Comic-Con Trailer Reviews: Aquaman, Fantastic Beasts, Godzilla, Shazam and Glass

While I have yet to attend a Comic-Con the pictures make it seem like everyone is having a fabulous time. I may go one day, but in the meantime I’ll have to settle for the trailers released later than the Comic-Con public. Over the weekend trailers for upcoming television shows and movies were released and some of them I cannot wait to see. I’m going to take a look at five of the trailers released for upcoming films, what I think may happen in the film, the overall feel of the trailer and if I think the film will do well.

1. Aquaman. After his successful film debut in Justice League Aquaman is finally getting his own live-action feature film. Arthur Curry (Jason Moma) is the half human and half-Atlatean ruler of the underwater kingdom of Atlantis. His father was a lighthouse keeper named Thomas (Temuera Morrison) while his mother is Queen Atlanta (Nicole Kidman) who washed up ashore. Arthur receives word from Mera (Amber Herd), a beautiful warrior, that his half-brother Orm (Patrick Wilson) wants to start a war with the surface world. In addition to potentially overthrowing his brother Arthur also meets another foe in David Kane, aka Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Manteen II), a ruthless mercenary and treasure hunter. I know director James Wan wanted to wait until the trailer was perfect before releasing it; and boy was it worth it. The special effects, particularly in Atlantis, were breathtaking. The actors looked incredible in their respective roles; I cannot wait to see more of Moma and Herd from their time in Justice League while also looking very much forward to Wilson, Manteen and Kidman debuts. I can only hope the movie is as good as the trailer made it look. I know most DC films have not been received very well by audiences and critics, but maybe Aquaman can break the cycle like Wonder Woman did.
2. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. I have made no secret of my love for Harry Potter recently, so it is probably no surprise to you how excited I am for this. Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) has escaped from custody since the last time the audience saw him and seems to be gathering followers for an uprising against the non-magic people (Muggle or No-Majs, whatever you wish to call them). Needing help in stopping his former friend (and possibly more than that) a young Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) recruits his former student Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) in his quest. Returning from the first film is Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston), an American auror and Newt’s love interest, Jacob Kowalski (Dan Folger) a no-Maj who had his memory erased after the events of the first film but obviously something made him remember, Queenie Goldstein (Alison Sudol) Tina’s legilimens (ability to read minds) sister and Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller) a young man with a something very dark inside of him (and was thought to have died in the last film.) We also meet Leta Lestrange (Zoe Kravitz), Newt’s ex whom he still has feelings for (if you recognize the last name you know why this relationship did not work out) and we also finally have eyes on a character mentioned in the first book. Much like its predecessors the special effects look absolutely wonderful, the characters we have loved in the first film are back (I can’t wait to see how much they’ve grown) and I’m thrilled to see some of the newer characters and how they contribute to the story. I was genuinely surprised by the first film, I’ll go more into that one day, so I genuinely hope the sequel does just as well.
3. Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Now I’m not gonna lie, monster movies have never really been something I’m into; I haven’t really seen a full Godzilla movie but I plan to someday. In the meantime the sequel to the 2014 will be out next year and boy does it look fantastic. Humans seem to be on the verge of extinction and Dr. Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga) seems to have the solution: unleash the rightful rulers of Earth. Those just happen to be monsters called the Titans: Godzilla, Monthra, Rodan and King Ghidorah. Also staring Kyle Chandler, Millie Bobbie Brown, Bradley Whitford, Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins and Thomas Middleditch humanity must now fight against god like creatures.  My exact thoughts were (in the most sarcastic voice possible) “oh yeah cause releasing gigantic monsters is humanity’s only hope GREAT IDEA!” The effects for this film are stunning; let’s hope the story matches and they don’t kill off the top star within the first twenty minutes like in 2014. I do not know if I’m gonna see this in theaters, I have a little catching up to do on my monsters, but it will not surprise me if at the end of the film we get a surprise of a certain gigantic ape.
4. Shazam! I was familiar with this hero maybe a little more than some of the other people I’ve seen reacting to this trailer, so I think this is a great opportunity for audiences to become familiar with one of DC’s arguably most underrated heroes. Billy Batson (Asher Angel) runs away from foster home after foster home until finally forced to settle with the Vasquez family. He does become close with one of his foster brothers Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer) a disabled superhero fan. One day, after defending Freddy from bullies, Billy gets on a subway and gets transported to another realm. An ancient wizard (Djimon Hounsou) has chosen Billy to be a champion, and all he has to do is say his name: Shazam. When Billy does he is transformed into an adult (Zachary Levi) with multiple superpowers; including super strength, flight and is bulletproof. Along with Freddy Billy has to handle his new abilities, but it won’t be long before a threat to his abilities comes forward. Once again I won’t lie and say I’m on the fence when it comes to this film. Shazam, otherwise known as Captain Marvel but will not be called that for obvious reason, is very similar to Superman (which is why there have been multiple stories of them coming to blows) so I know there is going to be that comparison. When I heard Zachery Levi was cast I wasn’t completly convinced he could be Shazam; although remembering he has done child-like characters before erased those thoughts. I’m gonna wait and see the film before I fully judge Levi’s performance. I know Mark Strong is set to be the bad guy, but the trailer did not focus on him so I’m not entirely sure what he is going to do. The film does seem to be more light-hearted and funny compared to DC’s recent works, which fits in with the Shazam character. I do plan on watching the movie, but for now I’m on the fence about Shazam!
5. Glass. I originally wasn’t going to do this as I have not seen the prior films, but it has been one of the most talked about trailers so I feel obligated. Dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson) specializes in those who believe they are superheroes. Her latest patients: David Dunn (Bruce Willis) a security guard with superhero strength, invulnerability and has the psychological ability to see what horrible things people have done by a simple touch, Elijah Price aka Mr. Glass (Samuel L. Jackson) a brilliant mass murderer with fragile bones and Kevin Wendell Crumbs aka The Horde (James McAvoy) a man with over 20 personalities in him including a personality known as The Beast (a sociopath and a cannibal.) The film will see how all three men are connected. While I have not seen Unbreakable or Split yet I have seen enough peaks to know how creepy Glass, Dunn and especially Crumbs are; when I saw the trailer for Split I had chills down my spine. It looks like the film takes place back and forth; it appears we are going to find out how these three men know each other and how they ended up in the psych ward (which from the trailer looks freaky.) McAvoy, Willis and Jackson are three very great actors and I know they are going to be just as great in their respective roles. Sarah Paulson is also a fine actress and from what I’ve seen in the trailer she seems to be just as good as she usually is. I am not sure if I’ll watch Glass when it is in theaters, but we’ll see.

