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[film-diary-of-an-idiot]

The Suicide Squad - A flawed, but pleasant surprise

The Suicide Squad is a follow-up to the disastrous first movie that came out in 2015, which sparked many controversies and rumors of an original Ayer cut. Although not having a particularly high bar to surpass its predecessor, James Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad” was a suprisingly fun watch and a no-holds-barred joyride with a talented cast, murder, mayhem and sticky space starfishes. **Major spoilers Ahead**

Creative Freedom

I’m really glad that the suits at Warner Bros decided to give this move an R rating because clearly, it worked. THis is a prime example of what giving enough creative freedom to writers and directors who know what they're doing, gets you. This problem is displayed throughout the entire DCEU, where movies are constantly pumped to compete with the likes of Marvel. But the fact remains that DC isn’t Marvel. It can’t be, and will never be. In my experience, a lot of Marvel superheroes focus on the key elements of being a superhero, while DC’s are more focused on what makes them one, toying with the moral arguments of the character and putting them under the microscope to see what makes them tick. So, when bringing them to the big screen, it made sense that Marvel’s superheroes were mostly family-friendly content, filled with quips and blood-less violence, which did bring more financial success. But one thing that you have to remember is that Marvel DID take risks, they DID give freedom to the writers. It was a two way street. The first Iron Man movie was a gigantic risk, considering that Iron Man wasn't one of the most known superheroes at the time. And that’s where DC fails to follow the footsteps of Marvel. So thank God, for releases like these, while they may not be the best movies ever made, there’s still hope for the DCEU yet.

Well... it’s fun

The reason why this movie worked was because it had all the right elements to a good time. It's clear that the cast and crew had a ball making this and it's contagious.

Explosions? We got it.

People’s faces getting blasted off? We got it.

John Cena in his underwear for 3 whole minutes? We got it.

It’s self aware and plays off it charmingly, that you just can't help it but to let yourself be taken along for the ride.

The Perfect Balance

The movie also manages to strike a healthy balance between the comedy and action set-pieces, with quick pacing to keep it light. And within all the chaos, the movie still had time to develop the characters, and had character arcs that made sense. With the help of the charismatic cast, you come to care for the characters. You feel the love from Ratcatcher. You pray Nanaue doesn’t die. You get to experience a group of outcasts, although villains, fight for retribution and feel like they're a part of something. And that's what makes The Suicide Squad more enjoyable than it already is.

Flaws

For all the high moments this movie has, it certainly has lows too, most of them being its ‘hit or miss’ comedy. There were parts like Weasel drowning, that made me burst out laughing and there was Harley Quinn’s 69 joke which was very cringe. The third act of the film was kinda dragged out, and could be finished quicker, with Starro having not much of a backstory and a single line. I would have also liked more depth from the villain and the type of experiments they did on him, which would have made easier to sympathise with.

But hey, I ain't complaining. This was definitely a step forward for the DCEU and comic book filmmaking as a genre.

Verdict: 8/10

[film-diary-of-an-idiot]

Batman: The Long Halloween - It's About Damn Time

Recently, I've had the time to watch the latest DC Animated Film, Batman: The Long Halloween. Being a big fan of the source material, it's safe to say I was pretty excited when it rolled out and would have been totally pissed if they managed to ruin one of the best Batman stories of all time. Luckily, that didn't happen, so if you haven’t watched it yet, I highly recommend you do. Trust me. You don’t wanna miss out on this one. So yeah. **Minor Spoilers Ahead**

Batman

I was fairly skeptical when they announced Jensen Ackles, widely known to have played Dean from CW’s “Supernatural”, to play The Dark Knight. I mean, when I see him, it doesn't exactly shout Batman. But he surprisingly gave a solid performance as Bruce Wayne and a pretty believable Batman. I can’t say much else cause for the most part, he doesn’t really get a chance to shine, being that most of the lines are the usual gruff Batman voice. But I'm pretty sure in the next movie we’ll get to see more from him.

