ANT-MAN AND THE WASP Review

I heard a bug hit the windshield on my way home from the theater after seeing Ant-Man and the Wasp and genuinely felt bad about it. If that tells you anything about how well this movie will hit you. That isn't to say this superior sequel to 2015's Ant-Man is something of an emotional roller coaster that evokes real sympathy for characters that get minor in the most minor of Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies, but in some ways...it kind of does. In its earnest portrayal of these characters we come to easily invest in each of their plight's largely (isn't that ironic?) because they are dealing in stakes that are so personal and thus small when compared to that of the end of the world. Is it kind of ingenious? Yeah, a little bit considering Doctor Strange goes to another dimension to stop a blob called Dormammu from engulfing the earth and all things considered that should terrify me far more than if Paul Rudd's Scott Lang survives his last few days under house arrest, but it didn't and I would rather watch Ant-Man and the Wasp a hundred times over than sit through Doctor Strange again. The best part of that? Doctor Strange isn't a bad movie by any stretch of the imagination. Rather, Strange is simply a generic and forgettable one in the scheme of the last decade of MCU films whereas director Peyton Reed (Ant-Man) and writers Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Andrew Barrer, Gabriel Ferrari, as well as Rudd himself lend their movie a more memorable signature by allowing it to indulge in its inherent goofiness while simultaneously proving this isn't as cheesy an affair as it has to be. I mean, the basis of a super hero being a super hero because he shrinks down to the size of an insect and can then communicate with said insect is a premise wholly owed to whatever drug-induced haze Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby were in at the time (1962 to be exact) which isn't a bold claim considering Lee's cameo here hints at how crazy the sixties were, but the fact is despite their powers being corny and their abilities being used more so for their own agendas than maybe any other heroes in the MCU Reed is still able to execute and exhibit these technologies and the capabilities they enable in ways that are effective and dare I say it...even kind of cool. There are less than a handful of big action sequences here, but that doesn't matter because everything about Ant-Man and the Wasp is enjoyable, but more each of those few action sequences are crafted in ways where it feels every facet of who these characters are and the world they exist within is being utilized in creative and fun ways. This kind of passion for the material also assists with the level of compassion we, the audience, feels toward the characters and thus the level of investment we pledge to what is admittedly a less vital piece of the MCU puzzle. That Ant-Man and the Wasp challenges this precedent set by the first film is enough to solidify its worthiness among the ranks as well as its quality outside of them.

New Trailer for ANT-MAN AND THE WASP

Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige are wasting no time in ramping up the promotional campaign for their follow-up to Avengers: Infinity War with the sequel to 2015's Ant-Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp. Though Ant-Man and the Wasp apparently takes place before the events of Infinity War as does next March's nineties-set Captain Marvel it seems a foregone conclusion that either film will offer little in the way of answers to some of the questions that third Avengers film poses. Of course, we could see some type of serious foreshadowing depending on how exactly Paul Rudd's Scott Lang went about staying off the grid after Captain America presumably broke him out of prison after the events of Civil War which might in turn provide reason as to why Ant-Man was nowhere to be seen in Infinity War, but we'll have to wait and see as we have just over two months until the next MCU film hits theaters. Joining the company of Jon Favreau, Joss Whedon, and James Gunn director Peyton Reed is only the fourth director in the MCU's history to return for a sequel (though the Russo brothers still lead the pack as they will have directed four MCU films come next May). Of course, you may remember that there was a lot of fuss around the first Ant-Man given Edgar Wright's involvement in developing the script and even casting many of the key roles before dropping out of the project mere weeks before principal photography was due to begin due to "creative differences". Despite the late-in-the-game roster change it was easy to see the DNA of Wright all over that initial film and so it will be interesting to see what Reed and what seem to be his two writing teams that took a pass at the script (Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari breaking into the big time while Chris McKenna and Eric Sommers of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and The LEGO Batman Movie) come up with as Rudd also received a writing credit. Of course, the biggest draw of this sequel is that Evangeline Lilly will finally get to suit up as The Wasp and join Rudd's Lang in the action and while MCU heroes have had sidekicks before (The Falcon to Captain America, War Machine to Iron Man) the MCU has never touted one in the title of one of their films nor has one ever been female. Here's to change and here's to hoping change is good. Ant-Man and the Wasp also stars Michael Douglas, Laurence Fishburne, Walton Goggins, Michael Peńa, Hannah John-Kamen and opens on July 6th, 2018.

