OJ's Movie Review - Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

After three years we finally have the Justice League prequel that we didn't really ask for but went along with anyway.

It seems like we've been waiting for this movie for ages; 2016 seemed like the distant future but now it's here and we're finally seeing Batman and Superman on the live-action big screen for the first time ever. So was it worth the wait? Is DC now pointing and laughing at Marvel? Well...
  I'll start with what I liked. The beginning of Batman v Superman was great. The opening scenes were shot extremely well, Zack Snyder knows how to make something look good this movie looks great. And then we get Bruce Wayne's perspective of the last act of Man of Steel and I enjoyed that a lot; it made it seem real and what it would've been like for a civilian perspective which made for some interesting scenes; so the directing itself and the camera work was really well done. And then there were two or three scenes dotted about I really enjoyed too, one including Holly Hunter's amazing acting in the Capitol building scene that was really tense.
  Another positive for me was Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor; I know a lot of people don't like his representation of the character but purely as a movie villain, I thought he did a great job and was very creepy and menacing; he also had this music that played when he appeared and that was great. Hans Zimmer once again delivers a fantastic score.
    Now moving onto what did not work. There's no easy way to put this, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is a complete mess. It is so incredibly choppy I didn't know what I was supposed to be focusing on. There were at least four different movies in here; and they didn't really gel at all. There would be a scene following one character's agenda and then it would cut randomly to a different scene with different characters and I think OK, this is later on now but then after what felt like only a minute it would cut back to the first scene and I was like, "Oh, this is still happening". And it wasn't as if the scenes were related; the whole tone, the music and narrative would change. So imagine that happening with four different movies all at the same time I didn't know what to keep track of in the end. Random things would happen that made no sense and they had no desire to explain them or even hint at why it was happening. Even the characters of Batman and Superman themselves; did you think they had some sort of moral code? Some things that you think Batman doesn't do or Superman we've already seen can't possibly do? Nope, all out of the window without an explanation which made for just a really depressing movie; I cannot think of one scene where something nice or good happened or that justice prevailed or a feeling of satisfaction.
  And don't get me started on easter eggs; I'm obviously not going to spoil them but they were the most forced, shoe-horned, rushed teases I've ever seen. Things I was supposed to be excited for came out of no where and did not fit at all in what was happening.
  In the end, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was a choppy mess with one or two distinct highlights and a good score but with a lack of narrative and so many moments it didn't need I have to give it...

5/10

OJ's Movie Review - 10 Cloverfield Lane

Title, poster and trailer all revealed two months before it's release? I think I'm OK with that.

So 10 Cloverfield Lane stars John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and John Gallagher Jr. The basic premise is that a woman wakes up in an underground bunker where she is told that a chemical apocalypse has made the air outside toxic. That's all you need to know, that's all you want to know. So, let's get into my review...while sidestepping pretty much everything about it.
  First of all I have to give props to the director, Dan Trachtenberg; you've not heard of him? That's because this is his first feature film. I mean seriously, I hope this guy goes on to have a long and successful career. 10 Cloverfield Lane does not look cheap or amateur in any way despite only having about a $15,000,000 budget; he really only had three rooms to film in so it made for some really claustrophobic and uncomfortable moments, and even with a limited setting don't be surprised if your heart starts beating a little faster and tense up. As a summary of my introduction to Dan Trachtenberg: I think he's going places.
  Acting-wise; wow. John Goodman plays 'unstable' exceptionally well; when he's around you're trying to work him out and figure what his deal is and when he wasn't on screen I was just thinking "Where is he. Where is he". Mary Elizabeth Winstead is fantastic as well as this woman who suddenly wakes up not knowing where she is or what's going on; but she wasn't some helpless wimp, she had a bit of knowledge which I think made things realistic. John Gallagher Jr. did well in his role as well; I'm not familiar with his work but he did absolutely fine as his character Emmet. So on an acting front I can't really fault it.
   Now with the plot, I'm not going to spoil anything because I think the less you know before going in then the more you'll enjoy it but if you're hesitant because you haven't seen 2008's found-footage film Cloverfield which has been called "a blood relative" or something, don't worry at all; while a connection is plausible 10 Cloverfield Lane is completely stand-alone. The narrative of this movie itself I think is very rare but utilises some familiar imagery which make for a thrilling experience because you do not know what's coming next.
  As a conclusion, I really enjoyed 10 Cloverfield Lane and it's refreshing to see this sort of originality and an upcoming director.

9.5/10

OJ's Movie Review - Allegiant

It was either this or The Maze Runner sequel, but what's the difference anyway?

So Allegiant is the third film of the Divergent series, an adaptation from one of the many teen post-apocalyptic novels. As I said in my Insurgent review I really enjoyed the first movie, it was very entertaining and it had a good story and characters and the second one I thought was very weak and it didn't really seem to know where it was going until the last act.
  Allegiant picks up not long after it's predecessor and follows Tris, Four and a few others venture out beyond the wall. I'll start with the things I liked about the movie; the cast for one thing are still great. I think Shailene Woodley and Theo James still do excellently as their characters and despite Miles Teller's off-screen persona I enjoy watching him act. A new addition to the franchise is Jeff Daniels who looked like he came straight from The Martian to play the same character, but he suits that type of person so I enjoyed his role here. Another thing I always enjoy with these movies is the world building; I like the look and design of both sides of the wall and find it visually interesting every time I see it.
  Some things that didn't work for me in this movie now. The special effects for some reason, I don't remember it in the previous two films but here quite a lot of the CGI was really noticeable; some of the green screen didn't blend in to well and the flying vehicles sometimes looked a bit video-game quality. It didn't detract too much but it certainly took me out of the movie once or twice.
  Now I have to say the plot was handled better than Insurgent as it had more of a story and actually did things but overall it just didn't seem as big. Amongst the choppiness, Insurgent had tense simulations and a huge reveal at the end but Allegiant seemed just....Okay. It was comfortable, it was mellow, it didn't seem as impacting or meaningful. Also there were some major points that they kind of just brushed over; scenes and reveals I thought were integral to this world were shown or mentioned but nobody seemed to be that bothered and just accepted it.
  In the end although Allegiant was better that Insurgent in the sense of pacing and I enjoyed the landscapes and technology they showed, it didn't quite have the level of interest for me and the climax felt like something you'd see in a TV series.

6.5/10