review: WONDER WOMAN 1984

Wonder Woman 1984 is campy, corny, cheesy, and bloated, a major down grade from the 2017 film.  The script is weak, on the level of a CW network TV show. The acting doesn't fare much better. Some characters, like Diana Prince, Steve Trevor and most of the minor characters, are wooden and under-acted, while characters like Maxwell Lord and Barbara Minerva are over-acted. The CGI at times looks cartoonish, and Kristin Wiig's fully realized Cheetah is Cats laughable. About 30 to 35 minutes could have been (should have been) cut out, as the movie has too many slow paced moments that quicker editing could have helped eliminate.   Something else dragging this movie down is that it is set in 1984 for no apparent reason other than to showcase the '80s styles and trends in a fit of cheesy campiness. In the third act, the tone suddenly and abruptly switches to over-baked ham-fisted melodrama. 

It is the cinematography that elevates this movie slightly above a CW level of quality. There are some individual bits that are great, such as the creation of the invisible jet, and Wonder Woman swinging from lightning bolt to lightning bolt, but other things are real head scratchers, such as Wonder Woman dressing like Hawkgirl in the climax, or that Maxwell Lord as the main villain is essentially Impractical Joker's Joe Gatto from the genie punishment. 

The chemistry between Gal Gadot and Chris Pine, which really drove the first movie, is still there, but it's not enough to salvage this sequel.  For anyone who has seen the abysmal William Dozier Wonder Woman test reel from 1967, you will notice that a main aspect of it has been tweaked for the Steve Trevor character in this movie.  All in all, it is easy to see why Warners did not release this movie on its original date pre-pandemic, and once the pandemic started, decided not to ride it out for a Summer 2021 date, and rather dumped it on the HBO Max streaming service. Apparently Warners has already put Wonder Woman 3 on a fast track despite the mixed reviews for this movie. But these days, things change fast, so we'll see in time.

Review: Shazam! #15

The mercifully final issue sends this series out not with a bang but with a pathetic whimper.  The first part of the issue showcases what an idiot new52 Shazam is.  Then the plot switches to a substitute teacher in Billy and Freddy's class where she gives them (and us readers) a ham-fisted lecture (did Greg Berlanti have anything to do with this issue?).  Then new52 Shazam ponders what she said, and later rescues her from her burning building.  They then go on, what seems like a very awkward and potentially inappropriate "date", and the story ends with Billy back at class, getting in hot water again.  The best part of this issue was Brandon Peterson's artwork, which is still kind of generic, while Jeff Loveness' script read like a bad sit-com. The final issue earns a D-, and it's good riddance to this series, and hopefully good riddance to new52 Shazam.

If only DC would launch a title, World's Mightiest Mortal, which would be an on-going series of the original Captain Marvel, in a style and tone similar to the Thunderworld one-shot.

Review: Shazam! #14

This issue starts with a needless recap of Curse of Shazam, which then goes into recap of the current story so far.  Can you say "filler"?  We get to the present, the big fight continued from last issue.  Superboy Prime shows up. Then we cut to Daddy Shazam's head, where Captain Shazam and Mr. Mind are battling it out. Inter-cut between this and the Shazam Family fighting the Monster Society, with lots and lots of dialogue in between punches. Then it finally dawns on Capt Shazam that Mr Mind is a worm who needs an amplifier to talk.  He crushes the speaker and Mr Mind's ability to cast spells is wiped away.  Normal size again, he is about to cast a spell to stop the worlds from merging and to send the Monster Society back to where they came from, when Superboy Prime attacks (and refers to Mary and Junior by their rightful Marvel names).  Suddenly Black Adam shows up to team up with Capt Shazam to vanquish Prime. Billy shares his power with Black Adam to prevent him from dying after they use their combined lightning bolts to knock Prime out. Captain Shazam casts the spell, and everything returns to normal.  CC Batson, now free from Mr Mind's control, awakes, but has no memory of anything that has happened, leaving Billy somewhat heart broken. There is a kind of sit-com style happy ending where most remaining loose ends are tied up with some narration and Black Adam becomes the missing seventh champion.  Well, thankfully, this story is finally over... at least until the gets regurgitated as a musical by the sequel Shazam Fury of the Gods... if that movie does get made (I say it's a 50-50 chance it will get cancelled due to COVID-19).  As for this issue, it earns a lackluster C-.

