Film
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SPOILER REVIEW: Zack Snyder’s Justice League – A Genre Defining Masterpiece
Zack Snyder's Justice League is a monumental achievement in superhero-movie history. It's the Lord of The Rings of comicbook movies. Plain and simple, so grand in scale but yet very character driven.
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Hops and Box Office Flops: ZACK SNYDER’S JUSTICE LEAGUE – Little Fish Stick and Big Tuna
Zack Snyder’s Justice League is a cinematic anomaly. When Snyder had to step away due to a family tragedy, Warner Bros. (WB) essentially hacked the material he left them to bits. Under the guidance of Joss Whedon, Snyder’s originally footage was morphed into a soulless attempt to capture the magic of the MCU. It didn’t work—a topic we explored in-depth on our Joss-Stache League episode. That film appealed to no one, but it particularly riled those faithful to Snyder’s vision. Thus, #ReleaseTheSnyderCut was born—a fan movement spawned from the betrayal many felt the studio had committed. Make no mistake, folks, this movie is a whole new beast. From Steppenwolf’s arc to Darkseid’s ominous presence to…
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Hops and Box Office Flops: GHOST RIDER SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE – Ride Angry
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, which is a sequel to the 2007 original, is so insane it almost works. Nicolas Cage, the Rider or Johnny Blaze, goes full Cage. It’s equal parts glorious and dumbfounding. That is the movie in a nutshell. For everything that works—such as the Rider possessing humongous construction equipment—there are far too many other elements that do not. From the dude from Empire Records overacting literally every piece of dialogue to Idris Elba’s mindbogglingly bad French accent, there are just far too many palm face moments. That said, it is better than the first—despite what the reviews (18% on Rotten Tomatoes with 114 reviews) and the…
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Zack Snyder’s Justice League Review – The Age of Heroes Has Returned
So, this is awkward. Almost four years ago, I reviewed Justice League (2017). and enjoyed it for the Frankenstein it was. I was never a fan of Zack Snyder’s work and didn’t care to see his vision for the DC Universe continue. However, his Justice League changed everything. This is a weird review to write because it’s technically a movie you’ve already seen. The premise is straightforward. Like I said in 2017: “There’s an alien threat coming to take over the world. Batman assembles a team of heroes to try and stop them. It’s simple and straight to the point.” However, the biggest difference is the way Snyder treats his characters. We…
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EDITORIAL: Why The Snyderverse Resonates With Me To This Day
Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Two of my favorite superhero movies of all time. These two movies have been a big part of my life ever since Man of Steel was released in 2013. No, they are not bright, colorful, and filled with unnecessary jokes. But they took three of the most well-known superheroes in the world and broke them down so that they can be rebuilt to the moral standards and ideals that people commonly associate with Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. Yes, you are supposed to question Batmans actions in BvS, the fact that he seem to have dropped his moral code of…
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Hops and Box Office Flops: JOSS-STACHE LEAGUE – Stiff Upper Lip
Joss-stache League (Justice League) is a cobbled together mess. It’s the Frankenstein’s monster of movies. I wish that were an understatement, but, sadly, it is not; and though it bears Zack Snyder’s name in the credits, it is not his movie. According to Fabian Wagner, the original cut’s cinematographer, up to 90% of what they shot is not in it. That’s right, folks: In under two months, Joss Whedon basically reshot the entire thing. Why? Well, the answer to that is long, winding, and even filled with heartbreak. To keep it brief, the studio was no longer in support of Zack’s vision. When Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice failed to break a…
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Hops and Box Office Flops: GREEN LANTERN – Shallow Hal Jordan
Green Lantern is a mess—an expensive one, at that. Its horrid CGI suit tells all the tales one needs to know about how misguided the project was. And it was a misfire that had serious ramifications. In 2011, Green Lantern was meant to serve as the kickoff to a new DC movie universe. That notion was immediately squashed. On a budget over $200 million, it grossed just $219.9 million worldwide. Worse, critics (26% on Rotten Tomatoes with 246 reviews) and audiences (45%) reviled it. There would be no sequel, and there certainly would not be an integrated universe with Ryan Reynold’s Hal Jordan at its center. When you watch it, none of the numbers…
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Hops and Box Office Flops: BALLISTIC ECKS VS SEVER – Moaning Techno and Explosions
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever is bad. Like truly awful. Its plot is convoluted; its action is often nonsensical and unimaginative; and it does little to capitalize on its star power. Antonio Banderas literally has nothing to do. This guy was El Mariachi in Desperado, for Pete’s sake. Let him do more than smoke cigarettes and drink. Anyway, there is a boat load of slow motion, if you’re into that. Most of it is wholly unnecessary, but it’s there; and it probably adds 10 minutes to the runtime—a portion of your life you will never get back. There’s also a lot of sulking and staring. There’s an abundance of Ray Park in a…
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Hops and Box Office Flops: TOP SECRET! – We Know a Little German
Top Secret! was the team of Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker’s follow up to their incredibly successful Airplane! It, like its predecessor, is an indescribably goofy movie—full of off the wall gags, jokes, and non-sequiturs. If you have seen Airplane!, you will understand what kind of humor it is. These guys were the kings of this style of comedy, and Top Secret! certainly lives up to that pedigree. It also introduced moviegoers to Val Kilmer. This was his big screen debut, and it’s clear why he went on to become a household name. Where this movie suffers is a lack of clear narrative focus and a truly defined world. It is set in immediate…
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Hops and Box Office Flops: IF LOOKS COULD KILL – Grieco: Far from Home
If Looks Could Kill is a piece of vintage 90s cinema. It takes a young star—presumably on the rise—and tasks them with elevating a sub-par film. It’s a challenge many budding leading men have been burdened with. Richard Grieco—most famously Dennis Booker from the 21 Jump Street TV show and its spin-off Booker—is not quite up to the task. His big screen woes mirror that of his small screen ones. Like Booker, audiences did not flock to If Looks Could Kill. His suave appearance and brash attitude were not accompanied by the requisite charm. Grossing just $7.8 million on a budget as high as $12 million, it served as evidence that Grieco may not be the next big…
