Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

 

Taking up where "Man of Steel" left off, the events of which hang heavy in the hearts of those affected by the final battle between Superman and General Zod. Including Gotham's Bruce Wayne AKA Batman. He is among the growing number of people that think that one man with that much power, could be dangerous. Their paths start to speed toward each other with an inevitable cataclysmic conclusion, spurred on by the maniacal plans of Lex Luthor. Lex is obsessed with finding out all about Kryptonians and what he calls "metahumans" in his quest for power. This is a foreshadowing of a possible league.....of justice!

 

 

Cast

• Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne / Batman
• Henry Cavill as Kal-El / Clark Kent / Superman
• Amy Adams as Lois Lane
• Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor
• Diane Lane as Martha Kent
• Laurence Fishburne as Perry White
• Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth
• Holly Hunter as June Finch
• Gal Gadot as Diana Prince / Wonder Woman

Who will like this

Naturally following the chain of events of "Man of Steel", this movie picks up where it left off. It also is loosely based of the graphic novels "The Dark Knight Returns" and "The Death of Superman". It has very dark undertones and heavy subject matter for your average Superhero movie, kinda in the same way that "Watchmen" did back in 2009. (not surprising as both films were directed by Zack Snyder)  It's not for the casual fan of these characters, and needs to be viewed by those who are fully invested.


Phantom Thoughts





There has been a lot of talk and fuss about this movie. A LOT of opinions. So here's mine:

This movie was.....ok. Not fantastic, not great. Just ok. And here's some of the reasons for making that statement.

Ben Affleck received TONS of flak when it was announced he would be playing Batman. I was on the fence and wanted to see what he could do. And you know what? He did GREAT. I think his Bruce Wayne was a perfect example of a billionaire, ex-playboy businessman. Not that I know any personally to refer to, but it's what I imagine one would be like. ("Daily Planet...is that one that I own?") And on the other end of the spectrum, his Batman was the older crime-fighter who has seen his share of shit and has no time to put up with any more. I especially like the voice changer built into the suit. (BTW- Fun Fact: This was an idea that had been suggested by Affleck's friend 'Kevin Smith', as he felt Affleck's natural speaking voice was too high-pitched for Batman.)


I don't know whose idea it was to have Lex Luthor played the way he is portrayed in this movie, but I didn't like it. Not one bit. Jesse Eisenberg came across more Joker-ish than powerful, smart, super-businessman and super villain Luthor. His mannerisms were chaotic and his ideas were half-assed. Hell, the man couldn't even get through a speech at the party he was throwing. It made no sense and was distracting at the very least.

SPOILERS:

Here's a point on Superman....OK...you're telling me that he was unable to save his Mother from being captured by Luthor's men, but saves Lois Lane at least 3 times in this movie alone? C'mon. And while we are on the subject, the whole point of this movie was SUPPOSED to be about the fight between Batman and Superman. But I just didn't see enough evidence to push these two into an altercation of that magnitude. Yes, Batman saw him as a possible threat to humanity, but he never showed signs of being evil in any way.  I saw where the filmmakers wanted to go,  but don't feel like they GOT there. And Superman was blackmailed into fighting Batman. Really? You mean to tell me that Lex Luthor, with no access to Kryptonite himself, could threaten Superman to do this? As soon as he found out his Mother was being held hostage, he would have saved her. What could they do to stop him? He's faster than they can react and more powerful than anything they could come up with to stop him. That didn't wash at all for me.

Gal Gadot as Diana Prince / Wonder Woman was pretty good for the little time she was on screen. Even though her Diana Prince character came off as a little more Catwoman than Wonder Woman.

Doomsday was just ridiculous. He looked like a generic CGI monster more than anything else. This blend of Orc/Cave Troll/Abomination/Ninja Turtle was a huge let down as the main baddie the Superheroes teamed up to fight.

This movie was 2 and a half hours long. If they cut out all the dream sequences, it would probably be about 6 minutes long. Ok.....I'm exaggerating, but there were more dreams in this than a Nightmare on Elm Street movie. Maybe Bruce Wayne should lay off the Ambien for a while, it's not doing him any good.

I've heard from more than a few people that this was just a set-up movie for the upcoming Justice League movie(s). Even if that was the case, the movie needed to stand on it's own. And while we did get introduced to other members of that group in brief glimpses, I don't think the focus was merely to set up the following films. (BTW- Ezra Miller who plays a young Barry Allen/The Flash looks a bit Asian, even though that character is not. Ezra is not either.....but he DOES have that look)

Alrighty then....I've cut into this quite a bit. Here are some more Fun Facts that I noticed/found out about Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice:

1) Star Wars in-joke: note the number on Lex's prison uniform, part of it reads TK-421, the same as the Stormtrooper with the 'faulty transmitter' in the original movie.

2) There is a boat yard in the scene where Batman first meets Superman and is named Nicholsons Boat Yard. A reference to Jack Nicholson playing the Joker in the 1989 Batman Movie.

3) Ben Affleck asked Christian Bale for any advice he could give about playing Batman. Bale told him to "make sure you can piss in that suit." The two men met quite by accident in a costume shop. They were each buying a Batman costume for their kids.

