Batman Forever Movie Rewatch Review

Yes, Batman Forever is still dumb, nonsensical, ostentatious, and a bit boring at times, but...

Hot damn! The movie is a visual treat in both cinematography (particularly the movements of the actors within frames) and production design. The music by Elliot Goldenthal, while nowhere near as good as Danny Elfman's scores, is enjoyable in its cartoony throwback styles, as well.

Plus - there's some really smart writing and bits (such as exploring Batman's psychology), inbetween all the various homages to 60s Batman and general weak points of the movie.

Not to mention the performances! Sure, Val Kilmer's a weak Bruce Wayne (his take is a rather flat traumatized one), but a pretty good Batman. The supporting cast is, for better or worse, 1- or 2-dimensional, and though both villains channel the Joker (via Robin Williams?), they're a pleasure to watch (I really love Tommy Lee Jones in this, even if its a flawed characterization). Also, hot damn! Dr. Chase Meridian.

And I'll say this - while fairly clearly teased, it's arguably a missed opportunity to explore Nigma's obsessive homoerotic tendencies towards Batman. They probably handled things as well as they could for 1995, but Forever presents some interesting themes and ideas that are only lightly touched upon. At the very least, it made for some great bits having Nigma chase Bruce (Nigma's party is a great example of this).

As a kid, I loved the film, so there's a good nostalgia factor for reciting the lines and enjoying the various scenes; and while as an adult I'm not as entertained, I can definitely appreciate a number of the strengths it has going for it.

Takeaway: Dumb but fun, and very enjoyable in some parts while more trashy in others.

Justice League Movie Review

*MILD SPOILERS*

The first thing to acknowledge about Justice League is maybe the easiest thing to say about it:

It's a mess.

But what does that mean exactly? Well, your mileage may vary with both how much you enjoy the movie and how good you think it is.

As for me, I certainly didn't hate the movie as much as Man of Steel (which I consider to be the worst movie I've seen in theaters in the past decade, if not ever), nor was I as bored as I was during Suicide Squad, but it didn't have nearly enough of the good will of Wonder Woman or surprisingly entertaining tonal consistency of Batman vs Superman's extended edition (despite disagreements with the overall creative direction; I'm not bothering with the theatrical version).

My main gripes with the movie are:

• I stopped caring - Shortly into the movie, I realized I didn't care about anyone or anything that was on screen. Neither the plots nor performances were particularly exciting. Ben Affleck's Batman alternated between disaffected and disinterested, with a good chunk of dry smarm and wit to feign engagement. Cyborg's exaggerated movements were also awkward. 
• The film really needed breathing room - The editing, pacing and timing were rushed in a way that gave the movie a really awkward tone. Part of this may have been due to the split-directing duties between Zach Snyder and Joss Whedon, but there's a good chance the movie was a mess during the script. Speaking of which...
• The script - Clunky dialogue, cheesy lines, random (retroactive) introductions of plots/character motivations via dialogue, lack of subtlety - the film needed another pass on both the dialogue and the script.
• The music - Why did Danny Elfman replace Junkie XL? Despite my general dislike of both Man of Steel and Batman vs Superman, the music for both was of high quality. The lack of Superman's theme and other recent themes really hurt Justice League. Not to mention the very random inclusion of the Burton Batman theme detracted from the experience. Very, very disappointing. 
• The CG - This was really, really not good. From the blandness of Steppenwolf's face to the blandness of the terraforming. Sure, it led to some pretty flowers, but everything looked like visual crap, despite the big budget...

I could list more, but I'll try to summarize: the film was a very mediocre and underwhelming debut for DC's first-class team. I can't say that I was disappointed, because that meant I would have expected better from the current DC Extended Universe, although in seeing the movie that meant I unfortunately financially supported it. 

Had this been an entry in the DC Animated Movie universe, I'd have been perfectly contented. Hell, if all the rest of the Snyder-verse DC movies could be relegated to much cheaper DCAM versions, that may be the best win-win scenario - give people these stories with these characters and not continue with the exorbitant costs and missed live-action opportunities. 

