Brian Baer took a dive into the deep waters of Fan Films for this article. With the advent of digital editing, there are now thousands of fan-made movies for seemingly any franchise or character all of varying quality. Brian looks at one of his favorites here. Hopefully you’ll give it a watch as well. Enjoy!
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Posts Tagged ‘Superman’
Shamelessly She-Hulk
Posted: August 17, 2018 in Baer, Fan FilmTags: Batman, Deadpool, Hulk, Marvel, She-Hulk, Spider-Man, Superman
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Absolute Justice (2010 TV Special)
Posted: March 29, 2018 in TVTags: Arrow, DC, Doctor Fate, Flash, Green Arrow, Hawkman, Justice League, Justice Society, Sandman, Smallville, Star-Spangled Kid, Starman, Superman
Back in 2001, the thought of comic book characters on TV screens was a largely foreign concept. There was little to suggest that comic heroes could find any success on network television. When Smallville premiered in the fall of that year, it played safe and stuck to conventions of teen dramas at the time. While focusing on a young Clark Kent, pre-Superman, its first few seasons did little to escape a “threat of the week” formula that allowed for little in the way of plot-growth. However, the series eventually did mature over its 10 year run. While many view the show from the position of the doldrums of its first few seasons, that is to intentionally ignore the strides that the series took in quality and characterization in its later years. That’s no better encapsulated than in the 2-part special during the 9th season, “Absolute Justice”.
Make Superman Great Again!
Posted: January 15, 2018 in Baer, Film, UncategorizedTags: Aquaman, Baer, Batman, DC, Justice League, Man of Steel, Superman, Wonder Woman
Author Brian C. Baer clearly had some complicated feelings to work through with regard to the recent release and general quality of Justice League. As such, he has been working on this analysis of the film as a reflection of the times that it was created in. While initially a bit unwieldy, Brian has pared down his thoughts into a length that’s much more manageable*. Enjoy his look at the unintentional timeliness of this film…
Extremist Movie Debate: Justice League
Posted: November 26, 2017 in UncategorizedTags: Batman, DC, Justice League, Superman, Wonder Woman
My good friend Ethan, of Extremist Movie Debate, asked me to fill in for his regular movie-sparring partner Joe last week. We went head-to-head over the recent release of Justice League. If you’re unfamiliar with the format of their series, they flip a coin to decide which stance that they have to take on their chosen movie (love or hate) and then must argue their point through a series of questions and discussions. I’ll let the video show where I came down. Regardless, this was an incredibly difficult film to to get passionate about. There are plenty of movies and shows that I’ve loved or hated and enjoyed fiercely debating but Justice League is so incredibly, inoffensively average that it took every ounce of my amazing acting talent to muster even the slight enthusiasm I have here. (more…)
PILOT LITE: Powerless (2017 TV Series)
Posted: May 10, 2017 in Pilot LiteTags: Batman, Constantine, DC, Superman
It seems like network television has a fair amount of difficulty adapting comic books to television at the moment. Sure, there are notable exceptions (Fox, somehow, has two bona fide hits with Gotham and Lucifer) but by and large, if you want a comic adapted successfully, you have to look to The CW. Just a few months ago, Black Lightning was moved to The CW before production even started! NBC already had one failed adaptation under its belt (pour one out for Constantine, mates) when it went to series with Powerless, a workplace comedy set in the DC Universe.
2016 CBM Year in Review
Posted: February 22, 2017 in Year in ReviewTags: Baer, Batman, Captain America, DC, Golden Evans, Luke Cage, Marvel, Preacher, Suicide Squad, Supergirl, Superman, Walking Dead, X-Men
Look at that, it’s nearly March 2017 and we’re just now getting around to the “best/worst of” for 2016! What happened there? Too much to list, really. I apologize for the delay and take a majority of the responsibility for it. One person who is certainly not to blame, however, is Brian C. Baer. He is a writing machine. So, without wasting another second, here is Comic Book Media’s annual look at the best and worst of comic based movies and television by Colby and Brian, The Moderate Fanboys. Enjoy!
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COMMENTARYCAST: Superman Returns
Posted: June 30, 2016 in CommentaryCastTags: CommentaryCast, DC, Man of Steel, Superman
This week, we celebrate the 10th anniversary of Superman Returns. In many ways, this movie is the complete antithesis of the current slate of DC’s films. It’s a quiet, somber story about a hero trying to find the MAN amid the SUPER. Director Bryan Singer famously stepped away from the X-Men franchise in order to direct it and his love for the character shines through. At the time of it’s release, it was a critical darling but a point of contention among fans. Some saw it as a suitable love-letter to the Richard Donner age of Superman past while many viewed it more as a boring slog without enough punching. Well, now we have a meat-headed, murderous Superman, so be careful what you wish for. While underperforming at the box office, a lot of that had to do with expectations derived from past, scrapped attempts at this iteration of Superman which cost the studio up to $200 Million. Both Brian and I (as well as Quentin Tarantino) agree that is probably the best take on Superman that modern audiences are likely going to see and a well-crafted, poignant, heart-felt film. Now enjoy listening to us curse through watching it.
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**This piece was originally published on the website Action A Go Go, but it originated as something on here, so I reposted. Enjoy!**
I try to steer clear of movies or shows that are considered “controversial” in fan circles. I mean, we can all (mostly) agree that Jonah Hex is pretty crappy and X2 is pretty sweet, right? That being said, there’s one movie that I continually see as a point of contention in the comic movie fan community. The film Man of Steel has become somewhat of a lightning rod for fandom’s worst qualities. I see people attack it for every reason under the yellow sun. From the color of Superman’s costume, to the fact that it doesn’t use the John Williams score from the Donner series. And I also see people defend everything about it, even things that wouldn’t be acceptable in other movies, like shoddy CGI or obvious plot-holes.
Pictured: SUBTLETY!!!!!!!!
PILOT LITE: Supergirl (2015 television pilot)
Posted: November 4, 2015 in Pilot LiteTags: DC, Pilot Lite, Supergirl, Superman
Comic-based television shows have become big business lately. As mentioned previously, more shows are pulling from comics, and this trend doesn’t seem to be slowing. With that in mind, it’s easy to dismiss any number of shows premiering this year as the also-ran cash-grab to the first wave of this new phenomenon. And while there may be some cynical viewers who do just that, I think, if anything, this second wave of series would be more likely to out-perform what came before simply because they have the gift of hindsight. And if there’s ever been a premiere that has benefitted from hindsight, it’s Supergirl.
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