Batman v Superman: Dawn of the Lynch Mob

Villagers, put down your pitchforks and torches. Zack Snyder is not the antichrist, and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is not the unmitigated disaster you may have heard.

Caveat emptor, it’s got some serious problems and is anything but perfect. But it’s got some real strengths and doesn’t deserve the critical and fan community drubbing it’s been enduring.

Batman and Superman have a long history of encounters in the comics, stretching back to 1941 and a whole slew of World’s Finest comics. Their first real dust-up as “adversaries” really began with Frank Miller’s revisionist 1986 Dark Knight Returns series, to which Batman v Superman owes a huge debt. That antagonistic Gotham vs. Metropolis tone lasted for over a decade. But as we all know, adversaries often become allies when faced with a common foe. They’ve been trying to get a Bats-against-Supes film going since 2001, when Andrew Kevin Walker and Akiva Goldsman pitched a story where Bruce Wayne’s fiancée is killed by the Joker, sending him on a rampage of revenge and locking horns with the Man of Steel.

In Snyder’s film (written by Argo scribe Chris Terrio and Man of Steel’s David S. Goyer), an entire skyscraper full of Bruce Wayne employees are 9/11 collateral damage from the massive conflict at the end of Man of Steel. Rather than blame General Zod (which would make a lot more sense), Wayne focuses all culpability on the battle’s survivor – Superman.

Batman is the visceral, vigilante counterpoint to political forces (led by Holly Hunter) caught up in an anxiety of xenophobia about the Man of Steel’s intentions. Aspiring demagogue Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) looks to play both sides of the fence to nefarious gain.

Let’s talk about what doesn’t work. The picture is crazy overlong, easily by 30-40 minutes. What should be a crisp, economical first act drags itself along with a muddling conspiracy involving Superman rescuing Lois Lane from an African warlord. While editing plays a part, the ambitions of the script make for a really murky liftoff. There are plenty of moments where logic and convenience are stretched pretty thin. But for me, the biggest misfire in the entire enterprise is Lex Luthor. Eisenberg is a cackling dilettante – a Whit Stillman version of American Psycho. His takes seem desperately rushed and unfocused, and his manic performance is a dead flounder on the dock. It’s the most annoying performance in ages, and Luthor’s motivations are completely lost. It’s a terrible take on the character, an epic casting misfire. There’s also a crazy-quilt of distracting cameos, from Anderson Cooper to Neil deGrasse Tyson.

But there’s plenty in BvS that works, and works great, starting with Ben Affleck. I was at the front of the skeptical line when his casting was announced, but Affleck took it really seriously and does a stupendous job here, both as haggard, bitter Bruce Wayne, and as Batman. Fans have been complaining for years that they want the Batman of the comics – a grim, brutal punisher who loses control. Well, this is that Batman, and Affleck sells it. One of the things the design team has done is deliver phenomenal costume work that really serves the iconic stature of the characters. Batman’s regular costume and his suit of armor are fantastic, and straight out of Frank Miller. The Batmobile rocks, and his new Batwing is fantastic. Amazing production design, 110% Batman. 

A lot of objections have been raised about Batman's use of firearms in this film. I love that in most of the comics, Batman disdains guns in favor of devices and his wits. But in the earliest Batman stories (heavily influence by The Shadow), he used guns all the time, like any other pulp hero. But let's agree that when he does use them, it diminishes Batman as a character - though we never seem to have a problem when he mounts machine guns on his vehicles...

I think Henry Cavill is terrific as Superman. His Lois and Clark scenes are a little weak, but he has the presence of Superman, and he conveys the sense of a hero who’s been taken for granted and received more suspiscion than gratitude for his efforts. 

Gal Gadot's scenes as Wonder Woman are an absolute highlight, and she nearly steals the picture. When she finally steps into the costume, you’re ready for the Wonder Woman movie now! She’s a fighter from another age, and you’re intrigued as hell to learn her origin story. She rocks here and doesn’t disappoint.

