Black Adam entered theatres with mixed reviews from movie critics, as comic fans enjoyed the film for the most part. Black Adam generated $393.5 million dollars from a budget of $230 million, categorizing this a failed project by DC Comics. Moviegoers would agree that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever could be the reason Black Adam didn’t generate more profits in its theatrical run. The success of the first Black Panther gave way for an easy win for its second film, taking away much interest in Black Adam after two weeks. Black Adam made an early digital release on November 22nd, 2022, then begins streaming on HBOMax December 16, 2022.

What do you think of Dwayne Johnson‘s portrayal of Black Adam? Dwayne expressed his desire to play Black Adam for some time, even being a part of production when Shazam was in development. In this cinematic story, Black Adam is released from his prison to become champion of Kahndaq once again, freeing the people from intergang mercenaries of the present day. Black Adam’s power is tested against Sabbac, ultimately and seemingly making Black Adam worthy of the powers originally bestowed to his son.

Black Adam and Captain Marvel are opposites sides on the same coin. In both films, The Wizards imbued young boys with the power of Shazam. Billy Batson accepted his power to protect his family and save the world from evil while Teth Adam used his power to take revenge for the death of his family. Neither character is featured in either film as a contender or ally. It’s suggested in both films that neither the Shazam Family nor Black Adam is aware of each other’s existence.

In Shazam’s deleted scene, there is one more seat in the Throne Room that is not filled. Is this seat for Black Adam? Is this the reason why Black Adam felt that taking the throne of Khandaq was wrong after defeating Sabbac? Will Black Adam and Shazam come face to face, since the possibility of battling Superman is nonexistence now that Henry Cavill will no longer be The Man of Steel?

The Justice Society of America made its intro to the cinematic world as the team to take down Black Adam. Ethnic background changes seem to be the norm now in comic films such with Hawkman, Cyclone, DeadShot, Human Torch and Heimdall just to name a few. What bothered comic fans was the death of Dr. Fate. Why would writers change Dr. Fate from being an immortal hero to becoming vulnerable? In the comics and television series, The Justice Society and Justice League works together to battle global and universal threats. Do you think we will see such union in future films? Will The Rock make his return as the champion of Khandaq or is this the end for the antihero? Leave your comments below, give us your take on Black Adam! Check out Sideshow Collectibles for Black Adam sculptures and many more!!

Doctor Strange made his live appearance on the movie screen with big success, racking in $677.8 worldwide. Scott Derrickson did well to keep the story of Strange authentic to the comics, with just a few story changes and excellent computer graphics. The CGI action sequences brought reminiscent to the films Inception and The Matrix. What do you think of Benedict  Cumberbatch playing as the Master of the Mystic Arts? Who else could you envision taking on this role?

Dr. Strange is similar to Dr. Fate of DC Comics. Their roles normally consist in aiding their world heroes against enemies from supernatural dimensions. In a battle between the two characters, Dr. Fate would dominate the fight because of his immortality and superhuman durability. This film is a part of the path leading to Infinity War movies. In the comics, Dr. Strange is among the major players in the war against Thanos.

One major change in the Dr. Strange story was having the time stone embedded as the Eye of Agamotto. Comic films have become different from their comic book blueprints over time, all to make the cinematic world a whole new universe. Five stones down, one more to go. What upcoming film will hold the last stone? Has the last stone been in plain sight the entire time?

Thor made his cameo in the mid credits of the film, aligning himself with Strange to help find his father with the aid of his scheming brother Loki. This could be a hint that Strange maybe a possible cameo in the upcoming Thor: Ragnarok. If so, how will Dr. Strange be utilized? Do you think Dr. Strange is ready to take on the forces of Loki?

