Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

Batman V Superman (2016) Trailer

Marvel has Captain America: Civil War where Captain America vs. Ironman vs. Spiderman. While DC has Batman vs. Superman plus Wonder Woman.

I have watched all Marvel Movies (including the Guardians of the Galaxy, Deadpool, Antman, X-men, Ironman, the Avengers, except the TV franchises, Wolverine series, and the new Spiderman franchises) and all DC Batman Movies (except the TV franchises). I haven't watched any Superman movies before this movie, but I'm interested in watching them now.

This movie has the same old same old theme as Christopher Nolan's Batman series, i.e. whether Batman is protecting the city or destroying it during the course of his battles with the enemies.

The first scene of Batman V Superman is the death of Bruce Wayne's parents. And here again we go through the same old story behind the bat cave, which was vividly depicted in Batman Begins (2005).

And then there is Superman's fight with the alien. A giant spaceship in the sky. It reminds me of Doctor Who Christmas Special: The Christmas Invasion (2005), where a giant alien star is in the sky.

To be honest, I think Christopher Nolan's Batman is very remarkable. I like the combo of Christian Bale as Batman and Michael Caine as Alfred. Even though Ben Affleck's resume has a good job in portraying a suspiciously evil character in Gone Girl (my review on Gone Girl is here), he does not have the physique as Batman. He looks fat and clumsy in that Batman suit. I remember Jeremy Irons' performance in Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995). But I like Michael Caine's Alfred better, because he looks much older and wiser. Henry Cavill is very good-looking. But his character as Superman is dumb. He could have passed the spear to Batman or Wonder Woman. People said that Jesse Eisenberg tried too hard. But I think he did a good job in using his awkwardness to portray a psychotic sociopath. It's ashamed that the screenplay did not give him a background story in depth as we did not understand his motivation. That's why his character looks ridiculous. I don't know why when I see the performance of Holly Hunter, I think of Glenn Close. Wonder Woman, almost universally agreed, is the best part of the movie. The music rocks and the character rocks.

Interestingly, DC's Superman is Marvel's Spiderman as they are both journalists. DC's Batman is Marvel's Ironman as they are both rich playboys. So Alfred is Jarvis?

In my opinion, if they use retro pop music like how they used in the Guardians of the Galaxy and Deadpool, then the movie would be way cooler.

Ratings:

Premise: Average
Plot: Average
Characters: Good
Dialogue: Average

Recommendation: Recommended

I recommend watching this movie because it is the introduction to the following franchises of DC comics movies. Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, Justice League Part I, The Flash, Aquaman, Shazam!, Justice League Part II, Cyborg, Green Lantern Corps, Batman x3 are coming.

Big Eyes (2014)

Big Eyes Trailer

I think the big eyes children are so familiar. It turns out that it has inspired Blythe dolls and many Japanese manga characters that come after.

Margaret is a very introverted character. She doesn't like her husband, Walter, telling lies to the customers at the club, where he sells their paintings. But when a customer asks who painted the paintings, she does not speak up. Instead, the more sociable Walter steps up and claims that he is the painter. As a result, Margaret has to follow the story and stay at home to paint while Walter would be the salesman / facade, so as to make a living.

Margaret becomes more and more upset as she has to hide the fact from her daughter. She later finds out that Walter is a con man. The paintings of the streets of Paris are not even his own paintings. She realizes that she has never seen him paint.

Margaret is very powerless as she is a divorcee and a single mom. She knows that she holds the truth but she is not brave enough to expose Walter. She only finds the courage after she finds a religion. 

Women tend to have harder times in selling their work in art or writing (as J.K. Rowling once said). It is a triumphant and cathartic moment to see that she out-paint Walter in the court to claim her justice and name back.

To conclude, this is a very inspiring biography of a female painter who rise to success and is recommended to all art-lovers.

American Hustle (2013)

American Hustle (2013) Trailer

This is a story about a con man and his partner being forced to work for an ambitious FBI agent to bust four more con man.

I think the theme of the story is about surviving and struggling by climbing up the ladder to be someone who you are not born to be.

The premise of the story is interesting because it first explores the life of how a con man and woman work together to run a scam. And then when the FBI steps in, their world is turned upside down. And when the ambitious FBI agent wants to expose the corrupted politicians, which involves dealing with mafia, things start to get out of control.

Plot-wise is only so-so. The plot doesn't go anywhere and is all over the place.

Characters, however, are much more intriguing.  Christian Bale's character Irving is lousy, irresponsible and selfish. However messy his outlook is, he is charismatic enough to manipulate people to get what he wants.  Amy Adam's character Sydney is a very attractive woman who knows how to utilize her assets to also get what she wants. She is clever and sexy. All she wants is Irving to leave her neurotic wife and give his heart to her.  Bradley Cooper's character Richie is ambitious and knows exactly what he wants. He has such a bad temper that he beat up his boss when he denied his request for the investigation. I don't sympathize Irving because he doesn't know what he wants, unlike Sydney and Richie, and he is afraid of changes.  Robert De Niro has a small role, but his role as a mob boss is very funny and unforgettable.

There are quite a number of interesting dialogue in the story. Rosalyn, Jennifer Lawrence's character has quite a number of hilarious lines, especially the scenes which she argues with Irving about microwave and the plan.

Overall speaking, it's worth watching this movie for the acting. All actors and actresses played their part well and are very convincing.  Casting director has done a good job. Maybe the writer wrote the characters especially for the actors and actresses.

P.S. I Love You (2007), No Country For Old Man (2007), Enchanted (2007), Sleuth (2007), Big Fish (2003), Eastern Promises (2007)

I'm crazy about movies!


P.S. I Love You (2007) Trailer

To start with, I watched P.S. I Love You (2007). Though it's a little bit late, still catch it on screen. The story is very touching. Just want to give Hilary Swank a message from Face of Boe, "You are not alone." of Doctor Who. Don't cry, my sweetheart.


No Country For Old Man (2007) Trailer

It is about an awkward killer. No meaning at all.




Enchanted (2007) Trailer

Enchanted (2007) is a cliche. Amy Adams' costumes are really low-cut. Hey girl, you're too sexy for a family movie. And Patrick Dempsey is playing the Mr. Darcy again. Just like his character in Sweet Home Alabama. Thought man like him should be good. But from the cut scenes in the DVD, there was a storyline of the perfect man cheating his girl. That's the reality, huh?
Conclusion: there's no fairy tale in real life.

Sleuth (2007) is crap. A simple plot about love, jealousy and manipulation. The whole film only stars two men, Michael Cain and Jude Law. They only talk the talk. So wasting my time watching it!


Big Fish (2003) Trailer

Big Fish (2003) is about the story of father and son. Not until the end I find the story touching. The father said he would die in way you wouldn't expected. Turned out was quite plain. The son put him into the river and he turned back into a big fish, which he always talked about. It's somehow like Seven, need to fulfill the prophecy and make things complete.


Eastern Promises (2007) Trailer

Eastern Promises (2007) stars Viggo Mortensen and Naomi Watts. It's another dark story of the Oscar this year. There's an nude scene in the movie. And very violent and bloody. Not everybody can take it.

Wow! I can be a film critic too!