There is an old adage that states “there are two things every man should have in this life: a good bartender and a good barber.” Now of course this shouldn’t pertain strictly to men; alcohol and a haircut should always be equal opportunity.

When it came to men’s fashion in generations past, the American barbershop was a crucial corner stone. But for our generation, the barbershop is always regarded as an urban legend of sorts. Much like the Mothman, everyone talks about barbershops, but few have ever actually seen one. That is until recently. With every passing year men’s fashion becomes increasingly more prevalent (thank you hipsters!) and a good haircut is fashion’s backbone. Luckily for us, the American barbershop is currently undergoing its own renaissance in cities nationwide, including some of our own here in the Mid-Ohio Valley.

“I think the reemergence of barber shops is great in America and in the Mid-Ohio Valley.”

David Mclntyre, a barber at Ray’s Barber shop located in South Side of Parkersburg, W.Va. said, “It’s a dying art, and the fact that there is starting to be a larger amount of younger people getting into it is nice.”

Many men of this generation have never had the pleasure of stepping into a barbershop, settling instead for chains like Sports Clips, the Hooters of hair, or salons that cater almost specifically to women. While cosmetologists are more than able to provide men with an excellent hair cut, there is a certain intimacy and understanding with a man’s hair that is missing, and a machismo that even the least manly of guys seek. You can spend hundreds of dollars on an outfit, but it’s going to be overlooked if you have fly-a-ways littering an otherwise good head of hair. Those are the fine details, the nitty-gritty if you will, that barbers never overlook. They know that even though a cut may look great after a couple of minutes in the chair, it’s the long term that matters. They know men’s hair.

The barbershop environment also plays a big part in its appeal. When you walk into most salon chains, you’re told to sign in and wait patiently for the next person to acknowledge you. But a barbershop offers a welcoming, safe environment where, instead of a halfhearted hello and someone pointing down to the aforementioned sign in sheet, you’re greeted warmly and ushered over to the chair with a handshake or a hug. Even if you do have to wait, you’re included in the conversation, and depending on the shop, offered a drink. You’re instantly among friends.

“When you have a regular barber, you develop a rapport with each other.”  David said, “You know what you’re getting. A haircut, a laugh, advice, conversation.”

With the continued expansion of men’s fashion, barber shops are just as important now as they ever were, and not just for the obvious grooming reasons. Yes, they are a place where men can feel like men while being pampered, but also a place where friendships are forged. Human interaction and relationship building is key, and as we become more technologically advanced, it’s something that is lost more and more.

Barbershop culture is something every man, or woman, who wants a change of pace, should take part in. If not for a great haircut, then for the camaraderie alone – paying your barber a visit is one of the few great remaining American pastimes. If the classic black suit is The Fonz of men’s fashion, then the American barbershop is Frank Sinatra; classic cool.

The post The Face of a Dying Art appeared first on Clutch MOV.

(Warning: This review contains spoilers)

He said:

For nearly three years, the hype for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, much like Hulkamania, ran wild. So, being the fan of comic books that I am (most specifically of Batman) and a giant man-child, I quickly boarded said train of hype and rode it all the way to my local cinema. After all that time waiting to see Henry Cavill’s Big Blue Boy Scout and Ben Affleck’s Dark Knight play alpha male and come together with Wonder Woman to save the world, I walked into the packed theater ready to fall in love – mixed reviews and all.

Like all of Snyder’s work, this is a beautiful film. He’s paid a lot of attention to the details of the universe and its mythology by mixing some new elements with tons of direct pulls from DC’s vast library of titles. Batman v Superman is a very ambitious film and filled with fan service, but its story suffers for it. There are far too many plot points happening in this film, making payoffs hard to come by and losing any real sense of heart the film could’ve had. Obviously Warner Brothers is having to play catch up with Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe at this point for their properties to stay relevant. But still, you’d expect a little build up and some hand holding or at the very least an above average story for the first go at their expanded cinematic universe.

That all aside, everyone turns in a solid performance in their respective roles. I was, however, slightly disappointed that Henry Cavill’s Clark Kent/Superman hasn’t evolved much from his wooden, brooding self in 2013’s Man of Steel. Jessie Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor starts off great, giving us hope for the character, but quickly morphs into a cheesy, over-the-top villain out of seemingly nowhere. His Luthor harkens back to Jim Carrey’s Riddler in Batman Forever instead of the methodical, evil mastermind Luthor is in the comics. Although, I’m not sure that was Eisenberg’s fault as much as it was the editors’ – given a recently released deleted scene from the film showcasing why he loses it after taking in the knowledge of of a looming threat to mankind.

