The Hero We Deserve...Finally..."The LEGO Batman Movie"

The Lego Batman Movie (2017)

Rated PG

Starring  Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Rosario Dawson, Ralph Fiennes, Zach Galifinanakis,

Directed by Chris McKay

The Story:

Its seems as though decades of fighting Batman (Arnett) are taking their toll on the Joker (Galifinanakis) because Batman refuses to acknowledge that the Joker is his # 1 enemy. So a change in the Joker's motives might prove to be Batman, and Gotham's undoing. Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne (Arnett) adopted an orphan named Dick Grayson (Cera) quite by mistake. Now he's bonding with him the best way he knows how, as Batman!

Oops. Sorry about that spoiler right there.

:)

Finally.

After at least 7 big screen incarnations, Warner Brothers has finally given us a Batman movie worth watching.

It's fun, it's exciting, it's irreverent.

It never takes itself too seriously, yet takes itself seriously enough.

The voice talent does an incredible job inhabiting their roles. The nice part, nobody has a distinctive voice that overshadows the actual character they are playing.

Hopefully they can find a way to do another sequel or two to this one, because this is one DC cinematic universe worth visiting.

Final Grade: B+

Epic Movie...Epic Fail. "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice"

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

Rated PG-13

Starring Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Jeremy Irons, Holly Hunter, Gal Gadot,

Directed by Zack Snyder

The Story:

Taking place at the climactic battle in Metropolis, Bruce Wayne (Affleck) watches as Superman (Cavill) pretty much destroys the place in an epic showdown with General Zod. Fast forward 18 months, the world isn't sure whether or not to trust Superman, and reports of the return of the vigilante Batman, more ruthless than ever are circulating out of Gotham. These two are on a collision course, and it's not going to be pretty.

Okay, so let me repeat something I've said before:

The first cinematic team-up of Batman and Superman, ever, should have been a license for DC to print money. It should have been so amazing when it was released, that it would still be playing in theaters today.

It should be the highest grossing movie of all time, even after adjusting for inflation!

Why?

EVERYONE knows who Superman and Batman are.

Even if you've never read a comic book, you've seen them, somewhere. Shirt. Lunchbox. Underwear. Hat. Action Figure. Previous movies. Cartoons.

But yet, that didn't happen.

Why not?

Take your pick, this movie offers up 2 and a half hours (!!!!!) of reasons about what went wrong.

Here's my observations:

1) We don't want to be like Marvel!

Good call, so put out dour movies with no humor or really likable characters.

Really, that seems to be DC/Warner Brothers rallying cry.

We want to be the "adult" superhero movie.

They want the critical acclaim and adulation that came with the Nolan Bat-trilogy, but the box office success of Marvel.

I hate to say that you can't have it both ways, because clearly you can.

Except your rallying cry says "we don't want to be Marvel!" and they've consistently put out movies that have been critical and commercial hits.

I can sit here and compare Marvel to DC all day long.

No seriously, I'm at work, and it's kind of fun taking a break you know. :)

But at the end of the day, I try and judge a movie simply by what it brings to the table...

But yes, comparisons are hard to avoid.

Here's some other areas I feel the movie went wrong:

A) Hey, let's make a cohesive DC Universe!

Great idea. Wrong tactic.

Again, Marvel introduced us, slow burn, to each character who would eventually make up the Avengers.

DC has started with The Avengers, more or less, and said, see, one big universe.

Except they are starting with a sequel to a movie (Man of Steel) that...sucked...is that the good critical term?

I have little problem with Cavill in the suit, of course, they rarely let him say or do much except punch and be angry while wearing it.

I have a bigger problem with the suit.

That's not Superman.

He should be bright and shiny (not literally...ugh...) but those reds and blues should pop out, and not be subdued and shadowy, nearly black on viewing.

That's Batman's job.

B) Nobody cared that Superman died (whoops, Spoiler!) .

Let's be honest, when Doomsday killed Superman in the comics (whoops, spoiler again!) it was a BIG deal! Sure, nobody thought he would stay dead dead, but for a bit, he was dead. And the world mourned.

