95th Academy Awards

Broadcast Date: 13th March 2023 - Australia

Hello, everyone. I'm back and alive and kicking. I had just recovered from COVID (but I won't disclose the full details of that), but I haven't been doing much else on my blog except fixing the cast and crew descriptions and updating a few of my reviews. Anyway, the nominations for the 95th Academy Awards just got unveiled by yesterday. Here is the list of nominees in over 23 categories. Also, on a surprising note, Top Gun: Maverick and Avatar: The Way of Water are among the nominees for Best Picture.

Best Visual Effects

All Quiet on the Western Front - Frank Petzold, Viktor Muller, Markus Frank and Kamil Jafar

Avatar: The Way of Water - Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett

The Batman - Dan Lemmon, Russell Earl, Anders Langlands and Dominic Tuohy

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever - Geoffrey Baumann, Craig Hammack, R. Christopher White and Dan Sudick

Top Gun: Maverick - Ryan Tudhope, Seth Hill, Bryan Litson and Scott R. Fisher

Best Film Editing

The Banshees of Inisherin - Mikkel E. G. Nielsen

Elvis - Matt Villa and Jonathan Redmond

Everything Everywhere All at Once - Paul Rogers

Tár - Monika Willi

Top Gun: Maverick - Eddie Hamilton

Best Costume Design

Babylon - Mary Zophres

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever - Ruth E. Carter

Elvis - Catherine Martin

Everything Everywhere All at Once - Shirley Kurata

Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris - Jenny Beavan

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

All Quiet on the Western Front - Heike Merker and Linda Eisenhamerová

The Batman - Naomi Donne, Mike Marino and Mike Fontaine

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever - Camille Friend and Joel Harlow

Elvis - Mark Coulier, Jason Baird and Aido Signoretti

The Whale - Adrian Morot, Judy Chin and Anne Marie Bradley

Best Cinematography

All Quiet on the Western Front - James Friend

Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths - Darius Khondji

Elvis - Mandy Walker

Empire Of Light - Roger Deakins

Tár - Florian Hoffmeister

Best Production Design

All Quiet on the Western Front - Production Design: Christian M. Goldbeck; Set Decoration: Ernestine Hipper

Avatar: The Way of Water - Production Design: Dylan Cole and Ben Proctor; Set Decoration: Vanessa Cole

Babylon - Production Design: Florencio Martin; Set Decoration: Anthony Carlino

Elvis - Production Design: Catherine Martin; Set Decoration: Beverly Dunn

The Fablemans - Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Karen O'Hara

Best Sound

All Quiet on the Western Front - Viktor Prášil, Frank Kruse, Markus Stemier, Lars Ginzel and Stefan Korte

Avatar: The Way of Water - Julian Howarth, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Dick Bernstein, Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers and Michael Hedges

The Batman - Stuart Wilson, William Files, Douglas Murray and Andy Nelson

Elvis - David Lee, Wayne Pashley, Andy Nelson and Michael Keller

Top Gun: Maverick - Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor

Best Original Song

"Applause" from Tell It Like a Woman - Music and Lyrics by Diane Warren

"Hold My Hand" from Top Gun: Maverick - Music and Lyrics by Lady Gaga and BloodPop

"Lift Me Up" from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever - Music by Tems, Rhianna, Ryan Coogler and Ludwig Göransson; Lyrics by Tems and Ryan Coogler

"Naatu Naatu" from RRR - Music by M. M. Keeravani; Lyrics by Chandabose

"This Is a Life" from Everything Everywhere All at Once - Music by Ryan Lott, David Byrne and Mitski; Lyrics by Ryan Lott and David Bryne

Best Original Score

All Quiet on the Western Front - Volker Bertelmann

Babylon - Justin Hurwitz

The Banshees of Inisherin - Carter Burwell

Everything Everywhere All at Once - Son Lux

The Fabelmans - John Williams

Best Animated Short Film

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse - Charlie Mackesy and Matthew Freud

