March Movies: Batman V. Superman, 10 Cloverfield Lane...

[DC Tom]

Ouch: http://variety.com/2016/film/box-office/box-office-the-boss-batman-v-superman-melissa-mccarthy-1201749869/

 

More telling is the little point that McCarthy's movie nearly made it's budget back opening weekend.

 

That's got to give pause to anyone thinking about the fiscal considerations of tent-pole movies.

[Deranged Rhino]

 

More telling is the little point that McCarthy's movie nearly made it's budget back opening weekend.

 

That's got to give pause to anyone thinking about the fiscal considerations of tent-pole movies.

 

And then there's this on the cover of today's Variety, a full profile on Alan Horn, now creative chief at Disney (formerly creative chief at Warners). The timing is intended to troll, not to mention the content.

 

 

"Though Horn is too circumspect to say it, the exhilaration at his achievements must be heightened because of the long and (briefly) fraught path that brought him to this place. The man now celebrated as the rare Hollywood executive who is both successful and beloved almost got run off in his first foray into the creative side of the business more than 30 years ago. Then, after a dozen years Horn spent cementing Warner Bros. as a dominant force in the ferociously competitive film business, Time Warner boss Jeff Bewkes sent him packing in 2011, for no apparent reason other than his age. Horn was 68."

 

Horn hesitates to dwell much on the loss of his job as Warner president and chief operating officer but recalls it as “painful” and “hurtful.” In a rare break from his usual reserve, he even betrays how the episode estranged him from his longtime colleague, former Warner Bros. chairman Barry Meyer. “I was in partnership with him running the place for almost 12 years, then he went on alone. So good for him,” says Horn, with a dismissive wave of his hand. “He is now retired.”

 

Believing his time atop the Hollywood ziggurat had expired, Horn was devastated, according to one close friend. But then, a year later, Iger jettisoned studio boss Rich Ross, who had alienated many of those around him, and put Horn in charge.

“I had the good fortune to convince Alan to come out of retirement by sharing my belief that we could form a partnership and a friendship that would not only result in our studio doing well, but also in the two of us having a good time along the way,” Iger says. “And that’s exactly what happened. The studio’s recent success is a result of Alan’s experience, talent and great leadership.”

 

http://variety.com/2016/film/news/alan-horn-disney-chairman-1201749971/

[Mark Vader]

I finally saw "Batman V Superman", and I thought it was good, not great.

 

I thought the story was good overall, but the angst at times was overbearing. They really need to lighten up more.

 

At times I thought I was watching a Michael Bay movie, what with the slow motion sequences & explosions.

 

I didn't know Lex Luthor was such a looney tooney person.

 

Ben Affleck was not terrible as I thought he would be. He was average. One very good action sequence as Batman was done nicely. His Bruce Wayne was nothing memorable.

 

Henry Cavill does a good job, although I wish that they would have focused on him as Clark Kent than Superman. Oh well.

 

Gal Gadot certainly looks the part, but she's not in it much for me to get all excited about.

 

Amy Adams does her part, and Laurence Fishburne is just there.

 

In my opinion, the most intriguing performance was done by Jeremy Irons as Alfred. I wish his character was in the movie a lot more.

 

So we'll see what Warner Bros. next move is with this franchise.

[Deranged Rhino]

I finally saw "Batman V Superman", and I thought it was good, not great.

 

I thought the story was good overall, but the angst at times was overbearing. They really need to lighten up more.

 

At times I thought I was watching a Michael Bay movie, what with the slow motion sequences & explosions.

 

I didn't know Lex Luthor was such a looney tooney person.

 

Ben Affleck was not terrible as I thought he would be. He was average. One very good action sequence as Batman was done nicely. His Bruce Wayne was nothing memorable.

 

Henry Cavill does a good job, although I wish that they would have focused on him as Clark Kent than Superman. Oh well.

 

Gal Gadot certainly looks the part, but she's not in it much for me to get all excited about.

 

Amy Adams does her part, and Laurence Fishburne is just there.

 

In my opinion, the most intriguing performance was done by Jeremy Irons as Alfred. I wish his character was in the movie a lot more.

 

So we'll see what Warner Bros. next move is with this franchise.

 

Thanks for the review (and everyone else who's contributed one!). As for the bolded, they just confirmed Ben's standalone Batman flick just a few hours ago: http://variety.com/2016/film/news/ben-affleck-batman-standalone-directing-1201752021/

[Saxum]

Additional rumor on BvS which has not been confirmed but Warner Brothers is planning on re-releasing the film with more footage to cinemas which would give the film an R rating and would help boost the film to $1B sales mark.

