DB Reviews- The Post

Image from IMDB

Hello and welcome to my review of The Post! It's me, DB! WARNING: SPOILERS! 

This film takes place around the start of the 1970s, just a few years after the Vietnam War. In this film, The Washington Post, led by America's first woman publisher Kathrine Graham (played by Meryl Streep), is in a race against the New York Times to publish previously top secret government papers that expose US Presidents Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson of lying to the people about the War. She teams up with her editor Ben Bradley (played by Tom Hanks) to bring forth the truth, while risking their careers at the same time! 

That's the story in a nutshell. I thought the story was not bad at all. It can be followed easily once you get what's going on. I like it! 

The movie had an all star cast, let by Streep and Hanks. Meryl Streep plays Mrs. Kathrine Graham, a widowed publisher of The Washington Post, America's first! I thought she was good in this kind of role, since's it's a far cry from her role in Mamma Mia! She has played serious roles before, so this was nothing new to her. Best Actress nod? I don't know, but let's see what the Academy thinks. 

Tom Hanks protrayed Ben Bradley, the editor of the Post. Like Streep, Hanks has the power to play mutiple roles and perform well at them! This role isn't my favorite Hanks character (that honor belongs to Woody and Sully), but he was OK at this one. This character reminded me of the newspaper editor from the Superman franchise. 

Steven Spielgberg directed this film. I give him 2 thumbs up for this one! Will it be as memorable as his other classics, like JAWS, ET or Jurassic Park? I don't know, but it's close! I'd root for him if he got the nod for Best Director in next year's Oscars. 

John Williams, of Star Wars fame, scored the film. Pairing Williams with Spielgberg is like pairing peanut butter with jelly. They just click! I think they might be besties, since Williams also scored Spielberg's other classics, like Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind. 

I've always loved the sets of films that take place around the 60s or 70s. This one is no different! Seeing the classic cars, the buildings the way the looked during that time and the clothes! Speaking of the clothes, I have to give a thumbs up to the costume department! I like what the workers at the printing press of the Post wore, especially the hats! I also liked Streep's and Hank's costumes; I thought they looked very businesslike! Best Costume design nod? That's a definite yes! 

Overall, I give this film 4 out of 5 stars. The only negative that I had was that some of the characters smoked. I don't like smoking at all! My review: A PULITZER PRIZE WINNER! Thanks for reading! 

By the way, if you didn't know this, the Vietnam War was a costly war, one of which that didn't go in our favor. Will this movie change your opinion on JFK, Johnson or Truman? That's for you to decide! 

DB Reviews- Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Image from StarWars.com

Hello everyone! It's me, DB, back with another AWESOME movie review! This time, I review the latest movie in the Star Wars franchise, The Last Jedi! WARNING: THIS REVIEW DOES CONTAINS SPOILERS! PLEASE SEE THIS MOVIE BEFORE YOU READ MY REVIEW!

The First Order has the Resistance on the run! They've been tracking the Resistance through hyperspace! Now, it's up to Rey to bring the hero Luke Skywalker back to restore balance to the universe! Plus, we learn how Kylo Ren (aka Ben Solo) joined the Dark Side! Also, we learned that a bomber ship can destroy a HUGE Empire ship!

That's our story in a nutshell! I think the writers did a good job with the script, making twists and turns while keeping the story going in the Star Wars universe, a story that started back in the 70s with Episode 4!

Adam Driver does a great job as the villain that replaced (but isn't as strong as) Darth Vader, Kylo Ren! He had me thinking that he was going to defect to the Resistance for a good minute! He makes the Kylo Ren character convincing! Will he get a nod for Best Supporting Actor? Maybe. Will he get a nod for Best Villain? Probably. I'd say he has a better chance at Best Villain. I wished he kept the mask, though!

Mark Hamill came back to reprise one of the most famous characters in Star Wars and motion pictures history, Luke Skywalker! He definitely aged and so did his character! I think that Luke was better in Episode 4 then in this, but I am glad that he came back to help the Resistance! He even pulled an Obi-Wan Knobi when he let Kylo Ren take him down, a nod to Episode 4, of course! Plus, I'm glad he went back to his old Luke hairstyle from the original films during the final battle with Ren!

