THE DANMAN CAN

Batman Returns  (1992) is my favorite  Batman film , my favorite superhero film, one of my top 3  Tim Burton  films, was one of my  Top 100 Films  ( in the 2019 Edition ) , and, if you want to make the argument—as people love to with  Die Hard  (1988) ( review )—is one of the best Christmas movies. Burton made a smash hit with  Batman  ( review ) in 1989. Rather than coast on that success with a similar sequel he insisted on being able to make a "Tim Burton movie". And he went  gonzo . He made an operatic, over-the-top, comic book come to life. Let's get this out the way now—when it comes to this film, I'm not concerned with accuracy or canon or realism. It's a damn good, entertaining, thoughtful film and  my  kind of comic book movie. Is  Batman Returns  a dark, psychosexual tragedy of Shakespearean proportions? You bet your ass—and all the better for it. Is there too little of Batman himself in the film? P...

Heathers  (1988) plays like a  John Hughes  movie with bite—a dark high school satire that still feels relevant 35 years later (and not just for high schoolers). Without  Heathers  there would be no  Election   (1999) ( review ), no  Mean Girls   (2004), probably no  Kevin Smith . While it's not showy, director  Michael Lehmann  and his design team infuse his debut film with a hyperreal style that has aged quite well. It's no surprise that  Batman Returns   (1992) ( review ) is my favorite Batman and superhero film, because it was written by this film's writer,  Daniel Waters . Dialogue is  Heathers ' strong suit—honest, brutal, brilliant, hilarious, endlessly quotable—and the perfectly-cast leads ( Wynona Ryder  and  Christian Slater , only a few films into their careers at this point), plus MVPs Shannen Doherty  and Kim Walker , deliver it with aplomb. All the themes of  Heath...

1991’s Hudson Hawk is essentially an R-rated live-action cartoon, replete with maniacal, over the top villains. HH came from the same screenwriter/director team ( Daniel Waters / Michael Lehmann ) as  Heathers  (1989) ( review ) but it’s nowhere near the classic that film turned out to be. It’s not particularly funny but this satirical surrealist caper sure is fun . The adult humor and occasional grisly violence doesn’t always blend well with the madcap energy but there is an undeniable attraction to a film this bizarre, and with a cast this weird and great. Michael Lehmann Feature Films Ranked