Movie review: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Superman is happily protecting humanity from his home in Metropolis while Batman fights crime in Gotham City. But when Batman realizes Superman comes from the same world as beings who have tried to exterminate humans the two must come to terms.

Ben Affleck (Bruce Wayne/Batman), Henry Cavill (Clark Kent/Superman), Amy Adams (Lois), Jesse Eisenberg (Lex Luthor), Diane Lane (Martha Kent), Laurence Fishburne (Perry White), Jeremy Irons (Alfred), Holly Hunter (Senator Finch), Gal Gadot (Diana Prince/Wonder Woman), Scoot McNairy (Wallace), Tao Okamoto (Mercy).

We all know Superman comes from the same planet as those who have tried to destroy humanity, but that he is now our protector. Batman however, fears that the actions of Superman are unchecked and he could at any moment decide to destroy us. Superman, now believing Batman is a vigilante, is happy to engage in a superhero fight. In the meantime, Lex Luthor begins plotting against Superman while Wonder Woman shows up for the fun as well.

While this all sounds fine and dandy, it is actually a superhero mess. Aside from the repetitive history lessons showing us how both Batman and Superman came to be, the plot is a hot mess that seems to create more inconsistencies with franchise than anything else. The result is a confusing and frustrating film that somewhat betrays the quality of the franchise.

Affleck was okay as Batman, though he felt stiff in the action scenes. Cavill felt overly brooding and dark as Superman and inconsistent with the character. While Gadot did well as Wonder Woman she also raised questions of consistency. Eisenberg was enjoyable with good quirky energy while Irons, Adams, Lane and the remainder of the cast did nicely.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds were heavily integrated with CGI which was fairly well done. Action scenes were decent but unable to overcome the storyline. Dialogue was mediocre, and Cavill's lack of lines was simply disappointing. Sound and soundtrack were okay.

Overall Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice feels like a miss. The film takes a dark approach, lacks clarity and story consistency, and even alters character background. While younger viewers may enjoy this one, older franchise fans will likely be disappointed.

With some mild nudity and sexuality, plenty of violence, some foul language, and potentially disturbing images, this should be fine for teens and above.

Released: 2016
Reviewed: 11.28.16
Star rating: 3 out of 5
Genre: Action & Adventure, Comic Book Superheroes, Sci-Fi & Fantasy Action, Blockbusters, Action Thriller

copyright ©2016 Dave Riedel

Movie review: Kathleen Madigan: Bothering Jesus

Irish American comedian Kathleen Madigan pontificates and complains on topics such as her family, Uber drivers, alcohol, and anything to do with bacon.

Kathleen Madigan

Kathleen Madigan: Bothering Jesus has Kathy once again expounding on a variety of subjects with her trademark quips and focus on daily life. While she can still bring the laughs and her wide range of topics keeps things interesting, she really sounded more like she was simply complaining and condescending in this show. Previous shows have been much funnier and she seemed to have a lot more energy.

Kathy on stage was the extent of the acting. Nothing exciting but she did fine.

Camera work, lighting, and staging are good and consistent with what you would expect from stand-up comedy. No light shows, fireworks, or fancy video here. Sound is reasonable.

While I do enjoy Kathy's comedy, this show just didn't measure up to some of her previous. There were some good laughs but none of the side-splitting, eye-watering comedy of her past.

This should be fine for older teens and above.

Released: 2016
Reviewed: 11.16.16
Star rating: 3 out of 5
Genre: Stand-up Comedy, Comedy, Comedies

copyright ©2016 Dave Riedel

Movie review: The Elegant Gentleman's Guide to Knife Fighting

The Elegant Gentleman's Guide to Knife Fighting is a six-part Australian sketch comedy. The satirical series presents a strange look at different subjects such as; Amish IT, a Prius lover, astronauts, and zombies.

Craig Anderson, Damon Herriman, Darren Gilshenan, Dave Eastgate, Georgina Haig, Janis McGavin, Patrick Brammall, Phil Lloyd, Robin McLeavy, Charlie Garber, Glenn Hazeldine, Rachel Gordon, Jane Harber.

