Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice SPOILER POST

“Black and Blue. Fight Night. The greatest Gladiator match in the history of the world. God vs. Man. Day vs. Knight. Son of Krypton vs. Bat of Gotham.”

(WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD)

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) review (400th Post!!)

In June of 1938, DC Comics launched its Action Comics series, which introduced the character of Superman, the ‘alien’ being from the planet Krypton who was sent to Earth by his father Jor-El when the planet was on the brink of destruction. Adopted by the Kents, Superman spent much of his childhood living in Kansas under the name Clark Kent before taking on the public persona of Superman as an adult. In doing so, he not only became DC’s ‘first’ major superhero but also arguably the most famous superhero of all-time. Just a little less than a year later, in May of 1939, DC debuted the character of Batman in the 27^th issue of their Detective Comics series. Batman, AKA Bruce Wayne, the billionaire playboy who took on the persona of ‘The Dark Knight’ after witnessing his parents’ murder at a young age, is arguably just as iconic as Superman if not more given all of the numerous adaptations of the character over the years from films to TV shows to video games. While DC Comics has created numerous superheroes over the years from Wonder Woman to the Flash to Green Lantern, Batman and Superman are easily the company’s most famous protagonists. That is very much exemplified by their track records on film because, to be perfectly frank, they are kind of the only major DC superheroes to find success in live-action on the big-screen. Superman pretty much kicked off the ‘superhero film genre’ with his 1978 titular film Superman, directed by Richard Donner, while Batman’s own titular outing from 1989, directed by Tim Burton, was another noteworthy entry for the genre. Both franchises experienced their own highs and lows over the years but they have also saw revivals in recent years. In the case of Batman, it was thanks to Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy while Superman got a Dark Knight style reimagining in 2013 with Man of Steel.

Three years after Man of Steel, DC now begins its journey into establishing its own cinematic universe, just like Marvel has done over the past eight years, with the follow-up to Man of Steel, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Man of Steel director Zack Snyder returns to direct as does the main cast of Man of Steel while Ben Affleck takes over for Christian Bale in the role of Batman. It is the first time that these titans of DC have appeared together in a live-action film so obviously there was a lot of hype surrounding the film because of that as well as the aforementioned fact that it’s meant to kick-start DC’s own cinematic universe. However, at the moment it is currently being slammed by critics, sporting only a measly 30% rating on Rotten Tomatoes (at the time I’m writing this). While this isn’t really that surprising seeing how Man of Steel also received mixed reviews from critics (that film has a 56% rating on RT) and was no doubt the most polarizing film of 2013, I assure you that this new film is nowhere near as bad as that RT rating suggests. Now don’t get me wrong as there are some issues with this film, namely in regards to the story and the editing. At the same time, though, there are genuinely some very good things about this film, particularly the visuals, the action sequences, and the performances of a few noteworthy newcomers to the DC ‘Extended Universe’ (that’s the term they’re going with for this new Cinematic Universe, from what I’ve heard). In other words, I’m certain that fans of the DC universe are going to be pretty satisfied with this long-awaited crossover involving the ‘Son of Krypton’ and the ‘Bat of Gotham’.

The film takes place 18 months after the events of Man of Steel, in which Superman (Henry Cavill) successfully prevented General Zod (Michael Shannon) from destroying the Earth in order to establish a new home for the people of Krypton. At the same time, however, Superman’s confrontation with Zod ended up causing a lot of collateral damage to the city of Metropolis. Because of this, Superman ends up becoming a controversial figure amongst various parties. One particular critic of Superman is Gotham billionaire Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck), who of course as we know moonlights as Gotham’s vigilante Batman. Fearing that Superman, being an all-powerful alien, could pose a severe threat to the human race, Bruce begins an all-out defense against Superman, which soon sees the two superheroes coming into conflict with each other. At the same time, however, Metropolis tech mogul Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg), who also views Superman as a threat as well as other ‘meta-humans’ currently out there, begins to experiment with both the remains of General Zod and the Kryptonian technology recovered from the battle of Metropolis, particularly the material known as Kryptonite, in order to combat Superman. Lex’s actions, which pose a threat to not just Batman and Superman but the whole world as well, soon force the two heroes to work together, serving as a precedent for future events in the DC universe.

