2016 Best Picture Rankings

Every year, after viewing all the Best Picture nominees, I rank them based on my assessment of their worthiness for the Best Picture award.  Note that this is not a prediction of who will win, but rather a statement of how I would vote if I could and how I'd rank the also-rans.

2016 was an interesting year in cinema.  At the top level of the roster, I think 2016 pales a bit compared to 2015 and 2014, but it's much deeper.  I could see any of the top six films in this list winning the Oscar without me batting an eyelash, and if I squinted hard, I could even see the seventh make it.  In the years I've been doing this either on Facebook or at this site, this was the most difficult year to rank order the films.  If you were to ask me to do it again next month (with no knowledge of the Oscars to taint my selections), I would probably give you a completely different ordering.

9. Hacksaw Ridge

It seems like any decently crafted war movie gets an Oscar nod these days, from Thin Red Line to American Sniper.  This year's entry is Hacksaw Ridge, the real life story of a pacifist who joins the Army and is part of one of World War II's bloodiest Pacific battles.  Ridge is a solid war movie, unafraid of showing the horrors of war in graphic detail, though it does show its warts periodically.  Stunt people and equipment sometimes reveal themselves a little too obviously on screen, like the very obvious fireproof suit showing through on a more close than usual close up of a soldier who's been freshly flame throwered.  Many of the soldier characters are indistinguishable from each other, making their deaths in battle have the same impact as those of the extras.  And someone decided Vince Vaughn should play a significant role in a nominated film.

It's really not that he's a bad actor, but his emotional range is not exactly Oscar level.

But I think that what makes Ridge one of the lesser nominees this year is the fact that it doesn't seem to have a lot to say.  It's a great portrayal of warfare, as well as the heroic pacifist himself. But beyond the general "Look at the horrors of war!" I'm not sure there's anything else to the film.  I'd put this behind Flags of Our Fathers in terms of Oscar worthiness, and Flags wasn't even nominated.  As a result, Hacksaw Ridge, as entertaining as it was, goes to the back of the line.

Though it's definitely worth watching.

8. Hell or High Water

Funny, dark, and very violent, Hell or High Water has the feel of a Coen film, to the extent that I had to take a quick look at my showcase program to make sure it wasn't.  2016 rocked the political world by a movement of people on both the left and the right indicating that things weren't getting better for all Americans, and this movie features some of them.  Hell features the story of Tanner and Toby Howard, brother ne'er-do-wells who hatch a bank robbery plot to rescue their family ranch from foreclosure so that it can be used as an oil field and set Toby's sons up to never worry about being poor like their dad.  It's also the story of Texas Ranger Marcus Hamilton, a racist, acerbic master detective who is out on one last ride before being put out to pasture by the state, and that case is to find out who's been pulling a series of robberies across west Texas.  Complicating matters for both parties is the fact that Tanner Howard, recently released from prison for the killing of his father, is just a little unhinged.  Things turn pretty violent.

And I mean violent.

Along the way, an important co-star is west Texas.  The movie features numerous driving scenes, which would become quite monotonous if it weren't for the vistas featured in them.  Similarly, the economic blight of the area and its small towns serves as an important backdrop for the film.  The minor characters that the leads bump into during their journey across the Texas wastelands are informed by that context, leading to added conflict and more than one laugh out loud moment.  In the end, that wasn't enough to push Hell or High Water higher up the list, as only Hamilton really comes off as a multi-faceted character (helped by the fact that Jeff Bridges appears to have had a blast playing him).

In retrospect, the scenery doesn't work well in still form.  You have to see it on the big screen.

7. Manchester by the Sea

While the plot of Manchester by the Sea is straightforward to relate, what it's actually about is a little difficult to ascertain.  The film follows Boston apartment handyman Lee Chandler as he deals with the aftermath of his brother Joe's death by heart attack, returning to his hometown that holds many painful memories and taking on guardianship of his nephew, Patrick.  Two series of flashbacks fill in the backstory, one setting up Lee's relationships with his brother, nephew, and ex-sister-in-law, the other revealing little by little why Lee's demeanor is so acidic and why he hated returning to Manchester-by-the-Sea.  Overall, it provides a well-written, well-acted view of grief.  The question is whether it has anything more to say about grief other than "here's how people grieve."  Throughout, director Kenneth Lonergan features many shots of the town, but it's not clear what those shots are for other than as a stand-in for bleakness, with empty skies casting over grey waters.  As a result, it just feels like some of the shots were purely for ambiance.

Here's an example.  Is this just meant to be a pretty picture?

