Review: 風雲 II The Storm Warriors (2009)

The much anticipated sequel of The Storm Riders has finally arrived. To be exact, it is not exactly a sequel, since it is produced and made by different filmmakers, but it retain the same leads, and the story take place after the event of The Storm Riders. To distinguish this, and prevent any possible legal action, the new film is named The Storm Warriors instead of being The Storm Riders 2, since the English title was created by the previous company. Still, the Chinese title still retains 風雲 and the title is simply風雲 II.

Cloud is still played by Aaron Kwok while Ekin Cheng is still Wind, but the rest are new characters, except for Cho-cho楚楚 who was previously played by the Shu-qi but now replaced by a piece of wood.

The plot of the film is based on the Japanese Invasion arc in the comic, where a Japanese warrior is invading China. The film start at the end of the first step of the invasion, where the villain 絕無神 successfully drugged the best martial artists in China and have them capture in order to a) force them to serve him b) stripped of the most physical powerful peoples in China that will rise to fight his invasion. These martial artists however manage to escape and Wind and Cloud have to undergo special training to upgrade their power in order to fight絕無神. In the course of this training, Wind succumbs into the dark side. The second act of this film is the defeat of絕無神 which is rather anti-climatic, but we all know what will be the direction of this film when it choose to use Japanese Invasion arc for its plot. It is the fight between Cloud and the dark Wind at the final act. This is one of the best plots in the comic and it also serves as the conclusion of the first part of the comic.

The casting of the film is good, save for楚楚. The actress performance and presence is almost non-existence. While Shu-qi in the previous film provides a good contrast to Cloud, this楚楚 is almost as quiet and gloomy as Cloud. There is no on screen chemical for this couple, and I was quite happy that she died in the end, but sadly, her bad performance made us unable to identify with Cloud’s sorrow at the sight of her demise.

Getting Kenny Ho to play Nameless無名 is almost flawless. Kenny has previously played Hero華英雄 in ATV’s TV drama adaptation of 中華英雄, a comic by the author. Hero is actually used as the blueprint for Nameless in風雲. His loneliness, his costume, hair cut and looks, and even one of his servants, 鬼虎 are exactly the same as Hero. So although I personally will wish to have Andy Lau as Nameless, but having Kenny Ho is good enough. The only thing is his voice. I was looking forward to see the first big screen Nameless, and finally saw it, but the moment he start to speak…WTF? He sounds like a thin and sick guy! I thought maybe that is because at the beginning of the film Nameless was drugged, and thus having such weak voice, but apparently not. He sounds like that for the rest of the film. How sad. You know how shock I was? Try to think back the first time you heard David Beckham speak. This good-looking footballer looks manly enough, and you may expect he will at least sounds like Brad Pitt, but at the end, he is speaking as if Victoria is squeezing his balls all the time! The same apply to this Nameless.

Kenny Ho is ATV's 中華英雄 more than 20 years ago

Kenny Ho as Nameless

The best acting performance in the whole film perhaps is from a tertiary character, the Emperor, played by Patrick Tam. In just a few minutes of screen performance as the kidnapped Emperor who is force to make a choice between revealing China’s biggest secret or having his family murdered, Tam is able to show the elegance of a royal family, the dilemma his is facing and the heart-breaking sadness of witnessing his family being slaughtered. It’s rather ironic, the most successful emotional scene are not about the primary characters, but rather this little character that has little to do with the whole film.

As always, adapting a book is hard, but adapting a comic book is even harder, especially Chinese comic book. One arc usually takes a long time to end, and for most of the time, it has a lot of characters and the events are connected with events of other arcs. Thus, the plot of this film feels weak, and there is no one major focus. One third of the film focus on the fighting 絕無神 and the final act is Wind and Cloud fighting.

Characters chart

To have such fight as final act, the whole arc has to be compress, and the plotline showing the start of the invasion, how the martial artists get drugged and kidnapped, and character development for the villains, Nameless and other secondary character are omitted. Even there is little character development for Wind and Cloud. After we were left with the conflict reconciliation between Wind and Cloud in the previous film, now we hope to see more on how they interact as a team, partners and brothers. But all this are sacrificed for the sack of having a good and cool pose visually. The on screen development for them is important, for only then we can actually feel the impact and identify with the pain of Cloud having need to kill Wind once he is totally turn into an evil monster. This does not happen, and unless you read the comic and know the significant of the third act, basically you won’t give a damn on who is winning.

