Review: "BLACK WIDOW" is Dark Drama and Spectacular Action

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 45 of 2021 (No. 1783) by Leroy Douresseaux

Black Widow (2021)
Running time: 133 minutes (2 hours, 13 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of violence/action, some language and thematic material
DIRECTOR: Cate Shortland
WRITERS:  Eric Pearson; from a story by Jac Schaeffer and Ned Benson (based upon the Marvel Comics character)
PRODUCER: Kevin Feige
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Gabriel Beristain
EDITOR: Leigh Folsom Boyd
COMPOSER: Lorne Balfe

SUPERHERO/DRAMA/ACTION

Starring:  Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Rachel Weisz, Ray Winstone, Ever Anderson, Violet McGraw, O-T Fagbenie,  and William Hurt

Black Widow is a 2021 3D superhero film directed by Cate Shortland and produced by Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.  It is the 24th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) series.  The film is based on the Marvel Comics character, Natalia Alianovna “Natasha” Romanova/Black Widow, that was created by Stan Lee, Don Rico, and artist Don Heck and first appeared in the comic book, Tales of Suspense #52 (cover dated: April 1964).  Black Widow the film finds the title character on the run and forced to confront the conspiracies and people of her past.

Black Widow is largely set between the events depicted in the films, Captain America: Civil War (2016) and Avengers: Infinity Wars (2018).  The film, however, opens in 1995.  Young Natasha Romanoff (Ever Anderson) lives a quiet life in suburban Ohio with her younger sister, Yelena Belova (Violet McGraw), and their parents.  But Natasha and Yelena are not siblings, and their surrogate mother, Melina Vostokoff (Rachel Weisz), is really a Russian scientist/spy, and their father, Alexei Shostkov (David Harbour), is a spy and also the costumed superhero, “Red Guardian,” Russia's super-soldier version of Captain America.  When this “family's” mission suddenly ends, Natasha and Yelena are returned to Russia and sent to the “Red Room” for further training.

Twenty-one years later, in the year 2016, Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) is on fugitive, on the run from U.S. Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt).  Fate reunites her with an older Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), who until recently was still a “Widow,” an assassin working for the Red Room.  Now, both women, traumatized by their pasts, set out to find and kill Dreykov (Ray Winstone), the head of the Red Room and the mastermind behind the “Widow” program.  To do so, however, they must mend the broken relationships of their pasts, and Natasha must face the reality that her actions could not only alert her pursuers to her whereabouts, but could also lead to her destruction.

I wondered how Marvel Studios could hope to deliver a superhero movie that would satisfy their audiences in the wake of Avengers: Endgame, which was a special effects extravaganza, which changed the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), which was a record-setting box office hit, and which saw some beloved characters die, including the Black Widow.  Black Widow does offer big action sequences: a harrowing opening air plane escape, a battle royale in Budapest, a crazy prison escape, and that final showdown on a giant aerial base.  After waiting two years for a Marvel Studios film (because of the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown of movie theaters), the big action of Black Widow is big enough to sate my Marvel needs.

However, I must be honest, it is the action that really makes Black Widow for me.  The drama is good, and the interpersonal relationship conflict and drama are fitting for the story of a character like the Black Widow who past is so very dark and is filled with violence and pain.  The main cast of Black Widow:  Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Rachel Weisz gives excellent performances in this tale of betrayal and of secrets of lies.  In a way, these performances only serve to make the drama all the more dark, edgy, and, at times, depressing.  So, that is why I must be honest.  I respected the character drama of Black Widow, which director Cate Shortland delivers in gritty detail.  But while watching the film, I was always anxious for the arrival of the next big, special effects-driven action sequence, and man, Black Widow did not disappoint!

Black Widow has a great adversary in “The Taskmaster,” but the reveal of that villain's identity is a bit of a letdown.  Ray Winstone, an actor I like, was just okay as Dreykov, a promising bad guy the script makes into a shallow character.  Still, the action scenes – I'm crazy about them.  They are both the reason that I am giving Black Widow a high grade and the reason I will watch Black Widow many more times when it starts airing on cable television in a little less than two years from now.

8 of 10
A

Friday, July 9, 2021


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

---------------------

Amazon wants me to inform you that the link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the ad below AND buy something(s).

Review: "BATMAN: GOTHAM BY GASLIGHT" Runs on Jet Fuel

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 44 of 2021 (No. 1782) by Leroy Douresseaux

Batman: Gotham by Gaslight – video (2018)
Running time:  78 minutes (1 hour, 18 minutes)
MPAA – R for some violence
PRODUCER/DIRECTOR:  Sam Liu
WRITERS:  Jim Krieg (based on characters from the graphic novel, Gotham by Gaslight, by Brian Augustyn and Mike Mignola)
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Sam Register and Bruce Timm and Benjamin Melniker & Michael Uslan
EDITOR:  Christopher D. Lozinski
COMPOSER:  Frederik Wiedmann  
ANIMATION STUDIO:  The AnswerStudio

ANIMATION/SUPERHERO/ACTION/FANTASY

Starring:  (voices) Bruce Greenwood, Jennifer Carpenter, Scott Patterson, John DiMaggio, Grey Griffin, Anthony Head, Bob Joles, Yuri Lowenthal, William Salyers, and Tara Strong

Batman: Gotham by Gaslight is a 2018 straight-to-video animated superhero film from Warner Bros. Animation and director Sam Lui.  It is the thirtieth film in the “DC Universe Animated Original Movies” series.  It is also a loose adaptation of the 1989 Batman graphic novel, Gotham by Gaslight, written by Brian Augustyn and drawn by Mike Mignola and P. Craig Russell.  Batman: Gotham by Gaslight is set in an alternate world in which Batman begins his war on crime in Victorian Age Gotham City just as Jack the Ripper begins killing women in the city.

Batman: Gotham by Gaslight opens in Victorian-era Gotham City.  A serial killer called “Jack the Ripper” is killing Gotham's poor and destitute women, especially in the area of the city known as “Skinner's End.”  Bruce Wayne (Bruce Greenwood) is also operating in the city as the bat-garbed vigilante, “the Batman.”  One night, Batman saves an unwary couple from being robbed by a trio of orphans who are in service of an abusive criminal handler.  At the same time, Pamela Isley, a prostitute and exotic dancer who performs under the name “Ivy the Plant Lady,” encounters Jack the Ripper, who savagely kills her.

Many citizens of Gotham believe that the Batman and Jack are the same man.  Stage actress, Selina Kyle (Jennifer Carpenter), is a protector of the women of “Skinner's End.”  She berates Gotham Police Commissioner James Gordon (Scott Patterson) and Chief of Police Harvey “Bulldog” Bullock (John DiMaggio) for their failure to stop the Ripper murders.  Later, when the Ripper targets Selina, Batman rescues her, but Batman discovers that Jack the Ripper is a formidable opponent who possesses the fighting skill to defeat him.  Initially, Selina rebukes Batman, but soon the two begin working together, even as the city prepares to blame Bruce Wayne for all the Ripper murders.

Writer Jim Krieg, probably one of Warner Bros. Animation's best writers (if not the best, as far as I'm concerned), has fashioned, in Batman: Gotham by Gaslight, a Batman “cinematic universe” that could be as interesting as any other world of Batman films.  Taking the source material (the Gotham by Gaslight comic), Krieg has created a world that has possibilities rather than just being a one-off, alternate-universe spin on Batman.  Batman: Gotham by Gaslight feels like it has a tangible back story behind it and an unknown, but full future ahead of it.

Krieg fills Batman: Gotham by Gaslight with highly-developed versions of familiar Batman characters.  Here, Bruce Wayne and Batman are one and the same; there is no light and dark, separate personalities so much as there is a man who understands the right time and right place to put on the correct public face – or mask, as it may be.

All the supporting characters are strong.  In fact, Batman: Gotham by Gaslight's Selina Kyle could carry her own film.  She is fierce and independent; she is beautiful and personable, even when she is being forceful in her mission to protect poor women.  Hugo Strange (William Salyers) is what some critics might call “deliciously devious,” while Alfred Pennyworth is devious in a benevolent and sly way.  And I can't help but love the “cock robins,” Dickie, Jason, and Timmy.