Review: Shazam! #13

With this issue, we are back to our regularly scheduled (?) arc, after last issue's fill-in. It begins with the Family looking over Black Adam's unconscious body, as Daddy Shazam, who is under the control of Mr. Mind, leads the Monster Society to take over the Magiclands. Capt. Shazam starts fighting Daddy Shazam, ordering Mr. Mind to leave his body, while the rest of the Family take on the Monster Society.  Capt. Shazam tries to reason with Daddy Shazam, but Mr. Mind tells him how he took control of C.C. Batson's body, revealing that C.C. has never given Billy a second thought in his life. Mr Mind then gives his demands: he wants to be the most most powerful magical being in all the realms.  Capt. Shazam unsuccessfully tries to take the power away from Daddy Shazam.  Mr. Tawny attempts to capture Sivana, but Daddy Shazam turns him into a kitten.  With the foster parents in Daddy Shazam's grip, Sivana conjures up the Book of Champions, and Daddy Shazam/Mr. Mind orders Capt. Shazam to read one of the spells, or else the foster parents will die.  Capt. Shazam does and the realms are merged together into a single earth.  Capt. Shazam then reads a spell that shrinks him, and he enters Daddy Shazam's ear to fight Mr. Mind one-on-one. To be continued.

Geoff Johns' script is basic.  One long fight scene with lots of introspective monologues between punches. Dale Eaglesham handles the art solo, and it's a bit better than his previous efforts. This issue earns a C+.

Benjamin Keough, R.I.P

The Presley family has confirmed that Elvis' grandson, Benjamin Keough, died on July 12, 2020 at the age of 27.  Long time readers of this blog may know in the early years of the Shazam movie development, Ben was my pick to play Freddy Freeman/Captain Marvel Jr.

Condolences to the Presley family.

Eternal Rest grant unto him O Lord,
Let perpetual light shine upon him,
May he rest in peace.

Michael Keaton's Batman Returns for Real

It sounds too amazing to be true, but apparently reports are that Michael Keaton will return as The Batman in the DC movie multiverse. The role will be in the upcoming Ezra Miller movie The Flash which will incorporate a variation on the "Flashpoint" story line that has historical and multi-universe consequences that will result in Keaton's Batman becoming the official version of the DCEU, displacing Ben Affleck.  Reports are Keaton will not be taking over the Snyder/Affleck Batman, but will be playing his own Batman from the 1989 movie and it's 1992 sequel, just 30 years later.

The two Joel Schumacher movies will not be part of the continuity.  Mr Schumacher died on June 22, 2020 at age 80 from cancer, R.I.P. 

Further more, Keaton's deal will have his Bruce Wayne/Batman appear in several DCEU movies, similar to how Nick Fury appears in most of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films. His second role could very well be in the proposed Batgirl movie which could be a re-imagined live action Batman Beyond but with Barbara Gordon in place of Terry McGuinnis.  I'm also speculating this version of Barbara will be Jim Gordon's grand daughter or great-grand daughter (depending on what age they want her) since Pat Hingle, who played Commissioner Gordon in the Keaton movies, passed away in 2009. 

This also brings up the upcoming Matt Reeves Batman movie starring Robert Pattinson.  Signs point to that being an out-of-continuity Black Label one-off like Todd Phillips-Joaquin Phoenix's Joker, albeit with the potential for two sequels.  But it is Michael Keaton who will be the "real" Batman of the DCEU.

Review: Shazam! #12

Issue 12 turns out to be a fill-in issue set in between the events of Curse of Shazam and the current story arc. You know there is a problem when, even with multiple issue postponements, and a pandemic that halts publication for two months, there still needs to be a fill in issue by a different creative team. Jeff Loveness is brought in to bail out Geoff Johns, and he writes a script that is wholly influenced by the David Sandberg movie. The characters, the tone, the dialogue, and the presentation of the story are all beat for beat based on the movie rather than Johns' work.  Plus they bring in Batman as a guest star just to insure the sales improve.

