Aquaman returns for what appears to be the final move of the current DC Cinematic Universe.
Recently the folks at Warner Brothers sent us a copy of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, featuring Jason Mamoa. Unlike most sequels this film directly follows its predecessor in every way. That means it is a direct continuation of the previous film. The story had ended off with Arthur and Mera in love, Orm imprisoned, Black Manta off somewhere licking his wounds and Arthur remains the ruler of Atlantis.
The film starts with Arthur sharing the joys and frustrations of balancing, life, family, jobs and how much he misses the more simple days where he could simply punch his problems. To make matters worse, his son likes to target his face whenever he changes the diaper. Life does not sound too enjoyable for our hero. Black Manta is using this time to hunt the oceans for any sign of Atlantean technology to repair his broken suit so he can kill Aquaman once and for all.
Visually the film is absolutely stunning. The effect and detail of the underwater cities and creatures alone make the film worth watching. The dialogue can be a bit campy at times but not more so than the original film. The fight scenes were a lot of fun and well choreographed. Overall I had fun watching the film but I only had one main complaint, that Amber Heard wasn’t recast. It makes no sense that she would be allowed to continue in her role after being found as the guilty party but when she accused Depp of the same behavior he was immediately removed. It’s an odd double standard that frankly doesn’t make sese.
Willy Wonka returns to tell his origin story from Warner Brothers and staring Timothee Chalamet!
Timothee Chalamet stars in Wonka as the main man himself, Willy, in the film from Warner Brothers. The film follows the early days of Willy after he completes seven years at sea collecting ingredients so he can start his own chocolate business and bring joy to the world through his creations. I had no idea this was going to be a musical. Willy immediately is noticed by the dastardly Chocolate Cartel who’s aim is to control the world through chocolate and believe that it should be simple.
The world is no place for the complexities and imagination in his treats. In a world designed to strip new comers of every sovereign they own, Willy runs afoul of a dastardly pair and must use his ingenuity to free himself from their employ. There he befriends a few others that were in similar circumstances and he was forced to work alongside them.
Visually the movie is a feast for the eyes and the cast are fantastic. The music I did not enjoy despite how well the cast performed the songs. The story was well written and felt like a perfect origin story to the master chocolate maker. My only complaint with the story was that we didn’t see his father in the story and I learned that this version of his father was only ever in the film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, my wife had to look it up and prove that I was wrong on that note. Overall, the film was a great experience to watch with the whole family.
Contagion has been re-released by Warner Brothers but this time in 4k!
Contagion was originally released by Warner Brothers in 2011 and focuses on the spread of an unknown disease as it rapidly spreads, originating in China. Nearly a decade before the world experienced it’s own real life version with Covid-19. In some ways the real story was worse but the other surrounding events and actions went better. In the film the fear of this virus caused an extreme reaction from the population. The film does a great job of painting our worst fears of what could have happened and what many of us thought would have happened.
What many people don’t know about me is that I had contracted Covid-19 before it was named at the end of 2019 and was in a coma by New Years Eve of that year. I was one of the lucky ones and made it through. I still have PTSD from the experience and watching the film was a bit triggering. The first half hour of the film especially. It was physically difficult for me to watch.
The film was brilliantly filmed and an amazing cast. Watching it now it feels almost prophetic but the response of the population was a much more extreme version than what we had seen. Perhaps the film inspired better planning? If you have PTSD related to the pandemic this film will likely be difficult for you as well. The did a great job on the film but I expect I likely won’t be watching it again, even though it was released into 4k.
Warner Brothers have released the latest Justice League animated film- Crisis on Infinite Earths Part One.
Barry Allen bounces between timelines and alternate worlds in the latest film from Warner Brothers, Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths Part One. Ultimately this puts him in the crosshairs of the Crime Syndicate of Earth-3 and joining heroes from dozens of alternate worlds in a fight to save all of reality. The story itself is so large that it requires more than one part, just like the comic series was comprised of multiple issues and tied in stories across multiple series.
It has been many years since the last time I read the original Crisis on Infinite Earths and for this part of the story the main points are followed pretty closely while many of the details are reimagined. The best thing to come from the original story in my opinion was the Crime Syndicate. For the film, the animation quality is similar to most of the Justice League animated films and get a little wonky with some of the expressions. Ultimately the story is well told and voice acting fits each character perfectly. I can’t wait for Part Two, whenever that releases.
