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Ben Kendrick over at Screenrant.com gives the film a 3/5 star rating & nails it in three words: BvS is “an okay movie” … .
for the sake of picking nits, i might say BvS is ‘an okay+ movie’ -- describing the ‘+’ as a soft one: 3.25/5 stars.
having chewed on my feelings about the film for nearly a week, that’s as much as i want to parse my final verdict until the release of the Blu Ray. barring an absolute revelation upon viewing the Director’s Cut, i don’t think it will change much then. (although my appreciation of "Watchmen" grew with each successive cut.)
here’s the quandary this film puts you in if you're a comics fan who also loves & cares about good filmmaking: there’s an awful lot to love here, but taken as a whole there’s not much to like about it. with all it has going in its favor, it really should be a much, much better film. instead, it seems to rely on viewers piecing together a far superior movie in their head after the fact instead of genuinely being a profound piece of cinema in its own right. it leaves you enthralled but empty.
and that is totally on Zack Snyder.
he’s so hellbent on making a SERIOUS movie that’s making IMPORTANT social & cultural points with EPIC visuals that he completely neglects to tell a good story with pictures. awesome cinematography, a preternatural flair for staggering visuals & mind-blowing action need to serve a compelling narative (especially in the case of a gigantic popcorn flick like BvS!) or it's all just ... pretty pictures & head scratching.
Snyder demands that we take him seriously but whines when the audience & critics take issue with the very serious implications of massive urban destruction & loss of life in his superhero sagas. he presents us with settings of mythic gravity & gives us larger than life heroes only to hollow them out & trivialize what drives it all. his all too weird preoccupation with fascist imagery & the hoariest philosophical tangents pay no dividends for viewers watching for him to do something new with the aesthetic. his obvious & jarring nods to studio-driven input (yeah, it's nice to see glimpses of Flash, Aquaman & Cyborg but they serve absolutely no narrative purpose in this film) & borderline incoherent editing choices leave film buffs at best shaking their heads & at worst cursing his name to the gods at Rotten Tomatoes.
it's not 'grim/gritty' that's the problem here. Bergman, Kubrick & Herzog built their careers on that; "True Detective", "Game of Thrones", "The Walking Dead" & WB's own 'Dark Knight' triology have proven that can pay off critically as well as financially. it's not stabs at mythic grandeur or zeitgeist-capturing statements that hobble MoS & BvS. Christopher Nolan has made himself one of the most influential men in film running that playbook. Affleck himself has shown how mapping Greek comedy & tragedy to Boston's criminal element & the political potboiler can yield great bounties. it's not 'playing to the fanboys' that's at issue. having Superman mope & then piledrive African terrorists through multiple cement walls is not high on the list of fanboy must-sees; showing a Batman too burntout & jaded (or, worse, suffering acid flashbacks that invite a time-travelling meta-human to give him universe-building crib notes) to actually -- y'know -- investigate his newfound nemesis does not pay homage to any version of the character. (you want wildly inventive visual approaches & stark portrayals of humanity at its most mundane & epic? read Chris Ware's comics.)
it's STORY that's the key.
having finally gotten that off my chest, i still assert that BvS was a better than okay way for me to spend two & half hours of my life. at points it was genuinely breathtaking & rousing.
i think a portion of the nastiest critical response is a case of professional piling on, seeing who can print the nastiest AND wittiest knock on the film. it’s not nearly as bad as some of the worst reviews have portrayed (e.g., a 0/5 star rating is just being petty). more to the point, the audience reaction at Radio City when i saw it was vocal & overwhelmingly positive. for people who don’t want to look too deeply at the mechanics of a film, BvS is a bona-fide winner. i think the ‘word-of-mouth’ response is going to carry this to a big box-office take.
it's going to print f**king money at the box office. the overseas markets are going to go nuts for this flick.
and that scares me a bit. Snyder & WB could see the box office receipts (never mind the very rich ancillary sources of income the project will generate) as the final verdict on the film & their larger DCEU plans. they really shouldn’t.
virtually everything seemed to be in place for BvS to be a really special, thought-provoking & monumentally entertaining film. but through sheer force of will, Snyder turned it into something just a few notches better than ‘okay’ on the whole & even abrasive & ugly at crucial moments.
jeez, i hope Affleck takes a more active hand in the production of “Justice League”. somebody’s gotta rein in Snyder’s penchant for bombast & nihilism.
before i go: i wouldn't take the time to write all that down if i didn't genuinely love this stuff. i'm all about discussing this & the larger DCEU further, but keep it civil & keep it on topic. respond to what i actually said not what you think i said & we'll get along famously.

