Batman v Superman Review

Boy, did I want to like this movie. When they announced it at Comic-Con International, I was on board. I had a good time watching Man of Steel, so I was ready for what the DCU had to offer. I bought into the casting of Ben Affleck as Batman and Jeremy Irons as Alfred.

When Jesse Eisenberg and Gal Gadot were cast, I wasn't sure what to think. There were rumours of Flash and Aquaman showing up too, which made me feel like the movie was less and less focused.

Then I saw the movie-I mean trailer, and was surprised that they showed the entire film before it hit theatres. What a HORRIBLE trailer that unfortunately, spoiled the entire movie.

Nevertheless I stayed optimistic and saw the movie last night at a screening.

Alright, so the good. Ben Affleck did a heck of a job playing Bruce Wayne/Batman. He was convincing as Bruce Wayne and his scenes with the incredible Jeremy Irons were the highlights of the film. Batman looked fantastic and the scenes of him being Batman were a lot of fun. This Batman is the most brutal we've ever seen (I'll come back to that later) and the scenes he's in come across as a suspenseful horror film. Henry Cavill is as good as Superman needs to be. There's not much to the character and he does a great job looking the part.

Let's face it, Zack Snyder can make a cool looking movie. There were some great shots, especially early on, which made the movie interesting to look at.

The first 20 minutes I really enjoyed. The set up between the two lead characters was interesting. It came across as a mature, political movie that had a lot of depth to it.

Sadly, that's about it- the movie is a mess. Unfortunately, if you've seen that trailer, you know the whole plot. The Rotten Tomatoes score is warranted. 

I'm sure there will be many who enjoyed Jesse Eisenberg's portrayal as Lex Luthor; I am not one of them. He was so over-the-top and reminded me of Jim Carrey's riddler. At times, he comes across as menacing, but that is few and far between.

It's so obvious that the writers had no idea what to do with Lois Lane. Why does she need to be in this movie so much? Does she need to be on the battlefield with the titans of the DC universe? There was obvious confusion from the writers as to what her role in this story would be. It is clear after seeing the movie, that there was none.

May or may not be from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Then of course, there's the fight. During the 5-10 minute fight, I couldn't help but feel the kid in me smile. It was awesome to see the two go at it; although incredibly frustrating that their fight was less than the runtime of Stairway to Heaven. As serious and brutal as the fight was, the resolution was almost laughable and so unbelievable, that it negated all the buildup prior to the fight. For a movie titled Batman V Superman, there was very little "V" in the two and half hour movie.

Gal Gadot as I predicted, was a little wooden. She has maybe 10 lines, and her role is very minimal (albeit more than the movie needed). You can't keep throwing new characters at the audience and expect them to follow what's going on. 

I understand this is a set up to the the Justice League movie. Unfortunately, that's all it feels like; a setup to something rather than a movie on its own. There is a scene where Gal Gadot is reading an email, and it is the laziest, most shoehorned Justice League scene I've ever seen. There might as well have been subtitles on the screen that read; 

"We shot footage of this, do you like it? These are superheroes. People like superheroes right?"

What is this?

This is not a spoiler because it was in the trailer; when Doomsday came into the film, I checked out. Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman team up to fight some CGI cartoon causing EVEN MORE destruction than Man of Steel's final showdown. Why? Why am I watching Doomsday shoot laser beams out of his face into more face-shooting lasers beams? This is "Batman VERSUS Superman." It was so shoehorned in, that it reminded me of Venom in Spiderman 3. 

Also, Batman kills? What happened to the morale dilemma that made the character so interesting? 

I understand the movie's tone was dark, but the movie itself was dark. With the 3D glasses already making the picture darker, it was even more difficult to see what was going on. The screen was almost black sometimes during the action.

What will hurt this movie is Captain America: Civil War. Soon there will be a comparison as how to do this type of movie right. Marvel did the leg work so that when The Avengers hit the screen, it was something special (and fun-yes these movies can be fun). 

Batman v Superman tried to do their Justice League, without the setup. This movie is an absolute mess and incredibly disappointing. It feels more like a setup to something rather than a film on its own. Batman was really cool, and the couple minute fight scene was great; however that's not enough to justify the 2 and half hour run-time.

