Movies Coming Out This Week: “Shazam!”
With Captain Marvel clearing the $1 billion dollar mark world wide, and Avengers: Endgame just around the corner, DC has a superhero movie of their own to compete with Marvel Studios: the wonderfully lighthearted Shazam! Meanwhile, a Stephen King adaptation and a historical drama will also get a wide release this weekend.
Shazam!
Warner Bros. and DC have seemingly abandoned their grounded and gritty take on superhero films in favor of something more lighthearted and fun. Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman are both very dark and dreary movies – both aesthetically and tonally. Though both films may have kicked off this cinematic universe, I believe that bright and colorful movies like Aquaman and Shazam! will pave an excellent path for the DCEU’s future.
Warner Bros. is so confident with this film, that they were even hosting early screenings for critics and fans weeks before the official release date. Early buzz for the movie has been overwhelmingly positive, as many people have been praising the lead performances of Zachary Levi and Jack Dylan Grazer, the direction of David F. Sandberg, as well the light tone and sense of humor. Shazam! currently holds a 93% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, making it one of the highest rated DC films ever – tying with Wonder Woman and barely trailing behind The Dark Knight!
Other DC projects may be in a state of flux; several movies from their original slate have been delayed or canceled, several prominent actors have dropped out of the cinematic universe, movies like The Flash keep getting rewritten by a rotating series of filmmakers, etc. But right now, with the current success of Aquaman and Shazam!, you have to admit that DC is looking pretty good. At least at the moment.
Directed by David F. Sandberg, Shazam! stars Asher Angel, Zachary Levi, Mark Strong, Jack Dylan Grazer, and Djimon Hounsou.
Synopsis:
Billy Batson is a 14-year-old orphan who is trying to find his place in the world. One day, he gains magical powers that allow him to transform into an indestructible adult superhero by simply shouting out the word “Shazam.” As Batson tries to figure out what to do with his newfound powers, he must also square off against an evil villain with similar powers of his own.
Pet Sematary
The Stephen King adaptations just keep coming. In 2017, four Stephen King adaptations were released – one of which was the hugely popular smash hit, It. This year will see the release of another four King adaptations, including the sequel to It and a quasi-sequel to The Shining. And while I’m sure both of those movies are highly anticipated, Pet Sematary seems to have the most amount buzz surrounding it right now.
Pet Sematary had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 16, and just like Shazam!, it was also met with plenty of positive praise. With an 88% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it’ll be interesting to see how this movie fairs at the box office while competing against a comic-book superhero film.
Though this may be the second adaptation of the Pet Sematary novel, with how much praise the movie has been receiving, I’m pretty sure this interpretation will be remembered as “the good one.” With a story by Matt Greenberg, Pet Sematary (2019) is written by Jeff Buhler, directed by Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer, and stars Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz, and John Lithgow.
Synopsis:
Doctor Louis Creed has recently moved to a rural town in Maine with his family. It is here where Creed learns that a local pet cemetery has the strange ability to bring back pets from the dead. Despite the terrible results and the insistent warnings, when tragedy befalls upon his family, Creed goes the graveyard and sets off a perilous chain reaction that unleashes an unspeakable evil with horrific consequences.
The Best of Enemies
Robin Bissell will make his directorial debut with an adaptation of a book written by Osha Gray Davidson. Titled, The Best of Enemies: Race and Redemption in the New South, the book chronicles racial tensions found in the city of Durham during 1971. Robin Bissell wrote the screenplay for the film himself, and STX Entertainment picked up the movie’s distribution rights.
Produced by Danny Strong and Tobey Maguire amongst a handful of others, The Best of Enemies starts Taraji P. Henson and Sam Rockwell.
Synopsis:
During the racially charged summer of 1971, Anne Atwater and C.P. Ellis must come together to co-chair a community summit on the desegregation of schools in Durham, North Carolina. This is the true story of the unlikely relationship between an outspoken civil rights activist and a local Ku Klux Klan leader.
Limited Theatrical Releases/Streaming Releases
High Life
A science-fiction film that focuses on a group of criminals who are tricked into believing that they will be freed if they participate in a mission to find alternate energy sources by travelling towards a black hole on a spaceship. The film stars Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, and André Benjamin – better known as André 3000. High Life premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival where it was met with critical acclaim. The film currently has an 88% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 50 reviews.
The Public
A drama that follows a group of homeless people as they refuse to leave a downtown public library after learning that emergency shelters are at full capacity due to a brutal cold front. Their nonviolent act of civil disobedience then escalates into a standoff when local riot police get involved. The movie is written and directed by Emilio Estevez and stars an ensemble cast including Alec Baldwin, Jena Malone, Christian Slater, Gabrielle Union, Taylor Schilling, Jacob Vargas, Michael Kenneth Williams, and Jeffrey Wright.
The Haunting of Sharon Tate
A horror thriller based on the murder cases surrounding – you guessed it – Sharon Tate. The movie is written and directed by Daniel Farrands and stars Hillary Duff as Sharon Tate.
Peterloo
An historical drama based on the Peterloo Massacre of 1819. The film is written and directed by Mike Leigh.
Storm Boy
A contemporary retelling of Colin Thiele’s Australian novella, where a grandfather recounts how he once rescued and raised an orphaned pelican in his youth.
The Wind
A supernatural western horror film about a plains-woman named Lizzy who is driven mad by her own isolation while living in a remote stretch of land during the 19th-century.
Which movies are you looking forward to? Do you like DC’s new take on their superhero films? Will you see Shazam! in theaters or are you simply waiting for Avengers: Endgame to come out? Do you think Pet Sematary can have an impact of Shazam‘s box office gross? Let us know in the comments section.