The finale is overstuffed, but I had plenty of fun with it – and will stay largely spoiler-free here. 

If you’ve seen any trailers, you know that these kids will ultimately have to join forces. Snyder does a great job with the action, amping things up to a near operatic level of mayhem. I hate that he’s become fandom’s whipping boy (“He’s Michael Bay!!!”), simplistically defining him by his use of slow-mo, like saying all J.J. Abrams does is lens flare. He’s got a lot of fondness for, and knowledge of, the superhero genre, and I’m amazed by people who dug the trailer but hate on this movie. As mentioned above, it’s got some issues, but it’s absolutely the movie that was advertised. Snyder’s let down by some of the excessive CG, most of which is good, but some of it’s choppy, and the Big Bad is more animal than villain here, more primal force than calculating supervillain. For me, the ending works. Again, it’s an ending that has plenty of comic fidelity, and for the story we’re given, it fits.

Absolutely, Batman v Superman feels like it’s a set-up for Justice League, Wonder Woman and other tentpoles. Ya think? That’s really its purpose. Parts of it drove me a little nuts, but overall I was pretty thrillingly entertained and I’m definitely excited for more DC films, especially Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman. I hope audiences and comic fans don’t drink too much of the toxic review Kool-Aid this films been hosed down with. It’s a big, crazy comic entertainment, and if you could do a hell of a lot worse. Give it a shot and make up your own mind.

NECA Aliens bombshell: Vasquez and Newt!

There's nothing like a great surprise, as NECA toy honcho Randy Falk knows all too well.
After their expectation-surpassing execution of the Aliens toy license, including the coveted Sigourney Weaver likeness, fans continue to be hungry for more.

Well today brought some epic news. We've known for a while that April 26th would be following in the footsteps of May 4th (Star Wars May the Fourth Be With You holiday), with marketing synergy having declared April 26th as Alien day - in honor of Xenomorph planet LV-426 - get it? 4/26?!

This morning saw a massive cross-platform press release that announced the arrival of an avalanche of new Alien(s) inspired product, with nothing more jaw-dropping than the news that beloved toy manufacturer NECA would be releasing not just one, but two show-stopping new additions: Newt and Vasquez! They teased Newt's arrival with this image:

We'd also had confirmation earlier that they already had produced a figure of Lambert from Alien, but just needed to find a release window. No other details or images have made their way out yet, but this is truly amazing, franchise-defining news. I'm betting we'll learn a lot more on... gee, I don't know? April 26th?

Bring it on, NECA - anytime, anywhere!

NECA Lambert Compression Suit prototype

The Thing bursts out at Wondercon!

The dust's still settling from this weekend's Wondercon at the Los Angeles Convention Center. But of all the surprises that were unveiled, the ones that caught my eye the most were from toy maker Pop Culture Shock (PCS), who let us gaze upon 1:6 scale figures from John Carpenter's The Thing!

It's R.J. MacReady, helicopter pilot, and the infamous Norris Spider-Head monster! Not sure when these 12"-scale bad boys will release, or for how much, and I'm not 100% sold on the likeness of Kurt, but this is a pretty stellar pair of figures from one of the greatest sci-fi horror clambakes of all time! 

MacReady had better come with that hat and those shades!

The Witch Will Get Your Goat

There's a thin line between the unseen and the imaginary.

We’ve been looking forward to The Witch for more than a year, and the dark Puritan horror film has finally been released and it’s definitely worth your time.

Filmed for about $3.5 million, The Witch has made almost $24 million in the five weeks it’s been in theaters.

The debut film of writer-director Robert Eggers, the story focuses on a Puritan family that’s banished from their community, thanks to the father’s stubborn refusal to obey the will of the plantation elders. Uprooted, the parents and their five children try to make a fresh start on an isolated farm near a dark, foreboding forest. Things go wrong very quickly. When their infant son vanishes under the care of eldest daughter Thomasin (Anya-Taylor Joy), the family caves in upon itself. Religion and fear haunt their every move, and despite her proclamations of innocence, Thomasin becomes the crucible of blame, especially from her bereft mother. Consumed with grief, the mother is played by the excellent Kate Dickie (Lysa Arryn on Game of Thrones), and when prayer fails to bring either restoration or comfort, she quickly looks to more immediate sources of accountability. 

