ThunderForce (2021)
PG-13‧ Action Comedy‧ 1h 47m
Written by Ben Falcone
Directed by ‎Ben Falcone 

THE CAST

Melissa McCarthy, Octavia Spencer, Pom Klementieff, Jason Bateman

THE STORY

(In their own words) Two childhood best friends reunite as an unlikely crime-fighting superhero duo when one invents a formula that gives ordinary people superpowers.

THE REVIEW

My fourteen year old daughter and I love watching superhero films and tv shows together. We watch a lot and there isn’t much we haven’t seen. Seeing the trailer for Netflix’s superhero film Thunder Force intrigued us both. We enjoy Melissa McCarthy’s comedies and the varied roles of Octavia Spencer. The concept of two 40-something women becoming superheroes was something we hadn’t seen yet, sonar high hopes. Thunder Force did not disappoint. 

First off, as a comedy, there’s not a lot of films that make both my daughter and I laugh. This one absolutely did. We both had many hard belly laughs during the film. This hit all the boxes for a comedy; unexpected punchlines, absurdity, impeccable timing. It delivered. 

The film was both an origin story and a fish out of water story. McCarthy and Spencer had great comedic chemistry together though had trouble connecting on a personal level, but I put more blame on the script for this as it forced the characters into a renewed friendship it hadn’t earned yet. 

Justin Bateman was the biggest surprise for me. His character of a half-man half-crab was absolutely hilarious and he played it perfectly. 

I think you’ll enjoy this movie if you are ready for some unconventional superheroes and enjoy some laughs.

THE BEST

Three BEST things about the film

1. The comedy. I had more full belly laughs than I have had in a long time.
2. Original Premise for a superhero team.
3. Justin Batman’s character as a half crab/ half human is one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a long time. 

THE WORST

The three WORST things about the Film

1. Predictable villains.
2. Relationship plot points stretched a bit far to get the story going.
3. Forced conflicts. The conflicts took a lot of twisting to make them happen. 

THE LESSON

Superpowers aren’t as important as the person who wields them. 

THE FINAL WORD

This original superhero film provided some of the hardest laughs I’ve had from a movie in a while. I watched with my teen daughter who also really liked it. Good family entertainment, with a different kind of superhero role model than you usually get. 

THE VERDICT
My 3L system gives me the choice to Love It, Like It, or Lose It. 

Thunder Force gets a Like It.

The Last Blockbuster (2020)
NR Documentary ‧ 1h 26m
Written by Zeke Kamm
Directed by ‎Taylor Morden

THE CAST

Sandi Harding, Doug Benson, Ron Funches

THE STORY

(In their own words) 
A documentary on the last remaining Blockbuster Video, located in Bend, Oregon.

THE REVIEW

This is a documentary about the final Blockbuster Video store in Bend, Oregon. The documentary details the rise and fall of Blockbuster Video and how this one blockbuster manages to stay in business through the downturn of the video rental business. 

While much of the film focuses on the franchise owner and operator Sandi Harding, The film interviews industry professionals and a lot of comedians for a trip down memory lane. At times it feels less like a documentary and more like a VH1 special.

The general appeal of this movie is this desire to take a look at nostalgia and rituals that we as a country we’re all part of. Renting videos for the weekend was one of them for a couple decades. This movie is not going to change your life in any way. You won’t feel like a more knowledgeable person, aside from a little information about why Blockbuster actually failed, which I will say was a surprise to me. Usually I watch documentaries because I want to become better educated about a subject. This one, I don’t even know why I wanted to see it. Maybe it’s just nice to see a small business owner figuring out how to prosper despite a changing world around them. 

Mostly, I think it’s just an opportunity to reminisce with my wife about an experience we both had even though we didn’t know each other. Somehow watching it together and talking about it afterwards makes us somehow feel closer. 

THE BEST

Three BEST things about the film

Lauren Lapkus’ delightful narration. 
Fun nostalgia conversation sparker.
Interesting insight into what really happened to the business.

THE WORST

The three WORST things about the Film

There isn’t a ton to learn from the documentary. 
You don’t leave the documentary feeling smarter than anyone else. 
There is no message really. 

THE LESSON

Don’t give up your business until someone pries it from your cold, dead hands. 

THE FINAL WORD

If you need a walk down nostalgia lane with not too much to think about, this is a great little documentary to check out.  

THE VERDICT 
My 3L system gives me the choice to Love It, Like It, or Lose It. 

The Last Blockbuster gets a Like It

R ‧ Action Adventure Fantasy ‧ 4h 2m
Written by Chris Terrio
Directed by ‎Zach Snyder

THE CAST

Batman (Ben Affleck), Superman (Henry Cavill),Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Cyborg (Ray Fisher), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), Flash (Ezra Miller), Darkseid (Ray Porter), Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds). 

THE STORY

(In their own words) Determined to ensure Superman’s ultimate sacrifice was not in vain, Bruce Wayne aligns forces with Diana Prince with plans to recruit a team of metahumans to protect the world from an approaching threat of catastrophic proportions.

THE REVIEW

What a difference a director makes. Zach Snyder’s cut of Justice League comes to HBO Max thanks to the demands of fans who really wanted to see what Snyder had intended before he stepped away from the original version after the tragic death of his daughter. Joss Whedon picked up directing the rest and ordering reshoots for a lot of the film. Between Whedon and studio demands to change the tone of the film, they released one of the worst superhero we’ve seen in a while. Much of it got blamed on Snyder at the time and that Whedon did the best with what he had. Oh, boy that was a false narrative. 

Fan sentiment and Twitter trends finally convinced the studios to give Snyder the money for a post production to put together the film he imagined. 

The original version was just two hours. The new one….a whopping 4 hours and 2 minutes. And finally, the story made sense. Finally we understood character motivations. Finally, we had the story we had been clamoring for. And while it is a long film, it is a wonderful Superhero film. We got to truly understand Superman’s resurrection, cyborg’s origin story, and all that Flash is capable of. Well rounded stories, great character development and a difficult understanding of what the hell Warner Brothers was thinking. I understand the hesitation of a 4 hour film, and that is definitely the fault of Snyder for writing such a complex story, but the story was rich and didn’t deserve the hack job of cuts that it got. 

And while Snyder is a great story teller, particularly with visuals, what he lacks is creating memorable dialogue and interactions. I honestly have trouble remember many lines that aren’t in the trailer. 

The saddest part of Snyder’s Justin League is knowing this is the end. After the disaster of the original Justice League, plans for a DCU were essentially scrapped. And Snyder set up some fun things for future movies that likely will never happen. 

THE BEST

Three BEST things about the film

SUCH a better film than the original release. 
Fantastic world creation and bringing different DC properties together.  
It takes its time to tell every story that needs telling.  

THE WORST

The three WORST things about the Film

It’s a 4 hour movie!!!!!!!!! Yeah, I loved it, but it should’ve been released as a mini-series. 
Too heavy on CGI focus at the expense of story. 
The dialogue. Very little for memorable dialogue.

THE LESSON

We are stronger together than apart.  

THE FINAL WORD

Snyder’s Justice League is a far superior film than the original and is so much different it is practically a different movie. This is the one you should see. Just set some time up for it. 

THE VERDICT 
My 3L system gives me the choice to Love It, Like It, or Lose It.   

Zach Snyder’s Justice League gets a LIKE IT

This week Samantha & Silas review the new films Malcolm & Marie on Netflix and The Map Of Tiny Perfect Things on Amazon Prime.