Review: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

UPDATED POST with Jenna's Review: At this point in time, I could take or leave the whole superhero thing. There’s just too many shows and movies out there to keep track of. That said, the movie fan in me will never say no, so I’ll still be watching them all, even though I won’t have a clue what’s going on in some. However, the sheer number of trailers and TV spots for Batman v Superman infuriated me beyond reason. I watched the first trailer, which gave me more than enough, and by the time Wonder Woman and Aquaman were announced, I gave up.  Gutted!  I have been that busy the lsat few months that I completely missed this, I really wanted the IMAX experience as well.  I will add to this when I finally get around to watching the DVD! 

AND here I am having purchased the DVD and FINALLY watching it!

I steered clear of everything after that point, and so now I’m not sure what’s a spoiler and what isn’t anymore. I won’t mention the ending of course, now even I am that dense, but if you haven’t seen the movie yet, you might want to move along.  Now, here is where I fell down, I was desperate to see Suicide Squad when it was released, I didn't think anything of it...that is until the first 3 minutes of the film was a MASSIVE spoiler for B vs S...waaaaaaaah!!  Soooo I knew how it was going to end, before I even started it!

It’s taken me a few days to even work out what my feelings are towards Batman v Superman, but before I read too many other reviews, I think it best to get my feelings down before I change my mind about things. I want to be clear in the fact that I enjoyed watching this. It was entertaining, and I didn’t feel like it was as long as it was. However, it was a mess. The plot was all over the place. And so rather than try to write a well formed review, I’m just going to splurge my feelings all over this post.  I am struggling to form coherent thoughts about this but one thing I can say is that I DID enjoy it, even after hearing all the terrible reviews and people moaning - I still liked it!

So, in the style of the movie this post is about, here are my feelings about Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), in the order that it lands at the front of my mind:

How many times do we need to be reminded that Bruce Wayne’s parents were murdered in front of him as a child? Was there seriously anyone who watched this who really didn’t know how they died?

Let’s talk Batman himself. I’m not passionate enough about the comics to rank the multiple forms Batman has taken over the years, but I really liked Ben Affleck’s version. He’s got that grumpy charisma that I pictured. I still can’t shake the image of that batsuit looking like Lego Batman, though.

Seriously. Cannot. Unsee.

Superman, on the other hand, was the mopiest hero I’ve ever seen. Guy had a permanent ‘I can smell a fart’ face the entire time. Yes, okay, that bathtub scene was pretty hot, but then my practical side kicked in and started stressing about all the water on the floor. You’re so irresponsible, Clark Kent!

Jesse Eisenberg! He plays douchebag so well that I kind of assume him to be like that in real life. Was he really playing Lex Luthor though? He’d make a perfect Riddler, I think. Anyway, I appreciated all of his scenes, bringing the humour to an otherwise dark movie.  As one of my many obessesions, I thought Jesse Eisenberg was great, perfect combo of dark and twisty and comedy.

Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash, and...the other one. Cyborg? Was there any point in them being here other than to promote their own movies? If not, couldn’t they just go Deadpool, break the fourth wall and have a sandwich board with their respective release dates on? On the subject of Wonder Woman, her score was awesome, but it felt so out of place with the rest of the soundtrack that it stood out for all the wrong reasons.  I had issues with this myself, one thing I really did dislike about this was that it didn't appear be a movie in its own right, rather a very looooong trailer for Justice League and all the individual movies that will go along with it.  I'm pretty sure I felt the same about the second Avengers movie which felt like a set up for Captain America: Civil War!!

The action scenes were really well done, and the main reason I enjoyed the movie itself. I’ve been spoiled lately with the fight scenes in Daredevil and there was one Batman scene in particular here that really stood out. It was one of those where you want to say ‘oooh, I really felt that!’

Am I remembering this wrong or was Lois Lane a total badass in Man of Steel? Her only purpose in this was to be saved. Oh, and to throw that weapon into a pool of water for no reason, only to have to fetch it again. And be saved. Doh. Man up, woman!  She didn't add much value to this one, did she?!  I do love Amy Adams though so I can't complain too much.

