Tag Archives: Jason Momoa

Aquaman 2

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Vampire Owl: I have heard news about an aqua vampire.

Vampire Bat: I am pretty sure that Aquaman is no vampire.

Vampire Owl: He could be the first vampire out of water.

Vampire Bat: When have we ever been fans of water?

Vampire Owl: Well, there is always a first time for everything.

Vampire Bat: Are you imagining an underwater kingdom for vampires?

Vampire Owl: I don’t see why not. There is less human interference there.

Vampire Bat: So, you choose tranquility over everything else.

Vampire Owl: I choose a life without human nonsense.

Vampire Bat: I don’t see why we should not opt for the same.

[Gets a vancho cake and three cups of Munnar tea].

What is the movie about? :: Arthur Curry a.k.a. Aquaman (Jason Momoa) has gone through his share of adventures, and after marrying Mera (Amber Heard), had a child and is living his life between land and sea, not being fixed at one space. He has not stayed away from his responsibilities as the King of Atlantis though, but his attempt to unite the people of land and seas is ruined due to the intervention by elders of the underwater world. Everything seems to be going normal for Atlantis, until David Kean (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) decides to have his vengeance with another attempt at the life of Aquaman. He wishes to have the whole family of Aquaman destroyed along with whatever he finds precious in return for the life of his father. He works with Dr. Stephen Shin (Randall Park) who wishes to prove to the outside world that Atlantis in not a myth. In the search for Atlantean artefacts, they come across a black trident which possesses David, as it offers him the strength to destroy Arthur and maybe do even better by spreading devastation in Atlantis.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Soon, David attacks Atlantis and steals a rare mineral called orichalcum which he uses to power some ancient machines which he had unearthed while finding the black trident. The attack leaves Amber Heard seriously injured and Atlantis defenses destroyed like never before. As orichalcum which emits greenhouse gases has raised planetary temperatures and caused extreme weather all around the globe, he decides to stop a global disaster and meltdown from happening. For the same, he decides to take the help of his brother Orm Marius (Patrick Wilson), even though almost everyone warns him against taking such a step as Orm is not be trusted. But he chooses to go with his instincts, and manages to break out Orm from his prison in the middle of a desert, thus threatening the treaty between different kingdoms of ocean. Orm is not really happy about what has happened to him, and neither is he happy about what has happened to Atlantis with its defenses breached and many citizens dead. Their mother Atlanna (Nicole Kidman) still hopes that they can work together to save the world.

The defence of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom :: In a time when world has gone to the brainless mass masala fans, our movie here has managed to maintain a fine plot and a certain amount of class with its use of heroes. The movie automatically becomes the best choice for Christmas to watch with family including children and in that fine 3D format – the visual effects are nothing less than stunning with deep blue sea all around. The world underwater has been created nicely, and there is no room left there for complaining, with another breath-taking world created on an island. The creatures underwater continue to be a sight of beautiful variety and so are the colours of flora and fauna that creates even better visuals. You see the 3D on the screen nicely contributing to the ocean coming to you better than ever. The message about the need to save multiple worlds from the dangers of global warming and its extensions is also present there. The environmental message in a superhero is often lost in its path, like overpowered nonsensical overpowered creatures of mass destruction like Captain Marvel, but not when a determined underwater king is in control.

Positives and negatives :: The first movie was surely better than this one, as it had the Aquaman-Mera combination that was a joy to watch, with some of the most innovative action sequences, making the best out of available resources. The film remains light-hearted, and some of the humour is really nice, even though there could have been more. The action sequences keep catching our attention, even though the first movie had the more classic versions which would be remembered for longer. The background music makes some good impact, but not at all times. Ideas of brotherhood and family are asserted well throughout the movie along with the need to save the world from the powerful evil which comes in many forms. It also maintains the respect for divergence unlike Black Panther which has been disrespectful to the world outside Wakanda with a racist and bourgeoise nature. A better use of some of the characters would have served the movie better, but even with all the negativity around, it is to be noted that DC universe is now doing better than Marvel which has too many of dumb young characters for anybody’s liking – as it seems, most of them might not even make it to a number of theatres in this part of the world.

The performers of the soul :: Jason Momoa does what he did earlier, and asserts his role as the hero underwater, diverging from the usual superheroes above the ground. He continues to prove as the right choice for the role. Patrick Wilson provides some fine support here, and his combination scenes with the hero keeps us further interested. Out of The Conjuring and Insidious, he manages the other big role nicely. Amber Heard remains here as Mera, and she continues to have our attention, and she would remain the perfect queen of this world. She also excels in the action sequences, with her presence underwater being a thing of joy to watch. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II remains a strong villain as he continues the fine form from previous movie, and this is surely not the end of the road for such pure villainy. Nicole Kidman also becomes the one evergreen underwater queen that we are sure to remember for long, and she is another person who seems to be not aging at all these days. Jani Zhao as Stingray has a very notable job, while Randall Park is one full human character that is noted more than the rest. Temuera Morrison continues that particular father role with ease.

