Movie Review: Suicide Squad (2016)

by Tony Dayoub


The highly anticipated Suicide Squad proves to be a not entirely unsurprising fizzle. It's the second in DC's expansion of its extended film universe (it's really not fair to count the far classier Man of Steel, which was never really meant to start this particular ball rolling, as part of the series). On paper, Suicide Squad looks like the most daring of the upcoming DC films. It features a deep stable of super-villains instead of the predictably stolid heroes. It is directed by David Ayer (End of Watch), a throwback to Walter Hill and the closest we've seen to a true auteur shaping this kind of film since Guillermo del Toro helmed Blade II. But save for a couple of lunatic performances by Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn and Jared Leto as Harley's boyfriend, the Joker, plus some lustrous cinematography by Roman Vasyanov, Suicide Squad is perhaps even more disappointing than its dark predecessor, Batman v. Superman.

Loose Thoughts on Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

by Tony Dayoub


I've been wracking my brain all week trying to figure out why I can't come up with a coherent review for this weekend's big hit, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. It wasn't until I saw it again this weekend, in an obligatory revisit to take my two young boys, when I came to this conclusion. My thoughts are only as scattershot as the film itself tends to be. Dawn of Justice is Zack Snyder's attempt at jump-starting the DC Extended Universe or DCEU, the filmic counterpart to its rival Marvel's own cinematic franchise the MCU. It is reminiscent of those graphic samplers DC Comics puts out a month before they introduce a major storyline that will snake through its entire publishing lineup. The movie tries to whet the viewer's appetite for future installments, but fails to come up with a satisfying story that can stand on its own. So why not mirror the movie itself in presenting my own disjointed thoughts on the failures (and yes, some minor successes) of this schizoid superhero dirge.

Blu-ray Review: The Flash:The Complete First Season (2015)

by Tony Dayoub


Spinning off from it's popular sister show, Arrow, The Flash largely succeeded from escaping Arrow's long shadow within just a couple of episodes. Where it took nearly its entire first season for Arrow to fully embrace its comic book origins and leave behind the teen soap conventions of its home network, the CW, The Flash arrived fully formed, as its creators confirm in the new blu-ray set's only audio commentary. It has done so by turning its back on the dark, brooding atmosphere popularized by the Dark Knight epics that Arrow emulates. Instead, The Flash feels sunny and optimistic, largely a credit to the enjoyable bumbling geekiness of its nice-guy star, Grant Gustin, and his interpretation of CSI tech Barry Allen. It's a show whose occasional X-Files creepiness never really exceeds Goosebumps-level frights, making it ideal for family viewing, a fact which I can personally attest to (my wife and kids love it as much as I do).

Movie Review: Man of Steel (2013)

by Tony Dayoub

"You'll believe a man can fly." That was the now famous tagline for Superman: The Movie (1978) as it was known then, a film that changed my life when I first saw it at 6 years of age at Miami's now non-existent Dadeland Theatre. I had seen plenty of movies by now, even films with more glorious special effects than that one. Star Wars had come out 19 months earlier, of course. But there was something magical about seeing one of my comic book heroes interpreted onto the screen so masterfully by director Richard Donner and the late actor Christopher Reeve, something about seeing it in a darkened theater balcony, the kind one rarely finds in existence these days. That film is a linchpin in my life I now realize, responsible for my love of Manhattan (which doubled for Superman's adopted city, Metropolis), inspiring me to learn about much of Hollywood history later due to its conflux of new and old actors, like Marlon Brando, Ned Beatty, Gene Hackman, and others. The point is Superman: The Movie casts a pretty large shadow in my life. So it was with some uneasiness that I went into Man of Steel.

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

by Tony Dayoub

Given the tragedy in Aurora, CO, running a review of The Dark Knight Rises (TDKR) on Friday morning just didn't seem right. It's the start of a new week, however, and many of you have had a chance to see the new film. I don't normally go in for spoiler warnings, but given the nature of this beloved franchise, here it goes: if you haven't seen the movie yet, READ AT YOUR OWN PERIL...

