Movie: Justice League (2017)

Rating: C

If you want to watch this movie, stop reading the reviews (I suppose, that DOES include this one). Not so much because reviews inevitably include spoilers, but reading reviews for this movie actually spoils the movie.



If you don't go in to this movie with any expectations, it's not too bad of a movie. It's entirely watchable. Too many people reviewing this movie include all the issues they had during the production of the movie. I'm just here to talk about what happened on screen.

Sure, there are plot holes, missing bits to this movie, and some spotty CG, but it's still watchable. It's pretty good stylistically, they've done well portraying the characters, and there are some pretty awesome action moments (notice I did not say sequences).

I've always thought that DC does a pretty good job of tackling psychological struggles of its heroes, and Justice League does kind of try to attempt this. The biggest problem with this movie is that the major players in this movie really didn't get enough of a backstory.
I was fine with that with them doing this with Wonder Woman in Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) because she was a bit of a mystery to Batman and Superman. I'm also fine with them doing this with The Flash here because his story hasn't really begun and he was more of a bit player this time around.
But Aquaman and Cyborg are pretty big parts of this movie, and there is just a cursory introduction to their characters. You don't feel any attachment to them whatsoever. They feel like they were just dropped into the story.

The DCEU needs to stop rushing to catch up with Marvel, and just do their own thing. They built up each of their major characters before putting them all together for a team up.

Movie: The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Rating: B+

Probably the most anticipated movie of 2012 also contained the most IMAX footage ever used in a feature film. Sure, plenty of movies, including this year's The Avengers, was converted into IMAX, but director Christopher Nolan actually used IMAX cameras to include over an hour of actual IMAX images for The Dark Knight.



The result is palpable. So if you do get a chance to see the movie in IMAX, it's definitely worth giving yourselves a treat to fully experience the clarity, vividness, and perfection that is IMAX.

But that being said, while I absolutely loved the movie, it really bothers me when there are plot holes. I'm going to try to say this without issuing a spoiler alert. Batman's injuries vs. recovery. Just doesn't add up. Another thing that bothers me is when symbols are overused that it becomes trite. Without giving away too much of the 2h45min movie, was it really necessary to have the ENTIRE national anthem sung? Granted, DC Comics really does cater to a more patriotic crowd, but this was overkill.

I love watching Christopher Nolan's movies and I think he's a great director. But if you watch the first two in this particular Batman trilogy, Gotham is a much different place. Yet, in THIS finale of the trilogy, Gotham City looked decidedly like New York. I just thought that the inconsistency was too great. Of course, did it detract from the movie itself? No. Just me being picky.

And my final problem with the movie. It really might have been a good idea to include subtitles when Bane spoke. And he spoke a lot. With the muffled mask, it was very difficult to understand him at times.

Aside from these things, the finale was everything that we've come to expect of Christopher Nolan's movies. I must say that I really enjoyed some of the character twists that they provided, ie, using the Selena Kyle character...you know, before she was officially the "Catwoman".

~Cheers.

Movie: Marvel's The Avengers (2012)

Rating: A+

Unleash the power of the (comic book) geek! Seriously, if this popcorn movie doesn't unleash your inner geek, nothing will. And while the Hulk isn't a man of many words, he totally steals the show.



I was a little worried that this movie was going to be a mish mash of heroes thrown together into a half baked ensemble movie. But man was I pleasantly surprised. The action was fantastic. The visuals were fantastic. And the interaction and chemistry between the characters was absolutely magnificent. Yes, this is a comic book movie, and yes it's larger than life, and absolutely yes, this is fantasy, but for 2 hours and 22 minutes, this was YOUR world. It sucked you in, spat you out, and made you want more. It was action packed, it was fun, and it will rock your world.

The only negative thing that I can say about this movie is that while Robert Downey Jr., and Chris Evans are probably the supposed to be the main characters of this movie, it was Mark Ruffalo as The Hulk that totally stole the show. And really, the show doesn't really start until The Hulk covers the screen...Literally...the whole screen. And after that, the rest of the movie is just an action packed, mixed in with great dialogue and interaction, coupled with copious amounts of total hilarity.

