Superheroes, Movies & Superhero Movies: A Cinema Heroes Podcast

Justin here with another update on the status/future of Cinema Heroes.

Justin here. Just wanted to give you a small update on why we haven't uploaded recently and what's been going on with the podcast! Let me know what movies you want us to cover in the upcoming year! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

We're back with another Top 10! This time it's our Top 10 Favorite Opening Scenes of all time. The beginning of a movie is critical. You want to hook your audience and leave them wanting more and these films do just that. They set the tone, introduce the characters and reveal their worlds to us in such a way that it left a lasting impact. Exactly what movie openings should do. Check out the episode and you can click below to see Justin and Stew's lists. Let us know what would make your Top 10 Opening Scenes! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

Here's another case of a sequel no one asked for. No one except Warner Bros. Studios, that is. The movie studio, understandably, wanted another one. The previous movies were huge money makers but the Wachowskis weren't interested. WB said "We're doing it with or without you." And here we are. Was this the movie the studio was expecting? Was it the movie we were expecting? And more importantly, does the film stand up compared to the previous three? Check out what the guys think and let us know what you think of The Matrix Resurrections. Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

John Constantine gets his first solo animated film after appearing in Justice League Dark. When an old friend approaches him about saving his daughter, Constantine must confront past sins in order to defeat the forces behind the girl's condition. Partly an origin story, this movie dives into who Constantine is as a person but also as a supernatural detective. Check out what the guys think and let us know what you think of Constantine: City of Demons! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

After many years (The Flash TV show premiered and ended between when this movie was announced and when it was released), we finally got to see The Flash in his first solo movie. Reprising his role from Justice League, Ezra Miller plays Barry Allen who is frustrated after another attempt to help his wrongly imprisoned father fails. Realizing he can run fast enough to travel back in time (farther than he did (or thought possible) in Zack Snyder's Justice League), he plans to go back and save both his parents, despite a warning from Bruce Wayne that he could "destroy everything." Loosely based on the Flashpoint comic, which is a strange story to adapt for his first solo film, The Flash finds himself in a world he doesn't recognize and must figure out a way to set things right again. Check out what the guys think and let us know what you think of The Flash! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

Who is the best casting choice for a comic book character? That's the question we ask today (thanks to listener Simon!) for our newest Top 10 episode. Joining us is our friend and frequent collaborator Alex Thomas as we discuss actors who were born to play their role, who defined the character on screen, and who surprised us but now we can't see anyone else playing the character. What do you think of our lists? Do you agree or disagree? Is there someone we left off that deserves a spot? Let us know! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

The Alien franchise is back with its newest installment from director Fede Alvarez (Evil Dead, Don't Breathe). Taking place between Alien and Aliens, Alien: Romulus finds a group of young adults attempting to board a decommissioned Weyland-Yutani ship in order to steal the cryo-chambers needed to flee their planet and make the nine year voyage to their new home. Things do not go as planned, obviously and they soon find themselves face to face with face huggers. We all know what comes next. Does the newest addition take a top spot among the best Alien films or does it fall flat with some of the more forgetful entries? Check out what the guys think and let us know what you think of Alien: Romulus! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

The turtles are back for their first ever feature length animated adventure! The gang's all here except for Shredder (and it turns out there's a reason for that!) but all is not right amongst the turtles. Add to that, there's a guy trying to open a portal to another dimension! Sounds like trouble. It also sounds like the makings of a hit Turtles movie! Do I smell pizza? Let us know what you think of TMNT! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

We're continuing through The Matrix franchise with part 3: The Matrix Revolutions. When The Matrix Reloaded ended, Neo was in a coma after using some reality-warping powers in the real world! Revolutions is often considered the worst of the trilogy and some people consider the sequels so bad that they ruin everything good about the first movie, but is it really that bad? Check out what the guys think and let us know what you think of The Matrix Revolutions! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

He's back! No, not Deadpool, although he is back, too. Hugh Jackman is back as Wolverine! We thought it was over with Logan, but no! He's come back to play the grumpy, adamantium-clawed X-Man once again! This movie has a bunch of cameos, Deadpool and Wolverine fighting a bunch, but does it have anything of substance? Check out what the guys think and let us know what you think of Deadpool & Wolverine! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

