#i have this vision of like a harley quinn-show esque world where it's all a lot more silly goofy and red hood has a twitter

[dukeofthomas]

Posting my truth

[smokeybrandreviews]

Bat Kino

I’ve been sh*tting on current state of Batman for a while now.  Everything just seems so vapid, so mundane. Between The Batman who Laughs and the forced nature of Punchline, I'm relatively exhausted with the whole Bat-situation taking place in mainstream DC. Joker Was is having it’s moments but I'm not entirely impressed with it, especially considering it’s been in the kitchen for two whole f*cking years. Bats asked the Mobius Chair who the Joker was way back during Darkseid War. Thems were the dark days of the New 52 but i did like some of the stuff that came out of there. Batman was brilliant. I really like Grail and her introduction was executed much better than f*cking Punchline. the new Anti-Monitor reminds a lot of Marvel’s Apocalypse and i love me some Apocalypse. This is a tangent. My point is, Batman has lost it’s luster since Snyder left the book.

It’s wild saying that because i know he’s the architect of TBWL and Dark Nights Metal wonkiness. I’m no fan of any of that Dark Multiverse nonsense or the insane power creep he keeps giving to his OC but he wrote some of the best Bat-stories, Death in the Family and Court of Owls, available. I just wish we can get back to that level of story telling and not some shonen manga-esque pandering I'm seeing in comics s of late. Unfortunately, i think that ship has sailed. We are full-steam into cash grab territory with all of this TBWL overexposure, though, I'll admit, what little I've seen of Joker War, it’s not terrible. It’s not that good either. I rather liked the Batgirl book, that was awesome. I did not like literally everything that came after. Like, leave Dick alone, man. Dude’s life after the New 52 is nothing but pain ad he’s supposed to be the happy, well adjusted, one. And don’t even get me started on whatever the Three Jokers arc is going to be. At least that is an Elseworlds story, or Black Label as they're tagging them now, which is the saving grace of the Bat-verse and the point of this essay.

The White Knight Universe is so f*cking good, man! This hole run is some of the best Batman i have read in years. I’m a sucker for character development and this has it in spades. Bruce, himself, goes through some sh*t, man. His arc feels like one of those The End stories from Marvel, but executed with so much more narrative precision. A lot of that rich narrative is credited to Sean Murphy. His vision for the Bat, Gotham City, an it’s denizens was a breath of fresh air. Dude has an outstanding handle of the entire Bat-mythos and was able to create sort of a greatest hits out of Bruce’s entire history. I don’t want to spoil too much, but think the Batman Who Laughs, but in reverse, and actually good. There’s are real pathos and consequences for certain actions taken early on, which leads to a very finite end. An end for everything Batman. Or so you’d think. This version of The Dark Knight’s world would be revisited with a short in the Harley: Black, White, and Red anthology. It’s a cute valentine’s day story about our darling Harley Quinn, in the aftermath of all that White Knight drama and it comes across as incredibly endearing. This one wasn’t scribed by Sean Murphy, but his wife, Katana Collins. She writes romance novels and that ear to romance definitely shines through. Her Harley series set in the White Knight universe is one to watch and I'm definitely keeping an eye on it’s release. Speaking of Harley, she just might be the best thing about this entire series.

I’m not a Harley apologist or fanboy but I'm old enough to remember her introduction way back in Batman: The Animated Series. A few characters have made that jump from one media into the comics, Mercy Graves, Renee Montoya, even the current Batgirl was created for that old, campy ass, sixties show, but Harley is easily the best of that lot. Watching her grow into her own as both a character and in popularity has been a real pleasure. that’s probably why i hate Punchline so much. Harley earned her station. She  was able to become her own character independent of the Joker. Harl’s fought to be seen as her own person and, after years of great writing and development finally stood atop that mountain. Punchline has none of that. She just came out of no where, killed her dean because reasons, and is now one of the best combatants in the entire DC universe. Talk about a Mary Sue. That’s why i like the Harleen in the White Knight world so much. She feels like the natural progression of my Harley, the Harley that fought to free herself from Joker and grow into an independent force in her own right. That Harley is f*cking adorable and, as if to beat a dead horse, there is a second, crazier, Harley in that story! Marian Drews is Harley's “replacement” after things occur and she eventually become a full-blown problem. She goes by Neo Joker in her full appearance but she started as a Harley Quinn. Marian is a better Punchline than the actual Punchline and that’s wild to me.

