#source: justice league dark: apocalypse war

[tf2incorrectquotes]

My Emesis Blue: Incorrect AU:

The Administrator: *has revived the BLU Team and hired the Classic Team for a joint mission*

Fritz: *horrified whisper* Oh verdammt, it’s my ex!

Jeremy: *does a double take* You and the Administrator?! Gross…

Fritz: *looks insulted* Excuse me, but I’m not... that insane.

Jeremy: Then who?

Classic!Heavy: *looks over, sees Fritz, smirks then winks*

Fritz: *buries his face in his hands* Bitte, töte mich jetzt einfach…

Jeremy: *realizes that the doc has a type*

[daleisgreat]

Inglourious Basterds

I am jumping out of order with the third Quentin Tarantino film I am covering here is not QT’s third film, Jackie Brown, but instead for his 2009 alternate take on World War II, Inglourious Basterds (trailer). Click or press here for my article on Reservoir Dogs, and click or press here for my entry on Pulp Fiction. I have owned the BluRay since it first released well over a decade ago, and it is a shame yet another QT gem has sat in my backlog for so long. This takes place in occupied France with a riveting opening scene where German Col. Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) conducts an interview with a local dairy farmer which eventually leads to questioning about missing Jews. This being a QT film, the dialog is intentionally drawn out, with Hans pausing the interview for a refreshing glass of milk, and digressing on other tangents before eventually getting to the burning question. Once again, QT absolutely nails the art of conversation like very few of his peers can. Every subtle body language flinch and pivot throughout their verbal exchange is not wasted, and it ultimately pays off with a unforgettable impact to close the scene. If it was almost any other filmmaker, my tolerance would have surely been tested, but there is something to QT’s scripts that without fail have me 100% invested in their surplus of verbiage as much as a climactic action scene in the latest summer blockbuster.

Be prepared for some vintage-QT dialog-heavy scenes...I wouldn't want it any other way from him! This being a WWII film, one would think it would be safe to presume there is a fair amount of military combat scenes. While there is a significant body count by the end of the film, the firefights are not of the typical Hollywood WWII fare, so do not expect any all-out tanks, war planes, and massive artillery skirmishes. Most of the action that transpires here involves a team of Jewish American soldiers headed up by Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt). After the absurd fallout from their latest mission in a basement tavern, they receive intel from undercover operative Bridget von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger) that Nazi leadership including Hitler (Martin Wuttke) himself will be at the grand opening of the latest military propaganda film, Nation’s Pride.

The theater owner where Nation’s Pride will be premiering, Shosanna (Mélanie Laurent), has an intriguing arc on how she is roped into debuting the film at her cinema which is caused by the relentless intimate pursuit of German soldier, Frederick Zoller (Daniel Brühl). Without giving too much away, Shosanna has her own agenda too, and everything builds up splendidly to the big premiere night of Nation’s Pride. I vividly remember going into the theater not clued into the ending which I will not spoil here, and I was instantly stunned at the direction QT went for the final act. There is nearly an hour and a half of bonus material on the BluRay. The standout bonus is a half hour interview with Brad Pitt and QT, conducted by Elvis Mitchell with some highlights of their conversation being how energetic the overall shoot was, and what it was like premiering the film in Germany. Other extra features worth checking out is the full six minute cut of Nation’s Pride, a quick look back with interviews of the cast and crew from the original 1978 Inglorious Bastards, and a pair of interviews with Rod Taylor who has some fun behind-the-scenes stories with QT on how the two have the utmost respect for each other.

Inglourious Basterds did not disappoint with a highly entertaining second viewing where nearly the entire ensemble cast excelled in their performances! For a film that is two and a half hours long, it proved to be a swift viewing after being so engrossed with all the aforementioned dialog-dense scenes. I cannot fairly rank this among QT’s movies as I nearly love them all equally, but it goes without saying if you have made it this far then you know I am giving this the highest of recommendations! Other Random Backlog Movie Blogs 3 12 Angry Men (1957) 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown 21 Jump Street The Accountant Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie Atari: Game Over The Avengers: Age of Ultron The Avengers: Endgame The Avengers: Infinity War Batman: The Dark Knight Rises Batman: The Killing Joke Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice Bounty Hunters Cabin in the Woods Captain America: Civil War Captain America: The First Avenger Captain America: The Winter Soldier Christmas Eve The Clapper Clash of the Titans (1981) Clint Eastwood 11-pack Special The Condemned 2 Countdown Creed I & II Deck the Halls Detroit Rock City Die Hard Dredd The Eliminators The Equalizer Dirty Work Faster Fast and Furious I-VIII Field of Dreams Fight Club The Fighter For Love of the Game Good Will Hunting Gravity Grunt: The Wrestling Movie Guardians of the Galaxy Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 Hell Comes to Frogtown Hercules: Reborn Hitman I Like to Hurt People Indiana Jones 1-4 Ink The Interrogation Interstellar Jay and Silent Bob Reboot Jobs Joy Ride 1-3 Justice League (2017 Whedon Cut) Last Action Hero Major League Man of Steel Man on the Moon Man vs Snake Marine 3-6 Merry Friggin Christmas Metallica: Some Kind of Monster Mortal Kombat Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpions Revenge National Treasure National Treasure: Book of Secrets Nintendo Quest Not for Resale Payback (Director’s Cut) Pulp Fiction The Punisher (1989) The Ref The Replacements Reservoir Dogs Rocky I-VIII Running Films Part 1 Running Films Part 2 San Andreas ScoobyDoo Wrestlemania Mystery Scott Pilgrim vs the World The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Shoot em Up Slacker Skyscraper Small Town Santa Steve Jobs Source Code Star Trek I-XIII Sully Take Me Home Tonight TMNT Trauma Center The Tooth Fairy 1 & 2 UHF Veronica Mars Vision Quest The War Wild The Wizard Wonder Woman The Wrestler (2008) X-Men: Apocalypse X-Men: Days of Future Past

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

Refractions

by Cultivation

Christmas Eve.

War has overtaken heroes and villains alike, plunging the Earth into ruin. Batman escapes the battlefield of Gotham and goes into hiding.

Joker tries to find him.

Words: 76, Chapters: 1/3, Language: English

Fandoms: Batman - All Media Types, Justice League - All Media Types, Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons), DCU

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death

Categories: M/M

Characters: Bruce Wayne, Joker (DCU), Oliver Queen, Dinah Lance, John Stewart (DCU), Diana (Wonder Woman), Thaal Sinestro, Solomon Grundy, Lex Luthor, Clark Kent, Black Adam | Teth-Adam, Shayera Hol, Victor Fries, Barbara Minerva

Relationships: Joker (DCU)/Bruce Wayne

Additional Tags: Angst, Christmas, Christmas Eve, Secret Relationship, War, Alternate Universe - Apocalypse, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Mild Gore, Canon-Typical Violence, POV Joker (DCU), POV Bruce Wayne, Heavy Angst, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Past Character Death, Battle, Everything Hurts, lots of, Minor Character Death, Mentioned Helena Bertinelli, Mentioned Hal Jordan (Green Lantern), Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (1986) References, Hurt/Comfort, Darkest Timeline, Minor Shayera Hol/John Stewart, Love/Hate, Unhealthy Relationships, Diana (Wonder Woman) & Bruce Wayne Friendship, this is not based on any specific canon, this fic has lived in my head for years rent free, Bruce Wayne Has Issues, lots of issues, Batman: The Killing Joke, Biblical Allusions (Abrahamic Religions), Minor Diana (Wonder Woman)/Barbara Minerva, Complicated Relationships, Moral Dilemmas, Deconstruction, Character Study, merry christmas?, i'm very very sorry, Mentioned Batfamily (DCU), References to Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Slow Burn, Sort Of, Batman: A Death in the Family

source https://archiveofourown.org/works/43823151

[dccomicsnews]

DC Comics News has compiled a list of DC Comics titles and collectibles shipping to comic shops for February 7, 2018.

Check back every Friday with the DC Comics News Pull Box to see all the cool new DC Comics titles and collectibles that will be available at your favorite local comic shop! So, what titles or collectibles will you be picking up this Wednesday? You can sound off in the comments section below! Click on Comic shop Locator to find the comic shop nearest to you!

COMICS

BANE CONQUEST #9 (OF 12) $3.99 BATMAN #38 2ND PTG $2.99 BATMAN #40 $2.99 BATMAN WHITE KNIGHT #4 (OF 8) 2ND PTG $3.99 BATMAN WHITE KNIGHT #5 (OF 8) $3.99 BATMAN WHO LAUGHS #1 3RD PTG METAL $3.99 BLACK LIGHTNING COLD DEAD HANDS #4 (OF 6) $3.99 BOMBSHELLS UNITED #11 $2.99 DASTARDLY AND MUTTLEY #6 (OF 6) $3.99 DEATHSTROKE #28 $3.99 EXIT STAGE LEFT THE SNAGGLEPUSS CHRONICLES #2 (OF 6) $3.99 GREEN ARROW #37 $3.99 GREEN LANTERNS #40 $2.99 HARLEY & IVY MEET BETTY & VERONICA #5 (OF 6) $3.99 HARLEY QUINN #37 $2.99 INJUSTICE 2 #19 $2.99 JETSONS #4 (OF 6) $3.99 JUSTICE LEAGUE #38 $2.99 MISTER MIRACLE #1 (OF 12) 4TH PTG $3.99 MISTER MIRACLE #2 (OF 12) 3RD PTG $3.99 MISTER MIRACLE #3 (OF 12) 2ND PTG $3.99 MISTER MIRACLE #4 (OF 12) 2ND PTG $3.99 MOTHER PANIC BATMAN SPECIAL #1 $4.99 NIGHTWING #38 $2.99 SUPERMAN #40 $2.99 SWAMP THING WINTER SPECIAL #1 $7.99 YOUNG MONSTERS IN LOVE #1 $9.99

IDW

SHADOW BATMAN #5 (Brandon Peterson variant) $3.99 SHADOW BATMAN #5 (Philip Tan variant) $3.99 SHADOW BATMAN #5 (Derek Charm variant) $3.99 SHADOW BATMAN #5 (Robert Carey variant) $3.99 SHADOW BATMAN #5 (OF 6) Subscription variant $3.99

DCN Pull Box Triple Spotlight

SWAMP THING WINTER SPECIAL #1 $7.99

Tom King, Len Wein (A) Kelley Jones (A/CA) Jason Fabok

Tom King and Jason Fabok pay tribute to the legendary creators of Swamp Thing, writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, as they join forces for an earth-shattering Swamp Thing passion project! In this new, squarebound one-shot, Swamp Thing is out of his element as he shepherds a lost boy through a blinding blizzard and other hazards of a strange, frozen tundra. In this touching and harrowing tale of survival, the pair must navigate countless threats throughout a bewildering terrain-with a bloodthirsty snow monster hot on their heels. But how long can they rely on each other? Separated from the Green and stripped of his powers in this dead world, Swamp Thing struggles to fight for their lives and deliver the boy to safety. Disoriented and decaying, Swamp Thing’s fading understanding of his surroundings forces the duo to confront their desperation and uncover the true identity of the snow monster that hunts them. In addition, this special features the final Swamp Thing story from the monster’s co-creator, Len Wein. Originally intended as the start of a new series, it is presented here both in its original script form and with art by Kelley Jones.

SHADOW BATMAN #5 $3.99

Steve Orlando (A) Giovanni Timpano (CA) Philip Tan

The Silent Seven fight a war on multiple fronts. But if you follow the strings high enough, are Batman, the Shadow, and Robin still just puppets? Robin and the Shadow fight for their lives, while the actions of the Seven leave Batman unsure if he can trust anyone in his life, including himself. Three generations of crimefighting are deserted and alone, but if they can come together to finally confront the Seven where they live, is it their final victory? Or exactly what the Seven has wanted all along?

BATMAN WHITE KNIGHT #5 (OF 8) $3.99

Sean Murphy (A/CA) Sean Murphy

Jack’s mind and body begin to betray him as he prepares for an inevitable showdown with Batman, and Bruce himself struggles to keep his team united. As the game gets tougher, Batman seeks counsel from a shocking source-and after Wayne Manor is infiltrated, a car chase for the ages aims to curb Napier’s supercriminal crew once and for all.

