Avengers: Endgame

This is going to be a very vague and short review, because I want to keep this spoiler-free, and that's hard to do, because there are so many amazing scenes in this movie.

This is everything I wanted in a finale and more. Every character gets their perfect ending. The 3 hour runtime is not an issue, because it flies by like that. If you thought "Infinity War" was epic, you haven't seen anything yet. That film pales in comparison to this one. It's a shame this film is so epic, because it's the first movie of the summer 2019 season, and I don't think any film coming out this summer can match this. I cried so many tears of joy, because I was so overwhelmed by the epicness that is this movie! It's fanservice galore! My throat still hurts from how much cheering I did. This has the most epic final battle of any Marvel movie. It's the perfect way to put a lid on 11 years and more than 20 movies. This film is a nerd's dream come true! This movie redefines the word "epic"!
Grade: A+     10/10       5/5 stars

Shazam

DC has finally figured out that superhero movies are supposed to be fun escapism. This movie was delightful. For the most part, it didn't take itself too seriously (except for when it needed to), and was almost parody, but not quite. Zachary Levi hams it up in every scene, and is by far the highlight of the movie. The color scheme is also bright (which has been lacking from the latest DC movies). The villains' motivation could have been better (He feels like Syndrome from "The Incredibles"), and the stakes could have been a bit higher, but overall, it's an enjoyable film. The film does suffer from some tone issues, however. One minute it's trying to be a kids' movie, but then will have some kind of inappropriate jokes, and some kind of dark moments. It wasn't really clear what this film was trying to be. The film does have a lot of heart, and is very sweet. I'm hoping DC learns, and cracks the formula for making great (not just "good") superhero movies.

Grade: A-    9/10    4/5 stars

Dumbo (2019)

So far, with the exception of Pete's Dragon, I have liked every Disney live-action remake, and in most cases thought they actually improved on the original. This is not the case here. This movie is very inconsistent.  It tries to bring a new narrative, while at the same time, trying to be the original. I know the original is only an hour long, so they needed a new story, but that story is a mess. One minute it's saying "Hey, remember that scene you liked in the original? Here it is again in live-action." and then goes off the rails to become a completely different film. I wouldn't be surprised if they just greenlit the first draft of the script and called it a day. I was expecting more from Tim Burton. Burton has a certain style, and that style, is sadly not recognized here. If I was channel surfing and saw "Beetlejuice" or "1989 Batman" I would recognize it as a Tim Burton film. With this...anyone could have made it. In addition to plot and tone inconsistencies, the dialogue is also very clunky and stilted. Both the writing, and the delivery could have been drastically improved. It is a visual spectacular, the CGI is pretty impressive, but other than the visuals and Danny Elfman's score, there isn't much to appreciate here. "Dumbo" gets ready for liftoff, but never quite makes it all the way off the ground.

Grade: C      7/10     2.5/5 stars