LAST FLAG FLYING Review

It's 2003 and the memory of 9/11 is still fresh in the minds of most people. It's a time when men of a certain age found the noble thing to do to be to stand up and volunteer to fight for their country, to hunt down the Taliban, and rid the world of this evil that dared to disrupt the previous decade of peace America had experienced with the end of the Persian Gulf War in 1991. This marked the first opportunity for those that were just old enough to remember hints of the conflict in the Gulf War that presented a cause of their own to fight for. One of those who decided to take it upon themselves to do so was Larry 'Doc' Shepherd's son, Larry Jr., a Marine who we learn at the onset of the latest film from director Richard Linklater (Dazed & Confused, the Before trilogy) has been killed in action. It is in this tragedy and the context of these events that Linklater and co-writer Darryl Ponicsan, who also wrote the book this film is based on (and is something of a spiritual sequel to his 1970 novel, The Last Detail, which was also turned into a movie starring Jack Nicholson), come to examine the toll taken, the treatment versus the empty appreciation, and if the ultimate sacrifice would have been an easier route to take than the price most veterans pay for the rest of their lives. Last Flag Flying was initially published in 2004 and so it is very much a product of this great national tragedy itself where there was this immediate unification and call to action that lasted until many soldiers seemed to realize that such action wasn't all it was cracked up to be. That said, Linklater doesn't seem to be interested in making a political film, but rather one about the particular personalities of his three subjects and the necessary appreciation of their perspectives. It just so happens the military and the military lifestyle play a major role in who each of these men were and still are due to the fact this all-powerful entity is still dictating the way in which their lives and the lives of their loved ones do or do not play out. Like many Linklater films, there is more to Last Flag Flying than initially meets the eye as, on the surface, this largely looks to be a road trip movie that documents the rekindling of friendships with the power to work as a healing process for a single parties recent tragedy, but while the film serves this obvious purpose it also means to be a meditation on identity as well as who and/or how we allow that identity to be defined after we're gone.

First Trailer for Richard Linklater's LAST FLAG FLYING

The latest film from director Richard Linklater (Dazed and Confused, Boyhood) is upon us and while last year's rockus spiritual sequel to the auteur's breakout hit was an equally fun and insightful time at the movies it looks as if Linklater has switched back to more somber material for his latest endeavor as Last Flag Flying follows a former Navy Corps medic Larry "Doc" Shepherd (Steve Carell) who re-unites with old friends thirty years after serving together in Vietnam to bury his son, a young Marine killed in the Iraq War. Doc's friends include ex-Marine Sal Nealon (Bryan Cranston) and Reverend Richard Mueller (Laurence Fishburne) with the dynamic and history between the three seeming to carry the weight of the majority of this film as each of the three leads come to learn more about themselves and the lives they've led thus far through both their offspring and those they've met along the way. Based on a novel of the same name by Darryl Poniscan who adapted his own work into the screenplay with Linklater co-writing this looks to blend a variety of things that Linklater does well behind and through the camera. If you've ever seen any of the Before films then you're aware how engrossing Linklater can make a movie that contains nothing more than two people talking. And so, if Last Flag Flying was little more than these three incredibly charismatic actors sitting in a car talking about their lives and experiences as directed by Linklater I'd have no doubt it would be stellar, but considering the magnitude and timeliness of the circumstances not to mention the weight of the baggage that each of these three men certainly carry there is a whole other level that Linklater will be able to work with and on. As for the trailer itself, this looks appropriately solemn with, again, the three lead performances seemingly balancing the complex and various human emotions such a story no doubt entails. Last Flag Flying also stars Yul Vazquez and Cicely Tyson and will have its world premiere at the New York Film Festival on September 28th before opening in limited release on November 3rd.

JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2 Review

It is amazing how well John Wick: Chapter 2 actually works. There is no reason this unexpected sequel works as well as it does as the original was designed to be a contained story, a simple and straightforward revenge tale, but the biggest obstacle John Wick: Chapter 2 was going to face is seemingly overcome within the first fifteen minutes-Chapter 2 gracefully jumping over the hurdle to move on rather swiftly to establish a bigger picture for which to further justify the existence of this film while simultaneously setting up what is clearly meant to be a trilogy capper. Never would I have imagined sitting in the theater nearly two and a half years ago that this stylish, but seemingly unexceptional action flick would not only reignite the fire for Keanu Reeves, but prove itself one of the better action flicks of the last decade. Having re-watched the first John Wick this past week before venturing out to see Chapter 2, I easily enjoyed it more than I had initially-the world in which it established suddenly becoming all the more appealing, the empathy in which it developed for its titular character becoming all the more palpable. This isn't traditionally a reaction I have to films when re-visiting them. If anything, most movies lose a little bit of their charm on repeat viewings-the cracks becoming clearer than they were upon first glance, but it was very much evident by the time the credits rolled that John Wick was meant to be appreciated for more than just the surface pleasures despite being a movie all about the surface pleasures. For as much as the movie served as a platform for Reeves and his stuntmen to go through set piece after breathtaking action set piece it really allowed Reeves the opportunity to play a character who doesn't emote much in a forward fashion, but who bottles it up and exudes it through these actions. This isn't to say the two John Wick films have a giant amount of substance to them, but that they are the rare type of action blockbuster that executes their necessary beats accordingly while at the center featuring an individual we can really get behind, someone we really feel invested in, sorry for, and connected with-so much so that despite the fact they murder countless people at point blank range, some of which probably had no desire to face Mr. Wick, he is still the one we root for come the end of the day. John Wick is the one we want to see walk away from the explosion unharmed; the one we want to see fire the last bullet; the one who we want to be still standing when the smoke clears muttering, "I told you so." This sounds simple, but it is not for nothing that this affection comes to exist.  It is on this affection for our titular character that these films separate themselves from the pack.

PASSENGERS Review

Passengers is a movie of ideas that doesn't necessarily know how to expand on those ideas and so it ends up devolving into and relying on conventional blockbuster factors. Passengers is a movie where the third act requires some amount of action and thus the reason for the inciting incident gets a pass while the personal turmoil this movie could have zeroed in on gets passed over. As viewers conditioned to the standard three act structures of most modern screenplays it is easy to see where things are headed for Passengers as soon as the  McGuffin at the beginning of the film becomes the central focus rather than the conflict between what are essentially our only two characters in the film. The movie, and the script, try to justify this decision by having the resolution of that McGuffin allow a certain character to come around to what had previously caused them great strain and shock. In essence, Passengers takes the easy way out and we all know taking the easy way out more times than not is also the least rewarding route. By choosing to travel the path of least resistance screenwriter John Spaihts (Prometheus, Doctor Strange) sentences the second half of his film to that of just another in a long line of big budget Hollywood blockbusters that favors spectacle over substance. I realize that such a complaint might sound as rote as I'm describing the last act of this movie to be, but when the main idea of your film turns out to be little more than, "Don't get hung up on where you'd rather be, but make the most of where you are," and that idea is ultimately conveyed as cheesily as it sounds there's a serious issue with Hollywood's aversion to risk. One can feel the board room manipulating what might have been a more interesting or at least more complex character piece dealing in intense moral conflict being turned into an action set piece that is never really clear on the mechanics of what all it is trying to accomplish as far as making sense to the audience, but at the very least communicating that our main protagonist wasn't totally wrong in doing what he did and therefore giving him no reason to feel as bad or as conflicted as he might have would the film have not given him the best possible outcome considering the scenario. Passengers had potential, it surely did, and there is still much to admire here, but when Hollywood takes the safer route over the more challenging one it gives audiences no option but to be lazy and not the least bit surprised.

