We Are Your Friends

I have friends who like to DJ. They obviously don't see becoming a DJ as important as Zac Efron's character does in this movie but if they did, I think I'd want to punch them in the face.

We Are Your Friends follows the story of a young up and coming DJ named Cole Carter (played by Zac Efron). He lives in the San Fernando Valley of California and he has a dream with a group of his friends from high school to go off and be something important. To Cole, that means being a world famous DJ and making music for people.

Right off the bat I'll say, his friends are the absolute worst.

These are the kids from your high school that you just hated. Especially his friend Dustin (played by Jonny Weston, the bald one) who is actually the one I think Zac Efron's character is closest to. This group of guys is the over the top partiers and just end up ruining those parties.  Cole at one point even says that they need to behave at a party they go to and they end up ruining it.

They make their living off of promoting a club where Cole DJs at and they're getting by. Its nothing to be proud of, but they get by.

Until one night, Cole encounters a famous but older DJ by the name of James Reed (played by Wes Bentley) and the two become friends. Reed becomes somewhat of a mentor for Cole and he starts to learn exactly what it means to be a successful DJ. Of course he spends a lot of time with James and his friends start to get jealous... sort of.

Of course at the same time, Cole is introduced to James's girlfriend, Sophie (played by Emily Ratajkowski) and of course Cole is smitten with her from the start so you know that's gonna come into play later.

First thing I'll say is, the three characters you actually care about are in the picture to the right and honestly, this movie should have been called, We Are In a Love Triangle because that was the more important and interesting part of this movie. I liked these three characters and I cared a whole hell of a lot more about what happened to them than what happened to Zac Efron and his friends.

And yeah, a lot of it is pretty cliche. If you've watched any movie like this before, you'll know exactly what happens in a situation like this. Zac Efron's friends get jealous and he has to figure out the cost of pursuing fame and fortune. On top of that, you've got a very attractive male lead and a very attractive female lead who just so happens to be the girlfriend of a still attractive but not as attractive guy who's a little bit of an asshole? What do you think is going to happen? So yeah, a lot of it is pretty predictable and what you think is going to happen does happen.

Knowing that the movie is predictable, you have to ask yourself if you're interested in a movie about DJing.

I have to give the movie credit, it does delve into a subject matter that, going into it, I really wasn't that interested in. And to be honest, I'm still not very interested in DJs or that kind of stuff. But I thought the angle that they were going with in this movie worked and made at least a sort of interesting story.

I can't say that I would have watched this movie by my own volition if I hadn't been watching it with someone else, but after watching it, I don't think I wasted my time.

A part of that is the performances. And probably the most important performance I was looking at was that of Zac Efron.

While it has not been by choice, I have see the career of Zac Efron since the beginning. And yeah, I still see him as Troy from High School Musical. But a part of me wants to see him break from that role and really make a name for himself so down the road, he'll be known for his good performances, and High School Musical will just be a funny thing we look back on.

That being said, he's still just the pretty boy in this movie. He gives a decent performance and I do become at least a little bit invested in his story, but its nothing to write home to. I think he's doing a better job at making a name for himself in comedies like Neighbors than he is making a name for himself as a serious actor. But hey, maybe he'll be able to shred the stereotype as a pretty boy sooner or later... but for now he still has it.

Then you've got Wes Bentley. Now I'm not actually a huge fan of Bentley. Nothing of his work has really pegged him as a really good actor. But this movie might be the closest thing to making me interested in seeking out his work and seeing what he can do.

Again, the movie is a little bit more interested in casting pretty looking people regardless of their acting ability. But I think that Bentley was probably one of the better parts of the movie and I was interested in his character. He's basically this washed out has been who does have enough talent to pass onto Cole, but at the same time he's very much living in the past and doesn't have the name he used to have. He's an alcoholic, he does a lot of drugs, but you still want him to teach Cole everything he knows so you have a successful protagonist. Luckily that goes back onto Zac Efron, but I think these two were written very well and I think they work well together.

And on top of that he has an incredibly smoking hot girlfriend...

Like... DAYUM

Now I don't like just pointing out that women in movies are attractive but you do have to point out the obvious that Emily Ratajkowski is just an amazingly beautiful woman. And the funny part is, if you look into her career, she's not afraid to flaunt it. You remember the whole controversy about Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke and the music video with the naked women? Yeah, that's her.

And I wouldn't be making a huge deal out of this if that wasn't what she was in this movie.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, it depends on how you want to look at it) Ratajkowski is very much the sex object of this movie. They have a little bit of a character mapped out in that her character went to school but dropped out and became the personal secretary for Reed, but a lot of that is pushed off to the wayside when you have her in a low cut shirt dancing to techno music and being the object of a tug of war between Zac Efron and Wes Bentley.

And the thing is, Ratajkowski is not actually that horrible of an actress. I don't think we got enough in this movie to really show one way or another but I think if she was written better, Sophie could have actually been an interesting character. But instead she's just kind of the object for viewers like me to say DAYUM to...

And yeah, the romance in this movie is just like every single other romance that you've seen in a movie like this. They go through the motions you've seen before. There's the will they won't they feeling for a little bit until they do. Then something causes a rift and there's a lull of sadness until they finally get back together and everyone is happy in the end.

And that's another thing about this movie. It really kind of wraps up a little bit too perfectly.

I've already given too much away to tell you exactly how things go down but I will say that everything really kind of wraps up in a perfect little bow and the ending is a little bit rushed. In fact, there's like two conversations that happen and all the problems that happened in the past seem like they go away very quickly.

For a movie that is very focused for a good portion of it on kind of kicking these young people in the pants and saying that their not going to amount to the dreams that they have in the beginning, a lot of things just happen to fall into their laps at the end and it all comes together a little bit too perfectly.

Last minute things to talk about. His friends are the worst. Both on how they're written and how their acted. I didn't like his friends, I think their roles should have been drastically reduced and the title of the movie should have been switched to something else.

My man Jon Bernthal is in this movie and of course he's the guy you just sort of love to hate. Of course, I would have liked to see more of him in this movie, but his character isn't that important to the story. I just wanted to make mention of him.

And then the last thing to talk about with this film is the style.

