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Lee (2222 KP) rated Shazam! (2019) in Movies
Apr 8, 2019 (Updated Apr 8, 2019)
Shazam is the latest DC superhero to land himself a standalone movie and continues to highlight the fact that these self contained DC offerings really do seem to be a lot better than their rushed ensemble movie output. It also shows how much better they can be when straying from the traditional dark DC gloom and deciding to inject a bit more humour and fun into it all. Aquaman recently showed just how much of a box office success that formula can be, Wonder Woman before it to a certain extent, and although Shazam does certainly have some dark themes and moments, it’s ultimately a lot more fun than either of those.
Shazam does take it’s time in introducing our superhero though, not to mention our super-villain, and the result is a much more grounded and believable movie. We begin with young boy Thaddeus Sivana, traveling by car with his elder brother and father. It’s the first of a number of dark scenes involving the Sivana family, really helping us to get a better understanding and appreciation of the man he later becomes and the motivation that drives him. We then head to present day Philadelphia, where 15 year old Billy Batson is using whatever means possible, legal or otherwise, to try and locate the birth mother he became separated from as a young boy while at a crowded funfair. Since then, Billy has been in the foster care system, and now finds himself in the care of Victor and Rosa – former foster kids themselves, who now run a home for a small group of foster children. Billy is sharing a room with Freddy, a disabled boy with an interest in superheroes and the proud owner of some pretty cool superhero memorabilia, including a batarang from Batman and a genuine bullet, flattened from having bounced off the man of steel himself! The foster home is a pretty close knit group and Billy initially struggles to fit into this large new ready made family.
And then one day, while on the run after standing up to a couple of older kids who were bullying Freddy, Billy finds himself transported to a dark mysterious cave where he inherits the powers of aged wizard Shazam (Djimon Hounsoul). The wizard is the last Shazam, currently protecting the world from an invasion of the Seven Deadly Sins, but now so weak that he must transfer his powers to someone who is true of heart. Absorbing his power, Billy becomes a grown up superhero (Zachari Levy), but by saying the word Shazam he is able to alternate between his teen body and that of the mighty superhero whenever he wants.
Once he manages to convince Freddy that he is in fact Billy and not some crazy guy in a suit, they have a lot of fun trying to work out which powers Shazam actually has and how to best make use of them. If you’ve seen the trailer, you’ll know that this is where a lot of the fun lies within the movie and it’s definitely very entertaining. But Billy eventually begins having a little too much fun for Freddy’s liking, and when all he is doing is skipping school to go shoot off lightning bolts for a gathered crowd, Freddy becomes frustrated that he is wasting his gift. With great power comes great responsibility and all that. Meanwhile, young Thaddeus Sivana has now become Dr Sivana (Mark Strong), acquiring some pretty impressive powers of his own and forging his own dark path in a scene which really pushes the 12A age rating for the movie. All his life, Sivana has been seeking the power that Billy has now acquired, so when this larger than life hero shows up, goofing around and not really taking that power seriously, Dr Sivana goes after Shazam to try and take the power for himself.
From there, the rest of the movie is pretty much a cat and mouse chase between Sivana and Shazam across the city, up in the sky and down on the streets as they smash through shopping malls and buildings before culminating in a fairground showdown. It’s actually a lot more fun than it sounds, although the whole movie could probably benefit from having about 10-15 minutes cut from it. Also, the dark threat introduced so shockingly earlier on in the movie, suddenly doesn’t become so shocking or menacing towards the end. It’s indicative of the tone of the movie as a whole really, trying to remain rooted in the traditional DC gloom, but striving for family friendly box office success. These are all very minor negatives for me though – overall Shazam is a lot of fun and very lighthearted, with a lot to say about the importance of family. And the Boardman family had an absolute blast watching it!
