Current Film Review- The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part

      So, this is rare. I actually was able to get into an advanced screening of the second Lego Movie, provided by AMC. I would've assumed that it was going to be completely full (and it was), but I was able to get a seat nonetheless. I didn't see the original in theaters, but eventually saw it on Hulu. I  enjoyed the first one immensely. It was a legitimate surprise, a seeming corporate product revealing itself to be a very funny  film looking at the appeal of Legos and just being creative and not restricting yourself. Does this film live up to this expectation?
      Five years after the first film, Bricksburg, after being invaded by Duplo alien (as seen at the end of the last film), has become Apocalypseburg. However, Emmet (Chris Pratt) still retains a cheery disposition, though his entire circle has become dark and broody, like Lucy (Elizabeth Banks) and Batman (Will Arnett). Just as Emmet is settling into life in this bleak, apocalyptic landscape, the aliens attack again, and General Mayhem (Stephanie Beatriz) manages to capture Lucy, Batman, Benny (Charlie Day), Metal Beard (Nick Offerman), and Princess Unikitty (Alison Brie). (Out of universe, Finn (Jason Sand) has the figures stolen by his younger sister Bianca (Brooklynn Prince).) Emmet then goes to rescue them, with the help of  Rick Dangerfield (Chris Pratt), a badass adventure and walking joke he meets while heading to the Systar system. Meanwhile, the captured heroes meet Queen Watevra Wa-Nabi (Tiffany Haddish), who reveals her grand plan to have a marriage with Batman, and Lucy attempts to stop this impending marriage, all to the stop the "  Ar-mom-ageddon". (Ha!)
       This movie is even funnier than the original. I didn't know that was possible, but it was absolutely hilarious, with thousands of in-jokes, references, visual gags, and subtle nods. I was in my seat laughing my ass off. I won't ruin too much, but it gets truly spectacular with how they go about their jokes, especially in poking fun at the increasing darkness and "maturity" of recent blockbusters. Like any good sequel, it takes what works about the original and manages to expand on it. Not only with the humor, but with the plot, which, like the original, captures the fun and imagination of being young and the energy of playing around with Legos and building up these great, expansive worlds. Again, no spoilers, but like the original, there is a surpisingly poignant moral that legitimately made me cry a little. It was that impactful, and its heartfelt nature was a very pleasant surprise even for a film series as smart as this.
        I had this problem with "Lego Batman" in that, unlike the first one, they didn't have many sequences where they use Legos in building sequences. They're there, certainly, and are fun while there, but I felt like more could've been in there, to help build on the foundations the original did.
        When it comes out next week, go see it. Anyone who is willing or interested, go see this. This will probably be one of the best films of the year. It is fantastic in every respect, and just a sheer delight to watch. I will certainly watch this for years to come. It is a family film in all respects, in that everyone will find something to absolutely adore about this film. 

Current Film Review: Justice League

    You know, I had higher expectations for this film. Wonder Woman was good, and Joss Whedon was brought in help with the reshoots, following an incredibly tragic death in director Zac Synder's family. Whilst the trailers weren't impressive, it didn't seem like the disasters that Man of Steel, Batman V. Superman, and Suicide Squad turned out to be. Maybe they were starting to get the idea. Maybe this would continue the streak Wonder Woman started. Maybe they could create a viable cinematic universe. After seeing the film.... Let's get this over with.

       Based on the DC team created by Gardner Fox, we start immediately after the events of BvS. While the world is in shock following Superman's (Henry Cavill) death, Batman (Ben Affleck) is seeing strange creature appear across the world, and trying to assemble a league of heroes with Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) to try to protect the Earth from impending threats. This includes Arthur Curry, alias Aquaman (Jason Mamoa); Barry Allen, alias Flash (Ezra Miller); and Vic Stone, alias Cyborg (Ray Fisher).  Sure enough, Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds), a member of the New Gods (Jack Kirby's group of powerful beings in the DC universe) and commander from Apokolips (in the comics, the realm dominated by Darkseid), comes to Earth to gain the three Motherboxes, which he had previously fought a war on Earth with the power, only for an allaince of humans, Amazons, Atlantians, Green Lanterns, what have you, and which have reactivated with Superman's death. Now, Batman and Wonder Woman must assemble the League and stop Steppenwolf from gaining the three Motherboxes. They may even get some help from beyond the gra.... Okay why do I have to treat that like it's a spoiler. It was obvious this was going to happen, but...