First Trailer for JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2 Starring Keanu Reeves

The first trailer for John Wick: Chapter 2 has arrived starring Keanu Reeves, John Leguizamo, Lance Reddick, Bridget Moynahan, Ian McShane, Laurence Fishburne, Ruby Rose, Common, Peter Stormare, and Riccardo Scamarcio. The film opens on February 10th, 2017. I'll have thoughts up later, but wanted to post the trailer as soon as possible.

First Trailer for PASSENGERS Starring Jennifer Lawrence & Chris Pratt

With The Magnificent Seven arriving in theaters this weekend and given that film also stars Chris Pratt and is also financed and distributed by Sony/Columbia Pictures it is no surprise we are finally getting our first look at Passengers today. As the film with the best chance for an out and out original property to break out this year the Pratt/Jennifer Lawrence vehicle has become something of a poster child for whether or not the original property still has any weight attached to it when the closest thing to what are current "name on the poster" movie stars are starring in it. Lawrence is indisputably the biggest star on the planet and Pratt is on a roll with his back to back to back successes of The LEGO Movie, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Jurassic World. If Magnificent Seven ends up doing well in terms of box office (as it seems to be getting favorable if not unremarkable reviews from critics) this will only point to more promise on the potential returns for Passengers. Coming from an original screenplay by Jon Spaihts (who famously wrote the first draft of Prometheus) and telling the story of a spacecraft traveling to a distant colony planet that is transporting thousands of people and has a malfunction in one of its sleep chambers leaving a single passenger awake for the ninety year journey things are immediately engaging. As this unlucky passenger, Jim Preston (Pratt), contemplates the idea of growing old and dying alone he eventually decides to wake up a second passenger named Aurora (Lawrence). It's funny Lawrence's character shares her name with Sleeping Beauty given the circumstances of the situation and would seem to hint not so subtly at where the film will eventually end, but that is also the beautiful thing about such a story: outside of the obvious there are so many places such a premise could take us. Directed by Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game) this first look trailer allows the film to at least seem as if it will make good on the promise of attempting to explore more ideological headspaces than those of standard adventure/sci-fi conventions. I was a fan of Tyldum's Oscar contender a few years back and still need to get around to his highly praised 2011 film Headhunters, but all in all I'm pumped for even the idea of a big-budget original sci-fi flick. Passengers also stars Michael Sheen, Laurence Fishburne, Jamie Soricelli, Aurora Perrineau, Kristin Brock, and opens on December 21st, 2016.

BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE Review

It's important to remember that each individual comes to a movie not only with certain expectations and preconceived notions, but a different life experience up until the point they view a movie that will inform how they respond to a given piece of entertainment. I'm a child of the nineties, a product of Power Rangers and Capri Sun's; a time when what some would argue the best iteration of Bob Kane's Batman character would be brought to life. I'm of course referring to Batman: The Animated Series which ran from 1992-1995 and more or less became the defining Batman in my life-the Batman all other Batman's would be chasing from that point on. Too young for Michael Keaton's movies and too juvenile to initially understand just how bad Joel Schumacher's films were, the animated series brought to life the most genuine and credible version of the superhero my generation (or any other up to that point) could imagine. I adore the Christopher Nolan trilogy and what he did for the genre as a whole. I will forever hold that trilogy in high regard and The Dark Knight as one of the single greatest theater-going experiences of my life. Eight years after the Nolan/Christian Bale epic that will go down in history as the best live action version of Batman thanks to the late Heath Ledger's performance we now have the next attempt to bring the caped crusader to life in what is more or less the sequel to 2013's Man of Steel. Jump-starting the DC Universe in an attempt to catch up with Marvel Studios, director Zack Snyder and his team have delivered a film that seems to want to bring the tone, artistic quality, and believe it or not...the fun of that nineties animated series to life on the big screen, extended universe and all. This is where I come at the movie from. A place of balance between what was my childhood Batman (never having a large affinity for Superman given he never had as influential an animated series) and what is my more mature, realistic Batman in the Nolan trilogy. It's a parallel that worked out well for my progression from child to adult and so, the big question was: where would Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice fit into this scheme and how would everything I've seen and read of these characters inform my response to Snyder's bringing together of these two icons on the big screen for the first time? For this particular viewer: I enjoyed the hell out of it.