Wind turning evil

But the main star of this film is still the special effect. Like the previous film this is still a GCI porn. Ten years in between and we can see how advance we are. While the imaginative fight scenes and martial arts portrayals in the film is slightly different from the comic, it is still a marvelous job on interpreting lines and colors from page into realistic looking visual effects. The directors certainly have a good eyes and ears on the pacing, look and impact on how a comic book still fight should be. But still, there is still a lot of room for improvement, especially in creating a virtual set. The computer generated outdoor scene still can be easily recognized as CGI, but I don’t know if this is deliberate to give the film a fantasy feel. If they want to stay true to the comic, they should make it looks real. For the magic of the comic is, it has very conventional costume, set and scenery; only the fights and supernatural elements are presented with superb imagination. It is such contrast that makes it so engaging.

As a whole, this is a great interpretation of風雲, its success is due to its special effects and one of its flaws is also the special effects. The original comic has very good visual of scale. We need it. If it happens in a massive mountain, we need to feel that it is massive. The CGI work in here does show us literally a certain scene takes place in a huge area, but it does not feels so. The screen shows peoples fighting in a wide area, but we still felt like it takes place in a small soundstage.

Perhaps, and hopefully, in the coming sequel, the third film, the filmmakers will improve again. Although this film is a good take, but I also long to see scenes where the pages on the comic literally comes into life, a combination of authentic Chinese scenery, natural rays of sun, real grass, real mountain with imaginative special effects. Need not to get production and costume design to redesign the characters, the sets, just take the pages from the comic, and make it real. Then perhaps, the definitive風雲 adaptation will be born.

Trailer : Italian Spiderman

This should be cooler then the upcoming Spiderman 4~!!!

Video : Iron Man Anime Trailer

Oh~ Iron Man~! Anime~! Cool~!
This will be far more better than the previous animated feature (which I haven't watch yet)...

Don't care if this will be based on a comic story or not, it is just damn cool~!

Video : Marvel Ultimate Alliance

Cut scenes from an old game Marvel Ultimate Alliance.
Isn't it cool if they make it feature length movie?

Trailer : 風雲II (2009)

Another trailer of The Storm Warriors. Rather obvious a lot of visual is inspired by 300. Hope that it will have more surprises.

Review V2 : The Ravages of Time

Another entry for The Ravages of Time.

The last volume is number 34, we are still in the early stage of the Three Kingdoms saga. Lu Bu has just died and now the focal point will be Sun Ce and his demise. Still, it will be a not-so-short way there.

Lu Bu, in the comic, is not as stupid as depicted in the novel, even his plea for life at the very end of his life is a plan. What is the use of reputation when one is dead? As long as you life, there will still be a chance.

This comic series and evoked my interest in the Three Kingdoms again, and thus, I started to re-watch the Chinese made TV series. In the series, it is just around 20th episodes and Sun Ce already dead. Looks like this comic progress slower than the already slow plot Chinese series.

But what to do, it is the magic of this comic series. A single battle in the original historical text, or even the highly fictionalized novel or the TV series, may only occupied one chapter or a scene, but in this comic series, it can span for a few volume. Reason being, the author took the same liberty as the author of The Romance of The Three Kingdoms novel to add more dramatic twist and character development in it. Thus, even if it is a small battle in history, or even in the novel, the comic writer gives it depth and made it exciting.

The one-eyed guy was an assassin, who later become Zhao Yun, his is not partial blind despite the eye patch; the long hair guy next to him is his boss Sima Yi, the main character of this comic and the far fight pretty lady is Xiao Meng, later known as Diao Zhan. He is an eunuch.

With each chapter, each volume, each battle, we get more insight of what may be playing in the characters' minds and how our perception of certain characters may be wrong or misled by the highly popular novel version of it. As a matter of fact, The Romance of Three Kingdoms is biased and derived a lot from the historical Chronicles of The Three Kingdoms. Since the novel can be written in such inaccuracy, why not a modern comic writer do the same? And the best thing is, he does it better~!

Diao Chan, the ultimate woman in the story, who being of one of the main course of dispute between Lu Bu and his foster father Dong Zuo was an eunuch, means this two dude is fighting for an Ah-Gua.

