Aquaman (2018): Review

***some mild spoilers***

I was super excited that I was able to get to see a pre-showing of Aquaman, as I have been looking forward to it and if you know me I love a shiny, big budget blockbuster. I had really enjoyed Jason Mamoa as Aquaman in Justice League (2017) and was hoping for a continuation of his humor and the fun which he brought to a darker and grittier movie universe.  Aquaman is definitely a family friendly movie, as even though it has some of the many troupes associated with the DCEU, it keeps it more light hearted and bright.  This may be as a lot of it is set underwater and that makes it automatically less relatable than the other DCEU movies that are set in the harsher real world.  I would definitely recommend to any one who enjoys these type of big budget blockbusters or the more fun superhero type movie.


Aquaman follows Arthur Curry, played by Jason Mamoa, after  the events of the Justice League.  Arthur is the illegitimate son of Queen Atlanna of Atlantis, played by Nicole Kidman, and Tom Curry, a human lighthouse keeper, played by Temuera Morrison. When Arthur and Tom lives are threatened, Atlanta returns to sea and her arranged marriage to keep them safe. As they say Atlantians are not know for being forgiving. In present day, Arthur is reluctantly forced to help stop his half-brother King Orm, played by Patrick Wilson, from waging war on the surface world. He is hell bent on taking over and destroying humankind.  Arthur must seek out the trident of King Altan in order to assist him in trying to save the world. He is assisted by Mera, played by Amber Heard and Vulku, played by Willem Dafoe. Also staring Manta, played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, a man who is focused on hunting down and killing Aquaman.

I really enjoyed this movie and thought that it was a lot of fun.  As I was watching it I just really enjoyed all that was going on and there wasn't that many distracting things. There was a lot going on in the story and plot with a big problem being that it tried to do too much and cram too many plot points into the story. It basically could have removed the whole Manta side plot. It doesn't add anything to the movie and without it wouldn't have felt like anything was missing or truly different in the movie.  It seemed more about what his plot line set up rather than adding anything special to the movie. Those who are big Aquaman fans may disagree but as I probably didn't even notice or understand half the easter eggs or comic book references, I didn't have any previous emotional connection to the characters, storylines or references.

It was great how Aquaman showed a bit about the backstory of Arthur and technically it is an origin story about how he truly embraces becoming Aquaman but it didn't feel like it was all a set up movie. I enjoyed the quest,  the reluctantly helping, and battle against his brother.  I have to admit that I didn't realize the King Arthur correlation to Aquaman until it was mentioned to me by one of my friends after the movie and I see many, many parallels between them (I actually feel a bit daft for not putting it together during the movie).



As I mentioned above, I really like Jason Mamoa as Aquaman and find him very appealing and scrumptious. I liked how he played him as the not serious but truly cares outcast and didn't have any problems with the possible dichotomy of his personality and behaviors. The guys I went with, mentioned that they didn't like that at some points he was dopey and then it was expected that he would be this strong, intelligent about history guy.  This didn't bother me as I saw the it as more of a trying to put on that he doesn't care characteristic but cant suppress who he truly is but just thought I would share this perspective.  The overall cast was fine but no one truly emoted that well, there were lot of black emotions and faces but since it was basically everyone, this may be a directorial decision more than anything else.  I liked the connection between Mamoa and Heard, and Morrison was great in every scene he was in. 

There was a lot of effort and it is obvious in all the care but into the cinematography and the scope of the sea worlds.  It is blatantly different from previous DC movies as it is bright and colorful not completely muted and very dark visuals that are usually associated with DC.  It also has a lot of destruction to the world per normal DCEU movies but doesn't feel as destructive as it doesn't fell like its set in the "real world." The underwaterscapes were beautiful to look at and how all the contrasting and multiple colors were amazing to look at. Everything was just stunning. The CGI was done well except for when everything on screen was CGI.  It is very difficult to make anything look real when the whole shot is digital.  The most obvious thing was how people looked underwater. The floating wasn't done right but OMG was the hair and the way it moved underwater was done poorly and extremely distracting.  I liked how they portrayed the swimming fast and Atlantian crafts and other aspects of the deep.  

