Chad C gets all super hero-y again for JUSTICE LEAGUE and considers crying by himself in a theater for WONDER. Which is better? What should you see? How many nude scenes in each? All (none) of these questions are answered inside your computer right now. Or your phone. Or whatever. Shut up.
This column will introduce you to the most popular movies that are coming out in theaters this weekend and why you should go see them. Which one will you see?
American Pastoral
Reasons to see this:
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-Winning Novel, American Pastoral tells the story of a middle class family who’s lives start crumbling due to their daughter’s radical political affiliation. Starring in this crime drama is Ewan McGregor (imagine Jim Law saying it – Euuuaan McGgggegor), Jennifer Connelly, Dakota Fanning, David Strathairn and more. Not only is Ewan McGregor the star of this film, he’s actually the director. This is his first directorial feature film. Be a good American and see American Pastoral this weekend.
Boo! A Madea Halloween
Reasons to see this:
Tyler Perry is back with another Madea movie. He’s the writer, producer, actor, and director of this Horredy. If you are a fan of these movies, then go check this out.
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
Reasons to see this:
TC is back!!! Cruise returns as Jack Reacher for the 2nd time. This time, Reacher must clear his name from a government conspiracy, as well as uncover secrets from his past. Cobie Smulders also stars in this gritty action flick. Edward Zwick is the writer and the director of this sequel. Zwick has directed Glory, Courage Under Fire, The Last Samurai, Blood Diamond, and Defiance. Don’t Reach for the remote. Go Back to the theater.
Keeping Up with the Joneses
Reasons to see this:
Keeping Up is about an everyday normal couple who gets brought into an international espionage plot by their neighbors, who aren’t who they appear to be. Dun dun dunnnn. The players in this action comedy are, Gal Gadot, Isla Fisher, Zach Galifianakis, Jon Hamm, Patton Oswalt, Matt Walsh, and more. Greg Mottola is the director on this film. Mottola’s last 4 films are, Superbad, Adventureland, Paul, and Clear History. If you’re trying to keep up with the new comedies that hit theaters, then go check this one out.
Ouija: Origin of Evil
Reasons to see this:
Wee-Gee 2. However, I think this is a prequel. So, Wee Gee 1? Anyway…..Los Angeles, 1967, a mother and her daughter invite evil into their home to help their seance scam business, but things obviously go wrong when the daughter becomes possessed. Boom. The cast for this horror film are, Lin Shaye, (Insidious crossover? Doubt it), Doug Jones, (Pan’s Labyrinth crossover? Nah), Annalise Basso, (Oculus crossover? Probably not), Kate Siegel, Henry Thomas and more. Writing and directing is Mike Flanagan. Flanagan has directed Absentia, Oculus, and Hush. If you liked the first one, then go see this one.
This will likely have spoilers, so Binge reader be warned. To preface all of this, I was hardly excited for Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. I just wasn’t into it. I love Batman. I honestly hate Superman. Anyone else that was going to be in that movie was only going to be a stepping stone to where we all want it to go. The trailers didn’t make me giddy. The TV spots didn’t have me counting how many weeks until the movie came out. I simply was uninterested in anything this movie had to offer. I wasn’t hateful towards it. I didn’t have any reason to be angry they made it. Zack Snyder was not a concern, though recently he hasn’t been at the strength I once recall. I didn’t think the story was going to be stupid, or that Jesse Eisenberg was going to be awful. I had absolutely zero commitment towards any stance on this movie. Now, I’ve seen it twice, once during each of the last two weekends. I came out of the movie the first time having enjoyed it, but not enough to rave about it. Then I saw it again this past weekend, and I’m completely at a loss to where the hatred for this movie comes from. The following is what I truly believe to be the problem with Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Upon a second viewing, I saw this movie as I feel any fan of anything in this movie should, with joy. There was something mysteriously present in Batman V Superman that I didn’t notice the first time. It is the dream of so many people to see these two on screen together, and its finally happened. This equates to expectations of the highest level, which is where this movie first begins to fail its viewers. This goes to show what the main issue with this movie is, and that is the viewer themselves. It’s hard not to enjoy this movie, simply for what it is. All plot points and weirdness aside, this movie was a good time at the theater on premiere weekend. I had a laundry list of issues including Batman’s sudden befriending of Superman, the Kryptonite spear dilemma, Superman in general, and Ben Affleck as Batman. There were so many things to complain about, yet somehow it couldn’t suck this movie to lifelessness as some suggest it is. Nothing about this movie changes the way critics react and what viewers will do or say following. People simply see movies in different lights and viewers will have their minds made up about this one. Nothing is going to change that, and I’m not here to try.
