Tag: Jason Momoa

A Minecraft Movie

GoMovieReviews Rating: ★★★1/2

A Minecraft Movie

Rated: PG

Directed by: Jared Hess

Screenplay Written by: Chris Bowman & Hubbel Palmer and Neil Widener & Gavin James and Chris Galletta

Story Written by: Allison Schroeder and Chris Bowman & Hubbel Palmer

Based on: the Minecraft video game.

Produced by: Cale Boyter, Mary Parent, Torfi Frans Olafsson, Jason Momoa, Jared Hess

Starring: Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, Sebastian Hansen, Jennifer Coolidge.

‘Make the real world your Overworld.’

Opening on a fast-paced backstory of how, my-name-is-Steve (Jack Black) found himself creating a portal to another world (‘I yearned for the mines’), A Minecraft Movie plays on the idea that the world is a giant sandbox – you just need to get creative with it.

But first, Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison (Momoa), Henry (Hansen), Natalie (Myers) and Dawn (Brooks) must survive their time in a world, ‘that doesn’t make sense.’

That’s full of cubed sheep, zombies, llamas and killer pigs.

Where the overlord of Nether wants to destroy everything creative and where Steve revels in the Overworld because he can make anything he wants alongside his companion, Denis the wolf.

The way Steve says he knew they were to be fast friends when he heard, ‘the howl of companionship’, is hilarious and sets the tone of the movie.

I was also tickled by Henry starting a new school and how the teachers were brutally honest about their current life situations from financial difficulties to recently being divorced after holding on for too long, Vice Principal Marlene (Jennifer Coolidge) stating, ‘but we stuck it out for the dogs.’

Then there’s Garrett – when he’s served an eviction notice, he first believes it’s a fan because of his 80s fame as an arcade player – ‘No autographs.’

To then spend money on a storage unit (with cameo appearance of Jemaine Clement as the storage facility manager, Daryl – gold) that includes unisex turquoise blouses.

And I know I’m going on about all the funny bits, but there’s just so many this is just a taste of how funny the film is.

I didn’t really take to the Nether world so much.  Not because it’s dark, but because it just didn’t have the same humour.

My nephew pointed out the giant pigs don’t exist in the game.  Not that it really mattered because we had a blast and as creative director Torfi Frans Olafsson states, ‘The very individuality of each player’s experience made it obvious that the film had to be one take on the game. “We couldn’t say this is the Minecraft movie and make it the definitive movie that then acts as some sort of canon for Minecraft lore,” says Olafsson. “Rather it’s one Minecraft movie. A story set in the Minecraft universe, one of billions.”

Overall, A Minecraft Movie is silly and funny, has aggressive chickens, a pink leather jacket with fringe, ‘finished? No I think he’s Swedish’ moments that had me still laughing on the way home.

‘Flint and Steel!’

Aquaman

Rated: MAquaman

Directed by: James Wan

Story by: James Wan, Will Beall, Geoff Johns

Screenplay by: Will Beall, David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick

Based on characters created by: Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger for DC

Produced by: Rob Cowan, Peter Safran

Starring: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Nicole Kidman, Ludi Lin and Temuera Morrison.

Aquaman was always going to be a difficult adaptation – the film about ‘fish boy[‘s].  No, it’s fish men!’; the setting underwater.

But with James Wan as director and one of the writers, I went into the film somewhat reassured.

Then the film opened with Atlanna (Nicole Kidman), Atlantean royalty meeting a surface dweller, and I was thrown because I just couldn’t believe I was seeing an Atlantis queen falling in love, the contrast a little too much.

Perhaps it was seeing Nicole Kidman as an action figure?!

And there were times when I really couldn’t decide whether to laugh with the film or at it – the guitar riff to highlight a joke not helping.

Yet, as the film progressed and Jason Momoa as Aquaman opened up to give us a down-to-earth (well, half-surface dweller, half-Atlantean Arthur Curry) hero, I became more absorbed.

Forbidden love between a queen of the sea and a man from the surface bears a forbidden son, a half-breed.  Aquaman.

Yet even as a half-breed, Aquaman has the right to claim the throne of Atlantis instead of his younger brother Orm (Patrick Wilson) who plots to become the Ocean Master; to bring together all seven kingdoms of the underwater world: Atlantis, Brine, Fisherman, Xebel, Trench, Deserter and the Lost.  Together they can destroy those on the surface.

Afterall, aren’t the surface-dwellers creating pollution and trashing the sea into poison for those who inhabit its waters?

Those who want peace with the surface dwellers not war, rise to the surface to seek Aquaman to fight for the throne to then save those above and below, with love-interest Mera (Amber Heard) abandoning Atlantis, just like his mother.  All leading to the meeting of the two brothers on opposing sides of an inevitable battle.

The writers have created enough twists and turns to keep the film interesting and it has to be noted the film has a different tone to the other DC, Justice League films.

Aquaman is more a technologically based world with an 80s-esq tone including synth soundtrack and fluorescent lit underwater worlds that become more spectacular as the film progresses.

Let me state again, it gets better!

There’s the expected cheese, because, yeah, this is Aquaman: Son of the land, king of the sea.

