Year: 2018
Director: James Wan
Cast: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Dolph Lundgren, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Kidman
Plot: When King Orm, ruler of Atlantis, seeks to unite the seven kingdoms and attack the surface world, Arthur Curry, his half brother, must go on a journey and face his brother to fulfill his destiny as the true king of Atlantis.
Review: After watching Aquaman, I felt conflicted. On one hand, I had a lot of fun with it, but on the other hand, I can't help but criticise its many faults.
Let's start with the faults. Now, maybe it's because I had watched Man Of Steel and Wonder Woman on TV recently and felt a jarring tone shift with Aquaman, but compared to those two origin stories, Aquaman had a very light tone as Jason Momoa's Arthur comes off as a goofball for much of the first half, with Amber Heard's Mera being the brains between them. Thankfully, despite all the comedic elements, it didn't get as bad as Thor Ragnarok.
Secondly, despite having a long runtime of 143 minutes, director James Wan spends a lot of it sending Arthur and Mera on a quest to find a weapon he needs to fight for the throne. If Wan had shortened this aspect, he could have given more time to developing the villains. Patrick Wilson is a great actor, but he doesn't make a memorable villain out of Orm, depicting him as a king who only sees Arthur as an obstacle instead of hating him for being his half brother. Wilson doesn't even try to chew the scenery one bit, which would have helped. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's portrayal of Black Manta is better, but doesn't get enough screentime as he's merely the secondary baddie, and some of his lines were downright awful.
Thirdly, a lot of the stuff that happens here is very similar to Marvel's Thor, Thor Ragnarok and Black Panther. Now, I know Wan and the screenwriters most probably didn't intend it that way and it's merely coincidental, but if you've been following the MCU, a lot of this is quite familiar.
So what's good? The action. Wan is no action expert, but the action sequences were well shot and choreographed. It doesn't quite hit the benchmark set by Wonder Woman, but it still looks pretty awesome. I mean, if Wan can make Nicole Kidman look badass in a fight, doesn't he deserve kudos for that? Best sequence goes to Arthur and Mera versus Black Manta and his posse in the second act.
There's also a lot of CGI sequences to behold here, and there are times when it feels overwhelming, but most of them look good, especially when Arthur and Mera arrive at the Trench kingdom. The final battle is very much like Lord Of The Rings, but unfortunately too brief.
Momoa is great in the role when he doesn't try too hard to make fun of himself. Heard's acting is inconsistent at best. Willem Dafoe and Dolph Lundgren do well as Arthur's mentor Vulko and Mera's father King Nereus respectively, while Nicole Kidman is close to perfect as Arthur's mother Queen Atlanna.
To sum it up, Aquaman is proof that Warner Bros can make a good DC film when it focuses on just one hero at a time. Sure, the film is cheesy (check out the ending haha) and has too much fun at times, but it's good entertainment nonetheless. (7.5/10)
Year: 2018
Director: Eli Roth
Cast: Jack Black, Cate Blanchett, Owen Vaccaro, Kyle MacLachlan
Plot: When Lewis Barnavelt's parents die, he's sent to live with his uncle Jonathan, who just happens to be a warlock aka person with knowledge of magic. A mysterious clock in Jonathan's house holds an ominous secret involving a former friend of his. Lewis, Jonathan and his neighbor Florence Zimmerman, a witch, have to team up and uncover the mystery before it's too late.
Review: Eli Roth directing a family film? You'd better believe it. Roth stated that he's paying tribute to Amblin classics like E.T. and Gremlins, and while The House With A Clock In Its Walls is good entertainment, it falls a little short in becoming a classic.
However, Roth's film hits the right notes for the most part. I'd say the first two thirds of the film were great, until the last third gets a bit clunky. The most interesting aspect of the film is how all three protagonists are flawed in their own way, and how they have to overcome them and work together to save the day. In this sense, what began as friendship between the three ends up making them family by the film's end.
The CGI sequences look good enough, and the humor mostly works; even the CGI generated garden griffin that craps every now and then doesn't feel inappropriate. The Laz-Boy chair that has a life of its own is probably the funniest thing in the movie.
Cast wise, Jack Black and Cate Blanchett work very well together as Jonathan and Florence respectively, both in the lighter moments when they're throwing insults at each other, and the dramatic ones as they decide how to deal with Lewis. Owen Vaccaro throws in a sometimes uneven performance as Lewis, doing better in the funnier scenes than the dramatic ones. Kyle MacLachlan, sporting heavy makeup, chews the scenery as Isaac Izard, the film's antagonist.
The flaws would be Lewis' poor decision making in the second act, which although makes him somewhat human, also clashes with his brainy persona. My main gripe though is the final sequence, which involves a weird CGI baby and a very anti-climactic solution to the problem at hand. It felt very rushed and clumsy.
Overall, I enjoyed The House With A Clock In Its Walls, and I think it's good enough for a sequel. Roth has done a good job here, but there's still room for improvement. (7/10)
Year: 2018
Directors: Rich Moore and Phil Johnston
Voice cast: John C Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Gal Gadot, Taraji P Henson, Jack McBrayer, Alan Tudyk
Plot: When Ralph's attempt to upgrade Vanellope's game inadvertently causes a player to wreck her console's steering wheel, the duo venture into the internet to find a replacement.
Review: The first Wreck-It Ralph did a great job in bringing nostalgia back to that kid inside us who loved playing video games growing up. In this sequel, we now turn to the internet, which is more in line with what everyone recognizes currently, as we're all online users aren't we?
In this sequel, Ralph and Vanellope are best friends who hang out after gaming hours are over, and while Ralph is happy with his lot in life, Vanellope wishes there was more to hers. Ralph attempts to upgrade her racing track, but it inadvertently leads to a player ripping the steering wheel off the Sugar Rush console. When the arcade owner decides to unplug the game for good rather than buy the replacement wheel, Ralph takes Vanellope into the internet to help get the wheel themselves.
This is where Ralph and Vanellope's friendship is put to the test. Where the first movie was about accepting yourself, this one is about supporting your friend in pursuing their dreams. Along the way, the audience gets a kick out of all the stuff we're used to seeing on the net, from Google to eBay, Buzztube (standing in for Youtube), online gaming and even pop up ads. Even Twitter gets a really adorable nod here. If you're an internet geek, this is the film for you.
One of the best parts though is when Vanellope runs into a group of Disney princesses, and almost all of them are voiced by their original actors in their original films. Their reactions and interactions with Vanellope is one of the highlights of this sequel.
John C Reilly and Sarah Silverman still have great chemistry together as Ralph and Vanellope, while Gal Gadot lends her unmistakable voice as video game character Shank. Taraji P Henson throws in plenty of sass as Yesss, the algorithm that determines trends on Buzztube, while Alan Tudyk returns this time as KnowsMore, a search engine.
Overall, I enjoyed Ralph Breaks The Internet immensely, though the nostalgic gamer in me might lean more towards the original a bit. I do hope they find a way to make another sequel, as I'm really enjoying what they've come up with so far. (8/10)