Sadly, this film marked the last one for Carrie Fisher, the original Princess Leia! I would put Leia on my Top 10 list of favorite Star Wars characters. I think that LucasFilms (the folks who made all the Star Wars films, including this one) should've dedicated this film to her. Her character was looking after her people of the Resistance (yes, I've said that word a lot in this review), even when they were depleted. For those of you that don't know yet, Carrie Fisher passed away after the making of this film. Rest in peace, Ms. Fisher! You will definitely be missed!

I also like Finn, played by John Boyega. His acting was good and his character knew a thing or two about the ships in the First Order! I also like Daisy Ridley's Rey, the newest Jedi! She can kick some serious butt with her weapons! Plus, Yoda was in this! I like Yoda and his voice actor, Frank Oz!

The score was fantastic, definitely up to Star Wars par! John Williams did a great job scoring this film! His scoring is the most famous pieces of music in motion picture history! I think the score can be found on CD, so I definitely (yep, that word again) think you should go buy it!

The action was up to Star Wars par too! Not much Jedi fights (save for the final scene), but lots of stuff got blown up! I like when stuff gets blown up in the movies, unless it's good guy stuff.

So overall, we've got a great story, some great acting, some great music and great action! To me, that's a recipe for a fantastic movie! My review: 2 LIGHTSABERS UP! If you're reading this and you work for LucasFilms or Disney, you may put that review on the DVD or Blu-Ray of this film. I'm definitely buying this film when it comes out to Blu-Ray or digital! Oh, and Benicio del Toro, The Collector from the Marvel Universe, was in this film!

DB Reviews- Thor: Ragnarok

Image from IMDB

Hello all! It's me, DB and I'm back after a while to bring you another review! I give you my review of Thor: Ragnarok, the 3rd installment of the Thor franchise. WARNING: THIS REVIEW DOES CONTAIN SPOILERS! 

In this film, Thor returns to Asgard to find out that his brother Loki told the people of Asgard about him being a "hero".  After seeing through Loki's tricks, Thor, with Loki, goes in search of his father Odin. They find him just before he passes on. We then are introduced to the main villainess of the story, Hela, who intends to rule Asgard. She breaks Thor hammer, thus sending him to a far away planet, where he meets up with The Hulk and a former Valkyrie and they team up to stop Hela!

I thought that this film was a good film. The story can be confusing at times, with so many twists and turns in it,. But it does get up to it's eventual goal. 

Chris Hemsworth reprises his role as Thor, God of Thunder. I think Marvel made a good choice in casting Hemsworth for this role. He's lived up to the Thor hype so far. He has the language and humor of Thor down pat! I also liked his new look in this film. It makes him look like a more modern Thor. However, I also still like the long, wavy hair. Thank you, Stan Lee, for that haircut! 

Mark Ruffalo reprises his Avengers role as the Hulk. I like that Marvel is continuing to add other heroes to films in different franchises. They did that with Spider-Man: Homecoming and now they've done it in this film as well. I think Ruffalo makes a pretty good Hulk. I'm glad they added in more lines for the Hulk to say in this film. Plus, I felt that this Hulk's voice was better then Ed Norton's version's voice. 

Tom Hiddleston is back as Loki, the god of mischief and Thor's brother. I feel like this role is the role in which Hiddleston will be remembered by, like Christopher Reeve's Superman or Daniel Radcliffe's Harry Potter. Once people see him, they'll think "That's Loki". Hiddleston's Loki is pretty good. He's got the Loki lingo down! 

Cate Blanchett did a fantastic job as Hela! I liked her attitude with the character. She was definitely a Marvel Villainess! I also liked her costume. It reminded me of Maleificent from Sleeping Beauty. 

The special effects were great. I thought that Thor's glowing eyes were cool, yet creepy at the same time, just like WWE's The Undertaker. The action was pretty solid, too! 

I felt that when Thor faced the Hulk in that planet that was run by Jeff Goldblum, that fight was more like a promo for Marvel's Contest of Champions mobile game. I would've given that game physical product placement instead of doing a fight like this. 

Overall, I enjoyed this film. My review: 4 HAMMERS UP! Thanks for reading! 

DB Reviews- Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Image from Rotten Tomatoes

Hey all! It's me, DB, once again! I'm bringing you yet another cool movie review! This time, I review the classic sci-fi hit Close Encounters of the Third Kind. This movie is celebrating it's 40th anniversary this year! WARNING: DON'T READ THIS BLOG BEFORE YOU SEE THIS MOVIE! THIS BLOG CONTAINS SPOILERS! 

