The Return of The Blair Witch

Let's face it you all knew that I was not going to pass this one up did you kiddies. 

This one was not about to get past me and I knew that someone was going to have to be a defender of not just the flick but the franchise and the subgenre as well. 

A couple of years ago I wrote an entry here on the Video Creep titled The Rise and Fall of The Blair Witch which had a great reaction. In said article I spoke about the media sensation on the flick as well as the sequel and the backlash that it received. 

In 2014 I had the honor of meeting the cast of the original 1999 film and thanked them for the influence and was able to record a QnA where they speak candidly about the events both during and after the film was produced.

I have stated many times the influence that the Blair Witch Project had on my own career and the times that I. Have tried to pay tribute. Especially with HauntShooter.

I even made it a point to tell this to Heather, Joshua and Michael, to which Heather apologized which I have to admit that I am in a state of confusion as to weather she was joking or if she was truly bitter about the direction that everything had gone for her after the film. 

I have to admit that I thought that it was all over for this franchise but I was wrong. It seems with the recent trends in the genre we have the return of myths and legends in the main stream as well as the technology which has led to "Found Footage" becoming a mainstay in theaters and home media it was inevitable that The Blair Witch would make a curtain call.

It was announced at Comic Con this year that a film titled The Woods was actually a Blair Witch Sequel and the reaction was instant with fans rejoicing at the return. This is the time for a film like this and while the 2000 sequel focused on the hype surrounding the 1999 ground breaker this flick is a direct sequel. 

Naturally on opening weekend I was off to The Alamo where they were all ready with the themes and photo pops and a few Stick figures for us all to see. However would the film live up to this. 

I have to say that I am surprised about the direction of this flick and Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez are back as producers however the flick is helmed by You're Next's Adam Wingard and  written by frequent collaborator Simon Barrett. 

Returning to the Found Footage format the flick follows James Donahue, the brother of Heather from the first flick who after viewing a online video of an encounter with The Blair Witch thinks that he sees his sister 15 years after her disappearance and gathers a small group of friends and naturally they decide to film the entire event using as much of the modern technology as they can. 

Soon hooking up with the couple that made the video of Heather they are off to the Woods to investigate and the group's inexperience begins to show it's self and soon they find themselves not only having to deal with each other but strange developments with the woods as well. 

I felt that the flick was missing a few elements. While covering events in the Blair Witch Mythos that was explored in the special features of the original flick I felt that this flick could have explored them for more but failed to do so to which is.a disappointment for me. 

I liked the time displacement in this entry and the more references to Rustin Parr and other areas that were not explored in previous films but in Special features like Curse of the Blair Witch on The Sci-Fi Channel which allows them to remain as canon for the franchise. 

Now while I like some elements I however also feel that more could have been done with the filmmaking techniques. It was nice to have the actors all wearing cameras to explain the cutaways which is explained today with GoPros but I feel that more could have been done with the Drone camera that was highly Hyped in the film but I felt was not utilized to it's full potential. 

Like the original film the film features much "Shaky footage" which leaves many audience members with the strong nausea and some were leaving the theater due to this but there is also much loudness which adds t the disorientation and I have to ask weather this was deliberate and I have to think that it was and while audience members were complaining I felt that it added to the film. 

I felt that the film could have done more as the franchise was one of the pioneers of this subgenre and had the potential to add to it, comes across as nothing more than following the trends that it started.  

For Blair Witch and Found Footage fans it is worth a look... For those of you that aren't videographers take your nausea mess. 

6 Dead Bodies

0 Breasts

0 Beasts

8 Stick Figures

4 Broken Bones

1 Claustrophobic tunnel

Lens striking 

Camper Fu

Woods Fu

2 1/2 Stars 

Check it out 

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Now I know that I am also late on this one but once again I have to wait for the Blu-Ray Release if I am going to continue to be a champion of the BluRay and DVD media.

Now I did see this flick in the theater as a matter of fact I was there naturally at the Alamo in Dallas with my trusty Canon Camera covering the festivities. Enjoy the video.

Now I have been waiting for this flick all of my life and I have to address some issues here. 

First off to all of you haters that cheered when the movie was announced at Comic Con International and then turned on the flick when Ben Affleck was announced in the Batman role I say GET OVER IT!

 I honestly think myself and Kevin Smith were the only Affleck supporters and I will continue to be a supporter and as far as you go Haters can't be choosers. On that note I think he did great in the role as both Bruce Wayne, Batman and the man in between. 

Now is the part where you all come in and tell me in the comments section that you don't care about what I say and you will continue to hate him and I say that is your right and If you really don't care what I have to say I have to ask you...Why are you reading this? 

Now for those of you that are bitching on the Darker aspects of Superman, This is where I address the fact that the character has been a darker character since 1992 in the comics and this is only the second time that aspect of the character has been seen on the screen. Zach Snyder has always been trying to keep it as loyal to the Comics as he can so he is going to go that direction and this especially holds true to the current climate that we all see playing out in Our society and the real world. 

I feel the need to point out in the Comics that Lex Luthor ran for president and won in the comics and people said that would never happen in the real world. Well look out there and see that we have a Billionare running for office and has the nomination. 

Just think about it and also look at the other side of the ticket as well. 

If Superman did appear in our world today he would receive the same reception and that would be taxing on his image and outlook. 

Now let me move on to my own questions about the flick. 

I know what this flick's true purpose is and that was to announce the creation of the DC Cinematic Universe establishing Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash, Green Lantern, and Cyborg in the same universe. Similar to Marvel and I am all for it and Excited. 

Besides this flick is far more for introducing Batman and essentially making this film his movie.

Now many of you are asking why did batman not get an establishing movie all to his own...This is when I say there has been 7 of them if you haven't noticed. 

Wonder Woman has her own flick coming out as do others and there is an upcoming Justice League flick in production as I type these words. 

Now my biggest question is WHEN IN THE HELL did Metropolis and Gotham become neighboring Cities. I would have liked a little more distance there but by the looks of it there is only a Bay between them and it doesn't look like that big of a Bay to begin with. 

Now I know that both cities are supposed to be New York but I am just saying. 

Also did Lex Luthor know about Superman's Identity all along and does he know about Batman's there is a slight plot hole there and I am not happy about that. 

THose were my only real issues with the flick. I know that some were complaining about Batman using a gun and having that military sequence but I have to remind all of you that it was a dream sequence that would be enough to scare The Dark Knight into taking down The Man of Steel. 

I liked the references to many of the comic greats from the obvious references to The Dark Knight Returns as well as The Death of Superman with Doomsday and Superman's sacrifice in a role reversal with Batman at the end of DKR. 

I also liked the costume departments for this film especially for Clark Kent and Lex Luthor for their characters. 

The Ultimate Edition honestly Isn't something to make too big of a deal about as it mostly deals with subplots however there is some good character development between Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne and some scenes with Lex Luthor which explains his motives. 

There are some great Special Features in this release. Ranging from documentaries about individual characters and this film's interpretation for this universe. And the talks of the future DC Cinematic Universe, As well as well done documentaries of The Bat Cave and The Batmobile. 

All in All The flick while not the best Batman or Superman flick as there are some tough acts to follow it is also not the worst as there are come bad ones in both franchises. This flick is what it is and there was no way the movie could live up to the hype and I still enjoyed it and had a great time watching it. Haters are going to Hate and Fans are going to love.

Check it out