drawlife Reviews

The Holdovers (2023)

A feel-good Christmas story without the cliches.

[9/10 · 31 March 2024]

Like I said, this is a feel good Christmas film without the cliches.

I loved SIDEWAYS. I only checked that film out when I was about 13, because I was looking up who Thomas Haden Church is, as it was announced he was just cast in Sam Raimi's SPIDER-MAN 3. Knowing that he was nominated for an Academy Award I wanted to brush up on his films. In doing so, not only did I enjoy SIDEWAYS, Paul Giamatti and Alexander Payne have been on my radar ever since (along with Church).

Payne really gets the best out of his actors. The three leads carry the film so well. Paul Giamatti's performance as Paul Hunham absolutely warranted his Oscar nomination this year. You understand why he's a prick and uptight. Lots of layers that are peeled as the film progresses, and there's nuance to Giamatti's deliverance. Giamatti is one of those actors that can elevate a film no matter how big or small the role is and he truly captures the essence of some teachers we might have had in high school/college.

Da'Vine Joy Randolph is very good too as Mary Lamb. She's a cook working at the same school Giamatti's character teaches at. Randolph does a great job bottling up the death of her son in Vietnam, who also attended the school. There's no overacting in her end, her grieving is very subtle which I appreciated. She's trying to hold it together and when the film gets to the point where she's allowed to break, one can see why she won her Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Dominic Sessa as the teen Angus Tully is remarkable. You would not have thought that this is his very first film debut. There's genuine quality on how the film develops his relationship with Giamatti's Dunham and they have great banter. Sessa also has good banter with some of the other holdovers before he's left entirely alone by his neglecting mother and step-father. You begin to understand why he acts out.

Also I liked Carrie Preston's small supporting role too. Everyone in the film is sarcastic, mean or depressed and she is the bright spot that radiates joy. I feel she's the catalyst for the three leads to open up and let their guard down a little.

Kudos to the production design and sets, shooting on location helped. Major props to Eigil Bryld the cinematographer and camera operator. You can feel like this film is the product of it's time. The film opens with the old Universal logo and a 70's retro-style title card for Focus Features and Miramax, so you already feel like you're transported.

The film is moving in understated and surprising ways. It has many great small moments that slowly, but profoundly change the characters. They are imperfect people you deplore in the beginning, but then find yourself rooting for, and in the end, ultimately identify with. As a big fan of Cillian Murphy, he was a lock for Best Actor, most of us knew this, but for me Paul Giamatti's was the most memorable.

If OPPENHEIMER and BARBIE were the antidote to blockbuster/franchise cogs, THE HOLDOVERS is the antidote to them.

9/10.

Goosebumps (2023– )

New Gen Z take is uneven and tropey, but I like the potential.

[6/10 · 22 November 2023]

Lots of things nowadays are getting the modern treatment, and I get it. Gotta cash in from the next generation to another by making it bit more appealing for them.

Now I'm a millennial, GOOSEBUMPS is huge part of my childhood and in my DNA. One of the reasons I even starting reading books is because of R. L. Stine's brain child. Shoutout to Tim Jacobus for the amazing GOOSEBUMPS covers. What kid back then could resist those awesome covers, it always peaked your interest.

Compared to most, I do feel like this series is at least trying to have some innovation. That could be my bias towards the franchise talking, but for what it's worth I did like the potential the show has.

I appreciated that some of the episodes have a homage/reimagining of some of Stine's iconic GOOSEBUMPS stories like SAY CHEESE & DIE, THE HAUNTED MASK, CUCKOO CLOCK OF DOOM, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DUMMY, etc. Unlike the 2015 and 2018 film that was more family friendly, this show doesn't hold back on more mature themes such as adultery, murder and some minor foul language. Definitely trying to be more edgier and obviously way more scarier than the films.

The overall story does a decent job weaving together the young teens dealing with the aftermath/effects of the actions of their crappy parents, who had a hand in murdering their fellow classmate. I did find that the last two episodes kind of drop the ball as they needed a reason to have a cliffhanger ending, which the show does end on.

I didn't really feel any of the teens did a good job with their performances, except for Ben Cockell as Harold Biddle. This could be me just out of touch with the youth as a 30 year old, but everyone's personality just felt way too over the top. What didn't help was the fact that, of course we'd get some generic and tropey teen drama/romance in the middle of everything. It felt very much like some of the CW and MTV shows. Some of the motivations between them and even the adults are so nonsensical that it can get very frustrating.

The adults I found to do better in the acting department mainly from Justin Long and Rachael Harris, but that comes within the territory as they're seasoned.

Slappy the ventriloquist dummy is front and center and he's great, as is his twist, the one thing that I found the finale didn't drop the ball on. Only nitpick is I wish the dummy looked close to the 2015 and 2018 film. That version to me is Jacobus's cover art come to life.

I like the attempt, but...and this is just my inner fanboy thinking out loud, I ponder why they didn't just use characters in the book and have them be apart of the larger lore and have them attend the same schools and what not. Like Carly Beth from THE HAUNTED MASK could be in the same school as Evan from MONSTER BLOOD? But that's just me.

Again, for what it's worth, it is has potential and I would tune in for a second season. I did find it as an interesting take with a modern update that is worth the time, BUT it falls short due to mediocre acting, a finale that doesn't entirely stick the landing, generic clichés and tropey MTV/CW teen drama.

6/10.

The Marvels (2023)

All over the place.

[5/10 · 8 November 2023]

THE MARVELS is here and it's a mashed up film that is totally all over the place. It feels as if this film was edited and chopped into pieces during post and it shows.

Couple things I enjoyed, I did like seeing Carol Danvers and Monica Rambeau resolve and acknowledge their relationship, but due to the nature of their characters being straight arrows, it allows Iman Vellani's Kamala Khan to be the audience just as Tom Holland's Peter Parker was in CIVIL WAR. I did not particularly enjoy the MS. MARVEL series, but I can see her being the shoutout for many.

I think the script just touched on the surface of Brie Larson's Captain Marvel herself, so diving into her more is a plus, however the story did her no favors once again and I did feel like she was given like four or five pieces of direction to portray her character compared to the more one-note performance in the first film. Teyonah Parris is commendable. She was the more science-y of the trio.

Samuel L. Jackson just feels inconsistent especially after SECRET INVASION. Feels like this Nick Fury is a variant. He's simply passing through in this film.

Another thing I liked was the incursions (also briefly touched on in DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS). We all complained about the lack of planting seeds for the future leading into KANG DYNASTY and SECRET WARS. Finally, this film it at least preps and teases what's to come down the line.

The MCU's villain problem is a long known fact, but here it only cements their problem even further. Now I'm a fan of Lee Pace's over the top performance as Ronan, but Dar-Benn played by Zawe Ashton is literally a copy and paste of Ronan, but female. Nothing new about it. Definitely up there as one of the worst villains in the MCU.

The power swaps were kinda cool so I can give it that. Nia DaCosta does a good job executing the fight scenes, but again as one should expect, VFX is meh. Now if you cringed during the musical note duel between the two Doctor Strange, then wait till you see one segment of the film where it feels like a misplaced musical. Lots of quirky and annoying humor like one should expect in an MCU film.

The Skrulls are in the film and as a fan we always think we can write the better film after watching it, but I just DO NOT understand why this sequel couldn't have been SECRET INVASION(one of the worst MCU Disney+ shows). SECRET INVASION honestly should have been an Avengers film or at the very least a Captain Marvel sequel co-starring some Avengers, kinda like CIVIL WAR. I personally feel like that dilemma could have furthered Captain Marvel's development due to her involvement with them and how she's equally to blame for not helping them out when she and Fury promised to find them a home. But instead she's stuck with this material.

The mid-credit scene is arguably the best part. Once again teasing things to come. It's stuff that like that, that will maybe still garner interest in the MCU despite its current fall from grace. The end-credit scene is alright. Not particularly jazzed about that promise down the line.

On that note, the recent Variety article published about Marvel Studios talked about their behind the scenes trouble. It was said that Kevin Feige and his creative committee partook in their yearly Palm Springs retreat to regroup and refocus, so here's hoping to next year being more consistent with quality. Seemed like he was spread too thin with the mandate to have more quantity than quality.

THE MARVELS is a season 1.5 for MS. MARVEL and a CAPTAIN MARVEL sequel that we never saw due to the flashbacks and exposition to explain things. And let's be clear, at this point everything feels like homework. That was going to be inevitable moving forward after INFINITY WAR and ENDGAMGE, but especially when Disney+ was announced making Kevin Feige spread out too thin. But it only feels like homework because everything that has been released is below the standard of what Marvel set up for us.

So to sum it up, while I did find it slightly more appealing than the first CAPTAIN MARVEL and QUANTUMANIA, that isn't saying much. Low expectations definitely helped. Is THE MARVELS one of the worst? No, but it definitely belongs way down below the list.

5/10.

Ahsoka (2023– )

Boring.

[4/10 · 4 October 2023]

I never bothered to watch any of the animated series. I only watched a handful of episodes from CLONE WARS and REBELS. It's just homework I did not want to partake in. Now I get the arguments that if I had watched all of the animated series, then I would have felt differently about it, but the job of these live action continuations is making it accessible for the people who didn't watch the animated series. BUT, that is not entirely the problem, it wasn't hard for me to pick up on some things, but the problem is, is that there was nothing about this show that made me care. This show could not have ended faster for my liking. At the end of all of it, I kept asking myself, what was this all about. What was the point?

This show ends with plenty of plot holes, like what was the cargo Thrawn was holding? What is Baylan Skoll's agenda that was teased? All this fell flat and nothing was paid off. Every episode was just so slow and took forever to get to the point and at the end of it there is no point. Not to mention there were some serious leaps of logic that just irritated me like how dumb the Senate was.

