(trailer review) - Shazam! Fury of the Gods

Warner Bros. is in a bit of a dead space right now where it is difficult to know and understand the future of DC and its characters. Back in the day, they wanted to start a universe with various characters like an MCU, but Green Lantern did not do well and Christopher Nolan wanted to ground his Batman films. This in turn pushed DC back a few years until 'Man of Steel' came about. Trying to catch up to the MCU at this point was a very bad idea and now we are in a state of limbo with decent films, ok films and really good films in a universe that seems to be crumbling from within and at the seams. The first Shazam was decent and I really enjoyed it. I liked the dynamics, between the actors and the characters and it was an overall great film to sit down with some popcorn and watch.

This trailer looks like the story here is bigger in scope and in some cases, may actually involve the Marvel family (or shazam family) dealing with a force that looks like they are ill-prepared for and lack experience. The villains look decent and I am guessing this is your old run-of-the-mill, bad guy who wants to take over the planet, but the fact there is a fight with a dragon is wild. The Khaleesi line was hilarious and the film looks like it is going to carry out the same or very similar jokey tropes and comedic lines as the first movie, but I am here for a bit of fun. I think my only drawback with this movie is the why and the what. What is this movie doing in the DCEU right now, where does it sit and why continue with a movie (which was already shot before these new decisions were carried out) to potentially scrap the franchise? I think The Flash movie (barring the shenanigans actor Ezra Miller has been getting up to lately) will retroactively make changes to the universe that will help set up the future of the DCU (or DCEU) going forward because we are still having an Aquaman movie or simply shut down the universe to start anew. 
I will definitely go out and watch this movie as it does look like fun, so let's see what happens going forward. Hopefully, it is just as good as the first movie.

(trailer review) - Luca

First of all, there was a teaser trailer for this not soo long ago and for whatever reason, I didn't review it! I specifically remember telling myself that I must review it, because I saw it, but I guess among many distractions or simply because the trailer  didn't grab me, I didn't end up doing it. With that said, it goes without saying that I liked this one, right?

This trailer had me anxious though. Two fishmen, mermen maybe? want to experience life on land than their natural habitat, the sea and they meet a girl and go on an adventure of sorts? Who knows until the next trailer is dropped, but I kept thinking throughout this trailer, theses guys are going to get caught which left me a little on edge. They are by the sea and any type of water makes them change! ...let's just hope things do not get too intense and start sweating. It looks decent. I'm up for it!

Directed by Enrico Casarosa and starring Jacob Tremblay, Jack Dylan Grazer, Emma Berman, Marco Barricelli, Saverio Raimondo, Maya Rudolph & Jim Gaffigan

You can comment down below to enter in discussions. Thank you for reading, Subscribe and Spread the word! - Get your ReelReeviews, right here! 

(film review) - Shazam

It hasn't been long but Shazam is now here and since the last decent movie was indeed, Aquaman a few months ago, it seems as though the DCEU or whatever they want to call it is now ramping up.  There has been a few whispers of other films but it's interesting to see where they are going to be going considering there isn't a lot of great DC movies of late.  At the Moment it's Man of Steel, Wonder Woman and Aquaman.  One of DC's biggest flops, although it was alright, just (I mean I enjoyed it for the most part), was Justice League, but DC has a long way to go to keep pumping out excellence with consistency.  Maybe, just maybe we will have it here.

Billy Batson is a 14 year old foster child who has gone from home to home not being able to settle anywhere.  One day, Billy is pulled into a mysterious place and granted the powers of Shazam enabling him to change from boy to man in an instant with superhero powers, strength, healing, fire-proof, superhuman speed, superhuman reflexes, Electrokinesis, flight and with his friend Freddy Freeman, Billy must find a way to live with his new found powers and also take down Doctor Sivana who wants the power for himself.

I enjoyed this movie. It wasn't great, it wasn't wow, it was "Oh, ok, that was cool" There were some funny bits that made me chuckle and it is an overall decent movie, but if we were going to jump onto the comparison train, this movie does not hold a candle up to the recent comic book movies out.  I'd say it isn't as bad as Suicide Squad but that movie reeked of heavy studio interference.  the music and scores were decent and the visuals were also decent but if I'm honest, although not a jaw dropping movie, this movie does stand out as one of the better ones from DC, Aquaman, Wonder Woman.  It's been soo long since Man of steel and to think that Shazam essentially is pretty much equal to Superman, would be nice to see him in a future project or even, Black Adam especially as that has been mentioned a little while ago which seems like forever.

