REVIEW: Suicide Squad (2016)

Theatrical Release Poster - Warner Bros. Pictures
Theatrical Release Poster – Warner Bros. Pictures

The following is a review of David Ayer’s Suicide Squad.

The DC Cinematic Universe needs a hit right now. Man of Steel was polarizing. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was critically panned and it needed an extended cut to fix some of its many problems. Now, Warner Bros. and DC have released a film about bad guys teaming up to do ‘good.’ It may be a bit of a risk, but they are going for a Guardians of the Galaxy-like surprise hit. Unfortunately, Suicide Squad doesn’t hold a candle to the aforementioned Marvel Studios hit. David Ayer’s film is an almost incoherent mess of a film.
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UPDATED REVIEW: Midnight Special (2016)

Jaeden Lieberher in MIDNIGHT SPECIAL — PHOTO: Warner Bros. Pictures.

This is an updated review of Jeff Nichols’ MIDNIGHT SPECIAL. The original review, which can be found here, was updated in June of 2023. Most of the review was rewritten and the score was upped.

Jeff Nichols is one of the most promising young directors out there. His first feature film – Shotgun Stories – was an excellent low-budget revenge tale about brotherhood. His two other films – Take Shelter & Mud – put him on worldwide critics’ radar as they were some of the best films of the years in which they were released. That early filmography highlights an impressive and talented filmmaker who clearly has it within himself to be more than merely an indie darling. With Midnight Special, Jeff Nichols made his first film that is placed squarely in the science-fiction genre, and, back when it was released, it was one of my most anticipated films of that year. To me, this felt like the right moment for Nichols to make a film that could really get his name out there, but, while I did like it when I first saw it, it didn’t immediately live up to the expectations that I had for it. Having now, years later, had the chance to watch it over and over again, I can say that it has only gotten better with each and every rewatch. Midnight Special is an exceptional film that I think I understand much better now.

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REVIEW: Sing Street (2016)

Film Poster - The Weinstein Company
Film Poster – The Weinstein Company

The following is a review of John Carney’s Sing Street.

Sing Street did not get a theatrical release in Denmark, as far as I am aware. So, back when every reviewer was talking about how great Sing Street was, I found out that I had to wait for the Blu-Ray release. I had only heard great things about the film, so I was really interested in it.

Sing Street was never on my list of most anticipated films of the year – even though I really enjoyed John Carney’s last film (Begin Again) – but when people were praising this film as one of the most enjoyable movie experiences of the year, I started to worry that maybe I would be let down when I finally got to see it. Well, now I’ve seen it, and it turns out that it is better than I thought it would be. Sing Street is a wonderful film. Continue reading “REVIEW: Sing Street (2016)” →

Box Office: Doctor Strange Predictions! – Marvelous Monday #54

Marvelous Monday Outline

Firstly, I need to prepare you for a pretty different ‘look’ for Marvelous Monday. It’s my longest running opinion-piece series. I always try to change or tweak the series a little bit, and now I’ve decided to really copy some of what I’ve done with Testing Television.

In every post, I’ll mention the most important pieces of news in a section called Marvelous Bugle, named after the Daily Bugle, of course. And the other section of Marvelous Monday will now be called Opinion, and I’ll give my thoughts there on the topic I’ve chosen for that month.

This month my focus is on what we should expect Doctor Strange to make at the box office, but Marvelous Bugle will be all about what was announced at San Diego Comic Con 2016!

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REVIEW: The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Theatrical Release Poster - Warner Bros.
Theatrical Release Poster – Warner Bros.