Rosario Dawson's Ahsoka was so one-noted and flat. She showed off way more charisma and energy to her performance in her one appearances in MANDALORIAN and the awful BOOK OF BOBA FETT. I don't understand where all that energy on screen was sucked dry in her OWN series! Natasha Liu Bordizzo is also truly awful in the role of Sabine. Just as dull and bland as Rosario's performance. I know these characters are in a different place in their life compared to the animated series, and I'm not asking for happy go lucky or lively personalities, but it's done in a way where it comes off as a bore, mainly due to dialog and the extremely SLOW pacing.

Eman Esfandi as Ezra is memorable, but Ray Stevenson as Baylan Skoll is what barely held this show together. He is single handedly the best character and actor of the entire season. RIP to him.

Yes, it was fun seeing Hayden Christensen return in the role of Anakin Skywalker, but beyond that it was all just mumbo jumbo. I feel like the show tried to mask all it's flaws through the nostalgia of CLONE WARS and REBELS.

While there are no shortage of lightsaber fights, I felt camera angle and choreography was uninspired. I should have felt tension and excitement, but it was just predictable and bland.

Dave Feloni I think is good at what he does in some regard. I know some people can make fun of his obsession with his brain child of a character in Ahsoka, but I think much like George Lucas, he needs someone else to carry out his vision in live action format, like a Jon Favreau. EMPIRE and RETURN was carried out through Irvin Kershner and Richard Marquand, and given how Lucas handled the prequels, one could argue he would have treated them as such had he personally directed them.

Here's hoping Feloni sticks the landing for his Mandoverse film that will supposedly tie things up neatly. But at this point I'm not too excited about anything at all. Lucasfilm and Disney just dropped the ball so badly all enthusiasm is pretty much dissipated. Overall AHSOKA is not the worst, that title goes to BOOK OF BOBA FETT and MANDO SEASON 3, but it is very dull, boring and uninspired.

4/10.

Aliens (1986)

One of the greatest sci-fi horror/action and sequels to exist.

[10/10 · 16 August 2023]

I'm in the camp of favoring James Cameron's ALIENS more than Ridley Scott's ALIEN. Both films are iconic and compliment each other extremely well.

Between the extended cut or the theatrical cut, I think they're both great, but definitely the extended cut adds a bit more layers that allow the film to feel more complete.

Personally to me, what Cameron did was respect what Ridley Scott set up in the first entry and just added more to the lore, so it never feels like a retread of the first film. The concept and the idea of xenomorphs acting like an insect hive under the command of the queen xenomorph is not only terrifying but also in a way grounds the film because we can relate that to ants, bees and other insects that act as a unit. This is nothing new to the fans of the franchise, but the point I'm making is that at the time of release this definitely added a new element of surprise that didn't feel like a repeat of the original film.

Cameron adds bare knuckle action combined with horror. I get irritated sometimes when I hear that this is just an action film when it is more than that. Plus Cameron doesn't rehash the scares but is able to still combine horror amongst the spectacle and allows Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley to grow with her relationship with Newt played by Carrie Henn. Weaver flourishes in her banter with Henn's Newt and she's not this ass-kicking bad ass who "can take care of herself." She's an absolutely normal human being who just happens to have enough courage to survive the circumstances she's in.

Ripley's also got a nice supporting cast of colonial marines. It's very hard to dislike Michael Biehn's Hicks, Bill Paxton's Hudson and Jenette Goldstein's Vasquez. I love the subtle romantic tension that is never overplayed with Hicks and Ripley. It's unfortunate ALIEN 3 disrespected Hicks and Newt and I'm still foolishly holding out hope for Neil Blomkamp's ALIEN 5 where it looked like he would disregard ALIEN 3 and ALIEN RESURRECTION. Paxton's Husdon is memorable, hysterically funny and had the most quotable lines. Goldstein's Vasquez is tough as nails and holds her own. Other marines played by Ricco Ross and Mark Rolston also have some good moments.

The full circle character arcs are also satisfying. Paxton's Hudson was scared throughout but dies standing his ground against what he was afraid of. William Hope's Gorman is depicted as being an inexperienced commander and a wimp, but yet he's the one who goes back to save Vasquez and dies a hero's death with her. Then the film's villain Burke played by Paul Reiser, who's whole agenda is wanting to capture a xenomorph, but he gets killed by one of them.

James Horner's score is also epic. Keeps you on your toes and keeps the adrenaline pumping. The queen xenomorph puppet is impressive and has a great duel with Ripley in a cargo loading exo-suit. For the most part the visual effects hold up, but you're so engaged by the film you're not thinking about how real or fake something looks. There were only twelve xenomorph suits made and Cameron shoots them in the dark and makes it feel like there are hoards. An impressive feat, to make twelve suits feel like an army.

ALIENS is a legendary film, an absolute all time great. Truly a film that I can pop in and watch frequently. It fires on all cylinders and checks out everything you could want in a film like this flawlessly. Like JAWS and TERMINATOR, the ALIEN films end here in the second film for me, as I have been disheartened by every other entry and the awful AVP nonsense.

10/10.

Oppenheimer (I) (2023)

A challenging viewing experience, but powered by the performances.

[8/10 · 31 July 2023]

One of the most anticipated films of this year and who better to deliver the film none other than Christopher Nolan. Nolan makes the audience think, and I think for me at least it will click better with a second viewing much like DUNKIRK or TENENT. Nevertheless the shoulders of this film is carried by Cillian Murphy who finally gets to showcase his talents as a lead. He's always been a treat to watch on screen and I'm very happy for him. He deserves all the praise.

Murphy channels Oppenheimer incredibly well. He acts with his eyes and his face. Throughout the film you're not in doubt with what he's thinking and what he's feeling as he never really expresses his feelings until the aftermath of his invention. Murphy effortlessly anchors the entire 3 hour film and it is a surefire Oscar nomination. He's consistently brilliant in almost anything he does and I think this film will put him on top of Everest.

Robert Downey Jr. I think could potentially get an nomination as well. After an incredible decade of being Iron Man, he's able to show off his other talents reminiscent of his pre-Iron Man days. He disappears into the role of Lewis Strauss and he takes every opportunity to show Strauss's two-faced nature, patiently biding his time to strip Oppenheimer of his good reputation. To my surprise, Josh Harnett has a meaty role as Ernest Lawrence and it's nice to see him on screen again. Matt Damon brings his A-game as Major General Leslie Groves. He's a no-nonsense military character, but also rather an important figure who seizes the opportunity to use Oppenheimer's talents to his advantage. The unlikely alliance between the two is a treat to watch as Murphy and Damon have a good dynamic together.

Emily Blunt and Florence Pugh contribute to the story as his wife Kitty Oppenheimer and Jean Tatlock, respectively. To me I saw these two as a reminder of Oppenheimer's character flaws as he was not perfect. They represented something significant in Oppenheimer's life, Kitty being who he should be with, but Jean being someone he wants to be with. Also being that this is a Nolan film, no part is a small part, so there are a lot of incredibly talented and well recognized actors playing other historic figures and people of importance, so it was kind of fun to see who pops up as who for their glorified, but layered and important cameos.

In true Nolan fashion, this isn't a conventional biopic. It's told in non-sequential order highlighting specific points in Oppenheimer's life jumping from places to places. For some this is the make or break for the film. I do think one has to be an experienced viewer of film to keep up with the non-linear storytelling, but again Nolan is very resourceful with the way he does this so it never really feels like you're too lost. I will admit though I do think I would have preferred something a little bit more conventional for my tastes. I liked the flow more when there were moments to marinate things happening in chronological order as opposed to jumping around and to Nolan's credit, he does this near the last hour or so. This is where I also felt the film is at its best when it focused on the psychological thriller aspect. There's one sequence in involving a speech that's particularly terrifying as you can feel Oppenheimer's horror and remorse. It also manages to have some very suspenseful moments leading up to the completion of the bomb and when they begin to test it, it is very gripping when you don't expect it to be.

Production design is incredible, the attention to detail is also impeccable. Kudos to production designer Ruth De Jong who also has experience in period pieces like THERE WILL BE BLOOD. Creating a look and feel to a time that's long gone may seem so simple and easy to do on the surface, but I cannot imagine the challenges the crew had to face, making sure everything was on point to that era. From costumes, buildings, set design, cars, etc. You feel transported to that time. It's also shot in a way that is also very immersive by Hoyte Van Hoytema, making this his fourth collaboration with Nolan. Music is composed by Ludwig Göransson, who also killed it with BLACK PANTHER and MANDALORIAN. He is definitely going to get some praise for his work here.

This film almost touches on greatness, if it were not for it's length and time jumps. The movie is overly dense as it tries to bundle too much of Oppenheimer's pre and post-Trinity life into one movie. I also do think if you're a history buff it will be a more enjoyable experience, but for those who aren't too familiar with the subject, it is something that might be harder to digest with its first viewing. I do personally think somewhere in this film, there is a phenomenal 2.5 hour cut, but OPPENHEIMER is still a powerful biopic that explores and shows the dark side of human nature, powered by a tour-de-force performance from Cillian Murphy. Another landmark achievement from Christopher Nolan.

8/10.

Secret Invasion (2023)

The minute this was announced as a show, I knew it was a missed opportunity.

[4/10 · 27 July 2023]

I will admit, I am not a fan of ANY of the MCU Disney+ shows. I feel like they're held back by the episodic storytelling and usually fall apart by the finale. The only shows I barely tolerated was MOON KNIGHT and HAWKEYE. This however is a good vehicle for Samuel L. Jackson to shine and develop Nick Fury post ENDGAME and Ben Mendelsohn shines too in his role as Talos, but unfortunately it is boring, predictable and very uninspired.

Firstly though, I appreciated the mature and darker tone. If you've ever read my reviews here on IMDB, one of my complaints is the consistent formula the MCU uses on humor. Jokes here, jokes there, jokes everywhere. So to see a series that scales down on the jokes is refreshing.

However every episode is kind of a drag and dull. Plot points aren't hard to follow and you can pick up on it pretty quickly, to the point where you can predict the story. Not to mention there is a ton of expository dialogue that is a chore to sit through.

