Hey all, Batman Vs Superman, the second comic book blockbuster of the year, touched down on Friday (25th March). This is a big year for co...

Hey all,

Batman Vs Superman, the second comic book blockbuster of the year, touched down on Friday (25th March). This is a big year for comic book adaptations and Deadpool kicked the year off by ripping down the door and sitting in the big chair at the head of the dinner table. 

In the build up to this film I was not amped at all, the mixed press and lingering disappointment of Man of Steel were catalsyts for my feeling of 'blah'. However, my main concern was a general thought that maybe Superman doesn't have a place in this post Nolan's Dark Knight era of superhero films. I know Guardians of the Galaxy kind of tore that belief to shreds but those thoughts still knocked about.

Glady, I was wrong. The film was great, slightly long, but great nonetheless. I mentioned I was concerned about the tone of the film but another concern was having too many heroes on the screen and no plot focus but director Zack Snyder avoided that Avengers 2 pitfall.

So here are my top 5 enjoyable things about Batman Vs Superman.

1. Lex Luthor Jnr - Jesse Eisenberg

Early in his career I couldn't tell the difference between Eisenberg and Michael Cera. They just seemed interchangeable and both didn't really have any roles to make me think otherwise. Personally, Eisenberg broke that belief with his performance in 'The Social Network'. Ever since then I have followed his career. In this film he was brilliantly crazy. The character was frightening and the audience were never sure of his next move. This type of mindless destruction is great but what makes a villain stick, for me, is when they actually do know what they want next, but let on otherwise. This character had shades of Heath Ledger's Joker in him and Eisenberg's performance is comparable in that it was completely captivating. When he is on the screen you really do sit up and notice. In a world of superpowers and capes his maniacal brilliance gave him importance.


2. Ben Affleck as Batman

Firstly, let me give you the backdrop that Ben Affleck had going into this role. 

A: Daredevil was his only previous foray into superhero films.
B: He was following up Christian Bale as the capped crusader. 
C: Daredevil was his only previous foray into superhero films.
D: He was not anybodies first choice for this role.
E: Daredevil was his only previous foray into superhero films.

To say this casting was a gamble for everyone involved is a slight understatement. 'Winner winner chicken dinner' it paid off. Affleck made this role his own, he was, for the lack of a better word, different. I've not seen any other portrayal of the crippled billionaire playboy as dark as this. He was broken, tired and conflicted, even more so than Bale's incarnation. Some may think he was too dark, too cold, but I think he fit in perfectly with the climate of the film. Batman is a great character but Clooney and Kilmer have shown how he can can be butchered. Affleck gives a performance that I knew he was capable of (watch The Town, he is actually a good actor) but was sceptical he would deliver. I left the cinema actually wanting to see him fighting crime as a stand alone character. I feel there is a lot of meat in this version of the character and Affleck is the guy to deliver it. 


3. 'If God is All powerful then he can't be all good. If God is all good then he can't be all powerful'.

This was essentially the main theme that Superman had to battle with for the entire film and its this same fear of an all powerful God that lead Batman to hunt him.

When Lex shouts these words during the film they had a real affect on me. They encapsulated Superman's plight, I understood his pain. Superman has never been one of my favourite superheroes because I've always viewed him as too perfect. I've found the most interesting part of his story is his origin story before donning the red cape. I've never bought into him wanting to be normal and have a normal life and the pains of him being able to do everything. 

This line made his internal conflict painfully apparent. He can't live up to the expectations of a God because those expectations are impossible to reach. He just wants to be the best he can be. But because he is seen as a God his best will always fall short. 

The fact that it's the stories antagonist that says the words is also clever. It really shows how aware Lex is of the two characters that he is trying to bring down. He really does know them and maybe it shows some type of conflict within himself (food for thought).

4. Setting up of the Justice League.

The Justice League film is set up. We know of other super powered beings and we know that there is a big bad coming to Earth. I think the film did the right thing by only really introducing Wonderwoman and giving us a brief glimpse of the others. This is not their time and I'm happy the team decided against giving any more time to setting The League up.


How good was Wonderwoman btw? Not just smoking hot but actually a character with some depth. 





5. Jeremy Irons as Alfred.

I loved Michael Caine as Alfred in The Dark Knight Trilogy. He was friend, father figure, judge, jury and priest to Batman and the relationship felt real. 

Jeremy Irons didn't have anywhere near as much screen time as his predecessor but everything he did felt authentic. He loves Bruce and believes in The Batman and this was portrayed wonderfully. 

  
There you have it guys, I really enjoyed the film. It has been getting some bad press and I can't see why, it was a joy. 

Comment and let me know your thoughts. Until next time.

Hey all, I am going to try this series of blog posts about the writing tips and tricks that I use in my journey towards being published....

Hey all,

I am going to try this series of blog posts about the writing tips and tricks that I use in my journey towards being published.

Maybe something you read will help you if not you'll get a taste of the whirling mess that I call 'my mind'. 

This week I'm going to look at 5 basics that help the writing process for me.

