A Day of Moviegoing at AMC Theatres...

Gettin' ready to watch Venom: The Last Dance today!

Movie Review: BLACK ADAM...

Earlier today, I watched the DC Extended Universe's (DCEU) newest flick, Black Adam, at AMC theaters. Needless to say, it was a very action-packed film!

Dwayne Johnson plays Teth-Adam, who—like Billy Batson (portrayed by Zachary Levi in the 2019 film Shazam! and next year's sequel, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, respectively) centuries later—is a superhero that was bestowed a plethora of god-like powers by wizards who considered him to be the "champion" humanity needed.

Unlike Billy Batson, however, Teth-Adam didn't start off as a superhero...but as an angry demigod who first sought revenge against the tyrannical king of Kahndaq during its ancient days, and then against anyone who basically pissed him off after he was awoken from his 5,000-year sleep in Kahndaq's present day.

Like the live-action Venom films by Sony Pictures and Marvel, Black Adam does a nice job of depicting Teth-Adam's brutality while also retaining the movie's PG-13 rating.

At one point early on in the flick, Adam nonchalantly flings a hapless mercenary into the air as if he was a baseball. In the subsequent shot, we see that the mercenary's arm—which Adam grabbed when he threw him—is still in one of the demigod's hands, severed and all!

There are lots of other great moments in Black Adam where Teth showed his badassery (most of them featuring his use of lightning against his enemies), but one thing I really liked about the movie is that the film made sure to remind the audience that it's part of the DCEU. It's clearly obvious Amanda Waller (once again aptly played by Viola Davis), who we first met in 2016's Suicide Squad, is the Nick Fury of the DC cinematic universe...only with less morals.

And let's not forget the Justice Society as well as other protagonists and antagonists who were introduced in Black Adam. Aldis Hodge was formidable as Hawkman, Pierce Brosnan was noble as Dr. Fate, Noah Centineo was hilarious as Atom Smasher, Sarah Shahi was headstrong as Adrianna Tomaz, Quintessa Swindell was very reliable as Cyclone, Bodhi Sabongui was idealistic as Adrianna's son Amon, Mohammed Amer was also hilarious as Adrianna's brother Karim, and Marwan Kenzari was dangerous as both Ishmael and Sabbac.

I'm not sure if I'd rank Black Adam among the top films of the DCEU (where 2017's Wonder Woman, Zack Snyder's Justice League cut and the first Shazam! reside), but I will say that it's definitely entertaining.

If you watch Black Adam, stay for the end credits! You won't be disappointed...and the DCEU has a bright future ahead of it considering what that cameo entails. Carry on.

TOXIN: Speculating About a Future Friend and Foe of SPIDER-MAN and VENOM...

As an FYI, spoilers for Venom: Let There Be Carnage are included in this blog entry!

So the day after I watched Venom: Let There Be Carnage last weekend, I read a couple of articles (like this one) regarding the glowing pupils in Detective Mulligan's (Stephen Graham) eyes after he was left for dead by Shriek (Naomie Harris) atop that cathedral at the end of the film.

It turns out, this was a hint as to what Mulligan might become in the next Venom film should it get made...and that's him having his own alien symbiote that transformed into the anti-hero known as Toxin!

In the Marvel printed series Extreme Carnage, just like in Let There Be Carnage, Mulligan comes face-to-face with Carnage—who infected him with a piece of symbiote that caused him to become Toxin in the comic books. However, unlike Carnage (who is pure evil and tentacle-riddened savagery), Toxin isn't so villainous, but still tentacled...and actually formed a partnership with Spider-Man as Toxin fought his crimson-skinned creator and Venom himself.

If the ending of Let There Be Carnage is any indication, Spidey isn't the only foe that Venom will confront in his next cinematic appearance—but also an obscure villain who casual moviegoers (like me) didn't know about until we Googled about the various Easter eggs found in Venom 2.

I'm thinking that a really cool post-credits scene for this December's Spider-Man: No Way Home would be of Peter Parker (Tom Holland), MJ (Zendaya) and Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon) kickin' it at Parker's apartment when someone comes knocking at his front door.

The visitor is none other than Detective Mulligan...who traveled all the way to New York City from San Francisco to ask Parker if he could help the detective confront a certain sharp-toothed nuisance that's been plaguing California's Bay Area. (Mulligan became aware of Parker thanks to news coverage of him regarding the Mysterio incident in the end credits scene of Spider-Man: Far from Home.)

