Batman (1989)

It's standard practice to judge that franchises only get worse with the addition of more sequels/reimaginings/reboots, but the Batman franchise violently rebuked this in 2005 with Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins, and even moreso with its 2008 sequel The Dark Knight. Finally, Tim Burton's 1989 take on the Batman mythos had a challenger. But while the scale of Nolan's Batman films is much grander, Burton's film has a strange blend of comic book style and realism that feels very natural for a Batman story. And of course, The Dark Knight sparked a debate about who was the best Joker - Jack Nicholson's chuckling gang boss or Heath Ledger's anarchist psychotic. Sadly these days, the campy glory of Cesar Romero is discounted. These two Jokers are clearly very different, and it would be very difficult to transpose either one to the other film and have it feel appropriate. Nicholson's Joker is a mobster with a sense of humour, acting much more like the public perception of the Joker as the Clown Prince of Crime, and generally being incredibly funny while being extremely sinister. However, while he is clearly insane, he retains a calculating intelligence and a swaggering confidence, though sometimes he does seem less like the Joker, and more like Jack Nicholson. Ledger's Joker is quite a different kind of animal - he is utterly terrifying in his seemingly random and horrendous acts of violence. This is not to say that Ledger's Joker isn't funny, it's just that it's a nervous laughter, the kind you offer to a gregarious lunatic with a hunting knife in his hand. This Joker is smart too, but he seems to be making things up as he goes along (although many of his morality play gambits take a slightly unrealistic amount of forward-planning). Nicholson has certainly lost his place as the undisputed King of Jokers, but arguments can be made both ways on this issue. Conversely, I would argue that Michael Keaton outshines Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne and Batman, not by much, but Keaton's portrayal is far more subtle, and (as Batman) even more intimidating than Bale, even with the gravel-gargling Bale Batman-voice. This is still a very entertaining film, and will always shine out as both one of the best Batman films, and one of the best superhero films.


Let's overlook Batman's incredible body count in the film.

Gojira tai Biorante / Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)

Why Godzilla vs. Biollante has never been released in the West outside of an out-of-print German release, I will never know. This is one of the best of the entire franchise, bringing some much-needed fresh ideas, some excellent monster battles, and one of the most original and impressive-looking monsters in kaiju history. Biollante herself is a genetic abomination, the result of the blending of human, rose and Godzilla D.N.A., and the result is an enormous mass of writhing vines, topped with a tusked crocodilian maw. But beyond the excellent and original appearance of the beast, there is a truly tragic story; she is the result of a father's inability to handle the death of his only daughter, and his attempt to keep her spirit alive in some form or another. This is typical of the mad scientist trope, but Dr. Shiragami is probably the most sympathetic example I have seem. But this film is not good simply based on the single central tragedy, as the humans have some great success in repelling Godzilla on their own. Ordinarily another giant monster or some kind of gigantic robot is required to ward off the atomic beast, but this time the humans are more sly. The Super X super-plane is back again, in Mk. II form, this time equipped with a Fire Mirror, designed to reflect Godzilla's beam attack back at himself, attempting to use his own might against him. When this fails, Anti-Nuclear-Energy Bacteria designed for clearing up nuclear accidents are brought in in an attempt to deplete Godzilla's available energy, with some degree of success. Finally, this film introduces us to Miki Saegusa, long-time supporting character and resident elf-eared psychic in the Heisei period of Godzilla films. As monster films go, this is noticeably less slow than some of its competitors, and both entertaining and engaging. A good balance of characters, action and special effects.


And Captain Gondo nearly manages to challenge the manliness of Captain Gordon.