Film Review: Shazam!

The seventh instalment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) and directed by David F. Sandberg, Shazam! follows a newly fostered young boy, Billy Batson (Asher Angel) who, whilst in search of his mother, is chosen by the ancient wizard Shazam (Djimon Hounsou) as his new champion and receives unexpected superpowers. With his newfound ability to transform into an adult superhero (Zachary Levi) and his new friend Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer), Billy must stop the evil Dr Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong) and the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man.

Film Review: Aquaman

The sixth film in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) and directed by James Wan, Aquaman tells the origin story of Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa), the human-born heir to the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, who goes on a quest to prevent a war between the worlds of ocean and land. It’s a journey that will not only force him to face who he really is, but to discover if he is worthy of who he was born to be – a king – replacing his half-brother, King Orm (Patrick Wilson), who seeks to unite the seven underwater kingdoms against the surface world.

Film Review: Justice League

The fifth instalment in the DC Extended Universe, following on from 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League sees Batman (Ben Affleck) and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) recruit The Flash (Ezra Miller), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), and Cyborg (Ray Fisher) after the selfless death of Superman (Henry Cavill) to restore faith in a now very down-beaten humanity. Directed by Zack Snyder, the team must face an even great enemy as they must save the world from the catastrophic threat of Steppenwolf (voiced by Ciarán Hinds) and his army of Parademons.

Film Review: The Lego Batman Movie

The Lego Batman Movie, directed by Chris McKay, centers on the DC Comics character Batman (voiced by Will Arnett) as he attempts to overcome his greatest fear in order to stop the Joker’s (Zach Galifianakis) latest plan, whilst also discovering that he has accidentally adopted a teenage orphan who wishes to become his sidekick (Michael Cera).

Film Review: Suicide Squad

The third instalment in the DC Extended Universe, following on from this year’s Batman v Superman, and directed by David Ayer, Suicide Squad follows a group of imprisoned supervillains who are recruited by a secret government agency, led by Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) and Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), to execute a dangerous black ops mission to save the world from an enigmatic, insuperable entity in exchange for leaner sentences. Bringing together some of our favourite DC supervillains – including Deadshot (Will Smith), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), The Joker (Jared Leto), Enchantress (Cara Delevingne), Boomerang (Jai Courtney), Diablo (Jay Hernandez), Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), and Katana (Karen Fukuhara) – will the mission lead to success or chaos, as the squad realise that they weren’t picked to succeed, but chosen for their patent culpability when they inevitably fail?

Film Review: Batman v Superman – Dawn of Justice

(This week I took a trip to my local Showcase cinema to watch the new release of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Thanks again to Showcase Cinemas for asking me to host a game of #OscarsBingo. By playing, I won two free cinema tickets, which I used today.)

Directed by Zack Snyder, the follow-up to 2013’s Man of Steel and the second instalment in the DC Extended Universe, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice sees Batman (Ben Affleck) and Superman (Henry Cavill) share the screen as the world wrestles with what kind of a hero it really needs. Two years after Superman’s battle with Zod, which left the city of Metropolis in ruins, the collateral damage has left many feeling angry and helpless. Fearing that the actions of Superman are left unchecked, Batman takes on the Man of Steel, convinced that Superman is now a threat to humanity, while the conniving Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) launches his own crusade.

100 Films To Look Forward To In 2016

2015 has ended on a high with the likes of Star Wars – Episode VII: The Force Awakens reminding us exactly why we love film and how waiting a whole year for a release can pay off. But now it’s time to look forward to what the new year has to come, with my list of 100 films to look forward to in 2016.

Not only are there plenty of sequels from some of the most recently successful films set to be released, but there’s a handful of films that we’ve been waiting years to see, and some we thought weren’t even an option. From adaptations of mobile phone games, book adaptations that could fill a library, to some of DC and Marvel’s most anticipated superhero origin stories and collaborative war efforts, 2016 is going to be big, and there’s a lot of anticipated releases heading our way.

To help you trawl through the masses of films listed below, which starts off with January’s biggest award contenders, we’ll go through the releases in groups. You can jump to certain pages by clicking the following links:

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7 New High-Quality Images for ‘Batman v Superman’

(Written for Filmoria)

The summer blockbusters are coming to an end for 2015, and with a few big releases still left for the rest of the year, we’re already eager for 2016 to get a move on. One of the most anticipated films we can’t wait to see is DC’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, just to see how DC do in the battle of the superhero films.

Chris Pine Closes Deal to Star in ‘Wonder Woman’

(Written for Filmoria)

Chris Pine has closed a deal to join the DC Movie Universe as Steve Trevor in Patty Jenkins’ anticipated Wonder Woman movie, reports have confirmed this week.

Set to star opposite Gal Gadot, who will be playing the lead of Wonder Woman, these are the only two casting confirmations as of yet, and the deal also includes sequel options.

What Happened In Gotham Before The Mid-Season Break?

(Written for Beamly)

Has the mid-season break for Channel 5’s Gotham been so long that you’ve forgotten what happened in the first half of series one? Or did you not watch the series and have now been tempted to catch up with the return of the second half? Whether you’re a fan of the series or not, here’s a re-cap of what’s happened so far, and a reminder of why you should be watching it.

Film Review: Man Of Steel

Rating:

Directed by Zack Snyder, Man Of Steel is the latest superhero blockbuster that follows DC‘s comic book character Superman. His return to screen tells the origins of his story, as a young boy, Clark Kent (Henry Cavill), learns that he has extraordinary powers and is not of this Earth. Journeying to discover where he came from, the soon-to-be hero must figure out what he was sent here to do if he is to save the world from annihilation when it is invaded by a member of his own race, General Zod (Michael Shannon), and to become the symbol of hope for all mankind.

