Gen13

In the past I was that kid that bought a bunch of comics and didn't know what was inside them, that I just grabbed them because they had neat covers, but I never read them till I was in high school. This was a problem, since I had a ton of comics with awesome art, but nothing that I read for fun I just looked at the pictures. And what fine pictures they were, since it's J. Scott Campbell at the helm and producing a well illustrated story. Jim Lee and Brandon Choi at the writer's chair constructing the team and their adventures as far as the 90's will let them go. Though let me introduce this series originally published by Image Comics, then was published by the DC imprint WildStorm, Gen13. A group of teenagers living in a house together, trying not to be noticed by the government or the shady organizations that want to use them for their own purposes. Each teen has their own power or mutation that makes them very valuable for an assortment of reasons. My favorite member of the team is Grunge, love his tattoo and his powers, though there were other members of the team, but the issues I had never focused that much on their talents. Sadly, I wouldn't find out that Fairchild was smart, strong, and super tall, reflecting my love of She-Hulk till later in life. Then there was the transfer to the DC imprint WildStorm, a lot of different artists and writers have come and gone with the teen team, so why not check out the film that never saw light (well in the United States). We're gonna be diving into the Gen13 movie (without the comic origin nor characters in mind, this will be pure film), that's been screened in America, but hasn't been properly sold, join us as we see the comic's limited series be told in a media translation for about an hour.

Justice League: Gods and Monsters

A little forward thinking one should set things up in advance to get more done in less time. I sometimes write these when I can and since I'm assuming before diving into this movie that it's going to be another origin story (about the characters we know better than our family) I decided to have some wine. It's an Adult beverage that I enjoy, in retrospect I should not have. Remember the words of Ernest Hemingway "Write Drunk, Edit Sober", though if it's an analytical piece this mantra might not work out so well. Also I don't think the phrase was to be taken literally, though this is the mess we've been giving, it's color commentary, I'll try to explain myself the best I can with the words I wrote. With this little bit about me, and my writing methods, let's dive into this feature film finely focused forefront on this terrific trinity that gives homage to heroic heroes.

Tom & Jerry: Spy Quest

If there was one thing to know about me my film choices you should take a look at ever pulp hero and see if there's a film or an homage to these types of heroes, since I've either seen it or I'm hunting it down. Jonny Quest is a classic, it's Hanna-Barbera's kid version of pulp adventurers, though it's still the most amazing limited animated series created. This was their first action series in 1964 on Prime-time, though like Tom & Jerry and Yogi Bear the name Jonny Quest became household. Then the years start passing and new generations come and go, then new prime-time series need to be produced. Lucky for people like me there's adventurous folks out there that want to see more of the Quest Family. In 2015 they completed and shipped out this amazing (about a hour long) feature starring Tom & Jerry with guests (and driving plot) Jonny Quest, Haji, Race, and Dr. Benton Quest with Bandit, of course. Enough history, let's swing into action and adventure in this Warner Bros. Animation that gives great respect for the series and a bright future for the characters.

The Flintstones & WWE: Stone Age Smackdown!

Wrestling and Cartoons, honestly these two need to team-up more often, though the year of 2015 seemed to have Hanna-Barbera connect and make many specials. One special that was a fantastic choice, but a strange way to bring back a series was with this film, was one of the first Animated Television Series, the Flintstones. The last feature or special from the Flintstones franchise was the Live-Action film The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (2000) or the hard to find made-for-TV special The Flintstones: On the Rocks (2001). This is more than a decade from the last appearance, unless one counts The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy episode (Modern Primitives, 2006) still the series hasn't see much interaction, even being as world renown and iconic. I'm glad that one of the most famous and celebrated cartoons that Hanna-Barbera created is getting a few more eyes on it's newest animation (especially since I love the way guests are designed on the Flintstones).