Its hard for me to put into words what the style of this movie is. Mainly because I can't usually put into words the different styles of any movies. I just recognize it when I see it. For example, I know the style of a Wes Anderson movie is going to be quirky and somewhat animated. I usually just say that a movie has a little bit of a Wes Anderson feel to it. That's a very broad term for me. I wish I could tell you a really broad term to explain the style of this movie but I can't. All I will say is that it makes a lot of interesting choices, but they are inconsistent. Half of the time the movie is a pretty standard style of movie where everyone is filmed in a pretty generic way.

But then you have these really cool scenes with certain cuts and uses of color. For example: There's a scene where Zac Efron takes PCP and everyone suddenly becomes animated. Its a cool scene, especially since he's on drugs. But the weird style of the movie shows up here and there and then it doesn't show up again. This isn't necessarily knocking the movie for this, you're just going to have moments in the movie that are different from your generic style of film. I can't really say that its something good that sets the movie apart because its so inconsistent that its not even something worth mentioning until the end of the review. I think they should have taken some risks if they wanted this movie to stand out and one of the ways they could have done that was with the style that they brought up sometimes, but left alone other times.

But overall, We Are Your Friends is a decent movie. Its not great, its not bad, its just there. I think you have some good performances and it actually kind of made me interested in the world of DJing, at least for the 90 minute run time, but overall, its nothing to write home to. If you're a fan of DJing, Wes Bentley or Zac Efron, I think you might enjoy this film. Otherwise, check it out if its free, but don't go out and buy this movie by any means.

But those are my thoughts on We Are Your Friends. What did you think? Comment and Discuss below! You can also send me your thoughts on Twitter @cmhaugen24 as well as send me your requests for movies I should review in the future. If you follow me on Twitter, you can get updates on future movie news and reviews coming out of this blog.

I'll leave you with this. Its been a while since I've put on a clip from Jimmy Fallon, those are always fun. Here's Zac Efron playing the card game War, with water being thrown in his face. Enjoy!

Mr Nobody

Jared Leto is a one of a kind actor. I knew him first as the lead singer for 30 Seconds to Mars. He really embraced (and still does) the punk rock angst that isn't really mainstream, but at the same time, he's not mainstream either. I knew him as the emo hair cut guy from the band but soon realized that the guy was an actor as well, starring in critically acclaimed movies like Requiem for a Dream. And for a while, that was it. He wasn't a very well known actor and the roles that he did take were more art house movies like Requiem.

But then in 2013, Leto made a resurgence after about 4 years of not doing film and did Dallas Buyers Club, a role that landed him an Oscar.

Suddenly, Jared Leto was a hot commodity, and well known one at that. Its fair to say that if Dallas Buyers Club hadn't happened, I'm not sure if Leto would have been picked for the role of the Joker in Suicide Squad. Whether or not you think that's a good thing or not, the man is considered a good actor but at the same time is very selective in the films that he does and the films he doesn't do.

Knowing the kind of film that I've seen Jared Leto in before, Mr. Nobody is an obvious choice of a movie he would make.

Mr. Nobody has a very confusing beginning because its a series of abstract images and Jared Leto dying a bunch of times. Then finally Jared Leto with both really convincing prosthetics and really fake looking prosthetics appears and we are introduced to Nemo Nobody (played by Leto). Mr. Nobody is an old man in the future who is the last mortal human alive. Apparently in the future we are so genetically advanced that people don't die through natural causes and they don't grow old. They also have genetically paired pigs for some reason... yeah the future in the movie is pretty weird.

But Mr. Nobody has no known past and he has become an icon of the media because they are going to broadcast his death on live television.

Before he dies though, he is interrupted by a young journalist who wants to know his story. He then begins to tell a very confusing story of his life and all the different routes he could have taken and at the same time took.

Maybe its giving too much away, but the movie goes in a couple directions, all stemming from a decision Nemo is forced to make as a child between living with his father or his mother.

The cool part is that the movie shows how his life could be different if certain things changed, or he made a certain choice. Its not just two different timelines, its two timelines that delve off into different timelines.

This is putting the movie in too simple of terms, but the best way to describe the direction these timelines go is based off of which woman Nemo falls in love with.

The movie is actually pretty clever in how they foreshadow the different routes Nemo could take.

In one timeline, Nemo falls in love with his step sister Anna who is eventually played by Diane Krueger. In another timeline, he falls in love with a severely depressed woman named Elise (eventually played by Sarah Polley). And then in another timeline, he ends up with a woman named Jeannne (eventually played by Linh Dan Pham) and that life brings him in a totally different direction.

The cool part about this movie is that they go back and forth between the different lives that Nemo could have. You never really figure out which one is the correct one because I guess in a way, they're all the route he took and all the route he didn't take at the same time. Yes it is that kind of movie and it is confusing.

On top of it all, they start throwing in live action recreations of Nemo's novel and a timeline where he's in a coma for the entire time and it all gets a little bit confusing. However, if you're paying attention, it is a really interesting concept.

I guess my only problem with it is that they spend a lot of time with certain timelines and not on others.

They spend a lot of time on Nemo and Anna but not as much time really developing the relationship between Nemo and the other women he potentially falls in love with. Are we suppose to see that relationship as the one that is the one he was destined to have? Is she just another one of the many timelines that he could have had?

On top of that, the movie has a little bit of a problem with blowing a lot of smoke up its own ass.

There's a couple of scenes where Jared Leto is explaining the physics behind different timelines and I think they were trying to describe it the way someone would if they were watching an episode of the Cosmos with Neil Degrass Tyson. But something about it just comes off as pretentious and just makes me doubt all the science behind it. Maybe it has some legs to stand on, but I just didn't always buy it. On top of that, I wasn't sure how much of a lot of the theories they were talking about really connected to the story.

Best example: Nemo finds his long lost lover but for a really convoluted reason, she says I need time before we get together. She writes down her phone number on really easy to mess up paper and the paper gets messed up by a rain drop. Now there's this big convoluted answer to the reason why that rain drop hit that exact point and its all apparently because Jared Leto bought a cheaper pair of pants?

Its stuff like that that just makes me feel like this movie is trying to be more self important than it actually is. It would have been one thing for coincidence and/or fate to ruin his chances of finding his long lost lover but instead they try and make this a larger thing than it is.

