Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a turkey.

When Marvel’s original The Avengers movie debuted, Jon Favreau’s Iron Man, Kenneth Branagh’s Thor and the WW2-era Captain America: The First Avenger were already fan and critic favorites. In 2012, we just hoped that adding too many heroes didn’t spoil the fun, which didn’t happen in that excellent superhero film. (Avengers: Age of Ultron is another story.)

DC has given us the low-flying Man of Steel, the unwatchable The Green Lantern, Razzie winner Catwoman and as many good Batman films as bad ones.

We should have seen this mess coming as far away as Krypton.

We didn't because Zack Snyder’s much hyped Batman v Superman has one of DC comic’s best storylines going for it: the rivalry and conflict between the vigilante Dark Knight (Ben Afflek) and the do-gooding Man of Steel (Henry Cavill). When we do get to the fight between the duo, it's dynamic. Unfortunately there are two and a half hours of bloated action scenes, a preposterous plot, pointless dream sequences, dark cinematography, an annoying Joker-take on Lex Luthor(Jesse Eisenberg), something big and tall to fight for the final act and countless teasers for future DC films.

Even worse, Snyder’s film insults us by making us watch Bruce Wayne’s parents get murdered again. How many times have we seen that in our lifetime?

A film with these top heroes should have either been a tight, single story clash-of-the-titans drama for the ages, or a lighter, vibrant alternative to Marvel. This is neither. Is it too late to cancel all the future DC hero films?

Simply put: Superfluous and super disappointing. DC should stick to TV (Flash, Green Arrow) and Legos (The Lego Movie.) Not for kids. Not for adults.

Award potential: Zero.

The ten buck review: Not worth ten bucks.

Pee Wee’s Big Holiday

That’s his name don’t wear it out.

The word of the day is: relief. For fans (like me) that have been worried a sequel to 1985’s Pee Wee’s Big Adventure from a 63-year old Paul Reubens would be a sad, creepy or embarrassing bookend to the Pee Wee legacy — fear no more.

Pee Wee’s Big Holiday is a solid Judd Apatow production with a ton of laughs and just a few flaws. Surprisingly, none of those flaws are physical. Digital retouching has made Pee Wee visually timeless, and Reubens has energy to spare.

Similar to last year’s Star Wars and Jurassic Park reboots, Big Holiday hits the nostalgia button often by recreating similar moments. Unfortunately the road trip plot is too similar and begs too many comparisons to the groundbreaking eighties comedy.

Despite those missteps, Apatow (SuperBad, Stepbrothers) and Reubens know how to tap into a kid mindset to pull off sweet funny moments like a bromance with Joe Manganiello (Magic Mike) that totally works, and LOL moments from tantrums and screams that go too far to some comic gold hilarity with a balloon.

Although he’s no longer an innovator, a loner or a rebel, Reubens is still a comic genius who only needs a balloon and two minutes of screen time to deliver the biggest laugh of the year so far.

Simply put: For a nostalgic trip, Pee Wee fits into the suit just fine.

Award potential: Despite a score by Mark Mothersbaugh (Devo) and seamless visual effects to keep Pee Wee young, this is not awards bait.

The ten buck review: Worth ten bucks.

 

How to survive the first Sunday without Downton Abbey

Missing Downton Abbey already? Get your fix next Sunday with these five films that even the Dowager Countess of Grantham would approve of.

1. Gosford Park (2001)
Gosford Park is a 1930’s period film, written by Julian Fellowes, the creator of Downton Abbey, and directed by the legendary Robert Altman. Upstairs guests and downstairs servants are assembled for a hunting party weekend when one of the group is murdered. It’s a high-class whodunit with a dream ensemble cast including: Helen Mirren, Kristin Scott Thomas, Emily Watson, Clive Owen, Ryan Phillippe — and Maggie Smith as Constance, a dependent countess with a quip for every occasion.

2. The Remains Of The Day (1993)
If you think Mr. Carson is uptight, then it’s time to meet Mr. Stevens. Anthony Hopkins (Mr. Stevens) and Emma Thompson (Miss Kenton) star in this moving story of a butler's steely devotion to his master (Christopher Reeve) and the high-spirited young woman who threatens to crack his reserve. The Remains of the Day received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Screenplay and more.

