Here we have two movies I recently watched. Check out more info below. Be warned though, major spoilers are included in the French movie. :)

In case you've already seen these two, let me know what you think in the comments below. 

(Photo credit via Pixabay)

 

 

♠     The Shadow     ♠

Ah yes... nostalgia. The 90s era had it's own fascinating superhero movies. Just like Michael Keaton's Batman, there are other superhero movies too! What better way to represent the 90s superpowered heroes than The Shadow?

Oh I just had to write this after being reminded of it. It's such an underrated movie! Any fantasy and comic book fan should have seen this. If you haven't watched this yet, now is the time to do so.

 

♠     What is The Shadow All About?     ♠

This fantasy film is about an opium lord in Tibet during the 1920s who was given a chance to redeem himself. In order to become a good guy a monk had to intervene and teach him things to "cloud men's minds." He then eventually came back to the US and became The Shadow.

This persona he created is a vigilante working in the dark against the bad guys in New York City. We see that he's a rich guy and is well dressed to the nines when he goes out. His secret identity is The Shadow and he can manipulate people's minds. He can hypnotize people too thanks to his training in Tibet.

But of course he is not alone. Though he has managed to become a "secret" superhero, he has a team of good people he can count on. These are mostly the people he saved from death and are now under his service.

(Photo credit: The Shadow via Blackgate)

 

This character first came about as a radio show in the US. It was then developed as a comic book which eventually became a movie and had video game spin offs too. This superhero is actually the precursor of Batman. It influenced the creation of the caped crusader. Without The Shadow, perhaps there would have been no Batman.

Trivia: Did you know, the comic version of this character visited Batman on several comic issues in the 70s?

Going back to the movie, if you watch it, you can definitely see why Batman was inspired by this character. You may also be amazed at the extent of their advanced use of technology available to them then. The Shadow even has his own underground secret high tech hideout like Batman. Lol.

(Photo credit: The Shadow via Blackgate)

 

Anyway, The Shadow's main opponent in the movie is Shiwan Khan, the descendant of Genghis Khan. This villain also has almost the same power as the protagonist, having been trained by the same master. As for what happens, I don't want to spoil the story so I suggest you watch it instead. 

Here's the trailer so you'll have an idea about the movie.

(Video credit: Shout! Factory via YouTube)

 

 

 

 

♠     The Review     ♠

If you listen to the music or the soundtrack you will be reminded of Batman. You might even wonder what the Batman music is doing in this movie. Apparently the late Jerry Goldsmith was kind of inspired by Danny Elfman's Batman soundtrack. It doesn't sound bad but it just gives it less of a brand if one is reminded of another character when we hear the music.

For me, the visual crowning glory of this masterpiece is the costumes and props. Come on, a period setting in the 1920s will always have elegance and beauty in it. The dresses of the lead actress are all fabulous, even the night gown is lovely. The best costume, for me, is the "palace" Oriental clothing of Shiwan Khan. The best props item is the sacrophagus and the animated dagger. Oh such detail. Haha.

Other than that, even their contact lenses are something to love. If it's not contact lens, then perhaps it's computer enhanced. Who wouldn't love to have shiny eyes like these?

(Photo credit: The Shadow via Blackgate)

 

As for the story, it is something fascinating even to a kid. After almost two decades it is still amazing to me. Like I said, I enjoy fantasy and the mystical shenanigans so this one is right up my alley. It's like having magic but in reality it's just mind control or psychic abilities. I mean, if you can really make things move with your mind that would be awesome right? 

(Gif animation of The Shadow via pixshark)

 

The plot is fairly simple yet thrilling like Die Hard. The visual effects are good enough for its time. Some of it reminded me of an old Sinbad movie I saw as a kid though. I'm not sure if they had stop motion animation but it is nonetheless good enough for me.

The actors did a good job in portraying their characters. However, the main point of interest in this film is the extraordinary abilities of our superhero, the villain and even the damsel in distress. It's the fascination of how there can be another "magical" side to people or a world that we aren't aware of.

Wouldn't it be fantastic to be able to do extraordinary things? But of course having special abilities will always mean bigger responsibilities and discipline. Having great power means we should still be careful and not rely on ourselves alone. Those are some lessons one can get from watching The Shadow.

Certainly this is not a movie for those who don't find the metaphysical stuff fascinating. If you truly like superheroes though then this is a movie you can also appreciate. If I had to rate this from 1 to 10, 10 being the highest, I'd give it a 9.

 

 

 

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♣     The Brand New Testament     ♣

I read about this online and forget how I found out about it. Must be one of those ontological or coincidental online search results I get when researching topics and such. I was looking for a movie to watch when I remembered I haven't seen this yet.

Here's the trailer. It looks fun but find out more in my review below.

