Shazam! (2019): Movie Review

                                                                    

             Jim Pagiamtzis Review
                  Shazam! (Zachary Levi) make his appearance on the silver screen. This classic comic get its live action treatment full of  fun, antics and cool storyline.  The journey on learning on what is the meaning of superhero takes some time to evolve for Shazam who is  14 year old Billy Batson.

      Family value and friends play a big part in his life for most of the film until  Dr Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong) show up to spoil the party.

         Lots of reference to Batman and Superman throughout the film even at the end a cool cameo by a part of Superman.  This film was mostly shot in Toronto with lots of scenes in the downtown core of street, schools and iconic parts of the city.

     8 out of 10 stars!               

 Sujit Reddy Review:

Good: Made subtle references to the existence of other #DC characters throughout the movie. Especially setting up #Superman appearing in #Shazam2 at the end of the movie.

Bad: Toronto was a strong character in the movie but they kept trying too hard to make it Philadelphia by putting in key monuments from there. This emphasis was not needed.

Ugly: Having all the kids in Billy Badson's adoptive family become SuperHeroes towards the end of the movie.

  IMDb learn more

               Movie Plot
                      We all have a superhero inside of us -- it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In 14-year-old Billy Batson's case, all he needs to do is shout out one word to transform into the adult superhero Shazam. Still a kid at heart, Shazam revels in the new version of himself by doing what any other teen would do -- have fun while testing out his newfound powers. But he'll need to master them quickly before the evil Dr. Thaddeus Sivana can get his hands on Shazam's magical abilities.
                                                 

Aquaman (2018): Movie Review

                                                                              

                Jim Pagiamtzis Review
                   DC comics has made a strong effort to make their comics come to life on the silver screen.  Majority of the films have a dark nature which may alienate alot of people from having a escape adventure.

             In Aquaman their efforts to have a more calming experience works. The $200 million  reported cost for the film proves they went all out this time!

               Jason Momoa (Aquaman) share the story on how he became Aquaman and Nicole Kidman (Atlanna) his mother is integral part of the film.  He become involved in the future of Atlantis as Patrick Wilson (King Orm) has plans to overtake the entire world!   Amber Heard (Mera) and Willem Dafoe (Vulko) put Aquaman on quest to get the legendary Trident of Atlan and embrace the opportunity as King of the deep.  Aquaman is not very interested but goes anyways. In the long journey his faces obstacles from the Manta and other sea creatures. In the epic battle at the end Aquaman realized his place in Atlantic

           The CGI and overall cinematography is amazing, the long running time hurts the film to pick up steam and wavers. The dialogue is very weak at certain points and the quest seems to long and boring. Close to 3hr run is way to long to tell a story.


           7 out of 10 stars

K J Proulx review read more

                  Movie Plot
Once home to the most advanced civilization on Earth, the city of Atlantis is now an underwater kingdom ruled by the power-hungry King Orm. With a vast army at his disposal, Orm plans to conquer the remaining oceanic people -- and then the surface world. Standing in his way is Aquaman, Orm's half-human, half-Atlantean brother and true heir to the throne. With help from royal counselor Vulko, Aquaman must retrieve the legendary Trident of Atlan and embrace his destiny as protector of the deep.
                                                                            

Special Spotlight Feature: Sujit K Reddy -Founder of Work Hard Play Harder Toronto

              
                   Three years ago during the impending launch of Star Wars - The Force Awakens my friend Sujit K Reddy came up with a great idea to start a movie club called

                  Work Hard Play Harder -Toronto


         He as was big movie (so was I) and wanted to invite fellow movie goers to joins for mastermind dinner and movie! 

               It has been amazing experience to meet some amazing people and enjoy awesome movies together. We have take great photos post movies (see some below)

          You can find out more about our group on Facebook and Meetup  at Work Hard Play Harder Toronto.

Sujit K Reddy with Thor Ragnarok poster October 2017

                                

                  





           Below are some of the amazing attendees and pictures we have taken in recent years