Movie Reviews: The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey

The Review

I have to confess that I've been putting this review off for a bit. This was partially because I needed some time to purge all other opinions about this movie from my head. A lot has been said about this movie, ranging from good, to bad, and to reviews just complaining about the 48 fps.

For those that have not yet seen it, there are exactly two ways you will enjoy this. Firstly, if you haven't read the book, and go into the movie expecting it to be long, you will probably enjoy it. Secondly, if you have read the book, as well as all the appendices then you will enjoy this movie. If you've just read The Hobbit then there is a lot added to this movie that will distract you.

Movie Reviews: The Dark Knight Rises

The Story

After eight years of retiring from the world, Bruce Wayne is once again called upon to fight evil. With an underground invasion by Bane, a former member of the League of Shadows, Batman will be forced to face his greatest challenge, and his greatest failure yet. With the life and soul of Gotham on the line, it's time for the Dark Knight to rise.

The Review
This is it folks, the big one, the one we've been waiting all year for. Now that The Dark Knight Rises has hit theaters, what's the verdict?
Well, and this is hard for me to say, it's not as good as The Dark Knight. Now to be fair, I think everyone expected there was no way Rises could live up to its older brother. But I imagine that everyone, myself included, held the hope that Nolan would surprise us as much as he did with TDK. Which, when you get down to it, was probably unfair, and will color the opinion I, and others, have of TDKR.

Movie Reviews: The Amazing Spider-Man

The Story
After their house is broken into, Peter's parents take him to live with his aunt and uncle, before disappearing. Years later, Peter is bitten while investigating his father's partner, Dr Connors. He gains spider powers, and starts working on his father's formula with Dr Connors. The compound leads to Connors turning into a lizard monster, and it's up to Peter to stop him.

Movie Reviews: Abraham Lincoln - Vampire Hunter

This movie was glorious.

Don't get me wrong, it was piss stupid, but it was the kind of stupid that entertained completely. It's the kind of movie that's perfect to watch in a theater with a crowd of people who are equally aware of how stupid the entire thing is. It's the perfect popcorn movie if you turn your brain off before going into.

But this is a review, so let's turn those brains right back on and point out exactly why Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is such a terrible, terrible movie.

First off, the premise. Abraham Lincoln. Vampire Hunter. Do I really need to say more? Honestly though, this was the entire reason I wanted to see this movie. I knew it was going to be stupid, and I was not disappointed.

Movie Reviews: Brave

Me and Pixar have been playing a game for the past few years. I go to the theater expecting every new movie of theirs to be the first bad one, and they continue to prove me wrong. Ignoring Cars 2, which I did not go see because it would have felt like cheating on my part, is this the one where I finally win?

I wouldn't really call it winning, because I love Pixar and don't want to see them begin their descent from the lofty throne of excellence they have inhabited for most of my life. Fortunately Brave is not the movie that begins the downfall of Pixar. At least I don't think it is.

Brave is the story of Merida and her relationship with her mother. After some mystical doohickery they go off on an epic quest to right wrongs and keep their kingdom from falling into ruin. It's very different from Pixar's prior endeavors.

Movie Reviews: Rise of the Planet of the Apes

I came to this one a little late, since I usually try to wait for movies to come out in the dollar theater. So my opinion on this one isn't the timeliest, but I'll try to make it valid.

This movie suffered from schizophrenia. For the first two acts it was a character driven drama about one man's drive to not lose those close to him, and one ape's struggle to find where he belongs.

I can't believe I just wrote that sentence.

For the third act RotPotA devolves into Hollywood stereotype. Often movies like to play it safe for the third act by making it all action, all the time. Sometimes this works, but as anything else, it becomes tiresome when overdone. Most of the time it comes across as lazy.

Movie Reviews: Super 8

My cousin described this movie as being a callback to classic Spielberg movies. I have to admit that he's right. There is a lot going on in this movie that harkens back to a more nostalgic time in movies.