The Witch explores the thorny terrain between faith and fact, between delusion and spirituality. 

Then there's Black Phillip. 

I would have liked The Witch even more if it kept the question of the actual vs. the imagined a bit more in the unanswered shadows of the audience's imagination, and spent more time in psychologically murky middle ground. As it is, the film makes it pretty clear what's tangibly occurred.

But I loved The Witch, and it's a beautifully shot, almost Bergmanesque horror film of incredibly convincing and severe Puritan mood. As Thomasin, Joy carries the film on her narrow shoulders with tremendous skill as a young girl poised between the innocence of childhood and the pull of genuine darkness. If you like atmospheric horror that truly unnerves, Black Phillip cordially invites you to take a stroll in the woods.

Deadpool Skewers and Satisfies

You could say that Deadpool is the Don Rickles of superheros. Or maybe Tracy Morgan. Without a filter.

In our age of increasingly lugubrious superhero films, Deadpool not only spiked the Kool-Aid, he drank it – then gave you an enema with it. Then gargled.

To say that Deadpool is the most irreverent corner of the Marvel universe is putting it mildly.

Sprung from the pages of The New Mutants, the pansexual “Merc with a Mouth” has a fondness for breaking the fourth wall, matched only by his penchant for violence.

It seemed highly unlikely that we’d ever see a real Deadpool movie, and if we did, it would be watered-down like the punch at the Sadie Hawkins dance.

But crazy things happen. First, Deadpool showed up briefly in very diluted form in the much un-beloved X-Men Origins: Wolverine, where he was played by Ryan Reynolds. Then two years later, Ryan Reynolds is Green Lantern, in one of the biggest bombs of the entire superhero genre. So you’d think if someone did decide to try and swim upstream to make a Deadpool movie that actually embodied the snark-shark of the comics, the last person they’d think of would be…Ryan Reynolds. But they did. And he rules. Reynolds is likable and talented, and what both of those prior outings failed to capitalize on was his sense of humor. So, “Gimme one more swing at that ball and I swear I’ll knock the scoreboard over.” Somehow Reynolds connected with talented newcomer director Tim Miller, and their combo is explosive and deliriously entertaining, giving Deadpool fans the movie they’ve always dreamed of. And it’s actually rated R. And for good reason.

Wade Wilson (Reynolds) is a tightly wound mercenary who meets an equally off-kilter girl (Morena Baccarin) and sex sparks fly like a welding torch. Things are awesome. Then the worst villain in the history of evil cold-hearted soul-annihilating villains comes calling: cancer. Wade has cancer, and desperate for a cure, he gets lured into an experimental program that will eventually turn him into something else. Something you want to get payback for. Something that twists you. Amid the one-liners and “I’m in a franchise!” self-awareness, Reynolds brings a real poignancy to the cruelty of his diagnosis and its shadow as a dream-killer. He carries the film in nearly every scene and it’s no wonder audiences are responding.

Director Tim Miller (Academy Award nominee for Best Animated Short, Gopher Broke) brings an unhinged visual style to Deadpool, as if Terry Gilliam had directed Robocop. Exploding with kinetic hilarity from the very first frame, through tumbling time-frozen opening “credits,” it’s a chaotic and wisecracking assault on the senses that delivers smashing action and engaging characters. Morena Baccarin is awesome, and seems thrilled to have doffed the weary shackles of her Homeland role. Equally smashing is chrome behemoth Colossus (Stefan Kapicic) who nearly steals the movie as the titanic embodiment of the X-Men fellowship Deadpool relishes in tweaking. Colossus is a tremendous presence here. There’s also a terrific Leslie Uggams role, that will delight and surprise you.

If you’re looking for nail-hard action and acerbic laughing gas, Deadpool is waiting for you, batting his eyelashes and sharpening his steel.