That said, the film did do a few things well:

• Superman - Other than a debatable return, once Superman remembered who he was, we're finally able to see the "beacon of hope" Superman as played by Henry Cavill. Had this been the Superman from the get go, perhaps the DCEU course would be in a more positive direction. Note, though, that this movie is a giant refresh for Superman, with previous ones almost taking place in parallel dimensions, considering how different this Superman is.
• The Flash and Cyborg's banter - Other than one or two cringe-worthy jokes, they had a nice rapport.
• The overall team dynamic - Excusing script and performance issues, the team actually seemed motivated to work together to get the job done. They recognized each others strengths and tried to encourage each other to be the best versions of themselves. 

When it's all said and done, I would suggest either waiting to see the movie on cable, where commercial breaks may help disrupt the flow of the movie in a good way, or an extended edition of the film is released which hopefully reinserts some much-needed breathing room. Until then, Justice League is NOT RECOMMENDED. If you want some great Justice League content, watch the complete run of Justice League Unlimited. 

Wonder Woman is a step in a direction

And for the most part, that direction is the right one.

I'll create this review in two parts: the first is a shorter spoiler-free quick review, the second a longer more spoiler-discussed review.

QUICK REVIEW
Wonder Woman is a perfectly serviceable action superhero movie. It doesn't really break any new ground, but doesn't make any egregious errors. It does some things well and some things not so well. It's fine. I couldn't help but think it reminded me of an improved version of bad/mediocre 90s action movies (e.g. The Phantom, The Stranger, Spawn).

To put it quickly, Wonder Woman is a relatively fun movie with an uneven tone, hit-or-miss jokes and great action sequences. Considering it's 2+ hour length, it wasn't a chore to sit through. Reasonably Recommended


SPOILER WARNING

And here comes the LONGER REVIEW.

Let's get to some of the highlights of the movie first.

The Good
1. Chris Pine - From an acting and character perspective, he's the best part of the movie. Steve Trevor has a solid characterization and arc. It's great to see his consistency of character vs going on an emotional journey, for the most part. I would love to see more of him, but he went out with a bang.

2. The Action Sequences - Wonder Woman kicks ass! Going by the quality of the action sequences, the film peaks in the middle, when Diana does her fantastically shot Wonder Woman reveal. The fight on the battlefield and through into the city is some of the best action I've seen on screen in a long time. Even the end's fight isn't too shabby, with relatively clear action and some good character moments.

3. The Look - Other than some occasionally bad CG/green screen (sadly during the fight sequences), the colors and cinematography are generally nice.


The Mixed
1. Wonder Woman/Gal Gadot - Gadot is best when she's fighting, but it seems fairly clear she's not the greatest actress/actor in the film. Her "born sexy yesterday Diana" has a great innocence, but also a naive stupidity, which is really hard to determine whether it's a testament to Gadot's skill or reflection or her lack thereof. Either way, it's a partially odd characterization of Diana.

2. Ares and the Villains - They were alright, but largely forgettable/throwaway. The way they handled Ares seemed fairly standard for the twist reveal approach, but might have been better had they just revealed Ares as the big bad in the beginning to give him more character moments. That said, David Thewlis did a reasonable job with what he had.

3. The Ending - Considering the film was a fairly standard action superhero movie, the big action ending wasn't terrible, but it would have been nice if the theme of love were better incorporated vs "smash the bad guy."

4. The Supporting Cast - While Robin Wright was great, Connie Nielson was good and Lucy Davis was fun, the three men on the squad left much to be desired, particularly Ewen Bremner as Charlie. It was just too cartoony/cliched.

5. Diana and Steve's relationship - I enjoyed watching them form their bond, but not sure it was really earned. The only reason it sorta worked is because the film set them up from the beginning to be a couple, plus comic's history. Within the movie, they don't really do a whole lot together to earn the relationship.


The Indifferent
1. The framing of the movie, with WW reflecting on her past, was an interesting choice. I'm not entirely sure how necessary it was or how it fits into the DCEU on the whole (other than the Bruce Wayne connection), but it didn't hurt the movie.


The Could Have Been Better
1. The Tone / Middle of the Movie - The stuff on Themyscira and during the end have a fairly consistent tone, though the beginning does have some light-hearted moments. However, the middle is the weakest, and longest, part of the movie. The tone is incredibly mixed, trying to balance the tragedy and hardships of war with cartoonish comedy, caused primarily by the supporting cast, as mentioned above.

