Justice League Snyder Cut

I'd like to start off by saying that this is chockablock full if SPOILERS if you haven't seen the four hour Snyder Cut of Justice Legue.

On March 18, 2021 the long awaited Snyder Cut of Justice League was released on HBO Max and I sat down and watched all four hours of it.  The back ground of this is that in 2017 Zack Snyder was directing Justice League and in March of that year during post production his daughter's suicide caused him to withdraw from the film and Warner Bros hired Joss Whedon to complete the movie.  

Whedon went on the film additional scenes and although the general story stayed the same he did eliminated some characters and backstory releasing the flick.  You can go to the internet and read all about the fan outcry that they wanted Snyder's version of the film.  I absolutely hated Batman vs. Superman Dawn of Justice.  I liked some moments in it, I like the actors and the characters they play, except Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor.  I hate the execution of the story and many elements of the film.

I went to the theaters in 2017, twice, to see Justice League because I really enjoyed it that much.  Because of how terrible, in my opinion, Batman vs. Superman is I had no interest in watching anything that Zack Snyder had to do with changing this movie.  At the same time, though, I felt I had to watch it because I couldn't judge it if I hadn't watched it. 

Thursday after my family went to bed, I popped a bowl of corn and sat down for what I thought was going to be a terrible movie night.  I was wrong.  I really enjoyed the film.  There were parts of the movie that I thought were really pretentious and dumb, there were parts of the movie that I thought dragged unnecessarily long.  The whole post apocalyptic epilogue dream segment seemed really out of place.  I later read that Snyder filmed that scene in October 2020 because he knew that his DC Universe was basically dead and not moving forward and he really wanted a scene where Affleck's Batman and Leto's Joker interact.

When talking to my friends vaguely about it Friday morning my statement was that I like both versions of the film, I thought they both had their faults but I didn't like one more than the other.  Then on Friday I watched the 2017 Justice League and changed my mind.  I like the Snyder Cut better, fucking hurts a little to say that.  

I'm not going to break down all the differences, there are plenty of websites all over the internet that are going to do that, what I am going to tell you is what made me change my mind.  Snyder does a deep dive into the backgrounds and mythos of the characters and the introduction of them.  When watching the 2017 with some of these scenes it made them seem like the were cut too short.  For instance the scene when Wonder Woman stops the domestic terrorist at the bank in the 2017 version it's 3 minutes long, in the Snyder Cut it's nearly seven and a half minutes.  After watching the Snyder version the 2017 scene just feels like it's extremely chopped up and incomplete.  This is the pattern several times through out the movie.

The main villain in both films is Steppenwolf, however he looks completely different in both movies, and in 2017 he's the big bad guy while in the 2021 flick he's doing to dirty work for his master Darkseid.  The scenes where he acquired the motherboxes is more impressive and the protectors put up a bigger fight in the Snyder Cut.

Superman is a bad ass in both plain and simple, as he should be. 

The argument could be made that if Whedon made a 4 hour cut of the film instead of two hours, that he would have dove deeper into the backstories and the mythos like Snyder did.  Also we have no way of knowing if had Snyder finished the film in 2017 if he would have made a this version of the film.  He had the hindsight to see what the critics and fans liked and disliked about the movie.  

When it comes to which film is the official cannon of the DC Cinematic Universe James Wan (director of Aquaman) and Patty Jenkins (director of Wonder Woman) say that it's Snyder's Version as they directed their films based on his planned cut of the film.    

However, from what I have read the Snyder's direction with Batman, Superman, and Justice League is over.  

Until Next Time!

Some Random Thoughts

It's been quite a week this week, it went by fast and slow at the same time.  I worked from home on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, & Friday.  I was in the office Wednesday and worked evening shift in dispatch.

Friday morning I had an ultrasound on my live, my latest lab worked showed an elevated bilirubin level and my bariatric surgeon wanted me to have the procedure.  I'm hoping for a call this week to tell me what, if anything, they discovered and see what the next step is.

My buddy Brandon recently wrote on his blog about how he likes the new Popeye's Chicken sandwich and how it compares to other fast food chicken sandwiches.  Well after hearing the hype for 18 months I finally was able to have a Popeye's Chicken sandwich and I have to say I thought it was just meh.  In fact there was such a hype to it, that it was straight up disappointing.

I got a lot of work done this week on my Limitless Wrestling book, and I have 9 episodes recorded of my new segment, Maine's Wrestling History, which airs on the Limitless Wrestling IWTV show The Road Season 3.  The response to the segments have been amazing, people seem to be really enjoying it and I'm very flattered.  