Batman: Gotham by Gaslight is pretty in its graphic design and art direction, and the animation moves smoothly.  Director Sam Liu oversees a film that not only plays a mystery, but offers an actually mystery that requires Batman and Selina Kyle to do some investigating.  The film's last act – a rousing section of prison escapes, brutal fights, and a burning park – is perfect escapism and also entertainment with a touch of art.  I thought that I might like Batman: Gotham by Gaslight, and I did.  I simply got far more joy out of it than I imagined I would.

8 of 10
A

Saturday, April 17, 2021


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved.  Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

----------------------------------

Amazon wants me to inform you that the link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the ad below AND buy something(s).

Review: "WONDER WOMAN 1984" Means Well, But is Stupid

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 37 of 2021 (No. 1775) by Leroy Douresseaux

Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
Running time:  151 minutes (2 hours, 31 minutes)
MPAA – PG - 13 for sequences of action and violence
DIRECTOR:  Patty Jenkins
WRITERS:  Patty Jenkins, Geoff Johns, and Dave Callahan; from a story by Patty Jenkins and Geoff Johns (based on characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics and created by William Moulton Marston)
PRODUCERS:  Charles Roven, Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder, Patty Jenkins, Gal Gadot, and Stephen Jones
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Matthew Jensen (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Richard Pearson
COMPOSER:  Hans Zimmer

SUPERHERO/FANTASY

Starring:  Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nielsen, Robin Wright, Kristen Wiig, Pedro Pascal, Lucian Perez, Kristoffer Polaha, Natasha Rothwell, Ravi Patel, Oliver Cotton, Lilly Aspell, and Lynda Carter

Wonder Woman 1984 is a 2020 superhero fantasy film from director Patty Jenkins.  The film stars the DC Comics superhero, Wonder Woman, who first appeared in All Star Comics #8 (1941) and was created by writer William Moulton Marston (with artist Harry George Peter).  It is a direct sequel to 2017's Wonder Woman and is also the ninth film in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) film series.  In Wonder Woman 1984, our titular hero must battle a colleague and a businessman whose desire to have everything they ever wanted and much more could destroy the world.

Wonder Woman 1984 opens on the island of Themyscira, the home of the Amazons.  There, young Diana (Lilly Aspell) is trying to be the most accomplished Amazon.  In an athletic event against older Amazons, young Diana must also learn an important lesson about getting what she wants.

The story moves to 1984.  Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) works cultural anthropology and archaeology at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.  Secretly, Diana is also the superhero known as “Wonder Woman.”  At work, Diana meets and eventually befriends a new museum employee, Barbara Minerva (Kristen Wiig), a shy woman whose professions are geology, gemology, and lithology, in addition to being a cryptozoologist.  Barbara is barely seen by her co-workers, and she comes to envy Diana, whose radiance draws people to her.

One day, the FBI asks the museum to identify some stolen antiquities, and among them is a mysterious item, a “citrine” that turns out to be called the “Dreamstone.”  Also interested in this item is a failing businessman, Maxwell “Max” Lord (Pedro Pascal), who believes that the stone has “wish-granting” powers that can both save his failing oil company, “the Black Gold Cooperative,” and make him the powerful man he has always wanted to be.  No one really understands how dangerous the Dreamstone can be, even Diana, who gets her deceased lover, Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), back into her life.

I like that Wonder Woman 1984 deals with such themes as immediate gratification, getting things the easy way without working for it, cheating to get what you want, and the desire to have something before you are ready to have it.  However, it is the execution of these themes that is problematic.  For a film that beats viewers over the head with the idea that it is bad to get whatever you wish for, Wonder Woman 1984 is filled with magical thinking.  This film's story is illogical, nonsensical, silly, and full of pretty pictures while being largely empty and devoid of substance.

Having Steve Trevor's spirit possess the body of an actual living man and control it is a horrible idea.  Supposedly, co-writer/director Patty Jenkins says that the Trevor subplot is a reference to the body-switching trope found in films like Freaky Friday: The Movie (1976) and Big (1988).  If true, this explanation is lame.  Having Wonder Woman basically hold a man hostage so that she can use his body to play kissy-face with her dead lover's spirit does not seem like something Wonder Woman would actually do.  I won't go into the non-consensual element of this relationship...

However, that is just one element of the entire nonsense that is having Steve Trevor in this film.  In one sequence, it just happens to be the Fourth of July, which leads to Wonder Woman and Trevor stealing a conveniently located jet and flying through the clouds that are lit up by the holiday fireworks below.  Wonder Woman asks Trevor what makes flying as a pilot so special to him, and the dude says that it is because of the wind and the air...

I'm not even sure why this movie is called Wonder Woman 1984, as very little about that year really permeates this film.  1984 seems like nothing more than an arbitrary date, while calling this film “Wonder Woman: The Year of Schmaltz and Syrupy Sentiment” would seem more accurate.

Nothing epitomizes Wonder Woman 1984's nonsensical, trite, contrived nature than the “lead” villain, Max Lord.  Heaven knows that Pedro Pascal gives it his all in order to fill the vast emptiness that is Max, but even his acting skills can't save this bomb of a character.  Patty Jenkins and Geoff Johns' hackneyed script gives Max a child, Alistair (Lucian Perez), a pensive-faced waif who just loves his daddy no matter how much daddy ignores and minimizes him.  The presence of the child only emphasizes how lame Max Lord is.

The better villain is Kristen Wiig's Cheetah (who is not called that in the film), but the script relegates Barbara Minerva/Cheetah to side-piece status.  Minerva and Cheetah had the potential to be an excellent counter to Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, but no, the man-villain must be the center of attention.  Also, I'm pretty sure that Cheetah appears merely for licensing purposes – perhaps, as a hard-to-find, low-run, female action figure.

Just as she was the last time, Gal Gadot is gorgeous in this film, but whereas the Wonder Woman she played in the original film was so strong, independent, and fierce, the Wonder Woman of the sequel is a clueless broad who pines after the ghost of a long dead man.  Everything the heroine of this sequel does is either strange or thoughtless, and she puts herself and others in danger cause she's just gotta have her (dead) man!  Wonder Woman 1984 turns Gadot's Wonder Woman from historical in the first film to hysterical in the sequel.

The only reason that I am not giving Wonder Woman 1984 a grade of “D” or even of “F” is because I was so happy to see Lynda Carter, TV's Wonder Woman of the 1970s, in a mid end credits scene.  Yeah, that's a spoiler that I didn't warn you about, but hey, I am warning you about the rest of Wonder Woman 1984.  Now, dear readers, you can watch it while expecting much less of it than I did.

4 of 10
C

Thursday, April 8, 2021


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

-----------------------

Amazon wants me to inform you that the link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the ad below AND buy something(s).

Review: "THE NEW MUTANTS" is the Final Stinker ... Finally

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 34 of 2021 (No. 1772) by Leroy Douresseaux

The New Mutants (2020)
Running time:  94 minutes (1 hour, 34 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for violent content, some disturbing/bloody images, some strong language, thematic elements and suggestive material
DIRECTOR:  Josh Boone
WRITERS:  Josh Boone and Knate Lee (based on the Marvel Comics characters)
PRODUCERS:  Simon Kinberg, Lauren Shuler Donner, and Karen Rosenfelt
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Peter Deming (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  Andrew Buckland, Matthew Rundell, and Robb Sullivan
COMPOSER:  Mark Snow

SUPERHERO/HORROR/FANTASY/ACTION

Starring:  Blu Hunt, Maisie Williams, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Heaton, Henry Zaga, Alice Braga, Adam Beach, Thomas Kee, Colbi Gannett, and Happy Anderson

The New Mutants is a 2020 superhero movie from director Josh Boone.  It was 20th Century Fox’s thirteenth and final film film based on Marvel Comics’ X-Men comic book franchise.  The film uses comic book characters and stories created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Bob McLeod and Bill Sienkiewicz.  The New Mutants movie focuses on five young mutants held in a secret facility where they try to deal with their powers, pasts, and sins.