CONTENT COURTESY OF COLUMBIA CVB
 
ON STAGE
 
SPECIAL EVENTS

• Ad Hoc Film Series: “Persona” (1966) Friday 7 PM at the Museum of Art and Archaeology. The haunting story of the relationship between a mute actress and her caregiver, a nurse who carries on a very complex conversation. The first of several collaborations between director Bergman and Ullman.

• Columbia Farmers Market Saturday 9-12 PM at Parkade Plaza. Columbia Farmers Market is a year-round producer-only farmers market! Shop local with over 70 vendors, all within a 50 mile radius of Columbia!

• Sinatra Supper Club Saturday 6 PM at Talking Horse Productions. Now a highly anticipated annual event, the theatre is turned into a New York supper club for a terrific evening of music and dining! The dinner is catered by Room 38, and the crooning is supplied by Talking Horse’s own artistic director, Ed Hanson. Terrific songs from the Great American Songbook make this an evening to remember! Get those reservations in early, because seating is limited for this one night only event! Tickets are $75 per person, and include the sumptuous threecourse dinner. A cash bar will be available.

• Super Wedding Show Sunday 12-4 PM at Holiday Inn Executive Center. Over 50 vendors showcasing their wedding services and products, from bridal gowns to venues and catering to cakes, flowers, and decor to photographers and more. The Super Wedding Show is your one-stop shop for vendor research, sampling, and gathering ideas!

• Docent-Led Theme Tour: Horses Sunday 2-3 PM at Museum of Art and Archaeology. Museum docent Bill Wise will discuss the many depictions of horses throughout the ancient galleries on various artifacts.

 
GALLERY
 

• Give a Gift of Art through January 12 at Columbia Art League. Give a Gift of Art is a vibrant and eclectic annual showcase of work by the multi-talented members of the Columbia Art League and the perfect opportunity to choose a work of art as a gift this holiday season. From uniquely hand-crafted jewelry to hand-built ceramic wares, original paintings and photographs, CAL is also a great place to make your own holiday wish list!

• Unfinished Stories-A Collection of Watercolors by Paul Jackson through January 14 at Boone County Culture and History Center’s Montminy Gallery. Paintings and sketches from Paul’s personal collection of favorites, new works unveiled and dozens of watercolor demos.

• January Exhibit through January 27 at Sager Braudis Gallery. Sager Braudis Gallery presents the January Exhibit, January 3 - 27, 2018, featuring abstract, mixed-media paintings by Matt Ballou of Columbia, MO, Monoprints on fibers surfaces by Amy Firestone Rosen of St. Louis, MO, representational oil paintings by Mary Jo O’Gara of Winnetka, IL, trompe l’oeil painted woodcarvings by Thomas Pfannerstill of Louisville, KY, and metal, figural sculpture by Guillermo Rigattieri of Mendoza, Argentina.

• Jon Luvelli: Images from Central Missouri through Spring 2018 at the State Historical Society of Missouri. Raised in a rural farm town near Columbia, Missouri, Jon Luvelli's fine art photography has garnered national and international attention in the field of street photography. His images are distinguished by their focus on Midwestern townscapes and underlying social messages. The stark contrasts of light and dark encourage viewers to find beauty in uncustomary forms. This exhibition of photos, which is the first installment of a permanent Luvelli collection at SHSMO, represents central Missouri and casts an aesthetic spotlight on contemporary life on the county roads and midtown streets of the Show-Me State.

