Crisp Criticism - "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice", "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2", "A Bigger Splash"

by

Julien Faddoul

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Fearing that the actions of Superman are left unchecked, Batman takes on the Man of Steel, while the world wrestles with what kind of a hero it really needs.

Another gargantuan comic book film clearly lost in the wilderness of its own making: It lurches from one dull scene to another without any sense of pace or tone, being all too concerned with setting up succeeding films that don’t exist yet.

d – Zack Snyder

w – Chris Terrio, David S. Goyer   (Based on the Characters Created by Bob Kane, Bill Finger, Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster)

ph – Larry Fong

pd – Patrick Tatopoulos

m – Junkie XL, Hans Zimmer

ed – David Brenner

cos – Michael Wilkinson

p – Charles Roven, Deborah Snyder

Cast: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Jeremy Irons, Holly Hunter, Gal Gadot, Scoot McNairy, Callan Mulvey, Tao Okamoto, Brandon Spink, Lauren Cohan, Michael Shannon, Michael Cassidy, Rebecca Buller, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Tj Norris, Harry Lennix, Christina Wren, Vikram Gandhi, Andrew Sullivan

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2

A Portokalos family secret brings the beloved characters back together for an even bigger Greek wedding.

As unnecessary a sequel as you can get – the previous film being released 14 years ago – with tired jokes of a stereotypical nature. It feels so insubstantial that it practically evaporates on-screen.

d – Kirk Jones

w – Nia Vardalos

ph – Jim Denault

pd – Gregory P. Keen

m – Christopher Lennertz

ed – Markus Czyzewski

cos – Gersha Phillips

p – Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson

Cast: Nia Vardalos, John Corbett, Elena Kampouris, Lainie Kazan, Michael Constantine, Andrea Martin, Ian Gomez, Gerry Mendicino, Alex Wolff, John Stamos, Rita Wilson, Joey Fatone, Gia Carides, Louis Mandylor

A Bigger Splash *

The vacation of a famous rock star and a filmmaker is disrupted by the unexpected visit of an old friend and his daughter.

Engaging but rather frivolous wallow in indulgence centered on shallow characters, with Swinton's coming off the best, surrounded by pretty scenery. A typical film by its director.

d – Luca Guadagnino

w – David Kajganich, Alain Page

ph – Yorick Le Saux

pd – Maria Djurkovic

ed – Walter Fasano

cos – Giulia Piersanti

p – Michael Costigan, Luca Guadagnino

Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Matthias Schoenaerts, Tilda Swinton, Dakota Johnson