The New Mutants opens with Danielle “Dani” Moonstar (Blu Hunt), a young Cheyenne Native American, experiencing the devastation of her entire reservation by what seems to be an “F5” tornado.  After falling unconscious during the tornado, Dani awakens in an empty hospital room to find herself secured to a bed by restraining straps.

Dani soon meets Dr. Cecilia Reyes (Alice Braga), who comforts Dani.  Dr. Reyes explains that Dani is not an ordinary human being, but is rather a “new mutant,” a mutant who is just awakening to her mutant abilities and powers.  Dr. Reyes also explains that Dani will be confined to this mysterious and unnamed medical facility until they discover what exactly Dani's mutant power is and also until Dani learns to control that power.

Dani is introduced to four other new mutants:  Sam (Charlie Heaton), Illyana (Anya Taylor-Joy), Roberto or “Bobby” (Henry Zaga), and Rahne Sinclair (Maisie Williams).  Rahne befriends Dani and the two set out to discover the secrets of both the facility and the identity of the mysterious entity (Essex Corporation) that controls it.  Dani discovers that she isn't the only one trying to escape the traumas of her past.  Will her mysterious power and her past, personified by a mythical creature called the “Demon Bear,” destroy not only Dani, but also the other new mutants.

Apparently, Josh Boone, the co-writer and director of The New Mutants,” described the film's same-sex love story and subplot between Dani and Rahne as “character-driven stuff.”  That pretty much describes the character drama and development in The New Mutants; it's all just stuff.  Dani and Rahne's gay-teen-puppy-love is actually sweet, and when The New Mutants focuses on that, the film is actually enjoyable.  All the other character-driven … stuff is the usual young adult tropes:  (lame) bullying; (lame) guilt, (lame) grief, and (lame) teen squabbling and conflict.  And the rotten cherry on top is Anya Taylor-Joy's awful, lazy, and deplorable Russian accent as Illyana.

I am a decades-long fan of The New Mutants, going back to the original Marvel Graphic Novel (written by Chris Claremont and drawn by Bob McLeod) in which the characters made their debut and to the first issue of their own comic book, The New Mutants #1 (cover dated: March 1983).  The screenplay for The New Mutants film is not so much an adaptation of any particular New Mutants comic books, but is rather a cherry-picking of a few elements from particular stories like “The Demon Bear Saga” (written by Claremont and drawn by Bill Sienkiewicz).

The New Mutants is an explosive concept, especially considering that it follows kids with traumatic pasts who have largely unknown and untested, dangerous extraordinary powers.  The New Mutants film is a misfire instead of an explosion.  It is not that this film's story is incoherent; it is simply an easy-to-follow, but boring story.  I wanted the characters to save themselves and to have a happy ending because I simply wanted this tiresome and uninspiring movie to end.

When I first heard that 20th Century Fox was making a horror movie set in the X-Men franchise, I thought that this film could be a disaster, but I secretly hoped that they could pull it off.  But my first instincts were right, and luckily Disney absorbed Fox and put an end to Fox's parade of trashy X-Men movies.  As bad as The New Mutants is (and it is awful), its ending also signals the end of a nightmare series of movies in a franchise that had a very promising start back in 2000 with the film simply entitled, X-Men.  I won't recommend The New Mutants to anyone, even to the fans that feel they have to watch every X-Men movie.

2 of 10
D

Wednesday, April 14, 2021


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint or syndication rights and fees.

-------------------

Amazon wants me to inform you that the link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the ad below AND buy something(s).

Review: "Dark Phoenix" is a Failed X-Men Resurrection

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 33 of 2021 (No. 1771) by Leroy Douresseaux

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

Dark Phoenix (2019)
Running time:  114 minutes (1 hour, 54 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action including some gun play, disturbing images, and brief strong language
DIRECTOR:  Simon Kinberg
WRITERS:  Simon Kinberg (based on Marvel Comics characters)
PRODUCERS:  Hutch Parker, Simon Kinberg, Lauren Shuler Donner, and Todd Hallowell
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Mauro Fiore
EDITORS:  Lee Smith
COMPOSER:  Hans Zimmer

SUPERHERO/SCI-FI/ACTION/DRAMA

Starring:  James McAvoy, Sophie Turner, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Evan Peters, Tye Sheridan, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Alexandra Shipp, Summer Fontana, Scott Shepherd, Ato Essandoh, and Jessica Chastain

Dark Phoenix is a 2019 superhero movie from writer-director Simon Kinberg.  It is 20th Century Fox’s twelfth film based on Marvel Comics’ X-Men comic book franchise.  This movie is also a sequel to X-Men: Apocalypse (2016).  In Dark Phoenix (also known as X-Men: Dark Phoenix), one of the X-Men begins to develop incredible powers that will force the rest of the X-Men to decide if this one mutant's life is worth more than all of humanity.

Dark Phoenix opens in 1975 and introduces eight-year-old Jean Grey (Summer Fontana) and depicts the automobile accident that changes her life and brings Charles Xavier/Professor X (James McAvoy) into her life.  Then, the story moves to 1992 and to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.  There, Xavier has turned the X-Men into what some describe as a team of superheroes that steps in to protect and help mankind when no one else can.

The latest emergency involves a distress signal from a recently launched space shuttle, which has been critically damaged by a solar flare-like energy.  Xavier sends his strike team, “the X-Men”:  Hank McCoy/Beast (Nicholas Hoult), Raven/Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), Peter Maximoff/Quicksilver (Evan Peters), Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), Scott Summers/Cyclops (Tye Sheridan), Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee), and Ororo Munroe/Storm (Alexandra Shipp) to rescue the astronauts aboard the space shuttle.  Raven goes along on the mission, but she is furious that Xavier puts his students in danger for the rest of humanity, which she still regards with suspicion.

The X-Men arrive in their jet, the Blackbird, to find the situation rapidly deteriorating and the strange energy mass approaching the shuttle.  While saving the astronauts, Jean is struck by the energy and absorbs it into her body.  This apparently helps her to miraculously survive the blast of the shuttle explosion.  The X-Men and Xavier's other students start calling Jean “Phoenix” because of her miraculously survival.

However, the result of absorbing that energy causes Jean's psychic powers to be greatly amplified.  In turn, that causes her emotional state to begin to deteriorate, leading to tragedy.  Soon, the X-Men are hunting Jean Grey, and so are the X-Men's adversary/rival, Erik Lensherr/Magneto (Michael Fassbender), and also the U.S. military.  Vuk, the leader of a shape-shifting alien race known as the D'Bari, is also searching for Jean, specifically for the power Jean harbors inside her.  Can Xavier and the X-Men save Phoenix, or will their act of salvation doom humanity?

Both film adaptations of the classic X-Men comic book story arc, “The Dark Phoenix Saga,” 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand and 2019's Dark Phoenix, fail to approach the riveting melodrama and enthralling soap opera that readers found and continue to find in Marvel Comics's The X-Men #129-138 (publication cover dates:  January to October 1980).  The writers of both films alter the core original story – to the movies' detriment.

Writer-director Simon Kinberg apparently directed some of 2014's X-Men: Days of Future Past and much or most of 2016's X-Men: Apocalypse, although Bryan Singer is credited as the director of both films.  I consider both films to be disappointments, one more than the other.  True to form, Simon Kinberg delivers in Dark Phoenix a film that is mostly a dud.

The storytelling feels contrived, and the screenwriting offers laughable concepts, especially the entire D'Bari alien subplot; that's just some stupid shit.  Dark Phoenix is one of two final films in 20th Century Fox's X-Men film franchise (the other being the long-delayed The New Mutants, which was finally released in 2020).  I say that Dark Phoenix is deeply disappointing, but honestly, I did not expect much of it, from the moment I first heard that it was going into production.  In fact, this film is a devolution from the franchise's peak, which was released 16 years prior to Dark Phoenix, the fantastic X2: X-Men United (2003).

