Batman v Superman 2016 3 out of 10

Batman V Superman 2016   3 out of 10

 

I'll start by saying that I wasn't among the people dying to see Batman v Superman.  I was uninspired by the trailers for this film and was nervous about the director since I didn't really like Watchman.  I wasn't dying to see Batman and Superman fight because the Batman and Superman that I remember fondly are the Super Friends cartoon.   Plus as far as I was concerned Superman would wipe the floor with Batman.  The shot in the trailer where Superman throws a punch and Batman blocked it made me laugh. 

(Ok so they explain that in the film).

 

 

So I figured that I probably wouldn't see this movie until it came out on Netflix.   But this past weekend I found myself in San Diego checking out of a dreadful hotel (that is a whole different story)  while the girls were at a cheer competition.  After finding a new hotel, my stepson and I needed to kill some time until the girls were done.   There were no new movies out worth seeing so I figured that he might want to see Batman v Superman. 

 

 I figured it couldn't really be as bad as all of those terrible critic reviews?  What to critics know right...  And the angry nerd reviews that came out afterwards were just typical angry nerd reviews.   

I had avoided actually reading the bad reviews choosing to decide for myself when I finally got around to seeing it.   Well I guess critics and nerds were right.

 

I was over an hour into the movie when I realized that nothing interesting had happened yet.   Weren't Batman and Superman supposed to fight at some point?  The movie was just very dull and mindnumbingly boring.  I started shaking my head in frustration as another dream sequence was thrown in to delay the much awaited throw down.  When they finally get to the fight between these heroes, I had kind of stopped caring. The fight itself was good, ubt then the filmmakers  destroyed that moment.  So basically they are telling us that if Superman's mom had been named Bernice instead of Martha --Batman would have killed him???  Hey our mom's have the same name....let's stop fighting each other and be best friends.    This pivotal moment in the film was beyond stupid and ruined any hope of me liking the film.   The battle at the end was a nice cartoon superheroes meets the 300 visual moment---but the story up until that moment lost me completely. 

 

Here are 6 Things I hated about Batman v Superman and 1 thing I liked.

 

6. The reason that Batman and Superman wanted to fight

Batman and Superman wanting to fight each other felt very forced.  I get that Lex was trying to set them up --but half the movie was spent with each of them complaining about each other.  I wasn't buying it.  When Lex held Superman's mom hostage to try and force the fight ---Superman would have addressed that immediately with Batman before fighting him.   Instead of cutting to the chase  with this important info he ends up almost killed.

 

5. Superman and Lois get naughty

What was up with the unnecessary Lois Lane in the bathtub scene.  Seriously.   Not that there is anything wrong with Amy Adams in a bathtub.   Batman v Superman is just not the place for it.

 

4.  Lex Luthor

Lex was always a genius in every other version of Superman. In Batman v Superman he came off as more of a psycho.   Less genius and more Joker or Riddler.  This version of Lex Luthor was terrible.

 

3.  The Kevin Costner Field of Dreams scene: 

The dialogue was terrible and I was half expecting Shoelace Joe Jackson to walk out of the cornfield.  

 

2.  Batman's parents die again

I'm on the record in the Podcast and many of my movie reviews that I'm not a fan of Reboots and retelling origin stories.   For example when they recently rebooted Spiderman in the Amazing Spiderman a few years back,  I felt like I was just watching the same movie I had already seen a few years ago......I'm sick of having my time wasted with original stories of characters everyone in world should already be aware of.   That goes for the  Batman's parents getting gunned down scene followed by him in the cave with bats.....We get it ---we know who Batman is.

 

1.  Martha---Hey that is my mom's name as well moment

This was one of the most contrieved and stupid plot moment.  

This was just terribly lazy writing to get from Superman and Batman throwing punches at each each to working together.  This was definitely the worst moment in the movie.

 

 

The 1 Thing I actually liked

1.  Wonder Women shows up mid fight with Doomsday.  

Her appearance in the fight was the most epic moment in the movie.  Despite the fact that I wasn't happy with the casting of Wonder Woman... her entry into the fight was one of the best moments in the movie.

 

 

My final thoughts:   Batman v Superman was one of the most disappointing big budget movies I've seen in years.  Even going in with low expectations --I can't believe how bored I was watching this movie.     The picture below that I saw a friend post on facebook sums up how I felt about the movie.  

 

I would say skip it and wait for Captain America --which will probably be a much better film.

 

 

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Conan The Barbarian 2011 9 out of 10

Conan The Barbarian 2011 9 out of 10

It was exactly what a Conan should be.....and yet it was an epic failure?