Variant Covers

Note: Variant Prices To Be Determined By Retailer

BATMAN #40 (Olivier Coipel variant) $2.99 BATMAN WHITE KNIGHT #5 (Sean Murphy variant) $3.99 DASTARDLY AND MUTTLEY #6 (Bill Sienkiewicz variant) $3.99 DEATHSTROKE #28 (Shane Davis variant) $3.99 EXIT STAGE LEFT THE SNAGGLEPUSS CHRONICLES #2 (Steve Pugh variant) $3.99 GREEN ARROW #37 (Mike Grell variant) $3.99 GREEN LANTERNS #40 (Brandon Peterson variant) $2.99 HARLEY & IVY MEET BETTY & VERONICA #5 (Bilquis Evely variant) $3.99 HARLEY QUINN #37 (Frank Cho variant) $2.99 JETSONS #4 (Ben Caldwell variant) $3.99 JUSTICE LEAGUE #38 (J.G. Jones variant) $2.99 NIGHTWING #38 (Yasmine Putri variant) $2.99 SUPERMAN #40 (Jonboy Meyers variant) $2.99

GRAPHIC NOVEL

ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN BY AZZARELLO & CHIANG HC VOL 02 $125.00 AQUAMAN BY PETER DAVID TP BOOK 01 $29.99 CAVE CARSON HAS A CYBERNETIC EYE TP VOL 02 $16.99 CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN BY JEPH LOEB & TIM SALE HC $29.99 ELSEWORLDS SUPERMAN TP VOL 01 $34.99 GREEN LANTERN CORPS HC VOL 01 BEWARE THEIR POWER $39.99 HOUSE OF SECRETS THE BRONZE AGE OMNIBUS HC $125.00 SCOOBY APOCALYPSE TP VOL 03 $16.99 TEEN TITANS BY GEOFF JOHNS TP BOOK 02 $29.99 YOUNG MONSTERS IN LOVE #1 $9.99

MERCHANDISE/COLLECTIBLES

DC DARK KNIGHT JOKER PLAYING CARDS $5.99 FUNKO PLUSH LOONEY TUNES 6PC PLUSH DISP $10.99

ACTION FIGURES/STATUES

DC ARKHAM ASYLUM VG ARMORED BATMAN VINIMATE $9.99 DC ARKHAM ASYLUM VG HARLEY VINIMATE $9.99 DC ARKHAM ASYLUM VG JOKER VINIMATE $9.99 DC COMICS PLAY ARTS KAI HARLEY QUINN AF TETSUYA NOMURA $299.99 DC TV THE FLASH REVERSE FLASH ARTFX+ STATUE $69.99 JUSTICE LEAGUE MOVIE CYBORG ARTFX+ STATUE $79.99 JUSTICE LEAGUE MOVIE THE FLASH ARTFX+ STATUE $79.99 POP TEEN TITANS GO ROBIN AS RED X VINYL FIGURE $10.99 POP TEEN TITANS GO STARFIRE AS BATGIRL VINYL FIGURE $10.99 ROCK CANDY DC BOMBSHELLS BATGIRL FIG $10.99 ROCK CANDY DC BOMBSHELLS WONDER WOMAN FIG $10.99 VYNL DC HARLEY QUINN & JOKER VINYL FIGURE 2PK $14.99

Please comment below and don’t forget to like, share and follow us on:

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DC Comics Pull Box For 2-7-18 (New Comics and Merchandise) DC Comics News has compiled a list of DC Comics titles and collectibles shipping to comic shops for February 7, 2018.

[tarisilmarwen]

Tari’s Guide to DCU Animated Films

My bitterness about the upcoming Judas Contract movie inspired this.  This is my completely biased and subjective evaluation of DC’s body of animated film work, and my recommendations on which ones to watch and which ones to skip.

Pre-Flashpoint

Superman: Doomsday-- Could be maybe a little longer but other than that A+, still great, excellent distillation of the Death and Return of Superman story arc, meaty chunks of Clark/Lois to feed the thirsty shipper soul.

Justice League: The New Frontier-- Basically speculating what if the JL formed right after the Korean War.  SUPER SUPER GOOD.  Canon DC couples all get great little moments, nice character focus on individual heroes, almost a better Green Lantern origin than the Green Lantern movie???  Probably the best one they’ve put out.

Batman: Gotham Knight-- Nice little anthology collection.  Fun and entertaining, interesting and varied animation.  Nothing terribly high-stakes or dramatic, just a few decent little character studies of Batman.

Wonder Woman-- Clean, straightforward tale of Diana’s origin and how she became Wonder Woman and punched a Greek god in the face.  Still good, and the standard by which I will be judging the live action film.

Green Lantern: First Flight-- SPEAKING OF JUDGING LIVE ACTION FILMS AGAINST ANIMATED ONES... Clearly the superior Green Lantern origin movie.  :)  Way intense and dramatic, almost operatic, first movie I really felt the writers were taking full and free advantage of their PG-13 rating.  There is a looooooot of offscreen character death holy shit.  Excellent watch.

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies-- Highly entertaining and fun adaptation of the comic arc of the same name.  First non-Teen Titans animated appearance of Starfire!  Good watch, would recommend.

Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths-- You want dramatic and exciting multiverse action?  You get dramatic and exciting multiverse action!  Solid offering, no complaints.

Batman: Under the Red Hood-- *sobbing*  Heartbreaking and streamlined distillation of the comic arc.  Perfect tragedy.  Hurts in the best way.

Superman/Batman: Apocalypse-- Despite the name, really more of a Supergirl origin.  We fight Darkseid.  It is awesome.

All-Star Superman-- Haven’t watched, can’t comment.  Suspect it’s pretty good though, based on the source material they’re drawing from.

Green Lantern: Emerald Knights-- Fun, great little anthology about various Lanterns.  Nice character focus.  Excellent watch.

Batman: Year One-- Haven’t watched, can’t comment.

Justice League: Doom--  Haven’t watched, can’t comment.

Superman vs The Elite--  Haven’t watched, can’t comment.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns-- Haven’t watched, can’t comment.

Superman: Unbound-- GOOD.  Animation style a little wonky to get used to but still interesting and pretty.  Solid Superman story.  Ends with Clark and Lois engaged. :D

Post-Flashpoint

Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox-- Haven’t watched, can’t comment.  I’ve heard it’s pretty good but it’s also the event that set up the New 52, both in comics and in these animated films so... mixed bag.

Justice League: War-- Eh... okayish?  Good action semi-wasted by treating Darkseid as an opening boss origin story instead of a Final Boss.  (As in the comic.)  Characterizations of iconic characters sometimes cringeworthy and awkward.  (As in the comic.)  Inclusion of miscellaneous New 52 things I hate (SUPES/WONDYCOUGHCOUGH) puts a real sharp damper on my enjoyment.

Son of Batman-- AKA Talia Has The Worst Boobs, also “Why the hell are you in this, Deathstroke, you were not part of this story arc, what are you doing here, why is this a thing?”  Damian is super OP and stuish in this.  It is irritating.

Batman: Assault on Arkham-- Haven’t watched, can’t comment.

Justice League: Throne of Atlantis-- Potentially great Aquaman origin sullied by breezy too-short runtime, continued inclusion of New 52 terrible (AKA SUPES/WONDY), and maddeningly frequent rabbits trails into Batman and JL shit instead of keeping the focus on Aquaman.

Batman vs. Robin-- FINALLY A GOOD ENTRY.  Court of Owls storyline mostly used as backdrop for the interpersonal conflict between Bruce and Damian instead of given a straight adaptation, which might irritate some fans, but overall pretty solid, tightly written, dark and dramatic and thus far the best offering out of the New 52 animated continuity.  Also, Dick/Kory hints.  That was nice.

Justice League: Gods and Monsters--  Haven’t watched, can’t comment.

Batman: Bad Blood-- Relatively decent.  Uses freedom of rating for some dumb “edgy” moments (AKA that completely useless dream sequence).  Gives Nightwing some actual shit to do, continues with the delightful Dick/Kory hints, brings in some enjoyable characters.  Even manages to make the return of Talia and her terrible breasts not suck by having her be a competent threat, instead of irritatingly useless as in the last installment.

Justice League vs. Teen Titans-- Pros: Momfire, Dick/Kory, okay Trigon story, gratuitous and hilarious Magical Girl transformation sequence.  Cons: YET MORE SUPES/WONDY SHIT, unfocused, cringe moments, too much Damian, sets up for terrible terrible things on the horizon.  (AKA JUDAS CONTRACT.)

Batman: The Killing Joke-- Haven’t watched, can’t comment.  Still amazed at how they apparently managed to make a nothing-special straight adaptation of the comic story completely terrible by inclusion of creepy Bruce/Babs shit.

---

CONCLUSION: The New 52 continues to poison everything it touches.  It was a mistake and I don’t miss it.

[placetobenation]

With the summer movie season almost upon us, Andy is here to try to make sure you don’t get fooled when spending your hard-earned money when you choose to take in the latest flick at the cinema.

When people ask me what my favorite type of movie is, I always say blockbusters. Don’t get me wrong, but with the exception of paranormal thrillers and torture-porn flicks like the Saw movies, I love all types of movies. As a movie fan, I believe in balance as far as the movies I see goes. I love to see a big budget summer movie, then follow up it with a comedy and then after that check out an independent drama. But there is one thing that I really hate, when I see an awesome trailer but then the movie is really disappointing and bad. And it’s not like you can really avoid trailers these days. There are at least fifteen minutes of trailers before every movie that you see in the theater. You can always be “that guy” who closes his eyes and covers his ears during them. I see where they are coming from, I like to go in with as little info as possible so that the reveals, twists and turns aren’t spoiled for me. For example, I didn’t try to avoid the trailers for Rogue One, outside of seeing them before other movies, I didn’t seek out more clips and info. It did pay off and I didn’t see some of the plot turns that occurred coming. Some trailers you will see for over a year before the film is released. And often the three-minute trailer can contain all of the best parts of a one hundred and twenty-minute movie, that really gets my goat, so to speak. Here are some of the worst offenders over the last twenty years.

Passengers, released December 21, 2016. Here is the plot summary, courtesy of IMDB.com: A spacecraft traveling to a distant colony planet and transporting thousands of people has a malfunction in its sleep chambers. As a result, two passengers are awakened 90 years early. This is a great concept for a movie, so many possibilities and directions it could go in. Add in two of the biggest stars today: Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt with beautiful set design and visual effects, it should be a success, right? So where did this movie fall flat? A few places, but mostly on the script level. The characters were under-developed, and it tried to borrow from too many other movies. This film was derivative of “Cast Away”, “Titanic” and “Home Alone.” Also, one of the characters has a major moral dilemma, but I would call more a “dick move” for what they did. In hindsight, the trailer was a bit deceptive, but in their defense, they don’t want to give away the “plot twist,” so I do get why they did it. I just wish this film held up to the promise it’s trailer gave us.

Suicide Squad, released August 5, 2016. Here is the plot summary, courtesy of IMDB.com: A secret government agency recruits some of the most dangerous incarcerated super-villains to form a defensive task force. Their first mission: save the world from the apocalypse. What a fun concept, right? Let’s get a team of the worst criminals we have and send them in to stop an even worse supervillain. This was probably one of the best trailers I’ve seen in a long time, especially with the classic rock hits, “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Ballroom Blitz,” and “Spirit In The Sky” featured in it. It was so good that the studio had the team that cut the trailer take a shot at editing the film. They only had so much to work with, so they couldn’t even save this movie. I don’t hate this movie, I really liked some parts of it, but it was filled with missed opportunities. They didn’t really develop enough of the characters outside of Harley Quinn and Deadshot. The motivations of the characters weren’t fully defined either. Also, I think a lot of people are really getting sick of the heroes of movies having to stop the giant light in the sky. There were at least three other movies, although only one really got it right, that featured this that year, “Doctor Strange,” “Ghostbusters” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows,” so this needs to go away or least used minimally going forward. This gave a lot of concern that the DCEU was in trouble since with was is in such a rush to catch up to the MCU that they weren’t concentrating on the little things that matter and failing to properly set up the universe. Thankfully with “Wonder Woman” and “Justice League”, they have started to course-correct.