I did mention that this is a sci-fi, but I think this movie had a little bit of everything in it! It had some horror scenes, adventure scenes, even a little bit of comedy! I think that everyone should see this movie! If you're a horror fan, sci-fi fan or whatever fan, you should see this! 

I loved the India scenes! I thought they were well shot! The use of the sand effect in the beginning of the movie  was good. The singing in the middle of the film was ok too. 

I didn't like Richard Dreyfuss's character in the beginning. I didn't like the way he treated his family in this film. But, his character was the hard working man who had his life changed when he first saw a UFO! The change was definitely needed! 

That was the basic story and I like stories like that. They're easy to follow. Mr. Spielberg did a good job writing this one! 

I LOVED THE FINALE! The finale with the HUGE spaceship (bigger width wise then Independence Day's ship) was a cool light show! This is a scene that could definitely be done as a show in a major theme park. Perhaps Universal Studios could do a show like this! (They do have a ride based off of Spielberg's hit ET, so why not do one of Close Encounters?) 

The score was good too. John Williams (yep, that guy that did the Star Wars score) was brought on to score this film. I liked that fact that he did an entire song based off of just 5 notes. These 5 notes would bring him more fame and are 5 of the most recognized notes in Hollywood history! I like John William's work as a whole, not for just this film, but for the other films he did too, like Star Wars! 

The person I mentioned before is none other than Mr. Steven Spielberg himself! He directed this film. You know him as the guy behind Jurassic Park, Raiders of the Lost Ark, JAWS and ET! This was one of his 1st films as a director and we know he would have a legendary career at doing just that! In  my opinion: You should get this guy to direct your film! He is fantastic! I like this and a couple other movies that he did (Raiders and ET). 

Overall, this was a fantastic film! The story was easy to follow, the scenes were great (especially India) and Mr. Spielberg added a bit of everything to this film, from horror to action to sci fi, etc! My review of this film (for those of you who are working on the Blu-Ray release of this film, you can use this line) is: THIS IS INDEPENDENCE DAY BEFORE INDEPENDENCE DAY! It was THAT DARN GOOD! Thanks for reading! 

Happy 40th, Close Encounters! 

DB Reviews- Ducktales 2017 reboot

Hello all you Disney Duck fans out there! It's me, DB and I'm back to bring you another review!

Image from Screen Rant

As you can probably tell, I'm doing a review for the 2017 reboot of Ducktales, Disney's classic TV show where Scrooge McDuck, his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie, ace pilot Launchpad (before he worked for Darkwing) and Webby go on grand adventures in search of treasure or just to escape or stop the diabolical doings of many classic villains like Magica Despell, The Beagle Boys and Flinthart Glomgold! 

Let me get a negative thing about this series out of my chest. I think that this series needed the original voice actors from the hit show back in the early 90s. Back then, this show was a Disney Afternoon staple! I loved this show back then! The voice actors from the original version of this show gave each character their own personalities. Each of these actors became famous for portraying each character. The voice actors on the new reboot? I don't think they're quite as good as the original actors, with the exception of Donald. The person that did Donald's voice did a real good job! He sounded just like the classic Donald that we know and love! 

With that out of the way, I have to say I like this reboot. It's not bad at all! Each episode has a story that's easy to follow and has action scenes, which is a must for a Ducktales show! Some parts of each episode are based off of the original early 90s series and other parts are based off the comic book stories, especially those created by Disney duck legend Carl Barks! 

The easter eggs featured in the 1st episode were really neat! The animators made all sorts of references to the classic version of this series as well as references to the other HUGE MEGA hits of the Disney Afternoon era! Some of the eggs included: The lamp from Ducktales The Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp (which is a film that I definitely enjoyed when I was younger) and the robot with the 3 lights on it's head, which is a reference to the classic version of this series. Dewey even mentioned Cape Susette, where Baloo, Kit, Mrs. Rebecca Cunningham and Molly reside in the series Talespin (a series that I highly recommend you to see! It's out on DVD now!). Also, the men in the meeting with Scrooge mention St. Canard, the home of the "terror that flaps in the night" himself, Darkwing Duck (which is another great series!). Also, the Junior Woodchucks were mentioned in episode 1! 

