Latest episode: We saw everything! Shazam, The Highwaymen, The Twilight Zone - Oh, my!

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Shazam! On the latest Amusement Park Podcast, we review DC's new superhero flick. Does it keep the fun train rolling? While waiting for Avengers: Endgame tickets (not really), we also talk about Netflix's The Highwaymen and the Twilight Zone reboot.

Please leave a rating and review on iTunes for us and a like on our Facebook page to help boost our signal. You can subscribe to the Amusement Park Podcast everywhere you find podcasts, including:

You can also give us feedback at amusementparkpod@gmail.com and find us on Twitter and Instagram. We’d love to hear from you! Thanks for listening!

Unfortunately, the new Hellboy is noise and gore signifying nothing

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There’s a scene about midway through Hellboy in which a giant sword goes through a monster’s head, virtually splitting it in half, unleashing a reservoir of blood, and showing some of the blood and brains underneath the skull. While taking in that moment, I thought to myself, “I think that’s what watching this movie feels like.”

I was rooting for the 2019 reboot of Hellboy. It was going to be too easy to dismiss this movie and say Guillermo Del Toro and Ron Perlman did it better — twice — without even seeing this new version. But the wave of early reviews seemed to confirm what so many feared when this project was announced. Was there really any point to reviving Hellboy if there wasn’t anything new to offer?

Part of the sales pitch for this new Hellboy, directed by Neil Marshall and starring David Harbour, is that the movie would be based more closely on the source comic books by Mike Mignola (although Del Toro’s 2004 film had elements from the comics as well) and that will always make fans’ horns point a bit higher. Mignola himself seemed to endorse that narrative, which implied that Del Toro took his movies in a slightly different direction from the comic books.

— Read the full review here —

Shazam! stands out by embracing what makes the superhero fun

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With one magic word, Shazam! keeps the fun train rolling for the DC cinematic universe. DC was already on the right track with the success of Wonder Woman and Aquaman, but taking a chance with a B-list (maybe even C-list) character who had a chance to reach a younger audience might have derailed that momentum.

Some fans and critics might feel like DC’s big-screen product won’t be fully established until the big names like Batman and Superman have been restored, and the cinematic universe is on a path to getting the band together in another Justice League film. But Marvel seized the superhero movie pedestal with lesser characters and by creating a slow build that stoked anticipation for a big payoff.

Another reason that Marvel has succeeded while so many other studios and franchises have failed in trying to build a cinematic universe is its realization that many different types of stories and genres could be featured within a superhero universe. Movies like Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man resonated with audiences because they were comedies as much as blockbuster spectacles. Humor has always been the honeypot for these movies.

— Read the full review here —

Episode 030: Avengers: Endgame Madness! Plus, James Gunn is back and Triple Frontier

And we're back after a one-week break! On the latest Amusement Park Podcast, we look at the final Avengers: Endgame trailer for clues, react to Disney re-hiring James Gunn for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, review Netflix's Triple Frontier, and wonder if "streaming fatigue" is real.

— Show notes for Ep. 30 are available here —

Please leave a rating and review on iTunes for us and a like on our Facebook page to help boost our signal. You can subscribe to the Amusement Park Podcast everywhere you find podcasts, including:

You can also give us feedback at amusementparkpod@gmail.com and find us on Twitter and Instagram. We’d love to hear from you! Thanks for listening!

Captain Marvel Special Episode! Non-Spoilers and Spoilers Reaction

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Captain Marvel has arrived! Is the latest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe possibly the greatest? We review the movie with non-spoiler thoughts and then hard spoiler discussion.

We'll warn you before diving into those spoilers, though! (It’s about halfway through the show, at the 21:40 mark.) Please come on back and listen after you’ve seen the movie.

Higher! Further! Faster!

— You can read Ian’s Captain Marvel review here —

Please leave a rating and review on iTunes for us and a like on our Facebook page to help boost our signal. You can subscribe to the Amusement Park Podcast everywhere you find podcasts, including:

You can also give us feedback at amusementparkpod@gmail.com and find us on Twitter and Instagram. We’d love to hear from you! Thanks for listening!

