Prime Time: Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom (2023)

It's odd now to finally get around to watching one or two particular movies that were a part of the attempt to create a DCEU to rival the MCU phenomenon. I left it this long to watch Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom because this particular cinematic series was already pronounced dead by the time the film landed in the home rental market. In fact, I only kept this on my radar because there was a pleasingly cheap bundle on both Aquaman movies that I decided to purchase digitally. It just sat there though, like some unfinished novel written by a family member buried a few years ago.

The strange, and slightly irritating, thing is that this isn't too bad. It's a bit messy, particularly when you think of how it started compared to the finished product (I don't want to rehash all of the stuff about Amber Heard, but she certainly suffered in a biased court of public opinion that intertwined with superhero movie fanboys to create a toxicity you can almost feel emanating from the editing decisions made here), but it's fun.

Aquaman (Jason Momoa) is now a father, and rules his kingdom alongside his lovely wife, Mera (Heard). Unfortunately, Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) still wants revenge for the death of his father. He has a new weapon to help him, a Black Trident, and a plan that involves a lot of Orichalcum, a power source that creates huge amounts of greenhouse gases when used. Aquaman needs to figure out where Black Manta is based, as well as how to stop him. He can't do it alone though. He is going to need the help of his imprisoned brother, Orm (Patrick Wilson).

Writer David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick may be working solo this time around, although helped by a few others (including Momoa and director James Wan) when it comes to the main story ideas, but he does well to make this feel like a decent continuation of the story we got in the first movie while allowing Aquaman and Orm to have enjoyable bickering between them that keeps a lot of the film firmly in the realm of the buddy action flick.

Wan can handle the scale of the film, and certainly seems keen to include a number of homages to other movies (I loved the moments that called back to some classic Harryhausen works, and there's even a wonderful little audio nod to one of the greatest horror movies of all time), but he lacks some clear direction. This is a distraction, nothing more and nothing less. Black Manta never feels like a big enough threat, individual episodes are just that, and the ending is just a waiting game until everything pans out exactly as you know it will.

Momoa is still fun in the main role, his casting was one of the better choices made during this time, and Wilson works well alongside him, the two having great rapport that feels as brotherly and fun as it needs to. Abdul-Mateen II does well with what he's given, but he's not given enough. Heard feels like she's making occasional cameo appearances, Randall Park is fun as Dr. Shin, someone caught up in the unfolding Black Manta scheme while trying to figure out how he can get out of it, and there's room for returning appearances from Temuera Morrison, Nicole Kidman, and Dolph Lundgren, as well as amusing voice performances from Martin Short and (also returning) John Rhys-Davies.

I doubt I will rush to watch this again, but it was just about on a par with the first film. It's a shame that nobody had the confidence to lean into the sillier and weirder elements, which is where the film works best, but we can enjoy the fact that those elements were at least given some screentime. 

6/10

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A Very Jonas Christmas Movie (2025)

I am unfamiliar with The Jonas Brothers, but I am more aware of them nowadays than I was 5-10 years ago. I remember hearing a song on the radio that I quite enjoyed and then being surprised to hear that it was one of their hits. I have also been an unwilling reader of showbiz news/gossip about the divorce of Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner. That covers the extent of my Jonas Brothers knowledge. So I had no reason to want to check this out, aside from the fact that it was available to me.

The plot is very simple. The Jonas Brothers want to head home for the holidays. They can't wait to get away from one another, which is a major difference from how they used to feel. But one scheming Santa figures out exactly what they need. They don't want to get home right away. They want to get home while rediscovering that close brotherly bond they once had. Nick Jonas also just wants some peace and quiet, Kevin Jonas wants a chance to sing on a track, and Joe has a reputation that holds him back when he randomly encounters an old friend, Lucy (Chloe Bennet), he has a bit of a crush on.

