I Mustache If You Liked "Justice League" ?

Justice League (2017)

Rated PG-13

Starring: Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, Ezra Miller, Jeremy Irons,

Directed by Zack Snyder

The Story:

Steppenwolf (the villain, not the band) is coming to Earth to destroy it. It's up to Batman (Affleck) and Wonder Woman (Gadot) to gather a band of heroes to defeat him. Ah, if only Superman (Cavill) was still alive..

I was determined to not have another DC Extended Universe film hit my "Turkeys of the Year" list.

So I sat and watched this one awhile ago.

I know I dozed off for a few minutes at least, and when I woke up, nothing substantial had been missed.

I also know I've never dozed off during a Marvel Studios film. At least not during the first 4 or 5 times I've seen it.

Is it fair to compare the Marvel Cinematic Universe to the DCEU?

Not to DC it's not.

Again, I've pointed out what I see as some of the flaws in the DC approach to movie-making.

The tone is too dark, and the films were too rushed. Marvel took a decade to lay the foundations, and the fans, both hardcore and casual are invested by the 19th film to see what is happening to their favorites.

Conversely, DC launches a team-up from nearly the first movie, and then expands on it with the next film, tinkering with the tone mid-film to try and be more Marvel-like.

At this point, I'm not buying it.

While this movie is more watchable and more entertaining than Batman vs. Superman, that's not really saying much.

It's the old being poked in the eye by a dull stick versus a sharp stick argument.

Then when you stack it against what Marvel has given us so far this year (Black Panther and Infinity War) then you see how this movie just totally pales in comparison.

I want to like these films. I want DC to succeed.

Trust me, I'd much rather see ALL the superhero movies be good.

Maybe next time?

I'm not sure how many chances I'm willing to give, but I do know I'll never buy a ticket to see one in the theater.

What a waste of money that would be.

Final Grade: D+ to F

Don't Mess With "The Accountant"

The Accountant (2016)

Rated R

Starring Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, John Lithgow,

Directed by Gavin O'Connor

The Story:

Christian Wolff (Affleck) is a savant with an amazing knack for numbers. His services are so well regarded, many illicit organizations have used him to fix their books, so to speak. However, with the criminal task force closing in, he accepts a more legitimate client to lay low for awhile, yet it may be his most duplicitous account yet.

And did I fail to mention that Wolff is also like a deadly assassin as well?

And there you have a premise to a movie that might sound silly on paper, but plays out really well on screen.

Surrounded by a great supporting cast, including Simmons as the lead agent on the task force who is one step away from retirement, and hoping he can catch Wolff, or at least train his replacement before it's too late.

Other than that, I'm not going to give anything else away at the risk of taking any twists and turns away from this action thriller.

Great cast. Interesting premise. Well done by all involved.

Final Grade:  B  / B+ range

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+

"Runner Runner" Not Bad, Not Bad

Runner Runner (2013)

Rated R

Starring Justin Timberlake, Ben Affleck, Gemma Arterton, Anthony Mackie,

Directed by Brad Furman

The Story:

Richie (Timberlake) is trying to make ends meet and make his college tuition by rounding up people to use an online poker site owned by Ivan Block (Affleck). However, when Richie ends up losing a fortune, he discovers a flaw in the system and crashes a party to let Ivan know that his site is being rigged by someone. Ivan thanks him by offering him a job, and Richie quickly rises to become his right hand man. However, that's a very dangerous place to be...

There are flashes of brilliance and great performances to be had throughout this film.

Timberlake, as always, seems to be a natural in front of the camera, and when he hangs up his singing career for good, he's got a great second career to fall back on.

Naturally, a hero is only as good as the villain, and Affleck plays along as the menacing thug who can make or break Richie (or anyone for that matter) with just a few choice words.

When the two are together, the storyline picks up.

The problem, the two don't share a whole ton of screen time.

The other major players are Arterton as Ivan's girlfriend who has a thing for Richie...

And Mackie who gets to play a corrupt FBI agent.

Throw in a heist, betrayals and backstabbing and the movie had great ideas that just didn't fully come across.
That's a shame, because again, those flashes of brilliance could have made this a repeat viewing.

Final Grade:  C+

How To Reboot A Franchise: Step 1: Hire Chris Pine ... "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit"

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014)

Rated PG-13 for language and violence

Starring Chris Pine, Keira Knightley, Kenneth Branagh, Kevin Costner

Directed by Kenneth Branagh

The Story:

This is the story of how Jack Ryan (Pine) becomes an analyst for the CIA.  We will meet his mentor (Costner), his wife (Knightley) and even some pesky Russian villain (Branagh).  In short, this is the origin of America's James Bond.

So the question:

Is it worth it?

In a word: Yes.

While this is not The Hunt For Red October, this is clearly the best Jack Ryan we've been treated to in a generation. 

Honestly, I remember very little about the Ben Affleck version of the franchise, but perhaps that is for the best?

Branagh spins a tight tale behin the camera, while portraying the bad guy in front of it.  With Thor and now Jack Ryan under his belt, his days of being just a Shakespearean director are long gone.

Chris Pine steps in to the role of Jack Ryan, and does a nice job of making anyone that remembers the old movies forget Baldwin, Ford and Affleck.

Of course, this is a lot easier than stepping into the role of Kirk in Star Trek, but just like that franchise, a fresh coat of 21st century paint shows there are a lot of miles left in these franchises.

The only real problem...

Will audiences tire of seeing Chris Pine in everything?

Adding Costner as Ryan's mentor works nicely.  They now have a character that could be spun into his own movies if the mood strikes, either prequels or sequels with or without Ryan as the partner.

Anyway, a good first effort, and I look forward to seeing what they come up with next.

Final Grade: B-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Not a bad reboot to the franchise.  I'd be willing to own/watch it again.

Sometimes the Oscar Goes to the Right Film... "Argo"

 

 

It's 1979, and things in Iran just got real...

The Story:

Based on the true story of the upheaval in Iran in 1979 when the Shaw left, the Ayatollah took over, and Americans were glued to their sets watching the Hostage Crisis unfold on national television.  However, 6 of the Americans left the embassy and were hidden at the house of the Canadian Ambassador.  The CIA puzzled with how to get them home, and every idea was awful.  So they took the best of the worst options:  Go into Iran posing as a Canadian film crew, and get the hostages out.  The chance for failure, about 99%.  That is not going to stop Agent Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) from trying.  The movie's name?  Argo.

Okay, is everyone done bashing Ben Affleck's career?  If not, this should silence the critics.

From the opening Warner Brothers logo, you are in 1979, there is no denying it.

I have yet to see the rest of the Best Picture nominees from the year, but I see no reason to think the Academy got it wrong on this one.

I would say the snub for Best Director comes from the fact that, it's Ben Affleck.

Thankfully, it would seem that every other voting entity got over themselves and any disdain they had for Gigli... and got it right.

Kudos also to Alan Arkin and John Goodman as the Hollywood producer and special effects guy who went out on a limb to provide the most elaborate back story ever for a covert operation.  Their dialogue is hilarious, and they provide some much needed smiles in an otherwise harrowing ordeal.

If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it.

Final Grade: A

Would I Own It: That's a tricky one. Dramas only have so much replay value, as I have to psych myself up for a movie like this.  Rewatchable? Yes.