A Reel Review: AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM

Right up to release, AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM, the 15^th and final film in the current run of DC Comics movies, has been earning attention for its off-screen issues. Numerous delays, reshoots, re-editing, and the near removal of one its lead actors just about scratch the surface of the tumultuous sea that DC has been known for. All that can finally be put aside, and we can judge LOST KINGDOM for what it does on the screen. 

 

Aquaman (Jason Momoa), must enlist the help of his banished brother Orm (Patrick Wilson), to combat the efforts of the vengeful Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), who wants to not only murder Aquaman and his family, but to accelerate Earth’s climate change.

 

Directed by James Wan, LOST KINGDOM starts and ends as a bewildering journey under the sea, over the sea, through deserts, jungles, caves, ice castles and probably a lot more inbetween. The race is on to grab some ancient Atlantean artifacts which have the power to grant Black Manta what he needs to kill Aquaman and to help the Earth on its way to doom (rising seas, melting ice caps). There is a ton of mythology at work as they hop from one location to another looking for the lost something of the someone. It’s confusing, messy, and hard to care about despite the take on a real-world problem. 

 

One of the main problems that the first AQUAMAN film had was that Black Manta was playing second fiddle to bigger happenings, and every time he showed up it felt like an intrusion. This time he is the driving force, but as a villain he is dead-fish boring; I want revenge and that is as far as it goes. The character might as well be a piece of the set. 

 

But there seems to be very little sets that were actually built, as LOST KINGDOM is overloaded with CGI. While the fantastical environments definitely could not be done without the tool, it just goes on and on: CGI faces on CGI bodes, CGI whales, CGI seahorses, CGI babies, CGI hair, CGI costumes, CGI flowers, CGI bugs, and CGI cockroaches barely begin to cover it. On top of that, it’s not even very good CGI. 

 

Action scenes are a blurry mess, the dialogue is dull, and most of the actors just yell and grunt at the camera. Moments of drama and humor fall flat. The music by Rupert Gregson-Williams is non-existent. 

 

Acting is all over the place. Jason Momoa is fun but he’s basically playing a version of himself. Patrick Wilson seems lost while acting against CGI blobs. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II just yells and grunts. Seasoned actors Nicole Kidman, Temuera Morrison, and Dolph Lundgren deserve better but do okay. Martin Short comes in to provide the voice of a fat sea-slug, and John Rhys-Davies provides the voice of a big lobster. Amber Heard amounts to an extended cameo. 

 

Films based on DC Comics usually have a tough sell. After all, their primary heroes are guys in super blue tights who fly, guys who dress as bats, and dudes who talk to fishes. The super and bat guys work because there is an element of reality to them, but in LOST KINGDOM, that’s not here and the entire thing plays out like a cartoon. And the final shot of the film, which is also the final shot of this DC universe before the big reboot, is Patrick Wilson eating cockroaches. Maybe that’s how this line deserves to end. 

 

BOTTOM LINE: Fuck it 

A Reel Opinion: REBEL MOON Cries More, More, More

Self-proclaimed visionary director Zack Snyder is back in cinema news this week. His newest film, REBEL MOON – A CHILD OF FIRE: PART ONE, is in limited release in theatres before debuting on Netflix this Friday the 22^nd. Thus far, the sci-fi, space-war film is being met with scathing reviews. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports that only 20% of reviewers gave it a favorable review. 

 

But fear not, says Mr. Snyder, for some time in 2024 we will be blessed with a Director’s Cut, which promises a longer run time by an hour (it is currently 2 hours, 14 minutes), and would change the rating from its current PG-13 to an R. In an interview with the AP Wire, Snyder says his director’s cut is “…almost like a different movie”. The promise of a Snyder Cut of the film harks back to the messy situation we had in 2017, when Snyder’s version of JUSTICE LEAGUE was severely compromised. After Snyder left the production due to a family crisis, parent company Warner Bros. brought in Joss Whedon to reshoot and recut the film. That version was panned by critics, and after an annoying four-year campaign by overzealous fans, a four-hour JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE SNYDER CUT was released in 2021 to better reviews (same movie, just longer). 