As with each of the introductory movies over the past four years, there IS something to see at the end of the credits. It.....uh....might not....uh....be ....hrmmm....what you were expecting tho. hahaha =)~

~Cheers.

Game: Green Lantern - Rise of the Manhunters (2011)

Genre: 3rd Person Action
Game Play: 3 / 5
Graphics: 3.5 / 5
Storyline: 3.5 / 5
Re-Playability: 3 / 5
Overall: 3 / 5

Quite honestly, I enjoyed it. I like playing games with heavy story support. And quite frankly, I found the story more compelling than the Green Lantern movie.



I played the PS3 version of the game. After games like Metal Gear Solid 4, Uncharted, and Assassin's Creed, I've come to expect some spectacular graphics. Unfortunately, Rise of the Manhunters came just a little short. And I found the entire game to be such. It just came up a little bit short. It was ok, entertaining enough, but there wasn't anything great about it.

You're either running through a pretty linear plane, or flying through the air. When you're in the air, so long as you keep moving, you pretty much can't die, and you'll make it through the section. On the ground, you get to use your ring. There are some super moves that you can use the ring for, called "Constructs". Constructs are available for purchase with experience points. There are enough constructs to buy to play the game MAYBE 2x. But I was really hoping for a whole lot more. There are some puzzles in the game, but none that gave you too much grief.

I did however, encounter a couple of glitches that I wasn't too pleased about. After unlocking one of the doors, it was still locked. I ended up going online to check the walkthrough and found no additional locks for the door. I was finally able to get through it after turning the machine completely off and then back on. Really, it was a bit of a nuisance. I'm not sure if it was just the disc I had that was missing this information, or if it's missing on the PS3 system. There is one piece of key information that, again, I found on the walkthrough that wasn't part of the dialogue in my game. Once I heard that, I was able to get through the level. But it wasn't available on my game at all.

Aside from a few nuisances, the game isn't horrible. Granted, Green Lantern was one of my favourites growing up, so that might have something to do with it. Oh, if you want to beat the game REALLY easily? Have Player 2 jump in. Just to stand there. The AI's for some reason enjoy beating up the decoy more than beating up on you.

~Cheers.

I'm glad that the storyline was separate from the movie tho.

Movie: Green Lantern (2011)

Rating: C+

Seriously, I'm getting a little tired of movies meandering in mediocrity this year. I've yet to see a single film this year that's blown me away. 2010 was a Smörgåsbord of absolutely brilliant films. Green Lantern, continues this trend of pedestrian product.



Green Lantern is JUST funny enough, JUST presentable enough, JUST entertaining enough, JUST...well...I think you know what I'm getting at. It's a good thing they cast Ryan Reynolds in the lead role, otherwise, I fear this movie would have just fallen flat. I mean, just when I was starting to think that Blake Lively could act (See The Town), she goes back gives a performance that is JUST noticeable enough.

As with X-Men: First Class, and Thor earlier this year, the introduction of the movie takes too long. They don't really have much of a choice, they're trying to introduce everybody and trying to set up the situation, but the movie is (thankfully) only 105 minutes long, but the introduction is unfortunately, too long, too tedious, and too tiresome. It does seem however, that there will be a sequel. If that's the case, I think that they will do a better job of it all. Less flying back and forth between planets and less trying to figure out who I am moments.


To summarise, it's JUST watchable enough.

Just a few more personal thoughts after the Jump....

Movie: Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)

Rating: A-

Too many sequels are money mongering excuses to build a franchise, that just regurgitate the same story in a different setting (ie, The Hangover Part 2). Kung Fu Panda 2 is among the select few sequels that might actually be better than its first installment.



The story, while nothing new, is compelling enough to be retold. The jokes actually have some thought put in to them and fitting for all ages. The star studded voice cast did an admirable job.While I would have liked to have seen the supporting cast be more involved, the story would have been far too complex to properly use ALL of them.

I loved the artwork when they were talking about the past, in particular, Po's little stuffed toy. Very adorable. It's great to see them use a different art style to differentiate what is now and what was THEN.

Is it twice the awesomeness as advertised? Yes it is!

Movie: X-Men: First Class (2011)

Rating: B

After a couple of abhorrent, abominable, atrocious, and absolutely appalling sequels following a fairly inspired X-Men in 2000, X-Men: First Class is a much appreciated reboot...or pre-boot(?)...that's ambitious, smart, and surprisingly entertaining.