How it finishes :: Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom keeps its level high in comparison to the so called action thrillers from Bollywood and other industries, as a certain amount of class can always be seen along with the top quality graphics making a true spectacle. It is unlike the artificial spectacles that we see with so called superstars – those stars should not be endorsing toxic masculinity and illegal immigration like they are doing now. The trouble between Amber Heard and Johnny Depp seemed to have affected the film despite the high entertainment value. The number of shows for the movie is less, as people are not that much into quality superhero stuff these days. This movie should have had more screens, and those theatres which do not have at least one show of this movie feels pre-historic in nature. There was a time when we could enjoy superhero movies in fully-packed theatres, but that is not the case now. Even Marvel has struggled to get its audience, and in that case, the situation of DC comes as no surprise. Maybe, the corona virus itself will make a comeback again, and until then, let us enjoy our favourite superheroes without fail, and the Aquaman sequel is surely worth it.

Release date: 22nd December 2023
Running time: 124 minutes
Directed by: James Wan
Starring: Jason Momoa, Patrick Wilson, Amber Heard, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Randall Park, Dolph Lundgren, Temuera Morrison, Martin Short, Nicole Kidman

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

<<< Click here to go to the previous English film review.

<<< Click here to go to the previous full superhero film review.

<<< Click here to go to the previous DC superhero film review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Sweet Girl

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Vampire Owl: I remember having met a sweet witch.

Vampire Bat: I do not remember any witch being sweet at all.

Vampire Owl: He had some of the sweetest magic potions.

Vampire Bat: You shouldn’t buy potions without approval of Vampire Senate.

Vampire Owl: I have paid all the taxes along with the price.

Vampire Bat: You will still have to pay the import duty.

Vampire Owl: But we belong to the same realm.

Vampire Bat: Yes, but not the same territory.

Vampire Owl: Now, we are having taxes like humans?

Vampire Bat: It is still very much less in comparison to some of the nations in the world of evil humans.

[Gets a raspberry cake and three cups of orange tea].

What is the movie about? :: Ray Cooper (Jason Momoa) jumps off the top of a building while being chased by the police, and it is followed by a flashback. His wife Amanda Cooper (Adria Arjona) gets really ill with a rare form of cancer. The survival expert, Ray hopes that he can do all that is possible to save her. But it is soon revealed that the life-saving drug called Infirmam was taken off the market due to Bio Prime CEO Simon Keeley (Justin Bartha) paying the manufacturers to delay the production. This also means that there was going to be an indefinite delay, and Amanda doesn’t have that much time. He watches congress woman Diana Morgan (Amy Brenneman) going through a live devate with Simon, and there he seems to be talking about much their company is dedicated to saving lives at less cost, and on how much they have sacrificed in the form of money and time. He makes a call to the live debate, and as Simon doesn’t seem to care that much about bringing the drug back to the market, Ray threatens to kill him if his wife dies because of this negligence.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Soon enough, Amanda dies, and Ray is left with his daughter Rachel Cooper (Isabela Merced) to go on with the pain and grief. A few months later, Ray gets a call from a journalist Martin Bennett (Nelson Franklin) who claims that he possesses evidence related to the unethical practices and criminal activities on the side of Bio Prime. They meet on a moving train, but a hitman Amo Santos (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) attacks them, killing the journalist and stabbing Ray. Rachel who had followed them also gets knocked out in the process. Even though further investigations reveal nothing about what had happened with Bio Prime or in the train, and with no information about the hitman who attacked them, Ray still continues to track Simon and his company. He manages to sneak into a charity programme and interrogate Simon, only to be attached by the bodyguards whom he manages to kill along with his gaurds. The only other responsible name that he gets is that of the chairman of the same company, Vinod Shah (Raza Jaffrey). FBI Agent Sarah Meeker (Lex Scott Davis) is in charge of the case.

And how far can this go as we keep moving forward? :: Ray and Rachel go on a long ride through less taken roads, trying to get away before the police officers or the assassins get to them. Rachel tries calling Sarah, hoping that she will look into Bio Prime before her father comes up with something terrible again. Sarah is able to get the trust of Rachel like a mother figure. Meanwhile, they are attacked by mercenaries who seems to have found them much to their surprise. Ray fights them and after a small fight, ends up killing them too. At the same time, the same hitman who had attacked them on the train is after them too. Their only option here seems to be to find Vinod and hope that it ends with them. But Santos has other ideas about it, and Vinod knowing anything more than what Simon knew seems not possible at all. How far does all these secrets go? Who might be the last link behind all of these? Will the father and daughter duo survive against what they seem to be completely incapable of handling? Is there a thing like hope for them?

