Batman

'Justice League' isn't good, but it is fun
By Joe Allen
November 16, 2017 - 12:32am
Review: This installment from DC Studios is better than 'Batman v. Superman,' but way worse than 'Wonder Woman.'

Superhero movies aren't talked about the way they should be. They’ve walled themselves off into their own genre, and insisted that they be rated on separate terms from the rest of the film world. Justice League, the latest from DC Studios, is not a very good movie, but it is also not demonstrably worse than what Marvel has put out.

Batman franchise producer Michael Uslan to speak on April 21
By Ellen Meyers
April 2, 2017 - 8:26pm
The film producer will participate in a Q&A followed by a screening of his latest film, The Lego Batman Movie. Tickets go on sale Monday.

Michael Uslan, the creator and producer behind the Batman movie franchise, will speak at Syracuse University later this month following a screening of The Lego Batman Movie.

Gotham Season 1, Episode 10: How did they know?
By Sarah Hope
November 30, 2014 - 11:53pm
Review: The show's mid-season finale brings up a few more questions than it answers.

In the Gotham mid-season finale, "LoveCraft," was one major question to be pondered: "How did they know?"

The episode opened with three assassins descending on Wayne Manor. Dressed all in black, balancing flawlessly on a pair of several-inch heels, the lead assassin kills a gardener and worms her way in through the front door, claiming to be an injured victim of a car accident. Seconds later, she and her cronies blow their cover and lunge after Bruce and Cat. Alfred, a deceptively talented fighter, fends them off while the kids flee.

Gotham Season 1, Episode 9: Come together to fall apart
By Sarah Hope
November 23, 2014 - 7:21pm
Review: The network show introduces a new character to, as he says, "clean up" Gotham, and longtime Batman are in for a surprise.

In Gotham's penultimate episode, everything finally seems to be coming together. Whether you're rooting for the heroic Detective Jim Gordon, anxiously awaiting the rise of the young Bruce Wayne or (like me) reveling in the evil and chaos sewn by the show's colorful villains, episode nine, "Harvey Dent," probably had you feeling pretty jazzed.

Gotham Season 1, Episodes 7 and 8: Writers embraces camp, Cobblepot embraces the power of the Penguin
By Sarah Hope
November 16, 2014 - 11:03pm
As the first season nears its ending point and as the Peguin's master plan is finally revealed, the writers amp up the comic-bookishness and pray it pays off.

It's official. Gotham has finally embraced its neo-noir silliness, just as Penguin has finally embraced his avian nickname. It's a new day in Gotham.

Well, not really.

The last two episodes of Gotham have picked up their pace and tightened some loose ends - but the city of Gotham has not yet changed. It's still a terrible place full of terrible people, both downright evil and willfully hamstrung.

"Copygoat": What's working and not working on Gotham
By Sarah Hope
November 2, 2014 - 11:46pm
Review: More than halfway through season one, Gotham is still hitting the mark -- kind of. When it works, it works, and when it doesn't, it really doesn't. Here's why. (Warning: Spoilers ahead.)

So far on Gotham, we've had a murderous balloon vigilante, a hobbling Penguin vigilante and a drug peddling anti-Big Pharma vigilante. In episode six, our vigilante came from a much more unexpected place: the doctor's office.

Gotham Season 1, Episode 5: Sex, drugs and opera
By Sarah Hope
October 26, 2014 - 9:53pm
Review: The season ramps up its crime narratives and finally fleshes out Bruce Wayne, the story's catalyst, as a fuller character.

A man sits on a dirty Gotham street corner, playing a guitar. Propped in his case is a cardboard sign that reads, "Why lie - I need money for drugs." A bewildered-looking but unflinching man approaches and drops in his case a green vial. The label reads, "breathe me."

Gotham Season 1, Episode 3: Sick city
By Sarah Hope
October 13, 2014 - 9:03am
Fox's Batman-without-Batman tale plows onward, though its villains prove much more interesting than the heroes. (Warning: Spoilers ahead.)

"If people take the law into their own hands, then there is no law."

Fans of the Batman franchise know all too well that Gotham is a broken city. The corruption in government, the police force and business create fertile ground of vigilante justice, and the Batman series has brought us some of the DC Comics universe's most interesting villains.

Gotham Season 1, Episodes 1 and 2: "Relax, Junior."
By Sarah Hope
October 6, 2014 - 9:26am
The new Fox show delves into the city that spawned Batman but could use some tightening and polishing.

Gotham is a serious place. Such crime, such corruption, such stormy skies. Detective James Gordon, a war hero-turned-cop, may be the most serious part of this dark city.