Mulligan shows Parker the front page of a Daily Bugle newspaper, and of course, Venom made the main headline and photo!

Mulligan suggests to Parker that they should team up against Venom, which makes Peter skeptical. Parker himself knows that he could hold his own against Eddie Brock's (Tom Hardy) alien symbiote—what with Peter being an Avenger and all—but what does Mulligan have to offer in this fight?

It's at this moment that Parker, MJ and Ned watch in stunned disbelief as Mulligan nonchalantly transforms into Toxin. Before Peter himself can get up in arms in regards to the giant symbiote standing before him at the front door, Toxin assures Spidey that he is not the webslinger's enemy and asks for his help once more...extending a clawed hand, which reverts back to the human hand of Detective Mulligan, before Peter reluctantly shakes it in agreement.

MJ and Ned obviously continue to watch this in stunned disbelief.

Of course, LESS THAN ZERO PERCENT of what I just typed in the last four paragraphs will actually happen at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, but's it something fun to speculate about!

All I can say is, there's no way that director Andy Serkis would've included that final cryptic shot of Mulligan in Let There Be Carnage if that was indeed the last we saw of him. Spider-Man and Venom are both the good guys in their respective films, so it's unlikely that they'll have a protracted fight scene when they finally meet each other for the first time.

There's most likely an actual antagonist that will force Spider-Man and Venom to team-up and fight against...and if Morbius and all of the other classic Spidey villains are too predictable a foe, then Toxin will do just nicely! We'll see.

And yes, I'm gonna watch Daniel Craig's final James Bond film No Time to Die tomorrow! Carry on.

Movie Review - VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE...

Earlier today, I went to my local AMC theater to watch Venom: Let There Be Carnage...and needless to say, it was much better the second time around!

I watched the Venom sequel for the first time yesterday, and it didn't help that I was spoiled by exclusive content that was posted on the movie's Facebook page over the past few days—specifically the video at the very bottom of this review showing the scene where Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson) transformed into Carnage for the first time. My expectations hampered my initial viewing of Let There Be Carnage.

It was during today's screening that I appreciated the tight storyline and editing that director Andy Serkis crafted for Venom 2. He doesn't beat around the bush in establishing the deadly relationship between Kasady and Frances Barrison, a.k.a. Shriek (Naomie Harris), and Kasady's attempt to create an equally-tense rapport with Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy).

Speaking of Eddie Brock, Tom Hardy once again did a great job conveying a humorous and conflicted portrayal of the struggling Bay Area reporter. And the writing team, of which Hardy was a part, did an amazing job expanding the ever-chaotic but warm relationship between Brock and his symbiotic alter-ego, Venom.

In regards to Anne Weying (Michelle Williams), Eddie's former fiancée, Let There Be Carnage apparently brought closure to her story in this film. Brock comes to accept that he will never get back with Anne, and watched as she and her new fiancé Dan (Reid Scott) rushed off into the night, together, at the end of the movie.

Dealing with Venom 2's visual effects, it was just as well-done as the FX in the original film. Although, I'm wondering how the CGI would've looked if the top dog of visual effects companies, Industrial Light & Magic, had worked on Let There Be Carnage. DNEG is the lead vendor that brought Venom to life in both movies, respectively.

As was the case with every Marvel flick except Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy and Marvel Studios' Avengers series (somewhat), the music score was Let There Be Carnage's weakest point. Marco Beltrami—an outstanding composer—was apparently in no mood to create additional music for the end credits...with some rap song closing out the credits instead. (Compare this to the great end credits music by Hans Zimmer in each installment of The Dark Knight trilogy.)

Speaking of that end credits scene in Let There Be Carnage... Wow! I look forward to seeing Venom confront his classic foe on the big screen once again (the previous standoff being in 2007's Spider-Man 3)—though I doubt they'll have that many fight scenes against each other. (Don't forget the future Marvel movies that Sony Pictures has under its slate, like next year's Morbius.) Venom is, after all, the lethal protector. So why would one good guy continue to battle against another good guy after they've realized they're on the same superhero page?

Happy 2nd Day of October!

VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE Will NOT Be Released in Theaters Next Month...

