Out Tuesday is Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 2, the conclusion of the movie series that began with Part 1 last fall. Commissioner Gordon is being replaced by Ellen Yindel, who declares Batman’s actions illegal and demands his arrest. Meanwhile, Superman has been sent by the government to rein Bruce in, as Batman tries to stop the Joker from doing what he always does. The President (Jim Meskimen) sounds and looks like Reagan, bringing back memories of the time […]

The second half of the Batman: The Dark Knight Returns animated feature set has been given a release date of January 29, 2013. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2 is rated PG-13 and concludes the story based on Frank Miller’s classic graphic novel. It’s available as a Blu-ray Combo Pack (with DVD and UltraViolet, list price $24.98), a DVD ($19.98 list price), on demand, or as a digital download. This part of the film will feature Batman’s battles against […]

When it comes to the direct-to-video original animated films set in the DC Universe, we knew that there was a sequel coming to Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1, but Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has released news of additional titles planned for 2013. First, here’s the trailer for Dark Knight Returns Part 2, highlighting the Batman/Superman showdown: It’s due in early 2013 (where “early” means January/February). Mid-year comes Superman: Unbound, based on Superman: Brainiac by Geoff Johns, originally published […]

We’re introduced to bad-ass old Bruce Wayne as he’s driving a formula 1 racer down the city streets of Gotham. I was reminded of Paul Newman, the gorgeous silver fox actor famous for also racing cars, but I’m not sure any younger watchers will get the reference. However, since the race is referred to as the “Newman Elimination”, perhaps I’m not the only one. That led to me wondering who the intended audience was for this original animated movie. Those […]

The latest original DC animated movie is Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1, out yesterday. No review for you this time — due to my move and the resulting confusion over address changes, I didn’t get a copy — but here are some images. I figure we all know the story already, right, since it’s based on the industry changing Frank Miller graphic novel. (Which once upon a time was a business-changing miniseries that first carried the Prestige Format, […]

Superman vs. the Elite, a 74-minute original DC animated movie, opens with Manchester Black (Robin Atkin Downes) watching one of those immense banks of monitors so popular in comics. Since it was reminding him (and thus us, the viewers) about how depressing the world situation was — war, extreme political viewpoints, living in fear — I immediately became concerned that this was NOT the right movie for me to be watching in my currently delicate mental state. (I was laid […]

In Superman vs. the Elite (out June 12), Superman is played by George Newbern, voice of the character in the Justice League cartoon. He also played Superman in Superman/Shazam! The Return of Black Adam. Newbern has most recently been appearing on Scandal, but to me, he will always be the guy from Adventures in Babysitting. Warner Home Video provided the following question-and-answer interview with him. Q: Where do you start as an actor when trying to create a voice for […]