Movie Review: Green Lantern (2011)

by Tony Dayoub

There are many reasons why Green Lantern fails. Here are three of the primary ones. First, the movie spends far too much time on the GL's earthbound subplots instead of his distinctive galactic milieu. Second, Warner Brothers is so concerned with strip-mining its stable of DC Comics characters in order to compete with Marvel Entertainment that the larger conglomerate slavishly follows their rival's blueprint for success instead of merely looking for inspiration in it. Last, the filmmakers who cooked Green Lantern up miss a great opportunity to offer us a different take on the superhero film, transforming the square stoic of the comics into the same prototypical smart-aleck movie antihero that's a dime a dozen these days. More on this in a moment, but let's begin with a quick primer for those unfamiliar with the 52-year-old comic book hero.

Blu-ray Review: The Losers

by Tony Dayoub

When I got the Blu-ray for The Losers in the mail, I was interested in seeing what my reaction would be after seeing it a second time. It's a creampuff of a movie which I found enjoyable at the time of its release, with little aftertaste one way or the other. Seeing it again brings back one of the first thoughts I had back in April, I hope this quirky little action flick finds its audience on video.

DVD Review: Green Lantern: First Flight

Nothing new to say here. As many of you who have read my reviews before on these direct-to-video animation efforts by comics' Big Two, it basically boils down to this: DC good... Marvel bad. And while Marvel deserves a Most Improved award for their last release, Hulk vs., DC—by way of Warner Premiere—just keeps getting better and better. Their latest release, Green Lantern: First Flight—designed to prime the pump for the parent company's upcoming live-action movie starring Ryan Reynolds and directed by Martin Campbell (Casino Royale)—streamlines the traditional superhero story to get right into the good stuff. Before the credits roll, we are treated to one of the quickest superhero origin stories ever put on film. Test pilot Hal Jordan (Christopher Meloni) is summoned by the dying alien Abin Sur, an intergalactic cop known as a Green Lantern. They are so called because they wield a ring powered by an immense green-energy-emitting lantern located on the planet of Oa, at the center of the universe. After the credits, other Green Lanterns led by the veteran Sinestro (Victor Garber) show up looking for their fallen friend and take Jordan to Oa. There, a committee of blue-skinned elders known as the Guardians, skeptically agree to assign Jordan to Sinestro for training. In a Training Day-like scenario, Jordan soon learns that his mentor has grown bitter and resentful towards his bosses and is getting ready to stage a coup. Hilarity ensues. Well no, not really. One of the most rewarding qualities of DC's animated movies is their refusal to dumb the story down for kids. Whether it's The New Frontier's exploration of superheroes against a more realistic and turbulent fifties and sixties backdrop than the one comics provided, or Wonder Woman's examination of sexual politics, DC has more on their mind in these PG-13 releases than Marvel has ever had. First Flight may never attack any topics as substantial as the aforementioned, but it is still a nifty morality tale about the dilemmas one can face if they blindly follow authority. And what's the last time you saw the subversion of the establishment in a cop thriller? Green Lantern: First Flight is available Tuesday, July 28th on Blu-ray, Standard DVD, and Two-Disc DVD.