Originally released in the 80’s, The Color Purple is one of the latest films to be re-released by Warner Brothers in 4k!
Warner Brothers have released another classic film to 4k, this time with the acclaimed The Color Purple. Following the life of Celie Johnson, later played by Whoopie Goldberg, as she deals with dealing with assault, racism, being a woman in a man’s world and more. It is based on the book by Alice Walker and is the same film that was released in 1985. The film was well received when it originally released but nearly forty years after release it’s clear that it falls short in a few areas, mostly glossing over aspects of the book that were important to the actual story. The main topics of the film make it obvious why there were so many award nominations but difficult topics are not the only important thing to remember when watching a film.
The cast were fantastic, namely Whoopie herself. It’s obvious why she was nominated for her role. The director choice begs the question, would he be “allowed” to make this film in today’s environment or would the studio choose a diversity hire? Or would this bring about some of the same derisive comments you see when Tarantino writes certain language for his cast? Regardless of how it would fare if filmed today, it was a decent enough film but the book itself surpasses it in terms of story. It does leave me curious if the remake that is on the horizon will be any better. Only time will tell.
Originally released in the 90’s, The Fugitive is one of the latest films to be re-released by Warner Brothers in 4k!
The Fugitive has been rereleased by Warner Brothers for home viewing on 4K compatible devices and ironically was a movie I had been thinking about looking up again to view. The timing is crazy! The film follows Doctor Richard Kimball from the fateful night where he discovers his murdered wife to trial where he is convicted of the murder, to his escape and then leading the US Marshalls to the real killer. This movie is full of mystery, suspense and a great cast. I originally saw this film when I was still in grade school, almost Junior High age. The film always stayed with me despite seeing it only a couple times since then.
Seeing it again in 4k was a treat, revisiting familiar scenes and faces and having the action clear to see (as opposed to trying to watch it on the ancient VHS my family still has somewhere), made for a great experience. I even got to share it with the wife and kids, pretty sure the wife at least had seen it before though. Surprisingly, the film held up in most regards except the trial and conviction. I don’t believe a judge or jury would have convicted the doctor based on the lack of evidence and any defender that he could afford would have already started the process of getting him acquitted, let alone allowing him to receive the death penalty. As I type it out it seems more and more ridiculous. Despite this flaw, the film DOES hold up and is still worth the watch.
IT IS RARE FOR ME TO SEE A MOVIE WHEN IT’S STILL IN THEATERS BUT THANKS TO WARNER BROS I WAS ABLE TO CATCH UP ON THOSE I MISSED!
Recently the fine folks at Warner Bros (their home page is here) had sent me copies of some of their movies I missed so that I could share my thoughts on them with you. For the first part of this series we talked about Scoob, Birds of Prey, The Way Back, Goonies 4K, Beetlejuice 4K, Full Metal Jacket, Sherlock Holmes 4K and Sherlock Holmes A Game of Shadows 4K. Part 2 ‘twas massive and discussed V for Vendetta 4K, 300 4K, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy 4K, The Hobbit Trilogy 4K, Blade 4K, Bill and Ted Face the Music, Tenet and The Wolf of Snow Hollow. Part 3 talked about Wonder Woman 1984, The Little Things and Judas and the Black Messiah. Part 4 discussed Tom and Jerry the Movie and Godzilla Vs Kong. Part 5 was all about Wrath of Man, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and Space Jam. Part 6 had discussed Mortal Kombat and Those Who Wish Me Dead. Part 7 discussed In the Heights, The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It, Zack Snyder’s Justice League and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone 20 Years of Movie Magic edition. Part 8 discussed A Clockwork Orange, Space Jam: A New Legacy and Shawshank Redemption. Part 9 talked about The Suicide Squad and Reminiscence. Part 10 discussed The Outsiders, Cry Macho, Malignant, the Many Saints of Newark and the Mad Max film collection.