Transformers: Age Of Extinction, released June 27, 2014. Here is the plot summary, courtesy of IMDB.com: Autobots must escape sight from a bounty hunter who has taken control of the human serendipity: Unexpectedly, Optimus Prime and his remaining gang turn to a mechanic, his daughter, and her back-street racing boyfriend for help. Honestly, the entire franchise should be on this list. Transformers was one of my favorite cartoons growing up and there are some cool and good parts to these movies. But, it is mainly Michael Bay shitting on my childhood. In regards to this entry in the series, there are so many problems with this movie: the swift and brutal death of the apparent comic relief early in the movie; the mention of the “Romeo & Juliet” law as part of a sub-plot; Optimus Prime being really pissed off and killing a human on purpose. But the worst offense (I will admit it was a cool scene when it happened) was saving the Dinobots for a short scene at the end of the movie after it was the biggest promise from the trailer.

Man Of Steel, released June 14, 2013. Here is the plot summary, courtesy of IMDB.com: Clark Kent, one of the last of an extinguished race disguised as an unremarkable human, is forced to reveal his identity when the Earth is invaded by an army of survivors who threaten to bring the planet to the brink of destruction. We didn’t know it at the time, but this was the first entry in the DCEU. But man, this was no “Iron Man.” The trailer had some cool visuals and it seem to set up an epic battle between Superman and General Zod, which we did end up getting, but the tone of the movie was totally off. I’m not a comic book guy, but even I know that the tone of this movie was way too dark. Superman is the light, “boy scout” of the Superfriends. Batman is the dark character, which is what keeps the balance in the team. This movie was just in the wrong hands, Zack Snyder’s. Superman was too gritty and pissed off for most of the movie. He behaved more like Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. Plus, there was way too much imagery portraying him as a Christ figure. This is a prime example of that when it comes to a comic book movie, you need to put it in the hands of someone who knows and cares about the source material.

Elysium, released August 9, 2013. Here is the plot summary, courtesy of IMDB.com: In the year 2154, the very wealthy live on a man-made space station while the rest of the population resides on a ruined Earth. A man takes on a mission that could bring equality to the polarized worlds. After seeing “District 9”, like many, I was looking forward to Neil Blomkamp’s follow up. The trailer was great, but it basically gave away the entire movie. Yeah, a few plots points were omitted but anyone who has seen a movie before could piece together what the missing pieces were. Where “District 9” was sci-fi futuristic take on Apartheid, this film tried to do the same with the theme of division of classes and what could happen in the future. It gets too on the nose throughout and story goes off the rails by the end. Jodie Foster, much like Kate Winslet in the Divergent series, is missed-cast and gives a disappointing performance. When Blomkamp came out with his third film “Chappie”, I decided to skip it and from what I heard about it from people who saw it, I made the right decision.

John Carter, released March 9, 2012. Here is the plot summary, courtesy of IMDB.com: Transported to Barsoom, a Civil War vet discovers a barren planet seemingly inhabited by 12-foot barbarians. Finding himself prisoner of these creatures, he escapes, only to encounter Woola and a princess in desperate need of a savior. When this movie came out, most people found it to be too derivative of other movies in the genre, “Raiders of the Lost Ark” & “Star Wars.” The funny thing is that the book it is based-on inspired filmmakers like George Lucas and Steven Spielberg when they were making their early action-adventure films that I just mentioned. And that where the main problem is. The action sequences and special effects are good, but there many similar movies that did them better. Again, like many others on this list, it suffers from poor plot pacing and uneven characters. It was a shame because it was director Andrew Stanton’s first attempt at live-action after having such great success in animation with “Finding Nemo” & “Wall-E.”

Sucker Punch, released March 25, 2011. Here is the plot summary, courtesy of IMDB.com: A young girl is institutionalized by her abusive stepfather. Retreating to an alternative reality as a coping strategy, she envisions a plan which will help her escape from the mental facility. Surprise, surprise, Zack Snyder is on the list again. This is his attempt at an “Alice In Wonderland”-type story. This movie is visually stunning but not much else is there. The plot is similar to that of a video game with quests and levels that have to be beaten by the main characters. Except for Oscar Isaac & Jon Hamm, all the leads in this movie are all women, which is one positive that can be taken away from this film. However, that positive is almost turned into a negative by the way the characters are depicted and objectified.

Cowboys & Aliens, released July 29, 2011. Here is the plot summary, courtesy of IMDB.com: A spaceship arrives in Arizona, 1873, to take over the Earth, starting with the Wild West region. A posse of cowboys and natives are all that stand in their way. Spaceships attacking cowboys in the Wild West? Yes, sign me up. This film also had an incredible pedigree out of the gates. It was produced by Steven Spielberg, directed by Jon Favreau, written by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, and starring Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford and Olivia Wilde. However, this was one of the biggest disappointments I’ve ever seen. Again, the movie’s failure starts at the script level. There were so many character motivations that didn’t make much sense. Underneath the main leads, there was a tremendous amount of miscasting with some of the supporting roles. These were good actors but they shouldn’t have been in this movie. This was a rare misfire by Jon Favreau as a filmmaker. Outside of the concept, there’s nothing much original in this film, most of the set pieces and characters are paint-by-numbers for a western.

Where The Wild Things Are, released October 16, 2009. Here is the plot summary, courtesy of IMDB.com: Yearning for escape and adventure, a young boy runs away from home and sails to an island filled with creatures that take him in as their king. Many of us read this story when we were kids. Film adaptations of books can be difficult, especially when the source material is so short, only about ten sentences long, in this case. Spike Jonze is a director with a great vision. What we ended up getting is a movie that slogs and bores both kids and adults. It is so dark, bleak and depressing that one wonders what the filmmakers were trying to say from the get go.

Jennifer’s Body, released September 28, 2009. Here is the plot summary, courtesy of IMDB.com: A newly possessed high school cheerleader turns into a succubus who specializes in killing her male classmates. Can her best friend put an end to the horror? This was screenwriter Diablo Cody’s follow-up to her Oscar win for the critically acclaimed film “Juno.” This film had a lot going for on the surface. It starred Megan Fox, who was red hot coming off the “Transformers” franchise, the aforementioned Cody and horror was on an upswing at the time, especially horror comedies. However, this movie was neither very scary or very funny. There is plenty of witty dialogue, and some very sexy scenes that teenage boys will dream about, but it seems like there was some unfulfilled potential that the trailer promised.

Watchmen, released March 6, 2009. Here is the plot summary, courtesy of IMDB.com: In 1985 where former superheroes exist, the murder of a colleague sends active vigilante Rorschach into his own sprawling investigation, uncovering something that could completely change the course of history as we know it. Based on a graphic novel, many said that the source material was unfilmable. They were half-right. This was a pretty movie but the filmmakers (cough, Zack Snyder, etc.) spent more time on the look of the film and neglected character development and plot. There were also questionable casting choices as well as misplaced songs from the 80’s featured in the movie’s soundtrack. The biggest drawback of this movie is the run time, at an excruciating three hours plus.

X-Men: The Last Stand, released May 26, 2009. Here is the plot summary, courtesy of IMDB.com: When a cure is found to treat mutations, lines are drawn amongst the X-Men, led by Professor Charles Xavier, and the Brotherhood, a band of powerful mutants organized under Xavier’s former ally, Magneto. Bryan Singer did a very good job directing and world-building in the first two movies in the franchise. And in one movie, Bret Ratner flushed it all down the toilet. This film really messed with the canon of the franchise by killing off too many characters, namely Professor X and Cyclops. With the main plot being about a cure for mutants and the questions and decisions that come along, a much more capable director would have made a smaller film and focused on a few characters dealing with whether or not they should be “cured.” Instead, we got basically an assassination of a major comic franchise that Bryan Singer had to be lured back to in order to save it with “X-Men: The First Class.”, in which they thankfully ret-conned this film from the cinematic universe.

King Kong, released December 14, 2005. Here is the plot summary, courtesy of IMDB.com: After a movie crew travels to a mysterious island to shoot their picture, they encounter a giant and furious gorilla who takes their leading actress and forms a special relationship with her, protecting the beautiful lady at all costs. This one almost didn’t make this list, there are a lot of positives with this movie. Peter Jackson had just delivered on “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, so why not remake a classic monster movie with today’s money and technology behind you. This is another movie that suffers from being way too long. There are so many sequences that can be shortened, especially the one with the giant insects on Skull Island. It takes forever for them to get off the island and to New York. We could do without the ice skating scene in Central Park. The casting for this movie was actually very good along with great special effects. This is a tough movie to re-visit though because of the slogs between great action set pieces.

Be Cool, released March 4, 2005. Here is the plot summary, courtesy of IMDB.com: Disenchanted with the movie industry, Chili Palmer tries the music industry, meeting and romancing a widow of a music executive on the way. This movie made me mad when I saw it. I loved “Get Shorty.” I thought John Travolta did an awesome job in that film as the follow up to his comeback performance in “Pulp Fiction.” It was also touted as an on-screen reunion of John and Uma Thurman. Again, another movie with a great cast, but it seemed like a retread of the first movie, just a different industry setting and without the charm. It seemed to get lazy and go through the motions from the start of the movie.

The Matrix: Reloaded, released May 14, 2003. Here is the plot summary, courtesy of IMDB.com: Neo and the rebel leaders estimate that they have 72 hours until 250,00 probes discover Zion and destroy it and its inhabitants. During this, Neo must decide how he can save Trinity from a dark fate in his dreams. The first “Matrix” was groundbreaking and revolutionary so when they announced a sequel, who didn’t want to see what the filmmakers would do next. This time around, they focused too much on the action scenes and not enough on the characters in the world they built. There was too much exposition in the dialogue, and many of the subplots went unresolved. And what’s worse, they did it again in the next film in the franchise, “The Matrix: Revolutions.”

Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace, released May 19, 1999. Here is the plot summary, courtesy of IMDB.com: Two Jedi Knights escape a hostile blockade to find allies and come across a young boy who may bring balance to the Force, but the long dormant Sith resurface to reclaim their old glory. Where do I start? We waited 16 long years for a new Star Wars movie and because of that, they were able to sucker us in. They played off our hunger for the episodes of the saga that we had all heard about for years. They took advantage of our nostalgia for our beloved trilogy. It opened with the 20thCentury Fox and Lucasfilm logos. They gave us the John Williams score; an image of a desert planet with a spaceship; imagery of worlds we haven’t seen yet; podracing; Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor & Samuel L. Jackson as a Jedis; Yoda; Darth Maul with his two-handed light saber and R2-D2 & C3PO. What could go wrong? That’s a discussion for a whole other article. In a nutshell, too much CGI, an immaculate conception, Jar Jar Binks and the history of the trade federation. There are some good parts in Episodes I-III, but those are few and far between.

Pearl Harbor, released May 25, 2001. Here is the plot summary, courtesy of IMDB.com: A tale of war and romance mixed in with history, the story follows two lifelong friends and a beautiful nurse who are caught up in the horror of an infamous Sunday morning in 1941. This was great trailer that showed the promise of what could have been a rare big budget movie that went on to win numerous awards. The story of one of the most tragic and at the same time heroic days in American history was tailor-made for the big screen. What we ended up getting was overblown special effects, an underserved story with a love triangle shoved in. This is another case of an overall bad movie having some great scenes and imagery but it’s not worth sitting through the almost three-hour long slog.

