Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Review

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

"That's how it starts. The fever, the rage, the feeling of powerlessness that turns good men...cruel." -Alfred

      Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is directed by Zack Snyder (300, Man of Steel, Watchmen) and stars Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Henry Cavill as Clark Kent/Superman, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Jeremy Irons as Alfred, Gal Gadot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Laurence Fishburne as Perry White, and Holly Hunter as Senator Finch.

The biggest face off in all of comic book history: The Dark Knight against The Man of Steel

      Following the events of Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice reveals that Bruce Wayne (aka Batman) was at ground zero of the destruction of Metropolis when Superman and General Zod had their battle. Forced to watch as people he knew and cared about died, Bruce Wayne took the chaos to heart and waged war against Superman all while the world is divided as to whether Superman is a hero they need or a threat to the human race. As Superman and Batman fight each other, billionaire and businessman Lex Luthor creates the monstrosity known as Doomsday to destroy Superman, thinking that he is the major threat. Superman and Batman have to work together, with Wonder Woman in the mix, to stop Doomsday from annihilating Earth as we know it.

Batman: "Don't worry guys! I got this. I have a gun."

      I was just excited as any other fanboy when the news that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was going to happen. Even after the full movie/extended trailer (that's what I'm going to call it), I was still hopeful that it would be a spectacle of the ages. I was partially correct. There were some awesome things about it, but there were also some crappy things. It was basically a shrug and a disappointed "eh" from me. Zack Snyder pretty much falls into the same problem he always has in his movies: visuals over storytelling. This isn't to say that BvS had bad storytelling. It was just sloppily put together in editing. The first half of the movie had more of a political/psychological thriller element and then one event happened where it just completely changed tone and an explosion of special effects and fighting succeeded. There were also some editing issues in the two-in-one film where I felt that some scenes could have been taken out or some scenes that felt forced to make the film continue with emotional energy (it didn't work though).

They could have just used Superman's laser vision to cut some scenes out.

      If you lurked around the internet even a smidgen, you would know that there was a huge controversy about Ben Affleck playing the iconic Batman. Simply put, Ben Affleck's Batman was probably the best thing about BvS. Since there was controversy, you may be thinking, "If Ben Affleck playing Batman is the best thing, then this movie probably sucks!" Actually, the movie is visually and aesthetically pleasing as hell with Batman kicking major ass in it. This Batman is very different from every other Batman we have seen on the big screen. He is clearly damaged and traumatized from the Man of Steel aftermath that he has nightmares of Superman having the world in his grasp. Batman even kills. You can see him blatantly kill the villains, which is a good and bad thing. It's good because we can see his pain and his passion for what he thinks is the right thing; for justice. However, it's a bad thing because Batman does have a moral code that we just don't see being broken in the movie, therefore it's assumed that he just doesn't have one even though his background and lore calls for a moral code to not kill. Still, whenever you see Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne with and without the mask, he steals the scene. This especially rings true for the fight scenes. He beats the hell out of the villains with (well choreographed) martial arts. Jeremy Irons' portrayal of Alfred also goes well with Ben Affleck's Batman. Alfred has always been there for Bruce Wayne and the actors' great banter and chemistry showed this in spades. That was a good call in the casting department.

Damn! Batman can actually put up a good fight against a god!

      Overall, the performances in BvS were fine. None was a stand out besides Ben Affleck's. Unfortunately, there was a stand out that was pretty weak: Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor. Eisenberg brought his always anxious and awkward persona to the character just with a maniacal twist to it. It was annoying, if I'm being perfectly honest. Like the controversy surrounding Affleck's Batman, Eisenberg's Lex Luthor also started an online riot. I thought he was a bad choice, and it turns out I was right. I have to also point out that Amy Adams' Lois Lane was a throw away. It felt as though the writers had to shoehorn her into the film to make Superman a little more grounded. The scenes where she offers some sort of emotional connection to Clark Kent/Superman fell short. I love Amy Adams in plenty of films she's starred in, but in BvS, her performance was stale and didn't feel very real.

Alright! We get it, Lex. The red capes are coming. Just stop talking for like 20 minutes and I'll try not to take out my frustration on you.

      To the benefit of BvS, the fight scenes were really cool. The whole time I was watching the movie, I was thinking what the fight scene between Batman and Superman would be like. It did not disappoint. There were massive punches that could most likely pulverize your head and kicks that could seriously erase a blue whale from existance (the largest animal in the world). This goes back to my point about Batman. The fight scenes with him are marvelous to watch. Since the movie actually shows him, to what looks like, murdering other people, the action is heavier. Wonder Woman, although not featured very much, is badass in her own right too. Don't worry, she's got all her weapons. Even the ones they don't show in the trailers. All of this plus the pairing with Zack Snyder's visionary genius makes for a work of visual beauty.

