DC
Super Villains: 100 Greatest Moments
(Hardcover/Chartwell Books)/Gotham:
The Fifth & Final Season
(Warner Blu-ray Set)/Shazam!
4K (4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
w/Blu-ray)/Titans: The
Complete First Season
(Warner Blu-ray Set/all 2019/DC Comics)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: B+ Picture: B+/B/B- Sound: B/A-/B-
Extras: C+/C+/C Book: A- Main Programs: B/C+/C
Now
for some new high profile superhero releases from the DC Comics
world....
We
start with another outstanding hardcover
book release from Chartwell Press. This time, we get DC
Super Villains: 100 Greatest Moments.
If you're a big fan of DC comics like me, then you probably have a
big collection of comics, movies, toys, and other memorabilia. Well
this book series from Chartwell Books, 100
Greatest Moments,
continues with a focus on DC's Supervillians that include both the
well known and the rarely known as well as highlights some of the
best stories and art to pick up if you're a fan.
For
every iconic DC superhero such as Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman,
Aquaman, The Flash and others there is an equally powerful super
villain. While Batman's are the most well known due to the video
games and movies, some other characters are a bit out of spotlight,
which makes this film a must grab.
Some
of the Super Villains highlighted here include Black Adam, The
Suicide Squad, Amazo, Ares, Darkseid, Solomon Grundy, Killer Croc,
Deathstroke, Doomsday, Bizarro Superman, and of course the Batman
classics just as The Joker, Penguin, Two Face, Scarecrow, Hush, and
Catwoman. Even some of the newest characters, such as The Court of
Owls and The Batman Who Laughs are included. The artwork and
creativity of DC is certainly captured here and a is a great guide
for newcomers and seasoned readers alike.
The
author, Robert Greenberger, is a trusted authority to go from too as
he was a writer and editor and worked for DC comics as an assistant
editor. He's also clearly a fan and it shows here in this detailed
collection.
Panels
from the comics are included in most of the highlights as well as
highly artistic covers.
I
definitely suggest this DC comics reference book!
We
covered DC
Comics Super Heroines: 100 Greatest Moments
a few months back. Be sure to check out the link here:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/15385/After+Darkness+(2018/Lionsgate+DVD)/Bad+Time
and
the DC
Justice League: 100 Greatest Moments
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/15253/Altered+Perception+(2018/Cinedigm+DVD)/Horror
After
five seasons, Gotham
(2019) ends with a bang and is collected here in 1080p high
definition commercial free for the first time. There's no doubt that
this series has gotten better since its first season, even if it
isn't very faithful to the comics. Following a young Jim Gordon (Ben
McKenzie) and a young Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz), the series explores
the dark underworld of Gotham City as it breeds new vigilantes and
villains amidst its sea of crime and corruption.
In
this season, many young versions of classic Batman villains are
featured including Joker, Penguin, The Riddler, Bane, Two-Face, Hugo
Strange, Catwoman, and many others. This being the series' end it's
also a beginning for Batman and for Jim Gordon's trademark mustache,
which both make an appearance in the finale.
The
series also stars Camren Bicondova (Catwoman), Robin Taylor
(Penguin), Cory Michael Smith (Riddler), Erin Richards, Sean Pertwee
(Alfred), Jada Pinkett-Smith, and Donal Logue.
Episodes
in this season are as follows and span two Blu-ray discs:
Year
Zero
Trespassers
Penguin,
Our Hero
Ruin
Pena
Dura
13
Stitches
Ace
Chemicals
Nothing's
Shocking
The
Trial of Jim Gordon
I
Am Bane
They
Did What?
The
Beginning...
Special
Features include:
Digital
Copy
Gotham:
A New Mythology
Gotham's
Last Stand
Villains:
Modes of Persuasion
Gotham
S5: Best Moments at NY Come-on
2018 Featurette
Gotham
matured over its semi-brief five season run, and will certainly be
remembered as a well received Batman TV adaptation. I especially
like the series finale episode, The Beginning..., as it shows mainly
characters grow into their more trademark looks. Too bad the show is
stopping just when its finally growing into itself. Still, I
recommend picking up this release if you're a Bat fan.
On
the opposite end of things is David E. Sandberg's Shazam!
(2019), a comical new take on the landmark superhero that was once
named Captain Marvel (more on that in a minute) back in the 1940s as
created for the now-defunct Fawcett Comics. Now simply known by the
title of this film, Zachary Levi is cast as the resulting adult when
Billy Batson (Asher Angel) says the title name given to him by a
wizard (Djimon Hounsou) when he least expects it. Recently placed in
a new foster home, he befriends a big superhero mega-fan (Jack Dylan
Grazer) not knowing he might be joining their ranks.