        Good things: Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot (as they were in the last film), Ray Fisher as Cyborg, Ezra Miller (in parts) as the Flash, decent McGuffin, creative creature design, some decent fight scenes, some good jokes (likely the product of Whedon), a decent enough homage to a classic comic in one of the, oh yeah, there are two after-credit scenes for this. Some nice nods to the DCU.

       The main problems with this film are the same problems with Batman v. Superman and Suicide Squad. Like BvS, it is boring, a slog that drags on too long with its portentous alleged grandiosity. Despite the use of iconic characters and settings from a shared universe with large history, it just doesn't click on screen, with its action scenes simply not illiciting excitement and its character moments either clearly cut down, or pretentious. The overuse of CGI doesn't help in the former's case. It resembles a DC video game at times. Not even a modern one. One that might have been on the Playstation 2. Which brings me to the Suicide Squad comparison, which involves very heavy studio interference. It is abundantly clear this was hacked up by the studio after Whedon finished the reshoots and editing. Like Suicide Squad, this makes the film very haphazard, going from a sequel very much fitting in the universe of the previous films, to an Avengers-style character romp. It's jarring, and the retouched shots, like the bad CGI, create a very ugly looking film. It looks low budget, which is not a criticism that should not be for a film that cost $300 million to make.

       This was not as bad as Batman v. Superman or Suicide Squad. That's not an endorsement, given that this was merely bad, as opposed to inconceivably awful. If you, for whatever reason, liked the other DCEU films, you might like this. If you didn't, but Wonder Woman got your hopes up, well, it turned out how you expected. I really don't have much else to say. This was like cold, stale oatmeal. It was bad in a generic, forgettable fashion.

     I am going to do a double feature, because I want to share with you something that I had found. A film that has technically has been released for several weeks on the internet, but is only now getting reviews ahead of it's theatrical release. The November Criminals. Never heard of it? Well, let us take a look into it.

Current Film Reviews- The Lego Batman Movie

     Remember in last year's list, where I said that I was probably not going to see another Batman movie, except this one. Well, actually seeing this movie reminded me of why Batman is such an iconic character. It is a celebration of the character, along with being a parody, and it has a number of gags relating to the rich Batman mythos. Also, given that grimdark Batman is dead horse mangled and distorted at this point, lighter, campier Batman (clearly inspired by and constantly referencing ("Bat Shark-Repellent) the TV series starring Adam West) is more than welcome. Really, the critical reevaluation of the 1966 television series, long derided by Batman fans since the comics run of Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adam in the 70's, and the Dark Knight Returns in the mid-80's, as a different interpretation of the character is more than welcome. Frankly, I will go as far as saying that this is the best Batman movie since the Dark Knight. I've grown to see the Dark Knight Rises as flawed, and Batman v. Superman was one of the worst films I saw last year. Given that Batman has reached "Peak Batman", this was refreshing. A satirical look into Batman, which also really does do it's homework, and shows aspects of the character that are rarely explored.

