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This week on What To Stream Right Now we’re discussing a movie and tv show about geniuses! Because who doesn’t want to be one…

GOOD WILL HUNTING – Dir. Gus Van Sant (1997) IMDb

726_GoodWillHunting_Catalog_Poster-BB_v2_ApprovedWill Hunting (played by Matt Damon) is a young janitor at M.I.T, but as you could probably guess, he’s also something of a math genius. However, he can’t seem to find direction in his life and looks to psychologist Sean Maguire (played by the late Robin Williams) for help. They form a unique relationship, which quickly transforms into a wonderful friendship.

I watched this film for the first time shortly after the death of Robin Williams, because I had heard from numerous people that this was one of his most endearing roles. And even with the vast number of amazing films he’s been in, that statement isn’t necessarily far from the truth. Both Williams and Damon give some of their best performances in this film. Williams’ performance even snagged him an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. It’s simply a touching story that’s well directed and well written. Damon and Ben Affleck, who also has an amazing role, wrote GOOD WILL HUNTING together, winning them their own Oscars at the ages of 27 and 25, respectively.   Luckily for you, you’ll only cry a few times while watching this, but I promise it has a happy ending!

SHERLOCK – Three Seasons (2010 -) IMDb

91qt73QkZqL._SL1500_It goes without saying, but this genius is much less heart warming than good ole, Will Hunting. BBC’s SHERLOCK stars Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game, Star Trek Into Darkness) as the title character and Martin Freeman (The Hobbit trilogy, Fargo) as his trusty “sidekick”, Doctor John Watson. But unlike other Sir Arthur Conan Doyle adaptations, this variation is set in modern day London. That one simple twist in the narrative proves to be the most important piece of creating a refreshing and entertaining series from the stories we all know and love.

Steven Moffat created the show along with actor/writer Mark Gatiss, so you can be sure to enjoy Sherlock’s witty cynicism if you’ve ever enjoyed a more recent episode of DOCTOR WHO. Along with that, Sherlock plays as an interesting counter part to our beloved, Doctor. Both characters seem to figure impossible things out through intellect and intuition, but where one is whimsy and alien, the other is grounded in reality and functions solely on the basis on fact. With that being said, the series can certainly be enjoyed by anyone, including people who don’t like Doctor Who (but why don’t you???). Each season has only three episodes and each episode is 90 minutes long, so you’re essentially watching a bunch of little movies. This makes the show seem far more special than other shows, but unfortunately once you get caught up, you’ll still have to wait until 2017 for the next season.

That’s it for this installment! Feel free to share this article on Facebook and twitter! Make sure to check out episodes 5 and 4 if you feel like you haven’t spent enough time on the couch today already!

By now, you’ve likely read the reviews or at least seen the headlines that BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE is a huge disappointment. Some of the main criticisms are that it isn’t cohesive, it’s too long yet doesn’t give enough time to important details, it doesn’t fix any of the problems inherent in MAN OF STEEL, and that the DC Universe is off to a terrible start. I’ll admit, some of these complaints are completely justified, but I had fun and I think that’s all that really matters. I wasn’t bored during a single part of the two and a half hour movie. The action was great, the characters were fun, and the story was interesting. That doesn’t mean the action was necessary, the characters had motivation, and the story made sense, it was simply entertaining.

Several months ago, people were anticipating this movie and criticizing it for things they knew nothing about. The casting was a huge part of that. Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor? Ben Affleck as Batman? Jeremy Irons as Alfred? Okay that one makes sense. And then we saw the trailer. You know what trailer I’m talking about. The one that basically spoiled the entire third act. Well, it’s true.

If you’re set on not seeing this movie or you don’t have the time, watch this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fis-9Zqu2Ro).

Jesse Eisenberg was a strange choice that I’m not sure totally paid off. He was okay, but not great. Ben Affleck on the other hand was the best part of the movie. I didn’t think Christian Bale could be surpassed, but Affleck may be my new favorite Batman. He’s older and much more ruthless than we’ve seen before, and he’s also more psychotic. It makes sense that this guy would dress up as a bat and hurt bad guys. In regards to the trailer… still watch the movie. If you haven’t seen that trailer already, consider yourself lucky. Many of the most exciting parts of the film are spoiled in that marketing travesty, and I can only imagine how much fun it would have been to experience those things for the first time in the theater. But, there’s more to the movie than just that. There were a lot of moments that surprised me and had me on the edge of my seat.

Honestly, I don’t understand why people are so upset about the movie. It’s fine if you don’t like it, but people actually feel offended. They think the characters are being treated poorly or that the filmmakers think their audience is dumb. I don’t think these things are true. It’s not a perfect movie and maybe DC will never catch up to Marvel, but they have a good start. I think this movie did a lot to correct the wrongs that we saw in Man of Steel. I think the subsequent DC movies and The Justice League will continue to expand the Universe and improve the story. I had fun watching this movie. I like seeing superheroes beat each other up. I’m not there to see the next Oscar winner or to walk away with a new view on humanity. Batman and Superman fight. That’s awesome. If that’s something you want to see, go see this movie. If you can’t form opinions of your own, there are hundreds of reviews on the web to tell you what you should think about Zack Snyder and the DC Universe.   Movies are meant to be fun and that’s all this movie is.

 

4 out of 5 Stars

BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE – Dir. Zack Snyder

Starring: Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Jesse Eisenberg, Gal Gadot

Run Time: 2 hours 33 minutes