Category: Reviews

I remain astonished that the executives at DC Entertainment and parent company Warner Bros were surprised by the nearly uniform negative reaction to March’s Batman v Superman film. The film violated many of the key elements of good storytelling and showed a distinct dislike for the Man of Steel so the resulting experience felt oppressive, dark, and dislikable. Much of the blame is laid at director Zack Snyder’s feet since he edited the film in such a way as to emphasize the Dark Knight over Superman and never really addressed the questions he wisely raises in this sequel to his Man of Steel.

Out tomorrow is Batman v Superman the Ultimate Edition, a combo pack that has the theatrical cut available on DVD and Blu-ray with a second Blu-ray disc containing the three hour director’s cut.

The longer version earned an R rating for the extensive violence throughout although the thirty extra minutes has surprisingly little extended mayhem. Instead, bits of pieces focusing more on Clark Kent and Lois Lane round out the film and frankly, makes the storyline far more coherent. There is a far more appropriate balance between Superman and Batman threads before they meet.

There are still incredibly lapses in story and character logic and the pacing remains bizarre in places. But, it’s nice to see Amy Adams’ Lois Lane actually investigating an event being blamed on her super-lover. She has two nice scenes with Jena Malone who is unnamed but is credited at the end as playing Jenet Klyburn, the comic universe’s head of S.T.A.R. Labs, a nice nod to the source material.

Clark also does further investigating on his own, wondering how Gotham City’s Batman terrorizes the very people he seems to be protecting. Which leads me to some of my biggest problems with either incarnation of the movie. Batman has been operating for 20 years so why is Clark investigating him now and why is Perry White (Laurence Fishburn) so resistant to such a story?

Then we have the eighteen month gap between films which is never referenced so many of the questions Senator Finch (Holly Hunter) and others ask, are ones that should have been addressed prior to this moment. Also, the vitriol aimed Superman’s way for this African massacre is never balanced in the press by the heroic deeds we see in an all-too-brief montage in the half first of the movie. So, there are good themes that never really get properly aired out.

Even Henry Cavill’s Superman starts discussions with Lois about these issues, broods, frowns, and flies off without really talking about it. There are way too many of these moments and robs Superman of any real character arc. Cavill is incredibly ill-served by this film and probably doesn’t mind being dead until resurrected in one of the forthcoming Justice League movies. He can find better acting roles in the meantime.

Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot deliver the film’s two strongest performances with Jeremy Irons’ Alfred and Hunter right behind them. I really liked how Wonder Woman, a warrior, had a grin as she and Doomsday went at it in the climax.

Ah yes, Doomsday. Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor is either loved or hated by audiences but either way you fall, his motivations are all over the place. So, he can’t bring down the “god” of steel by turning him into a murderer (twice) so he endangers all life on Earth by unleashing the unstoppable monstrosity from Krypton? Is he that immoral? Also, in the end, he reveals he’s aware that something dark is coming, which we know to be Darkseid. “The bell has been rung,” he cries but there’s nothing prior to this revelation setting up it up and, ahem, rings false.

Similarly, the pacing is seriously knocked off-kilter when Batman is visited by the Flash (am I the only one who thinks Ezra Miller and costume just look wrong?) and when Diane Prince stops to watch trailers for future films.

All told, the Ultimate Edition makes for a better film, but it’s still not a terribly good one.

The film’s high definition transfer is sparkling which it needed to be considering the dull color palette and all the busy things happening during the action sequences. The audio is sharp and Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL’s heavy-thudding score does not overwhelm the dialogue or sound effects.

On the theatrical version disc, there are a handful of special features but NO commentary, which could have been interesting to see what their true intentions and feelings were. Instead, we get some electronic press kit pieces and some fresh interviews and perspectives. Like the film itself, they take everything way too seriously and don’t really allow themselves a sense of humor.

Beyond the Suicide Squad trailer, the extended cinematic universe is teased in Uniting the World’s Finest; Gods and Men: A Meeting of Giants, traces the meetings between the Gotham Guardian and Metropolis Marvel through the years, in print and screen;  The Warrior, The Myth, The Wonder – The history of Wonder Woman works to ready audiences for Patty Jenkins’ feature, due out next spring; Accelerating Design: The New Batmobile, which now feels like a regular installment per disc; Superman: Complexity & Truth, which explores the movie’s approach to Superman and how the production team interprets truth, justice, and the American way; Batman: Austerity & Rage, a similar exploration with little new to be said; Wonder Woman: Grace & Power; Batcave: The Legacy of the Lair, an overdue look at the coolest hangout in comics; The Might and the Power of a Punch, a look into the making of the fight scenes; The Empire of Luthor, another required look; and, finally, Save the Bats, as the cast and crew raise awareness for Bat conservation in light of the white nose disease destroying the population (for those interested, check out www.savebats.org.

