James M's review of SON OF THE MASK (2005)

 

Yo. Remember that classic 90s film known as The Mask starring Jim Carrey?

Of course you do, I did a review of the movie. Well, get ready for the sequel... without Jim Carrey, but it has Alan Cumming as Loki and Jamie Kennedy as a cartoonist. Oh, and this story is going to be freaking weird, also, it came out in 2005 over 11 years after the OG movie dropped.

Alright. So, the film takes place some years after THE MASK ends and Loki shows up, looking for his mask, and terrorizes a museum. Meanwhile, a dog finds The Mask in a river and takes it to his owner, a cartoonist named Tim Avery, who is reluctant to have kids with his wife. Things change when he puts on The Mask at a party, spices things up, and, long story short, he and his wife end up having a baby... WITH CARTOONISH POWERS and this is all because Avery wore The Mask during the little guy's conception.

"LOKIIIIIIIIIIII!"

Odin calls out to his son, Loki, and tells him a child of The Mask was born. Loki looks everywhere for said child, who freaks the father out with the various cartoony antics that he does. Loki eventually finds the baby, kidnaps him, and Tim and his wife go after him. Tim puts on The Mask, has a fight with the God of Mischief, helps mend family ties between Loki and Odin, and things end on a bright happy note for the Avery family as Tim makes a cartoon based on the antics between his cartoony baby and the dog.

Okay, thoughts?

SON OF THE MASK is a mess, a fun mess, a funny, whacky, crazy mess that deserves respect. Sure, Jim Carrey did not return in this film, but SON OF THE MASK carries the charm of the original film and takes the wackiness up to eleven... and a little too far in some areas. However, it's pretty good, and I enjoyed the ride. I am sure this film has a lot of fans out there, and I wish I could see this one again at some point. 9/10. However, if you're grossed out by weird baby stuff, the baby in this movie does something pretty gross at one point.

James M's review of Fantastic Four (2005) and Rise of The Silver Surfer (2007)

 

Hi, it's me, here to review FANTASTIC FOUR from 2005.

Before we start, I have quite the interesting relationship with this movie as this was the first live-action superhero film I ever watched, the first Marvel movie I saw, and one of the first PG-13 rated movies I ever watched. Heck, the first time I watched it in 2009, I was sick and was reading the novelization for the film with my mom at the time.

Okay, so what is the story behind this film?

Starring Ioan Gruffudd as Mr. Fantastic, Jessica Alba as the Invisible Woman, Chris Evans (the future Captain America) as the Human Torch and Michael Chiklis as The Thing, Fantastic Four sees Reed Richards and Ben Grim preparing for a space mission with Victor Von Doom, Sue Storm, and her brother Johnny. During the mission, a solar storm hits ahead of when Reed and Victor initially predicted it and the whole crew is drastically affected by it.

After returning to Earth, everyone appears normal, until the effects of the storm kick in as Johnny bursts into flame harmlessly during a skiing trip, Sue turns invisible, Reed stretches his hand, Ben mutates into rock, and Victor starts to develop metal under his skin. The rock monster that was Ben tries to talk to his girlfriend, only to scare her off, and travels to a bridge, which becomes the site of a traffic accident.

Reed, Sue, and Johnny, who come to the bridge looking for Ben, wind up performing heroic acts along with the rocky Ben and earn the respect of the public with the group being called the Fantastic Four. Reed starts running tests on the group while trying to figure out a cure, and Victor, discovering how bad his infection is, begins a path that leads to villainy.

Usually, I go further and talk about the last act of the film, but its easier to stop in case some of you haven't seen this. Anyways. I have watched FANTASTIC FOUR multiple times and it's really incredible. Fun fact, this was the SECOND Fantastic Four movie adaptation if you count the unreleased 1994 film, which I will watch at some point. The casting for this movie was decent along with all the action, the music, and the writing. 10/10, and I will give this film more credit. Without FANTASTIC FOUR, I wouldn't be a Marvel fan.

How about we discuss RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER a little?

Okay. Firstly, at the time of this writing, this film is one of the only PG-rated live-action Marvel movies in existence. A PG-rated superhero film is rare these days, you only get either PG-13 or R-rated superhero content. And a little interesting fact, my dad asked me if I wanted to see this at one point when I was a kid and I initially objected. Usually, when I say 'no', I'm not interested, but this was also because I hadn't seen the first film yet.

