The Cinematic Review-verse

Superman (2025) poster. Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures. James Gunn's iteration of  Superman  was a well-thought-out film. I give it a 9.4/10 for both the occasional references to the Christopher Reeve film from the late 1970s and for standing out with different presentations of the iconic Man of Steel and his colorful supporting characters. This was my first time seeing David Corenswet, but he was great acting out the drama and heroism in the lives of Clark Kent and Superman. It was also great to see Rachel Brosnahan bring some gumption and humor to her role of Superman's love interest, Lois Lane, and it was great to see former X-Men actor Nicholas Hoult bring some vigor to his role of Superman's ruthless archenemy, Lex Luthor. In this Superman, it stood out by skipping the intro of Kal-El leaving Krypton as a baby and instead showing Superman, played by Corenswet, in his third year of protecting Metropolis and the world. In his quest to prove Superman a threat to humani...

Gal Gadot reprising her role as Diana of Themyscira in 'Wonder Woman'. Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures. When I watched Wonder Woman back in 2017, I was probably looking for a cool summer movie to watch at the time. Now that I've seen some behind-the-scenes footage, I appreciate it better. When I watched the DVD, I thought Gal Gadot's reprisal of Diana of Themyscira was like watching 'Captain America' and 'Mulan'. Her intense training also reminded me of Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow. And it was funny watching her struggle to blend in with humans with help from Steve Trevor, played by Chris Pine.  Chris Pine as Steve Trevor from 'Wonder Woman.' Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures. But now, I get that this film was not just made to fill a Warner Bros./DC quota. It was and still is important to augment the "wonder" that is Wonder Woman. From director Patty Jenkins trying to stay true to the original character's iconic story to ful...

Hello, people. So, word around the superhero movie biz is that Marvel and DC are going through superhero fatigue. And while I do respect the cast and crew for working so hard, I believe the end result is said fatigue. For probably the last two years, I’ve been catching up with some comics of Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, X-Men, even Flashpoint to see whether the films stuck to the original material, were just Hollywood big-budget rewrites, or both. For example, Doctor Strange’s amulet, the Eye of Agamotto, is not an Infinity Gem in the comics as it was portrayed in his first film starring Benedict Cumberbatch. While it did capture his tale of damage to his hands and arising from arrogance to open-mindedness about sorcery, the rest of it was probably Hollywood trying to link it with the Avengers’ Infinity Saga. And Flashpoint , spoiler alert, in the comics, Thomas Wayne was alive, Bruce wasn’t, but Thomas became Batman, and the world and Justice League were falling apart. The Flash barely...

Aquaman is ready to ride...the seahorse! Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures. When I saw Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, it was similar to other adventure films, e.g. Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Avatar, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, you get the idea. But what really astounded me was how it helped the main man Arthur Curry become more than his usual reckless, happy hour-loving self, and brought out his true heroic nature. In The Lost Kingdom , Aquaman, played by Jason Momoa, is trying to be a responsible king of Atlantis and have a life on land. But his hands, or should I say "fins", are about to get fuller when Black Manta/David Kane, played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, seeks revenge and tries to destroy Atlantis and its multiple kingdoms. To save his loved ones and the sea, Aquaman has to turn to his least favorite person: his half-brother, Orm, played by Patrick Wilson. It started off with Aquaman telling a literal hard rock tale of his battling pirates with Steppenwolf in th...

  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...

Photo courtesy of Batman-News.com and Warner Bros. Pictures. Wyckoff native Ezra Miller’s (they/their) return as the Scarlet Speedster in the solo film The Flash was both heavy and goofy. And what it lacked in being at least 80% faithful to the Flashpoint comic, it made up for with riveting music reminiscent of John Williams, John Powell and Danny Elfman, crazy adventures/misadventures across the Speed Force, somewhat diverse casting, and proof that in Michael Keaton’s case, you don’t have to teach an old Bat new tricks. After saving the world with the Justice League, Barry Allen is still trying to get his family and life together. But once he finds that as The Flash that he can super-speed back in time, he goes back to prevent his mother’s murder, and inadvertently creates a multiverse of problems. It’s going to take Barry from Earth 2, an older, alternate Bruce Wayne, and Supergirl to help the Justice League comic relief to prevent the multiverse from going haywire. Add to that an al...