Godzilla, released May 20, 1998. Here is the plot summary, courtesy of IMDB.com: A giant, reptilian monster surfaces, leaving destruction in its wake. To stop the monster (and its babies), and earthworm scientist, his reporter ex-girlfriend, and other unlikely heroes team up to save their city. Coming off the success of “Independence Day”, the team of Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich could do no wrong, right? Wrong! They decided to take a crack at one of the most famous monster/disaster movie icons, Godzilla and boy, they got it wrong. This was a case of egos getting in the way of making a great film. They threw out the original script and wrote the film themselves. They also changed the design of the title character. The casting was all wrong. Your protagonist is a worm expert played by Matthew Broderick. Really? The plot lacked logic and there wasn’t much in terms of dramatic tension throughout the entire movie. The tagline of the movie was “Size Does Matter.” Guess what? So does the script.

[londontheatre]

A superfluous and unnecessarily pretentious pre-show goes on as the audience continues to file in for The Community. I am relieved to report it is onwards and upwards from there. The Great Leader (Charlotte Bloomsbury) launches into a speech, which attempts to be Churchillian but ends up melodramatic: she does, at least, have the foresight to make ruthless adjustments to her set piece before it is delivered at The Community’s school leaving event.

A teeny weeny bit of background, then. The Community doesn’t seem to be imaginative enough to call itself anything other than The Community. ‘The’ is very much appropriate, at least as far as they (that is, the members of The Community) are concerned. They are the only ones left after the end of the world as it was known has happened. It brings to mind ‘An Apocalypse To Remember’, an episode of the animated television comedy American Dad, in which the main family breadwinner, who works for the CIA, mistakes a nuclear war drill for an actual international incident, with terrible but hilarious consequences.

In The Community, which must exist entirely below ground because there is, or so The Community has been led to believe, too much radiation on the Earth’s surface, the Great Leader’s rhetoric is, in short, the Third Reich resurrected. It’s her way or the highway. Rules exist but are regularly overridden by the Leader: a complete failure to lead by example wins her few friends amongst what she considers to be her people. There are, if one were to drill down deep enough, things not fully explained in the narrative, such as how exactly did anyone at all survive the nuclear war, or Armageddon, or whatever it was? Surely by definition ‘the end of the world’ should mean precisely that? Such explorations would, I realise, both lengthen the play considerably. I still say it is worth looking into as a point for future development.

Too many of the jobs within The Community are menial. Paul, sporting a woolly hat (there was no programme or cast list available at the performance I attended, and so it is with regret some of the performers must, therefore, go uncredited) is joined by Jim (Ross Virgo), for a sit-down security job. The delivery of their dialogue, deadpan in parts and palpably thoughtful in others, is worth the price of a ticket alone. A moral dilemma is admirably dealt with too.

The black-box set fits the storyline like a glove, and the absurdity and preposterousness of The Community’s many quirks and regulations are a persistent source of hilarity. It’s not always as dark as it could be, however. This is not a universally negative point – the Leader could be more stereotypically evil (think, for instance, Mr Burns in The Simpsons or even Miss Hannigan in Annie).

The more nuanced manner of this Leader puts her in a similar league to a political leader in the liberal democracies of the modern world, with sophisticated plotting, scheming and spin going on. But when a government official relents from meting out the punishment required for a particular misdemeanour, part of me wished he had proceeded with dispensing the Leader’s definition of justice.

That said, whether playing the aforementioned official, or Gerry, a debate moderator whose shorthand skills are no match for the passionate Edith (consistently referred to as the Chair of the Panel for the Preservation of Ethics), or Thomas, a teacher, William Sebag-Montefiore puts in a stand-out performance. Often bombastic and with considerable aplomb, he’s conspicuous by his absence when off-stage, and portrays the emotions of his characters with clarity and conviction.

With the world now in possession of more than enough nuclear weapons to wipe out the entire human race, the harrowing and oppressive environment of The Community is more of a possibility than ever before. It’s like being in a reality television show but with no option to tell the broadcaster to “get me out of here”. The animated way in which this story is told is welcoming. An amusing and thought-provoking production.

Review by Chris Omaweng

Welcome to the Community, a vast underground society populated by the last one thousand humans on earth. The surface has been reduced to an irradiated wasteland and these poor souls are confined to a harsh underground life in order to escape it. It is a brutal and unforgiving place where freedom of thought has been eradicated, mandatory euthanasia is a normal part of life and birthday cakes are strictly prohibited. In spite of these challenges humanity endures, clinging to the faded hope that one day they may see the surface of the world that their ancestors were forced to abandon.

Gaël van den Bossche’s new dark comedy explores the lives and struggles of the people who live in this bleak state. How much must we sacrifice in the name of survival and when does it stop being worth it? How can we continue in the face of the meaninglessness and absurdity of our existence? Does thinking about it only make it worse?

LISTING INFORMATION Lion and Unicorn, 42-44 Gaisford Street, Kentish Town, NW5 2ED Tues 1st – Sat 5th August 2017

http://ift.tt/2ulsQ16 LondonTheatre1.com

[whimsicalparadise]

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and DC Entertainment celebrate a decade of heroic animation with the release of the DC Universe Original Movies: 10th Anniversary Collection, a comprehensive box set of all 30 films, 5 animated shorts, new special features and exclusive collectible items coming November 7, 2017 to Blu-ray™. The entire 30-film set will also be available on Digital starting August 15, 2017. The 30-film DC Universe Original Movies: 10th Anniversary Collection (Blu-ray) will include: SUPERMAN: DOOMSDAY JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE NEW FRONTIER BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT WONDER WOMAN COMMEMORATIVE EDITION GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT SUPERMAN/BATMAN: PUBLIC ENEMIES JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRISIS ON TWO EARTHS BATMAN: UNDER THE RED HOOD SUPERMAN/BATMAN: APOCALYPSE ALL-STAR SUPERMAN GREEN LANTERN: EMERALD KNIGHTS BATMAN: YEAR ONE JUSTICE LEAGUE: DOOM SUPERMAN VS. THE ELITE THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, PART 1 THE DARK KNIGHTS RETURNS, PART 2 SUPERMAN: UNBOUND JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE FLASHPOINT PARADOX JUSTICE LEAGUE: WAR SON OF BATMAN BATMAN: ASSAULT ON ARKHAM JUSTICE LEAGUE: THRONE OF ATLANTIS BATMAN VS. ROBIN JUSTICE LEAGUE: GODS AND MONSTERS BATMAN: BAD BLOOD JUSTICE LEAGUE VS. TEEN TITANS BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK TEEN TITANS: THE JUDAS CONTRACT BATMAN AND HARLEY QUINN Source: Batman-news.com #Batman #Superman #dcau #Wonder Woman #theflash #shazam #cyborg #aquaman #robin #martianmanhunter #joker #harleyquinn #catwoman #justiceleague #teentitans #greenlantern #Greenarrow #thedarkknight #redhood #dcanimateduniverse #dccomics #dcentertainment

[daleisgreat]

Speed

Today’s entry will mark the first official 4K home video release I am writing about. I already own a few other 4K UHDs, and a couple of months ago, I watched my first 4K video at home with 2001’s The Fast and the Furious. However, I already covered that movie’s BluRay release here several years ago, so I will not be dedicating another entry for it, other than to say that the 4K upgrade pops and makes it look like a new release. Today’s entry is for 1994’s Speed (trailer). Before diving into this movie, I noticed one of the tracks from this film’s score repeatedly used throughout sounds awfully like one of the main themes I primarily associated with the Metal Gear Solid franchise. I have no idea if this was pointed out before, and I just overlooked it all these years, or maybe I am grasping at straws. Click or press here to take a listen and decide for yourself. 1994 was a hell of a year for Hollywood movies primarily transpiring from a highway with The Chase, Speed, and the OJ Simpson Bronco chase….oh wait (although I highly recommend the ESPN 30 for 30 on it, simply titled: June 17th 1994). The majority of Speed has a straightforward premise: serial bomber and local madman Howard Payne (Dennis Hopper) planted a bomb on a bus rigged to explode once the bus drops below 55 miles per hour. Police officer Jack Traven (Keanu Reeves) is alerted to this by the bomber himself to exact revenge on Traven after successfully rescuing hostages from an elevator Payne armed at the beginning of the film.

From there, for the middle hour of this nearly two-hour film, the action almost entirely takes place on the bus. Traven makes a grand entrance onto the bus by commandeering a Jaguar and having its owner (Glenn Plummer) take the wheel so Traven could heroically leap onto the bus and save the day. It would not be that easy of a rescue mission as Payne has eyes on the bus, and Traven has to play by his rules and get him his $3 million ransom to disarm the bus. Without question, the middle hour on the bus is the best part of the film. The opening half-hour is an excellent appetizer with the elevator hostage crisis that Traven and his partner, Harry (Jeff Daniels), successfully foil. However, once the action shifts to the bus is when Speed takes off. Shortly after taking control of the bus, one of the passengers freaks and inadvertently shoots the bus driver, and a fellow passenger, Annie (Sandra Bullock), takes over the wheel. Throughout the film, Annie and Traven have wonderful chemistry, and I could not help but root for the duo throughout. Every couple of minutes, there is a new potential conflict to overcome to keep the bus going over 55mph. The film wisely peppers in brief dialog exchanges to let the movie breathe just enough before the next hurdle makes itself present.

The film's standout moment is the major obstacle for the bus to overcome when it encounters a stretch of unavoidable highway under construction and missing a hearty chunk of the road. Traven’s solution is that since that stretch of a road is on an incline, they may clear that gap if they build up enough speed! That epic stunt hits all the right notes, and I got goosebumps all over again re-watching it, and odds are, I bet you did too if you have seen this movie. If you have not, then watch this scene and see for yourself by click or pressing here. A lot of the critical discussion in the aftermath of this movie was if that jump was realistically possible. The best thing I can do is to compare it to another film, Road Trip, which is likely a better indicator of what could happen when attempting such a feat. Once the middle bus portion of the film is over, there are still about 20 minutes left where Traven tracks and chases down Payne in a subway station. The movie felt over once the bus portion had such a satisfying conclusion that it almost feels wrong to keep sticking with the film by this point, but I recommend you do since there is a satisfying payoff in the form of Payne’s demise. I have to share a story now when I first saw this film at around 13 or 14 on VHS. My dad’s VCR had what seemed to me at the time was a revolutionary feature where if I kept pressing the pause button repeatedly, it would slowly, frame-by-frame, play the film in super slow-motion. At that age, I thought this was a fantastic way to get the most out of the biggest stunts in action scenes. My favorite moment exploiting this feature was seeing Traven and Payne wrestle around on the top of a subway train until Payne was not watching his field of vision, and a warning light lead to his sudden beheading. I slow-motion replayed that sequence countless times in my awkward, early teenage years. Suffice it to say, Hopper plays the out-of-his-mind bomber perfectly, going so far as to make sure he receives his appropriate cinematic comeuppance.

The director ensures the many passengers on the bus maximized their minutes to the point I where it feels like you are right there with them!

Two audio commentaries are the only extra features of the 4K disc in this 4K/BluRay combo pack. One is with the director, Jan de Bont, and the other is with producer Mark Gordon and writer Graham Yost. Props are to whoever decided to subtitle the commentary tracks. I very much appreciate it! I first started to bounce back and forth between the two commentary tracks, but Bont was way too relaxed and had too many pauses to hold my attention, and I finished up with his track within five minutes. However, Yost and Gordon are very much engaged from beginning to end and have fun cracking jokes and sharing memories throughout. Some quick takeaways I got from them were how they wanted to film a major scene outside of a sports arena, dealing with critics poking holes at how unrealistic their stunts were, and how watching the movie felt very different at the time of the commentary recording just two months after 9/11. The BluRay disc contains the remainder of the bonus features. Inside Speed is a four-part feature lasting just under an hour breaking down the visual effects, stunts, and location sequences, but half of it also contains an HBO First Look special hosted by Dennis Hopper that hits all the right kinds of cheesy mid-90s EPK nostalgia that it is worth checking out. Aside from 12 minutes of extended scenes and a Billy Idol music video that seems totally off base with the tempo of the film, there are a couple of Action Sequences mini-features breaking down some of the stunts. I highly recommend watching the one dissecting how they did the bus jump, as it shows raw footage of what really happened when they shot it, and showed footage of some of the specific safety measures they instilled to make that stunt as safe as possible and had some eye-opening interviews with the stunt driver before and after.