Top Cat: The Movie

One thing in my life that I appreciate is the past, what I love about the past is Hanna-Barbera cartoons, also both Joseph "Joe" Barbara and William "Bill" Hanna. This studio and all of their cartoons have been a major influence to my life and my taste in animation and cinema (also Fleischer Studios, Jay Ward, Rankin/Bass Productions, UPA [United Production of America] and Ruby-Spears). At this point in the past I expected all my cartoons to have animals that can talk and an article of clothing, this is when limited animation won my heart. With that I got caught up in the Mystery clones, but there were many gems in the sundry of cartoons created by the powerhouse duo. One of my favorite being Top Cat, a series about a clever cat (with vest and hat) and his gang of alley cats who live in New York City. Simply it's them outwitting the people of the City, a cute and improbable group of rogues dashing around with waggish banter and an undying need to become rich. Top Cat's popularity was huge in Hispanic countries, specifically Argentina and Mexico, also it had a personally better title Don Gato. Enough that in 2011 they made a feature film in theaters and when it was brought to the United States everything was redubbed. Let me give you my opinions on the translation.

Arthur Christmas

Hello, hello, hello or better yet, Ho, Ho, Ho, that's the right spirit of things. This is not about religion, just gonna set that in stone, but about a fictitious character and his adventures as an icon. Some might not like the idea of Christmas, though I love mythology and bringing people together, also B-Movies. So with December being Christmas heavy and full of tongue in cheek Santas, let's dive into the wonderful hokey world of Father Christmas.

The initial response to the cover/poster of the film is interest. Everything is set up and shows completely what's going to happen in the film without much going on, since it's a static image. It's a Family of Santa Claus, seems that one of them and a child are trying to get Christmas back into the Christmas that we once knew, hope and magic. Cute concept though that's something that's been done to death, still there's new features being produced to make them. Personally I like them, though mostly as TV specials, but features like this are rare so it's a joy to see a Santa Movie that's about family and the odd inner workings of the North Pole. The Part I like the most about this is it doesn't seem like a pandering film, like a movie that's trying to be something that it isn't, it's a feature that's trying to show the world that this character can be fun and maybe a little less about the religion and more about the magic and adventure, it's more about the selfless being.

Shorts SHORT Review: Get A Job

Get A Job

Brad Caslor
Directed, Animated, Produced, Written, Backgrounds
Jay Brazeau
Music and Written 
Al Simmons
Bob Dog
National Film Board (NFB)
Produced and Distributed

This Canadian short was made in 1985, it's relevant to a lot of the post-college crowd, though this was made more than 30 years ago. It's interesting how the mind of an artist perceives life and the experience of being one within a system that doesn't hirer those with the skills to do said job. Like the short shows the main character, Bob Dog, is an anthropomorphic dog that wants to work. A lot of the places in his City have signs for said employment, but don't take him up on the offer that he'll be loyal and trained to preform that action within the best of his abilities. With a montage of the most beautiful, fluid, and bouncy animation Bob Dog heads back home to try a new plan for getting a job. Resume in hand, and dressing the part, he's hitting the pavement with a new attitude toward finding a paycheck at the end of the rainbow/triathlon of interviews.

Tea asks her Uncle Professor Steeping for his advice on her resume.

That's the one side of the mini-movie I like, its dark tone, it shows him within a nightmare world. A place of empty slots to fill, but he's not the coin for the trick. It's a surreal thing, though the music lightens the mood of the over all fraction feature. While still keeping the pace of the horrors of how getting a job can feel like, or at the very least how the interview portion can take a toll on one's self-esteem. Though just wanting to find work isn't enough, but having positivity and preservation is helpful to finding any job.

The style of the short reminds me of Bob Clampett and Milton Knight, here and there I can see a lot of Ralph Bakshi in the mix. With such amazing influences and contemporary inspirations the film took seven years to complete. The song that inspired the film and the title was Get a Job by the Silhouettes (1956), which inspired a lot of other doo-wop singers and groups. Get A Job, the animation, received Best Animated Short at the 8th Genie Awards, Canadian Screen Awards (Les prix Écrans canadiens) for Television & Film.

Gom getting into TV a little too much, take a step away from the set little automaton.

In short, this was a stunning animation and a wonderful musical festival to celebrate the turmoil and challenges of getting employment. The designs and acting were spot on or over the top giving the fraction feature a dream quality, a stress dream, but still something that we've all had once or twice in a life time. Well worth the ten minutes and change to see this, especially if you need a little encouragement to get a job.


I trust you enjoyed the inspection, thank you for reading.
Support the creator, check out and watch the short.
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Keep well and Stay well.