So as far as this film’s primary issues are concerned, they mainly come from the story and the editing, particularly during the first twenty minutes or so. This film admittedly does start out on a bit of a rough note as the plot sort of goes in all directions in regards to what’s going on. Part of it does come from the editing, which can be rather choppy at times. In a way, that does sort of apply to the whole film; after all, this film does cover a lot of ground even in the fairly hefty span of 153 minutes. Not only does this film continue the story that began in Man of Steel but it also re-establishes the character of Batman while also setting up other characters like Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot). But ultimately, I did like how the film ‘set up’ the other characters. At the end of the day, this is still very much a Batman/Superman film and while I was worried that Batman was going to overshadow Superman in what was originally ‘his sequel’ (which I know some will deny but I do recall Zack Snyder stating at one point that he wanted to do a second Superman film before getting into anything Justice League related, and keep in mind that this was before it was revealed that Batman was going to be in it), the film actually is rather balanced in terms of their roles in the overall plot. Wonder Woman is basically the only other major DC lead superhero to have a ‘major’ role in the story but the film does feature some ‘cameo appearances’ from the likes of characters like Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and the Flash (Ezra Miller) and I do think that the film handled these ‘cameos’ well. They don’t overshadow Batman, Superman, or Wonder Woman, but they do their job in regards to setting them up for future films without them actually playing ‘a role’ in this film’s story. Stuff like this did keep me invested throughout even if the narrative did become rather unfocused at times.

But these problems do sort of become less prevalent as the film goes on and this is where Batman v Superman really starts to shine, namely in regards to its visuals. There’s no denying that Zack Snyder is one of the best ‘visual directors’ in the business. That is especially true whenever Snyder does a ‘comic-book’ film, like he did with 300 in 2007 and Watchmen in 2009. It’s been very much shown that Snyder really does have a talent in regards to translating the imagery of the comics to the big-screen and that once again shows with this film. So even if you’re not a big fan of this film, there’s no denying that it has one hell of an awesome visual style. That also translates well into the action sequences. Admittedly most of the action sequences are reserved for the third act of the film but when they do happen, they’re pretty darn epic, especially the fight sequences between Batman and Superman and quite frankly any action sequences involving Batman for that matter. Like Man of Steel, this film has attracted a considerable amount of flak for its overall tone; in other words, these films have been criticized for being ‘too grim’. However, I don’t entirely agree with that because while it is true that these films are much more serious compared to the lighter-hearted efforts of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, that doesn’t mean that they are completely ‘dour’. There are a few light-hearted quips peppered in here and there, particularly from Alfred (Jeremy Irons, who is, to put it simply, quite excellent in the role of Bruce Wayne’s trusty butler) and Perry White (Laurence Fishburne). Some of you might recall the rumor that DC was mandating a ‘no joke’ policy in regards to their upcoming films. Well based solely on this film I can tell you that this alleged ‘no joke’ mandate… was a load of bull.