Why?

He'd been doing it for-ev-er. He was the gold standard that all the heroes looked up to, and when he gave his life in battle, the entire world mourned. All the heroes gathered to bury their comrade, and the entire world was saddened.

Hello... not 5 minute earlier, the world was trying to decide if they should worship Superman or deport him because he was too dangerous and an unknown entity.

So when Superman dies at the end of the movie...meh.

Aside from Martha (Lane) and Lois (Adams) who really cared? Batman, a bit, because he realized he had misjudged Clark. But the show by America was just that, a show. "Whoops, our bad, thanks Supes!"

C) The Dark Knight Returned Too Soon

Speaking of scrambling storylines, how about the proverbial DC omelette where they took the battle from The Dark Knight Returns and mixed it into this film. Except again, they take the older, wiser (eh...) Batman against a rookie Superman. Too soon, too unnecessary.

D) Someone thought Jesse Eisenberg would be a great Lex Luthor.

He didn't. Shame on you, and I hope you're now looking for work somewhere. Not sure what movie he thought he was in, but he seemed to be channeling more of the Joker than Luthor when he was onscreen.

E) The "Ultimate Edition" DVD has another 30 minutes of footage that makes the story better

Bzzzt.

Wrong answer.

While it may be true, no DVD release containing footage should make a movie "make more sense and be easier to follow" than what was released in theaters. If that's the case, your editors are failing at their job.

An enhanced version should enhance the story, not tell it better.


Okay, I need to stop kicking this dead horse while it's down, so what, if anything did they get right:

I) Ben Affleck makes a great Bruce Wayne & Batman

II) Gal Gadot is great as Wonder Woman

III) Jeremy Irons was terrific as Alfred


The fact that this movie was so savaged by critics and rejected by audiences caused DC/Warner to stop, reshoot Suicide Squad to inject "more humor" and move some studio bosses around to get a better handle on their universe.

So basically they decided:

1) We don't want to be like Marvel!

Good call.

However, I need to grade on a curve with superhero films, and much like The Fantastic Four suffered because of what they "Should Have" done compared to what they did, so to will this film.

There was just too much unrealized and wasted potential, and too much grim atmosphere.

Not my particular flavor of superheroics.

If I'm going to spend 2 1/2 hours of my life watching superheroes...

well...

Make Mine Marvel.


Final Grade: D+

Our First DC Premiere..."Suicide Squad"

Suicide Squad (2016)

Rated PG-13

Starring Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jai Courtney, Viola Davis, Jared Leto, Jay Hernandez, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Cara Delevingne, Joel Kinnaman, Karen Fukuhara, Adam Beach, David Harbour

Written and Directed by David Ayer

The Story:

Amanda Waller (Davis) has decided that in a world with more and more metahuman activity, she needs to assemble a team that is able and willing to do whatever it takes to protect National Security. After all, the next Superman might just be a hostile. So she rounds up the worst of the worst, implants them with a transmitter that doubles as a bomb, and under the leadership of Rick Flag (Kinnaman), the Suicide Squad is born.

Or...

The Story:

A group of scoundrels we've never met before team up to save the world while tossing off one-liners during action sequences set to a cool soundtrack.

Sound familiar?

Yes, Marvel Studios did that 2 years ago with Guardians of the Galaxy, and earlier this year with Deadpool from Fox.

Sorry folks, in the world of superhero movies, comparisons are inevitable.

But let's make this perfectly clear up front, don't compare Suicide Squad to the Avengers, at that point we move from comparing apples to oranges to apples and bananas. Save that comparison for when they finally roll Justice League into theaters.

So, is this movie as bad as Rotten Tomatoes claims, and rabid fanboys have decried that since this is the second DC movie in a row with low scores, that site should be shut down?

No.

It's totally watchable.

Is it rewatchable, either in theaters or at home?

That's debatable.