1. Music

My brother got me into Spotify nearly two years ago and I'm a massive fan. I really enjoy the choice that it gives you at the click of a button. The type of scene I'm writing has an affect on my playlist. One massive thing for me when I'm writing is I struggle to listen to music with lyrics. I'm a massive lyric devourer and it becomes too much of a distraction for me. Film soundtracks, instrumentals, jazz or acoustic rehashes of popular music is usually the way for me.

If the scene I'm writing is aggressive I sometimes try to listen to rock instrumentals or other upbeat guitar laden tracks. I've recently started to listen to The 37th Chamber by El Michels Affair. It is a Jazz album but the entire album is a homage to the Wu-Tang clan, so the beats still have that 'kick off your front door' vibe to them. For those aggressive moments I also love playing some Buddy Rich. His drum solos really hit the spot and help me add pace to scenes.

For everything else I usually play some Chet Baker or Charlie Parker. 

In terms of soundtracks John Williams or Hans Zimmer are always a good shout. I do get a bit caught up in the music though, so I have to be careful or before long I'm air violining to 'Binary Sunset'

Weirdly, for any writing I do that focusses on love, as a precursor, I always seem to play "As the world Falls Down" by David Bowie, from the labyrinth. It just seems to take me into the timeless love mood. 

Click Here for the video and to get in the mood :P

2. Reading other books in my genre

I'm a fantasy fiction writer and I always find that when I'm reading another fantasy themed book, it really ignites the fires in me to write. If I see an interesting way a scene is described or the way a character is introduced it makes me feel like competing. 

At the moment I'm reading everything I can find by Morgan Rice. She loves to write about Kings, Queens, magic and war, which is right up my street. With every page I read it makes me re-think about my own book and it really pushes me to write the best escapism I can. That's what I see fiction books as, escapism. Moving the reader far away from reality and 

dropping them in a place that is completely different and yet eerily similar.

3. Watching fantasy fiction

If I'm feeling a little lethargic about writing, I watch a film that involves magic and fantasy. When I do this it really makes me remember why I want to write. The visuals make me think about making sure the world I am creating is just as vivid and other worldly. 

Fantasy fiction is what I love. It takes you far away from reality and I want my writing to do the same for my readers. My favourite films to shake away the lethargy are Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Hook. Many chapters have been written off the backs of one of those films. 

4. Reading the blogs of other fiction authors

For me, this gives me that belief I sometimes need. Reading a blog and seeing the humanity in other authors makes this writing lark seem possibly.

A big thing, when writing a novel, is the daunting nature of the task. It's very personal, time consuming and scary. I am regularly faced with the thoughts of Why am I doing this? or You aren't good enough! Seeing these thoughts shared by other authors really makes that light at the end of the tunnel seem closer. Also seeing that they have lives and are just normal makes me believe that I can achieve my goal of becoming published. 

I'm going to throw Instagram under the 'blog' label and say this is a great place to be involved in the writing community. The positivity amongst like-minded people has really been a great driver for me in this process.

(Hook Soundtrack is playing as I'm writing this, I've literally stopped for the last two minutes and jigged around my room. Gift and curse of music when writing :P)

5. Understanding procrastination

I always find that once my manuscript is up and open I can usually get the ball rolling. My previous four life defining bits of info are usually aids for when I can't find the desire to click open. I am lucky that I have never had writers block or sat at the screen unable to write. It might be slow going sometimes but I am never harsh on myself for only writing two sentences or procrastinating. I see it all as a part of the process. That does sound really Zen, but I think the task is hard enough without you fighting yourself because you have decided to take your lightsabre out, from your cupboard, and re-enact the entire fight between Obi-Wan and Anakin set to the exact music. 

Thanks for reading guys. I hope someone can find some guidance from this. Until next time.

"Hey everyone," Thought I'd comment on the Captain America trailer because well... It was that amazing. Out of all the ind...

"Hey everyone,"

Thought I'd comment on the Captain America trailer because well... It was that amazing.

Out of all the individual Avenger films I have enjoyed Captain America's efforts the most. However, with the oscar season and impending Kent vs Wayne battle, I'd kind of forgotten about Caps (Captain America for the uninitiated) latest effort. This morning completely changed that! 

Captain America vs Iron Man, heroes vs heroes, good vs good? I can't wait to see why they are against each other. The trailer does hint at reasons but I have far too a riotous imagination to start clutching a hints. 

If the thought of two Avengers going against each other wasn't enough the trailer ends with the type of surprise that left my jaw on the floor and my tongue not too far behind.

After repeating the end of the trailer more times than my Iphone battery could afford I had a moment of clarity and then started sharing the link with EVERYONE! 

SPIDEY is back! 

Sadly, not in the form of Andrew Garfield, who I think nailed his time in the red and blue but suffered from company pressure (I still can't understand why Hobgoblin was there). However, SPIDEY is BACK and he's younger and a part of the Avengers universe. Just think of the possibilities, he could be part of the next Avengers film, he could sling into the next Guardians of the Galaxy Film, we might finally see a decent shot at a Venom film (Can you see what I said about my imagination and hint clutching).

Anyway I will leave you with the link to indulge. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKrVegVI0Us

Until next time