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Dead Man's problem is it's black & white. That probably cost it millions in lost box office dollars.

BTW, I love that it's shot in B&W and it's been a favorite of mine since I've first seen it. Then again I've liked the Jarmusch films I've seen.





It is feeling like I am going to be the only person who talks about movies on the internet to like this film. I am quite surprised that this is the case because when I think about the film and what I usually respond to, on paper it seems like it would not be for me. It is a plot heavy, dour film. Character development is not of the utmost importance here. Snyder seems to have an expectation that we already know and understand these characters. It actually seems like an approach that comic book fans have been wanting with their complaints about origin stories but it doesn't seem like it worked for those fans here. We do get the Batman story again, but it is told in what amounts to a cold open. I think it worked wonderfully.

One of the complaints about the film I have read in two or three places is that the motivations of our heroes is thin at best. I feel Snyder handled this very well, and deftly at that. He took by far the biggest complaint about Man Of Steel, the collateral damage, and added it to the beginning of this film so seamlessly that if I wasn't aware of the complaints I would believe that this was the plan all along. We see Bruce Wayne rushing to get to one of his buildings that is part of the damage happening during Man Of Steel's finale. I love the imagery here, of Wayne looking up and seeing the destruction being caused by the fight between Superman and Zod. Which leads me to what I probably like the most about this film and that is the imagery that Snyder uses throughout. In fact I am so impressed by the visuals here that if it wasn't for my couple of gripes this could have well been among the few comic book films that I truly love. Not only does Snyder use the iconic imagery well but the action is all first rate as well. Batman has his normal array of gadgets but, like the origin story aspect, we don't get what feels like reveals of any of his equipment or vehicles. He simply uses them as if they were always there. Although I like the Superman action as well, I feel Batman gets the more memorable scenes. They may be telegraphed, but nothing about comic action gets me more amped than watching Batman come through a wall to surprise an unsuspecting attacker.

As far as the plot goes I was also a big fan of the political aspect of the film. It is simple enough, how would the country react, and what would be the ramifications, if a man who seemingly has the power of a God was suddenly among us? What limitations should we ask him to be beholden to? Would people worship him or think of him as a threat? BVS sets out to answer these questions, and I think does a great job of laying the ground work for them. I think the narrative fits the characters perfectly and it feels like we are headed to a satisfying conclusion because of how well Snyder handles the setup. Unfortunately my biggest problem with the film comes when a turning point completely abandons this plot thread. The moment is not what I am opposed to, in fact I think it is rather good. What I didn't like is that it propels us into a rather ordinary third act instead of the answers I was hoping for. I am holding out hope that Snyder is saving this for future films, time will tell. It certainly brought my rating and enjoyment down a notch here however.

I have also seen several comments around the web that we really don't get enough of Superman vs Batman. The actual fight is short and we basically only get one. Once again, I really enjoyed what we do get. Going into the film I was very interested to see how they would let Batman meet Superman on his level at all. Snyder does a great job here. Superman's weakness is shown early on and the way Batman is able to get access is completely plausible in the reality of the film. This makes the fight itself very memorable and Snyder's direction makes it engaging. I will say the most memorable part of their showdowns for me comes before the actual fight and it involves the Batmobile and Superman's thigh. Pretty good stuff.

In addition to the visuals this film is really good in other technical aspects. I have heard the score mentioned other places and it is indeed great. I took notice of it several times throughout the film and I would definitely say it is my favorite among comic book films. The acting is also very good across the board. I include Eisenberg in this. Most don't seem to be enjoying his Lex Luthor, I thought he was really good. Over the top, yes, but not anymore than other comic villains, and certainly not to an annoying degree for me. I think this character gets just the right amount of screen time and is the proper vehicle to getting our two heroes together at the end. Wonder Woman has also been a point of contention among critics. I certainly wasn't blown away by this character on any level but her presence didn't bother me either. She basically becomes apart of the background of the film until the final act. With the length of the film and the amount of threads being juggled, I feel like this was the perfect place for her at this point. She also gets a pretty cool moment with her lasso. Snyder did just enough here that I will now be willing to check out a stand alone film, something I wouldn't have said previously. I also enjoyed the secondary characters. Alfred and Perry, played by Irons and Fishburne, are very good in the screen time they get. They provide much of the very little comic relief. I don't think the script here is going to be wining any awards, but considering how plot heavy the film is, it is more than sufficent. If it wasn't I don't think the performances would be as solid as they are.