2. The Music - While it was great hearing WW's theme during the excellent middle fight, the build-up towards her theme could have been better. I wanted her theme to debut as she debuted, which, technically she did, but doing so in the middle of the movie was an interesting choice, particularly since it doesn't memorably come up again afterwards. Granted, it's use in the scene was most excellent.


The Questionable
1. Why was Diana ever a kid? If she's sculpted from clay, shouldn't she just be an adult? I'd rather see a young and inexperienced Gadot on the island learning everything vs a child.

2. How sheltered are the Amazons, exactly? It's a pretty bad reflection of their society that Diana's so naive. Granted, this is fairly typical to DC mythology... Also, what exactly is their power level, considering they seem largely immortal (presumably like elves)?

3. What are the power skills in this movie?? Diana has telekinesis now? Ares has lightning? What was really the point of Dr. Poison's gas pill to Ludendorff - just for an alright fight sequence? Why not distribute to an entire army?


The Wrap-Up
Despite the longer version being more critical, per se, I did enjoy the movie. It's easier to mentally sit back and appreciate it for the casual, middle-of-the-road superhero film it is vs try and hold it to a higher standard, considering how much pressure was on it (and where it was coming from).

Batman: Eternal thoughts

Enjoyed the first portion (volume 1), but it became less compelling as it went on. Reminded me of Hush, Knightfall and No Man's Land, but as a rehash. Characters were rather one dimensional, mostly marquee villains (Scarecrow, Bane, Clayface, Freeze, et al) and Batman himself, otherwise compete flips on characters (Catwoman). Julia P may have been the best handled character, along with Bard; I'm going back and forth on Harper Rowe (interesting character, but a little too manic pixie dream girl? The design/hair is probably my gripe, along with her adept fighting prowess - even if she slipped up early it was obvious she'd learn shortly). Arcs seemed to end too abruptly or disappear and show up sporadically.

Another main gripe is it would have been great to see more pathos for Batman, rather than him just being angry all the time. There may be interesting psychology and storytelling that Batman "devolves" to anger, but it didn't do it for me.

Also, trying to avoid spoiler, but the ending undermined itself. It was building towards something so nice, then the rug was swept from underneath.

Scott Snyder has been writing Batman for awhile, but what's his general reputation?

Movies and TV of 2016

2016 was an interesting year for movies. A number of big blockbusters came out, but it was the indie movies that were the real winners, though it appears general consensus is hard to pinpoint one particularly "big" movie.

In any case, here are quick thoughts and my rankings for the movies I saw circa 2016.

Favorites
Kubo and the Two Strings - Hands down favorite movie. Amazing craftsmanship, production design and musical score, among others, help overshadow any story or character issues. It's message on the importance of memory and storytelling is beautiful (especially compared to self-indulgent Hollywood stories).

The Handmaiden - Fantastic movie. It's like Hitchcock meets Paul Verhoeven meets feminism. Beautiful visuals and music.

Moana - Incredibly vibrant movie with luscious visuals and good humor, if occasional a little too post-modern. Enjoyable songs, with great messages and themes throughout the film.

Sing Street - It may be relatively cliche, but the overwhelming charm, 80s setting and fantastic soundtrack make it a near-instant classic. Also has probably the best song of the year: Drive it Like You Stole It.


Very Good, with minor flaws
The Hunt for the Wilderpeople - Great performances by Sam Neill(!), Julian Dennison (the kid!) and Rima Te Wiata (Bella!), with plenty of charm and goofiness. The dynamic between Neill and Dennison are great, losing only a little steam towards the end.

Don't Breathe - Great filmmaking throughout. Some excellent shots, interesting enough characters and solid tension.

Moonlight - Profoundly sad love story. Took a little time to fully sink in, but haunting.

La La Land - Didn't care for most of the musical numbers or Hollywood nostalgia, but loved the growth of the characters during the film. Great maturity.

Train to Busan - Doesn't add much to the zombie genre, but is a great ride.