Shazam does take it’s time in introducing our superhero though, not to mention our super-villain, and the result is a much more grounded and believable movie. We begin with young boy Thaddeus Sivana, traveling by car with his elder brother and father. It’s the first of a number of dark scenes involving the Sivana family, really helping us to get a better understanding and appreciation of the man he later becomes and the motivation that drives him. We then head to present day Philadelphia, where 15 year old Billy Batson is using whatever means possible, legal or otherwise, to try and locate the birth mother he became separated from as a young boy while at a crowded funfair. Since then, Billy has been in the foster care system, and now finds himself in the care of Victor and Rosa – former foster kids themselves, who now run a home for a small group of foster children. Billy is sharing a room with Freddy, a disabled boy with an interest in superheroes and the proud owner of some pretty cool superhero memorabilia, including a batarang from Batman and a genuine bullet, flattened from having bounced off the man of steel himself! The foster home is a pretty close knit group and Billy initially struggles to fit into this large new ready made family.
And then one day, while on the run after standing up to a couple of older kids who were bullying Freddy, Billy finds himself transported to a dark mysterious cave where he inherits the powers of aged wizard Shazam (Djimon Hounsoul). The wizard is the last Shazam, currently protecting the world from an invasion of the Seven Deadly Sins, but now so weak that he must transfer his powers to someone who is true of heart. Absorbing his power, Billy becomes a grown up superhero (Zachari Levy), but by saying the word Shazam he is able to alternate between his teen body and that of the mighty superhero whenever he wants.
Once he manages to convince Freddy that he is in fact Billy and not some crazy guy in a suit, they have a lot of fun trying to work out which powers Shazam actually has and how to best make use of them. If you’ve seen the trailer, you’ll know that this is where a lot of the fun lies within the movie and it’s definitely very entertaining. But Billy eventually begins having a little too much fun for Freddy’s liking, and when all he is doing is skipping school to go shoot off lightning bolts for a gathered crowd, Freddy becomes frustrated that he is wasting his gift. With great power comes great responsibility and all that. Meanwhile, young Thaddeus Sivana has now become Dr Sivana (Mark Strong), acquiring some pretty impressive powers of his own and forging his own dark path in a scene which really pushes the 12A age rating for the movie. All his life, Sivana has been seeking the power that Billy has now acquired, so when this larger than life hero shows up, goofing around and not really taking that power seriously, Dr Sivana goes after Shazam to try and take the power for himself.
From there, the rest of the movie is pretty much a cat and mouse chase between Sivana and Shazam across the city, up in the sky and down on the streets as they smash through shopping malls and buildings before culminating in a fairground showdown. It’s actually a lot more fun than it sounds, although the whole movie could probably benefit from having about 10-15 minutes cut from it. Also, the dark threat introduced so shockingly earlier on in the movie, suddenly doesn’t become so shocking or menacing towards the end. It’s indicative of the tone of the movie as a whole really, trying to remain rooted in the traditional DC gloom, but striving for family friendly box office success. These are all very minor negatives for me though – overall Shazam is a lot of fun and very lighthearted, with a lot to say about the importance of family. And the Boardman family had an absolute blast watching it!
Dean (6927 KP) rated Pumpkinhead (1988) in Movies
Oct 11, 2017
Cool creature feature
An ok creature slasher, made better due to being directed by Stan Winston and B-movie horror star Lance Henriksen. This feels like it's an even older film, surprised it was made in '88! The creature design, costume is pretty cool as you would expect in a Stan Winston film. It looks like it owes a lot to the Alien creature design. The creature is played by the same guy used for the first two Predator films, Kevin Peter Hall. This has spawned 3 more sequels since. The 4th stars Lance Henriksen again! Worth checking out for old skool horror fans!
Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated Netflix in Apps
Nov 3, 2017
Vast range of documentaries (1 more)
Easy to use app
Use it everyday
The content on Netflix is not bad, it has a great range of TV series and documentaries, however they seem to be slightly behind Amazon Prime and quite a lot behind Now TV in terms of movies.
The app itself is great, it's easy to use and utilising Chromecast and Google Home means I can watch Netflix on TV with only my voice or a touch of the button on the app. It's well made, more so than watching Amazon Prime as it still does not have this functionality.
