saulnier), also discovers that her parents are acting like… zombies.

Gunn’s film is a retro horror flick, recalling the films of John Carpenter and David Cronenberg – most notably two 50’s era B-movies that each director remade into 80’s horror classics, Carpenter’s The Thing and Cronenberg’s The Fly. Like those two films, Slither features lots of blood and guts, with huge servings of slime and goo, and Slither is also an action film. There’s not much in here in the way of teenagers hiding from vengeful ghosts or lonely women dodging knife-wielding psychopaths. People are running, screaming, and sometimes shooting, but they’re fighting for their lives against monsters that see them as meat for food or warm flesh for breeding stock.

Gunn also paints his film with broad strokes of camp humor, but it’s not so humorous that we can’t take anyone of it seriously. Slither has plenty of belly laughs, but so much of this flick is creepy – even some scenes that don’t involve monsters. There’s something rotten and backwards in Wheelsy. The citizens are unabashedly backwoods and, if they aren’t inbred, they act and look it. Perhaps, this is Gunn’s gentle ode to that classic scary movie setting – horror in a lonely, isolated small town.

Anyway, Slither is just a darn good horror movie – something for the viewer who likes some laughs with his gore. The cast is clearly in the spirit of things. Also, in an age when so many monsters are created in computers, half of Slither’s special effects are practical special effects and prosthetics with CGI used only when necessary. So, the crowd that loved The Evil Dead movies and found laughter in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (any of them) will find joy in this delightful flick that doesn’t deserve to disappear into horror movie oblivion.

7 of 10
B+

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

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Second Season of "Castle" Arrives on DVD

ABC’s SMART, WITTY DRAMEDY HIT COMES HOME TO DVD

CASTLE: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON

Available on DVD September 21, 2010

“The show has drama, suspense, and a smokin’ hot lead character.” – Cosmopolitan, February 2010

BURBANK, CA, July 2010 – The critically-acclaimed complete second season release of ABC’s smart, witty dramedy Castle showcases the unique partnership between “ruggedly handsome” crime novelist, Richard Castle (Nathan Fillian) and hard-nosed NYPD detective, Kate Beckett (Stana Katic)-- in a fantastic five-disc DVD set -- available on DVD September 21, 2010 from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.

ABC’s Castle: The Complete Second Season invites viewers to dive into their real world crimes, and relive all the compelling second season cases in a great set that includes all 24 second season episodes; cool never-before-seen bonus features; on-set bloopers and behind-the-scenes access features that allow fansto go inside one of the network’s critically acclaimed and most exciting series!

Castle and Beckett’s unconventional partnership and banter creates humorous situations and romantic tension unlike anything on TV. During this past season, Castle and Beckett’s relationship has grown stronger as they’ve dodged bullets, captured killers, and solved countless murder cases in their unorthodox partnership. But by the Season Two finale, Beckett’s new relationship with a robbery detective has pushed Castle away, forcing them both to confront their feelings for one another. When Castle leaves to finish writing his second Nikki Heat novel, Naked Heat, Beckett has to watch him walk away, unable to express her true feelings and unsure whether he will return to the precinct.

Castle: The Complete Second Season also stars Ruben Santiago-Hudson as NYPD Captain Roy Montgomery, Tamala Jones as Medical Examiner Lanie Parish, Jon Huertas as NYPD Detective Javier Esposito, Seamus Dever as NYPD Detective Kevin Ryan, Molly Quinn as Alexis Castle, with Susan Sullivan as Martha Rodgers.

Bonus Features:
• On Set With Seamus & Jon — Go Behind The Scenes With Cast’s Resident Comedians, Seamus Dever And Jon Huertas, As They Reveal Secrets Of The Set
• On Location With Nathan — Nathan Fillion Introduces Us To Some Of His Favorite Crew Members And Demonstrates Some Interesting Tricks Of The Trade
• Manhattan‘s Most Unusual Murders — Discover How The Production Team Stages Murders Using Research, Props And Special Effects With Inside Stories From The Producers, Actors And Set Designers
• Deleted Scenes
• Misdemeanors: Bloopers & Outtakes

Castle: The Complete Second Season is priced at $45.99 SRP (US) and $54.99 SRP (CAN).
Street Date: September 21, 2010
DVD
Suggested Retail Price: $45.99 US; $54.99 Canada
Feature Run Time: Approx. 1018 minutes (24 1-hour episodes)
Rating: US: TV-14 DLSV
Canada: PG Not Recommended for Young Children, Violence
Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (1.78:1)
Languages: English; Spanish and French subtitles