Kung Fu Panda 3 - The weakest of the three, but still great music, visuals, style and message

Deadpool - Very fun characters and relationships help elevate the mundane plot, but is also helped by it being partly a satire.

The Mermaid - STEPHEN CHOW!!! It's a great return-to-form for Chow, plus more modern elements.

The Lobster - Quirky, creative and very original. The third act may be a smidge on the weaker side, but that final scene!

Swiss Army Man - Incredibly inventive film with some inspiring sequences, but it's weirdness may be polarizing - occasionally simultaneously good and bad.

Arrival - The philosophy presented in the film, combined with the direction, cinematography and music elevate an otherwise cheesy plot (global crisis) with hit or miss acting/characters.

Green Room - Not the most interesting characters, but once the film and tension gets going it does not let up. Even up to the last shot. Incredibly excellent job of tension.

Finding Dory - Incredibly well made, very sentimental, but also strangely almost completely superfluous

The Jungle Book - Gorgeous visuals help elevate an otherwise shallow nostlagia trip with some nice genuine emotional beats.

Zootopia - The relationship between the two leads plus social commentary help the film stand out, even if some of the jokes fall flat and the message is a bit garbled by the end. Zootopia is the more adult version of KFP3.

The Wailing - Interesting Korean horror regarding exorcisms and various religions. It starts as a comedy then slowly gets darker and darker.

Hell or High Water - Great relationships and dialogue save an otherwise paint-by-numbers plot. The movies screams TEXAS, but not in a bad way (similar to Fargo in MN). Nice commentary on land/history.

13th - Insightful documentary on the connections between slavery and the US prison system. The narrative could maybe have been structured better, but lots of information.

Enjoyed, but flawed
Batman vs Superman: Extended Cut - Acknowledging its made some disagreeable creative choices with regards to characters, the plot makes sense and may have received some undeserved hatred. Certainly better than Man of Steel or Suicide Squad.

Nocturnal Animals - Great cinematography, music, performances and ending, but it was missing something to really gel for me.

Star Trek Beyond - As the third entry, the film solidifies the series' direction of action-adventure. Entertaining, but fluffy, with zero new ideas (and a number of half-assed ones, like the new female character).

Captain America: Civil War - One of the more enjoyable Marvel movies, but very, very messy. Bit too self-indulgent at times.

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates - Crass and sophomoric, but knows what it is and has a number of funny (and cring-worthy) moments.

Under the Shadow - An interesting story, with nice visuals, but not as compelling as the comparable The Babadook.

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping - Pretty much what you'd expect from an Andy Samberg/Lonely Island satire on pop music, but well done, with good creativity and music.

Sausage Party - An almost South Park-level of satire with great commentary on religion/faith, but significantly marred by an overly crude and sophomoric script.

The Siege of Jadotville - Pretty entertaining war-action movie telling a lesser-known perspective from a real-life event, though lacking a bit on story and character development.

Lights Out - Completely serviceable horror with nice visual design.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - It's fine. Not Burton's best or worst. Could have used more runtime and fleshing out of ideas/characters. Lead actor (Asa) could have been better and Sam Jackson could have been better utilized. 

The Nice Guys - Somewhat closer to the "meh" side. Russell Crowe is a bunch of fun, along with the daughter (though she has a few off moments), whereas Ryan Gosling is uneven. The film borders on a boring, been-there-done-that Shane Black story, though has nice moments and ideas. A lot of great trailer moments don't actually fit in the movie. Needed better editing for story and film.

Magnificent Seven - Probably more interesting if this is one's first exposure to this story, otherwise it adds nothing new to the narrative/genre. Good music and some elaborate, if not overly long, action sequences are the highlights, with some nice character moments when you can hear the dialogue.

Doctor Strange - Inventive visual sequences weren't enough to elevate a cliched script and origin story. Benedict Cumberbatch didn't work for me as Strange, though he was great in the end credits sequence. Lots of forced humor that didn't work.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - A number of interesting ideas and elements weren't enough to save this from an odd, if not inconsistent, choice of tone (not a fan of Yates). I did love Colin Farrell as the villain (more roles like this please).

Didn't Enjoy
The Witch - Started very promising, almost like Kubrick, but I didn't care about any of the characters. Interesting ending, but fairly standard witch movie.

Keeping Up with the Joneses - Interesting characters and relationships aren't enough to save an incredibly cliched and predictable plot. There are some good ideas, for which I would be either open to a sequel or perhaps a TV series.

Gantz: O - Mostly impressive animation, though the humans are on the weaker side. The dialogue is very weak to average, with a number of dumb/forced creative choices. Also, it's pretty sexist.

War Dogs - Probably wanted to be Wolf of Wall Street, but failed. Too slowly paced with unlikable characters.

Midnight Special - This felt like an incomplete, pretentious movie.

High-Rise - Started interesting, then falls apart. Never quite achieves the highs it wants to.

50 Shades of Black - Funny, but forgettable and generic.

Ghostbusters - Starts out OK, but becomes less funny after the first-third. Unearned action sequence at the end, combined with a messy plot/bad writing hurt the movie. An unfortunate misfire for the talented lead actresses.

Now You See Me 2 - Better off rewatching the first, which was dumb-but-fun.

Batman: The Killing Joke - The original content is the most interesting part, then taking a big dive when it goes into an accurate adaptation of the comic. We never really follow any one character, which hurts.

Joshy - Forgettable indie melodrama.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - The weak characters prevented me from being invested in the story, which could probably shave a good 40 minutes and not miss anything.

Suicide Squad - Hard to care about any characters, let alone the plot. The tone is uneven and the editing is sloppy. Becomes more consistent towards the end, but it lost me by then.

Spectral - Found the film to be very flat and bland. The name of the villains made me roll my eyes.

X-Men: Apocalypse - Can't spell "Apocalypse" without "POS"


2016 movies I've yet to see, but want to:
Elle
Don't Think Twice
Hidden Figures
The Edge of Seventeen
20th Century Women
Tickled
Justice League Dark
Lion
Jack Reacher 2
Secret Life of Pets


As for TV shows, I didn't watch much, but here are the highlights:

The Expanse: Season 1 - It may have technically started in 2015, but this was a great first season. First few episodes move the plot forward quickly, then do a better mix of plot and character afterwards.

Luke Cage: Season 1 - Great style, characters and music. Really enjoyed this, even if I wish they had extended the first story arc a bit longer, if only to get more of one character.

Black Mirror: Season 3 - Easily the best season of the series yet. San Junipero is a great episode of television, though I did have issues with the two characters falling in love so quickly. The season opener was a bit weak, but each subsequent episode gets better and better.

Lady Dyanmite: Season 1 - Delightful. The season's a bit uneven, but the highs are incredibly high. The lows are fairly enjoyable, as well.

South Park: Season 20 - First two episodes were brilliantly hilarious, then the show got a bit too real for awhile, while also scrambling to match the then-current political events, but brilliantly picked things back up again towards the end

Westworld: Season 1 - I was compelled while watching, but ultimately ended the season underwhelmed. Some really great episodes, but the show mostly worked via storytelling gimmicks that fall apart upon reasonable analysis.

Game of Thrones: Season 6 - The last episode was the real money episode, otherwise it was a slow season (though certainly better than S5) with some nice moments scattered throughout.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Season 2 - While the first season had rough moments, it was pretty fun, on the whole. However, with season 2, I gave up after four episodes.

2016 shows yet to watch:
Atlanta
Insecure

Batman: The Killing Joke movie review

Batman: The Killing Joke was disappointingly mediocre...

The new opening was interesting, telling a nice story fleshing out Batgirl and her relationship (both figurative and literal) with Batman. I didn't even mind the implied sex between the two. However, the overt sexualization of Barbara left a bit to be desired...

Some of my main issues with the movie:

1. Who's story is this? Batman is the third most important character behind both Batgirl and The Joker, with no character receiving a proper arc/throughline, so the story feels disconnected. As they had decided to mess with source material by adding a new prologue, I would have loved if they embraced it more to modify the structure overall and taken some more risks (e.g. start with the Batman confronting Joker scene at the beginning, then flesh out relationships and characters more). While some may complain that Batgirl lacks agency (both in this and the source material, which is a topic for discussion), if anything, Gordon is the afterthought plot device in this film

2. The tone - Something about the story wasn't connecting with me/sucking me in, trying so hard to be dark that it took away from the story. I'd argue the film never really has a chance to breathe and live on its own once it starts adhering to the source material. The choice in tone even impacts the voice acting, which also felt disconnected, like it was missing something or just wrong. As legendary as both Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill are, their voices felt out of place.