What were your thoughts on this film?? This version of Power Rangers is a reboot story based on The Mighty Morphing Power Rangers television series. The visual effects used for the movie brought the Rangers up to date with the other super teams in cinema. There were some changes made in character profiles, only to separate this film as a new entity to the franchise. To date Power Rangers grossed $142.5 million dollars from a budget of $105 million. There were many mixed reviews about this film, leaning more negative than positive. This could be due to the changes made to the character profiles but besides these alterations, this film was action packed with elements of humor and thriller.

Instead of being the creator of the Power Rangers, Zordan was the original Red Ranger. He died protecting the Zeo Crystal by sending a meteor shower to Earth. This was the incident that wiped out the death dinosaurs. The consciousness of Zordon was preserved within his spaceship, only to be reawaken as a three-dimensional projection of his facial likeness. Uploading his consciousness within a computer interface is a similar method used by Jor-El in Man of Steel or Dr. Will Caster in Transcendence. Once the teenagers open the Morphin Grid, Zordon would be able to be restored in a physical body. The new armor designs were sleek, very reminiscent of the Iron Man armors. We get to see for the first time how the Rangers morph into action, as the armor envelopes the body in an electrical silhouette. The armors worn by these Power Rangers seem to work similar to the armor found in the movie Max Steel.

The Zords were also upgraded in appearance and function. In the original TV series, the Zords are controlled with the Power Crystals of their Ranger and weren’t seen fighting individually. These Zords of the 2017 version, are designed to link with the armor of the Ranger, connecting them as one being. We didn’t see how the Zords combine into the MegaZord exactly like on the television series but the way the Megazord maneuvers in action reminds fans of the Jaegers in Pacific Rim. Do you think the MegaZord would stand a chance against a robotic life form like Megatron?

This film portrayed Rita as the original Green Ranger, who betrayed her team for gain greater power through the Zeo Crystal. Zordon attempted to destroy her with the meteor shower shown in the beginning, but she survived only to continue her mission for power. Goldar is introduced as a giant molten gold behemoth, which served like a MegaZord for Rita.

In the ending credits, its suggested that a new Green Ranger will take Rita’s place. Will the franchise stretch far enough to get a White Ranger as well? Who are the others that Rita spoke of that will come for the crystal as she did? Leave your comments below and let us know what you thought of this film!!

Movie Review!!

This Movie Review of Star Beyond will also feature Star Trek 2009 and Star Trek: Into Darkness

Paramount Pictures released the third Star Trek film titled Beyond. Its opening weekend brought in $89.6 million, which is higher than the opening weekends of the first two films of 2009 and 2013. To date, Star Trek: Beyond generated 343.5 million worldwide. Many supporters feel Star Trek is very popular as Star Wars in the sci-fiction film category. Coincidentally, J.J. Abrams is the current director behind the two space franchises. Star Trek is set to have a fourth film in later years. How long will this film series continue or will Star Trek be reinvented once more in the future?

With J.J. Abrams visionary talent, Star Trek has been rebooted keeping its 50 year essence in tact. New actors resembling the original crew were excellent choices among fans and most importantly the visuals. In each of the films, you notice the progression of Captain Kirk also the rising experience, personality, and family bonding of the crew. With the Enterprise, you will take notice of science theories regarding space travel at light speeds. As you can see, J.J was not shy in having the Enterprise destroyed in each film!

All three movies featured its on unique villain. What so similar between the villains of each movie is that they all have a revenge mission on the Federation. Nero is a Romulan seeking to destroy Earth with a weapon that can create black holes in space. Nero revenge stemmed from the destruction of his homeworld which he believed could be saved. Khan is the second villain who sought to destroy the Federation for being used to create weapons which would start a war between two worlds. Also Khan was threaten with death along with the last of his people. The third villain is Krall, a once human and a captain. His gripe with the Federation is that Earth became unified with her universal enemies thus the Federation. Krall also felt forgotten about when his ship was disabled out on a mission. These villains see the Federation as an armada that has a vision to control the universe. Which of the three films did you like the most?