Performance-wise, the returning cast of Man of Steel (Cavill, Amy Adams, Diane Lane, etc.) are as solid as they were in the first film. Ultimately though, the major focus for most people this time around was the newcomers; Affleck as Batman, Gadot as Wonder Woman, and Eisenberg as Lex Luthor. It’s pretty much guaranteed that any major superhero casting is going to be subjected to much scrutiny from comic book fans and Affleck’s casting as Batman is arguably the most controversial superhero casting of all-time. While Affleck has redeemed his career in recent years thanks to his directorial efforts with films like Argo and Gone Baby Gone, his previous turn in the superhero genre, 2003’s Daredevil, was clearly still in the minds of a lot of comic book fans. Thankfully, a lot of those critics are hopefully now eating their words because Affleck is superb as Batman. His take on the character is very much influenced by the older Bruce Wayne from Frank Miller’s iconic series The Dark Knight Returns and Affleck handles the role of the aged Batman perfectly. The controversy over Gal Gadot’s casting of Wonder Woman mainly stemmed from the fact that Gadot’s filmography prior to this film wasn’t necessarily that ‘illustrious’. But ultimately she is excellent in the role. Obviously she isn’t in it as much as Affleck or Cavill but once she ‘becomes’ Wonder Woman, man does she steal the show. And finally we come to Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, who of course attracted controversy on the grounds that some believed he ‘didn’t look the part’. As far as his performance in this film goes, it’s no doubt going to be one of the most polarizing elements of the film. Eisenberg does play the role in a fairly over-the-top manner. For some, this will be a bit ‘much’ but I will say that he does have some genuinely memorable moments from time to time and at the very least it feels like he’s at least doing something different in the role compared to what has come before.

At the end of the day, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice may be attracting a rather negative reaction from most critics but that doesn’t automatically mean that the developing DC ‘Extended Universe’ is in jeopardy. I have the feeling that the next two films in this franchise, Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman, are probably going to fare better with critics. Still, I do feel that some critics have been overly harsh on this film. Some critics will deny it but I assure you that I have some clearly biased reviews from people who kept s***ting on this film before they saw it; in other words, they went into it already intent on hating it and that’s just unfair. Anyone who’s been following this blog the past few years will know that I used to be pretty darn critical towards this film in the years leading up to its release, mainly after it was announced that Wonder Woman was going to be in this ‘Batman and Superman’ film. But ultimately I realized that I was being totally unjust towards the film by being overly critical towards it despite the fact that it wasn’t even out yet. I’ve made it clear that I’m a bigger fan of what Marvel Studios has been doing with their Cinematic Universe but that did not influence my thoughts on this film in any way. And ultimately I will say that I did like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Yes, there are some flaws, namely in regards to the film’s rather scrambled narrative. This is by no means a ‘perfect’ superhero film. But the things that this film does right truly are great, particularly the visuals, action sequences, and noteworthy performances from the likes of Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot, among others. A 30% on RT this is not… if you ask me, it should be in the same camp as Man of Steel and have a rating somewhere in the 50’s that represents the admittedly polarizing nature of the film. Ultimately though, I will say this… if you’re a fan of DC Comics, and if you did like Man of Steel I have the feeling that you’re really going to like this film no matter what the critics may say about it.

Rating: 3.5/5

Man of Steel (2013) review

There is a lot riding on the hopeful success of ‘Man of Steel’. This is the second time in the last decade that Warner Bros. and DC have attempted to revive the Superman film franchise following its ‘death’ back in the late 80’s. However, their first attempt, 2006’s ‘Superman Returns’, did not end up getting a sequel, most likely due to audience reactions (which were fairly split) and a rather disappointing turnout at the box office. This new Superman film may also have to be the film that sets the stage for a ‘DC Cinematic Universe’ a la Marvel’s ‘Cinematic Universe’, resulting in a possible Justice League movie in the future. While the fate of that movie is unclear right now, what about ‘Man of Steel’? It does have a good crew behind it, including Christopher Nolan, whose work for DC’s film division needs no introduction. However this time, Nolan is not directing. Instead, he gives the reigns to Zack Snyder, director of ‘300’ and ‘Watchmen’ while he produces the film (he also co-wrote the story with David S. Goyer, his writing partner on the ‘Dark Knight’ trilogy). And I’m happy to say that this new Superman film is quite an exhilarating new take on the iconic DC superhero.