What really pushes the film into being nomination-worthy are the clever script and Casey Affleck's understate performance.  Affleck spends much of the film making his Lee Chandler disaffected and more than a little dead inside.  The movie slowly unravels why, and the few moments where Affleck breaks out of that demeanor are striking.  Were he not up against some other amazing performances, I'd be tempted to hand the Best Actor statue over to him, but that's for another blog post.  Another standout is Michelle Williams, who brings her role as Lee's ex-wife, Randi, to life, especially in a riveting scene where Randi tries to force Lee to talk about their shared tragedy.  But as powerful as that is, it's not enough to get Manchester above a worthy of nomination level.

The fire of Williams and the stillness of Affleck make for effective scenes the few times they appear together.

6. Arrival

We get so few truly intelligent science fiction movies that it's almost a moral imperative to reward them.  Arrival perhaps doesn't deserve great odds at taking home Best Picture, but it certainly deserves its place among the nominees.  Beautifully shot and directed, Arrival manages to do something few science fiction movies do these days, which is to surprise while also informing and entertaining.  The story of a noted scientist (in this case, a linguist, along with her sidekick, the droll physicist) being called upon to navigate our way through our first first contact with an alien race is one that has been explored before, but this time it's done with beautiful twists that in the end turn what you thought was the structure of the film on its head.  It's wonderful to experience, and encourages continuing to think about the film after leaving the theater.

It's obvious the aliens visited us to enjoy the view.

Also making this film notable is the wonderful performance of Amy Adams, who (in my opinion) was robbed of a deserved Best Actress nomination.  Adams has a real strength in complex material because of her ability to show both vulnerability and quiet strength, sometimes simultaneously.  In various scenes of the film, Adams has to portray the wonder and horror of first contact, the heroic determination to save the world, the overwhelming sadness of a mourning mother, and the bitterness of a divorcee.  That she is able to mix these appropriately when called upon shows her considerable acting talents.  I often think she gets unjustly overlooked when a nominee, now she's being overlooked just to become one.  I hope that eventually Hollywood will make up for these injustices.

Part of her arsenal: she has some of the most expressive eyes in the business.

5. Hidden Figures

I'm trying a new leaf with Hidden Figures.  In the past, when a historical film has diverged significantly from the actual facts, I've been a little bitter about it, thinking it retroactively subtracted from my enjoyment from having watched it.  Argo did that to me, as well as several others.  But I've come to accept that movie makers pummel historical accuracy in order to form their subject into the best dramatic presentation they can achieve.  The next "real life" movie that is completely accurate in its portrayal of people and events will most likely be the first.  So for that reason, I'm not going to count accuracy against Hidden Figures, which is based very loosely on the bestselling book of the same name and takes great liberties with timelines and exactly what events happened to what person.  Instead, I'm going to appreciate Figures for the excellent acting of its leads and for deftly looking at the trials anyone being the first to break certain barriers faces, in this case, the challenges that female, African-American mathematicians faced attempting to play significant roles in the space race alongside white male engineers and white female mathematicians.

This group would look a little less homogeneous if all these guys just discovered they make shirts in other colors.

Hidden Figures follows the struggles and triumphs of three women from NASA Langley's West Area Computers group as they navigate their careers and work to make the Mercury program a success despite facing restrictions from Jim Crow laws in 1950s and 1960s Virginia.  Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson) calculated trajectories, launch windows, and return paths for the Mercury program and would continue impacting guidance calculations at NASA through the space shuttle program.  Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) was NASA's first black female supervisor and helped speed NASA's effective adoption of programmable electronic computers.  Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae, turning in a very impressive performance given her very short acting resume) was NASA's first female black engineer after being promoted from research mathematician.  The movie title is apt, as relatively few people knew about the incredible accomplishments and contributions of these ladies, and thankfully Hidden Figures provides a solid movie to introduce them to the world.

All the leads provide wonderful performances, as does Kevin Costner as the fictional Al Harrison, director of NASA's Space Task Group.  Henson in particular should have been recognized for her performance as Johnson with a Best Actress nomination, and her lack of nomination was perhaps the worst snub of this year's Oscars.  Henson, Spencer, and Monae all excel in their individual story threads, but they really shine when in their few scenes together: they all play off each other very well.  Hidden Figures tells a very important story very well, if not all that accurately.  While not the Best Picture of the year, it was certainly one of the best films of 2016.

Given their chemistry on screen, I have to assume these ladies were fun to hang around with on the set.

