DVD Review: "Batman: Under the Red Hood"

5. In 1988, my dad would not let me call the 1-900 number to save Robin's life.

4. Dad's frugality proved powerfully prolific prognostication, not because it saved the family $1 on the phone bill, but because the ruthless lack of creativity on the part of DC Comics would both render fruitless my call and reverse the once-powerful and beautifully told "A Death In The Family" storyline in which the Joker brutally beat Jason Todd, the second Robin, with a crowbar and blew him up in a warehouse.

3. This brings me to "Batman: Under the Red Hood," the latest prostitution of poor, pitiful Jason Todd's one-noble fate, penned by Judd Winick, a man whose unfathomably wretched writing has wrecked a rain forest's worth of comics.

2. So, you could say I come into viewing the latest DC direct-to-DVD release with some baggage -- the storyline itself is another testament to the laziness and money-grubbing of comic creators and publishers -- yet I still found myself enjoying this disc as much as any DC cartoon since "New Frontier," easily the best release of a sordid and shameful lot.

1. Two final knits: If you're going to have an animated Batman just have Kevin Conroy voice him for crying out loud and, finally, DC really needs to refund money to everybody who called that 1-900 number back in 1988.

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"Batman: Under the Red Hood"
Run Time: 70 minutes
Genre: Animated-superheroes-DC Comics
Unrated direct-to-DVD release
Director: Brandon Vietti
Cast: Bruce Greenwood, Neil Patrick Harris, Jensen Ackles, John DiMaggio, Jason Isaacs and Wade Williams
Finney's Flicks Grade: B

5 sentence review of "Hot Tub Time Machine"

5. "Hot Tub Time Machine" is what I call a cotton candy movie.

4. Cotton candy tastes really sweet on the tongue when you're eating it, but it quickly evaporates to nothing and, in a half hour or so, you're ready for a meatier snack.

3. Cotton candy movies seem very good during the initial viewing, but you can't remember much about them even a few minutes after the movie.

2. Regarding "Hot Tub," I recall Craig Robinson being funny, Rob Corddoy being annoying and even telling my buddy I thought the movie was better than last year's over-hyped dog "The Hangover," but I couldn't defend any of those statements by quoting a joke, plot points or much of anything memorable from the movie.

1. However, I recommend "Hot Tub" and cotton candy (maybe at the same time!) because even if you don't get much out of them, they sure seem fun while they last.

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Hot Tub Time Machine


- 1hr 40min‎‎ - Rated R‎‎ - Comedy‎ -

Director: Steve Pink

Cast: John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, Clark Duke, Crispin Glover


Finney's Flick's Grade: C+