But Wan has offset this with humour and his own unique style.

Jason Momoa’s performance as Aquaman certainly helped.

So after an ordinary beginning, Aquaman ramps up to a deliver a visually stunning entertainer that was able to take a laugh at itself with a story that comes full circle.

Justice League

Rated: MJustice League

Directed by: Zack Snyder

Screenplay Written by: Chris Terrio and Joss Whedon

Story by: Chris Terrio & Zack Snyder, based on characters from DC, Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster

Produced by: Charles Roven, Deborah Snyder, Jon Berg and Geoff Johns

DC Super Heroes: Ben Affleck as Batman, Henry Cavill as Superman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Ezra Miller as The Flash, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, and Ray Fisher as Cyborg

Also starring: Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Jeremy Irons as Alfred, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Connie Nielsen as Hippolyta and Joe Morton as Silas Stone, and expands the universe by introducing J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon, Ciarán Hinds as Steppenwolf, and Amber Heard as Mera.

Based on characters from DC comics, Justice League is a team of superheroes brought together by Wonder Woman and Batman to fight against the world’s old nemesis, Steppenwolf.

Previously conquered in the ancient past by the Amazons, the inhabitants of Atlantis before the city sunk into the sea, and even the gods; they all fought side-by-side to stop the warlord from Apokolips from taking over the world.

Now, Steppenwolf has returned with an army of parademons (think a cross between an insect and vampire) to claim what he believes is rightfully his.

After seeing Wonder Woman in the recent film set during World War I, Justice League is present day – depicting an, approaching-middle-aged Batman and the ageless yet, powers-unseen-by-the-public, Wonder Woman.Justice League

Now that Superman is dead, the population is grieving and unable to see any hope for the future – chaos is gaining power as the people sink into darkness with newspaper headlines asking, Why are all the superheroes disappearing?  With Prince and David Bowie pictured alongside Superman.  Which I thought was quite clever, but also depressing, right?

I was also beginning to think the film was going to be a history lesson into each character.

Yet, the introduction of: Aquaman, shown to be just as strong on land as under water; Flash, the hero in training and Cyborg, a biomechanic meta human (and a new addition and update in the current techi-driven world), was necessary and brief.  And somewhat offset by the antics of Flash, adding some light humour to the mix.

The story could have gotten messy trying to give weight to each hero, but it worked.

Each character had their own personal conflict to conquer, giving the film layers beyond action.  And I could feel the humanity of Batman, not quite metahuman, his self-professed only super power being rich.

The need for this super-powered Justice League team fighting together stems from the power of Steppenwolf – the super villain.

The film flashes back to the past, giving Steppenwolf backstory, yet I wanted more grit, more than just another villain wanting to conquer worlds.  I would have also liked to have seen more of his home world of Apokolips…  But I had fun watching this film.

Gal Gadot has continued to shine as Wonder Woman and the sparks of humour from Ezra Miller as Flash were funny.

I wasn’t blown away, but Justice League was a fun ride – more of Aquaman in the water next time!

Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice

GoMovieReviews Rating: ★★★☆ (3.2/5)

Director: Zack SnyderBatman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice

Screenplay: Chris Terrio, David S. Goyer

Starring: Ben Affleck, Gal Godot, Henry Cavill, Jesse Eisenberg, Jason Momoa, Amy Adams.

Two superheros; one city.  No wonder the people of Metropolis are worried.  A vigilante Batman and an alien who could destroy them all.  If he wanted.  And there lies the foundation of the film – the fear that one Being can have too much power.  And if the movie stuck with this idea, Batman Vs Superman would have been a fantastic film.  But the story continues so it’s like three movies squeezed into one.  All without the required depth of conflict to make the story truly engaging.

This movie had everything going for it – the special effects, the characters were all well-cast.  But without enough conflict between Superman and Batman, the whole premise of the story fell over.

What a pity.  There were flickers of greatness, such as the humanising of characters.  Batman asks Superman, ‘Do you bleed?  I’m going to make you bleed.’  And a great one, ‘Only men have courage.’  So it was this fear of Superman being an alien that brought the people of Metropolis against him.  And I thought, wow, this version will go where all the others haven’t: a moody, mystery thriller! But the story just wasn’t strong enough.  And then it went on and on.  Why did Batman hate Superman so much?  It just wasn’t enough for me and the whole movie depended on this set-up of hatred.

I’m not saying I didn’t like the characters.  Ben Affleck as Batman was believable.  And I love Henry Cavill as Superman.  Even if Superman is the goody, I just can’t help but love the guy/alien.  And in this characterisation, the film is a success.  Amy Adams as Louis Lane is a flat character, helpless by tradition.  But I liked her ginger-self anyway.  She still had guts.  Even Wonder Woman, played by Gal Godot was likeable.  But that’s my case in point, it felt like she was just tacked on the end.

Knee-jerk reaction: what a waste.  It was all there.  But trying to fit so much in the 2.5 hours made it feel like 5.  Surface action is just explosions on the screen.  But hey, I love a pretty explosion, and I guess that’s why Batman Vs Superman is watchable just not memorable.

 

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