After watching that old VHS copy nearly a dozen times, Speed wound up being one of my favorite action films I got burnt out early on and never bothered upgrading to a DVD or standalone BluRay. Watching it again in 4K all these years later breathed new life into it for me. I am not an expert at breaking down video quality by any means, but watching the 4K disc on my 4KTV gave the impression of this having far more current production values. The editors somehow managed to remove all the old film grain defects for a smooth 4K upgrade. If you have not seen Speed yet, then it has everything you could want out of a mid-90s action movie with explosions, gripping thrills and stunts, dramatic rescues, plenty of zinger one-liners…..and a Billy Idol theme song. Pardon me while I attempt my best Dennis Hopper impression here, “Pop quiz, hotshot, which 1994 blockbuster that takes place primarily on a bus is a perfect candidate for beer and popcorn movie night at home?” Other Random Backlog Movie Blogs 3 12 Angry Men (1957) 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown 21 Jump Street The Accountant Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie Atari: Game Over The Avengers: Age of Ultron The Avengers: Endgame The Avengers: Infinity War Batman: The Dark Knight Rises Batman: The Killing Joke Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice Bounty Hunters Cabin in the Woods Captain America: Civil War Captain America: The First Avenger Captain America: The Winter Soldier Christmas Eve The Clapper Clash of the Titans (1981) Clint Eastwood 11-pack Special The Condemned 2 Countdown Creed I & II Deck the Halls Detroit Rock City Die Hard Dirty Work Dredd The Eliminators The Equalizer Faster Fast and Furious I-VIII Field of Dreams Fight Club The Fighter For Love of the Game Good Will Hunting Gravity Grunt: The Wrestling Movie Guardians of the Galaxy Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 Hell Comes to Frogtown Hercules: Reborn Hitman I Like to Hurt People Indiana Jones 1-4 Inglourious Basterds Ink The Interrogation Interstellar Jay and Silent Bob Reboot Jobs Joy Ride 1-3 Justice League (2017 Whedon Cut) Last Action Hero Major League Mallrats Man of Steel Man on the Moon Man vs Snake Marine 3-6 Merry Friggin Christmas Metallica: Some Kind of Monster Mortal Kombat Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpions Revenge National Treasure National Treasure: Book of Secrets Nintendo Quest Not for Resale Old Joy Payback (Director’s Cut) Pulp Fiction The Punisher (1989) The Ref The Replacements Reservoir Dogs Rocky I-VIII Running Films Part 1 Running Films Part 2 San Andreas ScoobyDoo Wrestlemania Mystery Scott Pilgrim vs the World The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Shoot em Up Slacker Skyscraper Small Town Santa Steve Jobs Source Code Star Trek I-XIII Sully Take Me Home Tonight TMNT Trauma Center The Tooth Fairy 1 & 2 UHF Veronica Mars Vision Quest The War Wild The Wizard Wonder Woman The Wrestler (2008) X-Men: Apocalypse X-Men: Days of Future Past

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

His Sun

by Alex_Cors

The Apokolips War is won, but the world is nearly destroyed. A handful of wounded heroes remained from the defenders of the Earth. Crash the timeline and hope for the best, or risk one last chance and try to rebuild the planet? What will you do to stay with the one you love?

Words: 2847, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Teen Titans - All Media Types, Justice League vs. Teen Titans (2016), Teen Titans: The Judas Contract (2017), Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (2020)

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: F/M

Characters: Damian Wayne, Raven, Koriand'r (DCU), Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Bruce Wayne, Superman, John Constantine

Relationships: Raven/Damian Wayne

Additional Tags: AU, Hurt/Comfort, Dark, Detectives, Drama, Post-Canon, Post-Apocalypse

source https://archiveofourown.org/works/41399103

[thezachrogers]

The worst 10 movies of 2016

2016 was really the year of stinkers than it was for good movies. Fortunately, I knew to stay away from most of them. If the trailer reveals too much and it’s so star-studded and CGI driven it almost looks stupid (because it is); then check yourself before you wreck yourself; do NOT watch those movies. The movies I called to be stinkers that I did not see and friends told me they did stink are:

Passengers

Assassin’s Creed

Now You See Me 2

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2

Mother’s Day

Zoolander 2

Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (total reboot, yet Sigourney Weaver, Dan Akroyd, Bill Murray, and Ernie Hudson all appear in the film as different characters; stupid.)

INDEPENDENCE DAY 2: RESURGENCE: If Will Smith said no to it to do Suicide Squad (TOTAL STINKER) instead, then it had to be bad.

The 5th Wave

The Divergent Series: Allegiant: Before the third installment to this less than mediocre franchise released, Lionsgate announced they were selling the rights to Disney and were going to release the final film (4th and 5th installment) as a TV season with a whole new cast…yea, no thanks.

Warcraft

London Has Fallen

Gods of Egypt

Max Steel

Noticing a trend here folks?

Every movie with the exception of Passengers is not original. Either a sequel to a mediocre movie, or a movie based on videogame or teen novel. Do not waste your time on these films. They are crap, all of them, no matter who is in them.

Yea, I love Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Pratt, Jeff Goldblum, and Mark Ruffalo; but that’s what Marvel movies are for folks!

The following top 10 list is based on what I saw! Again a few of these movies were not terrible, just not the best. #9 and #10 were movies that I could have waited for TV and/or Netflix.

10. X-Men: Apocalypse 3 Stars (7.1/10 on IMDB, 48% on Rotten Tomatoes)

Not a terrible movie, not the worst in the X-Men franchise; just not the best. With the follow up to the BEST X-Men film (Days of Future Past), and the second film in the X-Men Cinematic Universe in 2016 (Deadpool being the first), there were high expectations on this film. It just didn’t meet them.

Apocalypse is not The Last Stand or X-Men Origins: Wolverine; it is not flat out terrible. It just did not meet anyone’s expectations. Oscar Isaac; as good as he is, played a terrible villain, which is so disappointing because he was so good in 2015’s Ex-Machina. Fassbender’s Magneto is still so kick ass as well as Lawrence’s Mystique. Hugh Jackman has hands down the best five minutes in the entire movie. And the post-credits scene was a very exciting set up to March 2017’s Logan. Again: not a bad movie! Just not the greatest. There was WAY too much CGI and WAY too much 1963 Batmanesque cheese lines. Same bat-time, same bat-channel, lots of crap like that. I would wait for this to come out on FX in 2018 to watch. The only reason I would watch is continuity to set up Hugh Jackman’s finale in this beloved franchise; Logan.

9. The Secret Life of Pets 2.75 Stars (6.6/10 on IMDB, 74% on Rotten Tomatoes)

Great airplane movie or TV movie. Not missing much if you don’t watch on rental or in theaters. I love animated films, and some great ones came out in 2016, but this movie just tried too hard in all the wrong places. Kevin Hart’s bunny was over the top as expected, no problem there, but Jenny Slate again in an animated film with animals who can talk? Really Illumination? You want to be Zootopia that bad? And you want to try AGAIN with Sing? It’s pretty pathetic. You’re going to get Albert Brooks to voice a character too (Marlon in Finding Nemo/Dory) The placement advertisement for NBC/Universal shows and movies like Fallon, Saturday Night Live, Seinfeld, The Voice and a blatant movie poster on a public transportation bus for Sing was so shriekingly stupid, I wanted to hold my middle finger up to screen. The good sides of this movie was that the dog characters were cute and the animation was good. That’s it. Illumination should wait a little longer before branching out of Despicable Me and Minions. I wouldn’t have seen this movie in theaters or on iTunes. Wait for Redbox and if you can on TV in 2018 folks.

8. Me Before You 2 Stars (7.5/10 on IMDB, 58% on Rotten Tomatoes)

I love Emilia Clarke, but she cannot choose a good film script to save her life. This movie makes me have very low expectations for the standalone Han Solo film due out in 2018. What a piece of crap this move is. What a piece of crap this story is. SPOILER ALERT: she fails at motivating the guy to live and love again. He commits suicide and gives her money in his will. What kind of a story is that? Why the hell would anyone want to read or watch this trash?

The acting felt like a chick-flick/rom-com with these two young up and coming actors, but the story just did not help. A matured and handsome Neville Longbottom was about the only upside of this movie. Lord Tywin Lannister himself (Charles Dance) couldn’t even deliver. This movie was trash. Wife hated the ending. I quote her saying “The end makes me want that two hours back.” There you go folks. If you like depressing romantic movies with lifetime movie/porno acting and no happy ending, this is your film! If not, don’t bother.

7. The Huntsman: Winter’s War 2 Stars (6.1/10 Stars on IMDB, 17% on Rotten Tomatoes)

I originally thought Snow White and the Huntsman would not have been garbage if it wasn’t for Kristen Stewart’s fugly frozen face with no emotion. I was wrong. The Huntsman was an even bigger turd. This movie was set up as a prequel/sequel to its predecessor. Yea, I know it doesn’t make sense, it didn’t work on screen either. I had to Wikipedia what exactly happened with the story after I finished the movie. This was another movie with too many A-listers and CGI to be any good. This movie was Warner Brothers throwing more money in the garbage to compete with Disney’s live action remakes. Warner Brothers takes another loss with their comic book universe (OH WE WILL BE GOING THERE TOO). Do not waste your time with this movie. Doesn’t go down as one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen because Jessica Chastain and Emily Blunt are just too good for that; but I prefer you just to watch Zero Dark Thirty and Sicario a second time than to waste your time with this turd.

6. Alice Through the Looking Glass 1.5 Stars (6.3/10 on IMDB, 30% on Rotten Tomatoes)

With Disney doing 16 films in 2016, surely not all of them were destined for greatness. Alice was the rotten one of the bunch. Another sequel/reboot to a mediocre film, Alice Through the Looking Glass was crappy CGI thrown up all over the silver screen with good costumes! I got it; it’s Attack of the Clones II! Horrible, horrible, horrible. 2016 may be the worst year of Johnny Depp’s life. With his mother’s death, his divorce, and his ex-wife’s domestic-abuse accusations, I don’t see how promoting this crap film made 2016 any better. I’m praying for big things for Johnny in 2017 (Seriously); I pray his career is resurrected with the fifth Pirates film, he enjoys touring with Alice Cooper and his super-group, and he has some a new year’s resolution to drop off some beer weight like myself. One of the worst of 2016, this film is not one you want to waste your time or money on.

5. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice 1 Star (6.7/10 on IMDB, 27% on Rotten Tomatoes)

What a piece of crap. This movie was worse than Daredevil (2003), worse than Batman & Robin, worse than Punisher: War Zone, worse than Fantastic 4 (2015), worse than Ghost Rider. Yes, I need to say more. Screw Zack Snyder (director). Honestly, what a douchebag for making me hate a movie that comes out in modern day with all the brilliant actors and incredible technology and source content we have. Batman is my all time favorite character. I’ve been watching him as far as I can remember; since I could not walk. And Zack Snyder ruined every piece of what could have been good with this movie. To all of your Burton/Keaton fans, Campy Adam West fans, and Batman TAS fans; I’ve had enough of your garbage; Christian Bale’s performance and Christopher Nolan’s trilogy is the best on screen Batman ever. When we have something like that…why would you try to reboot it only 4 years later? And especially to not give Batman his own movie first…you put him in a Man of Steel sequel; it’s really offensive. All Batman fans should be offended by this turd of a movie. Superman has yet to have a fantastic live action movie. So why group Batman with that mess? It pisses me off. Henry Cavill’s Clark Kent reminds me of Hayden Christensen’s Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars Episodes II and III; such a whiny little wuss. Bro, YOU ARE FREAKING SUPERMAN; stop whining about why nobody likes you. Bro (Hayden Christensen), YOU ARE FREAKING DARTH VADER; stop whining about sand!