If you had to choose one, which one would you choose?

 1) A curb stomp from Batman's spiky boot the next time you sleep

or

2) Being rushed by Superman at his normal speed (which is way too fast anyways)

or

3) Being stabbed or sliced by Wonder Woman with the amount of strength she chooses (which is way too strong anyways) 

 

      My final thought coming out of this movie was that this could've been so much better. It isn't at all as terrible as 1997's Batman and Robin or 2015's Fantastic Four, both of which were so bad that I had to rethink liking those superheroes. It was alright. There are definitely some good things to take from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: the visuals, action, and some of the character portrayals. However, Director Zack Synder's consistent mistake of putting looks as the priority rather than the storytelling is shown once again here. I would suggest that you make your own judgement on BvS because there will be many people who don't like it and many people who like it. I wanted and want to like it so bad, but I just didn't like as much as I wanted to.

3.0/5

PRO

• Ben Affleck's Batman
• Cool and exciting fighting scenes
• Overall aesthetically pleasing look

CON

• Messy editing and storytelling
• Some actors'/actresses' direction with their characters
• Forced scenes for more dramatic and emotional flare

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action throughout, and some sensuality

Click here to watch the trailer

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is in theaters everywhere now

      Thanks for reading my review, everybody! I really appreciate it. Please subscribe to my blog and follow me on Facebook here and Twitter here to get updates on new reviews and trailer drops. Also, if you've seen Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, comment and let me know what you thought of it. Thanks again!

The Divergent Series: Allegiant Review

The Divergent Series: Allegiant

"We need to leave, RIGHT NOW!" -Four

      The Divergent Series: Allegiant is directed by Robert Schwentke (Insurgent, RED, R.I.P.D.) and stars Shailene Woodley as Tris, Theo James as Four, Jeff Daniels as David, Ansel Elgort as Caleb, Miles Teller as Peter, Naomi Watts as Evelyn, Octavia Spencer as Johanna, Zoë Kravitz as Christina, and Maggie Q as Tori.

Such a talented cast who all seem like they want out of this young adult film  adaptation world.

      As the 3rd installment of the dystopian YA (Young Adult) series, Allegiant is tells the continuing story of Tris, Four, and others during the aftermath of Allegiant's predecessor, Insurgent. The group of teens (Tris, Four, Christina, Tori, Peter, and Caleb) have to go beyond the mysterious wall around Chicago built before the chaos that became the present in The Divergent Series. They discover who is behind the structure of the wall, the secrets of why they are being kept away from the outside world, and who is faithful to humanity's true values and who isn't. All this happening while chaos runs it's course through Chicago's two communities that formed after Insurgent, the factionless and the former faction members.

Yup. You realized that too, Tris?

      Aside from the overabundance of Young Adult films that have come out in the past 5 years, I will say that each film in The Divergent Series has bigger ambitions than the last, in terms of how the story plays out. Unfortunately, the execution is not very well done. That isn't to say that the fans of these kinds of films and fans of The Divergent Series won't like Allegiant. They, more than anybody, will enjoy it more. I can really only say that Allegiant is not the worst YA film, or any film for that matter, I have seen. It's also sad to see that even the actors seemed like they were bored of another incredibly similar story, just seen in a slightly different angle. Here's the even sadder part; The studios, producers, and everyone else behind the making of The Divergent Series are dragging around this dead horse and making it into 4 parts.

Me trying to escape YA hell!

      To add on to its poor execution, Allegiant's predictability is a big factor as to how it fell very flat. There was no build-up of tension that genuinely I felt. In every scene where there was something blatantly set up for a major event or death, I said to myself, "I can probably guess that _____ is going to happe- yup. it happened." I'll admit that tension building can be a difficult feat to accomplish, especially in a series where tension from the previous film has to carry over, but almost everything that happened was not at all a surprise or a moment where I could be empathetic towards a character. There was a scene at the beginning of the film where someone pushes another character, who happens to be their friend/acquaintance, into a ditch and fires off screen to make it look like the character died, but it was pretty obvious that they didn't. The two characters that I somewhat cared for were Tris and Four. Luckily, these are the two main characters. Shailene Woodley has made major advances in her acting career and it shows here. Her performance as Tris definitely isn't award worthy or anything, but she did the best she could in a series and genre that's now a little played out.

