#mark gunn

[brokehorrorfan]

Funko unveiled a Pop vinyl figure of Brightburn’s Brandon Breyer, which is due out in August.

Pre-order Funko Pop! Brightburn - Brandon Breyer from Amazon.

[badflicks]

Dig the evil superman concept. Good fun.

[movieassholes]

Were you in Caitlyn’s bedroom? Where were you Wednesday night when Caitlyn’s mom went missing?

Brandon Breyer - Brightburn (2019)

[abs0luteb4stard]

WATCHED

[davidmann95]

Brightburn?

So…wow. When I saw this morning that this was ‘what if Superman was a horror movie villain’ prior to watching the trailer, I assumed it would be a very general analogue standing in for the superhero genre as a whole, not a straight beat-for-beat riff on big blue with all the visual iconography in place.* And my first impression? I’m as sick as the next guy of Dark Superman - assuming the next guy is pretty fuckin’ fed up with that at this point - and I just generally don’t do horror movies period. But this looks like it could be absolutely fascinating and I’m definitely watching it.

What it comes down to is that there are three possibilities, and I’d only inherently have a negative response to one of them, and even then a largely subdued one. Firstly, there’s the chance that this isn’t a Superman commentary of substance and isn’t intending to be at all, it’s simply using the dressings of childhood comfort as a vehicle for horror, and that’s perfectly standard stuff for the genre that I don’t have a problem with in the least. The less palatable but definitely realistic possibility - especially in the current cultural climate where just fucking hating that dude is the prevailing stance -  is that it is about Superman, but the sort of obvious “he’d be bad because he’s an alien/because he’d be a kid with that kind of power” deconstructive angle that doesn’t say anything but ‘if these fictional conceits of how these also fictional things work weren’t in place, it sure would turn out badly!’. And even then, that’s a shoulder shrug of disappointment and maybe some annoyance from me at most; they said their thing, they made clear they don’t like him, fine, whatever, glad you had your say, I’ll be over here with him still liking him, you be over there liking what you do like. Doesn’t directly impact Superman, so as far as I’m concerned everybody wins.

The third, riskiest but most interesting possibility (and the one I’m leaning towards given the “there is good inside you” bit from that damn pretrailer trailer that gives away the whole game)? That this does have something to say about Superman, but it’s attempting something of actual substance. Whether for or against him for that matter! I’m fine with a solid Superman deconstruction as long as it has something to say, whether trying to tear him down or illustrate his virtues by contrast. For the former, I may not think the Public Spirit of Marshal Law is much of a valid attack on Superman as a character, but that’s not the point. He’s an attack on him as an icon, and in that role he’s entirely valid as a grotesque muscled finger pointed at Superman acting as a sanitized public shorthand for America as a whole. And Irredeemable,** a comic by the guy who maybe has it out for Superman less than anyone who has ever lived, is the comic that made Superman my favorite character by interrogating the mechanics of Superman’s world and showing how they would warp and break down a lesser man. And there’s a lot of room here for that latter approach as well as the former! Perhaps this examines how the mythological touchstones for the character are mistaken for the fundamental morality he represents,*** bolstering the parental instincts of these well-meaning folks and leading them towards the mistaken but understandable belief that their boy is a good person until it’s too late? Maybe how the lessons of the character don’t necessarily translate properly into the black-and-white view of a child with the power to try and see them through, leading to catastrophic results? It could even be that it isn’t even as simple as him being an outright monster, but just a kid with problems lashing out on a monstrous scale, and the question is if the good Superman stands for that his mother still believes he has inside of him is enough to try and become a hero in spite of what he’s done. As long as it’s well done, anything in this regard would be something I’d be very much here for for the insights it could offer.

Also, since this has become a part of the narrative so quickly: aside from the sheer delightful cheek of the ‘Visionary Director’ bit (especially given it was hyping up his involvement solely as a producer in the same way as Christopher Nolan was for MOS), I don’t see this as a shot across the bow at Man of Steel (nor a ‘ripoff’ as many Snyder stans are describing it, which as a description - taken at face value given the definition and implications of the word they’re throwing around - is actually and hilariously an infinitely more devastating own on Man of Steel than anything this movie might conceivably accomplish). Of course it’s playing off those aesthetics, it was the most recent major mass-media take on the character, if Snyder had never gotten his hands on him it in all likelihood just would’ve been playing off of Donner instead. The closest I’ve seen to a solid argument suggesting it’s against that specifically is this theory that it could be a deconstruction of Ma and Pa rather than Superman, specifically in that the “you’re special and dangerous and there’s no one else like you” rhetoric could emotionally damage a child in ways that wouldn’t likely lead to Superman. And even then, minus the specific anti-helping-people deal that we can only speculate about the presence or absence of, that’s a common enough thing in Superman stories that it’d be a dig at a lot more than Snyder.

So yeah. Interested and cautiously optimistic, even if like @deathchrist2000 the logo initially made me think this was gonna be a Nameless movie and it’s a shame that’s not happening. What’s with the name though?

