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Monday, January 11, 2021
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Saturday, January 9, 2021
#IReadsYou Film Review: "AQUAMAN" is a Tsunami of Fun
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
Running time: 143 minutes
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and for some language
DIRECTOR: James Wan
WRITERS: David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Will Beall; from a story by Geoff Johns, James Wan, Will Beall (based on the character created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger and appearing DC Comics)
PRODUCERS: Rob Cowan and Peter Safran
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Don Burgess
EDITOR: Kirk Morri
COMPOSER: Rupert Gregson-Williams
SUPERHERO/FANTASY/SCI-FI/ACTION/ADVENTURE
Starring: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Ludi Lin, Temuera Morrison, Randall Park, Michael Beach, and Nicole Kidman
Aquaman is a 2018 superhero science fiction and fantasy film from director James Wan. It is the sixth film in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), which is comprised of films based upon DC Comics characters. Aquaman was created by artist Paul Norris and editor Mort Weisinger and first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 (cover dated: November 1941). Aquaman the film focuses on a half-breed who is heir to the throne of an underwater kingdom and his quest to prevent an all-out war between the worlds of the land and the seas.
Aquaman opens in 1985. Thomas Curry (Temuera Morrison), a lighthouse keeper in Amnesty Bay, Maine, rescues Atlanna (Nicole Kidman), the queen of the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, during a storm. They fall in love and have a son named Arthur, who has the power to communicate with sea creatures. Eventually, however, Atlantean soldiers arrive to retrieve Atlanna, who had fled her arranged marriage in Atlantis.
The film movies to the present day, several months after the events depicted in the film, Justice League. Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa), now also known as the “Aquaman,” attempts to live a normal life in Amnesty Bay, but his Atlantean heritage is about to intrude on his life. Arthur has a half-brother, Orm Marius (Patrick Wilson), who is the current King of Atlantis and who is also the second son of Atlanna. Orm is attempting to rally the undersea kingdoms to his cause. He wants to unite and to attack the surface world for polluting the oceans. Princess Y'Mera Xebella Challa, also known simply as Mera (Amber Heard), is betrothed to Orm, but refuses to aid him or her father, King Nerius of Xebel (Dolph Lundgren), in their plans.
Mera travels to the surface where she meets Arthur and tries to convince him to help her in stopping Orm. She also wants Arthur to take his rightful place as King of Atlantis. Before he does that, however, Arthur must recover a magic artifact, the lost “Sacred Trident of Atlan,” which will mark its possessor as the rightful ruler of Atlantis. The problem is that Arthur does not want to be King of Atlantis nor anywhere else for that matter.
Watching Aquaman, I could not help but notice that many of its story points and plot elements were glaringly similar to that of Marvel Studios' Black Panther, which debuted earlier in the same year that Aquaman hit theaters, 2018. Whereas Black Panther was edgy, philosophically in tune with Pan-Africanism, and socially relevant, Aquaman is simply a grand, old-fashioned, action-adventure fantasy film, and there is nothing wrong with that. Aquaman is solidly entertaining.
If Aquaman must be accused of copying other films, in terms of visual concepts and world-building, Aquaman leans heavily on the Star Wars prequel films and on Tron: Legacy. And once again, there is nothing wrong with that. Many big-budget, tent-pole films borrow from other movies of similar to its type. Aquaman dazzles the eyes and blows the mind. It is such a spectacular visual effects feast for the eyes, senses, and imagination that I am surprised that it did not get any Oscar nominations in the categories of visual effects, art direction-set decoration, and costume design. That such a visually resplendent film did not get in Oscar nominations says something about the nominating process of the Academy Awards in many areas.
I must admit that I think that this film does have a few sizable problems. Aquaman's stiff, overly-formal, highfalutin' dialogue hampers the acting, which isn't all that good to begin with. The character writing is also average, so it is not as if the actors have much to work with in building strong dramatic characters. Still, I'd have to be feeling generous to say that Jason Momoa was more than average as Arthur Curry/Aquaman, although he does appear to be trying hard. Patrick Wilson and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II overact and ham-it-up as Orm and Black Manta, respectively. Willem Dafoe is practically a wooden idol as Vulko, and Amber Heard seems to think that she is playing Mera in a spoof of a superhero movie rather than acting in a “serious” superhero film.
I would normally give a film with such average character drama on the part of the screenplay and such awkward acting a grade of “B.” The directing by James Wan is strong enough, however, and, once again, the film is such a visual effects orgasm that I will bump up Aquaman's final grade a little.
B+
7 of 10
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.
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Thursday, January 7, 2021
#IReadsYou Review: SUPER SONS Volume 1: The Polarshield Project
DC COMICS/DC Zoom – @DCComics
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
STORY: Ridley Pearson – @RidleyPearson
ART: Ile Gonzalez
COLORS: Ile Gonzalez
LETTERS: Saida Temofonte
EDITORS: Ben Abernathy and Michele R. Wells
ISBN: 978-1-4012-8639-2; paperback; (April 2, 2019)
176pp, Color, $9.99 U.S., $13.50 CAN
Age Range: 8 to 12
Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster; Batman created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger; Superboy created by Jerry Siegel
They are the sons of Superman and Batman. Damian Wayne is the son of Batman/Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul (the daughter of Batman nemesis, Ra's al Ghul). Jonathan “Jon” Samuel Kent is the son of Superman/Clark Kent and Lois Lane.
