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Batman: The Long Halloween Comes to Life on Blu-ray

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3 years ago

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In 1996, the Batman mythos was changed forever with the release of “Batman: The Long Halloween”. Originally written by Jeph Loeb and drawn by Tim Sale, the 13-issue limited series has gone on to become one of the most iconic Batman stories of all time. The story picks up shortly after the events of Frank Miller’s “Batman: Year One”, which finds the Dark Knight still early in his career. A mysterious new killer has emerged in the Gotham underbelly known only as “Holiday”. Known for killing their victims only on holidays, this new assailant tests the sanity of not only our hero but also Police Commissioner James Gordon and recently elected District Attorney, Harvey Dent. As popular as the story is, it seems odd that it’s taken so long finally receive a proper adaptation.

Batman is conspicuous in his absence as the mob wars and the influx of classic villains dominate the news in Gotham City. District Attorney Harvey Dent (voiced by Josh Duhamel) and Police Commissioner James Gordon (Billy Burke) lament their missing colleague while hoping the Batsignal will finally get his attention early in Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two.

Much like the animated film adaptation of “The Dark Knight Returns”, “The Long Halloween” is separated into two separate parts. One could argue that this is simply an easy cash-grab for WB, but the duality lends itself well to the story. In fact, even some character arcs are fleshed out even more than the original graphic novel. Unlike most films in the DC Animated Universe, this film is set in its own separate continuity. This is established right from the start with composer Michael Gatt’s eerie, dark, and brooding score. It’s made clear that this story will not be one of a superheroic adventure, but rather, one of great tragedy.

Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two could be subtitled “Rise of the Villains” as most of Gotham City’s rogues’ gallery joins the fracas – including Mad Hatter and Scarecrow. Voiceover superstars John DiMaggio (Futurama, Batman: Under the Red Hood) and Robin Atkin Downes (The Strain, Constantine: City of Demons) provide the voices of Mad Hatter and Scarecrow, respectively.

The film begins exactly as does in the comic, with notorious crime-boss Johnny Viti murdered by Holiday on Halloween. Viti was the nephew of Carmine Falcone, the so-called “Godfather of Gotham” (interestingly enough, the character is drawn bearing a strong resemblance to Marlon Brando). Viti had been set to testify against Falcone in court, and so the Dark Knight (voiced by Jensen Ackles) is summoned by Gordon (Billy Burke) and Dent (Josh Duhamel) to investigate. Batman enlists the help of Catwoman, voiced by Naya Rivera in her final film role. Each month, on every major holiday, a new victim with ties to the Falcone family is murdered by Holiday, testing the patience and sanity of not only our heroes but our villains as well. Nearly every major Batman villain makes an appearance including Joker, Penguin, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, Mad Hatter, and it goes without saying that by the end of part two we are introduced to Two-Face.

Poison Ivy takes command of Gotham City’s criminal forces – and Bruce Wayne’s mind – as Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two begins. Katee Sackhoff (The Mandalorian, Battlestar Galactica) provides the voice of Poison Ivy.

While the screenplay and performances for both films were top-notch, I couldn’t help but be thrown off a bit by the animation. Some of the illustrations are seamlessly replicated from the original comic, but the character’s movements are so stiff and one-dimensional it makes the animation look like a cheap, 60’s-era Saturday morning cartoon (Super-Friends, anyone?). Regardless, both films have garnered a very positive response and a combined Director’s Cut edition is set to be released sometime in 2022. I did find it intriguing to watch the story unfold at this day in age, seeing very similar scenes having unfolded in Christopher Nolan’s 2008 live-action epic, “The Dark Knight”. While not a direct adaptation, “The Dark Knight” borrowed very heavily from this series, especially when it came to depicting the origin of Two-Face. I would encourage any DC fan to pick this up for their home library, although I would probably wait until it’s released as a combined edition.

