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Post by Prince Hal on Dec 14, 2016 14:49:59 GMT -5
#11 Batman and Robin (1949) I love serials and had to include one on this year’s list. Shax took the original for his list, and I’m happy to add the sequel to mine. Yes, it’s just as horrible in almost every objective way with the exception of the blatant racial stereotyping, though there’s more than a little patronizing sexism to the treatment of Vicki Vale. The production values are from hunger, but that’s part of the goofy charm of any Columbia serial. In this one Bruce Wayne is quite the lounge lizard at first -- we never see him and Dick doing anything laying about – before doing an early version of Matches Malone when he reveals a butchier version of himself and joins the Wizard’s gang in disguise.  The Wizard has a pretty cool, if somewhat dungeon-master-esque costume, and a great hideout accessible only by midget sub, but like every serial villain, has nothing but well dressed dopes as his henchmen, ensuring the failure of every attempt to steal diamonds, the Maguffin that will power his weapon (Yeah, I know that sounds creepy) and make him Master of the Gothamverse.  Still, there is an earnestness about this serial that I enjoy, from Batman’s baggy uniform (his cowl often slides around during a fight or when he’s running, making it obvious that the stuntman can’t see for beans) to Lyle Talbot’s appropriately befuddled Commissioner Gordon to the cranky scientist played by William Fawcett to the weirdo manservant to Wayne Manor being one cheesy room that looks like it could have been in a Bowery Boys movie to Gotham City being populated by three cops and a couple of pedestrians.  Innocent, stupid, ridiculous fun. Is there anything better?
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Dec 14, 2016 15:10:45 GMT -5
#11 Batman and Robin (1949)I love serials and had to include one on this year’s list. Shax took the original for his list, and I’m happy to add the sequel to mine. Yes, it’s just as horrible in almost every objective way with the exception of the blatant racial stereotyping, though there’s more than a little patronizing sexism to the treatment of Vicki Vale. The production values are from hunger, but that’s part of the goofy charm of any Columbia serial. In this one Bruce Wayne is quite the lounge lizard at first -- we never see him and Dick doing anything laying about – before doing an early version of Matches Malone when he reveals a butchier version of himself and joins the Wizard’s gang in disguise. The Wizard has a pretty cool, if somewhat dungeon-master-esque costume, and a great hideout accessible only by midget sub, but like every serial villain, has nothing but well dressed dopes as his henchmen, ensuring the failure of every attempt to steal diamonds, the Maguffin that will power his weapon (Yeah, I know that sounds creepy) and make him Master of the Gothamverse. Still, there is an earnestness about this serial that I enjoy, from Batman’s baggy uniform (his cowl often slides around during a fight or when he’s running, making it obvious that the stuntman can’t see for beans) to Lyle Talbot’s appropriately befuddled Commissioner Gordon to the cranky scientist played by William Fawcett to the weirdo manservant to Wayne Manor being one cheesy room that looks like it could have been in a Bowery Boys movie to Gotham City being populated by three cops and a couple of pedestrians. Innocent, stupid, ridiculous fun. Is there anything better? Is that the one in which there's a ray that stops steam locomotives? It was a lot of fun! |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 14, 2016 16:13:13 GMT -5
Sin City (2005)
I know that Frank Miller isn't the most popular creator here...at least not since he left behind more mainstream work. But I think that Sin City is a brilliant melding of noir and comics, two of my favorite things and I think that the 2005 film is a great adaptation of that work to the screen. I also think that would not have been possible without Robert Rodriguez and fabulous performances by Bruce Willis, Clive Owen and Josh Hartnett.
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Post by Prince Hal on Dec 14, 2016 16:24:58 GMT -5
#11 Batman and Robin (1949) Is that the one in which there's a ray that stops steam locomotives? It was a lot of fun! You got it! The ray stops just about everything, as death-rays should. |
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Post by foxley on Dec 14, 2016 17:08:07 GMT -5
11. Mystery Men
There is no deep reason behind my affection for this movie. I just consider it to be the funniest superhero movie ever made. (Intentionally funny, that is.) This tale of sub-par superheroes who are more devoted to their cause than the actual superheroes, and who do their best to save the city despite their obvious unsuitability just hits all the right notes. That my friends and I still quote it decades after its release speaks volumes for the writing.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 14, 2016 17:21:36 GMT -5
Day 2 Amazing Spider-Man TV 1977-1979 First saw these in the late 80s when I was about 4ft tall, it was my 'first' comic tv series at the time on video-tape and loved Nicholas Hammond as Peter Parker and adored Spidey's mannerisms. No expensive CGI but still did the trick, as far as influencing starry-eyed little girls. |
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
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Post by shaxper on Dec 14, 2016 17:58:39 GMT -5
#11. Hellboy (2004)
Mignola purists, you may want to scroll down and not read any further.