Even the acting is bad.  Playing Vuk the alien is the lowest low point of Jessica Chastain's career, which includes two Academy Award nominations.  James McAvoy as Xavier, Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, and Michael Fassbender as Erik are overwrought, and when they are trying to have serious conversations, they deliver hackneyed and derivative dialogue and unoriginal speeches.  Maybe their bad acting is a result of uninspired script writing.  However, I did find that Tye Sheridan as Scott, Kodi Smit-McPhee as Kurt, and Alexandra Shipp as Ororo made the most of their scenes, especially Sheridan.  If his Scott Summers/Cyclops were the center of Dark Phoenix, the film would be much better.  Because of him, I am giving this film a higher grade than I planned to do.

Dark Phoenix just doesn't work, and it rarely connected with me.  I don't think that it will connect with audiences the way some of the best and most popular X-Men films did.  Oh, well – let's hope that Marvel Studios does better with its planned X-Men films...

4 of 10
C

Thursday, March 25, 2020


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint or syndication rights and fees.

--------------------

Amazon wants me to inform you that the link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the ad below AND buy something(s).

Review: "Batman and Harley Quinn" is an Ode to Bruce Timm-Era Batman TV

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 31 of 2021 (No. 1769) by Leroy Douresseaux

Batman and Harley Quinn – video (2017)
Running time:  74 minutes (1 hour, 14 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sexual content, language, violence and action, and for rude humor
DIRECTOR:  Sam Liu
WRITERS:  Bruce Timm and Jim Krieg; from a story by Bruce Timm (based on characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics)
EDITOR:  Christopher D. Lozinski
COMPOSERS:  Kristopher Carter, Michael McCuistion, and Lolita Ritmanis
ANIMATION STUDIO:  DR Movie

ANIMATION/SUPERHERO/ACTION/FANTASY

Starring:  (voices) Kevin Conroy, Melissa Rauch, Loren Lester, Paget Brewster, Kevin Michael Richardson, John DiMaggio, Eric Bauza, Robin Atkin Downes, Trevor Devall, Rob Paulsen, Mindy Sterling, and Bruce Timm

Batman and Harley Quinn is a 2017 straight-to-video animated superhero film from Warner Bros. Animation and director Sam Lui.  The film shares a connection and design style with the animated television series, “The New Batman Adventures” (1997-99), and is spiritually related to that series' predecessor, “Batman: The Animated Series” (1992-95), which is the series in which Harley Quinn made her first appearance.  In Batman and Harley Quinn, Batman and Nightwing are forced to team with Harley Quinn in order to stop a global threat.

Batman and Harley Quinn opens with Batman (Kevin Conroy) and his partner, Nightwing (Loren Lester), who was once known as Robin, the Boy Wonder.  The duo has discovered that the villainess, Poison Ivy / Pamela Isley (Paget Brewster) has teamed up with Jason Woodrue, the Floronic Man (Kevin Michael Richardson), an alien plant creature that shares Poison Ivy's desire to give plants supremacy of Earth over humanity.  Poison Ivy and Floronic Man plan to create their own viral version of the “bio-restorative formula” that transformed Dr. Alec Holland into the Swamp Thing (John DiMaggio).  To that end, they have kidnapped a scientist, Dr. Harold Goldblum (Rob Paulsen), and forced him to help them replicate the formula.

Ivy and Woodrue are unaware that their altered formula could destroy all life (human, animal, and plant), so Batman and Nightwing must stop them before they finish their formula.  However, “the Dynamic Duo” are struggling in their mission to find the villains and reluctantly turn to Ivy's best friend, Harley Quinn (Melissa Rauch), in the hopes that she will have an idea or two on where to find Ivy.  But Harley has gone into hiding after her most recent recent parole from imprisonment.  Finding Harley won't be easy, and who says she wants to help Batman and Nightwing find her BFF – best friend forever!  And if she does cooperate, can Batman and Nightwing trust Harley?

Bruce Timm was one of the main creative forces behind “Batman: The Animated Series” and “The New Batman Adventures,” as well as other wonderful animated television series that featured DC Comics superheroes.  So I am always happy when he returns to his corner of the animated DC Universe, this time as a writer and executive producer.  One of my favorite animation writers, Jim Krieg, co-wrote Batman and Harley Quinn with Timm.  Voice actor Kevin Conroy, who is beloved for his work playing the voice of Batman / Bruce Wayne on several animated TV series and films, also returns as the voice of Batman for this film.

So I have a few reasons to love Batman and Harley Quinn, and I did indeed enjoy it, but it isn't one of the better direct-to-DVD animated DC Universe films.  The Floronic Man is an uninteresting bag of wind as a villain despite the best efforts of talented voice actor, Kevin Michael Richardson.  Also the Poison Ivy of this film is shallow, and looks weird.

The plot is lame, but their a few things that make me like Batman and Harley Quinn.  First, Timm and Krieg offer strong takes on the characters of Batman, Nightwing, and Harley, and the relationship dynamic between them as a trio or as a trio of duos sparkles with wit and genuine feeling.  Secondly, there are some surprisingly magical moments in this film, such as the karaoke medley in the middle of the film.  The Sarge Steel (John DiMaggio) and A.R.G.U.S. subplot is nice.  Finally, I love the design of the animation and the animation in general in this film.  It is as if “The New Batman Adventures” returned from the old cartoons graveyard for an hour or so.

Despite my reservations concerning its weak plot and villains, I highly recommend Batman and Harley Quinn to fans of Bruce Timm's 1990s Batman TV shows.  When it comes to animation overseen by Timm, I'll take anything and everything I can get.

7 of 10
B+

Tuesday, March 30, 2021


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved.  Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

--------------------

Amazon wants me to inform you that the link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the ad below AND buy something(s).

The Trailer for the Upcoming Film "The Suicide Squad" Sets a Record

James Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad” Sets a New Record for Most Views of a Red Band Trailer in a Week

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Warner Bros. Pictures dropped a heavy-hitting red band trailer for the R-rated actioner “The Suicide Squad” that, in the spirit of the Squad, is kicking some serious ass. With 151.1 million views, “The Suicide Squad” has set a new record for most views of a red band trailer in a week and counting.

The trailer—the first released for the film—delivers intense action and wry humor, and global fans showed up in a big way in support of writer/director James Gunn’s vision. In total, the trailer trended in 40 markets on YouTube and 28 markets on Twitter.

About “The Suicide Squad”:
From writer/director James Gunn comes Warner Bros. Pictures’ superhero action adventure “The Suicide Squad,” featuring a collection of the most degenerate delinquents in the DC lineup.

Welcome to hell—a.k.a. Belle Reve, the prison with the highest mortality rate in the US of A. Where the worst Super-Villains are kept and where they will do anything to get out—even join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X. Today’s do-or-die assignment? Assemble a collection of cons, including Bloodsport, Peacemaker, Captain Boomerang, Ratcatcher 2, Savant, King Shark, Blackguard, Javelin and everyone’s favorite psycho, Harley Quinn. Then arm them heavily and drop them (literally) on the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese. Trekking through a jungle teeming with militant adversaries and guerrilla forces at every turn, the Squad is on a search-and-destroy mission with only Colonel Rick Flag on the ground to make them behave…and Amanda Waller’s government techies in their ears, tracking their every movement. And as always, one wrong move and they’re dead (whether at the hands of their opponents, a teammate, or Waller herself). If anyone’s laying down bets, the smart money is against them—all of them.