 

Hollywood has a history of Director’s Cuts improving upon the original releases. In 2005, famed director Ridley Scott’s KINGDOM OF HEAVEN was butchered by Fox, who wanted 45 minutes cut out of it. That film was then butchered again by critics. Scott returned with his Director’s Cut, and that version is now considered to be one of his best works and one of the best films of this millennium. 

 

Snyder, however, is no Ridley Scott…and this move seems to be a calculated one by Netflix and Snyder himself…hoping to cash-in on the Snyder Cut wave that brought the new version of JUSTICE LEAGUE to life. It feels like a pointed effort to get attention, box office, and new streaming subscribers to see the same movie twice. This is not a case of Snyder having his definitive vision butchered by a meddling studio, but instead reeks of greed and is just an embarrassment to cinema. Not to mention causing mass confusion with audiences. 

 

Here's a thought: Get it right the first time. That’s what real visionaries do. 

 

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REBEL MOON - A CHILD OF FIRE: PART ONE (this version), is now playing in select theatres and will debut on Netflix this Friday the 22^nd. It stars Sofia Boutella, Djimon Hounsou, Charlie Hunnam, Ray Fisher, and Jenna Malone. PART TWO (that version), is set for release in April 2024. 

 

 

A Reel Review: WONKA

The character of Willie Wonka, created by the great Roald Dahl, has seen the big screen twice in the last 50-plus years. The first bite came in 1971 with the somewhat-beloved WILLIE WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY with the great Gene Wilder in the lead. The second came in 2005 with the ill-fated CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, directed by Tim Burton and with Johnny Depp as Willie. Here in 2023, we get a fresh take with WONKA; a spiritual prequel to the 1971 film. 

 

Aspiring magician and chocolate maker Willie Wonka (Timothee Chalamet), arrives in a busy European city after years of traveling the world to find his fortune selling his amazing candies. After his efforts are thwarted by the ruling Chocolate Cartel (Paterson Joseph, Matthew Baynton, Matt Lucas), he becomes trapped as an indentured servant where he befriends young Noodle (Calah Lane), and hatches a plan to free her and realize his dreams. 

 

Directed by Paul King (director of the PADDINGTON films), WONKA serves as an origin story for Willie and how he would become the ruler of a chocolate empire. Before he gets there, he has some obstacles to overcome with the Chocolate Cartel getting in the way, and paying his debt to get out of slavery from the iron thumb of Mrs. Scrubitt (Oliva Colman). Along the way, Willie befriends fellow slaves (Jim Carter, Natasha Rothwell, Rakhee Thakrar, Rich Fulcher), and decides to help them get out of debt as well. 

 

There are familiar themes at work here in putting aside your own dreams to help others, and the chemistry between Wonka and Noodle give it some serious heart. As a movie about Willie Wonka, is does offer a lot that is fresh and new. This Willie is far from the Wilder and Depp versions who were content to watch a kid drown in chocolate. This one is bright-eyed and enthusiastic about life and his friends, and avoids the tired be-good-or-die thing aimed at children. 

 

The production design is fantastic, the musical numbers fun (although maybe only a few can get stuck in our heads), and the energy is upbeat. As an origin story it clicks off most of the boxes, but it does get off to a hot start: as the film begins Willie already has his trademark purple coat and top hat and knows how to make magical chocolate. While most of the how-he-got-there gets filled in via flashbacks, WONKA starts in a way that makes us feel like we missed the first half the movie. Still, director Paul King finds a lot of magic and fun to play with, and nearly every scene is a delight. 

 

Timothee Chalamet does a fine job with the character and handles the musical numbers very well. Calah Lane steals the show. Sally Hawkins appears as Willie’s mother in flashbacks and adds some hefty emotion. Hugh Grant comes in as an Oompa Loompa who has been following Willie around, but his role amounts to an extended cameo and barely makes an impact in the story. 

 

It is no great spoiler to say that by movie’s end, Willie finds the means to build his famed chocolate factory. What is not clear is how he eventually becomes the recluse that the classic books and 1971 film show us. It feels like a leap to get there, but in the meantime, there is a lot of sweetness in WONKA to bite into and savor. 

