Daniel Armua – Google

A powerful, thought provoking film with a strong political message. Are we truly the creators of our reality or it's victims. What lies beneath the veil of ego the concept of identity and the interpretation of our own existence. In Dark City, we are forced to take a step back, away from ourselves and contemplate on the possibility of a preordained fate as opposed to the illusion of free will. The creative ensemble, from the writer / director Alex Proyas, to the entire cast and directorial crew, give us an immersive story which gleams with a highly imaginative concept and an alluring narrative. Right from the initial scene, we are drawn into a murky whirlpool of swirling intrigue. Rufus Sewell captivates the viewer and never lets go. As the suspense cauldron bubbles and congeals, we are offered a broader glimpse of the elaborate hoax or zoo, which lies at the core of a fabricated reality, encapsulating an entire city of unsuspecting lab rats. When the incomparable talent of Kieffer Sutherland is exposed as one of the key architects of the anthropological experiment, the story really takes a turn, from a somber suspense thriller to a supernatural, anti-hero adventure with a satisfying and inspirational twist. From beginning to end, Dark City captivates and marvels with astute writing, and brilliant performances. A one of a kind film which lingers in the mind and dwells deep within our souls.

The Hulk is dead and no one notices!? Serious plot points overlooked, and many just plain ignored. After the tremendous creative effort put forth in the Infinity War prequel, the highest overall achievement of the Marvel cinematic universe, Endgame is a disappointing grand finale to an awe inspiring journey which we the viewers have been so fortunate be a part of. Although the slow, lengthy warm up is merited, deservedly showing, undying respect and admiration with sublime, melancholy for all the fallen heroes around the world, the true focus of the story line becomes muddled in the backwash of an endless tsunami of cutaways and bittersweet memoirs. There are some applaud worthy moments of inspiration worth mentioning; Seeing Tony Stark incredibly thin, wrinkled and frail, really nails home the idea that he is indeed just a man and an extraordinary one at that. This movie was intended to be a tearjerker and it succeeded. There were also some very disappointing executions worth mentioning as well unfortunately; As previously stated, a 7 foot 9 inch Bruce Banner with grassy complexion and bulging muscles is NOT the Hulk! The Hulk is a warrior who's primal instincts and raging fury are at the source of his enormous power. Seeing the Avengers WITHOUT the Hulk, was a tearjerker for me. Also... Why in the world, did they have to bring the omnipotent "Captain Marvel" into a fold where she clearly doesn't belong? - She's originally from earth but could not find the time to come to the aid of her people when they where desperately trying to stop Thanos from destroying half of everything in the universe. - She finds the time to escape her busy schedule and rescues Tony and Nebula but then disappears for nearly the remainder of the movie only to arrive in time to blast through Thanos enormous ship. When Thanos hits her with an infinity stone blast she recover's by the aid of all of the most powerful women of the MCU, as if hinting towards a matriarchal supremacy? And, why in the world... after all the time that was spent demonstrating the enormous complexity of time travel, are we supposed to accept, that if all of the Avengers enter into the time portal, heading towards different directions and completely different time periods, that the voyages could be completed flawlessly? Ergo: Although I wistfully enjoyed watching the farewell performance to some of the most beloved characters of the MCU, the movie as a whole was a disappointment.