I love this run. Both of them. Batman: The White Knight actually got a sequel series called Batman: Curse of the White Knight. Both series run together a little bit but the overall story is incredible. The art is spectacular. I love the reimagings of all things Bat, especially Jean-Paul Valley and his whole shtick I don’t want to spend too much time on the look of this book, it’s excellent, some of the best Bat-art I've seen since Capullo in the beginning days of the New 52, but the narrative and world building is what shines through with this run. The White Knight universe is the anti-thesis of whatever the f*ck is going on in the main titles right now. As a Black Label book, it can do whatever the f*ck it wants and you can see Murphy has done exactly that. There is a proper story here, nothing feels loose or useless, and there are legitimate consequences to certain narrative beats that keep you completely engaged. This story feels like what Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy would have been if it were a comic book. This reads with all of the reverence and love we got from the Arkham games. Batman: The White Knight is an excellent read and one of the absolute best takes on the Bat-mythos I've seen in decades and this is coming from a Marvel apologist. I love these book, I love this world, and i cannot wait to see where they take Bruce next.

[ithinkthingsaboutstuff]

What is with Birds of Prey criticism?

i have seen BOP 

and i have read comments and review’s from different people (male and female) and i have decided to throughout my observations into the void. 

now personal taste is personal taste and everyone is allowed to like or not like whatever they want. 

but i will be looking at this from a ‘structured’ pov so i will be breaking the movie down into what others have got to say about it.

and with that in mind i will be taking things out of context but i will be summarising and linking to the sources when possible.  

i will be looking at how people have persevere them (again male and female) and why this might be so (but i will say now that it is only my best guess, and i will try to be as fair as possible)

and i will also add i have only seen the movie once at this point so i may miss some things or misremember others 

so from here on out we this will be nothing but 

------------------------------------------SPOILERS-----------------------------------------

ok so with that out of the way. 

PLOT 

the plot is basically 

Harley and the joker have broken up (joker, dumped her) 

this makes Harley lose her immunity in Gotham as she was protected by the fact she was the jokers girlfriend.

black mask is one of these people and is one of the most powerful in Gotham.

but he needs a diamond (that belongs to Helena) to be the most powerful in the city,

but when Zsasz and Black canary, get it take off them by a street girl (Cass) 

Harley says she will get it back to square herself with mask and he will protected her afterwards 

(there is also a b plot with Helena going around kill everyone who was involved with the death of her family)  

things happen 

and they all end up fight Black Mask men in a amusement park 

and Harley kills him on a dock.

then they all part ways.

now this is an oversimplification. 

but that does allow the movie to explore the characters and their relationship's with the world and the story.

but over all an average plot but no so more them say 

-the avengers (2012)

-thor (2011)

-age of ultron (2015)

-spider-man homecoming (2017)

and so on.

Criticisms

this is what one critic had to say about the movie

review from  Mick LaSalle

“but no, even that makes things sound better than they are. There’s no character there at all. There’s a look. There’s an attitude, and there’s an assemblage of mannerisms, but these are all veneers surrounding a vacuum.”  

“None of them suggest a personality, beyond some generalized zaniness.”

now i am no expert but is having a look, an attitude and mannerisms all things that make up someone’s personality? 

i can see if he was trying to say she has not much to add to the overall story or if it over shadowed everything in the movie, for sake of being “zany”   

but it was integrated into the movies narrative as a the main story telling tool,

e.g. Harley’s narration and the cartoons/ animation that came with. those where there to add character to the movie through Harley’s, so basically Harley’s personality is the films personality. 

and this is what he had to say about the plot

“If she wanted the Joker back, that would be something. That could be a movie. If she wanted revenge, that would be a weak motive, but it would still be something.”

now this has some interesting connotations,

what he was trying to say with this sentiment is only something i can guess, but i will want to give him the benefit of the doubt, maybe he was asking for a story similar to ‘mad love’  from the s4 of the Batman new adventures.

looking more at the sickness of that relationship (that some people admired and fawned over in suicide squad) so if that is the case then its not a bad thought,

however the way it is phrased makes it sound like more like Harley needs the Joker to be major part of the story for it to be any good. 

but Harley has had comic’s for year’s that prove the opposite.

now to compare this what he had to say about the Joker (2019)

“What’s terrifying and brilliant about Phoenix’s Joker is that he seems to be operating from an intricate yet alien form of logic. There is very little common ground between the character and the viewer, no shared understanding of right and wrong, real or unreal. He erupts into laughter without warning — a terrifying, piercing laugh that he can’t control. He sits in the audience at a comedy club, joyously and maniacally laughing at setups, not punch lines.”