In order to protect their son from the destruction of their home-world of Krypton, scientist Jor-El (Russell Crowe) and his wife Lara (Ayelet Zurer) send the infant Kal-El away from the planet as it is destroyed. Kal-El ends up on the planet Earth where he is adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent (Kevin Costner and Diane Lane, respectively) and raised as Clark Kent. Clark (Henry Cavill) struggles to fit in on Earth because of his unique ‘super powers’, which make him an outcast amongst others. Even when he grows older, he spends most of his time traveling the country trying to find his place in the world. When he soon learns of his true identity, Clark becomes the ‘Man of Steel’, Superman, in order to protect the planet when a dangerous Kryptonian General named Zod (Michael Shannon) invades looking to rebuild the planet Krypton, even if it means the destruction of Earth.

Unlike ‘Superman Returns’, which attempted to be a sequel to the first two Christopher Reeve movies, ‘Man of Steel’ is a full-fledged reboot that is given, in a way, the same treatment that was present in Nolan’s ‘Dark Knight’ trilogy. But, for the record, this is not ‘The Dark Knight’ all over again. In this movie, Nolan’s influence is more present in the story, because from a directing standpoint, this is a Zack Snyder film (though thankfully some of his more notable directing habits are toned down in this film (don’t worry, Superman doesn’t go into slow-motion to take out a bad guy)). Overall, the writing is very good, namely through how the character of Superman is portrayed. This is really the first Superman film to really focus on Superman’s struggle to adapt to life on Earth because in the first Donner film, that wasn’t really looked upon as much. A common question that I hear brought up a lot is whether or not Superman should be more like his alter-ego Clark Kent or, well, Superman. I believe that they are one in the same. Obviously, Superman is a powerful superhero, but he was raised with the values of his Earth parents and that molds him into the hero that he is. This character development is solid throughout the movie, even though the third act is admittedly mainly just non-stop action.

While I don’t want to compare this film to ‘Superman Returns’ that much, one advantage that ‘Man of Steel’ has over ‘Returns’ is that the two leads here are far superior. As Superman, Cavill is charismatic and likable and he does a very good job getting across the character’s emotions. As Lois Lane, Amy Adams maintains the spunky personality that defines who Lois is and she has very good chemistry with Cavill. The rest of the cast is fantastic as well. Russell Crowe and Kevin Costner are both great as Superman’s two ‘fathers’. You can clearly see how both men influence Superman’s actions and, without spoiling anything, Crowe is actually in the movie more than you might expect, even though the story still stays fairly similar to how it is in the comics. Finally, as General Zod, Michael Shannon is rightfully menacing as the main villain of the film.

Right now, critics have been rather mixed on Man of Steel, but I assure you that this new Superman film is very good. Admittedly, it’s not perfect, primarily because the third act goes for non-stop action instead of focusing on story but the film makes up for it in its portrayal of Superman and how he tries to adapt to life on Earth, despite the fact that is he actually an alien from another planet. A great cast and some very exciting action sequences also help ‘Man of Steel’, which is a definite improvement over the last attempted revival of the series. I will admit that I was rather nervous about the hiring of Zack Snyder as director of this film, mainly because his last film ‘Sucker Punch’ was so bad that it ended up being my pick for the worst film of 2011. However, with a little help from Christopher Nolan, this is easily one of his best films to date.

 

Rating: 4.5/5

Superman Film Series Retrospective

This week marks the release of what may be the most anticipated film of 2013, ‘Man of Steel’. It may also be one of the riskiest films this year for a few reasons. This is Warner Bros’ second attempt at reviving the Superman franchise following 2006’s ‘Superman Returns’, which did not perform as well as the studio hoped. Also, in the wake of ‘The Avengers’, it is unclear whether or not ‘Man of Steel’ will be the kick-starter film that will create a ‘Cinematic Universe’ that would ultimately lead to a live-action Justice League film. That film has already had a rather troubled production, with the initial script reportedly being tossed out, which is not a good sign for a film that is supposed to come out only two years from now in 2015. But for Man of Steel, another thing that could hold it back, despite the fact that it is produced by Christopher Nolan, is that it’s directed by Zack Snyder, a director who has made really good films (‘300’ and ‘Watchmen’) except for his most recent film, 2011’s ‘Sucker Punch’. However, the footage shown so far has been really amazing so I’m really excited for this new Superman film and I’m hopeful that it will be great.