Jackson and Mendelsohn are a great duo of Fury and Talos and carry the episodes as best as they can, but they are dialed back due to the show's more tame premise on the story compared to the comics. Kingsley Ben-Adir is Gravik the main Skrull antagonist who is leading a large group of Skrulls to overthrow and take Earth by starting a WWIII. Ben-Adir is probably the only thing interesting about the show. It's a very one note performance, but how Ben-Adir carries himself makes him intriguing.

Emilia Clarke plays G'iah, Talos' daughter. She's okay, but she ain't very memorable and how the series finale handles her character is just disastrous. Her fight with Gravik is half-assed with some questionable VFX. She's basically now god, now that she has powers of EVERY Avenger, but as a reader of comics and understanding the universe, I'm kind of sure they'll find a way to de-power her somehow or lose her abilities.

Don Cheadle shows up and it's been revealed he's a Skrull. Who knows for how long, but it will be interesting to see where it goes from here and I do feel Rhodey deserves a solo outting at this point in ARMOR WARS.

It was also a missed opportunity to not have Brie Larson's Captain Marvel involved. At the end of her first film, she's directly involved with the search of a new planet for them along with Fury and Talos, so there could have been some compelling storytelling on her end because I also felt that Gravik and his followers could have also equally blamed Carol along with Fury and Talos. The reason for her being in deep space saving other planets and what have you is equally a lazy reason for her to also not be involved.

Did I also mention VFX shots are very shotty and not exactly polished? These days you just have to expect it.

I read the SECRET INVASION story back in 2009 when I was only 16 years old and like CIVIL WAR it was a huge Marvel Comics event where every Marvel hero is practically involved. The comic-book series also dropped nuggets that this was an incoming event through other comic series, building hype. Promotional artwork and the lead up to the event showed artworks of Iron Man, or Captain America or Spider-Man or Wolverine as Skrulls. That's what the MCU missed out on. A huge missed out opportunity.

When you're going to take a title that is a massive Avenger-level event in the comics and scale it down to this, and again I totally understand the idea of taking liberties for adaptations, but here they just took the title of the source material but gave us something that I think most fans who read the comics didn't want. In CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, the story was scaled down, but the core idea of Cap vs Iron Man and registration was still there. INFINITY WAR is a loose adaptation of Thanos' reign, but that is liberties taken done correctly as Thanos is front and center facing every Avenger in front of him.

SECRET INVASION honestly should have been an Avengers film or at the latest a Captain Marvel sequel co-starring some Avengers. The minute I found out this was a Disney+ show I knew it would be so far scaled down and this would be the end result. Nowadays it feels like the MCU isn't building up to anything and is lacking strong leads (ie - Iron Man & Captain America), and an identity.

4/10.

Barbie (I) (2023)

It swings, and it kinda hits. Kinda.

[6/10 · 22 July 2023]

BARBIEHEIMER is among us! Between BARBIE and OPPENHEIMER releasing on the same week, the wife really wanted to see this first and I obliged.

BARBIE is definitely bound to have some divisiveness due to its "feminism" - and yes a lot of feminism (honestly what did you expect). Not addressing this is like not addressing the nuclear bomb in OPPENHEIMER. For a movie about a children's toy, I got to give it some kudos for its subversion and tying to put out a message this big. I'm not shocked that the film focused a bit more on the reality elements of the real world as opposed to the fantasy side. A lot of that is because this is a Greta Gerwig film (co-written with her partner Noah Baumbach) and she is one of the best working director/writer today.

The unconventional approach is something to admire. The film swings with these metaphysical ideas and existential crisis. The performances from Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling carry the film. Robbie tackles the role very well. The story asks her to do a lot, and Robbie showcases Barbie's awakening with sincerity, terror, confusion, naivety, humor and bittersweet acceptance. Gosling gets to cut loose and be funny. He goes on his own journey to discovering who he is so there's layers to his Ken as well. He also has a funny rivalry/banter with Simu Liu's Ken.

Rest of the supporting cast are a bit underdeveloped, but they get moments to shine here and there and serve the plot in motion. Some highlights are Kingsley Ben-Adir, Issa Rae, Michael Cera and Kate McKinnon.

America Ferrara and Ariana Greenblatt are the human mother/daughter duo in the film. Ferrara's character delivers a monolog that is very on the nose and at that point you're with it or meh about it. For me personally, I honestly don't mind it as long as its entertaining, and to the film's credit it was, for at least the first act of the film. It's at its best with the self aware meta humor, but eventually the film gets too carried away and takes itself too seriously, loosing its humor and leaving us experiencing moments that are a bit of a chore to sit through.

One could say it was refreshing to watch an incredibly self aware film that isn't afraid to be bold in its message, but for me, while I agree with the underlying message it's very heavy handed and preachy. I connected more when the film explored the nature of Barbie's character. There's one scene that tackles Barbie's legacy directly that raised the existential crisis for her, but it isn't revisited in favor of telling a bigger societal story.

Production design, the sets and visuals are very well done. Shoutout to production designer Sarah Greenwood and set decorators Katie Spencer. I feel like Barbie could take home the Oscar for production design. When you're in Barbie Land, the overall usage of pink and the plastic feel makes the whole experience feel immersive. Cinematography by Rodrigo Prieto makes the film feel like you're there. It has a vibrant and inviting energy that you can't help but gaze at.

I am curious how some families who saw the film feel about it as some might have expected a more straight forward approach, as opposed to this more nuanced subversive take, but I think overall the film is destined to be enjoyed overall and successful. It just might get a sequel if it can rake in the money, which it looks like it will.

As a male, this film isn't made for me. I'm obviously not the target audience for it. However, the film did enough to make me feel engaged where I laughed at some jokes, but the second half is where I felt the film was talking at me instead of engaging me as a viewer. It flirts with being a unique fantasy/real world introspective story, but then seems to be more interested in making a point by the end of it.

6/10.

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

Tom Cruise could do this forever.

[9/10 · 17 July 2023]

I feel as though the more M:I films Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie make, they both keep making it better and better.

Being that Ethan Hunt is America's James Bond, it feels like a match made in heaven with Cruise and McQuarrie. I think they both can do this forever even though it was said that this and PART 2 will be a send off for the character. They both are able to check off the boxes that at this point anyone would expect in an M:I film and still find a way to make it a fun popcorn experience.

For being nearly 3 hours, clocking in at 2 hours 43 minutes, it's paced out very very well. A very complete film, but one could argue that you will feel the length here and there. The action sequences just keep topping everything and anything that majority of the competition out there provides. You can see Cruise, McQuarrie and the film crew truly give it their all. Once again the stunts and action just pump adrenaline as there is a brilliant chase scene in Rome, a train sequence that will remind you of the UNCHARTED game for those who have played, Cruise running and sky diving off a huge cliff, it's all just done extremely well.

Hayley Atwell I feel has struggled to find a role outside of Peggy Carter in the MCU that can show off what she's capable of, and here I think she might have found it. Her character growth is predictable, but there's enough nuance to make you buy it.

Hunt's team of Luther (Ving Rhames), Ilsa(Rebecca Ferguson) and Benji (Simon Pegg) are always good in their supporting roles and never fail to bring their A-game. Shoutout to Pom Klementieff. She doesn't have much speaking lines as she's really just a henchwoman, but because she's bubbly in real life and most people know her as Mantis in the MCU, it's kind of a breath of fresh air to see her be more intimidating. She kinda felt like a John Wick character.

On a side note, sometimes I ponder and would like to see the return of other team members from the past, like Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton, Maggie Q, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, etc.

With the exception of Henry Cavill's August Walker/John Lark in M:I FALLOUT, typically the M:I films have villains that aren't as memorable, and here it's much the same. We don't know much about Gabriel played by Esai Morales, but I'm sure more will be revealed in PART 2.

Something the M:I films do a good job of is not making the audience do any homework. No one needs to really watch the previous installments to understand what's happening. But for those who do, we see the return of Henry Czerny as Eugene Kittridge whom we haven't seen since the original film in 1996 and of course we have Vanessa Kirby returning from M:I FALLOUT playing Alanna Mitsopolis, daughter of Vanessa Redgrave's Max in the original as well.

I have this strong feeling that despite this and PART 2 being the swan song for Cruise's Ethan Hunt, it won't be the end. I keep thinking Cruise and McQuarrie will lose a step, but they've proven otherwise.

9/10.

The Flash (I) (2023)

Overhyped, but a good film with horrible CGI.

[7/10 · 16 June 2023]

So after being in development for years, multiple re-writes and director changes, the drama behind the film's star and with the current DC shakeup THE FLASH somehow still manages to be an okay comic-book film.

You would think with all the change ups between the writers and the directors there would be some inconsistency within the film, but for the most part there wasn't. Now the hype train dubbed this as one of the greatest superhero/comic-book films ever made, and it really does not reach those heights, but it is a good entertaining film with some depth and layers.

Putting aside all the Ezra Miller wrongdoings, they are very good in the film. Miller's performance in the theatrical cut of JUSTICE LEAGUE to me came off as a buffoon who made lame jokes about brunch. ZACK SNYDER'S JUSTICE LEAGUE however, that performance was more akin to what I wanted as a comic-book fan who's read Flash comics. Miller plays two versions of Barry, one older who shows more maturity and experience and one as a young teen, who is a more immature version of himself. There is a nice balance between both performances, but I will admit young Barry's antics and jokes kinda did get annoying after a while.

Maribel Verdu's Nora Allen serves as Barry's motive to go back in time to save his mother. She has some good tender moments at the end when Barry does realize he needs to let her death play out. Ron Livingston replaces Billy Crudup and does a good job with the scenes he had.

I've been on record saying Ben Affleck is my favorite Batman because I loved his brutality, his rage, and his merciless attitude. To me a Jim Lee drawing come to life. He's only in it in the beginning of the film where an incredibly fun action set piece takes place. If this is the last time I'll see him (which it probably will be) as the character then I'm happy I got to see him just once more.