now i am not saying Joker is a bad movie, I am just saying that he complained about the lack of story and character in one film and praised it in another.  

now i also understand that these films are different, and they have different tones and messages. and ever genre (one is action, the other is drama)

but basically

he is saying Joker’s lack of clear “personality” made the movie good and Harley’s made it bad (again this is apples and oranges, and way to simple)  

but the main point is that he has failed to look for WHY Harley is that way, or how that adds to the movie like he did for Joker.

now moving on to

Anthony Lane

“ No one could call Harley Quinn a recluse. She loves to go out, get wasted, meet people, and fight them. In onscreen graphics, she proudly reports what it is about her that vexes her opponents. (“Voted for Bernie.” “Have a vagina.”) Yet Harley is often alone in the frame—marching toward the camera in her T-shirt and shorts, smiling madly through lips of fire-engine red, and peppering us with unceasing chatter, as if words were buckshot. She lives on her own, too, with a stuffed beaver in a tutu and a pet hyena named Bruce. (As with the title, note the surfeit of nuttiness. Rarely have I seen a movie strain so hard to seem out-there.) Our heroine needs some kindred spirits, and quick.”

ok benefit of the doubt this is just a colourful way to describe the movie and Harley’s set up,

however with the next paragraph that follows i don’t think so

“No surprise, then, that Yan’s movie, peopled as it is by women who talk among themselves, with only fitful reference to men, doesn’t so much pass the Bechdel Test as ace it, while also ticking the profanity box, the ear-splitting box, and the bone-snapping box—every box, in fact, except for the tricky one that requires a motion picture to be good”

the strange thing is that he was so close to an epiphany

yes Harley is social but she is lonely that is the point of her being with the BOP, taking in Cassie.

and saying someone who is social is not able to be lonely is the dumbest thing i have ever heard.

and i can name dozens of movies off the top of my head that is a group of guys ‘talking among themselves, with only fitful reference to women’

like 

-  the hang over (1,2 and 3)

- die hard

- pulp fiction 

- fast and furious (all 9 of them)

- the other guys

- Sherlock (RDJ movies)

- the dark night 

- scarface

-  any Adam Sandler movie for the last 20 years

-memento

- rush hour (all 3)

- fight club 

like damn dude your getting all bent out of shape for women having the nerve to want to tell story’s about other women.

(and i would also like to point out that very on in the movie was a ‘bad guy’ or did bad things all throughout the film and the men are just what they are up against you know like some kind of antagonist??? fucking wild idea right, and as we all know every female villain in movies are always written with respect and dignity, can you feel my sarcasm)

and this is what this man also said about ‘ford vs ferrari’   

“Ford v Ferrari” is directed by James Mangold, and it may be his strongest film.

like dude you are showing your hand here.

but i am not wasting any more time on this dude.

 let us move on to the lady’s

MOLLY FREEMAN

“the movie ultimately embodies different kinds of liberation - not only of women breaking free from their abusive boyfriends, psychotic employers and the restrictive boy's club, but also the freedom and power that comes with finding a group where they feel accepted and supported.”\

“Cathy Yan's directing and vision for the film, which is realized in the action, costumes and music. The fighting sequences are absolutely brutal and choreographed in a way to showcase the characters' respective abilities. Harley's gymnast moves make a return, and when she gets her hands on a bat, the Cupid of Crime really lets loose - and it'll leave audiences breathless with exhilaration. Birds of Prey stands out because it's uniquely female, from the characters' fighting styles down to the details of Harley pausing mid-fight to give her friend a hair tie. This further extends to the costumes, designed by Erin Benach (A Star Is Born), which are exquisite and perfectly showcase each character's personality.”

Susana Polo

“Each character’s storyline is given a slightly different genre and tone, as well, one of a number of tactics the production employs to mimic Harley’s manic internal life. Huntress stalks around Birds of Prey like it’s a Kill Bill-esque revenge epic, while Renee Montoya is in a hard-boiled cop flick. The main heroine ensemble actors all breathe a wonderful amount of life into little-known characters overdue for mainstream attention.”

