2023 – Page 2 – Damian Michael Movies

‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ (2023) Review

DamianLevy
July 3, 2023

'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny' (2023) Review: A Send Off Fit for A Legend With as many iconic characters as he’s played, Harrison Ford could very well have hung up his blasters, hat, and trenchcoat a long time ago. Instead, he’s maintained a firm grip on his legacy, thus far giving each of his legendary roles a proper goodbye. Now with ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ the hope is Dr. Jones can receive the same treatment, for one last grand adventure.In terms of his performance, ‘Dial of Destiny’ definitively cements Ford as the only suitable choice to play the character. Indiana Jones may be known for death defying stunts, but as an older more seasoned explorer, he’s unable to pull off the impossible like he once could. The film takes place at the time of the moon landing, putting Dr. Jones in a time and place that’s swiftly moving on without him. Ford leans into the character’s isolation, giving the swashbuckling adventurer more pathos and solace than ever before.It’s an intimate portrayal, that’s not without history. After a lifetime of near death experiences, Indy has suffered more than most. The weight of loss is heavy, but the rest of the characters are there to lighten the load. Phoebe Waller-Bridge plays Helena, Indiana’s goddaughter. She’s capable, cunning, and charismatic like any good companion should be, and the two have great chemistry on screen.The character work is grand, but for…

‘The Flash’ (2023) Review

DamianLevy
June 19, 2023

'The Flash' (2023) Review: Falls Flat Finally watching The Flash is a moment that feels misplaced in time. If the multiverse laden adventure of The Flash had been released just under a decade ago, it likely would have been revolutionary. Instead, with the explosion of multiverse-related cinema in the past few years, The Flash feels like too little too late, and the legal issues of of its lead, Ezra Miller, doesn’t help matters.This is a shame considering the material in the film has incredible potential. The first half of The Flash gives you a bona fide superhero, using his amazing abilities in true blockbuster fashion, saving as many people as he can. Slowly, but surely, the film shifts gears, as the trauma of his father being wrongly accused of his mother’s murder weighs heavy on the Scarlet Speedster. With a tearful run faster than the speed of light, Barry realises he can use those amazing abilities to travel through time, and save his mother’s life.It’s in the second half that the movie starts to come undone. As Barry navigates the repercussions of his actions, he starts to see the ripples of time unfold. Much of the movie is spent with Barry and his younger more obnoxious self. At one point, the film makes a commentary on his annoying nature, but its self-awareness only increases the irritation.The story gets messier the more it goes on, with inconsistencies getting quickly swept away in favour of the next nonsensical plot development. Characters do and say…

‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ (2023) Review

DamianLevy
June 12, 2023

‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ - More Than Meets The Eye In 5 movies, Optimus Prime and his heroic autobots have sought after one all powerful ancient object after the other. There’s the allspark, the matrix of leadership, the pillars, the seed, and the staff. Each time the journey goes across the globe with devastating effects on the world’s most iconic landmarks.The 6th entry in the franchise, ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’, takes that formula and runs with it, sending its heroes to find the Transwarp key in an effort to secure a passage to their homeworld of Cybertron. The only problem is the evil Terrorcons have designs to use the Key so the planet destroying Unicron can, well, destroy planet Earth. To spice things up, the movie throws in the Maximals, a different alien race of transforming robots who turn into animals rather than cars. Why a group of aliens all turn into creatures from earth is never explained. In fact, ‘Transformers Rise of the Beasts’ explains very little.Perhaps that’s because the filmmakers know there’s not much to work with. The film is based on a cartoon designed to sell toys, and the movie never deigns to be anything more than that. The dialogue is pointed and obvious and the characters have never been sillier, but also, never quite so distinct. One stand out is Pete Davidson’s Mirage who combines the wanton aggression of Bradley Cooper’s Rocket Raccoon with the juvenile sensibilities of…

‘Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse’ (2023) Review

DamianLevy
June 5, 2023

'Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse' (2023) Review: A State of the Art Animated Adventure' It’s hard to imagine getting excited for yet another movie about Spider-Man. ‘Spider-Man Across The Spider-Verse’ is the tenth feature length film starring the amazing acrobat, and like its predecessor ‘Into The Spider-Verse’, it not only features one Spider-Man, but several Spider-People. You would think that with the many iterations of Spider-Man on film that the answer would be to cut back.‘Across The Spider-Verse’ goes full throttle into the other direction, making not just one of the greatest superhero films, or one of the greatest animated films, but simply put one of the greatest films of all time.This sequel’s story largely gets told from two perspectives. One is Miles Morales, a year and a half into his career as the web slinger. Too busy saving people to focus on his grades, Miles is at a crossroads and his loving parents are at a loss. Punishment only goes so far with a child who can turn invisible and jump out of his window unscathed. Feeling misunderstood, Miles longs to talk with the people who get what it’s like to live two lives. The other perspective is from one such person. Gwen Stacy faces a similar predicament, living with a father whose mission in life is to hunt her down.Seeing these two characters' stories is not only incredibly moving, but a visual spectacle. Their worlds are vastly different with one in…

End of content

No more pages to load

← Newer Posts