Movie Review: Watchmen

The most anticipated movie of the year opened this weekend. That thud you hear is the sound of Watchmen hitting the ground after its precipitous fall from a stunning opening weekend to face what will no doubt be one of the largest drops in attendance on its upcoming second weekend in the box office. With little to appeal to the mass audience, and grand disappointment for its loyal fanboys, word of mouth on this movie shall be less than enthusiastic. Director Zack Snyder has delivered a beautiful reenactment of the comic book that even Max Fischer could be proud of. But all of the sly satirical elements that author Alan Moore so cleverly imbued his story with have been lost in its translation to the screen, leaving behind a hollow shell that doesn't vivify the greatest graphic novel of all time as much as mimic its appearance. It is 1985, Nixon is on his fifth term and the world is quite used to the idea of masked vigilantes running around. But they are mostly retired or in hiding now, due to the Keene Act, passed to restrict their activities after they arrogantly started operating under their own violent code. Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley) investigates the murder of a retired "mask," the Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). Dan Dreiberg, the second Nite Owl (Patrick Wilson), leads a dull life as a civilian, often meeting up with his predecessor to swap stories about the good old days. Billionaire Adrian Veidt (Matthew Goode) releases ancillary products capitalizing on his former fame as "mask" Ozymandias. Laurie Jupiter (Malin Akerman) deals with her identity as Silk Spectre, a legacy left to her by her mother, Sally (Carla Gugino), while her marriage to the godlike Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup) slowly crumbles. Rorschach's obsessive pursuit of the "Mask-Killer" will soon reunite the group in order to uncover the truth. Moore's Watchmen was the apotheosis of the superhero genre in comic books. It was Moore's comment on the new realism encroaching into the violent comics of the eighties, comics such as Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, where Batman was depicted as just south of fascistic, an elderly Dirty Harry exacting revenge on Gotham's criminals with little regard for justice or public safety. When Rorschach uncovers a secret vault at a murder victim's apartment containing the Comedian's costume, it could easily be confused for a Bondage closet with its array of leather trappings, represented primarily by a full over-the-head leather mask often seen in fetish art. When the Nite Owl and Silk Spectre use an airship to save some folks from a burning building, Spectre's admonition to one of the victims is, "Listen, I don't care about your 'allergies' or your 'medicine'. Just get in the ship, you asshole." Moore was sharply criticizing superhero comics' loss of innocence, using new characters he created to give the reader some perspective. But he still made them close enough in spirit to allow us to see what Batman, Superman, etc. (actually his characters are based on the Charlton characters, i.e. Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, Peacemaker and the Question) could be perverted into in this new trendy wave of darker stories. Snyder seems to have missed these underlying clever touches in adapting the graphic novel to the screen. Ironically, he seems slavishly devoted to most of the book, duplicating the look and feel of many classic panels of art from the book. Our first encounter with each of the characters is virtually a straight visual quote of pages from the book. But when it comes to the substance, there are some fatal lapses of judgement that eviscerate the story. Gone is the Comedian's S&M inflected leather mask, replaced by a traditional Robin-like diamond mask. So is the inferred thematic point that it takes a depraved lunatic to get off on the feeling of power associated with donning a superhero costume. Gone is Laurie's statement towards the victim of the burning house. Along with it goes the irony of having the Silk Spectre and Nite Owl "save" the victims without viewing them as people with individual needs requiring special attention. Worst of all, Snyder seems to glorify the violence that Moore was so adamantly denigrating. When the vigilantes take on street thugs, bones snap violently, bursting through skin. Rorschach's dousing of a convict's face with boiling oil is given a lingering closeup. And the murder of the Comedian, amongst other violent incidents, is given the now-trademark Snyder treatment, the stop-start fast-then-slow-motion effect so prevalent in his previous film, 300. All of these have the effect of beautifying the gore and brutality, the very thing that Alan Moore sought to undermine with his thoughtful commentary on then-current superhero comics. If there's any indication of what kind of success lies ahead for Watchmen, there's this. The 7 p.m. Saturday showing I attended had only been full to a fifth of its capacity despite agreeable weather. And the audience that was present - all geeky 24 of the fanboys - were reduced to a stunned silence as they tried to figure out whether Snyder's cliched use of "The Sound of Silence" in a funeral scene was a sly dig at cinema as a vehicle to promote a soundtrack, or just another hollow signpost used in hopes of evoking an emotion from a technically proficient but artistically untalented commercial director.