Movie Reviews: Kung Fu Panda 2

I've seen my fair share of good sequels, it's gotten to the point where it's kind of unnerving.  One of my core beliefs in life is that sequels always suck.  Well if that's the case how do I explain the Toy Story franchise?  Or how about Kung Fu Panda 2.

Movie Reviews: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Parts 1 + 2

It occurred to me that I never did review the first half of the last Harry Potter movie.  I think that movie came out after I'd decided not to do any more movie reviews.  But now that I've decided to start writing those again (mostly as a ploy to prove that my interests span beyond just anime and manga), I might as well make up for my oversight last year.  And since the two movies are actually parts of a single movie, and not individual movies in their own rights, I find it appropriate to review them at once.

Movie Reviews: Pirates of the Carribbean 4 - On Stranger Tides

Long after most thought, and wished, the franchise was dead, Jack Sparrow returns for yet another shot at big screen success.  But does he find it, or is success for the Pirates of the Caribbean series as elusive as the fabled fountain of youth?

Movie Reviews: Thor

I'd actually given up writing reviews for movies, since I really don't go to see that many in the theater.  But I made that decision back during the fall of last year, when nothing came out, so I figure I could try my hand at doing some more reviews now that the Summer blockbuster season is starting, which is when I go to see movies the most.  It also doesn't help that I have my reviews scheduled several weeks in advance, and I don't like posting more than one review per day.  And since I can't really plan exactly when I'll be going to the movies (more like I don't plan, I suppose I totally could plan when to go) I don't like writing these because they break my schedule.  But since I already have a double Toriko anime review planned for next week, I might as well reschedule my Blue Exorcist review to make it a double review on Monday, when I would normally review Beelzebub.

Movie Reviews: Toy Story 3

Andy is leaving for college, when all his toys are accidentally donated to Sunnyside Preschool instead of being put in the attic. Woody wants to return to Andy, but the rest of the Toys stay in Sunnyside, which by all means is a paradise for them. But things aren't as they seem, and soon Woody has to return to save his friends and make it back before Andy leaves for College.


Hard to believe that it's been fifteen years since Toy Story first came out. I haven't seen it in a few years, but I remember the CGI being good back then even by today's standards. Granted, I'd have to check it again and compare it to recent Pixar releases to be certain. Either way, back then Toy Story was a groundbreaking achievement, and now Toy Story 3 stands strong as going beyond child movie into something enjoyable for all.


First off, yes it is as good as people say it is. It follows the same spirit as the previous Toy Story movies, and develops on the themes presented in them. You will cry at the end. A lot. The climax is tense, and actually has you thinking that things won't go according to plan. But when they do go according to plan, it feels satisfying rather than a copout.


The movie follows the basic three act structure to a T. Even a novice like me was able to pick up on the specific plot points and general flow of the plot. That being said, just because it was so noticeable didn't detract from the movie. Instead I enjoyed it even more because I was able to see how well they used the three act structure. But that's just me.

For everyone else the plot structure may feel familiar, but not intrusive. You won't sit there thinking this movie is the same as every other movie (and frankly, from a basic plot element, most of them are) because Toy Story 3 has taken these characters we love, and adopted its tone slightly to suit Toy Story's original, now young adult, audience.

There is a depressing tone overall, but in the end it's not about how everything we love will come to an end. Instead it's about change. How change is unavoidable, and there's nothing we can do to stop it. And maybe that's not a bad thing. Toy Story 3 suggests a way to come to terms with this. While everything changes, and nothing will always be the same, not all changes are for the worse. Perhaps they are heartbreaking because we no longer have what we once had and loved. But in the end the changes are just a part of life. Toy Story 3 is about acceptance. Being able to accept the change, and finding happiness despite that change and because of the change.


Toy Story 3 was not only the obvious ending for the Toy Story franchise, it was an ending that gave us the answer to fear of change that has colored the franchise from the very first movie. If you're over twenty you will love this movie, and if you're under twenty you will love this movie. It really is a movie for all ages.

