The Cinematic Review-verse

  DC's  Blue Beetle.  Photo courtesy of DC Comics.   In DC Comics’ latest cinematic venture, they’ve hit their own Beetlemania in the case of the lead superhero being Jaime Reyes in Blue Beetle . Xolo Maridueña was able to shed and share some of his Cobra Kai  skin playing Reyes in an adrenaline-filled, high-flying superhero escapade, with a doting, embarrassing family behind him. Blue Beetle tells their version of In the Heights with Reyes returning to Palmera City after college graduation. Family problems arise that Reyes is determined to take care of, even if he ends up in a collision course with an alien scarab and the ruthless Victoria Kord, played by Susan Sarandon, on his tail. But when all hope seems lost, Reyes takes up the mantle of Blue Beetle, armed with wings, gauntlets, and swords. As I said, Maridueña’s character of Jaime Reyes was similar to his role as Miguel Diaz in Cobra Kai . They are both undaunted at wanting to make a better life in thi...

The newest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, actually voiced by teenagers this time. Courtesy of collider.com and Paramount Pictures. I was shell-shocked in a great way once I saw “permanent teenager” Seth Rogen’s production of the latest cinematic presentation of the pizza king quartet. From showing the TMNT in a better light in front of humans to their awkward teenage angst to including NWA’s Ice Cube as a Shaft -knockoff, this film was the best I’ve seen of the Turtles. In a New York with animation reminiscent of the comic book style from the Spider-Verse films, four turtle brothers-Leonardo, voiced by Nicolas Cantu, Donatello, voiced by Micah Abbey, Raphael, voiced by Brady Noon, and Michelangelo, voiced by Shamon Brown, Jr.-are on a mission to get humankind to accept them. But add to that a mutant Superfly, voiced by Ice Cube, on a reign of terror and the titular Mutant Mayhem begins. It’s going to take ninjitsu, their adoptive father Splinter, voiced by Jackie Chan, their new human a...