Why 3 stars for this cringe worthy P.O.S.??? I have no idea how they convinced Christian Bale to play the "God Butcher" but they forgot to tell him to leave his high performance playbook behind and just wing it, with a goofy improv and cheesy one liners. Instead of God Butcher, Christian Bale is the Cringe Crusher or Woke Walloper or Agenda Aggressor... Thank God! You cannot convince a devoted, dedicated performer to; sit, roll over or play dead. He is a vigilant Rottweiler who will rip you apart and crush you, no matter how severely injured he may be after the fight. This "Empowerment", "Woke", "#Me too", race, creed, sexual orientation L.G.B.T. Hollywood agenda bull**** has got to stop. The idea of it is acceptable, they are free to produce any material they want, but to rip apart, beloved classic films and characters, is unacceptable. Thor was a big hit, I loved every segment of the character, especially as part of the Avengers. I even loved the very humanized and quirky version of Thor in Avengers Endgame, even though the hardcore comic book fans hated the interpretation. Creating new and inspirational characters in infinite worlds is what the Marvel, Sci-Fi / Fantasy or superhero fandom wants. It doesn't matter what sex, race or color, the character may be. If unsure, think back to the 1986 movie Aliens. Massive hit! Worshipped by fans to this day and beyond. The movie had 3 female leads (heroes), Ripley, Newt and Pvt. Vasquez. This was a time long before "empowerment" became a "thing".

Is The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, really as bad as they say? The main flaw if this episodic adventure is the absorption of the Holy Grail of Elven Lore, into its title; The Lord of the Rings. The desire to try and connect with diehard Lord of the Rings fans through a fable so dissimilar from the original Tolkien masterpiece or the Peter Jackson, cinematic adaptation, was a recipe for disaster. I could say I have an open mind to the potential of a new prospect, gurgling away within this witch's caldron known as "The Rings of Power", but truth be told, I am a fan, but not a diehard fanatic of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I can however, understand the rage and frustration of Tolkien fans, who feel betrayed by this adaptation which rewrites the Lord of the Rings canon. With regards to; The Rings of Power, what I can honestly say, as I observed the pilot episodes, at no time was I reminded of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, I was however, submerged by flashback memories of another Elven fable, the Disney epic fantasy; "Willow". There are so many similar traits with the Disney film, which made me wonder, why didn't the producers of R.O.P. target the Disney franchise and more importantly, the Disney fandom instead. Rings of Power, has a slow pace. It is similar to a soap opera at times but so is Willow. R.O.P. Does not take itself too seriously, it prefers a gentle slope to a treacherous mountain. Rings of Power is light handed with violence and gore. It keenly searches for humor and a break from disparity. It chooses to avoid dwelling within the horror aspect of it's genre. Instead, it focuses on primitive inspiration; a glimmer of light, a gentle smile, a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor, the occasional laugh and the sublime power of friendship. In essence, the original Lord of the Rings Trilogy was excessively contrite throughout the entire saga, which of course worked favorably for the closing scenes, when peace and tranquility was fiiinally-- restored. Honestly, I must admit, I was actually expecting a far worse introduction to this series, Yes I believe they could tone down the CGI and also allow the performers to showcase their characters with greater freedom without attempting to live up to the expectations of their namesake inspiration. Galadriel is a beautiful girl, she is the face, the go-to girl of the series and I believe she has allot of potential but she is no Cate Blanchet. That is not to say she could not hope to be her own Elven princess, no, on the contrary, I believe she can but I would remind her, according to the timeline, she is far younger (in elf years) than her predecessor from the Lord of The Rings. She should really allow her youthful inexperience to shine through instead of attempting to portray an unearned image of wisdom. All in all R.O.P can be a hit, if the viewers are willing to look beyond The Lord of the Rings and accept the series as a standalone saga.

With no disrespect to "The Rock" Dwayne Johnson or even Jack Lowden a very competent performer who's name I had to look up, this movie is 100% a Vince Vaughn triumph. I truly enjoyed this film, from Paige's complex and humble back story and her struggle to survive the NXT boot camp to her big break and sequential WWE stardom but honestly, I am biased. This petite English actor took my breath away! She is surrounded by beauty and yet manages to outshine them all. I can't wait to see more of Florence Pugh... Did I spell that correctly?