For those of us that are over twenty and were the kids who were the target audience for the first movie. For the parents that saw the movie with their kids when it first came out and loved it. For the teenagers that saw the movie later when their older siblings or parents made them watch it, or when they watched the first movie right before the second movie came out. And for those kids that are the same age we were when we first met Woody, Buzz and the rest all those years ago.

This movie is for all of us, for the child still living in us, whether on the surface or down in the deepest part of our hearts. There may be more "sophisticated" or "adult" movies out there that some would consider more worthy of acclaim, or deeper pieces of art. I say that there are no movies worthier to be considered art than the Toy Story franchise. Like all great pieces of art, they don't hit us over the head with symbolism or philosophy. Instead they choose a simple theme, and tie it in throughout all three movies, where it lies, ready to be recognized, but not intruding on the story in any way. For putting deeper thought into their movies, I salute you Pixar.

Movie Reviews: Inception

In fiction there is the concept of a learning curve. The learning curve is how much new information the reader or viewer has to process in order to be immersed in the world of the narrative. For example, a story set in the real world has a low learning curve, while Epic Fantasy novels like The Lord of the Rings and The Wheel of Time. On the learning curve scale Inception is on the higher end. There is a lot for the viewer to process, so much in fact that it could have easily made for a terrible movie that spends its entire first act just explaining the world and the "magic system."

Which is exactly what Inception does. The first act is specifically used to explain the world and the rules by which the dream technology works. In fact, the dream technology itself is never explained, we only get the information that we need, everything else is unimportant, and hence it is never explained. Not only that, but the movie furthers the plot at the same time that it introduces all the information that we need to understand the movie. As with good screen plays, dialogue is not wasted and accomplishes multiple purposes. We get not only motivation, but backstory, and world building.

The plot is complicated, without being too complicated. Dominic Cobb, an Extractor, someone who can go into dreams and pull out information, is caught during a job. The man he and his associates had been doing the job on finds them and offers them a job, to perform Inception on a certain individual. In other words, they would have to plant a specific idea into the target. Cobb agrees to it, as he is promised a way to return to his family who he hasn't seen since he's on the run from the law.

What I liked about this movie was that they take the time to give character development where necessary, while at the same time focusing on some impressive effects and choreography. Compelling characters, a focused narrative, and ambiguous motivations make Inception a movie that I'll watch over and over, and still get something new from it.

Movie Reviews: Scott Pilgrim vs The World

I'm not really sure what to say about this movie. Other than that I absolutely loved it. I won't go into the technical aspects of the movie, as I really don't know anything about it. So instead I'll talk about the story and the characters, more my area of expertise. Sort of.

The story is delicious in its simplicity. Its organized around the framework of battles and not-battles. Not sure what you call that. Peace? The battles do little to add to the dramatic development, but instead serve as a method by which to show the passing of time. The drama is focused on in the not-battles, with each fight flavored by the developments between fights.

The characters are an interesting bunch, in that I'm not sure what to think of them at times. Scott Pilgrim is a realistic character, as in his actions aren't tailored to make us like him. In fact his actions are pretty despicable from time to time. Which I think is what makes him work. He's a character who is flawed to the point that we want to distance ourselves from him, while at the same time he's intriguing in that we can't help but wonder if there is any hope for him. By the end of the movie, while we may not agree with his decisions, I'm just going to chalk the whole "He should have chosen Knives, she's better for him than Ramona" to people's latent shipper coming out.

Your latent shipper.

I'll just say that while people may think she's more suited to him, keep in mind that he himself probably isn't all that great for her. Things don't work out the way we want them to all the time, but by the end of the movie we're just glad to finally see that Scott has finally taken the initiative and started to sort out his life, whether for better or for worse.

Are the choices he reaches correct? I can't say, I'm generally an advocate of let the characters do what they want instead of prescribing what to do, or which relationship to choose.