This movie is definitely a watch if you like family friendly, big budget movies. This creates its own world and feels very other worldly with all the powers, the different species, and how almost no one is human.  It is not a serious or gritty movie but if you go into it expecting some enjoyable fun, you will enjoy the ride that is Aquaman,

My rating: 3-

Adrift (2018): Review

Adrift is a visually stunning movie, where I was drawn into the story from the moment it started and engrossed in the story and lives of the characters. I was uncertain about it when I first went into the theatre as I associate Shailene Woodley, who plays main character Tami Oldham, with YA characters and to be honest she isn't one of my favorite actresses right now. I wasn't sure if I wanted to see this movie but I tend to really enjoy survival of the elements movies and the trailers won me over.  I am glad to say that I was drawn in by the storytelling, visual, and acting, and very much enjoyed the whole movie.

Adrift is loosely based on the survival story of Tami Oldham, played by Shialene Woodley, and Richard Sharp, played by Sam Clafin.  It is told in two parts, the main story of being adrift and surviving after the boat, these two are sailing, gets damaged in a hurricane and lost at sea, as well as the story of how Tami and Richard met and the beginning of their relationship.  Both parts are told chronologically but are jumped back and forth between.  To me it feels like the survival story is the main plot with the flashbacks of the beginning of their relationship.



The production team of Adrift did an absolutely fantastic job of telling this story and whoever was in charge of deciding the pace, the jumps between the two storylines, and how everything came together was spot on.  I was caught up from the first moment of Tami waking up in the aftermath of the storm to the conclusion of if she is able to pull it together and survive. There were not any moments when I drifted away from the story, although there were a few things that were distracting.

I was extremely impressed with the cinematography and visuals of Adrift. A lot of the shots are artistic as well as though out and meaningful.  This was done in a way that was not pretentious or gave it a feeling of being over produced. It just worked and added to the who experience of seeing this movie. I have gotten used to and disappointed in lots of movies that try to hard to seem like they are doing something to make a great movie and lose the naturalness needed to pull it off. Adrift was able to capture how it should be done and didn't feel forced or take away from the emotional journey of watching this story.

As I mentioned above, Shailene Woodley is not one of my favorite actresses and I genuinely don't find myself seeing her as the character. As I think about it, I don't think she is very good at emoting on screen and tends to not connect with those around her, but in this I didn't find her to be that bad. Maybe it is because a lot of it is just focused on her as the primary character and the interactions between her and Sam Clafin are good enough.

The main things that I didn't like about this movie are the what's the point PG-13 nudity (which had me thinking "wait is this a rated R Movie, but it cant be" during a moment that should have been more emotionally poignant. I mean later on she is doing something similar but is clothed), and at the beginning where Shailene Woodleys nipples where very prominent through her shirt. Neither of these choices were needed and I just found them distracting in an otherwise amazing film, where I could tell a lot of effort and thought was out into everything and how it came together. The other distracting moment was the obvious CGI towards the end, but if this was the only issue I would have easily forgiven the movie as this wasn't an action movie but a well done drama.

Overall, I really enjoyed Adrift and think it could easily be one of the movies I watch regularly.  I was drawn into the story and emotionally cared about what they were going through (and if you know me you will know that the ending could have really set me against the whole movie- comment below if you know why). However it wasn't too much where I ended up being too emotional exhausted by what happened.

I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone who likes a good drama or survival story.  There were moments of suspense that I got dragged into, even thought it was during  flash back scenes and I knew what eventually would happen.  This in and of itself shows what a great job this movie is at storytelling. It was just a fantastic movie to watch.

My Rating: 3

Deadpoll 2: Review (2018)

Overall Deadpool 2 was very good and I enjoyed the majority of the movie. If you liked the original Dealpool (2016), you will definitely enjoy this one. It continues on in the same vane as the original, with a rated R comedy that breaks the forth wall; uses juvenile-adult humor, and hyped up moments which get pulled together with a bit of a plot.