DVD Review: Wonder Woman

Warner Premiere continues its line of direct-to-video animated releases this week with the release of its fourth film, Wonder Woman. As usual, no shortcuts have been taken here. This is a fresh take on the Amazon Princess that still pays homage to her recent comic book run. As seems to be the case with most animated movies of this ilk, the movie lays the foundation for a future live-action property by summing up the protagonist's history for a new audience. Gone is the World War II-era canon established by the 1970s Lynda Carter TV series, and its comic book progenitor. Instead, the story relies on the 1985 George Perez relaunch, a modern retelling with underpinnings from Greek mythology. In this version it is her people's enmity with the god Ares (Alfred Molina), and their fear of the war-mongering "Man's World," that necessitates the debut of Princess Diana (Keri Russell) in America, hopefully not as an Amazon warrior but as an emissary of peace. Despite the character's popularity in pop culture, and easily identifiable persona from Cartoon Network fare such as Justice League Unlimited, her look and attitude has been subtly modified to befit her Greek heritage. This Wonder Woman is a little thicker, more full-lipped, and exotic looking, a nice counterpoint to the impossibly proportioned Barbie-doll often depicted in the past. Cowriters Gail Simone, wildly popular and masterful as a writer of female protagonists in DC Comics (including the current run of Wonder Woman), and Michael Jelenic perfectly capture the right attitude of this piece. Here's a look at a promotional video (courtesy of Warner Home Video) that gives you a taste: Simone and Jelenic subvert traditional adolescent male fantasies about the character by setting them up through Princess Diana's paramour, Steve Trevor (Nathan Fillion), and his failed attempts to seduce the avowed feminist raised outside the sphere of male-dominated sexual politics. Particularly funny is a scene in which he tries to get her drunk on tequila, and she manages to drink him under the table. Yes, this is a PG-13 cartoon. It is aimed at the same audience Warner hopes to capitalize on once they manage to get their Wonder Woman project underway after years of being stalled for one reason or another. The rating allows for some realistic violence and a darker tone that would be in keeping with the villain of the piece, the god of war. It also lures some A-list talent to contribute their voices to the project, elevating DC's direct-to-video animated fare over Marvel's. In addition to Russell, Fillion, and Molina, other actors include Virgina Madsen (Queen Hippolyta), Rosario Dawson (Artemis), David McCallum (Zeus), Oliver Platt (Hades), and Marg Helgenberger (Hera). The disc includes a first look at the next animated project they will tackle for release in July, DC's Green Lantern, which MTV recently announced is slated for a live-action debut in December 2010. From the looks of this project, fans have reason to be excited. Wonder Woman is available tomorrow on Blu-ray and Standard DVD. Still and video provided courtesy of Warner Home Entertainment.

Movie Trailer: Wonder Woman

by Tony Dayoub



Here's the trailer for another of Warner Premiere's continuing line of straight-to-DVD animated flicks, this one focusing on Wonder Woman.


The voice talent on this one is the most interesting so far with Keri Russell (Waitress) as Wonder Woman, Nathan Fillion (Desperate Housewives) as Steve Trevor, Virginia Madsen (Sideways) as Hyppolyta, Oliver Platt (Nip/Tuck) as Hades, Alfred Molina (Spider Man 2) as Ares, and Rosario Dawson (Sin City) as Artemis.

It is set for release on February 2009.

Click on the picture below for a look at the trailer.

Movie Review: The Dark Knight - My Dark Night, or Part One: How My Wife Always Comes Through in a Crunch

by Tony Dayoub



All summer, I had slowly been getting caught up in the Batmania gripping the country this weekend... as I did when I was a five-year old catching episodes of the Adam West series on The Skipper Chuck Show on WTVJ in Miami... as I did in June of 1989, when I went to the midnight screening of Tim Burton's Batman at the General Cinemas' Miracle Center 10... as I had been doing now, trying to convince my wife to find us a babysitter for this weekend so we could go see the movie together. Movie geekouts are so much more fun to share with someone else. And the hype on this movie had built to such a crescendo.


