Last Film You Watched


Just watched The Favourite.

Not at all what I was expecting as I hadn't read anything about it (apart from the synopsis). Really enjoyed it though. Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone are all very good, as was Nicholas Hoult.
 

Aquaman.

Spoliers probably.

Sometimes a film comes along that can define a generation. Sometimes, a film can come along with its finger on the zeitgiest which then itself, defines the generations which follow. Aquaman, directed by James Wan, starring Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Nicole Kidman, Patrick Wilson, Willem Defoe, Temuera Morrison and Yahya Abdul Mateen II and in cinemas now, is neither of these. What it does do, it does fairly well and distracts you long enough to forget any nagging questions.

Aquaman convinces itself of it’s seriousness, and in turn lays its foundation in an unreality. Its a fundamental aspect of the genre, and its a credit to James Wan that this creation, so big and with so many moving parts mostly sticks to the wall. Some of the imagery on display is stunning. The action sequences, too many to remember and relentless in pacing, batter you into submission. The physicality on display turns up the dial to eleven with each fight, with the Act 3 battle an absolute smorgasboard of sights and sounds which actually makes little to no sense but by this point you’ve either bought into the world or you’ve mentally checked out and are now on the forum complaining about ‘kids movies today’.

The design of the film is a high point. Weird underwater vessels, the suits, the underwater cities, the special effects, all ride on the backs of something that came before (Thor and John Carter come to mind) but are crafted lovingly. Momoa tackles Aquaman with a laid back charm. Amber Heard tries to act, and looks stunning. Kidman and Defoe add the gravitas needed for Royalty and Wilson and Mateen II do their evilest. Kidman is a great choice to start the film off in the right direction. Her opening fight to open the film was a cracker, with a great shot from the middle of the room as she sashays around beating the hell out of some fodder. I think she’s the best of her generation and Im really looking forward to ‘Destroyer’.

There are, ofcourse, lots of nagging questions. The whole lots of people and cities and different races living underwater thing. For how long? Why underwater when they clearly lived above the surface in the past? How are they so strong if they’re humans? Why are some of them superhuman and most aren’t? Why and how did some of them evolve so incredibly? The whole talking underwater thing made my brain hurt. The Octopus playing drums was Little Mermaid silly. The Hero returning to beat the bullies with the scariest monster.. wasn’t that Avatar? Finding the Mum in the quantum realm, I mean ‘Trench’ was Ant Man 2. My biggest gripe was that literally the entire film was shot in a studio, and none of it looked like it was actually shot underwater. How many ‘hero’ shots can you put in one movie? Mantis deconstructing the Atlantis tech took him like 5 minutes to re engineer.

All in all, it’s a film you’ll either love or hate, and if your a fan of either the material or the DC franchise, you’ll love it. Does it put DC back on track? Not quite, but it does firmly establish the pathos of the series in moving foward, sans Batman and Supes. For now it’ll be Wonder Woman and Aquaman flying the flag. It may push a Flash movie into production, but for now it’s put some colour back in Warner Bros cheeks.
 
Finally got round to watching Bad Times at the El Royale and I bloody loved it.

Saw a few critics complain about the duration and pacing but thought it all fit in well together with some brilliant acting and a lot of mystery.
 

McBain said:
Aquaman.

Spoliers probably.

Sometimes a film comes along that can define a generation. Sometimes, a film can come along with its finger on the zeitgiest which then itself, defines the generations which follow. Aquaman, directed by James Wan, starring Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Nicole Kidman, Patrick Wilson, Willem Defoe, Temuera Morrison and Yahya Abdul Mateen II and in cinemas now, is neither of these. What it does do, it does fairly well and distracts you long enough to forget any nagging questions.

Aquaman convinces itself of it’s seriousness, and in turn lays its foundation in an unreality. Its a fundamental aspect of the genre, and its a credit to James Wan that this creation, so big and with so many moving parts mostly sticks to the wall. Some of the imagery on display is stunning. The action sequences, too many to remember and relentless in pacing, batter you into submission. The physicality on display turns up the dial to eleven with each fight, with the Act 3 battle an absolute smorgasboard of sights and sounds which actually makes little to no sense but by this point you’ve either bought into the world or you’ve mentally checked out and are now on the forum complaining about ‘kids movies today’.

The design of the film is a high point. Weird underwater vessels, the suits, the underwater cities, the special effects, all ride on the backs of something that came before (Thor and John Carter come to mind) but are crafted lovingly. Momoa tackles Aquaman with a laid back charm. Amber Heard tries to act, and looks stunning. Kidman and Defoe add the gravitas needed for Royalty and Wilson and Mateen II do their evilest. Kidman is a great choice to start the film off in the right direction. Her opening fight to open the film was a cracker, with a great shot from the middle of the room as she sashays around beating the hell out of some fodder. I think she’s the best of her generation and Im really looking forward to ‘Destroyer’.

There are, ofcourse, lots of nagging questions. The whole lots of people and cities and different races living underwater thing. For how long? Why underwater when they clearly lived above the surface in the past? How are they so strong if they’re humans? Why are some of them superhuman and most aren’t? Why and how did some of them evolve so incredibly? The whole talking underwater thing made my brain hurt. The Octopus playing drums was Little Mermaid silly. The Hero returning to beat the bullies with the scariest monster.. wasn’t that Avatar? Finding the Mum in the quantum realm, I mean ‘Trench’ was Ant Man 2. My biggest gripe was that literally the entire film was shot in a studio, and none of it looked like it was actually shot underwater. How many ‘hero’ shots can you put in one movie? Mantis deconstructing the Atlantis tech took him like 5 minutes to re engineer.

All in all, it’s a film you’ll either love or hate, and if your a fan of either the material or the DC franchise, you’ll love it. Does it put DC back on track? Not quite, but it does firmly establish the pathos of the series in moving foward, sans Batman and Supes. For now it’ll be Wonder Woman and Aquaman flying the flag. It may push a Flash movie into production, but for now it’s put some colour back in Warner Bros cheeks.
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I enjoyed it mate, just went with the flow didn't overthink it , just sat back and was entertained.
 

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