 

BOTTOM LINE: See it. 

A Reel 20: THE LORD OF THE RINGS - THE RETURN OF THE KING

“And the Fellowship of the Ring, though eternally bound by friendship and love…was ended.”

 

This month marks the 20^th anniversary of THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING. 

 

Directed by Peter Jackson, THE RETURN OF THE KING was the third and final film in Jackson’s adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy novels. The first film came in 2001 with THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, and continued with THE TWO TOWERS in 2002. The third film and eventual Best Picture winner followed the quest to destroy the One Ring and rid Middle-Earth of the evil menace of Sauron. 

 

The journey to Middle-Earth began in 1997, when New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson overcame many starts, stops, and legal challenges to bring the books, his personal favorites, to the big screen. The original plan was to adapt the books into two parts, but upstart studio New Line Cinema committed to three. Along with screenwriters Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, and long-time Tolkien artists Alan Lee and John Howe, Middle-Earth and its fantastic characters and places began to take form. Filming for all three movies would begin in New Zealand and would last an entire year.

 

The cast of was a collection of well-established actors. Elijah Wood would take on the role of Frodo Baggins; the young hobbit who comes into possession of the One Ring. He was joined by Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Cate Blanchett, Sean Astin, John Rhys-Davies, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Orlando Bloom, Sean Bean, Ian Holm, Andy Serkis, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Bernard Hill, Miranda Otto, David Wenham, Karl Urban, John Noble, and Viggo Mortensen as the future King. Visual effects would be a combination of practical and new techniques in CGI. Howard Shore would compose the score. 

 

THE RETURN OF THE KING would follow in the footsteps of its predecessors, opening in December to rave reviews and box office success. It would finish as the highest grossing film of 2003, and the second highest of all time at the time of its release. At the 76^th Academy Awards, it would win all eleven awards for which it was nominated, including Best Picture. Today, it is recognized as one of the greatest and influential films ever made. 

 

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One of the greatest moments in Oscar history came on Oscar night in February of 2004, when famed director Steven Spielberg announced the Best Picture of the year by saying: “It’s a clean sweep!”. The moment made THE RETURN OF THE KING the first fantasy film to take home the big prize, and for many fans of fantasy and sci-fi, it was moment of victory. In the long run, the film would pave the way for a new generation of big budget, multi-film storytelling, for in five years the Marvel Cinematic Universe would take cues from the RINGS trilogy and change cinema even more. 

 

Before that, in December of 2001, This Blogger and a group of friends gathered at the cinema to see FELLOWSHIP for the first time. We would all re-unite each December for the next two years and two films, and along the way we would discover our own Fellowship. The themes of loyalty; being true to each other despite challenges, time, and distance…resonated with us then and now. Three members of our Fellowship were in my wedding, and each December I run a day-long marathon of all three films; for my Fellowship, for the last 20 years, and for the next 20. Today the film stills stands tall as a perfect adaptation of a novel, and a cinematic avalanche of spectacle and emotion. THE RETURN OF THE KING was, and still is, a feat that still towers over all. 

“You bow to no one.”

 

 

 

A Reel Review: GODZILLA MINUS ONE

There are two things that must right away be known about GODZILLA MINUS ONE: the 37th film in the GODZILLA franchise that started way back in 1954. First, it has no connection whatsoever to the American-produced, Warner Bros. owned crap-tastic MonsterVerse franchise that has been stinking up theatres since 2014. MINUS ONE is a Japanese production by Toho Studios, who first created the big lizard 70 years ago. And second, it is the best GODZILLA film ever made. Here’s how: 

 

In 1945, near the end of WWII, Kamikaze pilot Koichi (Ryunosuke Kamiki), has an encounter with Godzilla which he barely survives. He returns home to a war-devasted Tokyo, where he befriends Noriko (Minami Hamabe), who is caring for an orphaned baby. As the two settle in together and try to rebuild, Godzilla emerges from the ocean and stomps his way towards Tokyo. 