Michael Keaton definitely brought back the nostalgia. In his old age he hasn't lost a step and has a solid role within the film. Anything with him is basically fan-service on overdrive, especially the Elfman Batman score and his memorable lines from the 89 BATMAN film. Since it is the mutliverse keep an eye out for some cameos near the climax. Sasha Calle steps into the role of Supergirl and I didn't mind her presence or performance but she was just kinda there. She plays an important part, but it never marinated enough for it to feel any true weight, but to mainly be there to serve the action at the end. She does have a nice fight with Michael Shannon's Zod.

Piggybacking off that, I really did like how director Andy Muschietti honored what came before with what Zack Snyder did. He didn't blatantly ignore it which I appreciated. So even if seeing Affleck, Shannon, and some other familiar Snyder-Verse cast members for just a quick bit, it was nice that there was an acknowledgment of what came before.

Now the VFX are very questionable. I know Muschietti said that the VFX was meant to look weird on purpose and I get his reasoning behind it, but it just looked way too wonky. Distractingly wonky that it took me out of the film from time to time.

As for the future of DC, that's all up in the air, it feels. Original set photos showed Supergirl and Keaton's Batman showing up at the end, but that has changed. Anything can happen now, and we'll see whether that's a good thing in time.

To sum it up, THE FLASH is an overhyped film that just happens to be a good/entertaining spectacle with a narrative that isn't exactly new, but the nuances give it that extra flare that prevents it from being a total nostalgia bait/fan service.

7/10.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)

Slight improvement upon Vol. 2, Vol. 1 still the best.

[5/10 · 6 May 2023]

Let me just say that I think GUARDIANS VOL. 1 is one of the MCU's gem and in the MCU's Top 10. It ranks within the higher tier films like the first IRON MAN, the CAPTAIN AMERICA sequels, INFINITY WAR and the first AVENGERS. It felt like STAR WARS without it being STAR WARS as Gunn eloquently put it. I thought VOL. 2 was a massive "recycled" step backwards with an overload of humor. Yondu is the only thing worthy about VOL.2

So I walked into this one with some low expectations due to how I felt about VOL. 2 and the quality of MCU films as of late. While it is a step above VOL. 2, I did feel like the film yanked along the way with so many moments that just tried way too hard to make me feel emotional.

This is probably a me thing, but because I'm not particularly an animal lover, I felt Rocket's backstory tried too hard to make me feel sad. It did provide a lot of depth for him and Bradley Cooper does a great job voicing him. I would argue this is probably is his best outing as Rocket so far.

In contrast though, respect to Gunn for including animal cruelty and child abduction. I loved that he went there and played around in that dark arena. I absolutely respect the move because I love when the MCU makes an effort to include mature themes and dark elements from time to time. Humor was more tame compared to VOL. 2 and I didn't particularly mind it this time around. Some of the jokes landed and I did find myself chuckling once or twice.

Pratt's Star-Lord feels more evolved and not the same go-lucky/quipping thief, and of course he wouldn't as he's mourning the loss of his girlfriend, but there is another version of her that isn't the version he fell in love with. Another move I respect was that he and Gamora did not get back together. It felt real and made bigger impact mirroring the fact that this iteration of the Guardians is finished. Saldana does a good job playing Gamora a bit more savage and merciless.

Bautista has good chemistry with Klementieff as shown in the Holiday Special and I'm happy Bautista got more action sequences showcasing Drax's strength. Groot is used to good effect as well. Not as awesome as the first Groot but way better than baby/teenage Groot. Kraglin played by Gunn's brother Sean and Cosmo voiced by Maria Bakalova are also involved in a meaningful way. Again kudos to James Gunn for this juggling act.

Will Poulter's Adam Warlock I felt got the short end of the stick. I thought he could have been utilized a little bit better, but I did quite like his portrayal. As for Chukwudi Iwuji, he does a great job being unhinged as the High Evolutionary. Very threatening, menacing and just all out crazy.

I did feel the length. I felt the whole part at Orgoscope was unnecessary and dragged the film. I felt they could have just went straight to the High Evolutionary. Again, while the flashbacks provided some depth for Rocket, it felt choppy to me primarily because I'm trying to engage with the overall plot in motion and then I'm watching something where I felt tried too hard to make me care. Rocket in "animal heaven" reunited with his friends also felt extremely cheesy. Another example of that was when the film plays with the idea of Star-Lord dying at the end. What bothered me about that was how does he not have his helmet and his jetpack on his ankles that he's known for having? He's flown in space before and yeah I know he was asked to not have weapons in the High Evolutionary's HQ, but he gave his blasters to Groot who hid a bunch of guns, he couldn't have given him his ankle jetpacks or his helmet? This is why I felt like the film is deliberately trying to make me feel emotional.

Also this is a minor, comic-book geek nitpick that doesn't really effect the film, but the visual development team gave them the classic comic-book accurate blue and red striped suits and they couldn't give Star-Lord his mask with the accurate helmet from the comics? LOL.

Anyways, I respected the darker themes, I respected that if felt like the end with a whole new team assembled and there were some fine performances, but it felt long and wasn't particularly subtle at tugging my heart strings.

5/10.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023)

It's okay.

[5/10 · 20 March 2023]

This one is just kind of passing through really. I liked the first SHAZAM film, wasn't perfect, but compared to all the DCEU films I quite enjoyed it. I didn't exactly mind the first two acts of this sequel, but where it totally falters is the third act and it's villains.

The third act is very typical superhero action, but that's expected and there is a way to do that well and here it definitely has a "been there, done that" feel. Here I felt that there are moments where there's just too much stare downs. The villain Kalypso played by Lucy Liu just sits around with her dragon, stares down at Shazam and doesn't take action immediately. The same can be said for Levi's Shazam. He just stares are the situation for a long period of time, enough time for Kalypso to make a move to hurt or kill him. It was just something I noticed throughout.

The rest of the Shazam Family have more to do, some more than others as there's just too many to juggle. Freddy Freeman played by Jack Dylan Grazer (Adam Brody in superhero form) got the most to do compared to the rest. While funny and good in his scenes, I didn't particularly think the love story between him and Rachel Zegler's romance was gripping for the film. It definitely gave him more to do so there's that, but they both could've been the two people from these two groups of opposing ideologies and be the ones to connect them but instead they wasted it on a meaningless romance.

Not much of Asher Angel in this one either compared to the first. The kids are getting older too and I am curious how they'll approach that aspect because Billy is almost 18 years old and that would mean Mary was his age in the first film which leads me to my nitpick - I personally didn't get why Michelle Borth wasn't back for Mary in superhero form. I kinda liked the idea of them looking different when they do change and if she's just a bit older than Billy and the rest why does she look the same? Doesn't this also mean then Angel, Grazer and the others should just play their superhero counterparts as they're getting older?

While I commend the juggling act now that all the kids have powers, it did seem like David F. Sandberg and his team is having a hard time juggling all these characters with the budget and the runtime that was given. There were set ups that I was waiting to be paid off and while they did paid it off it was done in such a rushed manner that it doesn't feel totally earned, but just barely earned.

Even though the villains I thought were weak, I did appreciate that between the three they were different in the perspective of their goals. Helen Mirren is good with what she's given and is the more neutral of the three, Rachel Zegler's Anthea is the most benevolent and Lucy Liu's Kalypso is the most chaotic.

I cannot also review this film without talking about the current state of DC and how this film is likely going to tank due to it's box office tracking and the current reactions. It's low box office results is more the reason why DC just needs a restart.

I think this film is four years too late and I know a lot of it has to do with the pandemic and the reshuffling of DC/WB. With all the noise and drama behind the scenes of DC starting up from scratch, all signs pointing to THE FLASH being the film to "reboot" the DC films where it'll probably keep some cast members and recast the rest. It's kind of hard to find some enthusiasm for the next upcoming releases aside from FLASH, but really what enthusiasm has there been? BLACK ADAM did not meet expectations critically and financially, WW84 also a huge step down from the original, Gunn's SUICIDE SQUAD, while a good film, did not perform well due to it's day and date stream, FLASH has been delayed forever and AQUAMAN 2 still hasn't come out.

Who knows where it'll all lead to, and who knows which of the same actors remain on board? Certainly the ending of this film teased the notion that he was going to be involved to some degree with Waller and a Justice Society team. I guess we're just going to have to wait and see what James Gunn has in store.

But with that being said, so far compared to QUANTUMANIA, I'd say see SHAZAM over ANT-MAN & THE WASP.

5/10.

Scream VI (2023)

A solid addition to the franchise.

[8/10 · 10 March 2023]

I liked SCREAM 6 as much as I liked SCREAM 5. I think it'll switch back and forth from 3rd on my list. Nothing still tops the first and second films.

Stepping into a new territory with brand new protagonists can be daunting and uncomfortable at first. Change sometimes can make anyone wary because we all are attached to the legacy characters, but as the films expand and you do need new blood to carry the torch. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

I think for the most part the new blood here is very likable, something that I think SCREAM 4 lacked - to no fault of the filmmakers as there were definitely some mandates and changes made by higher power for SCREAM 4.

For me at least the absence of Neve Campbell wasn't sorely missed, but I did feel in her absence the film left a hole that some of the characters struggled to fill. After all her character's been through it makes sense that she deserves her peace, and would avoid another Ghostface event. But of course as a fan, I do hope to see her return one day.

I really found Melissa Barrera's Samantha WAY more endearing than the pervious film. A lot of this, is because Neve's Sidney was out of the picture. She is allowed to flourish and shine more than she did perviously. Her banter and relationship with Jenna Ortega's Tara is further shown. Also how lucky is the franchise to land Ortega prior to WEDNESDAY? Mason Gooding and Jasmin Savoy Brown also have more screen time here and are further explored. The "core four" as they call themselves are charismatic. I do strongly think though one of them will be axed by the next installment.