Rise of the Silver Surfer is the last film in the original Fantastic Four series and the last time we saw this incarnation of the FF, until Chris Evans recently reprised his role as Johnny in a freaking Deadpool film. *spoilers* Okay, so let's talk the story of the movie here.

Taking place after the first FANTASTIC FOUR, Reed and Sue are preparing for their wedding when a cosmic entity known as the Silver Surfer appears and craters start to pop up across the world. As the wedding of Reed Richards and Susan Storm unfolds, everything goes south when the Silver Surfer pops by. Now, the Fantastic Four have to face the new threat, unaware that there is more to the Surfer than meets the eye, and reluctantly team up with Doctor Victor Von Doom.

Now for my honest thoughts.

Rise of the Silver Surfer is an interesting and kind of fun movie. The soundtrack is wonderful to listen to, and even with the PG-rating, the stakes are high even though you have to wonder why the heck they aimed for a PG instead of a PG-13. Either way, RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER delivers something engaging and worth a watch on many levels. We may not have gotten more projects set in this continuity, despite certain plans as evidenced by a mid-credits scene, but this film was a decent send-off for Reed, Sue, and their friends, even with many loose threads like Doctor Doom's fate.

9.6/10. Fox is a fine studio, and Chris Evans is my favorite superhero movie actor.

-James M

James M's review of Madame Web

 

Hello again, true believers, and welcome to my review of 2024's MADAME WEB.

For those of you who just got into the Spider-Man comics, if you are out there, Madame Web, real name Cassandra Web, is a mutant with spider powers who observes all Spider-Man related activity in the multiverse and is in charge of the web of destiny (I think) and she's met with Peter during various Spider-Verse adventures in the comics and in the cartoons. Anyway, this film is sort of an origin story for a different Madame Web played by Dakota Johnson.

As for the story, allow me to give you a brief rundown:

In the early 2000s, three girls, whose names are Julia, Anya, and Mattie, are targeted by a man with spider powers named Ezekiel Sims, who has visions about the trio coming to kill him, and Cassandra, who works for a hospital, takes it upon herself to protect them and learns she is dealing with the man who shot her mother before she was born. Oh, and meanwhile, Cassandra's friend Mary Parker is about to have a baby who will obviously be Peter Parker.

Let me be up front, this film kind of gave me NEXT vibes. Long story short, Next stars Nicholas Cage as a man who can see seconds into the future, seeing incoming events, and he takes different directions to change it. Cassandra (Dakota Johnson) has the power to see the future somewhat and, at first, she is very confused by what is even happening. 

With what the cast is given, the actors do their best, and for a film set around 2003, MADAME WEB isn't all that bad despite being a flop even though I sympathize with Dakotoa Johnson. With a mind-bending story, lots of intensity and wild action, this one is a pretty decent superhero film that doesn't deserve the hate it has gotten IMO.

8.9/10. Maybe I should rewatch the film. Let's hope Sony can redeem itself.

James M's review of Morbius (2022)

 

Hellooooooo, Spider-Man fans. We're back with a review of MORBIUS, released in 2022, and starring Jared Leto as Dr. Morbius and Matt Smith as Milo (respectively). Produced by Sony and based on the Marvel comics, MORBIUS bombed at the box office and was negatively received. However, what is the film about?

Dr. Michael Morbius carries a blood disease which sees him on crutches, and as he tries to make a cure for himself, he winds up turning into a vampire and attacks people. Later, his brother Milo drinks the infected blood that Dr. Morbius took to go into vampire mode and becomes a vampire himself, setting the stage for a battle between the brothers.

In all fairness, despite the issues that people have, Morbius isn't a bad vampire film and is one intense thrill, pushing the PG-13 rating with the vampire-related action. It may not be R-rated, but this film does not hold back with the blood and is scary. Matt Smith, who played the 11th Doctor in Doctor Who, is a treat to watch whenever he's on screen and his role as Milo is one of the many fun factors within Morbius. So, what's my verdict on this film?

Regardless of what the critics say, this is a comic book movie you should give a chance if you like vampires and the Spider-Man comics, even if Spider-Man doesn't make an appearance in this title.

9.8/10. Thank you for joining me in this review.

Farewell, true believers.