“Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” (Action/Adventure: 2 hours, 04 minutes)
Starring: Jason Momoa, Patrick Wilson and Yahya Abdul-Mateen
Director: James Wan
Rated: PG-13 (Violence and language)
Movie Review:
With all of the brainpower at the Warner Bros Studios for the DC Extended Universe film franchise, this is the conceptualization. “Lost Kingdom” is an unoriginal mixture of “Lord of the Rings,” except a ring is replaced by a trident, and “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi’s” Jabba the Hutt scenes. Other parts are similar to “Raiders and the Lost Ark.”
Arthur Curry (Momoa), aka Aquaman, is now a husband and father. An old foe returns just as he settles into being the King of Atlantis. Black Manta (Abdul-Mateen) seeks to avenge his father’s death. Black Manta now wields the Black Trident that gives the power to defeat Aquaman and kill the superhero’s family. Aquaman recruits an unlikely person to help defeat the formidable Black Manta. Aquaman teams with his estranged brother King Orm (Wilson), the former King of Atlantis now imprisoned by another sea kingdom for crimes.
Momoa and Director James Wan (“Saw” 2004), who is better at directing horror flicks, should not come up with any more stories for DC superheroes. Other than an abundance of attention-getting visual effects that drown everything during several moments, “Lost Kingdom” is childish, even when enjoyable. It is entertaining but not solid entertaining. This is a mere popcorn flick.
This sequel to 2018’s “Aquaman,” also directed by Wan, gets sillier. This is mainly a result of Jason Momoa. His characters are similar across different types of movies. His performance is that of a carefree individual who is always laughing and joking, hardly seeming mature to be a top-tier Justice League superhero. Good thing Patrick Wilson and Yahya Abdul-Mateen are present. They add some needed dramatic acting to keep the antics grounded.
The fault is not Momoa’s alone. This entire movie sets up overused humor while applying scenes used in other better science-fiction and action movies. The superhero movies are becoming comedies, and it is no laughing matter.
Grade: C (Just below sea level.)
“Migration” (Animated/Comedy: 1 hour, 23 minutes)
Starring: Elizabeth Banks, Kumail Nanjiani and Danny DeVito
Directors: Benjamin Renner, Guylo Homsy
Rated: PG (Action/peril, violence and rude humor)
Movie Review:
“Migration” is a fine family movie about a family of five ducks who travel from the United States to Jamaica. The problem is they have no idea where they are going since they have always just stayed at their lake home rather than migrating.
The patriarch of these ducks is the overprotective father Mack (Nanjiani). He wants to keep his family safe in their New England area pond. His wife Pam (Banks) and their two children Dax (Caspar Jennings) and Gwen (Tresi Gazal) want to leave their home and take the vacation of a lifetime. Reluctantly, Mack acquiesces to the wishes of his family. Their journey turns into an adventure where they make no friends while avoiding the dangers of the world outside their home.
Comedy and adventure are at the heart of “Migration.” The voices and the nicely changing scenic views enhance this tale.
This animated entertainment spends too much time with the characters in New York City being hunted by a tenacious chef whose specialty is Duck a l’Orange. The movie could spend some more time exploring other sites on their trip.
Otherwise, the movie is better than expected for a movie that has a standard delivery.
Grade: B- (Flock to see it with the family.)
“Anyone But You” (Comedy/Romance: 1 hour, 43 minutes)
Starring: Glen Powell, Sydney Sweeney, Nat Buchanan
Director: Will Gluck
Rated: R (Language throughout, sexual content and graphic nudity)
Movie Review:
Even nude beautiful people cannot help this wayward romance. It stars Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney as Ben and Bea.
They meet at a coffee café. This is the start of a failed romance. After a great day in each other’s company, the two quickly dislike each other after misinterpretations. Soon, the two meet again when Ben’s friend and Bea’s sister get married in Australia. Out of confidence to appease family and friends, the unhappy couple pretends they are a couple. A spark of romance happens that leads them back to romance again.
The acting is atrocious — sometimes intentional. The script is commonplace material; it follows the traditional romance template, directed by Will Gluck (“Easy A,” 2010). And, the characters complain too much for a comedy.
The movie deserves some credit. The producers’ intent to make an adult movie works. However, the humor is mostly adolescent material.
Grade: D- (Anything but this.)
“The Iron Claw” (Biography/Drama/Sport: 2 hours, 12 minutes)
Starring: Zac Efron, Maura Tierney and Holt McCallany
Director: Sean Durkin
Rated: R (Strong language, suicide, sexuality, sports violence and drug use)
Movie Review:
Sean Durkin (“The Nest,” 2020) directs this biographical sports drama for which he wrote the screenplay. It is based on the life of the Von Erich wrestling family. Zac Efron and the cast are as intriguing as the actual people they portray. The cast delivers as the ill-fated Von Erich Brothers of wrestling. The inseparable siblings were competitive wrestlers in professional wrestling during the 1980s. This movie details their and their father’s wrestling years.
