"We're not critics. We're professional fan-girls." --- This blog is dedicated to movies and the entertainment industry. We use random selection to bring into light the best and worst of streaming films and entertainment news.
Producer: Ok-kyung
Bang, Tae-sung Jeong, Teddy Jung, Seong-jin Kim
Director: Sung-su
Kim
Writer: Yeong-jong
Lee, Sung-soo Kim, Jae-ho Jung
Actors: Hyuk
Jang, Soo Ae, Andrew William Brand, In-Pyo Cha, Hee-joon Lee, Sang-Yeob Lee,
Jung-min Park, Min-ah Park, Boris Stout, Kahlid Elijah Tapia, Hae-jin Yoo
Blurb from Netflix:
When people in a South Korean suburb start dropping like flies from a deadly
airborne respiratory disease, the area is quarantined and chaos reigns.
Selina’s Point of View:
I’m going on vacation this weekend, which means I need to
rush to get all my work done before I leave. As a result when we rolled a
foreign film, I was not happy. I had NO desire to sit through two hours of
subtitles. Especially subtitles for a Korean movie. The Korean language flows
so fast that sometimes it’s difficult to read along and it requires several
rewinds to get the whole story. Altogether, for a two hour foreign film from
Korea, I’d set aside six hours to ensure I have time to watch it, re-watch it, research
it, and write the blog.
So yeah, I groaned.
Turns out, I didn’t need six hours. The story was so in
depth and the characters were so interesting that I zoned into the movie at a
level I don’t think I’ve ever reached with a foreign film. I don’t think I
missed any of the subtitles, but if I did it didn’t matter because the actors
were so on point that I almost didn’t need subtitles at all.
Even the child actress, Min-ah Park (Mrs. Cop, Pots of Gold, Feast of the Gods), rocked her part.
The film reminded me of Outbreak
(1995), but it was a lot more in depth and the brutality scale was turned WAY
up. I found it completely terrifying. At some times, my mouth was hanging open;
at other times there were tears in my eyes. This movie exceeded expectations so
much that I’d have to put it among my favorites.
Cat’s Point of View:
This movie was not what I expected, at all.
With the state of the world these days, epidemic and
pandemic movies have grown in popularity. This film does follow some of the
expected themes, as such; but also takes it down to a more personal and
emotional level.
While the recipe does make the movie somewhat predictable, I
still found myself having a rather visceral reaction. I had periods of ugly
crying. I’m not even going to try to deny it.
This was rather impressive for a subtitled movie. Sometimes
reading the dialogue can be distracting from what is going on with the scenes.
That wasn’t the case for me. The cast was phenomenal and drew me right in so
that I hardly noticed that I was reading what they were saying rather than
understanding their words.
I’ve also got to say that the little girl in this movie was
just about the most adorable munchkin ever. I believe that young lady will have
quite the career ahead of her, if she continues to pursue acting as she gets
older.
The suspenseful sense of dread was on point here. I’d
definitely recommend this movie to those that enjoy the genre.
Movie Name/Year: Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013)
Tagline: Fight
the future.
Genre: Action
& Adventure
Length: 81
minutes
Rating: PG-13
Production Companies:
DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Animation, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Group, DC Comics
Producer: Alan
Burnett, Toshiyuki Hiruma, Geoff Johns, Sam Register, James Tucker
Director: Jay
Oliva
Writer: James
Krieg, Bob Kane, Bill Finger, Geoff Johns, Jack Kirby, William M. Marston, Joe
Shuster, Jerry Siegel, Marv Wolfman, George Perez, Jim Lee, Andy Kubert, Brandon
Choi, Paul Norris
Actors: Justin
Chambers, C. Thomas Howell, Michael B. Jordan, Kevin McKidd, Dee Bradley Baker,
Steve Blum, Kevin Conroy, Sam Daly, Dana Delany, Grey Griffin, Cary Elwes,
Nathan Fillion, Jennifer Hale, Danny Huston, Danny Jacobs, Peter Jessop, Lex
Lang, Vanessa Marshall, Candi Milo, Ron Perlman, Kevin Michael Richardson,
Andrea Romano, James Patrick Stuart, Hynden Walch
Blurb from Netflix:
When a trip to the past creates ripples in time and an altered present for the
Flash – who no longer has any powers – he turns to Batman for help.
Selina’s Point of View:
It’s a good week for comic book movies. I saw Captain America: Civil War (2016) for its
first showing on the 5th and now I got to see a kick-ass DC-based animation
film.
(For the record, if you go to see Captain America: Civil War, keep in mind there are two cut scenes
after the movie. One in the middle of the credits and one at the very end.)
There is SO much I loved about this film. Marvel may
dominate the live-action movie scene, but no one does animated superheroes
better than DC. (For the record, I think they’re on even footing with TV shows.
Arrow [2012-] is phenomenal, but so
is Daredevil [2015-].)
