For today’s film, I was in the mood for some superheroes and there are some films that I haven’t seen yet. Also, with the announcement of Justice League Dark, I figured there was some Justice League films out there I haven’t seen which is why I chose Justice League: War for today. A strange alien lifeform is planting some sort of bomb or device in Gotham, Central City, Metropolis, etc. This raises alarms for the Green Lantern (Justin Kirk) as he travels to Gotham to investigate with Batman (Jason O’Mara). With the help of Cyborg (Shemar Moore) they discover that Darkseid (Steve Blum) has a plan to take over Earth and use up all of it’s resources. They’ll need everyone’s help from the Justice League to defeat Darkseid and prevent him from taking over. The film also stars Sean Astin (Encino Man) as Shazam, Christopher Gorham (Covert Affairs) as The Flash, Michelle Monaghan (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) as Wonder Woman, Alan Tudyk (Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials) as Superman, Rocky Carroll (Crimson Tide) as Silas Stone, Dee Bradley Baker (Legends Of The Hidden Temple) as Parademon, Ioan Gruffudd (Fantastic Four) as Thomas Morrow, Zach Callison (Steven Universe) as Billy Batson, and the film was directed by Jay Oliva (Deadpool).
I do want to make something clear about the film and that the Justice League isn’t official in this film. They all begin to meet each other as they are forced to band together to fight Darkseid. Darkseid for those who don’t know is basically Marvel’s Apocalypse, but he is an alien life form who can shoot lasers out of his eyes just like Superman. The film had me excited to see that he was the villain of the film because I am a huge fan of Darkseid, but I was also excited to see Shazam in a film as well. I definitely like how they introduced him in the film and even though he looks like an adult, he still acts childish. We also get to see Cyborg’s origin in the film as he is created right before our very eyes. One of the things I enjoyed about the film was the story itself because it was a take on how they came together, but it showed how people were still afraid of them before they could rescue everyone. The film also features some language in it so I would be careful showing it to the kids (or at least use some caution) and there is definitely some violence in the film as well. This definitely isn’t my favorite DC Animated film, but it’s up there. You have to check out Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, but if you want an origin story then check this one out. I am going to give the film an B for a final grade.
For those of you out there that do not know who Shane Black is, he has written some pretty amazing films like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Iron Man 3 (debatable), Lethal Weapon 2, and so much more. That is why I chose to watch his latest film The Nice Guys for today’s movie. It is the late 1970’s in Los Angeles, California and things are not very easy in the big city as they are dealing with issues of smog and a dead female porn star. To top it all off, two private eyes that obviously do no match well together in Holland March (Ryan Gosling) and Jackson Healey (Russell Crowe) are assigned to the case together. It is there that the duo run into a whole mess of a situation that they didn’t see coming which includes the DA and hitmen. The film also stars Angourie Rice (Walking With Dinosaurs) as Holly March, Matt Bomer (Magic Mike XXL) as John Boy, Margaret Qualley (The Leftovers) as Amelia, Keith David (Men At Work) as Older Guy, Beau Knapp (Southpaw) as Blueface, Murielle Telio (The DUFF) as Misty Mountains, Kim Basinger (L.A. Confidential) as Judith Kuttner, Jack Kilmer (The Stanford Prison Experiment) as Chet, Yaya DaCosta (Tron: Legacy) as Tally, and Lois Smith (Falling Down) as Mrs. Glenn.
There wasn’t much to this film that I didn’t like, it was very enjoyable to watch. Ryan Gosling’s stock is moving up in my book as just about every movie he is in I love his performance. He is probably my favorite character in this film because he is the perfect opposite of what Russell Crowe is. Russell Crowe’s character is the bad ass tough one while Ryan Gosling’s is afraid of his own shadow. It’s very funny and I think it’s a very good selling point for the film in general because their chemistry is undeniable. It’s like the perfect buddy movie for those that love them. I loved the aesthetics of the film because it looked and felt like the 70’s as you are watching all of the cool outfits and hairdos not to mention all of the pop culture references. Even all of the nuances were right on target from not being able to say the lords name in vain and so much more. The film definitely kicks off in style with a naked porn star dead on top of a car as she literally drove through someone’s house. So you an definitely imagine where it went from that point. I honestly thought that the film was very funny and definitely one worth seeing if you are a fan of either Crowe or Gosling. It’s available in Redbox and where ever else you watch movies so go and watch it. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.
365moviesin365dayschallenge 