Now let’s take a look back at the Superman live-action film franchise so far (I won’t be looking at any animated Superman films, like ‘All-Star Superman’ or ‘Superman: Unbound’). This post will only focus on the original four Superman films starring Christopher Reeve and Warner Bros.’ first attempted revival and yes, a full review of ‘Man of Steel’ will follow in the next few days.

SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE (1978)

Superman The Movie is regarded as the first major superhero movie and even if it isn’t, it certainly set the standard for future superhero films. Even after 35 years, it still holds up as not only the best Superman movie to date, but one of the best superhero films of all time. Christopher Reeve is perfect in the lead role of Superman, but also succeeds by being very unsuspecting as Superman’s alter ego Clark Kent. Marlon Brando, Margot Kidder, and Gene Hackman are also great too as Jor-El, Lois Lane, and Lex Luthor respectively. Granted, the ending is a little questionable. I would say spoilers, but this movie’s been out for 3.5 decades so it’s no big deal. If Superman can fly so fast that he can turn back time (which he does in order to save Lois from dying), then why couldn’t he grab both of Lex Luthor’s missiles at that speed? Oh well, the movie is still great anyway and it’s a must-see for any comic-book fan.

 

Rating: 5/5!

SUPERMAN II (1980)

Superman II has had quite a controversial production history. Richard Donner (director of the first Superman film) was originally set to direct this film as well, but due to conflicts with the producers, Donner was booted off the project and replaced with Richard Lester, who ended up shooting new footage. However, some of Donner’s footage was used in the original theatrical cut, though most of the footage was shot by Lester. In 2006, a new version that mainly consisted of Donner’s footage was released; Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut. At the time I am writing this, I have not yet seen the Donner cut, though I’m aware that many consider it to be the superior version. But for now, I’ll only be looking at the original theatrical cut of the film.

When watching this version, it’s clear that even though the majority of the footage was shot by Lester, Donner’s influence is still present, evident from the scenes in this cut that he had shot. Lester went a more comedic route but the Donner scenes are more serious in tone. While the humor does get a little more slapstick at times, the film still works as a whole. It also has probably the best Superman villain (in the film franchise) in General Zod, played with a commanding presence by Terrence Stamp (KNEEL!!!). Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder once again do excellent jobs as Superman and Lois Lane, and the plot of Superman deciding to give up his powers in order to be with Lois is well-done. All in all, the original theatrical cut of Superman II may not be on the same level as the previous film, but it comes pretty damn close.

Rating: 4/5

 

SUPERMAN III (1983)

Even after the whole Donner/Lester controversy, ‘Superman II’ did perform well both critically and commercially, so Lester ended up directing ‘Superman III’ as well… and this is the point where the series started to go downhill. ‘Superman III’ is not as bad as the film that would follow, but it’s still not that good compared to the last two films. Now that Lester has complete control, the camp level is through the roof. The filmmakers even cast Richard Pryor in the movie for additional humor and the worst thing about this (aside from the fact that the comedy legend’s humor did not really shine through in this film) is that Pryor might actually be in it more than Superman himself. There are only two good things in this movie. One is Christopher Reeve who, despite the film’s many problems, is still very good as Superman who, in this film, becomes corrupted by synthetic kryptonite made by an evil multimillionaire. Superman ultimately ends up splitting into the evil Superman and good Clark Kent. The fight scene between them in the junkyard is the other highlight in a film that may not be the worst Superman film of all time, but it’s clear that this is where the series started to go in the wrong direction.