3. Cranford (2007)
Cranford, a BBC mini series, is a charming period drama set in northwest England in 1842. Dame Judi Dench leads a cast of quirky, snarky and lovable characters who live in a place governed by etiquette, custom and above all, an intricate network of ladies. Jim Carter, Downton’s Mr. Carson, appears in many episodes.

4. Anna Karenia (2012)
Set in late-19th-century Russia high-society, the aristocrat Anna Karenina (Keira Knightley) enters into a life-changing affair with the affluent Count Vronsky (Jude Law). Michelle Dockery, Downton’s Lady Mary Crawley, has a role as Princess Myagkaya. 
 
5. The Secrets of The Manor House Series
The Secrets of the Manor House, a PBS documentary series, looks at many ancient British houses, and how mounting financial, political and social pressures brought momentous changes to both the wealthy and their servants. The Secrets of Highclere Castle explores the home that is the setting to Downton Abbey, The Secrets of Althorp –The Spencers navigates viewers through the childhood home and final resting place of Diana, Princess of Wales and The Secrets of Henry VIII's Palace: Hampton Court Secrets of Chatsworth visits the Tudor palace. All are perfectly charming. 

Worth ten bucks? All are worth ten bucks.

London Has Fallen

This franchise has fallen.

In 2013, Olympus Has Fallen, the modest Die Hard-in-the-White-House film, outperformed the similarly plotted but ultimately less entertaining White House Down. Both were better than London Has Fallen.

In this sequel to Olympus, the death of the British prime minister lures the world's most powerful leaders to a funeral in London — and to a terrorist trap. After the attack, Secret Service agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) guides U.S. President Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart) through the city to escape from the bad guys.

True to many sequels, bigger is not better. All the original’s suspense of being trapped in the White House disappears when the action is expanded to a sprawling city.

This is the type of film where the heroes are targeted by armies of terrorists who can’t seem to get just one shot or grenade on the heroes before they are all taken out. Those types of films can be fun with James Bond or Arnold Schwarzenegger’s characters, but I don’t buy it from a serious, gritty Gerard Butler.

Even worse, the xenophobic ending felt reckless and irresponsible given everything going on in the world today.

Simply put: Sometimes having Morgan Freeman as Vice President is not enough.

Award potential: None.

The ten buck review: Not worth ten bucks.

The 5 films you should see before Oscar Night

Without spending the week in a theater, it’s sorta impossible see every important movie before February 28. Seeing these five will keep you in the conversation on Oscar Night.

The Revenant

You’ll want to have an opinion on that bear scene…and that horse scene. The Revenant is going to roar on Oscar Night; it is nominated for the most Oscars (12) and is the front- runner for Best Actor and Best Cinematographer. It has a good chance to win Best Picture and Best Director as well.

(In theaters.)

Mad Max: Fury Road

Released last summer, this film should go the distance on Oscar Night.

It was nominated for 10 Oscars and will likely topple Star Wars for all the technical awards: Visual Effects, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing Makeup. It’s my current bet for a Best Director upset and largest tally of the night.

(On HBO, HBO GO and HBO Now.)

Spotlight and The Big Short

I cheated with two films, but you’ve seen at least one of these already, right? These are very likely your Best Original and Best Adapted Screenplay winners. Either of them could take Best Picture so you should have a favorite to root for.

(Spotlight is available On Demand/iTunes. The Big Short is in theaters.)

World Of Tomorrow

If you want to be in the know, but don’t have time to see everything, this frontrunner for Best Animated Short Film is for you. It’s free on Netflix and you can watch it in 17 minutes.  

(Available on Netflix. See all of the Best Animated Shorts at the Magnolia Theater in Dallas.)

Creed

Since you can’t see every movie that’s going to win, I’d suggest this one. Not only was Creed the perfect mix of nostalgia and fresh movie magic, but it’s family to Academy Award royalty.

Forty years after Rocky took Best Picture, Stallone is likely to accept the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for playing Balboa again. It should be one of the show’s finer moments.

(Available On Demand, iTunes and more.)

Win your Oscars pool: 8 ways to science the sh*t out of your picks.

