My Favorite Superhero Movies

With "The Amazing Spider-Man" being released on July 3, 

now's the best time to blog about: 

My Favorite 
Superhero Movies

  
 

I know. Two of those are cartoons. Cartoon enthusiasts prefer the phrase: Animated feature.

Just like comic book aficionados prefer the phrases: Graphic novel. Or sequential art.

Regardless of how good Batman Begins is, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is the best Batman origin movie. I admit The Batman Superman Movie might be a wee bit silly. But I still like it. My favorite part? When Batman weakens Superman with a tiny chunk of Kryptonite and says: "Doesn't take much, does it?" (Kevin Conroy's got a great Batman voice.) Mark Hamill (a.k.a. Luke Skywalker) plays the voice of the Joker in both! Batman: Year One's a lot of fun too. Although quite similar, the graphic novel's better than the movie.

Uploaded by hedede on Sep 22, 2006

As far as the non-animated features go, Spider-Man 2's my favorite so far*, because so much happened! He gets unmasked. The film explores the themes of sacrifice and what it means to be a hero. The scene where his unconscious body's carried by the subway passengers is quite moving. "He's just a kid." "We won't tell nobody." Tremendous action scenes. Spidey at his best! Until the new movie* comes out, which looks even better: The Amazing Spider-Man! Be sure to check out my blog Heaven-Bent on July 2nd for a special look at Spidey.

The Avengers? Awesome! A super dee duper superhero movie! The scene where Black Widow breaks free from her "captors" is worth the price of admission. The whole movie is great. The character interactions. The action. The dialogue. Lots of fun moments. Explores the need for teamwork and sacrifice. Might be the best superhero movie, but I still say Spider-Man 2's my favorite because that's the best Spidey movie so far.*

Published on Apr 4, 2012 by MARVEL

I don't recall being much of an Iron Man fan. But both of the Iron Man movies are awesome.

Batman Begins is great for a non-animated Batman origin story. Bruce Wayne didn't get the luxury of being bitten by a radioactive spider, he trained himself, pushed himself beyond his own limits to become a superhero. Great look at the importance of focus and determination to conquer one's goals. 


I'm not the only one who thinks these superhero movies are the best, since most of these films each made hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office. 


Until next time, search for what's super inside you; and do all you can to make the world a better place. 

Blessings & Joy,

Dean

*Although I haven't seen it yet, 

something tells me this will soon be my favorite superhero movie: 

Published on May 14, 2012 by spidermanmovie

For more Spidey/Superhero fun, be sure to read my blog posts: 
The Superhero with the Most TV Shows, 
What Makes Spider-Man So Amazing?, 
and The Amazing Spider-Man Is Spectacular!.

COMING JULY 6: My Favorite TV Shows

COMING JULY 13: My Favorite TV Theme Songs

COMING JULY 20: My Favorite Commercials*

* For my Favorite Favorite Commercial, see: My Favorite Commercial

My Favorite Shark Movies

My Favorite Shark Movies

So far, in the history of cinema, there have been only two* great shark movies.

"JAWS"

Uploaded by oldhollywoodtrailers on Dec 12, 2011

The characters, the soundtrack, and, of course, the brilliant directing make this movie great! Works best when watched on a big screen with an excellent sound system.

"Deep Blue Sea"


Uploaded by warnervod on Sep 29, 2009

How do you compete with a classic like "JAWS"? You ramp up the horror! In "JAWS", the man-eating shark was a mindless, eating machine. In "Deep Blue Sea", the man-eating sharks are smart. And there's three of them. So that's the formula for competing with previously successful films: Make the horror more threatening; and increase the number of them. Characterization worked well with this one too. My favorite scene is when Thomas Jane's character pulls a Louisiana license plate out of the mouth of one of the sharks as an homage to "JAWS".

"Open Water"

Uploaded by LionsgateShop on Jul 23, 2009

This isn't a great shark movie, nor is it a favorite of mine, however, I would have enjoyed this movie much, much more, if I had known beforehand that they used real sharks. (I wondered how they got such fantastic CGI!) Strangely, the sequel didn't have sharks. 

Blessings & Joy,

Dean Burkey

For a more comprehensive look at the shark movie genre, please enjoy my Heaven-Bent blog post: Shark Movies

* Three if you count "Soul Surfer" as a shark movie. I don't, because that movie was more about the victim than the shark. You hardly saw the shark. Besides, shark movies are fantasy and only fun when the victims are evil. But "Soul Surfer" was based on a true story; and that darling girl didn't deserve to be attacked. In accordance with Romans 8:28**, God used even that horrific event to work wonders. So it's an excellent faith-based movie, but not a shark movie.

** Romans 8:28 (NKJV): "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."

My Favorite Artists

My Favorite Artists

Perhaps it's the desire to multi-task, but I like surreal art that does two things at once. That makes you look twice and ponder. 

Like William Ely Hill's1915 masterpiece "My Wife and My Mother-In-Law" which shows two women while only showing one. What?! The woman you see depends on how you look at the picture. Which woman do you see? 

The beautiful young lady that's his wife? *
Or the woman that's his mother-in-law? **

Whichever one you saw first says a lot about you. I don't know what it says about you, but it says a lot. 

Seeing both at the same time means I have a dual personality, which is why I'm banned from working as a lumberjack or a butcher; and I'm also not allowed to operate any tools or machinery that have pointy bits. 

And sure, I just made that up, but it sounds so convincing that I can avoid performing messy tasks. 

That's the kind of art I like; 

and here are My Favorite Artists:

Salvador Dali

Pure genius! He created so many great works. 
But this one is my  favorite!

"Swans Reflecting Elephants"



The reflection of the swans and tree trunks create elephants!

MC Escher

He also created lots of great works. 
But this one is my  favorite!

"Drawing Hands"



Who's drawing whom?

Jim Warren

He's still alive and creates many great works. 
I can't pick a favorite!

"Galloping Waves"

Where do the waves end; and the horses begin?

Rob Gonsalves

He's also still alive and creates many great works. 
I can't pick a favorite!

"Ladies of the Lake"



Where does the midnight mist end; 
and the ladies of the lake begin?

Blessings & Joy,

Dean Burkey

 

Here's a great book that features 
most of these artists and more!
(The cover is by Rob Gonsalves.)

* His wife looks to the left and to the back a little. 

** His mother-in-law looks left and downward, without looking back. (Her nose is his wife's left cheek.)