Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Rating 6 out of 10

I generally love superhero movies, yet have to admit I wasn't really looking forward to this one.  It's getting pounded in the reviews 29% on rottentomatoes.com and I'm not crazy about superhero's fighting each other.  So I set the bar pretty low going into the theater.  I think partly because of that I enjoyed the movie more than I thought I would.

In the end of the last Superman movie in 2013 the evil General Zod intended on wiping out the human population.  In stopping him Superman (Henry Cavill)  battled in NYC taking out half the buildings and probably thousands of lives.  One of those lives was related to Bruce Wayne/Batman (Ben Affleck).  Bruce becomes bitter and holds Superman personally responsible (Did he miss the part where Zod was trying to kill all humans and Superman stopped him?  Yes he did) Batman sets out to kill Superman.  In the middle of the fight is Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg- I took it as he was the Lex Luthor's son but have had people disagree with me. Your milage may vary) egging the battle on.  He doesn't much like either guy.

This good in this movie-  I thought Ben Affleck did a fantastic job as Batman.  Even Gal Gadot was good as Wonder Woman when I thought she was too skinny for the part. I'm sure she will get her own movie soon.  The battle scenes are very good.  Batman's cars and planes are great.

The bad... Unfortunately I put the blame on director Zack Snyder (who directed my all time favorite the 300).  The movie is WAY too long.  The nearly 2.5 hour movie could have easily been sliced 45 minutes to an hour.  The movie is all over the place, especially in the early going.  Do we really need to see Bruce Waynes parents being shot not once but several times?  A strange conversation between Superman and his dead father? Introducing Aquaman (in preparing for upcoming movies) shows him in a short clip underwater then shooting a boat with his big fork thing and gone?  The biggest issue is they took almost all the fun out.  It's very dark and brooding from A-Z.

This could have been a much better movie. I was entertained but would not go back for a second viewing.

Gods of Egypt

Gods of Egypt

Rating 6 out of 10

I generally like these type movies. Not sure why.  I like Gerard Butler (Leonidas!) and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones! Not sure why he needs three names).  I wanted to see it when it first came out but the terrible reviews scared me away.  A boring rain day and having seen most everything else I decided to give it a shot.

In the movie as you can tell from the title there are Gods in Egypt that are living and working with mortals.  Osiris (Bryan Brown) has ruled Egypt for many years in a kind and peaceful way.  He is turning the kingdom over to his son Horus (Nikolaj).  Unfortunately Osiris evil brother (Set- Gerard)  comes to town and does bad things.  It's up to Horus and his young friend to save the day.

Plot really doesn't matter with this one.  The action is not bad.  The effects are mostly pretty good.  A surprising number of big named actors.  I was mildly entertained for an early show.  It would make a good rental if you like these type movies.

10 Cloverfield Lane

10 Cloverfield Lane

Rating 7.5 out of 10

My first thoughts on this movie was it wasn't for me.  I don't get much out of "scary" movies or low budget strange movies.  I saw some good reviews that sounded interesting and then people I knew saw and liked it.  Okay I'll give it a try.  I was glad I did.  This is a movie where the less you know about it going in I think the more you will enjoy it.

Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is leaving town after a marital breakup when she is in a bad car wreck.  When she wakes up she is in a bunker looking place with few memories of what happened.  In that bunker with her is Howard (John Goodman).  He built and stocked the bunker feeling sure an attack of some sort was imminent and he would be ready.  She is told an attack happened outside and the air won't be ok to breathe for atleast a year or two.  Not sure if the attack was from another country or aliens.  Either way you can't go outside to find out.

Is he smart enough to save everyone or crazy as a loon?  That's the movie.  Things movie at a fairly slow pace leading up to the satisfying ending.  I was entertained.  Not really a scary movie but made me jump several times.  If you plan to see this movie try to know as little as you can going in.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

Rating 5 out of 10

Clearly I am a fan of Tina Fey.  Why else would I continue to see her movies.  I liked her tv show 30 Rock and even read her autobiography Bossypants (very good).  The best thing I can say about this movie is it's definitely better than her last one (Sisters). This is not a bad movie, but it's not a real good one either.  I like movies to go from point A to point B and in good movies sometimes C and D. This movie starts at A and kinda meanders there.

Tina plays real life person Kim Barker who while working at a low level tv job is looking for a change in her life.  When an opportunity comes to go to Afghanistan and become an on air reporter she jumps at the chance.  The first part of the movie has some funny parts where Kim is getting immersed into the very different way of life.  She befriends a pretty blonde reporter (Margot Robbie- very underused here) and works her way into position to get the big stories that will make her famous.

The movie doesn't really go anywhere.  It's more a few years in the life of type of movie.  Tina Fey does a good job.  Billy Bob Thornton is good as the mean general she has to deal with from time to time.  This would make a decent rental or watch on HBO.  Wouldn't recommend spending your $ on a theater ticket.

London Has Fallen

London Has Fallen

Rating 6.5 out of 10

I liked the prequel to this movie, Olympus Has Fallen. The crazy shoot 'em up movie where the evil North Korean's attack and take over the white house with intent of gaining control of our nukes.  Luckily ex-Secret Service agent Mike Banning (hunky Gerard Butler) was near by to come in and single handedly wipe out a couple dozen bad guys and save the day.

Three years later the White House has be rebuilt and President Asher (Aaron Eckart) is nearing the end of his first term and running for reelection. Mike Banning is the presidents lead Secret Service guy and right hand man.  When the British Prime Minister suddenly dies a hastily planned funeral is planned with most every world leader coming to the funeral.  Right in downtown London.  What could go wrong?

Turns out there is an Islamic bad guy still mad about that cruise missile NATO put into his daughters wedding blowing up a whole block yet somehow didn't kill him or his three sons that were there.  It did tho kill his daughter and they are out for revenge.  Somehow he manages to sneak in a couple hundred bad guys and enough explosives to destroy Idaho into London while a huge funeral is going on and all the major politicians in the world are attending.  The bad guy is very determined to not only kill the president but to do it live on the internet to disgrace him for generations.  Good thing Mike Banning is there to go one against a hundred.

I didn't think it was quite as good as Olympus but I was entertained.  Had a 7 rating coming out of the theater then dropped a tad upon reflection.  If you liked the first one you will also be entertained.  Teenager Rocky loved it and thought it was just as good as the first one.  Your milage may vary.