Flashpoint’s cover. Photo courtesy of Third Eye Comics and DC Comics. Today, I finished reading the Geoff Johns composition of ‘Flashpoint’. After weeks of putting it off, re-reading it today felt like watching Grant Gustin’s recently completed TV series and being sent back to Philosophy/Ethics in college. I’m no big Barry Allen expert, but this comic storyline came off as more burdensome compared to what I’ve seen of his lighthearted, awkward self in 2017’s Justice League film. I could relate to wishing I could go back in time to not have to say goodbye to a loved one. But as I said earlier, it was like Philosophy and Ethics all over again, given that you have to really think about how saving one life affects so many other ones. Flashpoint was very darkly toned with the graphics and depictions of wars tearing the Justice League apart, literally and metaphorically. But as heavy as this task was, Barry kept running to make everything right, if not for himself, then for his loved one...

  Shazam/Captain Marvel and family are in a deity duel. Photo courtesy of IGN and Warner Bros. Pictures. Shazam!: Fury of the Gods did a good job in showing family empowerment, female empowerment, and growth in some of the characters. I enjoyed Rachel Zegler's performance as Anthea and chemistry with Freddy Freeman (played by Jack Dylan Grazer) and occasional goofy humor from the titular superhero (played by Zachary Levi), but it was more mature than the last film, in a good and bad way. For example, while still learning his powers, Billy Batson had to think about his future once he aged out of the foster care system, and he's still dealing with abandonment issues while struggling to find wisdom and lead his team. Good for character development, but it has to show more light than blue moments. And the film had more dark tone with the dark magic compared to the first film, angry goddess parts, and fantasy monsters. Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu were truly fired up in their roles, He...

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures From the opening scene of Kahndaq, it didn't seem like Black Adam was original, given that its location seemed similar to Amazon from Wonder Woman or Ancient Rome, places like that. However, Dwayne Johnson's character did stretch the perception of what it means to be a hero and, while it was a step back from his usual tough yet fun-loving characters, showed that he was not a complete villain depending on who he fights for. Black Adam is about Teth-Adam, who gets powers from those who created Captain Marvel/Shazam, and uses those powers to liberate his enslaved people in Ancient and modern Kahndaq. But the Justice Society, led by Hawkman, tries to intervene in his perceived villainous acts. Adam and the Society will have to learn to work together when a bigger entity comes to destroy Earth as we know it. Almost everything I saw in this film was similar to Black Panther : the debate over who is the villain, the politics, the freedom from sl...

Photo Courtesy of imdb.com Zack Snyder really put in his best effort in the fifth edition to the DCEU. Justice League was an excellent film reprising some roles from previous DC Comics films with some new ones to perform a great combination of humor, visual effects, and action. Starring Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher and Jason Momoa, it had such raw power, touching moments, and a great representation of diversity and teamwork. After the supposed death of Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman, Bruce Wayne/Batman and Diana Prince/Wonder Woman summon Barry Allen/The Flash, Victor Stone/Cyborg, and Arthur Curry/Aquaman to unite against the threat of world domination posed by Steppenwolf. Steppenwolf plans to dominate the Earth with the unification of three Mother Boxes. By resurrecting Superman and combining their extraordinary abilities, metahuman or not, the Justice League shall show themselves ready to save mankind. I loved the  film's momen...

Photo Courtesy of dvdreleasedates.com 10/10. Gal Gadot showed agility and excellence for womanhood in this DC Extended Universe film. Through adventure, bravery, and courage, the ABCs of a superhero, in my opinion,  Wonder Woman was an excellent example of one of the first superheroines. Set long before the events of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice , Diana, Princess of Themyscira (Gadot), leaves home and joins forces with Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) to save the world from a threat that is worsening: World War I. All the while, she learns what it means to be human and takes on the courageous role of a superhero as Wonder Woman. With the song "To Be Human" performed by Sia, a thriving score by Rupert Gregson-Williams, and a great selection of cast members ranging from Danny Huston to David Thewlis, Wonder Woman will leave audiences feeling, in a word, wondrous. 

Photo Courtesy of imdb.com The Lego Batman Movie deserves a 4/4 star rating. In this spinoff of The Lego Movie , Batman (voiced by Will Arnett) is still a major crime-fighter, but doesn't know how to be a part of a team or even a family. But, it takes a village, not just a Batman, to save Gotham City from the evil, creepy-smiling Joker (voiced by Zach Galifianakis). And maybe his butler, Alfred (Ralph Fiennes), adoptive son and sidekick Robin (Michael Cera), and Barbara Gordon (Rosario Dawson) can teach him a thing or two about not flying solo anymore. Combining elements of family, comedy, and taking down bad guys brick by brick, Batman truly HAS aged phenomenally! Can't wait for a sequel!