Rating: 2/5

 

SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE (1987)

Oh boy… time to talk about this one. The original Superman franchise had a run that was fairly parallel to the original Batman franchise. The first films are regarded as the best, the second films still received solid reviews (though not as good as their predecessors), the third films were where both series began to go into decline, and the fourth films… were the ones that killed their respective franchises until their eventual reboots. Superman IV is up there with ‘Batman and Robin’ amongst the worst superhero films of all time. Even if you excuse the fact that this film had a troubled production where the budget was cut in half due to the production company’s busy schedule of films, this is still a god-awful superhero film. Everything about this movie feels cheap, right down to the horrendous special effects (easily the worst in any superhero film). This is easily the worst Superman film to date.

Rating: .5/5

 

SUPERMAN RETURNS (2006)

Following the ‘death’ of the original Superman franchise with Superman IV, Warner Bros brought the series back in 2006 with ‘Superman Returns’, directed by Bryan Singer after he helmed the first two X-Men films. It seems like Warner Bros really wanted to revive the Superman franchise the same way they rebooted the Batman franchise a year before with ‘Batman Begins’. But, as evident from ‘Man of Steel’, ‘Superman Returns’ did not really turn out the way Warner Bros had hoped. For the record, it did fine at the box office and received solid reception from critics. However, audience reception has been pretty split. A lot of people like it and a lot of people hate it. As for me, I’m right in the middle when it comes to this film. I don’t love it, but I don’t think it’s as bad as those who dislike it say it is. However, it is a missed opportunity when it came to the revival of the Superman franchise.

One of the big problems with the film is that it’s actually kind of boring. The film is about 2.5 hours long and despite some really good action sequences, it moves at a very slow pace. Another problem may also be that the filmmakers tried way too hard to connect this to the first two Superman films because this is actually supposed to be a ‘sequel’ to those films. I can’t really say it works without the original cast and I feel that the filmmakers should have just rebooted the franchise. It also doesn’t help that the main leads aren’t really that compelling. I’ll give Brandon Routh some credit in that there are times where he effectively mirrors Reeve as Superman (apparently one of the reasons why he was cast because he looks a lot like Reeve) to good effect, but Kate Bosworth is terrible as Lois Lane, lacking the spunky attitude that Margot Kidder had in the original films. The rest of the cast is fine though, including James Marsden as Lois’ fiancé Richard (tell me I’m not the only one who thinks he would have been a really good choice for Superman) and Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor.

All in all, Superman Returns is not the worst Superman film of all time, but Warner Bros should have done something different in regard to how this film turned out. If Christopher Nolan could reboot the Batman franchise and not have it stay true to the previous Batman films, then this film should have gone the same route instead of serving as a ‘sequel’ to the Reeve films. Obviously, we won’t be getting a sequel (instead, we have Zack Snyder’s ‘Man of Steel’ to look forward to), but I would have been fine with another film. Maybe it would have allowed the two leads to flesh out their characters a little more. As is, neither is very good in their roles and Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder are still the definitive Superman and Lois Lane when it comes to the Superman movies.

Rating: 3/5

2013 Preview: June

We’re nearly halfway through 2013, with one film (‘Iron Man 3’) having already gone past one billion at the box office. Will another film (or films) follow? Considering how many films have reached ‘the Billion Dollar Club’ in recent years, it seems very likely. After all, the Summer Blockbuster season has just begun. Welcome back to Rhode Island Movie Corner’s year-long preview of the films of 2013. This is Part 6 of 12 and today we’ll be looking at the June lineup.



*A trio of films will open up the month on June 7^th. The first, ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, is the latest adaptation of William Shakespeare’s famous play of the same name. This new modern version of the story is helmed by Joss Whedon (‘The Avengers’), who filmed this over a period of 12 days at his home in Santa Monica during production of ‘The Avengers’. The cast consists of many frequent Whedon collaborators, including Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof, and Nathan Fillion.



