The Cinematic Review-verse

‘Transformers One’ poster. Taken by William Beavers. Copyright 2024, Paramount Pictures.  “What defines a Transformer is not the cog in its chest, but the spark in its core.” Josh Cooley of Toy Story 4 fame directed Transformers One , an epic, tragic, funny origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron and their factions, the Autobots and the Decepticons , respectively. Watching Transformers One felt like watching Marvel Studios films and Disney animated classics all rolled into one, and it was the best film I’ve seen in 2024 and the best portrayal of Transformers . Chris Hemsworth voices Orion Pax/Optimus Prime in 'Transformers One.' Courtesy of Paramount Pictures. Brian Tyree Henry is the voice of D-16/Megatron in 'Transformers One.' Courtesy of Paramount Pictures. Transformers One was an origin story of Orion Pax and D-16, voiced by Chris Hemsworth and Brian Tyree Henry, as brother-in-arms before becoming Optimus Prime and Megatron. As the young automatons so...

On Saturday morning, September 14, 2024, I had the funny, chilling, and thrilling pleasure of watching James McAvoy steal the show in the latest Blumhouse production, Speak No Evil . McAvoy began as an uninhibited hipster, then brought out his inner monster on the family led by Mackenzie Davis and Scoot McNairy . Then Davis and McNairy brought the thunder in protecting their kids similar to Fox's The Gifted  TV series, and let’s just say it’s awesome that both the adults and their kids went toe-to-toe with James McAvoy. James McAvoy and Aisling Franciosi as Paddy and Ciara in 'Speak No Evil.' Courtesy of Universal Pictures. While on vacation in Italy, the Dalton family, consisting of Louise, Ben, and their daughter Agnes, played by Davis, McNairy, and Alix West Lefler , respectively, met Paddy, Ciara, and their son Ant, played by McAvoy, Aisling Franciosi , and Dan Hough . The interaction went well, despite the Dalton parents being put off by Paddy's unhinged friendly ...

Michael Keaton returns as the lead in Tim Burton's 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.' Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures. Despite some good undead makeup and laughs brought back by returning Michael Keaton , Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was not a sequel that needed to happen. Most of the cast was funny and goodhearted, the new addition Willem Dafoe, in particular, but the problems were Beetlejuice being stuck in his old ways instead of evolving, and the plot was confusing. It wasn't better than the first film. Taking place almost 40 years after the original Beetlejuice, a now-grown Lydia Deetz (played by Winona Ryder ) has a daughter, Astrid, played by Jenna Ortega , Wednesday . And though not as big with the undead as in her teenage years, she is still haunted by Beetlejuice, played by Keaton. And Beetlejuice has his own hauntings to deal with now that a soul-sucking ghost, played by Monica Bellucci, has a bone to pick with him. Catherine O'Hara, Jenna Ortega, Winona Ryder, ...

From a John Wick- style fight with "Bye Bye Bye" in the background to the tricky yet humorous inclusion of past Marvel characters, Deadpool and Wolverine did have its great moments in showing the characters played by Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman embracing their inner heroes, even with more than their fair share of bloodshed on the battlefield and rocky budding friendship along the way. After his last time-travel adventure, Wade Wilson/Deadpool, played by Reynolds, finds himself in trouble with the Time Variance Authority from Loki. He switches from time-traveling to multiverse traveling to stop a corrupt TVA agent, Paradox, played by Matthew McFayden, and protect his loved ones. Along the way, a variant of Logan/Wolverine, played by Jackman, ends up reluctantly teaming with Deadpool while he's dealing with some baggage of his own. And I don't just mean Logan hiding his insecurities behind beer or cigars. I didn't think too highly of the movie at first because I...