Author: George Sartiano

Alita Battle Angel (2019): A Quick Review… INTRODUCTION: Alita Battle Angel is a live action film based on the anime and manga of the same name. BAR: Set low. I really was hoping this was going to be good, but my expectations weren’t high. EXPECTATIONS: Way exceeded. Let me put it this way, I really, really had a good time watching this film. All of the action love that Robert Rodriguez injected into his early films like Desperado and From Dusk Til Dawn is right there on the big screen. It’s loud and blasting with energy. It’s almost like producer James…

Shazam! (2019) Bar: Set pretty low.  This is a DC movie after all. Expectations: Shazam! killed it. One-Liner: I don’t think that I will see a more fun movie all year. Background: Shazam is really a pretty old character.  He was originally introduced in Fawcett Comics in the 1940s.  Since then, the character’s rights have been transferred to DC.  Over the years, there have been a few lawsuits over him concerning copyright infringement with Superman, and later with Marvel Comics’ Captain Marvel. Once DC acquired the rights to Fawcett’s Captain Marvel, they re-branded him under the name Shazam.  This is,…

Introduction: Mortal Engines (2018) might be the best new release I’ve seen this year.  So far, I’ve seen around 35 movies.  I’ve got about 4 or 5 left for the rest of the year, so something could potentially throw this off the top, but even with all the great buzz around Mary Poppins Returns, I don’t think it will happen. So, in the last week, I’ve seen two films (so far), and both were way above expectation.  In fact, both are in my top ten.  The other was Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and like Mortal Engines, this came out of…

Introduction: Bumblebee (2018) OMG!!! Where have you been for the last 30-ish years?  This movie filled the Transformers-shaped hole in my soul that Michael Bay era began in 2007.  Director Travis Knight apparently listened a lot more to Producer Steven Spielberg’s advice over Michael Bay’s (thank goodness).  This is essentially an 80’s movie in every respect, from the music to the plot, and time frame, and Spielberg is the master. This movie is a prequel to the Michael Bay films, and I have to say, that linking it to them is the single worst thing about it.  Those movies are…

Introduction: Eh-quaman is pretty good… for a DC movie. In fact, it’s the 4th best movie I’ve seen this week (Bumblebee, Mortal Engines, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and Aquaman).  One of my best friends said, “This is the best superhero movie I have ever seen.”  I was like, “Umm, it’s OK.”  No, that’s not the case.  It’s not even the best DC based superhero movie as these are all better: Batman, Superman 2, Dark Knight, Dark Knight Rises, Superman, Dark Knight Rises, etc. If this movie had come out around the time of Iron Man, or it had come out…

Captain Marvel Review (2019)… Official Introduction: Set in the 1990s, Marvel Studios’Captain Marvel is an all-new adventure from a previously unseen period in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that follows the journey of Carol Danvers as she becomes one of the universe’s most powerful heroes. While a galactic war between two alien races reaches Earth, Danvers finds herself and a small cadre of allies at the center of the maelstrom. BAR: Set pretty low, not super low, but certainly not high. EXPECTATIONS: Totally exceeded. BACKGROUND Of Captain Marvel: So, Carol Danvers is an old Marvel character, first appearing…

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse had to be a part of Spider-Man lore to make it work.  Although it is not part of canon or part of the MCU, I am so very glad that it got made.  It covers some ground that we have seen before, where a bunch of different “Spider-People” all team-up.  Let me say, it went way beyond my expectations.  Don’t get me wrong, though.  I had set my expectations about as low as I had them for Venom walking in.  Success wasn’t going to be a hard result, but this jumped waaaaay past them.  I seriously…