Jon and Damian became the stars of the comic book series/franchise, Super Sons. Now, these young heroes make their graphic novel debut in the DC Zoom original graphic novel, Super Sons Book 1: The Polarshield Project, the first book in a three-book series. The Polarshield Project is written by bestselling novelist, Ridley Pearson; drawn and colored by Ile Gonzalez; and lettered by Saida Temofonte. Set in the near future, The Polarshield Project finds the sons of Superman and Batman trying to uncover a global conspiracy that begins with an epidemic.
Super Sons Book 1: The Polarshield Project is set on an alternate Earth and not in the mainstream DC Universe. In the city of Metropolis, Superman is trying to repair the sea walls that protect the city from the rising oceans. The polar ice caps have nearly melted away, causing devastation to coastal cities like Metropolis. Even the technology of Bruce Wayne and Wayne Enterprises is struggling to stop Metropolis from drowning.
Erratic, deadly weather forces everyone inland, tearing families apart. When Metropolis is abandoned, Clark Kent and his family: reporter Lois Lane and their son, Jon Kent, relocate to Wyndemere. Bruce Wayne and his son, Damian “Ian” Wayne, are also new residents of Wyndemere.
Jon Kent and Damian Wayne are opposites in every way except one; they are the sons of the world's greatest heroes, and these two boys also want to do their heroic best to help the world. To unravel the the conspiracy of a mystery illness, this unlikely dynamic duo is forced to trust each other and to work together to save the Earth. Joined by a mysterious girl named Candace and by Jon's friend, a teen girl named Tilly, Jon and Ian will find adventure and danger.
DC Comics' Super Sons has turned out to be an enjoyable teen superhero comic book franchise, in a decade that has seen the arrival of several stellar comic titles featuring teen heroes, including Marvel Comics' Mile Morales/Ultimate Spider-Man and Ms. Marvel. Jon Kent's affable nature and Damian Wayne's arrogant kid-ninja-assassin are like oil and water, but writer Peter J. Tomasi made them work, in the original Super Sons series, as a believable crime-fighting, adventure-having unit.
In Super Sons Book 1: The Polarshield Project, Ridley Pearson presents his own version of Jon and Damian. Pearson's Jon Kent is stubborn, more proactive, and uses his powers with a rapidly growing confidence. Pearson's Damian Wayne does not at all want to be called Damian and goes by the name “Ian.” Ian is less elite-assassin-in waiting and more like a Batman, Jr.; he is a superhero-in-training, working his way up to having his own real superhero costume.
Pearson's Super Sons is set on an alternate Earth, and the concept is a near-future scenario that is a kind of juvenile science fiction. This world looks familiar, and young readers will recognize that story's ecological and environmental dangers could very well be our own world's fate.
I don't know to what extent young readers will identify with the characters here or how much they will recognize of our world in the world of The Polarshield Project. I think that they will identify with the conflicts, dilemmas, and obstacles facing these young characters. They will identify with the personal and relationship issues. I think they will also find themselves taking in by Jon, Ian, Candace, and Tilly's call to adventure. Ridley Pearson, known for his mystery and young adult adventure novels, offers readers engaging mysteries and thrilling adventures here.
DC Comics has been hiring the writers of bestselling young adult novels to author its DC Zoom (readers 8 to 12) and DC Ink (readers 13+) graphic novels. On the book covers of these graphic novels, the young adult authors get top billing, but the names of the artists are at the very bottom of the cover.
In the case of The Polarshield Project's artist/co-author, Ile Gonzalez, this placement is crock of shit. Gonzalez is every bit as important as Pearson to the creation of this graphic novel. She has a wonderful energetic graphic style, and her rich coloring makes this story vibrant. Here, Gonzalez's art is spiritually related to the comic book art of the early Superman and Batman comic book artists: Joe Shuster in Action Comics (Superman) and Bob Kane in Detective Comics (Batman).
In terms of graphical storytelling, Gonzalez makes Super Sons Book 1: The Polarshield Project seem like something entirely new. It is as if Ridley Pearson's Jon Kent, Ian Wayne, the other characters, and the world in which they live are not an alternate take of an established universe, but are instead something fresh and different.
Super Sons Book 1: The Polarshield Project is not perfect. There are lapses in the narrative that make it seem as if a page or two is missing in some spots. However, that does not take away from the fact that The Polarshield Project is a damn fun comic book to read. In fact, it should say so on the cover, “Damn fun to read.”
8 out of 10
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
[This book contains two previews. The first is preview is of Super Sons Book 2: The Foxglove Mission. The second is a preview of Dear Justice League by writer Michael Northrop and artist Gustavo Duarte.]
The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.
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