Pads & Panels

Title: Justice League: Doom

Format: Blu-ray+DVD+Digital Copy

MPAA: PG-13

Directed by: Lauren Mongomery

Written by: Dwayne McDuffie (Based on a story by Mark Waid)

Starring: Kevin Conroy, Tim Daly, Susan Eisenberg, Michael Rosenbaum, Nathan Fillion,

Produced by: Lauren Montgomery, Bruce Timm

Studio: Warner Premiere, Warner Bros. Animation, DC Entertainment, Warner Home Video

Film Rating:

Bluray Rating:

Review by: Matt Peters

Next in a long line of DC Comics direct-to-DVD movies is Justice League: Doom. Based on the “Tower of Babel” storyline featured in DC’s JLA revival from the late 90’s, the movie itself was interpreted by the late Dwayne McDuffie. Originally penned by Mark Waid, “Tower of Babel” tells the tale of a Justice League destroyed using very specific tactics for each member which could only be executed by one of their own. McDuffie was a legend in the DC animated world, and most of the original voice cast is back for JL: Doom. Unfortunately, even the perfect ingredients don’t always bear the best results. (more…)

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Title: Green Lantern

Format: Blu-ray+DVD+Digital Copy

Directed by: Martin Campbell

Written by: Greg Berlanti, Michael Green, Marc Guggenheim, Michael Goldenberg

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong

Studio: Warner Bros.

Film Rating:

Blu-ray Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

The Film

For the original review of the theatrical release of Green Lantern, click padsandpanels.com/?p=13877

The Blu-ray

Green Lantern has landed among the lower echelon of superhero films in recent years, reverting back to cheesy humor, overreliance on special effects and so forth. And the additional Blu-ray content does very little to add substance to the formula. (more…)

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Title: All-Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder: Volume 1

Publisher: DC Comics

Writer: Frank Miller

Artist: Jim Lee

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

It’s hard to imagine with this being the first series published under DC Comics’ All-Star banner that the imprint lasted long enough for Grant Morrison to produce the fantastic All-Star Superman. All-Star allows the writers and artists to tell stories with key DC characters outside the general continuity of the DC Universe (or any other continuity DC has going, for that matter). And with creators of the likes of 300, Sin City and Batman: Hush, one would think this would be met with promising results. Jim Lee’s art gets the job done, for sure, but it’s hard to believe Volume 1 of All-Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder was written by the same Frank Miller who produced The Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year One. (more…)

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Title: Super Friends! Season One, Volume Two

Format: DVD

Publisher: DC, Warner Home Video

Rating:

Review by: Aaron Ray

When earth’s four greatest heroes are Superman, Batman (& Robin), Wonder Woman and Aquaman, we can assume one of two things. Either “Aquaman” really means “Any other super hero wearing an Aquaman halloween costume” or, you’re watching the Hanna-Barbera Super Friends! cartoon. Unfortunately, the answer is the latter. (more…)

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2010 Holiday Gift Guide – Beyond the Games and Books: High-End Tastes

By P&P Staff

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The Art of God of War III Special Edition

For the Ultimate God of War Fan, Ballistic Publishing’s The Art of God of War III lives up to the standard set by the company’s Uncharted 2 book. The Special Edition is beautifully bound in black-suede leather, with embossed lettering and the iconinc image of Kratos’ eye up close. Inside, 272 fantastically-printed pages feature different stages of character, environment and gameplay design, plus some really awesome commentary and extras. For some truly “epic presentation,” as Ballistic puts it, the super-limited Folio Edition is fantastic, but runs with a price tag of $300. A paperback is also available, with almost identical content, at a more reasonable $65. (more…)

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Title: Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths

Format: Blu-Ray

MPAA: PG-13

Director: Sam Lui, Lauren Montgomery

Writer: Dwayne McDuffie

Producer: Warner Bros., Premiere

Film Rating:

DVD Rating:

Review by: Thomas Braaksma

The Film

There seems to be a resurgence of animated, comic-book movies these days. Some are less than impressive, and some resurrect the feeling of the glory days, when the X-Men and Batman ruled animation. Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths falls in the latter camp, delivering entertainment on par with the aforementioned cartoons that graced small screens in the 1990s.

Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths will actually be a familiar story to viewers who may have come across a similar story in the DC comic JLA: Earth 2, and others before it. It is a revisualization of the idea of another earth where Lex Luther and the Joker are the heroes of the world, and Superman, Batman and friends are the villains. Though the stories are similar, Two Earths‘ interpretation does a great job of standing as its own. It tones down the adult content that JLA: Earth 2 contained, and appropriately reinterprets the story for all audiences. (more…)

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