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Paramount+ Reveals Official Main Title Sequence for the Upcoming Series TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

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9 hours ago

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July 26, 2024

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During the TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES panel earlier today at San Diego Comic Con, Paramount+ revealed the official main title sequence for the series. The sequence is composed by EMMY® nominee, Matt Mahaffey, known for his work on Sanjay and Craig, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie and much more. 

From the studios of the Mutant Mayhem film, the all-new Paramount+ original series TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES explores the adventures of everyone’s favorite pizza-loving heroes as they emerge from the sewers onto the streets of NYC. Leo, Raph, Donnie and Mikey are faced with new threats and team up with old allies to survive both teenage life and villains lurking in the shadows of the Big Apple. The series is produced by Nickelodeon Animation and Point Grey Pictures.

TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES is executive produced by Chris Yost (The Mandalorian, Thor: Ragnarok) and Alan Wan (Blue Eye Samurai, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [2012 Series]). Production is overseen for Nickelodeon by Claudia Spinelli, Senior Vice President, TV Series Animation, Nickelodeon, and Nikki Price, Director of Development and Executive in Charge of Production.

In addition to the upcoming new series, stream all things Turtles on Paramount+.

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Comic-Con 2024: Those About to Die Activation

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12 hours ago

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July 26, 2024

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DISNEY+ CASTS DANIEL DIEMER AS FAN-FAVORITE ‘TYSON’IN SEASON TWO OF “PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS”

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12 hours ago

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July 26, 2024

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 in Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con, Rick Riordan and Disney+ revealed that Daniel Diemer (“Under the Bridge”) will star as fan-favorite cyclops “Tyson” in the epic adventure series “Percy Jackson and the Olympians.” Diemer joins Walker Scobell (Percy Jackson), Leah Sava Jeffries (Annabeth Chase) and Aryan Simhadri (Grover Underwood) as a series regular. The Disney+ Original series from Disney Branded Television and 20th Television will start filming its second season next week in Vancouver.

Season two of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is based on the second installment of Disney Hyperion’s best-selling book series titled “The Sea of Monsters” by award-winning author Rick Riordan. In the new season, Percy Jackson returns to Camp Half-Blood one year later to find his world turned upside down. His friendship with Annabeth is changing, he learns he has a cyclops for a brother, Grover has gone missing, and camp is under siege from the forces of Kronos. Percy’s journey to set things right will take him off the map and into the deadly Sea of Monsters, where a secret fate awaits the son of Poseidon.

Diemer stars as Tyson – a young Cyclops who grew up all alone on the streets, and finds it difficult to survive in the human world.  Shy and awkward, with a heart almost as big as he is, Tyson soon discovers that Poseidon is his father, which means Percy Jackson is his half-brother… and that Tyson may have finally found a home. 

Diemer recently starred in the Hulu limited series “Under the Bridge” based off the critically acclaimed book of the same name and a tragic true story of a missing teen girl in Vancouver in 1997. He will next star in the indie “Thug” opposite Liam Neeson and Ron Perlman for director Hans Petter Moland. Daniel was recently seen as the lead in the indie “Supercell” opposite Alec Baldwin and Skeet Ulrich and the lead in the film “Little Brother” opposite Phil Ettinger and JK Simmons. Daniel can also be seen in the Netflix series “The Midnight Club” and recently starred as the male lead in the breakout hit Netflix feature “The Half Of It” from producer Anthony Bregman and director Alice Wu. He is a graduate of Victoria Academy of Dramatic Arts in Vancouver.

Created by Rick Riordan and Jonathan E. Steinberg, season two of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is executive produced by Steinberg and Dan Shotz alongside Rick Riordan, Rebecca Riordan, Craig Silverstein, The Gotham Group’s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Bert Salke, The Gotham Group’s Jeremy Bell and D.J. Goldberg, James Bobin, Jim Rowe, Albert Kim, Jason Ensler and Sarah Watson.

The first season of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is available on Disney+

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