Welcome

Welcome to my ever-evolving blog. It started out as a blog on Beachbody workouts and products, mainly when I was a Beachbody coach. I no longer coach, not because I don't believe in Beachbody's programs (I subscribe to Beachbody on Demand and use their workouts every day), I am just not a salesperson and hated that aspect of it. I am more than willing to answer questions about my experiences with their products and the various workouts, and I feel freer to do so without the appearance of giving a biased review of something.

I have also started adding reviews for various things I have purchased like movies, books, CDs, and other products. This was brought about by a fight with Amazon in which all of my reviews were removed over a completely bullshit allegation that I posted a review that violated their terms of service. After going back and forth with the morons in the community-reviews department (even after they admitted that my posts did not violate their guidelines) they restored my account (which took them six months to do), but I have been posting my reviews on my blog to have them preserved in case something like that happens again. And here, I will post uncensored reviews so I will swear from time to time and post reviews that may be longer than Amazon's character limit. Everything I post here on any topic or product is my personal opinion, and I take no compensation for any product reviews I post. I am a member of Amazon's vine program and because I get those products for free, I keep those reviews on Amazon only, but everything I have purchased with my own money, whether from Amazon or some other store/website/outlet, I will post here.  

I also plan to do some longer blog posts on various topics, such as how to learn physics, how to get through calculus, and longer reviews of workout programs as I do them. Basically, whatever strikes me as interesting at the time.  As you can see if you navigate around the blog, I had many years in between postings. During that time I was going back to school to get an engineering degree, and learning material that I avoided my first time through college was a different experience and one that gave me a lot of insight into how to do well in those classes, which I will try to impart here for those who are looking to get a science or engineering degree. 

Saturday, September 25, 2021

4kUHD Review: Justice League (Theatrical Cut)

 



+++Warning, this contains minor spoilers from the movie+++

The theatrical cut of Justice League is definitely a mixed bag. Joss Whedon is blamed for ruining the movie, and certainly, his additions range from chuckle-worthy to downright stupid, and there was, of course, his on-set behavior that was leaked out by Ray Fisher and later confirmed by Gal Gadot, which then caused an avalanche of accusations about him going as far back as when he was working on Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel and pretty much ended (for now) his career. However, it is clear that Warner Brothers really was the entity that fucked up this movie, and caused a version of the movie that was totally out of place with the movies that had come before it was released.

As most know, Zach Snyder had intended for Justice League to be a three-part story, with this movie split into two parts (which he essentially got to do with the Snyder Cut of the film four years after the theatrical release) then a third movie set in the nightmare world that was teased in Batman v. Superman. However, when Snyder had to step away from the movie due to a death in his family, Whedon was brought in to cut the running time of the movie down and make it a stand-alone movie. The result is a mish-mash of Snyder's story with Whedon's additions (mainly to add humor because WB thought the DC movies were too dark and wanted to infuse some of what worked for the MCU into their movies). For the most part, the theatrical version is stuff Snyder filmed, with some changes like tweaks to the battle with Superman when he is brought back to life, Lois' role in the movie, the race between Flash and Superman at the end, and the really dumb subplot of the family living next door to the contaminated nuclear reactor (which was a fictional Chornobyl) and would not leave the second the aliens showed up. Steppenwolf's arc was dramatically altered (as well as his look), so a lot of his dialogue ended up changing.  And, the post-credits scene was quite different than the scene that came at the end of Snyder's version. But, what Whedon cut was far more substantial than what he added (which is why Snyder still got the directing credit). 

For those who get the 4k set, there are two discs. The UHD disc just has just the movie itself, and a Blu-ray disc that has the movie and the bonus material. That includes multiple behind-the-scenes features (clearly shot when Snyder was still on set, as Whedon was nowhere to be seen), deleted scenes, and a gag reel. There are also some features on how the Justice League has evolved from the comics to the various animated series to live-action. A good amount of material for those who like watching the bonus content. 

Overall, the movie is not as bad as its reputation, but it was definitely not as good as the movie that Snyder intended to make. I still think WB/DC would have been better off establishing the main characters through solo movies first like was done with the main heroes of the MCU movies, then doing the big team-up. But, diverting from what Snyder had set up made the problematic DCEU even worse because this movie just feels out of place. I would say it is worth watching if nothing else to compare and contrast with the Snyder cut of the movie, but it is not something that I would come back to a lot. 

No comments: