We all have a superhero inside us, it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In Billy Batson's case, by shouting out one word - SHAZAM. - this streetwise fourteen-year-old foster kid can turn into the grown-up superhero Shazam.
See the trailers we loved this week, including a peak at Season 3 of "Westworld," and the latest Netflix rom-com Always Be My Maybe. Presented by Microsoft Surface.
The Avengers and their allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempt to defeat the powerful Thanos before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe.
Directors:
Anthony Russo,
Joe Russo
Stars:
Robert Downey Jr.,
Chris Hemsworth,
Mark Ruffalo
Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is imprisoned on the planet Sakaar, and must race against time to return to Asgard and stop Ragnarök, the destruction of his world, at the hands of the powerful and ruthless villain Hela (Cate Blanchett).
Director:
Taika Waititi
Stars:
Chris Hemsworth,
Tom Hiddleston,
Cate Blanchett
After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War (2018), the universe is in ruins. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers assemble once more in order to undo Thanos' actions and restore order to the universe.
Directors:
Anthony Russo,
Joe Russo
Stars:
Robert Downey Jr.,
Chris Evans,
Mark Ruffalo
Peter Parker balances his life as an ordinary high school student in Queens with his superhero alter-ego Spider-Man, and finds himself on the trail of a new menace prowling the skies of New York City.
Director:
Jon Watts
Stars:
Tom Holland,
Michael Keaton,
Robert Downey Jr.
In the summer of 1989, a group of bullied kids band together to destroy a shape-shifting monster, which disguises itself as a clown and preys on the children of Derry, their small Maine town.
Director:
Andy Muschietti
Stars:
Bill Skarsgård,
Jaeden Martell,
Finn Wolfhard
The powerful but arrogant god Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is cast out of Asgard to live amongst humans in Midgard (Earth), where he soon becomes one of their finest defenders.
Director:
Kenneth Branagh
Stars:
Chris Hemsworth,
Anthony Hopkins,
Natalie Portman
Dr. Louis Creed and his wife, Rachel, relocate from Boston to rural Maine with their two young children. The couple soon discover a mysterious burial ground hidden deep in the woods near their new home.
When Tony Stark and Bruce Banner try to jump-start a dormant peacekeeping program called Ultron, things go horribly wrong and it's up to Earth's mightiest heroes to stop the villainous Ultron from enacting his terrible plan.
Director:
Joss Whedon
Stars:
Robert Downey Jr.,
Chris Evans,
Mark Ruffalo
In Philadelphia, Billy Batson is an abandoned child who is proving a nuisance to Child Services and the authorities with his stubborn search for his lost mother. However, in his latest foster home, Billy makes a new friend, Freddy, and finds himself selected by the Wizard Shazam to be his new champion. Now endowed with the ability to instantly become an adult superhero by speaking the wizard's name, Billy gleefully explores his new powers with Freddy. However, Billy soon learns that he has a deadly enemy, Dr. Thaddeus Sivana, who was previously rejected by the wizard and has accepted the power of the Seven Deadly Sins instead. Now pursued by this mad scientist for his own power as well, Billy must face up to the responsibilities of his calling while learning the power of a special magic with his true family that Sivana can never understand.Written by
Kenneth Chisholm (kchishol@rogers.com)
Zachary Levi packed on 20 pounds of muscle for the film, putting his weight at 220 pounds. In an interview with Michael Rosenbaum, Rosenbaum guessed Levi's weight at 215 pounds, but Levi proudly and quickly corrected saying that his weight was 220 pounds. See more »
Goofs
When the gang run away from the cave Shazam picks up one of the kids & runs at hyperspeed but when he stops running the other children are with him. See more »
SPOILER: There is a scene in the closing credits: An imprisoned Dr Sivana meets up with the alien worm Mister Mind, who proposes an alliance. See more »
What with one facial expression Cavill and him slapping the fans in the face bailing.
Affleck's solo movie being on hold and then him slapping the fans in the face bailing.
Them rushing into Justice League without establishing the characters.
All the drama around Suicide Squad with Leto after the editor got a bit over zealous.
And of course the inconsistent tone and just underwhelming quality.
Shazam looked promising, but was it really a good idea for them to go further away from the dark tone people are used to? And is "Shazam" really a character that can carry the franchise on his back now Batman and Superman have gone walkies?
Truth be told I liked the trailer, but only in the sense that I didn't view it as a DCU movie. It looked like a fun family film and I was fairly looking forward to it, I did however think it would be predictable Hollywood stuff and the trailer is basically the entire film compressed.
Well, I was right. It's exactly that, but it's also an enjoyable enough little take your brain out movie.
Levi is great as our lead, Strong hams it up suitably as our villain and the supporting cast (Mostly kids) do a passable enough job. The movie is big, flashy and exactly what you'd expect if you saw the trailer.
So it's fun, it is but it's not without its flaws. It's tacky, badly so in places whereas in others the CGI makes me think that somebody overpaid the SFX team by a tremendous amount. Then you have the plot and the general delivery which is basically exactly what you'd expect with absolutely no surprises. It's a Hollywood film, and as usual they play it very safe and by the numbers.
In my opinion this has done the DC Universe absolutely no favors, this isn't a character that will save the franchise and I still believe they need a miracle to turn things around.
Regardless it's fun dumb stuff and a perfectly passable little film.
The Good:
Great laughs
At least John Cena never got the lead role *Shudders*
A fair bit of fun
The Bad:
Some sfx are unforgivably ropey
Generic, tacky, Hollywood stuff
Asher Angel looks like Maisie Williams, seriously it oddly confused me throughout the film
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The DC Universe has been a mess since day one.
What with one facial expression Cavill and him slapping the fans in the face bailing. Affleck's solo movie being on hold and then him slapping the fans in the face bailing. Them rushing into Justice League without establishing the characters. All the drama around Suicide Squad with Leto after the editor got a bit over zealous. And of course the inconsistent tone and just underwhelming quality.
Shazam looked promising, but was it really a good idea for them to go further away from the dark tone people are used to? And is "Shazam" really a character that can carry the franchise on his back now Batman and Superman have gone walkies?
Truth be told I liked the trailer, but only in the sense that I didn't view it as a DCU movie. It looked like a fun family film and I was fairly looking forward to it, I did however think it would be predictable Hollywood stuff and the trailer is basically the entire film compressed.
Well, I was right. It's exactly that, but it's also an enjoyable enough little take your brain out movie.
Levi is great as our lead, Strong hams it up suitably as our villain and the supporting cast (Mostly kids) do a passable enough job. The movie is big, flashy and exactly what you'd expect if you saw the trailer.
So it's fun, it is but it's not without its flaws. It's tacky, badly so in places whereas in others the CGI makes me think that somebody overpaid the SFX team by a tremendous amount. Then you have the plot and the general delivery which is basically exactly what you'd expect with absolutely no surprises. It's a Hollywood film, and as usual they play it very safe and by the numbers.
In my opinion this has done the DC Universe absolutely no favors, this isn't a character that will save the franchise and I still believe they need a miracle to turn things around.
Regardless it's fun dumb stuff and a perfectly passable little film.
The Good:
Great laughs
At least John Cena never got the lead role *Shudders*
A fair bit of fun
The Bad:
Some sfx are unforgivably ropey
Generic, tacky, Hollywood stuff
Asher Angel looks like Maisie Williams, seriously it oddly confused me throughout the film