The Good:

I got to hang out with some of my kids at the movies. Can't ever go wrong with bonding over popcorn and a movie, am I right?!? :)

Viola Davis owns her role as Amanda Waller. She might actually be more frightening than Batman. :)

Will Smith returns to form in his first action flick since 2012's MiB3, and it's a welcome return. It's like an old suit that he slips right into, and watching this film makes me ready for his return as Mike Lowry in Bad Boys 3 (and apparently 4!)

Margot Robbie owns Harley Quinn. While I would have preferred her actual outfit, well, this is the revamped Harley costume they want to go with. Still, when these two are onscreen, the movie picks up tremendously.

The rest of the crew?

When they are given anything to do, it's quite enjoyable. Bonus points to Jai Courtney for actually putting some charisma into a role for a change, his Captain Boomerang is one of the high points as well.

The Bad:

Everyone else is woefully underused and underdeveloped. It seems like most are there simply to give Deadshot and Harley a breather in the action.

The villain? Also falls into the meh, who cares department. But, it was pretty much that way too when they used her in Ghostbusters. :)

The Joker. Totally could have done without him. Aside from the backstory with Harley, which is necessary, he actually becomes a distraction as the film wears on. As for him channeling both Nicholson and Ledger as his inspiration, I found it seemed to channel more of Jim Carrey's Riddler.

Setting scenes to music can be effective.

Setting nearly every scene to music can be overdone.

They decided to dial it up to 11 and introduce everyone to their own killer beat, when it might have been more effective to stagger all of the team introductions out through the film versus one after the other after the other.

Ah well, not my film, not my universe.

: )

That said, of the 2 (or is it 3?) films from the DC "Shared Universe", this is easily my favorite.

I've yet to see Batman vs. Superman (and the kids still don't want to see it!) but it's coming next week on Netflix.

And Man of Steel sucked.

Though I don't think it's considered part of the shared universe, or at least probably wasn't before it tanked.

Finally, you can tell the film was meddled with, even without reading all of the reports about the reshoots after Batman vs. Superman was given a resounding thumbs down upon reception.

We'll see where DC goes from here, but you have to hope, at least for their sake as well as the audience, that they are correcting the ship and if not trying to outright copy the Marvel movie formula, at least copy the part where we like seeing their movies.

:)

Final Grade: C+

Guaranteed To Drive You Batty..."Gotham"

Gotham (2014)

TV-14

Starring Ben McKenzie, Donal Logue, Sean Pertwee, David Mazouz, Jada Pinkett Smith

The Story:

Perhaps you've heard of a young man named Bruce Wayne (Mazouz) whose parents are gunned down one night. Now learn the dirty details about what happened in Gotham years before Batman showed up on the scene.

Being able to expand and expound on the rich history of Gotham is something that could never truly be shown in a movie.

A slow, dramatic series on Fox is just what DC needs to tell this story.

Wisely, they've picked the best bits and  pieces of comic book lore to fill up Gotham with dirty crooks, dirty cops and a brand new detective named James Gordon (McKenzie) who someday will rise to the position of Commissioner.

However, that's not coming for some time. Like, never, at least in this series.

Instead, enjoy the ride as Gordon teams up with crusty detective Harvey Bullock (Logue) as the two begin to track down the Wayne murderer, and enjoy seeing Batman's rogues gallery before they don their own costumes and embark on the criminal career the are known and loathed for.

Needless to say, I'm thrilled that they included the Falcone crime family from the excellent issues by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale.

One big negative... Alfred's (Pertwee) accent.

Not. A. Fan.

It's minor thing, but a thing nonetheless. 

So far, so good. I'll be back next week!

Final Grade: B

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: It's the first series from DC that I've watched, so that's a huge plus.