The defence of Sweet Girl :: Jason Momoa is here doing what he does the best, without the superpowers of Aquaman and outside the team of Justice League. Isabela Merced has a point as the daughter figure. She plays a character who is more matured than anyone else of her age, and has her own ideology. This is also one strong character that she can happy that she played. The twist also works like a dream for her, and she rises above everyone else with ease here. She does remind one of Chloe Grace Moretz, like someone who could rise above the senior stars when provided with an opportunity. Then there is Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as the hitman and Amy Brenneman as the congress woman who are all doing what they do the best. The action sequences are all good, and both the father and daughter do their job well. The twist basically comes a shock, even though there were some red herrings here and there – that should work for most people. The movie, just like it begins well, ends without overdoing it, but being mostly satisfactory.

The claws of flaw :: The movie could have been quicker here, as there is a lot action to be done. The twist in question here doesn’t seem to be that effective for everyone, as the willing suspension of disbelief might have its problems with how the action sequences have been going on here. It does take a little too much time to get to the twist, which should have been revealed earlier for the audience to adjust to the whole new situation it had created. The loopholes are surely there, especially in the second half of the movie. The movie does seem to be confused about how to respect the genre, and the world it had built earlier. The feeling of half-bakedness does bring some trouble. There was the chance to come up with better dialogues and better emotional moments too – the emotions are there, but with the twist, some emotions feel as if they didn’t exist at all. With that particular twist, it also feels that some of the length of this movie was for no reason, as a number of things didn’t happen as it was shown.

How it finishes :: Sweet Girl is more of less the movie that can go in the path of Hitman, Transporter, John Wick, Mechanic, Accountant, Equalizer, Kate and others while having its main lead going through the impossible to reach the other end. It would require a sequel for that, as it had that twist which changed things a little too much. There will be opinions against this one for sure, as the twist would take away something which the fans would have wanted in the climax, but the film did require something divergent to set a path different from the usual movies dealing with this kind of thing – you can’t just complain for taking the risk and bringing more to ponder about. With lots of action around, a few things can be forgotten, and others can be appreciated – what is to loved and hated might still be different for different types of people. I would be asking people to watch this one without looking at the spoilers and come with your opinion. We are never really less in need of action thriller with a huge mission in hand, right?

Release date: 20th August 2021 (Netflix)
Running time: 110 minutes
Directed by: Brian Andrew Mendoza
Starring: Jason Momoa, Isabela Merced, Adria Arjona, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Amy Brenneman, Raza Jaffrey, Justin Bartha, Lex Scott Davis, Michael Raymond-James

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Dune

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Vampire Owl: A movie set in the future is the need of the hour.

Vampire Bat: There is no future that Uncle Dracula hasn’t seen.

Vampire Owl: Yet, he decides not to share the vision of future with us.

Vampire Bat: There is no future that we need to know.

Vampire Owl: You are more afraid of the future than the past now?

Vampire Bat: Everything except the present is to be feared.

Vampire Owl: You feel the need to prepared for a future you don’t know.

Vampire Bat: I am always prepared for that fearful future.

Vampire Owl: You can never be enough prepared for the same.

Vampire Bat: Which is why you need to be afraid of the future.

[Gets a blueberry cake and three cups of ginger tea].

What is the movie about? :: The year is 10191, and in Caladan, the homeworld of House Atreides, Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac), the Duke of House Atreides is asked by the emperor of the Known Universe to replace House Harkonnen as the rulers of Arrakis, a desert planet which serves as the only source of spice, an incredibly valuable substance that improves human abilities and helps them to go on interstellar travel faster than light safely. But the brutal race of Harkonnens in their homeworld, Giedi Prime won’t be that happy about it as they had held the area for about eighty years. Beast Rabban Harkonnen (Dave Bautista), the leading fighter among them is certainly not happy, but it turns out that the emperor means something else with these actions. Leto does feel that there is something wrong about all of these, and that the emperor has some sinister motives, but decides to form an alliance with the native fighters known as Fremen instead of enslaving them, thus bringing a twist to the plans.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) is the heir to the throne of House Atreides, and is worried about the recent happenings, as he had also come up against many nightmares about the planet which his people were going to invade. Paul’s mother Lady Jessica Atreides (Rebecca Ferguson) is a part of the Bene Gesserit, a group meant only for women, whose members have advanced physical and mental abilities – the group is not happy about Jessica having a male child instead of the female one which she was supposed to have. They are hoping for a perfect messiah-like superhuman who can guide humanity to a better future, and wonders if Paul is the one, even though he surely has a long way to go. House Atreides takes control and arrives on Arrakis, and the people there seems to appreciate them, especially Jessica and Paul. The terrain and the buildings in the place seems to be completely different, and Paul feels that Bene Gesserit is planting unnecessary superstitions about a messiah there too.

