Autumn Movies Catch Up: These 4 films I saw in theaters in the last month or so and haven't reviewed yet.

Here's just a quick little look at some films which I didn't feel strongly enough about to fill a major review, but which I did see and want to comment on.

Snowden: Good lead performance by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and some nice supporting parts by Shailene Woodley, Nicolas Cage, Timothy Olyphant, Zachary Quinto, Joely Richardson, Tom Wilkinson, Melissa Leo, Scott Eastwood, and Rhys Ifans. This is a very well-executed suspense film, with tons of moments of tension and is quite paranoia-inducing, something Oliver Stone has always been great at capturing. Gordon-Levitt captured Snowden's voice and mannerisms to a tee, and the only complaints is that the final act is kind of rushed because the film is already fairly long, but I felt the suspense could've been milked during the leaking/espionage moments just a bit longer. There is one major surprise towards the end which I won't spoil but which floored me and made my jaw drop a bit. Better than the average biopic/historical thriller. 7/10 stars.

 

Blair Witch: As both a fan of the original and of Adam Wingard's work, I was crushed by how disappointing, insulting, bland, boring, and hollow this film was. It was so empty and had such a lack of characters it felt like it breezed by in 40 mins, and the visuals of the cabin may have been nice, but unlike the original, this feels like a run-of-the-mill, direct-to-video throwaway found footage film, not a taut and slowly creeping horror phenomenon. I expected more humor, ingenuity and genuine chills from Wingard but this was just trash. I recommend the oft-forgotten and surreally bad Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows over this any day. There was talks of making the 3rd film in this series an origin/period piece of the witch, which would've made a unique trilogy where each film is drastically different in style and execution but alas, this is a watered-down, nonsensical sequel with no real point. It would've been better to just ket the franchise die than to get this. 2/10 stars.




Jack Reacher: Never Go Back: The original Jack Reacher was a surprise audience favorite in December 2012, as it had a lot of exciting action mixed with lighthearted humor and poked fun at its own tropes. The sequel follows suit and manages to deliver another fun, harmless little spy thriller with a ridiculously skilled main hero as well as some new cast additions such as Cobie Smudlers, Aldis Hodge, Patrick Heusinger, Danika Yarosh, Holt McCallany, and Robert Knepper. The plot isn't quite as intriguing or twisty as the original's, but it is a solid follow-up with some Halloween sequences to hammer home the season. Edward Zwick brings his experience directing action to this film, and it's nice to see him and Tom Cruise work together again, though now it's becoming clear Cruise's age is beginning to make his roles as unstoppable super-killers less believable. 7/10 stars.

The Accountant: This unique thriller film sees Ben Affleck fully inhabit a character again, playing a man with some form of autism that makes him a genius mathematician and who is also trained to be an unstoppable murder machine by his ex-military father. The cast is fantastic, featuring J.K. Simmons, Jeffrey Tambor, John Lithgow, Jon Bernthal (a lot of TV bad guys here), Anna Kendrick, and Cynthia Addai-Robinson, and the plot is structured kind of strangely, with many plots not really coming full circle until the very end, but it is almost like a well-written suspense novel in that way, and I was sure it was based on some source material, but no, it's all from the screenplay of Bill Dubuque. Some of the twists may land differently for some people, but I felt they were all executed satisfyingly and probably can provide a lot of enjoyment on second viewings. Overall, a very solid thriller film with a great lead character. 7/10 stars.

                                                  (Images: Wikipedia)

Batman v. Superman- Dawn of Justice: Bloated and boring, a review I don't want to write as much as I didn't want to see this movie but felt obligated to

I'm just trying to get this one over with.