Kinda Fast...Sorta Furious... "Need For Speed"

Need For Speed (2014)

Rated PG-13

Starring Aaron Paul, Dominic Cooper, Imogen Poots, Scott Mescudi, Rami Malek, Ramon Rodriguez

Directed by Scott Waugh

The Story:

Tobey (Paul) and his buddies at the garage take on a job fixing a Shelby Mustang for former Indy driver Dino Brewster  (Cooper) because Toby needs the money.  Rivals on and off the streets, Tobey and Dino have a race for money which ends in tragedy.  When Tobey is paroled, he sets out to join a famous street race to get revenge on the man who killed his friend and left him to rot in jail.

Easily the best movie about street racing since the Fast and the Furious.  Probably the best one based on a video game racer as well.

:)

Not hard to be the best when there isn't any competition.

Hard to complain too much about anything in this film.  Of course there's plot holes the size of Ferraris, but that's okay, the stunts and driving scenes make up for most of those.

On top of that, most of the supporting cast is pretty fun and adds some layers that would otherwise leave the film really boring and really predictable.

Aaron Paul spends most of his time growling, scowling and grimacing his way through the movie.

If Ben Affleck hadn't been hired, I would assume he's auditioning to be the next Batman. ;)

However, every once in a while he lets out a joke or a smile or a whiff of personality, and he's not half bad in the lead role.

Overall, a silly little bit of fluff that doesn't harm the Need For Speed name at all..

Final Grade: B-/C+ range

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Good harmless fun with almost enough charm to own.  Time will tell.

Everything Really Is Awesome... "The Lego Movie"

The Lego Movie (2014)

Rated PG

Starring Chris Pratt, Will Arnett, Elizabeth Banks, Will Ferrell, Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson

Directed by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller

The Story:

Emmet Brickowski (Pratt) is an everyday, ordinary Lego builder.  He goes about his business, never realizing that he is... "The Special".  Yes, prophesied to stop the superweapon, the Kragle from being used by Lord Business (Ferrell) destroying the many Lego realms.  Teaming to help Emmet on his quest are Wyldestyle (Banks) and Batman (Arnett).

Want a fun movie that is great for all ages?

Look no further.

Naturally, for those of us that were kids at one point, Legos are no stranger to our lives.  The bricks can create almost anything you can imagine.

As the years have passed, the sets have gotten cooler, and now there are Legos to reflect pretty much any pop culture obsession.

Way cool for kids.

Possibly even cooler for parents.

Which becomes the crux of the conflict of The Lego Movie.

It seems that Lord Business is more familiar of an enemy than you realize as the movie unfolds, but I don't want to spoil it for those who have not seen the film yet.

The voice cast in the film is amazing.  Pratt is overshadowed by the more famous Legos and/or voices, but that's to be expected for his character. However he brings the heart and soul to the movie along with some pretty good comedy gags.

Batman could easily be seen as the star of this film, and it's easily the best Batman film from DC...

Ever.

:)

This beautiful 3D film is above and beyond all of the previous Lego movies that they've released.

That said, those movies were all pretty darn fun on their own merits.

Combine these films with the stellar Lego videogames, and you begin to realize that a simple building block has reimagined itself for the 21st Century.

They aren't going anywhere, and the future looks very bright for this franchise.

The movie is so good, you can almost forgive all those times you step on a Lego barefoot at 2 AM in the house.

Almost.

:)

Final Grade: A-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Add this to the other great Lego offerings.  I imagine this will find its way into our house by Christmas.

Casey Kasem R.I.P. 1932-2014

Father's Day brought an end to the life and times of Casey Kasem.  A weird story with some bizarre occurrences in the last days of his life.

Basically, he had a whacked-out family.

But enough about them, this post is meant to honor and remember, at least for me, the greatest on-air radio personality in my lifetime:  Casey Kasem.

Little did I realize at the time, that I had known Casey's work much earlier in life before I ever switched on a Pop station in the 80s and became hooked on 80s music forever.

But more on that in a minute! ;)

As you can see by the picture, Casey was hard at work making sure kids of the 60s/70s and early 80s enjoyed some quality television.

I'm not sure which order I met him first, was it Shaggy then Robin, or vice versa?

Either way, he was the perfect voice for one half of two of the best dynamic duos in cartoons.