3. The visuals - Brian Bolland has such an iconic take on the Joker, yet the movie wasn't able to properly emulate it. The art styles change throughout the movie in a way that's unfortunately distracting. Sure, there is changing art direction in the source material, but it didn't translate very well.

On a side note, I was very curious how the film would handle the recently "controversial" ending, in which some believe Batman finally kills the Joker. Had the film been adjusted to center more on Batman's experience and how the Joker was actually pushing and testing Batman, or that the events impacted him more than Joker's target of Gordon, especially the new additions with Batman's relationship to Batgirl, it would have been so wonderfully bold if DC had Batman finally break and kill the Joker.

Overall, the new Batgirl prologue is interesting and could be a fun-yet-dark supporting episode for Batman Beyond, but after that you're probably better off reading the source material. I'd rank this on the lower end of the DC animated movies, particularly for Batman stories. For reference, two of the ones I really enjoyed were Under the Red Hood and Dark Knight Returns; I did not like Year One.

Captain America: Civil War review, AKA Marvel’s most masturbatory movie yet

(And while jacking off may feel good in the moment, it can have messy consequences.)

 

Going into Civil War, I had reasonable expectations and a decent amount of excitement.

 

Captain American: Civil War is a two-fold experience for me. If I approach it with my brain completely turned off, then it’s a surprisingly fun action movie with lots of great character moments, a solid bad guy and is a worthwhile entry as one of the better “episodes” of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

 

Then again…

 

If I decide to turn on my brain to use even a modicum of thought, the film decreases in value, with that balance tipping the more I critically analyze the film. Even through a critical lens, here’s my general breakdown (SPOILERS):

 

Good

1. The characters are well-established at this point; I particularly like Tony Stark’s PTSD and the budding relationship between Vision and Scarlet Witch
2. Introductions: Black Panther had arguably the best introduction in the movie, as his arc worked very well. Zemo also was a great new introduction as a villain with much more personal motives than just world destruction, global domination, etc. As for the biggest new character, Spider-man is definitely a scene stealer, but more on him below
3. The big action scenes: there were two great action set pieces – 1) the much hyped airport fight and 2) the ending (but what about the other action scenes? See below)
4. Humor: Civil War’s humor is good, but has some flaws (again, see below)

 

Not so good

1. Self-reflection and themes: I really enjoyed that Civil War went a bit meta to discuss the state of the MCU thus far, calling out the previous movies and their rampant destruction – it asks the characters (and the viewers) how do we deal with the consequences of our actions when our actions often have negative consequences? The film unfortunately ends up becoming more of the same, with resolutions only occurring via action. Yes, it’s an action movie, but Civil War was so close to actually having a message.
2. Themes part 2 – Politics: I like that the film raises the question on regulation, but it does not answer it or come close to answering it. Perhaps it was simply to spawn debate amongst the crowd, but come on, you’re a big giant movie, say an answer, because there is one and the film wasn’t close to touching it (hint: it’s inbetween, leaning much closer to Team Cap; more on that below).

 