Deadpool 2 follows the events of Deadpool (2016) with Ryan Reynolds playing Wade Wilson a.k.a Deadpool, a.k.a the Merc with the Mouth.  He has been continuing to work as a mercenary and killing people he is hired to do.  He gets pulled into a scenario where he get connected with a mutant kid Russell a.k.a Firefist, played by Julian Dennison, and has to get together a team of others to protect him from Cabel, played by Josh Brolin, a man who has come back in time from the future to kill Firefist.  Returning from the first movie are Wade's girl Vanessa, played by Morena Baccarin; his friend Weasel, played by T.J. Miller; fellow Mutants, Colossus, voiced by Stefan Kapicic; and Negasonic Teenage Warhead, played by Brianna Hildebrand; and taxi driver Dopinder, played by Karin Soni.  Also introduced is Domino, played by Zazie Beetz, a mutant who signs on to help Wade.

I enjoyed Deadpool 2 and it definitely met my expectations and wants, which for a sequel of an enjoyable, wildcard movie is a very good and not so easy thing.  Although it is not as good as the original Deadpool (2016) it brings back the same energy and overall mood of the original.  It is not as natural in some of the delivery, seems a bit more lazy with the story and "twists," at times seems a bit forced (they thought it was funny/clever and continued to go with it, instead of looking at how it could be better or tweaking different moments). Although it was not as good as the first, it is still very good and fun and will satisfy those who have been anticipating this sequel.

The big complaint I have with the movie is that there is no real development of any of the side characters or build up of their motivation.  Cable's motivation is told to us as the audience but there isn't a chance to feel or connect to it.  They use Colossus and Negasonic but these two seem more just there to be there and to go "hey, I remember them from the first movie."  I didn't really care for this rendition of Colossus in either Deadpool movie and Negasonic was overshadowed by Yukio, played by Shiolo Kusuna. Domino was brought in and she was fantastic, I really liked this character and thought she was fantastically cast.  I just wanted more of her.  Basically the supporting cast could have been used much better. I do not know anything from the comics or background of these characters so cannot already bring in knowledge or connection about these characters. They are a clean slate for me and I only know what the movie shows me.



Although some of the characters are more flat than I liked. They all were well casts and overall played well together and off of each other. The few things I didn't like were script/ direction/ production choices and in no way stop me from wanting to see more of all of them playing off each other. I saw all the potential and the little glimmers and wanted more.

The plot of the movie is enough to keep the story going but there were some issues with putting things in that were thought of as being needed for one reason or another but just gummed up the works or were very predictable. There was only one thing that I didn't see coming but it was one of those unnecessarily added items. Unfortunately for the flow of this movie, I liked the middle part the best. The beginning was a bit much for me with trying to force its meta angle and being a bit feeling like the production thought they were being clever with what they were doing but that smugness came across in the movie. This is excluding the opening credit sequences as this was done really well.  And the ending was just predictable and seemed a bit like a cop out. When the middle of the movie outshines the beginning and end it ruins the flow.  Also I would have liked more jumping around with the order of events like in the first Deadpool.

I knew going into Deadpool 2 that there was going to be the gross and rated R type juvenile-adult humor, but I could have done without the butt stuff. It was too much for me and seemed more lazy than anything else. It could have still had the gross out and "really, they did that" feel without it being that.  This of course is my personal opinion and is how I tend to feel about any type of joke like this in any movie (see any of my reviews about modern OTT gag comedies).



While watching Deadpool 2 I could see that the they were having fun with it and that the production team, and actors, specifically Ryan Reynolds were continuing to have fun with these character and glad to be making a second film.  There was high production value and I could see the care and effort that was put into everything in the movie.  At times this resulted in the unnaturalness/forcedness of some moments but overall resulted in a well make and put together movie.

I will continue to complain about up close and too tight in action sequences and this movie upped the anti with just regular closed up shots as well.  This movie didn't need it and could have used with wider shots and seeing more of what was occurring then just the focused focus. The CGI was alright but still obviously CGI.  I don't like fully CGI characters and this along with thinking it unnecessary added to the noticeable CGI at the end oft he movie.

I would really like to see where Deadpool fit in with Marvel overall but as it is not part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe I don't see this happening. After the movie I realized that something about all the other Marvel movies was missing (comment below what you think that is)

Overall, I enjoyed this movie and will most likely see it again but it is not the gem which the original was, but I would definitely recommend this to anyone who liked or even just enjoyed the first movie. Don't expect it to be what the first one was, as emotionally we cannot experience without comparing it to the original. 

My Rating = 3

P.S. There are extra scenes so make sure to watch these. I don't really like them but can anything compare to the extra scene from Deadpool (2016)?