The film stars Margot Robbie (“Birds of Prey,” “Bombshell”), Idris Elba (“Avengers: Infinity War”), John Cena (upcoming HBO Max series “Peacemaker,” “Bumblebee”), Joel Kinnaman (“Suicide Squad”), Jai Courtney (the “Divergent” franchise), Peter Capaldi (“World War Z,” BBC’s “Doctor Who” ), David Dastmalchian (upcoming “Dune,” “Ant-Man and the Wasp”), Daniela Melchior (“Parque Mayer”), Michael Rooker (the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films), Alice Braga (“Elysium”), Pete Davidson (“The King of Staten Island,” TV’s “Saturday Night Live”), Joaquín Cosio (“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” TV’s “Narcos: Mexico”), Juan Diego Botto (“The Europeans”), Storm Reid (“The Invisible Man,” “A Wrinkle in Time”, “Euphoria”), Nathan Fillion (“Guardians of the Galaxy,” TV’s “The Rookie”), Steve Agee (“Brightburn,” “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2”), Sean Gunn (the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films, the “Avengers” films), Mayling Ng (“Wonder Woman”), Flula Borg (“Ralph Breaks the Internet”), Jennifer Holland (“Brightburn,” upcoming HBO Max series “Peacemaker”) and Tinashe Kajese (TV’s “Valor,” “The Inspectors”), with Sylvester Stallone (the “Rocky,” “Rambo” and “Expendables” franchises), and Viola Davis (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “Suicide Squad”).

Gunn (the “Guardian of the Galaxy” films) directs from his own screenplay, based on characters from DC. The film is produced by Charles Roven and Peter Safran, with Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder, Walter Hamada, Chantal Nong Vo, Nikolas Korda and Richard Suckle executive producing.

Gunn’s creative team includes director of photography Henry Braham (“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2”), production designer Beth Mickle (“Captain Marvel”), editors Fred Raskin (“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” “Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood”) and Christian Wagner (the “Fast & Furious” films) and Oscar-nominated costume designer Judianna Makovsky (“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2,” “Avengers: Endgame,” “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”). The music is by John Murphy (“Kick-Ass”).

Warner Bros. Pictures Presents An Atlas Entertainment/Peter Safran Production, A James Gunn Film, “The Suicide Squad.” The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is set for release internationally beginning July 29, 2021 and in North America in theaters and IMAX on August 6, 2021; it will be available in the U.S. on HBO Max for 31 days from theatrical release.

--------------

Review: "Aquaman" Rides High on the High Seas

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 23 of 2021 (No. 1761) by Leroy Douresseaux

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

Aquaman (2018)
Running time:  143 minutes (2 hours, 23 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and for some language
DIRECTOR:  James Wan
WRITERS:  David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Will Beall; from a story by Geoff Johns, James Wan, Will Beall (based on the character created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger and appear ing DC Comics)
PRODUCERS:  Rob Cowan and Peter Safran
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Don Burgess    
EDITOR:  Kirk Morri
COMPOSER:  Rupert Gregson-Williams

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/SCI-FI/ACTION/ADVENTURE

Starring:  Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Ludi Lin, Temuera Morrison, Randall Park, Michael Beach, and Nicole Kidman

Aquaman is a 2018 superhero science fiction and fantasy film from director James Wan.  It is the sixth film in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), which is comprised of films based upon DC Comics characters.  Aquaman was created by artist Paul Norris and editor Mort Weisinger and first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 (cover dated: November 1941).  Aquaman the film focuses on a half-breed who is heir to the throne of an underwater kingdom and his quest to prevent an all-out war between the worlds of the land and the seas.

Aquaman opens in 1985.  Thomas Curry (Temuera Morrison), a lighthouse keeper in Amnesty Bay, Maine, rescues Atlanna (Nicole Kidman), the queen of the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, during a storm.  They fall in love and have a son named Arthur, who has the power to communicate with sea creatures.  Eventually, however, Atlantean soldiers arrive to retrieve Atlanna, who had fled her arranged marriage in Atlantis.

The film movies to the present day, several months after the events depicted in the film, Justice League.  Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa), now also known as the “Aquaman,” attempts to live a normal life in Amnesty Bay, but his Atlantean heritage is about to intrude on his life.  Arthur has a half-brother, Orm Marius (Patrick Wilson), who is the current King of Atlantis and who is also the second son of Atlanna.  Orm is attempting to rally the undersea kingdoms to his cause.  He wants to unite and to attack the surface world for polluting the oceans.  Princess Y'Mera Xebella Challa, also known simply as Mera (Amber Heard), is betrothed to Orm, but refuses to aid him or her father, King Nerius of Xebel (Dolph Lundgren), in their plans.

Mera travels to the surface where she meets Arthur and tries to convince him to help her in stopping Orm.  She also wants Arthur to take his rightful place as King of Atlantis.  Before he does that, however, Arthur must recover a magic artifact, the lost “Sacred Trident of Atlan,” which will mark its possessor as the rightful ruler of Atlantis.  The problem is that Arthur does not want to be King of Atlantis nor anywhere else for that matter.

Watching Aquaman, I could not help but notice that many of its story points and plot elements were glaringly similar to that of Marvel Studios' Black Panther, which debuted earlier in the same year that Aquaman hit theaters, 2018.  Whereas Black Panther was edgy, philosophically in tune with Pan-Africanism, and socially relevant, Aquaman is simply a grand, old-fashioned, action-adventure fantasy film, and there is nothing wrong with that.  Aquaman is solidly entertaining.

If Aquaman must be accused of copying other films, in terms of visual concepts and world-building, Aquaman leans heavily on the Star Wars prequel films and on Tron: Legacy.  And once again, there is nothing wrong with that.  Many big-budget, tent-pole films borrow from other movies of similar to its type.  Aquaman dazzles the eyes and blows the mind.  It is such a spectacular visual effects feast for the eyes, senses, and imagination that I am surprised that it did not get any Oscar nominations in the categories of visual effects, art direction-set decoration, and costume design.  That such a visually resplendent film did not get in Oscar nominations says something about the nominating process of the Academy Awards in many areas.

I must admit that I think that this film does have a few sizable problems.  Aquaman's stiff, overly-formal, highfalutin' dialogue hampers the acting, which isn't all that good to begin with.  The character writing is also average, so it is not as if the actors have much to work with in building strong dramatic characters.  Still, I'd have to be feeling generous to say that Jason Momoa was more than average as Arthur Curry/Aquaman, although he does appear to be trying hard.  Patrick Wilson and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II overact and ham-it-up as Orm and Black Manta, respectively.  Willem Dafoe is practically a wooden idol as Vulko, and Amber Heard seems to think that she is playing Mera in a spoof of a superhero movie rather than acting in a “serious” superhero film.

I would normally give a film with such average character drama on the part of the screenplay and such awkward acting a grade of “B.”  The directing by James Wan is strong enough, however, and, once again, the film is such a visual effects orgasm that I will bump up Aquaman's final grade a little.

7 of 10
B+

Saturday, November 28, 2020


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

------------------------

 Amazon wants me to inform you that the link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the ad below AND buy something(s).

#28DaysofBlack Review: "SUICIDE SQUAD" Kills Itself

[It is a testament to Will Smith's status as an international box office star that even after some misfires Warner Bros. looked to him to be the face of their superhero/anti-hero film, Suicide Squad.  The film is actually terrible.  However, five non-white actors play costumed characters in this film, and, at least another five have speaking roles, including the great Viola Davis.  So, no, Suicide Squad is not a “Black film,” but prior to Disney/Marvel Studios' Black Panther, few comic book films were blacker.]

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 8 of 2021 (No. 1746) by Leroy Douresseaux

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

Suicide Squad (2016)
Running time:  123 minutes (2 hours, 3 minutes)
MPAA – PG - 13 for sequences of violence and action throughout, disturbing behavior, suggestive content and language
DIRECTOR:  David Ayer
WRITER:  David Ayer (based on characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics)
PRODUCERS:  Charles Roven and Richard Suckle
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Roman Vasyanov (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  John Gilroy
COMPOSER:  Steven Price
Academy Award winner

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/ACTION/DRAMA

Starring:  Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jared Leto, Joel Kinnaman, Jai Courtney, Jay Hernandez, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Karen Fukuhara, Care Delevingne, Shailyn Pierre-Dixon, Ike Barinholtz, Common, Alain Chanoine, Adam Beach, Scott Eastwood, and Viola Davis with Ben Affleck

Suicide Squad is a 2016 superhero film from writer-director David Ayer.  The film is based on the DC Comics team of antiheroes, Suicide Squad, and also features characters associated with DC Comics' Batman franchise.  Suicide Squad the movie focuses on a team of incarcerated supervillains forced together to save the world from a supernatural apocalypse.