The Flying Sailor - Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis

Ice Merchants - João Gonzalez and Bruno Caetano

My Year of Dicks - Sara Gunnarsdóttir and Pamela Robbin

An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It - Lachlan Pendragon

Best Live-Action Short Film

An Irish Goodbye - Tom Berkely and Ross White

Ivalu - Anders Walter and Rebecca Pruzan

Le Pupille - Alice Rohrwacher and Alfonso Cuarón

Night Ride - Eirik Tveiten and Gaute Lid Larssen

The Red Suitcase - Cyrus Neshvad

Best Documentary Short Subject

The Elephant Whisperers - Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga

Haulout - Evgenia Arbugaeva and Maxim Arbugaev

How Do You Measure a Year? - Jay Rosenblatt

The Martha Mitchell Effect - Anne Alvergue and Beth Levison

Stranger at the Gate - Joshua Seftel and Conall Jones

Best Documentary Feature

All That Breathes - Shaunak Sen, Aman Mann and Teddy Leifer

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed - Laura Poitras, Howard Gertler, John Lyons, Nan Goldin and Yoni Golijov

Fire of Love - Sara Dosa, Shane Boris and Ina Fichman

A House Made of Splinters - Simon Lereng Wilmont and Monica Hellström

Navalny - Daniel Roher, Odessa Rae, Diane Becker, Melanie Miller and Shane Boris

Best International Feature Film

All Quiet on the Western Front (Germany) - Directed by Edward Berger

Argentina, 1985 (Argentina) - Directed by Santiago Mitre

Close (Belgium) - Directed by Lukas Dhont

EO (Poland) - Directed by Jerzy Skolimonwski

The Quiet Girl (Ireland) - Directed by Colm Bairéad

Best Animated Feature Film

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio - Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson, Gary Ungar and Alex Bulkey

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On - Dean Fleischer Camp, Elisabeth Holm, Andrew Goldman, Caroline Kaplan and Paul Mezey

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish - Joel Crawford and Mark Swift

The Sea Beast - Chris Williams and Jed Schlanger

Turning Red - Domee Shi and Lindsey Collins

Best Adapted Screenplay

All Quiet on the Western Front - Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson and Ian Stokell; based on the novel by Erich Maria Remarque

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery - Rian Johnson; based on characters created by Johnson and the film Knives Out

Living - Kazuo Ishiguro; based on the original motion picture screenplay Ikiru by Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto and Hideo Oguni

Top Gun: Maverick - Screenplay by Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie; based on the film Top Gun written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr.

Women Talking - Sarah Polley; based on the novel by Miriam Toews

Best Original Screenplay

The Banshees of Inisherin - Martin McDonagh

Everything Everywhere All at Once - Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert

The Fablemans - Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner

Tár - Todd Field

Triangle of Sadness - Ruben Östlund

Best Supporting Actress

Angela Bassett - Black Panther: Wakanda Forever as Queen Ramonda

Hong Chau - The Whale as Liz

Kerry Condon - The Banshees of Inisherin as Siobhán Súilleabháin

Jamie Lee Curtis - Everything Everywhere All at Once as Deirdre Beaubeirdre

Stephanie Hsu - Everything Everywhere All at Once as Joy Wang/Jobu Tupaki

Best Supporting Actor

Brendan Gleeson - The Banshees of Inisherin as Colm Doherty

Brian Tyree Henry - Causeway as James Aucoin

Judd Hirsch - The Fabelmans as Boris Schlidkraut

Barry Keoghan - The Banshees of Inisherin as Dominic Kearney

Ke Huy Quan - Everything Everywhere All at Once as Waymond Wang

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett - Tár as Lydia Tár

Ana de Armas - Blonde as Norma Jeane Mortensen/Marilyn Monroe

Andrea Riseborough - To Leslie as Leslie Rowlands

Michelle Williams - The Fabelmans as Mitzi Schildkraut-Fabelman

Michelle Yeoh - Everything Everywhere All at Once as Evelyn Quan Wang

Best Actor

Austin Butler - Elvis as Elvis Presley

Colin Farrell - The Banshees of Inisherin as Pádraic Súilleabháin

Brendan Fraser - The Whale as Charlie

Paul Mescal - Aftersun as Calum Paterson

Bill Nighy - Living as Mr Rodney Williams

Best Director

Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert - Everything Everywhere All at Once

Todd Field - Tár

Martin McDonagh - The Banshees of Inisherin

Ruben Östlund - Triangle of Sadness

Steven Spielberg - The Fabelmans

Best Picture

All Quiet on the Western Front - Malte Grunert, producer

Avatar: The Way of Water - James Cameron and Jon Landau, producers

The Banshees of Inisherin - Graham Broadbent, Peter Czernin and Martin McDonagh, producers