4. Fences

It's cheating a bit to honor a film that is essentially a direct recreation of a Tony-winning play featuring most of that Tony-winning cast, especially the Tony-winning leads.  Fences isn't here for its set design or cinematography, which are very straightforward translations of the stage version, creating almost a Masterpiece Theater feel to the film.  Instead, Fences rises toward the top on the strength of its incredible performances by its cast, especially Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, and Mykelti Williamson, all reprising their Broadway roles.

Viola Davis brings her full on Viola Davisness to the film, acting the hell out of her role.  She wisely knows when Rose Maxson should be quiet and defer to her boisterous husband, Troy.  But she also knows when to ramp up and dominate the scene as well.  It is amazing to watch two of America's greatest modern thespians work off each other.

Fences also features several stellar supporting performances, most notably Williamson as Troy's brother, Gabriel.  His mental state affected by the wounds he received in war, Gabriel provides comedic relief, pathos, and a deeper subtext to the film.  Williamson manages to shift smoothly from one element to the next throughout the film, at one moment delivering laugh out loud moments, the next making the audience rise to tears before saying something oddly profound on his way out the door.  If Gabriel had slightly more to do in the film, I'd argue that Williamson was robbed of a Best Supporting Actor nod.  I might argue that anyway.

Truly a wonderful performance from the man who made Bubba Blue more than a one note character.

But the real star of this show, even among all the other performances brought to bear, is Denzel Washington as Troy Maxson, the African-American answer to Willie Loman.  The textures that Washington brings to his performance are varied yet cohesive, invoking the spirits of roles past and mixing them into a powerful acting soup.  It's almost as if he needed to have his illustrious career before he was ready to take on Maxson.  During Troy's cock and bull sessions with his friend Bono, Washington evokes Private Trip.  When he starts berating his sons for their perceived failings, Washington slides into Coach Boone.  Troy's monologues and soliloquies echo Malcolm X.  And when Troy defiantly faces off against the specter of death, there are clear hints of Ruben Carter.  But for this portrayal, Washington adds another facet that he doesn't commonly show: a quiet weakness.  When facing tragedy or the fury of his wife, Washington's Maxson crumbles majestically in a way I've never seen Washington permit before.  It's a truly stunning performance.

Pop quiz: is this a scene from Fences or from Remember the Titans?

3. La La Land

La La Land is a favorite to win Best Picture this year, and it's not surprising given the amount of navel-gazing Hollywood likes to do.  This is a picture that's all about Hollywood and the traditions of the entertainment industry, wrapped up in an old-fashioned musical infrastructure.  Given the Academy's history of awarding films like Birdman, Argo, and The Artist with the statue (and that's just in the last decade) against tough competition, La La Land would seem to be the film to beat.

But that doesn't mean it hasn't earned its place as a serious contender.  La La Land hearkens to a long lost era of Hollywood musicals, but updates the artform with modern technology and design sensibilities.  It celebrates the traditions of long held art like classic jazz, but makes statements about the need to move forward.  It as an ode to set piece film making, but does it while featuring scores of beautiful location shots.  La La Land is proof that innovation and traditionalism don't have to be enemies.

I mean, why not do a massive dance number on the freeway?

All of this is wrapped around a well-structured, traditional romance.  Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling have established their onscreen chemistry before, most notably in Crazy, Stupid, Love.  Here, they waste no time re-establishing their rapport.  Their characters' love story is messy, as the two find that, like art, a relationship must allow for forward movement or it will die on the vine.  Ultimately, they face the realization that it may be possible to truly love someone yet not be with them, because life can't take a backseat to a single relationship.  It's a lesson I'd imagine far too many of us can relate to.

But we'll always have the memories...

2. Lion

It seems like every year the Best Picture category introduces me to a film that greatly exceeds my expectations.  Usually it's a smaller, more intimate film that I didn't know much about and thought maybe it was nominated just on the strength of one nominated performance.  But then I watch it and realize it's so much more.  Perhaps because of that surprise, I end up rating it higher than the Academy voters tend to, which was the case with Philomena.  In this case, though, it's hard for me to come up with a reason why I should appreciate frontrunner La La Land more than Lion, which tells a true story that makes you want to hate and love the world at the same time.  In the Best Picture marathon that I attended, Lion received the loudest applause from the audience, and it earned it.

Thankfully, Nicole didn't have to save this child from Scientology.

Lion is the story of Saroo Brierly, a five year old boy from Khandwa, India.  Saroo is one of three children to a single mother who works as a day laborer.  He accompanies his older brother on a train trip south where his brother hopes to earn extra money for the family.  At the destination train station, Saroo gets separated from his brother and ends up finding himself trapped on a train that would take him almost a thousand miles away to Kolkata.  Lost and unable to speak the local language, Saroo begins a series of near-misses navigating the hazardous streets of Kolkata before eventually being brought to the state orphanage and eventually adopted by the Brierlys, a loving couple from Tasmania who decided adopting would be better for the world than producing children themselves.  As a result, Saroo grows up an Aussie with a loving, affluent set of parents and a troubled adopted brother who also came from India.

If you end up dating Rooney Mara, your life hasn't been all that bad.

Fast forward 20 years, and Saroo is a businessman studying hotel management and dating a beautiful American.  But he's haunted by scattered recollections of his brief life in India and his family in particular.  He becomes obsessed with finding his former home and his mother and brother, to the point where it begins to destroy the comfortable life he has in Australia.  Where that obsession takes him is the focus of the second half of the film.

If this film sounds somewhat like what if a studio decided to make another Slumdog Millionaire and then segued into Philomena, you're really not far off.  It truly is a fantastic tale, made all the more amazing by the fact that it actually happened (modulo the usual Hollywood liberties taken with the story, though oddly none that really impacted the narrative).  Dev Patel could have earned his Oscar nomination just for adopting a believable Aussie accent, but really, his work was outstanding.  Kidman was also her usual stellar self.  But perhaps most notable was the work of Sunny Pawar, who played young Saroo with a talent beyond what a child of his age should be expected to have.  

Lion is an extraordinary and worthy film, but I hold no illusions that the Academy will recognize it, not with a major navel-gazing spectacle in La La Land and an important film in Moonlight up against it.  But if you haven't taken the time to watch it, you should make sure it's next in your queue.

1. Moonlight

I went into the showing of Moonlight expecting to give La La Land my Best Picture nod (note: this was before I saw Lion as well), but this adaptation of the play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue quickly won me over.  A riveting story of the discovery of self-identity for a young gay man in the hood, Moonlight features stories of young love, intolerance, social injustice, and the most enlightened drug dealer you'll ever meet.  If you are into defining films as combinations of other movies, picture Moonlight as a potpourri of the street drama of Boyz N the Hood, the multi-age saga of forbidden love of Slumdog Millionaire (referenced again!), and the identity formation of Brokeback Mountain.

Mahershala Ali is the Best Supporting Actor nominee for the film, but it should have gone to Trevante Rhodes.

Moonlight is told in three acts and follows the development of the personal identity of gay man Chiron and his relationship with his friend Kevin.  Chiron begins the film as a young boy nicknamed Little who is widely teased and ostracized by his Miami neighborhood peers for being a little different and emotionally abused by his mother, a crackhead.  Little's only friends are Kevin and Juan, a crack dealer who, with his girlfriend Teresa, become surrogate parents to Little.  The film then jumps to teenage Chiron, who is still plagued by bullies and an abusive mother, though both are now tinged with more danger.  Kevin remains his only real friend, with the possibility of more.  The third act features an adult Chiron, now known as the Atlanta drug dealer Black, and how he reconnects with his old friend Kevin provides the drama for the film's finale.

Moonlight truly is an impressive piece of film-making.  It deftly manages three simultaneous threads related to urban decay aligned with modern drug culture, sexual identity in the African-American culture, and the universal theme of young love and makes them accessible to all.  I am very white and very heterosexual, and the fact that I connected at a deep emotional level with all three themes is a testament to the quality of the film.

But what might be most impressive are the performances director Barry Jenkins pulled from his cast. Three different actors play Kevin, and the last two, Jharrel Jerome and Andre Holland, make Kevin's transition from teenager to adult seamless.  Maharshala Ali is solid as Juan, while Janelle Monae continues to surprise with strong work as an actress (with her very strong performance in Hidden Figures, Monae joins Mahershala Ali and Stephen Henderson as the only actors with multiple 2017 Best Picture nominees on their filmographies).  And Naomie Harris earns her Best Supporting Actress nomination as Chiron's mother.   

Most impressive are the performances of the role of Chiron.  Three different actors play him, but it would have been believable for them to claim that they pulled a Boyhood and filmed the same actor at different times over a 20 year span.  Forrest Gump earned Tom Hanks an Oscar in part because of how he studied and duplicated the speech and physical mannerisms of Michael Connor Humphries, the boy who played young Forrest.  In Moonlight, three actors managed to imbue their performances with the same speech and physical mannerisms, making it so you could identify who Chiron was throughout even if there were no dialogue.  This also leads to a subtle yet powerful moment in the third act, when the tough, confident Black reaches Miami and transforms back into the shy Chiron.  It's a metamorphosis that should have earned Trevante Rhodes a nomination but sadly didn't.  

Moonlight gets my top spot because of the performances of the overall cast and particularly the trio playing the lead, the interesting structure of the film, the deft handling of complex themes, and the importance of the subject of the film.  I honestly don't know what the Academy voters will do, but if I had a vote, Moonlight would be it.

20 Favorite Holiday Music Videos

It's that time of year when airwaves and store music stations are filled with holiday songs.  And let's face it, a lot of it is crap.  But they're not all bad, and presented below are twenty of the holiday song versions I can listen to over and over.

1. Vanessa Williams: What Child is This?

It's the smooth bass line, the Big Apple at Christmas feel, and of course the soft tones of a talented singer (who also happens to be one of the world's most beautiful women).

2. Leon Redbone and Dr. John: Frosty the Snowman

It takes an amazing effort to outdo Jimmy Durante's take from the classic cartoon, but these two jazz/blues greats team up for a lively version that introduces just a bit of zydeco.  

3. U2: Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)

The lads from Dublin were at peak momentum when they recorded this during their Joshua Tree tour.  I'd like to think Phil Spector would be proud of the big sound they got from such few instruments.

4. Olivia Olson: All I Want for Christmas

I admit it: Love Actually is one of my favorite holiday movies, and a staple in my DVD player each December.  Olivia Olson brings to the song an innocence that Mariah Carey just doesn't have in her.  Olivia is now known more for voice acting in Phineas and Ferb and Adventure Time, but for one year, hers was the voice of Christmas.

5. Under the Streetlamp: Here We Come A-wassailing

Four former cast members of Jersey Boys band together to bring that Frankie Valli early 60s energy to a classic English Christmas carol.  

6. Mike Tompkins: The Christmas Rush

An original from the a capella king, it's a fun, bouncy tune that pokes fun at today's consumerist holiday tradition.

7. Slade: Merry Xmas Everybody

It's just a little hilarious to think of Noddy Holder, the voice behind the songs that Quiet Riot built a career from covering, crooning a Christmas song, but this one's as sweet as it is catchy.

8. The Mighty Blue Kings: All I Ask for Christmas

When it comes to holiday songs, I immediately think of jump blues, don't you?  Ross Bon and his band provide a killer rendition of a song that, when I once found myself separated from my love for Christmas, I had on heavy repeat.

9. Alex G: Snow

A cover of the song by Sleeping at Last, the Colorado singer's version has benefits from her softer, more vulnerable vocals.

10. Fleet Foxes: White Winter Hymnal

Not a song of celebration, this indie product invokes the stark nature of winter through foreboding lyrics.  I was introduced to the song the Pentatonix cover, but the original is truly haunting.

11. Pentatonix: That's Christmas to Me

It's one of the quintet's softest vocal performances, with Kevin Olusola singing melody rather than beatboxing, this PTX original should become a holiday standard.

12. Silas Bjerregaard: Thank God It's Christmas

The original by Queen was as close to perfect as one could ever want.  Sadly though, Freddie and company never made a video of it.  So instead, here's a powerful live cover by the Turboweekend singer.

13. Trombone Shorty and Friends: O Holy Night

Probably the high point of the entire Studio 60 television series, their Christmas episode featured a subplot in which New Orleans musicians, displaced by Katrina, play a haunting version of the 19th century classic while various other subplots are resolved.  Trombone Shorty is the player that always gets mentioned, but his bandmates also provide a knockout performance.

14. Nat King Cole: The Christmas Song

I refuse to believe that anyone will ever do a version superior to the man who was the first to record this Mel Torme hit.

15. Kenny Loggins: Celebrate Me Home

It's amazing how many Christmas songs are about loneliness or missing loved ones. 

16. The Maccabeats: Candlelight

This a capella group from Yeshiva University are known for their clever parodies of hits that put a decidedly Jewish spin on the lyrics, producing one for almost every major Jewish holiday each year.  Their best is undoubtedly the one that put them on the map, a simple direct adaptation of Taio Cruz's Dynamite to celebrate Hanukkah.

17. Postmodern Jukebox: Last Christmas

PMJ always puts an interesting spin on their covers, and this swing version of the Wham! classic is no different.  This gets bonus points for everyone seemingly really enjoying performing this.

18. The Monkees: Ríu Ríu Chíu

Combine the original boy band with a villancico from the 16th century and you've got unexpected magic.

19. Walk Off the Earth: Little Drummer Boy

Leave it to Walk Off the Earth to do a send up of those Christmas carols sung by dogs with this well-orchestrated version of this 20th century composition.  Or, if you prefer, instead watch the classic David Bowie/Bing Crosby mashup with Peace on Earth.  Either way, you're a winner.