Final Trailer for BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE

It appears that after Warner Bros. dropped that second full trailer in December (you know the one that caught all the backlash for essentially giving away the whole movie?) they felt the need to give audiences one more, hopefully reassuring look at Zack Snyder's Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice before it bows at the end of next month. Well, it seems they've more or less succeeded. Opening with an extended sequence and the boldest look we've had at Ben Affleck's Batman yet this trailer quickly sets up a different tone than that hinted at in the previous trailer and stick with the Batman versus Superman conflict throughout. Due to the fact I still believe there was no need to show us anything more after last years Comic-Con trailer I'm somewhat disappointed there is yet another trailer for the film, but I understand the need and the strategy. All of that aside, I'm as excited for this movie as anyone, but my hope to walk into the film and still be mostly in the dark about what we were getting seems to be getting smaller and smaller. Fortunately, with this latest trailer, the new footage gives us a look at the aspect of the film audiences have been most curious about without completely spoiling anything in the fashion of the previous trailer. We get a quick tease of Batman's hand to hand combat style and then are thrown into a montage of footage we've seen before save for that last, pretty glorious shot. Of course, as I've said before, all of this is said with a sense of optimistic reservation as director Zack Snyder is a master of the movie trailer, but the final product doesn't always live up to such promises. We'll see if Snyder can deliver sooner than later now. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice stars Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne, Diane Lane, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons, Scoot McNairy, Jason Momoa, Holly Hunter and opens on March 25, 2016.

New Trailer for BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE

Back in April we caught our first glimpse of footage from Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice, and then in July we received the three and a half minute Comic-Con trailer that was absolutely bonkers. Offering an in-depth look at both how the film connects to MoS and why the caped crusader is so angry with the last son of krypton, that trailer seemingly sold everyone on the idea that this movie could be as epic as it sounded. Given there was still eight months to go until the actual release of the film at that time though, I knew it wouldn't be the last trailer we would see for the film. My hope, however naive it might have been, was that Warner Bros. might simply re-fashion the Comic-Con trailer into a two-minute version with maybe a few new shots included in the montage build-up that would undoubtedly come at the end of the trailer. There was no need to show us anything else, but after the release of the forty second teaser on Monday it was clear this wouldn't be the case. I'm as excited for this movie as anyone, but I still want to be mostly in the dark when walking into the movie this Spring. Fortunately, with this latest trailer, the new footage gives us a look at the humorous side of things in the all too "dark and serious" DC Universe while also offering a glimpse at the bigger plot and main antagonist outside of the titular showdown. Of course, as I've said before, all of this is said with a sense of optimistic reservation as director Zack Snyder is a master of the movie trailer, but the final product doesn't always live up to such promises. Can Snyder's ultimate super-hero smackdown live up to the greatness his trailers have promised thus far? We'll find out soon enough. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice stars Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne, Diane Lane, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons, Scoot McNairy, Jason Momoa, Holly Hunter and opens on March 25, 2016.

Comic-Con Trailer for BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE

This post might now be late to the game, but it is content worth posting none the less. A lot of things were talked about and released over the weekend with San Diego Comic-Con taking place, but the new trailer for Zack Snyder's Man of Steel follow-up was arguably the biggest. We caught our first real glimpse of footage from the film back in April, but this new, three and a half minute trailer is absolutely bonkers. Offering in-depth looks at both how the film connects to MoS and why the caped crusader is so angry at the last son of krypton, Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice looks to be every fanboys dream come true. Mind you, this is all said with a sense of optimistic reservation as director Snyder is a master of the movie trailer. I can remember seeing the Watchmen trailer for the first time in front of The Dark Knight and despite not being familiar with the source material, adoring it. The same could be said of Sucker Punch which looked insanely cool and was an original property to boot. That the final products for both of these films turned out to be somewhat underwhelming was disappointing given their promise, but also makes it tougher to get too excited for a Snyder film based on their trailers. MoS also had a fantastic trailer, but I am among those who really enjoyed that film and that affinity has not faded with repeat viewings. Can Snyder's ultimate super-hero smackdown live up to the greatness this trailer promises? We'll find out soon enough. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice stars Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne, Diane Lane, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons, Scoot McNairy, Jason Momoa, Holly Hunter and opens on March 25, 2016.