Kevin Bacon? Really?! I can't remember the last memorable role that he was in. Well...Footloose maybe? Haha. And yet, he seems to keep popping up everywhere. OK. Seriously. This movie is really about how Professor Xavier's relationship with Magneto. For the fans out there of the comic series, this prequel really doesn't follow the same story lines. That being said, it more than adequately addresses the beginnings of their relationship, their bond, and their struggles.

Using snippets of actual history, including actual footage of President Kennedy, X-Men: First Class does enough with actual events to make this movie pretty real. But one thing totally threw me off. The appearance of Brendan Fehr. No lines, not even a name! In the credits, they name him "Communications Officer". I tried looking it up, but I haven't been able to find any answers as to the reason he's nothing more than an extra in this film.

That being said, the film is great. It takes a little while to get started, and it does have a couple of slow spots, but other than that, it is fairly well thought out. There are also some brilliantly placed cameos and hints about the origins of some future X-Men characters.

*Ed.Note: There isn't anything to stay for after the credits. Forgot to include that.

~Cheers.

TV Series: Smallville - Series Finale (Season 10)

Rating: B+

Let's not kid ourselves. CW's Smallville was never really meant to be taken seriously. It started off as a tween show to talk about the youth of Clark Kent; his life before he became Superman. Over the years, it became almost too lovey dovey to watch, his relationship first with Lana Lang, and then with Lois Lane. It was a directionless show gasping for life. At some point in time, the series shifted and started moving towards "The Justice League" and in my opinion, totally saved the series from gasping from its last dying breath. But the series is called Smallville; so how the heck do you migrate from one to the other?



OK, so the clip above isn't the actual promo, but quite honestly, I felt it was better than what the CW had put together. Haha. The writers told us years ago that Clark Kent would not fly, that the day he did, the show would be over. They stayed true to their word.

The series finale was perfect. So why did I only give it a B+? Because after 10 years, these guys still can't act. Because after 10 years, the script is still saccharine filled. Because defeating Darkseid... was totally anti-climactic.
But there were throwback scenes to the original Christopher Reeve 1978 Superman, if they were to remaster that movie, this 10 year series would have been an excellent introduction. Towards the end of the series, they started showing why and how "Clark Kent" from Smallville, became the four-eyed "Clark Kent" from the movies. They miraculously brought back Lex Luthor. They found a way to let Clark become Superman.

It's not the comics. And they change much of what DC Universe has taught us about Superman and his friends. But between the Golden Age, and the Bronze Age, and Earth 2 and Earth blah blah blah, does it really matter any more? But if you were a fan of Christopher Reeve's Superman from 1978, this series finale merges almost seamlessly into the movie. Almost.

~Cheers.

Movie: Thor (2011)

Rating: C+

You gotta hand it to Marvel for having the patience and drive in order to bring The Avengers to the big screen for 2012 (scheduled). It seems that every character that will be in The Avengers, will have their own introductory movie previous to The Avengers release date.



I know that Marvel Mythology isn't entirely parallel with Greek Mythology, but the role of Loki threw me for a loop. In Greek Mythology, Loki is the God of Mischief. He's not evil, he's just mischievous (which does tend to mean that he does bad things). But Marvel portrays him as evil. Anyway. The effects and the visuals of the movie are stunning. But I didn't really feel the connection between Natalie Portman and Chris Hemsworth.

Dealing with Marvel means that you have the wealth of decades of material, so much so that trying to stuff it all down 2 hours, just doesn't do it justice. While I thought that they made a valiant attempt, I felt that the story was too rushed. The relationship between Thor and Loki seems glossed over. The relationship between Thor and Jane Foster forms in the blink of an eye. Even Thor's return to Odin's favour almost seems too easy.

But, let's not forget WHY we're watching it. We want the back-story leading up to The Avengers. And this is a valiant effort into the introduction of Thor. So far, in the whole Avengers saga, there have been reason to sit through the credits. This one is no different. You want justification for sitting around until the credits are done? I'll simply say that you find out who will be in next year's Avengers.

~Cheers.