20. Enya: Adeste Fidelis

Enya creates a hauntingly beautiful version of the 18th century carol, singing it in its Latin form.

Fixing Batman v Superman

I've bounced back and forth about whether this should be a review or not.  I mean, it's pretty clear to everyone that this is far from a perfect movie.  There's a lot wrong in how Batman v Superman is written and executed.  As I write this, the film is sitting at 29% on Rotten Tomatoes.  So calling it imperfect is not exactly breaking new ground.  Instead, I intend to list ten things that could have been done to the film to make it good.  Obviously, this will contain a lot of spoilers, so be warned.

1. Bring some action to the front of the film

The strength of the film, and the reason why I'm still looking forward to a Justice League movie, is found in the great action sequences during the last quarter of the film.  The slowest, the titular bout between Batman and Superman, still shines a spotlight on just how awesome Batman is when given the time to plan.  The solo fight scene featuring Batman was called by Screen Junkies the Greatest Screen Batman Fight Ever, and I can't disagree: it has the level of kinetics that one should expect from a Batman fight scene.  And, of course, the final battle with Doomsday brought the Trinity together, showed how the heroes could work together as a team (presaging Justice League), and demonstrated what Wonder Woman can do.  The trio of battles made a great cap to the film, but it just underscores how sorely the first near-two hours was missing some sort of action sequence.

My idea: It's clear that Zack Snyder was aiming for an artistic moment with the slow motion depiction of what I call in my mind The Twelve Labours of Superman (plus or minus several labours).  And I can understand wanting to keep Wonder Woman to a mystery that can be unwrapped in her own film.  But there's no excuse to not let Batman show off what he can do earlier in the movie.  Dialogue is wasted on talking about how brutal Batman is on the criminals of Gotham -- why not actually show it in action instead?  It would also provide a nice pacing counterpoint to the Superman scenes, which could elevate them more than interrupting a slow-paced plot build with slow motion scenes can.

A little less talking and a bit more action would have served as a better intro to Batman.

2. Either recast the role of Lex Luthor or rename the character that Jesse Eisenberg played.

I've publicly stated that Amy Adams is the best Lois Lane ever put on film.  Henry Cavill makes a very good Superman/Clark Kent.  I'm as surprised as anyone to say this, but Ben Affleck could very well turn out to be my favorite Batman/Bruce Wayne, something his Daredevil left me completely unprepared to even contemplate.  And Gal Gadot has me looking forward to the upcoming Wonder Woman.  The real problem in the casting and performance was Jesse Eisenberg as a character somehow named "Lex Luthor".  There are three relatively constant aspects Lex has in the comics: he's brilliant, he's egotistical, and he projects power (because he's actually powerful or seeks power).  Eisenberg's Mark-Zuckerberg-on-amphetamines take on the character is disastrous.  He seems to not so much force his way as get his way handed to him by very confused bystanders.  It's not a good depiction of Lex Luthor, and some of the things he accomplishes, like instantly reprogramming a Kryptonian security system to accept him as master, makes absolutely no sense given what we've seen of the character to that point.

My idea: The easy thing to do would be to recast Luthor as someone better suited for the role.  However, my idea is to keep Eisenberg (though maybe giving him slightly different pointers) and changing who he plays.  It's obvious that Justice League will be featuring the team going against Darkseid.  He's DC's classic Big Bad and the guy Thanos was copied from, and the appearance of parademons in Batman's bizarre dream/vision (more on that later) seals the deal.  So why not turn Eisenberg's character into one G. Gordon Godfrey, who can be revealed in Justice League to of course be Darkseid's PR man from hell, the Glorious Godfrey?  Godfrey's powers of persuasion would help explain some of the stuff "Luthor" seems to get away with effortlessly, and his membership of an advanced race would make the Kryptonian reprogramming much more palatable.

At the very least, Lex should be as old or older than Superman.  Eisenberg looks like a high schooler next to Affleck and Cavill.

3. Ditch the dream sequences and visions.

The movie would save significantly on time if we didn't have to sit through these unnecessary sequences.  No one coming to this movie needs to revisit the Waynes getting killed for the dozenth time on screen, especially since there's an entire television series currently devoted to the direct aftermath of that shooting.  And even hardcore fans had to be confused at least temporarily by the visions of a tyrant Superman backed by parademons and the subsequent appearance of The Flash from the future (especially since we hadn't seen the character before).  That sequence sits like a tumor on the film.