I would also like to thank this movie for finally creating a gay character that isn't a caricature. Wallace is pretty much the exact opposite of the hollywood gay character, and instead focuses on being a character outside of his sexual orientation. So bravo Hollywood, you finally got it right. Gays, whether or not you agree with their life style, are humans, not cardboard cutouts.

Well, what else can I say, other than that I urge you to go see this movie. If it isn't in the theaters where you live anymore then go out and buy the DVD. This movie did not do as well in the box office as it should have, so it better make it up in DVD sales, or Hollywood is going to stop making movies that suit our tastes, aka/ are actually good. Movie making is a business, and sadly the quality of the movie doesn't dictate how much money is made. If they don't make enough money off quality films that are tailored to the tastes of a specific audience, then they are going to keep making the same crap they always have.

In other words, if you pirate this movie, you are scum. You are directly responsible for all the Hollywood schlock that you so much like to mock.

So pull a twenty out of your wallet, run down to the store, and buy the damn DVD. And if it comes in one of those stupid eco-friendly cases, run to a pawnshop, buy a DVD - any DVD. Remove the DVD and cover, swap them out for the Scott Pilgrim vs the World DVD and cover, and call it good.

Movies like this don't get made often, and if you don't support them Hollywood is just going to stop making them.

BUY THIS MOVIE: Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

Movie Reviews: Shrek Forever After (Embeding Test)

Watch Movie Reviews: Shrek Forever After in Entertainment | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

This is just a test to see how the veoh embedding works.

Movie Reviews: Shrek Forever After

Well, this is my first attempt at a video review. It's not great, but for a first try I think it turned out fairly decent. I need to pick up some better hardware, and work on my video editing skills, but I think overall this little video review isn't the worst thing I've ever produced. It took a bit of work, even for just a minute's worth of review, but I kind of like it. I've got a few plans for some video reviews, but for now I'm sticking to short reviews of movies that I've watched. As I get more confident with what I'm doing you can expect some more of these from me.

Let me know what you think, and if I should try a few more of these. Nathan, don't bother answering, I already now what you're going to say.

And, even though the movie hasn't been released on DVD yet, here's a link anyway: Shrek Forever After

Movie Reviews: The Twilight Saga - Eclipse

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

Why do I keep doing this to myself? Mostly to have something to complain about here. And for that Eclipse delivered. In barrel loads.

First off...you know what? I'm not going to do it. Making fun of Twilight is too easy. It's a wretched, over the top story about a love sick Mary-Sue, told in a fashion that would make purple prose embarrassed. We all know it's basically porn in disguise. (Why do I get the feeling that word is going to net me a ton of page views? Happened with my webcomic all those years ago -_-). The movies actually manage to improve on the original books, which really isn't saying much as excrement that has had a few gritty pieces picked out to make it smoother is still excrement. And yes, I do like using big words. It makes me feel smart. Like a high school student writing an essay.

Instead, I'm going to review what this movie did right. Keep in mind, it's still a Twilight movie, and as such is terrible by default. But I think a different spin to this review is called for.


First off, the acting has actually improved. It isn't going to win any awards, though I think Robert Pattison deserves at least a consolation prize for not showing up to the set drunk. Stoned out of his mind however is another mater, so I'll be taking that prize if you please. Surprisingly enough, Kristen Stewart's acting has actually improved. She's still horrible, but she's not Twilight and New Moon horrible.

The script cut out a ton of material from the books, Edward only disables her car once in the movie, as opposed to all the lengths he goes to in the book to keep Bella away from Jacob. This alone makes the character much, much more likable. I still don't like him because I remember what his actual character is, but for the sake of the movie his controlling personality is toned down a lot, which I think does the movie credit.

The action scenes are...okay. I mean compared to what we got in the last two movies (aka/ none) this movie is freaking Diehard. I would have preferred a lot more action, but this is Twilight, I knew what I was getting into when I walked into that theater.