Sadly, the original Spock Leonard Nimoy, and actor Anton Yelchin have passed away. Leonard passed during the pre-production of Beyond and Anton pass in June, a month before the movie’s release. Star Trek Beyond is dedicated to the memory of both actors. Interestingly, Leonard second marriage was to Susan Bay, who is cousins with the famous film director Michael Bay.

Movie Review!!

Suicide Squad was released on August 5th, with $267 million made on its opening weekend. When first released, Suicide Squad was set to have a R rating. With various scene cuts, the film was level down to PG-13 like Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. Why again? Deadpool held no punches back with its R rated release and the film became a huge win for Marvel Comics. Many comic fans have mixed feelings for the film, more negative than positive. Many feel the story or threat for the Suicide Squad could have been better. What was your take on the film?

The Suicide Squad is a group of dangerous criminals collected together by Amanda Waller, to take on assignments designed for no return or assignments to place blame on the criminals if spun out of control. These outlaws are individuals brought down by Batman, for the exception of Captain Boomerang, who is a criminal that commonly battles The Flash. The Flash makes an appearance in this film, but only briefly. Will Smith took the role of Deadshot, which is a change in character ethnicity like Laurence Fishburne taking the role of Perry White in Zack Synder‘s Superman. This movie is the reason Will Smith turned down Independence Day: Resurgence. Do you think Will Smith should have done the Independence Day sequel instead of this movie?

Batman also had a small cameo in this film, which were flashback memories with DeadShot and Harley Quinn. Even Ben Affleck made his small cameo at the mid credit scene, showing Bruce Wayne on his mission to form his super team of heroes. Affleck’s Batman is the first character to cameo in different films other than his own feature film. Is Batman the center piece for future DC films?

This film introduced the third Joker on film, which was portrayed by Jared Leto. This style of Joker is very different from the previous ones. This Joker has more of a rock star element, with the tattoos, silver teeth and jewelry. It was suggested that this Joker is actually Jason Todd, the former Robin, with few hints mentioned in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. What’s unique about this film is the history and developing relationship between the Joker and Harley Quinn. Do you think this was an excellent portrayal of the two lovers? Do you think this is the last we’ll see of the Suicide Squad, or will they return in Batman’s solo film?

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Movie Review!!

Independence Day: Resurgence is the anticipated sequel to Independence Day. Resurgence brought in 143.7 million dollars opening weekend, much lower than the first film which was a blockbuster hit in 1996. The first film was released on July 2 coinciding with it’s film’s events, unlike Resurgence which was prematurely released from that date. In Resurgence, it took 20 years for the aliens to return to Earth which ran parallel in taking 20 years to make a sequel to the first film. Resurgence received much negative reviews than positive. What was your take on the film?

Twenty years ago Earth was invaded by hostile aliens, which in fact had Earth on it’s sights since 1947. On July 2, 1996, the invading alien forces came to Earth to conquer it, but on July 4th, the aliens were defeated by small collective of survivors before being brought down worldwide. Defeated, the hostiles sent a distress call back to their home world before being captured as prisoners or destroyed. During the 20 year span, Earth was rebuilt and improved by the salvaged alien technology from the two day war in 1996. Earth has accomplish what they always wanted: a space defense against future threats and the means to expand their space exploration within the solar system.

According to the first film, when the alien pilot invaded President Whitmore’s mind, it was revealed that the aliens move to different planets like locust, consuming the planet’s resources which results in the destruction of the planet. In Resurgence, it was explained when the aliens consume planets, they would drill down to a planet’s core to harvest it. Once harvested, the core is used to power all of the alien ships and weapons. The harvested energy is also used to sustain a planetary ecosystem on board of the mega mothership. This way of planetary consumption is very similar to how Galactus replenishes his cosmic power in the Marvel Universe.