What Batman V Superman has though is tons of awesome. Wonder Woman couldn’t have been any more excellent, as she was totally captivating on screen. I don’t know who Gal Gadot is, but she was cool as all hell in that role and she fit it for me. I’ve never been a particularly die-hard Wonder Woman fan. I like when she shows up in comics and uses her tools to take down villains that the others can’t. She has a pretty decent running title right now and has been exploring some darker characters. After this movie, I want everything Wonder Woman and especially Gal Gadot’s. I’m obsessed with this character, and I am so insanely excited for the solo movie now, which I didn’t even know existed. The fact that she got to show up and kick Doomsday’s ass for the most part, and use her lasso on him was epic. She was done so damn well in this movie, I almost didn’t care about all of its faults. The second time she was no less entertaining, and I found myself seeking out Wonder Woman merchandise. God, she was so great on both sides of the character. And this is where I really saw what about this movie had me in high spirits, and that was what it meant to me as a child at heart.
This movie makes me want to get out the old action figures and make Batman and Superman fight like they did here. Each character had some tremendous scenes in this movie. Batman took a stand against many of the largest foes we have seen him face on screen. Bruce Wayne was faced with age and loss like we’ve never seen before. Superman actually lost hope in himself and society as a whole. Clark Kent was enraged by the potential harm of his mother that was out of even his control. Batman and Superman bantering over mothers and female coworkers was nothing short of hysterical. Superman losing his shit on the rooftop with Lex Luthor was one of the most intense comic book scenes in the DCU. Even when Superman had to admit to himself that he was like anyone else and would have to give up his golden boy reputation, I was on the verge of losing control. Everyone was upset by Superman’s death, but seeing him truly struggle with society’s reactions towards him was outstanding. Seeing an infallible character suffer at the hand of life and deal with that emotionally was just unprecedented for me. It’s something many rarely are able to touch on with Superman to make him a great character to enjoy.
This brings to another thing I ended up loving about this movie, and that was Superman. I enjoyed Man of Steel much more than I thought I would as well. It has a much different take on the character, something that sort of resembled a Superman: Earth One comic or something. A darker approach, but a true cinematic experience was Man of Steel. Then this movie comes along and delivers on several great Superman scenes. The rooftop scene with Lex was the turning point of the film and served as the top of the hill in this roller coaster. The dream sequence showing Superman stalking into Batman was terrifying, knowing how powerful and unhinged a lost Superman can be from Injustice, which is what the Knightmare sequence reminded me of. Then lastly, that touching scene where Super Clark finds Lois and tells her that he has to change Batman’s mind. He acknowledges that he could truly have become corrupted, that even he and his golden heart were susceptible to disgraceful actions. For me to even like anything Superman astounds me, and I thought he far out-shined his counterpart here.
Batfleck was exactly what I thought he would be. A serviceable Bruce Wayne that is not the worst as some claim, nor is he the best, though it’s hard to argue with who is better. His Batman worked for me, and it was really cool to see an older Batman for once. We’ve seen him so many times, getting this fresh take on it and in a different time in his career was cool to see. Robin is dead, not just waiting to show up. Joker has come and gone to ruin the life of Bruce Wayne. Alfred is like a nagging old grandfather begging for a grandchild to replace the void of his loss in Robin as well. There was so much to like about this take on Batman, as I felt it was probably the closest any of them have come to being like an Animated Series style and tone character. This movie is the closest a DC movie has brought me to a childlike sense of wonderment. Star Wars recently did this for me, but nothing has ever quite touched this in the superhero genre like the original X-Men or Spider-Man. I’ve been amazed by Marvel for years now, through the good and bad, which is where the hatred for this flick starts. But for me, it serves as the launching point for DC’s care of their characters, like realized long ago. DC fan service has begun, and if Batman V Superman didn’t give you a Batarang-sized Binge brain boner then I don’t know what will. Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice was the best DC movie outside of Nolan’s trilogy and either movie based on the works of the legend Alan Moore. Just think about it when you go back to watch it again, because you know you will…
Yeah, I was on vacation last week. What of it?!? So angry and defensive, the world I live in. We got a couple covers this week and lots of box office to look upon. So look upon it. As always, click the link below for the whole spreadsheet and get off my back. Jebus.
I know so many of you that were brokenhearted last weekend when you came to Binge Media and didn’t see your normal Sunday edition of Working the Weekend with Luke. Blame Comcast for that. But not to worry. I promised you five November columns, so in addition to this special Saturday edition, I’ll be back tomorrow as well. But for today, I give you what I was going to write about last weekend. Sequels, sequels, and more sequels.