Elvis - Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, Gail Berman, Patrick McCormack and Schiller Weiss, producers

Everything Everywhere All at Once - Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert and Jonathan Wang, producers

The Fabelmans - Kristie Macosko Krieger, Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner, producers

Tár - Todd Field, Alexandra Milchan and Scott Lambert, producers

Top Gun: Maverick - Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie, David Ellison and Jerry Bruckheimer

Triangle of Sadness - Erik Hemmendoff and Philippe Bober, producers

Women Talking - Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner and Frances McDormand, producers

Honorary Awards

Euzhan Palcy

Diane Warren

Peter Weir

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

Michael J. Fox

Make sure you let me know who the winners are. My predictions for the winners of the following categories are

Best Visual Effects - Avatar: The Way of Water

Best Production Design - Avatar: The Way of Water

Best Costume Design - Elvis

Best Makeup and Hairstyling - Elvis

Best Cinematography - Elvis

Best Original Song "Hold My Hand" - Top Gun: Maverick

Best Actor - Austin Butler for Elvis

Best Picture - Top Gun: Maverick

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Iron Man Re-Review

Iron Man


Release Date: 1st May 2008 - Australia


Production Companies
Paramount Pictures (presents)
Marvel Enterprises (presents)
Marvel Studios
Fairview Entertainment (in association with)
Dark Blades Films

Distribution
Paramount Pictures Australia


Genre: Sci-Fi/Action

Rating: M

Runtime: 126 minutes


Budget: $140,000,000

Box Office Gross: $585,796,247 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary

When wealthy philanthropist Tony Stark ventures into Iraq territory for a weapons demonstration, he gets injured and is captured by Afghan terrorists who take him to their hideout. While imprisoned, Tony invents a weaponised suit of armour and uses it in an escape attempt. He safely returns home and uses his high-tech to perfect the armour, becoming the world's saviour Iron Man.


Cast
Robert Downey Jr. - Tony
Stark/Iron Man
Terence Howard - Lt. Colonel
James "Rhodey" Rhodes
Jeff Bridges - Obadiah Stane
Gwyneth Paltrow - Virginia
"Pepper" Potts
Shaun Toub - Dr. Yinsen
Faran Tahir - Raza
Paul Bettany - JARVIS (Voice)
Jon Favreau - Hogan
Leslie Bibb - Christine Everhart
Clark Gregg - Agent Phil
Coulson
Bill Smitrovich - General Gabriel
Sayed Badreya - Abu Bakaar
Peter Billingsley - William
Ginter Riva
Tim Guinee - Major Allen
Kevin Foster - Jimmy
Garrett Noel - Pratt
Eileen Weisinger - Ramirez
Ahmed Ahmed - Ahmed
Fahim Fazli - Omar
Gerard Sanders - Howard Stark
Nazanin Boniadi - Amira Ahmed
Thomas Craig Plumer - Colonel Craig
Jim Cramer - Himself (Cameo)
Stan Lee - Himself (Cameo)
Samuel L. Jackson - Nick Fury (Cameo) (Uncredited)

Crew
Executive Producer/Director - Jon Favreau

Based on the Marvel Comic Book/

Executive Producer - Stan Lee

Based on the Marvel Comic Book -

Don Heck, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby
Screenplay - Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby,

Art Marcum and Mark Holloway

Script Supervisors - Rebecca Robertson

and Cristina Weigmann
Executive Producers - Ari Arad,

Peter Billingsley, Jeremy Latcham

and David Maisel
Executive Producer/Unit Production Manager -
Louis D'Esposito
Executive Producer/Executive in Charge of
Production - Ross Fanger
Producers - Avid Arad and Kevin Feige
Co-Producer/Visual Effects Producer -
Victoria Alonso

Military Advisor - Harry Humphries
Casting Directors - Sarah Finn
and Randi Hiller