I get it, time travel and different realities is a convoluted subject. I'm just saying don't make it more complicated than it needs to be.

Something really important to talk about in this movie is the performances.

The main one of course is Jared Leto as he has an interesting task of being the same character and yet creating a different character for each route the life of this same character takes him. While all the people he plays are Nemo Nobody, growing up with his father and being rejected by the woman he's in love with makes him a very different person. The same way living with his father and marrying that woman changes the entire dynamic. I think he is able to play those different characters very well and make them discernible enough that its easy to detect what timeline we're in once we have enough time to establish what each one means.

The one issue I have with him is the fact that this movie is a little more art than it is substance and this has Jared Leto having a lot of points where he's just standing looking into space. There are a couple of scenes where it is literally just seconds upon seconds of Leto starring at the screen, and then Diane Kruger starring at the screen, its a little jarring sometimes.

And there's another thing, I get that Jared Leto is in a band and he has to sport the emo cut, but I can't help but be pulled out when all I see is him starring into the camera and I feel like all I need to do is mute the sound and put on 30 Seconds to Mars and I'm watching one of their music videos.

And while I think Leto does a really good job in this film, especially considering that this is basically his movie, I think the real standout star of the movie is actually the kid who plays a younger version of him, Tony Regbo.

Surprisingly, the majority of the biggest deviations in the timeline happen while this kid is on screen and the first portion of the movie is actually focused more on him and his choices throughout the different timelines.

While I think Leto gave a really good performance, the real star of the show is Regbo for his portrayal of young Nemo.

The rest of the movie is a pretty creative. While its very much a piece of art as much as a narrative, I thought Mr. Nobody had a pretty comprehensive story that I was invested in.

While its probably not a movie that I will revisit for quite a while, I think it might be worth a second watch eventually.

I think the best comparison I could put to this movie is that it is very much in the same vein as Cloud Atlas.

I have reviewed Cloud Atlas on this blog twice because I feel like it needed a rewatch after I finished the book and because its a pretty convoluted movie.

Mr. Nobody seems to take a similar idea and really compartmentalize it to one individual. Now, I think they both take a concept that is already convoluted and make it even more confusing, but I think they do it in different ways.

Cloud Atlas focuses on a very abstract concept of the effect one person has one another across generations with some weird twinge of reincarnation in there. But Cloud Atlas I feel took that concept and made something very creative out of it. It has such a big scale and it went a long ways with it, maybe for the best, maybe for the worst.

Mr. Nobody took something as convoluted as different timelines and realities and made it something very personal. Instead of one person affecting the lives of another in different generations, Mr. Nobody focuses on one individual and points out the possibilities of one choice in our lives.

I can't really say which one is better for a couple reasons. While I get the same feeling from both of them, they do focus on two totally different sets of ideas and themes. And secondly, I haven't seen Cloud Atlas in a while and that is a long movie.

But I do know that if you've seen that and you like those really abstract ideas, Mr. Nobody might be a good fit for you. Its not a perfect movie, but I did have some fun with it, and I think it is worth checking out.

But what did you think of Mr. Nobody? Did it make sense to you? Did you enjoy it? Would you recommend it? Comment and Discuss below! You can also send me your thoughts on Twitter @cmhaugen24 as well as send me your requests for films I should review in the future. If you follow me on Twitter, you can get updates on future movie news and reviews coming out of this blog.

I'll leave you with this. If you don't know what I'm talking about when I talk about Jared Leto and his music video-like presence, here's a video of clips from Mr Nobody spliced with 30 Seconds to Mars music... not much of a difference. Enjoy!

The Truman Show

The Truman Show is a movie that I definitely heard about when I was younger but I never really got around to seeing it. However, now, in 2016, after watching a lot of the movies in Jim Carrey's career like Bruce Almighty, Eternal Sunshine, and Yes Man, I realized that The Truman Show falls into a sect of Carrey's career that I don't think gets enough appreciation.

Jim Carrey has always been known as a goof ball. With roles like Lloyd Christmas from Dumb and Dumber, and Ace Ventura, on top of his work in In Living Color, he's very well known for his light hearted, slap stick comedy roles where he makes goofy faces. And the guy is talented at it. I laugh my ass off every time I watch this clip from Dumb and Dumber.

But there is another side of Jim Carrey that I don't think we see quite enough. And I actually think its a side of him that he wanted to get out more and more later in his career. And that's his light hearted hopeful side.

And don't get me wrong, even Lloyd Christmas had his light hearted hopeful feelings, but I'm talking about movies that Carrey chose that weren't necessarily always comedies and were more focused on the message and feelings of hope and optimism.

Enter The Truman Show.

The Truman Show literally centers on a man named Truman Burbank (played by Carrey). Truman was an unwanted baby who was adopted by a corporation and was made the center of a television show called The Truman Show. The world is enamored by his life which he believes, until the events of this movie, are totally normal and not artificial or TV at all.

Accompanied by his wife (played by Laura Linney) his best friend (played by Noah Emmerich) and a whole cast of too good to be true family and friends, Truman goes about his day not really knowing that his entire world is being directed and staged by director Christoph (played by Ed Harris).

But Truman soon starts to see the cracks in the armor and starts to question his reality.

The entire movie is filmed as if you are watching The Truman Show, with clever lenses and framing on the screen to make it seem like Truman is being spied on this entire time, which he is. And every once in a while, you'll see the audiences responses and how in love they are with this character as he has become a global phenomena. Despite the unethical treatment and misleading of a human being.

And if you're thinking to yourself, Wow, that actually sounds a lot more serious than it looks and actually sounds a little sadistic, you'd be right to think that.

Don't get me wrong, you can still kind of count this as a comedy in a way because it does have a comedic edge to it, Jim Carrey is very light hearted at times, and there's only so serious you can inject into a silly plot like this. However, the movie does take itself seriously enough that you're not really laughing as much as you think you would be with a premise like this and it actually is a much more serious movie than you think. Almost to a point where you are surprised how bummed out you are by the plot.

That isn't to say that the performances aren't good. In fact, this is really kind of a great cast.

