AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM Hits Theatres

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming this Friday to theatres from director James Wan, DC Studios and Warner Bros. Pictures is the return of AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM.

Arthur aka Aquaman (Jason Momoa) is splitting his time between the land and the sea and enjoying being a dad to young Arthur, Jr. Being the King of Atlantis is no easy matter for a man who is completely bored by all the royal duties. He is also not happy that he cannot make things happen without the Atlantean council’s approval, like making contact with the land people.

What he doesn’t know is that David Kane (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) has become Black Manta and is out for revenge against Aquaman. Kane enlists the help of scientist Stephen Shin (Randall Park) who just wants to find Atlantean artifacts. One such artifact is the black trident and Kane becomes a powerful enemy.

Coincidentally, a few months later something is happening with the weather causing disease in the sea and devastating weather around the globe. Black Manta attacks Atlantis as he looks for their storage of orichalcum and it becomes clear who is responsible for the world’s changes. Someone who can help them is Orm (Patrick Wilson) and the only way to get him is for Aquaman to break a few rules.

When the brothers look for Kane, Orm handles the black trident and discovers that there once was another kingdom called Necrus and a battle of brothers led to the confinement of Kordax. Aquaman learns that all that is needed to release everyone, including Kordax, in Necrus is a drop of royal blood.

The battle begins as brothers come together and all Atlantean’s fight to the finish!

Momoa as Arthur/Aquaman/King makes darn sure that he is having a good time playing this character. Even when Aquaman is angry, he turns things on its ear from start to finish. Momoa gives his character the right amount of fight and an equal amount of humor as the story of what being a King does for him. He’s not happy but then again, now that’s he’s a Daddy – things are different for him.

Wilson as brother Orm is still uptight yet there is a part of this character that somehow believes he should be punished. When brother Arthur comes calling and the ocean calls, Orm tries in his own unique way to understand his brother the King and the problems facing Atlantis. Realizing what Black Manta is up to, Orm uses his own skills to do the right thing by his fellow Atlanteans. Wilson is the straight man to Momoa’s comedy and it actually works well.

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta is the typical angry, vengeful, super smart bad guy and every move he makes is predictable. He doesn’t say much but lets his character speak volumes. The problem for me is that a Black Manta doesn’t fit in the under-water world. All of this because he has daddy-revenge issues but spends very little time going after Aquaman. I just didn’t get it.

Shout out to Park as Shin playing the scientist who is afraid of Black Manta watching him go from relics to power hungry.

Other cast include Nicole Kidman as Atlanna, Dolph Lundgren as Nereus, Temuera Morrison as Tom Curry, Vincent Regan as Atlan, Jani Zhao as Karshon, and Pilou Asbaek as Kordax.

Warner Brothers is home to one of the most successful collections of brands in the world and stands at the forefront of every aspect of the entertainment industry from feature film, television and home entertainments with worldwide distribution to DVD and Bluray, animation, comic books, videogames and broadcasting. For more please visit www.warnerbros.com.

AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM is a total cgi-fest from start to finish. The colors are vibrant and the underwater scenes are exactly what you would expect from special effects. That being said, the 3-D is unnecessary and not as crystal clear as I would expect for having to wearing uncomfortable glasses over my glasses.

The story in my opinion is muddled and doesn’t give the viewer time to invest in getting to understand what is happening. Sure, the saying of ‘watch the first one’ is a way to look at it yet it doesn’t change how I feel about the film as a whole. There is a funny Dad king, a brother with sibling issues and a mad bad guy – done.

I’m sure that people who are totally invested in DC will have no problem with the film. It seems geared toward that audience and maybe grab a few who just like Momoa (and who doesn’t) as Aquaman. I do like the relationship between Arthur and Orm as Momoa and Wilson with a combination of comedy and sibling rivalry. When the brothers are on screen it became easy to forget there are other characters.

Scrooge is here to tell you nahhhhhh but I know that isn’t going to stop anyone from following the trident that gives Aquaman its audience pull. That being said – enjoy and happy holidays.

In the end – the tide is turning!

Return to the Beginning with INSIDIOUS

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to 4K Ultra HD, Bluray and Digital from director James Wan and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is a chance to return to the beginning of the horror with INSIDIOUS.

Josh (Patrick Wilson) and wife Renai (Rose Byrne) have just moved into their new home. Josh teaches at the local school and Renai is at home with kids Dalton (Ty Simpkins), Foster and baby girl Cali. Exploring the house, young Dalton goes up into the attic and come face to face with a dark entity that scares him.

The next morning, Josh tries to wake Dalton up for school and finds the boy in a mysterious coma that leaves even the doctors scratching their heads. Now Renai becomes Dalton’s nurse at home but more intense is the strange things that begin to happen in the home. When an apparition corners Renai, it becomes clear that they must leave the house.

Problem is, what has attached itself to them also came to their new home. Josh’s mother Lorraine (Barbara Hershey) calls a woman name Elise (Lin Shaye), a psychic, to come into the home and discover what evil surrounds them. She tells the family that Dalton is in a place called The Further and tells Josh something about himself that shakes him.