Production Designer - J. Michael Riva
Supervising Art Director - David F. Klassen
Art Directors - Richard F. Mays

and Susan Wexler
Set Decorator - Lauri Gaffin

Property Master - Russell Bobbitt

Costume Designers - Rebecca Gregg
and Laura Jean Shannon

Suit Consultant - Adi Granov

Director of Photography/A-Camera Operator -

Matthew Libatique

Additional Photography - Gabriel Beristain

Director of Photography: Second Unit -

Jonathan Taylor

Aerial Director of Photography - David B. Nowell

Aerial Camera Operator - Craig O'Brien

Helicopter Pilot - Kevin LaRosa

First Assistant Camera: "B" Camera - Taylor Matheson

Production Supervisor - David J. Grant

First Assistant Director - Eric Heffron

Second Assistant Director - Michael J. Moore

Second Assistant Director: Second Unit -

Chris Castaldi

Additional Second Second Assistant Director -

Marvin Williams
Second Unit Director - Phil Neilson

Location Managers - Molly Allen

and Liz Matthews
Stunt Coordinator - Thomas Robinson Harper

Stunt Coordinator: Second Unit - Keith Woulard

Aerial Stunt Coordinator - Tim Rigby

Special Effects Coordinator - Daniel Sudick

Special Effects - Stan Winston (Uncredited)

Suit Model Department Key Coordinator:

Stan Winston Studio - David Merritt

Second Unit Co-Coordinator: Stan Winston

Studio - Christopher Swift

Studio Co-Administrator: Stan Winston Studio -

John Rosengrant

Visual Effects Supervisor - John Nelson

Visual Effects Supervisor: ILM - Ben Snow

Visual Effects Supervisor: The Orphanage -

Jonathan Rothbart

Visual Effects Supervisor: Lola Visual Effects -

Edson Williams

Additional Visual Effects Supervisor - Wesley Sewell
Visual Effects Producer: ILM - Wayne Billheimer
Visual Effects Art Director: ILM - Aaron McBride
Physical Suit Effects Supervisor - Shane Mahan

Visualisation/HUD Effects Supervisor - Kent Seki

Animation Supervisor: ILM - Hal T. Hickel

Associate Animation Supervisor: ILM - Marc Chu

Digital Production Supervisor: ILM - Douglas Smythe

Compositing Supervisor: ILM - Jeff Sutherland

CG Supervisor: ILM - Philippe Rebours

Digital Model Supervisor: ILM - Bruce Holcomb

Viewpaint Supervisor: ILM - Ron Woodall

Creature Supervisor: ILM - James Tooley

Film Editor - Dan Lebental

Additional Editors - Derek Brechin,

Greg Parsons and Michael Tronick

Sound Designer/Supervising Sound Editor

(Uncredited)/Re-Recording Mixer - Christopher Boyes

Sound Designer - Shannon Mills

Supervising Sound Editor - Frank E. Eulner

ADR Supervisor - Michael Silvers

ADR Editor - Gwendolyn Yates Whittle

Sound Mixer - Mark Ulano

Foley Mixer - Frank Rinella

Foley Artists - Ronni Brown,

Ellen Heuer, Dennie Thorpe and

Lana Vance

Re-Recording Mixer - Lora Hirschberg

Music - Ramin Djawadi
Additional Music Arranger/Composer/
Musician: Drums - Ryeland Allison

Additional Music Arrangers/Composers -

Lorne Balfe, Clay Duncan, Bobby Tahouri

and Atli Orvarsson (Uncredited)

Music Supervisor - Dave Jordan

Executive Music Producer - Hans Zimmer

Score Recordist - Geoff Foster

Score Mixer - Alan Meyerson

Awards

2009 Academy Awards
Best Sound Editing - Frank E. Eulner and
Christopher Boyes (Nominated)
Best Visual Effects - John Nelson, Ben Snow,
Daniel Sudick and Shane Mahan (Nominated)


Review

It was a great comic book movie since IRON MAN was the first to start the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) out in theatres and released with The Incredible Hulk before the following year, Disney came to buy Marvel and its rights. Many comic-book fans were sceptical of this movie in its pre-release before it opened and regarded it as the MCU's best feature before The Avengers. The film was beginning to wear off its novelty. However, it is an excellent career choice for director Jon Favreau. He brought action and comedy with gusto before he tackled the semi-decent sequel of Iron Man 2 and the part animation/part live-action remake of The Jungle Book.

