Category Archives: Movies

2016 Movie Reviews

‘Batman v Superman’ movie review: Progress but joyless

Well, they can’t all be winners, but damn, this one stings — as a critic, yes. But also — as a FAN.

It’s not good, don’t let anyone tell you different. That doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty to like about it. I generally enjoyed this a little bit more the second time I saw it with my boys. But the problems I had with the film’s dumb, bloated plot were still there.

Henry Cavill is a little bit of a more reluctant Superman than we've come to expect. (Warner Bros.)
Henry Cavill is a little bit of a more reluctant Superman than we’ve come to expect. (Warner Bros.)

“Batman v Superman Dawn of Justice” is the long awaited pairing between DC’s heaviest hitters. The only problem is, for all the hype, the film fails to capture any of the magic of these characters. From the opening moments of the films, Snyder bogs the audience down in slow motion recaps of Bruce Wayne’s parents’ murder and a non-sensical plot that fails to be fun.

This is a movie about a news reporter (Henry Cavill as Clark Kent/Superman) and “the world’s greatest detective” (Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/the Batman). If Clark was even a decent reporter or Bruce even a marginal detective, their problems could have been A. more interesting and B. solved much quicker (even if they still had to come to blows to do it) — but no, we get mopey Superman and grumpy old man Batman.

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Ben Affleck is a hardened and jaded Batman. (Warner Bros.)

The action is great. Affleck is a beast and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman is a show-stopper. But the problem is the big moments just aren’t earned the way they could have — and should have been — through just a little more patience, another movie or two, which would have allowed for the proper character development and world building necessary to give this movie the emotional impact it deserved.

When Batman refers to Superman as his “friend”, literally five minutes after he nearly kills the Son of Kryton and later on, when Bruce Wayne talk about “failing” Superman…it just doesn’t hold any weight.

I’m gonna defend my people on this one. Critics get a bad rap, especially when we go against the “fans”. Keep in mind, our job is to view a film with “criticism” — but not matter where we are, we all got into this because we love movies.

Unfortunately, all of Wonder Woman's scenes are in the trailer, but Gal Gadot tocks it. (Warner Bros.)
Unfortunately, all of Wonder Woman’s scenes are in the trailer, but Gal Gadot tocks it. (Warner Bros.)

I wanted to badly to LOVE this movie. But I didn’t. That being said, I think DC is on the right track, kinda, finally. Hopefully, they can find someone that can inject some FUN into these movies. Dark and mature is fine, but dark and mature can still be FUN!

You can read my initial review below and check out my podcast, Tim and the REEL Hooligans. This week we’re talking Batman v Superman.

Full Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice movie review

Rating: 5/10

Directed by: Zack Snyder

Written by: David S. Goyer and Chris Terrio

Starring: Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Amy Adams, and Jesse Eisenberg

Running time: 151 mins.

MPAA rating: PG – 13 for intense sequences of violence and action throughout, and some sensuality

Editorials

What if ‘Batman v Superman’ sucks?

This movie should be a slam dunk. As far as franchise movies go throughout cinematic history, it’s hard to imagine anything being able to cast any doubt on the magnitude of a BATMAN and SUPERMAN movie. It should literally be the greatest thing ever.

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Property of Warner Bros., used with permission.

But, it’s not.

Yes, “Dawn of Justice” is going to have an outstanding first weekend at the box office — numbers are tracking for a $159M opening, which would pass “Hunger Games” as one of the biggest March movies ever and challenge both “The Dark Knight” (158M in 2008) and “The Dark Knight Rises” (160M in 2012) for best DC opening ever.

wonder_woman
Henry Cavill as Superman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman and Ben Affleck as the Batman.

Still, Warner Bros. is nervous. Fan reaction hasn’t been as overwhelmingly positive as WB/DC hoped it would be after adding Batman to the Superman sequel and deciding to use it as a springboard in setting up “Justice Leage” and an expanded DC Cinematic Universe.

The movie opens this week, and early reactions have been pretty positive, but we’ve all been through this before. DC has a lot on the line here and one question is running rampant on everyone’s mind: fans. critics. studio execs.

WHAT IF BATMAN V SUPERMAN…….SUCKS???

The short answer is the universe may just come undone..(continue reading at Examiner.com)

supes

2016 Movie Reviews

’10 Cloverfield Lane’ movie review

A high-tension thriller packed with twists and turns

I love movies that come out of nowhere. Eight years ago, that’s exactly what “Cloverfield” did. Of course, it was a polarizing movie. Some hated the use of the old found-footage schtick, others hated the feeling of one big tease without much of a payoff. And others just flat out hated the characters, feeling they were dumbasses and not very likable.

Personally, I loved it. I thought it was a fantastic way to inject some life into the kaiju movie monster genre and the same can be said for the sequel (ish) — but this is more of a suspense thriller, with less monsters — well…hmmm.

Fear and paranoia are strong with "10 Cloverfield Lane", the new thriller from producer JJ Abrams. (Paramount Pictures)
Fear and paranoia are strong with “10 Cloverfield Lane”, the new thriller from producer JJ Abrams.

In “10 Cloverfield Lane”, we get a pseudo-sequel from producer J.J. Abrams and director Dan Trachtenberg. I say pseudo-sequel because it’s not a direct follow up — it’s a movie that takes place in — well, I tell you what, it really is best to know as little as possible going in.

Is it a sequel. Yes-ish. The basic premise is Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is involved in a pretty intense accident. When she wakes up, she is being held hostage in a bunker. Her captor, Howard (John Goodman), says he’s keeping her alive — but she cannot leave because there has been an attack and the air above ground is poison.

Michelle has to decide whether or not to trust him. Can he be trusted?…and what exactly happened outside?

Full 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE movie review

Release date: March 11, 2016

Directed by: Dan Trachtenberg

Written by: Josh Campbell, Matthew Stuecken, and Damien Chazelle

Starring: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Goodman, and John Gallagher Jr.

MPAA rating: PG-13 for thematic material including frightening sequences of threat with some violence, and brief language

Running time: 105 minutes