Legacy characters returning from Courteney Cox and Hayden Panettiere were used to good measure. I didn't feel they outshined anyone but used to service the new blood. It's also a treat to see Skeet's Billy and the movie continues to play around with the idea of Samantha - will she or won't she be just like her father.

Killer reveal I felt wasn't as strong as Richie and Amber from SCREAM 5, but as I started to let it sink in, I kinda embraced it more because SCREAM 6 was a "requel" of SCREAM 2, mirroring Mickey and Mrs. Loomis. I did sort of figure out Jack Champion, Liana Liberato and Dermot Mulroney as the prime suspects - record breaking three killers in one film, but when it came time to reveal the motive, I initially didn't like that they're Richie's family, but it kinda grew on me as I thought about it some more. Now I kinda wish there was a mom in the picture too.

A large part of this film takes place in a shrine from the pervious movies and it's like comfort food for SCREAM fans such as myself. I loved that Radio Silence acknowledged the pervious killers in the past outside of the OG's Billy and Stu. There's a great moment where Panettiere's Kirby give kudos to Roman Bridger from SCREAM 3, which I though was nice because SCREAM 3 is considered to be the "black sheep" of the franchise.

Gore and violence is spectacular as it should be. I did find that some of the logic took a big leap such as Liana Liberato's Quinn faking her death in one of the action set pieces for example. Some characters also take a beating and still end up being okay. Typically in the past, being stabbed meant that, that particular character is a goner outside of the main trio (Sidney, Dewey & Gale). Again, I do strongly feel someone from the "core four" will be killed the next time.

I believe that the overall consistent quality of the films is the reason why SCREAM is so popular and beloved, aside from Neve's Sidney, SCREAM isn't afraid to kill your darlings - i.e. Randy, Dewey, Tatum, etc., and I think the rotation of killers is what also keeps it fresh. Here's hoping that they continue on with that standard.

8/10.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)

One of the MCU's worst.

[3/10 · 28 February 2023]

This threequel definitely belongs in the conversations of the MCU's worst entries. Truthfully it was kind of baffling to see just how bad this film is.

As a comic-book geek I never really got on board with the MCU's approach to Ant-Man and Wasp, I would have much rather seen Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly play Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne instead. Even though I'm not particularly huge on the franchise, they did have this quirk with their take on humor that appealed to many (except myself) and the smaller scale missions felt refreshing to some degree. I can commend Peyton Reed and his team trying to be different, turning it into an epic Quantum Realm adventure with some serious stakes. I was all for it, and whoever cut those trailers deserves an award for making it look and feel epic, cause it absolutely does not.

Whatever the characters were going through didn't exactly feel organic. It really felt half-assed. We just left Rudd's Scott Lang and his daughter Cassie with a happy reunion in AVENGERS: ENDGAME. So to see Cassie be a rebel and a sudden genius all of a sudden was just so jarring. Speaking of Cassie, Kathryn Newton is pretty horrible in the role. I don't understand why they replaced Emma Fuhrmann. In what little screen time Fuhrmann had in ENDGAME, displaying her tears of joy for her father, felt more compelling than Newton did here. Newton's delivery is so dry and her rebellious attitude comes off as a try hard. It just didn't work for me.

Also a nitpick, but why is every teen a super genius now? If they were going to make her a super genius helping the Pyms create a Quantum device that communicates a signal, then why wasn't her genius at least slightly established perviously? Oh yeah and she gets a super suit and does everything the other two can do. They should have taken a breath or two to develop all this properly showcasing Scott teaching her to be Stature, mirroring Scott's journey to becoming Ant-Man.

Evangeline Lilly has nothing to do in this film and her accurate haircut isn't really doing her any favors in this one. Her father Michael Douglas is just along for the ride as well and her mother Michelle Pfeiffer has a lot more to do this time around. She does the most tropey thing ever, by not revealing information that would have helped the Ant-Family WAY earlier, claiming it was "protection."

Jonathan Majors is the only thing in the film that had any substance. Majors also commands the screen very well and felt menacing in some regard, but yet it still didn't grip me as Brolin's Thanos or Hiddleston's Loki. A lot of that has to do with how crappy the film is. MODOK is also horribly executed. I know the character is a hard sell, BUT this iteration didn't do the character any favors. The Avengers game did a WAY better job handling the character than the MCU. The change is Corey Stoll's Darren Cross is deformed into MODOK after the events of the first film. With one interaction with Cassie he chooses "not to be a dick" and then has a heroic death, in which it all felt so awkward and lame. Such a waste of a villain, he was basically a one-off henchmen.

I feel that Peyton Reed and writer Jeff Loveness missed out on some compelling storytelling by not following through with the premise of Scott wanting to help Kang because of the promise of being given time with Cassie back. All the Quantum Realm stuff also felt small in scale. I compare it to the first THOR film where it just took place in a town, and here there was no grandness to the Quantum Realm, aside from the freedom fighters who oppose Kang's oppression. More could have been explored in that arena.

I also felt there would've been more weight to the end of the film if Scott died with Kang. I knew he wasn't going to diem but I wanted it to happen with the line "I don't have to win, we both have to lose," which could have been something motivates Cassie to join the young Avengers (which it looks like they're building to) moving forward. It's as if they also had a mandate to make the film more family friendly which it seemed like they tried to aim for.

The kick-off to Phase 5 isn't exactly good. I feel as though they dropped the ball, but given their track record (even though it's been meh lately) I don't think the MCU would falter by the time KANG DYNASTY and SECRET WARS comes along, as it's their big tentpole films, but I do think the MCU needs to go back to the drawing board and figure out why Phase 1-3 worked better than it does in Phase 4-5. Currently for me, only NO WAY HOME and WAKANDA FOREVER come out on top compared to the rest.

3/10.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

Coogler carried this movie on his shoulders.

[8/10 · 11 November 2022]

The odds were against BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER. It just was. The lead actor Chadwick Boseman tragically passed away two years ago and you had to start from scratch. I don't know how Ryan Coogler managed all this stress, because it's hard enough to make a movie as is.

I was in the camp of favoring recasting. I respectfully disagreed with not re-casting the role of T'challa. I feel that despite the wonderful job Chadwick has done, the character is always bigger than the actor. As a comics fan, I felt T'challa had a lot more to give in the MCU as his story just started. But, on the other hand I do understand why Disney and Marvel didn't.

Letita Wright is now front and center and she displays great acting chops showcasing Shuri's state of mind without really saying what she's thinking. There's a lot of showing, instead of telling. Through her lens we experience loss, grief and revenge all in one. It's done in a mature fashion and I savored it up because that's when I think the MCU is at its best. It's no secret in my other reviews I always say that I love it when Marvel goes serious like the CAPTAIN AMERICA films and the first IRON MAN or INFINITY WAR. I'm pleased that WAKANDA FOREVER is within that category. It was also no secret to figure that Shuri was going to take up the mantle and the film handles that gracefully.

Angela Bassett turns in a stellar performance. She gives it her all in this film, holding Wakanda together. Danai Gurira and Lupita Nyong'o also provide sharp roles within the plot and Winston Duke does provide some humor when necessary.

The need to introduce Dominique Thorn's Iron Heart, I felt was an unnecessary one. To me she was the only element in the film that dragged it down a notch. She's caught in the conflict as she's indirectly responsible for the tension between Wakanda and Talokan by creating a machine that can detect vibranium. I felt there could have been a better way to start a conflict between both nations that didn't need to incorporate Riri Willaims in the mix. I think cutting the character could have allowed the film to be paced better so we don't feel the length.

The breakout for me is Tenoch Huerta Mejia as Namor. Namor's film rights (along with Hulk) has been with Universal for a long time and he's finally getting his due. Coogler and his team take liberties on the character as he's not as well known despite being Marvel's first character on page. I welcomed the change and thought it to be creative and clever to incorporate Mayan heritage to his kind. In true with the comics, Namor is perceived as an anti-hero but he has his reasons due to his commitment to his people. Namor's got fun action scenes and as a comics fan it made me so happy to see his wings on his feet. The acknowledgement that he is a mutant is also a cherry on top. He's charming, a bit of an asshole, and just incredibly powerful. If the goal was to also make him different than WB/DC's Aquaman, mission accomplished. Fun fact, Namor was also conceived on page before Aquaman too.

Great score once again from Ludwig Göransson and the film also had some decent VFX shots. Not all were perfect, but they looked more polished than most other MCU projects lately.

Among Phase 4, this and SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME are the clear champions that salvage the somewhat mediocre phase.

Now I personally think the first BLACK PANTHER is a solid entry, BUT I do not think it is one of the best superhero films ever made. HOWEVER its success, phenomenon, and cultural impact cannot be ignored and a great deal of that came from not just Marvel Studios, but from Chadwick Boseman. The film tributes him in a beautiful way as his presence is felt and missed simultaneously. Because of that it almost felt like I was going to a concert, but without the lead singer. That just ties into what I wrote earlier, Coogler had an impossible task due to such unfortunate circumstances, and to still make a good follow-up is a testament to his abilities.

8/10.

Black Adam (2022)

Superhero stuff is great, everything else is lackluster.

[5/10 · 24 October 2022]

I've been on the Rock as Black Adam hype train since his attachment to the project a long time ago.

Dwayne Johnson, does his job well. He carries the film and channels the character within, but the film takes liberties on his iteration as the comics version is all about control and has no problem ruling Kahndaq while here he seems a bit more heroic. It kind of fits Dwayne Johnson more and the characters he typically plays than it serves the character, and I understand that adaptations have to differ at times, but this was a change I had a hard time adjusting with. If I had to theorize, I suspect Johnson absolutely had his fingerprints all over the change given that he is a big megastar.

I thought Intergang was severely wasted and no need for them as they are a mob family in DC lore. Hence the gang, and here they are just an occupying force in Kahndaq that apparently the whole world is okay with.

