Vintage Batman Toys

 

Valentines Day Wishes From the Batman Family

I think I remember giving out some of these in grade school.

 

1987 Advertisement for a New Batmobile - Metro!

Wow! I never saw this until today but I completely love it! Well done and quite fun. 

BATMAN RETURNS (1992) Artwork

One of my favorite Christmas movies! 

A Batman Christmas!

What I Watched in March 2022

I will always be interested in new screen versions of the Batman and THE BATMAN (2022) is an excellent example of doing something different with the classic ingredients. In this case we have a brooding, thoughtful look at the early period of the costumed vigilante. Detective Gordon thinks he could be an asset as the stymied investigation into The Riddler’s murders starts touching political figures. Gordon is able to convince some of his fellow cops because the criminal is addressing riddle clues directly to The Batman meaning that he might have some unique insight. The Gotham of this film is a vital, dark and alive place weighed down by historic crimes at every level. It reeks of bad people doing good things to hide their real intentions and good people doing bad things to try to stop them. It's as impressive a film Batman tale as I have ever seen and it creates a world I’d love to revisit for future stories. Let’s hope we get the chance. 

 The List

THE MAN FROM SONORA (1951) – 6 (solid B-western with Johnny Mack Brown) 

BURN (2019) – 7 (interesting character study/crime film)

SPACEWAYS (1953) – 5 (early Hammer SF about rocket research) 

LITTLE GIANT (1946) – 6 (interesting new direction for Abbot & Costello) 

HERE COMES CARTER (1936) - 6 (Glenda Farrell in a supporting role)

TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID (2017) – 7 (children face cartel violence and supernatural horror) 

CALIGULA: THE UNTOLD STORY (1982) – 6 (the two-hour version is too long) 

CREATURE (1985) – 6 (rewatch on Blu) 

CAMP COLD BROOK (2018) – 6 (ghost hunter horror film) 

MASTER OF THE WORLD (1983) – 4 (cavemen vs bear for far too long)

CAPTIVE WILD WOMAN (1943) – 6 (rewatch) 

LA LLORONA (1933) – 6 (creaky early sound version of the Mexican ghost tale) 

THE BATMAN (2022) – 8 

POWDERSMOKE RANGE (1935) – 5 (standard B-western with mostly terrible acting) 

FORTY NAUGHTY GIRLS (1937) – 5 (final Hildegarde Withers mystery) 

BLOOD OF THE VAMPIRE (1958) – 7 (rewatch on Blu) 

THE SWORD AND THE SORCERER (1982) – 7 (rewatch on Blu)

RABID DOGS (1974) – 9 (rewatch) 

THE OUTING (a.k.a. THE LAMP) (1987) – 4 (not great evil Jinn tale) 

SHADOWS OVER CHINATOWN (1946) – 5 (rewatch) (OK Chan mystery)

PHANTOM RAIDERS (1940) – 7 (solid Nick Carter adventure)

Vintage Batman Merchandise

I've been doing some online Christmas shopping and this is what I end up finding. Madness! 

JOKER (2019)

I finally got around to seeing JOKER (2019) and found it to be an exceptional film. Much like its R rated cousin DEADPOOL (2015) this film moves the comic book movie genre into a new area but, instead of just ramping up the violence and telling dick jokes, this film is an adult drama about the generational effects of poverty and poor mental health. The film is about may things but it is unique in the genre for focusing on the elements of the human psyche that cause pain. Not just the physical kind but the much more insidious mental pain that can be the catalyst for other types. The movie uses the darkest depths of mental illness to dig into the motivations of truly hideous actions. The focus, of course, is on the title character but the illness of Arthur’s mother is laid bare in more subtle ways that point to the dangers of cycles of pain repeating themselves. But the cruel blind spots of Thomas Wayne also seem evident as he is shown to be a man with a narcissistic personality unwilling to help an individual he sees as lesser. His arrogant self-centered view of Gotham as a place he can fix even as he ignores the helpless begging for aid of people from his past was one of the smaller dark moments that mirrors many of the larger moments in the story. 

I found myself coming back to the descriptor ‘sick’ over and over again as we follow Arthur Peck through his sad day-to-day existence. His suffering flows from many things but it is his sickness – his mental illness - that makes inevitable his acting in ‘sick’ ways.  He is doomed in many ways but it is the pain caused by a childhood instance of violence that slowly destroys him and, through him, much of the city.  Yes, JOKER is basically an amalgamation of TAXI DRIVER and THE KING OF COMEDY with an even darker back story but it works brilliantly.  It’s a depressing drama and it’s good to know that the comic book genre can stretch to include such fascinating movies as this.

The Batmobile Over Time

Still the coolest ride! 

Well - except for that van. What's up with that?