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: Chronicle (2012)

Rating: B

(Blogger's Note: A lot of movies came out during my hiatus from this little blog, but it didn't mean that I didn't watch them. Chronicle is be released today for purchase, so I thought it might be fitting to post a few thoughts to this movie.)

Over the past few years, there have been an inordinate amount of super hero movies. So what happens when you put these powers in the hands of a few teenagers still trying to figure themselves out? And what happens if one of them loses it?



Superman meets Columbine. I think it's an effective look at how different circumstances and different personalities can affect people differently. Especially in those angst ridden teenage years. But they really could have done without so much in-story handycam footage. I can understand that they would want to do that in a few situations, but as far as the entire movie was concerned? It really wasn't necessary and actually detracted from the enjoyment of what was otherwise a very well thought out movie.

What was nice about the way it was filmed tho, was that it did make the story seem more genuine. While the flow was a little slow, it felt like a natural progression to the movie, the friendship, and their burgeoning powers. How it affects them, their friendship, and their outlook of the world; giving the movie real depth and a good look at how perhaps superheroes and their nemeses come to be. That being said, I really could have done without so much of that blasted first person, shaky, handycam footage.

~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.