My idea: Open the film with the Battle of Metropolis, and if you must show the pearls spilled once more, insert it just as a dream sequence further in the film.  Cut the Superman Nazi scene altogether and shift the Flash vision to an after-credits scene (more on this later).  Streamline the movie proper!  Oh, and cut the Jonathan Kent scene.  All that does is remind the audience how badly Man of Steel messed up that character.

Seriously, I've read comics for 40 years and I found this confusing and disruptive.

4. Give Wonder Woman a better reason to be there.

The idea that Diana Prince inserted herself into Metropolis society in order to track down a single electronic copy of a photo taken decades before makes me want to channel the esurance lady and scream, "That's not how any of this works!"  Like Lex couldn't have an arbitrary number of other copies, including a physical original.  And what's the big deal about that photo, anyway?

My idea: It would be better if Lex possessed an actual artifact instead of a digital file.  Perhaps she's been missing her tiara all this time.  Or something that belonged to Steve Trevor back in WWI that she needs to get to his descendants or is a personal memento for Diana herself?  Or if it has to be information, how about the encrypted location of Paradise Island?  If the latter, the dialogue needs to include how she's made sure all other copies are wiped out except for the one that's on Lex's secure network.

No matter what, I still can't wait for her movie.

5. Give Superman a better reason to go after Batman.

Don't get me wrong, I actually liked the idea of Superman being put into the impossible situation of having to fight Batman or have a loved one killed.  It's the kind of trap that happens all the time in Superman comics, since his loved ones are one of the few things an enemy can exploit.  But to just have Ma Kent sitting in an unaltered dockside warehouse where she could say her son's name at any time to get his attention is lazy storytelling.  I mean, his opening scene showed him coming to rescue Lois from half a world away and you're telling me that after being told his mother was in peril he didn't try to use his senses to find her?  C'mon!

My idea: Do the same abduction and deal, but have Martha Kent be held in Gotham City's decrepit lead-lined sewer system or in an abandoned warehouse in a section where every building is still slathered in lead-based paint.  Have her being held in a structure that has been enhanced with sound suppression technology.  Have Lex brag about the sensors he built that can detect Kryptonian physiology and set off explosives that will kill Ma if he approaches.  Then have Superman think it through and realize that he needs help finding and rescuing her.  You should have to work to make Superman helpless.  Speaking of which...

Bruce definitely worked to make Superman helpless.

6. Give Superman some respect.  Please.

I was fine with Man of Steel showing a Superman who's not that good with his powers, as it was meant to be an origin story.  However, there's no excuse for doing that in this film, which takes months later.  He uses his senses to know that Lois is in trouble, but not to monitor what's happening at the compound while he flies to the rescue (thus seeing the murder of the terrorists)?  He doesn't move at all to prevent what was clearly going to be a bomb explosion in the Capitol?  He doesn't try to find and rescue his own mother?  Shame on you, Zack Snyder!  Superman should be better at his job than this!

My idea: Showing Superman to be competent wouldn't be difficult, nor would it impact the story much.  Let him see the execution of the terrorists by the mercenaries but bypass chasing them down to save Lois, letting them get away.  And not having him capriciously ram the head terrorist through a wall would also be kinder to Superman's character.  The public can still be fed the "it was really Superman who killed those guys" story either way, especially if Eisenberg is playing Godfrey as I suggest.  Let Superman get distracted saving everyone at the Capitol from a different bomb (or other threat) and be surprised by the backup hidden in the wheelchair that's automatically triggered by his actions.  And fix the rescue of Ma Kent as outlined above.  Nothing needs to change with the overarching plot, but the Superman scenes shouldn't leave Superman looking like a schmuck.  

And for pete's sake, let the man smile once in a while!

7. Nail down how the public feels about him.

The film is exceedingly inconsistent with how public reaction to Superman is portrayed.  In most scenes, he's clearly seen as either a favorite son or a god, both of them featuring positive feelings toward Superman.  When Wallace Keefe climbs and defaces the Superman statue in Metropolis, it's shocking.  Yet when it comes time for Superman to testify in front of Congress, there's a huge mass of anti-Superman protesters.  Where did they come from?  And Senator Finch appears to be all over the place when it comes to how she feels about the Man of Steel, seemingly anti-Superman in the beginning then finding accusations against him incredible later.  There's just too much thrashing of opinion on Superman.

My idea: As for Finch, let her be a fan of Superman, but one who realizes that, for the protection and satisfaction of her constituents, Superman really must prove he's no threat.  Her actions onscreen can continue unchanged with that tweak to her stated opinion. When it comes to the public in general, spend a couple minutes using one of the montages of media coverage to talk about how Superman has divided the nation, with part of the populace embracing him and the other part viewing him with suspicion.  Having the two sides split up into red and blue states would be a nice touch and provide an opportunity for further commentary about the meaning and appropriateness of letting superheroes into the world.  Along those lines...