I noticed that the creative team behind this version of the series changed a few things around. They made Mrs. Beakley and Webby into totally different characters compared to their classic 90s counterparts. Mrs. Beakley is more serious in this version of the series then she was in the 90s version and Webby is more adventurous! I think that some fans of this show might find Webby's more adventurous side appealing. They might say that this version of her is better then her 90s version, though the animators did make a reference to the 90s version by pinning Webby's doll to the wall. Also, Huey is the only one of the nephews wearing a hat in this version, though each nephew's respective color is still the same. I remember that all 3 of the nephews wore hats in the original series. Do I like the new Webby and Mrs. Beakley? Yeah, though I like the new Webby better. However, I don't think I saw a Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers reference. I think they should do one of those in a future episode. 

I could see this series getting a good 4 or 5 seasons on Disney XD! Perhaps even 6! I think that they should put Gyro Gearloose and Gizmoduck in future episodes! Also, I think that they should make more Disney Afternoon references! Perhaps they could have Darkwing or Chip and Dale or maybe even Bonkers make cameo appearances. 

So overall, I like this reboot! The original is still 10x better, but still! I think you should see an episode or two of this reboot. Also, I think that Disney should look into rebooting more of their Disney Afternoon series, like Darkwing Duck. They have to get Jim Cummings (Darkwing's voice) back for that reboot! I'd love that! 

One more thing. I even liked the new version of the main title song in this series (even though it was only in episode 1). I've always loved Disney music and this is one song I like a lot! My review: I give this series a "WOO-OO"! 

"You might solve a mystery, or rewrite history! Ducktales!" 

DB Reviews- Smurfs: The Lost Village

Image from DVD Release Dates

Hello everyone! It's me, DB and after many, many months of not blogging, I am back for my review of Smurfs: The Lost Village! WARNING! This review does contain spoilers!

The story centers around Smurfette, the only female Smurf in the Smurfs village. However, she wasn't a real Smurf at first. Gargamel, the main villain of the Smurfs universe, created her from a lump of clay and sent her to find the village and capture the Smurfs. But, with the help of his powerful magic, Papa Smurf turned Smurfette into a real Smurf and she joined the team!

In this adventure, Smurfette was curious about her role in the Smurfs. While she was finding her role, she finds a new Smurf, one that she, and the rest of the other Smurfs, have never seen before! Against Papa Smurfs orders, she, Hefty Smurf, Brainy Smurf and Clumsy Smurf set out on a grand adventure to discover who the new Smurfs are and stop Gargamel from completing his latest scheme to take all of the Smurfs magic and become the most powerful wizard of all!

First off, I like the fact that the writers gave Smurfette a back story in this film. It helps set up the climax of the film and I think it was needed in the Smurfs universe! The story in the film itself was good too. A little too much, but still good.

Secondly, I think this was Demi Lovato's best film since the Camp Rock series! To me, she did a very good job as the voice of Smurfette! Smurfette was originally voice by Lucille Bliss in the original, classic cartoon. Now Demi has done the same for a new generation of Smurfs fans! Great job, Demi!

I think Rainn Wilson did a good job voicing Gargamel! Hank Azaria (of the Simpsons fame) played the role in the 2 live action films prior to Wilson, but I think Wilson still did good as the animated version of Gargemel. He brought the 60s cartoon style of the character to the big screen and to me, that was needed for this film.

Joe Manganiello (of Magic Mike fame) protrayed Hefty. I liked Hefty in this film. We can definitelly see that Hefty has a crush on Smurfette!

Jack McBrayer played Brainy Smurf. You might remember McBrayer as Fix-it Felix, Jr from Wreck-It Ralph!  It's good to hear his voice in roles other than the famous video game character, but his role as Brainy wasn't as good as Felix. I can't wait to see (and review) Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2!

Frank Welker did a good Azreal, Gargamel's cat! Is it as good as his Scooby-Doo? Nope, but it's still good! He's well trained in animal voices for cartoons!

Another great addition to the Smurfs universe was made in this film, the introduction of an all female Smurf group! Julia Roberts portrays the leader of this group of Smurfs. She has added a good voice tone to this character. It's a deep voice, but not as deep as Papa Smurfs, who himself was voiced by Mandy Patinkin, who did good too. Michelle Rodriguez and Ellie Kemper did good as Smurf Storm and Smurf Blossom, especially Rodriguez!

I think the animators did a great job designing the characters and bringing them into the CGI world for a third time! Even Gargamel looked like he did in the original cartoon!