Much of the cast returned to the film for the exception of Will Smith, who had the role of US Fighter pilot Captain Steven Hiller. Because of his commitment with Suicide Squad, his character Captain Hiller was killed off in Resurgence, with only portrait and photos cameos left of him. Within the 20 years between the two Independence Day films, Will has starred in many blockbusters sci-fi films. Could his experience in the sci-fi film category been a great influence on Resurgence, thus making it a huge blockbuster like the first film?

The return of Dr. Brackish Okun portrayed by famous Brent Spiner was the most confusing spin of the movie. In the first Independence Day, his character was actually killed after he was used as a voice puppet for the captured alien, brought to Area 51 by Captain Hiller. Resurgence changed Okun apparent death to a 20-year-old coma which was uplifted when the alien reinforcements arrived. Not only was Okun able to connect with the aliens, but the doctor also made a friendly alliance with another extraterrestrial that arrived to Earth to help against the invasion. This alien technology also offered to level up the Earth’s advanced technology even further. The alien tech also set plans to level up Earth’s advanced space travel to interstellar traveling, all in hopes to invade the alien’s home world and end the alien’s reign of the universe. Do you think Independence Day was perfect the first time around without this sequel or should the story continue?

Morbius is introduced to the cinematic universe through Sony Pictures, with a lot of negative reviews from movie critics. Morbius initial appearance was in the first Blade film before the credits, which didn’t make the theatrical cut. Because of the Covid Pandemic, this film suffered a delay on its release date, originally slated for July of 2020. With the time given by Covid, wouldn’t it been possible to make corrections to this film making it among the top rank vampire films? Despite the setback and many unfavorable reviews, Morbius generated 167.5 million from an $83 million dollar budget.

What did capture the audience’s attention for the most part was the visual effects. The display of superpowers Michael used as the living vampire was incredible, very reminiscent of Dracula Untold. With this display of vampiric power, it’d be cool to see Bruce Wayne take the serum for himself, especially in the Christopher Nolan series or even when battling Superman and Doomsday in Batman V Superman. Do you think this cinematic version of Morbius can take on Marcus Corvinus in a fight?

Do you think Morbius should have been introduced through Spiderman like in the comics? If so, this would have been an excellent third story for Spiderman portrayed by Andrew Garfield. In the ending credits of this 2021 feature, Morbius comes face to face with the Vulture presumably making a deal to work together. This is blending Sony and Disney’s interpretation of Marvel characters. We see this same instance in the ending of Venom: Let There Be Carnage, where Venom and Eddie Brock is transported into the MCU. Were these attempts to correct the cinematic background stories of Venom and Morbius, knowing that these characters didn’t exist without the story of Spiderman? What will become of this film, will there be another? Leave your comments below, tell us what you think of this feature! Also, take a visit to SlideShow Collectibles for their feature sculpture pieces of Morbius and many more characters!

Godzilla Vs Kong is the sequel film to Godzilla: King of Monsters and Kong: Skull Island. Godzilla vs King Kong is a classic battle that was created back in 1962 and now being revisited with today’s advanced cinematics. Godzilla Vs Kong is among the many hit films to be released through HBOMax because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite this, the film grossed $468.2 million from a $200 million dollar budget.

Since the events of Skull Island, humans discovered that the Earth still contains massive animals that predate human existence. It’s unclear to the audience based on the movie timelines, how humans come from trespassing enemies on Skull Island, to becoming caretakers to Kong. In Godzilla: King Of Monsters, Ghidorah‘s flight path manipulates weather, causing even the storm surrounding Skull Island to turn inward, making the environment unstable for the inhabitants. In turn Monarch developed a dome structure that simulates Skull Island’s calm weather where Kong could live without interference. Also, during this time, Monarch discovered that the Earth has subterranean levels where life could exist and believes this is where Kong is originally from. To their surprise, they find out the ancestors of Kong and Godzilla have been at war for some time. Eventually Hollow Earth became Kong’s new home, far from the influences of the world above.

