Tag: Mark Strong

The Penguin Review: The Greatest Comic Book Show Ever?

There was a lot to love about 2022’s The Batman.
One of these things was definitely Colin Farrell’s portrayal of the Penguin.
The makeup and prosthetics for the role were outstanding, and Farrell completely disappeared into the role of Oswald Cobb.
So, when it was announced that there would be an HBO show about the character, I was excited.
That being said, I never expected it to be this good.
Developed by showrunner Lauren LeFranc, and produced by The Batman director Matt Reeves, The Penguin follows Oz Cobb on his attempted rise to power after impulsively killing the heir to the Falcone crime family, Alberto (Michael Zegen), in a moment of rage. 

Oz’s impulsive murder of Alberto kicks off the events of the show.

This act does not go unpunished, however, because Oz quickly finds himself under the scrutiny of Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti), Alberto’s sister and a supposed former serial killer who was just released from Arkham Asylum.
Wanting to protect his mentally unwell mother Francis (Deidre O’Connell) from Sofia, Oz recruits Viktor Aguilar (Rhenzy Feliz), an impoverished teenager with a stutter, to both care for her and aid him in his power grab.
All of the four key players, Farrell, Milioti, Feliz and O’Connell give excellent performances, but it is Colin Farrell and Cristin Milioti who steal the whole show.
Farrell once again completely disappears into the role of the Penguin, to the point that I once again did not even recognize him.
On top of his performance, the writing for Oz is also stellar.
You cannot help but be drawn in by his charisma, despite being constantly reminded of just how evil he is.
By the end of the show, I was practically begging for Batman to fly in and beat the ever-loving hell out of him. 

Watching Oz receive a beatdown from Batman would be incredibly cathartic.

As for Cristin Milioti’s Sofia, she so often felt like the protagonist of this show more than Oz.
For the first three episodes, I was on the edge of my seat; constantly creeped out by Sofia while wondering if she would win her game of cat and mouse against Oz.
Then, we got her backstory in Episode Four, “Cent’Anni”, one of the best episodes of the show, and I went from being terrified of her to actually rooting for her.
Despite being a bad person herself, it becomes quite clear towards the end which of the two is more morally bankrupt and it is certainly not Sofia. 

Milioti perfectly plays someone who became a monster because of her environment, as opposed to Oz who was always a monster.

Farrell and Milioti deserve all of the awards for this show, as do many of the people behind it, with the makeup, soundtrack, cinematography, and sets all being fantastic.
Speaking of the those sets, just like in The Batman, Gotham City feels like its own character, from the devastated slums of Crown Point, to the luxury of the Falcone estate, to the insanity of Arkham Asylum.
Not everything about the show is stellar though, because there a few issues, namely the level of convenience in the show.
There were quite a few times where characters had the chance to kill Oz and yet they just let him keep talking, despite knowing how duplicitous he is.
Along with this, there are a few scenes that require leaps in logic to believe, the most obvious of which being something concerning Salvatore Maroni (Clancy Brown) in Episode Five.
Aside from these issues, The Penguin is a phenomenal show, and definitely one of the best comic book shows of all time. 

The Penguin has set the standard for great comic book shows going forward.

The acting is fantastic across the board, with Farrell and Milioti delivering the best performances, the storytelling is great and full of tragic turns, and the set design of Gotham makes it feel like a living and breathing city full of corruption.
It is a corruption that Batman will need to clean up in the next film, and let’s hope he starts with a beatdown on Oz Cobb.
The guy certainly deserves it based on every horrible thing he did in this amazing show. 

Shazam Review: Darker than Expected… but that’s a Good Thing.

4 stars
Trailers spoil everything these days.
You need look no further than the Pet Semetary trailer to see how bad things have become, in terms of them spoiling large twists in the film.
Which is why it is such a relief when watching Shazam! because so many exciting twists and turns in the story are left for viewiers to see in the film.
The main feature the trailers focuses on is Shazam!‘s synopsis, as most trailers should do.
Directed by David F. Sandberg, the film follows a boy named Billy Batson (Asher Angel) who is given superpowers by an ancient wizard (Djimon Hounsou), which he obtains whenever he shouts the wizard’s name “Shazam!”
It also conveniently gives him the body of an adult male super hero whenever he does this, played expertly by Zachary Levi.
The switch between Asher and Levi is great, with Levi doing a fantastic job as a kid in a superhero’s body, pretending to be the adult he looks like.

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Zachary Levi is magnificent as Billy’s super hero form, with him often ending up in hilarious situations by trying to act like an adult.

The other characters of the film are also great with Billy’s foster family all being likeable and well cast, especially Jack Dylan Grazer as Freddy.
Then there is the villain Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong) who is the best villain the DC Extended Universe has given us so far.
You perfectly understand why he is doing what he is and one particular scene he leads in is surprisingly horrifying.
Shazam! is, after all, a family film so to see something that pushes those boundaries is very surprising and, again, made me glad it had not been spoiled in the trailers.
It was undoubtedly my favourite scene of the film.

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A boardroom scene where Mark Strong’s interrupts is surprisingly dark for a family film so prepare your children when you go in.

Shazam! is also great with its humor, delivering many hilarious scenes.
As well as this, the movie gave us some sadly realistic messages about family with Billy’s search for his mother, which is dealt with in a mature and well thought out way that made me feel for him.
There are a few plot holes here and there but, while these are noticeable, they do not hinder the experience all that much.
Overall, Shazam! is one of the DCEU’s best films, alongside Wonder Woman.
It is funny, mature, and full of surprises.