So overall, there are alot of good things in this movie (which I mentioned, a lot!) Smurfette's backstory was definitely needed, the voice actors did (yep, I'm saying it again) good and the story was (here it is, one more time) good too!

My review: Smurfs: The Lost Village is ONE TO WATCH! Thanks for reading!

DB Reviews- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

Image from Slashfilm

A TREASURE TO BEHOLD!

Ahoy, mateys! It is I, DB, here to bring you my review of the final(?) film of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Dead Men Tell No Tales! Be warned, landlubbers, for this review contains a bounty of spoilers. So if ye be looking to read this review without seeing the film first, I suggest you set sail to see it, then come back to read my review. If anyone works for Disney, you may use my review for ads for the Blu-Ray/Digital copy of the film!

Johnny Depp returns to helm the seas once again as Captain Jack Sparrow! This time, Jack and his merry mates set sail to find the legendary trident of Poseidon. With this trident, all of the people who were cursed (like Orlando Bloom's Will Turner, who makes two appearances in this film) will be free of their curses! Jack must use the help of an astrologer named Carina Smyth, who was sentenced to be hanged for accusations of being a witch. She must use the stars to find the legendary trident. But Captain Salazar, a famous Spanish captain who vowed to rid the world of pirates forever, has come searching for the trident too, to free himself and his crew from death! He makes a deal with Jack's pirate rival, Barbosa (Geoffrey Rush, returning) to find Jack and kill him. By the way, Will's son, Henry, joins the fray in this film!

Also, it is revealed that Jack's compass, the one that doesn't point north, is also cursed, but it's cursed to help it's owner find whatever he or she desired.

Ok, now for the review,

If you're looking for some swashbuckling adventure, then this is the film you must see! I felt the story was good. It was easy to follow, which is something that I like about storytelling.

Depp returned as Jack Sparrow. He definitely grew in to this role! He made this role happen and I think he will be forever linked to Capt. Jack Sparrow! Even though he's done other movies, like Blow and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, I think most kids today will still see him as Jack. Depp has created a legendary Disney character!

Geoffrey Rush returns as Capt Barbosa, the previous Captain of the Black Pearl before Jack. Just like Depp as Jack, Rush's Barbosa has grown into one of the most recognizable characters in Disney history. Also, like Depp, Rush has developed a character that kids will see him as for all eternity. To me, both Depp and Rush did good in their roles and not just in this movie, but throughout the franchise.

Javier Bardom protrayed the film's main villain, Captain Salazar. I liked him in this role. He was a classic style villain, killing pirates to get what he wants. He had a classic villain backstory too, one which I think was good for his character. Does he crack the top 25 in my list of favorite Disney villains? No, but I still think he did a good job.

Benton Thwaites played Henry Turner, the son of Will Turner and Elizabeth Turner. I think he needed more practice from his dad to be a swashbuckling hero.

Kaya Scodelario played Carina, the astrologer in this film. Her character was the one that was to be hanged because people accused her of being a witch because of her astrological talents. That's one of the very few things that I didn't like about this movie. I know that this movie was set in the times of the pirates, but still you can't hang someone just because of their talents. Overall, I thought she was OK in this.

Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley both make appearances, but both didn't get much screen time at all!

My favorite part of the film was the action and boy was there action! I loved the pirate ship fights in this film, my favorite being the fight between Salazar's ship and the Black Pearl, a legendary Disney ship!

I also loved when Salazar's ship opened it's front, like a monster opening it's mouth to chomp on someone! That was both scary and cool at the same time, especially when it happened when the sky was dark and stormy! Whoever came up with that idea should get a promotion!

One other thing that I didn't like, though, was that the shopkeeper had a sign that said no dogs and no women. I get the no dogs part, but the no women? Come on!

Also, I think they should've used X Atencio's recording of the line "Dead Men Tell No Tales" from the attraction in the trailer for this film! I think it would've work perfectly! X Atencio was one of the Imagineers that worked on the original Pirates attraction. He was tagged to record that line in the attraction, which is why I think that recording should've been used in the trailer for this film and maybe even in the film iteself!

Overall, I'd say that this film is A TREASURE TO BEHOLD! It's got good action, great action, a good storyline and it's an adventure film! I think that Poseidon's trident should be a part of the ride that inspired this franchise! I think it should go next to the Aztec chest in the treasure room!

Thanks for reading! I must set sail to my next review! See you then!