Alas, my wife displayed little interest. Who could blame her? Knowing only the Batman from TV and cinema, she was not far off when she explained that the character always seemed a little stiff, especially compared to the more dynamic Marvel characters she knew from the multiplex. I, of course, knew the seventies-era Darknight Detective interpreted by Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams, the one we got a glimpse of in Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins (2005)) where he faced Ra's Al Ghul, an O'Neil and Adams creation. Would I be expecting too much in hoping we'd see more of him in The Dark Knight?

I secured tickets for one of the many Thursday midnight screenings blanketing North America, ostensibly an effort to have my review up on Friday, but really caught up in a Batmania relapse. This action may seem unimpressive, but in fact, it is pretty major once you consider that I have a tendency to fall asleep at any movie I start watching after 10pm. This results in me confusing it with hating the movie since the only other movies I fall asleep at are ones that I despise. However, when I am confident that I can have a nap sometime during the day before catching the movie, I can neutralize any ambivalence I have towards seeing it so late.

Yeah, I know... I'm only 36, but I've got one foot in the nursing home already.

I make it to the theater, sit through some astounding trailers for Ridley Scott's Body of Lies, Quantum of Solace, Watchmen, and the teaser for Terminator: Salvation. The film starts, and immediately my attention is riveted by the opening bank heist scene. As the movie rolls past the one hour mark, I continue to grow enthralled. Just after the police funeral march setpiece, many of my fellow theatergoers start running out of the theater and yelling. Suddenly, the movie stops, and the theater management comes in to explain that a reel of the film was spliced out of order. I've had bad luck with this before. Due to the late hour, they aren't able to fix it, or keep the theater open since their staff will be leaving soon for the night. So we are all given two passes to make up for the problem.

Have you ever been at the dead center of an angry mob with no way out? I was seriously fearing for my life about the time that one guy that always instigates these kinds of things starts yelling, "I don't want your stupid passes. I paid to see The Dark Knight tonight, and I'll wait till 3 or 4 a.m. if I have to. And I think everyone here will do the same," with echoes of "Yeah, Dark Knight," heard throughout the mob.

Needless to say, we were unable to see it that night. I lost precious sleep and time for no good reason, and I couldn't get my review up on Friday as I had hoped.

But the good news is that my wife moved heaven and earth to get us a babysitter last night, and slipped out of work on time (which is rare for her line of work on a Friday) allowing us to see the film together in its entirety... which is, funny enough, the way I wanted to see it in the first place. I was happy. I loved the film. She loved it, and all is right in my world, again.

This article is therefore dedicated to her for being so supportive of me, this site, and my sometimes obsessive love of cinema. I love you, Dee.

Gotham Story: The Tragedy of Harvey Dent, or Part Two: The Actual Film Analysis will follow later today.

Movie Trailer: Watchmen

by Tony Dayoub



The release of The Dark Knight today, and the upcoming San Diego Comic Con, bring us the start of a new wave of publicity promoting next year's genre films.


One to definitely keep your eye on is Watchmen, Zack Snyder's adaptation of the graphic novel widely considered to be one of the best of all time, and in fact, one of the best pieces of literature of the last hundred years (by Time Magazine, no less).

Click on the picture above to be directed to the revamped website, where you can see the new trailer, and learn more about the story, relatively unknown by the mainstream.

Let me know what you think of it.

DVD Review: Justice League: The New Frontier - Animated Spotlight On Real-World Issues

by Tony Dayoub

Taking advantage of the current superhero genre craze, Warner Premiere has just released its second DC Comics-inspired direct-to-DVD feature, Justice League: The New Frontier. Animated in a style reminiscent of Darwyn Cooke's original comics series, it is a sight to behold.

It also carries a PG-13 rating, so don't go running to the store to get it for your kids. Like the comic, it has decidedly mature themes. The story is seen through the eyes of test-pilot Hal Jordan, future Green Lantern. He embodies the type of new hero emerging at the dawn of the Kennedy era. While still cut from the cloth of "true American heroes" like Chuck Yeager, this generation has to deal with more gray areas than their predecessors. Even establishment heroes like Superman and Wonder Woman find themselves at odds with each other when it becomes evident that the new villains are not as clearly defined.