* Hilariously, I’ve seen Zack Snyder stans tweet that he - y’know, as opposed to Warner Brothers - should sue everyone involved with Brightburn for doing this riff on Superman that may or not be specifically riffing on his on a level beyond some visual homages. Given that crowd often goes with the “look, you fake geek plebes would have loved MOS and BVS if you read the comics” tack, I guess “the comics” didn’t include Astro City or Irredeemable or Supreme or Superior or Squadron Supreme or The Sentry or Blue Marvel or Majestic or Miracleman or Jupiter’s Legacy or Invincible or Love & Capes or that one dope arc of Hickman’s New Avengers or The Authority or Superduperman or Marshal Law.

** Speaking of which, that Irredeemable movie ever happening at this point? In the unlikely event anything’s still going on behind the scenes with it, hard to say if this paves the way or yanks the rug out from under it.

*** …okay, MAYBE then it’s kind of a dig at Man of Steel, though even then that’s a big maybe, and again would attack far more than that.

[themosleyreview]

The Mosley Review: Brightburn

For a moment, imagine if one of DC Comics' most powerful heroes ever created, decided to go the other direction. Imagine if instead of the brave, kind hearted, All American Hero we all knew growing up, turned evil and became one of the most terrifying and dangerous beings the world will ever know. It is something that has been brought up constantly in the Superman comics as something us humans feared. Well now here is a story of what those fears could look like and it was truly a fantastic experience. There are many shots and themes that perfectly mimic of Zack Snyder's Man of Steel and where they twist things into the other direction is where the film shines. The smart choice was to keep the story set during the formative years right on the cusp of puberty. It was not necessary to go into the adult years and it made this “what if” story better and drove home the great horror aspects. This of course is not a DC film adaptation of any kind, but it is something that I've wanted to see in a one shot comic spin-off for a very long time.

Elizabeth Banks can really do no wrong in my opinion and she nails all of the stress and dread as the adoptive mother Tori Breyer . Her warmth and genuine belief and denial was great and sad. David Denman was perfect as the adoptive dad Kyle Breyer and he is always great playing the every man. I easily equated them both to their DC counterparts Martha and Johnathan Kent and that was so much fun to watch. Jackson A. Dunn as Branden Breyer/Brightburn was outstanding and I loved seeing his transition from a sweet kid to a distant, impulsive, relentless and creepy murderous boy who quickly becomes devoid of any human feelings. There are times where his deliver certain words that make him all the chilling as you start to see the humanity he knew start to quickly slip away. He was truly fantastic.

The score by Timothy Williams was an excellent horror thriller score and kept me on the edge of my seat at times. I'm glad the film leaned heavily into the horror genre moments with excellent scares and perfectly horrific death scenes. There's one scene that I almost had to look away because it was so painful to watch and the visual choice for the scene was brilliantly executed and excruciating. I genuinely loved the direction this film went and it went as far as it needed to and I love that it was consistent. This is definitely one of my personal favorites of the year so far. Check this one out and stay for the great mid credits scene for it is awesome and a great Easter egg.

[adamwatchesmovies]

Brightburn (2019)

Brightburn is essentially a dark take on the Superman mythos, proving the superhero genre still has plenty to offer. It’s unsettling, it’s got tension and most of all, it’s just kind of a neat idea.

Tori and Kyle Breyer (Elizabeth Banks and David Denman) have been trying unsuccessfully to conceive when, one night, they find a baby boy inside a crashed spaceship near their farm. They adopt him as their own. Twelve years later, Brandon (Jackson A. Dunn) begins showing extraordinary abilities and unsettling tendencies.

I love the setup and the premise. One of the best ways to show what makes Superman special is to examine his evil duplicates. Whether it’s Bizarro, the Red Son version or - as this film most closely resembles - the Anti-Matter Universe’s Ultraman, they’re all intriguing. We’ve seen superheroes duke it out in a couple of movies but we’re sadists; we want to see what it would really be like if they went all-out and R-Rated with bones scorched dry and skulls caved in. That’s what Brightburn is. To a certain extent, it doesn’t matter that you kind of know where the movie is going from the beginning. You want to see the "how", not the "what". What will push Brandon to the edge and once he crosses the line, will the path to redemption still remain?

And this is where the film, unfortunately, doesn’t meet its potential. Brandon's reason to go psycho is just… way too simple. We live in a time where seemingly-ordinary people regularly lash out without warning and with deadly results. Brightburn could’ve stood for so much and instead, it’s depth stops at the premise. 

It could’ve been a horror film with a brain and instead it isn’t. If you are going in just to see uncensored superpowered carnage, you get it. In fact, the film might even be too gory because when someone is killed, they get mangled or shredded to the point where it oversimplifies the entire exercise. On the upside, it does make this story appropriately disturbing. Horror movies should leave unsettled and you will be. Even though Brandon’s parents can see right through his clumsy lies and even though the 12-year-old isn’t very world-savvy (a nice bit of dark humour), it doesn’t mean they can actually DO ANYTHING about his increasingly violent tendencies, which instills a sense of ever-increasing dread.

Brightburn is an intriguing subversion of the superhero genre but despite its dark and gruesome material, and the multiple scenes which will delight horror fans, you keep thinking there’s going to be more to it. The performances are quite good, with Elizabeth Banks, in particular standing out. I didn’t even recognize her until the end credits which, you should stay for as they include a scene possibly hinting at more to come. (Theatrical version on the big screen, May 25, 2019)

[davidosu87]