Henry Cavill

Mission: Impossible – Fallout

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Mission: Impossible – Fallout
  • IMDb: link

Mission: Impossible - Fallout movie reviewVery much a sequel to Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Mission: Impossible – Fallout brings back both heroes and villains from the previous film. As we saw in Rogue Nation, the various other government agencies are still struggling to work with the IMF. This isn’t helped when three nuclear warheads slip through Ethan Hunt’s (Tom Cruise) hands in the opening action sequence and are about to be sold on the black market to a terrorist with delusions of grandeur.

Forced to work with CIA thug August Walker (Henry Cavill), Hunt and his team (Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg both return) accept their assignment, but, as usually happens, things don’t go according to plan. Rebecca Ferguson and Sean Harris both return to reprise their roles from the last film as a potential love interest for Ethan and a villain harboring and even bigger boner for the spy who put him behind bars.

Although Jeremy Renner isn’t present here, the latest in the franchise includes callbacks to several of the earlier films and in some ways feels like a final chapter to the series (while still leaving the door open if Cruise and company wish to return).

…

Mission: Impossible – FalloutRead More »

Mission: Impossible – Fallout Read More »

Justice League

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Justice League
  • IMDb: link

Justice League movie reviewBuilt from the worst foundation possible laid by the disastrous Man of Steel and the trainwreck which was Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, it’s a wonder that Justice League is even watchable let alone entertaining. Don’t get me wrong, the latest from “visionary” director Zack Snyder is beset with multiple problems, but thankfully being a dumpster fire isn’t one of them. Despite issues with character, plot, editing, acting, and cinematography, Justice League does produce a flawed yet entertaining film bringing DC heroes together against a common threat. It’s not the follow-up to Wonder Woman DC fans were hoping for, but it’s a fair bit better than I expected from Zack Snyder and company.

The threat chosen by the four (count them four) credited screenwriters is the film’s first major obstacle. A C-List villain at best, Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds), a poor stand-in for the more imposing Darkseid, is almost entirely forgettable while his plans for uniting three disco cubes to destroy the Earth is goofy as hell. At least his legion of fear-eating Parademons gives someone for Batman (Ben Affleck) to hit (as the Dark Knight is pretty impotent against the big guy).

…

Justice LeagueRead More »

Justice League Read More »

Batman v Superman: Trainwreck of Justice

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
  • IMDb: link

Batman v Superman: Dawn of JusticeWhat did I just watch? Returning to the scene of the crime while building on the shaky foundation of 2013’s Man of Steel, a film which turned DC Comic’s moral center into a cold-blooded killer, director Zack Snyder and writer David S. Goyer expand DC’s bleak, joyless universe with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Shot in Snyder’s “cinematic” style of making every shot look like a music video, the incoherent plot makes poor use of its stars who attempt in vain to keep this Titanic from heading straight towards the iceberg at full speed. Cobbled together from a number of sources, most notably Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns and The Death of Superman, DC’s attempt to jump-start a Justice League franchise is an uneven mess of goo thrown against a wall in the vain hope that something might stick.

What’s surprising, given my dislike for Man of Steel, is the fact that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice isn’t an awful movie – just an incompetent one. While it’s certainly not good, the movie introduces several interesting ideas (even if it doesn’t quite know what to do with any of them).

…

Batman v Superman: Trainwreck of JusticeRead More »

Batman v Superman: Trainwreck of Justice Read More »

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
  • IMDb: link

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.Two things are immediately evident from watching Henry Cavill in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. First, there’s no disputing that the man is a bona fide movie star. Despite having issues with some of the projects he’s chosen (such as Zach Snyder‘s horrific re-imagining of Superman), there’s no doubt Cavill has “it.” Second, based on his appearance as con man turned super-spy Napoleon Solo, it’s obvious that he would make a terrific James Bond balancing the swagger and inner-bastard of the character with aplomb. Not since Connery have we seen a character like this on-screen.

And he isn’t the only one worthy of note. Armie Hammer‘s portrayal of the brutish Russian killer may be a bit one-note, but it certainly washes away the lingering bad taste of The Lone Ranger. Alicia Vikander proves to be a lovely third wheel while, much to my surprise, co-writer/director Guy Ritchie holds back on his usual frantic pace to deliver an equally humorous and cool film about Cold War spies that constantly impresses. Ritchie has struggled to adapt his high-octane style to period pieces in the past (see Sherlock Holmes), but that’s not the case here as only once does Ritchie’s grittier nature appear on-screen. Thankfully, he quickly remembers what kind of film he was hired to deliver.

…

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.Read More »

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Read More »

Not Exactly Super

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Man of Steel
  • IMDb: link

Man of SteelWith the box office disappointment of last year’s Green Lantern, the end of Christopher Nolan‘s Batman series, and most of the specifics of 2015’s Justice League still to be determined, DC Comics and Warner Bros. have put all their support behind a new Superman franchise helmed by 300 and Watchmen director Zack Snyder. The result is an often puzzling piece of filmmaking that breaks away from both decades of comic history and the ghost of Richard Donner‘s Superman to create a New 52-ish take on the character (i.e. grittier and largely absent of joy or wonder) that, despite its preponderance of extended action scenes, is one of the most boring super-hero films ever made.

Much like Green Lantern (which is in every measurable way a superior film), Man of Steel decides to redesign its leading man for the silver screen. The muted palette and organic earthy feel of Snyder’s version of Superman’s homeworld of Krypton (where the film’s first 25 minutes takes place) may remind you of Green Lantern‘s version of Oa, but it’s just one of many steps in distancing the character from his rich comic history.

…

Not Exactly SuperRead More »

Not Exactly Super Read More »