Ben Affleck does make a good Bruce Wayne; but his Batman costume is just the worst. Drawn on abs. Really? Bring back the nipples too please. As you can tell, I’m not going to see Justice League Part 1 due out in November or the Batfleck standalone. I’m done with DC. I’m done with WB for firing Nolan. My allegiance is with Disney-Marvel’s MCU, they haven’t disappointed me yet. If you want beautiful comic driven visuals, this movie has it. But, no one wants JUST THAT for 3 hours. Go smoke a bowl and read your comics instead, it’ll probably have the same effect.

4. Suicide Squad 1 Star (6.4/10 on IMDB, 26% on Rotten Tomatoes)

Gosh I hate the DCEU. I love the source content so much for me to rank this as #1 worst of 2016, but if it wasn’t for that, I would say this may be the worst movie I have ever seen. It’s hands down, the most disappointing movie I have ever seen. I knew Batman v Superman would suck, but I thought this movie would revive the DCEU, I was wrong. Warner Bros. marketed this entire film around Jared Leto’s Joker. And Jared Leto promoted the film centered on his character. WB made Leto’s character a measly cameo. Yes folks, in this 2 hour and 17 minute movie, Joker has 7 minutes of screen time. And it was 7 minutes too long. His character had nothing to do with the actual Suicide Squad other than Harley’s origin. Will Smith’s Deadshot was the real protagonist of the movie. It centered around him. So we get another Will Smith stinker. Yea guys, let’s be honest, Will Smith sucks now. He raised his son to be the biggest abomination to ever come out of Hollywood, and he has not done a good film in a decade (I Am Legend). His character was another (aw hell naw) felt misplaced, and Smith’s attempt to be gangsta, when he just isn’t. Your Hitch bro, just stop.

Margot Robbie is too hot to not watch this movie. Of course we all saw it, and we cannot admit that it sucks because of her. She is one of my favorite up and coming young actresses and she absolutely kills this role. She did such a good job it’s hard for me to rank this movie as the worst of 2016. The problems with this movie; where do I start? The marketing, the amount of plot holes, the villain, a character they literally created to kill off, the reason Joker was even in the movie, the ZERO respect they had for truly representing the source content for Harley and Joker’s relationship. Harley is supposed to a commodity/accessory to Joker’s madness and that’s it. But they made Harley Joker’s girlfriend and it just didn’t work. It also does not help that Jared Leto had to follow up to Heath Ledger. Ledger’s performance is arguably the greatest villain of all time. Leto was tatted gangster that wore make up and chains; that’s it. Not crazy nor sadistic, nor chaotic or psychotic; just a gangster. His character was a complete and utter joke. If you love the source material too much to not watch this film, I understand, if you just want to see Margot Robbie in short shorts and high heels and kick ass, I understand; but if you want to be entertained, do not watch this movie.

3. Sausage Party 1 Star. (6.4/10 on IMDB, 84% on Rotten Tomatoes)

For the record, I did not watch this film by choice, my wife rented it, and I watched it after I finished Hell or High Water. My ignorance got the best of me in that I knew nothing about it. And, I mean come on, Rotten Tomatoes gave it an 84%, how could it be bad?

Oh my gosh. Where do I start? The amount of childish sexual innuendos makes this movie look Donald Trump look like the Pope. This movie is full of “locker room talk.” This movie is point-blank offensive, immature, and stupid. And it was written by Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill; go figure. The animation is nothing great, the humor is cheap, not anything creative or new. Rogen’s attempts at making me laugh is quickly dying. Cussing, pot, and sexual humor gets old quickly. You cannot make the same movie over and over and put it in a different box and wrap with a nice shiny bow filled with a-listers. Seth Rogen must be stopped. This Is the End was the last movie he’s done that has made me laugh. The nostalgia of Pineapple Express, Freaks and Geeks, and Knocked Up is the only reason that movie caught my attention. This movie, I had no desire to see. Wife grabbed it at Redbox without my knowledge and I walked in on her watching it. I’d honestly rather walk in on her watching porn, at least we can have a good conversation from it. This movie was just a big “why?” She didn’t have an answer, and neither would I if I were in her shoes.

It is an R-rated animated movie with A-listers which is ironic, since we 99% see the opposite when it comes to the source content (G and Disney for dummies). Don’t see this movie, you’ll thank me for it.

2.  Quentin Tarantino’s 8th film .5 Star (really his 11th, I know the guy can’t count) The Hateful Eight (7.9/10 on IMDB, 75% on Rotten Tomatoes)

Tarantino said he would make 10 films and be done. He said this is the eighth BECAUSE: Kill Bills Vol 1 and Vol 2 is counted as 1, he’s not counting Death Proof as it fell under the “Grindhouse” 2 film presentation with Robert Rodriguez, and he is not counting his very first film starring himself. So, I’m hoping he doesn’t do any more stupid little projects and speed up to 10 so we can rid him from Hollywood.

Tarantino is over the top, he exaggerates reality making his own one, apparently all of his films are in the same “universe.” I don’t think Tarantino has given me any smiles since Inglorious Basterds. Another movie with Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Madsen, Tim Roth, and Walter Goggins, this movie with over the top bloody scenes did nothing for me. At least Django and Kill Bill were action packed, at least Inglorious Basterds had an incredible cast and was hilarious. I love that he used an Italian composer to try as hard as he could to make it feel like a spaghetti western; but it didn’t.

The whole movie takes place in a room, that’s right…in a room folks. Lots of blood, lots of not-so-mysterious mystery and lots of famous faces. This movie was like Tarantino was parodying his own genre of movies. It was so freaking dumb that it just pissed me off. Came out on New Year’s Day 2016, it kicked off what would be a pretty hateful year for many. Do not waste three hours of your time with this movie. You will want it back.

1.       The Lobster .25 Star (7.1/10 on IMDB, 90% on Rotten Tomatoes)

Sometimes you cannot trust Rotten Tomatoes. Nine out of Ten times they are right, this was the one time they were wrong. Top three worst movies I have ever seen in my life. This movie is a witty Cohen Brothers-esque adult version of The Hunger Games that was just plain weird. No, it was not funny, no it was not creative. It’s stupid. But guess what fam; STUPID GETS GOLDEN GLOBE AND OSCAR NOMINATIONS these days! Be honest with yourselves; if you saw it, HBO’s The Normal Heart was not good or well-acted. But in today’s day and age if you make a movie about gay people, you’re getting an Oscar nod. So, I guess now if you make a movie about something that’s just weird and stupid, you’ll get one too.

Here’s the synopsis: In a near-future’d dystopian world, to prevent over-populating, if you do not find a husband or wife at a certain age, you check into a hotel where you are forced to meet one in two months, if you don’t your body well be shredded an recycled for research and you will be turned into an animal (but not really, they will kill you, they just tell you that so you agree to the “transformation,” ie execution).

Yes, it is as stupid as it sounds. I never even finished the movie, I wikied the rest when there was about 25 minutes left, it wasn’t worth the rest of my valuable time.

I write this blog not to vent on how bad movies are, but I know YOUR time is valuable and it should be treated that way, not with garbage movies. Please take my word. I hope this blog was helpful. Please follow, like, share, comment! Bigger and better films to come in 2017! I will be your source! I have about 10 more films of 2016’s I will review before I crossover into 2017; stay tuned for those blogs!

Thanks guys!

Z

[daleisgreat]

Trauma Center

Last Christmas my mom continued her tradition of buying me a random bargain bin DVD for a stocking stuffer. I requested we discontinue this tradition as I have been slimming down my DVD/BluRay collection the past several years, and have traded in roughly a third of my movies, and buy far less than what I use to. I guess my mom could not break from tradition and thus we have today’s entry for 2019’s Trauma Center (trailer). Usually my mom’s hit-to-miss ratio is pretty solid on gifting me a film I have not seen yet and wound up loving with past examples like Sour Grapes, Alpha Dog, Blues Brothers and Trading Places. Trauma Center is a straight-to-video action movie one would find on the old “Movies for Guys Who Like Movies” pick of the night on TBS. It does have star power in the form of Bruce Willis as police detective Steve Wakes. Willis has been doing more straight-to-video efforts in recent years in other decent action films like Hard Kill and 10 Minutes Gone. It must be working out for him better than his theatrical efforts because I have no idea why he keeps up with these type of films. Digression aside, turns out Steve’s cover for his CI was tracked by a pair of corrupt cops, Tull (Texas Battle) & Pierce (Tito Ortiz).

Tull & Pierce take out the CI, but also injure innocent bystander waitress Madison (Nicky Whelan). They track her down to the hospital and discover the supposed secure room on a vacant floor Wakes sets up for her. What happens next is a game of cat-and-mouse with Madison doing her best to stay one move ahead and hold off the bad cops while Wakes pieces the clues together and attempts to assist Madison. Watching Madison adapt to her surroundings to fend off Tull & Pierce was actually entertaining, despite some too convenient camerawork at times that made it appear an injured Madison could pull off miraculous feats of strength. Tito Ortiz is a trip as the “bad cop” of the duo, and his overacting is probably the highlight of the film as he stalks and tortures Madison. Rest assured, he gets his well-earned comeuppance. Bruce Willis is as subdued in here as he was recently in his role in Glass. I am having difficulty determining if that is what he was shooting for, or if he was just going through the motions in this straight-to-video affair. If you are going into this thinking this is a Bruce Willis-lead action blockbuster, then you will be disappointed because this is a vehicle for Whelan’s survive-at-all-costs performance. Willis’s character is in the supporting role mostly doing background detective work until the final scenes. Whelan is pretty convincing in her effort at barely managing to stay alive, and the final act is fairly entertaining when all four figures have their respective standoffs.

Unsurprisingly, there are no bonus features on this DVD, not even a trailer! Regardless of that, I do not want to mislead you dear reader that I am praising the movie. I have seen a lot of straight-to-video action films, and this one is maybe a notch or two above average, but is by no means rush-out-and-see blockbuster. That is on the straight-to-video curve as well! The performances they got out of the cast seems about as good as it could get, and there are even a couple genuine moments I was kind of invested into Madison fending for herself. That said this film will not blow you away, but if you run across it on cable/streaming or the bargain bins, than it is an ideal movie to have on in the background with the occasional scene that will divert your attention. Factoring in all this curved grading, and I will chalk this one up as a semi-win for my mom’s annual random Christmas DVD! Other Random Backlog Movie Blogs 3 12 Angry Men (1957) 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown 21 Jump Street The Accountant Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie Atari: Game Over The Avengers: Age of Ultron The Avengers: Endgame The Avengers: Infinity War Batman: The Dark Knight Rises Batman: The Killing Joke Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice Bounty Hunters Cabin in the Woods Captain America: Civil War Captain America: The First Avenger Captain America: The Winter Soldier Christmas Eve The Clapper Clash of the Titans (1981) Clint Eastwood 11-pack Special The Condemned 2 Countdown Creed I & II Deck the Halls Detroit Rock City Die Hard Dredd The Eliminators The Equalizer Dirty Work Faster Fast and Furious I-VIII Field of Dreams Fight Club The Fighter For Love of the Game Good Will Hunting Gravity Grunt: The Wrestling Movie Guardians of the Galaxy Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 Hell Comes to Frogtown Hercules: Reborn Hitman I Like to Hurt People Indiana Jones 1-4 Ink The Interrogation Interstellar Jay and Silent Bob Reboot Jobs Joy Ride 1-3 Justice League (2017 Whedon Cut) Last Action Hero Major League Man of Steel Man on the Moon Man vs Snake Marine 3-6 Merry Friggin Christmas Metallica: Some Kind of Monster Mortal Kombat Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpions Revenge National Treasure National Treasure: Book of Secrets Nintendo Quest Not for Resale Payback (Director’s Cut) Pulp Fiction The Punisher (1989) The Ref The Replacements Reservoir Dogs Rocky I-VIII Running Films Part 1 Running Films Part 2 San Andreas ScoobyDoo Wrestlemania Mystery Scott Pilgrim vs the World The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Shoot em Up Slacker Skyscraper Small Town Santa Steve Jobs Source Code Star Trek I-XIII Sully Take Me Home Tonight TMNT The Tooth Fairy 1 & 2 UHF Veronica Mars Vision Quest The War Wild The Wizard Wonder Woman The Wrestler (2008) X-Men: Apocalypse X-Men: Days of Future Past

[daleisgreat]

Old Joy

2006’s Old Joy (trailer) is the longest 77-minute film I have ever seen, but I mean that in only the best kind of ways. Director Kelly Reichardt intentionally establishes a deliberate, plodding pace about two distant friends who fell out of touch meeting up to go on a road/hiking trip to find a tucked-away and highly reputable hot springs. The film opens up with Mark (Daniel London) meditating at home when he gets a call from his free-spirited old friend, Kurt (Will Oldham), with an invite for a last-minute weekend trek to discover these mystical hot springs. That opening scene does a masterful job with its minimalist dialog and awkward body language to indicate how Mark is still not quite settling into married life with a kid on the way and comes off a little too eager to jump at the opportunity to get out of the house last minute for the weekend.