Part 11 talked about Dune, Matrix: Resurrections, The Batman, Dog and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. Part 12 discussed Elvis, DC League of Super Pets, The Lost Boys and Poltergeist. Part 13 shared some classics with 8-Bit Christmas, Casablanca, A Christmas Story, Three Thousand Years of Longing, The Polar Express, Elf and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Part 14 had Don’t Worry Darling and Part 15 was discussing Black Adam. Part 16 had Bones and All, House Party plus the 4k release of Training Day. Part 17 returned for the 4k release of Rocky the Knockout Collection and Magic Mike’s Last Dance. Part 18 had the Superman 5 Film Collection, Creed III and Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Part 19 discussed A Good Person, National Lampoon’s Vacation 4k Edition and Evil Dead Rise. Part 20 exclusively talked about The Flash and Part 21 focused on Meg 2: The Trench and Barbie. We are back for the FINAL edition of this series where future reviews from Warner Brothers will have an all new format. Without further ado here is Part 22 with Blue Beetle and The Nun II!
Blue Beetle
Following Jamie Reyes from graduating college and returning to help his family. This puts him working menial jobs, the most recent of which is with his sister for Kord. There he runs into the daughter of Ted Kord and tries to help her when her aunt and her thug start getting aggressive. The aunt promptly fires him but later the daughter entrusts him with the scarab. The scarab bonds with him and turns him into the Blue Beetle. This puts him back in the crosshairs of the aunt and his family in danger. The effects were fantastic but the film felt like a DC branded knockoff of Iron Man, mixed with Spiderman with an animated Deadpool mask. The writing and the humor were great and the film was an enjoyable reminder of what the DC cinematic universe could have been.
The Nun II
Bringing back the cast of the original Nun film, Irene is investigating reports that the Nun has returned. Even though in the first film she seemed to be destroyed, we knew she survived to haunt in the Conjuring films. The first film had a great sense of eeriness that took itself a little too seriously and made it a bit more comical than intended. We get a bit of that again with the sequel but the eeriness level has be increased tenfold. Overall the Nun film had still been one of the more enjoyable Conjuring-verse films and the sequel continues to improve on that.
Which of these Warner Bros films have you had the chance to see? Which was your favorite? Let us know on our Twitter!
IT IS RARE FOR ME TO SEE A MOVIE WHEN IT’S STILL IN THEATERS BUT THANKS TO WARNER BROS I WAS ABLE TO CATCH UP ON THOSE I MISSED!
Recently the fine folks at Warner Bros (their home page is here) had sent me copies of some of their movies I missed so that I could share my thoughts on them with you. For the first part of this series we talked about Scoob, Birds of Prey, The Way Back, Goonies 4K, Beetlejuice 4K, Full Metal Jacket, Sherlock Holmes 4K and Sherlock Holmes A Game of Shadows 4K. Part 2 ‘twas massive and discussed V for Vendetta 4K, 300 4K, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy 4K, The Hobbit Trilogy 4K, Blade 4K, Bill and Ted Face the Music, Tenet and The Wolf of Snow Hollow. Part 3 talked about Wonder Woman 1984, The Little Things and Judas and the Black Messiah. Part 4 discussed Tom and Jerry the Movie and Godzilla Vs Kong. Part 5 was all about Wrath of Man, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and Space Jam. Part 6 had discussed Mortal Kombat and Those Who Wish Me Dead. Part 7 discussed In the Heights, The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It, Zack Snyder’s Justice League and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone 20 Years of Movie Magic edition. Part 8 discussed A Clockwork Orange, Space Jam: A New Legacy and Shawshank Redemption. Part 9 talked about The Suicide Squad and Reminiscence. Part 10 discussed The Outsiders, Cry Macho, Malignant, the Many Saints of Newark and the Mad Max film collection.
Part 11 talked about Dune, Matrix: Resurrections, The Batman, Dog and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. Part 12 discussed Elvis, DC League of Super Pets, The Lost Boys and Poltergeist. Part 13 shared some classics with 8-Bit Christmas, Casablanca, A Christmas Story, Three Thousand Years of Longing, The Polar Express, Elf and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Part 14 had Don’t Worry Darling and Part 15 was discussing Black Adam. Part 16 had Bones and All, House Party plus the 4k release of Training Day. Part 17 returned for the 4k release of Rocky the Knockout Collection and Magic Mike’s Last Dance. Part 18 had the Superman 5 Film Collection, Creed III and Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Part 19 discussed A Good Person, National Lampoon’s Vacation 4k Edition and Evil Dead Rise. Part 20 exclusively talked about The Flash and we have returned for Part 21 with Meg 2: The Trench and Barbie!