And of course, this wouldn't be suited for young adults if it didn't have a love story of some sort. Well, it's still far more believable than...

Just go away. Sorry (but not sorry) to all of the Twilight fans.

       Allegiant falls into the genre of YA, but I wouldn't say that is technically a genre. I feel that the genre it would be categorized under would be science fiction. As with most sci-fi films, there should be a good amount special or practical effects surrounding the universe the film is taking place in and incorporated into the protagonist's journey. Allegiant does have the special effects in play, but the majority of them look plain bad. The effects, when used, were clearly green screened and not budgeted well. The silhouetted blur of characters in front of the green screen was shown plenty of times making the film as a whole a little tricky to take seriously. Still, some special effects looked more taken care of like guns shooting laser-like bullets and some of the destruction of buildings (although those are more practical effects than special effects).

 The most cringeworthy use of special effects in Allegiant was this blend of bad voice acting and special effects of a ship crash landing. 

      You're probably thinking that I sound very harsh and judgmental towards the young adult films that have come out in recent years, but I really do like some of them. The Harry Potter franchise, Hunger Games franchise, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, The Fault in Our Stars, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower are great movies and all of them are YA films. However, Allegiant was not well executed like some of those films. It did have some promising moments of themes and its premise to make the story more 'grand', but it just loses its grip on both technicality and tension filled storytelling.

 2.0/5

PRO

• Interesting premise
• Shailene Woodley is good enough to save it 

CON

• Very predictable
• Poor use of CGI
• Another example of driving the young adult films into the ground
• Not a very original story; similar beats throughout

 

 

The Divergent Series: Allegiant is rated PG-13 for intense violence and action, thematic elements, and some partial nudity

 

Click here to watch the trailer

 

The Divergent Series: Allegiant is in theaters everywhere now

 

      Thanks for reading my review, everybody! I really appreciate it. Please subscribe to my to my blog and follow me on Facebook here and Twitter here to get updates on new reviews and trailer drops. Also, if you've seen The Divergent Series: Allegiant, comment and let me know what you think of it. Thanks again!

10 Cloverfield Lane Review

10 Cloverfield Lane

 

 "NO! NO! No, no! No! Don't open that door! You're going to get all of us killed!" -Howard

      10 Cloverfield Lane is directed by Dan Trachtenberg (first big time movie!), produced by J.J. Abrams, and stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Michelle, John Goodman as Howard, and John Gallagher Jr. as Emmett.

This is basically the whole acting ensemble. Damn, they did a good job!

      To her bewilderment, Michelle gets rear ended by something while driving away from her boyfriend and wakes up in a doomsday bunker chained to the wall of a room. A man with a perplexing personality by the name of Howard saved her, but for some reason he tells her that she is not allowed to go outside because the end of the world happened. With fellow "inmate" (or whatever you want to call them) Emmett confirming the case, Michelle ends up staying in the bunker for an unknown amount of time. The sometimes unsettling nature of Howard catches up to Michelle and she tries to break out. Michelle then discovers what the deal is with the outside world and it's not pretty.

What do you see, Michelle? Is M. Night Shyamalan out there?!?! No? Thank God.

      The 2008 found footage film Cloverfield has always been a convoluted film to get straight answers from. That's one of the reasons why it's one of my favorite movies of all time. 10 Cloverfield Lane, while not a direct sequel or a prequel to Cloverfield, is a perfect companion to it's predecessor. In terms of mystery, it may be a tad inferior to its predecessor. In terms of story, 10 Cloverfield Lane is at, I feel, a higher-caliber in many ways due to the claustrophobic living environment with only three people to focus on, the ongoing psychological turns that it takes, and even the down to Earth build up leading to the final reveal.

Down Clovey! I know you want to be in it, but this isn't your movie! Go to your cage!

      J.J. Abrams, producer of 10 Cloverfield Lane, has said time and time again that this is more like a cousin of the original Cloverfield. He and other producers are trying to make this into a sort of "part anthology, part something else". I'm saying this basically to let you know that you shouldn't go into the theater thinking that 10 Cloverfield Lane is a direct sequel to Cloverfield. For that matter, I would suggest going into it not knowing anything besides what the moments in the trailer tell you. It's a mystery so keep it that way. I guarantee that you'll enjoy it more than outsmarting the movie and saying "I knew it! The theory I read about on the internet totally proved that!". Well, something along the lines of that. Let 10 Cloverfield Lane guide you through the story's path and watch as it throws curve balls at you throughout so that you'll stay on edge. It's a great psychological thriller that makes you think twice about what is the truth, what isn't, and who you can trust...with a dash of The Twilight Zone.