I have to say the action scenes were great, they weren't so fast that you couldn't see what was going on but enough action to keep you on the edge of your seat.  I liked the story, even if it was a bit confused at times but I did find myself annoyed at Batman going after Superman all the time, just get over it.  Why not just sit down and have a chat with him?! he seems like a reasonable guy "Listen Superman, people are scared of you because you are an alien and could kill everyone with a blast of your eyes - any chance you could take a sabbatical until everyone calms down?" Clark "Sure no problem, see you in a year or two, i'll be in Bali". Admittedly, it would have been a much shorter film but much more realistic!!

Did this scene remind anyone else of The Green Inferno?

Aaand that about sums it up! If you’re still reading this ramble, I both apologise and applaud you at the same time. Regular posting to resume shortly!

Liked the film, if I didn't think about it too much.  As I have just found out from the ranty rant rant above, if I overthink it I start to pick holes and enjoy it less!

Flick Chicks: Looking Forward to Seeing in the Cinema: September 2016

Another month, another looking forward post.  How do these come around so quickly?! September is always the hardest month for this, all the blockbusters have finished, the Halloween and Christmas picks aren't ready yet, it's a bit of stop gap between blocks of loads of good movies coming out.  We should be grateful of the break I reckon!

Having finally watching a Woody Allen movie and loving it and my bizarre love for Jesse Eisenberg - this has to be my pick this month!

Set in the 1930's, Bobby (Jesse Eisenberg) moves to Hollywood and ultimately falls in love with a top agent's Secretary.  I don't really know what happens next (which is amazing considering I have seen the trailer, this must be one of the only trailers that doesn't give us the whole damn story!) and i'm happy to keep it that way until I can get to the cinema!

Cafe Society is released in UK cinemas on 2nd September 2016

I'm actually kind of glad blockbuster season is over! After cramming in a record number of cinema trips this summer (which for me is like, 1 a week) I was looking forward to a quiet movie spell (mainly so I can play the new World of Warcraft expansion) but no! There's actually loads I want to see in September. I'm on the fence about Sausage Party...I can't help but groan at the thought of it, but maybe it'll be good. I'm also keen to see Kubo and the Two Strings and The Magnificent Seven. Plus, September brings the release of Bridget Jones's Baby! Yaaaaas!

All of these I can happily wait for a DVD release though. If I can drag myself away from saving Azeroth for one cinema trip this month, it'll be to see Swiss Army Man. You've got to have heard of this movie by now. I mean, it's been released already across the whole world apart from the UK and Germany! Seriously guys, living on this little island suck hard, sometimes.

If you live in the land of tea and cucumber sandwiches like I do, and haven't heard of Swiss Army Man yet, let me enlighten you. I've only ever watched the trailer and have steered clear of reviews so far, but basically, Paul Dano is stuck on a desert island, and comes across Daniel Radcliffe's corpse on the beach. Turns out a flatulent corpse can be quite useful, hence the name of the movie!

When I first saw the trailer a few months ago, I scoffed at how stupid the whole thing was and ran downstairs with my tablet to show my husband. Thing is, the second time I watched it, something just clicked inside my head and I though, this is genius! I honestly can't wait. Here's the trailer, biscuit lovers:

Swiss Army Man will FINALLY be released in UK cinemas on 30th September 2016.

Mini Reviews: Ask Me Anything (2014), American Ultra (2015) & The Night Before (2015)

When Jenna texts me to tell me about a movie she’s just seen on Netflix that takes a dark and strange turn, I’m game. Just tell me where I can watch it! She also warned me that it was NSFW/T/P/D and other letters of the alphabet, so I made the most of an evening by myself to avoid any awkwardness! Just for the record, it’s currently watchable on Netflix.

Ask Me Anything (2014) is a quirky little drama starring Britt Robertson as Katie Kampenfelt, who takes a year off before college in order to try and find herself. She uses an anonymous blog to write about her innermost secrets and well, looking at her page hits, Jenna and I are clearly in the wrong blogging scene! Kidding, of course. It’s a decent watch, but takes such a crazy turn right at the end that it just left me a little cold, rather than awestruck.  As I had seen 2 out of the 3 movies on this post, I thought I would just tag along, hope you don't mind Allie ;-)

This was a really average film until the end, I was convinced it was a true story and set about finding out what happened, but it wasn't.  I was so shocked and dismayed by the ending, I had to find someone else to suffer with me, hence the text to Allie.  Between us we still haven't worked out a decent theory so I may have to just forget about it!