Two performances that don’t suffer from poor editing or characterization are Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman, who was able to both steal the ending fight scene from our marquee characters and tell Princess Diana’s backstory of being an Amazonian warrior, and Ben Affleck’s Batman/Bruce Wayne. Affleck is without a doubt the best part about this movie and arguably the best live action Batman ever, even though he does some pretty uncharacteristic things like unabashedly shooting people in the face, breaking his two biggest rules: don’t kill and no guns. This is not to say that other on screen portrayals of The Dark Knight haven’t killed; Keaton kills roughly ten people between two films, Kilmer and Clooney kill around eight in their respective films, and Bale tops the death toll with about 25 people. All previous incarnations have blood on their hands and have also used guns in one form or another, just not as blatantly as in this film. There was something about seeing Batman run and gun people while trying to avoid capture in the movie’s “Knightmare” sequence that took me out of it for a second.

Does Batman v Superman live up to the all the hype that followed it since its announcement? Meh. Kind of. Honestly, it’s almost impossible to do after three years of hype and the public analyzing every bit of news from the set. It may not be a perfect film, or filled with the sometimes overwhelming sense of fun in the way Marvel’s films are, but it’s a nice breath of fresh air to feel our heroes’ actions have real consequence. Batman v Superman is a good film and a very solid start for DC’s cinematic universe. Even though I left the theatre somewhat disappointed, I also left excited for things to come in Justice League Part 1. Luckily, the film is getting a director’s cut later this year, adding an additional hour to its run time and hopefully clearing up a lot of the confusion it’s theatrical release caused. Something tells me this is going to be the film we all hoped for. Ultimately, to quote Jessie Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor, “You flew to close to sun. Now look at you.”

She said:

I didn’t have high hopes for Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. My interest level in watching handsome dudes brood at each other is effectively zilch, America’s desire for a new Bruce Wayne as often as a new President confuses me, and I have a tendency to assume the worst from majorly hyped blockbusters. With expectations this low, you’d think I’d have been at least a little pleasantly surprised. Alas, no.

Within the first ten minutes, we stumble upon a scene of urban destruction, partially at the hands of Superman. Sky scrapers collapse after being incinerated from above, covering businessmen and women in a snowy dust. Maybe I’ve slept through every action flick over the last ten years (plausible), but I cannot recall seeing a fictionalized event on film mirror a historical terrorist attack so hauntingly. I appreciate director Zack Snyder’s eye for sweeping realism, but I also felt a little emotionally manipulated. Darkness in a comic book adaptation? Awesome. Blatant comparisons to modern day terrorism? Kinda cheap.

But a bigger issue for me and other audience members, it seems, is the time management of Batman v Superman. On more than one occasion, it felt like we were circling the final chapter only to find we had quite a bit more ground to cover. It was all very exciting, for sure, but I quickly had a lot of questions about what exactly was happening and why. Assuming that was due to my ignorance of the source material, I went to Frankie for answers afterwards only to find him wondering about some of the same things. His guesses were infinitely more educated than mine, but why should an alert audience be forced to guess at all? I love pretty stuff, but instead of lingering on the same beautiful shots time and time again, I would have much preferred a razor sharp storyline. Snyder’s Watchmen accomplished both, but this is Batman and Superman we’re talking about. I can imagine a gaggle of studio execs breathing down his neck to the film’s ultimate detriment.

The cast does their best with what they’re given. Ben Affleck is a little less contrived than usual as Bruce Wayne, and Amy Adams is always a stand out. I was happy to see Holly Hunter and Jeremy Irons in the supporting cast; Hunter especially has some wonderful moments as Senator Finch. Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor is arguably the most memorable, if polarizing, element of the entire film. But predictably, Henry Cavill as Superman and newcomer Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman are utterly vapid. Gadot’s performance is one of the biggest let downs for me. She is essentially a beautiful object with lots of secrets and seemingly little help to offer. Not sure who is to blame here, but I’m hoping there’s better from her to come in the follow up films.

Batman v Superman is not great, it’s not terrible, it’s okay. Which is actually more frustrating. To truly fail or succeed, a strong choice has to be made. This film tried to make everyone happy which earned its mixed and mostly “meh” reception.

Franklin Love grew up in Parkersburg with hopes of being a Power Ranger.  However, once he realized that was never going to happen he settled for something in the arts. By day he is failing his way up the corporate ladder at Game Stop, by night he is a writer, actor, podcaster and trying co-founder of a production company with one of his long time friends. He also enjoys comic books, hockey, binging on Netflix and video games and pizza – both hot and cold.

Scarlet grew up in Parkersburg where she spent much of her formative years reenacting movies and chasing after lightning bugs. She earned a B.A. with honors in Theatre from Columbia College Chicago last year and now lives in Los Angeles where she is pursuing work as an actress. She jumps at any chance to stay connected to her beloved MOV!

