Justice League gets mixed reviews

Movie Title: 
 Justice LEAGUE

Grade:  B

Rating:   PG-13, 110 minutes

In a Nutshell:  With this much superpower force, this movie should have been awesome, but is getting very mixed reviews.

The gathering of the Avengers in Captain America: Civil War brought together fun and quirky personalities that created a super spark that surprised and delighted audiences, something that this movie struggles with.

Uplifting theme: 

• “Hope is like your car keys – easy to lose, but if you look around, you can find it.” - Superman (Henry Cavill)
• “Hope is real.  All you have to do is look…up in the sky.” – Lois Lane (Amy Adams) 

Things I liked:

• I think Gal Gadot is gorgeous and I was looking forward to seeing her again after her successful Wonder Woman movie. Unfortunately, she gets a little lost in all the testosterone and frenzied action.
• Keep watching ALL the way to the very last of the rolling credits to see two more clips.
• The Amazonian women are awesome.  Their battle sequence was one of the best in the entire movie.  Their costumes and hair were dramatically changed from what they looked like in the Wonder Woman movie.  Hmmm...which one is going to stick?
• Most of the CGI is really great.
• I like Ben Affleck as Batman.  He’s certainly the solid leader in this league and his fans will think his opening scene is really cool.
• I thought Jason Momoa made a cool, bad boy Aquaman and I'm excited to see him in his own feature film for this character, which comes out December 21, 2018 in the USA.

Things I didn’t like:

• I was excited to see how DC was going to handle Superman’s death, and was pleased to see he was given so much respect in this movie.  I really like Henry Cavill as Superman in Man of Steel (2013) I think Henry Cavill is so handsome, but what was going on with his CGI face?  It turns out that he had a mustache for his upcoming role in Mission Impossible and Paramount forbade him to remove it, so they used CGI to brush over the stash.  Weird, right?  I thought it was ridiculous that Batman beat Superman to begin with in Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice.  Superman is way better than Batman. You can read my movie review of Batman vs. Superman here.
• Some of the action sequences seemed so rush and chaotic that it's hard to see what's happening.  You don't see a lot of civilians in the fighting areas, which tends to make the scenes feel less dangerous and urgent.
• The DC movies are much more dark than the Avenger films.  Based on huge box office sales at Marvel movies, audiences seem to prefer a more light-hearted superhero action flick.  My youngest son explains it by saying, “Marvel is self-aware and doesn’t take itself so seriously.”  Yup.
• I would have loved to see more of Atlantis.
• Barry Allen/The Flash played by Ezra Miller is supposed to provide the comic relief for the movie, but a lot of the humor falls flat.  He also looks really strange when he's running. Weird, since that's his big talent.
• People who aren’t familiar with DC Comics may not know who Steppenwolf is, other than they’ve heard of the rock band with the same name.  ha ha  We first saw a blurred glimpse of Steppenwolf in a deleted scene in the movie Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice, which was later released online.  He’s scary, mean, bad, and angry, but there are rumors we’ll learn more about him and the Darkseid in future movies.
• JUSTICE LEAGUE had to undergo a lot of reshoots and redo’s, because it was directed by two different directors.  Unfortunately, the first director’s daughter died, so he pulled out of the project.
• The character introductions seemed rushed for the new superheroes like Aquaman, Cyborg, and the Flash.  Warner Brothers has tried to keep their superhero movies at 2 hours or less, but this movie could have benefitted by longer backstories that explained character motivation better.  Comic book fans who are familiar with the characters and stories will be able to fill in the missing gaps, but the general public won’t.
• It always bugs me when trailers have lines and scenes that aren’t even in the final movie.
• Once you see the movie, you’ll probably forget it.

Interesting lines:

• “Technology without reason, without heart, destroys us.” – Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot)
• “I believe in truth, but I’m also a big fan of justice.” - Superman
• “What are you?” – bad guy

“A believer.” – Wonder Woman

• “You’re out of your mind, Bruce Wayne.” – Aquaman

“Doesn’t mean I’m wrong.” – Batman

• “Darkness, true darkness is not the absence of light, but the conviction that the light will not return.” – Lois Lane

Funny lines:

• “What are your super powers again?” – Barry Allen (Ezra Miller)

“I’m rich.” – Batman

• “It’s good to see you play well with others again.” – Alfred (Jeremony Irons)

“Dressed like a bat.  I dig it.” – Aquaman

“It may be temporary.” – Batman

• “Children.  I work with children.” – Wonder Woman

Tips for parents: 

• One of the superheroes drinks alcohol.
• Some profanity.
• Shootings, violent fighting, death of humans and other creatures.
• Lots of butt shots and skimpy clothing on Wonder Woman.  I really liked her movie, but she's treated like just another pretty object in this one.