Compared to the first two movies the music has improved a lot. Which isn't surprising, as it was composed by Howard Shore. Please allow me a moment to mourn.

How did they get Howard Shore!? Has he not been getting enough work since opting out of scoring King Kong? Was he really this desperate? Either way, the music is actually quite good, what little bit of it they allowed into the movie. Most of the time it was the typical emo fare, but the few times that Shore's score actually showed its face the movie started to resemble something epic, musically at least. Of course this would be invariably ruined, though there was one scene in particular that I thought fit the music fairly well. Of course Howard Shore is a pretty good composer, even if I only really know his work from the Lord of the Rings. It's still one of my favorite sets of soundtracks, and I can tell he has talent. If I didn't know it before this, then his work for this movie convinced me. If he's able to take something like Eclipse and give it a respectable soundtrack, then I'm convinced the man is a genius.

Just as a final note, I was glad that the character Leah got at least a little bit of screen time. With how often she gets shafted in the books she's easily the most sympathetic character to me. I guess you can say that I relate to her after reading the books?

As you all know pictures say a thousand words, and I think that there is one image that effectively describes the rest of this movie.

Soft Core Porn.

Because you hadn't noticed yourself already.

Well, I know I'm a little behind on the Fairy Tail reviews. I have the remaining two almost entirely written. I'll get them up soon. Keep in mind, that chronologically they'll appear before this, just because I have drafts saved and don't want to change them. Not that anyone is really reading this right now, so by the time somebody does read it, it'll all be in order anyway.

For the record, my mostly positive review aside, this movie was in fact pretty wretched, but I just felt that went without saying.

Movie Reviews: The Last Airbender

Ye-gads this movie was awful! I want my ten dollars back! Granted, that would net me a five dollar profit, since I only paid five dollars to see this movie. I think the theater was disguising the discount as a student discount, when in reality it was an apology for how terrible this movie was going to be.

I'll be fair, it was fun to watch, kind of the same way watching a train wreck is fun. What? Am I the only one?

There were script problems (oh boy were there script problems), there were acting problems, pronunciation problems (why is Aang so hard to say? Did none of these people see the original show? If no, then why did you let them work on this thing!?), Katara problems (ye-gads she sucked!!). You name it, this movie had problems with it. It was Murphy's Law the Motion Picture.

When the movie started with Katara failing her water bending and dumping water on Sokka, was I the only one who half expected him to rip her throat out with his fangs? Was I the only one who wished this had actually happened once the movie was half way through?

All the scope, the potential that I saw in the trailers, it wasn't in the movie. It was so much wasted potential. I could literally see their budget shrinking as the movie progressed. It looked like it was supposed to be a big budget movie, but instead turned into an expensive Nickelodeon direct to TV movie that somehow sneaked into the movie theater.


I guess I can't write this review without addressing the casting issues. Yes, most of the main cast was white. Oddly enough the background characters were Asian, so it was quite clear that this wasn't "white people in asian society." The background characters were Asian, meaning the people living in the Last Airbender world did not just dress Asian, but were Asian. This makes white people being cast in the lead all the more stark than I thought it was going to be. Though I did detect something of a theme in the races cast for the different nations. The Earth kingdom was Asian. The water tribe were a mix of Whites and Asians, depending on whether they had a speaking role or not. The air nomads were kind of strange as they seemed to range between White, Asian and Black. I could tell that they put a bit of effort into trying to make Aang look Asian, proving that Hollywood is as sensitive as ever.


The Firenation were all consistently Indian, which was a nice touch at least. But if you want to get reeeeaaally picky, then anthropologically speaking Indians are not Asian. They are Caucasoid, meaning that, again, anthropologically speaking, they are more closely related to White people than Asians. Proximity of India to Asia notwithstanding.