Left is Guan Yu, looks rather 'normal', moustache Jesus lookalike is Liu Bei and the opera mask is Zhang Fei, the protagonist I hated most in the novel but one of my favourite character in this comic. In the comic, he is also an established artist. Character design of him partially due to there is no actual historical record on how he actually looks like. The typical description of him are based to the popular novel. Seriously, if he really acts like in the novel, he should be dead since chapter zero.

Dong Zuo is not as stupid as depicted in the novel, and overall, almost none of the character in the comic is really stupid. It is always mentioned in the comic that there is no bad emperors or kings, all one to be good and serve his subject, it is just the propaganda from the rebel in order to justify their act, and a way historian makes every change of dynasty acceptable. History, is still depends on who is in charge.

Reading this comic, makes me think, how true is everything in the news? How true is our textbooks? Our history? All is written by human with his or her point of view, and as human, one can never ever really be objective.

6 out of the 8 Enigmas from the school that produces tacticians. Zhuge-liang, not pictured in number 7 while number 8 is still not revealed. The first one Yuan Fang, is an original fiction character.

Review - Dragonball Evolution

So, second of unemployment, I watched the second movie in my "Must Watch" list for 2009- the Hollywood made Dragonball Evolution, based on the manga series Dragonball by Akira Toriyama.

Well, since the announcement of this production and throughout the process, the leaked pictures, the official trailers and stuff, this movie has been the central attention of all anime and DB fans. While most Watchmen fans got excited when they see the pictures how faithful the director frame the shoot for Watchmen movie, fans of DB was shocked and sigh at every new Dragonball Evolution brought us. Reason being, like the Hollywood Godzilla, this is almost DINO - Dragonball In Name Only.

Goku, the naive amnesia Saiyan fighter in the original manga and anime, is now a stereotypical Hollywood teen movie's teenager. He is now a cliche "The One" with very powerful skill but never allowed to show of and being the laughing stalk of other common stereotypical rich high school kids. Well, put it this way, his profile more like Goten or his descendant in one of a TV special production. Goten, at the very end of the manga is a rather spoiled brat along with Trunks, while the descendant in the TV special is constantly bullied by his schoolmate and have his potential unlocked at the very end with the help of his granny and his friends.

The hard-to-make-friend-Goku

Is it so hard to write a lead who the main interest is to fight and get better in fighting? Who the only interest other than fighting is eating? Who is not romantic and does not even know what marriage is (and in early teenage years doesn't even know how to differentiate girls from guys). Screw you Hollywood!!!

If Roshi really looks like him, he won't be a pervert, he'll be a pimp.

Granpa Gohan, annoyingly still alive, and is not killed by the Oozaru Goku. One of the interesting sub plot in the original manga is the revealing of the truth behind Granpa Gohan's death. Muten Roshi, played by Chow Yun-Fatt, although a fun performance and to a certain extend rather close to the original, is ruin by half-hearted character design. The symbolic of Roshi, the Turtle Hermit is that he is old, damn old and have live for damn bloody long. At least give him some white hair so that we know this is the guy that trained Granpa Gohan before.

The cast of Dragon's Balls and Bulma Briefless...I mean Yamcha and Bulma

Yamcha looks like a porn actor, which the look is never important, since in porn the camera will either focus on the action and the expression of the female actor. Bulma, the source of eye candy and "fan service" in the manga is played by a bithcy looking girl with a bithcy performance. Hey, she's the daughter of the super large corporation's owner, she can be spoiled, but not like a whore like bitch. Worst part is, being the sexiest and hottest character in the manga, this movie Bulma show even less skin then Chi-chi. And Chi-chi, who is more memorable as the traditional mother, is now the hottest in the movie. This probably is the only nice thing to watch in the movie.

I used to hate Chi-chi in the manga, after she became a mother, but who can hate this?

Piccolo...sigh sigh sigh. Where's the tentacles, and the pointy ears? This is just a guy in a green mask (remember The Mask?)and a black body suit. The prominent characteristic of a Nameck is the ability to stretch all his limbs and this is never presented. But the portrayal is majestic enough to have the Evil Lord feel. Despite the lousy character design again, this Piccolo is actually add some depth to the original character. If there will be a sequel, I hope the same guy will play him again and hopefully Lord Kami will be written in.

