J.K. Simmons

When Nyles and a reluctant maid of honor Sarah have a chance encounter at a Palm Springs wedding, things get complicated as they are unable to escape the venue, themselves or each other – PALM SPRINGS is one of the brightest, sweetest, funniest romantic timeloop comedies in the last 100 years PLUS i’m now crushing on Cristin Milioti and her incredible eye’s that hypnotize like Kaa from Jungle Book, her super chemistry opposite the legendary Andy Samberg is pure feelgood magic – the movie also stars Peter Gallagher, Camila Mendes and J. K. Simmons and if you really really really want cheering up then please get and watch Max Barbakow’s BRILLIANT movie it will make you laugh till your eye’s water ★★★★½

“Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s sacrifice, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of Diana Prince aka: Wonder Woman to help find a group of meta humans in the hope that they will help fight an even greater enemy”

Stars: Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Henry Cavill, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, Amy Adams, Ezra Miller, Connie Nielsen, JK Simmons, Ciaran Hinds, Jeremy Irons

Having recently watched the 4 most recent films in the DC Comic Book Universe I was pretty excited to visit my local cinema and watch the latest Zack Snyder movie on IMAX 3D and yep it was everything I expected and more…..

OK where to start: JUSTICE LEAGUE may not be as polished as Wonder Woman, deep and meaningful as Man of Steel or Epic in scale as Batman VS Superman but instead what you get is a comic movie driven by it’s colorful characters, humorous dialogue and chaotic action scenes – there’s a haunting, beautifully sung version of “Everybody Knows” by the Norwegian songstress Sigrid it’s actually quite emotional, the storyline and lyrics merge in your mind, there’s 2 fun after credit scenes that’s worth sticking around for especially that 2nd one WOW did not see that coming and don’t get me started on some of those kick ass fight scenes – For me Justice League is similar in vein to Ayer’s Suicide Squad it’s one of them films that doesn’t try to be something it’s not, it doesn’t require much in the way of brain power instead requires you to sit back, geek out and have some good old fashioned movie fun, after all this 2 hour slice of comic book absurdity is exactly why I love these movies just let yourself be transported into a world you’ve only witnessed on a page, there’s too much darkness in life so lighten up and enjoy – surely watching Jason Momoa’s Aquaman flying through the air, flirting with Batman and giving the bad guys what for is reason enough to put a smile on your face, I’ve been a huge fan of the big man’s since Game of Thrones and in Aquaman he may have found his calling – another character emerging from Justice League with flying colors is Ezra Miller’s The Flash, Miller gives the speedster this quirky somewhat innocent twist and some of the movie’s highlights revolve around him – of course along with the newbies the old guard do a great job Affleck’s Batman is as good as I’ve seen the character in my lifetime, Gadot looks like she’s been playing Wonder Woman all her life – effortless and full of confidence, Adams shows plenty of emotion and looks simply stunning and Henry Cavill even with those dodgy CGI scenes is getting better with each movie as Clark Kent aka: Superman – Overall: not much in the way of criticism here except that I would have liked to have seen more of J.K. Simmons Commisioner Gordon and maybe on a selfish note another half hour runtime (there’s always an Ultimate Edition to look forward too – wishful thinking) – Justice League is not a masterpiece in any shape or form BUT what it does it does perfectly well and that’s ENTERTAIN and at the end of the day if this guy walks out of the cinema with a big smile on his lips then that’s all that matters #TeamJusticeLeague ★★★★

I enjoyed Gavin O’Connor’s 2008 crime thriller Pride and Glory but was totally blown away by his 2011 movie Warrior a boxing gem that is hard hitting, well acted and as tense as Tom Hardy’s biceps but then something unusual happened O’Connor sort of disappeared from the big screen limelight, he spent a few years directing a couple of TV movies and the odd episode of a TV show only to return four years later to helm the problematic western Jane Got a Gun that was not only a huge disappointment considering it’s fabulous cast but a big shame as it could and should have been a pretty decent western – maybe on reflection O’Connor wishes he had left this mess that somebody else had started well alone and stayed out of the limelight for that little bit longer…..

But luckily for us we didn’t have to wait long for filmmaker Gavin O’Connor to get back to doing what he does best and that is a gritty, well written and interesting take on the action thriller and with The Accountant it’s safe to say that he has delivered the goods – Ben Affleck’s Christian Wolff the autistic genius who makes his living uncooking the books for dangerous criminal organizations is coolness sublime, his mannerism’s and terminator style action scenes are a thing of beauty, explosive yet done with style, Affleck looks to be having a blast playing this tough, clever yet struggling to socialize anti-hero and some of his off the cuff one liner’s are delivered with a serious deadpan look that makes the moment even more fun to watch – Affleck nails his character’s disorder so well, the scene’s where Wolff sits in his bedroom beating his leg with the stereo blasting shows his vulnerability, his complexity and he is totally compelling to watch, your invested in this character and regardless of his past you end up rooting for him to succeed and have some sort of happy conclusion at it’s end – the infectious Anna Kendrick is yet again a delight to watch and her role alongside Affleck’s Wolffe makes for an unlikely teaming but it so works – I would have liked to have seen J.K Simmons in a more prominent role but nevertheless he’s solid, The Punisher’s Jon Bernthal gives yet another eye catching performance as a paid mercenary who’s protecting someone of interest to Wolff, I really enjoy watching Bernthal tackle the action scenes, it seems so effortless – Overall: Gavin O’Connor’s The Accountant is one of my favorite movies of the year, it’s a bloody good thriller with a message on autism that’s handled superbly by it’s lead star & writing team – I can’t wait for a second viewing and maybe just maybe director and star could be tempted to return for a sequel? let’s hope so….

JUSTICE LEAGUE and WONDER WOMAN have landed some trailers and if your a fan of their universe and love the comics then you best sit your ass down and watch these two on repeat for the rest of your day – the Justice League looks lots of crazy badass fun, the introduction of Aquaman, Cyborg and last but not least The Flash (although I still prefer Grant Gustin’s Barry Allen) but that scene in the trailer where Bruce Wayne throws his Batarang is pretty awesome – all of this only whets the appettite for the planned Ben Affleck stand alone Batman movie whilst the trailer for Wonder Woman an origin story set back in World War I will blow your fanboy mind, Gal Gadot looks incredible and so comfortable leading the first modern female-led superhero movie, judging by it’s look, feel and high speed action we could be in for one hell of a ride next summer….

Justice League: Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, J.K. Simmons, Willem Dafoe, Amber Heard and Henry Cavill – “Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions”

Wonder Woman: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nielsen, Robin Wright, David Thewlis and Danny Huston – “Gal Gadot returns as the title character in the epic action adventure from director Patty Jenkins. Before she was Wonder Woman, she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior. Raised on a sheltered island paradise, when an American pilot crashes on their shores and tells of a massive conflict raging in the outside world, Diana leaves her home, convinced she can stop the threat. Fighting alongside man in a war to end all wars, Diana will discover her full powers…and her true destiny”