William Whitten

The Batman, directed by Matt Reeves, is a perfect example of how to bring a comic book to life. Even though I saw this movie only a couple days ago, it instantly became one of my favorite stories put to screen. There being so many great things about this movie, where should I start? Well, the soundtrack by Michael Giacchino is one of the best soundtracks that I have ever heard and the way it is used in the film just elevates everything being seen. The casting is also spot on with Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne/Batman with a supporting cast of Zoe Kravitz as Selina Kyle, Paul Dano as the Riddler, Jeffery Wright as Commissioner Gordan, and Colin Ferral as the Penguin. Every single actor brings their A game, creating a lived-in feel to Gotham that creates a sense of grittiness. Watching it, there is no doubt Reeves got inspiration from Fincher’s Seven, Demme’s Silance of the Lambs, and Polanski’s Chinatown. It has a haunting and realistic feel to it that gave me everything I wanted in a Batman movie. Every single frame could be framed in an art museum to show film students how to capture scenes. This movie showed me that films can still have an impact to them nowadays; so many studio films these past couple of years have been overprocessed, soulless, cash grab movies just churned out to make a quick buck. It’s good we still have directors with creative visions that try to please the fans in the best way possible.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage: This awkward mesh of questionable CGI and a take-it-or-leave-it screenplay all comes together to form a movie about as forgettable as its predecessor. Venom: Let There Be Carnage is a sequel to Sony's 2018 box-office hit Venom and brings back Tom Hardy as Edie Brock and Michelle Williams as is Ann while also bringing in new faces such as Woody Harrelson's Cletus Kasady and Naomie Harris as Shriek. This time, Sony passes the torch over to Andy Serkis to direct. Now, let me get this out there in the beginning, this movie is an improvement on the first movie, in fact I would go as far as to say it is better in almost every way, but it still made me wonder about ten minutes in: why am I here? Let's start off with what I liked. First off, the pacing was was easier to digest which is largely because its runtime only clocks in at around 90 minutes. Secondly, I believe, as did many other people, that the villain this time around would at least be a step up from that bland shell of a character we had in this first film and I was right. Woody Harrelson eats up every scene he's in which is a shame because he's not shown a lot throughout the movie. Though, the final battle at the end is pretty dope I will confess and the after credits scene is AMAZING! As for the cons, this movie is filled with them. If you are in the camp where you didn't like the first movie, where I currently reside, this one probably won't do it for you. From the awkward scenes with Michelle Williams Character flirting with the Venom symbiote, not kidding by the way, to the very little screen time we actually get with Venom and Carnage fighting, this film is a disappointment to say the least. The cringe factor is turned up to an 11 here as (almost) every scene made me sigh in utter disappointment. Furthermore, this movie did nothing to further our (anti) hero along in an emotional journey whatsoever; Eddie ends up in the exact same place as he did in the first movie giving me more reason to question why this movie exists except that they wanted to tack on an awesome end credits scene. Not only that but as I mentioned above, the 90 minutes for this movie is a pro...and also a con because I found the whole thing rushed as if Sony didn't have any real reason for this movie to exist besides the fact that the first movie grossed almost a billion dollars. Overall, a rushed, awkward excuse for a movie that shows nothing to warrant its own existence that might be better than its predecessor but (except for a couple cool scenes) adds nothing to Sony's Universe of Spiderman Characters.

Man Of Steel: One of the most under-appreciated comic book movies of all time. When superman's latest adaptation got released in 2013, DC fans were all hoping for a glimmer of hope; a superman movie that resembled Richard Donner's first superhero epic back in the 70s with the charm and cheesiness that Christopher Reeves carried around with him almost effortlessly. That, however, is not what fans received and for that reason, it didn't mesh well with the critics, audience, and with the box-office. Instead, we got a darker, well rounded movie asking deep questions about finding your place in the world and I don't think anyone was ready for that. People have to understand that Richard Donner and Zack Snyder are completely different individuals with diverse visions that drastically separate their respected films. See, now Man Of Steel as a major fan base and thanks to Zack Snyders trilogy, we got a lot to chew on. But, what about this movie as standalone film? Well, in my opinion, its bloody fantastic. First off, Henry Cavill is my favorite superman because he can truly show the emotion and what being a child from two worlds can be like. Choosing between Zod and Kripton's future vs Earth eats away at him and Cavill pulls that off beautifully. Michael Shannon's General Zod is intimidating as hell while pulling off that tortured nature in his demeanor. The acting all across the board is brilliant and so is the themes Zack Snyder makes us ponder. This movie is filled with profound discussions about what it means to be human and how that can ground someone as superhuman as Clark. How we must rise to our destiny and face our demons in order to move forward and grow and I think Zack captured that on every level. What happens when man meets God? Do we embrace him or reject him? Questions answered beautifully in this true piece of art. The action is on a whole different level as well with each punch carrying the force of a freight train crashing into a steel wall. And, I can't leave without discussing the movie's score composed my Hans Zimmer, one of the greatest composers of our time. This is simply my favorite Zimmer score and, frankly, might be my favorite score ever made; the way it swells and bombards you with feelings of meaning and purpose can't be ignored. Hans Zimmer was able to compose a work of art that doesn't try to compete with the score of the originals, but tries something new and succeeds in every right. Enough said, this movie is a great movie and a perfect superman movie that stands the test of time and transcends superhero movies to a whole new level. A must watch!