Lucky the sword is only in promo poster, he still fights unarmed in the movie.

Actionwise, this is till not hyper kinetic enough. I was expecting at least something like the end fight in Matrix Revolution, if not something better. But still, action rather not so elaborated and we won't get the kick like we used to when watching the anime or playing the game. I miss the atmosphere when the characters are charging their Ki and all the debris starting to floating around, and in a flash they dash towards each other, exchanging super fast blow and one gets an upper hand, delivers a heavy blow sending the opponent speeding towards the rocky mountain, hit through it and everything gets dusty....The atomic boom like disaster we saw in the trailer is not the outcome of a fight, but just a pre-cog vision, boring and disappointing.

No, this is not the outcome of Goku and Piccolo exchanging Ki blast, this is a quasi T2 Apocalypsepre-cog vision.

Overall this is a fun popcorn movie to watch. We'll find a lot of cliche in it, but cliche works on popcorn movie, especially when tonnes of effects and action take place. The fact that it is a Dragonball movie will give you a mindset that this take place not in this world, so we need no reason for whatever technology or geography or scientific issue presented in this movie. But being a Dragonball movie, it will also effect you acceptance to this movie, where we tend to compare.

While the manga Goku learn Kamehameha naturally, this Goku needs sex as encouragement.

A word of advice, to enjoy this movie, take it as a alternate universe for Dragonball, or a special movie where Goku get reincarnated into another universe thanks to Pilaf making a wish using the Dark Dragonball again. Just do not expect it to be a true translation (not even a little) from manga to film, you will end up crying in the theater. Alternate universe, this is how I enjoyed this film.

Review: Watchmen

Who watch the Watchmen? I did. After a couple of fail attempt to watch it with a friend, I decided to take a day off and watch this must watch movie for me. Yeah, watch it alone, so what?

This is Alan Moore's writing with Dave Gibbon's art cinematic but unfilmable graphic novel, brought into life action by director Zack Snyder, the one who brought us 300. While 300 is based on a Frank Miller comic that has less detail drawings and less complicated plot, how good is Snyder in tackling Moore's masterpiece?

Just imagine the original being a tree, and the movie trimmed it to make it still looks like the original tree, but yet it is not hard to spot the difference.

For a start the original line up of the contemporary hero has seven characters. In the movie, Captain Metropolis has been eliminated. He does not have an important role in the comic anyway. His role in the plot has been to a certain extend, fill by Ozymandias.

Original comic with Captain Metropolis in red.

No such loser here.

Costumes look cooler.

Running for 162 minutes, close to three hours the director tried to be as faithful as the source work. He goes to the extent of using the comic as the main source of storyboard. Apart from some more realistic and aesthetic alteration of the costumes, nothing much has change in terms of the look. Just that being a comic, the source has more vibrant color which can't be realistically replicated in the real world. Thus, in the comic, you can feel it's the 80s but the movie is rather timeless.

Movie To Comic Comparison: The Comedian's Fall

The comic is rather mundane, the reading experience is not controlled by the usual 7 panel per page but all are made up of 9 same size panels and the action depicted in the comic has a bit of manga style. It has a lot of monologues from the characters, narration and it certainly does not have half a dozen of thought balloons.

Movie To Comic Comparison: The Riot of Police Strike

In short the it takes a long time to finish the book and most of the main characters are given ample exposure to reveal their back story, their mentality and thus we are more sympathetic to them. This, is something rather hard to achieve in movie. Those interesting side story, the mysterious disappearance of the writers, the black boy reading pirate theme comics in the newsstand as well as all those random chit-chats are all gone.

Movie To Comic Comparison: Rorschach's Escape

So, for those who read the comic before, this almost 3 hours long movie is like a combination of various clips for the comic. If all panels and side stories are made in to film and not omitted or presented in video form like the comic Tales of the Black Freighter and documentary / book Under the Hood this movie is just like a overlong trailer.

Movie To Comic Comparison: Archie's Flight

Despite of its length and a tiring watching experience, I left the theater hoping that I get more. There is a lot of things missing. Things other than the story and writing that made the comic so fun to read and reread.