Wait, why wouldn't you able to trust someone who chains you to a pipe on a wall in a doomsday bunker? I really don't get it. Seems perfectly natural to do that...Unless he/she feeds you only peanut butter with no beverage on the side! No!!!

       10 Cloverfield Lane takes place in Howard's doomsday bunker for the majority of the 2 hour running time. With this restricted environment, the intended focus is pretty much set on the cast and the interaction between each other. Boy, does the chemistry of these three actors work! First, Mary Elizabeth Winstead is not a typical mystery/thriller type of protagonist. She isn't dim-witted to the point where you say, "Don't go there, idiot!", "Really? You're going to choose to do it that way?", or anything in between to show your displeasure of seeing a fool run around aimlessly. Mary's character, Michelle, is actually a pretty clever individual. Makeshift objects are heavily used in 10 Cloverfield Lane and Michelle uses all of them to her full advantage. John Gallagher Jr.'s character, Emmett, is another well-rounded and greatly compassionate character. With these two character, you can easily sympathize with them under each situation they are forced in. However, in terms of memorable, I would comfortably say that John Goodman's Howard is more of the stand out. Howard is an incredibly interesting personality to watch on screen. At one point, he plays around with the jukebox and dances to a song, the next moment, he interrogates and questions Emmett and Michelle about the makeshift objects. He really is a highly complex man to understand, still, he thoroughly deepens the mystery behind 10 Cloverfield Lane.

I hope you have a variety of music in that jukebox, Howard. One can only take so much of "I Think We're Alone Now" by Tommy James and the Shondells until they start developing paranoia.

 

  

     Props also has to be given to the sound department in the making of 10 Cloverfield Lane. Seeing as the bunker the characters are in is pretty heavy (possibly sound-proof), the sound mixing and sound design of almost everything is flawlessly weaved into each and every scene. Michelle's anxious and heavy breathing complimented the sense of hopelessness that the film was already going for. Even the outside sounds, as relatively loud as it probably was outside of the bunker, created a dark and creepy vibe that had me clinging to my seat. A bunch of different emotions were running through my body causing me to not contemplate what was the truth. This is what sound did to me. Crazy, I know, but that was the effect that it's good sound design and mixing had on me.

Yeah. I can agree with Howard when he says, "Don't go outside."

 

       Without spoiling anything, I would like to point out that the ending of 10 Cloverfield Lane does feel a little shoehorned in. Again, the main story revolves around these three characters and their actions, but we know that there is more to the mystery than trustworthiness of people. There is something else going on in this story. After all, this is a blood relative to the monster mystery film Cloverfield. It's set in the same universe, so we know something or someone is causing the characters to stay in a doomsday bunker. So when the ending does come around, it's just an "alright. well that was interesting" kind of scenario. I was honestly more intrigued by the character developing story than what was happening outside. Nevertheless, I didn't dislike it. After letting the whole film settle, I appreciated which way the filmmakers took the ending more and now I even have more theories and speculations of where the next movie (I'm pretty sure there will be a next one) will go.

 It's not what you think it is. It's actually her brother with the world's brightest flashlight trying to make shadow puppets against the back of the house. 

      After having the ending resonated with me a bit more, I urge you to go see 10 Cloverfield Lane. If you don't know much about the movie, go into it staying that way. I didn't want to give away too much, but I had to mention the excellent performances, the creepy and exhilarating thriller elements, and especially going cold turkey and keeping your knowledge or theories about 10 Cloverfield Lane to a minimum. With Cloverfield being one of my favorite movies of all time, I'm able to recognize that 10 Cloverfield Lane is not a replacement for that spot, but it's definitely a worthy competitor.

4.5/5

PRO

• Performances; John Goodman's in particular
• The total mystery
• Fantastic sound mixing and design

CON

• Ending grows on you, but does feel rushed 

10 Cloverfield Lane is rated PG-13 for thematic material including frightening sequences of threat with some violence, and brief language

  
Click here to watch the trailer

10 Cloverfield Lane is in theaters everywhere now

      Thanks for reading my review, everybody! I really appreciate it. Please subscribe to my blog and follow me on Facebook here and Twitter here to get updates on new reviews and trailer drops. Also if you've already seen 10 Cloverfield Lane, comment and let me know what you think of it. Thanks again!