Given that it was the first to wrap its season, it makes perfect sense that Warner Home Entertainment would unleash the complete second season of the CW’s iZombie on disc ahead of the superheroes coming in August. The 4-disc DVD set is coming on Tuesday while Warner Archive will be simultaneously releasing iZombie the Complete First Season and iZombie the Complete Second Season on Blu-ray.

The series is loosely based on the Chris Roberson and Michael Allred Vertigo series and is a quiet success, garnering solid ratings and reviews but without the sturm and drang of its fellow DC properties. In the hands of executive producers Rob Thomas (Veronica Mars) and Diane Ruggiero-Wright (The Ex List), they keep the mood light, the characters quirky, and the plots engaging.

While the short first season set everything up and explored what it means to be Olivia “Liv” Moore (Rose McIver), required to feast on the brains of the deceased to survive but in the eating, gains the dead’s memories and skills, heading off to tidy up unfinished business. The would-be doctor winds up working in the Seattle coroner’s office with Dr. Ravi Chakrabarti (Rahul Kohli), the only one fully aware of her condition and he’s working on a cure, but we don’t want him to hurry.

Rather than deal with the angst inherent in her plight, Liv decides she should embrace her situation and make the best of it, similar to Veronica Mars, providing us with another quirky, positive role model for its teen audience. She plays with a diverse set of supporting players including detective Clive Babineaux (Malcolm Goodwin), who may be the straight man in the ensemble.

As Season Two begins, Liv’s ex-fiancé and love, Major (Robert Buckley), is reeling from recent events and the knowledge that Liv is a zombie, and finds himself allied with Vaughn Du Clark (Steven Weber), ostensibly assassinating zombies but locking them away instead, with consequences for his actions.

Meanwhile, Blaine – now human – struggles to maintain his zombie world; Clive searches for Blaine and suspects Major’s involvement in the Meat Cute massacre; and Ravi remains devoted to finding an antidote to the zombie virus. On the other hand, Blaine (David Anders) is adjusting to life as a human again, but we know that isn’t going to last for long. All along, Thomas and Ruggiero-Wright are tightening the various storylines so by the season’s end, things all naturally brought together while the threat from Stacey Boss (Eddie Jemison) becomes increasingly evident.

Still, Olivia continues to embrace her new roles and this season she sampled being a coach, a stalker, a costumed vigilante (she’s on the CW, its required) or a tough stripper (the inevitable role). There’s plenty of humor to wring from each persona and the cast makes the most of the scenarios, regardless of how preposterous, spooky, or dangerous they appear to be.

Not every episode worked and it’s clear some plot threads were dropped because they weren’t working as planned so the season isn’t perfect. It’s a little ragged here and there, notably, the development of Blaine’s arc, much like a Zombie’s gait.

The second season brings things to a nice boil as Major is arrested, believed to the Chaos Killer. Liv’s only way to save him is to tell Clive of the Zombie threat and reveal her own secrets. This alters the status quo for the third season, due in early 2017, and gives us new ground to explore. That Du Clark becomes an increasing threat is nicely developed and Weber is having a ball in this over-the-top role.

The discs contain all 19 second season episodes, the 2015 Comic-Con Panel, and a handful of fun but non-essential deleted scenes. The high definition transfer to Blu-ray is just fine from an audio and video standpoint. They certainly stand up while being watched a second time. The first season also looks pretty spiffy on Blu-ray and the 2014 Comic-Con panel and deleted scenes are included as special features.

If it takes a village to raise a child, it seems to require an international village to kill a terrorist.  In the contemporary military thriller Eye in the Sky, the moral and legal issues resulting from the decision to launch a drone strike against three of the most wanted causes discussion,  consternation, and a lot of hand wringing. Out Tuesday from Universal Home Entertainment, the movie is available as a blu-ray combo with Digital HD.

Helen Mirren is the woman in the center of the action, orchestrating the American done opeeators, consulting with Alan Rickman, safe at headquarters,  and desperate to take these enemy combatants out. The problem: they are readying suicide bombers in a residential neighborhood so collateral damage is a given so limiting it becomes the challenge as they race against the clock.

Director Gavin Hood wrings as much tension out of the situation for 92 minutes, but he is hampered by the reality that the key players are never together.  Instead, we watch reaction shots and debates occur and really, editor Megan Gill gets all the credit for sustaining the tension.

Mirren’s desperation grows as every time she is ready to give the kill order, everyone wants to run the risk assessment again and higher up the chain of command.  Aaron Paul and Phoebe Fox are in the bunker, controlling the drone and he actually refuses an order to fire at one point, seeking verification about a little girl selling bread next to the target. According to a consultant who watched with me, he was in the wrong especially in front of a junior officer.

The reliance on technology and law protects hut hampers the efforts and brings up interesting themes for post-viewing discussion, the film itself, though, has lots of the right elements and several solid performances but is less than the sum of its parts. It just doesn’t hold together and sustain interest.

The high definition tansfer is crisp as is the audio.  The film comes with a mere two electronic press kit packages about the themes and totally underwhelms. Considering this is Rickman’s final film, I just wish it was overall a better experience.