We're back with another Top 10 list! This time we are discussing the Top 10 Directorial Debuts of the 2000s. Just like the 90s, there were a lot of great movies that were directed by first-time directors. Some of them may surprise you! Let us know what you think of our lists and tell us what your favorite directorial debut of the 2000s is!  Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

The next movie up in the New 52 animated universe is Batman: Hush, based on the popular graphic novel by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee. In this film, Batman is faced with a new adversary, someone with a link to his past, who goes by the name of Hush. With cameos from Batman's rogue gallery of villains as well as Superman, how does this movie hold up against some of the other New 52 universe movies? Check out what the guys think and let us know what you think of Batman: Hush! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

We're continuing the Alien franchise with the last of the Sigourney Weaver films! But wait, didn't Ripley die in the last movie? How is she back? From the director of Amelie and the writer of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Marvel's The Avengers! There's actually a lot of talent behind and in front of the camera, so what could go wrong? Check out what the guys think and let us know what you think of Alien: Resurrection! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

As we get ready for Deadpool & Wolverine, we are covering the 2nd movie in the franchise which introduces Cable and Domino to the big screen! Ryan Reynolds dons the red suit again and brings his snarky wit against a time traveling half-machine trying to kill a kid who will be responsible for a lot of death and destruction in the future! Oh, and Deadpool has a death wish. How does part 2 hold up? Check out what the guys think and let us know what you think of Deadpool 2! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

We had such a good time with the Top 15 Film Scores, we decided to do another Top 10 list. This time we're doing Top 10 Directorial Debuts of the 1990s! There were surprisingly a LOT of movies to choose from. These Top 10 lists are a lot of fun to do and we hope you enjoy them because we are going to keep doing them (about once a month)! Let us know what Top 10 you'd like us to do! And check out the website to see thje list of Justin and Stew's Top 10 Directorial Debuts of the '90s! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

If you've ever read a Hellblazer comic, you know John Constantine is a British blonde guy who always wears a tan trench coat. So why not get rid of the trench coat and cast Keanu Reeves? Hey, why not? Originally titled Hellblazer, they changed it to Constantine to avoid confusion with Hellboy, which was released a year earlier. Keanu Reeves actually does a great job as John Constantine but how does the restt of the movie hold up? Check out what the guys think and let us know what you think of Constantine! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

It's time to continue/finish another favorite franchise: the Alien franchise! Released in 1992, Alien³ was the directorial debut of David Fincher who would go on to direct some pretty amazing movies like Se7en, Fight Club, Zodiac and The Social Network. Picking up where Aliens left off, Alien³ does something pretty bold right out of the gate. Some disagree with the decision, which casts a heavy shadow over the rest of the film. What do you think? Check out what the guys think and let us know what you think of Alien³! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

This week we discuss the follow-up to The Death of Superman with Reign of the Supermen! Four new Supermen have been seen around Metropolis but are any of them the REAL Superman? It's nice that we got another Death and Return of Superman adaptation but is this installment as strong as the previous? Where does it rank among the other DC New 52 animated movies? Check out what the guys think and be sure to let us know what you think of Reign of the Supermen! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

Wrapping another live-action franchise, the guys discuss the third Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This film follows the turtles back to 17th century Japan and... that's about it. This ended up being one of our shorter episodes because there's just not a lot of meat to this one. How do you feel about TMNT 3? Is it your favorite? Is it deeply misunderstood? Let us know!  Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

We are finishing the Transformers franchise with the last live-action movie: Rise of the Beasts. After six movies, we're finally introduced to the Maximals from the Beasts Wars TV series, but does the film do a good job of adapting their story? Does the timeline make sense? And just how would Noah sell Mirage if he could? Check out what the guys think of the final (so far) Transformers movie and let us know what you think of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts! *Note: Justin's audio is a little weird in this episode. Not sure what happened.  Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