My gut tells me that Oscar voters are more likely to pick prestige films such as Spotlight and The Revenant across the board, but history tells me otherwise. To quote Matt Damon’s character from The Martian, let’s “science the sh*t out of” this year’s Oscar nominations — so that you can win your Oscars pool.

1. Win the Best Director category

Go with whoever won the Director’s Guild of America award. Those winners have matched 61 times in the past 68 years. 

2. Win the Best Sound Editing category

No need to vote for the prestige film here. The loudest movie takes Best Sound Editing, period. Speed, Pearl Harbor and Bourne Ultimatum have all won Oscars, for real. If there is a war movie, pick it.

3. Win the Visual Effects category
We can narrow this group to two. Historically, a Best Visual Effects nominee that also has a Best Picture nomination will always win. Good news for The Revenant. For eight of the past 12 VES Awards, the winner for Outstanding VFX has gone on to win the Oscar. Good news for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

4. Win the Best Costume category 
True to life period movies (versus creative or modern ones) have won Best Costume for 20 of the past 24 years. Exceptions were Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Dracula, Alice in Wonderland and last year’s The Grand Budapest Hotel.

5. Win the show’s-running-time tiebreaker.
In 2002, the show ran four hours and 23 minutes. Whew! But more recently, the show has trended consistently shorter. Here are the timings on the past seven years:

2009: 3 hours, 30 minutes
2010: 3 hours, 37 minutes
2011: 3 hours, 15 minutes
2012: 3 hours, 14 minutes
2013: 3 hours, 35 minutes
2014: 3 hours, 30 minutes 

2015: 3 hours, 43 minutes

6. Win Best Documentary and Best Short Subject
Beginning just two years ago, ALL members of the Academy (not just category peers) can pick the winners of: Best Documentary Feature, Best Animated Short Subject and Best Live Action Short Subject.

That means everyone from actors to musicians will have a say instead of just documentarians, so dumb it down a bit when making your picks.

7. Win the Best Actor/Actress and Best Supporting Actor/Supporting Actress categories

The SAG voters are all actors and are the largest block of voters for the Academy Award. Choose the SAG winners and you’re likely to win.

In the past ten years:
100% of the SAG winners also took home the Oscar for Best Actor
80% of the SAG winners also took home the Oscar for Best Actress 
100% of the SAG winners also took home the Oscar for Best Suppporting Actor
80% of the SAG winners also took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress 

An interesting note: Kate Winslet is the cause of two of those four misses above and this year she is competing behind frontrunner Alicia Vikander for Best Supporting Actress.

8. Win the Best Picture category 

Most years, you can look to three awards to determine Best Picture: The PGA awards went for The Big Short, the Screen Actors Guild went for Spotlight and the Directors Guild went for The Revenant. So that old trick doesn’t help.

Let’s look at what didn’t happen. In the last 15 years, no Best Picture winner has missed an ACE nomination. Bad news for Spotlight.

In the past 50 years, only Titanic has won best picture without a screenplay nomination. Bad news for The Revenant.

For the last eight years, the Producers Guild’s choice for Best Picture went on to claim the top prize at the Oscars. There are only three exceptions since the PGA Awards were started a quarter-century ago: Brokeback Mountain, Saving Private Ryan and Apollo 13. Good news for The Big Short.

Creed

Call it a comeback.

The fact that we’re talking about a Rocky sequel during the awards season of 2016 is a huge accomplishment itself. This is one of the most exhausted franchises of all time, but somehow Creed has fashioned an underdog story that seems part new and part nostalgic.

The plot is simple. Adonis Johnson Creed (Michael B. Jordan), the son of former heavyweight champion Apollo Creed, hopes to become a legend in his own right. Enter Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) who reluctantly takes him under his wing.

Great fight sequences and a superb camera work are a one-two punch that keeps this story fresh.

From Jurassic World to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, 2015 was a very good year for reviving sequels. This one is superb.

Simply put: It’s a knockout.

Award potential: Jordan was fantastic but Sylvester Stallone reminds us why we fell in love with Rocky, the Academy Award Best Picture of 1976, and he is the frontrunner to win Best Supporting Actor.

The ten buck review: Worth ten bucks.