You of course have Jim Carrey who really brings out his A game. He's not basing his performance on goofy faces or comedic timing, he's actually acting, which is not something you see in all his films. Its a very similar feeling you get from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. You feel like it might not work in the beginning but then you watch him give a really good performance and you're suddenly like, yeah, Jim Carrey is a really good actor along with being a really funny guy.

But on top of all of that, this movie again, literally, focuses on him. He is the star of a movie where he is the star of a TV show. He has to be a very likable character, otherwise we don't really care what happens to him in the show as well as in the movie. And the movie does a really good job at making you feel like you are watching the show while you're watching the movie.

But the rest of the cast is very good as well. 

The supporting cast, in both the movie and the TV show, are his wife played by Laura Linney, and his

best friend.

They do some pretty fun social commentary, especially when his wife is trying to plug advertisement into their normal conversations. I really liked how you definitely saw some of the people as actors and yet at the same time, you realize that these people have been the family and friends of Truman his entire life. To them, they are real when in reality they aren't.

Again, why is this movie often mistaken for a comedy?

There's a great part where he's having a meaningful conversation with his friend and you figure out that all his lines are being fed to him by the direct Christoph. It really makes the entire process hard to handle at times. That is one thing about the movie is that you have these very dark and kind of disturbing things that happen in the film and then some of it is followed up by an attempt at humor. Comedy is not the main purpose of this film but there are times when it shows up that it just feels inappropriate and out of place.

Of course I don't think they should have made this movie a straight up serious film with no comedy, I think it would be even more depressing than it already is if they had done that, but I think it just has its times where the comedy doesn't work and t feels out of place.

And then there's the director.

How can you not love Ed Harris. The guy is just a stellar actor and he knows exactly what he's doing.

Christoph is able to both be a sort of strange father like figure to Truman, a representation of God, and also a ruthless villain just making life a living hell for Truman. This is a really well done performance especially with him throwing in the tropes you've seen in every movie with a director. He's basically a super villain if a super villain was the director of a hit television show. It is done so well and Ed Harris is one of the best parts of this movie.

But what am I talking about when I say that this movie falls into a category of movies that Jim Carrey has done that is just a different side of him?

Yes Carrey has had some weird moments in his career, both on and off the screen...

Now I could talk about a whole other issue with that video. My point is, while he's had his creepy moments, Carrey has always been able to make people laugh and make people feel happy. Even that creepy video in its own way made me laugh really hard to how creepy it was.

But there's a series of movies in his filmography, where the point wasn't to make people laugh just for the sake of making them laugh, its to spread some kind of message of hope, or just make people happy through the story.

While Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a very sad movie, you come out of that movie with a glimmer of hope. Especially if you've gone through a breakup, you feel like you can get out of any rut and you can move forward with endless possibilities in front of you.

While Bruce Almighty is incredibly funny and it has a lot of the Jim Carrey-isms you are familiar with, it does have a really light hearted message about faith and you really walk out of that movie with a good feeling.

The same can be said about Yes Man. Especially with the scene where Jim Carrey plays the guitar and gets a guy to come off a ledge by singing Third Eye Blind.

My point in all of this is that The Truman Show is an example of Jim Carrey just being an honest actor and ending the movie on a really hopeful note that just makes you feel happy, especially after a plot that if you trim away all the bright colors and unintentional Jim Carrisms that he can't really control, you come out of the movie with a really good feeling at the end. 

While the tone of the movie is confusing, I really enjoyed The Truman Show. As long as you go into it with no expectations and want to see a really creative set up, I think you will like The Truman Show as well. 

But what did you think? Have you seen The Truman Show? How does it compare to Carrey's other films? What do you think works better for Carrey? Slapstick or honest acting? Comment and Discuss below! You can also send me your thoughts on Twitter @cmhaugen24 as well as send me your requests for movies I should review in the future. If you follow me on Twitter you can get updates on future movie news and reviews coming out of this blog. 

I'll leave you with this. Every mainstream actor or public figure usually has their own inspiring commencement speech that they gave. And here's one from Jim Carrey. Enjoy!

Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox

If you follow this blog, you know that I love comic book movies but I have never really read any actual comic books.

And believe me, a part of me would like to. I listen to a lot of movie podcasts that also talk about comic books, I basically read about comic books and I want to get their storylines. Everything about comic books I really like, I just don't like reading them. And now I've found another way to get the stories from comic books without actually reading them, and that is from the animated movies.

Animated movies have the ability to bring out the story of comic books, almost better than live action movies do. On top of that, they have the ability to stay true to the comic more than live action movies. And that brings me to The Flashpoint Paradox.

Having watched the first season of The Flash, I am becoming more and more familiar with the character and its making me want to know more. Flashpoint was always a storyline that I had heard of, but I never knew what the storyline was about. And then I figured out that it was about time travel and changing time lines and I realized that that is exactly the kind of storylines I love.

On top of that, if you read my last post on the DC cinematic universe and how I want them to fix the mess made by Batman v Superman, I rely heavily on The Flashpoint storyline. I felt I needed to be well versed in the storyline before I could reliably cite that as material they should use for the upcoming Flash movie, starring Ezra Miller in 2018.

But like I said, I don't read the comic books. Luckily, Netflix has the animated version of the storyline and its a pretty quick entertaining watch.

The Flashpoint Paradox starts with Barry Allen (voiced by Justin Chambers) waking up in a world very different than the world where he is the Flash fighting crime with the Justice League. In this world, Barry doesn't have his powers. His mother is still alive instead of being murdered by the Reverse Flash (voiced by C. Thomas Howell). One of nemeses, Captain Cold, is not Citizen Cold and is a hero instead of a villain.

Instead of a hero, Aquaman (voiced by Cary Elwes) is a ruthless tyrant and has taken over part of the world. Wonder Woman (voiced by Vanessa Marshall) is very much the same and has taken over Europe. The two of them had a truce at one point but are now at war with one another and are threatening to plunge the world into chaos with their war.

On top of that, Superman is no where to be seen.

Barry is obviously confused and lost without his powers. He knows someone messed with the Speed Force and changed the past, but he can't change anything without his powers. He figures the best person to help him with this challenge is the Dark Knight.

