Drew’s Movie Reviews Turns 6! My Fave Five New Movies I Watched in Year 6

July 30, 2019 by Drew

Hello, friends!

Today is a special day. Today is my the sixth blogiversary! I celebrated the occasion by reviewing Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy. If you missed any of those reviews, here they are:

Spider-Man
Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man 3

Since “Year 5” was a bit extended due to my six month hiatus last year, I haven’t seen as many movies during Year Six as normal. However, I still did see some pretty fantastic films during that time. Here are my fave five films I watched during my sixth year of blogging.

5) Aquaman

The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) doesn’t have the best track record. I think Warner Bros. recognized that directors should have the freedom to make their movies their way, even if they exist within the larger universe, which is exactly what James Wan is allowed to do with Aquaman and it payed off. This movie has its share of problems but that doesn’t mean it isn’t still a ton of fun. Wan injects a blend of humor and action with a sprinkle of his signature horror elements in the right spots to create an enjoyable action adventure, leaving me actually excited for a DCEU sequel.

4) Juno

I’ve heard of Juno and how good it was for years but it was one of those films that I never watched for one reason or another. When discussing this year’s Ultimate Decades blogathon with my co-host, she recommended this 2007 film to me and I figured “what the heck?” After watching it I was saying to myself “what the heck!? Why didn’t I watch this sooner?” It is extremely heartfelt and way more captivating than I expected it to be. Ellen Page and Michael Cera were phenomenal, playing off each other’s senses of humor wonderfully. Dramas are hit or miss with me but this was a definite hit!

3) Spider-Man: Far From Home

After the epicness that was Avengers: Endgame, we needed a more relaxed film. That’s not to say Spider-Man: Far From Home is a walk in the park but it does lack the scale of Endgame. Tom Holland has really come into the role of Peter since Captain America: Civil War, and has probably become my favorite Peter Parker between the three actors to have portrayed him since 2002. Jake Gyllenhaal has a unique take on Quentin Beck, adding to the relatively unimpressive comic book version of the character. The end of the film finally sees Spidey swinging through NYC, making me even more excited for Holland’s third solo Spider-Man film.

2) Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse immediately makes itself standout from other Spider-Man films with its truly one-of-a-kind animation style that makes you feel like you are watching a comic book come to life. We’ve seen plenty of big screen versions of Peter Parker so Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse takes a different approach and presents us Miles Morales, the Ultimate Spider-Man, for the first time. There is a lot to enjoy between the characters, story, and animation. Opening up the multiverse creates literally endless story possibilities and I can’t wait to see what they come up with for the inevitable sequel.

1) Avengers: Endgame

Avengers: Endgame. Wow. What an emotional end to what is now being called the “Infinity Saga”. Marvel Studios crafted one of the finest pieces of pop-culture history. Where Avengers: Infinity War brought together story threads from all the previous Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films, Endgame wraps up those story threads in an emotional and exciting way, closing out the chapters of most of the Avengers we have followed since 2008. It is hard to believe we will see another cultural cinematic event like this anytime soon. Love you, 3000.

What a year for superhero films, huh? It’s probably good that we are getting a breather from the MCU for now, now that the Infinity Saga has finished. There were some pretty amazing announcements that came from the Marvel panel at San Diego Comic Con this year so I can’t wait to see what Phase Four brings. Unfortunately, the Fox’s X-Men series went out with a whimper with X-Men: Dark Phoenix. Hopefully under the Marvel Studios banner, the X-Men characters can return to their former glory. As for the DCEU, well they seemed to have distanced themselves from a shared universe and are focusing on stand alone stories, which honestly is probably their better option right now.

And that does it for another year at DMR! Thank you to all my followers, and anyone who has liked, commented, shared, or simply visited the site. You all make this worthwhile and an enjoyable experience. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for the next 12 months. 🙂

Until next time, cheers!