2016 Oscars: Final Predictions

Okay, pals, here you go.

Calling 'em as I see 'em - happy viewing!

Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Cinematography - The Revenant

Best Actress - Brie Larson, Room

Best Supporting Actor - Sylvester Stallone, Creed

Best Supporting Actress - Alicia Vikander, The Daniah Girl

Best Original Screenplay - Spotlight

Best Adapted Screenplay - The Big Short

Mad Max: Fury Road will take Editing, Visual Effects and Production Design

The Hateful Eight will win Best Score

The Revenant: harrowing and visionary

I already thought 2015 had been a pretty great year for film - now I realize it was extraordinary.
As far as films set in the "old west," it's seen quite a resurgence.  The Hateful Eight and Bone Tomahawk were both very different, and very successful on their own terms. Now with The Revenant, we have another unique vision of the period, a descendent of films like Jeremiah Johnson and The Outlaw Josey Wales. 

Set on the American frontier of the 1820s, director Alejandro González Iñárritu’s The Revenant is less a traditional Western and more a gripping blend of wilderness survival and revenge drama, that skyrockets to the top of any list of the year’s best films. There are so many simply jaw-dropping sequences in this film, another stunning collaboration between Iñárritu and his Birdman cinematographer Emmanuel “Chivo” Lubezki, that it nearly overwhelms in delivering a combination of brutal, visceral hardships, captured with simply mind-boggling visual technique.

 

The Revenant is based on the true story of hunter and guide Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio), leading a group of fur trappers through hostile territory. When Glass and his party are ambushed by a force of Native American warriors, Lubezki and Iñárritu completely immerse the audience, shooting in the first of many long, uninterrupted takes. You’re not consciously aware of it, and it’s impossible to fathom the timing and coordination that must have been involved to pull it off. It’s a staggering sequence – but the filmmakers are just getting started. In a scene of visceral infamy that frankly redefines what’s possible in movies, Glass is subject to a bear attack that’s as convincing as it is graphic. Mauled and filleted, near death, Glass is betrayed and left for dead by his fellows - abandoned, alone and determined to exact retribution. 

 

Iñárritu and Lubezki seemed to have felt they needed to undergo challenges and hardships that were nearly as extreme as those faced by their protagonist. Filming in chronological order and using only natural light, the entire film was shot in harrowing conditions over nine months in frigid wilderness locations of Calgary and Patagonia. Legendary production designer Jack Fisk has created environments that are beyond authentic. The outpost fort of expedition leader Domhnall Gleeson looks like something they found by going back in time. Iñárritu takes the pulp survival scenario and elevates it to an odyssey of mystical and visionary reckoning of man’s will amidst nature. 

 

As amazing as the film is visually, the cast makes it soar. Leonardo has never been better, and undergoes such a grueling series of punishments – largely without dialogue. It’s a painful, aching portrayal and he carries the film in virtually every scene - an incredibly human, poignant performance. As amazing as he is, I was absolutely blown away by Tom Hardy, embodying the most awful villain in recent memory. A wounded sociopath, Hardy channels a backwoods Jame Gumb accent, unrecognizable and unrepentant. I’ll be rooting for him to win Best Supporting Actor, it’s an amazing performance and the perfect dark counterweight to DiCaprio.

 

2015 was a stunning year for cinematography, but Lubezki’s work has to be singled out. Having already won Oscars for Birdman and Gravity (for director Alfonso Cuarón), he seems a shoe-in to take home a third for his work here. He’s done groundbreaking work on films as diverse as Sleepy Hollow, The New World and Children of Men, but he delivers his best work yet here, having just won top honors from the America Society of Cinematographers. Lubezki shot in digital, rather than film, capturing incredible wide images and high resolution depth of field, somehow making the available light work to his advantage. 

 

The best cinema creates an immersive experience, while investing you in the fate of the protagonist. The Revenant is at once both dreamlike and hauntingly real. 

It’s visionary filmmaking and an absolute must-see.