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Movie Review

Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021) Movie Review

Zack Snyder’s Justice League – True Epic of the Superhero World

Director: Zack Snyder

Writer: Chris Terrio (Screenplay) Zack Snyder, Chris Terrio, Will Beall (Story)

Starring: Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Ben Affleck, Amy Adams, Jared Leto, Jason Momoa, Robin Wright, Ciaran Hinds, Ray Fisher, Ezra Miller

Plot: Zack Snyder’s definitive director’s cut of Justice League. Determined to ensure Superman’s ultimate sacrifice was not in vain, Bruce Wayne aligns forces with Diana Prince with plans to recruit a team of metahumans to protect the world from an approaching threat of catastrophic proportions.

Runtime: 4 Hours 2 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Zack Snyder’s Justice League starts when Steppenwolf comes to Earth in search of the three mother boxes, one guarded by the Amazonians, one by the Atlanteans and one with humans. Bruce Wayne (Affleck) sees the dangers coming to Earth and wants to put together a team, he knows he can rely on Diana (Gadot) and now he turns to the mystery man Arthur Curry (Momoa) who has a connection to the waters of the world, young men Barry Allen (Miller) and Vince Stone (Fisher).

Once Bruce puts the team together, he must find a way to bring Superman (Cavill) back from the dead to help them defeat Steppenwolf and the new threat coming to Earth, Darkseid.

Thoughts on Zack Snyder’s Justice League

Characters & Performances – Bruce Wayne is the man that must put together the team to fight, he knows he can’t win this fight without the help of the stronger heroes. He recruits and fights alongside the heroes, bring the human factor to the fight, showing his own weakness in the fight. Ben Affleck does make for a great Bruce Wayne, showing us the older version, we haven’t seen before. Diana/Wonder Woman is the one person Bruce can rely on from their previous fight, she has seen the wars before and knows the danger of the next one and will help recruit for the fight. Gal Gadot continues to show just how perfectly cast she is in this role. Superman is the one being that could the table in the fight, needing to be bought back to help secure the battle. Henry Cavill did always look the part here never looking out of place in this role. Arthur/Aquaman might well be the reluctant hero who is still waiting to embrace his own place in the world, while we have seen a different version of him in his own film, he does feel like the outsider and reluctant father figure to the group. James Momoa does this role well, even though he is one of the few characters it would have been nice to see more from. Victor Stone/Cyborg is by far the most interesting addition to this film, he has the tortured past that is still adapting to the changes in his life, with a connection to technology, he must embrace the change in his life to become the most valuable member of the league. Ray Fisher is wonderful here, giving us the strongest of the performances in this film without a shadow of a doubt. Barry Allen is the Flash he has started using his abilities to help people and caught the eye of Bruce, he is in need of a father figure in his own life and now he gets to see his lighter hearted nature to the big fight. Ezra Miller does bring us a few laughs in the film, while also being the most naïve member of the team. Steppenwolf is the villainous figure collecting the mother boxes to destroy the world, he will use his team to kill anyone who gets in his way, all for a chance to prove his own worth in the world. Even with the small human roles of major importance, they get the scenes that will make an impact in the film.

StoryThe story here follows Bruce Wayne’s attempt to bring together a group of fighters that will be needed to help fight back against a new evil in the world, one that is after global destruction. The story might well still have the same core motivation behind everything going on with good versus evil. Where this version excels is in the character development for the newest additions to the cast, with Cyborg become the key factor to everything going on in the story, as well as other members of the team getting a fuller part of what is going on in the bigger vision of the world. If this story was the one we had seen, the universe would have been infinitely better for everyone involved going forward.

ThemesZack Snyder’s Justice League is filled with the superhero action that will use the powers of everyone involved, using the large-scale moments which are always going to entertain. It uses the locations to bring forward more questions, with what we see in the epilogue. The special effects are brilliant to watch unfold, never looking out of place in the universe created.

 

Zack Snyder’s Justice League is the epic DC movie that could redefine how we see the mega powers combine.

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Movie Review

Retaliation (2017) Movie Review

Retaliation – Shocking Drama

Director: Ludwig Shammasian, Paul Shammasian

Writer: Geoff Thomas (Screenplay)

Starring: Janet Montgomery, Orlando Bloom, Anne Reid, Charlie Creed-Miles, Alex Ferns, Kyle Rees, Josh Myers

Plot: An adult victim of childhood sexual abuse confronts the horrors of his past.

Runtime: 1 Hour 31 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Retaliation starts as we meet Malky (Bloom) a demolition man that is haunted by his past, he has an abusive relationship with barmaid Emma (Montgomery), one he can’t commit too. His mother (Reid) is left broken by the acts of violence he seemingly can’t control and the people around him know just how dangerous he can be.

Malky must look to address what he went through if he is ever going to recover from the sexual abuse he suffered as a child, one that he has used to fuel is pain and anger.

Thoughts on Retaliation

Characters & Performances – Malky is a demolition man that has suffered through childhood abuse and has turned to violence to unleash the pain and anger in his life, not being able to build close relationships and snapping in a second. Malky is a man that has been through more than anyone should have and Orlando Bloom gives us one of his best performances of his career in this role. Emma is the barmaid girlfriend of Malky, she is getting tired of the indecision from Malky, not knowing the truth about his suffering. Janet Montgomery does well in her part of the film, giving us a more grounded everyday character. We get to meet the co-workers that know some of the suffering along with Malky’s mother that is always there for him, but is ashamed of what he did.

StoryThe story here follows a man that suffered sexual abuse when he was young and never managed to recover from growing up, giving him a violence streak and making it difficult for him to build relationships. This is an eye-opening look at how different people who have suffered sexual abuse will turn to extreme lengths to cope with what happened to them. It shows us that unless someone will talk about it, it will only grow to make things worse for the victim. We don’t get to see what the punishment for the predator would have been, only following the victim’s story, which shows the broken life he is living and one he is trying everything to put back on the right path. It is a hard watch for what is going on and the subject matter, but it does feel important.

ThemesRetaliation is a hard hitting drama that gives us the shocking look at the damage done to an abuse victim. The locations show that Malky is trying to face what happened, with where he finds himself working, trying to find the answers.

 

Retaliation is a hard hitting drama about the survivor of sexual abuse, where Orlando Bloom is truly disturbingly brilliant.

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ABC Film Challenge

ABC Film Challenge – Favourites – R – Resident Evil (2002) Movie Thoughts

ABC Film Challenge

Favourite Films

R

Resident Evil

Why I’ve Picked this choiceResident Evil is a franchise that has gone on for two decades now, it was the birth of the horror video game to movie craze, after years of following the fighting games had been given a mixed reception. In a time in 2002, when horror was lacking an identity in the American cinema, Resident Evil started to try and do something different.

For me the Resident Evil movies are films you can always put on and enjoy, they never take themselves too seriously, which will help make them an easy watch. As someone that never played the games seriously either, I don’t find myself getting upset that certain favourites from the franchise don’t appear in the film.

Milla Jovovich became a horror icon with her role here, one that she maintained for the two decade run of the franchise, with the supporting cast including a feisty Michelle Rodriguez all come off strong through the film.