The acting is great from Zachary Levi and he bounces off Jack Dylan Grazer well. Asher Angel is also great and so in Mark Strong, as usual as he always delivers a great performance.  If they do choose to change some things should they do a sequel to this movie...I hope they tone down the suit as it literally looks like Zachary is in a muscle suit and the colour is wildly too bright.  And to not give any spoilers, but I would like to see more of Billy Batson's family in any future project too, especially as this could have been hinted by the end credits scene.  Give it a go, you might enjoy like I did.

You can comment down below to enter in discussions. Thank you for reading, Subscribe and Spread the word! - Get your ReelReeviews, right here! 

(film review) - IT

Me and scary movies is really touch and go.  I'm not even sure where I stand with them because I would watch a Paranormal Activity, Annabelle or Exorcist (well some of them), but I didn't watch the first IT movie.  I knew about it and I don't think I was scared per se, I just wasn't really bothered; and where everyone around me was talking about it and the famous sewer part, I just wasn't keen on watching IT and ultimately, to THIS DAY, still don't know what the infamous sewer par, was/is.  So, I think to myself, I may not have been scared by the movie itself, so I didn't want to watch it OR the thought of it scared me so I was disinterested in it.  Either way, it was a "who cares!" mentality that won.  So, as this is my first IT experience, let me tell you what IT is all about and what I thought of IT.

IT is about a bunch of young teenagers who live in a town named Derry.  Derry is the sort of place where it is a quiet town that seems semi detached from the real world; and the people there...hmmm, let me not get into that just yet, but a boy named Bill (Jaeden Lieberher) makes a paper toy boat for his younger brother Georgie (Jackson Robert Scott) to play with.  Georgie goes out into the torrential rain and sails his boat until it sails into a sewer.  Georgie attempts to retrieve the boat from the sewer but is met with a clown and that is the last we ever see of Georgie.  As more and more people go missing in the town, ' The Losers', Georgie's older brother Bill and his mates call themselves all see the Clown dubbed as IT, and while they try to deal with "regular life" in Derry, IT finds ways to torment and scare the losers and they must come together to confront the clown and find a way to kill IT.

Brilliant movie, I thought.  From casting, to acting, to delivery and direction.  IT had the right amount of tension and scares.  In this day and age where you can guess where a scare is coming or how, I found this scary movie somewhat refreshing; just like the story and the modern changes they made from the book.  I hadn't read the book as it's meant to be longer than the Old Testament, but since it was written in a different time, I can only assume there are old themes/scenarios in the story in which the director (Andy Muschietti) has adapted and given a modern spin/take to it which has also made the film very enjoyable.
Stand out actors in this movie is obviously the rising star that is Finn Wolfhard from Stranger Things fame who plays Richie; he is hilarious.  His banter with Eddie (Jack Dylan Grazer) is exactly what it is like being a teenager in the earlier years throwing insults left and right at each other and their parents as adolescent banter - with that said, Eddie is also great as the guy who is somewhat allergic to and terrified of everything (because there IS always one).  Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise the Dancing Clown is equally terrifying, scary, goofy and funny and at times I felt he was soo good at being a clown, I wondered at times why he didn't simply do what he wanted to do straight away than drag it out and parade himself, well, like a clown.  The other children actors are really good but when some characters aren't given much dialogue or screen time, it's hard to have all of the children stand out bar the ones they want to focus on, or at least that's how it felt, unless their story/performance just wasn't strong enough.  Derry as a town has a huge a mount of lore in which they touch upon in the movie and it makes you think how people in the "real world" do not know about the missing people which occur every so often.  I mean it must make you wonder, right?  Why would you move into a town where kids play in the rain by themselves and go missing, or people just go missing.  It's a bizarre place.  All in all, IT was a very good watch and I really enjoyed the movie.  It is not for the faint hearted as there were some legit scares that made me jump as well as those gross moments that are visually impactful.  You'll float too!