Justice League
While the tills are still ringing with Marvel's box office takings for its latest offering Thor: Ragnarok, DC is hoping for a massive hit with its first gathering of its biggest superheroes. A lot is riding on the project after tepid reactions to Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice and Suicide Squad and then the overwhelmingly positive reaction to Wonder Woman's impressive standalone movie.
While the screenplay for Justice League is written by both Chris Terrio and Joss Whedon, Miller seems to benefit the most from the Whedon-esque humour made famous in Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Marvel's Avengers films. Affleck's Batman doesn't fare so well – "I don't have to understand (the world), I just have to save it," is a notable clanger.
Zack Snyder is the only director listed in the credits, but it was Whedon who filled in when Snyder stood aside after the tragic death of his daughter, guiding it through reshoots and post-production. But that presence of two directors makes for a slightly disjointed feeling, the light-hearted japes are sometimes crowbarred into almost relentless action and the film slips into the common comic book movie trap of incomprehensible fight scenes.
But the movie succeeds where it needs to – in setting up the raft of standalone films to follow – Aquaman in 2018, Wonder Woman 2 in 2019 and Flashpoint in 2020. Devotees will want to wait for the two scenes after the credits for a taste of what's to come.
Ingrid Goes West
The soundtrack to modern life is a melancholic symphony of beeps, rings, chirps and pings, synchronised to the drum beat of fingers swiping back and forth across LED screens.
The thrilling melody of face-to-face conversation has been supplanted by a monotonous, staccato chorus of click. like. share. follow. comment. hashtag. post. chat. reply. tag. add. rofl. lurk. block. crying face emoji...
Matt Spicer's dark and disconcerting comedy drama is a delicious cautionary tale about tech-savvy generations, whose fragile sense of self-worth is determined by connections on social media.
As the eponymous heroine of Ingrid Goes West observes: "If you don't have anyone to share things with, what's the point of living?"
Squirm-inducing social awkwardness takes a selfie with jet-black humour in Spicer's script, which straps us in – ready or not – for a rollercoaster ride through the twisted psyche of one 20-something loner, who treats her mobile phone as an extension of her body.
Aubrey Plaza delivers a powerhouse performance in the title role, eliciting sympathy and discomfort in equal measure as her cyber-stalker's mental illness spirals sickeningly out of control in the aftermath of her mother's death.
Plaza is blisteringly funny and horribly pathetic.
A seemingly throwaway scene in which Ingrid and Sloane take a road trip and sing along to R&B duo K-Ci & JoJo's ballad All My Life lurches between the two extremes as we glimpse the steely intent in Ingrid's eyes as she caterwauls: "All my life, I've prayed for someone like you."
Every syllable resonates in her tortured soul.
Like. share. face screaming in fear emoji.
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