It is time for the Lambert family to reclaim their home, their child and a sense of safety but the cost might be very, very high!

Wilson as Josh is a man who does not want to face what is happening in his own home. Instead, he finds reason to stay away from home leaving his wife to face all the frights surrounding their home. Wilson gives his character the detachment necessary to pull of this role and when its time to get in the mix, he embraces the horror, literally.

Byrne as Renai is a woman caught between saving her children and not understanding why she must do it alone. Finally putting her foot down, little did she know that what was tormenting her family has formed a deep attachment. Byrne has the unique ability to show so many emotions and makes it look easy. One of my favorite roles that she has done is from the 2009 films KNOWING (one of my guilty pleasures) that proved she was perfect for this role.

Shaye as Elise comes into the Lambert home and discovers quickly what resides with them and the danger in getting rid of it. Accepting the family’s help means that she is also in danger and Shaye portrays her character with strength and gumption. Hershey as Lorraine has a small role but the 1982 film THE ENTITY proves she had the right stuff for this film.

Simpkins as Dalton spends a great deal of time in the coma but when it is time for his character to ‘wake up’, he shows the fear that any child would feel dealing with this frightening unknown, well done.

Other cast includes Josh Feldman as young Josh, John Binder as Father Martin, Leigh Whannell as Specs, Angus Sampson as Tucker, and Andrew Astor as Foster. The frights come from Marfren Cubar as Tree, J. La Rose as the Fiend, Philip Friedman as the Old Woman, Ben Woolf as the Dancing Boy, Caslin Rose as the Ghoul and Joseph Bishara as the Demon.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment encompasses motion picture production for television, digital content and theater releases. The studios include Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems, TriStar Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Stage 6 Films and Sony Picture Classics. To see what is coming to theaters and to home entertainment please visit www.sonypictures.com.

MOVIES ANYWHERE gives viewers the ability to download the Movies Anywhere App. With that you can view films by downloading or streaming to your favorite device using a Digital Code. For more information on Movies Anywhere please visit www.MoviesAnywhere.com.

Bonus Materials include on 4K Ultra HD – Feature Presentation in 4K Resolution with Dolby Vision, Approved by Director James Wan, Theatrical Trailer. Bluray Disc – Feature Presentation in High Definition, Horror 101: The Exclusive Seminar, On Set with INSIDIOUS and Insidious Entities.

INSIDIUOS opens the franchise that follows with INSIDIOUS: Chapter 2 (2013 directed by Wan), INSIDIOUS: Chapter 3 (2015 directed by Leigh Whannell), INSIDIOUS: The Last Key (2018 directed by Adam Robitel) leading to the new film INSIDIOUS: The Red Door (directed by Patrick Wilson) coming to theatres summer 2023. The original cast of Wilson, Byrne, Simpkins, Astor and Shaye return to the screen to conclude the INSIDIOUS franchise.

The franchise began a whole new genre in that there didn’t need to be gore but instead a return to frights, chills, thrills, scares and jaw drops. Most of that came from our own imaginations and the relief when walking out of the theatre at the end of the film. Wan created something awesome and I personally am excited to see how it all ends.

Until then, get your hands (pun intended) on the 4K Ultra HD special Steelbook of INSIDIOUS and remember how it all began.

In the end – it’s not the house that’s haunted!

 

 

ANNABELLE COMES HOME Needs to Stay in the Box

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to theatres this Friday from director/writer Gary Dauberman, James Wan and Warner Bros. Pictures is ANNABELLE COMES HOME.

Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) and Ed (Patrick Wilson) are bringing the doll Annabelle back to their locked room of evilness. What they haven’t realized yet is daughter Judy (McKenna Grace) is having difficulties of her own in that arena when an article comes out in the paper about her parents and what they do.

Leaving town for a night, the Warren’s leave their daughter in the care of trusted babysitter Mary Ellen (Madison Iceman). When her friend Daniela (Katie Safire) learns where Mary Ellen is babysitting, she wants to see the house of the demonologists.

The sitter has other plans which are to make a cake for Judy who is going to have a birthday soon. Seeing the parents off, the two settle in for a little cake baking time but are interrupted by Daniela who barges in. Mary Ellen isn’t thrilled but when Judy wants to skate around the block, Daniela volunteers to watch the cake baking.

In fact Daniela has other plans as she finds the keys to the artifacts room. Instead of being curious, she has opened the door to a room full of things that have been waiting to get out – especially the doll Annabelle.

That’s when a night of scares begins and the reality of what has been freed means the Warrens need better locks!

Iceman as Mary Ellen is as sweet as can be and looks very responsible from the get go, but then she is easily swayed by a someone who doesn’t seem to care about a friendship. Once the evil is out, Iseman gets a chance to show her flashlight skills but not her common sense.

Grace as Judy is a kid living with parents that are demonologists – let that sink in! Judy is a moody kid but with reason yet that reason seems to disappear as quickly as it came. She seems more disturbed about her birthday party than a doll wreaking havoc on her home.

Sarife as Daniela is an arrogant, self-absorbed and disrespectful teenager who, at the era the film is supposed to represent, would have gotten an ass whuppin’. She is asked to leave – doesn’t, she is asked not to touch anything – does – repeatedly, and is given a gentle slap on the wrist for endangering a child’s life? Yea, didn’t work for me.

