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DC Animated Films: The Long Halloween (2021)

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Watched:  Part 1 - 10/02, Part 2 - 10/03 Format:  HBOmax Viewing:  First Decade:  2020's Director:  Chris Palmer I've not kept it a secret that I haven't thought all that much of the narratives of DC Animated films in several years.  There's been some winners, and some mediocre stuff, and a certain bit of leaning in to the "edge-tacular" stuff that was kicked off by Flashpoint .   Hence, I haven't really wanted to give anyone any money to watch any of the animated features.  I've paid for a Superman and Wonder Woman movie here and there, and I know I caught a Bat-film or two, but none of it knocked my socks off.  Including some adaptations of some favorite stories straight from the comics. More out of curiosity than anything, Jamie and I decided to check out Batman: The Long Halloween (2021) on HBOmax.  She also read the comic maybe 15 years ago, so we both had a bit of knowledge about what to expect.   Frankly, for me, it's probably also been 15

DC Animated Films: The Killing Joke (2016)

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Watched:  10/03/2021 Format:  HBOmax Viewing:  First Decade:  2010's Director:  Sam Liu Look.  This... should never have been a movie.  I know what DC/ WB Animation was thinking, but I have no idea what DC/ WB Animation was thinking. Winding it way back, in 1988 I would have been about 13 when I stumbled across The Killing Joke  as a comic book.  And, yes, at one point I had a first printing of the comic, which rises and falls in value on a regular basis.   It's worth noting - Moore and Bolland were commissioned to do the comic en route to the Keaton-starring  Batman  movie.  Moore now distances himself from the comic as he has all things DC.  It was, I assume meant to be something of the moment and to give people curious about Batman and the Joker and modern comics something they could pick up as a "graphic novel" at B. Dalton Booksellers.   This was the era just before 1989's Batman movie, and DC was pushing occasional random things out there and making sure to

Discussing The New 52 10 Years Later - from a longtime reader's POV

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Polygon recently ran an oral history of the New 52 effort from DC Comics .  It features then DC Co-Publisher, Dan Didio, as well as a number of writers from the era.  It's a fascinating article for a lot of reasons, in part because of what those interviewed considered success and good ideas, and it seems that at least one person seems to have some difficulty separating fact from fiction on a few points. A lot of talent - writers, artists and editors - seem to have turned down Polygon's request for an interview, some even citing that working on the New 52/ Nu52 was so unpleasant, they'd rather not talk about it.  So the number of voices that you'll see represented are minimal and probably well insulated from being seen as "difficult" or "willing to talk" by the current folks in charge.  After all, it's a tiny industry, and speaking out of turn even about deposed rulers can still label you as a problem. In my opinion, reading the article, it's

DC Television - "Superman and Lois - Season 1" - that went okay!

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Well, that went better than expected.   If you watched, I invite you to jump into the comments. It's hard to wrap up talking about an entire season of a television show, but I can say without reservation that it was considerably better than I figured we'd get.  I've done some due diligence - I watched *most* of Smallville , all of Supergirl to date, several seasons of The Flash , about 2.5 seasons of Legends of Tomorrow , and plenty of crossovers between the shows.   The CW DC shows are great to watch on the elliptical when there's a shortage of O2 headed to your skull, but none of it's working on the level of Watchmen or name-your-prestige-show.   At this point, I've seen some remarkable comics adaptations on TV as well as the movies.  I'm still reeling from what Marvel has delivered on Disney+. I didn't mind that DC and CW were afraid to take on a Superman show.  After all, Superman should be a movie-level property, even if Superman has traditionally

DC Universe Movies! Suicide Squad (2021)

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Watched:  08/09/2021 Format:  HBOmax Viewing:  First Decade:  2020's Director:  James Gunn For more ways to listen Jamie and Ryan take on a hastily assembled mission to watch the rebooty sequel to the 2016 disaster, this time with a heavy dose of what they were trying to do in the first place - get that James Gunn vibe. A wild cast lines up as our anti-heroes take a Caribbean tour and DC throws yet more stuff at the wall, utterly unsure of what they're doing, but with the promise of a whole bunch of nonsense looking you in the eye. The Signal Watch PodCast · 157: "The Suicide Squad" (2021) - A Kryptonian Thought-Beast PodCast w/ Jamie and Ryan Music: Folsom Prison Blues , Johnny Cash People Who Died , Jim Carroll Band DC Movies and TV The Signal Watch PodCast · DC Cinema and TV

Marvel Madness: "Thor: Ragnarok" (2017) - #17 in our Avengers Chronological Countdown

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Watched:  A while back Format:  Disney+ Viewing:  unknown Decade:  2010's Director:  Taika Watiti For more ways to listen Jamie and Ryan have been displaced in time, but return to podcasting Marvel movies in order! Our conversation is out of this world as we take on a threat that we kind of forgot about - doing this podcast - and it comes back to bite us. Join us as we talk the pivot point for Thor in the Marvel U and Cate Blanchett being sassy as all get-out. The Signal Watch PodCast · 161: "Thor: Ragnarok" (2017) - Avengers Countdown 17 w/ Jamie and Ryan Music: Thor Ragnarok - Mark Mothersbaugh Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin III Marvel Movies PodCasts The Signal Watch PodCast · Avengers Chronological Countdown (w/ Jamie and Ryan) I'm Team Hela

PODCAST: "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" and "Loki" (2021) - Marvel PodCast w/ Jamie and Ryan

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Format:  Disney+ Decade:  2020's Director(s):   Kari Skogland   and  Kate Herron For more ways to listen Jamie and Ryan catch up on two Marvel shows that made their way to Disney+, looking forward from the Infinity Saga, and maybe... sideways from the Infinity Saga? It's a far-ranging discussion of Marvel's efforts to bring their characters to living rooms everywhere, one week at a time. Maybe too much discussion for one podcast, but you get what you pay for. The Signal Watch PodCast · 156: "Falcon and Winter Soldier" & "Loki" (2021) - a Marvel Television Podcast w/ Jamie and Ryan Music: Louisiana Hero -  Henry Jackman, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier OST TVA -  Natalie Holt, Loki OST Marvel at Signal Watch: The Signal Watch PodCast · Avengers Chronological Countdown (w/ Jamie and Ryan)