*’The Internship’ reunites Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, who last worked together on the hit comedy ‘Wedding Crashers’ back in 2005. In this new film, directed by Shawn Levy (‘Night at the Museum’, ‘Real Steel’), they star as two watch salesmen who lose their jobs amidst the rise of digital media. They end up getting internships at Google, where they have to compete with a younger and more tech-savvy group of interns for jobs at the company.



*The final major release on June 7^th is a sci-fi thriller called ‘The Purge’. This film takes place in the year 2022, where the U.S. prospers from low unemployment and crime rates. In order to maintain this prosperity, the government holds an annual 12-hour period where all criminal activity becomes legal; even murder. Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey star as a couple who try to survive during this event, even when a complete stranger comes to their house.



*The first of two new films coming out June 14^th is ‘Man of Steel’, the highly anticipated reboot of the Superman franchise, although this is actually the second attempt by Warner Bros to revive the Superman franchise after 2006’s ‘Superman Returns’ did not perform as well as they hoped. This new take on Superman is directed by Zack Snyder (‘300’, ‘Watchmen’) and is produced by Christopher Nolan (‘The Dark Knight’ trilogy). Henry Cavill stars as Superman alongside Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Russell Crowe as Superman’s biological father Jor-El, and Kevin Costner as his adoptive father Jonathan Kent.



*’This is the End’ is an Apocalypse themed comedy that is written and directed by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen, based on their 2007 short film ‘Jay and Seth vs. The Apocalypse’. The film revolves around fictionalized versions of real actors (primarily James Franco, Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, and Danny McBride) who attempt to survive when Los Angeles is ravaged by the end of the world. Other actors portraying themselves include Aziz Ansari, Jason Segel, Emma Watson, and Michael Cera.



*Pixar’s major release of the year, ‘Monsters University’, hits theaters on June 21^st. The film is a prequel to 2001’s ‘Monsters’ Inc’ and focuses on the college years of Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan (AKA Sulley) as the two try to get along during their freshman year in college. Billy Crystal and John Goodman reprise their roles of Mike and Sulley, respectively, alongside newcomers like Charlie Day, Helen Mirren, Alfred Molina, and Nathan Fillion.

*The other new release that week is ‘World War Z’, based off of the Max Brooks novel of the same name. It is also perhaps the most controversial out of all the ‘delayed’ films of 2013. It was pushed back from a December 2012 release date and had to go through reshoots and even rewrites for the film’s final act. Brad Pitt stars as a UN worker who travels the world looking to find a solution for a zombie pandemic that’s affecting the whole world.



*The month ends with two films hitting theaters on June 28^th. The first is a comedy, ‘The Heat’, which reunites Bridesmaids director Paul Feig with his film’s breakout star, Melissa McCarthy. McCarthy stars alongside Sandra Bullock as a pair of cops (Bullock’s character an FBI agent, McCarthy’s a Detective) who must work together to take down a Russian mobster.



*The final release of the month is ‘White House Down’, the second film this year to be based around a takeover of the White House. This is following in the footsteps of ‘Olympus Has Fallen’, which hit theaters back in March. This film is directed by Roland Emmerich (‘Independence Day’, ‘The Day After Tomorrow’) and stars Channing Tatum as a police officers who must rescue the President (played by Jamie Foxx) and his daughter (played by Joey King) when a paramilitary group take over the White House.

And that’s what is to come this month and by the end of June, we will be halfway through 2013. Stay tuned for Part 7 next month.

DC and the Justice League

As the release of 'The Dark Knight Rises' draws closer, DC Comics is already looking ahead into the future with one specific goal in mind. That goal is to successfully make a live-action film based on their famous superhero team, the Justice League. The pressure is especially big for DC now after Marvel's 'The Avengers' was both a huge critical and box office success. But can DC really make it happen the same way Marvel did? Aside from Batman and Superman, DC has been unable to successfully translate most of their comic book superheroes to film. Marvel, on the other hand, has brought Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and many more of their famous superheroes to life on the big screen. DC has a long way to go before they can make a true Justice League movie, and here's how they should do it.