Holy Sidekick Batman, it's hard to believe that the same guy who voiced Robin could turn around and give the same life to the ultimate 60s stoner-who's-not-a-stoner, Shaggy.

But really, if you take Shaggy away from Scooby Doo, that's like taking Abbott away from Costello: it just doesn't work.

I love that Hanna Barbera kept Kasem as the voice of Shaggy for future generations as well.  It's an amazing legacy, and if he had done nothing further, I'd still be typing this remembrance for him.

But no...

Casey brought me Pop Music every weekend in the form of American Top 40.  I was there, counting them down every week, watching my favorites climb the charts while past favorites dropped out of favor.

I used the cassette function of my boom box (!!!) to make compilations of some of my favorite songs.  I even played a bunch of tapes on the school bus for those long 30 minute rides to school.  So well-played back in the day, I still think of songs that would come next on my tape when I hear them on the radio, or the squelch of stopping Casey in mid-speech as we came out of a song.

:)

When they let Casey go in the late 80s and replaced him with Shadoe Stevens, I left the countdown as well.  Would catch Casey doing his Top 10 on television on occasion,  but it just wasn't the same.

Listening to what AT40 has become under Ryan Seacrest is a travesty... arbitrary rankings, sleaze versus actual stories about the artists....

I weep for future generations of music lovers.

And today, I weep a bit for the passing of a very influential part of my growing up.

However, while I don't have Sirius XM, our local station does play replays of American Top 40: The 80s every Sunday from 8-nooon.

It's a great trip down memory lane, and one I try to catch at least a few minutes of every week.

Rest in Peace Casey, and thank you!

As you advised me every week growing up, I will keep my feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars!

Your Spoiler-Free Review: "The Amazing Spider-Man 2"

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

Rated PG-13 for comic book violence

Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx,

Directed by Marc Webb

The Story:



Peter (Garfield) and Gwen (Stone) graduate and are ready to move on in the world.  But things between the two keep getting complicated, especially as Peter digs deeper into the mystery of what happened to his parents.  Before the movie is over, secrets will be revealed and the stage is set for the biggest battle Peter has ever faced.

In 2012, I reviewed the reboot of the Spider-Man franchise: Amazing Spider-Man  So impressed, it would wind up being the second-best superhero released that year, and # 2 on my Top 10 List of the movies of 2012.

Fast forward to 2014, and poor Spidey...

He's currently the 2nd best superhero movie of the year, behind Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Worse still, there's several more superhero movies on the horizon!

Bad news for Spidey...

Good news for comic book movie fans!

:)

So, if like me, you enjoyed the first Amazing Spider-Man, you're going to enjoy this sequel.

If you didn't, then I can't think there's any reason you'll want to see the sequel.  I mean, what movie fan goes back to watch sequels to movies they didn't really care for?

Myself excepted, of course. ;)

The main criticism I've read/seen on the latest installment:  "There's too many characters (I'm assuming bad guys) in this one".

My response...

Uh, no.

This plays out just like the comics.  We cut to different characters, different sub plots as the main story chugs forward to conclusion.  In comics, especially Spidey, he's enjoyed possibly the greatest gallery of supporting characters and villains of any franchise.  If you would argue Batman, that's about the only other franchise with the depth and greatness that I would concede on this matter.

This sequel reaches several logical conclusions in the continuing story in the life of Peter Parker.

It also sets up the inevitable sequel(s), to include the Sinister Six movie that is being mentioned around the web.

I can honestly say that my least favorite part of the film was the lack of Electro's costume.  I was a fan of the green and gold original.

Andrew Garfield continues to impress as Peter/Spidey.  Emma Stone is simply wonderful as Gwen Stacey.  Their chemistry is amazing. 

The effects are outstanding.

However, unlike Marvel Cinematic Universe offerings, you don't need to stick all the way through the credits.

Once you see the oddly placed X-Men clip... feel free to go.

Final Grade: B+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I'll be buying this one for Christmas and enjoying it with the family.