The JSA are an absolute treat. The MVP for me is Pierce Brosnan as Kent Nelson/Doctor Fate. He was definitely the best actor of the bunch and of course any comic-fan can see from a mile away that Kent Nelson would die as he typically does. My only nitpick is that I wish we could have seen Nabu as a presence and his relationship with him. Aldis Hodge is a good Hawkman and plays it straight very well. Noah Centineo and Quintessa Swindell as Atom Smasher and Cyclone provide decent rookie roles within the team.

Action is a blast. The film delivers on that and it's fun. VFX is good here and there, noticeable in a lot of other scenes. VFX wimpy version of Black Adam looked extremely jarring as they just put his muscular jawline head on a more lean body. In comparison, while not perfect Chris Evans' jawline and face was slimmed to match the skinny body.

The music is very loud and obnoxious. I for some reason found it hard to listen to any dialogue come through cause of it.

What I absolutely loathed was all the human elements to the film. Bodhi Sabongui who plays Amon Tomaz (who will eventually be Black Adam Jr.) is absolutely horrible in the film. His delivery is so flat and his bond with Black Adam is extremely contrived and a waste of screen time that all could have gone to JSA. For example, more with Kent Nelson and Nabu or some backstory to Hawkman's origin, etc. His abilities to evade Intergang henchmen with his skateboard is a leap of logic. Didn't care much for his mother played by Sarah Shahi who will eventually have a bigger role in Black Adam's life. Her brother is played by Mohammed Amer and is just there for annoying comic relief. Humor in general I thought did not work well in the film.

The final villain is a complete waste. To me this easily could have been Black Adam vs the JSA. That's your film, not introducing some macguffin crown that makes you the devil version of Shazam/Black Adam. Sabbac the character and Marwan Kenzari who plays Ishmael Gregor deserved better for a future installment.

Now I can appreciate the commentary how a country like Kahndaq in the middle east is left behind to fend for itself even with all the other superheroes in the world, and what would happen when they get a hero who can match Shazam and Superman. However it's executed in a manner that comes off extremely half-assed and what didn't help was the humans leading that end of the plot.

The return of Henry Cavill's Superman in the post credit scene is phenomenal. As a giant MAN OF STEEL and ZSJL fan it was extremely cool to see him don the Superman suit again and I am hopeful for more. BUT I hope Dwayne Johnson does not forget about Shazam. Black Adam and Superman have fought in the comics and other media and I understand that Dwayne Johnson is a huge fan of Superman and wants to fight him as he unapologetically has stated, but Shazam and Black Adam are the equivalent to Superman/Lex Luthor or Batman/Joker and the lack of Shazam's name is a little upsetting despite the cameo from Djimon Hounsou as the wizard. I hope at some point they all cross paths as it is canon that Superman and Shazam know each other due to the ending in the first Shazam film.

Extending that olive branch, I did enjoy the presence of Viola Davis' Amanda Waller. I can always appreciate connectivity and world building.

Overall, this really isn't exactly good, but it's not exactly great. It's not a dumpster fire film like some other DCEU entries, but for every decent thing about this film, it counters it with something bad and it's very frustrating because all the ingredients were there. I'm sure there will be enough success that will warrant a sequel and more crossovers within the DCEU, but Black Adam needs a better director and better writers that can meet Johnson's demands. While I know his interests and his decisions are his to make as he is a producer and as DCEU fans we should thank him for Henry Cavill's return, but I hope he indeed can service the characters more than he'll service himself.

5/10.

Prey (I) (2022)

A return to form for Predator.

[7/10 · 14 August 2022]

You were probably right in thinking that you didn't need another PREDATOR film. But, give this one a chance.

It's no secret that the PREDATOR films don't rake in a lot of cash in the box office and that the last attempt by Shane Black looked as if the franchise ran its course.

Here comes PREY out of the blue, dropped on Hulu and in many ways is the redemption that PREDATOR needed. Totally understand why it was dropped on Hulu. It made sense as it was likely not going to do so hot financially based on the previous attempts. I do think there could have been a chance of some box office success due to reviews and word of mouth but I also understand why the studio heads didn't want to take that risk.

Now, even though this film does reignite some spark into the franchise, I personally don't think it reinvents anything, but it doesn't need to. It's a simple story that doesn't feel simplistic and it gives you everything you should expect in a PREDATOR film and the cherry on top is the film also does not skip out on some decent character development and it also includes some inventive action beats.

Amber Midthunder holds the film together well with Dakota Beavers who has an excellent supporting role as her brother. The Predator itself is a menacing threat. His presence is felt and he has some great brutal kills throughout.

Now I know there are people who are complaining about a female Comanche lead taking out a Predator, but all I'm going to say is that to everyone who are complaining about that seem to have forgotten about a waitress killing a Terminator, a female warrant officer taking on Xenomorphs, a babysitter fending off a masked stalker or an ordinary woman facing off against men and women in a Ghostface costume.

I'm not a fan of on the nose Hollywood pandering either but film goes back to the originals roots of the main character having to go PRIMAL to fight the Predator with primitive weapons. If we look back more often than not, the Predator wasn't killed by manly muscles or high tech gear but through cunning traps and weapons.

Kudos to Dan Trachtenberg and writer Patrick Aison. Shot on location, so the cinematography is great to look at. I would rank this third behind the Adrian Brody PREDATORS and the original 1987 Schwarzenegger PREDATOR being the best. I did enjoy PREY more than PREDATOR 2 (a film I don't dislike) and it is above and beyond better than Shane Black's THE PREDATOR.

7/10.

Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)

Fun, but felt more like an episode than a film.

[6/10 · 8 July 2022]

I enjoyed the film, but I did tamper my expectations as the trailers to me looked like Taika Waititi was trying to recapture the feel of RAGNAROK, and personally it helped that I did.

Now in my previous reviews of the MCU, I have always stated that I prefer the entries that dial down the humor with a more serious tone, but I can appreciate humor when it's done correctly. For the most part and for my personal taste, this film to no surprise is humor overload like RAGNAROK and GUARDIANS VOL. 2, but there were a couple moments where I did find myself giggling. A lot of it came from Thor's space goats who screech in misery.

I still can't believe that the MCU somehow landed Christian Bale in the role of Gorr the God Butcher. Bale to me made the film. He has motivation to his actions and has a very creepy/unsettling presence used to great effect by his makeup and physical appearance. Liberties have been taken for the big screen and the character obviously doesn't look comic-accurate but it works for the film. The Necrosword is also not accurate to its source material so any fans of symbiotes or expect symbiotes, prepared to be let down. Instead he controls the shadows and can summons shadow monsters. Bale's Gorr is up there with the better villains of the MCU, my only wish is that I wanted to see more of him wrecking shop and actually killing Gods. It's only spoken and seen through distress signal footage that he's been killing Gods. With that being said he still held his own when he fought against Thor, Mighty Thor and Valkyrie . He absolutely gave them a run for their money.

Chris Hemsworth still giving it his all in his performance as Thor. I did appreciate the more romantic side of him as the film explores themes of love and loss. That love and loss connects well with Natalie Portman's Jane who becomes Mighty Thor and with Bale's Gorr. Both Gorr and Jane wield weapons that make them strong, but killing them at the same time. Jane is battling cancer much like the comics and Portman looks more comfortable in this film than she ever did in the pervious THOR films.

Waititi provides a lot of quirks as Korg, albeit a but too much. Tessa Thompson is sidelined a tad for the movie, but she does get to be involved in a couple of fight scenes. Jaimie Alexander returns as Sif, but to my disappointment it's super brief. Perhaps more will come of her down the line. Russell Crowe's Zeus shows up in one scene and it seemed like he is enjoying chewing up the scenery, but to my annoyance a little too much humor involved with that character and the scene involving him.

In comparison, RAGNAROK (a film I did enjoy) on paper deals with heavy and dark elements, but all that felt lost within all the jokes and humor. LOVE & THUNDER has no shortage of humor, but I found that this time around Waititi allowed some of the heavier themes to marinate a little longer which I appreciated, such as anything involving Gorr's loss/anger with the Gods and Jane's cancer subplot.

In closing, Waititi no question directed the two best THOR films out of the four. Fight scenes were cool to look at, but there were definitely some shots of not so polished VFX work. Hard to say which I like more as I feel RAGNAROK felt like a complete film and grand, but LOVE & THUNDER I feel handled the heavier themes better and had a better villain in Bale's Gorr. Regardless it was a good time in the theater. I do also wish we got to see a longer version with more of Bale's Gorr and more of Portman. Maybe even more of the Guardians as they only appeared in the beginning. I read that Waititi had like a 3-4 hour cut and cut A LOT of the film out, scenes which included Peter Dinklage's Eitri, Jeff Goldblum's Grandmaster and even Lena Heady in an undisclosed role. Shame.

6/10.

Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)

Rami Malek carries the film.

[7/10 · 3 July 2022]

The centerpiece of this film is Freddie Mercury and Rami Malek transforms in the role entirely. If anything, his performance is the reason to see the film. Malek always had a memorable presence in media prior to this role and MR. ROBOT. I remembered him in the HBO series THE PACIFIC and the NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM films. There was always something about his acting chops and his physical appearance that made him extremely memorable.

The problem with biopics is that there is so many things to cover and so many things within a person's life that will or will not be taken to account in either tv or film. Sometimes you take liberties in historical accuracy for the sake of a dramatic impact and this film has no shortage of that, but it still works. For some Queen fans its might turn you off, but I personally felt that it worked overall, and a lot of that again is attributed to Malek's performance as he totally humanizes an icon.

Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy and Joseph Mazzello are excellent in their roles as Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon. Mazzello in particular is my favorite of the bunch, mainly because he nailed the British accent. I believe there's a story that Steven Spielberg didn't even recognize him when he saw the film (Mazzello was Tim Murphy in JURASSIC PARK). Lucy Boynton has a nice meaty role as Mary Austin, Freddie's only heterosexual love and she sort of anchors him throughout. Allen Leech portrays Paul Prenter, Freddie's lover and he is the "villain" of the film and does a good job being one.