“Winstead delivers a comedic twist on the Huntress’s classic personality that I hope makes its way to comics as soon as possible, and the 13-year-old Basco deserves particular credit for holding her own alongside Robbie in their many scenes together. Robbie’s Harley Quinn is just as scene-stealing as she was in Suicide Squad, appearing to operate on at least 20 percent cartoon logic at all times — a useful skill for an occasionally fourth-wall-breaking narrator. Cartoon-channeling is also a useful skill for the star of a movie with such splendid fight scenes.”

 now i am not saying every man hates the movie, and every woman loved it that is insane and dumb.

but what does seem to be a common theme is that positive or negative, men and women are looking at different aspects of the movie 

women look at the movie on its own terms and men seem to look by comparing it to other “guy movies” 

now this a generalisation but this is a common idea that seems to run through it.

and here is some general thoughts from some people who have made comments, online.

female 

“I am sick and tired of being told what movies I need to like as a woman, this is a bad movie. It isn't a zero nor is it a ten and anyone rating it that way isn't being honest either with you or themselves. The storytelling is odd and the flashbacks are weirdly placed to the point where they take you out of the movie. This movie has too much exposition and then not enough which I congrats I guess. I don't think men are rating this film low because they are "man babies" I think they are rating it low because there are far better superhero and anti-hero movies out there to choose from.”

this is based on personal taste and why it didn’t sit right with them (and that’s fine)

male

“A rush movie without any type of storyline and God knows where they are heading with DCEU and it's characters..It's only Harley and Harley who has never been in BOP in comics...Mis usage of characters and movie..Just make a decision where do you wanna go with your movies”

now this interesting, when this people has the same feels as the person above 

they don’t look to the movie itself they look to find out evidence to discredit instead of anything in the film itself.

again i am not saying this person is wrong to feel this way i simply think the method of expressing it, is interesting.      

(and for the record this is actually an incorrect statement Harley and Poison Ivy have been apart of the team at different points) 

male

“The girls looked terrible like they were going Break-Dancing or something and Harley Quinn was dressed up like a Bird with makeup?? The ending was ridiculously stupid and predictable and the misogynist male pig attitudes towards the females in the film were jaw dropping cringe moments, like who acts like that??”

now this is about appearance, and the male characters, now this is showing that men see a violent, man who literally gets someone to cut a MAN’s face off  

and the only thing they focus on is that ‘oh he is mean to women damn SJW’s’

that is the weird’s thing? like you the bad guy is bad to the hero’s? shocking.

now i am not saying that the character is perfect and well crafted like loki or kilmonger but he serviced the purpose he was meant to, he was powerful intimidating and unpredictable.

(and black mask has always been a nut case)  

but i also think its interesting that these men who cry about SJW’s and how they mock men (and that does sometimes happen, it would be dumb to say they didn’t) 

never seem to mind that that women get called bitch’s and whores in every other movie.or that women are used shallow props to move the movie along. 

almost like it is distressing when you see someone you can identify with is treated like the peace of garbage. 

female

“The Film was decent enough for a lowkey Friday night out with the girls. Nothing you'd rant & rave about or even remember seeing in a few months but it was entertaining in places. The script felt a little bit underbaked & the story itself felt a bit disjointed. The direction of the film was lacking for me. In a world where Todd Phillips pulled off Joker (2019) this seems like a more rushed project that would've been better at Netflix or even Amazon Prime for release. I think the deserve another crack at this movie & another attempt at something with a bit more substance”

honest to the point and is looking at the movie on its own term's

notice how she does not need to devalue other women to get this across, not the character’s, not the write or director but was looking at it from a personal taste and rewatchablity,

the anger about this movie is so strange 

like how many hero movies have been worse then this and was not taking very chance they get to bash the creators and that they should not do their job’s because the movie had women as most of the cast and was mainly about them.

anyway i hand it over to all of you.    

[smokeybrand]

Bat Kino

I’ve been sh*tting on current state of Batman for a while now.  Everything just seems so vapid, so mundane. Between The Batman who Laughs and the forced nature of Punchline, I'm relatively exhausted with the whole Bat-situation taking place in mainstream DC. Joker Was is having it’s moments but I'm not entirely impressed with it, especially considering it’s been in the kitchen for two whole f*cking years. Bats asked the Mobius Chair who the Joker was way back during Darkseid War. Thems were the dark days of the New 52 but i did like some of the stuff that came out of there. Batman was brilliant. I really like Grail and her introduction was executed much better than f*cking Punchline. the new Anti-Monitor reminds a lot of Marvel’s Apocalypse and i love me some Apocalypse. This is a tangent. My point is, Batman has lost it’s luster since Snyder left the book.

