Young Justice

Young Justice is a new superhero animated series set to premiere on Cartoon Network in January 2011. To wet your appetite a one-hour premiere movie was shown on the aforementioned channel November 26th. My reaction to the upcoming series is a bit mixed. To begin with the Young Justice core group consists of  the "side-kicks" of prominent DC Comics characters:  Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad, and Speedy. Sounds an awful lot like the Teen Titans. But the team differs with the addition of Superboy (a clone of Superman), Miss Martian and Artemis.

 

It also differs in that its not silly like Teen Titans was. There is humor, but it doesn't get in the way of the story or the action. It seems like the intended audience for this series is more mature.

Here is were things get weird when it comes to the characters. Aqualad is now black with blond hair and gills in his neck. After all the years Aqualad has existed as a DC character, why do they feel the need to change the race and appearance of the character? With the shameful lack of black characters in the DC Universe I think it would have been more appropriate to create a new black superhero. But this aside, Aqualad is now a much more formidable character with some sort of contraption on his back that allows him to focus his hard water powers. Unexplained, is how this contraption also generates electricity that can be used as a weapon. An origin story is really needed here.

Miss Martian is introduced at the end of the movie as the cousin of the Martian Manhunter. I've always known Jonn Jonzz to be the last surviving Martian. How is it that he now has a cousin?

  

Artemis? Never heard of her. She doesn't appear in the movie, but is featured in the promos. Apparently she'll be replacing Speedy in this series. I understand there is a comic book called Young Justice that I've never read.  Perhaps the answers to many of my questions are there. 

But throwing continuity out the window aside, the premiere movie wasn't bad.  The story involves Project Cadmus a secret facility 52 floors below street level where secret and questionable genetic research is done. Here is where the clone of Superman is discovered along with a host of other genetic monstrosities. There is chilling foreshadowing of an evil force or group called The Light which is sure to play a recurring role in upcoming episodes. I'm hopeful that the questions I have about the series and the characters will be answered in subsequent stories.  I think it's worth giving Young Justice a shot.  For the premiere I'm giving it 3 fingers out of 5.

Superman/Shazam--The Return Of Black Adam

I read a couple of reviews on Superman/Shazam--The Return Of Black Adam. Most were glowing and endorsing a live-action Shazam movie based on the portrayal of Captain Marvel in this 23 minute animated feature. While I'm all in favor of seeing a live-action Captain Marvel movie, I was unimpressed with this straight to DVD feature for 4 reasons. 

1. For an origin story it fell far short of explaining Captain Marvel's abilities.  As much as I don't like superhero origin stories because they often become too long, drawn out and ultimately boring, there are certain things that just shouldn't be left out in the telling of Captain Marvel's origin. For example it is important to know what the wizard's name S.H.A.Z.A.M. actually stands for.  Having Captain Marvel (upon first transformation) saying that he's fast, strong and can fly just doesn't cut it. It should also be made just a bit clearer who the seemingly homeless "green-eyed" black man is in this animated adventure. I was was even thrown off by his green eyes until I saw him transform into his tiger form. It isn't often that this character is shown outside of comic books. Allow me to properly introduce Mr. Talky Tawny, talking tiger and shape-shifter who works for the wizard Shazam.

Mr. Talky Tawny I presume...

So to correct this glaring over-sight in the film, here is the meaning of SHAZAM and the nature of Captain Marvel's powers:

In times of need, call on me...

S - Solomon  (wisdom) As Captain Marvel, Billy has instant access to a vast amount of scholarly knowledge, including most known languages and sciences. The wisdom of Solomon also provides him with counsel and advice in times of need. In early Captain Marvel stories, Solomon's power also gave Marvel the ability to hypnotize people. Captain Marvel has exceptional photographic recall and mental acuity allowing him to read and decipher hieroglyphics, recall everything he has ever learned and solve long mathematical equations. Instantaneously, he can make intuitive guesses based on limited data; to the point his guesses are almost always correct; also he has a great understanding of divine phenomenon in the mortal world. Captain Marvel possesses an uncanny awareness of his circumstances that allows him to turn disadvantages into advantages. Through sheer power and magic he can hypnotize people for a length of time (undetermined). Only those of great willpower can overcome this ability. He can speak every language known to humans as well as ancient or dead languages and is able to understand aliens.

H - Hercules (strength) Hercules' power grants Captain Marvel immense superhuman strength, making him one of DC Comics' most physically powerful characters; he is able to easily bend steel, punch through walls, and lift massive objects, (including whole continents like South America). In the comics, this strength has evolved in parallel to that of Superman.

A - Atlas (stamina) Using Atlas' stamina, Captain Marvel can withstand and survive most types of extreme physical assaults, and heal from them. Additionally, he does not need to eat, sleep, or breathe and can survive unaided in space when in Captain Marvel form.

Z - Zeus (power) Zeus' power, besides fueling the magic thunderbolt that transforms Captain Marvel, also enhances Marvel's other physical and mental abilities, and grants him resistance against all magic spells and attacks. Marvel can use the lightning bolt as a weapon by dodging it and allowing it to strike an opponent or target. The magic lightning has several uses, such as creating apparatus, restoring damage done to Marvel, and acting as fuel for magic spells. It can also turn other Marvels back by striking them. It aids inter-dimensional travel at the Rock of Eternity.

A - Achilles (courage) This aspect gives Captain Marvel the courage of Achilles. It also aids Captain Marvel's mental fortitude against most mental attacks.

M - Mercury (speed) By channeling Mercury's speed, Captain Marvel can move at superhuman speeds and fly. This also gives Marvel the ability to fly to the Rock of Eternity by flying faster than the speed of light.

While this level of detail isn't needed in the film, mentioning the Gods and what traits Captain Marvel gets from them would have been appreciated.