      Based on the comic character created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, done using Legos, the popular Danish toy blocks, Batman (Will Arnett) is the defender of Gotham City, fighting a number of colorful villains in order to rid Gotham's streets of crime. He is also a pompous, self-aggrandizing loner, who refuses any sort of self-reflection or company, even when his butler Alfred (Ralph Fiennes) tries to confront Batman over his behavior. He begins the film by singlehandedly defeating what seems to be his entire rogue gallery from a wide range of mediums ( like Kite Man, Calendar Man, and Condiment King. Believe or not, those are all actual Batman villains, along with the all other ones they reference in the movie). He accidentally offends the Joker (Zach Galifianakis) by saying that the Joker is not in fact his greatest enemy. The Joker, seeking Batman's complete and utter contempt, sees that Superman (Channing Tatum) throws many of his enemies into the Phantom Zone, giving him an idea for the ultimate crime. During Commissioner James Gordon's (Hector Elizondo) retirement party, Batman, in his guise as Bruce Wayne, inadvertently adopts orphan Dick Grayson, Age 12 (Michael Cera), and sees the presentation by new Commission and Gordon's daughter Barbara (Rosario Dawson), who wants Batman to cooperate more with the Gotham police, which Batman scoffs at. Joker and the Anti-Batman Army arrive to seemingly crash the party, but surprises everyone when the Joker surrenders on all their behalf. Batman is suspicious, and decides to banish the Joker to the Phantom Zone, using Superman's Phantom Zone gun-thing. After rebuking the eternally enthusiastic Grayson, he decides to bring him on, since he is small enough to get through the vents at the Fortress of Solitude. Grayson dons one of Batman's alternate costume "Reggae Man", (without the pants), and calls himself "Robin". Batman begins to grow closer to Robin after the latter successfully gains the gun. Batman uses it on the Joker. However, the Joker had anticipated this, and got Harley Quinn (Jenny Slate) to get him out. In the Phantom Zone, he gets the other villains (including Voldemort, Sauron, and the Wicked Witch of the East) to join him in exchange for their freedom (though oddly, Zod was not among them). Now, with larger than life villains attacking Gotham, Batman, Robin, Barbara and Alfred must stop the villains. And Batman must confront his socialization and emotional issues relating to having a family.

      First, it was very refreshing, after years of Batmen who are all brooding, emotionless matyr, to see a Batman who is completely full of himself. It's a good change of pace. It also has a lot of nods to the entire history of Batman, from the original Kane-Finger incarnation to '66 series to The Animated Series and the DCAU. The film uses the rich history of Batman create many visual references and gags, which will be a delight to anyone who can spot them. I also liked that it emphasized why Batman needs a Robin, and really, the entire "Batman family." It emphasizes that he needs them as support, both as literal support and emotional support. Robin especially. Many people dislike Robin, because they feel a little kid trivializes the dark, brooding "I'm sad, because I lost my parents" detective (even though Robin was introduced in April, 1940, a mere 7 months after Batman debuted, so he was as old as the franchise.) When I saw this movie, I thought about Bill Finger's reason for creating Robin in the first place. Batman was like Sherlock Holmes, and Holmes needed Watson, because Watson was someone he could get support from, someone to bounce off of, someone the audience could look through and watch the character from a neutral standpoint. Robin was essentially Batman's Watson. This movie, I think, best summarizes why Robin is needed. He is Batman's family, and Batman feels an obligation to take of him, because (and this is not in the movie, but from the comics), Dick Grayson's parents also died very tragically from an accident while performing in the circus. Getting away from that for my last point, it was fun. It was fun, and I enjoyed every minute of it. That is more than I can say of Dawn of Boredom. 
     I wish more was done with the actual Legos. In The Lego Movie, they used Legos in very interesting and creative ways, and the whole theme of that film involved creativity. Here, yeah, they use the Lego setting a few times, (like a very creative climax), but I feel more could've been done with the fact that it was all Legos, and put that to creative use. I also feel that there were a little too many characters during the climax. It was somewhat amusing to see Sauron and King Kong, but there was Voldemort, apparently, and I didn't recognize him.That's severe nitpicking, but that did bother me.

     Like I said, best Batman since The Dark Knight. I think with this, and The Lego Movie, despite not being big into Legos, I might be on board with the Lego movies. They're a lot more interesting and fun than most of the blockbusters coming out today. I would recommend it as a good kids film, or a good film for a comics fan. All I have left to just say to go and watch it.