The issue opens with Billy and "Freddie" (that's how they misspell it) encountering Herkimer. Billy changes to Captain Shazam and quickly defeats him. During this whole sequence, Billy/Capt Shazam and Freddy bicker about Billy having "lame villains" as the dialogue is in full Asher Angel-Zack Levi-Jack Dylan Grazer mode. Concerned that Billy needs to up his game as a superhero, he goes to Gotham City in a meta-moment looking for a team up. He encounters the Scarecrow, and there is a lot of CW-like exposition dialogue.  Scarecrow zaps Capt Shazam with the fear gas, but it's Batman to the rescue. He attempts to talk Capt Shazam down from his inner fright, but Scarecrow injects Batman with fear serum. We go inside Billy's mind as there is a merging of memories as he witnesses young Bruce Wayne's life-changing moment. At that point both he and Batman are able to take down Scarecrow.  Batman and Billy then have a roof top heart to heart talk, and we have another meta-moment about team ups as the issue ends.

The artwork for this issue is supplied by Brandon Peterson, and it is a step above the usual artwork seen in this series.  I know there are a few fans out there who hate the new52 Shazam, but enjoyed and liked the movie. This issue is for that demographic. It earns a B.

Review: Laurel & Hardy Meet The Three Stooges

From American Mythology comes a crossover of two of the most loved comedy teams of all time. Historically, this is not the first time these two legendary teams have crossed paths. The 1934 MGM movie Hollywood Party featured an all star cast including the Stooges (with their original leader Ted Healy) and Stan and Ollie, although they did not share a scene together.  Healy and the Stooges, early in their film career, have a brief bit in the first half of the movie, while Stan and Ollie, at the peak of their popularity, get significant screen time in the film's third act.  This comic book extravaganza casts the Stooges as handymen and Stan and Ollie as movers, who end up working for the same client. The two teams meet on the job site and hilarity ensues. Writers SA Check and James Kuhoric get both teams characters down pat and put them in funny situations, however there is one scene when the two teams meet and there are several panels of them introducing themselves and shaking hands that just didn't work for me, as it came off as kind of pretentious.  Early in there is a nice Easter Egg referencing Larry Harmon and Ted Healy (although the latter's name was misspelled).  The art by Diego Tapie captures the Larry Harmon cartoon look for Stan and Ollie while also giving the Stooges a design in line with their looks from the cartoons produced by Cambria Studios. This issue earns a solid A.

Review: Shazam! #11

The latest issue opens with Billy giving us a recap of what has gone on via his thoughts.  Interesting here is that it appears like Billy and Captain Shazam are having separate thoughts within Billy's mind.  Billy overhears Wizard Shazam and C.C. talking and he's gets up to look to see his dad struck down by Wizard Shazam.  They argue about it which leads to Captain Shazam vs Wizard Shazam.  The onomonapia wakes up the rest of the house who watch the big fight going on in the backyard.  The rest of the Shazam Family join in to help the Captain. 

Interlude with the Vasquez's helping C.C., now stripped of his power.  He tells them he senses a great evil.  Meanwhile Wizard Shazam is getting ticked at the super-powered children.  Cut to the Monsterlands where Sivana and Mr Mind release the Monster Society of Evil...except for Superboy-Prime.  Back to C.C. who tells the Vasquez's he had a vision of Wizard Shazam as someone who is much more war-like than everyone was led to believe. 

Wizard Shazam attempts to strip all the Shazam Family members of their powers, but Captain Shazam and C.C. jump in to try to tag-team reason with him.  Wizard Shazam gets furious and is about to kill C.C. when Captain Shazam just out of nowhere, gets the ability to banish Wizard Shazam to the Rock of Eternity, and restore C.C.'s Daddy Shazam powers in the process.  But then Black Adam appears and starts choking Daddy Shazam, who casts a spell separating Black Adam's soul from his body.  This makes Captain Shazam suspicious that Daddy Shazam knew such a spell.
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Mr Mind has been using C.C. Batson as a host this whole time. The Monster Society arrives on Earth, and in the Magiclands, Superboy-Prime gets out of his cell and is coming for Billy Batson.

I have to give the devil his due, this was one of Geoff Johns' better scripts in this series.  Of course that isn't saying too much since the bar is set so low. He kept things moving and focused, and threw in quite a few plot swerves. Scott Kollins is the sole credited artist for this issue, and is par for the course- good but generic.  I really would have liked to see Mayo "Sen" Naito do the art for this issue as it really would have elevated it even more.  Even so, I'll be very generous and give this issue a B-.

