Batman: The Animated Series- P.O.V.

 "I guess Batman must have gotten a second wind after Detective Bullock dragged him out, because he was in rare form!"

I'm increasingly enjoying not only the subtle '40s style of this series but the fact that the titles being shown on screen is clearly intended to evoke movie serialds. There's a lot of clever stylistic touches thatI'm increasingly coming to appreciate, and the animation continueas to be superb.

But... Batman: The Animated Series does Rashomon. In twenty minutes. And it's superb.

I love how Bullock's low level dodginess is contrasted with the earnestness of Montoya and her fellow rookie but, more than that, with the depiction of Batman as he appears to these overawed young cops. At first I wondered whether Batman would get to speak at all but, of course, he does, as he and Montoyatake down the baddies together.

I simply love the mood of this episode- very noir. This is, let's admit it, not a good day- the next American president is going to be a terrifying fascist, not good for Ukraine and by extension Europe, for the climate emergency, for the very notion of the "West", for decency or, indeed, the freedom of the orange fascist's own country. But good art has its consolations and so, in its small way, is the case here.

Agatha All Along: Death's Hand in Mine

 "We can be culturally offended later..."

Yeah, I know. They're all dressed like famous witches from popular culture- Wicked Witch of the West, Maleficent, etc... but they do have the tendency to be the Disney versions, don't they? Gosh, I wonder why that is.

Grumbling about the corporate cultural appropriation of folk culture aside, this episode is a thing of genius from the beginning to that wonderful and highly appropriate Jim Croce song at the end, as Lilia's entire life goes full circle. The little apparent lapses from Lilia suddenly make sense as we follow the conversation from her own, very timey-wimey perspective. It's so sad: she only gets to find fulfilment and purpose just before she dies. But wow, what a triumph, what a character and what a tour de force from Patti LuPone.

Also... Rio is literally Death? As in Thanos' lover Death? And... she's Agatha's ex? Wow. We get a lot of minor answers here- Lilia cast the sigil- but that's quite the reveal. What's her angle, and is she going to be showing up in all sorts of other contexts?

Overall, though, this is near perfection. The superb sets. the gleefully cliched trial. And the funny, tragic and incredibly clever script. Wow.

Raw Deal (1986)

 "You should not drink and bake."

…Or, indeed, shoot and drive. Please, any drivers reading this: keep your eyes on the road (or quarry). Engaging in a gun battle with the goons of an entire Mafia family can impair your driving concentration, even if, like Mark here, you also come armed with prodigious quantities of plot armour.

I must be close as dammit to having blogged all the '80s Arnie action movies, so here's another one. And it's good, it's fun, like all movies of this ilk. It isn't the greatest action film of all time, but it doesn't have to be. The action set pieces are great. Sam Wanamaker is also great as a Chicago Mafia boss, and Robert Davi is exceptionally good, as ever, as Max. But Arnie, in his first real role with lots of proper dialogue, just oozes so much charisma.

The film really showcases Chicago as a city, too, as all the suspense and action takes place. Admittedly the final scene is very Saturday morning cartoon, and the film nicely reminds us that two bottles of champagne in one sitting is perhaps not great for one's sex life. But then, of course, the plot mustn't allow Mark to sleep with the rather lovely Monique, lest he commit adultery with his rather unpleasant, cake throwing wife.

Still, the flaws of this film are all partr of the fun. Highly recommended if you just want to switch off your brain and watch some '80s action with car chases and shooting galore.