Those are my thoughts on the trailers released from Comic-Con, what are yours? Please leave your thoughts below on what you are looking forward to.

Movie Review: Incredibles 2

I stated this in my review to its predecessor and I’m gonna paraphrase it again. It has been a very long time since we’ve seen Pixar’s superhero family on-screen; there is a segment in the beginning featuring the actors and Brad Bird stating it and thanking the viewers for their patience. Was it worth the wait: 100 percent yes. This is still in theaters so I’m going to be as careful as I can be, but just in case, a spoiler alert is being issued. I DO NOT OWN THE PICTURE.

Taking place immediately after the first film Mr. Incredible aka Bob Par (Craig T. Nelson), Elastigirl aka Helen Par (Holly Hunter) and their children: Violet (Sarah Vowell), Dash (Huck Milner replacing Spencer Fox) and baby Jack-Jack (Eli Fucile) confront the Underminer (John Ratzenberger) but fail to stop him. Because of the damage their caused their friend from the super relocation program Rick Decker (Jonathan Banks taking over from Bud Lukey after he passed away) tells the Pars the program is being shut down for good. That same day Bob, Helen and their long-time friend Lucius Best aka Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson) are contacted by Winston Deavor (Bob Odenkirk), the head of a telecommunications company called DEVTECH. Winston, along with his genius inventor sister Evelyn Deavor (Catherine Keener), wants to make supers legal again; but they want Elastigirl to be the face. Winston provides the Par family with a house while Helen goes out stopping bad guys. Bob watches the kids, but is clearly upset that he is not out in the field; however he wants Helen to succeed for the kids (and his) super future. Bob soon has to cope with a few things: helping Violet capture her crush’s attention, Dash with math and (easily the best part of the movie) Jack-Jack’s new powers; yes plural as in more than one. Bob does get help from Lucius and longtime friend/costume designer Edna Mode (Brad Bird). Meanwhile Helen, along with a gaggle of supers including her biggest fan Void (Sophia Bush), have to fight a villain calling themselves the Screenslaver who hypnotizes anyone looking at a monitor. As far as I can go without spoiling the rest of the movie, but before I go into my review there is there is something I have to say. As you may have read the movie does have multiple flashing sequences which may cause someone with epilepsy to have a seizure so please be careful.