 

Finally found something in press I have been hearing thru grapevine last few weeks:

R-Rated Batman v Superman May Hit Cinemas To Boost Box Office https://www.yahoo.com/news/r-rated-batman-v-superman-may-hit-cinemas-to-boost-181711011.html?nhp=1

[shrader]

 

Thanks for the review (and everyone else who's contributed one!). As for the bolded, they just confirmed Ben's standalone Batman flick just a few hours ago: http://variety.com/2016/film/news/ben-affleck-batman-standalone-directing-1201752021/

 

It's probably going to have to be the Joker, isn't it? I hope it's from before all the Superman stuff and explores the Jason Todd stuff they hinted at in the trailer and movie. If they're serious about this R rating stuff, it could be a good one for that.

[unbillievable]

 

It's probably going to have to be the Joker, isn't it? I hope it's from before all the Superman stuff and explores the Jason Todd stuff they hinted at in the trailer and movie. If they're serious about this R rating stuff, it could be a good one for that.

 

It will include 17 dream sequences and no less than a dozen flashbacks to the night Batman's parents died. The end credits will feature a pop quiz on how many pearls Martha lost down the rain gutter.

[Dorkington]

It's kinda nuts that WB has 'disappointing' numbers, but then added two new DC movies to their slate. They must be making money on this franchise somehow, considering everyone is saying they lost money on the movie itself.

[Deranged Rhino]

It's kinda nuts that WB has 'disappointing' numbers, but then added two new DC movies to their slate. They must be making money on this franchise somehow, considering everyone is saying they lost money on the movie itself.

 

They don't have a choice. Call it turning into the skid. Doing anything different would jeopardize Suicide Squad, not to mention WW and AM.

 

But the reality is they didn't really add two new movies to their slate, Ben's Batman flick was part of his BvS deal and was always going to happen. The "unnamed" DC property has been in the works as part of their phase 2 (or whatever WB is calling it) for just as long -- and if it's what I think it is won't be too surprising.

[DC Tom]

At times I thought I was watching a Michael Bay movie, what with the slow motion sequences & explosions.

 

Little hint: unless you see a low angle shot featuring the protagonist's jaw line with some threat flying in the background overhead, it's not a Michael Bay movie.

[Mark Vader]

 

Little hint: unless you see a low angle shot featuring the protagonist's jaw line with some threat flying in the background overhead, it's not a Michael Bay movie.

Thank you

[Deranged Rhino]

Headed to see BvS finally this afternoon. I'll return with my review. Looking forward to checking it out finally.

[Beef Jerky]

Thanks for the review (and everyone else who's contributed one!). As for the bolded, they just confirmed Ben's standalone Batman flick just a few hours ago: http://variety.com/2016/film/news/ben-affleck-batman-standalone-directing-1201752021/

I didn't know he is in the Suicide Squad movie also.

[Deranged Rhino]

I didn't know he is in the Suicide Squad movie also.

 

He's going to be making a cameo in most of the connected universe. He's their Nick Fury.

[Dorkington]

He might be Nick Fury, but also SS has the added fact that most of the team members are Batman villains.

[Deranged Rhino]

Finally saw the film... and woof, it's every bit as problematic and flawed as I've heard. From characters without motivation mindlessly flailing about the story, to surprisingly poor FX and CG that often looked like a video game more than a film, Batman vs Superman is as forgettable as it is loud.

 

You might think I was predisposed to dislike the film considering my posts in this thread, but that isn't really the case. I enjoyed Snyder's first Superman. I'm a fan of genre movies in general -- especially when done well -- and was hoping that most of the brutal reviews I read were being hyper-critical just to be hyper-critical. But man, they might have been too kind. Yes, Wonder Woman was fun, Batfleck was better than I hoped, Cavill and Adams both were one note but enjoyable in their own way, and yet even with all that it was just a mess. I had at least twelve times in the course of the film where I laughed out loud at the absurdity of either the character's decisions, or lack thereof. The movie is hollow, void of any content despite it's obvious attempt to tackle some big, important issues facing the world today. But instead of making a point about any of the many issues the film raises, it never goes beyond the surface on any of them because the characters are just paper cutouts.