They're Seven Deadly Sins, not Enemies!

2. The Seven Deadly Enemies of Man: Pride, Envy, Greed, Hatred, Selfishness, Laziness and Injustice.  When did it become a "sin" to call them what they really are: The Seven Deadly Sins of Man? In the comics they were always called sins. I've seen several animated versions of Captain Marvel where "sin" has been replaced by "enemy". In this version the sin Sloth was even replaced by Laziness. I'm not sure what the reasoning is in watering down the critical part of the Captain Marvel mythos. Kids can't pick up a dictionary and learn the meaning of sloth? Is it considered too religious to mention the word sin? I've always applauded animated movies for staying true to their source material. I'm not sure what happened here.

3. This is the first version of Black Adam I've ever seen where he was able to cast magic lightning bolts and use them as weapons. Black Adam has always had the same abilities as Captain Marvel. This is something he shouldn't be able to do.

Somebody got their *beep* whipped

4. This story has been told before as recently as last year on Cartoon Network. Batman: The Brave and The Bold, season 2 episode 10--The Power of Shazam! Again Black Adam finds his way back to Earth after being banished for 5,000 years. The plot line is slightly different, Billy Batson already has the ability to transform into Captain Marvel and Dr. Thaddeus Savannah is the mastermind behind drawing Black Adam back to Earth. Sloth is named as a Deadly "Enemy" of Man as it should be, instead of laziness. Similar in both stories, Black Adam has remained in his super-human form for 5,000 years and when he speaks the wizard's name and transforms back to his mortal form of Teth Adam...well, you'll have to see for yourself.

Aside from these major things and a little bit of predictability with the magic lightning, the fight scenes (which comprise most of this 23 minute feature) are quite good. If you're wondering why this adventure was only 23 minutes, there are several other mini-features on the DVD as well, The Spectre and Green Arrow, which sadly my free viewing privileges did not include.

Do I recommend that you watch Superman/Shazam: The Return of Black Adam? Surprisingly yes, but only if you're looking for a mindless action-packed battle and are willing to overlook all the other flaws and omissions. Out of 5 fingers I rate this feature 2.

Across The Hall

This low-budget straight to DVD movie came highly recommended to me, but it was clear after watching it, I didn't see the same film. I posted in an earlier blog about the TV series The Event and how problematic I found the storytelling skipping around from past, to present to even further in the past, to present then to the not-so-distant-past, over and over again. This movie is like The Event on steroids.

Any good story should be able to stand on its own in a linear progression from beginning to end. I'm not opposed to flashbacks from time to time as background on the characters which as done fairly well in several cases here. Where I draw the line is revisiting events over and over again and seeing them from a slightly different perspective each time--much like the film Vantage Point.

Who came up with this color scheme?

The starless cast features Mike Vogel as Julian, Danny Pino as Terry,
Brittany Murphy as June and Brad Greenquist as the mysterious and creepy Porter. It seemed as if the film was alluding to more with this strange porter character, perhaps it was just the outfit and the hat, but nothing ever materialized.  

The Porter. Bizarre in both appearance and character.

The plot centers around an unstable male (Terry) who suspects his fiancee (June) is having an affair. He follows her to a hotel and bribes the porter to give him a room--yes, you guessed it--across the hall from her's. 

Terry

Terry calls his best friend Julian for moral support as he confesses his deepest fears that his fiancee is seeing someone else. He plans to confront June 
(and the man she's there to meet) in her hotel room with the gun he stole from Julian's apartment. Julian does his best to calm his troubled friend and tells him he's on his way and will meet him in the lobby of the hotel.  

Julian

I won't spoil the movie if by some chance you plan to see it. Needless to say, there is a clever twist that takes place, which is perhaps the only shining moment in this film.

June

At the end, I was completely unsatisfied and mostly bored. Although there were some interesting twists, the film had a hollow feeling to it. I don't think you'll be missing anything if you skip out on this DVD.  Out of 5 fingers I'm giving this movie 1.

Stomp The Yard 2: Homecoming

I could only make it through 22 minutes of this straight to DVD movie before cutting it off. How far this franchise has fallen from the original Stomp The Yard. The casting was pretty much uninspired. Collins Pennie is cast as the main character Chance Harris. Personally, I've never heard of Collins Pennie until now. I would have preferred if they had cast a lead that had a bit more star power and recognition. 

Collins Pennie

Veteran actor Keith David plays Chance's father Terry. Pooch Hall (from The Game) as Dane who I'm sure is too old to be playing a college student. The wonderful thing about black college movies is how actors in their late 20s and early 30s are cast as "so-called teenagers". I suppose they could have been held back a few years to account for their "maturity". Fortunately there are also some young baby-faced actors that actually look like teens added to the mix as well.

Pooch Hall

 

Other notable celebrities include rapper David Banner, Twitch (from So You Think You Can Dance) and I'm told that Columbus Short from the original Stomp The Yard (who also produced this movie) makes a cameo appearance at the end. 

The film takes place in Atlanta, GA. It's not that the movie was cheap or low-budget looking, it was just simply bad. The characters were boring and  unappealing. They were common stereotypical characters with little substance. You've seen them all before in other dance/competition and black college movies. There was nothing innovative or different to set them apart from anything that was done before. To delve even further into bad fiction, the name of the college where all the "stomping" takes place is called Truth University. Seriously, couldn't someone come up with a more believable name?

To be fair, the most redeeming thing about Stomp The Yard 2 is the entertaining dance routines, music and choreography. But when the music stops, so does the movie. It's a good thing it was released straight to DVD, because if I had gone to see it at the movie theater, I would have walked out.

Out 5 fingers I'm giving this film the fist, 0 fingers.