Highlights from final Avengers: Endgame trailer - Blasts from the past, new haircuts, Quantum suits, and Captain Marvel

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Surprise, surprise, surprise! Should we have expected a final trailer for Avengers: Endgame six weeks before the Marvel superhero epic hits theaters? Three trailers is usually the standard, and we’ve already seen one teaser and a Super Bowl ad, so maybe a third look at Endgame was inevitable.

It’s also possible that Marvel wanted to bounce off the Captain Marvel springboard and remind everyone — if anyone wasn’t actually aware — that far bigger things are on the way in the world of the Avengers and the newest hero we were just introduced to plays a role in that story.

Like with the previous teasers for Endgame, there’s a dark, somber tone here. Our heroes have been defeated and the bad guy won. Is a comeback and retaliation possible? If Captain Marvel taught us anything, it’s that the hero’s journey is often getting up after being knocked down. We don’t know who’s making it out of this story alive, and some of our favorite characters likely won’t, but they’re not going down without a fight. (And it looks like there’s a big one on some devastated, fiery landscape.)

— Read the full post here —

Episode 29: Arrowverse Crazyness! Plus, Spielberg vs. Netflix

Oliver Queen is ready to become something else! On the latest Amusement Park Podcast, we react to the CW and Stephen Amell announcing Arrow's end after Season 8. Also, we note the passing of Luke Perry, his cultural impact and role on Riverdale. Is Steven Spielberg right about Netflix and the Oscars? Chris rejoins MoviePass. And what are we enjoying this week?

— We also have a Captain Marvel review in a bonus episode! —

— Show notes for Ep. 29 are available here —

Please leave a rating and review on iTunes for us and a like on our Facebook page to help boost our signal. You can subscribe to the Amusement Park Podcast everywhere you find podcasts, including:

You can also give us feedback at amusementparkpod@gmail.com and find us on Twitter and Instagram. We’d love to hear from you! Thanks for listening!

Episode 28: Oscars recap! Plus, True Detective, Doom Patrol, and Trouble in Arrowverse

We break out the tuxes and dresses on the latest Amusement Park Podcast for our reactions to the Oscars and the True Detective Season 3 finale. Also, thoughts on Doom Patrol, the Arrowverse's future, an Aquaman sequel in 2022, and what we're enjoying this week.

— Show notes for Ep. 28 are available here —

Please leave a review on iTunes for us and a like on our Facebook page if you like what you’re hearing. You can subscribe to the Amusement Park Podcast everywhere you find podcasts, including:

You can also give us feedback at amusementparkpod@gmail.com and find us on Twitter and Instagram. We’d love to hear from you! Thanks for listening!

Episode 27: True Detective, Doom Patrol and We Mourn the Punisher

The mind is the limit! On the latest Amusement Park Podcast, we try to make sense of True Detective before the Season 3 finale and the first episode of Doom Patrol. Also, Hulu is developing four intriguing Marvel shows and the inevitable end has come for The Punisher.

— Show notes for Ep. 27 are available here —

Please leave a review on iTunes for us and a like on our Facebook page if you like what you’re hearing. You can subscribe to the Amusement Park Podcast everywhere you find podcasts, including:

You can also give us feedback at amusementparkpod@gmail.com and find us on Twitter and Instagram. We’d love to hear from you! Thanks for listening!

Episode 026: The True Cost of Streaming and Mr. Rogers Still Has the Right Idea

Won't you be our listener? On the latest Amusement Park Podcast, we discuss the Mr. Rogers documentary, Won't You Be My Neighbor, which is now on HBO and PBS. Also, getting the best value for your streaming bucks and a bunch of Quick Hits (including Robert Pattinson Batman rumors)!

— Show notes for Ep. 26 are available here —

Please leave a review on iTunes for us and a like on our Facebook page if you like what you’re hearing. You can subscribe to the Amusement Park Podcast everywhere you find podcasts, including:

You can also give us feedback at amusementparkpod@gmail.com and find us on Twitter and Instagram. We’d love to hear from you! Thanks for listening!