Superheroes, Movies & Superhero Movies: A Cinema Heroes Podcast

This week Justin and Stew (whose audio WILL get better in a few episodes, I promise) discuss the penultimate (for now) Jurassic Park movie! Jurassic World: Fallen Kingom was released in 2018 and made enough money for a final installment to be released a few years later, but... should it have? What do you think of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom? Let us know!! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram Twitter

After Thanos snapped half of the universe out of existence, Ant-Man and the Wasp was released! Taking place roughly at the same time as Avengers: Infinity War, this film follows Scott Lang as he's under house arrest for helping Captain America in Germany during the events of Captain America: Civil War. Meanwhile Hope and Hank Pym set out to rescue Janet Pym from the Quantum Realm and, much to their chagrin, need Scott's help! What do you think of the second Ant-Man movie? Love it? Hate it? Let us know! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram Twitter

Time for another DC animated movie! This time it's the superb All-Star Superman based on the graphic novel by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. Adapted by the late-great Dwayne McDuffie, All-Star Superman has an amazing cast who all knock it out of the park, including Anthony LaPaglia as Lex Luthor. Justin and Stew were excited to re-watch and discuss this movie and we hope you enjoy it! Check it out and let us know what you think of All-Star Superman! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram Twitter

The movie that introduced us to Captain Jack Sparrow, the role that Johnny Depp is most known for (and got him an Oscar nomination) was released twenty years ago and spawned four sequels. It also made Keira Knightly a star and a household name and proved to everyone that you could, in fact, make a good movie based on a silly Disney ride. So how does the movie hold up after twenty years? Check out what the guys think and let us know what you think of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl!!  Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram Twitter

I suppose it's a bit of a stretch to say Chronicle is a "superhero movie" but it's definitely inspired by comic books and superheroes. Josh Trank's film focuses on three teenagers who are given superpowers and how they each respond to their "great power." It's a found footage movie, which works for the most part, but can be distracting at times (as far as found footage movies go, this one is near the top of the list though). It's a short, tight film that asks some big questions. What do you think of Chronicle? Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram Twitter

Based on the iconic graphic novel by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli, Bryan Cranston plays Commissioner Gordon and Ben McKenzie is The Dark Knight in his first year of crime fighting as the Caped Crusader. Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer took a lot of inspiration from the graphic novel for Batman Begins and you can definitely see it when watching this movie. A great adaptation and a really well-done animated film. What do you think about Batman: Year One? Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram Twitter  

In 2007, Michael Bay delivered the long awaited live-action Transformers movie. Differing from the TV show and animated movie, this film is centered around a human teenager buying his first car and trying to hit on the hot, popular girl in school. He just also happens to be the descendant of an explorer who stumbled upon the frozen remains of Megatron. The map to the All-Spark (the cube that gives Autobots and Decepticons life) was imprinted on the explorer's glasses, which the teenage boy now possesses. So the Decepticons are after him and the Autobots must protect him (and the All-Spark). Do fans of Transformers like this movie? What about just regular movie fans? Check out what Justin and Stew think and let us know what you think of Transformers! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram Twitter

Probably most famous for being the last film of Brandon Lee, son of Bruce Lee, The Crow is a dark tale of vengeance directed by Alex Proyas. Despite Lee's on-set death, the film was finished and released and is considered by some to be a brilliant comic adaptation. It was received well by critics and audiences alike with most reviews praising Lee's performance. So how does the film hold up nearly 30 years later? Check out what the guys think and be sure to let us know what you think of The Crow! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram Twitter

In the 80's, Transformers were huge. The toys were amazing and the TV show was a hit. So the next logical step: give them their own movie! Released in 1986, Transformers ended up being a box office disappointment and sparked some controversy over one character's death. The movie has a bit of a cult following now and is considered a classic. Have you seen it? What do you think? Let us know! *Justin was sick this episode... Sorry.* Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram Twitter

Universal Studios decided it wasn't done with Isla Nublar or Jurassic Park and hired director Colin Trevorrow to helm the franchise's fourth film. Although this sequel ignores parts 2 and 3 and is considered a soft reboot, whatever that means. This time around we've got a whole new cast of characters. In fact, we've got whole new dinosaurs, including one that was genetically engineered: The Indominus Rex. Was this sequel necessary? Is it any good? Check out what the guys think of it and let us know what you think of Jurassic World! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram Twitter