The following spoiler-filled review of The Dark Knight Rises was written in August 2016

I don’t think I have ever mentioned this on the blog before, but I’ve only seen The Dark Knight Rises three times. Once in the movie theater, once on Blu-Ray, and once yesterday when I rewatched it for this review. I really liked it when I first saw it in theaters, but, when I rewatched it for the first time, it didn’t work on me as well as it had previously. Following this latest rewatch, I will say immediately that it definitely is not as disappointing as my memory had conjured up. Look, I’m not going to come out and say that this film is an ‘underappreciated masterpiece’ or anything like that — not at all. This film still has its problems. But when I finished rewatching the film last night, I had to admit that maybe I had been a bit too harsh on it for the last couple of years. The online vocal minority has begun to really criticize this film in recent years, but while The Dark Knight Rises definitely doesn’t come close to the quality of the first two films in the Dark Knight Trilogy, I do think it is still a solid ending to an excellent trilogy. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Dark Knight Rises (2012)” →

RETRO REVIEW: The Dark Knight (2008)

Theatrical Release Poster - Warner Bros.
Theatrical Release Poster – Warner Bros.

The following spoiler-filled retro review of The Dark Knight was written in August 2016

I saw this film in a movie theater, but I don’t quite remember how I felt after I first saw it. What I do remember, quite clearly actually, was that my sister bought the Blu-Ray for me as a Christmas gift. I think The Dark Knight is a haunting superhero movie masterpiece, but, for a specific reason, I don’t often sit down to watch it.

I’ve always thought Heath Ledger was an exceptionally entertaining actor, and it was tough for me to hear that the world had lost him when we did. Although he was brilliant in Brokeback Mountain and while I was never worried about what he would do with the Joker character, this performance remains one of the most surprisingly magnificent performances that I’ve ever seen. The Dark Knight wouldn’t be a masterpiece without Heath Ledger’s performance. Continue reading “RETRO REVIEW: The Dark Knight (2008)” →

RETRO REVIEW: Batman Begins (2005)

Batman Begins Poster
Theatrical Release Poster – Warner Bros.

The following retro review of Batman Begins was written in August 2016.

I grew up with many different takes on a live-action Batman and Bruce Wayne. Michael Keaton. Val Kilmer. George Clooney. But it wasn’t until I saw Christian Bale in Batman Begins that I loved, I don’t just mean liked, a live-action version of the character. When I first saw Batman Begins, I hadn’t seen Bale in a lot of films (probably just American Psycho and Reign of Fire), but when I saw Bale as Bruce Wayne I was just overjoyed this was going to be my Batman – like I, at that time, saw Roger Moore as my James Bond. Continue reading “RETRO REVIEW: Batman Begins (2005)” →

9 Masterpieces – The Collection #8

Lawrence of Arabia - Collection

  • Rear Window (1954) – Directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
  • Lawrence of Arabia (1962) – Directed by David Lean.
  • The Godfather (1972) – Directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
  • Taxi Driver (1976) – Directed by Martin Scorsese.
  • Toy Story (1995) – Directed by John Lasseter.
  • The Pianist (2002) – Directed by Roman Polanski.
  • Toy Story 3 (2010) – Directed by Lee Unkrich.
  • Jagten (2012) – Directed by Thomas Vinterberg.
  • Inside Out (2015) – Directed by Pete Docter & Ronaldo Del Carmen.
    Continue reading “9 Masterpieces – The Collection #8” →

Box Office Predictions – August 2016

Box Office Prediction

NORTH AMERICAN OPENING WEEKEND PREDICTIONS:

  • Suicide Squad – Warner Bros. – August 5th, 2016 – $120-130 million
  • Pete’s Dragon – Buena Vista – August 12th, 2016 – $32-37 million
  • Sausage Party – Sony/Columbia – August 12th, 2016 – $25-30 million
  • Ben-Hur – Paramount – August 19th, 2016 – $15-18 million

Why Suicide Squad will make more money in its opening weekend than Guardians of the Galaxy did:

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REVIEW: Preacher – “Call and Response”

Preacher Review Outline

The following is a spoiler review of the tenth episode of ‘Preacher’, available on AMC in the United States and on Viaplay in Denmark.

In the season finale of the first season of Preacher (“Call and Response”), Jesse (played by Dominic Cooper) calls God, Tulip (played by Ruth Negga) presents Carlos to Jesse, Cassidy (played by Joseph Gilgun) gets tortured, and the inhabitants of Annville finally get some answers. Continue reading “REVIEW: Preacher – “Call and Response”” →