@trinaboice 

Batman vs. Superman features several epic battles

Movie Title:  Batman vs. Superman

Grade:          B-

Rating:  PG-13, 2 hours 31 minutes

In a Nutshell:    When I saw the first trailer for this superhero movie almost a year ago, I thought it was a dumb idea.  I mean, Superman could easily kick Batman’s butt, right?  No contest.  No film needed. The next trailer that played a few months later included a sneak peek at Wonder Woman and then I became more intrigued, hoping there would be more to the story.

In an attempt to build the Justice League (and the movie studio’s coffers), this new installment in the DC Comic world of films is quite dark and takes itself a little too seriously.    It’s flawed, yet has some epic moments worth seeing.     

Uplifting theme: 

• “We can do better.  We will.  We have to.” – Batman
• “Ignorance is not the same as innocence.” – Anatoli Knyazev (Callan Mulvey)
• God vs. man.
• “What is good?  In a democracy, it’s a conversation, not a unilateral decision.” – Senator Finch
• Good vs. evil.
• Revenge vs. forgiveness.

Things I liked:

• I like Ben Affleck as Batman.  His greying sideburns give him a certain level of sophistication.  Some think he makes a better Daredevil.  Good for him for playing 2 superheroes!  How about a Batman vs. Daredevil movie?!  Ha ha
• I love the handsome Henry Cavill as Superman.
• Gal Gadot is a gorgeous Wonder Woman.  Her legs are perfect.
• Jesse Eisenberg plays the fast-talking, psychotic genius Lex Luthor.  His over-the-top, intense performance reminded me of Heath Ledger’s outstanding portrayal of the Joker in Christopher Nolan’s 2008 film The Dark Knight .
• See it in 3D if you can.  There are a lot of scenes that are nicely enhanced…simple things like falling leaves, snow, and underwater views, not to mention all of the CGI action sequences.
• The beginning of the movie had some really great sequences that set the tone and serve as a little "catch-up" for those who can't remember what happened to the characters in their last movies.
• The new Batmobile is pretty dang cool.  I’d like it to stop moving for once so that I can get a better look at it.

• Walking Dead: Season 2 fans will be happy to see that Batman’s mom is played by the lovely Lauren Cohan for a few brief moments.
• I also love watching anything with Holly Hunter, Jeremy Irons, Amy Adams, and Diane Lane in it.  Here’s a picture of me with Diane Lane!  (Yeah, I keep showing it every time I review a movie with her in it.  I don't have many pictures of me with celebrities.  ha ha)

• One of the best things about this movie is the Lego Batman trailer that plays before the movie.  That movie looks awesome!
• Everyone likes to poke fun at Christian Bale's ridiculously deep Batman voice.  This film makes more sense when you see Alfred make a device to intentionally change Bruce Wayne's voice to hide his identity.
• The special effects were pretty amazing.

Things I didn’t like:

• Marvel Comics has been knocking it out of the park lately with their superheroes movies because of their coolness factor + humor.  This Batman v. Superman movie, “the greatest gladiator fight in the world”  has very little humor.  The audience walked out almost drained, rather than energized.
• TONS of CGI.  It comes at you constantly and so quickly that it becomes almost numbing.
• Batman wears full body armor like he’s playing Halo 5: Guardians video game.
• When are Alfred and Batman ever going to shave? 
• There were quite a few lines in the movie I disliked on a philosophical level.  Lex Luthor spouts all kinds of pessimistic theories and even Superman says “No one stays good in this world.”  I refuse to believe that.
•  The movie tries to cover a lot of time and back stories, as well as add some new monsters into the mix, but it ends up being too choppy and heavy-handed.
• It's a bit scattered, messy, and sometimes confusing.

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Funny lines:

•  “You’re psychotic.” –  Lois Lane

“That is a 3 syllable word for any thought too big for little minds.”  – Lex Luther

• “I’m not a lady.  I’m a journalist.” – Lois Lane  
• “Even you’ve gotten too old to die young…not for lack of trying.” - Alfred
• "Maybe it's the Gotham City in me...we've just had a bad history with freaks dressed like clowns." - Batman

Interesting lines:

•  “If man won’t kill God, the devil will do it.” – Lex Luthor

“What have you done?” – Superman

• “You want to know the oldest lie in America, Senator?  It’s that power can be innocent.” – Lex Luthor

• “The world has been so caught up with what Superman can do, no one has asked what he should do.” – Senator Finch

• “That's how it starts...the fever..the rage...the feeling of powerlessness that turns good men cruel.” – Alfred

• “We don’t have to use a silver bullet, but if we forge one, we don’t have to depend on the kindness of monsters.” – Lex Luthor

• “And now, God bends to my will.” – Lex Luthor
• "You're not brave.  Men are brave.  You say you want to help people, but you can't experience their pain...their mortality.  It's time you learned what it means to be a man!" - Batman

Tips for parents:   

• Amy Adams is naked in a bath tub, but you mostly only see her shoulders.  Clark Kent steps into the bathtub with his clothes on and gets frisky.
• Endless barrage of explosions, fights, chase scenes, buildings destroyed, car smashes, and firing weapons.
• Yep, there will be PLENTY of merchandising!