• Being Bussabarger: Painting, Sculpture, Ceramics, Sketchbooks, and More through May 5 at the State Historical Society of Missouri. Painter, sculptor, and ceramicist Robert Bussabarger (1922–2013) lived and worked in Missouri for over fifty years. Being Bussabarger pays tribute to the artist's creative spirit with a retrospective selection of his artworks from the 1940s to the 2010s. The wide range of media within the Society's collection of Bussabarger's art demonstrates the depth and breadth of his talent.

• Salvador Dali exhibit at The Tiger Hotel. In the lobby of the hotel, you will find two lithographs from Dali’s 1977 ‘Twelve Apostles or Knights of the Round Table’ Suite: James the Lesser or The Vicar of Britain and Phillip or Knighting of Sir Galahad. Between them is Dali’s1974 original work, The Last Corner of the Last Planet, from a suite of twelve paintings known as ‘Conquest of Cosmos.

 
SPORTS
 

• Mizzou Wrestling vs. Buffalo TH 7 PM at Hearnes Center.
  
• Mizzou Wrestling vs. Eastern Michigan SAT 12 PM at Hearnes Center.
  

 
LIVE MUSIC
 
Thursday

• Karen Meat, Dubb Nubb, Cadie Cowden, Emospacebird 8 PM at Café Berlin; $6.

• Wade Bowen, Brad Cunningham Band, Chris Scott 8:30 PM at The Blue Note; $15.

Friday

• C. Rock City 5 PM at Rose Music Hall; free.

• Brooke McBride 8 PM at Nash Vegas.

• Missouri Blues Fest 8 PM at The Blue Note; $6 in advance, $8 day of show.

• Missouri Bluegrass Fest 9 PM at Rose Music Hall; $5 in advance, $7 day of show.

Saturday

• Big Syn, Livin Thing, It’s Me: Ross 8 PM at Café Berlin; $5.

• Brooke McBridge 8 PM at Nash Vegas.

• Missouri Funk Fest 8:30 PM at The Blue Note; $6.

• Missouri Metal Fest 9 PM at Rose Music Hall; $5.