The film jumps to sitting in on an extended driving scene with Mark listening to political talk radio, and when he meets up with Kurt is when the intentionally long scenes start to take hold. I like smartly written films with smooth-flowing dialog filled with edgy quips and retorts, but I also appreciate a complete 180 as seen here and in movies like Slacker where the dialog sounds….uncomfortably natural. When Kurt and Mark start off driving, there are many advertent pauses during the conversations where it seems like the two are trying to think of topics to bring up to talk about and catch up. I can 100% relate to that, and it is insanely rare how often I run across that in average big-budget films and pull it off so well like it is done in Old Joy. Highlights from the road trip part of the film include how well shot little moments are like a gas station stop with oblique camera angles that somehow capture the subtle but noticeable moments of the excitement of getting out for the weekend as Kurt and Mark amusingly toss beverage koozies at each other. Watching the pair drive around aimlessly while Kurt tries to remember how to get to the springs and eventually resorting to a makeshift campsite while exchanging philosophical stoner verbiage is another memorable scene of their journey.

I would be remiss to go this long without giving a shoutout to Lucy, Mark’s canine pal tagging along for the journey. In the bonus feature interviews, it was enlightening to hear that it is actually Reichardt’s dog who she had no choice but to include in the film because she could not find a dog-sitter while filming. Reichardt stated she was anxious about how it would work out since Lucy had no film training. Lucy wound up as a perfect third wheel for the adventure. She blended in perfectly, especially with some smart improving with Oldham, where he would instinctually play with her during the hiking spots of the movie. Eventually, the trio found the hidden turnoff to their destination and go on a hike to see the hot springs. The film once again, through exquisite cinematography and intentional drawn-out shots with very little dialog, shows how all the hassle to reach their endpoint was worth it. It is a boldly ambiguous, memorable scene. The film not-so-climatically wraps up with Mark dropping Kurt off, and the movie goes out of its way to capture another little thing so well that few other movies have pulled off in the form of the malaise-filled drive back home and the dread of the return to the normality.

I have the Criterion Edition of Old Joy, and it has four bonus features totaling about an hour altogether. Daniel London and Will Oldham reunite for the first time since production wrapped in 2006 for a conversation filmed in 2019. They exchange many interesting production stories, with the one standing out the most to me being the warning from the park ranger escorting them to the hot springs on how brave they were to go in there because of all the gunk they have fished out of there over the years. An interview with Reichardt is a must-listen on how she decided to film this movie after taking a sabbatical from filmmaking. An interview with the author of the original short story the film is based on, Jim Raymond, on how he met Kelly and how satisfied he was with her treatment of the adaptation and changes she made for the big screen. Finally, Director of Photography Peter Sillen shares a fair amount of production factoids and insights. This being a Criterion release, there is the requisite booklet included, which has a 14-page essay by Ed Halter that thoroughly dissects the film and its production and the entirety of the 22 page original “Old Joy” short story from Jim Raymond. I accidentally stumbled upon this movie browsing through the latest Criterion releases, and the description of the film made it sound right up my alley by how unorthodox it is. This style of filmmaking may not be for everybody with its different structure and laidback style of dialog from the average theatrical movie. I wound up absolutely loving Old Joy, and was thrilled to hear how this film was a hit with critics and was the catalyst for Reichardt directing more beloved indie films following this like Wendy & Lucy, First Cow, and Night Moves. Other Random Backlog Movie Blogs 3 12 Angry Men (1957) 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown 21 Jump Street The Accountant Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie Atari: Game Over The Avengers: Age of Ultron The Avengers: Endgame The Avengers: Infinity War Batman: The Dark Knight Rises Batman: The Killing Joke Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice Bounty Hunters Cabin in the Woods Captain America: Civil War Captain America: The First Avenger Captain America: The Winter Soldier Christmas Eve The Clapper Clash of the Titans (1981) Clint Eastwood 11-pack Special The Condemned 2 Countdown Creed I & II Deck the Halls Detroit Rock City Die Hard Dredd The Eliminators The Equalizer Dirty Work Faster Fast and Furious I-VIII Field of Dreams Fight Club The Fighter For Love of the Game Good Will Hunting Gravity Grunt: The Wrestling Movie Guardians of the Galaxy Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 Hell Comes to Frogtown Hercules: Reborn Hitman I Like to Hurt People Indiana Jones 1-4 Inglourious Basterds Ink The Interrogation Interstellar Jay and Silent Bob Reboot Jobs Joy Ride 1-3 Justice League (2017 Whedon Cut) Last Action Hero Major League Mallrats Man of Steel Man on the Moon Man vs Snake Marine 3-6 Merry Friggin Christmas Metallica: Some Kind of Monster Mortal Kombat Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpions Revenge National Treasure National Treasure: Book of Secrets Nintendo Quest Not for Resale Payback (Director’s Cut) Pulp Fiction The Punisher (1989) The Ref The Replacements Reservoir Dogs Rocky I-VIII Running Films Part 1 Running Films Part 2 San Andreas ScoobyDoo Wrestlemania Mystery Scott Pilgrim vs the World The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Shoot em Up Slacker Skyscraper Small Town Santa Steve Jobs Source Code Star Trek I-XIII Sully Take Me Home Tonight TMNT Trauma Center The Tooth Fairy 1 & 2 UHF Veronica Mars Vision Quest The War Wild The Wizard Wonder Woman The Wrestler (2008) X-Men: Apocalypse X-Men: Days of Future Past

[daleisgreat]

The Ref

December is finally upon us for this unbelievable year, so that means it is time for my yearly Christmas movie entry. Click here to catch up on several past Christmas movie blogs. Today I am covering a 1994 film I only recently discovered a couple years ago upon a recommendation from my longtime friend and fellow Risk-night competitor, Paul. That movie is The Ref (trailer), and it is more of a film that transpires on Christmas Eve, but has a few Christmas themes in it (kind of like Die Hard, but nowhere as minimal as a simple ‘Ho, ho, ho’ gag). It is not a traditional ‘spirt of Christmas’ film, and that is fine by me! After a cheery Christmas-y opening credits montage of people out and about celebrating the night of Christmas, the film immediately cuts to troubled married couple Caroline (Judy Davis) and Lloyd (Kevin Spacey) in the middle of an intense marriage counseling session. Why the therapist was taking appointments on Christmas Eve is a bit of a headscratcher though. Regardless, it sets up Caroline and Lloyd’s future is not that bright. The Ref then pivots to veteran cat burglar, Gus (Dennis Leary) in a heist job that goes haywire and sets off alarms and has the town set in manhunt mode searching high and low for him. Gus naturally stumbles upon Caroline and Lloyd and takes them hostage in their home and seeks refuge there until he can find a way out of town.

Leary, Davis and Spacey have a golden chemistry with their dynamic throughout. Leary is phenomenal portraying Gus barely holding it together as his hostages are more focused on bickering at each other throughout the night than their own well-being. The night only gets more bizarre for the three when their son, Jesse (Robert J. Steinmiller Jr.) arrives home from military school for the holiday and how he is implemented into the mix. Things exponentially unravel from there when the rest of the extended family arrives late that night for Christmas Eve dinner and how Gus attempts to orchestrate an elaborate cover as the Christmas dinner goes awry in only the most entertaining way possible you just have to see to believe. Seeing Gus try to maintain his cover and keep his hostages under control during the family dinner is a riot. The evening culminating with Gus, Caroline and Lloyd all matching each other with their own proper meltdown is acting gold by all three. I loved how the film wraps up with each of the core three characters all having gratifying conclusions. The Ref is a brisk viewing clocking in at a little over an hour and a half, and if you are looking for a more unorthodox Christmas film that is packed with all the wrong kinds of laughs, then The Ref is the perfect film to mix into your holiday movie rotation. In physical format, it never received a BluRay release, and only received an early DVD release with no bonus features and does not upscale well to HDTVs, so you may be better off tracking down a digital rental to watch this instead.

An ideal family Christmas dinner filled with traditional meltdowns and flaming hair for all. Other Random Backlog Movie Blogs 3 12 Angry Men (1957) 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown 21 Jump Street The Accountant Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie Atari: Game Over The Avengers: Age of Ultron The Avengers: Infinity War Batman: The Dark Knight Rises Batman: The Killing Joke Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice Bounty Hunters Cabin in the Woods Captain America: Civil War Captain America: The First Avenger Captain America: The Winter Soldier Christmas Eve Clash of the Titans (1981) Clint Eastwood 11-pack Special The Condemned 2 Countdown Creed I & II Deck the Halls Detroit Rock City Die Hard Dredd The Eliminators The Equalizer Dirty Work Faster Fast and Furious I-VIII Field of Dreams Fight Club The Fighter For Love of the Game Good Will Hunting Gravity Grunt: The Wrestling Movie Guardians of the Galaxy Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 Hell Comes to Frogtown Hercules: Reborn Hitman I Like to Hurt People Indiana Jones 1-4 Ink The Interrogation Interstellar Jay and Silent Bob Reboot Jobs Joy Ride 1-3 Last Action Hero Major League Man of Steel Man on the Moon Man vs Snake Marine 3-6 Merry Friggin Christmas Metallica: Some Kind of Monster Mortal Kombat Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpions Revenge National Treasure National Treasure: Book of Secrets Nintendo Quest Not for Resale Payback (Director’s Cut) Pulp Fiction The Punisher (1989) The Replacements Reservoir Dogs Rocky I-VIII Running Films Part 1 Running Films Part 2 San Andreas ScoobyDoo Wrestlemania Mystery Scott Pilgrim vs the World The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Shoot em Up Slacker Skyscraper Small Town Santa Steve Jobs Source Code Star Trek I-XIII Sully Take Me Home Tonight TMNT The Tooth Fairy 1 & 2 UHF Veronica Mars Vision Quest The War Wild The Wizard Wonder Woman The Wrestler (2008) X-Men: Apocalypse X-Men: Days of Future Past

[daleisgreat]

The Punisher (1989): Unrated Cut

This has been one I have been meaning to be covering for a few years now. Longtime readers here may remember my friend Matt I reference semi-occasionally when I review one of his gag gift movies here. Every now and then though he will legit surprise with me with an awesome movie gift as with today’s example. Matt knows I am a huge fan of the comic book character, The Punisher, and that all three of the live action Punisher movies are guilty pleasures of mine. Up until a few years ago I already owned both the Thomas Jane and Ray Stevenson Punisher films on BluRay, but the original 1989 Punisher movie I only owned a bare bones DVD release that I thought was the only home video version of that film. Matt surprised me a few years back by tracking down an international release of an unrated director’s cut of The Punisher on BluRay. Turns out in North America, right on the precipice of the film’s released it got traded studios as its original studio was in the process of being acquired. Turns out the new studio was not confident in the drawing power of Dolph Lungdren anymore so the 1989 Punisher film was among the first wave of movies to hit the straight-to-video market. Internationally, The Punisher received theatrical releases, and performed well, which is why it landed an international BluRay release. Thank goodness my BluRay player recognizes international regions, but my only nitpick with it is the lack of subtitles. So this version of the film on BluRay is the ‘Unrated Cut’ which is how the director, Mark Goldblatt, originally envisioned the film. The 80s were the era of the gratuitously violent action blockbusters with the likes of Rambo, Robocop, Commando, Terminator and countless others dominating the box office. The Punisher was shot for that demographic, and Goldblatt stated in the commentary how he had to take the film to the MPAA nine times before toning down the movie enough to earn an ‘R’ rating.