-"Do you bleed?"

-"My brain does watching your movie"

Why Indiana Jones 5 is a good idea

I remember the excitement when my Indiana Jones collection arrived at my door on blu ray. I had heard that their transfers into 1080p were fantastic, and I could not wait to re-watch some of my favourite movies. 

When the credits rolled on The Last Crusade, I couldn't help but feel a little sad. The trilogy was over, and there would be no more Indy adventures.

A perfect ending to the trilogy

That was the moment I forgot about Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

As I flipped through the digibook blu ray case, I forgot that there was a fourth movie of the franchise left to watch. I will not lie, I had yet to watch The Crystal Skull until last year. I avoided it like the plague, as I knew it was universally hated.

We all know how bad Indy 4 is. I  don't have to rant about it. Sure, they're actually are parts of film I enjoy. But overall, it's incredibly disappointing and the disc will probably be used as a drink coaster from now on.

I had no idea it would be this bad

So why is Indiana Jones 5 a good idea? Truth is, Indiana Jones 4 was a good idea, and there was a fantastic script from Frank Darabont for it. George Lucas (active producer of the Indy films) rejected Darabont's script, and instead went with the literary achievement that was Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. For the most part, Indy 4 is a very well directed movie. The problems of the film come down to the ridiculous script and horrible characters.

Ford keeps himself in great shape, and he is ready to play the role. Steven Spielberg is coming back to direct with Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall producing.

Indy 5 is a great idea, because George Lucas will not be involved. I am not a Lucas hater. He was a great visionary director and a great man. However his time in Hollywood is done, and Lucasfilm is ready to move forward.

Disney understands how to create a great story. With Disney owning Lucasfilm and the rights to Indiana Jones, I am confident Indy 5 will be a great movie and the send off to the character we've always wanted.

The Force Awakens Blu Ray

An image that started it all

I remember it like it was yesterday. When the picture shown above was released on social media, it took the world by storm. I remember downloading it, just so I could zoom in and see the expressions on all their faces.

It was real.

Harrison Ford was actually sitting next to J.J. Abrams, discussing the film.

Speculation started instantly. Seeing Lawrence Kasdan was to me, the most important person in the room. Kasdan of course, wrote Episode 5 and 6. Seeing his return was reassurance that the script was in capable hands, and George Lucas was far away.

Seeing R2D2 in the corner, having Carrie Fisher talking to Daisy Ridley, is that...is that ANDY SERKIS!

Needless to say, this picture started all the fan theories and and all the hype. It didn't take long for me to envy the fly on the wall in that room. How I wanted to be there to hear the cast discuss the film and read it for the first time.

Luckily for spoiled consumers such as myself, the Force Awakens blu ray has it covered.

I am excited to watch the movie again at home. However I am more looking forward to this special feature that was recently announced. Along with many more features, this blu ray seems to be a great addition to my ever growing collection. As you probably can tell, I was a huge fan of The Force Awakens and I'm looking forward to adding it to my shelf.

Here is the Force Awakens In-Home trailer.

Captain America: Civil War Trailer Review (Trailer Spoilers)

This year, we are getting a movie where some of our favourite comic book heroes will go head-to-head in an epic fight of principles. One of them looks like a depressing, angry battle between the brattiest of the brutes; and the other looks like Captain America: Civil War.

The final trailer for the third Captain America movie was released today. I have watched it multiple times and I seem to get more excited after every viewing. I have been a fan of these Marvel movies. They have yet to crumble under their enormous universe, which can be attributed to the fantastic work of Marvel's president, Kevin Feige.

I am not the most dedicated Marvel fan however. I haven't seen the Thor movies because, well...I just don't want to. I'm not going to watch a movie just because it's part of a universe and I'm obligated too. I am however, a huge Spider-Man fan. The thought of him FINALLY being added to the MCU is incredibly exciting.

Spidey's new suit looks FANTASTIC and is clear fan service. I'm not sure how much screen time he will have in the movie, as he was a late addition. We can look forward to Spider-Man's new film in 2017.

This new trailer shows a lot to look forward to. I'm going to assume that these be the best performances from both Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans. Both look like they're pushing their characters to the limit and I can't wait to see them interact with each other.