Astro Boy: Film VS Cartoon

At the beginning of this month was the birth of the greatest man to Animation and Manga, Osamu Tezuka. With celebration of this amazing individual we'll take a look at his creation the Mighty Atom or better known in America Astro Boy. As any great artist and proud father of their work he's taken parodies and had his creations interpreted by others in different ways. Imagi Animation Studios has taken on productions with established fans and continuity before like the TMNT movie. Though the difference between Astro Boy and TMNT is the obvious starting point for each film. TMNT went from where the director and writer thought the natural direction of the series would go from the point that they had interest, the character's all established from other media and the original plot not too out of place for the world that the Turtles are accustom to live within. Then there's Astro Boy, the production company has my attention, since I really like the character and the lore and I'm interested in seeing from what point they'll be introducing the character. To my disappointment it's from the beginning, I'm not a fan of origin stories, though there has been exceptions to the rule, this was not one of them. Though the original cartoon series did an origin story too, following the manga, the main difference was their focus wasn't on the creation of the character, but the creation of the hero. I'll break into this further, in a different article, for now we're going on a comparison journey through Astro Boy; past and present.

Scooby-Doo! Moon Monster Madness

Right off the bat, I'm gonna say it, I'm a Scooby-Doo fan. I have liked for years, now heading toward decades, this character and his friends, my favorite hokey series of this character has been A Pup Named Scooby-Doo. Then there was a shift in power, Scooby wasn't the character he was anymore, this shift is where I became a Shaggy fan, now I'm going towards Velma, it's a weird evolution, but this is the current state of things for the characters. The people responsible for their development are forgetting the spirit of the characters and grouping the Mystery Gang together as one being, it happens with long series, though I'm glad they keep reinventing what makes each member special, not only toward solving mysteries, but to each other. With this recent film for the series, let's see what made Scooby-Doo in Space better than the other cartoons that Hanna-Barbera shot into space or is Warner Brothers following in the footsteps of their predecessors when it comes to making an old idea new?

Shorts SHORT Review: Hulk VS Wolverine

Hulk VS: Wolverine
Directed by Frank Paur
Designs by Jeff Matsuda
Distributed by Loinsgate

Welcome to the shorts SHORT Review, today will be a treat for all, since we'll be talking about three important individuals in my favorite media type. Animated fighting between Wolverine, Deadpool, and the Hulk, this is gonna be a fun one!

Hulk Vs. was intended to be a series, though due to unknown reasons (unknown to me) the idea of a 30 minute presentations of the Hulk rampaging within the Marvel Universe was scraped. Though later they did make a TV series with She-Hulk, Red Hulk, and The Hulk… I know Rick is in the series too, but I really liked him as Captain Marvel with the gauntlets. Still just about every series that Marvel puts out with the Hulk in it, it automatically gets not only their money back, but the fans become the Hulk's own PR team. So why did this popular short film, soon to be short film series, get pulled?

Tea Steeping (niece), Professor Steeping, and Gom enjoying Canada, the Logan way.

My initial response to the idea of the Hulk fighting every bruiser in the Marvel Animated Universe was nothing, but delight. Pure energy and jubilation was my face, especially after I found out that each DVD would be filled with two episodes. Back to back, 30-minutes of Hulk fighting action! Then before the DVD even came out the other film rumors were canceled, though my mind was in a different place, since I came across the cast… DEADPOOL.

Okay, let's calm down, yes Deadpool is in the film, though let's not get too bias with this review, we need to have focus. So now you know, I like Deadpool, I'm one of the classic fans, way back when Wade didn't like to show his face. This was when his mask was what he considered his face. He was a beautiful monster, though during his ongoing series they softened him up, but that's not totally true. The character through all of his series grew to respect himself, skin and all, so by the time Daniel Way got to throw him into the mainstream and video game world, he was a well adjusted anti-hero, unlike his black comedic villainy roots.

Anyhow, we get to see a visual origin story of Wolverine, this is the best I've seen, since I'm not a fan of origin stories. They take up a lot of time if not told in an interesting way. This clip show of memories and implicated future events, is done well, the staff of this film should be over joyed and awarded for their skill in making something so tight into a Hulk story as the origin of Wolverine, and had it fit into the plot. Since the Weapon X program has been hunting the Hulk this origin progresses the villains as a group not each character. This way of getting the core emotion from the viewer is succeeded since we all know, either based on design or alliance, that the five members of the Weapon X program are bad and that Hulk has the heart of a good person, though this feels more like a "Wolverine Versus" story than a "Hulk Versus" film.