First of all, the Flash was my favorite superhero growing
up. I used to watch the TV show starring John Wesley Shipp (One Life to Live, Golden Shoes, Separation
Anxiety) with my mom (he now appears in the new Flash series as Barry Allen’s
dad, fyi). I still love that show, however short-lived it was. My husband got
me the series for Christmas.
Naturally, there’s a hint of nostalgia in this film for me
because of my love of the Flash as a character. (I even prefer The Flash [2014-] to Arrow, though I’m a little behind on
both at the moment.)
I’m also a huge fan of alternate universe storylines. I love
thinking about what could have been. Comics and movies that explore those
questions earn my heart.
What if Superman had landed in Russia? (Superman: Red Son)
What if Magneto ruled the mutants and the mutants ruled
everything? (House of M)
What if Apocalypse was the good guy and Professor X was the
villain? (Mutant X)
What if everyone was a zombie? (Marvel Zombies)
There’s just something super interesting to me about the ‘what
ifs’.
This particular ‘what if’ might seem a bit on the familiar
side to viewers of the Flash’s current TV show. This film goes more in depth on
the subject, but there’s still a certain familiarity. I can’t divulge which ‘what
if’ this film explores without delivering spoilers, though, so… watch it.
Kick-ass storyline and amazing animation aside, there’s also
the cast to consider.
The entire cast was great. There wasn’t a single voice in
the bunch that I didn’t like for the character that was portrayed. However, there
are three people in this movie that I consider actors I would follow anywhere.
Those actors are the kind I could watch eating a sandwich for an hour and
probably enjoy it.
The actors I’m talking about are Cary Elwes (The Art of More, She Loves Me Not, The Story
of Luke), Ron Perlman (Hand of God,
Poker Night, Sons of Anarchy), and, the super-awesome, Nathan Fillion (Castle, Con Man, Slither).
I loved everything about Justice
League: The Flashpoint Paradox. I have nothing bad to say.
Cat’s Point of View:
I have a confession: I haven’t watched many animated
superhero movies or series in a while. I’ve lost no love for the material, I
can assure you. I grew up on Marvel and DC Comics. Though, my readership has
leaned more towards the former than the latter. I’m still not too clueless when
it comes to DC properties; but I will admit that I’m not up on the ‘New 52’
story arcs, and am fairly hopeless at finding the subtle Easter Eggs.
That being said, I really enjoyed this movie. It took me a
minute to get around hearing Justin Chambers (Lakeview Terrace, Broken City, Grey's Anatomy) as the Flash, but he
did a great job with it. I’m just used to hearing Grant Gustin’s (A Mother's Nightmare, Glee, Affluenza)
voice behind the Scarlet Speedster. He is currently starring in the role on
CW’s The Flash (2014-) series. Given
the release timeframe of this movie, though; it’s understandable that he wasn’t
included. Gustin didn’t start playing Barry until a cameo on Arrow (2012-) in its 2013 season.
I was relieved to find that Batman was voiced as I expected.
Kevin Conroy (Jay and Silent Bob's Super
Groovy Cartoon Movie, Russian Yeti: The Killer Lives, Yoga Hosers) has been
my cartoon Batman since I became a fan of Batman:
The Animated Series (1992-1995) while I was in high school. I just can’t
envision hearing a different voice for the character. It would be equivalent of
someone other than Peter Cullen (My
Friends Tigger and Pooh, IGPX: Immortal Grand Prix, Transformers) voicing
Optimus Prime.
Hats off to Cary Elwes (The
Princess Bride, A Mouse Tale, Lost & Found) for his Aquaman
performance. I didn’t realize that was him at the character’s voiceover helm
until the credits rolled.
There were exactly two things that made me actually squee
for a moment with this movie. The first was that Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog,
Super) voiced Hal Jordan, The Green Lantern. His classy sass was perfect
for that role.
My second squee came in the form of Grifter’s appearance,
voiced by Danny Jacobs (Phineas and Ferb,
The Penguins of Madagascar, Miles from Tomorrowland). That character
originated in Wildstorm Comics in the 1990s. The Wildstorm properties were sold
to DC back during that timeframe. With this character’s appearance here – this
is officially the first Justice League movie to feature a Wildstorm character.
Grifter provides some snarky levity in the movie; and with the heavy tone of
the story, it’s well timed and much needed.
Before I ramble on too far within my own personal geekdom; I
realize that I should probably get back to the movie, itself. Considering I
haven’t read any of the comics that this story pulls from, I’m afraid I can’t
advise die-hard fans whether or not this follows the expected plot. I can,
however, relate that I enjoyed the complexity of the story and all the little
twists that were worked into it.
This was not a cartoon movie that would be ideal for
children – in fact, I would hold firm to the PG-13. This recommendation is
largely due to the violence and bloodshed factor. My daughter likes to watch
some of the superhero cartoons on TV but this was a bit too much for her, and
she excused herself early in. Things are often dark, thematically, in Gotham
City – but this was definitely heavier than usual.
I would probably watch this again – especially if I have a
bit more information under my belt ahead of time.