I love sword and sandal movies....The R rated Conan the Barbarian with Arnold and its cheesy but still fun PG sequel Conan the were great.....Years I would read the original Conan stories by Robert E Howard and all of the Robert (Wheel of Time fame) Conan books.

They were great. Set in a world with as thick as Tolkien and filled with sword vs Sorcery. All had similar story lines. Conan battling epic forces to save some girl while still being the Barbarian that he is....I wanted more......I wondered how long it would be before they could bring Conan back with modern day special effects......

Well 2011 was that year. Conan hit the big screen with all the spectacle of modern day film making. They made a Conan movie like those I had read and envisioned in my head....That had partially inspired my own short stories of the Pineappleman (which is part Indiana Jones and part Conan). It was brutally violent and graphic and took you right into the books... Jason Momoa did a great job stepping into the shoes of Arnold and yet the movie was a box office disaster......Why? Bad Marketing? What happened to Conan's big comeback?
The movie was fun and if you have read Conan books captured those adventures very well. So what went wrong? My hopes of a series of Conan movies dashed yet again --just like when Conan the Destroyer under performed. Somehow the public would rather see Smurfs the movie or a 3rd Chipmunks film (yes I understand different audiences) but still... As a fan of big 80's action films I find it really disappointing that Conan will once again drift away from the film landscape... Just when they got it right....

If you like your action bloody, your taverns filled with topless women and your hero carrying around the heads of his slain enemies...check out Conan quickly before it disappears from the big screen for another 20 years.

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The Super, Fantastic, Terrific Podcast #15 In this Podcast we discuss Top 5 Romantic Comedies and Groundhog's Day

Our latest Podcast is now online.  Listen as we discuss our Top 5 Romantic Comedies and our featured movie for the day Groundhog's Day.   

 We dig into the genre and surprisingly all 3 of us had completely different lists. 

We also get an angry phone call from one of our listeners regarding our previous James Bond themed Podcast below:  Leave a comment or share the link to help us grow our audience.

http://www.superfantasticterrific.com/super-fantastic-terrific-show-15-groundhog-day-favorite-rom-coms/

Enjoy the Podcast and find out what made the Andy and Russell's list.

Here are my top 5 Romantic Comedies:    What makes your list???

Number 5

Number 4

Number 3  (our featured film in the podcast)

Number 2

Number 1

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John Carter 2010 8 out of 10

John Carter 2010  8 out of 10 

Based on the writing of Edgar Rice Burroughs (of Tarzan Fame) the film itself is very entertaining.  It isn't on the level of Star Wars or some of the other films they referenced in the late advertising push.  The film was a good solid sci-fi/fantasy picture.  

A Solid 8 out of 10.  It had a good story that has influenced many sci-fi movies that have been made over the last couple of decades which at time makes it feel like it is just copying as a result. 

For those that don't realize it the book series from which John Carter comes was actually the inspiration for many of those films. The box office when compared to the large sum that was rumored to be spent on the film was disappointing  in more ways than one.   If this film had made Star Wars or Harry Potter type money, or even the kind of money that many recent Marvel films had --they could have had sequels for years to come.  There were after all 11 books in the John Carter series.   Alas the lukewarm U.S. Box office killed all of those plans and probably set the stage for Disney to purchase Star Wars.

The movie reminded me of 3 animated movies that I really loved. Atlantis: The Lost Empire,   Treasure Planet,  and Titan AE.  All of these films were action packed adventure films that underperformed and basically killed off more films like them.   Another example of a film like this was the recent Conan Reboot that died a quick death at the box office.  I personally love that film as well.   The lack of blockbuster status may deny us the pleasure of similar films.  

I waited several decades for a new Conan movie and when they finally got it right it didn't bring in the big dollars.   It is sad because there is more to the world of John Carter that we will never see.   Mysteries that won't get solved unless you read the books.  

 Blame it on the bad marketing?  

 Blame it at just the wrong movie at the wrong time? 

 Who knows exactly...

The movie itself follows the adventures of Captain John Carter. 

He is a confederate solider that gets transported to Mars (Barsoom as the locals call it).  He finds himself involved  in the middle of a war.  The movie has a solid plot that is filled with action and adventure and a little bit of humor.  It also has a princess that wears what could have become the new slave Leia outfit for all comic-Cons had the box office been better.  The story leaves you with a satisfying ending that is definitely left open for additional films that will never be made.   If you like good Sci-Fi/Fantasty...check out John Carter.