Retro Reviews are frequent looks back at films I've already seen to conclude whether or not they still hold up, taking into consideration both the time period and circumstances during which they were made and how they work in the modern day to offer a more in-depth exploration of the film itself than those found in my standard first-time reviews. Related Review: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Just a year after Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone hit theaters, Chamber of Secrets arrived, free of the burden of launching the film franchise. Sorcerer's Stone had a lot of ground to cover in introducing the Wizarding World to audiences, and thankfully it satisfied many book readers and appealed to many non-book readers to get the franchise started on footing that, while not entirely perfect, remained solid. In contrast to its predecessor, Chamber of Secrets is a much more confident film, one that immediately feels as comfortable with itself as the returning actors do slipping back into their characters. Harry's return to Hogwarts is just as welcoming for viewers as it is for the Boy Who Lived himself, and the film - just like the book - benefits from being able to hit the ground running now that so many core concepts are in place and characters are established. Whereas the first film had elements that were "scary," such as the very notion of Lord Voldemort's existence, the sense of danger was still very restrained, particularly when put up against some of the later films. Chamber is really the film that starts pushing the idea that there's more to fear in this world than Dark Wizards and that the existence of magic doesn't mean safety is a guarantee. It's not an overtly grim film by any means and (appropriately) doesn't deal in death yet, but it's a far more mature story than what came before, a natural next step along Harry's journey that starts to bridge the gap between the wide-eyed innocence of these younger years and the darker aspects of the ones that followed. Continuing along in my trip down memory lane with the films in advance of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, I invite you to come along with me again as I reopen the Chamber of Secrets and sort out whether what's contained within still holds up nearly 14 years later. Let's find out!
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Grade: A- Directed By: Bruce Timm & Eric Radomski Release Date: December 25, 1993 Starring: Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, Dana Delaney Over the years, no comic book character has quite had the media presence that Batman has had. From TV shows to film, both live-action and animated, the character - along with all his friends and foes, of course - has never been far from the public eye. In the past few years alone, we've seen Christian Bale finish off his run as the character only for Ben Affleck to pick up the mantle for the budding DC Extended Universe; gotten the staggeringly popular Arkham video games; received a season of the animated Beware the Batman; and witnessed the debut and continuing run of Gotham on Fox. All this is to say that Batman's popularity is undeniable, so much so that he has managed to endure and overcome a number of stumbling blocks - like 1997's Batman & Robin - only to find himself repeatedly embraced by audiences the world over. With so many different interpretations of the character past, present, and future to choose from, it's no surprise that the debate continues to rage among fans as to who their "favorite Batman" is and which movie or show has done the character and his world the most justice. One thing many seem to agree on, however, is that Batman: The Animated Series, which premiered in 1992, the same year as Tim Burton's Batman Returns, is a gold standard by which any and all adaptations since have been measured. Often considered one of the greatest animated series of all time thanks to its incredible level of maturity and decision to not shy away from the level of freak show darkness 1989's live-action Batman thrived in, Batman: TAS went on to have a long lifespan, kicking off a whole animated universe - collectively known as the DCAU - that spanned a number of series and spawned a handful of movies. The first and, perhaps, most important of the films it gave rise to was Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, which skipped a direct-to-video release and dropped quietly in theaters in 1993. Recently, I began going through the DCAU in its entirety, and though I was more than happy to revisit Batman: TAS, I was arguably more excited to finally see Mask of the Phantasm, a film which I've always been meaning to watch but never got around to, mainly because I wanted to watch it in its full context in continuity with the show. Retro Reviews are frequent looks back at films I've already seen to conclude whether or not they still hold up, taking into consideration both the time period and circumstances during which they were made and how they work in the modern day to offer a more in-depth exploration of the film itself than those found in my standard first-time reviews. It's hard to believe, but nearly 15 years have passed since the first Harry Potter film hit theaters in November of 2001. At the time, the anticipation for it was tremendous, with a staggering set of expectations set on its shoulders by fans the world over who'd spent the years since Harry's first adventure was published in 1997 falling in love with J. K. Rowling's incredibly accessible storytelling and endearing characters. It's a testament to the franchise's popularity that it has continued to endure. A decade after the first film released, fans said goodbye to the series by making the final film - the second half of Deathly Hallows - not just the highest grossing entry in the franchise but the highest grossing movie of the year. The stage production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - a canon sequel, of course - continues to draw in fans, as does the franchise's theme park presence at Universal Studios. Not to mention, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is on its way to theaters in just a matter of weeks, the inevitable success of which will blow open the doors to further cinematic expansion of the Wizarding World for years and years to come. All this is to say that Harry Potter and everything that comes with him is important on both a grand cultural scale and on an individual basis, and I'm a part of that. I began reading the series in 1999, the year Prisoner of Azkaban was published, and haven't stopped since; not a year has gone by where I haven't revisited the books, and I'll continue to look forward to whatever's to come, whether it be for the characters who I grew up alongside or for the Wizarding World at large. In 2001, I - like everyone else - was looking forward to seeing the series brought to life on the big screen, and spent the next decade being both thrilled by and disappointed with the various film adaptations. In honor of the original film's 15th anniversary and our upcoming return to the Wizarding World via Fantastic Beasts, I'll be taking a look back at each film in the series to examine how they've held up, and I invite you to come along with me as I do. Grade: B Directed By: Gareth Edwards Release Date: October 29, 2010 Starring: Scoot McNairy, Whitney Able Between the United States and Mexico, there sits the Infected Zone, a quarantined area inhabited by extraterrestrial life that hitched a ride on a NASA probe that had once crashed in the area. For those south of the quarantine's border, the threat of attack by these creatures, which have grown into towering, octopus-like beasts, is always looming, while those located north - in the U.S. - are seemingly protected by a large wall keeping the monsters out. Though soldiers from both countries work tirelessly to both keep the creatures contained and destroy them, life must go on for everyone else, including Andrew Kaulder, a photojournalist from the U.S. in Mexico seeking to document the lives and environment of those living south of the zone. But before he can really get started, he's tasked with finding his employer's daughter, Samantha, and getting her safely back to the U.S., a mission that becomes anything but easy as the two wind up with no choice but to put their lives on the line and travel directly through alien territory to make it back home. From its basic premise and general setup, I went into director Gareth Edwards' Monsters expecting one thing and getting something completely different. Monsters was Edwards' first feature film, a project that landed him 2014's big Godzilla gig and the upcoming Star Wars film Rogue One, and while I still haven't seen the former yet, I can't deny that much of my motivation to finally watch Monsters stemmed from what we've seen so far of his Star Wars effort. And because both Godzilla and Star Wars are both hugely popular science fiction properties designed for the masses, I can't lie that I had certain expectations about Monsters; that he had to have done something with it in a big, bold, action-focused way that made his selection to helm two big, bold, action-focused blockbusters make sense. As with (mostly) all films, I try not to let my personal expectations guide my ultimate enjoyment of what I actually experience. If a film veers off in a different direction than I anticipated, I'm all for it, so long as it remains good. With Monsters, I went in expecting the type of genre movie we've seen before, where the two unassuming leads are put through the paces, with action beat after action beat turning them into warriors in advance of one final showdown against the very creatures they've been harassed by throughout the runtime. Fortunately, the narrative and characters of Monsters never fall in line with that, resulting in a film that pleasantly surprised me even if it has and will continue to disappoint newcomers who can't let go of such expectations. |
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