The New Mutants was plagued by a number of problems but the fact that the movie was delayed a bajillion times certainly didn't help things. Once it was released it was met with a cold reception and the movie was considered a failure. Now that a couple of years have gone by, is the film really that bad or were people just expecting too much from a movie they waited a long time to see? Check out what the guys think and let us know what you think of The New Mutants! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram Twitter

**NOTE: Stew's audio is pretty terrible this episode. Long story short: He wore his airpods this time and when they connected, it changed his microphone settings. What can you do?** It's that time of the year! Where we look ahead and talk about what movies we can't wait to see! This year we had trouble narrowing it down to 10, so instead we did a Top 15 list! Let us know what movies you are looking forward to in 2023! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram Twitter

The follow up to Justice League: War is basically Aquaman: The Movie (similar to how Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox was a Flash movie). Based on the graphic novel of the same name, Arthur Curry is introduced to the Super Seven... I mean, Justice League! When Orm threatens to destroy the surface world, Arthur must accept his destiny and join forces with the League in order to stop him! What do you think of Justice League: Throne of Atlantis?  Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram Twitter

For our end-of-the-year episode, we are watching the final chapter in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy: The Return of the King! Winner of 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Return of the King finishes the story started by Frodo, Gandalf, Aragorn and the others in The Fellowship of the Ring. It's hard to believe this movie is 19 years old! We welcome back John to the podcast for this episode (and, unfortunately, lose Stew) as we discuss the good, the bad (is there any?) and the ugly of Part Three. What do you think of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King? Let us know! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram Twitter

Is it a Halloween movie? Is it a Christmas movie? Take your pick! This week the guys discuss the 1993 stop-motion masterpiece The Nightmare Before Christmas. If you've never seen it, do yourself a favor this holiday season and check it out. Even though Tim Burton's name is above the title, he didn't direct it (although everything on screen is very much his style and design). It was directed by Henry Selick, with music and lyrics by Danny Elfman and straight from Tim Burton's imagination. It has been a holiday favorite for almost 30 years, so what do the guys think of it? Check it out and let us know what you think of The Nightmare Before Christmas! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram Twitter

*Note* I gave this episode an explicit tag purely for the title of the film (which is also the name of the main character), which some might find inappropriate. There is no additional explicit language in this episode. In 2010, about ten years into the Superhero movie boom, director Matthew Vaughn delivered Kick-Ass: a comedy, action movie that simultaneously spoofs the superhero genre while also belonging to it. It's an R-rated, violent film but has plenty of laughs. Aaron Johnson is the titular Kick-Ass, a teenager who wonders why no one has ever tried being a superhero. So he decides to do it himself and gets in over his head. Chloe Grace Moretz is Hit-Girl and Nicolas Cage is her father Big Daddy, two vigilantes/superheroes who come out of the woodwork shortly after Kick-Ass does. How does it hold up? Check it out and let us know what you think of Kick-Ass! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram Twitter

One of the earliest DC animated films adapted the "Public Enemies" storyline written by Jeph Loeb and drawn by Ed McGuinness. Featuring the voice talents of Kevin Conroy, Tim Daly and Clancy Brown, it's almost like a Batman/Superman The Animated Series reunion, except the animation resembles Ed McGuinness's style more so than the classic Bruce Timm style (which I appreciate. I like that they tried to make it look like the comic.) How does the movie hold up? How does it compare to the original comic? Check it out and let us know what you think of Superman/Batman: Public Enemies! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram Twitter

In 1999, Universal rebooted one of their classic monster movies The Mummy. Writer/Director Stephen Sommers took on the challenge and brought us a humorous, adventure filled take on the story. Featuring perhaps a career defining performance for Brendan Fraser and Arnold Vosloo, the film also features future-Oscar winner Rachel Weisz. But does the movie hold up after 23 years? Check out the episode to find out and let us know what you think of The Mummy! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram Twitter

Happy Halloween! We decided to do a special episode for the holiday and discuss the second half of Stephen King's iconic story: IT. IT Chapter Two was released in 2019 and follows the grown-up counterparts to our young heroes from the first film. There has been some negative talk over this movie in the past, so what do Justin and Stew think of it? Is it as good as the first movie? Check it out and let us know what you think of IT Chapter Two! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram Twitter

Eternals is possibly Marvel's most divisive film. Critics didn't seem to care for it; it has the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score of any Marvel movie at 47%. Yet it's different than any Marvel movie that came before it. With a very large cast of characters, Eternals is directed by Academy Award winner Chloe Zhao who, as Stew says, "manages to deliver a diverse, high concept, philosophical superhero film." What do you think of Eternals? Let us know! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram Twitter