Favorite vs Least Favorite #1: Poison Ivy

As many of you probably know, my favorite Batman villain is none other than Pamela Isley, a.k.a Poison Ivy. Not just because she's hot, but also because...

Yeah, okay. Because she's hot.

Now, in the comic books, there have been many depictions of Poison Ivy, drawn by different artists with different visions of the character. I must admit, some are better than the others, but my favorite has always been the one drawn by Bruce Timm and Shane Glines.

I simply love this version. First off, she doesn't look gimmicky, because she doesn't need to. While some of the comic book versions have her wearing leaves instead, and they do look acceptable, I actually prefer her costume this way. It looks as if she dresses that way to look hot, not to prove a point. She's a normal person with a twisted morality, not a twisted fashion sense.

I also love the hairstyle they gave her. It looks seductive yet strong, which is really what Poison Ivy's all about.

Then there's her behavior. She might flirt with Batman once or twice, but she's always straight forward, never playing games when the risks are high. Also, her somewhat ambiguous relationship with Harley Quinn is... a plus. C'mon, you have to admit it.

Now, as many of you probably know, every superhero must suffer through what we call "The Movie Adaptation", which automatically puts the villains into the mix as well. And with today's summer blockbuster loving community, movie makers feel the need to give superheroes/villains new looks. Some of them are cool, like Batman from The Dark Knight, some of them are the same, yet still fresh, like Spiderman, and some of them are... this.

This, dear reader, is my least favorite version of Poison Ivy. Yes, I could complain about many things when it comes to Batman and Robin, such as Mr. Freeze's new accent, or Batman's superimposed nipples, or Robin's... presence. But what really ticks me off is how they made Poison Ivy look like a transvestite troll.

Gone is the sexy, yet dignified hairstyle, replaced with what seems to be a poor attempt at replicating Satan's horns (though Satan might not look as scary compared to this abomination).

Gone is the perfect subtlety in costume design, replaced with what seems to be a latex suit with leaves glued onto it by kindergarteners who got bored in the middle and decided to quit.

And what is up with those eyebrows?! What the hell were they thinking?! What was it supposed to resemble?!

Imagine a professional scientist who gained powers due to an accident. Realizing her advantage towards the average human, she decided to adopt a new persona and cause chaos and mayhem against the face of the fauna kingdom. So she decided to do that dressed as A MEMBER OF THE FRIGGIN VILLAGE PEOPLE!!!

I'm not even sure if Uma Thurman was right for this role. In fact, I'm not sure if Poison Ivy looks good as a live action character at all! No, I think she better stayed as an animated/ drawn character.

And the hatred doesn't stop there! Oh, no. The movie also depicted her as the MOST CLICHE VILLAIN EVER!!! With her spouting cliche villain-speak, such as "curses!" etc.

So, there you have it, My favorite and least favorite Poison Ivy.

PS: I watched Up. It was terrific. I was gonna post a review about it tonight, but I stumbled upon the Uma Thurman/Poison Ivy picture which got me pissed off all over again, and felt that this is something more meaningful to write. If you haven't seen Up, watch it. It's good.

Less than meets the eye...

Giant space robot battles, and hot babes.

How can a combination of these two fail?

They found a way, dammit.

Yes, I finally watched Michael Bay's latest science fiction 'epic' based on a once awesome Hasbro toyline; Transformers, Revenge of the Fallen.

Where do I start?

The story. The itty-bitty little shreds of story squeezed between the dragged-out fighting scenes. I swear, after halfway to the movie, I stopped caring for these characters. The ending was very, VERY anti-climactic. I can't say anything about plot holes nor continuity logic, since I turned off my brain after the first few minutes.

The there's the Transformers themselves. Other than Optimus Prime, that old guy, and the villains (which, I swear, got boring), none of the major Transformers say more than two lines, most of 'em are generic quotes like "Watch out!" or "Lock and Load!". And the ones that do talk a lot; the twins and tiny, wisecracking scientist robot with the accent, are annoying as hell. This is exactly what Jar Jar Binks did to Star Wars! Why oh why do these guys exist?! I hate the Transformers in this movie.

Now, you might be telling me "but what about the special effects?! Surely you must enjoy the big fighting scenes!"

No, no I didn't. And don't call me Shirley.

Why? The fighting scenes are CONFUSING. Yes! Even the fighting scenes are also unintelligible. I simply can't tell between one robot and another! They're just fast-moving blurry lines on the screen, accompanied by some loud noises.

If there's anything I remotely enjoy in the movie, it's John Turturro and the two scenes with Rainn Wilson.

I left the theatre without any feelings of wonder nor excitement. Instead, I got worried by the fact that Michael Bay was rumored to direct MIB 3. Satan's laughing at us right now.

I can't believe people would enjoy this so much, that they actually watched it multiple times. You know who you are...

PS: Here's an impression of people who actually liked the movie, courtesy of the Nostalgia Critic.

Oh, just something I found.

The Greatest Fan Film of All Time
Uploaded by Bullcrank. - Classic TV and last night's shows, online.

I agree with the title.