Seriously, where did all these people come from?  A Trump rally?

8. Do more with the question of "Should there be a Superman?"

It's clear that Snyder wanted this to be a theme of the movie, but it's not addressed well at all.  It gets brought up in dialogue a couple of times, but it really needs more overt attention.  The movie doesn't have to provide a clear answer, though I'm sure DC would like the answer to be an "Obviously, yes."  But it's often not even clear what the real question is.

My idea: Pull the question more fully into the Batman/Superman dynamic.  It's clear in the beginning that Batman thinks that there shouldn't be a Superman: he's too powerful to stop if he decides to be a tyrant, and even when he's not, he gets innocents killed when threats with the power to match him show up.  There's some thought put toward the same question applied to Batman, with Superman concerned with his brutal tactics and the revelation he's been doing this for years without really putting a dent into the crime plaguing Gotham.  Each character even momentarily talks about their own self-doubts, but then quickly move on.  Play that up more, and have them get through their self-doubts in action, with Superman saving someone from a disaster and Batman rescuing someone from a crime, just to reinforce their own self-identity.  Then the final battles can be about them coming to appreciate each other, finally winning the public over fully as well.  This last part needs to be shown on screen: the response to the funeral of Superman covers him, but we should also see an embracing of Batman (and Wonder Woman) as well.

The Battle of Metropolis actually having lasting effects is something to underscore.

9. Move the introduction of the other Justice Leaguers out of the main movie.

In a way, it was nice to see the quick intros of Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg.  But how it was handled told us very little about the characters themselves, interrupted the flow of the plot, and probably confused a good number of people.

My idea: Leave the files as logos in the film proper, then insert an after-credits scene with Bruce sitting in the Batcave (perhaps joined by Diana) viewing the videos of the other three metas.  Leave the Flash for last.  At the end, have Flash show up from the future with his warning, setting up the Justice League movie directly.

That's an appropriate time to figure out whether Aquaman will have his khaleesi, Mera, in his film.

10.  Clean up some of the other things that will drive fanboys crazy.

I'm not actually talking about the much-discussed "Batman kills" topic.  I don't actually mind that.  With one exception, his kills come from vehicular combat, something we've seen done in both the comics (most notably The Dark Knight Returns, which Snyder borrows from heavily for the film) and the earlier films (in particular, the body count racked up by Tim Burton's Batman is comparable).  The one kill made with a personal firearm mirrors a scene from TDKR (Book Two, page 8).  Personally, I'm tired of all the fanboy frothing over this and the deaths that occurred in Man of Steel when the same folks ignore or excuse all the deaths from the Marvel movies, especially the two Avengers movies.  You can pretend that all the civilians shown hanging out in the buildings being demolished in New York are all getting away safely, and you may decide that killing alien invaders or faceless Hydra soldiers is okay, but you can't deny the fact that countless brainwashed SHIELD agents were killed during their assault on the helicarrier, including the one straight up kicked off the ship into a long dive toward death by Captain America.  Thankfully, it looks like the Civil War movie will finally address this.

No, I'm talking about things like having the photographer killed in the opening Superman sequence be named Jimmy Olsen.  I'm talking about having Perry White come across like a complete douche.  I'm talking about Ma Kent telling Clark that the world doesn't owe him anything (for the second straight movie, if I'm counting correctly).  There's a laundry list of these things.  And they don't actually add to the plot at all.

My idea: Dump it all.  If the photog needs to die, let him be Joe Schmo.  Give Perry White better dialogue.  And for pity's sake, stop having Clark's parents tell him that he shouldn't bother with all these pesky humans.

Really Perry, why be a dick?

I really wanted Batman v Superman to succeed as a film.  One thing I appreciate about the DC movies is that, though they largely fail, most of them attempt to be about something.  The fact that they swing and miss so often gives them a not unfair reputation as being inferior to Marvel's product.  But as a fan of cinema, I appreciate the attempt to elevate the purpose of the films beyond an afternoon trifle.  When Disney/Marvel misses on their films, like they did with Age of Ultron, the result is just a forgettable film.  No one lets the fact that there have been bad Fast and Furious movies deter them from seeing another one because all that's expected is fun.  When Warner Brothers/DC misses, the result is a memorable failure.  Part of me wishes they would play it safe like their competitors do to increase their hit rate, but honestly, I maintain hope that one of these days, they'll capture that magic in a bottle and surpass The Dark Knight in quality and maybe earn the first ever Oscar for a superhero film.