The Chicago Cubs are World Series champions. Yes, it bears repeating. As we've seen in recent years thanks to the internet providing content for pretty much anything, here's a video of Game 7 highlights in LEGO form: Great touches there with the LeBron flex from the crowd and showing the Jason Heyward rain delay speech in front of a blank lineup card. How about Kris Bryant smiling while making the final throw or the ball sticking to Anthony Rizzo's backside in the celebration?Hat-tip: Big League Stew Chicago Cubs 2016 World Series Champs Gear Chicago Cubs 2016 World Series Champs Hats Chicago Cubs 2016 World Series Champs Sweatshirts Chicago Cubs 2016 World Series Champs Ladies Gear More MLB Sports Gear Padre mom asks team on Twitter about son Carlos Asuaje had left the game after being hit by a pitch David Ortiz's book 'Papi' coming in May The title is short, simple and effective Abreu says he ate fake passport Abreu is testifying as part of an alien smuggling and conspiracy trial against a former ag...
Epstein takes batting practice You can tell Epstein has hung around ballplayers all his adult life MLB to partner with Game of Thrones Nearly two-thirds of the league will partake in 'Thrones'-themed promotions Reds to experiment with closers Raisel Iglesias and Michael Lorenzen could alternate closing dutiesMaybe animated movies belong right there with roses and chocolate as Valentine’ Day staples? The $69 million opening of “The Lego Movie” showed that – contrary to tradition — February can be a fine time to roll out a family film. With the kids in school, conventional box-office wisdom has prompted Hollywood to load the month with romance — not surprising given Valentine’s Day, and counter-programming like horror movies. “The Vow,” “Valentine’s Day” and “50 First Dates” all made the list of the month’s biggest hits, and so have “Hannibal,” “Shutter Island” and a “Friday the 13th” remake. Also read: ‘The Lego Movie’ Snaps a Bright, Colorful Franchise Into Place for Warner Bros. Animation
You have to go all the way down to No. 28 to find the previous best opening for an animated movie in February, the $25 million that “Gnomeo and Juliet” managed back in 2011. Typically risk-averse studios like to see a track record of success when choosing a release date, and that wasn’t there. The Weinstein Company tried “Escape From Planet Earth” last year and Disney rolled out “The Secret World of Arrrietty” in 2012, but neither connected. The competition was sure to be less than in summer, but the February date represented a gamble for Warner Bros., Village Roadshow and distribution chief Dan Fellman. “We knew we had a great movie here and it was important that we launch this franchise strongly, so we thought it made sense for us to take a risk,” Fellman said. Also read: Trio of ’80s Hit Movie Remakes Put Valentine’s Day Box Office in Time Warp He may have been empowered by the success of “Gravity,” the tentpole space epic which normally would have been a summer play.
Warner Bros. instead decided to go with an October launch, and nearly $700 million later, we know how that turned out at the box office. Consider the “The Lego Movie” wager won. And the payoff should continue through this Valentine’s Day weekend, when the kids will be out of school for President’s Day on Monday. While Warner Bros. may be the first to slot a big-ticket animated movie in February, it won’t be the last. Paramount will open “SpongeBob SquarePants 2” on Feb. 13 next year, and Universal has planted its flag on Feb. 12 of 2016 for an untitled Illumination Entertainment movie.Considering what a fish out of water, comic-relief character Batman (Will Arnett) was in The LEGO Movie, it was reasonable to wonder precisely how much Bat-continuity a solo film for the Danish-built Dark Knight would incorporate. The answer might surprise you: ALL of it.This is a Batman who’s aware that he has been around for more than 70 years; remembers his stints as Adam West, Michael Keaton, and even Lewis Wilson from the old serials;
fights villains as varied as a Tom Hardy-ish Bane (Doug Benson) and a Billy Dee Williams Two-Face (voiced by the real Williams); and yet can still meet Dick Grayson (Michael Cera) anew and have no idea who he is. How do you reconcile all that? Easy–by reminding you that at all times, you are watching toys being played with–nobody fires a weapon without making a “pew pew” noise to accompany it–and remembering that those who do the playing are not necessarily bound by day-to-day consistency, because generally, they’re kids. This is the key assumption underlying all LEGO-branded movie and TV content, and it serves them well. My favorite throwaway gag, involving a character to whom nothing bad supposedly ever happens, is precisely the sort of thing a smart child would come up with. The last time the public tired of Batman movies being overly dark and asked for them to be fun and family friendly again, it yielded the Joel Schumacher era, widely derided then and now. So why does it work so well this time?