Movie To Comic Comparison: Mars

There's quite a number of changes as well, in terms of plot, of scene and even the order of event. The comic starts with the police investigation of The Comedian's death but the film explains how he died in the beginning. This, while is more dramatic, does not creates the same impact as the original order. All those 'cinematic' elements in the comic that is praise by all are omitted. What the filmmaker use is only the framing of a shot.

Movie To Comic Comparison: Ressurection of Dr. Manhattan

If it really a 100% faithful to the panels, then the first scene must be something like this:

Ext, night:

Extreme close up of The Comedian's badge lying on pool of blood from a bird's eye view. Rorschach's journal begins. Camera slowly zoom out, revealing a cleaner trying to wash away the blood, and Walter Kovacs walks by with his "The End Is Nigh" sign. Zoom out continues and stop when the detective's head is visible. He is looking out through the broken window. We can see the street is busy below and the blood still visible as tiny red spot.

Detective:
Hmm..That's quite a drop.

Movie To Comic Comparison: Vietnam War - The Comedian

Watchmen is a journey that I believe all emotion, drama, tension and plot have the be build and reveal slowly. Like drinking Chinese tea. A sip at a time and indulge in the complexity of its taste.

Although this trimmed version end up longer than most movie, but I can't help but to think the pacing is still a bit fast.

Movie To Comic Comparison: Vietnam War - Dr. Manhattan

Overall, it is still a very good and powerful comic book movie. While not as powerful as The Dark Knight, but it has its own place. It will be a treat to the fans of the original comic, far better than 300 which is nothing that mindless slashing, where a 70s slasher thriller is far more fun.

For those who never read the source material before, you must be warned that this is not the usual superhero movie like Batman, Superman, Spiderman flicks. It is NOT The Dark Knight with popular well known characters where you can get your mindset tuned in and grasp the character in short time. All those characters in Watchmen, although inspired by some old superheros, but they are still purely original.

So don't go to this film thinking to watch some mind blowing special effect fighting with evil villain trying to take over the world. Watch is as a drama, with elements of science fiction and action will be better. Overall, this is a good film, must watch film in 2009.

For me, I'm sure going to get the companion DVD set to released when the film is in theater, just hope that they won't reissue them with the film's DVD in an ultimate pack or something. Ha~

Bush - The Aquaman

In the wake of the inauguration of United State of America's 44th President Barack Obama.

Let us revisit the inspiring moment of former President of the US, George W Bush...

Hmm...so apparently Bush is Aquaman, the superhero with the least usefull skill - talk to seafood!

Yeah, they appreciate you more for your jokes and your end of term

The Last Son of Krypton VS The Dark Knight of Gotham

The Last Son of Krypton VS The Dark Knight of Gotham

Ask anyone about superhero, what's the answer you will get? Most likely Superman. Superman being the first superhero that has create a whole new genre in comic book industry as well as in electronic media.

Ask anyone to name a few superheros, other than Superman, you may get Spiderman, Batman and Hulk etc. Among this few superheros, which is the oddball? It's the Bat. Reason, nothing super about him. Here I define super as anything that none of the human being in this world can or possible to achieve. Supe have super human strength and can fly on earth. He can even BBQ you chicken wing with his eyes. Spidey can climb on wall and have spider-sense, and a bad boss. Hulk is like a modern Jekyll and Hyde, and green with super flexible trousers. All these none of the people here can do. But there is a possibility for a real life Batman.

What is super about Batman? Super intelligent, super rich and super resourceful. Any billionaire with several years of training on almost all discipline ever exist can be a Batman. Difference is few has the trauma Bruce Wayne ever has.

A lot of people like Superman, I like him as well, but I love Batman. He to me is more real, more humane. The Big Blue is but a too perfect boy scout. He is the kind of person that when he recite a moral code he is practicing and expect the people of Earth to follow suit, he actually mean it and we actually feel OK he speak of it that sincerely. If a fellow earthling talking about uphold the justice and serve the humankind, we all get goosebumps cause we know it is fake and we really feel like lynching that guy.

Superman, really super, out of the world. We do enjoy reading or watching him save the day and battling not so interesting villains (except for Lex Luthor and Brainiac), there's really not much to look into. Therefore, even I know there is a whole arc of story about the death and resurrection of Superman in the late 80s, and the complication comic book priced rather cheap, I don't bother myself to buy and read them (for the time being). My rational is, if I want to read some nice fighting comic, there is always Dragonball. No one can make fighting comic as cost efficient, as engaging and cinematic as Japanese mangaka.