The first hurdle on the road to success for DC is with Batman. 'The Dark Knight Rises' will be director Christopher Nolan's final entry in the Batman universe and while many DC fans are hopeful that Nolan will take charge of the DC universe after that, he currently has no plans to work on any more DC films aside from 'The Man of Steel' which he will be producing for a 2013 release. Another issue that DC will probably have to worry about is finding another Batman because like with Nolan, this will most likely be Christian Bale's last stint as the Caped Crusader. There may be a slight chance that Bale could return for a Justice League film, but odds are that will probably not happen. DC will have to not just reboot the Batman franchise, but also find a new lead as well.

DC's next big release after 'Dark Knight Rises' is of course 'Man of Steel', the latest film about the son of Krypton himself, Superman. DC should already be worried about this film seeing how its their second attempt at rebooting the Superman franchise after the disappointing performance of 2006's 'Superman Returns'. However, if DC really wants to make their Justice League movie work, 'Man of Steel' will also have to the equivalent of what Iron Man was to Marvel. It needs to be the film that gets the ball rolling to connect all of these different universes together the same way Iron Man got things started for Marvel in 2008. However, can 'Man of Steel' really do that? We have yet to see any footage from the film at this point, so who knows if 'Man of Steel' will even attempt to connect to other DC universes in the first place. The main reason I say this is because not only is Nolan uninterested in doing any more DC films, he also wants to keep the Batman and Superman universes separate. If that is the case, then this will be a problem for DC if they want a Justice League movie.

Another franchise DC will have to reboot is Green Lantern. Aside from Batman and Superman, Green Lantern has been the only other major superhero from DC to get a film adaptation in this current era of superhero films and unfortunately, DC's first attempt at bringing this universe to the big screen didn't really turn out so well. Not only was 2011's 'Green Lantern', which starred Ryan Reynolds in the lead role of Hal Jordan, a critical failure but it also failed to do much at the box office. With a final box-office gross of $222 million, the film barely made back its massive $200 million budget. So the obvious step for DC here would be to reboot the franchise. But how should DC do it? Do they recast Ryan Reynolds and find a new guy to play Hal Jordan or do they try one of the other famous characters who have been Green Lanterns over the years, like Kyle Rayner or John Stewart? I'm not entirely saying that you get rid of Reynolds though, because while the film wasn't exactly that great, he actually did a really good job in the role of Hal Jordan. Really, whatever happens with this franchise depends on what DC decides to do next.

Finally, and most importantly, DC needs to start working on bringing its other major superheroes to the big screen. If we look at the original seven members of the Justice League as it was in the comics, DC will have to do solo films for Wonder Woman, the Flash, Aquaman, and the Martian Manhunter. If DC does not decide to do a solo film for one of these characters, then have that character inserted as a side character into one of the other characters' movies so that they can fit into what would be a massive universe filled with all of DC's superheroes. Marvel already made this work when they had Black Widow debut in Iron Man 2 and Hawkeye debut in Thor, which led to their next appearances in 'The Avengers'. If that's the way DC will have to go, then so be it.

If it isn't any more clear, DC has quite a long way to go before they can make a Justice League movie. They'll most likely have to reboot both Batman and Green Lantern, have 'Man of Steel' actually work as a film, and will also have to get going in bringing their other famous superheroes to the big screen because that is something DC has yet to do successfully. Imagine, if you will, if DC decided to just make the Justice League movie now. Not only will they have to make all of these superheroes work together the same way Marvel did with 'The Avengers', but they would also need to introduce the characters that haven't made the big screen yet to audiences and that's not the best idea if you're making a movie this big. What Marvel did with their cinematic universe was nothing less than amazing in how they managed to not only make all of their superheroes work on the big screen, but also connect them so that they can all work together. DC, it's time for you to get going and also if you're looking for a director, odds are Joss Whedon won't be available.