On that note, for the entire movie I could have sworn that M. Night Shyamalan cast himself as General Zhao. A quick visit to imdb.com once I got home proved that was not true. Could have fooled me. Aasif Mandvhi is so bad an actor that I mistook him for a director. Probably could have done a better job with this movie.

Continuing the thread of bad acting. Cliff Curtis was a terrible Firelord Ozai. His character was indistinguishable from Zhao, and had none of the threatening presence of the Ozai from the cartoons.

Oh yeah, and Katara sucked, most of the mispronunciation is her fault, and Sokka didn't do anything. He didn't even fill the comic relief role. Sigh. Even his brief romance with Yue was painfully written. Geez, go back to making constipated doe eyed looks at Alice.

The worst part is that my fear that adapting a twenty episode series into a two hour long movie was right. The pacing was terrible, and even when they cut out most of the events from the series there was still too much background that had to be explained. And that's exactly what happened. It got explained. In dialogue. No showing, telling. And it got told in the most painful, awkward, unnatural way possible. I was cringing, wondering why nobody took M. Night away from the keyboard and let a real screen writer finish the script.

And if that wasn't bad enough: Firebending. Needs. Fire. As. A. Source. This means that if there is no fire the firebenders are useless. I cannot convey my rage in any eloquent form. To properly show exactly how angry I am I would have to type in all caps. But, I'm sure you feel the exact same rage I do as you read my words. In the end Iroh turns out to be capable of creating fire out of nothing, proving that no matter how much the director may try to screw everyone else over, Iroh is just too much of a badass to be contained. That part might have been cool, but I was too busy being enraged by the fact that something so simple, yet major, was changed.

In fact, Iroh was the only cool part of this movie. Dev Patel is a good actor, and he pulls off Zuko pretty well, but Shaun Toub steals the show as Iroh. He may not look much like Iroh, and his portrayal may not have been spot on. But he was the only good thing in this movie and I will not hear any criticism of him!

For that matter, why was Iroh the only one they could afford a wig for? Every other firenation character looked like they just drove around Los Angeles and picked up every Indian actor they could find, put them in costume and called it good. Seeing every firenation head, that was not covered with a helmet, sporting a perfectly gelled hairdo made it quite obvious that these were not the characters I had grown to love. These were just a bunch of schmucks dressing up for Halloween.

But all this is nothing compared to the biggest letdown of the entire movie. It is only comparable to the giant squid monster being cut out of the end of Watchmen. I am of course speaking of...

WHERE WAS KOIZILLA!?!?! I'VE BEEN KEEPING CALM THIS ENTIRE TIME, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I JUST WANTED TO BURST OUT SCREAMING. I TRIED TO KEEP A CIVIL, ELOQUENT, ETHOS FILLED PERSONA, BUT THIS IS THE LAST

I apologize for that. Needless to say, I was quite disappointed when the most awesome part of the finale of season one was cut out. Sure it might be silly, a fish-headed giant made out of water, but compared to the rest of what went on in this movie it was freaking Oscar material.

Despite my overly negative review of this movie, it was still enjoyable to watch, even if the entire time I was cataloging all the errors and painful moments for this review. So as a blogger and a reviewer I enjoyed this movie immensely, even if I can't decipher the last note I made on my arm. So if you plan on writing about how bad this movie was, and enjoy writing negative reviews, by all means you will have a blast. But if you're expecting a movie faithful to the original, just go watch the cartoon. And if you don't know anything about the franchise but are going in expecting some kind of movie, just go watch the cartoon. Even if you hate cartoons it will still be more satisfying.

Movie Reviews: Iron Man 2

I really hate circumstances keeping me from seeing the movies I want to see when I want to see them. It took me far too long to finally see this movie, and now that I have, I wish I'd seen it earlier.