We're continuing the New 52 animated universe with The Death of Superman. Adapted once already as Superman: Doomsday, the new version decides to split the story into two movies. The first focuses on the fight against Doomsday (this time with help from the Justice League) and the second... well, we'll have to wait and see! How does this one compare to Superman: Doomsday and the rest of the New 52 movies? Check out what the guys think and let us know what you think of The Death of Superman! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

It's time to wrap up the live-action Superman films (unless you count Superman and the Mole Men. Should we do Superman and the Mole Men??) with the 2006 film Superman Returns. Aptly titled, this film brought the Man of Steel back to the big screen after nearly 20 years. Critics seemed to like it but it was met with mixed reactions from moviegoers, which resulted in stalling Superman's movie career again for another seven years. What went right? What went wrong? And more importantly, does the film hold up? Check out what the guys think and let us know what you think of Superman Returns! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

One of Stew's most anticipated movies of the year is here! The second installment of Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon brings the war to the moon of Veldt! The first film was a bit lackluster according to Stew and Justin but does the second film breathe new life into the franchise? (Does two movies count as a franchise?) Check out what the guys think and let us know what you think of Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

Mixing things up from our usual episodes, we decided to do a Top 15 list! We often talk about film composers and scores so here are our 15 favorite film scores. We'll be back next week with a usual episode but enjoy this list and let us know if you'd like us to do more of these (because it was a lot of fun!) Stew's Top 15 Favorite Film Scores YouTube Playlist Justin's Top 15 Favorite Film Scores YouTube Playlist Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

Trying something new this week: You'll notice this episode has a cold open, where Stew and Justin have a bit of small talk before the episode begins. What do you think? Do you like it or should we just get right into it like we usually do? Let us know! Continuing with the Transformers franchise, the guys dive into the prequel/reboot starring everyone's favorite loveable mute Transformer, Bumblebee! Following on the heels of the disastrously bad Transformers: The Last Knight, Bumblebee reinvigorated the franchise by focusing on less Transformers and making the whole thing a bit more small scale (Chicago doesn't get destroyed again!). With a new cast and new, more classic, designs for the Transformers (and a new director), Bumblebee made Transformers fans happy, but is it truly the best Transformers film? Check out what the guys think and let us know what you think of Bumblebee! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

Next up in the animated New 52 movies is Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay! An R-rated, ultra-violent, road trip movie with some of the world's deadliest bad guys doing Amanda Waller's dirty work. Deadshot, Bronze Tiger, Coppherhead, Captain Boomerang, Killer Frost and Harley Quinn are hunting down a mysterious "Get Out of Hell Free" card, but can they find it before a few other notorious bad guys get to it first? Check out what the guys think of this flick and let us know what you think of Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

The fourth and final Christopher Reeve Superman movie finds him battling nuclear weapons and Nuclear Man! Gene Hackman returns for the movie that killed the Superman franchise for nearly twenty years. Even with Christopher Reeve himself contributing to the story, the presence of Jon Cryer and Mariel Hemingway, the movie suffers from an inconsistent tone and crazy plot choices. Is there anything redeeming about this movie at all? Check out what the guys think and let us know what you think of Superman IV: The Quest for Peace! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

We are wrapping up The Mummy franchise with the third installment: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor! Released only 9 years after the original, but taking place 20 years later, this film takes the O'Connells to China where Alex has awakened the Dragon Emperor and his terracotta army. Missing from the cast is Rachel Weisz (replaced by Maria Bello) and Rob Cohen replaces Stephen Sommers in the director's chair. How does this film hold up and stand against the other two Mummy movies? Check out what the guys think and let us know what you think of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

Continuing the New 52 Animated series of movies, Stew and Justin discuss Teen Titans: The Judas Contract, which sees Terra as a newcomer to the team, voiced by Christina Ricci. With Terra's help, they are faced with an enemy known as Brother Blood, who has hired an old adversary of the team: Deathstroke (this time voiced by the late Miguel Ferrer!). Terra has a secret, though. One that could cost the team dearly! How does this film rank among the other animated films? Check it out and let us know what you think of Teen Titans: The Judas Contract! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