The Von Erich Brothers include Kevin (Efron), the Olympian Kerry (Jeremy Allen White), vocal superstar Mike (Stanley Simons) and musician David (Harris Dickinson).
They follow in the wrestling footsteps of their domineering father Fritz Von Erich (Holt McCallany). The brothers go overboard trying to appease their father by bringing home the championship belt. Kevin realizes their father’s influence is unhealthy, which puts him at odds with his overbearing father.
This drama is Zac Efron’s foray into truly portraying a major dramatic role, where he is a serious character from start to finish in a powerful fashion. Efron plays the lead character, but others in this family are just as interesting. The actors play their parts well. White, Simons and Dickson are nice supporting characters as the other three Von Erich Brothers.
Maura Tierney and Holt McCallany are exceptional. Tierney is the forever grieving mother Doris, yet she plays the role in a manner that shows the emotional parent side that her husband Fritz fails to exhibit. McCallany plays that tough-as-nails father and husband to Tierney’s Doris. Fritz is manipulative and abusive via the manner he drives his sons to do what he wants. McCallany is superb in this role and steals scenes because his character usurps others around him.
While the performances are good, the movie only gives one a few moments to know some of the family as it skips from one tragedy to another. The Von Erichs are a cursed family according to the oldest brother Kevin at the start of the movie. His words are a foreshadowing introduction to the family. Each tragic moment — and multiple ones exist — overshadows the performances.
The Hall of Fame wrestling family’s story is gripping. It holds one’s attention with fine performances and worthy onscreen family dynamics.
Grade: B (It has a strong grip.)
“Poor Things” (Comedy/Science-fiction: 2 hours, 21 minutes)
Starring: Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe and Ramy Youssef
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Rated: R (Strong and pervasive sexual content, graphic nudity, disturbing material, gore and language)
Movie Review:
“Poor Things” is a feminist Frankenstein tale. It is a good movie, but many are associating most of that good with originality. Strange is also a word one could use to explain the nature of science-fiction and comedy displayed. Those aspects and originality receive a boost by keen feminism and good performances.
Bella Baxter (Stone) is a young woman brought back to life after suicide. Intelligent and skilled surgeon and scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter (Dafoe) gives the grown woman a baby’s brain. Soon, Bella becomes a woman and attracts the attention of adult male suitors, attorney Duncan Wedderburn (Ruffalo) and Max McCandles (Youssef). Bella leaves to see the world with Duncan on a cruise. Away from home, she encounters numerous people and evolves mentally as she begins to educate herself and understand life as a woman desired by men.
The 1992 novel by Alasdair Gray serves as the basis for this absurdist comedy. It is a strange artistic presentation. Make that plain weird. However, this feature is supposed to be just that, although it occasionally goes too far into that realm.
This is an adult movie. It is softcore porn at points. As Bella matures, she explores philosophy, the nature of love and relationships, sexuality and individualism.
Emma Stone obtained an Academy Award for Best Actress for “La La Land” (2016). She is better in “Poor Things.” Stone is captivating as always.
Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe and Ramy Youssef join as part of a talented cast. Dafoe’s prosthetic makeup makes it hard to concentrate on his performances. Although Stone plays the invention like Frankenstein, Dafoe’s Dr. Baxter appears more the monster with a disfigured face. Ruffalo inspires laughs, and Youssef grounds the movie as the only character who is not eccentric.
Bizarre people comprise the ensemble. Their actions are queer, but they are also common for an absurdist comedy. They are surreal, intentionally ridiculous, yet an able Yorgos Lanthimos (“The Favourite,” 2019) cleverly directed “Poor Things.” He is one of the most original moviemakers. His movies are continually top-rated. He and writers Tony McNamara and Alasdair Gray create an original feature with intellect.
Their screenplay allows Bella’s transformation to be a process of self-discovery. Audiences have a chance to discover artistry, good acting, nice set designs and interesting visual effects.
Grade: B (Richly rewarding, artfully weird things.)
“The Color Purple” (Musical/Drama: 2 hours, 20 minutes)
Starring: Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks and Colman Domingo
Director: Blitz Bazawule
Rated: PG-13 (Mature thematic elements, sexual content, violence, language and brief nudity)
Movie Review:
This is a new take on Alice Walker’s book The Color Purple (1982) and the original movie “The Color Purple” (Director Steven Spielberg, 1985). This is a musical that hits iconic, intriguing parts of the 1985 movie. This is a recap, but it is one with a superb cast, nicely placed thematic songs, soulful music and moving dance routines.