The frustrating thing about most media adaptations of comic book properties is how much they get wrong or change for stupid reasons (sling rings, anyone?), but Hellboy is one of the few media adaptations out there that I feel actually improves upon the source material. The plot, the characterizations, and the relationships all benefit from years of hindsight retrospect in order to provide what feels like what "Seed of Destruction" would have been if Mignola went back and rewrote it, knowing what he knew about his characters in 2004.
It's not a brilliant film, but it's a solid and near-perfect one, so much so that, having started with the film and not the comic, I honestly couldn't get as into the comic when I read it after. I bought and read five volumes of Hellboy and two of BPRD, and yet I still like the film version better.
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Post by codystarbuck on Dec 14, 2016 18:13:00 GMT -5
11. Mystery Men
There is no deep reason behind my affection for this movie. I just consider it to be the funniest superhero movie ever made. (Intentionally funny, that is.) This tale of sub-par superheroes who are more devoted to their cause than the actual superheroes, and who do their best to save the city despite their obvious unsuitability just hits all the right notes. That my friends and I still quote it decades after its release speaks volumes for the writing. "We've got a blind date with destiny......and it looks like she's ordered the lobster!" |
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Post by String on Dec 14, 2016 18:35:12 GMT -5
#11 Smallville
In general, I consider myself a Superman fan but I overlooked this series for quite awhile during it's initial run. Maybe it was the monster/villain of the week formula that dominated the series early on that I couldn't quite equate with the notion that this was supposed to be young Clark learning about himself and his powers before donning the cape. How could he do that if he's stopping the monster/villain of the week and not become stale? So I overlooked it for the most part...that is, until season 8...episode 11. Legion
They're putting the Legion of Superheroes on TV?! Written by Geoff Johns no less?? HELLO! I tuned in and frankly loved what I saw. Some good drama, cool action, yes, some cheese but some fun cheese. Then I tuned in the following week and the week after and watched it through till the end. I borrowed a friend's entire DVD set of the series to catch up on previous seasons. I loved it all. Yes, I still consider this somewhat a guilty pleasure. But I realized fairly quickly that at it's heart, this show was a soap opera and I grew up watching/loving soap operas. The only difference here is that half the time, some of the characters dress up in costume and/or use super-powers. But I was drawn in by the drama and conflicts and betrayals and unrequited love and so forth. Who knew life in Smallville and Metropolis was so complicated!
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
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Post by Confessor on Dec 14, 2016 19:39:24 GMT -5
#11: Road to Perdition (2002)  My number 11 pick is Sam Mendes's film adaptation of Max Allan Collins' graphic novel, Road to Perdition. Like the book, the film is set in 1930s America and follows mob hit man, Michael Sullivan, as he hits the road in the Midwest and Chicago, with his young son in tow, after mob bosses kill his wife and youngest son in a gangland dispute. The pair set about exacting revenge on the mob in a film that examines the nature of farther and son relationships -- both the biological type and the hierarchical too. There are several star turns in the film, with Paul Newman and Daniel Craig turning in very memorable performances as mob boss John Rooney and his jealous, emotionally unstable son Connor, respectively. Jude Law excels as a gloriously creepy press photographer-cum-mob assassin – and, for my money, Road to Perdition is one of only two good films that Law's ever starred in (the other being Enemy at the Gates). I admit that I do kinda struggle to accept such an imperishably goody-goody actor as Tom Hanks in the lead role, as the morally ambiguous and villainous Sullivan. But then again, Hanks's presence in the role sort of adds to the surreal or "otherworldly" quality of the character, since he is paradoxically a hit man with a conscience, who is nonetheless unrepentant about his career choice and who never once seems to acknowledge that, by choosing to be a gangster, he is ultimately responsible for his wife and son's death. In the context of the film, Perdition is the name of a beach side town on the shores of Lake Michigan that Sullivan is aiming to reach at the film's end, but I believe I'm right in saying that in Catholicism, perdition is basically the word for hell. Catholicism is definitely an important part of this story, but ultimately this is a beautifully made and exquisitely directed film about sin, redemption, and fathers and sons. It's also a damn good gangster movie.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Dec 14, 2016 20:35:05 GMT -5