And what more can we expect in this world which has so many secrets in store? :: Paul understands more and more about the planet, its deep-rooted trees, sandworms and strongly held strange beliefs. Dr Liet Kynes (Sharon Duncan-Brewster) who serves as the judge of the change and the imperial ecologist talks to them about the dangers which exist there. Leto has a talk with Stilgar (Javier Bardem), the leader of the Fremens, and it goes on well. During a flight above the sands, they come against one of the sandworms coming towards a spice harvester which had almost finished harvesting. The group rescues the crew members, as the sandworms take the harvesting machine. They understand that the equipment out there are not good enough, and will not help them to bring the spice production back strong – they feel that they are destined to fail, and then someone else will take over. Meanwhile, at Salusa Secundus, the Imperial Army Planet, certain preparations are going on, and certain terror awaits.

The defence of Dune :: This movie, as any other story in a future set in another planet would come up with, has a grand spectacle in store, as far as the visuals are concerned. These worlds become part of you as it would do each and every time in Star Trek, Alien or the computer games like Mass Effect – space exploration never gets old. The special effects are used very effectively and the world detailing is really good – the details do not stop at the world with its buildings and people as it goes further with so many things established in this first movie which seems to serve as the pillars to what is to come later. There are also lots of action sequences, and we have that feeling of Game of Thrones coming back here after such a long time – well, War of the Roses can keep showing up in many movies and series in style. Based on one of the world’s best selling and the most appreciated science fiction novels, you would have always known what this movie would be capable of, with the use of new technology. The movie also serves as a reminder that the wars are forever, as long as any humanoid is alive in this galaxy or the others.

Positives and negatives :: The movie does remind you of a few others, but that is understandable as the story of human greed for power has remained the same throughout years. The film is also long, and the run-time might not be acceptable to most people as there are many scenes which seems to slow down things much. The movie is also not an easy movie to follow if you keep your eyes off the screen during regular intervals – there are many characters who are to be remembered and there are so many dialogues coming not just in English. The movie feels like that kind of a movie which will require you to have a bigger screen. This is also like a few drops of water in an ocean, as the world here seems to be huge, and there are so many books in this series which can be made into spectacular movies. The movie did have its own adaptations earlier, but this one right here might be the biggest of them all, even though one does feel at times that things could have been more direct – Jupiter Ascending, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets and John Carter, two highly underrated inter-planetary movies could do that.

How it finishes :: Dune begins the journey of an epic really well, and has us waiting for the next movie in the series. As it is based on a 1965 epic science fiction novel by the American author Frank Herbert, there will always be questions about how much the adaptation had done justice to the original work. As I haven’t read the book, that wouldn’t be on my list of things to do, but I am sure that this movie is indeed a remarkable work that one will remember and shall wait for a possible sequel. The book did have five sequels after the first one – Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse: Dune. The sequel to the first movie and featuring the second half of the first book, Dune: Part Two will be releasing next year. So, this is not the end, but the beginning, and we can always hope for the tale to be continued in a better way as the basic origin story has been established well. The same would be in theatres unless corona virus will have another ride on its pale horse.

Release date: 22nd October 2021; 25th March 2022 (Amazon Prime Video)
Running time: 156 minutes
Directed by: Denis Villeneuve
Starring: Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgard, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Charlotte Rampling, Chang Chen, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Jason Momoa, Javier Bardem

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Aquaman

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What is the movie about? :: A lighthouse keeper Thomas Curry (Temuera Morrison) comes up against Atlanna (Nicole Kidman), who is the princess of the underwater kingdom of Atlantis which had sunk under the Atlantic Ocean on one eventful day of ambition and hubris. He saves the injured princess and they fall in love. The unexpected sequence of events lead to the birth of Arthur Curry (Jason Mamoa) who shows the ability to communicate with marine lifeforms, and it is only one of his special skills. With the attack of the troops of Atlantis threatening her family’s life, she decides to go back to the city, hoping to come back on another day when the situation gets better. An Atlantean Nuidis Vulko (Willem Dafoe) is assigned to train Arthur as he grows up.

So, what happens with the events to follow? :: Back to the events after the incidents of Justice League, the invasion of Steppenwolf had made Arthur further part of saving the world as Aquaman, a name with which he has been referred to by the media. He comes up against the pirate David Kane (Yahya Abdul-Mateen) and his team while the group was trying to hijack a nuclear submarine – Arthur ends up defeating them, and leaves David’s father dead in the process, for which the young pirate wants revenge. Meanwhile, Orm (Patrick Wilson), Arthur’s younger half-brother and Atlantis’ king wants to begin a war against the people on the surface, as revenge against polluting ocean and causing the death of many creatures of the seas. Using an attack by David as the immediate cause, he seeks the support of the rest of the underwater kingdoms to go on war.