4.5 stars!! This is V for Vendetta in a Galaxy far, far away. It takes a special kind of performer to give life, charisma-- a soul even, to a character, concealed behind an immovable, featureless mask, which is never, or almost ever removed. Pedro Pascal does an exceptional job at bringing to life an intriguing bounty hunter / mercenary who has little to no backstory in the Star Wars cinematic saga. There may be, I assume, greater information about the Mandalorian through the comic books or animated series but since I am not an avid follower of the comics, I digress. Enormous praise and glory must be given to director / writer / creative consultant; Jon Favreau. In my opinion, Jon is the life force and the beating heart which has singlehandedly kept alive both the Star Wars and the Star Trek franchises, with the most creative and compelling screenwriting, innovative spinoffs and binge worthy new adaptations. The Mandalorian is a relatable tale of struggle for survival and the need for adaptation, from within corrupt worlds, governed by greedy politicians, coercive warlords, thugs and gangsters. Taking the "higher route" to justice versus the easier, nefarious path to recognition or potential fortune, is at the heart of the matter. It is the moral fiber which unites allies to the Mandalorian's cause and keeps the viewers cheering for this charismatic anti-hero.

Doug Glatt, the Rocky Balboa of minor league hockey. Goon is loosely based on the real life tribulation of a wannabe, ECHL - East Coast Hockey League player, Doug Smith and the enforcer philosophy which is still prevalent in this minor league organization. Similar to the Rocky films, where the punch count stats in a single fight, surpasses the average number of landed punches of a real bout three-fold, Goon exaggerates the gruesome violence to it's core while simultaneously exposing the untempered grit, the key element which lies at the heart of the warrior and the driving force required to throw a knock-out punch or to score the winning goal. Goon is a shining example of courage and honor. Sean William Scott brings to life a character not unlike Forrest Gump. Someone you may not wish to emulate but definitely someone to look up to. The entire cast is phenomenal. Ross Rhea gives me goose bumps. Liev Shchreiber is an outstanding antagonist, he makes the legendary Dave Brown from the Philadelphia Flyers look like a pansy. Goon is not for every palate, but for those who are searching for some inspiration, motivation or perhaps some purpose in life, I highly recommend it.

I feel like I'm in an episode of the Twilight Zone. How in the world, did 90% of the audience like this dreck? Unless those reviewers are kids between the ages of 3 to 10. Did we all see the same movie? First of all, do we even know what a superhero is? How do we define it? I believe it was in a Spider-man film that someone uttered the phrase; "You are not a superhero because you have power, you have power because you're a superhero". The "super" aspect is in the predisposition to act honorably and sacrifice yourself to protect others. In Shazam, we are offered a duality, between a coming of age teen and an omnipotent being of mature adult status. There are certain similarities with the conflict between Dr. Banner and the Hulk, but with none of the emotion and stress involved in the transition. There is only one point of clarity and appreciable interest in the storyline for Shazam, the moment young Thaddeus Sivana is yanked out of the back seat of his father's car and is hurled into another dimension to meet the wizard and prove his worthiness and be honored with great power. In my opinion, the writers could have cemented their concept if they would have focused this time on the development and training of Billy Batson instead. Use the time to highlight Billy and his quest to prove his worthiness, put him through various grueling tests, then at least we would all feel compelled to stand behind our hero. Also, the demonic beings which inhabited Thaddeus where the worst CGI I have seen in a long time. Monotone grey and with one voice, the same voice of Dr. Claw from the Inspector Gadget cartoons (Frank Welker). Did the director really think no one would notice?

There are two kinds of people; those that love John Candy and those that love Woody Allen. These two factions will never see eye to eye on anything, most notably, anything related to comedy. There are also other groups who think The Clockwork Orange or Night of the Living Dead are masterpieces but I won't even bother with them. I mean, really? Why bother? Armed and Dangerous is most definitely a John Candy and Eugene Levy buddy comedy, designed to showcase the comedic talents of both men. The tale has all the bumbling hijinks and wacky car chases one would expect from a caper comedy but without any excess emotional baggage, nudity or gore, making this a family oriented film for everyone to enjoy.