 

I’m pretty sure Jenna & I were meant to watch this together at the cinema but the times were weird, and then I forgot all about it! How can I even describe American Ultra (2015)? It’s like Pineapple Express, Kick-Ass and the Jason Bourne movies all had a baby together. Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg are stoners in love, but Eisenberg is also some sort of Government experiment which means he’s super skilled in combat, but he doesn’t know that. It was actually a pretty decent movie, but it got really messy at the end with far too many twists to keep track of!

Finally got to see this movie after missing it at the cinema with Allie and I loved it!  You may remember that I have a bizarre and inexplicable crush on Jesse Eisenburg which fortunately meant I could suffer Kristen Stewart for 2 hours!  It could have been funnier in places and there was a lot of talking but I was thoroughly entertained throughout and really did enjoy all the twists and turns.

So, I’d have liked to have posted a review for The Night Before (2015) actually around Christmas time, but as it does, life got in the way. Heck, I’m just super happy I got to watch this before Christmas!

Seth Rogan is back and has teamed up with Anthony Mackie and Joseph Gordon-Levitt for a surprisingly heartfelt festive movie. It has everything you would expect from Seth, including one of the funniest drug-induced scenes round a dinner table that had me in stitches. It’s just such a shame that the first half of the movie is pretty bland. It’s worth sticking with, though!  I have never heard of this but now I really want to see it...is it too late now Christmas is over?! Never! Christmas lasts forever!

Review: Zombieland (2009)

I'm a bit of a wuss when it comes to scary films, I can't watch one on my own. The gore and psychological torment doesn't bother me so much, but it's those jumpy bits that have me running scared! Zombieland was on my Emma Stone list though so I was going to have to face this, and well, it is a comedy mainly, so I manned up.

I watched this for the first time with Jenna last year, and I convinced my other half to watch it with me again just before we went to Cornwall for a short break the other day. I actually forgot how jumpy the first five minutes are! I had already seen this and I told Allie it wasn't jumpy at all, forgetting completely about all the jumps in the first few scenes - oops!!

So this film follows four characters who are some of the only survivors on earth, Columbus (Eisenberg) is trying to get to his family in Ohio, Wichita and Little Rock (Stone and Breslin) are trying to reach an amusement park they have heard is free of zombies, and Tallahassee (Harrelson), well, he's just on a search for Twinkies. Who wouldn't be on a search for Twinkies mmmm!! You could say they sort of join forces on their missions.

*SPOILER ALERT* My favourite parts of this movie are all the little details like the text of the rules that pop up occasionally, and the zombie kill of the week. It's little details like those that really make you remember a film. Not to say that was all I liked, the film was hillarious! I probably would have appreciated the Bill Murray scenes more if I really knew who he was... WHAT???  You don't know who Bill Murray is??  Groundhog Day?? Ghostbusters?? COME ON!!!  Anyway, moving on, I love the text popping up on screen, I think it made this movie - I still would like to see the full list of the rules if I'm honest!  I think Rule Number 1 was my favourite because it kept popping up 'Cardio'

 

I loved Woody Harrelson's character in this, specifically “in the ass-kicking business – and business is gooooood!” and I could complete relate to his love for Twinkies!! The contrast between him and scaredy cat Columbus makes for brilliant viewing and good fast paced banter between the two.  This is one film that I didn't particularly like Emma Stone's character, although the further through the film I got the more I got to like her!

 

 

Seriously though this film is great, I also heard that it was based a little on the game Left 4 Dead 2 which makes me happy as I freaking love that game. Never heard of this... Okay, Flick Chicks needs a games night at some point. Left 4 Dead is amazing and I'm terrible at it which makes it even better.

 

In case you need to be reminded of some of the rules for staying alive, here you go...you can thank me later.

A great film to watch with friends or family with a couple of drinks and a take-out!  Brilliant film, laugh out loud funny and delightfully clever.  Can happily watch this over and over again and never get bored!