stevencsmovies

Don't you dare touch that dial, you are indeed watching the right channel, this is THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS, brought to you in beautiful Fantavision™. Starring Reed Richards AKA Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm AKA Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm AKA Human Torch (Joseph Quinn), and Ben Grimm AKA The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bacharach), this is Marvel's first family. After three (technically four) failed attempts, there is now a not only good, but great FANTASTIC FOUR movie. Similar to the recent SUPERMAN, this throws you into the deep end and quickly and sufficiently gives you their origin story. The family has been saving people for four years now, and Reed and Sue are expecting a baby. After the joyous news, a silver figure known as Shallah-Bal AKA the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) flies down from space and announces that Earth has been selected to be eaten by Galactus (Ralph Ineson), the planet-devouring cosmic god. He is scary and comic book accurate. Ralph has a one-of-a-kind voice that perfectly fits Galactus. Marvel has hit their second home run this year. I loved this movie. It has a unique retro sci-fi aesthetic that sort of reminded me of THE JETSONS. I need to talk about production designer Kasra Farahani. He has brought what he did on LOKI and has expanded it to create a very cool world. This movie takes itself more seriously than many previous Marvel films, letting the emotional moments breathe, allowing the audience to float in the character's adjacent feelings. Now that I think about it, my main problem with Marvel movies has been how the act of connecting the universe's endless web of characters and teams can sometimes overshadow the story or the writing of a particular installment. This movie has none of that. For those of you worried about needing any prior knowledge from other Marvel movies, worry not, intrepid moviegoers! This movie takes place on Earth-828, while the Marvel Cinematic Universe that we know is on Earth-616. No homework needed, yay! This is one of those rare Marvel movies that can stand fully on its own. The movie does a great job in grounding the more cosmically crazy premise in the humanity of the characters. With great performances and chemistry, this family actually feels like a family. Some moments felt like a Saturday morning cartoon, in the best way. It just goes to show, if you're faithful to the source material and its characters, the fans will flock. THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS is a fantastic family movie with heart, where the heart of the movie is family. Superhero fans are eating good this month!

Director Ari Astor enjoys making movies that people talk about, sometimes years after their theatrical release. His movies are also depressing, pessimistic, thought-provoking, and wild. So far, he has made HEREDITARY, MIDSOMMAR, and BEAU IS AFRAID. His fourth movie under the A24 banner is called EDDINGTON, his most thought-provoking and divisive movie yet. This dark comedy tells the story of a fictional town called Eddington, New Mexico during the pandemic, the summer of 2020. Sheriff Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix) has asthma and is in an uncomfortable marriage with Louise (Emma Stone), who makes strange sculptures. They also live with her mother Dawn (Deirdre O'Connell), who is glued to social media. Joe finds contention in being forced to wear a mask, which leads to him running for mayor, against current mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal). This movie says a LOT, but after everything that happens, I failed to see the point of it. I understand that Astor very obviously wants the audience to feel the same feelings that were already felt by everybody back then, but why would we want to feel anxious, possibly hypocritical, and extremely divisive again? I don't think the message of this movie needed to be told so blatantly, especially at almost 150 minutes. EDDINGTON is about so many things: COVID, Black Lives Matter, social media, A. I, religious cults, and conspiracy theories. Quite a few of these things feel tacked on, not contributing to the main plot at all. This movie makes fun of the crazies on the right and the left side of the political spectrum. The first half is a little tedious, but it's a slow burn that really escalates. It has flawed characters and a messy script. The first half is a little tedious, but it builds up to something at least interesting. The cast does a phenomenal job with what they've been given, even though some of them needed more to do. I like movies that make you feel something, whether that's good or bad or mad. A24 might need to pull the reigns a little bit on Aster, but I can't deny his intriguing talent. He's able to capture the atmosphere and overwhelming uncertainty of 2020. I don't want to think about "the COVID era", much less watch a movie about it, but if anybody can take a crazy time and somehow amp up the crazy, it would be Ari. EDDINGTON is a divisive movie about a divisive society in a divisive time, and I know people are going to talk about this one, divisively.

The character of Superman is one of the most iconic and known superheroes, spanning generations. James Gunn, now co-CEO of DC Studios, has written and directed a new SUPERMAN movie. This is the first of a new DC Universe, which has many people apprehensive and worried. Do we really need another superhero universe? I understand that most people these days are burnt out on this particular genre. It really hasn't been the same since AVENGERS: ENDGAME. I am a huge fan of Gunn and what he has done for Marvel, so I was super excited to see what he could do for DC. SUPERMAN is a movie that takes place three years after Superman became known to the world. This world that Gunn has created feels like a comic book come to life. It's a much brighter, more colorful and lighthearted world than we are used to, which might throw some people off. It also has an entirely new cast of many, many characters, which also might throw some people off. I appreciate how the movie gives you all the information about this world in the very first minute, through text on the screen. Most people have already seen a version of the origin story, so it wasn't necessary here. I'll just cut to the chase. This is one of my favourite superhero movies, period. It's unconventional in ways that really worked for me. Clark Kent AKA Superman (David Corenswet) and Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) have been together long enough for her to know who he really is. He gets swept up in a political controversy, with him believing he did the right thing. This theme is great because it makes you think about how simply he thinks, bordering on naïve. Tech billionaire Lex Luthor (Nicolas Hoult) has a grand plan involving his utter hatred for Superman and everything he stands for. I could say Superman stands for "Truth, justice, and the American way", but these days it's just easier to say "hope". Hope for a better world. The movie has surprising modern-day parallels, especially when you think about how Superman came from another planet. I see some people complaining about this movie having too many characters, being overstuffed, and undercutting some emotional moments with humour. They have a right to feel that way, but I disagree. Every character, no matter how small, fits in like a puzzle piece. Yes, the movie has a lot going on, but it's never boring and the over 2 hours absolutely flies by. Yes, James Gunn tends to add humour where it might not fit, but that's just his style, and it worked for me. I laughed so much. Oh, and Superman has a superdog named Krypto, who is actually a very bad boy, but he's too cute so we can forgive him. It was hilarious how he actually acted like a dog, giving us some funny scenes. Every actor is fantastic in this. Including the three I've mentioned, the standouts were Nathan Fillion, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Skyler Gisondo, and Pruitt Taylor Vince. Much like Superman's abs, this movie is perfectly toned. It's heartfelt, funny, corny, and action-packed. The score blends in the John Williams classic, which gave me goosebumps every time I heard it. DC fans will enjoy the cameos. Everything worked for me in this movie, which is something I know not everybody will say. In some ways, SUPERMAN is an immigrant story, with him being an actual alien. This is probably why certain people are throwing the word "woke" around. In the paraphrased words of James Gunn himself, "Superman is an immigrant. This is a story that says basic human kindness is a value and is something we have lost." I think more people should be as "woke" as Superman. This is a movie for today, about a hero who symbolizes hope for tomorrow. SUPERMAN gives me hope for the future of DC, and a bit of healthy competition for Marvel can't hurt.