The app itself is great, it's easy to use and utilising Chromecast and Google Home means I can watch Netflix on TV with only my voice or a touch of the button on the app. It's well made, more so than watching Amazon Prime as it still does not have this functionality.
Tonya (52 KP) rated Suicide Squad (2016) in Movies
Dec 31, 2017
Harley Quinn (1 more)
Action
Plot (1 more)
Character Development
Entertaining but no character development
Good vs evil. Good wins. End of plot development. Dark tone like most Batman movies. While I don't think action movies need to develop characters to the same extent as dramas, there are so many unique characters in this movie that deserved more than just a two-minute intro as they each got rounded up in the beginning of the movie. I see a lot of potential with these characters and would probably see another movie with them in it, I was just disappointed that I didn't get to learn more about a few of them in this movie.
Mark Halpern (153 KP) rated Thor (2011) in Movies
Jan 2, 2018
MCU
Another one of the heroes introduced into the MCU who will be a part of the Avengers. Thor was cast perfectly and I find it cool that Noah Synderguard of the Ny Mets could fill in as double if really needed lol. The story answers a lot of questions espically about the Teseract that we learn of in the first Captain America movie. I love each person who was cast in this movie and they all played them to a T. S.H.I.E.L.D is better reprsented in this movie and we learn much ore about them and about another avenger who has very small part.
Vicky (1 KP) rated The Greatest Showman (2017) in Movies
Jan 8, 2018
Amazing Soundtrack (1 more)
Amazing Cast
I must say after listening to the soundtrack on repeat for at least two days I was slightly worried that the film wouldn't live up to the music but it was absolutely amazing! I loved every second and was not bored once. The storyline was just as amazing as the soundtrack and I must say that the soundtrack and story fitted together incredibly well. The dance numbers and stunts were awesome. And I'll be honest when I say I never wanted it to end. Definitely one I will be re-watching a lot. One of my favourite films of 2017 by far!
Niki (8 KP) rated Wicked City - Season 1 in TV
Jun 13, 2017
Pleasantly surprised
Having never heard of this series, I have to say, I really enjoyed it. Set on Sunset Strip in the 1980's, this crime show has everything except big names, but don't let that put you off. It follows the story of the police chasing a serial killer, but unlike most other shows like this, you get to see the story from both the police and the killer alike. I also think that because the story is told over the whole series and not crammed into a one episode slot, it allows a lot more perspective to consider. Roll on Series 2.
Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated The Accountant (2016) in Movies
Jul 19, 2017
Cast (2 more)
Score
Script
An action flick with a brain
Affleck shines here, portraying an autistic badass respectfully and there definitely is an appropriate sense of dread present throughout the runtime of the movie. The supporting cast is also fantastic, Jon Lithgow and JK Simmons are as brilliant as you have come to expect them to be, but it is actually Jon Bernthal that steals every scene he is in. As expected Anna Kendrick adds a level of comic relief to the movie and she works well in contrast to Affleck’s more serious role. The writing and direction are solid and the score adds a lot to the film too.
Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated Far Cry Primal in Video Games
Jul 24, 2017
Stripping it back
At the start of this year when this game was released I wasn’t particularly interested in this Far Cry spinoff without the guns, but while waiting for Doom and Uncharted to release in May, I picked this up and actually had a lot of fun with it. Never quite reached the end, but the time I did spend with it was good. The game of course takes several liberties with the equipment available at the time and it is a fair bit slower than the mainline Far Cry games, but this is a nice change from the same old recipe.
Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated You Too Can Have A Body Like Mine in Books
Jul 24, 2017
Slightly overhyped with massive plot gaps
I had read a great number of reviews about this eccentric book, but perhaps it was a little too quirky for my liking. There are major similarities with Chuck Palahniuk in terms of the exaggerated style of writing and general shock factor, unfortunately it did not seem to deliver. The characters were undeveloped and there seem to be a lot of loose ends at the end of the book such as what actually happened to B and C? While I can understand the moralistic nature of the story, attacking the usage of food as a means to control people, there seemed to be something missing.