Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (2008)

This is a 45-minute, three-act musical/comedy done by writing genius Joss Whedon (The Avengers, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly) during the 2008 writer's strike. He was bored and wanted to create something; while Dr. Horrible is low-budget, it is high-quality in terms of both comedy and music. Entertainment Weekley says: "The songs are kinda perfect…the thing is dam*ed funny."The film Stars Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie Howser, How I Met Your Mother) as a lovestruck wannabe supervillain, with Nathan Fillion (Serenity, Castle) as the self-absorbed superhero smitten with the same girl. Be patient for the first few minutes; it really kicks in when the first song starts (though the opening is quite funny). By the end, you may be surprised at its emotional punch.

I sort of expected more from this, but as it is, it's pretty entertaining, and most of the songs are instantly catchy and able to be sang out loud, not to mention pretty memorable. The three leads are great, especially Fillion though, who really marvels in his character's darkness and gleefulness, reminding us of his Firefly character but also giving that sort of role a different spin. He's a very underrated actor who I wish would get more work. Patrick Harris, though, is the best singer and probably has the best songs. Some of the turns in its final act are pretty surprising, and not at all what I'm sure many expect (well, maybe from Joss Whedon).

Starting out in a dreary apartment, you see menacing looking fellow, dressed in a creepy landau long lab coat and a pair of welder's goggles. Similar to all of the generic comic book stories, there is the one main character that falls for the girl, a super hero and the evil villain. In this specific cinema, this well-known evil villain, Dr. Horrible, has fallen deeply in love with this girl. In his pursuit for Penny's love and for happiness, he succeeds at certain goals, but at a very dear cost. Billy, the hidden identity of Dr. Horrible, had forever fantasized and itched after becoming an official member of the Evil League of Evil, or E.L.E. He was performing renowned and adept heists and starting to finally make his call to the spotlight. His whole story is narrated through his animated and realistic adventures told by himself through both video and written post. Dr. Horrible is on the verge of a very enormous heist, stealing the final piece needed for his freeze-ray. With his freeze-ray successfully built, he will be able impress Bad Horse, the leader of the E.L.E., and impress the love of his life! Just after Dr. Horrible fails hard with his public attempt at use of the freeze-ray, he received another letter from Bad Horse saying that "assassination is just the only way" to gain entry into the E.L.E. Then the horrible mishap of events continues to continue, Dr. Horrible introduced the love of his life to his nemesis, the "super hero" that turns out to be a total jerk, Captain Hammer. Penny and Captain Hammer go out on dates and "French kiss and stuff" and the news of this devastated Billy and had turned his heart black with hatred. With Dr. Horrible's plan for revenge plotted, he was aiming for success: death to the Hammer. Dr. Horrible had engineered his freeze-ray into a death-ray. He designed the method in which he'd use to execute Captain. Hammer. He then just had to be patient and wait until the time was right. In the end, in the ultimate showdown, Dr. Horrible is mere seconds away from exterminating Captain Hammer when his death-ray wares off due too internal electrical faults. Captain Hammer winds up equipped with the faulty death-ray. When he tries to blast Dr. Horrible to smithereens, the gun recoils and splinters shoot all around. The scene was a city council meeting, and one of those spectators just happened to be Penny. Penny was also one of the casualties in this "explosion." This event was what got Dr. Horrible into the E.L.E. and a successful career, yet on the other side, it's also what killed the love of his life and completely broke his heart. Dr. Horrible's dream finally came true; becoming an official member of the E.L.E., yet he still felt so empty. With the loss of his love, he loses his drive in life. The thing that makes this movie unique is the point of view that it was shot from and how the story was told; through Dr. Horrible's posts. Through his video responses and text posts, the story of how he successfully got in to the E.L.E. and "inadvertently introduced his nemesis to the girl of his dreams." An online post is a frequently updated web page, typically consisting of fairly brief posts presented and archived in reverse-chronological order. Many people are able to express themselves, their thoughts and information, through posting online. Dr. Horrible's posts specifically are formatted to display "the natural progression of feelings" as his story progresses. Part of the success of online posting is due to the ease and accessibility of "superior editing and management tools" along with the aspect of posts being a compilation of all their posts, an online diary of sorts. Just like Dr. Horrible, "sharing the ongoing story of one's life with others is a primary use of many posts." There are four main divisions along two dimensions, as Krishnamurthy researched, "personal vs. topical, and individual vs. community." Dr. Horrible's posts would be defined as a personal and individual. In another study, McCrae and Costa came up with five dimensions. They're research helps to define Dr. Horrible as a person. Because he posts, it shows signs of insecurity and anxiety issues, an introvert, strict to routines and almost weak willed. Billy has always been too afraid to talk to Penny – an example of an introvert. Afraid of rejection from Penny, because of his anxiety and insecurity issues, he could barely muster up the courage to talk to her, "I'm just a few short weeks away from a reel audible connection." Dr. Horrible might be an evil villain, but he does have a good heart, caused by his weak will.There is one specific scene that demonstrates all of the proper uses and dimensions of posting by Dr. Horrible. He rants, in a sarcastic manner, about how awesome the new love interest between his nemesis and his dream girl is. You see Dr. Horrible clearly upset when he puts emphasis on specific words and stretches them out. With his facial expressions, you can also tell just how unsatisfied he is. He discusses his plans on how he will get into the E.L.E. by using his newly invented freeze-ray at the mayor's dedication for the super hero memorial bridge. Then the scene flashes black to show a skip in time between his two video posts and a text post. He refers to the text post to give background knowledge in a easier manner than to act out the scene. As Dr. Horrible receives a call from Bad Horse, the leader of the E.L.E., his face turns pale with fear as he is relayed the message of "assassination is just the only way" to make it into the league.

Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog (2008) is a comedy that follows a want-to-be super villain genius who dreams of becoming a member of the Evil League of Evil, run by its' scary leader, Black Horse. Dr. Horrible talks to us via his blog, answering fan mail and talking about his evil plans. He also reveals how he is madly in love with a girl named Penny, which his alter-ego Billy often refers to as the girl of his dreams. Billy/ Dr. Horrible is played by Neil Patrick Harris, who is known for playing comedic rolls, making this movie a walk in the park for him. The girl of his dreams (Penny) is played by Felicia Day, who has been in a wide variety of films. Casting them along with Nathan Fillion as Captain Hammer was comedy genius. This movie consists of the typical good vs. evil theme, but with a slight twist. Instead of rooting for the good guy (Captain Hammer), you find yourself rooting for the bad guy (Dr. Horrible/Billy). Often breaking into song through out the movie, Captain Hammer gets the girl, leaving Dr. Horrible heartbroken. Seeing no other way to get the girl, he throws himself into his work, creating the freeze ray. He focuses on getting into the Evil League of Evil, and hopes his success will impress Penny. Unfortunately for Dr. Horrible/Billy, things do not go as planned. While his plan seems to be going perfect, things backfire and Captain Hammer avoids being killed by Dr. Horrible/ Billy. Penny was not so lucky, being struck by a piece of Dr. Horrible/Billy's freeze ray. Dr. Horrible/ Billy loses the one thing he truly loved, but he got exactly what he wanted. He was accepted in to the Evil League of Evil, and considered the worst super villain ever. He got everything he wanted, but at the same time he lost everything he needed. Although Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog appears to be a typical good vs. evil type of movie, it turns out to be a comical story that pulls on your heart strings at the end when the beloved Penny dies. The end can appear shocking to some, because it lacks the traditional happy ending, in an ironic kind of way. Dr. Horrible/ Billy achieved his dream, what he thought would make him happy. Unfortunately, he lost what truly did make him happy.