DUMB AND DUMBER TO
I’ll start with Dumb & Dumber To, only because it was released yesterday. I’ll be the first to admit that I was a fan of the original. I had become a fan of Jim Carrey over the years, mainly due to his work on In Living Color. I loved Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and I was fifteen years old. I thought he was awesome. He was funny and charismatic and really got your attention when he was onscreen. I wasn’t sure how the Jeff Daniels pairing would work out, but they really seemed to have a good chemistry and the movie just worked. Lauren Holly was pretty hot at the time (remember when she was in movies) and there was a good supporting cast to boot. There were a ton of hysterical moments, ones that actually made you laugh out loud. But over the last twenty years, how many times have you actually wished for a sequel? In my opinion, the story had wrapped itself up nicely and I’ve never thought that the movie necessitated one. But after a lackluster decade, I guess the Farrelly brothers thought differently. I’m not saying I won’t ever watch it, but I certainly won’t be rushing to the theater to give them any money, especially after the trailer left me less than impressed.
JOE DIRT 2
Again, is this really necessary? I enjoyed the original. The role fit David Spade nicely and even more so than Dumb & Dumber, the supporting cast was crazy strong here. You had Dennis Miller, Kid Rock, Jaime Pressly, Fred Ward, Brittany Daniel, and of course, Christopher Walken. I can’t say I was blown away the first time I saw Joe Dirt, but over the years I’ve come to really enjoy it. It’s got a lot of funny moments, but also actually has more heart to it than you might think. But once again, the story had wrapped up and I’ve never felt that I needed more Joe Dirt in my life. But word came down recently that the sequel is just about ready to go and will be produced by Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison production company. Seeing as this movie may never actually make it to the theatre, but instead only to Crackle, basically an online TV station, I won’t feel too bad about not spending money to see this one either.
SUPER TROOPERS 2
The boys at Broken Lizard are basically the M. Night Shyamalan of comedy. You come out of the gate with an amazing piece of work and continue to decline as you go forward. Outside of Beerfest, there hasn’t been anything in the past thirteen years that Broken Lizard has put out that I’ve liked, except for Bill Paxton in Club Dread. Come on, you know “PinaColadaburg” was hysterical. So I’m not quite sure how to feel about the fact that Super Troopers 2 is a go. There’s no doubting that the original is great. I will admit that I’ve wanted a sequel to be done, because there actually is somewhere to go with these characters, especially with the way that the first one ended. Who wouldn’t want more of this?
FURIOUS 7
When The Fast and the Furious franchise started thirteen years ago, I really wasn’t as excited as some people were. I don’t pretend to know a damn thing about cars, and a movie with Paul Walker and Vin Diesel as the headliners didn’t do anything at all for me. To me, Vin Diesel was basically a robot and with all due respect, it’s not like Paul Walker was ever going to win an Oscar. So I avoided the franchise for years. But I specifically remember one Sunday afternoon being hungover like crazy with nothing of substance on television and seeing that the first two movies were playing back to back. With a “what the hell, I’ll give it a shot” attitude, I sat and watched fast cars and bad acting and the under-appreciated on the hot girl scale Jordana Brewster and I was hooked. Hell, I’ll admit that it just watched 2 Fast 2 Furious just this morning on Spike. The movies kept coming and while the third wasn’t that great, the franchise has grown into this crazy phenomenon. With all the people they’ve added to the movies, such as “The Rock” (I won’t call him Dwayne) and Gal Gadot and others, I’ve loved each and every sequel since they got the original crew back together. They’re movies that you can just sit back for two hours and enjoy. You don’t have to think or over-analyze anything. You can just enjoy some fast-paced action flicks and move on with your day. Add Jason Statham as the villain for Furious 7 and Kurt Russell as well and I’m in for what will probably be the last entry in this extremely fun franchise.
TOY STORY 4
Honestly, I don’t quite know how to feel about Toy Story 4. If you’re familiar with my recent trilogy countdown, then you know exactly how much I enjoy the current trilogy. If you haven’t read it, click HERE to check it out and then come back.
Welcome back…see what I mean. I love the Toy Story franchise. They’re not just good animated movies. They’re just damn good movies. The writing is absolutely brilliant and in my opinion, the movies improved each time. While Toy Story was great, Toy Story 2 was amazing, and Toy Story 3 is arguably one of the best movies ever made. So it stands to reason that Toy Story 4 will be better than the previous three. But I just don’t know how that’s possible. The ending of Toy Story 3 is one of the best endings to a franchise and in my humble opinion should just be left alone. But who am I to tell anyone not to go ahead and make a billion dollars? Because that’s what the next movie will do. Whether you like it or not, this movie is happening. We can only hope that the legacy isn’t tarnished. But don’t worry. We’ve got three more years to argue about it.
That will do it for the special Saturday edition of Working the Weekend with Luke. I’ll be back tomorrow for another entry, so until then, feel free to give me your thoughts on all of these sequels. How many will you be watching? Comment below or follow me on Twitter @THElukenorris. And to show you that not all sequels are a good idea, here’s a clip from the insanely awful 90210 that the CW attempted.