The Filmlosophers, Eddie Villanueva, Chad Riley and Spencer Williams, head back to the start of the infinity loop with this week’s review of Jon Favreau’s Iron Man (2008). The film marked the first official entry of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, established Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark/Iron Man as a household name and paved the road toward this week’s Infinity Saga culmination, Avengers: Endgame (2019).
Also starring Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges and Clark Gregg, Iron Man set a new standard for superhero blockbusters and initiated one of the most unique multi-franchise undertakings in the history of cinema.
The Filmlosophers, Eddie Villanueva, Chad Riley and Spencer Williams, try desperately to escape the flames of the underworld with this week’s review of Hellboy (2019). The remake stars David Harbour from “Stranger Things” alongside Ian McShane, Milla Jovovich, Danial Dae Kim and a whole lot of CGI.
Unfortunately, this slow burning garbage fire of a film is too relentlessly unquenchable even for us. The good news is that we suffered through it so you don’t have to.
The Filmlosophers, Eddie Villanueva, Chad Riley and Spencer Williams, tackle the debate of the modern era with this week’s evaluation of the Netflix effect...and a “mini-review” of one of the streaming giant’s recent releases, Triple Frontier (2019). With a war brewing between Hollywood’s previous generation of upstarts (we’re looking at you, Steven Spielberg) and the new content disruptors (including Oscar-winner Alfonso Cuarón), how are the rest of us supposed to feel about on-demand home viewing versus the grand allure of a cinematic presentation?
As a small litmus test, we also dive into an abbreviated review of Triple Frontier starring Ben Affleck, Charlie Hunnam, Oscar Isaac, Pedro Pascal, Garrett Hedlund and Adria Arjona. It may not be the next Roma (2018), but it sure beats most of the Netflix-distributed films we’ve reviewed in previous episodes.
The Filmlosophers, Eddie Villanueva, Chad Riley and Spencer Williams, are feeling a bit of a power surge with this week’s review of Shazam! (2019). Directed by David F. Sandberg, the film stars Zachary Levi as the titular hero, while Asher Angel plays his human alter ego, Billy Batson. Mark Strong, Jack Dylan Grazer and Djimon Hounsou fill out the primary cast, and there are a number of other standouts waiting in the wings of this mostly family-friendly comic book adaptation.
After all, it’s only on the colorful canvas of a superhero film that you typically find story elements such as America’s foster care system, the seven deadly sins, and larger-than-life preteen heroes in the same mix. The real question, though, is whether that mix is just-right or a little too over-the-top. Listen in to find out our take!