Aquaman Review

December 20, 2018 by Drew

Synopsis
Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) is a son of both the land and the sea. When his Atlantean half-brother Orm (Patrick Wilson) threatens to go to war with the surface world, Arthur, along with the help of Mera (Amber Heard) and Vulko (Willem Dafoe), searches for a mythical trident that can help him defeat his brother and prevent all-out war.

Review
Let’s be honest, the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) has not gone well. Excluding Wonder Woman, the movies in the franchise have been mediocre at best and downright awful at worst. Aquaman hopes to land more towards Wonder Woman rather than Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. After a mostly successful appearance in Justice League, Arthur Curry, aka Aquaman gets his own adventure that mostly hits the mark.

Aquaman is a somewhat unique film in that a good chunk of the movie takes place underwater with the characters interacting with each other like they would above water. I don’t know how the effects artists accomplished it but it was believable that the scenes were actually taking place underwater. They way the characters moved around and how things like hair and clothing articles waved around was just like you would expect underwater. I felt like I was right there in the ocean.

Besides the underwater features, the rest of the visual effects were simply stunning. There were many beautiful colors, especially when it came to underwater sea creatures, ocean floors and many of the Atlantean cities. It was all very vivid and beautiful. All the different creatures were well done also. Towards the end there was a giant battle that was reminiscent of something from the Hobbit movies. While the scene itself was chaotic and difficult to follow at times, the creatures and characters looked good.

The humor from this film approached its humor the same way Wonder Woman approached its humor. It doesn’t try to emulate the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s sense of humor with one-liners galore and every character trying to be funny. Instead, most of the humor comes from Arthur (Jason Momoa) and Mera (Amber Heard). They aren’t always laugh-out-loud funny. Instead, they have a subtle humor that got me to chuckle numerous times.

Part of the reason these gags worked so well was because the film had superb casting. Momoa was fantastic as Aquaman. He did a great job being both funny and dramatic. Heard played off of Momoa very well and even stole many of her scenes. She proved that she was often more capable that the hero that carries the movie’s name. Willem Dafoe has perfected the villainous and mentor roles and he is the latter in this movie. The biggest surprise was Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta. He didn’t get much screen time and his face was covered for much of it but he was phenomenal. I hope he has an expanded role if there is a sequel.

This film’s story is a familiar one: the main hero is an estranged heir to the throne, some family member is ruler and is trying to start a conflict so the hero must claim his rightful place to prevent catastrophe. Many movies have done this story before and many have done it better. This creates a very predictable story. While this might bother some, I think there are other aspects of the film that makes up for its predictability.

Like many superhero movies, the villains are one of the weakest elements of this film. As I said, Orm’s (Patrick Wilson) story is nothing new and fits all the molds of an evil king trying to take over. Wilson does the best he can with the part but the script isn’t there to support him. Abdul-Mateen’s Black Manta actually has a more interesting story and reason to be fighting Aquaman but he has such a small part this film it’s criminal. He is clearly being set up for the future and as a result he just ends up feels wasted here.

I thought Aquaman was GOOD 🙂 Much of my enjoyment came down to the casting and action and effects. Unfortunately, the script didn’t do any favors to the villains, with the main baddie feeling generic and the more compelling one getting very little screen time in a clear attempt to build him for the sequel. The DC Extended Universe has had a rough start. However, gems like Wonder Woman and now Aquaman show that there is hope yet for the struggling franchise.

Trailer

Cast & Crew
James Wan – Director / Story
David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick – Screenplay
Will Beall – Screenplay / Story
Geoff Johns – Story
Rpert Gregson-Williams – Composer

Jason Momoa – Arthur
Amber Heard – Mera
Willem Dafoe – Vulko
Patrick Wilson – King Orm
Dolph Lundgren – King Nereus
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II – Manta
Nicole Kidman – Atlanna
Temuera Morrison – Tom Curry
Ludi Lin – Captain Murk
Michael Beach – Jesse
Djimon Hounsou – King Ricou (voice)
Natalia Safran – Queen Rina (voice)
Sophia Forrest – Fisherman Princess (voice)
Julia Andrews – Karathen (voice)