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...

Disney/Pixar's 'Elemental.' Photo courtesy of movieposters.com and Disney. While most of the story of Elemental was too similar to other films such as Shrek 2, it was nonetheless adorable between the romance of the main characters and the bright lights of their city and fellow populace. Elemental was also abundant in awkward young adult humor and comical yet tense family drama. Elemental tells the story of Ember Lumen and Wade Ripple, voiced by Leah Lewis and Mamoudou Athi e, anthropomorphic beings of fire and water, and how they try to overcome distrustful history between their kinds in order to protect their families and their blossoming romantic relationship. From the opening, I picked up a Zootopia- type vibe in the case of Ember's parents hoping to start a new life in Element City. The city had beautiful buildings and colorful characters, regardless of who splashes the water, prunes the fruits, or accidentally burns things to a crisp. Lewis' character of E...

Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Harrison Ford as Helena Shaw and Indiana Jones in 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.' Photo courtesy of Lucasfilm Ltd. Even though the plot was a recycling of the original Indiana Jones adventures from the '80s, it was still good to see Harrison Ford go out for one last quest with his signature bullwhip, leather jacket, and trusty fedora in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny . There were also great lengths of humorous treachery by Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Indy's latest partner-in-crime and intrepid scoring from John Williams , as usual. Now set in the Space Age in the late 1960s, Indiana Jones is retiring from his professor position and has become lonely and bitter. But a younger archaeologist named Helena Shaw , played by Waller-Bridge, brings him back to his audacious ways to hunt for an artifact called the Dial of Destiny . Among many obstacles against Jones and Shaw are a twisted physicist, played by Mads Mikkelsen , an enemy of Jon...

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...

  Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse comes out today. Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures. What started off with good hard rock grooves ended with a cliffhanger that I hunger for a resolution to. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was fun in the beginning, then got heavy towards the end. It’s also very confusing with this multi-dimensional rift thing. Continuing a year from Into the Spider-Verse , Miles Morales, voiced by Shameik Moore , is still having trouble finding himself, between being Brooklyn’s newest Spider-Man and figuring out his life beyond the mask and electro-webs. But when Gwen Stacy , voiced by Hailee Steinfeld , comes from her dimension to his, Miles finds himself in a Pandora’s Box of crises that spell out how hard it is to be Spider-Man in every possible Earth. As for what I enjoyed about Across the Spider-Verse , I enjoyed hearing Gwen and Spider-Punk’s, voiced by Daniel Kaluuya, rocking music beats in the background as they dealt with the misadventures of being ...