After the battle with the Titans of his first two films, Godzilla is considered the savior for the human race. During the aftermath, the rival company to Monarch named Apex Cybernetics is developing systems that could replicate the powers demonstrated by the monsters. One of their devices is giving off a pulse which Godzilla finds threatening, sending him on a rampage to destroy it. The destruction and death left behind by Godzilla began to change the public view of the Titan. This narrative is what Apex Cybernetics uses to justify the need to destroy Godzilla. In the ending scene of King of Monsters, a single head of the Ghidorah was retrieved to be salvaged for unknown purposes. Movie fans believed that Mecha-King Ghidorah would make an appearance, instead MechaGodzilla was born. Without the combined forces of Godzilla and Kong, both Titans would have perished, and the world would be in jeopardy. With the defeat of MechaGodzilla, Godzilla regained his trust among the humans and reclaimed the throne as King of the Monsters on Earth.

Godzilla and Kong face off twice in this film, once at sea and at the classic stage of Hong Kong. Godzilla’s amphibious nature helped the Titan completely dominate Kong in the ocean, nearly killing him and the Monarch crew. On land Kong had a better advantage but was still outmatched when Godzilla releases the atomic breath. With his defeat, Kong didn’t submit to his rival, instead gave him a respect as a worthy opponent. It seems that Titans are unclear of their opponents’ intentions, and both are not looking for a fight unless provoked. If prequel film is created, it should be about the ancient war between the ancestors of the Godzilla and Kong in Hollow Earth. The story could explain how the Titans eventually discovered the surface world with the humans.

The MechaGodzilla was an interesting machine brought to the cinematics. The Ghidorah neuropathways allowed the deceased Dragon to be resurrected in a new body. What type of threat would MechaGodzilla be if taking under control from either Megatron or Ultron? Megatron goal was to always enslave humanity as a conqueror while Ultron is looking to destroy all organic life and replace it with machines like the Terminators. Or is the mechanical Titan too strong for both Megatron or Ultron and could possibly destroy them both…?

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Wonder Woman 1984 released Christmas of 2020 in theatres and streamed on HBOMax. WW84 had multiple release delays because of the COVID-19 pandemic, causing the film to generate $154.6 million, below the budget of $200 million. WW84 takes place in 1984, where Diana works in an antique museum as we see her in Justice League but in 1984 she is stationed in Washington D.C. The Dream Stone makes its way to the museum, creating chaos that Wonder Woman must bring to order. What type of power do you think the Infinity Gauntlet would have if the Dream Stone was apart of the stone settings?

While in presence of the Dream Stone, Diana inadvertently wished to be with Steve Trevor again. His spirit returned, embodied inside another man. Despite this, Diana could recognize Steve as if he were in his original form. During their reunion, Diana made a successful attempt to shield a stolen fighter jet from radar, an art she learned from her father. With this cinematic perspective, comic fans understand that Wonder Woman could render any object invisible, instead of the belief Amazons had the technology to create invisible warcrafts. Diana’s inadvertent wish came with the negative effect of taking away her powers. After renouncing her wish, she gained back her powers, thus losing Trevor indefinitely. Flight became a new addition during Diana’s power restoration, a feat she had yet to display on film.

Until this film, we’ve seen Diana’s areal feat as extended leaps, similar to The Hulk in various films or Faroa in Man of Steel. In WW84 we also see Diana use the Lasso of Truth as a grappling hook to jettison into the air or stream along lightning currents in the higher altitudes. Does Diana gain a new level of power each time she is restored from depletion? Can we get a crossover cinematic visual of Wonder Woman traveling to Asgard to offer an alliance with Themiscyra, merging Greek and Norse Mythology? What about Diana’s attempt to wield Mjölnir? With her warrior’s might and Asteria’s armor , do you think Diana could lead the Valkyrie?

