The Cinematic Review-verse

  'Here' poster. Taken by William Beavers, copyright 2024, Sony Pictures Entertainment. In Robert Zmeckis' latest directing vehicle with Tom Hanks leading the cast, 'Here' talks about a house whose land had importance from the Jurassic era to the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically being the area where Indigenous people, Benjamin Franklin's family, or Hanks' and Robin Wright's family lived and/or died. It was based on a graphic novel of the same name by Richard McGuire.  Though there were times I was thrown off by the nonlinear storytelling, the film not moving the camera away from the one spot till the end, and that it was mostly a retelling of 'Forrest Gump' (most of the same cast and crew), I actually liked the movie. It was sweet, sentimental, and poignant, and it was good to redo 'Forrest Gump' to show Hanks and Wright's characters still being peas and carrots after over 30 years. Paul Bettany (from the back), Robin Wright, and Tom H...

‘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...

'Borderlands' movie poster. Taken by William Beavers. Courtesy of Lions Gate Ent., Inc. In one of the newest video game-to-screen adaptations, Cate Blanchett and Kevin Hart led a quirky Guardians of the Galaxy tribute in Lionsgate’s Borderlands , directed by Eli Roth . Blanchett was Lilith, a bitter bounty hunter in a Blade Runner -esque planet who gets called to rescue a titan’s daughter, Tina, played by Ariana Greenblatt . But just because she’s a youth, doesn’t mean Tina’s to be trifled with. Wait till you see her unleash her exploding bunnies. She's like Louise Belcher from Bob's Burgers with a face that resembles a young Zendaya. Tina's first protector was Roland, played by Hart, who showed more action initiative than his prior character in Central Intelligence. Adding to this unlikely band of merry heroes were the seldom speaking yet ready-to-rumble Drax knockoff Krieg, played by Florian Munteanu from Creed II , C-3PO/R2-D2/Wall-E wisecracking Claptrap, vo...

In a great step away from her tenure as Black Widow, Scarlett Johansson starred in and produced a well-executed Space Race romantic dramedy, 'Fly Me to the Moon. I enjoyed her getting a chance to be the funny one, alongside a dedicated NASA employee played by Channing Tatum. The beautiful, breathtaking story along with jazzy scoring by Daniel Pemberton, swinging pop and soul songs, and clashing romantic times between Johansson and Tatum's characters were the highlights that made 'Fly Me to the Moon' a dazzling spectacle. Scarlett Johansson as Kelly Jones and Channing Tatum as Cole Davis in 'Fly Me to the Moon'. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment. In a retelling of the Apollo 11 mission, marketing expert Kelly Jones, played by Johansson, and mission director Cole Davis, played by Tatum, had their own ideas for how the story should be told to the American public. Jones saw it as a chance to make Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins look great on commercials for ite...