(Video credit: Movieclips Indie via YouTube)

 

 

♣     What's the Story?     ♣

It's about God who lives in Brussels, who has a literal goddess wife and kid named Ea. Her elder brother is Jesus Christ but we don't see much of him. The star of the show is Ea.

Basically, God is a tyrannical person who got bored and so he made man. Then he made all kinds of ridiculous rules and such because he can. Everything that happened on Earth was for his enjoyment. He is spiteful, unhappy and always angry and makes life difficult for humans. All that he does to humans is seen as done and programmed in his outdated looking computer.

(Photo credit via musicboxfilms)

 

His home office consists of only the computer and big filing cabinets. The room is surrounded by towering depositories of human information folders.

One day his daughter Ea decided she wanted no part of his tyranny anymore and sneaks in to his computer room. She uploads everyone's death date on his computer and put a kind of virus on it. Her dad won't be able to do anything at all unless he reboots it maybe. After sending out the notice, people then received texts informing them their date of death. Most people rejoiced, others got sad and did all sorts of things. People planned everything they wanted to do since they have an idea when they will die. 

(Photo credit via cinemaclock)

 

Of course Ea had to run away from home after doing that. God has a pretty bad temper. In order to escape home, she actually got tips and advice from her brother whom she calls JC. His statue can come alive and talk to her. So before she did her plan, she asked JC for advice and he told her she just needed six apostles to make it 18. Lol. Their mom loves the number 18.

(Photo credit via cinemaclock)

 

Anyway when she did her dastardly plan, she ran away thru the washing machine as JC advised. When she got to Earth, she ate some food from the trash bin and then threw up. A poor old man saw her and told her it's the fish in it. Eventually, she decided to go around with him as her gospel writer.

While she's in the process of finding her chosen apostles, her dad was coming after her. He did not reboot the computer and could not do anything on it. Furious, he went thru the washing machine too. Once on Earth he followed Ea's scent like a dog. He got to various places but since he is a spiteful person, people weren't nice to him. 

Meanwhile, his daughter found her six apostles and each of them appeared one by one in the last supper painting at their house. Her goddess mom would see the apostles added in the painting one at a time as Ea found them. God however decided to go back home after he failed to catch Ea but all the washing machines in the laundry shop he came from had blocked entrances to his world. He then did something which made him get deported to Uzbekistan.

When finally the painting showed 18 apostles, God's wife decided to clean the house. She then went to the computer room and unplugged the computer to vacuum the floor. While doing so, the ones on Earth who had that day as death day were unaware and preparing to die.

(Photo credit via cinemaclock)

 

Ea and friends were at the beach to wait for one of her apostle's death. After her mom finished cleaning the room, she unplugged the vacuum and plugged the computer back on. This rebooted the computer and she happily entered her password and details which it surprisingly accepted with no question. This prompted the people on Earth to receive another text saying they won't die on that day anymore.

People on Earth also suddenly saw colorful skies, flowers and rainbow lights. Ea realized her mom was able to access the computer, change the world and "reversed" the effect of what she did. Meanwhile, God is seen working in a washing machine factory looking for one that had access to go back home.  The End.

 

 

♣     The Review     ♣

Although the story is interesting, it is kind of boring for my taste. I prefer movies with lots of action and activity going on so somehow I got bored with it but I still finished it. I  went through til the end to find out the ending.

The film has a somber feel to it. It's not a funny movie at all. It's black comedy and I've never liked black comedies. Some people enjoy this movie genre but even though I try I've never enjoyed it.

The Brand New Testament has a cold overtone.  The camera filters used were probably all blue. It has warm tones as well but I mostly notice the blues. Anyway the music was nice enough. It has classical music playing in some parts. I think that's the only thing I like about this film. I watched it with subtitles so maybe that's why I don't appreciate much of it.

The gospel writer (Image screencap TrailerGermany via YouTube)

 

The actors were good, nothing exceptional. If you're looking for some fantastic phenomenon happening there's not much going on.  It's just a story about 6 people, God's family, humanity and how they all intertwine. That's it.

As for the film rating, I give it a 7 out of 10. My rating is mostly based on my enjoyment so if it's 10 it means I really enjoyed it. I give it a 7 because although it is boring there are some quirky parts of it that makes it okay. It is not much of a waste of time, it's weird enough but not too fun at all.

If you like slow paced and narrative movies you can watch this and see for yourself if you'd enjoy it. :)

 

 

For my other movie reviews, click below:

• Ant-Man and the Wasp: A Light and Fun Marvel Family Movie
• This 2010 Movie Kicks Ass!!! Twice! (2013)
• Along With The Gods: The Two Worlds - A Movie for Spiritual Renewal
• The Forgotten & Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind: 2 Fantastic Supernatural Movies
• Enchanted & 17 Again: 2 Family Fun Movies!
• Why “The Passion of The Christ” Is Controversial
• An Inside Look at the “I Am Legend” Movie
  
   

 

 

 

 

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