The film wastes no time with a lengthy origin story as it kicks off with a gang leader being acquitted of all charges for murdering Frank Castle (Dolph Lungdren) and his family five years prior. A news reporter recommends the gang to be on the lookout for ‘The Punisher’ vigilante, which the gang laughs off the journalist’s warnings, only for the gang to instantly meet their demise mere minutes after arriving home from court. The Yakuza arrive in town to capitalize on The Punisher’s fallout, with Yakuza leader Lady Tanaka (Kim Miyori) forcing replacement gang leader Dino Moretti (Bryan Marshall) to partner up with her after kidnapping the children of Moretti and his allies. Trying to keep tabs on this whole mess of a situation is the ‘Punisher Task Force’ consisting of Frank Castle’s former partner, Jake Berkowitz (Louis Gossett Jr.), and fellow detective Sam Leary (Nancy Everhard). Following all this setup, The Punisher is essentially 1980s action film 101, with Castle tearing it up against the Yakuza in a couple of entertaining shootouts in a casino and later on in a funhouse, complete with Yakuza members firing away at Frank while breezing down a curvy slide. Completing the over-the-top 80s action formula is the cheesy one-liners, with my favorite featuring Berkowitz grilling Frank on his vigilante warfare, “What do you call 125 murders in five years?” to which Castle dryly retorts, “Work-in-Progress.” Eventually everything comes to a head when Punisher and Moretti team up to rescue Moretti’s kid in the Yakuza stronghold, where the most intense fighting sequences emanate from in the entire film. The unrated cut pulls no punches, with the most gruesome fatalities transpiring as Castle and Moretti work their way to the final confrontation with Lada Tanaka.

When I re-watched the film with audio commentary from Mark Goldblatt he made sure to pinpoint which parts he added back in as he originally envisioned for this unrated version, and how he stands behind this version being the definitive cut of the film. Other interesting tidbits from the commentary was how the film wound up being shot in Australia, regrets of not having the Punisher’s trademark skull icon on his shirt in the film and informing in-depth on the film trading studios and going direct-to-video in America. Goldblatt also mentions in the commentary how there is a workprint cut of the film, which he stated he does not stand behind since it was cut before the core movie finished filming. Said workprint cut is included as a bonus feature, and is actually eight minutes longer than the unrated cut. The main takeaway I had with the workprint cut is it has a whole new 17 minute opening on the origin of The Punisher that happens five years earlier where it shows Castle and Berkowitz making a bust on a routine stakeout that clues the gangsters in to Frank’s family location where they ultimately make a hit on Frank’s family. That whole 17 minutes is briefly alluded to in the unrated cut in the form of a five second flashback of the family’s demise. This prologue adds a whole new dynamic to the film, but I can see why Goldblatt wanted it cut since it brings a snappier pace to the overall film. Also worth mentioning is that the workprint is presented in its original adapted 35mm form, and how the editors did a commendable job cleaning it up for the HD version on the BluRay.

Other extra features is a 21 minute interview with Mark Goldblatt. If you do not have time to invest into the commentary track, then this interview is a recommended alternative as it hits most of the same beats and goes into Mark’s other Hollywood successes. Also included is a quick five minute interview with Dolph Lungdren where he has fond memories working with the stuntmen in the fight sequences and wishes the movie would have had a theatrical run in America. For those who are fans of reverse box art, I recommend taking advantage of that here, as this BluRay’s alternative artwork is pretty remarkable. Rounding off the BluRay is a gag reel…..which would not load on my BluRay player, so that will have to be my loss. The Punisher: Unrated Cut BluRay was a surprise hit gift from Matt! I will stand behind Goldblatt by safely assuring his unrated cut here is the must-see version of the film. A solid slate of extra features only helps makes this BluRay the definitive home video edition of this movie. If you dig the over-the-top action films of the 80s, then odds are this 1989 take on The Punisher will be right up your alley. Other Random Backlog Movie Blogs 3 12 Angry Men (1957) 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown 21 Jump Street The Accountant Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie Atari: Game Over The Avengers: Age of Ultron The Avengers: Infinity War Batman: The Dark Knight Rises Batman: The Killing Joke Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice Bounty Hunters Cabin in the Woods Captain America: Civil War Captain America: The First Avenger Captain America: The Winter Soldier Christmas Eve Clash of the Titans (1981) Clint Eastwood 11-pack Special The Condemned 2 Countdown Creed I & II Deck the Halls Detroit Rock City Die Hard Dredd The Eliminators The Equalizer Dirty Work Faster Fast and Furious I-VIII Field of Dreams Fight Club The Fighter For Love of the Game Good Will Hunting Gravity Grunt: The Wrestling Movie Guardians of the Galaxy Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 Hell Comes to Frogtown Hercules: Reborn Hitman I Like to Hurt People Indiana Jones 1-4 Ink The Interrogation Interstellar Jay and Silent Bob Reboot Jobs Joy Ride 1-3 Last Action Hero Major League Man of Steel Man on the Moon Man vs Snake Marine 3-6 Merry Friggin Christmas Metallica: Some Kind of Monster Mortal Kombat Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpions Revenge National Treasure National Treasure: Book of Secrets Not for Resale Pulp Fiction The Replacements Reservoir Dogs Rocky I-VIII Running Films Part 1 Running Films Part 2 San Andreas ScoobyDoo Wrestlemania Mystery Scott Pilgrim vs the World The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Shoot em Up Slacker Skyscraper Small Town Santa Steve Jobs Source Code Star Trek I-XIII Sully Take Me Home Tonight TMNT The Tooth Fairy 1 & 2 UHF Veronica Mars Vision Quest The War Wild The Wizard Wonder Woman The Wrestler (2008) X-Men: Apocalypse X-Men: Days of Future Past

[daleisgreat]

Hell Comes to Frogtown, Grunt: The Wrestling Movie, I Like to Hurt People

It has been a spell since I logged an ‘intentionally bad gifted movie’ entry. For newer readers here, my buddy Matt and I have a long tradition of gifting each other bad movies for Christmas and birthdays, and it least gives me something to rag on here about. Past entries here meeting this bad gift criteria consist of my coverage for Bounty Hunters, Hercules: Reborn and The Tooth Fairy 1 & 2. We have eased up on it this past year or two, but I still have a few sitting in the backlog box and will be covering a video today that is a three-for-one on a disc special titled ‘Wrestling Superstars Triple Feature’. Now we all may be familiar with WWE pushing wrestlers in its movie division going back 16 years, but wrestlers have been in bad straight-to-video films long before that and this disc features 1988’s Hell Comes to Frogtown (trailer), 1985’s I Like to Hurt People (trailer), and 1985’s Grunt: The Wrestling Movie (trailer). I originally watched Hell Comes to Frogtown with Matt on one of our ritual bad movie nights several years ago. It stars Roddy Piper as Sam Hell, fresh off his success in John Carpenter’s They Live. This is a cracked out post-apocalyptic movie where nuclear fallout radiation makes Hell one of the last few non-sterile males. The government discovers him and makes him a deal against his will to contract him to…..traverse the nuclear wastes and impregnate as many women as possible in order to restore the dwindling human population….seriously. The movie tries to not make Hell come off as a creepy serial rapist by having Piper deliver some meek attempts at sympathy and breaking prisoners out of a gang’s Road Warrior-esque facility. This is ridiculously bad, but in a 80s campy-fun sort of way so if you are into so-bad-they-are-good movies, especially two brew-skis in, then Hell Comes to Frogtown will not disappoint.

I Like to Hurt People is a unique beast. It barely comes off as a motion picture and feels more like something I would make if I was a young proactive filmmaker in my teens and decided to make a movie about wrestling and had no idea about assembling a cohesive plot whatsoever. That is essentially I Like to Hurt People which shows several condensed matches interspersed with backstage interviews, TV production staff losing it while trying to keep the wrestlers in check and fans being interviewed outside the ring who are all hyped up for a night at the wrasslin’ matches. I love the geriatric 80s rock soundtrack that plays nearly nonstop throughout the film that brought back fond memories of Miami Connection’s mesmerizing score. 80s NWA/Crockett fans will get a thrill with the nonstop cameos featuring stars like Terry Funk, Dusty Rhodes, The Sheik, Dick the Bruiser, Abdullah the Butcher and Andre the Giant. A controversial non-finish in the main event between Dick the Bruiser and The Sheik is followed up with an interview in the car with Sheik and his manager the Grand Wizard, where Wizard promises revenge in a cage match....and then I Like to Hurt People promptly ends. Again, this does not feel like a complete movie and is difficult to properly judge as a whole, but that aside it was fun to take in and get a dose of the fervor of southern mid-80s wrestling fandom that I Like to Hurt People encapsulates to a T.

While I Like to Hurt People feels like what my first wrestling movie would be like with barely any filmmaking under my belt, Grunt: The Wrestling Movie feels like what my third or fourth wrestling-adjacent film would be like if I got full of myself and would conjure up a silly Disaster Artist-esque plot over a weekend I thought would be a masterpiece, but instead was nonstop bonkers. There is a crazy 1979 flashback backstory in the opening minutes explaining why controversial wrestler ‘Mad Dog Joe’ was thought to have committed suicide after decapitating an opponent in a title defense. Fast forward six years later when the promotion’s management finally decide to vacate Joe’s title and hold a battle royal to crown a new champion. The film then follows a documentary crew who are obsessed that Joe is still alive and will return at the battle royal. Lots of shenanigans ensue as the documentary crew interviews multiple people who harass them and turn them away, with a standout scene transpiring at a hot-button, public access political talk show. Eventually everything culminates at the battle royal, but nothing can save this train wreck. Grunt: The Wrestling Movie takes itself way too seriously, and is not even campy-cheesy-bad, but instead the undesirable straight-up-bad. Avoid this one in the DVD bargain bin at all costs. As a whole, Wrestling Superstars Triple Feature is a semi-decent package, which is glowing praise when compared to this DVD’s cover art! Hell Comes to Frogtown is prime cheesy bad movie night material and I Like to Hurt People is something I would throw in to have on in the background with fellow wrestling fans. Grunt is a complete waste, but as the old adage goes, two out of three isn’t bad! Other Random Backlog Movie Blogs 3 12 Angry Men (1957) 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown 21 Jump Street The Accountant Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie Atari: Game Over The Avengers: Age of Ultron The Avengers: Infinity War Batman: The Dark Knight Rises Batman: The Killing Joke Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice Bounty Hunters Cabin in the Woods Captain America: Civil War Captain America: The First Avenger Captain America: The Winter Soldier Christmas Eve Clash of the Titans (1981) Clint Eastwood 11-pack Special The Condemned 2 Countdown Creed Deck the Halls Detroit Rock City Die Hard Dredd The Eliminators The Equalizer Dirty Work Faster Fast and Furious I-VIII Field of Dreams Fight Club The Fighter For Love of the Game Good Will Hunting Gravity Guardians of the Galaxy Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 Hercules: Reborn Hitman Indiana Jones 1-4 Ink The Interrogation Interstellar Jay and Silent Bob Reboot Jobs Joy Ride 1-3 Major League Man of Steel Man on the Moon Man vs Snake Marine 3-6 Merry Friggin Christmas Metallica: Some Kind of Monster Mortal Kombat National Treasure National Treasure: Book of Secrets Not for Resale Pulp Fiction The Replacements Reservoir Dogs Rocky I-VII Running Films Part 1 Running Films Part 2 San Andreas ScoobyDoo Wrestlemania Mystery The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Shoot em Up Slacker Skyscraper Small Town Santa Steve Jobs Source Code Star Trek I-XIII Sully Take Me Home Tonight TMNT The Tooth Fairy 1 & 2 UHF Veronica Mars Vision Quest The War Wild Wonder Woman The Wrestler (2008) X-Men: Apocalypse X-Men: Days of Future Past