Bad

1. Emotion is the driving force: There is such little actual thinking in this movie it’s mind boggling. No character at any point stops to actually think about their actions, nor do they consult anyone. Everyone has already formed their opinions, based on their emotions, then they just… go. A genius mind like Tony Stark’s can’t think to discuss the idea of registration? Nobody wants to board out the pros and cons? Nobody realizes there are other options? Civil War is maybe one of the best examples in film of either super incompetent powerful people or powerfully incompetent super people.
2. The plot: Speaking of the above, while the characters are mostly OK (or at least in line with previous depictions), the characters are only behaving the way they are to service the plot and story Marvel and the Russo brothers want to tell. Tony Stark may get some leniency due to his PTSD, but that’s weakly touched upon. Black Widow could have been great, but just does what Black Widow does. Again, nobody talks things out or thinks things through. It’s all in service of the action. There is such little growth and solid character arcs (save for Black Panther).
3. The tone: Is it trying to be exciting? Humorous? Mysterious? It touches on many different tones as it crosses genres (action, comedy, political thriller, satire/social commentary) and is definitely dark, but never actually commits to one and falls short of all by the end, because…
4. The pacing: Let’s be honest, this is one of the key areas where the film breaks down. The first act/third is great with its idea of exploring the reality of the Marvel movies thus far, regarding the actions of the Avengers (granted, it rings hollow because it doesn’t raise accountability of any other mass militia/global organization; but that’s a different story). Then, as they’re starting to touch on some good high-level ideas, it branches off to a lengthy Spider-man introduction. Yes, the scene is incredibly fun, but it’s so randomly out of place; more on that below. Then the big airport action to round out the middle, followed by getting back to the feud between the two main characters and revelation of the villain in the final act. While the first and third acts make sense, they are so derailed by the second act that it hurts the pacing significantly. Also, who’s story are we following – Captain America’s or Iron Man’s? Because the shift in focus is so awkward, with Iron Man really stealing the story come the credits.
5. Spider-man: Yes, he’s definitely a highlight and Tom Holland is now easily in the top two live-action Spider-men (Yes, I like Maguire; no, I didn’t care for Garfield), but his lengthy introduction detracts from the actual story and plot of the movie. Sure, he made the airport scene incredibly fun, but it once again raises the question of a character not stopping to think things through. Captain America pretty much calls this out and while Spider-man acknowledges it, HE DOESN’T ACTUALLY STOP TO THINK ABOUT HIS ACTIONS OR WHY HE’S FIGHTING. But he keeps fighting because fighting is both fun and funny, right? Last point, and Jesus Christ, Tony Stark brings a… 16 year old? To a fight with SUPERHEROES. People who’ve been fighting for years. The mother freaking Avengers. He brings a 6-months experienced teenager to a fight. What the actual fuck. Pure teenager fantasy malarkey which only highlights the maturity level and target audience of this movie.
6. Treatment of the villains: Really Marvel? This is the time you decide to shake things up and save a villain? Granted, I like Zemo, but really? Neither Red Skull nor Roman nor anyone else? I hope you have something nice in store. Also, once again you build up minor villains in a previous movie only to nonchalantly kill them off (Crossbones in this, Baron von Strucker in Ultron). You’re getting to be almost as bad at offing villains as George Lucas in Star Wars.
7. Scarlet Witch: While I liked her budding romantic relationship with Vision and don’t mind the plot of having someone confined to tow the political lines of safety (ours or theirs???), why make her so incompetent in the first place to toss a human explosive into a building? She launched Crossbones straight up – why send him sideways? Just WTF, so dumb. Again, a move to advance the plot.
8. The weight of it all: Once again, another movie comes and goes with little to no consequence. Sure, WarMachine is injured and The Avengers are fractured, but everything will be back to relative normal in a movie or two.

 

Civil War had such a great premise going in – to regulate superheroes or not. It’s such a smart move to discuss providing resolution and restitution for previous damage and even having the team conflicted on the method, but to have the answer to fighting and regulation be more fighting and wanton destruction? Bravo, Marvel. Then again, maybe they answer this in a future movie. Then again, it’ll probably be like Civil War, aka another chapter in the never ending saga of Marvel.

 

I wish the Marvel Cinematic Universe were more like the three Nolan Batman movies, where each one had unique themes and purpose, while still building out the world. With each passing Marvel movie, it just becomes more of a wankfest (Civil War was basically a Marvel orgy). And yet… I’m getting exhausted with watching the same anti-climactic movie over and over. I’m left with virtual blue balls, where I want the climax of Thanos and the Infinity Stones to finally come so we can move on to something else. Until then, Marvel continues to yank my chain.

 

But perhaps I’m expecting too much from pop culture. Perhaps I’m expecting too much for mainstream characters to have thought, to be challenged and actually grow in a movie. While I applaud the MCU for turning into a TV show, they’ve unfortunately become one where there’s a ton of filler with little actual payoff. If I wanted to watch Dragonball Z, I’d just watch the anime.