Time For A Change... "Batman Forever"

Batman Forever (1995)

Rated PG-13 for language/violence

Starring: Val Kilmer, Tommy Lee Jones, Jim Carrey, Nicole Kidman, Chris O'Donnell

Directed by Joel Schumacher

The Story:

Batman (Kilmer) is faced with a two-pronged attack from Two Face (Jones) who believes Batman caused the courtroom accident that scarred his face, and the Riddler (Carrey) who used to work for Wayne and has invented a device that can steal information from the mind.  With the death of Dick Grayson's (O'Donnell) parents at the hands of Two Face, he becomes a ward of Bruce Wayne, and will attempt to take his place fighting crime alongside Batman. 

Quite a bit to jam pack into this tale!

And if that wasn't enough, add Nicole Kidman in as a love interest, and you have a bloated mess of a film.

This was the first entry in the Bat-chise that I bothered with.

So again, I don't remember if it was Keaton or Burton that kept me away, but with both gone, I came aboard.

Bored.

It was okay for its time.

Again, no rose-colored glasses from this guy, I actually have memories of seeing (and owning!) this one on VHS.

Egads.

Who was the bigger ham, Carrey or Jones?

O'Donnell is close to insufferable most of the time as Robin.

Kilmer does the best he can with the role and apparently would have been back for a sequel except for scheduling conflicts.

Apparently DC has little qualms about recasting the star of their franchise...

The cheese factor was amped up... the cast was amped up.

There was nowhere for this franchise to go...

But down!

Final Grade:  C- maybe a C

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Nearly 20 years have passed since I last saw this one.  I would assume a similar, or longer time, will pass before I do this again.

Like A Bad Rash... "Batman Returns"

Batman Returns (1992)

Rated PG-13 for language/violence

Starring: Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken

Directed by Tim Burton

The Story:

Batman is back, and this time he is trying to stop The Penguin (DeVito) who is blackmailing  Max (Walken) to worm his way into society and making the Penguin mayor!  Max's secretary, Selina Kyle (Pfeiffer) discovers some documents and is thrown to her apparent death.  Ah, but she survives and becomes... Catwoman!

Speaking of Batman films I never bothered with, this was another one.

But now I've watched it, and it was again... meh.

At least they realized that Batman should be the star of his own movies at this point, but the introduction of Catwoman is what this movie will be remembered for.

Which is a shame.  This franchise should have made a mega-star out of Keaton, but he was always overshadowed by his co-stars.

First Nicholson, and now the introduction of Catwoman.

Seemingly, one villain was no longer enough for the bat-films, and everyone thought that more villains equaled a better movie.


Wrong.

It really spelled the doom for this franchise.

At least Burton had some ability to reign in the crazy with the extra cast.

With his departure, the franchise was about to change...


Forever!

(Cue ominous foreshadowing music!)


Final Grade: C

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: No thanks, I'm good.

There's A First Time For Everything... "Batman"

Batman (1989)

Rated PG-13 for language and violence       

Starring Jack Nicholson, Michael Keaton, Kim Basinger, Pat Hingle, Billy Dee Williams, Michael Gough

Directed by Tim Burton

The Story:

Bruce Wayne (Keaton) is a billionaire with a secret: he's Batman!  A hushed urban legend, he wants to help the Gotham City Police Department, including Commissioner Gordon (Hingle) and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Williams).  However, Gotham is riddled with crime, and the latest crime boss suffers an accident at the hands of Batman and he becomes...The Joker (Nicholson).  With the police, reporters and photographer Vicki Vale (Basinger) on his trail, can Batman save the day without being caught or killed?

Happy 25th Anniversary to the movie, Batman.

I have never watched the film before.

Shocking, I know.  You'd think I would have been all over this one.

However, I was relatively uninspired by the selection of Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne, and between all the snippets of music that year and clips on TV, I felt as if I'd pretty much seen everything I needed to with this film.

So, I finally sat down and watched it this weekend, and I'm reminded of a time when superhero movies generally sucked.