Batman is different. He has a background we can identify or at least has the empathy. We know or read a lot about people lost their parents in accident, in crime, in disaster, but how often we heard about people being the last of its kind from his exploded planet?

We understand the motivation of Bruce Wayne. In fact what he do is exactly what we imagine we will do if we are as rich. How many time have we swear that "If I am filthy rich, I will so and so and so..." when we stumble upon obstacle or tragedy?

Batman is dark, and somehow people interested in dark character. People like Hannibal Lecter more than Forrest Gump, Darth Vader has more fans than whinnier Luke Skywalker. In Batman we can see all possibility that may fall on us, doubt, fallen, restless, guilt, fear, loneliness etc. Negative emotion has more obvious effect and memorable, thus when we read about the dark mind of the Dark Knight, it reminds us that we are only human.

Sometime I think Batman comic is a bit Zen like. We know the obvious solution for Bruce Wayne's personal problem is to let go. But he can never do that, because he is too much attached to the world around him. Just like most of us, we can never let go most of the time. Reason being, we afraid to lose what e already have to venture into a realm that has too many variables. Despite how bad situation is we stay, because it is better to have a bad one, than to have none.

Just read online that Bruce Wayne no longer Batman, and Batman is dead in the 6th issue of Final Crisis. I do not know if this is another of DC's stunt / scam like the 80's Superman's death and Batman back bone being broken. But if you ask me, I will rather have Superman dies for good, but still, what can be more human than being finite? Maybe someday Bruce Wayne should really die.

Teaser: The Storm Warriors (風雲 II)

The teaser of the sequel for 1998's The Stormriders.

Film named, The Storm Warriors.

Trailer: Dragonball: Evolution (2009)

This is the trailer for the upcoming live action movie this year...

Well, I don't know about you, but I'm rather worried. The last Hollywood remake of a super famous Japanese franchise - Godzilla is nothing like Godzilla, but at least its trailer didn't tell us that the original big guy is not there.

But this...well, Old Gohan is alive! Where's Roshi's turtle shell, shade and facial hair? And he does not look like a pervert! Goku going to college? Bulma like a bitch? They have Yamcha but no Krillin, the strongest human being on Earth (Goku is a Saiyan, btw)?

Oh! Please, don't mess up with Piccolo. If there is no Vegeta around, don't bother to let Goku goes Super Saiyan.

I'm really afraid, but let us hope that the dude making the trailer is doing a bad job. Maybe the movie will turn out OK.

Now, for me, the original anime really captures the essence of Dragon Ball Z, except for those long pan shot used to drag the scene / running time (so that they can have more episodes). If the live action failed, maybe they should consider doing something like the intro in Budokai Tenkaichi 3 game, but with better rendering of the character; imagine them with tiny details like hair, fabric, texture like the Pixars film but still maintaining the hyper kinetic action of DBZ. If not, I will still enjoy watching 3D polygon with cell shade coloring....

This, is very cool, very Dragon Ball Z

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 game intro

Trailer: X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Well, they have Gambit!

Jackman's Logan is so iconic to me that I just having difficulties watching his film when he is clean shaven...

Trailer - Watchmen (2009)

Another trailer for Watchmen.

Video: Batman: Dead End

So, this is a fan film of Batman made some 5 years ago.

I think it is the coolest Batman live action after Nolan's Batman films. The Batman looks much like Alex Ross work in DC comics. Nice acting as well for both Batman and Joker...

This is even better than the campy Adam West and the "Nipple Batmans" - Val Kilmer and George Clooney...

The Long Halloween

Surprisingly (to me) my favourite Batman comic is not The Killing Joke by my favorite comic writer Alan Moore, but is Batman: The Long Halloween , written by Tim Sale with are by Jeph Loeb.

This is a superb book, it gives me the same feeling of watching The Dark Knight, but with a little twist. Unlike the hyper realistic representation in The Dark Knight, the concept of The Long Halloween is just moderately realistic. Batman still able to pull fantastic stunt, Catwoman is just too awesome a fighter for a too sexy lady.