Suicide Squad opens some time after the death of Superman (in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice).  Intelligence officer Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) believes that the United States government must prepare for the day when the next Superman is not so friendly.  She believes that the U.S. government should have its own arsenal of metahumans (beings with extraordinary powers and abilities) to respond to extraordinary threats.  Thus, Waller assembles what she calls “Task Force X,” a team composed of dangerous criminals who also possess super-powers.

She finds that kind of criminal at Belle Reve Prison, a federal penitentiary for metahumans.  The first two recruits are the elite hit man, Deadshot (Will Smith), and former psychiatrist, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), who also happens to be the love interest of Batman's archenemy, The Joker (Jared Leto).  The next recruits include the pyrokinetic (fire-starter) and ex-gang banger, El Diablo (Jay Hernandez); the boomerang-wielding thief, Captain Boomerang (Jay Courtney); the genetic mutation, Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), and the mercenary, Slipknot (Adam Beach).

This group, called “Suicide Squad” by Deadshot, are placed under the command of Army Special Forces Colonel Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) to be used as disposable assets in high-risk missions for the United States government.  Their first mission takes them to Midway City where an apocalypse is brewing, created by a mystical creature familiar to Colonel Flag.

Suicide Squad is a genuinely terrible movie, and dear readers, I don't think that it is worth going into too much detail about all that is bad.  It is also a genuinely disappointing movie, as there are elements in the story that could have been developed to make this a good movie.  The opening sequences, two vignettes about Deadshot and Harley Quinn are... cool.  They made me think that Suicide Squad was going to surprise me and be a good movie...  The scenes between Deadshot/Floyd Lawton and his daughter, Zoe (Shailyn Pierre-Dixon), are also among the too few nice moments of drama in this film.

I would also be remiss if I did not comment on Jared Leto's depiction/version of The Joker.  Following the late Heath Ledger's stunning portrayal of the Joker in 2008's The Dark Knight (for which he posthumously received a best supporting actor Oscar), Leto was in a no-win situation.  Actually, Leto and Suicide Squad writer-director David Ayer do come up with a version of the Joker that is almost a good follow-up to Ledger's legendary turn.  Why do I say “almost?”  Well, it is as if Leto and Ayer got the character right and then, did not have the smarts or had too much ego to stop.  What could have been a truly frightening and terrifyingly creepy Joker often becomes an over-the-top character that causes goosebumps and eye-rolling in equal measure.

Well, I have to give Warner Bros. credit; it has produced three mediocre or bad films based on DC Comics characters, and these movies have all been box office blockbusters.  Suicide Squad was a blockbuster waste of my time.  It is clunky and weird, and does not know if it wants to be a superhero film, a movie about antiheroes, a special forces movie, or a supernatural-fantasy-action movie.  It is like a messy soup with all the wrong ingredients from four or five different recipes.

3 of 10
D+

Saturday, June 10, 2017


NOTES:
2017 Academy Awards, USA:  1 win: “Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling” (Alessandro Bertolazzi, Giorgio Gregorini, and Christopher Allen Nelson)


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

-----------------------

Amazon wants me to inform you that the link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the ad below AND buy something(s).

Movie Review: "Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay" is Way Better Than "Suicide Squad" Live-Action Movie

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 25 of 2020 (No. 1738) by Leroy Douresseaux

Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay – video (2018)

Running time:  86 minutes (1 hour, 26 minutes)

MPAA – R for strong bloody violence throughout, sexual content, brief graphic nudity and some drug material

PRODUCER/DIRECTOR:  Sam Liu

WRITER:  Alan Burnett (based on characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics)

EDITOR:  Christopher D. Lozinsk

COMPOSER:  Robert J. Kral

ANIMATION STUDIO:  DR Movie

ANIMATION/SUPERHERO/ACTION/FANTASY

Starring:  (voices) Christian Slater, Vanessa Williams, Billy Brown, Liam McIntyre, Tara Strong, Kristin Bauer van Straten, Gideon Emery, C. Thomas Howell, Jim Pirri, Dania Ramirez, Dave Fennoy, Greg Grunberg, Cissy Jones, Julie Nathanson, and James Urbaniak

Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay is a 2018 straight-to-video animated superhero film from Warner Bros. Animation.  A part of the “DC Animated Movie Universe,” this film stars the DC Comics antihero super-team, the Suicide Squad.  Hell to Pay finds the squad on a mission to obtain a powerful mystical object that a lot of other powerful people also want.

Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay opens three years in the past.  Amanda Waller (Vanessa Williams) has dispatched Task Force X, her “Suicide Squad” of super-villains and disgraced superheroes, to retrieve stolen intelligence.  By the end of the mission, Floyd Lawton a.k.a. “Deadshot” (Christian Slater) proves his absolutely loyalty to Waller.

In the present, after learning that she is diagnosed with a terminal illness, Waller reassembles Task Force X with a new roster:  Harley Quinn (Tara Strong), Captain Boomerang (Liam McIntyre), Killer Frost (Kristin Bauer van Straten), Copperhead (Gideon Emery), and Bronze Tiger (Billy Brown), with Deadshot as their leader.  Their mission is to find a man whose current identity is that of “Steel Maxim” (Greg Grunberg), a male stripper/dancer.  By a chance of … fate, Maxim is in possession of a mystical black card with the words, “Get Out of Hell Free,” emblazoned across it.  The card is indeed a magical item that will allow a person who is damned, upon death, to get out of hell free.

Task Force X, however, is not the only party interested in obtaining Maxim's card.  Professor Eobard “Zoom” Thawne, also known as “Reverse Flash” (C. Thomas Howell), and his two cohorts, Silver Banshee (Julie Nathanson) and Blockbuster (Dave Fennoy), have been chasing the card for some time.  Plus, Scandal Savage (Dania Ramirez) and her brawny girlfriend, Knockout (Cissy Jones), have their own specific reasons for wanting the card.  But there is one who seeks the card who is so cunning and so powerful that it may take all the other seekers' powers to stop him from getting it.

I rented Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay from DVD.com (Netflix) because I thought I would enjoy it and because I really enjoyed the Suicide Squad's previous appearance in an animated film, 2014's direct-to-DVD film, Batman: Assault on Arkham.  Turns out that I really enjoyed Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay.

The story, focusing on the quest for the card, is a mere contrivance, but the action, especially the brutal fights and violent battles, makes this movie a joy to watch.  There are some dry patches in this film, but the superhero-fantasy violence and the impudent, rude, murderous, and entertaining characters make up for the times when the film slows down.

Tara Strong is … strong in her voice performance as Harley Quinn.  Billy Brown is all righteousness and pathos as the thoroughly likable Bronze Tiger, and Christian Slater is surprisingly slow and steady as Deadshot.  Slater is successful in making Deadshot the center of this 15-ring circus of crazy super-powered people looking for that magical card.  I hated that live-action Suicide Squad film from 2016, and I find the Suicide Squad comic books that DC Comics has published over the last decade to be a bore.  But I am down with animated Suicide Squad.  The best thing that I can say about Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay is that after it ended, I really wanted more.

8 of 10
A

Wednesday, November 18, 2020


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved.  Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

------------------------------

Amazon wants me to inform you that the link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the ad below AND buy something(s).

"Wonder Woman 1984" Makes Virtual World Premiere Tues., Dec. 15th

DC FanDome Presents: “Wonder Woman 1984” Virtual World Premiere Fan-first Event on Tuesday, December 15 at 12 PM PST

Watch the Virtual Red Carpet With the Stars of “Wonder Woman 1984” From Anywhere in the World—Just a Click Away

Certain Lucky Loyalty Program Moviegoers Can Watch the Virtual Premiere on the Big Screen and Be the First Audiences to Experience the Full-length Movie in Select CinemaSafe IMAX & Premium Format Theaters

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--“Wonder Woman 1984” star Gal Gadot took to TikTok and announced that, via the hugely popular DC FanDome virtual event platform, fans around the globe will have a front row seat to the digital red carpet for Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Patty Jenkins’ hugely anticipated DC Super Hero action adventure. Some lucky fans will also be among the first audiences anywhere to see the entire film on the big screen in select theaters around the world.