The Elegant Gentleman's Guide to Knife Fighting is a six part sketch comedy series from Australia. Each episode contains multiple skits of varying length that focus on a variety of topics. While the humor is good at the start of each episode, it often doesn't last past the first few minutes. Some have a few twists, several are directly sarcastic and hypocritical, and even fewer depend on intelligence to value the humor.

Acting was good with Anderson, Herriman, Gilshenan, McGavin, Brammall, Lloyd, Haig, and the remainder of the main cast doing quite well. The supporting cast was also enjoyable and fairly good.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds were a mix given the numerous skits and variety of subjects but overall each was well done. Action scenes were mild but enjoyable and fitting. Dialogue was decent but didn't quite land the laughs it was obviously intended to generate. Sound and soundtrack were mild but good.

The Elegant Gentleman's Guide to Knife Fighting while mildly interesting and entertaining is likely going to appeal to a narrow audience. The humor never really develops beyond a chuckle at which point the episodes are simply strange.

Those who enjoy sketch comedies and British or Australian humor will enjoy this the most. Those looking for depth or persistent current humor may be disappointed.

With some edgy comedy, mild violence and sexuality, this should be fine for older teens and above.

Released: 2013
Reviewed: 11.16.16
Star rating: 2 out of 5
Genre: TV Shows, TV Sketch Comedies, TV Comedies, Comedy

copyright ©2016 Dave Riedel

Movie review: Hell and Back

When Curt borrows a mint from Remy, promising to pay him back before immediately reneging, the two and friend Augie are transported to hell where Curt is scheduled for execution. Remy and Augie are also scheduled to be killed simply for being in hell.

Nick Swardson (Remy), Mila Kunis (Deema), Bob Odenkirk (Devil), T.J. Miller (Augie), Rob Riggle (Curt), Susan Sarandon (Barb), Danny McBride (Orpheus), Maria Bamford (Gloria), Lance Bass (Boy Band Demon).

Hell and Back is one of those films that, even as you can't look away you know is causing brain damage. The storyline is a mix of contradiction, hypocrisy, and mythological contradictions apparently meant to be funny. While there are a few laughs, the humor feels as if it came from a couple of high school stoners. Add that to the strange stop-motion animation and you still don't quite have a complete film.

The high quality cast in this one is quite a surprise given the lackluster entertainment value of the film. That said, everyone did a wonderful job with the voice work and from that perspective, the film was enjoyable.

Did I mention Hell and Back is animated? Animation was a strange stop-motion approach that felt immature and rough which didn't help the film much. Yet, it was oddly fitting given the plot and theme. Dialogue was campy, infrequently silly, and more frequently tepid. Sound and soundtrack were pretty good.

In the end Hell and Back is a bit disappointing. The humor doesn't quite hit the mark, nor do the visuals. The best part about this one is the voice work which just isn't quite enough to make it entertaining.

With plenty of crotch humor, sexuality, animated violence and gore, and persistent foul language, this should be fine for teens and above.

Released: 2015
Reviewed: 11.16.16
Star rating: 2 out of 5
Genre: Adult Animation, Dark Comedies, Late Night Comedy, Comedy, Adventure

copyright ©2016 Dave Riedel

Movie review: Embers

After a global pandemic, survivors find they no longer have the ability to create memories. Unable to remember who they are, or who anyone else is, they search for connection while living entirely in the moment.

Jason Ritter (Guy), Iva Gocheva (Girl), Greta Fernandez (Miranda), Tucker Smallwood (Teacher), Karl Glusman (Chaos), Roberto Cots (Father), Dominique Swain (Woman in dress), Matthew Goulish (Guardian), Silvan Friedman (Boy).

Embers begins without much explanation as we awaken with Guy and Girl and quickly learn they don't remember a thing. With the passing of a day, and the addition of more characters, we realize the inability to create memories is universal. At this point the variety of characters and how each deals with their unusual illness becomes the main plot. The remainder of the film is an emotional learning experience with a slight twist at the end which confirms our suspicions of repetition.

Acting was decent with Ritter putting forth a fairly realistic performance. Gocheva was enjoyable and worked well with Ritter. Smallwood was enjoyable in his role as one of the most reasonable characters. Glusman was solid, even if his character was a jerk, and the remainder of the supporting cast was decent.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds were interesting if nothing else. Sets felt realistic and natural and camera work was good. Action scenes were mild, as was violence. Dialogue was a bit bland and lacking. Exactly what happened was never fully explained, nor was the current situation of several characters. Sound and soundtrack were solid.