So my major gripe with the film is simply the third act. Third act problems are not new to my viewing experience of any genre however. I think there are many very well conceived films that simply fall apart because the vision lacked a natural ending point. My hope is that Snyder has a strong sense of where he is going moving forward. I think he has laid a very nice foundation despite what almost everyone but me is feeling right now. After Man Of Steel I have a sense he was in a nearly impossible situation. Even in this culture I don't think I have ever seen such backlash for a film before it was even released. I think the fact that DC is setting itself up to compete with Marvel has people wanting it to fail before it has hardly begun. I hope that the competition continues to push both parties to continue to be as creative as possible with characters who are already engrained in our culture.

By no means am I the biggest comic book fan around. I have no nostalgic attachment to the characters. I am not a big blockbuster lover, they are rarely among my favorite ten films of the year. I do however enjoy the experience of an event movie in the theater. I think our technology now has made the tent pole popcorn film more enjoyable than it has ever been. Despite critics feeling otherwise, I don't feel any type of film is creating those experiences better than comic book flicks. That has become especially true now that my children are beginning to get into theses films. DC has a ways to go to catch Marvel who has a huge head start on them and much more backing from the crowds that go see these types of films. I think BVS is a very good start in trying to catch them. My hope is that the crowds that go see this will be more in step with my line of thinking that the internet critics and bloggers that mostly be seeming to really want to take this movie down.

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Miss Vicky's Loyal and Willing Slave
Wow Sean. I'm pretty sure that's the most positive reaction so far on here and I certainly wouldn't have expected it to come from you.

I have heard the score mentioned other places and it is indeed great.
Really? Anytime I had seen Zimmer's score singled out it was for great criticism. I'd seen numerous people complaining about how intrusive and overbearing it was.



Wow Sean. I'm pretty sure that's the most positive reaction so far on here and I certainly wouldn't have expected it to come from you.



Really? Anytime I had seen Zimmer's score singled out it was for great criticism. I'd seen numerous people complaining about how intrusive and overbearing it was.
Goes to show you depends on who you read. I think I probably read half a dozen reviews since seeing it. The score was mentioned twice positively. The others not at all. I loved it.



Excellent Dead Man review Sean . Like Citizen said you really covered everything. I loved it too, still haven't watched anything else from Jarmusch yet though, I did see a cameo of his in the show Bored To Death which was hilarious though, i seriously hope this is how he is in real life



Not been bothered about Batman vs Superman since i heard it was being made. I will probably end up watching it once and enjoying it more than most though since i wasn't expecting much from it. Same reason i didn't hate Man of Steel like most.






Had to go see this after hearing so many good things. I thought it was fine but far from what everyone was describing it as. There are some fun moments but overall it just didn't have the joy and humor of the original for me. It's a kids flick, and that doesn't have to be a derogatory thing.





2013 Director: Don Scardino

Full disclosure, I'm a Carell fan-boy, otherwise I wouldn't have gone anywhere near this movie. I should have stayed away. This is the type of comedy that has no appeal to my funny bone whatsoever. This film is trying desperately to be Anchorman but falls flat in every way. The first 20 minutes gives us a glimpse into the two main stars childhood. Presumably to give us some insight into the characters motivation, and to help us connect with them. Strike 1 and strike 2. Why would you spend 20 minutes of a comedy setting up your hero to be sympathetic to the audience if in the very next scene you plan on making him an unsympathetic egomaniac, inexplicable. Every single character in this movie except for Olivia Wilde's is played completely over the top. Correct that. Apparently they were told to play the character over the top, and then crank it up another notch.

