The 2019 Next Level Blockbuster Awards Notes

• The “Best Inspirational Picture” category was added to acknowledge spiritual related films that would most likely not be nominated in other categories.  I am not an overly religious person but with studios like Pure Flix releasing more and more films, it is a film genre I feel can no longer be ignored.

• The “Best Home Video Release” category honors past and present movies and tv shows with stellar DVD, Blu-ray, or 4K releases.

• Despite being the first Next Level Blockbuster Awards, Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga both managed to take home two awards.  Cooper won for “Best Director” and Gaga won for “Best Actress”.  The pair shared the “Best Song” award.

• Speaking of Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga, Cooper managed to gather four total nominations making him the most nominated person so far.  Lady Gaga and Michael B. Jordan are tied in second place with two nominations each (though Gaga holds the edge having won in both categories she was nominated in).

• With so much original content coming from streaming services such as Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, DC Universe, Crackle, and YouTube; the category of “Best Digital or Direct or Video Picture” seemed like a must.

• “Avengers: Infinity War” was the most nominated film this year with a total of eighteen nominations.  It went on to win four awards including the top prize.

• “Bohemian Rhapsody” won the most awards this year with a total of five awards.

• Netflix films were nominated for a total of twenty nominations.  The streaming service went on to win two awards.

• Comic book movies dominated the nominations and wins this year, unlike most other award shows.  I do not discriminate against genres and this year proved to showcase that any film can be nominated.

• Films based on Marvel comic books received a whooping forty-seven nominations and won seven of those awards.  Among the films were “Avengers: Infinity War”, “Black Panther”, “Ant-Man and the Wasp”, “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”, “Venom”, and “Deadpool 2”.  DC comics only had one film based on it’s characters but still received a respectable nine nominations and won an award.

“Aquaman” Movie Review

    I am a big comic book nerd and I make it no secret that I tend to prefer DC over Marvel.  Both DC and Marvel have had great movies adapted from their pages and also some near dumpster fires.  Going into “Aquaman”, I knew there probably wasn’t going to be a middle ground with this film.  I just had to hope for the best.
    Luckily, the film turned out to be a fun popcorn flick.  “Aquaman” is basically an adaptation of Geoff John’s “New 52” origin story.  The story focuses on Arthur Curry having to accept his lineage and fight for the crown of Atlantis in order to save everyone from an all out war.  It’s a simple story with elements of adventure and action thrown in.  I would say that out of all the DC movies, this movie feels more like a Marvel Studios movie.  It serves to be a crowd pleaser even if it means abandoning weightier issues that have had mixed success for Warner Bros. (“The Dark Knight” has themes that connected with audiences while “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” missed the mark with most movie goers).  Making a softer in tone and safer picture was probably the best move for Warner Bros. after how badly they handled “Justice League”.
    “Aquaman” is a visual fest for the eyes and feels part “Raiders of the Lost Ark” meets “Avatar”.  James Wan does an amazing job of delivering an overall fun crowd pleaser.  Wan does initiative things with his action set pieces and scene transitions.
    Jason Momoa and Amber Heard serve their roles but don’t exactly elevate the movie as a whole.  Momoa’s strength as an actor actually seems to be his sense of humor and comedic timing which isn’t showcased a lot (due to it being an action film).  Momoa and Heard don’t share much chemistry together in my opinion.  The pair seem to be cast mainly for their looks.  All that being said, I think Momoa has a lot of promise and will be more comfortable in the role by the time he reprises it next.  Patrick Wilson ended up being the true stand out of the movie performance wise.  Patrick Wilson chews up his scenes while still being reserved enough not to go over the top.  He makes for an interesting villain and one I would like to see more of.

    One major complaint I had about the movie is the music.  Music can elevate a movie to near epic proportions (case in point: Star Wars).  The music in “Aquaman” is just a pain in the ears at times.  Guitar riffs are not needed everytime Jason Momoa looks into the camera.  We get it, Momoa is a bad ass (case in point: he has tattoos and facial hair).
    The movie is about the spectacle and amazing visuals.  In that respect, it doesn’t disappoint.  “Aquaman” is a fun summer movie that comes to us during the cold winter months.  I am excited to see where future adventures lead the hero.

Grade: B+

"Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" Movie Review

    It is no secret that Spider-Man is my favorite Marvel superhero.  I grew up with the 90s animated Spider-Man series and enjoyed the comics (although it was the weird Ben Reilly Spider-Man period).  I am open to anything Spider-Man, but I have to admit that “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” didn’t exactly captivate me with it’s previews.  It didn’t look bad to me, but nothing I wanted to rush and see.  Then I kept hearing how good it was from friends so I figured it deserved the benefit of the doubt.
    Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised with how well the film was executed.  By all intensive purposes, much of the film shouldn’t have worked.  Some aspects were goofy but some of those parts were among the most enjoyable moments of the movie.  The film feels fresh and different which is somewhatly refreshing in an era of cookie cutter superhero films.
    The film primarily tells the origin of Miles Morales and his transformation into his universe’s Spider-Man.  Miles Morales was introduced in the Marvel Ultimate brand.  Like in the Ultimate comics, Miles Morales is forced to take the mantle of Spider-Man after Peter Parker is taken out of the picture.  The story is fun overall and I liked how the filmmakers were able to take the familiar Spider-Man story and changes it up by focusing on a Spider-Man other than Peter Parker.  Miles has a different outlook on life and has different interactions with characters.

    The film also introduces several alternate dimension Spider themed crime fighters including the popular Spider-Gwen, an alternate Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Spider-Man Noir, and Spider-Ham.  It’s amazing how the film can include the likes of Spider-Ham and still work.  It was also visually amazing how the animators managed to differentiate the animation styles of some of the characters.  I should also note that the film contains several references to classic Spider-Man comics and the movies that die hard fans will love.
    The film was filled with innovative animation that was just fun to watch.  My only real complaint with the animation style was that the background had a slightly unfocused 3D effect, almost like you went to a 3D movie without 3D glasses.  Aside from that, it was sharp.
    “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” may not be able to top the likes of the classic Sam Raimi movies, but it’s miles ahead of “The Anazing Spider-Man” franchise and on par or perhaps better than what Marvel Studios is doing with the character now.  If you love Spider-Man, comic book movies, and/or animated flicks, you can’t miss this movie.

Grade: B+