Wilson and Farmiga return for a bit before and after the film which saddened me. They ARE the reason for all of the films success and are whittled down to practically a cameo.

I do, however, give high fives to Bob (Michael Cimino) for his cuteness, scared tenacity in the name of love and wolves and knowing how to use a guitar properly under pressure. I cheered for Bob!

ANNABELLE COMES HOME is a sad ending to a series of films that otherwise always got my attention. I’ll be honest; it’s mainly for the story’s that included the Warrens. The characters played by Farmiga and Wilson are the very reason people crowded to the theatres. They Warren’s made us jump, scream, grab and throw popcorn in fright. Without them, there really isn’t anything left and there shouldn’t have been an attempt to try.

But this is Hollywood milking the last bit of cash from a doll that has clearly lost her mojo. The first ten minutes I thought were a peek at what the film’s frights might be but instead I got a pre-teen and teen film filled with the most ridiculous happenings. I laughed at the comedy of it all.

Yes, there were “scary” moments but nothing along the lines of what we have seen in Wan’s prior Warren-based THE CONJURING stories. The tease of what could happen shows up and then falls flat. It’s like this story was thrown together with everything but the kitchen sink and the only reason they didn’t use that is because it was full of unwashed dishes.

There was so much more than could have been done in this film, the artifacts are there for the telling and yet it gets the slight of hand and the odd remark here and there. The ending is ridiculously pat and layered on thick like the icing on Judy’s cake.

Let’s hope the doll stays in her case – permanently – or at least until someone takes THE CONJURING/ANNABELLE genre a little more seriously and remembers what made us all jump and cheer in the first place. Get back to that, get back to the basics and for gawd sakes bring Wilson and Farmiga back into the game coach!

In the end – she comes home to stay!

Prepare Yourself for THE NUN

Jeri Jacquin

In theatres from director Corin Hardy along with writers Gary Dauberman, James Wan and Warner Bros. comes the beginning of it all with THE NUN.

It is 1952 and the Vatican has asked Father Burke (Demian Bichir) to go to the Carta Monastery in Romania to discover why a young nun has thrown herself out of a window. Joining Father Burke is the young novitiate Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) who needs to help with the Abbess of the cloistered abbey.

Meeting the duo is Frenchie (Jonas Bloquet) who made deliveries to the monastery and found the young nun dead. Immediately it is clear that there is something dark and unholy taking over the abbey. Father Burke meets the Abbess only to learn that he can not be there after sundown but assures him he will find the answers he seeks.

Sister Irene meets other sisters and learns that there is a history that lives deep in the walls and floors of the abbey. The castle builder summoned an entity that was eventually sealed by a Vatican artifact that is missing. The ground was opened again by the bombs of war and the entity Valak has taken up residence inside The Nun (Bonnie Aarons).

A battle is inevitable as the Father, Sister Irene and Frenchie take on the entity that wants to destroy them all. It is a fight for their souls and for those that will follow from that fight on.

Bichir as Father Burke doesn’t miss a beat when taking on the assignment to go to Romania. Still dealing with his own personal battle of a previous exorcism, it does not deter Bichir’s character from discovering the truth that lay in the bricks of the abbey. I am a fan of Bichir and love that he took on his role cementing himself as part of THE CONJURING universe.

Farmiga as Sister Irene is a young woman who is waiting to take her final vows. I have to admit that this character has nerves of steel and even when things get a little spooky, she keeps it together and soldiers through to keep evil at bay. It is a tad unnerving to see the younger Farmiga when I am so use to see her sister Vera in THE CONJURING stories but wow, how perfect a fit she is.

Bloquet as Frenchie knows that there is something at the abbey and although hesitant, finds himself involved in helping the Vatican sent duo. His role is one that will be brought up connecting THE NUN with first CONJURING.

Aarons as THE NUN gets a shout out from me mainly because she actually made me shout out in the theatre! I love a good jump, love an even bigger scream followed by a chair jump.

Other cast include Ingrid Bisu as Sister Oana, Charlotte Hope as Sister Victoria, Sandra Teles as Sister Ruth, August Maturo as Daniel,Ani Sava as Sister Jessica, Michael Smiley as Bishop Pasquale, David Horovitch as Cardinal Conroy and Lynnette Gaza as Mother Superior.

This all started in 2013 with THE CONJURING and I have been hooked ever since. As much as people love slasher films, I am not really a huge fan. I don’t need smack-in-your-face bloody horror to make me jump so I was (and still am) thrilled when the first film came out.

Instead, director Wan brings back the feeling of the ‘scary movie’ by using music, shadows, and the scare we bring to ourselves. Each of the films brought the best of jumping in the seat with Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson and director Hardy brings it around full circle with Birchir and sister Taissa Farmiga.

There is enough action, scare and mystery built into the story with a dark castle with enough hiding places to keep you on edge. The cinematography is very cool keeping the audience in the dark where all good creepy things come from.

So conjure up your friends because there is a monastery in Romania that has an entity for you to meet.

In the end – pray for forgiveness!