And what else is to follow here? :: He easily gets the support of Nereus (Dolph Lundgren), another king under the sea, and looks forward for more. The daughter of Nereus, Mera (Amber Heard) supports Arthur to become the king as the rightful heir to the crown. But at the same time, Orm wishes to get rid of Arthur, who is the first-born of the queen and therefore has a claim to the throne of Atlantis. Despite Orm sending huge tidal waves all around the world, the surface world remains ignorant about what lies beneath. Mera convinces Arthur to try and save both worlds and he agrees. But the fact remains that Arthur doesn’t have much of a chance against the power that Orm holds on his way to becoming the Ocean Master. But there might be one chance – the question remains if he can take it.

The defence of Aquaman :: One can appreciate Aquaman for its great fight sequences and stunning visuals more than anything else. It becomes a spectacle easily with these, and we just love to keep watching without taking eyes away at any moment. The visuals under the sea has all those fights happening underwater too. We have so many things to add to this visual extravaganza. Atlantis itself is a beautiful sight, and we see that even the people and their costumes are nice. There is a lot of world detail around here. The locations on the surface are also nicely chosen. The fight scene in Sicily is glorious, and the final combat is great to watch. There is also the allusion to the tale of the legendary British king Arthur, and the other reminder is related to Thor: Ragnarok which had the hero from Norse mythology fighting his sibling for control over the kingdom. Well, it even has some horror with its marine creatures – that reminds you who the director is.

Positives and negatives :: There is nothing special being added to the story, and there are no twists coming your way. The similarities to Thor: Ragnarok are many, with not just the sibling battle, but also regarding the early defeat, loss of weapon and arena battle, this time in the absence of the Incredible Hulk. But we see the cast, and most of the problems vanish with the beautiful visuals – Amber Heard does what Natalie Portman couldn’t do in Thor, as the action star on the lines of Kate Beckinsale of Underworld and Mila Jovovich of Resident Evil, as she does the same thing better than ever. A journey through the underwater world, and witnessing a city with so much detail can negate the negatives easily enough. There is some nice humour, and the emotions stay strong for most of the time too. It hasn’t been that easy going for DC, even though Suicide Squad was a movie I enjoyed a lot, personally. Aquaman makes it easy for DC to go forward now.

The performers of the soul :: Jason Momoa remains strong in this one, and unlike that Justice League role, this time, he brings more charm. He nicely gets into the mix of Justice League with this one, and it will be interesting to see how everything works out with another movie with a team of superheroes trying to match the Avengers in another universe. Amber Heard is amazingly good as the warrior princess from underwater. We remember her for her presence in the thrilling horror movies like All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, The Ward and The Stepfather as well as the action thrillers like And Soon the Darkness, 3 Days to Kill and Drive Angry. This one will be the new way to identify her, as a character which brings the best. She is perfectly suited for action sequences other than being remembered as a scream queen, and it is something that she seems to reiterate here. Patrick Wilson from Insidious & The Conjuring fame becomes an extremely effective villain too. Nicole Kidman has some fine moments too.

How it finishes :: Aquaman might be that one movie which could rise its level to catch up with Marvel, and after Wonder Woman, we have one another movie which lifts the universe again, with hope for even more. On the lines of Thor and Norse mythology, DC has its Greek mythology and elements including Atlantis about which we have read about in Plato’s Republic right in place. The myth and the visuals here can be considered to be even ahead of Wonder Woman, even though the island its inhabitants had their own charm too – nothing matches some nicely created underwater visual splendour though. With the second part of Avengers: Infinity War and Captain Marvel to do the job for Marvel, DC has surely made its move in a nice way, the director of Insidious and The Conjuring, James Wan has made a point once again. Well, it is surprising that Aquaman about whom not many people know – the lesser known superhero now has a movie better than each and every better known superhero of Justice League.

Release date: 14th December 2018 (India); 21st December 2018 (USA)
Running time: 143 minutes
Directed by: James Wan
Starring: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Nicole Kidman, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen, Graham McTavish, Temuera, Ludi Lin, Randall, Djimon Hounsou, Natalia Safran, Sophia Forrest

<— Click here to go to the previous review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Justice League

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What is the movie about? :: After the events of Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice during which, Doomsday (Robin Atkin Downes), a genetically engineered monstrous creature created using Kryptonian technology killed Superman (Henry Cavill), there is chaos around, and the world is not as safe as it used to be. There is an increase in crime not only in Metropolis, the home of Superman, but also in Gotham City. A certain amount of fear spreads through cities and nations, and a terrible evil from the other dimension, Steppenwolf (Ciaran Hinds) and his parademons plan to return to Earth. The last time he had made a similar attempt, he was sent back by the combined forces of the Amazons, Atlanteans, Humans and Green Lantern Corps, along with the gods who also joined with them. An angry Steppenwolf had promised to come back and conquer the whole universe, changing them to the image of his own world.