Of course all of this is forgiveable in a comedy if it does the one thing that everyone expects, make us laugh. As you can probably already tell Wonderstone fails here as well. Two jokes landed for me in an hour and a half. When the name of Carrey's characters television show is revealed and the scene after the credits start rolling. Except for those not even a chuckle. It's the same way as I feel about The Office post Carell (in case your wondering why I'm a fan-boy).
Wow, you're certainly entitled to your opinion, but you were pretty harsh on this film...being a Carell fanboy as you put it, you couldn't look past a lot of the issues you had with the film? I agree the film has its problems, but I did find it watchable and haven't enjoyed Jim Carrey onscreen so much in years.



I liked Bernie. Jack Black does a good job with his tragicomic role, and he and Shirley Maclaine make for a compelling combination.

I also really enjoyed Jack Black's other Linklater film, School of Rock.

My favorite Linklater film, though, is without question Waking Life.
Love School of Rock...for my money, Jack Black's finest hour.



The acting is bad, soap opera bad. Some may possibly give Franco or Williams a pass because of the material. However no one will give Kunis a pass when she is transformed into the wicked witch of the west. If you need a reminder of how an over the top stereotypical witch should be played go back and watch a few minutes of Margaret Hamilton's version.
I liked this movie a lot more than you did, but I will agree with you one thing...Mila Kunis...really had a hard time swallowing her as the Wicked Witch...loved Rachel Weicz though.



This sounds really interesting, adding it to my watchlist.
you should,its a movie,for me atleast,thats stays with you for a few days after though...



I know that Carell is a much bigger star than he was when the original was released. Brick is not a character that should be getting a lot of screen time though. The character is simply too stupid and doesn't work. Teaming him with Wiig and making that character just as dumb does not help. I can't remember laughing at any of the time spent with these characters at all.
I pretty much said the exact same thing in my review of this film...Brick became too retarded in this film and his scenes with Wiig were a waste of time.






Director: Martin Scorsese

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie

Scorsese has created the film with the most debauchery in it that I have ever liked and possibly even love. A solid seventy percent of this film is nothing but men living in filth. It becomes too much and is overwhelming but if that is not the point than I don't know what the point is. It is certainly the feeling I came away with and the reason I think this movie is really good. That does not mean however that it is not relentless. Which has had me contemplating two issues. How re-watchable is this film? Where would I trim the fat? The first question matters to nobody but me. The second is more important in my opinion because there were moments in this movie when I was irritated and a couple when I was rolling my eyes. My most irritating scene involves Quaaludes and a Lamborghini. I have heard many pointing to this as one of the highlights,. I will give DiCaprio credit for the physicality of the scene. Beyond that though I found the scene immensely irritating mostly because it felt so implausible. My biggest eye roll involved the main players and discussion surrounding midgets. These were not the only two instances in the film but for me were the most egregious and took me out of the film the most.


On to the good of which there is an immense amount. Everyone in this movie is great, even the unknowns of which there are a few. DiCaprio shines brighter than the rest though. Maybe because he is given the helm but quite possibly because he is one of the best actors working today. He is non stop energy and mouth as the Wolf, and that is fun to watch. There are a slew of scenes that are standouts but one in particular would be my choice for the best scene I have watched in any movie this year. It involves Kyle Chandler, DiCaprio, and a yacht. At first you are not one hundred percent sure where the scene is going or how it will play out for the characters. It is masterfully constructed and as the tension in the scene builds I felt myself both shifting and smiling at the same time. Fantastic stuff and there are plenty more of that. McConaughey is great in the couple of scenes we get to spend with him. Hill also stands out as the best friend and business partner.


The Wolf Of Wall Street is very memorable film about the dangers of excess and the "American Dream". In fact it is a very good movie about those things but falls just short of being great. In fact I feel I watched a superior movie about those things by David O'Russell just a couple of weeks ago. Many have been comparing American Hustle to a Scorsese film. In my opinion O'Russell out-scorsesed Scorsese this year, even if it was just by a little bit.
You liked this film a lot more than I did, but I sure enjoyed reading your review.