 
MOVIE GUIDE
COCO - Coco follows a 12-year-old boy named Miguel who sets off a chain of events relating to a century-old mystery, leading to an extraordinary family reunion.
THE COMMUTER - During his daily commute from Manhattan to Upstate New York, a cop-turned-insurance salesman (Liam Neeson) is approached by a mysterious woman (Vera Farmiga), who tells him that he must locate a passenger who's carrying something dangerous. If he fails, everyone aboard the train, as well as his family at home, will be killed.
DARKEST HOUR - During the early days of World War II, with the fall of France imminent, Britain faces its darkest hour as the threat of invasion looms. As the seemingly unstoppable Nazi forces advance, and with the Allied army cornered on the beaches of Dunkirk, the fate of Western Europe hangs on the leadership of the newly-appointed British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (Academy Award nominee Gary Oldman). While maneuvering his political rivals, he must confront the ultimate choice: negotiate with Hitler and save the British people at a terrible cost or rally the nation and fight on against incredible odds. Directed by Joe Wright, DARKEST HOUR is the dramatic and inspiring story of four weeks in 1940 during which Churchill's courage to lead changed the course of world history.
DOWNSIZING - A couple join a community of miniaturized people after undergoing a process to shrink themselves.
FACE PLACES - 89-year old Agnès Varda, one of the leading figures of the French New Wave, and acclaimed 33 year-old French photographer and muralist JR teamed up to co-direct this enchanting documentary/road movie. Kindred spirits, Varda and JR share a lifelong passion for images and how they are created, displayed and shared. Together they travel around the villages of France in JR’s photo truck meeting locals, learning their stories and producing epic-size portraits of them. The photos are prominently displayed on houses, barns, storefronts and trains revealing the humanity in their subjects, and themselves. Faces Places documents these heart-warming encounters as well as the unlikely, tender friendship they formed along the way.
FATHER FIGURES - Kyle and Peter are brothers who believe their father had died when they were young. When they discover this to be a lie, they set out to find their real father, and end up learning more about their mother than they probably ever wanted to know.
FERDINAND - A gentle bull named Ferdinand (voice of John Cena) lives a happy life as the pet of a loving family in Spain, and prefers smelling flowers to fighting. When he is captured and forced to participate in bullfights, he plots to escape and return home with the help of a group of animal friends.
THE GREATEST SHOWMAN - Inspired by the imagination of P.T. Barnum, The Greatest Showman is an original musical that celebrates the birth of show business & tells of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation.
INSIDIOUS: THE LAST KEY - In the fourth installment in the Insidious series, parapsychologist Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) must delve even deeper into the infernal world known as "the Further" when supernatural forces target her own family.
JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE - Four teenagers discover a mysterious video game from the '90s while serving detention, and are sucked into a virtual jungle when they try to play it. Transformed into various video-game characters -- a hunky explorer, a clever zoologist, a warrior babe, and a rotund professor -- the group must trek through this strange new world if they want to survive.
LOVING VINCENT – On 27th July 1890, a gaunt figure stumbled down a drowsy high street at twilight in the small French country town of Auvers. The man was carrying nothing; his hands clasped to a fresh bullet wound leaking blood from his belly. This was Vincent van Gogh, then a little-known artist; now the most famous artist in the world. His tragic death has long been known, what has remained a mystery is how and why he came to be shot. Loving Vincent tells that story. This feature-length painted animation — the first film of its kind — explores the life and unusual death of Vincent Van Gogh via depictions of his artworks. Loving Vincent is the world's first fully painted film. Its directors shot the film with actors, and literally painted over it frame by frame. This amounts to over 65,000 frames painted on over 1,000 canvases.
MOLLY’S GAME - The true story of an Olympic-class skier who ran the world's most exclusive high-stakes poker game and became an FBI target. Her players included movie stars, business titans and unbeknownst to her, the Russian mob.
PADDINGTON 2 - In this sequel to the 2014 family film, Paddington Bear (voice of Ben Whishaw) tries to earn enough money to buy an antique book for his aunt's 100th birthday, but his quest brings him into conflict with an unscrupulous actor (Hugh Grant) who also wants the tome. In time, Paddington's misadventures cause him to end up in jail, and he plots his escape with the help of a kindhearted convict.
PITCH PERFECT 3 - The Bellas find themselves split apart and discovering there aren’t job prospects for making music with your mouth. But when they get the chance to reunite for an overseas USO tour, this group of awesome nerds will come together to make some music..
THE POST - In the summer of 1971, the Washington Post faces a historic dilemma: whether or not to publish the Pentagon Papers, a top-secret document that reveals the U.S. government knew for decades the Vietnam War was unwinnable. Executive editor Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) and publisher Kay Graham (Meryl Streep) debate the best course of action in this docudrama.
STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI - While Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) teaches Rey (Daisy Ridley) in the ways of the Force, Skywalker's former apprentice Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) continues to explore the Dark Side.
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI - After months have passed without a culprit in her daughter's murder case, Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand) makes a bold move, commissioning three signs leading into her town with a controversial message directed at William Willoughby (Woody Harrelson), the town's revered chief of police. When his second-in-command Officer Dixon (Sam Rockwell), an immature mother's boy with a penchant for violence, gets involved, the battle between Mildred and Ebbing's law enforcement is only exacerbated. Written and directed by Martin McDonagh (In Bruges).
 
CHECK EACH THEATRE FOR SHOWTIMES
RAGTAG CINEMA – 10 Hitt Street 573-443-4359
REGAL STADIUM 14 THEATER – 2800 Goodwin Pointe Drive 844-462-7342
GOODRICH FORUM 8 – 1209 Forum Katy Parkway 573-445-7469