The truth, I think, is that comic-book fans don’t necessarily think only one version is okay, but that they want to see their definitive canonical version done first, before you come with the comedy takes. And whether it be in the form of Michael Keaton, Christian Bale, or Ben Affleck, the live-action uber-dark ’80s take on Batman has been achieved; as in many a video game, this leaves you free to unlock the wackier, alternate-costume versions. You can also thank shows like Robot Chicken and even (no, I can barely believe I’m saying it either) Family Guy for making self-referential spoofs not only commonplace but even a thing to be desired. The generic parody movie may be dead in live-action, but the in-universe, studio-approved comedic take is one that still has room to play. Funnily enough, Batman’s arc in this movie isn’t that different from the one that sort-of followed Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher through four movies: he’s a dark, self-reliant loner, but Alfred (Ralph Fiennes) wants him to be part of a family again.
For starters, that orphan kid he accidentally agreed to adopt when he wasn’t paying attention? Let’s let him into the Batcave to become Robin, a costume and persona that, in this telling, come from a repurposing of Batman’s undercover “Reggae Mon” alternate outfit. New police commissioner Barbara Gordon (Rosario Dawson) wants to work with Batman, but is stymied by his insistence that he go it alone. Meanwhile, the Joker (Zach Galifianakis) also haz, as they say, a sad. Batman is so fiercely independent that he won’t even acknowledge that the crooked clown is his greatest foe, particularly since Superman (Channing Tatum) recently murked up those waters. All the Joker wants is to hear Batman say he truly hates him, but he can’t get even that admission. On the other hand, if actions speak louder than words, it must be noted that the Dark Knight, no longer finding Arkham Asylum sufficient, is determined to send the Joker to space prison in the Phantom Zone. Even if he has to steal from Superman first, and especially if he can use his new, annoying sidekick as cannon fodder.
The rules of The LEGO Movie still apply: Gotham is its own world that exists above a swirling abyss, which we assume might lead back to Will Ferrell’s basement, though that’s never specified. And Batman is a Master Builder, able to grab pieces from his surroundings to create new vehicles or augment existing ones. You won’t see Emmett or Unikitty make any cameos, but there is some surprise brand crossover with a few other properties, some of which are only mentioned by inference rather than by name for possible legal reasons. By now we know what to expect from Will Arnett’s Batman, and you can probably guess how Rosario Dawson is as Barbara Gordon. There are many other surprises in the cast, however, from Kate Micucci as Clayface to Eddie Izzard voicing…a character usually portrayed by one of the other cast members. To list them all would give too much away, but major stunt-casting points for getting Siri to play the Bat-computer; I think that’s the first time an actual AI has had a significant costarring role.
Cera as Robin is surprisingly appealing; the trailers have taken all his dorkiest moments to create an impression that’s more simplistic than the one he actually gives. And Galifianakis, who always seemed like an odd choice for the Joker, is at least plausible, with the role allowing the distinctively bearded comedic actor a greater chance to stretch than usual. So why isn’t everything awesome? Well, the question in this case hints at its own answer: the music. I’m entirely in favor of the dubstep-ish remake of “Da na na na na na na na BATMAN!”, and the George Michael in-joke at Michael Cera’s expense warms my heart, but elsewhere, parent-friendly teen-pop isn’t made better by having Batman announce it’s parent-friendly teen pop, even if he rasps a few lines of it. Maybe “Everything Is Awesome” was just lightning in a bottle that could not be recaptured, but it doesn’t quite seem like they tried hard enough. The credits end with a special thanks to various artists and writers who’ve worked on Batman over the years, from Dick Sprang to Paul Dini, but the screenplay’s obvious deep affection for EVERY iteration of Batman says it all.