Great stuff on this list today... I didn't expect to see the new Batman movies (they just missed my list), most comic book fandom seems to dislike them, but I thought they were pretty decent.. better than the camp for sure. I totally forgot about MYstery Men! That was a fun movie, I had no idea there was a comic behind it. Also, String was clearly reading my mind on his entry, which will look ALOT like mine in a couple days. Anyway, for my 2nd day of Classic Comics Christmas: 11. Batman Beyond  I fancy myself a bit of a future alternate universe conisseur, and 'Beyond' was a clear 2nd for the best one out there. It just made sense. Of course Bruce Wayne would desperately attempt to hang on to crime fighting with gadgets until it became impossible. Having a corporate rival.. absolutely. Picking up a new protege? Of course. Barbara Gordon as chief of Police? No-Brainer. Jokerz cult/gang? check. It was just great fun. Of course, like all good alternative futures, when sales/ratings dip just a little bit, they suits try to tie it into the present and ruin it (see also 2099), but it was a great ride while it lasted.  |
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Post by Icctrombone on Dec 14, 2016 21:32:55 GMT -5
#11 Batman ( 1989) This movie swept the nation and started the Batcraze all over again. The more serious tone of this film was balanced with the sometimes campy over the top, portrayal by Jack Nicholson as the Joker. He clearly stole the movie but , to me , the most important scene was when Bruce was faced by Vicky Vale in the batcave and he says “ I tried to avoid this , but I can’t . This is how it is.” That line totally explains Batman and his obsession to me. The Movie broke all box office records for the short period that is was out and broke all VHS sales because they cleverly released it a month or so after the theatres stopped playing it. Man, I remember a sea of Batman T-shirts that year and the Following year too.  
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Post by DubipR on Dec 14, 2016 21:37:20 GMT -5
#11- MEN IN BLACKI knew about Lowell Cunningham's comic before the film was to be released, but never got around to reading the Aircel books. While the script diverts from the comic series, the foundation for the comic and film are still the same. Agents Jay and Kay defend the world from alien invasions, as well as supernatural and paranormal activity. Tommy Lee Jones. Will Smith. Blockbuster  What made the transition good and successful for MIB to work was that 99% of the world didn't know this was a comic book. And a small press one at that! Lots of leeway to alter the origins but keep the basics. Barry Sonnenfeld was on a huge role in the mid 1990s with successful film and cinematography. It was smart and cleverly written by Ed Solomon (of Bill and Ted fame) and amazing effects from Rick Baker and his crew. Going on to spin off 2 sequels and a cartoon series, MIB was a huge smash 
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Post by MDG on Dec 14, 2016 21:37:25 GMT -5
American Splendor (2003)
If I saw this more than once—haven’t re-watched it since the original release—this might rate higher, but I always enjoyed Harvey Pekar’s work. His autobiographical stories of a guy with a dead-end “regular” job who’s a jazz critic and comic writer on the side are often insightful slices of life (a term I usually hate). One thing he knew how to do was when to start and (more imprtanatly) end things so that the point is made but not belabored.
The movie tells his story largely in his own words, adapting pieces published over his career, including his struggle with cancer. It also includes, at times “cartoon Harveys” and clips of his appearances on Letterman, mixing the real and the fictional.
Hey! The whole thing’s on YouTube!
The real Harvey from Comic Book Confidential (which, unfortunately, doesn’t fit the requirements for this list):
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Post by Icctrombone on Dec 15, 2016 4:10:23 GMT -5
#11 Smallville
In general, I consider myself a Superman fan but I overlooked this series for quite awhile during it's initial run. Maybe it was the monster/villain of the week formula that dominated the series early on that I couldn't quite equate with the notion that this was supposed to be young Clark learning about himself and his powers before donning the cape. How could he do that if he's stopping the monster/villain of the week and not become stale? So I overlooked it for the most part...that is, until season 8...episode 11. Legion
They're putting the Legion of Superheroes on TV?! Written by Geoff Johns no less?? HELLO! I tuned in and frankly loved what I saw. Some good drama, cool action, yes, some cheese but some fun cheese. Then I tuned in the following week and the week after and watched it through till the end. I borrowed a friend's entire DVD set of the series to catch up on previous seasons. I loved it all. Yes, I still consider this somewhat a guilty pleasure. But I realized fairly quickly that at it's heart, this show was a soap opera and I grew up watching/loving soap operas. The only difference here is that half the time, some of the characters dress up in costume and/or use super-powers. But I was drawn in by the drama and conflicts and betrayals and unrequited love and so forth. Who knew life in Smallville and Metropolis was so complicated! My only difference with your write- up is that I loved the first 6 seasons or so, but I began to lose interest when they started to insert all of the other DC characters like The Legion, the Flash etc. Great series and I just ordered season 1 on eBay. I was a sucker for the soap opera /love story with Lana. I didn't like Lois too much. |
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