Some of my favorite moments involve the band being a band making music, especially the "Another One Bites The Dust" and "We Will Rock You" montage. Bryan Singer does get credit for director but was fired with only two weeks left of filming. Dexter Fletcher came on to finish up with pieces, but the film never felt like a choppy two vision film.

I think it's a fair assessment to say that most people will find this film conventional and somewhat formulaic. That's the tricky thing about biopics, sometimes you have to just take it for what it is. Some would have liked a deeper dive of the nitty gritty of Freddie's personal life or the rest of his bandmates, or some would wanted more behind the scenes look on how they made their music, or maybe some would have preferred a more vanilla approach, celebrating his life.

I feel the film had a balance of all, but in doing so it felt slightly glossed over in some areas. But that's not to say that it isn't entertaining. Yes there are some eye-rolling moments, and I personally didn't think it deserved a "Best Picture" nomination of that year, but it makes up for it with good performances and decent story beats. Again the movie was going to be on the hinge of Rami's performance as Freddie and he is the driving force of the film.

7/10.

Jurassic World Dominion (2022)

All this movie has going for are the legacy characters.

[5/10 · 12 June 2022]

JURASSIC WORLD: DOMINION had one job. Show off how living with dinosaurs would effect the lives of the people. It was promised by the trailers/marketing and the ending of FALLEN KINGDOM. It hardly touches on that.

It's about locusts...LOCUSTS...I just scratched my head not once, not twice, but like three or four times. It's mind boggling to me that anyone involved in the film would think that would be the best focal plot point as opposed to dinosaurs out and about. I'm looking at Colin Trevorrow, Emily Carmichael and Derek Connelly who were directly involved with story and script.

Plot involving Pratt and Howard's characters involve the cloned granddaughter from the previous film being kidnapped by Biosyn who is owned and operated by Lewis Dodgson. Dodgson some how failed upwards as a John Hammond 2.0 and comes off as a paper-thin character/villain. Pratt and Howard are really just pawns to be moved throughout the story really. They've never been compelling characters in all honesty so there's nothing new there. Also the JURASSIC WORLD's mascot raptor Blue has hardly anything to do here. She has a baby raptor that gets kidnapped along with the cloned granddaughter and nothing comes of it.

In conjunction with what Pratt and Howard are going through, the original trio Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum have meaty roles, but their part in the story involves the unnecessary locusts. It's only till the end both sides meet up and find their way out of Biosyn HQ. Biosyn was only there to once again put the dinosaurs in a controlled environment.

I'm been very vocal on how I'm not a fan of the JURASSIC WORLD films, and the only reason why I had any interest in seeing this film was simply because Grant, Sattler and Malcolm returned on the promise that they would have roles more significant than a cameo. At the very least the movie delivers on that. The legacy characters are treated with respect and have something to do as opposed to just being in the film for the sake of being in the film. The unfortunate part is again, they mingled with locusts more than they mingled with dinosaurs.

DeWanda Wise as smuggler pilot Kayla Watts I found to be kinda cool. She had more charisma and personality than Pratt or Howard had in all three films combined.

It's baffling to me how FALLEN KINGDOM destroyed the island, and how Universal and the filmmakers were too afraid to show us actual coexistence with dinosaurs in real life situations. Just unacceptable.

All this film has going for is that the legacy characters are handled properly despite a terrible plot thread, and aside from that, some good dinosaur scenes, that's really all there is to it. Six JURASSIC films in and only one good one. Even if this is billed as the "culmination" of the films, pretty sure they'll make more if it prints money at the box office. Either way for me at least, the franchise has ran its course.

5/10.

Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (2022–2023)

A reason to subscribe to HBO Max is this show.

[9/10 · 26 May 2022]

As a diehard basketball/NBA fan it was a given for me to check out this show. I had my excitements, but I was worried about it being a little too campy or irritating.

I initially didn't think breaking the forth wall would work, but to my surprise it did. The comedy bits are actually well developed and the dialog is quite sharp. When things get serious, the show knows when to balance out everything by changing its tone, but never quite losing its flare.

John C. Reilly is perfectly cast as Dr. Jerry Buss and oozes charm. Newcomers Solomon Hughes and Quincy Isaiah share the spotlight with Reilly as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Ervin "Magic" Johnson. The casting of these two are so spot on. Even if the show dramatizes their personalities they look and feel the part of Magic and Kareem. Quincy Isaiah also has that infectious smile like the real Magic Johnson has and it's almost like Magic is playing himself in the show. These performances aren't cookie-cutter caricatures, they all have doubts, motives, demons and insecurities. The show is not afraid to get into the nitty gritty.

Jason Clarke is hilarious as the great Jerry West. His tantrums and anger outbursts are quite a treat to watch, but the show does a good job showcasing why he's so bitter. I can obviously see why this would offend the real life Jerry West, but judging the show itself that takes A LOT of creative liberties it's well done. Adrian Brody and Jason Segel are excellent as Pat Riley and Paul Westhead. They even have a great subplot that's relevant to the story in regards to coaching with Tracy Letts as Jack McKinney, the coach who originally birthed the Showtime offense. Tamera Tomakili portrays Earletha "Cookie" Kelly, Magic's future wife and her character grounds Magic allows us the audience to see who Magic really is despite the all the smiles.

All around solid casting. Norm Nixon's son DeVaughn Nixon has some good moments playing his father, Delante Desouza actually acts and looks like Michael Cooper, Hadley Robinson bounces off John C. Reilly very well as a young Jeanie Buss, Rob Morgan is great as Ervin's father, Wood Harris has a meaty role as Spencer Haywood, the amazing Sally Field is also in this, the list goes on and on.

My one huge criticism is that while all the drama and the formation of the Showtime Lakers is very compelling, I just wish the show showcased more basketball scenes. Episode 7 and 10 are a highlight as it showcases the most basketball stuff. Episode 7 in particular is great as the Lakers square off against their nemesis the Boston Celtics and Sean Patrick Small steals the episode as the great Larry Bird.

I very much liked the filtered gimmick of making the show look and feel like it's from the 80's. I do however think the cinematography can be shaky at times with weird angles.

Bottom line, the show is like a delicious meal. It's great because you don't necessarily need to be a sports fan to enjoy the show, but if you are one, and especially if you're a Laker fan, then it just makes it even better and heightens your experience. Again the shows creatives Adam McKay, Max Borenstein and Jim Hecht take a lot of liberties on the book written by Jeff Pearlman. The real life Magic, Kareem and Jerry West have voiced their displeasure about this show and it's understandable. However, if you can understand that this is an exaggerated piece of entertainment that's based on true events then it's a fun ride through and through. I'm very much looking forward to season two.

I know there are other reasons to subscribe to HBO Max, but if you were bored of it or looking to cancel, I can tell you from my opinion, WINNING TIME is worth the subscription that isn't GAME OF THRONES, EUPHORIA, BARRY, etc.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

Cameo galore(kinda), but enough to be a solid follow-up.

[7/10 · 6 May 2022]

I liked the first DOCTOR STRANGE film. It did suffer a little from first movie/origin film syndrome, but overall I thought it was a solid entry and prior to INFINITY WAR, the film had the best use of an infinity stone at that time with the time stone.

So going into this film, it was definitely in my most anticipated list when Marvel Studios revealed their Phase 4 line-up. I was initially disappointed when Scott Derrickson left the project as I was really excited to hear that this would be the MCU's "horror" film. Obviously I knew it wasn't going to be full on horror, but still I was sadden to see he left, but when Sam Raimi took over, my worries left as Raimi is famous for his horror roots. I imagined we would get scenes like Doc Ock's arms terrorizing the surgeons in SPIDER-MAN 2 or some menacing performances akin to Dafoe's Goblin in the first SPIDER-MAN so I was pretty jazzed.

After seeing it I can say that the film definitely tries to push the PG-13 boundaries with the scares and the blood. A lot of body horror and some mildly creepy imagery. I did appreciate all of this. Even though I wasn't scared or frightened I liked Raimi's visual flare with his camera angles and his trademark usage of horror elements.

I cannot review this film without talking about those cameos. It is quite the treat to see the Illuminati in the form of Patrick Stewart returning as Charles Xavier, Hayley Atwell as Captain Carter, Anson Mount as Black Bolt, Lashana Lynch as that universe's Captain Marvel, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Mordo, and John Krasinski as Mister Fantastic of the Fantastic 4. On a side note, being that I'm also a huge F4 fan I literally got off my seat and cheered. I think the chances of landing Emily Blunt as Sue Storm has increased. They all get their comeuppance through Wanda and the violent deaths are quite bloody for PG-13 and I loved it. I will probably sound like a broken record as I mention this in all of my MCU related reviews, but I love it when things get serious and there is some PG-13 compromise with violence and tone. I think that helps older fans like myself also stay invested for the long run. I think as fans we also know even in their demise, this isn't the last time we'll see them. We also get a nice Charlize Theron as Clea surprise in the mid-credits.

Speaking of Wanda, Elizabeth Olsen absolutely kills it. She does come off as intimidating and crazy. All for the purpose of her boys Billy and Tommy, who are once again portrayed by Julian Hilliard and Jett Klyne from WANDAVISION. I did however feel it was a missed opportunity to not include some variant of Vision.

Elizabeth's performance holds her own against Benedict Cumberbatch. Cumberbatch's Strange this time around is a bit more endearing. Lessons learned from his first film are still kept in tact and I liked how he was fleshed out. I very much appreciated the film explored what effect the events Strange has gone through in his previous MCU appearances would have on him. In doing so his relationship with Christine Palmer is further explored too. Rachel McAdams has so much more to do in this film and she even has a meaty role as her multiverse counterpart helping Strange along the way.

Xochitl Gomez's America Chavez to my surprise was also very well depicted. I haven't particularly read any of her stories in truth, so I think having that clean slate helped me go on with her journey of the story. Benedict Wong is also solid and is also in the film a lot more than I expected. A great juggling act of characters in the film by writer Michael Waldron and Sam Raimi.

