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LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Shazam! (2019) in Movies

May 14, 2019 (Updated Dec 15, 2019)  
Shazam! (2019)
Shazam! (2019)
2019 | Action, Sci-Fi
A refreshing, and often humourous entry into the otherwise troubled DCEU
Contains spoilers, click to show
I went into Shazam! with low expectations, after not being particularly taken with the majority of past DCEU films.

I left feeling pretty positive about the whole goofy experience.

As with most DC material, the film starts on a fairly dark note, introducing us to a young Dr Sivana (a truly old school super villain, dating all the way back to the late 30s).
After a bit of back story as to why he gets all villainy, the movie wastes no time introducing us to Billy Batson (Asher Angel) and the rest of his foster family, and the movie succeeds in making all of the younger characters likable.

After a bit of comic book magic, we're eventually acquainted with the true power of Shazam!
Zachary Levi absolutely shines as he clearly relishes in playing this goofy, excitable teenager trapped in the body of a God. He bounces back and forth with Jack Dylan Grazer pretty well, and for the most part the relentless stream of jokes land nicely.

The film starts to waiver slightly towards the end, as the story hurtles towards a standard comic book movie CGI showdown, with a by the numbers comic book movie performance from Mark Strong, and some sketchy CGI cloud monsters, but it's hard not to grin with the surprise introduction of the Shazam! family (something I would surely expect from a sequel).

Shazam! also struggles at times to balance it's humour with it's more serious beats, but for the most part is an enjoyable origin story that the whole family can enjoy.
  
Above the Timberline
Above the Timberline
Gregory Manchess | 2017 | Comics & Graphic Novels, Science Fiction/Fantasy
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I'm calling this a graphic novel because that's really what it is - it's not a comic, though. Each spread of pages is a mixture of text and oil painting - sometimes just a painting.

If it was just the text, it would be a very lackluster book. There are aspects of the story that are unexplained, and aspects that are explained only by the accompanying paintings. It's really the paintings that make this book unique. It's almost like - an adult picture book, I suppose. It actually reads more like someone found the series of paintings and constructed a story to support what they imagined was happening in the pictures.

Regardless, it's a unique experience. Manchess is a remarkable artist. The paintings are gorgeous, and the book does that thing where the text and art play around each other on the page, creating unique formatting that helps tell the story on its own, like when a full two-page spread of a painting has two lines of text to emphasize them.

Fascinating, beautiful book.
  
The Weekly Planet
The Weekly Planet
TV & Film
10
6.8 (4 Ratings)
Podcast Rating
James and Mason are hilarious (2 more)
They are also knowledgeable
The format of the show is great
One of the best
I discovered The Weekly Planet back in late 2014 and once I listened to a few episodes, I immediately went back and listened to all of the previous episodes of the podcast that I could find. I have now listened to every single episode and continue to keep up with the new weekly episodes. This show is fantastic for any fan of comic book movies.
  
Weird Science DC Comics Podcast
Weird Science DC Comics Podcast
Books
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Podcast Rating
Banter (4 more)
Chat
Hosts
Listeners
Reviews
A Big Bad Bumper Comics Podcast
Jim and Eric bring us bumper Comic Book reviews each and every week. All of the DC range is reviewed on this show from your favourite DC characters.

Split up into easily manageable sections of books and responding to a plethora of Emails from their devoted fans known as the get fresh crew.

You won’t find a more honest and open forum podcast I guarantee it. They call it as they see it warts and all