Catwoman

Naya Rivera also brought a pretty good Catwoman without feeling like she was trying too hard. There was a “hiss” from her , which I have no idea why, but yeah, it's in there. (Halle Berry Catwoman intensifies) Luckily it's just the one time or else I would be cringing in my chair throughout the movie. Overall I would say it was a satisfying final performance, and hopefully her legacy lives on.

Harvey Dent

For me, the star was Josh Duhamel’s Harvey Dent. I think his take on Harvey was by far the best I’ve seen in a long time, and maybe even all time. He brings a significant passion into his voice which really steals every scene he’s in. And for some reason, you can feel the tension as he descends into madness.

Side Characters

Other characters worth mentioning include Troy Baker's return as the Joker. After bringing the character to life in the Arkham games, he brings the same energy and panache to this movie and its beautiful to watch. His take on the Clown Prince of Crime lends heavily from Mark Hamill's version, but in the way that it keeps it fresh, and a little nostalgic. Titus Welliver as Carmine Falcone was a bit underwhelming for me, though delivering his lines convincingly, didn't sound as menacing as he should have. Alberto Falcone is also worth mentioning, though I've never imagined him sounding like this, Jack Quaid fits perfectly with the character and I'm glad that he got the part.

Animation / Art

I noticed that the art style was quite different from both the comic, and the usual DC Animated movies, and I love it. It perfectly captures the sombreness of the comic, and just looks way better than any animated movie I've seen from DC so far. The animaton is pretty solid for the most part, except for a few scenes where the character's movements feel somewhat robotic, or like a few frames were missing (eg. the rooftop scene with Bats & Harvey) .

Conclusion

Overall though, I loved this movie and I'm so happy that they didn't manage to ruin one of the greatest batman stories of all time. Verdict: 9.1/10

Credits: @jensenandtheboys

[film-diary-of-an-idiot]

Raya and The Last Dragon - It’s pretty good

 Hi. Welp, Raya and The Last Dragon recently came out on Disney + and I've got to say, I liked it. Since the trailers dropped, I've been wanting to see it, not only for the sweet-looking animation style (which made Raya look really hot btw) that I'm really into, but also because it just seemed so fresh. Watching the movie actually felt like a wave of freshness. Yes. It did. I think I'm just numb to the bullshit Disney has been putting out recently. Also **SPOILER WARNING** for anyone who hasn't watched the movie yet.

Raya

First of all, I really really enjoyed the character of Raya. I'm so glad they didn't go with the screaming WOMEN POWER move like they did with other female leads nowadays (ehem captain marvel ehem). Instead, they put a badass woman on screen with the coolest outfit busting out Spider-Man worthy moves all while wielding her sword. I mean, that's literally what women power is, showing that women can hold their own, not shoving the phrase down our throats. But I digress. I just love this character, who was so trusting, which cost her only family, and now is trying to fix her mistake with the glimmer of hope that everyone else had given up on, while trusting no one. She literally is suspicious of a little boy, thinking that he might have poisoned her food. Overall, I think her character works almost perfectly along with the storyline. I also HAVE to mention that there's one scene which I absolutely love, which is when everyone is just running away from the Druun while Raya is walking the opposite direction to finish off Namaari. I know it probably was done may times before, but I think that scene was just breathtaking.

Theme

So the theme of this movies is trust. And I think it worked really well with this story and the character of Raya. There's not much to talk about, except that I would have liked Raya to learn how to trust people along her journey instead of having Sisu just keep telling her to do so. There are also many instances where Raya is proved right, instead of wrong, which kinda makes the ending a tiny bit weird.

Side Characters

I liked the fact that each town is not necessarily evil, but more towards trying to achieve prosperity for their citizens. I was surprised when the chief of Fang wanted to capture Raya for the sole purpose to avoid social stigma against her people, and instead be recognized as heroes. That's not a bad motivation for a villain, and was certainly something new for the Disney animated movies. I was also concerned that Namaari was just going to just be a direct opposite for Raya to beat in the final battle. But guess what? Their rivalry was pretty well-done. Raya is perfectly justified for hating Namaari and especially during the last battle, since she killed Sisu. I found the rest of the side characters enjoyable enough. Captain Boun and Tong were pretty fun, I'm not sure about the baby though. I mean, I dont even know why she's there in the first place, and I personally could have done without her. It's not that I hate her or anything, its just that she doesn’t exactly contribute much to the plot.