It’s wild saying that because i know he’s the architect of TBWL and Dark Nights Metal wonkiness. I’m no fan of any of that Dark Multiverse nonsense or the insane power creep he keeps giving to his OC but he wrote some of the best Bat-stories, Death in the Family and Court of Owls, available. I just wish we can get back to that level of story telling and not some shonen manga-esque pandering I'm seeing in comics s of late. Unfortunately, i think that ship has sailed. We are full-steam into cash grab territory with all of this TBWL overexposure, though, I'll admit, what little I've seen of Joker War, it’s not terrible. It’s not that good either. I rather liked the Batgirl book, that was awesome. I did not like literally everything that came after. Like, leave Dick alone, man. Dude’s life after the New 52 is nothing but pain ad he’s supposed to be the happy, well adjusted, one. And don’t even get me started on whatever the Three Jokers arc is going to be. At least that is an Elseworlds story, or Black Label as they're tagging them now, which is the saving grace of the Bat-verse and the point of this essay.

The White Knight Universe is so f*cking good, man! This hole run is some of the best Batman i have read in years. I’m a sucker for character development and this has it in spades. Bruce, himself, goes through some sh*t, man. His arc feels like one of those The End stories from Marvel, but executed with so much more narrative precision. A lot of that rich narrative is credited to Sean Murphy. His vision for the Bat, Gotham City, an it’s denizens was a breath of fresh air. Dude has an outstanding handle of the entire Bat-mythos and was able to create sort of a greatest hits out of Bruce’s entire history. I don’t want to spoil too much, but think the Batman Who Laughs, but in reverse, and actually good. There’s are real pathos and consequences for certain actions taken early on, which leads to a very finite end. An end for everything Batman. Or so you’d think. This version of The Dark Knight’s world would be revisited with a short in the Harley: Black, White, and Red anthology. It’s a cute valentine’s day story about our darling Harley Quinn, in the aftermath of all that White Knight drama and it comes across as incredibly endearing. This one wasn’t scribed by Sean Murphy, but his wife, Katana Collins. She writes romance novels and that ear to romance definitely shines through. Her Harley series set in the White Knight universe is one to watch and I'm definitely keeping an eye on it’s release. Speaking of Harley, she just might be the best thing about this entire series.

I’m not a Harley apologist or fanboy but I'm old enough to remember her introduction way back in Batman: The Animated Series. A few characters have made that jump from one media into the comics, Mercy Graves, Renee Montoya, even the current Batgirl was created for that old, campy ass, sixties show, but Harley is easily the best of that lot. Watching her grow into her own as both a character and in popularity has been a real pleasure. that’s probably why i hate Punchline so much. Harley earned her station. She  was able to become her own character independent of the Joker. Harl’s fought to be seen as her own person and, after years of great writing and development finally stood atop that mountain. Punchline has none of that. She just came out of no where, killed her dean because reasons, and is now one of the best combatants in the entire DC universe. Talk about a Mary Sue. That’s why i like the Harleen in the White Knight world so much. She feels like the natural progression of my Harley, the Harley that fought to free herself from Joker and grow into an independent force in her own right. That Harley is f*cking adorable and, as if to beat a dead horse, there is a second, crazier, Harley in that story! Marian Drews is Harley's “replacement” after things occur and she eventually become a full-blown problem. She goes by Neo Joker in her full appearance but she started as a Harley Quinn. Marian is a better Punchline than the actual Punchline and that’s wild to me.

I love this run. Both of them. Batman: The White Knight actually got a sequel series called Batman: Curse of the White Knight. Both series run together a little bit but the overall story is incredible. The art is spectacular. I love the reimagings of all things Bat, especially Jean-Paul Valley and his whole shtick I don’t want to spend too much time on the look of this book, it’s excellent, some of the best Bat-art I've seen since Capullo in the beginning days of the New 52, but the narrative and world building is what shines through with this run. The White Knight universe is the anti-thesis of whatever the f*ck is going on in the main titles right now. As a Black Label book, it can do whatever the f*ck it wants and you can see Murphy has done exactly that. There is a proper story here, nothing feels loose or useless, and there are legitimate consequences to certain narrative beats that keep you completely engaged. This story feels like what Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy would have been if it were a comic book. This reads with all of the reverence and love we got from the Arkham games. Batman: The White Knight is an excellent read and one of the absolute best takes on the Bat-mythos I've seen in decades and this is coming from a Marvel apologist. I love these book, I love this world, and i cannot wait to see where they take Bruce next.