And what is to follow in this particular adventure? :: To conquer and remake Earth for them, they would require the combined energies of three Mother Boxes though, which are locked away by Atlanteans, Amazons and humans. It is during one of his usual nights in Gotham City, that Batman (Ben Affleck) finds one of the parademons sensing fear – it has him immediately getting back to being Bruce Wayne and assembling a team to fight the possible terror which might follow. At the same time, Diana Prince a.k.a. Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) also gets aware of the coming of the demons, with Steppenwolf’s troops attacking and capturing the first Mother Box from Themyscira, about which she is alerted by a signal from Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen). She contacts Bruce Wayne, and both of them go on a search for the metahumans who could be part of their superhero team.

And what else is to come? :: Barry Allen a.k.a. The Flash (Ezra Miller) happens to be easy to recruit though, as he is lonely, looking for some company, and hoping to do something with his life, after being struck by lightning. But there is not much of success with the rest of the possible team mates. After his father Doctor Silas Stone (Joe Morton) is kidnapped by the parademons, Victor Stone a.k.a. Cyborg (Ray Fisher) decides to change his decision to keep away, and accept his existence as half-human, half-machine. It takes the parademon attack on the underwater city of Atlantis which ends up in the capture of the second Mother Box, and a meeting with Mera (Amber Heard) in the waterworld, to get back to saving the world, for Arthur Curry a.k.a. Aquaman (Jason Momoa). He becomes the last one to join the newly formed team of superheroes, but they find their team no match Steppenwolf’s might – is there another way?

The defence of Justice League :: There are some nice action sequences in this movie, and you will see a nice, dark, hell-like atmosphere in here with the battles – the presence of parademons gives a little scary touch for this one, which continues the DC universe as the darker one compared to that of Marvel, and with more drama; an emotional side which is stronger. Such a world is a treat, and will do even better if they can get Constantine into this at some point. There are also some jokes, even though not as effective as Marvel’s presence at the theatres right now, Thor: Ragnarok. To be honest, this has been the superhero team I really wanted to see, more than Avengers, and I am glad that this one is here, and it is enjoyable. There are some nice dialogues, and we have our favourite superheroes going on a big fight. It also makes sure that there can be an even bigger Justice League movie to follow – the stage is set with the team assembled, and now we will wait for something heavier.

The claws of flaw :: There is no matching The Avengers, Age of Ultron or Captain America: Civil War‘s team of superheroes with Justice League, as this one only manages to follow from a distance. The superheroes are all not the best utilized, and when you look at Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarok at the same time, you see that even in a Thor movie, Hulk, Loki and Valkyrie are so well used to create the needed advantage. There is a certain amount of missing balance that we see here with the superheroes of the league, and getting back Superman seemed to be the easy way, and the movie just chooses the same – there are no surprises in the store there, and unlike what Marvel would do, there are no huge moments to remember. Things are just as expected in this one, and even the villain makes lesser impact than the similar looking part-villain demonic creature in Thor: Ragnarok which was not just a better movie with fun, but also in 3D.

Performers of the soul :: One can easily agree that this movie rests on the shoulders of two people, Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot; while the former’s character is pulled back unlike the Batman of The Dark Knight, Wonder Woman gets all the opportunities to shine in here. Henry Cavill has lesser time to be spent on the big screen, but surely gets the applause from the audience. Ezra Miller’s speedy hero has to go a long way from here, as we have a good one in the television series already, but this one is surely not that much irritating as the new age teenage Spider-Man even though we see similarities. Jason Momoa and Ray Fisher plays the superheroes who seem to get almost nothing from the audience – maybe, they deserved better action or smarter dialogues to match the rest who are already established superheroes in this part of the world. You remember that Hawkeye and Black Widow really had some interesting moments, and so did Scarlet Witch later, as far as Marvel is concerned.

How it finishes :: As Thor: Ragnarok is running in the theatres right now, there will be comparisons, and it is with this idea of comparing two movies from different comic worlds, that Justice League might end up losing the battle early – maybe, a little waiting could have done this movie a favour. Let the reviews pass, and be assured that Justice League is not a bad superhero movie as some of them have made you believe. Well, they are the kind of people who despised the poetic beauty of Suicide Squad, and never even tried to understand the same. Justice League is indeed a good work with a team of superheroes who are there to entertain without second thoughts. Visually good, and filled with action, this one is a fine package for the weekend, which deserves some love, as the universe is sure to get better. May justice be served for this movie as it deserves.

Release date: 17th November 2017
Running time: 120 minutes
Directed by: Zack Snyder
Starring: Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane, Connie Nielsen, JK Simmons, Amber Heard, Joe Morton, David Thewlis, Julian Lewis Jones, Michael McElhatton

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Suicide Squad

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What is the movie about? :: During the events that follow Superman’s (Henry Cavill) death in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, CIA’s Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) assembles Task Force X, a team consisting of dangerous criminals. The team was to consist of a highly skilled hitman who is never supposed to miss with his gun in the hands – Deadshot (Will Smith), a former psychiatrist who has a lot of madness inside her which she isn’t afraid to show to the world creating chaos – Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), a pyrokinetic gangster who refuses to be evil anymore after a disaster – El Diablo (Jay Hernandez), a thief who is exceptionally skilled in using boomerang – Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), a genetically mutated crocodile-like human supposed to have cannibalistic tendencies along with his superior strength – Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), and a mercenary with high level grappling and scaling skills with a lot of combat practice – Slipknot (Adam Beach).