While Embers is an unusual and fairly original story which holds interest well, the film lacks energy and depth leaving us somewhat disappointed. Those who enjoy dramas or indie dramas should enjoy this one while sci-fi fans likely will not.

Embers comes complete with only mild sexuality and violence so it should be fine for teens and above.

Released: 2015
Reviewed: 11.16.16
Star rating: 1 out of 5
Genre: Drama, Independent Drama, Indie Movies, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Sci-Fi Drama

copyright ©2016 Dave Riedel

Movie review: Criminal

With a global terrorist threat looming, the one CIA operative able to stop it has been killed. Implementing a bold plot, the dead CIA agent's memories are transplanted into a condemned prisoner.

Kevin Costner (Jerico), Gary Oldman (Quaker), Tommy Lee Jones (Dr. Franks), Ryan Reynolds (Pope), Jordi Molla (Heimdahl), Gal Gadot (Jill Pope), Michael Pitt (Strook/The Dutchman), Amaury Nolasco (Ruiza).

Criminal begins with a brief bit of backstory and character introduction before CIA agent Pope is killed and the main plot shows up. After Pope's memories are transferred to Jerico things get much more interesting with the global terrorist plot underway and the two men's minds fighting for control of Jerico. The rest of the film is a mild crime action adventure with a somewhat familiar plot and surprising lack of audience engagement.

Acting was a bit disappointing in Criminal. Costner, though he delivered nicely, was reduced to a grunting angry guy with few lines. Reynolds could have phoned in his part as it was little more than a cameo. Oldman did well with good energy presentation. Jones was a nice addition, as was Molla, and added some much needed depth. The remainder of the supporting cast was solid.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds were solid with nice background variety and good technical work. Action scenes were solid and fitting. Dialogue was enjoyable though a bit more depth would have added a lot to the film. Sound and soundtrack were fitting.

Criminal was entertaining and technically decent, but the film doesn't come close to being as entertaining as you would expect given the cast. The story doesn't add much to the genre, the plot and energy never mature, and what we end up with is a decent entry in the crime action genre.

With a fair amount of graphic violence and gore, this one should be fine for older teens and above.

Released: 2016
Reviewed: 11.16.16
Star rating: 3 out of 5
Genre: Crime Action, Crime Drama, Action & Adventure, Action Sci-Fi & Fantasy

copyright ©2016 Dave Riedel

Movie review: True Memoirs of an International Assassin

Sam is a writer whose debut novel about a deadly international assassin is changed from fiction to non-fiction by his agent, landing him squarely in the world of his lead character. His only option, become the character he created.

Kevin James (Sam/Mason), Kim Coates (President Mike), Maurice Compte (Juan), Zulay Henao (Rosa), Andrew Howard (Masovich), Ron Rifkin (Amos), Andy Garcia (El Toro), Katie Couric (Herself), Yul Vazquez (Gen. Ruiz).

True Memoirs of an International Assassin, a streaming video original, is a light and funny campy comedy that doesn't take itself too seriously. Sam has written a fiction novel about an international assassin but when his agent changes genre to non-fiction Sam believed to be the assassin, making him a target for everyone. Becoming his character the only chance for survival, Sam teams up with Rosa and finds he might make a better assassin than expected.

Acting was decent with James once again in a role type that seems to suit him well. Coates was a decent antagonist, and in type as well. Henao was enjoyable and fit pretty well. Howard was once again perfectly disturbing. The remainder of the supporting cast was solid and enjoyable throughout.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds were good for what was likely a mid-budget film. Action scenes were enjoyable while being over the top, excessive, and hysterical. Dialogue was enjoyable with some good laughs and nice movement. Sound and soundtrack were solid.

While True Memoirs of an International Assassin may not be groundbreaking, the film is a lot of fun and would be a great choice for family movie night with some appeal to adults as well as teens.

Violence, which is action focused, is really the only concern here and it is mild enough this should be fine for teens and above.

Released: 2016
Reviewed: 11.12.16
Star rating: 4 out of 5
Genre: Action Comedy, Action & Adventure, Spy comedy, Comedy

copyright ©2016 Dave Riedel