February 2016: Reflections on the year thus far - Persevere in Positivity

2016 is off to a very interesting start. We've had quite a number of impactful deaths already: David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Umberto Eco, Harper Lee, Antonin Scalia, Dave Mirra and Angus Scrimm, to name a few.

While it's easy to get lost in the sadness, I'm simply grateful to be alive in a time when such remarkable people are alive. Every generation has its set of heroes and it's nice to keep in mind that, while our heroes may not last forever, new heroes are born every day.

We persevere. We celebrate. We live.

Every day is an opportunity for us to rise to the occasion. It may only take a moment.

That said, we don't need to be famous to make an impact in a person's life. Sometimes, the little interactions can have the greatest impact. Spread kindness and happiness, watch the world grow in a positive direction.

Top trilogy contender: Kung Fu Panda series

The Kung Fu Panda series is EASILY one of the greatest, well-rounded trilogies in cinema. They each provide a wonderful balance of great art direction, action, comedy, sentimentality, voice work, music, philosophy and, possibly most importantly, message/heart.

So rarely do I see movies that have clear messages and the KFP trilogy has a clear one: be you. Celebrate yourself and be supportive of each other. We're all different with our own backgrounds and circumstances that make us who we are and that's what makes us special.

Supposedly there are plans for an additional trilogy of Panda films, but I don't care. The first three movies are a wonderfully complete trilogy of heart, with so much focus on being yourself and relationships.

Sure, the villains could use more screen time/monologuing and John Powell is sorely missed in the third film, but they are a great, great, great set of movies.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND watching all of them. Check out KFP3 while it's in theaters.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns 2-part movie review

I rather enjoyed the Batman: The Dark Knight Returns two part animated adaptation. The soundtrack by Christopher Drake was particularly enjoyable, sounding reminiscent of the Tron: Legacy soundtrack, with hints of Batman Beyond. While watching Part 1, it made me think this is probably the closest we would get to a John Carpenter Batman movie, who could have done a very interesting and potentially awesome adaptation of TDK, or Batman in the 80s, in general.

I enjoyed Part 1 more than Part 2, as it had better themes and story (Batman coming back). Part 2 came across like random chapters. Granted, part of the problem is the source material, but it would have been nice if the story were streamlined a bit to focus on fewer things and given more of an overarching story. Currently, it's just Batman doing cool stuff and being badass (which is not in itself a bad thing). Would be nice if there were more focused themes like aging (such as Wrath of Khan), social commentary (such as They Live) or satire (such as Robocop). It does talk about society standing up for itself and Batman being a role model, but it's not the central focus.

Peter Weller did a decent job as Batman, but Michael Ironside may have been a better choice. Carrie Kelley's voice (Ariel Winter) and the Mutant Leader's voice (Gary Anthony Williams) were solid, although the rest of the voices were largely forgettable.

The animation was great, adapting Frank Miller and Klaus Jansen's work wonderfully, albeit it a way that's cleaner for animation.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns gets a solid RECOMMENDATION. Check it out if you have 2.5 hours and want a fun Batman 80s movie. It'll probably be better than Batman vs. Superman.