While I admit the sequel is not as good as the first film I believe it lived up to the hype. Having most of the cast back, in addition to the new characters, was amazing. The Par family is still as relatable as ever, even with the addition of powers. Bob is clearly struggling with staying on the side, but knows what he has to do to help Helen which makes him a good husband and father. Helen may have been reluctant to step back in the spotlight, but I thought she handled it well. Watching Violet and Dash become great supers is a joy, Lucius stepping up as uncle and Edna as aunt (kinda but it’s still great to see her) however I think we can agree the best part of the movie is Jack-Jack. I can honestly say sitting in the theater watching nearly everyone freak out when Jack-Jack showed a new power was hilarious; I know babies can be a struggle but imagine one that can teleport, multiply, burst into flames, laser eyes, demon baby and so much more. If you have the chance to watch Incredibles 2 in theaters go and do it, especially to get out of the heat.

Movie Review: Jurassic Park

With the fifth film opening this Friday I thought it would be a great idea to finally review one of the most successful film franchises of all time. Based on the 1990 novel of the same time, this 1993 Steven Spielberg movie opened the door to a brand new world 65 million years in the making. For some reason if you haven’t seen the franchise here is a massive spoiler alert. I DO NOT OWN THE PICTURE.

Paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), his paleobotanist girlfriend Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) and mathematician/chaos theorist Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) are invited by industrialist John Hammond (Richard Attenborough), and a lawyer Donald Gennaro (Martin Ferrero) to verify that Hammond’s new park is safe. When they get to the island called Isla Nublar Grant, Ellie and Malcolm are stunned (to say the least) that Hammond and his team, including Dr. Henry Wu (B.D. Wong), Ray Arnold (Samuel L. Jackson) and Robert Muldoon (Bob Peck) have recreated dinosaurs using DNA from mosquito and frogs as well as keeping the dinosaurs all girls in order to prevent breading; Dr. Malcolm quickly disbelieves this famously stating “Life finds a way” as well as dismissing the thought of controlling the dinosaurs. Grant, Ellie, Malcolm, Gennaro and Hammond’s grandchildren Lex and Tim Murphy (Ariana Richards and Joseph Mazzello) go on a tour of the park, called Jurassic Park, and that is when things go wrong. A tropical storm hits the island at the same time Dennis Nedry (Wayne Knight), who has been bribed by a competitor to steal embryos, cuts off the security system in order to get to where they are stashed. However because of his stupidity the power goes off as well and trucks with Grant, Malcolm, Gennaro and the kids get stuck right by the Tyrannosaurs Rex area (for those who haven’t seen the film this ends about as well as you think.) Everyone soon has to find a way to survive in Jurassic Park with not only the T-Rex but velociraptors after them until help can arrive. About as far as I should go without giving away the rest of the movie.

I actually avoided this film when I was younger because dinosaurs freaked me out (also seeing people getting eaten on screen makes me nauseous.) However when Jurassic World was coming out my curiosity was getting the better of me and I finally sat down to watch all three films. My reviews for those will come later, as for this this is clearly the best of the Jurassic films so far (not just my opinion but a fact.) This is widely regarded as one of the best films of all time; not just in dinosaur but in terms of Spielberg films as well. Everyone in the movie did a fantastic job acting wise, the script was fantastic and the special effects, given how computers were back in the 90’s, were amazing. The dinosaurs in here are either robotics and/or CGI are so well done you would think they were actual dinosaurs. Of course I cannot forget about the incredible music on the background, one of the most recognizable themes in film and why Jurassic Park won Oscars for its sound mixing, editing and visual effects. While I think the three sequels, as well as the upcoming fourth this Friday, are/may not as good as this one it was still a great way to start off one of the best film franchises of all time. If you haven’t watched the original Jurassic Park I highly recommend it, I’d even call it a must see. In the words of John Hammond: “Welcome to Jurassic Park.”