But even more has changed as when Barry finds Batman, he is not the Batman we are all familiar with. (He's barely in this movie, but Bruce Wayne is voiced by Kevin Conroy, the guy who voiced him in the animated series and the Arkham Games... not really important, I just really like that voice actor)

Batman is not Bruce Wayne, but instead is Thomas Wayne (voiced by Kevin McKidd). In this timeline, Bruce was killed instead of his parents. This causes Thomas Wayne to become a ruthless, gun toting Batman and Martha Wayne to go crazy and become The Joker (that's not totally relevant to this movie though). Throughout the movie, Thomas Wayne is trying to be recruited by Cyborg (voiced by Michael B Jordan) to join a group of government led heroes to prevent this global catastrophe being caused by the war between Atlantians and the Amazonians. Barry must find a way to get his powers back and find a way back home before this world is destroyed by the alternate hell he's stumbled upon.

Okay, so if an alternate dimensions where Bruce dies instead of his parents isn't enough, everything on the table is just interesting and a really fun what if scenario. I would almost say its so fun almost to a fault as there are so many stories going on that they can't really delve into each one with a lot of depth because they have to keep within a certain time window and keep it focused on Barry and his journey home. In fact, the video that I posted on my last rant about the solo Superman movie was all about the comic book Flashpoint and that is chalk full of times where the guy says, that's a story for another day. This wasn't just one comic book, The Flashpoint Paradox was a full comic book series. I would love to see an entire Netflix Series on all the storylines from the Flashpoint series because of all the interesting ways this world is different than the one we are familiar with.

But the thing I like probably the most about this film is that it strikes a really good balance between Justice League action poses and good dialogue.

It is definitely an animated film and a PG-13 one at that so the point is to entertain younger audiences with the action. But I feel like they crafted enough of a story that really made me interested in the plight of these characters and really made me interested in the story. Its not fantastic, but its better than I think a lot of people would expect going into an animated movie like this.

The other thing that was really good about this film was the voice acting cast. There are a lot of pretty good actors (on top of the great voice acting talent) in this film and the weird thing is, I wouldn't have known that they were in this film if I hadn't looked at the voice cast list. Cary Elwes is in this film. I had no idea and even after I knew, I still couldn't really place his voice.

The only other complaint I had with this movie was that the villain is really kind of tacked in there and he's not really that interesting. At the end of the day, you probably could have had the bad guys just be the governments working against all the heroes and the Amazonians and Atlantians, you didn't really need Reverse Flash in this movie (spoilers?)

But the truth is, this movie isn't really about The Flash. The movie reminded me a little bit of Injustice Gods Among Us. In that game's story, there was no main character because you had The Justice League. Because of the game mechanics and the opportunity to play as multiple heroes, you switched off between which character was the focus.

In this movie, Barry Allen is the main character but really because he's the only one that can travel through time with the least resistance. I was more interested in the storyline surrounding Thomas Wayne than I was Barry's storyline. Barry was more of a vehicle for the film to go into an alternate universe and just have fun.

So overall, I really liked Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox. It was a simple film that got me acquainted with the comic book storyline and it gave me a lot of great ideas about how this storyline could be interjected within the DC storyline.

I think Ezra Miller is a little bit in a tough situation because of the success of the Flash television show. I think so many people were disappointed that Grant Gustin was not chosen as The Flash in the cinematic universe, that they kind of forget the awesome opportunities that can come with giving us a different Flash.

Hopefully with the release of Justice League in 2017, we can get a good representation of The Flash and people will realize how many opportunities DC has with this character. And I will reiterate how much of an opportunity the Flashpoint story is for Ezra Miller's Flash.

In my previous post, I talked about how Flashpoint is more of an opportunity for DC to get their franchise on track and fix some of the mistakes from Batman v Superman. But it is also an opportunity to really delve into the character of Barry Allen and do a little bit more for the character than the animated movie did.

Like I said before, Barry Allen was more of a vehicle for a larger fight we saw in the animated movie. But a live action adaptation of Flashpoint can allow for Barry Allen to have his backstory shown, but in a way that isn't an origin story, and furthers the character more. The main reason this alternate timeline happens (spoilers) is because Barry goes back to save his mother from being murdered. His mothers murder is a quintessential part of the character and it is something that has to be brought up in his standalone film.

Its obvious that people are getting sick of origin story movies and I think it would help the DC cinematic universe if they took the same approach that they took in Suicide Squad and give Barry a quick overview at the beginning, set up some of the motivation for the Flashpoint storyline, then get into the action.

Its establishing a character, the things that drive him and lets him get straight to doing something about it instead of taking the time to have him learn how to use his powers and go through his origin story. This way we get the Flash, we have him doing his thing, and the Flashpoint also allows for Barry to have his own outing where its just him and we're not questioning where the rest of the Justice League is.

Now I've mentioned this before, this will not be a direct adaptation of the comic. All the members of the Justice League will not be in this film and I don't think I want them to be. But I think you can have a couple of additions and cameos to fix the timeline and give additional screen time to other heroes.

Here's a great example. Cyborg has a big role in the comic books as he is the hero trying to get a force together to stop the impending doom about to roll up on our world. Let him be in the movie to flesh out that role and show us what Cyborg can do, even if its him in an alternate dimension.

And what do you know, Ray Fisher has been confirmed as a cast member in The Flash standalone film... interesting... very interesting.

And like I said, it will be very difficult to get the entire Justice League back together for a Flash standalone film. Not saying it can't be done, (Captain America: Civil War) but I think DC wants to give The Flash his own standalone film so he can do his thing. So maybe that's where it ends. Maybe this is all a pipe dream and there's no way to make this happen.

But here's the part that gets me interested.

Remember, Thomas Wayne has a huge role in The Flashpoint story. The Flash is basically teaming up with Batman in this story and it couldn't be Ben Affleck's Batman.

Now Thomas Wayne has already been casted in the DC Cinematic universe, and he wasn't a no name actor... Thomas Wayne is played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan in Batman v Superman.

Now again, this is all speculation. Morgan has been in Zach Snyder's films before, its very possible that they are just friends and Morgan wanted a role in Batman v Superman, no matter how small. But think about it, why would they cast a very well known actor as a character that dies after maybe thirty seconds of screen time? It doesn't really make a lot of sense.

