Shazam! review

So recently I saw the latest film in the DC film universe. There was a lot riding on this film due to its previous film Aquaman being a box office success and this film hoping to continue that streak. So has this film managed to be as successful as DC biggest grossing film? Well as of writing this it has not finished its opening weekend so I don't know how much it made or making so far, however, the film might be one of the best films DC have ever produced.

The film's plot goes as follows, a street kid who goes by the name of Billy Batson (Asher Angel) is on a search to find his mother. He gets taken into a group home by his foster parents (Cooper Andrews and Marta Milans). One of the kids in the group home Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer) grows a liking to Billy. Once Billy helps Freddy out from bullies at school he suddenly is transported to a cave where he meets a wizard known as Shazam (Djimon Hounsou), he then receives the power of Shazam and transforms into a superhero (Zachary Levi). He then goes to Freddy who is a superhero nerd to help him become a superhero and together they help to stop crime in Philadelphia and stop Dr Sivanna (Mark Strong) from destroying Philadelphia with the Seven Deadly Sins.

The film has many familiar faces in the film such as Zachary Levi (Shazam) and Mark Strong (Dr Sivanna). There are also new faces like Asher Angel (Billy Batson), Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer), Grace Fulton (Mary Bromfield), Faithe Herman (Darla Dudley), Ian Chen (Eugene Choi) and Joven Armand (Pedro Pena). And a DC regular John Glover who plays Dr Sivanna's father.

The film's director is David F. Sandburg who has only directed horrors such as Annabelle Creation (2017) and Lights Out (2016). So he has not had any experience with these type of movies before. But for his first and hopefully not his last entry into Superhero blockbuster was a good one as he understood the character of Shazam and managed to view a different side to the DCEU that hasn't really been seen apart from the TV shows.

There a lot of good things that happen in this movie such as Zachary Levi's performance as Shazam as you can tell that he enjoys playing him and does a good performance of being a kid in an adults body. The acting was good all round with no character seeming boring or uninteresting to see on screen. There are a lot of ties to the overall DCEU from batarangs to a bullet shot at Superman which make all the films easter eggs enjoyable to spot.

However, as much as the movie does do a lot of things right, it has got some faults to it. The main villain Dr Sivanna is more a less a generic villain as he does not have much screen time in the film and is only there because they decided to give Shazam's arch-nemesis Black Adam his own solo movie which has no confirmation since that announcement. However, he does have a lot of good motivations which make Dr Sivanna not entirely forgettable. Also, some of the scenes are dragged out a bit to fill in the movie's runtime.

Overall, I would give Shazam! an 8/10- For being a fun and enjoyable film and a good addition to the overall DCEU.

Captain Marvel review

So here's the second review of the day, this hopefully won't be a regular thing but it will hopefully make up some space having a month gap and not having the chance of reviewing movies that I have recently seen. So for my second review, I will be reviewing the latest instalment in the MCU, Captain Marvel.

Now Marvel is in an interesting position with the all four (five if you want to count the Defenders) of the Netflix shows being cancelled with the last show Jessica Jones season 3 coming this June and three highly anticipated movies coming out this year and the possibility of a rebooted X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises joining the roster after the original MCU line up leaves after Endgame. But nevertheless, the future of the MCU seems to be in a bright spot. So today I will be looking at the latest instalment and answering what impact it will have on the MCU's future.

Captain Marvel is set in the late '90s deeming it a prequel to Iron Man and the rest of the MCU films that comes after in that timeframe. It centres on Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) who lands on earth after being captured by the Skrulls an army of shapeshifters, she meets Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and forms an alliance in a mission to stop the Skrulls. However, during this journey, she discovers she had a life on earth and everything is not what it seems.

The film like all Marvel films has a few big names including returning characters. Brie Larson plays Captain Marvel/ Carol Danvers who has been deemed the most powerful superhero in the MCU to this date according to Marvel President Kevin Feige. Samuel L. Jackson and Clark Gregg return as Nick Fury and Agent Phil Coulson in their younger days. Lee Pace returns as Ronan the Accuser who many fans will remember from the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie and Djimon Hounsou as Korath reprising his role from GotG as well. Ben Mendelsohn plays Talos the general of the Skrull army, Jude Law plays Yon-Rogg, Captain Marvel's teacher back on the Kree homeworld, Lashana Lynch plays Marie Rambeau Carols friend from her days as a pilot and Anette Benning as the Supreme Intelligence.

The film is very entertaining with impressive action and special effect. The high point for the CGI was for Fury and Coulson as the actors are both older than they were in the 90's so they had to use CGI to make them younger. Although it's not the first time Marvel has done this to there actors, it was probably an example of how to do it right as it looked like they were that age and you couldn't tell that the face was digitally advanced to make them younger.