Johnson Smith Company, RIP

In December 2019, after 105 years in business, the Johnson Smith Company closed its doors.  Johnson Smith ads were there on historic issues like Detective #27, and Action #1, and in the early 70s were starting a renewed comic book campaign. I discovered the company as a child and I remember buying their "Horror Record", which I thought was just as great as any Power Records offering.  I remember buying the Secret Pen Radio, which was a tiny crystal radio housed inside a large pen casing, and in 4th grade, my desk was next to a radiator and I remember bringing it to school and clipping the antenna to the radiator and listening to AM stations. Of course I also got all the typical items, like fake vomit, a joy buzzer, whoopee cushion, and the item simply known as "Oops", with the description "Bad shot... somebody missed" next to a drawing of a toilet with a dark object on the seat. I remember that for at least two birthdays in a row, most if not all my presents were from Johnson Smith.  I loved getting the latest Johnson Smith catalogs in the mail... it even rivaled Heroes World catalogs.  Although I stopped ordering regularly from them as I got into my 20s, I still requested and received catalogs til the end.  Back in the day I bought and still have a couple reproduction catalogs from the 1920s, and kept a few of my own catalogs from my childhood.  I also have the final catalog mailed out late in 2019. Goodbye Johnson Smith Company.  You will be missed.

Shazam 2 - the musical?

Shazam director David F. Sandberg has brought into the public consciousness the idea of making Shazam 2 a musical.

He recently tweeted that he has been getting comments from, presumably, kids and parents of kids asking for this.  Whether these are real comments, or something Sandberg himself had written, like the fake script page he leaked for the first movie, or perhaps even a concept being pushed by Asher Angel's management, Sandberg, by putting this out there, is probably considering this concept and sending out feelers for opinions.  If that is the case, the reaction to his tweet is evenly divided between those for and those against.

As for my opinion on this, if you read my review of the first movie, I made it clear.  The standard for bad ideas was established by choosing to base the film on Geoff Johns' New52 Shazam instead of Fawcett's original Captain Marvel, and choosing to use a (needless) Superman cameo where his face is cropped out of the shot.   Making the sequel a musical is no worse an idea than either of those two.  So more power to Sandberg if Shazam 2 is to be a musical.  And with the cast he has, they could pull it off nicely.

Who knows... perhaps #releasethesnydercut may by superseded by #makeshazam2amusical.

Review: Shazam! #10

Holy Moly.  Another issue released one month after the previous.  Is this a trend?  Issue 10 opens with King Kid.  Remember him?  He was very important in the early chapters then just sort of vanished.  He's back.  Kind of wish he would vanish again. He's terrorizing Philadelphia until the Shazam Family shows up.  At one point while they are saving people, Daddy Shazam refers to Captain Shazam as "Captain".  Oh, Geoff... you throw us fans such bones.  Cut to Mr Tawny, watching all this on TV... live news coverage.  Apparently, he's now the Vasquez's Alfred.  Back to the action where Captain Shazam halts everything by simply taking away King Kid's wishing stick, reverting all the invaders into toys, its original form.  Captain Shazam wants to cart the King off to Juvey, but Daddy Shazam tries to nurture King Kid instead.

Cut to Sivana and Mr Mind at the Rock of Eternity where they succeed in opening the door to the Monsterlands.  They enter to recruit what I'm guessing is going to be the New52 Monster Society of Evil.  Cut to the Vasquez home for a nice sit-com family dinner scene.  Billy takes a plate to (the potentially imposter) Wizard Shazam who is creepily lurking in Billy's bedroom.  Billy asks what he did with King Kid.  The Wizard replies he sent him back to the Funlands and freed all the adults who will decide what to do.  Cut back to Sivana and Mr Mind in the Monsterlands where Mr Mind lectures Sivana on the origins of the Monsterlands, the Rock of Eternity, and the Council of Wizards.  Kept prisoner there is Superboy-Prime who vows revenge against Billy Batson.  Cut back to Billy who suspects something is not quite right about the Wizard, who later that night neutralizes Daddy Shazam. Geoff Johns' script is slightly better than the previous issue, and the art by Scott Kolins and Dale Eaglesham is more consistent than the previous issue.  This issue earns a C.