Episode 200! It's amazing how quickly we got here when it took us so long to get to episode 100. And since episode 100 was The Dark Knight, it only seemed fitting to do the final film of Christopher Nolan's Batman Trilogy: The Dark Knight Rises (100 episodes in between part 2 and 3 is ridiculous, we know, and part of the reason why we've started doing franchise movies back-to-back). After the untimely demise of Heath Ledger, Christopher Nolan and his brother Jonathan had to re-work their original idea for a third film. Instead of The Joker, this film introduces us to Bane as our main bad guy and also brings Selena Kyle, AKA Catwoman, to the franchise! Often considered the weakest of the trilogy, check out what the guys think of this film and let us know what you think of The Dark Knight Rises! Initial prologue vs final film Bane voice comparison Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

Justin and Stew's most anticipated movie of 2024 (and 2023!) is upon us. The follow-up to the critically acclaimed Dune. Once again directed by Denis Villeneuve, Dune: Part Two picks up right where the first movie ended and completes the story originally told by Frank Herbert. At 166 minutes, did Villeneuve and company do the science-fiction masterpiece justice? Did it meet Justin and Stew's expectations? Check out what they think (joined by our friend Alex Thomas) and let us know what you think of Dune: Part Two! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

Not including the Deadpool movies, this is the last of the X-Men films. Trying once again to tell the Dark Phoenix story that was mishandled in X-Men: The Last Stand, this movie doesn't do a great job of it either. Will Jean Grey ever get her story told correctly? Is there anything redeeming about this movie? Check out what the guys think and let us know what you think of X-Men: Dark Phoenix! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

Here it is. The long-awaited R rated Wolverine film. Justin and Stew have been waiting to talk about this movie and brought along Alex for the ride. James Mangold follows up The Wolverine with his take on Old Man Logan. Mutants are practically extinct, Professor X has been having psychic seizures in his old age, and Logan finds himself caught between a shady organization and the little girl they seem to be hunting! This was originally going to be Hugh Jackman's swan song for the character, and when viewing the film in that way, how do you think they did? Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram  

We're continuing the X-Men franchise with the fourth Bryan Singer directed film, which sees the live-action introduction of one of the best X-Men villains: Apocalypse! Does the movie do the character justice? We're also introduced to some younger versions of familiar characters: Jean Grey, Cyclops, and Nightcrawler. How does this film hold up against First Class and Days of Future Past? What do you think of X-Men: Apocalypse? Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

The final Pirates franchise finds Jack Sparrow all washed up and facing a deadly foe: The ghostly Captain Salazar. Barbossa is also back and doing better than ever (for a while). Will and Elizabeth's son Henry joins the crew along with Carina, an intelligent woman whose goal is similar to that of Henry's. Does the franchise end on a good note or does it fall flat? Check out what the guy's think and be sure to let us know what you think of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales!   Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

The fourth Pirates film brings a new director to the franchise. Rob Marshall is now at the helm and introduces us to a few new characters: Blackbeard (Ian McShane) and Angelica (Penelope Cruz). Johnny Depp returns, of course, as Jack Sparrow and Geoffrey Rush is back as Barbossa. Is the film better than the previous two films, which were considered by some to be too long and overstuffed? Check out what the guys think and let us know what you think of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

The third film in Gore Verbinski's Pirates trilogy is the longest and most epic, but is it any good? Following the events of Dead Man's Chest, the gang must rescue Jack Sparrow from Davey Jones' Locker in order to bring together the nine Pirate Lords for the Brethren Court. There's a lot going on in this movie. It's jam packed, so grab your bottle of rum and relax as you listen to the guys discuss the movie. Be sure to let us know what you think of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

Today we're talking about one of the best animated DC movies ever released. This one came out back in 2011 and stars Bruce Greenwood as Batman, Jensen Ackles as the mysterious Red Hood (who now plays Batman in the current animated movies) and John DiMaggio as The Joker. What makes this movie work so well? Check out the episode and hear what the guys think and be sure to let us know what you think of Batman: Under the Red Hood! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