This film doesn't change my perception of that time, and I figure the popularity of the film came because it had been a long time since Superman: The Movie, and people wanted to like this, or any, superhero film.

Because...

It's pretty bad.

Those with rose-colored glasses who have 25 years of happy memories will disagree, and that's fine...

But wow.

A credit to Burton, he made a Gotham that looks and lives up to its place in the movie as an actual character.

However, the movie really should have probably been called The Joker, because let's face it, that's what most of the movie centered around.

Hey, if you're throwing all of your money and top-billing to the bad guy, you might as well make him shine.

Nicholson does his job, eating scenery and pulling out all the stops as The Joker.

Keaton does a fine job of portraying Wayne/Batman.  No real complaints there either.

The movie itself though, seeks too much synchronicity by making the Joker responsible for creating Batman and Batman responsible for creating The Joker.

Gag.

Vicki Vale provides nothing but eye candy and damsel in distress moments that grew old and tiresome by the 2nd or 3rd time she screamed in terror.

Then, by the third act, when Batman's billion dollar jet cannot hit The Joker even though it targets him perfectly, and the Joker is able to shoot down said jet with one bullet from the most ridiculous gun in movie history...

Yeah...

This is not the Batman you want... it's the Batman you deserved.

Ben Affleck can do better than this with his eyes closed.

Final Grade: C+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I went 25 years before seeing it.  I think I'm good for one lifetime.

There Were Holes In Shia LaBeouf? Actually...Yes! "Lawless"

Lawless (2012)
Rated R for Language and violence

Starring Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Jason Clarke, Guy Pearce, Gary Oldman
Directed by John Hillcoat


I'm actually pretty pleased that I was able to use a Pysch reference for today's title.

From there, it's all downhill folks!

:)

The Story:

The Bondurant Boys: Jack (LaBeouf), Forrest (Hardy) and Howard (Clarke) are making a living in depression/prohibition era Virginia by making and selling moonshine.  Ah, but corruption creeps in with a District Attorney and his deputy Charlie Rakes (Pearce) who collect from all the bootleggers.  The boys refuse, and this sets off an escalating war as Rakes tears the countryside apart trying to bring down the thorn in his side.

Sound exciting?

It should have been.

But I found myself pushing the fast forward button on a lot of this because it was just dragging...and dragging.

For almost 2 hours.

The actors do a fine, if unspectacularly convincing me that their story is an important one.

It was mostly a series of one Bondurant doing something stupid, then working together to fix that problem.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

I Can't Believe They Shot Me!

Even Guy Pearce who normally chews up the screen as the malicious bad guy just couldn't pull me in.

Heck, Gary Oldman couldn't even do much, with likely the second most charismatic part in the movie, but very limited screen time.

Perhaps Oldman and Hardy were just happy to be collecting their Bat-checks?

Your mileage may vary, but I was bored.

The movie itself looked great though, so there's that.

:)

Final Grade: C-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Not even if it was offered as a bribe...

Underrated Gem of the Year? "Now You See Me" Fits The Bill!

Look closer...

The Story:

Four magicians (Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher and Dave Franco) all receive a mysterious summons.  One year later, the group, now known as the Four Horsemen are about to pull off an amazing trick in Vegas:  They're going to rob a bank.  Naturally, when they succeed, they incur the interest of the FBI (Mark Ruffalo) and Interpol (Melanie Laurent).  If that wasn't enough, a former magician, now magic debunker (Morgan Freeman) is watching to see how they do it, and to prove that it's fake.

Got all that?

Good.

Sorry, this movie is flat out fun and entertaining.

I will not reveal much more than I already have, because what's the point of spoiling a movie about magicians?  Then you would lose all of the magic.  ;)

I was sold when the answer to the first magic trick in the movie was the same answer I said outloud.

I knew it was going to be fun after that.

All of the actors in the film do a great job.  Eisenberg and Harrelson take top honors as two of the Horsemen, but don't overlook the fine performance of Ruffalo as the one step behind FBI guy who is determined to solve the puzzle before the last act.