 

Here’s hoping Doctor Strange has some actual philosophy and growth. Let’s see superheroes do some actual good in this world for once.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns 2-part movie review

I rather enjoyed the Batman: The Dark Knight Returns two part animated adaptation. The soundtrack by Christopher Drake was particularly enjoyable, sounding reminiscent of the Tron: Legacy soundtrack, with hints of Batman Beyond. While watching Part 1, it made me think this is probably the closest we would get to a John Carpenter Batman movie, who could have done a very interesting and potentially awesome adaptation of TDK, or Batman in the 80s, in general.

I enjoyed Part 1 more than Part 2, as it had better themes and story (Batman coming back). Part 2 came across like random chapters. Granted, part of the problem is the source material, but it would have been nice if the story were streamlined a bit to focus on fewer things and given more of an overarching story. Currently, it's just Batman doing cool stuff and being badass (which is not in itself a bad thing). Would be nice if there were more focused themes like aging (such as Wrath of Khan), social commentary (such as They Live) or satire (such as Robocop). It does talk about society standing up for itself and Batman being a role model, but it's not the central focus.

Peter Weller did a decent job as Batman, but Michael Ironside may have been a better choice. Carrie Kelley's voice (Ariel Winter) and the Mutant Leader's voice (Gary Anthony Williams) were solid, although the rest of the voices were largely forgettable.

The animation was great, adapting Frank Miller and Klaus Jansen's work wonderfully, albeit it a way that's cleaner for animation.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns gets a solid RECOMMENDATION. Check it out if you have 2.5 hours and want a fun Batman 80s movie. It'll probably be better than Batman vs. Superman.

Birdman - A Groundbreaking Narrative of Required Viewing

To put it simply, it's a work of art that requires processing.

Upon leaving the theater, I thought it was more good than bad, but always interesting. After digesting it for some time, that still holds true. I'm not sure if I'd put it in my Top 5, Top 10 or even Top 50, but it's a very special movie. It's special because it manages to successfully walk the line between two worlds - it simultaneously celebrates and takes down both theater and cinema.

Director and writer (and team) Alejandro González Iñárritu made a completely unique piece of film that takes storytelling to a whole new level. There really is nothing quite like it and probably won't be for some time. Its legacy for the general public will more than likely end up as a cult independent movie primarily for film lovers, but its achievements will hopefully transcend its status.

Strangely, the only thing I may be able to compare it to is Scott Pilgrim as to how much the directors just own their story, narrative and experience; self-contained stories with their own language. It's incredibly meta and beautifully so.

The layered acting is also fantastic and one of the most noteworthy achievements of the film, due in part to its long takes. While Emma Stone and Edward Norton are the standouts (Norton's debut scene being one of the best of the experience), Michael Keaton obviously is the one to carry the movie. He's equal parts over-the-top and honest/vulnerable. I'd love to see him do a third Batman movie after this.

Not only do I highly recommend Birdman, I'll go so far as to say it's required viewing for fans of cinema, theater and/or narrative in general. Even if you don't fall in love with it, this is an important movie.

Batman the Animated Series soundtrack!!!

I'm not sure how I missed out on this (as this is something I've been wanting since childhood), but I unfortunately did: La-La Land Records has released an official soundtrack for "Batman the Animated Series" in the form of a 2-disc limited edition. It features the music from 11 different episodes, plus a few bonus tracks, totaling around 2.5 hours of quality Shirley Walker (and Lolita Ritmanis and Michael McCuistion) music, and is conveniently sold-out.

No matter.

No matter?!?!?! Missing out on one of your most anticipated soundtrack releases is no matter?!!? Reason being, that fact that it sold out so quickly (released Dec. 16th, 2008, sold out by end of January 2009) is a sure sign that either a future version will be released, or we may even luck out and get a re-release. Maybe we'll even get soundtracks for Superman: Animated, Justice League, or JLU eventually. (Just be sure to contact La-La Land by sending them an email or two requesting these titles.)

In any case, glad to see the series and its music finally getting the treatment it deserves. It's a shame that composer Walker never got recognition from the Academy Awards when she sadly passed away two years ago.