So, what happens next in the movie? :: Amanda intends to use them for the defence of the nation, as the big void which was left by the superhero’s death is sure to make it easy for the dangerous and twisted criminals and metahumans to strike terror upon the heart of common man, and the usual military and police might not be able to stop them. The new expendable assets are placed under the command of Colonel Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman). Each member has a nano bomb inside their necks, which could be activated to explode, so as to make sure that none of these criminals try to do anything smart of make an attempt to escape. Another one whom Amanda intend to recruit is Rick Flag’s girlfriend and archeologist Dr. June Moone (Cara Delevingne) whose other form is Enchantress, an ancient goddess and witch who has taken over her body, and appears at times.

So, what all trouble awaits our people? :: Enchantress is not someone who will take this dishonour of her godly self lightly, as she turns on Amanda for imprisoning her, and with the help of her brother Incubus (Alain Chanoine), unleashes terror. The ancient evil finds herself ready to destroy everything that humans holds dear in return for their disrespectful treatment of her. With their vast magical abilities, the brother and sister duo takes control of a subway station and transforms humans into monsters listening only to their command. But Enchantress is just one of their problems as there is someone else after them – The Joker (Jared Leto) who is coming to get Harley Quinn. The situation only gets worse when the team members get the reality about what all are being hidden from them. But they form the last hope for humanity in a world without Superman – what will they choose to do with the world having done nothing for them?

The defence of Suicide Squad :: We can consider this movie more as some kind of poetry in motion, with lots of music being used here and there, and the way in which the action progresses is also nothing less than poetic – you will see a lot of it with the Harley Quinn – Joker sequences which come as flashback scenes. The movie had to introduce so many characters at once, and this one has managed to do that – something which a lot of movies will fail to do, and some of them won’t even try, and in that case, Suicide Squad is a clear winner with its attempts. There are smart dialogues and fine action sequences, with those special effects doing the job really well. Unlike the fake characters in the overrated Guardians of the Galaxy, there is no pretending going on here either – we know who all these people, and they make us believe. Well, you don’t need to pretend that you didn’t like this one just because a number of critics said so!

Positives and negatives :: There is no doubt that people will have many reasons to like as well as dislike this movie, and there will be occasions when both will be the same – certain beauty of some parts of this movie will be what some people won’t like, and vice versa; it is how this movie works personally. There are also some characters that go away without being noticed, and even with a full squad, some of them are just not completely there. We surely needed more of the Joker, but it is not there – he is not the villain as some people might have thought, as the Enchantress takes up that position. Also in comparison, one might not find this version of the man to be making that much impact as they wanted him to. Opposite to what some people had said, this is actually a better movie than the hype which was Guardians of the Galaxy, as we get to connect to the bad guys as people in this flick, unlike the fakes which we had there – and the fun here is more real, and so is the danger.

Performers of the soul :: The best of performances begin with Margot Robbie as the crazy female villain who brings a grand effect to us. There is something about each action of the character, and this one is a full entertainer as long as she is there. There is a certain kind of dark poetry related to her, and some of it can be seen also in the Enchantress played by Cara Delevingne who brings one of the better female villains around – there is something about her from the very first time she is introduced, and whether as the witch-goddess or as the archeologist, she looks too good. Will Smith also scores at his moments, as the hitman who makes us emotionally connected to the character. Jay Hernandez has El Diablo going steady, while the rest of the bad guys just follow the path with these people getting to score more than the others, and as I said earlier, the Joker is underused.

How it finishes :: Suicide Squad is special because it is different, and even in that difference, this one is divergent in an excellent manner. Maybe people still wanted to have the same kind of superhero movies, but not with this one – it has decide to change things, and it is one’s choice to like it or go for the “usual superhero saving the day after destroying a whole city and killing so many people around” kind of thing. Even with the so called criminals teaming up, the number of common people killed in this movie is not much – not that much of top level evil in the bad guys, as you can see. This would make a perfect video game too, with these interesting characters around – but if there is a computer game existing for a movie, won’t the pseudo-intellectuals reviewing the movies make this one look even worse with their reviews? Lets hope that movies like Suicide Squad will be saved from such people! At the same time, I hope that you have enough divergence and a little bit of madness in you good enough to understand this movie.