Movie Review: Disney Pixar’s The Incredibles

In honor of the long, and I mean LONG, awaited sequel now out in theaters, let’s take a look back at one of Pixar’s best feature films of all time (that might just be my opinion, but if you agree awesome.) Released in 2004 this Academy Award winning animated feature took audiences on a ride with a family dealing with their problems, oh yeah and they are superheroes. If you haven’t seen The Incredibles here is a massive spoiler alert. I DO NOT OWN THE PICTURE.

After years of damage caused by superheroes, or supers, finally cause the public to turn against them, the government issues a relocation program for supers to fully accept their secret identities. Two married supers, Bob Parr aka the super strong Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) and Helen Parr aka the flexible Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) seem to have adjusted well to a normal life with their three children: the shy and invisible Violet (Sarah Vowell), the super-fast Dash (Spencer Fox) and the normal baby Jack-Jack. Bob does love his family, but after 15 years he longs for his glory days being a super; often going out as a vigilante with his best friend Lucius Best aka the ice powered Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson). One day Bob receives a message from a beautiful woman named Mirage (Elizabeth Peña) offering the chance to become Mr. Incredible again and provide for his family. He jumps at the chance, but eventually realizes he is a part of a bigger and more sinister plot. The person behind it, a man at one time called Buddy Pine now the smart and vengeful Syndrome (Jason Lee) who wants to rid the world of supers, either by killing or by rendering the term useless. Helen, after a visit with family friend, super costume designer and sassy Edna Mode (director Brad Bird) realizes what has happened to her husband and joins him, along with Violet and Dash in stopping Syndrome.

This is one of my family’s favorite Pixar films, which if you’ve been following this blog probably doesn’t surprise you. The action, comedy, family dynamic, writing and voice acting for The Incredibles is exactly like the film title says. Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Spencer Fox and Sarah Vowell are amazing as the Parr family as their characters develop, grow and kick butt. Jason Lee is fantastic as the villain Syndrome; my opinion one of the best Pixar and Disney bad guys. My favorite characters to listen to are Samuel L. Jackson as Frozone (who doesn’t love the whole sequence with Frozone and his off-screen wife) and Brad Bird as Edna Mode (NO CAPES)! However if I have to say what my favorite thing about The Incredibles is, it might be how the film makers took traits in an everyday family and turned them into the powers. A dad, usually the patriarch, has to be the strongest member, mom has to be flexible running the house and kids, teen girls usually feel invisible and pre-teen boys are full of energy and run around. They made everyone in The Incredibles relatable in some way to the audience which helped the success of this wonderful animated film. Of course after a nearly 14 year wait Incredibles 2 has finally come to theaters, and I know my family will be in line to watch it as soon as we possibly can. If once again you have not seen The Incredibles I would put it on the must see list immediately. It is truly an incredible film (sorry, not sorry.)

Movie Review: Iron Man 2

With a small change in cast, new characters and a better villain than the first one, Iron Man 2 proved to be just as successful as the first one. Released in 2010, the sequel to Iron Man showed another side of Tony Stark and we got to see the debut of characters, or new actors, we have come to love over the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Spoilers ahead as usual. I DO NOT OWN THE PICTURE.

After announcing to the world he is Iron Man, Tony (Robert Downey Jr.) refuses to give in to government pressure to sell his suit or tech, despite encouragement from his best friend James “Rhodey” Rhodes (now played by Don Cheadle). However what the world, Rhodey or even new Stark Industries CEO Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) doesn’t know is the palladium core in the arch keeping Tony alive is also slowly killing him. Deciding “well I’m gonna die” Tony becomes more reckless (aka really stupid), and it may soon cost him. While competing at the Monaco Historic Gran Prix Tony is attacked by a man named Ivan Vanko aka Whiplash (Mickey Rourke) whose father has a history with Tony’s dad, with electric whips, not caring who gets in his way. Tony manages to defeat Vanko, not without damage to his suit, but Vanko later escapes thanks to Tony’s business rival Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), to make suits that would put Tony’s to shame; Vanko agrees to continue his revenge on Tony. Rhodey eventually gets his hands on one of the suits for the government (after a very good fight with Tony) but soon realizes what they have planned for it. Meanwhile Stark meets with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and the agent assigned to him under the guise of his new PA Natalie Rushman, now known as Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow (Scarlet Johansson) and they basically give him a wake-up call along with some information about his father that may reverse what is happening to Tony. When Tony realizes Vanko’s plan he teams up with Rhodey to stop him, along with Romanoff, bodyguard Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau), Pepper and of course J.A.R.V.I.S. (Paul Bettany) to save the world once again.

