Justice League (2017)

This band of super heroes brings us the audience a different perspective of all of the superheroes in the DC Universe that we grew up with as children. Every Saturday morning and weekday after school I always watched Batman the animated series. I loved that show as a kid. Not so much with the Justice League. So that made characters such as Cyborg, Flash and Green Lantern new to me as I got older. This film however is mixed bag with content and storytelling that isn’t very consistent with what Zack Snyder initially planned. Due to a personal tragedy, Snyder was unable to continue with the project and directing was handed over to Josh Weadon. I don’t wish any tragedy on anyone, but this directory shift may have helped with the content slightly as Weadon is a better storyteller than Snyder.

The film is about Batman (Ben Affleck) traveling the globe to find other superheroes who can help defend the world from Steppenwolf since Superman died. Gal Gadot returns as Wonder Woman and Henry Cavill returns once more as Superman. This group of heroes worked well together once they were all on screen together. One of the best moments of comradery happens when Aquaman (Jason Mamoa) sits on something. Once you see it it’s really funny and creates a positive atmosphere. Overall, I liked how well the actors and heroes worked together on screen.

One negative I’m going to point out is the lack of a villain. Steppenwolf is a ‘big’ threat who never gets his due moment. I say that not as a way to segue his defeat, but never getting any real emotion or grit about him. Sure, he carries a big flaming axe, but that’s all that he does. Wields an axe and talks big. Not a real threat. He has such a vast history as I learned in the film and from comic book history, that I expected more from him in his dialogue, but all the company he had are zombie mosquitos. Poor company if you ask me. The second end credits scene makes me more hopeful with what villains are coming into play.

This film is a good one. Even though it has it’s limits with its villain and lack of story, I had a good time. One other complaint is that the action and fighting in the third act got a little convoluted. It made me a little bored and fatigued with how much as getting thrown at me. Snyder tends to do that with me. And there were some scenes at the beginning that showed that the world was in disarray because Superman was gone. One example was two white guys harassing g a Muslim owned corner shop. I definitely thought this was forced because this is somethings that Superman in no right would interfere with let alone the time. Clark Kent might. This was more of a social issue regarding political affiliates rather than the lack of a super hero. Speaking of which, we all knew Superman was coming back, but there are some major plot holes that don’t get addressed which are vital to explain with his return. This particularly is a concern with Clark Kent which I won’t spoil for you.

Ben Affleck (L) and Jason Mamoa (R) in “Justice League”

Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

“Murder on the Orient Express” is a fun and developed story about a private investigator Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh)who becomes stranded on a train on his way home from solving another case. He then must solve a murder on the train and one out of the passengers is the murderer. It’s a very good segue to involving tension and trust issues as the story moves along in the film.

One strength this film has is it’s actors. Judi Dench, Derek Jacobi, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Daisy Ridley are only some of the actors who give all of their game in this production. They are all convincing, with their accents, personalities, and “motives”. I didn’t see one weak link in their performances. It was a very good choice of casting.

There is one negative that stood out as a sore thumb for me and that was Branagh’s mustache. It looked as though someone got glue and pasted it on his upper lip—oh no that’s what they did! I was up and center under that movie screen in row ‘A’ because the others were sold out. I could see the seams and prosthetic glue keeping that thing on his face. It took me out of the movie for a while and then I got over it.

I had not seen any of the adaptations or read Agatha Christie’s novel, so I went into this film with a clean slate. I was thoroughly impressed. I don’t love it, but I like it. My co-workers on the other hand are not fans at all with this adaptation. They felt that it didn’t stay true to Poirot’s character and had a ton of plot holes that the book covers. I’m glad now that I didn’t know the plot or what the book had in it. I judged this film by what I saw on screen, and I what I saw was a good film with a good character who progresses in the case as we did as the audience. Needless to say, I have different taste in films than my co-workers, but that shouldn’t affect by what I think. This film is a good one that is worth your money.

Kenneth Branagh in “Murder on the Orient Express”

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Taika Waititi’s film has really been a big surprise for most movie and Marvel fans. It’s funny, drastic, and very enjoyable. It’s personally my favorite Thor film in the franchise and Hulk’s presence in the story truly highlights how connected this universe is. And with distribution rights aside, Hulk serves best as a supporting role, which is always a treat.

In this film, we see Thor (Chris Hemsworth) get stranded on a planet that specializes in trash and gladiatorial games as a new threat, Hela, (Cate Blanchet)comes into play and takes over Asgard.  Thor then has to fight Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) in the arena, and then team up to return to Asgard and fight Hela together. This is all in the trailer, so don’t get teary-eyed with spoilers.

There really wasn’t anything to complain about in this film. Some people might be taken back or disappointed that Natalie Portman as Jane Foster isn’t in this one. She doesn’t need to be, and she’s written out in a natural, nonviolent way. Another potential negative for some fans or critics is the comedy. Ironically, the comedy is my biggest positive for this film, but some people I know were not fans of how comedy plays into Nordic mythology into something as big as Thor. They and we need to remember that this is a comic book movie. This is a story about a guy who carries a hammer and befriends a giant green guy with the stretchiest pants in the galaxy. There’s room for comedy here.

One of the most impressive qualities from this film as I briefly mentioned before is how the comedy, drama, and action executed with each other. It’s a very seamless effort as we see Thor come to grips about his family’s heritage, his imprisonment on a strange planet, and having to deal with Dr. Bruce Banner’s alter ego for half the movie. It’s a very balanced story with bits of mythology, tragedy, and cameos, some well-placed cameos that I didn’t see coming.

Waititi did a great job with this film, and brought to life a different side of Thor that we have never seen. His direction also puts into perspective how powerful both Thor and Hulk can be. We’ve seen their powers before in past stories, but some acts they do really makes me think they were on steroids if they weren’t on the drug already.

Mark Ruffalo (L) and Chris Hemsorth (R) in “Thor: Ragnarok”