The Russo brothers proved with The Winter Soldier, that they are ready for these big budget Hollywood blockbusters. Civil War looks like it's in good hands. May can't come soon enough.

If you haven't already, it's time to take Ben Affleck seriously

Affleck shooting Argo

Ben Affleck is an interesting character to talk about and definitely worth a blog post . In 1997, he and his friend Matt Damon wrote the Oscar winning flick Good Will Hunting. For anyone who hasn't seen it- stop reading this blog and check it out...then of course come back and finish reading!

I can imagine that in 1997, the general public would have assumed that Affleck would begin an illustrious career as a screenwriter after taking home the Oscar. That of course, would not be the case. 

Affleck had a small leading man career as he reached the height of his superstardom with films such as Pearl Harbour and Armageddon. Both of course, are lacklustre movies to say the least.

However lacklustre those movies were, they were the calm before the storm that would be the early 2000s for poor Affleck. Affleck starred in Hollywood flops such as:

                   Daredevil 

Thank goodness for the Netflix mini series

      

    Paycheck   

Run Ben! Run as far away as you can!

                                                                                                          And of course....Gigli

This one just hurts

Each of those films earned Ben Affleck a Razzie award for worst actor in a featured film. The sad part is that each of those movies were released in 2003, giving him three Razzies in one year alone!

I would assume that Affleck had had enough with all the negative criticism at the time. While his close friend Matt Damon (who he had won that Oscar with years ago), had reached superstardom, Affleck was sinking fast .

Affleck decided that he was ready to try a new adventure; that being directing. With his directorial debut Gone Baby Gone (2007), Affleck created one of the most real and gritty cop dramas of the last decade. It was something that nobody saw coming.

Three years later, he would direct and star in The Town (2010). The Town showed that Gone Baby Gone was not a fluke. And to this day, Affleck directed the best performance given by Jeremy Renner. It is an incredible heist movie with amazing direction and thrilling action sequences.

Then of course, is Argo (2012). Argo would take home the Academy Award for best picture at the Oscars that year. Yes...Ben Affleck had directed the best movie of the year, less than a decade after the three Razzie night. He is now one of my favourite directors in Hollywood and someone who you should be taking seriously. 

What's next for Affleck you may ask? In this case, I feel a picture speaks louder than words.

Batman! The man is Batman!

Ghostbusters Trailer Thoughts

I got around to watching the brand new Ghostbusters (2016) trailer and I can honestly say I am surprised by the feedback. If you look under the Sony Youtube page, they're twice the amount of dislikes as there are likes.

I find the negative feedback surprising. Did any of those people watch this trailer? Don't they understand the potential here? Hollywood can remake everything and anything! 

I always watched the original Ghostbusters and thought; "if only Hollywood would remake this movie to be bigger and better then ever." The original's special effects just don't hold up anymore, and the humour is way too intelligently written. Clearly it needs a remake for the fans who desperately want to see it.

Now to think of it, Back to the Future seems a little dated. Am I really to believe that a teenager would ever wear an outfit like that to school? Might as well do the fans a favour and cast Dave Franco to play the new Marty McFly.

To continue this thought, Citizen Kane seems very dated. Really? Black and white? This is ridiculous. How are modern audiences supposed to get behind that character? I really think they should consider Jai Courtney to play the young Charles Foster Kane. He clearly can play a beloved character like Kyle Reese to perfection.

Michael Biehn is no match!

I'm surprised that after the amazing praise the Psycho remake received, old Hollywood classics aren't being remade more. Isn't the world ready for a new Raging Bull or Apocalypse Now? Didn't the fans appreciate the remakes of Carrie, Point Break and Poltergeist? Isn't it time the Princess Bride and The Breakfast Club get their stories told again?

This is getting a little ridiculous. It is time that movie fans get together and demand Hollywood to redo, remake and reimagine our favourite films again. The Godfather is SOOOOO boring and definitely needs a CGI action set piece in the middle somewhere. Does anyone understand the ending to 2001: A Space Odyssey? I think it should be remade into a trilogy of movies...wait...no...split the last chapter in two films - or even a trilogy on its own; making a five part movie event for the decade.

Let's get our voices heard people. Maybe if we're loud enough, we will get that Memento remake we've all been asking for.