4) Perry White says, "It's not 1938 anymore," while talking to Clark Kent about people not reading newspapers anymore. Superman was created in 1938.

5) Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan play Bruce Wayne's parents in the film. They also both appear in the television series The Walking Dead as Maggie Greene and Negan, respectively. They were both in Supernatural as well. (While watching in the theater, I did make a "Where's your Bat?" joke referring to Morgan's TWD character and his barbed wire baseball bat "Lucille" and his son in this film becoming Batman)

Let's hope the NEXT film about Superheroes fighting each other that comes out next month is better than this one.

Until next time, see you in the center seat.

10 Cloverfield Lane

 

A young woman (Michelle) has a car accident after having a fight with her fiancé. She wakes up in a survival bunker built by a conspiracy theorist named Howard Stambler. He and a young man who helped him build the shelter ( Emmett) believe that the end of the World has happened and everyone on the surface is dead. Michelle is unclear if she has been kidnapped or saved by her host, and every clue she comes across only leads to more questions. Her journey to find the truth is filled with incredible suspense and unusual turns that pushes her emotional sanity to the breaking point.

 

 

Cast:

 

 

Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Michelle

John Goodman as Howard Stambler

John Gallagher, Jr. as Emmett DeWitt

Bradley Cooper as Ben (voice)

Who will like this Movie

If you are looking for this to be a sequel to the 2008 movie "Cloverfield", you will be disappointed. If you go in looking for an intense, suspenseful thriller, then you will be incredibly satisfied. It has some elements of  "After.Life" with Liam Neeson and Christina Ricci. And most of the movie takes place with minimal characters in an enclosed space, which is reminiscent of the very first "Saw".  It also had an element of "Signs" to it as well. It's definitely a thinking movie for more mature audiences.

Phantom Thoughts


So here's the thing....J.J. Abrams went to a lot of trouble keeping this movie a secret. So much so, that no one even knew it was being made until about 2 months before it's release. There is a reason for that. And I am not about to ruin that, even after it's been out in the theaters. I WILL being giving my opinion on the spoilers, but not until the very end of this review....and with many warnings before I do. So feel free to read on.....for now.

The one question everyone was asking was "Is this a sequel to the 2008 movie 'Cloverfield' ?". The answer is not a spoiler. The answer is no. Even though they have similar titles, the two films are not connected (at least, not on the surface). But there is a tie-in that I will get into later. And the other reason would be that the two are about a different way of viewing these types of movies.

Now to the essentials of the matter: John Goodman was BRILLIANT as the role of the conspiracy theorist: Howard Stambler. When you work on a big movie, it's easy to hide sub-par acting (Hello, Kristen Stewart in 'Twilight'). But in a small movie, taking place in a small, confined area, the acting better be fucking brilliant. Both Goodman and Mary Elizabeth Winstead nailed it to the wall. No knock on John Gallager Jr., but his role was not as important. See, John Goodman keeps you guessing throughout his whole performance as to whether he an over protective pessimist whose worse fears have come true, or a broken kidnapper who has cracked. Same goes with Winstead. She is not the "damsel in distress" of your normal horror movie. You don't question her actions, in fact, you hope that you would be smart enough to make the same ones. And you are as confused as she is on what is the truth.

These things are what made the original "Saw" so good. Both were not dependent on big special effects or major gore. But the suspense and great story were what made them riveting. Same as the before mentioned (and much smaller in popularity) "After.Life". Liam Neeson plays a mortician and Christina Ricci plays a car crash victim. Liam's character says he can "speak" to the dead which is why he can communicate with Ricci, who refuses to believe she's dead. And the whole movie is the journey to find out which is correct.


OK.....here's where I talk about the big reveal and plot twist of the movie. So if you haven't seen it, stop reading now.





SPOILERS AHEAD!!!







I MEAN IT......STOP SCOLLING UNLESS YOU'VE SEEN THE MOVIE





You've been warned!














I'm not kidding.......














Fine. I think I have been more than fair. If you are still reading, then I will take it that you have already seen the movie. I take no responsibility for revealing any secrets from this point forward.

So this is a space alien movie that has different creatures than the one in the original "Cloverfield". Which right away lends you to believe that it's not connected in any way. Ehhhhh......not so fast. One thing that Howard says is that he worked for a satellite company. Bold Futura is seen on letterhead in the bunker, and we already know that a satellite from Bold Futura is seen crashing into the ocean at the end (or actually beginning) of "Cloverfield". So this COULD be a tie-in.

So why do I mention "Signs" in the Who will like this  section? Because there is a connection. Yeah, yeah, I know....there was a HUGE gapping hole in the plot of "Signs". But aside from that, they both had a very unique way of looking at an alien attack. See, most movies follow a character or chain of events that explains EVERYTHING to the viewer. They set a story and guide the viewer through it. But in both "Signs" and "10 Cloverfield Lane" it's more like you really were in the middle of an alien attack. I mean, especially out in the rural parts of the country....how would you know what was going on? You wouldn't. That's the point. These movies put you in the middle of it....with very little information and even less knowledge of what to do. It also helps to put your doubt on whether it's actually really happening or not. I love that aspect of these movies.



Until next time, see you in the center seat!