 

Written and directed by Takashi Yamazaki, GODZILLA MINUS ONE avoids the two biggest pitfalls that big monster movies tend to fall into: either too many human characters that hog up the screentime or not enough humanity. A post-war Japan offers the film the chance to show the ground-level devastation of the war, where food is scarce, children starve, and everyone lives in shacks. The tragedy is compounded as just when things start to look up for the country, along comes Godzilla who stomps and burns it all down again. 

 

At the center of it all is Kochi, who returns home from the war in disgrace (Kamikaze pilots are expected to die, no exceptions). He is in a war that hasn’t ended yet, and is torn between finishing business with Godzilla or staying to care for his new family that he loves. There is a lot of heart here, and MINUS ONE finds ways to jerk the tears in many places. 

 

When the big guy does come, it is nothing short of spectacular. Godzilla’s rampages on land and sea are stunning with awesome visuals. Much of the happening devastation is shown from street-level and adds to the horror. Godzilla himself is frightening as all hell, and his battles with battleships and aircraft are a thrill a second. Director Takashi Yamazaki keeps the pacing tight, the emotional moments timed nicely, and the scale epic. The score by Naoki Sato is excellent. 

 

Acting is also excellent. Ryunosuke Kamiki goes through the emotional steps and carries it very well. The show is stolen by the beautiful Minami Hamabe. 

 

The final battle with Godzilla is big-screen greatness with the tension ramped up via some outstandingly staged set-pieces. When the dust settles, MINUS ONE goes for an emotional wallop, one that is very rare for a monster movie. The ending, the heart, and the spectacle all add up to a refreshing and welcome change for the GODZILLA franchise, and a towering film that will devastate for the next 70 years. 

 

BOTTOM LINE: See it 

 

A Reel Review: SALTBURN

In 2020, actress turned director Emerald Lilly Fennell shocked audiences with her acclaimed rape-revenge drama PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN. It was a film that had a lot to say and prove, and used its many twists and turns to help get her message across. Here in 2023, she ups her game in the shock department with SALTBURN. 

 

At Oxford University in 2006, scholarship student Oliver (Barry Keoghan), strikes up a friendship with Felix (Jacob Elordi), and secretly falls in love with him. At the end of semester, Felix invites Oliver to spend the summer with him at his family’s sprawling estate, called Saltburn…where Oliver stops at nothing to win Felix’s affections.

 

Written, directed, and produced by Fennell, SALTBURN begins as a love story, moves into a hang-out flick, and ends in nearly flat-out horror. At the overwhelming estate and imposing mansion staffed with maids and creepy butlers, Oliver parries with Felix’s gossiping parents (Rosamund Pike and Richard E. Grant), his sister Venetia Catton (Alison Oliver), and cousin Farleigh (Archie Madekwe)…all of which seem to get in his way of Oliver’s desire for Felix. At its hang-out stage, SALTBURN moves into teen-sex comedy territory, with everyone trying to fuck everyone at one time or another.

 

SALTBURN doesn’t have much by way of plot, and Fennell beefs things up with some pretty depraved shit. Twisted scenes such as full-frontal nudity dancing, menstruating sex, semen-licking, man-rape, and as close to necrophilia as we can get will have audiences squirming.  The purpose for all this is up for debate, and some of it seems to be there just for the sake of shock value. Shot mostly on one location, Fennell makes great use of the mansion, and it feels like a character in the film. The time period of 2006 is recaptured nicely. 

 

Acting is excellent. Barry Keoghan continues to impress and shows just how fearless he can be. Jacob Elordi and Alison Oliver almost steal the show. Richard E. Grant and Rosamund Pike are well-matched and are hilarious in a creepy sort of way. Cary Mulligan, who had the lead in PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN, appears in what amounts to an extended cameo and steals every scene she’s in. 

 

There’s a lot to be discussed in what Fennell is trying to say with SALTBURN. When the film moves into the third act and some even more twisted shit comes around, we leave the film realizing that we just spent 131 minutes with some very messed up people who would face no consequences for their actions. That, and the depravity would make SALTBURN a film to be discussed long after the credits roll. If that was Fennell’s goal, then mission accomplished. 

 

BOTTOM LINE: See it