The post Date Night: Batman v Superman appeared first on Clutch MOV.

(Warning: This review contains spoilers)

He said…

As a comic book fanboy and a fan of what Marvel has been doing with their cinematic universe for the most part, I went into Avengers: Age of Ultron with very high expectations. Especially after the team assembled for Joss Whedon’s first foray into the universe with Age of Ultron’s predecessor, The Avengers. And since Marvel knocked it out of the park with Captain America: The Winter Solider, Guardians of The Galaxy and Daredevil, (which you can and should currently binge watch on Netflix. Seriously, work, school and your kids can wait) my bar was set high.

So, after a year of build up via trailers and with Marvel continuing to set the bar in comic book adaptation for big and little screens, Avengers: Age of Ultron was everything you’d expect a Marvel film to be. It’s a fun, lighthearted summer blockbuster that brings the comic book to life with the help of a more than exceptional cast – especially James Spader and Paul Bettany’s show stealing performances as Ultron and The Vision, respectively. This film will please non-fans and fans of source material alike on one level or another. That being said, the same formula that made the film enjoyable is its biggest enemy. It was a Marvel film, nothing more and nothing less, and that’s Age of Ultron‘s problem.

My only real issue with the film is some of its editing choices: something that is unfortunately starting to become commonplace for Marvel’s films. Most notable (also seen in Iron Man 3 and Thor 2: The Dark World) is all of the forced funny which stifles character development and detracts from any real sense of urgency. I’m not saying we need to go DC’s route and make them superhero Schindler’s Lists, but Marvel’s formula, while a proven success at the box office, is getting a little tiresome. I understand that when Tony Stark or his Frankenstein monsters Ultron and The Vision are on screen, you should expect some quips from them. And I understand that even though this film has the Marvel logo, it is, for all intents and purposes, a Disney film. But why ruin one of the best scenes of the film, The Vision and Ultron’s discussion of humanity, with the dad- joke-esque “Well, I was born yesterday?”The amount of time that joke and all the other detracting, forced quips took up could’ve been used to develop Quicksilver’s character so that the audience would actually feel something when he dies. I felt more for Ultron’s destruction than I did for Quicksilver’s and I didn’t see that coming.

I’ll be the first to admit that with the wealth of great comic book properties being published and adapted for our viewing pleasure, I’ve become jaded on what expect from a comic book film. So here’s the thing, while Avengers: Age of Ultron is a good flick and a great time for everyone, it still falls short of a somewhat unrealistic bar set by some of Marvel’s previous endeavors, and that’s in large part due to the issues of it’s formula.

She said…

Honestly, I wasn’t looking forward to seeing Avengers: Age of Ultron. In the past, I’ve been at least moderately excited to see comic franchise films (like the first Avengers film) with Frankie, but this one hadn’t piqued my interest at all. However, having seen it now, I think my low expectations set me up to possibly enjoy the film more than he did!

The film begins – and nearly ends- with an incredible group fight scene featuring effervescent special effects. In comparison with darker comic films where super powers are hyperrealistic, these characters moved and performed like actual superheroes. The CGI wasn’t gimmicky, but it was definitely more colorful and exciting than I had expected. I appreciate both aesthetics, but I was happy to see it done this way and determined that Age of Ultron probably wouldn’t take itself too seriously.

That was certainly the case. While epic and sometimes touching, the movie was first and foremost about fun. It was a race to save the world, of course, and each Avenger seemed to have their own journey to complete within that. But there were some truly hilarious moments courtesy of Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, James Spader as a supremely creepy Ultron, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye and others. The heart of the film lies in the blossoming relationship between Hulk (played with nuance and intelligence, as always, by Mark Ruffalo) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson.) Their chemistry was easy and helped lend a sense of reality to this world.

Looking back, my least favorite aspects were some of the forced humor and the inclusion of the Maximoff twins: also known as Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. I can’t decide whether or not I disliked them as characters or as performers, but as an audience member, I felt very little connection to their plights. Elizabeth Olsen used a barely passable Russian accent and manipulated her mind control powers with hand gestures usually reserved for middle-school drama kids wearing fingerless gloves from Hot Topic (I would know, I was one of them.) Aaron Taylor-Jonhson, of Kickass fame, was surprisingly grating as Quicksilver, but does get credit for one of the funniest moments in the film when he impatiently fires a few machine gun rounds into a station of sleeping cops.

Thanks to a cast of mostly incredible actors, direction from the talented Joss Whedon, and a truly artistic design team, Avengers: Age of Ultron was a perfect date night movie. It combined action, humor and heart. I’m excited to see what lies in store for the next chapter of the franchise!

The post Film Review: Age of Ultron appeared first on Clutch MOV.