The wife's Bakery she started up last week is also booming with her selling out her weekly orders.  We are taking it slow and steady to not get ahead of ourselves and so she doesn't get overwhelmed.  So far it's very exciting and I'm curious where it's going to go.

On Wednesday night on AEW Dynamite on TNT I got to see one of my all time favorites Tully Blanchard step back in the ring in a six man tag with FTR against Jurassic Express.  It was so frigging good!  The match was great, Tully looked awesome, it was such an awesome dedication to him and all he has done for wrestling.  I can't imagine he'll ever wrestle again and honestly I don't think he should.  This was the way to go out.

I finished watching Lovecraft County on HBOMax and I loved the series so much I bought the book.  I plan on reading it sooner than later, but I have so many other side projects that I want / need to finish first that I probably won't crack it open until next month.  I have so much reading I want to catch up on after I finish this Limitless book.

Until Next Time!

February Movies

 

Wheel of Fortune - comedy about a mechanic who must win a bunch of races according to his birth fathers complex will

Below Zero - Spanish revenge flick I watched on Netflix about about a man going after a prisoner on a transport truck, I enjoyed the movie, it has a good story. 

The Sitter - Jonah Hill flick about his adventures in babysitting some kids for the night when his "girlfriend' calls asking him to bring her drugs.

Twister - The 1996 Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton storm chasers flick.  The wife and I watched this in the hotel room on our getaway night.  

The Hard Way - Michael J. Fox and James Woods flick from 1991 about a tough New York City cop (woods) being shadowed by a big Hollywood actor (Fox) for an upcoming role.

Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song - from 1971 the Melvin Van Peebles flick that is credited with launching the Blaxploitation genre.  

New Jack City - A 1991 flick directed by Mario Van Peebles about the crack cocaine epidemic in New York City in the late 1980's. I remember watching this on HBO all the time when it first came out and I haven't watched it in at least 25 years but I recalled so many parts from it as I watched it. 

All My Friends Are Dead - Netflix original that is a Polish movie that reminds me of an american style raunchy teen dark comedy.  I really enjoyed it, it was a lot of fun!

Malcolm & Marie - Watched on Netflix - Written and Directed by Sam Levinson it was filmed in black and white starring Zendaya and John David Washington, I thought it was a great movie but it is EXTREMELY heavy on dialogue as these are the only two characters in the film.  I really like Washington's voice and listening to him talk. 

Don't Let Go - On HBO max its very cool supernatural murder mystery thriller.  Almost a modern day version of Frequency.

Enter The Dragon - Arguably Bruce Lee's biggest movie and the last movie he completed before he died.

Way of The Dragon - Return of the Dragon - US Title, written, directed, and starring Bruce Lee who fights Chuck Norris in the big finale fight of this film.  Visiting his family in Rome he must stopped evil gangsters that are harassing them.

The Big Boss - Fists of Fury - US Title Bruce Lee's first big starring role in Hong Kong, visiting his family in Thailand he works with them at an ice house which is a front for a drug running business.

Fist of Fury - The Chinese Connection - US Title Classic story of a student getting revenge for the death of his master.  The title song lyrics are amazing! 

Below The Belt - Filmed in 1974 and released in 1980 it is about a young women attempting to break into the world of women's wrestling.

Judas and The Black Messiah - Biopic of Chicago Black Panther Party leader Fred Hampton and the FBI informant that lead to his death.  This was an HBOMax in theater and at home same day release.

 Malcolm X - Spike Lee's epic biopic

The Last Dragon - The 1985 cult classic about martial arts master "Bruce" Leroy Green and his battles with the Shogun of Harlem Sho Nuff.  

Baadasss - Mario Van Peebles biopic about the making of his fathers flick Sweet Sweetback's Baadassss Song.  This film really makes me appreciate Sweet Sweetback and what the flick meant at the time it came out.

In Search of Darkness II - the follow up documentary about 80's horror movies.  It's 4.5 hours long, and even though it's not as good as the first one, it's still an outstanding production. 

Sonic The Hedgehog - great flick!

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood - Quentin Tarantino flick that I haven't seen since watching it in the theaters.  I really enjoyed it. 

Freaky - Great flick, a spin on the Freaky Friday story where a serial killer swaps bodies with a teenage high school girl.  

Tom & Jerry - Part live action part classic animation this was a Warner Brothers released in Theaters and on HBOMax same day flick.  My younger kids loved it, I don't ever need to watch it again. 

Until Next Time!