Teaser Trailer for BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE

My apologies for being late to the game with this one, but I've been away from the internet for the majority of the day (and man, did it feel pretty good). This is the biggest kind of news though so I imagine I should write something up about it considering it's what any die hard movie or comic book fan has been looking forward to for nearly two years now as it was at 2013's San Diego Comic-Con that director Zack Snyder announced his sequel to Man of Steel and that Batman would officially be joining Superman on the big screen for the first time. Since then it seems every bit of information surrounding the film has been teased out into news story after news story. Well, after a quick twenty-second tease yesterday (Thursday 4/16) on Twitter from Snyder the official teaser trailer leaked online late last night while Warner Bros. has now officially released that same trailer online with promises that those attending the special IMAX screenings of the trailer on Monday will still be the only ones to see extra footage. I can only imagine how long it will take for that footage to leak online. For now though, go ahead and hit the jump to check out the trailer as well as my thoughts on what we've seen so far. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice stars Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne, Diane Lane, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons, Scoot McNairy, Jason Momoa, Holly Hunter and opens on March 25, 2016.

RIDE ALONG Review

Ride Along is something of a normality in the world of comedy. It is perfectly packaged, with standard jokes ensured to offend no one and completely appealing personas playing two archetypes that are sure to be so familiar to general audiences that they will settle right in and enjoy this brief, hour and a half comedy that keeps the laughs and action well balanced while carving out just enough of a niche for Kevin Hart while demonstrating his ability to play a fully formed character rather than just the comic relief. There is nothing terrific or substantial about the film and in fact it is rather sub par in many areas for despite the fact it is competently directed by veteran Tim Story (Barbershop, Fantastic Four) it displays no sense of style or wit beyond that of the typical Hollywood production with enough cash to back its story but not enough actual story or jokes to sustain the simple quotas we ask for from our most commonplace films. That is what Ride Along is after all: a film put together by a committee to appeal to as many people as possible in hopes of creating a bankable star in Kevin Hart that will allow them to roll out films year after year with thin premises, little to no imagination in the script while trusting that the on-set riffs and improvisations are enough to satisfy our need for laughter. In short, if everything goes according to plan Hart will turn out to be the next Adam Sandler (who is now experiencing a slight downfall) and the studios distributing and financing these slapdash efforts will have someone on hand that is a sure bet. Ride Along will be that solidifying film for Hart and he does fine with what he has to work with here making the most out of the otherwise dry material. There are movies like this, movies so obviously put together by a board room that I can't buy into it and I'm unable to get past the fact I'm not seeing a specific vision of what this story was supposed to be, but rather a combination of several ideas with only the intention of pleasing as many people as possible to get the biggest profit. I typically can't take films like this and while I understand these kinds of films aren't made for critics or true cinema fans, but despite all of that this commonplace comedy that has five writers names attached to its screenplay and a director who seems to be on autopilot I didn't mind what Ride Along had to offer even if it was nothing more than a brief diversion.

EDITORIAL: Affleck Is The Bat and There's No Going Back

God...Talk about REALLY BAD casting...And now begins the second downfall of the Batman series...the film after this will probably introduce Robin...then Batgirl! I am NOT seeing this movie if he is in it. There are over a million better choices, they could have picked someone off the street at random and made a better choice.