Barbie
Barbie follows the story of living dolls of Barbie and Ken in the Barbie world and their adventure into the real world when Barbie starts thinking of death and has her first bad morning. This also happened to be one of the BIGGEST events I’ve ever seen. You couldn’t look anywhere without seeing news about the film. My expectations were that the movie would be fun but would be lacking in substance, despite a strong cast and crew. I was wrong, SO WRONG. The writing, editing, acting, all of it made it one of the best films I have ever seen. I will be disappointed if there aren’t multiple Oscars for this film.
Meg 2: The Trench
The first Meg film sets up how the Megalodon has returned to the modern world and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The downside to the film was the build up, waiting for the Meg to show up and start causing chaos. Second time around we don’t need to explain this so it was straight to the action. You would think after their last exploration into the depts of the ocean causing the release of the Meg they wouldn’t return to do it again. Well, they do but hopefully they learn their lesson this time. The film is a direct sequel in every way and while it didn’t seem necessary it is a great addition to the overall story. The effects were fantastic and the story was a lot of fun. I can happily admit I was surprised by this one and hope that we get another round on the horizon.
Which of these Warner Bros films have you had the chance to see? Which was your favorite? Let us know on our Twitter!
IT IS RARE FOR ME TO SEE A MOVIE WHEN IT’S STILL IN THEATERS BUT THANKS TO WARNER BROS I WAS ABLE TO CATCH UP ON THOSE I MISSED!
Recently the fine folks at Warner Bros (their home page is here) had sent me copies of some of their movies I missed so that I could share my thoughts on them with you. For the first part of this series we talked about Scoob, Birds of Prey, The Way Back, Goonies 4K, Beetlejuice 4K, Full Metal Jacket, Sherlock Holmes 4K and Sherlock Holmes A Game of Shadows 4K. Part 2 ‘twas massive and discussed V for Vendetta 4K, 300 4K, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy 4K, The Hobbit Trilogy 4K, Blade 4K, Bill and Ted Face the Music, Tenet and The Wolf of Snow Hollow. Part 3 talked about Wonder Woman 1984, The Little Things and Judas and the Black Messiah. Part 4 discussed Tom and Jerry the Movie and Godzilla Vs Kong. Part 5 was all about Wrath of Man, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and Space Jam. Part 6 had discussed Mortal Kombat and Those Who Wish Me Dead. Part 7 discussed In the Heights, The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It, Zack Snyder’s Justice League and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone 20 Years of Movie Magic edition. Part 8 discussed A Clockwork Orange, Space Jam: A New Legacy and Shawshank Redemption. Part 9 talked about The Suicide Squad and Reminiscence. Part 10 discussed The Outsiders, Cry Macho, Malignant, the Many Saints of Newark and the Mad Max film collection. Part 11 talked about Dune, Matrix: Resurrections, The Batman, Dog and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. Part 12 discussed Elvis, DC League of Super Pets, The Lost Boys and Poltergeist. Part 13 shared some classics with 8-Bit Christmas, Casablanca, A Christmas Story, Three Thousand Years of Longing, The Polar Express, Elf and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Part 14 had Don’t Worry Darling and Part 15 was discussing Black Adam. Part 16 had Bones and All, House Party plus the 4k release of Training Day. Part 17 returned for the 4k release of Rocky the Knockout Collection and Magic Mike’s Last Dance. We are back for Part 18 and the Superman 5 Film Collection, Creed III and Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
Superman 5 Film Collection
Not only is this collection the original Superman films from the late 70s and early 80s in 4k but it includes the director’s cut of Superman II! This is the version Richard Donner had envisioned from the start. It includes a new opening and end to the film along with scenes focusing on expanding on established lore between Clark and his father. This is how the film SHOULD have always been. Of these five films the original was always my favorite but this cut makes my second choice the new number one!