Now I will admit I did not like the sequel as much as I did the first one, but I still enjoyed it. Robert Downy Jr. is still amazing as Tony, even when I was annoyed with him (I get the man was dying but did he have to be such a jerk about it). Gwyneth is still great as Pepper as she and Tony constantly bickered which made the scene where they finally got together all the more satisfying. I will admit part of me will always be curious what would have happened if Terrance Howard continued with the franchise, but I think Don Cheadle is fantastic as Rhodey. Mickey Rourke is a great actor and I did enjoy him as Vanko, a man whose only goal is revenge against Tony, he is actually more intimidating when he doesn’t talk but that’s just my opinion. When I heard Black Widow would be making her debut in here I was thrilled to hear it would be Scarlet Johansson, and was even more impressed when I saw her on the screen; seriously can we get this woman a stand-alone movie already? Samuel L. Jackson is so perfect as Nick Fury; I actually cannot imagine anyone else playing the part. Writing might have been better in a few places, visual effects were just as awesome; overall Iron Man 2 was a pretty good follow up to the first one. If you haven’t seen the sequel I would recommend it especially if you are just getting into the Marvel Cinematic universe, but if superheroes are not your thing than no.

Movie Review: Iron Man

While this was not the first Marvel film released it was the first in what we now call the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Released in 2008 and directed by Jon Favreau, Iron Man help launch not only a very successful franchise (I know understatement of the century), but it also help revitalize an actors career. In case you haven’t seen this movie, spoiler alert. I DO NOT OWN THE PICTURE.

Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is many things (in his own words from another movie: genius, billionaire, playboy and philanthropist) heads to Afghanistan along with his best friend Lieutenant Colonial James Rhodes aka Rhodey (Terrence Howard) to showcase the latest weapon by Stark Industries, which Tony inherited from his father, called the Jericho missile. Shortly after the demonstration Tony’s car is ambushed, troops killed and he is captured as well as wounded by a terrorist group known as The Ten Rings led by Raza (Faran Tahir). Much to Tony’s horror he saw the group using his own weapons involved in the capture. He would have died if not for fellow captive Yinsen (Shaun Toub) implanting an electromagnet inside Tony’s chest preventing the shards from going into his heart. Raza wants both of them to build a Jericho missile promising to let them go, however Tony and Yinsen know he will not keep his word and plot to escape. They build an electric generator calling it arch reactor to power a suit, but are discovered. Yinsen sacrifices himself for Tony to complete the suit and Tony avenges his death by blowing up the compound of weapons. Tony finds his way to Rhodey and they get back home where Tony makes a public announcement that Stark industries will no longer sell weapons despite his father’s partner Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) protests that it will ruin the company. Tony makes a new sleek suit with a more powerful reactor in his chest, along with the help of his assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), but insists on keeping the work for himself. Tony soon discovers Stane has been selling weapons behind his back for years and wants to replace him as the CEO of Stark industries. Tony, along with Rhodey, Pepper, his personal AI system J.A.R.V.I.S (Paul Bettany) and an agent from S.H.I.E.L.D Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) are not gonna let him get away with that plan. While I probably should not say anymore in case of spoilers the last scene with Tony stating “I am Iron Man” is one of my favorite moments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as the special after credit scene with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson).

Just like that one of the biggest franchises kicked off and I could not think of a better movie to do it. While Robert Downy Jr. had many successful films after he become sober, he hadn’t really achieved blockbuster status until Iron Man. I had heard of others up for the part of Tony Stark, but watching the movie it is hard to picture anyone other than Downey Jr. playing that character. I enjoyed Terrence Howard as Rhodey and was somewhat disappointed he had a falling out with Marvel (however I have no problem with Don Cheadle for the rest of the franchise). I love Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts the woman who basically ran Tony’s life, the chemistry between Paltrow and Downey Jr.is awesome. Bridges is not the most memorable villain in the Marvel universe, but I thought he did a great job as the psychotic Stane. I also became a fan of Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson, although if you had told me just how big this character would become I may not have believed you. The writing and action were fantastic, and I know there were special effects but it was almost hard to tell where the effects were. I am so thankful the movie did well otherwise we would not have so many of the hottest stars and movies out there today. If you are interested in the Marvel Cinematic Universe you have to start with Iron Man.