So I just found out through Variety and other news sites that Venom: Let There Be Carnage will not be released in theaters nationwide on September 24 as originally planned. It is hopefully opening on Friday, October 15 instead.

Thanks a lot, coronavirus' Delta variant and all the folks who remain unvaccinated in the United States.

Carnage Creates Chaos in the Latest Trailer for VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE...

The newest and presumably final trailer for Venom: Let There Be Carnage was released today...showing that Eddie Brock's (Tom Hardy) titular symbiote will have its hands full battling the crimson-colored alien beast residing in serial killer-turned death row inmate, Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson).

Here are some screenshots of Carnage in action—which reveals that this murderous creature will live up to its Marvel comic book origin and wreak havoc on Brock and everyone around him, even though this flick will be rated PG-13, just like its 2018 predecessor.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage is still scheduled for release in theaters nationwide on September 24...though that may change as COVID-19 cases continue to increase around the United States due to the coronavirus' Delta variant and lots of Americans remaining unvaccinated. Get vaccinated.

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Images and Video of the Day: Gettin' Ready for VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE...

Just thought I'd share this theatrical poster, trailer screenshots and the trailer itself for Venom: Let There Be Carnage...the Andy Serkis-directed sequel which opens only in theaters nationwide on September 24. As shown below, the classic Spider-Man villain Carnage will finally be brought to life on the big screen—with his serial-killing human host Cletus Kasady played by Woody Harrelson. Tom Hardy returns as Eddie Brock and his ravenous alien symbiote, while Michelle Williams reprises her role as Anne Weying, Brock's on-again, off-again girlfriend from 2018's Venom.

As mentioned above, Let There Be Carnage will only be showing in theaters when it makes its debut this fall. All the more reason why Venom fans (and Marvel geeks, in particular) need to get vaccinated if they haven't done so already. I got my second dose last month.

"Chaos...soon come."

Photos of the Day: The New VENOM Trailer Is Here!

Just thought I'd end this month with these screenshots from the newest trailer for Venom...which hits theaters nationwide on October 5. Based on the new preview, Tom Hardy's take on the Symbiote is livelier and more brutal than Topher Grace's portrayal of the alien creature in 2007's Spider-Man 3. This is ironic considering the fact that Venom is an all-out villain in Sam Raimi's third and final Spidey flick, while he's an antihero in the upcoming movie. Not sure if Venom will be R-rated, but one thing's for sure, it's gonna be interesting adapting Hardy's gritty take to the PG-13 tone of Tom Holland's Spider-Man films if the Symbiote ever makes an appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe!

Check out the trailer itself at the very bottom of this entry. That is all.

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CAPTAIN MARVEL Has Wrapped Filming!

pic.twitter.com/qnZ5RnzDLM

— Brie Larson (@brielarson) July 8, 2018

Earlier today, Brie Larson tweeted the image above celebrating the completion of principal photography on Captain Marvel...which took place last Friday (July 6) after a 75-day shoot. Last Friday, of course, also marked the opening day for Ant-Man and the Wasp—which is the final Marvel Studios movie of 2018 (though Sony Pictures will be releasing the Marvel antihero flick Venom this October, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse in December). March 8, 2019 is the date that Captain Marvel will be unleashed in theaters nationwide, while Avengers 4 is set to follow less than two months later on May 3. Awesome! Can't wait to see how Larson's Carol Danvers will factor in the defeat of Thanos next spring...

And in regards to Ant-Man and the Wasp, I'll post photos that I took of three of its main costumes at ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood tomorrow. Carry on.

EDIT (July 9): Pics that I took of the Ant-Man and the Wasp costumes are posted here!




BossLogic - @BossLogic on Twitter.com

VENOM: A Selfie with the Symbiote...

To commemorate the October release of the Spider-Man spinoff film Venom—starring Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams and Riz Ahmed—Sony Pictures set up this website where you can upload a selfie and incorporate it with the Symbiote as seen in the official theatrical poster above. I recommend that you do this on your computer instead of on your smartphone...as you have much greater control in rotating and/or cropping your selfie to make sure it convincingly matches the size of the Symbiote in this pic. I'll probably create another image, but this time with a selfie of me pretending to look a lot angrier to make the pic more intense.

Venom arrives in theaters nationwide on October 5 (the day after my birthday). Carry on.