Oculus Chapter 3 – The Man With The Plan (2006)
This short film inspired the big screen version. A man goes nutzoid over an evil mirror. The man acts out, it's never a good idea to start behaving this way. Did the mirror cause generational trauma? The mirror is forbidden, ugly and dangerous. The man lives in misery and has a cacophorous and abusive response to the mirror. Is the mirror a malign force? This was okay but has a silly ending.
Best Line:
“Lunatic eyes.”
~
Justice League (2017)
This was not the Snyder cut. Is this as infamously bad as I'd heard? Yes. And it is full of sap and incoherence. There is a bad cover song and things are increasingly precarious now that Superman is dead. Batman carries on creating enemies and vilifying opponents. What good or liberal worldview did Superman stand for? There is an 'I Tried' sign. Why is there worldwide mourning for Superman?
There is selfish indifference and this was truly awful and ghastly. There is no heroic optimism or triumpant moments or fierce urgency in this non-fantastical yearn. This was not emotioanlly rewarding and nobody notices Diana posing on a roof? There is bad and obvious green screen and Superman's godlike presence is missed. WHY? What did he ever actually DO?
Things quickly escalate in a negative way and this was relentlessly negative. Cities are mayhem invested and this was parodically awful. A sinister force is loose and there are dire implications and this was full of murky characters making terrible moral choices. Bruce harsses Aquaman. Bruce seeks alliances and growls about how he is a 20 year veteran of being a vigilante.
Everyone in Aquaman's bar can hear Bruce loudly admitting he is Batman. The Flash (he is not called that) shows up to annoy. Alfred (a bored looking Jeremy Irons) bumbles. The Flash's dad is in prison for murdering his mother, but his son says he is innocent and Flash is getting a criminal justice degree. This all seems very familiar. Cyborg lurks. There is no origin story for Flash or Cyborg.
Bruce is reckless and destructive. People talk about boxes. What boxes? What is a change engine? There is no exisential threat and the Amazons have a box. There is babble about the mother box. There is talk of Steppenwolf and Darkseid. Who? Bruce was extremist and uncompromsing and there are many incoherent fights. Burce has personal culpability for all this. A poor horse.
Lois and her hair extensions lurks. 'Lord Of The Rings' is ripped off. Martha lost the Kent farm to the bank. This was fundamentally incompatible with quality. Batman had righteous anger and self pity with a compromised decision making ability. There is confusion and malicious motives. There is so much orange. There is impulsive and incautious behaviour.
Some CGI guy wants to turn Earth into hellscape, for reasons. There is exposition and talk of Unity and there is talk of a war nobody remembers. Green Lantern has a cameo and there is more exposition. There is no full urgency or seriousness. This film is an unpleasant mixture and things are not desperately uncertain.
Mera bitches. Gordon makes an appearance. People are stubborn and reckless and there is brazen grifting in this misbegotten mess. The picture is murky and there are ass shots. Bruce never wants to reveal who he really is, he masks himself and his inadquacies. There are theatrics and no content. There is a dull confrontation and no serious concerns. I have no idea what is going on or why. The unnamed Justice League cause property destruction and there is no collective gusto. Bruce wants to raise the dead Superman. Where is Lex? Diana gives Bruce a good slap for badmouthing Steve Trevor. Bruce is a career psychopath and he eschews rules and courts notoriety and is abrasive and has shamelessness.
There is no better perspective of the narrative. How did Bruce cajole them into this? There are no heartfelt observations or uncertainty or upheaval or foreboding. This was cataclysmic. This was not genuinely effective or emotionally compelling – it is just monumental ineptitude. Does nobody see the pointless battle? There are no nice or reasonable conversations just bleak nothingness. Clark wakes up from the dead with psychopathic tendencies. Clark is not quite so forgiving of Bruce's murder attempt as everyone esle is.
Clark cultivated a good guy image. Bruce talks in a disparaging and obviously mocking tone. There are no corrective actions and Clark is far from delicate about his feelings. Heroes are portrayed in a negative light in this film. Bruce does not redeem his reputation.
Clark is shirtless, because reasons. One is unimpressed. Flash acts like a twit. There is no imaginative impact. One is exasperated by Flash's errant behaviour. Bruce is the most despicable man you will ever meet. There are stormy scenes and exchanges of angry words. Clark and Lex had a passionate friendship in 'Smallville' until TPTB ruined it. Ben Affleck is obviously not in shape. The batsuit looks silly on him. How does he move in it?!?
Bruce's intercessions make things worse. There is an inescapable sense of merch sales directing the plot. Is there public acceptance of this? Clark's face is messed up to CGI away Henry Cavill's facial hair. This was not erudite or insightful. People are unable to string coherent sentences together. The studio though the Snyder cut was unwatchable and that THIS was BETTER?!?!
Clark was in a suit in his coffin, what happened to his superman suit? Bruce built his own troop carrier, not fascist at all. This was egregious and Bruce, Flash and Cyborg shrug off the existence of Atlantis. Why is the final battle so RED? Bruce carries responsbility for all this. This film was inadequate. There is no sense of calm projected and nobody delivers clear and consistent messages. A family are in peril in this garbled mess.
Aquaman rides on the batmobile. What are the implications of what they are doing? This was clearly wrong and there are no huge existential quesitons about death seeing as Clark rose from the dead. This was radically wrong and there is no urgent action. This was not a complex crisis and this was not a cosmic story. This has no intrinsic value.
This was seriously wrong. Hope does not arise and the world is not modified through transformative change. There is no creative resourcefulness. There is no emotional or practical fallout. Superman shows up during the final fight. There was disastrous and full of negativity. The bad guy is defeated, because the plot says so. Flowers grow, because the plot says so. Billy Crudup plays Flash's dad. This is what your career has come to Crudup?
There is no emotional vulnerability and Bruce plans to build a Hall Of Justie, not fascist sounding at all. The bat signal is ugly. One must be resilent to sit through this. This elicits an avoidant response. Is the Flash special needs? That is a serious question. This was excruciating and there is no emotional isolation. Lex somehow escaped jail. Bruce didn't notice. This was awful and drawn up. A crap Deathstroke debuts. THIS 20 second cameo is why Deathstoke vanished from 'Arrow'?!? Lex is bald and plans the Legion Of Doom.
Amy Adams, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Jason Moma, Diane Lane, Connie Nielsen, J.K Simmons, Ciaran Hinds, Joe Morton and Amber Heard co star.
Best Lines:
“What do you want from me?”
“Fear.”
“Safety of holy fear.”
“There are enemies coming from far away.”
“I hear you can talk to fish.”
“Do it dressed like a bat.”
“Nobody listened to him.”
“I don't recognise this world.”
“I am a drag on your life.”
“Stay up here brooding.”
“People have been waiting for the next alien invasion.”
“The first age.”
“You will not like your welcome.”
“Light the ancient warning fire.”
“Fire has not burned for 5 thousand years.”
“Horribly wrong and macabre.”
“Like Luthor did?”
“Burn down the world.”
“The end of worlds.”
“Warriors of legend.”
“An island they can never leave.”
“Sitting in the dark.”
“Special fight team.”
“What it cost her.”
“Attacked by a flying vampire.”
“Just pushed some people and run away.”
“Stealing a picture of your dead boyfriend.”
“Pet Sematary scenario.”
“You got no powers, no offence.”
“Honourable end.”
“Merman.”
“You can't do this forever.”
“I can barely do it now.”
“Praise to the mother of horrors.”
“They're all coming.”
“Long overlooked.”
“We won't be alone again.”
“Odd little friends.”