The lead actress Brie Larson has had some heat with some fans calling her out over hating white men, so the fans are hoping to sabotage the movie so it's deemed a flop. But however, this has not worked as the film has scored over $400 million worldwide in its opening weekend and will most likely continue to grow in its theatrical run. The reason I have said this is because they complained she was trying to ruin the movie with her bland expression seen in the trailers. However, in the movie, she does not always like this and has her quirky moments and does quite a good performance in the role

However, saying all of this there are some faults in this movie. One of the faults is that the first few minutes of the opening feels very rushed and some of the shoots felt very messy like they wanted to get the opening done quickly. Some story elements in the film which answer some of the questions in the overall MCU feel a bit underwhelming such as how Fury lost his eye, although that could feel like its a bit of a nitpick.

Overall, Captain Marvel is a good start to what is leading up to be the next stage in the MCU's future. With a lot of easter eggs to keep fans happy and to answer some of the questions that weren't really explained in other MCU films.

I would give Captain Marvel an 7/10- For an entertaining action film that will hopefully pave the way for the MCU's future after Endgame.

Fighting with My Family review

It's been a while since my last review so I decided that I will try to do two reviews in one day, hopefully, this should get me back in the habit of doing reviews again instead of waiting a few months to do the next one. Today I will be reviewing a film I saw recently called 'Fighting with My Family' written and directed by comedian Stephen Merchant.

The film is a true story about a family who perform at wrestling events in Norwich. An offer for the family's children to go to the WWE tryouts where only the daughter known as Paige gets through to have a shot at the title. She then goes to Florida to train with other hopefuls aiming for the same goal, After overcoming some family struggles and struggles with the other hopefuls she gets a shot at the Diva title and wins.

The film has a memorable cast to is such as Nick Frost who plays the father Ricky and Game of Thrones Lena Headey who plays the mother Julia. The children are just as memorable with Jack Lowden as the brother Zak who teaches a wrestling class with a blind kid as one of the students also Florence Pugh who plays Saraya whos wrestling name is Paige who becomes the youngest ever champion of the Diva title at the age of 21. It also has Vince Vaughn who plays Hutch the coach for the WWE hopefuls and the Rock who plays guess who, the Rock.

The film was written and directed by comedian Stephen Merchant who got the idea of writing the film from a documentary he watched about the real family. This is Stephen Merchants first feature film that he has directed, as he as produced, written and directed episodes of the BBC sitcom The Office which he also starred in. Merchant is not a wrestling fan but when watching the film that fact does not matter as he shoots the fight choreography very well and it feels like your watching it live.

The film technically mainly has close ups and mid shots but it also has high crane shots for some of the wrestling scenes which makes it feel that you are watching it from a TV screen. The fight choreography is fast-paced and entertaining like what you would expect from a real wrestling match. There are some good character moments between Paige and Zak.  Zak's story is emotional as he feels rejected as he never got through in the tryouts and tries his best to get back in but is constantly let down which makes everyone around him miserable as he never got to pursue his dream of being in WWE.

Overall, fighting with my family is an emotional and enjoyable film which tells the story of a family that wrestles who has a daughter that becomes a heavyweight champion.

I would give Fighting with My Family an 8/10- Heartbreaking story and emotional character moments with a few comedic moments along the way.

Creed Review

I am a big fan of the Rocky movie series. I have enjoyed watching the evolving story of Rocky Balboa from starting out as a small-time boxer to a well-respected champion in the boxing community, through to retirement reminiscing about past glories to the customers and friends in the restaurant he owns. The series itself has been ongoing for over 40 years and still manages to feel new, fresh and exciting with every instalment released.

Today I will be reviewing the 2015 reboot/ continuation of the franchise Creed directed by Ryan Coogler. The film centres around Adonis the illegitimate son of boxer Apollo Creed played by Michael B. Jordan, who is adopted by Apollo’s widow Mary Ann played by Phylicia Rashad. One day Adonis tells Mary Ann that he wants to become a boxer like his father, but Mary would not support him fearing that what happened to her husband would happen again. He moves away to follow his ambition, eventually persuading Rocky to train him. Adonis then wins his first fight and signs up for his second fight with the champion Ricky Conlan played by Tony Bellew. After months of training Adonis is ready to fight against Conlan.

The film's director is Ryan Coogler, before this movie Coogler was not a very well-known director, he had only done one feature-length film and a few shorts. So, stepping into a huge franchise such as Rocky is a pretty big step. Regardless, Coogler took to the challenge and came up with a film that not only drove the series into a new direction but took time to pay homage to the films that came before.

The films cast was important with old faces such as Sylvester Stallone reprising the role as Rocky Balboa and Mary Ann Creed played by Phylicia Rashad along with new arrivals   Adonis Creed played by Michael B. Jordan and his girlfriend Bianca played by Tessa Thompson. These two characters were good additions to this ongoing franchise as they reflect Rocky and his future wife Adrian from the first movie as Adonis’s and Bianca’s relationship is similar to Rocky and Adrian’s they both feel like outsiders who get to know each other as the story progresses.