We've returned to the X-Men franchise as we talk about the seventh installment! This movie brings back old cast members with new cast members in a time-travel adventure that is a ton of fun. To ensure the survival of their race, Logan is sent back in time to stop Mystique from an assassination attempt. He's going to need some help from a younger, very different, Professor X as well as Magneto. How does Days of Future Past rank among the other X-Men films? Check out what the guys think (John joins us for this one!) and let us know what YOU think of X-Men: Days of Future Past! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

Stew and Justin are big Zack Snyder fans and were eagerly anticipating the release of his new movie, Rebel Moon! So much so that Stew even put Part Two on his list of Most Anticipated Movies before Part One had even been released! Originally planned as a Star Wars movie, Snyder reworked it to be an original story released on Netflix. There's a longer director's cut coming, but how does the PG-13 version fare? Check out what the guys think and let us know what you think of Rebel Moon: Part One - A Child of Fire!

It's that time of year again where we look ahead to the new year and discuss which movies we are most looking forward to! Join us as we talk about a lot of sequels! Seriously, 2024 is going to be the year of the sequel (or prequel). Which movies are you looking forward to the most? Let us know! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! This year for our Christmas episode, we chose the John Hughes/Chris Columbus classic Home Alone! The movie that turned Macaulay Culkin into a household name and made every kid hope that two bumbling burglars would try to come into their home so they could spring some traps on them! How does this film hold up after 33 years? Check it out and listen to Justin confuse Home Alone for Home Alone 2 when he talks about the plane tickets. And be sure to let us know what you think of Home Alone! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

Stew and Alex discuss the second film in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise: Dead Man's Chest! With new villains and creatures (the Kraken!) the second film ups the ante and spectacle, but does it work as a complete film? Check out what the guys think and let us know what you think of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

Once upon a time, James Gunn was fired by Marvel, hired by DC and then re-hired by Marvel. Who else could direct a Guardians of the Galaxy movie? It's hard to imagine someone else filling his shoes and I suppose Marvel thought the same thing. Following the events of Endgame and the Disney+ Christmas special, our Guardians find themselves racing to save a vital member of their crew and coming head to head with The High Evolutionary. And Adam Warlock. And The High Evolutionary's mad scientist creations (War Pig!). Justin and Stew discuss what they thought of Gunn's final Guardians movie and we'd love to know what you think of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

And this is it. We've made it to the end of our Harry Potter marathon. The eighth film, which is based on the second half of the seventh book, brings everything to an exciting climax. A break-in (and out) at Gringott's! Dumbledore's brother! A battle at Hogwarts! How does the series finale stand up against the other seven films in the franchise? What do you think of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two? Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

It's the beginning of the end. The first half of the final book was released at the end of 2010 and we have everyone in this movie, including a bunch of new characters. Also we have everyone here for this episode! Join Justin, Stew, Alex and Janelle as they discuss the seventh installment of the amazing Harry Potter franchise and tell us what YOU think of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part One! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

Things are starting to get dark! Our Harry Potter marathon continues with the sixth installment.  No sign of Voldemort in this movie but we are introduced to a couple new characters: Professor Slughorn and Luna Lovegood! Dumbledore needs Harry's help and just who is the Half-Blood Prince? What do YOU think of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince? Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

We're back with our Harry Potter marathon! In the fifth installment, Voldemort is back and there's a new headmaster at Hogwarts! Based on the longest book in the series, this movie was the shortest installment (until Deathly Hallows Part Two was released). Did they cut too much out? Let us know what YOU think of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

Taking a small break from our Harry Potter marathon to include a Halloween movie! Considered one of the best horror films of all time, the guys discuss Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Stephen King's The Shining! King famously dislikes this movie, but he may be the only one. The guys talk about its influence and amazing imagery and how it holds up 43 years later! What do YOU think of The Shining? Stew's short film The Drifter. Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram

The fourth Harry Potter film finds Harry in over his head as he's entered to compete in the Tri-Wizard Tournament! We get a glimpse at some of the other Witchcraft and Wizardry schools from around the world, the Quidditch cup and dragons!! Joining us this week (and for the rest of the Harry Potter films) is Justin's sister, Janelle! This one tends to be a favorite, so see what they think and let us know what YOU think of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire! Cinema Heroes YouTube Instagram