On top of that, Morgan has expressed interest in playing Thomas Wayne again, and even said he wouldn't mind playing Thomas Wayne in the TV series when they did the Flashpoint storyline.

Now again, take this all with a grain of salt since nothing has been confirmed. But just let that all marinate with you. It allows for The Flash to have his own awesome storyline, it utilizes actors who have been drastically underutilized, and you don't need all the Justice League to do it. The Flash could be a very cheap (relative to the other DC films) film to make, and it could expand the DC universe to make it more interesting.

Is it gonna happen? Again, probably not. But I love the idea and I'm going to be speculating about it until I hear otherwise.

But what do you think? Do you like The Flashpoint Paradox? Do you think they could inject it into the DC cinematic universe? Comment and Discuss below! You can also send me your thoughts on Twitter @cmhaugen24 as well as send me your requests for movies I should review in the future. If you follow me on Twitter you can get updates on future movie news and reviews coming out of this blog.

I'll leave you with this. So they're definitely doing Flashpoint for Season 3 of The Flash. I still have to watch Season 2 but after watching The Flashpoint Paradox, I want to watch all of Season 2 to get caught up and watch this in October. Here's the trailer for Season 3. Enjoy!

Sausage Party

What can I say about Sausage Party? It’s a movie that I had an interest in seeing ever since the trailer came out. The trailer showed a really funny premise with food having personalities and longing for the day that we take them home with us, only to be horrified by the truth that we eat them. To us, what is normal ingestion of sustenance is genocide to the local food you’d find at your grocery store. That’s a funny premise. And it makes sense to portray it as a Rated R comedy with the brains of Seth Rogen behind it.

Now the execution is a lot different than the concept, even when you’re talking about trailers versus the actual movie.

Sausage Party centers around a sausage by the name of Frank (voiced by Seth Rogen) in his package with the rest of the sausages (two of them being his friends voiced by Jonah Hill and Michael Cera), in a grocery store waiting to be chosen by people in order to go to “The Great Beyond”. Frank has a girlfriend who is a hot dog bun named Brenda (voiced by Kristen Wiig) who is waiting to be chosen like Frank.

After a cryptic warning from a jar of Honey Mustard (voiced by Danny McBride) tells them of the horrors in the great beyond, Frank, Brenda, and a whole cast of food related characters go on an adventure to discover the truth of what happens when food leaves the grocery stores and comes home with us.

This adventure takes them through multiple colorful areas of the grocery store, the kitchen of the murderous humans, and culminates in the food trying to find a way to not being eaten. This allows Frank and Brenda to meet a whole cast of characters like Kareem Abdul Lavash (voiced by David Krumholtz) a Middle Eastern Lavash, and Sammy Bagel (voiced by Edward Norton) who is a Jewish Bagel… Get it. Hallah and Kosher foods… get it!

Again, I was overly excited by the trailer of this movie. I thought it was a funny concept and the trailer made me laugh out loud with how absurd this situation is. Furthermore, the funny part about

this film came in all the references made to other films and connecting them to food related puns. For example, at one point a bunch of food is dropped in the aisle. To the humans, they go about their business and just say clean up on aisle 12. But to the food, it is the beaches of Normandy from Saving Private Ryan. Bananas are losing their faces, Peanut butter is trying to scoop up the insides of his wife Jelly. It’s really funny and really well written.

The problem was, I was more entertained by all the silly puns and weird circumstances created by this film more than I was entertained by the characters or their stories. These weren’t characters, they were puns. Frank and Brenda’s entire story is that they want to be chosen so they can be together and he can be inside her… get it?! Abdul and Sammy’s whole deal is their Middle Eastern food feud… get it?! Or the fact that an actual douche (voiced by Nick Kroll… fitting) was trying to kill them… cause he’s a douche… GET IT?!

And I do get it, this is an R-rated comedy about food. They’re not going to have Shakespearian

stories. But I honestly didn’t find anything about these characters that I really liked and therefore it didn’t matter to me if they got eaten or not. I actually thought it was funnier when characters were killed off and not as funny when they weren’t eaten. Now whether or not you think that’s a problem or not is up to you, but the issue comes when I wanted more jokes and instead they were focused on these characters and their drama which I didn’t care about. 

And then there's the humor. If you've seen anything of Seth Rogen's, you know what kind of humor this is going to be and you know what you're getting. If you haven't, watch Pineapple Express and The Interview and I think you'll get a pretty good idea of what Sausage Party is going for. The one difference is, I feel like he went to a whole new level this time. Its probably the fact that the entire movie is animated and Rogen can go to places he's really never been before with animation. But he also goes places I don't think he should have gone... and he goes to a kind of uncomfortable level. I enjoy my raunchy humor, I enjoy some of Seth Rogen's work... but the end of this movie started off funny, got weird, got a little funny weird, and then just got even weirder. 

And putting aside the super weird ending of this movie, humor often goes in ebbs and flows, especially Seth Rogen's humor. Usually, he's pretty good at controlling where the joke ends so it ends on a funny flow instead of a weird ebb, but with Sausage Party, while I was laughing a lot, I couldn't help but feel like a lot of the jokes ended on a weird ebb and I wasn't wild about it. Its not the funniest comedy I've seen in a while and I honestly can't say I have much of an interest to see it again. 

Its not bad, and of course, comedy is a pretty subjective topic to talk about, but in my humble opinion, Sausage Party is good for a shock laugh. Its got a lot of clever jokes, but I didn't have a lot of motivation after seeing this movie to go back and look for those jokes. Sausage Party didn't leave too much of an impression on me and it goes down as just another movie in this lackluster summer we've been having for movies. 

But what did you think of it? What did you think of Sausage Party as a whole? What did you think of that ending? Comment and Discuss below! You can also send me your thoughts on Twitter @cmhaugen24 as well as send me your requests for movies I should review in the future. If you follow me on Twitter you can get updates on future movie news and reviews coming out of this blog. 

I'll leave you with this. Like the humor in this movie, the story behind Sausage Party goes in ebbs and flows of being really great and really horrible. Apparently Seth Rogen has been wanting to make this movie for ten years, he's been working on it that long, they got the Oscar winning composer Alan Menken to do the music, they have worked on the animation for so long to make it look good. But at the same time, there are stories of the conditions and payment of animators in this movie being absolutely horrible. Here's a video of Seth Rogen talking about the good parts of the production, just keep in mind, there might be another side to this story. Enjoy!