Release date: 5th August 2016
Running time: 123 minutes
Directed by: David Ayer
Starring: Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Cara Delevingne, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, Jay Hernandez, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Ike Barinholtz, Scott Eastwood, Karen Fukuhara, Ike Barinholtz, Adam Beach, Alain Chanoine, David Harbour, Alex Meraz, Jim Parrack, Shailyn Pierre-Dixon, Corina Calderon, Ben Affleck (cameo), Ezra Miller (Cameo), David Ayer (cameo), Jason Momoa (cameo)

suicidesquadd

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Batman v Superman

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Vampire Owl :: I am not in favour of such people who claim to have powers above our kind. And they call superheroes only to fight each other? Strange, isn’t it?

Vampire Bat :: I don’t think that you should mind; Superman is from far beyond our realm; he is not even part of a known planet.

Vampire Owl :: Still, I think that there is going to be too much of a superhero crowd here.

Vampire Bat :: I had reserved that dialogue for Captain America: Civil War, and when there are X-Men around.

[Gets the tickets with some cheese popcorn].

✠ This was recently posted by me at Kiagia.com: http://www.kiagia.com/index.php/current-film-releases-movie/1355-batman-v-superman-dawn-of-justice

There are not many movies which the audience has been waiting for, during this year, as much as Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. This follow-up to Man of Steel has taken almost three years to be finally there for the audience to enjoy the weekend, and this time, it is for Easter. With movies like Wonder Woman, Justice League Part One, The Flash, Aquaman and Justice League Part Two lined up to follow, this one had to arrive at least now, to create that much needed base for Justice League and the other lesser known heroes to the fans outside North America and Europe.

Time has passed after the battle between Superman (Henry Cavill) and General Zod (Michael Shannon) which spread chaos and destruction all around the city of Metropolis. There were a lot of casualties, and the wound was not healed with time, as the new superhero had transformed into a controversial figure, with some people appreciating his presence as the savior of mankind while the others finding him as a threat and the false god – someone who is more of an alien than a man for the people on Earth. ­The television channels take over that particular topic and as it continues to be the hot item for discussion, there is someone who is a lot mad at this superhuman.

Batman (Ben Affleck) is a very unhappy man, as Bruce Wayne had his own troubles with that particular battle between the two aliens. After twenty years of fighting crime in Gotham City, he feels that it is his chance to avenge this alien for the death and destruction which he showered upon humanity with one big battle. At the same time, Clark Kent finds Batman as that kind of dangerous vigilante who should be stopped from taking law into his own hands when police should be handling such cases. With Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) also feeling the need to get rid of Superman, he will find a way to make the two heroes battle each other while having another plan in his mind.

The number of people waiting for this movie has been very high, even more than the grand wait for Captain America: Civil War. The need to watch the two big superheroes going against each other was what everyone really wanted to see. Even though that surely happens, it is not exactly what the movie is about. There is too much of time taken in this movie to get to that, and the basic idea is also not about their dislike for each other. With Wonder Woman not that much utilized, the movie’s aim just becomes establishing something like a base to bring the Justice League idea into the scene, even though that is not done with full strength either.

The movie is still with some very nice moments, and the action sequences work pretty much fine around here. It is also one of those rare opportunities to see Batman and Superman, along with Wonder Woman together in a movie – there are the others too, like Aquaman, The Flash and The Cyborg, but they are just present there in some videos. Batman also has too many dream sequences to make one wonder what the motive behind the same might be. The viewers do end up wishing that something better was created out of the material with two superheroes having similar thoughts of saving the world, but being so different from each other that it creates tension.

Unfortunately for the movie, the villain played by Jesse Eisenberg is just not menacing enough – this is not the Lex Luthor whom we had wished to see around here. Both Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck plays the too simple superheroes here, as they just go through their plans without much of the thoughts behind them – the audience might have felt that there could be more behind their ideologies, but things seems to go rather straight and clear with this movie, which troubles the cause. Amy Adams as Lois Lane has things going better, and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman is the one who scores the most as any superhuman – at least her side is rather clear here, and it is one character that never goes down the level in this movie.

This one might also be the worst movie from Zack Snyder who has directed movies like 300, Watchmen, Sucker Punch and Dawn of the Dead. The best thing about this movie though, is that the audience is going to be treated with some bigger movies with roots in this particular flick; Gal Gadot is sure to be an awesome Wonder Woman in the big movie which is to arrive, as that is proven here with ease. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is surely not that bad, but it is not up-to the expectations either. You can still watch this one for the action sequences, and also for having that base for what is to follow with the movies which are on the list to arrive.

Release date: 25th March 2016
Running time: 150 minutes
Directed by: Zack Snyder
Starring: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Jeremy Irons, Holly Hunter, Gal Gadot, Scoot McNairy, Callan Mulvey, Tao Okamoto, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Lauren Cohan, Michael Cassidy, Kevin Costner, Christina Wren, Michael Shannon, Carla Gugino, Robin Atkin Downes, Patrick Wilson, Ray Fisher, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, Patrick Leahy, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Soledad O’Brien, Anderson Cooper, Nancy Grace, Charlie Rose

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.