Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice directed by Zack Snyder, starring Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Lane, Kevin Costner, Laurence Fishburne, Gal Gadot, Holly Hunter, and Jeremy Irons.

The title of this movie alone foreshadows everything that is wrong with this movie and most likely everything that will be wrong with future installments of this "series" of "connected" movies.  I don't think it will be the Dawn of Justice but in reality will be the Dawn of Messiness, Sloppiness, and Impatience.   

This is DC's attempt to catch up with Marvel, it stalls right out of the gate, and falls flat on it's face.  There is no patience here. There is only a madcap scramble to catch Marvel and this movie reeks of that dash, instead of doing a patient world building, which these characters desperately need.

Blame the screenplay and writers for the movie being this bad, bloated mess it turned out to be.  DC's whole philosophy for connecting movies and continuity seems to be lets throw everything at the screen, see what sticks, and then weave it all together.  I feel sorry for all the actors involved in this "project" because there is a good series lurking in this mess, if it only had the time to develop, then I think it would be rather exciting.  But unfortunately all development seems to be regulated to how comic continuity is handled these days - meaning none at all with only pretensions of it being there.  All that is left of any continuity are shadows made by ghosts.

All the trouble I had with Man of Steele is just amplified here.  What we have is a bunch of good actors just sidelined to running around, staring at things, and reacting to things.  There's not a lot of scenes where they are acting together, with these caliber of actors all in the same movie that's a real crime, and the movie is severely lacking because of it.  Without this focus on character there's no investment into anything they are doing.  DC seems to be on welfare investment - relying on previous knowledge or unrelated movies as the groundwork for these characters.  They haven't worked for anything and don't really seem all interested in working for anything.

I will say this though, Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman was a pure revelation in this movie.  She stole every scene she was in - the few she was in - and her only down fall was that she wasn't in enough scenes.  I really hope they do well by her movie but as they previous track record seems to be, I doubt it will be all that good.

Daredevil Season 2

Daredevil Season 2 starring Charlie Cox, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, Vincent D'Onofrio, John Bernthal, Royce Johnson, Rosario Dawson, and Elodie Yung.

I'm just going to say this once again as I've been saying it since Marvel started producing it's own property: Marvel has done it again.

Completely addicting this season turned out to be as it further explored these characters with such a depth that it should shame normal dramas since this is basically a comic book show. 

I've never liked the Punisher as a character but this drama series brought life to a character that I always thought was rather a one trick pony.  They completely fleshed him out and really made me want to see more of him, know about this history, and his future.  It also helped that John Bernthal played him with such an energy and commitment making him a convincing and sympathetic character, who's character is basically out for revenge.  Then throw in Elecktra who just sparkled with a fire and energy, as she played well off of Charlie Cox's Daredevil.  This show had everything this season as it further wove the tapestry of the world building of Daredevil.  Even the secondary characters got plenty of time to shine in the light. 

Good series looking forward to more seasons.

Killing Floor

Killing Floor written by Lee Child.

I really liked the movie Jack Reacher with Tom Cruise so I thought I'd give the first book in the series a try.  Not a bad book but not overly great, a good way to pass the time but I would watch the movie over reading the book.  This book isn't what the movie is based but I felt the movie did a better job of a story line.  The story line for this book wasn't that great and I could see most of the plot devices and story twists happening a mile away, which made this book feel real long and the pacing slow.  I don't plan on reading an more in the series after this book because it didn't engage me enough to want to read any more but I do plan on seeing more movies of Jack Reacher as long as Tom Cruise is still playing the character. I like his take on the character. 

Not bad for a Summer read though just not good enough to want to read more.

Creed

Creed directed by Ryan Coogler, starring Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone.

A good continuation of the Rocky movie.  Nothing really new here, though which is OK.  All the typical themes, motifs, and story plot points are all hit here but the main character played by Michael B. Jordan does a wonderful job of selling this movie.  His charisma and acting ability alone are worth watching this movie for as he continues to prove he was no fluke in the little known movie Chronicle and every other movie he's been in since that one.  This movie is odd in that it's like a reboot but yet not one that feels gimmicky.  This reboot feels more organic in tone than most which feel more forced.  Not a classic movie by an means but a good one to pass the time and a good continuation of the Rocky franchise.

Sleeping with Other People

Sleeping with Other People written and directed by Leslye Headland, starring Alison Brie, Jason Sudeikis, Adam Scott, Jason Mantzoukas, Margarita Levieva, and Amanda Peet.

Romantic comedies are only made good by two things: chemistry and character.  This movie has both of those as it further explores the themes brought up with When Harry Met Sally, that is can a man and woman just be friends without having sex.  The answer is obviously no but Alison Brie and Jason Sudeikis share some wonderful scenes together as their chemistry sparkles along with their distinct personalities.  A good romantic movie if not a little more crude on some levels than normal, not in a shocking, gross out comedy way but in a real life conversational type of way that doesn't feel exploitative, only more natural like two friends just talking things through, and that fits in perfectly with the movie. 

Dead Beat

Dead Beat written by Jim Butcher.

Another brilliant book from Jim Butcher that furthers the story of wizard P. I. Harry Dresden.  This story fleshes out some more characters in Harry's life and also has one of the best action scenes in the Dresden Files series that involves the T-Rex Sue from the Chicago museum.  I'm still a huge fan of how Butcher uses each book in this series as stepping stones for the over all arcing plot that he has planned.  I've never seen any series do what he is doing with the Dresden Files.   

The Bourne Identity (book)

The Bourne Identity written by Robert Ludlum.

Considering this book was written in the 70's I was surprised at how well paced it was, with a tight story that was far superior to the movie and explained a lot of the glaring plot holes in the movie.  I can't for the life of me figure out why the movie didn't adhere closer to the plot of this book because it is vastly superior in all shapes and forms.  I don't read to many action books but if all action books were like this one, this is one genre I could read more of.