Solutions to the DCCU Superman problem

So this actually is a great time to be talking about Superman because there were a couple pieces of news that came out in the last two weeks that are worth talking about. The first one is that DC is putting all efforts towards making a sequel to Man of Steel. Right now, the lineup for DC movies for the next 4 years goes as follows.

2017: Wonder Woman and Justice League

2018: The Flash, Aquaman, and an untitled DC/Warner Brothers film

2019: Shazaam, Justice League Part 2, and an untitled DC/Warner Brothers film

2020: Cyborg, Untitled DC film (presumed to be Green Lantern Corp)

So it’s assumed that one of the untitled DC films will be a solo Batman film with Ben Affleck and the other film will be the sequel to Man of Steel. That could be wrong but that’s the most probable course of action moving forward.

The next piece of news is a picture Henry Cavill posted on his Instagram showing that in Justice League he will be wearing a black and silver version of his costume. This is relevant because the black and silver costume has been seen before in the comics and it appears after Superman is killed by Doomsday when he returns.

Now I’ve done a little bit of research into it and I’m pretty sure him wearing a black suit doesn’t necessarily mean that he is evil. But that leans into my theories even more at this point and supports my claim that DC does not know what they’re doing with Superman in these movies.

BvS has a (shoehorned) dream sequence in which Batman dreams that Superman is evil. You might think that this is just a dream but it also has a scene of Ezra Miller’s Flash reaching out to Bruce Wayne through what I can assume is the Speed Force and telling him that he was right about Superman, that he needs to use Lois Lane, but then says that he’s too early (I will talk more about the Flash later). This dream sequence feels less like a dream sequence and instead like a vision of the future, which points towards Superman coming back from the grave but being evil for some reason.

This dream sequence had a lot of resemblance to the Superman in Injustice Gods Among Us, where in an alternate dimension, Superman has turned evil, becomes dictator of the world, and kills off members of the Justice League. The video game is very popular so it might be in DC’s interest to direct their franchise towards that storyline right?

But Superman didn’t come back from the grave and turned evil right? On top of that, can you really bring Superman into his third outing and have him become the bad guy already? Coming back different doesn’t necessarily mean bad and Cavill could just be referring to a mullet and black suit.

On top of that, if Darkseid isn’t going to be the main villain in Justice League (rumor has it at Steppenwolf), won’t the Justice League need Superman to defeat that evil when it comes in Justice League part 2?

I don’t know. But the main point here is, whether he turns evil or he comes back different but still a good guy, that still puts Superman in an awkward place to have his own standalone film. Either he’s moping around the fact that he was evil in Justice League or he’s awkwardly coming back and the standalone film is probably just him cutting the mullet off and getting back into the red and blue. Everything that happened seems like a hiccup because either way, we’re in an awkward place as Superman isn’t that developed of a character anyway.

Harkening back to my first part, the number one problem DC faces with a sequel to Man of Steel is Superman himself. We haven’t been given an opportunity to really get to know Superman. The best argument in favor of Man of Steel was that this was Superman’s first outing and he doesn’t know how who he is. Batman v Superman was supposed to develop Superman as an actual character and we can see him grow past his first outing. But we didn’t get that opportunity. He died.

So in a standalone film, on top of dealing with killing the last kryptonian with his bare hands, on top of being an alien demi-god living among humanity, on top of his relationship with Lois Lane, he also has to deal with explaining to the world why he’s literally Jesus Christ rising from the grave, why Clark Kent suddenly is alive again, as well as responding to whatever happens in Justice League as well as anything that affects him in the movies in between. Which could be anywhere from 2 to 6 movies, possibly including yet another Justice League outing. When is this character ever going to be developed?

Now, I have a solution. It’s a pipe dream and it probably won’t happen. However, it allows DC to go on this route their headed, allow for an evil Superman, as well as Apocolips to happen including the dream sequence from Batman v Superman, but then it reroutes them to allow Superman to actually be a developed character and even make up for some of the mistakes made in past films.

You may be saying, that’s impossible, there’s all these movies set up, they’re in production, what are you talking about Connor?

But everything changes when you look at the lineup again.

The first movie after The Justice League in 2018 is the Flash. And this is where I start talking major solutions to the DC cinematic universe to get it back on track.

Let’s start with Justice League. Details are still pretty vague when it comes to Justice League. We’ve seen the trailer/ series of video clips of Bruce Wayne gathering members of the Justice League to fight an unknown evil. We’ve also seen images of the mother boxes in both that trailer and BvS deleted scenes with Steppenwolf. If you read the news and the credits for justice League, we know that Henry Cavill is coming back as Superman in Justice League, probably for a smaller part… or is it?

Theory time: Justice League opens up with the mysterious death of Lois Lane. This provides Batman an opportunity to do some detective work and figure out that she was killed by something greater than him and he realizes that now is the time to form The Justice League to stop a looming threat (probably Steppenwolf). Around the same time, Superman rises from the grave, sporting a mullet, and wearing a black suit. All he wants to do is see Lois Lane… But he can’t.

He is influenced by Steppenwolf who sees Superman as his best chance to find the motherboxes (since that’s his thing) and he convinces Superman that Batman and the Justice League are to blame for the death of Lois Lane. On top of that, Superman is now convinced that the only way to really save the world is to become their leader.

Of course, Batman has finished forming the Justice League at this point and they have something to say about that. So comes an epic battle between Superman and the Justice League… except the Justice League loses. Disbanded, the last scenes of Justice League is the dream sequence from BvS and it shows the rebellion Batman starts against Superman, ending in his demise. However, before this scene, Barry Allen discovers the Speed Force and travels back in time (perhaps seeing Grant Gustin in the speed force) in an attempt to change the past, and that brings us to the Flash Standalone film, or… Flashpoint.