Jenkins and Gadot stated, “We have the best fans in the world and that’s why we’re so excited to celebrate the launch of ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ in such a big way. Having it be a virtual event allows us to share the moment with Wonder Woman superfans everywhere who might not otherwise have the chance to experience a movie premiere.”

The Virtual World Premiere Red Carpet: Taking place in the ultimate fan-first destination, the DC FanDome Hall of Heroes, “attendees” can join the celebration of the upcoming film. In true Hollywood fashion, the film’s director, Patty Jenkins, and stars Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig and Pedro Pascal – along with a special guest – will be on the red carpet to talk with host Tiffany Smith, and answer questions from fans. As Gadot herself revealed via TikTok today, the virtual event takes place on December 15 at 12:00 PM PST.

When they “arrive,” viewers can check out the massive screens within the Hall of Heroes as they project fans from around the world. Next, they will be treated to a special behind-the-scenes featurette, leading into the talent from “Wonder Woman 1984” stepping onto the carpet and into frame for an exciting conversation about the film. Later, the audience will enjoy a one-of-a-kind performance from world-renowned composer Hans Zimmer, who created the score. And there will be an exclusive sneak peek at the highly anticipated film.

To watch the Virtual Red Carpet, fans can go to:

•     DCFanDome.com, which will be supported across all WB, DC, HBO Max and AT&T social channels; and
•     TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook.
•     On Demand on HBO Max (in app and on the website); and
•     On Demand on talent and Warner Bros./WarnerMedia social channels; and
•     Select exhibition partners.

The In-Theater Virtual Premiere + Feature Film Experience: Certain lucky loyalty program members will be offered the opportunity to watch the Virtual Red Carpet on the big screen in select CinemaSafe theaters in IMAX and premium formats. Immediately following the event, they will be the first audiences to experience the full-length feature film “Wonder Woman 1984.”

DC FanDome Presents “Wonder Woman 1984” will also support World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit, non-governmental organization founded by chef José Andrés that uses the power of food to heal communities and strengthen economies in times of crisis and beyond. Fans interested in donating will find a link on the DC FanDome site beginning on the 15th.

From director Patty Jenkins and starring Gal Gadot in the title role, “Wonder Woman 1984” fast forwards to the 1980s as Wonder Woman’s next big screen adventure finds her riding lightning across the sky, donning wings of gold, and chasing a dream while in pursuit of two new formidable foes: Max Lord and the Cheetah.

In “Wonder Woman 1984,” the fate of the world is once more on the line, and only Wonder Woman can save it. This new chapter in the Wonder Woman story finds Diana Prince living quietly among mortals in the vibrant, sleek 1980s—an era of excess driven by the pursuit of having it all. Though she’s come into her full powers, she maintains a low profile, curating ancient artifacts and only performing her superheroic acts incognito. But now, Diana will have to step directly into the spotlight and muster all her wisdom, strength and courage in order to save mankind from a world of its own making.

The film also stars Chris Pine as Steve Trevor, Kristen Wiig as the Cheetah, Pedro Pascal as Max Lord, Robin Wright as Antiope and Connie Nielsen as Hippolyta.

Charles Roven, Deborah Snyder, Zack Snyder, Patty Jenkins, Gal Gadot and Stephen Jones produced the film. Rebecca Steel Roven Oakley, Richard Suckle, Marianne Jenkins, Geoff Johns, Walter Hamada, Chantal Nong Vo and Wesley Coller served as the executive producers.

Jenkins directed from a screenplay she wrote with Geoff Johns & Dave Callaham, story by Jenkins & Johns, based on characters from DC. Wonder Woman was created by William Moulton Marston. Joining the director behind the scenes are several members of her “Wonder Woman” team, including director of photography Matthew Jensen, Oscar-nominated production designer Aline Bonetto (“Amélie”), and Oscar-winning costume designer Lindy Hemming (“Topsy-Turvy”). Oscar-nominated editor Richard Pearson (“United 93”) cut the film. The music is by Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer (“Dunkirk,” “The Lion King”).

Warner Bros. Pictures Presents an Atlas Entertainment/Stone Quarry Production, a Patty Jenkins Film, “Wonder Woman 1984.” The film is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It will be released in theaters internationally beginning December 16, and in the U.S. in theaters and on HBO Max on December 25, 2020.

www.wonderwomanmovie.com

------------------

Movie Review: "Bloodshot" Surprises

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 23 (of 2020) by Leroy Douresseaux

Bloodshot (2020)

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

Running time:  109 minutes (1 hour, 49 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of violence, some suggestive material and language
DIRECTOR:  David S.F. Wilson
WRITERS: Jeff Wadlow and Eric Heisserer; from a story by Jeff Wadlow (based on the Valiant Comics character)
PRODUCERS:  Vin Diesel, Toby Jaffe, Neal H. Moritz, and Dinesh Shamdasani
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Jacques Jouffret (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Jim May
COMPOSER:  Steve Jablonsky

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/SCI-FI/ACTION

Starring:  Vin Diesel, Guy Pearce, Eiza González, Sam Heughan, Lamorne Morris, Alex Hernandez, Toby Kebbell, Talulah Riley, Siddharth Dhananjay, and Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson

Bloodshot is a 2020 superhero and science fiction film directed by David S.F. Wilson.  The film features the Valiant Comics' character, Bloodshot, that was created by Kevin VanHook, Don Perlin, and Bob Layton.  Blooshot focuses on a slain Marine brought back to life as a super-powered weapon.

Bloodshot introduces U.S. Marine Ray Garrison (Vin Diesel).  After leading a successful rescue operation in Mombasa, Ray and his wife, Gina (Talulah Riley), travel to a beachside town on Italy's Amalfi Coast for a holiday.  However, a notorious terrorist, Martin Axe (Toby Kebbell), kidnaps Ray and Gina and demands that Ray reveal the source of the information the Marines used for the Mombasa hostage operation.  Then, things turn ugly.

Ray awakens in a lab at the headquarters of RST (Rising Spirit Tech), a company that specializes in developing cybernetic enhancements for disabled United States' military personnel.  The company's CEO, Dr. Emil Harting (Guy Pearce), tells Ray that he is the first successful candidate that they have resurrected using a special “nanite technology.”  As he embarks on his first kill-mission, Ray does not realize that very little of what he believes is true.

While watching Bloodshot, I realized that Vin Diesel has starred in a lot of science fiction and fantasy films.  They are an odd lot of high concepts and box office misfires – for the most part.  Bloodshot is one of those films that had its release truncated by the closure of most movie theaters in North America by the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown.  I am not sure if Bloodshot would have been much of a box office hit if it had had a full release...

...But it is a surprisingly enjoyable movie.  The truth is that this is something I would enjoy watching on DVD (which is how I saw the film via DVD Netflix), but, because it is based on a comic book, there is a good chance that I would have made a trip to the movie theater to see it.  Now, that I have seen it, I want to recommend it to fans of movies based on comic books and also to Vin Diesel fans.  Bloodshot is not a “Fast & Furious” film, but its action is... fast and furious... coincidentally.

Bloodshot's revenge-fantasy-within-a-revenge-tale plot delivers a lot of good action sequences.  This narrative's themes, built around the ideas of freedom, choice, control, and reality actually resonate.  While watching this movie, I often found myself asking questions like, “How free am I really?” and “How much freedom of choice is actually of my choosing?”  Bloodshot is like a story by the late author, Philip K. Dick, in which the lead character faces the truth that the reality in which he thinks he lives... is not real... or at least, it is not in his control.