Humor in this film worked very well, and there wasn't too much of it which again I appreciated very much so. VFX is also good.

Couple criticisms is when Strange faces off against Evil Strange they have this weird musical note duel. It did take me off the film a tad. Dialog was a bit inconsistent and very exposition heavy. Does a lot explaining than it does showing.

In closing, I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. It's got some flaws that prevent it from being top tier MCU. Lots of comic logic that goes over your head, at this point with the universe ever expanding it just gets harder to explain who's here and who's where and why aren't other Avengers involved in a huge threat like this, etc., but I would probably put it a hair above the first film and in the higher middle tier of the MCU. I know especially if you're a fanboy/girl that if you dabbled into some rumor/speculation prior to the release that you might be disappointed as it was said this film was going to have way more crazier cameos than what we got. But I would implore you all that those were just rumors and if you sit back and just take it for what it is then it's a lot of fun. I do think though we might get even more crazier cameos down the line. Perhaps Marvel didn't want to overreach and just dialed it back.

7/10.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022)

More of the same, but an acceptable sequel.

[6/10 · 16 April 2022]

To reiterate, I thought the first SONIC film looked like a waste of my time. I only went to go see it because my girlfriend is a huge fan of the games and cartoons. I walked out of the first film surprised as I was entertained and thinking finally there is a decent video game adapted film...which is not a tall order. So I went in with mild expectations for SONIC 2.

The most positive thing I can say about the film is that Jim Carrey again is at his over the top best and carries the movie on his shoulders. If this indeed is his last movie as he recently stated that he's retiring, then all I can really say is "thank you." He went out with his vintage self.

But aside from that, this film embraces the SONIC lore wholeheartedly. I felt some of the exposition on some parts of the lore to be glossed over, particularly Tails. In contrast Knuckles had a motivation and a reason to be present. Regardless, all the video game nods and the inclusion of Tails and Knuckles is a treat. Seeing their powers in display during the final act of the film definitely pleased my audience, and they weren't just children.

Idris Elba is great in the role of Knuckles. He's a no nonsense warrior, fish out of water, and takes everything literally character. Much like Drax in GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY and it works very well in the film. For Tails, I did feel he was just there for the sake of being in the film, but I really really appreciated they got an actual voice actor Colleen O'Shaughnessey for the role, who just happened to voice the character for some time. Ben Schwartz this time provides a tad bit more depth as Sonic is going through a maturing phase.

For every two steps this sequel takes, it takes a step back with the humans. There is a rom/com segment in Hawaii that feels extremely out of place. With the introduction of Knuckles and Tails, they both along with Sonic would overshadow James Marsden and Tika Sumpter this time around. It's very clear they were on vacation for a wedding in Hawaii to keep them in the backseat for the majority of the film. The film does try to mingle in the human characters, but this time it isn't as seamless as it was in the first film.

The only concern I have for the franchise is how to juggle out Sonic and his crew, the villains and the humans. It will be a tough balancing act because the lore and world is expanding ever so quickly, especially with that mid-credit scene that fans are so jazzed about, so hopefully they will get it together.

6/10.

The Batman (2022)

The best detective Batman.

[8/10 · 5 March 2022]

Batman has gone through a lot of big screen iterations throughout the years and I'm pleased to report that this interpretation is solid. This is a comic-book movie that doesn't really feel like a comic-book film, which I can see it turning some fans off. I would compare the feeling of the film to 2019's JOKER.

It is long, and I certainly felt the length. 15-20 minutes easily could have been cut. There were moments where I thought the film would end but didn't and despite its long runtime I was never bored. Hard to say which parts I would have cut out, because things did move organically, but I did feel some of the Catwoman subplot involving Carmine Falcone played by John Turturro kinda stretched out the film a bit longer than it should have. While totally accurate to the source material and develops Catwoman, I felt that was the only part of the film that I felt the film mildly dragged.

Robert Pattinson's portrayal of Bruce Wayne comes off with a lot of angst, but in a good way. This is a Batman in his second year and he's socially awkward. He's more comfortable operating in the shadows/night wearing the cape and the cowl over just being Bruce Wayne. I think he will eventually grow into the Bruce Wayne we're familiar who is in the spotlight and comes off as a playboy as the films progress.

Without spoilers I did feel a reveal about Bruce's family, specifically regarding his mother kinda fell a little flat. Given that the Waynes are a public figure I felt the information given about his mom should have been information that would not be hidden if you get what I mean. It was the only part of the film I questioned.

By far this is the best detective Batman film. Up until now, Nolan and Bale showcased the detective side of Batman more than previous incarnations in their trilogy, but director Matt Reeves dials up the detective/noir element by a 100. Jim Gordon played by the amazing Jeffery Wright is the MVP. His working relationship with Batman are the best parts of the film as they solve the riddles and murders together.

Paul Dano's Riddler is effective and creepy. Very Zodiac killer inspired, lots of disturbing imagery. His motive is quite effective and he is true to his convictions. Zoe Kravitz isn't too shabby as Catwoman and Colin Farrel is totally unrecognizable as the Penguin. Andy Serkis' Alfred is also a highlight. Alfred and Bruce's dynamic is a bit different as it's kinda hostile, but it's clear Bruce knows Alfred is the only connection to humanity he has. We saw hints of that in Snyder's BVS, but I think their hostile yet kinda tender relationship is a bit more fleshed out here.

Aside from the Batmobile chase scene, the action scenes aren't mind blowing, but they have this visceral gritty feel. You can feel the hits Batman takes as he's fighting thugs so he's not as impervious which only reinforces him still being a "rookie."

As a comic-book fan I loved that Reeves clearly took some inspiration of THE LONG HALLOWEEN and DARK VICTORY. A splash of YEAR ONE and NO MAN'S LAND as well. I want to also add that this Gotham felt like an actual character, a real crappy place to live in.

Overall, I went in with A LOT of bias because what I truly desired was the solo Ben Affleck Batman film that I desperately wanted. Reeves and Pattinson won me over. I would like to also add that Pattinson's Batman voice is far better than Bale. The tone of the film won me over, I would argue this is a bit darker than what Nolan did. Pattinson doesn't take the top spot as the best Batman, that still belongs to Affleck for me, but he absolutely delivers.

8.5/10.

Scream (I) (2022)

We all scream for 5CREAM.

[8/10 · 14 January 2022]

I get now why the film is called SCREAM as opposed to SCREAM 5 or 5CREAM. Something about this one felt a little more closer to the 1996 original. Maybe that's because it plays like a "greatest hits" kind of film. Yes, new victims and new suspects, and I can tell you right off the bat, this one compared to SCREAM 4 does a better job showcasing the new cast, and mixing them with the old (trio Sidney, Gale, & Dewey).

Ghostface murders are visceral. It's not just the killings, but it's also his playful banter and trash talking. Textbook in any SCREAM film and director Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett do a good job showcasing all this. Roger L. Jackson once again spot on with his voice.

The killer reveal is good. Their motives to revive the aging STAB franchise with a new killing spree to act as "source material" while defending fans of the franchise from the "toxic fandom" label they feel they have unjustly received was quite an interesting one, and one that I absolutely didn't expect. I don't know if it'll run home with a lot of viewers, but any cinephile will totally get it, because with any fandom, we are a passionate bunch who at times can resort to rude behavior, hating on other fans, actors, directors and media creators. STAR WARS, MARVEL, DC, LOTR, STAR TREK, etc. All have had their fair of good and bad fandom. On a side note I did enjoy the not so subtle, but subtle jab at STAR WARS.

Piggybacking off that, the meta humor and self awareness is also textbook SCREAM, and it is still used to good effect, but there were a couple of moments that were a bit on the nose. Regardless, if you're a fan it's like eating candy.

I'll be the first to admit I wasn't so sure about using Melissa Barrera as the main focal point. But, and I cannot not talk about this without spoilers, but her character Sam is kinda used like Dexter Morgan from DEXTER in certain parts of the film and what I did not expect was for her to be the daughter of Billy Loomis who makes his return! I knew of the rumors, but I really didn't think that it was true at the time and to see Skeet Ulrich reprise his role in this fashion I thought was a stroke of genius. Kudos to the directors and writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick. At least for me this aspect of the character worked and hooked me into her story. Her sister Tara played by Jenna Ortega is set up to be the opening kill, but in new twist, the first opening kill survivor in the franchise which was a nice touch.

Some of the other characters like the twins Chad and Mindy Meeks-Martin were fun to watch. They also get kudos for being the nephew and niece of Jamie Kennedy's Randy Meeks. Jack Quaid I thought also had some nice moments of sharp delivery and some wit while never overdoing it. I liked Dylan Minnette's Wes (obvious tribute to Wes Craven) and that Marley Shelton's Hicks returns as well, keeping in cannon of what happened in previous films.

Sidney Prescott's absence is felt, but when she returns the film dials up to eleven. Neve Campbell never fails and she is the ultimate final girl done right along side some other great female heroines like Laurie Strode, Ellen Ripley, Sarah Conner and so on. Courteney Cox much like Neve Campbell can play this role in her sleep and hasn't lost a step since 2011. David Arquette I think is the MVP of the trinity. He gave it his all in this one and after five movies of this trio cheating death it was time that one of them went, and while it was sad to see Dewey die, he goes out with a bang and it is treated with respect. Yes the OG cast isn't used as much as the previous films, but they still managed to steal scenes. My only regret is that all three didn't share screen time together, but it made sense that Sidney would only show up because of Dewey's death.

As a fan of this franchise I'm very pleased. I really hated how it was relegated to a crappy MTV show back in 2015 and I'm happy that this film served the fans and managed to balance it out for the new. We had GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE and SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME that were love letters to fans of both respective franchises and I'm grateful that SCREAM has one too. Should this be successful I am totally open to more, especially with the way how they set up Melissa Barrera's Sam.

8/10.