Now... this isn't going to be Flashpoint officially. Flashpoint was a storyline that focused on Barry Allen going back in time to save his mother and in turn, creates a doomsday scenario where Aquaman and Wonder Woman are at war, Bruce Wayne was killed instead of his parents and Thomas Wayne is now a gun toting Batman. The movie will not be Flashpoint from right off the page, but hey, neither was Batman v Superman a retelling of The Dark Knight Returns. Doing a story where Barry goes back and changes things in his past and it has ripple effects could be a great way to correct the mistakes of previous movies. 

First off, it allows for the Flashpoint storyline to happen. That is a fun storyline. I know its kind of happening on CW’s The Flash but like I said, things are going to be different with the direction the cinematic universe is taking so it’ll work out.

Second off, it allows DC to hit the reset button without actually hitting it. Similar to how Days of Future Past erased X-men: Origins and Last Stand off the map, Flashpoint can correct the mistakes of BvS. Most importantly, bringing in Doomsday and killing Superman. Yes, they probably can't do the Death of Superman still for a couple of years, but at least we get rid of that point in the DC cinematic universe history. 

But it also has the interesting possibility of fixing an interesting mistake made. It allows DC to recast Lex Luthor. Remember, Jesse Eisenberg is Lex Luthor Jr, in the context of where we are right now, that doesn’t mean anything, but if we go back in time, change history. Perhaps Lex’s father lives. Perhaps he’s a more suave mastermind than Eisenberg is. Perhaps you create some interesting villain father son dynamics for good measure. Maybe he’s played by Bryan Cranston. And Cranston doesn’t need to play him, the important part is getting someone to actually play Lex Luthor. Hell, get Gene Hackman out of retirement to play him again, I don’t care. That way, Eisenberg can stay in the role and evolve in other ways as well as the fact he’s not locked up in Arkham ranting like a crazy dude, and at the same time we get the Lex Luthor we deserve.

But most importantly, we can fix a lot of the issues of Batman v Superman that makes a standalone movie difficult. I won't lie, I started this idea before I really knew what exactly the story of Flashpoint was, but after reading up on the story and watching the animated movie, I still think this is something that could be a lot of fun and could work for the DC cinematic universe.

Maybe The Flash plays with alternate dimensions or changes only small portions of the timeline, but there could be enough change that allows Superman to be in a better position for his standalone film so he's not in the awkward position that BvS is putting him in. 

Furthermore, if you're playing with the idea where the dimensions are crossed and this Superman in the standalone knows about the horrors he has committed in the other dimension, if he in fact is going evil in Justice League, this creates for a conflicted character, compounding on the events of Man of Steel and it actually allows him to act on that guilt and become a better character.

AND THEN! You still have that dimension where Superman is all evil and Injustice: Gods Among Us-y. They could team up with Darkseid and make an awesome Justice League movie. Superman could cross dimensions to steal Lois Lane for himself. There are a lot of possibilities that could make for a great future movie where the good dimension needs to fight the dimension we left behind.

I referenced Matthew Patrick from Film Theory in my rant on Jared Leto’s Joker talking about his video about the Joker and how each joker fits into a different age, pointing at the alternate dimensions the DC has created. He made a second parter where he pointed towards cross movie team ups that could occupy the future of the DCCU. While I think the theory was a little off, he had a point about bringing up the alternate dimensions and how they should take a part in the future of the DC cinematic universe. And I think this is the opportunity to do that.

Again, is this going to happen? Probably not. Maybe its more of a dream I hope will happen to help this movie universe from going down paths that I just don't agree that the universe should have taken in my mind. 

Alternate dimensions are difficult to put on film and it takes a lot of work. However, I think if DC can get its shit together and figure out a plan for this and just run with it, we could have a really great series of movies coming out in the next four years and beyond.

But DC, I can’t stress this enough!

Now this is all theory and its theories that give a lot of credit to DC. Something they really don’t have right now. But I have to sometimes pull back and remember the context of where we are and where we came from.

People always say that Marvel is doing a lot better at this than DC is and why can’t DC get their shit together? (myself included). But I go back to the run through of all the Marvel movies I watched before Age of Ultron. After watching Phase 1 of the MCU, I realize that those movies are not as good as we remember them to be.

Iron Man 1 – A decent film but not nearly as great as people remember it to be.

The Incredible Hulk – Really not that great of a film

Iron Man 2 – Arguably the worst superhero film to come out in the late 2000s.

Thor – A decent film but at the end of the day is just Thor hanging out in a small town until he gets his hammer back and beats a big metal dude. Not much happens.

And Captain America: The First Avenger – While better than I remember it, only a decent film.

None of those movies go on peoples top ten list, and if they do, they shouldn’t be there.  

DC is in their phase 1 and it takes a couple of movies to really find a stride. The difference is, we are in 2016 where superhero expanded universes are expected and studios have to put a line up in front of them to show the public that they will get their Justice League movie sooner or later.

The blame isn’t totally off of DC though. While those initial Marvel movies were decent at best, they at least had a self-contained story  that structurally made sense, and even if they weren’t that great, the consequences were low so they could be less than decent and it wouldn’t have a huge implication of the rest of the universe or hurt future films. BvS did that to Superman. It hurt the chances of there being a Death of Superman movie, and it stunted a character who the studios have no idea what to do with.

So yes, the blame can also be put on DC. But we do need to keep in mind that these movies will only get progressively better as time goes on. We just have to be patient. Not lose our minds when something doesn’t seem totally right (Suicide Squad), and realize at the end of the day, this doesn’t have to be a competition between Marvel and DC. Realize that Marvel was at this point in their universe before and have faith that DC can overcome too.   

At least I hope they can. What do you think? I don't have the best knowledge of a lot of DC comic books and I could be totally off basis on this theory. Could this work? Is it too early to do Flashpoint? Comment and Discuss below what you think possible solutions for the DC cinematic universe is. Do you think it’s in trouble?  Let me know your thoughts. You can also continue the conversation on Twitter @cmhaugen24 as well as send me your requests for movies I should review in the future. If you follow me on Twitter you can get updates on future movie news and reviews, as well as rants on DC, Marvel and other aspects of film coming out of this blog.

I’ll leave you with this. Here's a brief storyline of The Flashpoint series of comics. I'm going to be doing a review of The Flashpoint Paradox animated film on Netflix but here's an overview of the story line to give you all some context in how I think the DC Cinematic universe should head.