If you are taking in these sentences as my reaction to the recent news that Zack Snyder, director of Man of Steel and its upcoming sequel that will feature Batman, has cast Ben Affleck as the caped crusader well, you would be wrong. First of all because this wasn't my reaction (not even close) to the initial announcement and second because, despite the fact they are reactions, they are not aimed at Mr. Affleck. No, all of the above comments were made on various websites anytime between April and August of 2006. The person on the receiving end of all this criticism was Heath Ledger. When it was announced director Chris Nolan had cast the charismatic Aussie in the role of Batman's most notorious nemesis there was no shortage for cries of blasphemy or people proclaiming no one would ever measure up to Jack Nicholson from Tim Burton's 1989 film which in itself caused controversy by casting an actor known mainly as a comedian to play a vigilante that dresses up like a bat. As we all know now, both of these decisions turned out to be pretty well gauged and the people behind the scenes actually did have a pretty good idea of what they were doing. The argument will naturally be made here that Snyder is no Nolan (no, he isn't) or Burton (debatable, both have a flair for placing style over substance) and that he doesn't really know where he wants to go with this new incarnation of Superman and has simply placed Batman in the center of it to make the transition from stand-alone super hero films to crossovers more convenient for the folks over at DC to put together a Justice League film that might finally put them on track with what Marvel studios has now been doing successfully for over five years. If that is true the fan boys crying foul at the hiring of Affleck certainly stand a better chance of being proved right, but I'd like to believe that with the point Affleck is at in his career he sees something in this project that he can bring to the table. A fresh and interesting version of the Batman we've yet to see on screen before. Regardless of what direction this ends up going though, judgement should be reserved until July 17, 2015 and not a day sooner.

MAN OF STEEL Review

To first put my perspective of Superman in check would be to inform you of what I've seen before. There are of course the first two Christopher Reeve movies (I skipped out on III and IV simply because I've heard nothing but terrible things) from which I moved onto Bryan Singer's 2006 Superman Returns. I enjoyed the romanticism and meditation of that film despite it now being panned by pretty much any fan boy you talk to. I've never seen an episode of "Smallville" and sans for a couple of animated features my knowledge of the DC mainstay is somewhat limited. Thus it was with great anticipation that I looked forward to a new vision, a re-booted film interpretation in line with Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy that has defined the space that films based on DC comics characters will occupy in this Marvel world. Personally, and as much as I enjoy the Marvel movies, I was more intrigued and engaged by the bleak and more serious moods that hung over the Nolan films as they were appropriate to the central characters tone. Though I was slightly concerned with this same tone not applying to the guy commonly referred to as the ultimate boy scout it seems that persona was not always true and director Zack Snyder along with Nolan as a producer and David Goyer (who also penned the screenplay for Batman Begins) have adapted the Superman story to not only exist in a similar universe with Nolan's Batman films, but within his own, more realistic world that doesn't simply pit the classic superhero against a bad guy in order to champion truth, justice and the American way. What they have done here and what makes me appreciate the film all the more is that while keeping in step with the kind of movies Nolan has made DC could attempt a Justice League movie in the future with this as a good place to start, but it also doesn't limit itself to that same completely realistic world of what we know because Superman is an alien and with that they ask the question of what would happen in a real world setting if Superman were to show up. It is that basic set-up that guides the film throughout and, despite a few flaws, had me gushing with excitement for what may come next.

Full-Length Trailer For MAN OF STEEL

Personally, and I am in the minority here, but I was surprised and anxious to see what would come of Christopher Nolan choosing Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen) to take over the Superman directing job. He would no doubt give the series its much needed reboot after Bryan Singer's 2006 Superman Returns failed to resonate with audiences (though again, I personally loved it). When we first caught a glimpse of Man of Steel before The Dark Knight Rises this past summer I was cautiously optimistic that Snyder captured a rough, gritty tone to a character who was always looked at as the boy scout of the super hero community. With this second trailer it seems the director has laid all doubt and worry to rest as this centers around the characters and more importantly the man at the heart of the film. As with Nolan's Batman series this seems to be grounded more in reality where what people might do if a being such as Superman really did exist. It will be an interesting take on the character and I am more than excited to see how this all turns out. We also get a first glimpse here at the Oscar-worthy supporting cast including Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, as well as Amy Adams as Lois Lane and Michael Shannon as General Zod. Henry Cavill seems to be handling the weight of playing such an iconic character with ease and a gravitas that may make even a God-like man relatable to us mere mortals.