It was a terrific comeback for Robert Downey Jr., proving that he could take on the role of the billionaire playboy Tony Stark, who becomes the wearer of a metal suit with no need for metaphysical powers. He out-perfected the character as being himself as a little bit immature but deadpan and witty. DC's Batman/Bruce Wayne was better than Marvel's title character, as both were similar in wealth and technology and never revealed their true identities to the public or any foe who might officially exploit them. Jeff Bridges was still a remarkable actor when portraying a villainous mentor like Obadiah Stane, who was affably evil and yet hid his true colours. He is the version of Lex Luthor that we never saw in Batman v Superman.

I sincerely enjoyed the film as I liked the style and visuals. I appreciate that IRON MAN hasn't gone unnoticed as an extraordinary film. It broke new ground for pre-released films from the MCU that came out in later years, like The Avengers, etc. Those who have seen the movie before will enjoy it with the other films in its order of continuity.

Star rating: (9/10) Excellent Movie

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Zack Snyder's Justice League Review

Zack Snyder's Justice League

Release Date: 18th March 2021 - Australia (Foxtel/BINGE Only)

Production Companies

Warner Bros. Pictures

Atlas Entertainment

The Stone Quarry

DC Entertainment

DC Films

RatPac-Dune Entertainment

HBO Max

Warner Max

Genre: Action

Rating: MA15+ (Not Suitable for Young Children)

Runtime: 242 minutes

Budget: $70,000,000

Plot Summary

After Superman's heroic sacrifice brought back his faith in humanity and inspired him, Bruce Wayne gathers a team of metahumans, including his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to form the Justice League and

must confront an enemy

more menacing than what

they've faced.

Cast

Ben Affleck - Bruce Wayne/

Batman

Henry Cavill - Clark Kent/

Superman

Gal Gadot - Diana Prince/

Wonder Woman

Ezra Miller - Barry Allen/The Flash

Jason Momoa - Arthur Curry/Aquaman

Ray Fisher - Victor Stone/

Cyborg

Ciarán Hinds - Steppenwolf

Ray Porter - Darkseid (Voice)

Robin Wright - Antiope

Connie Nielsen - Queen Hippolyta

Jeremy Irons - Alfred Pennyworth

J.K. Simmons - Commissioner Gordon

Amy Adams - Lois Lane

Diane Lane - Martha Kent

Amber Heard - Mera

Willem Dafoe - Nuidis Vulko

Joe Morton - Dr. Silas Stone

Harry Lennix - Swanwick/

Martian Manhunter

Lisa Loven Kongsli - Menalippe

David Thewlis - Ares (Cameo)

Sergio Constance - Zeus

Julian Lewis Jones - Ancient Atlantean King

Richard Clifford - German Archeologist

Kobina Holdbrook-Smith - Detective Crispus Allen

Francis Magee - Ancient King of Men

Doutzen Korea - Venezia

Brooke Ence - Penthesilea

Hari James - Trigona
Ann Ogbomo - Philippus 

Samantha Win - Euboea

Kiersey Clemons - Iris West

Peter Guinness - DeSaad (Voice)

Zheng Kai - Ryan Choi

Marc McClure - Jerry

Joe Manganiello - Deathstroke

Billy Crudup - Henry Allen (Uncredited)

Karen Bryson - Elinore Stone

Jesse Eisenberg - Lex Luthor (Cameo)

Jared Leto - The Joker

Russell Crowe - Jor-El (Cameo)