I have to admit, I get pulled into hype fairly easily, and while I admit there probably could have been a lot fixed in this movie, it was still a great experience. I won't go so far as to compare it to The Dark Knight but what this movie does just as well as The Dark Knight is develop conflict properly by carrying on from the previous movie. They realized that Tony Stark is a character with plenty of character flaws that allow for continued character growth over the course of two movies. Nothing in this sequel feels contrived. The conflict and characterization of Tony Stark is congruent with how he was developed in the first movie. They don't have to settle for contrived conflicts, or butchered characterization to get conflict in their movie. I think that's what killed a lot of sequels in the past. The characterization and character flaws of the protagonists just never made sense when put into context with the previous movie. Sources of conflict all felt tacked on and cheap. Iron Man 2 does not do this.

I'd easily say it's one of the best movies I've seen this year, if not the best. How odd, that one of my other favorites also happens to star Robert Downey Jr. He really does know how to pull off a believable and entertaining performance.

Movie Reviews: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

I know I fail as a geek for taking so long to get around to seeing this. But when I finally did, I had to punch myself for waiting so long. I won't lie, I actually kinda like musicals, as long as they are actually entertaining. There's just something about the main character singing about how they're going to kill their rival.

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog goes beyond just being a musical in a time where musicals are frowned on by the general public, and an internet sensation. What really struck me about this movie was the irregular antagonist/protagonist dynamics between Captain Hammer and Dr. Horrible.

Generally you don't cast a villain as a sympathetic protagonist. But in the case of this movie, not only do the Whedon Brothers do this, they do it well. Not only is Dr. Horrible a sympathetic protagonist, but Captain Hammer is an easily hate-able antagonist.

Horrible is a loser with the goal of joining the Evil League of Evil. A goal that he regularly fails at. Evil aside, this clear goal make us root for Horrible as a protagonist. And while the goal is evil, there is a grain of good in it. He mentions (in song) society's ills several times, and reveals that he wants to fix them. The only problem is that his solution is to take over the world.

Sorry.

But, since there is a small core of good in his goals, we as non-villains, can allow ourselves to root for him.

His other goal is to win the love of his life, Penny. It's a simple, classic goal for a protagonist, and easily his most understandable goal. We all know the feeling of feeling nervous around someone we have a crush on/love. Because this is a major part of his motivation, we are able to see him as a real human being, and not a villain stereotype of any kind. This makes Dr. Horrible all the more sympathetic.

What makes Horrible all the more sympathetic towards the viewer is his personality, and the contrast between him and Captain Hammer.

Horrible is the typical loser, but the lovable kind. When you look at him you don't think, "Well of course he's a loser, just look at him." Instead we see him as a loser when he doesn't deserve to be one. He's funny, sympathetic, and overall a nice character (who wants to take over the world). His strongest characteristic however is his unwillingness to kill. This comes to a head about halfway through when he realizes that the only way to achieve his goal is to kill someone.

The most interesting part of him is that while to the viewer his two goals, become an established super villain, and gaining Penny's love, seem at odds towards each other, to Dr. Horrible they are both connected. Which in the end, is just as great a tragedy as the actual ending. Even if things had worked out the way he wanted, he still would have only gained one or the other.

Captain Hammer on the other hand, is a jerk. He's a hero, but it's quite clear that he's only in it for himself and the adoration of the public. This in itself wouldn't be such a big deal, if it weren't for his general arrogance and relationship with Dr. Horrible.

Captain Hammer and Dr. Horrible's relationship is the classic bully/victim relationship. Hammer's bullying of Horrible is portrayed as excessive behavior from a so-called hero, and reveals Hammer's true selfish personality. In fact, Captain Hammer is so detestable that by the time Dr. Horrible decides to kill Hammer, we're actually cheering for him. Despite the fact that reluctance to kill was one of Horrible's redeeming qualities, Captain Hammer has become so detestable that we want him gone as just as much as Horrible wants.

Overall this entire production was an education in itself for me. I was able to learn a lot about how to make characters sympathetic or antagonistic, whether they are the classic heroes or villains, or not.

If you liked my review, buy the movie at: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

The cast needs paying!