Film Review: The Dark Knight Rises

(Published in Issue 12 of my publication In Retrospect)

The final instalment to Christopher Nolan‘s Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises picks up eight years after the attacks of The Joker and Two-Face from 2008’s The Dark Knight when a new terrorist leader, Bane (Tom Hardy), overwhelms Gotham’s finest, including Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) and Detective Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). When jewel thief Selina aka Catwoman (Anne Hathaway) threatens that a storm is coming, Bruce Wayne a.k.a the caped crusader that is Batman (Christian Bale) must resurface from his years of solitude to protect a city that has branded him an enemy. With Bane intending to destroy everything that Bruce has his name to, he must enlist the help of his butler Alfred (Michael Caine) and his business manager Fox (Morgan Freeman), and put his trust in a new colleague Miranda (Marion Cotillard) to rise again.

A Fire Will Rise, But Does This ‘Dark Knight Rises’ Poster Deserve Flaming?

(Written for Lost In The Multiplex)

Debuting on Facebook earlier this week, we have the brand new poster for Christopher Nolan’s final instalment in his Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises.

Seeing the return of Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne, aka The Batman, we see the dark-suited superhero take on his biggest and fiercest nemesis yet, Bane (Tom Hardy).

Whilst the poster has already had a large lash of criticism, I don’t think the Photoshop job is that bad. It actually makes a very decent poster for the film’s upcoming release; so what if Batman has only been cropped onto the last poster we saw? At least it’s a bit of an improvement.

Bane’s Dialogue Cleaned Up, Not Reworked

(Written for HeyUGuys)

When some fans were treated to a six-minute prologue of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises on select IMAX screens last month, the thing that got people talking the most about was that Bane’s (Tom Hardy) dialogue was very hard to understand.

However, Nolan recently commented that he had no plans to rework Bane’s dialogue, despite the fact that complaint was universal and that fans seemed to be very concerned about the matter. He said he wasn’t opposed to “altering the sounds slightly” but he refused to “rework it completely.”

Christian Bale talks ‘The Dark Knight Rises’

(Written for Lost In The Multiplex)

Christian Bale has been talking about where the final chapter of Chris Nolan’s Batman trilogy will take his character of Bruce Wayne this week, as confirmation is given that the sequel will take place eight years after the events depicted in The Dark Knight.

From the sounds of it, Bale will be going to some very dark places, posing the question to his fictional alter-ego, “How long will you let the pain and loss define your life?” when talking to Aceshowbiz.

Steal A Look At These ‘Man Of Steel’ Images

(Written for Lost In The Multiplex)

This month sees a number of images for Zack Snyder‘s Man of Steel, first with an image of Amy Adams as love interest Lois Lane whilst filming on set on Vancouver Island, and more recently with a shirtless Henry Cavill for his role as Clark Kent/Kal-El/Superman.

Even more images of the cast on set can be seen here. There’s undoubtedly enough to get us excited in this mass gallery of pictures, it’s just a shame we still have to wait so long.

Catwoman Shows Off Her New Costume

(Written for Lost In The Multiplex)

Anne Hathaway has been snapped in downtown Los Angeles this weekend during filming for The Dark Knight Rises, showing off her leather Catwoman costume in full whilst straddling her own blackened mode of transport.

The photos show Hathaway alongside Christian Bale as Batman and Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon.

The film also stars Tom Hardy as Batman’s most deadly and powerful foe, Bane, and Joseph Goron-Levitt as John Blake, a new Gotham Detective who joins Commissioner Gordon’s squad to catch the Batman.

It’s Been a ‘Super’ Week for Marvel and DC

This week sees the trailers of two of the most anticipated and upcoming superhero films, the epic conclusion to Christopher Nolan‘s Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises, and Marc Webb‘s first in a series of rebooted Spider-Man films, The Amazing Spider-Man. Captain America is out in cinemas next week and a (good quality) trailer is due for The Avengers shortly. With the Comic-Con this week, as well, everyone has gone Marvel and DC mad.

First up there’s Captain America which is released in UK cinemas next week on 29th July. Only a short time to wait until the year for the following three films. However, Captain America is the last of The Avengers team that we need to meet so it’s about time. Captain America is the story of Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) who is deemed unfit for military service and volunteers for a top-secret research project, thus turning him into Captain America, a superhero dedicated to defending America’s ideals.

Film Review: Watchmen

Directed by Zack Snyder and based on the 1986–87 DC Comics of the same name, Watchmen is set in an alternate America where costumed superheroes are part of everyday life. When one of his former comrades is murdered (Jeffrey Dean Morgan‘s The Comedian), masked vigilante Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley) uncovers a plot to kill and discredit all past and present superheroes. As he reconnects with his retired associates – Nite Owl II (Patrick Wilson), Silk Spectre II (Malin Åkerman), Doctor Manhattan (Billy Crudup), and Ozymandias (Matthew Goode) – Rorschach glimpses a far-reaching conspiracy involving their shared past and catastrophic consequences for the world’s future.

Film Review: The Dark Knight

The second instalment in The Dark Knight Trilogy directed by Christopher Nolan and a sequel to 2005’s Batman Begins, The Dark Knight sees Batman (Christian Bale) enlist the help of his allies – Lt. Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and DA Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) – to keep a tight lid on crime in Gotham City. But when a vile young criminal calling himself the Joker (Heath Ledger) suddenly throws the town into chaos, the caped Crusader must accept one of the greatest psychological and physical tests of his ability to fight injustice.