We get to see the pain that Banner has felt, that the death of the people of the town, are his responsibility and his fear of hurting those around him. It's for a moment, though it's character development that was literal seconds and showed how both forms of the same man felt. Subtle points are placed through the film, from the acting to words being dropped here and there. It was a playground for people that focus on the films, almost to the threshold of neurosis, though only to the point of finding every hidden gem within the minutes the film played.

Gom in his Omega Red Cosplay

One thing that bugs me is it felt like "Skipping Leg Day" the musical, no one has mass on their shanks and everyone has a screaming solo. Oh, and Lady Deathstrike's "enjoyment" is a bit much, though it's interesting that they made a character that gets aroused by giving others pain. And there really wasn't any payoff for that, no explanation that killing him was a personal pleasure or why she needed to be the one hand deep murdering our Canadian friend.

Animation is the main part of all of this, it's beautiful and well made. There are moments that I feel the CGI wasn't great, though the character cast/voice casting, character/background design, and pacing/storytelling outweigh the bad.

The end with the two title characters in a still frame, on the path toward each other's fist still evenly matched duking it out, is so B-Movie that it's the perfect ending. Especially for this over the top one shot short. Though this is what makes a weak ending in my opinion, since the resolution of Wolverine taking Hulk (or Banner) back to the states isn't resolved, though the Weapon X program has been destroyed and won't make anymore weapons (for this film). It's a nice grey area of no one truly wins, though there is a side that gains from the result.

All in all the casting was perfect, the designs were lovely, and the animation was a pure joy. If you love well made animated films, perfectly executed black comedy and physical humor, with characters that you've been wanting to see duke it out in a film that's "Not Rated" then you have the correct DVD in your hands. Though if you were looking for plot, well resolutions aren't totally here, but that's not to say all the strings are needed. This movie achieved it's goal of making something that's enjoyable and rewatchable, for all the good reasons and everyone of the bad.

I trust you enjoyed the inspection, thank you for reading.
Support the creators, check out the Double-Feature and the Comics.
If you want to stay up to date on my reviews, subscribe to this page.
Keep well and Stay well.

Justice League War

**** Hey (2018) Cartoon Cyborg Cinema citizens, it's Mister Forte here with an EDIT, that's right, I wanna rework the blog a little, make it more of a positive effort to cinema and books than something that's gonna discredit and harm the passionate project that people have put time and effort into making. I'll be putting small changes into these posts, just making them flow a little better, or correct grammar or spelling errors, but mainly I want you to seek out these features in your own life and enjoy them to the fullest. I'll still critique them on issues and embellish other points, though I feel more can be done then feed negativity. The main goal of this is to bring positivity to reviewing and conversation to topics that don't always get the same amount of love back (more on this topic over here). Thank you for the privilege of your time and enjoy this review. **********

This is a big jump for DC Animation and WB Animation alike, since the Justice League is the Avengers of DC Comics. And on top of that the Justice League (and Justice League Unlimited) Animation Series is a well loved program, so making a movie that updates the characters and plot in a more modern setting is going to be a challenge, then the uphill battle of convincing fans. With that in mind Justice League War is a brash title for an introduction to these new version of old friends.

Let me get this out of the way, I'm an old school fan of DC Comics, though I understand cinematic versions and updated versions (new 52) of the characters are out there and applied to modern adaptions, but their spirit should be placed into all media. What I'm saying is when my memory of the past comes into place I'll give you my nostalgia, then my understanding of the character within the film. Again most creative teams want to make their version of the characters or use their dream team or their favorite characters from their favorite creative team. This can be seen as successful with the TV series X-Men from 1992 and Teen Titans from 2003, so I can't blame them for being ambitious in trying to have lightning strike twice.

That's where this movie comes in, they want to take a good idea, update it and make it something that they can create a film series, that's not too ambitious, since they've done that with many of these characters. Just to name a few Scooby-Doo, Tom & Jerry, and always Batman, though they saw a trend in the fabric of what was moving in pop-culture and it was teams. With the success of Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers they needed to bring back their heavy hitters, though a little dusty they just needed a new paint job. This is my speculation, and you'll hear more about this 'between the lines' thinking in this post.