Michael Bergonzi
Bio
Founder of the award-winning Audio Drama Reviews and Best-Selling Author of the Jakai Chronicles series on Amazon.
Stories (8)
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Spider-Man and Shang-Chi Movie Reviews
Spider-Man: No Way Home The third Spider-Man film in the shared Sony and Marvel Universe (MCU), “Spider-Man: No Way Home” goes deep into nostalgia, but wide with how the story wants to make you feel. It’s everything a fan of the wall crawler’s cinematic history will love and that’s more than enough to get people in seats.
By Michael Bergonzi4 years ago in Geeks
Review of Christopher Nolan's Tenet Film
Tenet by Christopher Nolan, on a structural and conceptual level, is a big-budget Memento. Both stories are told both backward and forwards. In Nolan’s second feature film, he differentiates the timeline, moving forward in time as black-and-white scenes, and the reverse chronology as color. The scenes culminate in the climax and transition from black and white to color when the revelation near the end of the film’s runtime is the chronological start of the movie.
By Michael Bergonzi5 years ago in Geeks
Top 5 Second Films in a Speculative Fiction Trilogy
Since The Empire Strikes Back released in theaters, second films in movie trilogies have been some of the most remembered pieces of cinema or the worst. But how come? How can we definitively say the original Star Wars wouldn't have ended with two films instead of three? It didn't happen, but why is the second film more critically successful than the finale, arguably the most popular part of any story? Why are so many second films hailed to be the best of the series, especially when the middle is considered the slowest component and often a victim of lousy sequel syndrome? Looking at you Amazing Spider-Man 2.
By Michael Bergonzi7 years ago in Geeks
The Number One Reason the DCEU Is Not Failing
Ever since Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (BVS: DoJ) released in theaters to jump-start the future films of the DCEU, fans on both sides of the comic book divide have been going back and forth about whether the DC Comics' recent post-Dark Knight Trilogy films are good or bad. Yes, Man of Steel came out first and technically began the franchise known today as the DCEU, but the whole "controversy" of fans vs critics began with Batman vs Superman.
By Michael Bergonzi8 years ago in Geeks
The 'Star Wars' Radio Dramas
'A New Hope' Perhaps one of the greatest science fiction movies of the twentieth century, Star Wars has captured the hearts of millions and lost a few of them along the way as the series went back in time. Of course, I’m talking about the prequels, but that’s not the purpose of this review.
By Michael Bergonzi8 years ago in Futurism
'Hamilton': An American Musical Soundtrack Review
When people first started raving about Hamilton on Broadway, the first response was "It can't be that good." Mixing hip-hop with a musical? It sounded like showrunner Lin Manuel-Miranda was trying to combine two audiences together and would attract neither one of them. After listening to the soundtrack, Manuel-Miranda did a fantastic job at weaving in the elements of both from seemingly opposite and conflicting genres. After all, rap and musicals are practically oil and water when it comes to their fanbase. The fans of one genre aren't likely to go and try the other. In fact, I'd argue, Hamilton is more musical than rap album.
By Michael Bergonzi8 years ago in Beat
Why Critics Are Important
Since the birth of artistic expression, criticism of that art followed close behind. In fact, in the 21st century, it's hard to deny critic's influence on media. Whether it's music, movies, books, or television—the effect critics have on art is undeniable. Visual media, in particular, are constantly adding new movies and television shows on a weekly basis. There's an over stimulation of new art and limited ways to filter the good from the bad. Really, criticism is the only way we as a society have to weed out the gems from the clods of dirt.
By Michael Bergonzi8 years ago in Geeks
The Pledge, Turn, and Prestige
Upon rewatching The Prestige, my writer brain turned on after the second line. The one where Cutter (Michael Caine) explains how every "magic trick consists of three parts or acts." I dug deeper into this epiphany and what I found on the other side was quite cool, if I do say so myself. What I’m going to propose is another way of looking at the three-act format.
By Michael Bergonzi8 years ago in Geeks