Bloodshot is not a mindless action movie, and it is certainly a stronger take on the story of a military-type discovering that his body or part of it has been stolen than the 2019 Will Smith vehicle, Gemini Man.  However, Bloodshot would be a much stronger film if Vin Diesel were a better actor.  Diesel's acting range mostly runs from smooth guy to menacing guy to enraged guy.  This film's script certainly gives him plenty of scenes when Diesel has to be angry or at least to seethe.  Whenever Diesel's Ray Garrison has to be thoughtful, the film quickly moves on.

As for the supporting characters, the film's writing also doesn't offer anything more than familiar character types.  Still, actor Lamorne Morris manages to make his character, the coding rebel-genius, Wilfred Wigans, excellent comic relief.  Both actor and character are worth seeing again.

So I can honestly say that director David S.F. Wilson delivers a film that is more (at least, a little more) than it seems on the surface.  Bloodshot does not have any of those awful dry moments that make me want to fall asleep when watching an alleged action movie (which happens a lot... the aforementioned Gemini Man).  It is pretty much a fast-moving, highly-entertaining thrill machine.  Bloodshot has an excellent last act featuring a eye-spinning epic battle in and around an elevator shaft, and remember: the writing is smart enough to take its themes and ideas seriously.  In fact, Bloodshot is good enough to warrant a sequel – even if the box office... reality might keep that from happening.

6 of 10
B

Monday, September 28, 2020


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

------------------------------------

Amazon wants me to inform you that the link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the ad below AND buy something(s).

Review: "Teen Titans: The Judas Contract" Turns Out to Be Fun

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 20 (of 2020) by Leroy Douresseaux

Teen Titans: The Judas Contract – video (2017)

Running time:  84 minutes (1 hour, 24 minutes)

MPAA – PG-13 for language, some violence, sensuality, thematic elements and brief drug use

DIRECTOR:  Sam Liu

WRITERS:  Ernie Altbacker (based on the comic book story by Marv Wolfman and George Perez and on the DC Comics characters)

EDITOR:  Christopher D. Lozinsk

COMPOSER:  Frederik Wiedmann

ANIMATION STUDIO:  The Answerstudios

ANIMATION/SUPERHERO/ACTION/FANTASY

Starring:  (voices) Sean Maher, Kari Wahlgren, Stuart Allan, Taissa Farmiga, Brandon Soo Hoo, Jake T. Austin, Christina Ricci, Miguel Ferrer, Gregg Henry, Meg Foster, Masasa Moyo, Jason Spisak, Crispin Freeman, and Kevin Smith

Teen Titans: The Judas Contract is a 2017 straight-to-video animated superhero film from Warner Bros. Animation.  The films stars the DC Comics superhero team, the Teen Titans.  The film's story is based on “The Judas Contract,” the 1983-84 story arc that was published in The New Teen Titans #39 to #44 and in The New Teen Titans Annual 3, which were created by the writer-artist team of Marv Wolfman and George Perez.  Teen Titans: The Judas Contract the movie focuses on the Teen Titans and their battle against an insane cult leader and his conspiracy against them.

Teen Titans: The Judas Contract opens with the original Teen Titans:  Robin/Dick Grayson (Sean Maher), Speedy (Crispin Freeman), Kid Flash (Jason Spisak), Beast Boy (Brandon Soo Hoo), and Bumblebee (Masasa Moyo).  During a mission, the Titans rescue an alien princess, Koriand'r of Tamaran (Kari Wahlgren), also known as “Starfire,” from her captors.

Five years later, Dick Grayson, now known as “Nightwing,” rejoins the Teen Titans, who are led by Starfire.  In addition to original member, Beast Boy, the team is now comprised of Raven (Taissa Farmiga), Terra (Christina Ricci), Blue Beetle (Jake T. Austin), and the current Robin, Damien Wayne (Stuart Allan).  The Titans have been battling a high-tech terrorist organization called “H.I.V.E.” and are trying to find its leader, “Brother Blood” (Gregg Henry), the head of a terrorist cult.

Brother Blood has grown tired of the Titans interfering in his plans, but he desires to possess their powers.  Blood hires the mercenary/assassin, Deathstroke (Miguel Ferrer), to capture the Titans, and to that end, Deathstroke has a spy inside the Titans.

For most of the 1980s, The New Teen Titans was one of DC Comics' most popular comic book titles, and for awhile, it was the publisher's most important and popular title.  “The Judas Contract” was The New Teen Titans' signature story line.  Teen Titans: The Judas Contract the movie is true to the spirit of the original story, both in depicting how close a team of disparate individuals can become and in depicting the sting of betrayal committed by one member against the rest of the team.

I really enjoyed this movie, and I am surprised that I liked all the characters and all the voice actors' performances.  Christina Ricci does stand out and conveys the pathos and conflict within Terra Markov, while Brandon Soo Hoo gives comedic depth and dramatic weight to Beast Boy.  I will note, however, that film director, Kevin Smith, appears as a cartoon version of himself, and Teen Titans: The Judas Contract could have done without him.

Fans of the direct-to-video, DC Comics animated films will find that Teen Titans: The Judas Contract is a high point in this long-running series.  Teen Titans fans will also find that, although the film changes the original story quite a bit, this version of The Judas Contract maintains the core of the comic book original, Teen Titans: The Judas Contract.

8 of 10
A

Sunday, October 25, 2020


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved.  Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

--------------------------

Amazon wants me to inform you that the link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the ad below AND buy something(s).

Review: "The Punisher" Could Have Been... But Isn't

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 64 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Punisher (2004)
Running time:  124 minutes (2 hours, 4 minutes)
MPAA – R for pervasive brutal violence, language and brief nudity
DIRECTOR:  Jonathan Hensleigh
WRITERS:  Michael France and Jonathan Hensleigh (based upon the Marvel Comics character created by)
PRODUCERS:  Avi Arad and Gale Anne Hurd
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Conrad W. Hall
EDITORS:  Jeff Gullo and Steven Kemper
COMPOSER: Carlo Siliotto

FANTASY/ACTION/CRIME

Starring:  Thomas Jane, John Travolta, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Will Patton, Laura Elena Harring, James Carpinello, Samantha Mathis, Eddie Jemison, Mark Collie, John Pinette, Kevin Nash, Ben Foster, and Roy Scheider

The Punisher is a 2004 action and crime thriller from director Jonathan Hensleigh.  The film is based on the Marvel Comics character, The Punisher/Frank Castle, that was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita, Sr. and Ross Andru and that made his first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #129.  The Punisher the movie focuses on an undercover FBI agent who becomes a vigilante assassin after a corrupt businessman slaughters his entire family.

The Punisher introduces Frank Castle (Thomas Jane), a Delta Force veteran, who recently completed his final mission as an undercover FBI agent.  After hit men kill his wife, Maria (Samantha Mathis), and their children and leave him for dead, Castle declares a one-man war on the killers’ boss man, Howard Saint (John Travolta), and his organization.  Castle also befriends three lonely misfits who share the rundown apartment building where he holes up, while popping caps and cutting throats during his mission to take down Saint and his organization.

The Punisher may be one of the worst film adaptations of a comic book or comic book character ever made, although it’s certainly not as hard to watch as The Crow: City of Angels, another misbegotten movie based on a comic book character.  The Punisher's pace is ponderous, and its plot is the embodiment of monotony.  All the acting is bad except for a decent performance by character actor Will Patton as Quentin Glass.  The character is gay, and it’s nice to see that that fact is hardly acknowledged, except as a plot contrivance).  Eddie Jemison is also good as Mickey Duka, a flunky, and a character utterly wasted by The Punisher's bad script.

Jane’s speaking parts, both as Castle and as The Punisher, amount to short, tired burst of listless and limp-wristed one-liners.  After this sorry effort as Saint, Travolta will need another career boost from Quentin Tarantino or perhaps some other hot, new director who would just love to have the revolting one in his film.

Yeah, there are plenty of explosions in The Punisher, but they’re like candles on toast.  This movie isn’t even worth recommending as a rental.

1 of 10
D-

Revised and reedited:  Friday, June 19, 2020


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

----------------