Creed III
Some have said that this is by far the best Creed film in the franchise but the fight with the Russian is still my favorite. Visually the director handled the final fight differently than many others had over the years by having the crowd fading away to images of both fighter’s pasts. This deviation from the formula was a much needed change to keep it from getting as stale. I know we talked about the problems with Majors with his role in the latest Ant-Man but I don’t see that having the same level of impact here. Overall I enjoyed the film which still feels weird considering I am not a fan of boxing or other professional fighting sports. The cast proves to be far superior to the original Rocky films and if they continue like this I won’t mind watching future sequels.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods
It was difficult to get excited about this film knowing that this is likely the end of the franchise and as far as I’m aware the upcoming Flash movie will be the end of this cinematic universe. The film chronologically follows after Black Adam and features some cameos that would have been exciting had it not been for the pending end to the universe. The film is a fitting sequel to the first Shazam film but with one glaring mistake, the transformation of Shazam himself leaving him dumber than his human counterpart Billy. Other than that mistake with what I assume is the writing and directing, the film was still a good amount of fun and without the creepy monsters is also a better film to watch with younger family members.
Which of these Warner Bros films have you had the chance to see? Which was your favorite? Let us know on our Twitter!
IT IS RARE FOR ME TO SEE A MOVIE WHEN IT’S STILL IN THEATERS BUT THANKS TO WARNER BROS I WAS ABLE TO CATCH UP ON THOSE I MISSED!
Recently the fine folks at Warner Bros (their home page is here) had sent me copies of some of their movies I missed so that I could share my thoughts on them with you. For the first part of this series we talked about Scoob, Birds of Prey, The Way Back, Goonies 4K, Beetlejuice 4K, Full Metal Jacket, Sherlock Holmes 4K and Sherlock Holmes A Game of Shadows 4K. Part 2 ‘twas massive and discussed V for Vendetta 4K, 300 4K, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy 4K, The Hobbit Trilogy 4K, Blade 4K, Bill and Ted Face the Music, Tenet and The Wolf of Snow Hollow. Part 3 talked about Wonder Woman 1984, The Little Things and Judas and the Black Messiah. Part 4 discussed Tom and Jerry the Movie and Godzilla Vs Kong. Part 5 was all about Wrath of Man, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and Space Jam. Part 6 had discussed Mortal Kombat and Those Who Wish Me Dead. Part 7 discussed In the Heights, The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It, Zack Snyder’s Justice League and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone 20 Years of Movie Magic edition. Part 8 discussed A Clockwork Orange, Space Jam: A New Legacy and Shawshank Redemption. Part 9 talked about The Suicide Squad and Reminiscence. Part 10 discussed The Outsiders, Cry Macho, Malignant, the Many Saints of Newark and the Mad Max film collection. Part 11 talked about Dune, Matrix: Resurrections, The Batman, Dog and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. Part 12 discussed Elvis, DC League of Super Pets, The Lost Boys and Poltergeist. Part 13 shared some classics with 8-Bit Christmas, Casablanca, A Christmas Story, Three Thousand Years of Longing, The Polar Express, Elf and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Part 14 had Don’t Worry Darling and Part 15 was discussing Black Adam. We are back with Part 16 and Bones and All, House Party plus the 4k release of Training Day.
Bones and All
What limited trailers I had seen hinted at something dark happening in the story of this film but focused on a central theme of travelling and love. There was nothing in them I saw that indicated that this is a love story about two cannibals. Despite feeling a little misled at the start I wasn’t upset. The film was great over all. I found it odd how well the love story mixed with horror but they blend perfectly.
Training Day (4K)
As expected from the title, this is the 4k release of the Training Day, the same film that Denzel Washington won an Academy Award for. Despite it’s age the film still holds up just as well as it did back when it first came out.
House Party
Listed as a “Remix” of the 90s classic film of the same name, this is truly a reboot. This time around our characters are played by a new cast and a throwing the party in the home of Lebron James. They are both house cleaners and failing party planners assigned to clean the James house. They decide to throw a party and things get a bit nuts. Overall we found the film to be enjoyable, laughs aplenty with a few dragging moments.
Which of these Warner Bros films have you had the chance to see? Which was your favorite? Let us know on our Twitter!