The book pays a lot of homage to film noir, especially The Godfather. The starting of the book, some scenes in it...you will know and feel excited if you happen to be a fan for The Godfather as well. The film noir background mainly is caused by the fact of the presence of the Mafia group in the center of the plot, since the main plot revolves around the investigation of the murders of several prominent mafia figures on the major holidays or festive season by a mysterious serial murdered the press called "Holiday".

Set around the second year of Batman's adventure, The Long Halloween is also an origin story of the complex villain Two-Face Harvery Dent. If not for the presence of super hero and maniac villain, this book can be viewed as a mystery crime thriller, a mafia story and even a psychological drama. It is a very very engaging story, and the art work is just nice, for having a balance of portraying the aesthetic of superhero figures as well as the fashion, set design of Gotham City with a strong presence of nostalgic mafia setting. In short it is a Batman + The Godfather + Infernal Affairs combination kind of comic.

The Long Halloween is prominent for:

a) retelling the origin of Two Face

b) highlighting the cooperation of Batman, Gordon and Dent in crime busting

c) pointing the fact the the freak villain in Batman universe are drawn to Gotham due to the presence of Batman.

d) reminding us how interesting Two Face is after being haunted by the worst performance of Tommy Lee Jones in Batman Forever (aka Batman Growing Nipples).

e) giving new breath to those minor once laughable villain like Calender Man (that is given a Hannibal Lecter like treatment in this book, just cool).

Lecter

Calender Man

If got the chance, read this, you won't regret it!

Managing

How true...

Review, A Brief One: Batman: Gotham Knight

Well, I'm very much into Western comic lately, especially DC's (even previously I thought I prefer Marvel), especially Batman. That is because he is human, and the super aspect of this superhero is super rich and super intelligent. He is not some alien from out of space that allergic to a certain rock or mineral.

And so, I collected Batman Begin, and shortly after watching The Dark Knight, I collected all 4 80s and 90s Batman film along with the special feature. So, it is just predictable that even I am officially broke now, I still force myself to get the direct-to-DVD video of Batman: Gotham Knight. Who is not tempted with the trailer?

If The Animatrix is a companion of The Matrix Trilogy, in which the Animatrix explore the origin of the Matrix, what happen in between the first and second film, the back story of certain minor character as well as some other "everyday" event that take place in the Matrix universe i.e. people get liberated, so system error in certain area of the matrix and how the program fabricated it, a routine life in a ship etc, then Batman: Gotham Knight is slightly different.

It act only to bridge Batman Begin to The Dark Knight. While it never tell us the rise of Harvey Dent or the arrival of Joker, but is do tell how is the life after Batman Begin. The life refers to both Bruce Wayne/Batman plus his associated and the people of Gotham.

How Batman's life as crime fighter after saving Gotham from Ra's al Ghul? What is the people's reaction? In the people's point of view, what is Batman? What does the police feel? Do all of them feel that Gotham need Batman like Gordon does? The underworld leader in The Dark Knight mention Batman plays by the rule but Joker doesn't, so how and what is the rule? There are many many more question. Not all answered, but at least some is fulfilled in this DVD.

The Animatrix for Matrix did use back the voice talent from the film like Keanu's for Neo etc, but since Batman has a very strong animated series that has an iconic voice talent for the role, why bother to ask Bale to voice it? Better use back Kevin Conroy whose voice people will automatically associated with when they see an animated version of Batman.

There are six stories in total with six different animation and story telling styles. Despite the difference, all stories are connected, and has anime feel in it. Maybe that is because, except for the writing or story part, most of the production crew and studios are anime production studio, and all six directors for the anime are Asian, Japanese the most with one perhaps is Korean.

Trailer - 風雲決

Damn, never heard that someone is making this, but it is said that the movie will be released in July 2008?! Think we can only get the DVD here, if lucky. But the voice talents ma....like they casted it terbalik. I think Richie sounds more suit a big guy like Cloud, and Nicholas better to voice Wind...but it is the other way round in this anime.

Well, before the sequel to Stormriders out next year,
Now, behold:
風雲決
StormRiders - Clash of the Evils

MUST SEE: Bird's Preference

As an act of gratitude for Albert's comment for the previous entry, this is for him.

Bird prefer cartoon version of Batman:

Batman Intro



But for Spidey, and Superman, live-action is his choice:

SUPERMAN TRAILER


The Amazing Spider-Man


Enjoy~!!!!!