The latest film releases are Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, The Iron Claw, Ferrari, and The Color Purple. Weighing in are William Bibbiani, film critic and co-host of the Critically Acclaimed Network, and Shawn Edwards, a journalist for FOX 4 News in Kansas City.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
Jason Momoa returns as the titular seafaring superhero. He sets aside differences with his half-brother Orm, the former king of Atlantis, to defend their world against Black Manta.
Bibbiani: “Story-wise, it's weirdly repetitive of the original movie. They just switched some characters around. So now, instead of bickering with Amber Heard, Jason Momoa is bickering with Patrick Wilson, to the exact same result. Meanwhile, Amber Heard has been cut out of the movie so haphazardly that instead of being a powerful superhero with a powerful personality, now she spends the movie having babies, doing laundry, and sitting quietly by Jason Momoa’s side like a dutiful housewife. It's weird. It's sexist. It makes Aquaman look bad. And on top of it all, it's just visual chaos from start to finish. … The plot makes no sense. The dialogue is laughable. I lost count of how many times I saw a baby pee in Jason Momoa’s face.”
Edwards: “I actually thought I was watching the first Aquaman while I was watching this Aquaman. They are so similar, and not for a good reason. .. There was a visual assault going on. James Wan, the director, over-populates every frame of this film to the point that it's all distracting. And poor Jason Momoa … he really tries, but he might as well have been in every scene waving a white flag. … It’s only adding to the demise of the genre because no one's figured out how to do anything fresh, different.”
The Iron Claw
This drama follows the Von Erlich brothers as they rise to wrestling stardom. It’s written and directed by Sean Durkin, and stars Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White.
Edwards: “This movie had me in a total headlock, but for good reason. Director Sean Durkin, he takes the name of the film from a movie that was created by Fritz Von Erich, who's the father of this clan of sons. … It's raw, and it's rich and it's sad and it's grim. But I just wish they had more time to expand on everything that happened with each one of these sons who ultimately have a tragic end. … I wish they had more time to expand on the story because the mother gets lost.”
Ferrari
Directed by Michael Mann, this film follows Enzo Ferrari, played by Adam Driver, and his wife Laura (Penélope Cruz) at a rocky moment in 1957.
Bibbiani: “Michael Mann is a great filmmaker. And one of the things that he excels at — maybe more than any other filmmaker — is telling stories about people who are good at their jobs. … Here he's telling a story about the automotive industry, and whenever it is doing that, it is really really great. And frankly, even the emotional story between Enzo Ferrari and the two women in his life is really quite exceptional.
My issue with this movie — and it's a little thing, but it's consistently distracting — is that Adam Driver, a 40-year-old man, is playing a 60-year-old in pretty unconvincing makeup. It looks like he was just made up to look like a 60-year-old on a Saturday Night Live sketch. … If you can get past that, it's a finely crafted drama in a lot of ways. But it's just an example of: One piece in the puzzle is misplaced and the whole thing doesn't look quite right.”
Edwards: “[Ferrari is] toggling between his wife. He's toggling between his mistress. He's toggling between a failed business, and this film does a good job of really laying that all out, so you get an understanding that this particular individual is at a crossroads in life. … I will say Penélope Cruz provides all of the energy and the adrenaline. She's fabulous. Poor Shailene Woodley is treated like a real-life mistress because she seldom pops up and when she does, she's not given very much to do. And my one quip about Adam Driver is I thought he was a little too stoic, almost to the point of almost really never registering a pulse. And I just wish he just delivered a little more energy or a little more personality, but the film maintains its watchability.”
The Color Purple
This is a musical adaptation of The Color Purple, starring Fantasia Barrino. It’s produced by Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg, and directed by Blitz Bazawule.
Edwards: “The subject matter, it hasn't changed. However, the tone is a real remarkable departure from the book and the 1985 film. And this version doesn't resonate as deeply as the 1985 film, but in many ways, it's more entertaining and uplifting. Now, the time period remains the same, but the rural Georgia location has been robustly photographed. … I can't believe this was a first-time feature film director — Blitz Bazawule has really created a showstopping musical that has these really energetic numbers, and the production values are glossy, particularly the cinematography, which showcases the complexity of Black skin perhaps better than any film ever.
… Now there is a negative to the film … the Mister character isn't as menacing as the 1985 film. And actually, all of the men in this film are much nicer. … And also if there's another gripe: The relationship between Celie and Shug Avery has been really severely sanitized. But that's nitpicking because this cast is exuberant.
… This The Color Purple is like a cinematic church service and a celebration of culture and a love letter to literature. … The entire production just screams, ‘How dare you nominate the original film for 11 Oscars and not awarded anything? And this is what we've done to set that wrong and make it right.”
Bibbiani: “The performances across the board are really fantastic here, and I think that gets everything through. Fantasia Barrino knows how to act and sing at the same time, something that not every actor in a musical movie seems to do nowadays. Danielle Brooks steals every single scene there, and Colman Domingo is just incredibly loathsome in a way that does feel as though it's part of a real character. Halle Bailey isn't in the movie very much, but every time she is, she's excellent. Taraji P. Henson is Taraji P. Henson, so of course, she's great. … Overall, I think it’s actually a strong production.”