Technically the film mainly has mid-shots and close-ups in its camerawork with occasional shaky cams and a continuous mid- shot near the start of the third act, the boxing match in the ring is mainly mid-close-ups of the character making you feel part of the action as you see every punch close up. The film's lighting is low key giving it a more grounded and realistic tone.

The film's soundtrack was composed by Ludwig Göransson, who would later compose the score for Black Panther which was also directed by Ryan Coogler. The soundtrack celebrates the old and the new with new tracks and themes for the new characters, with renditions of tracks from the original Rocky soundtrack composed by Bill Conti.

Overall, Creed is a good addition to this long and ongoing franchise which has no sign of stopping. The film is well written with new additions that will hopefully be remembered for years to come just like the original characters are today.

I would give Creed an 8/10- A good continuation of the franchise which will lead the series into a new direction for years to come.

The sequel Creed II is currently playing in cinemas, I have not seen it yet but look out for my review when I do see the film.

Aquaman Review

Happy New Year everyone. It hasn't been too long since my last review (which is quite a surprise) so to start the year off I am going to review a film that everyone thought would be terrible but turned out to be a fairly decent and enjoyable action movie. If you couldn't tell by the title its Aquaman DC's latest film in there universe, after Justice League flopped at the box office, the future of the DCEU was very uncertain with movies being added and actors quitting due to other contracts it all looked like a mess and then this movie came along and surprised a lot of people.

The film's plot is set after Justice League as Arthur Curry is told to stop his brother from conducting a war on the surface by obtaining a trident held by the first king of Atlantis in order to become the one true king of Atlantis and stop his brother from making war with the surface. The film also has a strong cast to it with reprising roles from Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry/ Aquaman and Amber Heard as Mera. There also many new arrivals such as King Orm/ Ocean Master played by Patrick Wilson, Vulko played by Willem Dafoe, Tom Curry played by Temuera Morrison, Dolph Lundgren as King Nereus, Black Manta played by Yahya Abdul- Mateen II and Queen Atlanna played by Nicole Kidman.

The film's director is James Wan who is famous for directing horror franchises like Saw and The Conjuring universe and also famous for directing some of the Fast and Furious instalments. So he has experience in both the action and horror genres which shows in the film as there are well-shot fight scenes and a very tense scene towards the third act of the movie.

The things I liked about the movie were Patrick Wilson's performance as Ocean Master as he plays a good villain and we understand his motivation for the war against the surface, The fight scenes were well shot as like the Marvel Netflix show Daredevil it has it in one continuous shot and as a result its the best fight scenes that I've ever seen in a superhero movie. Also the soundtrack by Rupert Gregson- Williams is amazing as you get to feel the mystery and beauty of the world that Aquaman lives in.

However, the problem I found with the movie was that some scenes felt a little rushed such as one scene in the first act where there is a giant wave coming towards Aquaman and his dad and after that, he decides to join Mera and Vulko to stop Orm from making war. The reason I say this is rushed is that it comes out of nowhere and just happens however the scene does not change the plot of the movie that much.

Overall, Aquaman is a decent and enjoyable movie to watch with great performances, amazing soundtrack, impressive CGI for a DC movie and outstanding fight scenes. This definitely makes me want to watch more of this character and am interested to see what the future of the DCEU or Worlds of DC or whatever its called is going to look like with films such as Shazam in April which might be Henry Cavill's last film as Superman although don't take my word on that, and Joaquin Phoenix's Joker Movie directed by Todd Philips in October and of course Wonder Woman 1984 next year and possibly the Flashpoint movie the year after that (I know it might actually happen). 

I would give Aquaman an 8/10- well-shot action scenes, great performances, however, some scenes felt a little weird. Also, Black Manta was kinda there he didn't really do much apart from setting up a sequel.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider- Verse Review

Just yesterday I saw Sony animation's latest flick Into the Spider-Verse. I was interested in the film since its first teaser this time last year and it kept looking more and more interesting as the months drew nearer to its release. 2018 seems to be the year for Spider-Man as he was in Infinity War, had the fastest selling PS4 game and also two spinoff films. So as you can tell this film had a lot to contend with, but it not only delivered it may have succeeded in being the best Spider-Man related film of the year.

The film focuses on a kid named Miles Morales who gets bitten by a radioactive spider in the subway. He coincidently stumbles onto  Spider-Man as he tries to stop the Kingpin from setting off a machine that is a portal to parallel universes. There is a big explosion and Spider-Man is then killed by the KingPin. Miles sees another Spider-Man and he explains he is from another universe, they team up to try and stop Kingpin but are outnumbered so try and find other Spider people and once they unite they can stop Kingpin and find a way to put the Spider people back to there respective universes.