Also, don't underestimate the joy of having Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman working together in a non-Batman film either.  Both actors are in fine form and have some rather pivotal scenes throughout the movie.

I'll mark this one down as one of the more fun and enjoyable movies I've seen this year.

Let's hope the recently announced sequel is just as good, or better.

Final Grade: A-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor:  At it's heart, it's a heist film.  I love a good heist film.  I hope to add this one to the collection!

Polio Schmolio..."FDR: American Badass"

The only thing we have to fear...is werewolves!?!?

The Story:

Governor Roosevelt (Barry Bostwick) is out hunting with his friends when they are attacked by a werewolf.  He is bitten in the leg and contracts polio.  When a chance encounter with a young fan at the hospital spurs Roosevelt to run for President...well, the rest as they say, is history.  Of course most history books overlook the fact that Hitler, Mussolini and Hirohito were all werewolves.

Yes, it's going to be a slightly different version of what the history books said!

Well, this film was no Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

Instead of playing it straight, they went straight for the absurd in this film.  Heck, they even go for a Batman style logo segue between scenes, so you know from the get-go this is not going to be a conventional film by any means.

Barry Bostwick is hilarious as the aforementioned badass in the film.  He chews the scenery, and his cigarette, with relish and glee as he tears through the film.  The rest of the cast support him well.

The ridiculousness of the entire Axis of Evil (the first, and still the best...) being werewolves is insanely absurd, but works perfectly in this film.

So much so, that by the time the spirit of Abraham Lincoln (Kevin Sorbo) shows up, you question absolutely nothing at that point.  Of COURSE it had to happen that way!

;)

Really, the only thing I could do without was the scene involving bathroom humor.

And don't get me wrong, a good fart joke is *always* funny... ;)

But some films take it too far, and it crosses over from funny to disgusting.

So this film's getting docked for that...


Available to stream instantly on Netflix as of this writing...

If you dare!

Final Grade: C

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: One and done was just the right amount for this film. 

The Bane of My Existence..."The Dark Knight Rises"

The trilogy concludes...

The Story:

8 years have passed since Batman went into seclusion.  The streets of Gotham are safe, thanks to the Dent Act.  But when trouble rolls into town in the form of sadistic mercenary Bane, all bets are off, and Bruce Wayne decides to dust off the cowl and go back into action as...

Batman!

Has it been 8 years?

I honestly don't know.

In fact, aside from knowing that I saw the 2nd film, I really don't remember much about it.

Perhaps I was still too depressed that Heath Ledger killed himself, but I really don't remember much about that film.  Other than everyone loving it.

I'm not even sure if I own it, I'll have to check my DVD case.

But anyway, back to the film...

So the cast grows with the arrival of Catwoman (Anne Hathaway) and a cop (Joseph Gordon-Levitt...again...) who both figure strongly in Batman (Christian Bale) and Commissioner Gordon's (Gary Oldman) fight to save Gotham from Bane (Tom Hardy, unrecognizable under the mask).

And much like props to Karl Urban for his willingness to be masked the whole film for Dredd, kudos to Hardy for taking a role that hides his face and muffles his voice for 98% of his entire screen time.


I was pleased with the Catwoman performance this go-round.  Never saw Pfeiffer's version, but this is a huge leap in the right direction after Berry's debacle from years back.


In fact, as an action film, this was actually a pretty good movie.

That said...

By this point in time, with the arrival of The Avengers, and Marvel stepping up their movie business with hit after hit, my kids had absolutely no desire to even watch this one.

So DC, you better step up your game if you have any chance of putting butts in the seats, at least with my family.


: )

I see how they set up for the eventual sequel/franchise reboot or whatever...


Meh.  I can handle another Bruce Wayne actor... not thrilled with what they have seemingly decided on though.


Final Grade: B

Would I Own It: I'll probably pick up a copy eventually on the cheap, but no big hurry. 

Marvel > DC.

: )