Gary A. Hecker - Creature Vocals

Crew

Story/Director - Zack Snyder

Superman Creators - Jerry Siegel

and Joe Shuster

Justice League of America Creator - Gardiner Fox

Batman Creators - Bob Kane

and Bill Finger

Wonder Woman Creator - William Moulton Marston

Fourth World Creator - Jack Kirby

Story/Screenplay/Executive Producer -

Chris Terrio

Story - Will Beall

Executive Producers - Christopher Nolan,

Emma Thomas, Wesley Coller, Ben Affleck,

Curt Kanemoto, Benjamin Melinker and

Michael E. Uslan

Executive Producer/Unit Production Manager -

Jim Rowe

Producers - Charles Roven and Deborah Snyder

Co-Producers/Unit Production Managers -

Marianne Jenkins and Gregor Wilson

Casting Directors - Kristy Carlson,

Lora Kennedy and Kate Ringsell

Horse Master - Daniel Naparous

Production Designer - Patrick Tatopoulos

Concept Artists - Ed Natividad,

Christian Scheurer, Dan Walker,

Victor Martinez, Robert McKinnon

and Alex Caldow

Supervising Art Directors - Helen Jarvis

and Christian Huband

Art Directors - Matt Gray, Paul Laugier,

Samuel Leake, Keith Pain, Andrew Palmer,

Helen Xenopoulos, Hayley Easton-Street

and Peter James

Set Decorator - Dominic Capon

Property Master - Ben Wilkinson

Costume Designer - Michael Wilkinson

Costume Effects Supervisor - Graham Churchyard

HOD Prop Modeller/Costume Effects - Pierre Bohanna

Makeup Designer - Victoria Down

Makeup Designer: Ben Affleck - Kate Biscoe

Director of Photography - Fabian Wagner

2nd Unit Director of Photography -

Jean-Philippe Gossart

Aerial Director of Photography - David B. Nowell

First Assistant Director - Misha Bukowski

Second Unit Director/Stunt Coordinator -

Damon Caro

Stunt Coordinator - Eunice Huthart

Fight Coordinator - Mike Lambert

Fight Choreographers - Freddy Boucegues

and Matthew Rugetti

Aerial Coordinator - David Paris

Helicopter Pilot - Marc Wolff

Picture Vehicle Coordinator - Alex King

Special Effects Supervisor - Mark Holt

Special Effects Coordinator - Carmila Gittens

Senior Visual Effects Supervisor: Weta Digital -

Joe Letteri

Visual Effects Supervisor - John 'D.J.' Des Jardin

Visual Effects Supervisor: Weta Digital -

Kevin Andrew Smith

Visual Effects Supervisors: Scanline VFX -

Bryan Hirota and Julius Lechner

Visual Effects Supervisors: DNEG -

Mike Stillwell and Alexander Seaman

Additional Visual Effects Supervisor:

Weta Digital - Anders Langlands

Animation Supervisor: Weta Digital -

Simeon Duncombe

Visual Effects Animation Supervisor:

Scanline VFX - Clement Yip

Pre-Visualisation Supervisor - Steve Yamamoto

Editor - David Brenner

Additional Editors - Carlos M. Castillón

and Dody Dorn

Sound Design & Supervision - Scott Hecker

and Chuck Michael

Production Sound Mixer - John Casali

Re-Recording Mixers - Andy Koyama

and Michael Keller

Foley Artists - Gary A. Hecker,

Adam DeCoster and Michael Broomberg

Music - Tom Holkenborg

Review

Remember when JUSTICE LEAGUE came out in 2017? It turned out not as good as we expected from Warner and DC. Well, what went wrong with this picture? It's because of everything that has happened, including a personal tragedy that has befallen Zack Snyder, studio interference, and Joss Whedon taking over with a lighter, wittier approach in an attempt to replicate his first two Avengers movies. It results in scenes that have been re-shot and re-edited with newer ones that proved unnecessary, which causes the film to feel uneven and lose its energy and lustre. Fortunately, the release of Zack Snyder's version of JUSTICE LEAGUE is a significant improvement over the theatrical cut and finished under the control of its director. Thanks to the support of its fans.

Zack Snyder did a terrific job re-assembling the pieces of his original version out of love for his daughter and gave fans a more insightful experience of the film. It contains his immense visual style, full-blown creativity, and impacting action sequences, which shows what the film could've been if the studio executives and Joss Whedon had not overhauled the storyline incoherently and messily. His take on the movie improves the characters by re-adding depth and motivations, which are not in the Whedon cut, particularly the villain Steppenwolf, who is no longer a generic doomsday threat. I take back what I said about the plot point of Superman's resurrection. I was wrong, and it significantly enhances the plot. The tone is still lighter, though nowhere near as much as the theatrical cut. The only issue with this version is the runtime, which is about 242 minutes, meaning it's this long.

The acting is better than the original, including Ray Fisher, whose character is essential to the story. Ray Porter makes a good impression as Darkseid, a villain noticeably absent in the Whedon cut. Even the CGI overhaul is polished.

Most director's cuts have substantially improved the original, but the Snyder Cut of JUSTICE LEAGUE is no exception. It is what the fans have been waiting for. I'll get around to watching it again next time. I highly recommend it for DC fans.

Star rating: (9/10) Excellent Movie

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