 

Let's start with the plot, if you can even call it a plot. Lex Luther (terribly miscast and played with a twitch for no discernible reason) wants to make Superman bend to his will. In order to do so, he concocts not one terrorist plot, but FOUR. None of which make a lick of sense considering all he needed really was the kryptonite and the letters he sent to Bruce Wayne. That leaves us with three pointless story threads that are either played off in dream sequences, or mindless action set pieces where it's impossible to tell what the hell was happening -- and in the end none of it really mattered anyway. There were three points in the film where Lois Lane has a chance to stop the entire Lex plot in its tracks if she just told Supes what she had just learned. But, because Snyder has no idea how to tell actual character stories he turned Lane into a mindless (and stupid) side character rather than the intelligent, and vital, character she was in Man of Steel. It's never explained, nor even thought of as needing to be explained, how Lex knew Clark Kent was Superman, how he knew more about Krypton and Darkseid than even Supes knew, nor why he felt the need to try to kill Superman -- let alone Batman. There's a line about power in the film that Lex brings up twice, which I guess they hoped served to motivate him, but it was laughable at best. Lazy at worst.

 

As poorly constructed as the plot was, the characters were worse. Superman is a VERY specific character. He's idealistic in a world where idealism is dying. He's not broken, he's all heart. You just cannot do Superman without this element. But, due to the changes Snyder made in Man of Steel where Supes becomes a cold blooded killer, he painted himself -- and the DC universe by extension-- into a corner. Batman vs Superman should be about justice vs vengeance on a character level and the merits (and potential pitfalls) of both positions. But since both Batman and Superman are broken, deeply conflicted men, there's really nowhere for them to go as characters throughout the film and it shows. Instead of seeing what makes both these characters tick, and bringing them to a worthy and satisfying conflict, we learn nothing about either of them we didn't know before the movie began. Instead of revealing anything about these characters who are to be the backbone of the DC universe, we got pointless plot threads that lead nowhere but to giant set pieces for no apparent reason other than the desire to have a giant set piece. All of the action is mindless because there are no characters driving it, not even Lex's machinations are enough to motivate any of it.

 

Which of course leads to the ending. They were aiming for something heartbreaking but missed terribly. The ending is telegraphed to such an extent (even if you've never read the comics) that it becomes laughably stupid rather than meaningful by the time you get there. There's no reason for Lois to throw the spear away OTHER than to create a reason to get her trapped there later (never mind how she even knew to go get the spear again in the first place). There was also no reason for Supes to be the one to get the spear (let alone use it) other than to get the ending we got. Lois only exists in this movie to try to make us care about the ending, that's her purpose, but that's tough to pull off when you've spent 2 hours plus reducing her to a one note, meaningless character in every other respect.

 

So, yeah. It's bad. Real bad. Not because it's the worst movie ever made (or even the worst super hero movie) -- it's not by a long shot. It's real bad because it's entirely forgettable.

 

It's mindlessly entertaining but without any heart or humor. I can count on one hand the amount of times I laughed at a line intended to be funny. The visuals were lousy. The effects middling. The score -- Hans Zimmer said this will be the last super hero flick he scores because he's tired of it -- sounded like Hans was bored. The actors had fun, sometimes that showed, but not enough.

 

Ayers has to be cursing Snyder's name right now in the edit bay on Suicide Squad...

[shrader]

Clearly you weren't paying attention earlier in the thread. Luthor knew Kent is Superman because Jimmy Kimmel told him.

[Deranged Rhino]

Clearly you weren't paying attention earlier in the thread. Luthor knew Kent is Superman because Jimmy Kimmel told him.

 

No, I missed that.

 

 

You think the CGI/visuals in BvS are bad?

 

Other than Doomsday, I thought they nailed the visuals, CGI or not.

 

After finally seeing the film, yes the CG and visuals were borderline amateur considering the amount of money spent on them. Doomsday's final battle was a mess, pretty much anytime they replaced practical with CG (for instance when the batmobile goes into the water) it looked like a 1999 video game.

 

Snyder is a brilliant visual storyteller, there's no question about that. But this movie was messy on the FX side.

[Doc]

I'm going to wait until the R-rated version comes out.

[Dorkington]

 

No, I missed that.

 

 

 

After finally seeing the film, yes the CG and visuals were borderline amateur considering the amount of money spent on them. Doomsday's final battle was a mess, pretty much anytime they replaced practical with CG (for instance when the batmobile goes into the water) it looked like a 1999 video game.

 

Snyder is a brilliant visual storyteller, there's no question about that. But this movie was messy on the FX side.

I'll agree to disagree. What format did you see it in? I saw it in 2D Digital Projection, and then again in IMAX 2D (Laser? I think?), both looked absolutely fantastic, imo.