Pedro Pascal, actor as the Mandalorian, plays Max Lord in WW84. His life is filled with ambition with minimal success in business and personal life. This causes disorder when he wished to be the Dream Stone in the flesh. Max Lord’s character seemed focused on the fundamentals of the Law of Attraction and how greed among humans have devastating consequences on many levels. Was the power of wishes and dreams the theme of the movie? Is there a negative effect when we have positive dreams for ourselves?

WW84 presented Diana’s next foe, the feline humanoid Cheetah. Barbara gained her animalistic powers from the Dream Stone, after replacing her first wish of wanting to be like Diana. This is different from the comic blueprint where Barbara gained her powers from Urzkartaga. Its assumed that Barbara renounced her wish, but did she? It appears that Max Lord renounced his wish of being the Dream Stone before Barbara could renounce her wish. Because of this, is it possible her powers remained but can only return at night like Werewolf by Night? Will there be another film to bridge the time of 1984 to 2016 when the Trinity battled Doomsday? What were your thoughts on this film? Leave your comments below and check out SlideShow Collectibles for WW84 memorabilia!!!

Black Panther is one of Marvel Comics most anticipated films of 2018. It presold more tickets than any Marvel film, thus placing the movie as the third highest to sell over a weekend. To date, Black Panther has sold $727.9 million dollars worldwide! Captain America: Civil War was the film that ushered the Panther to Marvel Cinematic Universe. In the Avengers: Age of Ultron, the Nation of Wakanda was mentioned, as a country rich with Vibranium. Black Panther is a film with great action sequences, excellent African wardrobes, culture and an amazing cast.

Black Panther takes place a week after T’Challa turns Helmut Zemo in for his crimes and for the death of his father T’Chaka. T’Challa returns home to Wakanda to assume the role of King. During this time, Captain America and Bucky are fugitives kept in secret in Wakanda. Wakanda is guarded by a force field which hides the city in plain sight, just like Themyscira in the 2017 Wonder Woman. Wakanda is the only technologically advanced city on Earth. Under the city lies the rich Vibranium mine and the gardens of herbs which is used to give Wakandan kings their powers.

The Vibranium Panther suit was one of greatest features of the movie. The upgraded armor can materialize over the wearer from a special necklace. The user can then mentally command any part of the suit as needed. The vibranium in the suit stores incoming kinetic energy which then can be dispersed out like an explosive wave. This explosion can be used to hurl enemies, destroy vehicles or help catapult the wearer wherever needed. Its major weakness is sonic waves, very similar to the symbiotes of the Venom family. Which character do you think would use Vibranium in their tech more efficiently between Batman and Iron Man?

This film came with not one villain but three. Killmonger played by Michael B. Jordan was the major villain followed by the return of Klaue and the Man-Ape M‘Baku. Killmonger turned out to become a favorite villain in cinema because of his connection with the black audience. His goal was to help those of African descent around the world to fight against their oppressors with the advanced technology of Wakanda. When he became King for a brief period, he dawned himself as the Golden Jaguar instead of a Black Panther. He felt that all Africans should share in the wealth of Wakanda instead of just those who reside there. Klaue was last seen retreating for his life after Ultron cuts of his arm in Avengers: Age of Ultron. His arm has since been replaced with a sonic blaster, which has the same destructive power as the Panther suit. Klaue is eventually killed by Killmonger, who uses Klaue’s dead corpse as a pass into Wakanda. M’Baku turned out to be much different on screen than how he portrayed in the comics. Instead of being Wakanda’s major villain, M’Baku turned out to be the savior of T’Challa and even helped him reclaim his throne from Killmonger…

Next film slated for the Black Panther is Avengers: Infinity War. From the preview we can see Wakanda is invaded by, what looks like beings from another world. Some of the Avengers are helping the Black Panther defend his hidden nation. What is the Black Panther’s role in the upcoming Infinity War? Will the Black Panther have a second solo film? Now that Disney has acquired the Marvel Characters from Fox Studios, will we see Storm in future Black Panther films as the Queen of Wakanda? So, what were your final thoughts on the Black Panther film??