Batman v. Superman, Dawn of Justice:
After the destruction of Metropolis at the conclusion of Man of Steel, the public is debating whether or not having Kal-El/Superman around is a good thing. Continuing his relationship with Lois Lane and job at the newspaper as Clark Kent, he is faced with a new challenger. The aging but still very active and violent vigilante Batman is operating in the neighboring city of Gotham. Batman, after first hand witnessing the fallout of Metropolis' demise, is determined to stop the overpowered alien visitor from causing any more havoc, even if it means having to take him down personally. All the while skeevy young tycoon Lex Luthor (Junior) is pulling the strings to get Superman out of the picture so he can rule Metropolis. Why is all this happening? Because DC needs a quick movie to catch up with Marvel.
    Everything about this film feels forced and purely corporate driven. It is far too early to cram this many heroes into one film as not each hero has been set up yet. Not necessarily saying everyone needs an origin movie, but at least a means of setting them up prior to the battle royale film. It took Marvel almost ten years since the original Iron Man to get to their Civil War film because it takes time to build these character relationships (however cliche) to get the audience to care about the conflict. This film barely can even find a reason for the two heroes to dislike each other, simply they have different approaches to dealing with completely different problems (i.e. Superman fights cosmic threats, Batman deals with street thugs and psychopaths).
    The problem was also adapting several different stories: they adapt The Dark Knight Returns and Superman: Doomsday simultaneously, while also doing a Justice League setup and Batman vs. Superman story. It is a jumbled mess that completely is tonally off. It is very clear that this film had extensive cuts made (solidified by the upcoming "Ultimate" R-rated cut) to keep it to the still draining 2 and a half hour runtime.
    Ben Affleck actually delivered fairly well as Batman, being dark and imposing, almost like a horror character, and really selling the idea that this is a vengeful person who puts the fear into criminals and cops alike. However, his "no killing" rule that has been so integral to his mythos for so long has been scrapped in favor of the militarized, borderline self-parodying Batman of the Frank Miller graphic novels that does not seem to wince at bloodshed or torture to achieve his goals of clean streets. Also, his motivation to hate Superman is staggeringly weak. For such a worldly and intelligent character as Batman is supposed to be, he sure jumps to xenophobia and paranoia quickly.
    The rest of the cast (at least the returners from Man of Steel) do fine but ultimately are just so droll and lifeless that they cease to be investing. Zack Snyder's casting now matches his visual palate: he's able to do such remarkable things with visuals, but always tends to suck out the color and energy in his films, surprisingly, given the comic medium's great strengths have always been a reliance strong visuals and striking colors.
    Callan Mulvey appears as KGBeast (only called by his name in this film), Scoot McNairy and Holly Hunter have new supporting roles, and Jeremy Irons is Alfred and all do okay, as none are given enough screentime to really develop (or in Mulvey's case, he's a one-dimensional henchman character who was only included to give comic fans the hope that more obscure villains will be used in the future).
     On a related note, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor was not all that bad. Sure, he had some off moments (probably due to those extensive cuts I mentioned), and many complained he's too chaotic for a Lex Luthor, but ultimately I thought the idea of turning him into a jittery, eccentric Silicon Valley-esque CEO was a fresh take, even though his dialogue was often hammy and over dramatic.
    The film's plot is drawn out and dull, and certain sequences stand out (namely the introduction of Batman, which was tense and surprisingly eerie), but a lot (the opening slow-mo sequence is just the same Batman origin scene we've seen a million times, with some added laughable religious symbolism) didn't amount to much and the real action set-pieces don't begin until the climax, at which point the movie shifts from overly brooding and grim (seriously, the charming Superman doesn't so much as crack a reassuring smile when he's saving people from danger) to a campy, silly CGI mess. Even the actual Batman vs. Superman fight felt overlong and didn't fit in this universe at all (Snyder's Kal-El went from disintegrating skyscrapers with minimal effort in the previous film to barely being able to dent Batman's armor here), and ultimately was just boring to watch because there was no investment in the characters.
    The overall choices made in the film were dismal (Jimmy Olsen, a beloved comics character, is not even named on screen and dies 30 seconds after he's introduced as Lois' CIA contact on a trip to a warzone; the odd release date in March; the extensive cuts and rush to get this film to theaters; the cramming of far too many characters and ideas into what should be just a Batman vs Superman piece; having Batman and Superman fight in only their second film together; not just making a Man of Steel sequel, etc.) If this is really DC's method of making films, then I think it's time for them to quit trying to catch up with Marvel (they're a near-decade behind them), and just stick to doing what they've always done best: standalone films. Or maybe, just maybe, slow their roll on this whole "cinematic universe" idea. Because judging by this film's reception, people aren't having it, and DC will tank if they keep this up. Zack Snyder should go back to adapting novels and remaking things because when he has to build a fresh script from the ground up, it never ends well, and his visuals are his strong point, not his storytelling abilities. 4/10 stars.

                                                             (Image: Wikipedia)