The film also a strong cast both main and supporting. It features Shameik Moore as Miles Morales, Jake Johnson as Peter B. Parker/ Spiderman, Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen Stacey/ Spider Gwen, John Mulaney as Spider-Ham, Kimiko Glenn as Peni Parker and Nicholas Cage as Spider-Man Noir. It also has Lily Tomlin as Aunt May, Zoe Kravitz as Mary Jane, Brian Tee Henry as Jefferson Davis, Mashershala Ali as Aaron Davis/ The Prowler, Chris Pine as Peter Parker/ Spider-Man and Liev Schreiber as Kingpin.

As well as the cast the movie's animation is some of the most creative animations I think I've seen in any Hollywood animated feature film as it blends the comic style, cartoon style and anime style all in one to make some unique looking scenes. The film is also written as it has many elements from the comic books but it is understandable for people who have never read a comic book. An example of this the origins for all the Spider people as they are based on their comic book origins but narrows it down so you know who the character is without reading a single one of their comics. It also makes fun of things that have been seen in other Spider-Man films such as the weird dance in Spider-Man 3 and his catchphrase 'with power comes great responsibility'.

However, the film did fall flat in some areas. One of which was the use of a villain. There were a lot of villains in the film such as The Kingpin, The Prowler, The Green Goblin (voiced by Jorma Taccone), Doc Ock (voiced by Kathryn Hahn) and the Scorpion (voiced by Joaquin Coslo). But one of the most disappointing was Tombstone (voiced by Marvin Jones III), the only reason I found him disappointing is that he did nothing in the film apart from being the goofy character and didn't really affect the plot as much the other villains so he seemed a bit unnecessary to be in the movie, also the animation looked off in a few scenes which disturbed me a bit as it looked really weird.

But in conclusion Into the Spider-Verse is overall a good film to see and would recommend that you see it. The film's music is one of the strongest soundtracks I heard and easily competes with the soundtrack of Black Panther. Also, the film's score by Daniel Pemberton is just as good and makes every scene entertaining.

I would give Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse a 10/10 as it is a highly enjoyable film to watch, with great use of the animation and well-written characters that we get to know as the film progresses.

Die Hard Franchise Review: A Good Day to Die Hard

We are now nearing the holiday season and as I haven't finished my Die Hard series review I decided that I should finish it off. So today I will be reviewing the last film in the franchise (for now at least) A Good Day to Die Hard or Die Hard 5. For this instalment, I will be talking about what worked and what didn't as this entry is known as the weakest but it does try and separate itself from the rest of the series.

The movie's plot goes as follows, John McClane goes to Russia in order to free his son Jack McClane (Jai Courtney), he discovers that Jack is a CIA operative who is apart of a mission to stop an undercover organisation in Russia. Both John and Jack join forces to stop this organisation. From this plot, it sounds interesting and focuses on the son as the last one focused on the daughter but what really drags this done is Jai Courtney's performance as he doesn't do much apart from calling his dad a jerk and what not and shoot people for good measure. The character comes across as bland and uninteresting and is a weak part of the film for me.

The films cast is ok, the only returning characters are John McClane and Lucy McClane. The film's villain is Komarov played by Sebastian Koch. For most of the movie, he is portrayed as a man who was convicted because he had a falling out with a politician. This already sounds interesting but the problem with this is that he doesn't work as a villain, reasons why are that he is not a villain for very long and he comes across as weak. The film's director this time around is John Moore who is known for films such as Max Payne, The Omen (2006) and Behind Enemy Lines. Moore tries his best to make something different out of this film but at times it comes off as unrecognisable as a Die Hard movie and becomes a bland action movie.

The lighting as well is quite bland with very bleak colours and makes the film look dull and boring. The camera work is pretty standard with not many unique shots. It mainly has long shots, mid shots and close ups. These two things don't work well at all as it makes the movie look quite boring which is not what the Die Hard Franchise is meant to be.

However, the movie does have its good moments. Such as the Cab driver played by Pasha D. Lychnikoff as he is a likeable character and has quite good chemistry with John McClane for the little time we see him on screen. John McClane is still a strong point for this film but the problem in this film is that he feels more of a background character as he moans He is on Vacation and seems to be a weaker portrayal than the other films which I think is more of a writing problem than Bruce Willis's acting.

Overall, A Good Day to Die Hard tries to be different from the other films but the pay off backfires miserably. It has its moments but is the worst film in the series as it comes across as bland and boring and has a lot of weak characters. With the next Die Hard, a prequel titled McClane with Die Hard 4 director Len Wiseman set to direct, the Franchise might have a saving grace.

I would give A Good Day to Die Hard a 5/10- as it is a bleak and boring movie with very few good moments.