Batson
gains powers he knows just about nothing, but one Dr. Sivana (Mark
Strong) pretty much knows it all about what they are and can do and
will stop at nothing to get them. The script is all over the place,
wanting to be a comedy, then expects us to get serious and/or
sentimental on the turn of a dime and go with whatever it does, but
this gets obnoxious very quickly as the script looks more like it is
following legal directives on how to redo the history of the original
comic books while eliminating the word 'marvel' completely.
Unfortunately,
it is very sloppy and not very well thought out, so the whole thing
keeps tripping over itself with DC Comics ad placements throughout
(they're missing Big
Bang Theory
already), setting up all kinds of ideas without any real
follow-through and if it were not for the decent cast, this would be
a hideous disaster. It is also bad enough to be the kind of
superhero film for those who hate the genre and/or have no respect
for it or its fans, so we get cliches of what if a young person
suddenly had extraordinary powers that Spider-Man alone has already
covered many times.
Quebec
substitutes for Philadelphia for whatever reason, but we never do get
enough of the city, people's lives in jeopardy are treated
surprisingly as trivial (and 'its only a movie' is not excuse, but
then its the general sense of slacking that will likely catch up with
any sequels, with at least one planned that already sounds
problematic. Any attempts to emulate Tom Hanks in Big
did not work either.
That
the regular DC feature film is already in some disarray (good thing
Wonder
Woman
and Aquaman
worked so well) also adds to the mixed nature of this film at this
time, but even if it was all in peak form, Shazam
is mixed up and does not seem to care, as long as the dumbest joke
makes it into the script and we are supposed to laugh. Too bad few
of them are honest laughs, but then this film has an honesty issue
all around.
Extras
(on the regular Blu-ray) include Shazam Exclusive Motion Comic, The
Magical World of Shazam, Super Fun Zac, Carnival Scene Study, Shakily
Values, Shazamily Values, Who is Shazam? (could have been longer),
Deleted Scenes (parts of which should have stayed in the film) and a
Gag Reel, plus Digital Copy is included.
For
more on the 'Captain Marvel' backstory, try this link...
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/15475/Captain+Marvel+(2019/Marvel/Disney+4K+Ultra
Finally
we have Titans:
The Complete First Season
(2019) making it the live action debut of the Teen
Titans
comic book series, albeit later characters in a humorless and
visually so dark show, that the HD cannot even completely meet the
darkness the makers are trying to offer, made worse by the Robin
angle looking like no more than a color-drained version of the two
Schumacher/Batman films (reviewed on 4K disc elsewhere on this site)
so Raven, Beast Boy and Starfire join him to form this iteration of
the set-up. Too bad it is as boring as it is unnecessarily dark.
The
animated Teen
Titans Go!
is a very comical show for very young viewers and I can see the need
for trying to do the absolute opposite, but I think it backfires a
good bit and bringing in other characters in some episodes is not a
bad idea, but I just did not buy the show in general and only diehard
fans of the book, genre or characters will likely like it.
Extras
include Digital Copy, a paper print episode guide and 13 small
featurettes about the show.
As
for playback performance, the 2160p HEVC/H.265, 2.35 X 1 Dolby
Vision/HDR (10+; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition
image on Shazam!
is the champ with its superior use of color, decent CGI (save the
overuse of the seven sin monsters) and some good location shooting.
I would only have complaints about minute flaws and you can see how
much better it is than the still-decent Blu-ray's 1080p 2.35 X 1
digital High Definition image. The sound on both editions is the
same Dolby
Atmos 11.1 (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 on older systems) that is the really big
surprise here with superior recording and excellent sound design,
soundfield and editing. If only the rest of the film were this good.
Gotham
is presented in 1080p high definition with a 1.78:1 widescreen aspect
ratio and a nice sounding mix in DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 (48kHz,
16-bit) lossless sound. Since the show originally appeared on Fox,
this is a far better presentation with no watermarks or commercial
breaks every five minutes. The show is nicely shot with heavy blacks
and expensive set pieces that call back to the trademark gothic
imagery seen in the films.
The
1080p 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Titans
is the overly dark presentation throughout all episodes that does not
always work as explained in the body of the review, sometimes to the
point that it hurts definition, detail and has some black crush in
and out of the shadow detail. Good for the viewers this works for,
but I think many will not be impressed and the issues extend to the
lack of consistent soundfield and recording quality on the DTS-HD
MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix on each show that has patches of
quiet, but sometimes it is not intentional. Oh well.
-
Nicholas Sheffo (Shazam,
Titans)
and James
Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