Sisu

Ooooookay. A lot of people have been criticizing the shape and design of the dragon, but I for one, didn't have a problem with it. I don't think there's a specific way to draw dragons, it's not like anybody's seen any to tell what it really looks like. What I DID have a problem with was her overall character. I mean, first of all, I just didn't find her "quips" to be really funny. Such as the "one kid who didn't do much but ended up with the same grade". yeaaaah. There are many more, which I can't remember for the life of me, probably because it was bland, and I personally didn't find any of them funny. Also I found it really weird that whenever they found a gem, a certain dialogue would take place. It goes a little something like this :

Raya: OMG! You’re glowing!

Sisu: Oh YEAH! That’s my brother _________’s magic! And this dialogue is literally repeated every time they found a piece of the gem, which I found really weird. I think if they were to do that, maybe a little story about the brother in question would be in order.

Alternate Ending If it were me, I think that, since the dragons didn't come back before, I don't see the reason for them to come back now. They should stay dead. Who knows? Maybe you can use that for a follow-up movie. I think it would have been better if Sisu and Raya had more bonding scenes, because throughout the movie, you don't really think them as good friends or anything. Sisu was honestly more of a burden then a friend. This would make the Sisu death scene more hard-hitting, and mean something to Raya. It would also drive home the theme, where Sisu dies trying to prove the importance of trust.

Final verdict : 8.2/10

[film-diary-of-an-idiot]

Wonder Woman 1984 - idek anymore

Ok so, Wonder Woman 1984 wasn’t the greatest movie. Many people have been criticizing its campiness and CGI, but I for one understood that part. I think I understand what Patty Jenkins wanted to go for here, which is to capture the essence of the ’90s Wonder Woman. I don’t mind that and I actually thought it was an interesting concept. When the trailer came out, I was like “ ah shit what the fuck, why the hell are they making some dumb 90’s movie with super stereotypical characters that everyone knows about? oh please Barbara is literally electro from the amazing spider man!”. But another part of me was hoping they had some other trick up their sleeve. 

Theme

 In my opinion, I think the whole concept of the movie was fine, and even the message that it was trying to drive. HONESTY. Don’t just take the easy way out. That’s one thing that I applaud the writers for doing is that they actually understand what Wonder Woman stands for. The only problem is, if they do want to make a flashy, campy 90’s vibe Wonder Woman, you HAVE to bring something new to the table. And that is where Wonder Woman 1984 fails. Every scene has been done many times and its easy to predict what’s going to happen. 

Maxwell Lord

I also think that the main villains of the movie should have been fleshed out more properly. For example, maybe right after the Themyscira scene, we could have had Maxwell Lord in court, fighting for the rights of his son. I know that isn’t great but you get my point. Maxwell Lord in this movie, was made to be a guy driven by the feeling that he needed to be successful, so that his son could look up to him. Which comes to what I said about bringing something new. Max could have been an antagonist fueled by anger and despair and turned evil. That would actually have been awesome to see kind-of modern characters and how they would be in the past. 

Barbara

 Next up, Barbara. I can kinda understand why they put her in, but that doesn’t really make it any better. Being totally honest, she was annoying and if I could I would have skipped her scenes. And the sole reason why is that is because I don’t feel the need to see anything about her because I already know what’s going to happen. She’s so quirky, no high heels, yada yada yada. But maybe it would have been better if she was used as a window for us, the viewers. And they take the viewers on a journey on how to be your own Wonder Woman which I think would have been pretty meaningful. I’m not gonna talk about Cheetah or Steve cause I think everyone already knows what I’m going to say. 

 In conclusion, I wouldn’t go as far to say as that Wonder Woman 194 was great movie because it all come down to one factor and one factor only. Did you enjoy it? And the answer for me, is no. But I do think the movie’s heart is in the right place and the script just got too lost in its own theme.

Final verdict : 6.8/10