The Broadway production of “The Color Purple” serves as the template for this screenplay. Celie (Barrino) remains the center of this movie as with other media versions of this narrative. This musical follows her abusive marriage to Mister Albert (Domingo of “Fear the Walking Dead”). Through it all, Celie remains strong through the encouragement of strong women around her and finds a blessed life eventually.
Ghanaian director Blitz Bazawule (“The Burial of Kojo, 2018) is a musician besides being a filmmaker. He is the perfect person to helm this gifted cast. He allows his cast to do what they do best, sing.
Fantasia Barrino, an “American Idol” alumna, is good as Celie. She is impressive when singing and not singing. Taraji P. Henson plays Shug Avery in celebrity fashion, and it works well here. Colman Domingo makes a good Mister. He mainly plays the banjo throughout the movie.
Of course, while plenty of other singers grace the screen, it is Danielle Brooks as Sofia who manages to shine, reprising her role from the 2015 Broadway Revival. Steals scenes very much the way Oprah Winfrey did in the original. Brooks’s performance is an award-winning one.
Producers Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Quincy Jones and director-screenwriter Scott Sanders are brilliant. It is a stroke of genius to play this musical in cinemas.
The ensemble is marvelous. Bazawule is on target with direction, and the nostalgia this movie creates for the original movie is ever-present. The result is a creative venture that starts with depressing scenes of multiple types of abuse but ends with emotive moments that inspire.
Grade: B+ (It would be a shame to walk by “The Color Purple” and not notice its beauty.)
“Ferrari” (Drama: 2 hours, 10 minutes)
Starring: Adam Driver, Penélope Cruz and Shailene Woodley
Director: Michael Mann
Rated: R (Violent content, sexual content, strong language, graphic images and gore)
Movie Review:
“Ferrari” is a well-acted movie. Adam Driver and Penélope Cruz are exceptional. While the movie has other good facets, it is difficult to determine what part of the main characters’ lives is supposed to be the focus.
Summer of 1957 finds former Formula 1 racer, Enzo Ferrari (Driver) facing several struggles. He and his wife Laura Ferrari (Cruz) are still mourning their son. They are near bankruptcy after building their company together. Enzo and Laura are also on the verge of a breakup. As the Ferrari brand is diminishing economically, Enzo wagers all on the Mille Miglia, a grueling 1,000-mile race across Italy.
Following “Ford v Ferrari” (Director James Mangold, 2019), “Ferrari” captures another side of racing. This movie also prominently features the relationship of Enzo and Laura. The couple’s relationship is more enticing than the racing. This movie is a drama and a sports movie. The problem is the sports part is weaker.
Michael Mann (“The Last of the Mohicans,” 1992; “Heat,” 1995; “The Insider,” 1999; “Collateral,” 2004) knows how to make good movies. They are attention-getting ones. “Ferrari” easily garners attention with fine acting. Driver and Cruz are good. Mann enlivens the sports scenes with graphic wreck scenes that have some incredible special effects.
“Ferrari” is captivating, but the movie concentrates on the characters’ personal lives too much. Their racing business doings run a distant second to the more interesting relationship drama portrayed by Driver and Cruz.
Grade: B (Performances are faster than the biographical narrative.)
“The Boys in the Boat” (Biography/Sports Drama: 2 hours, 03 minutes)
Starring: Joel Edgerton, Callum Turner and Peter Guinness
Director: George Clooney
Rated: PG-13 (Language)
Movie Review:
A formulaic sports drama, “The Boys in the Boat” is set during the Great Depression era. It is just potent enough with good cinematography to make audiences notice it.
Nine members of team rowing from the University of Washington go from humble beginnings to the 1936 Olympics in Germany. Led by their coach Al Ulbrickson (Edgerton), the young men achieve the unexpected.
Joel Edgerton (The Gift, 2015) is always a dependable actor. While “The Boys in the Boat” does not meet his talents, Edgerton is pleasing as an unemotional coach. An amiable Callum Turner takes the lead in many ways for this movie, yet his character appears a contrived one. This is a good tale without inserting his character in some pretentious Hollywood romance.
George Clooney is the director of several good movies. “Good Night, and Good Luck.” (2005) and “The Ides of March” (2011) are two. “The Boys in the Boat” ranks lower than those, yet this mild drama is inspirational for those wanting an easy-going movie.
Grade: C+ (Interesting but afterward, you row, row row your boat gently to something more merrily.)