Written by the talented duo of Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger (who have done a whole lot of TV work in the past few years, as well as the very enjoyable I Want You Back), the most important thing to consider about this potentially cheesy special is that it's actually quite funny. The Jonas Brothers seem to be very much aware of how they are perceived, both individually and as a band, and they deliver a number of lines that make themselves the butt of the gag, even if it all stays safely within the realms of gentle ribbing, as opposed to anything painfully cutting.

Director Jessica Yu, who previously helmed the enjoyable Quiz Lady (a different kind of road trip/family bond movie), is well aware of the assignment. Things move along briskly enough, there are well-staged musical numbers interspersed throughout the narrative, and viewers feel safe in the knowledge that any and all setbacks are just temporary on the way to an expected happy ending.

As for the brothers, I have to say that I expected them to be a bit more irritating onscreen. They do well with what they're asked to do, helped by the fact that they obviously interact more naturally with one another than they do with everyone else. Bennet is very good in her role, and there are scenes that make good use of Randall Park, Billie Lourd, and KJ Apa, as well as Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Santa), Kenny G (being Kenny G), and Will Ferrell (as a big fan who values the brothers ahead of his own family, who are portrayed onscreen here by his actual family).

Slick, not without the occasional hint of smugness, and with a satisfying message of seasonal goodwill, this is a very enjoyable Christmas special. It might not convert any haters of the band, but you never know. I'm certainly more open to their work than I was before this. 

7/10

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Eenie Meanie (2025)

Written and directed by Shawn Simmons, Eenie Meanie has the air of something given to someone finally allowed a shot at feature film-making after years spent helping to create entertainment for the small screen. A quick glance through the filmography of Simmons confirms that, yes, that's exactly what has happened. Simmons has his name on about 30 or 40 various TV show episodes, but this is his first major film credit. He helps himself immensely by getting Samara Weaving for the main role. Sadly, he spends a lot of the movie then working against himself.

Weaving plays Edie (nicknamed Eenie Meanie by some). Edie used to be the best getaway driver in the business, but she got out of that life. Unfortunately, her on/off boyfriend, John (Karl Glusman), didn't. He now owes Nico (Andy Garcia) a large debt, and Nico has a plan for John to repay that debt with a major score. It will need an excellent getaway driver though.

There's nothing new here. The super-skilled getaway driver has been done in a number of movies. The ex-criminal unable to go straight because they've been manipulated into one last job has been done in almost every other crime flick from the past hundred years. And daring heists that have people using skill and a bit of luck to defy impossible odds? Well, I'm sure you can name a few films with that main plot point. So the only real novelty here is having Weaving as the central figure, and it's her charisma and talent that make this more watchable than it otherwise would be.

Simmons makes the mistake of not really nailing down the tone, which doesn't help. Some moments are fun, some moments are thrilling, and some moments take viewers on a hard turn into a road called downbeat street. If these different strands flowed and blended well then Eenie Meanie could have been a pleasant surprise, but they do not. None of the fun moments reach their full potential as viewers are reminded of the high stakes, the same goes for the thrills (a couple of expected driving stunts aside), and the most downbeat moments feel as if they've been spliced in from another film entirely.

Weaving is great. When is she not? That's rhetorical. Don't answer, especially as I anxiously try to remember the many film appearances she has racked up that aren't deserving of her good work. Glusman is fine, although he has to struggle at portraying a character who feels quite irredeemable. He's a greedy and selfish idiot, and doesn't get any big moment to turn things around. Garcia delivers the goods in a few scenes that are real highlights, and the rest of the supporting cast members - including Steve Zahn, Jermaine Fowler, Marshawn Lynch, Randall Park, Mike O'Malley, and Chris Bauer - are almost all wasted. Nobody is given enough time or character development, which is more annoying when it means more time spent in the company of Glusman's character.

There's a nice muscle car being put through its paces in the third act, the score is decent, and Weaving gets to carry the film. It's just a shame that there's nothing more to it, and it's a shame that I was thinking about twenty better movies I could have rewatched instead of giving this one 106 minutes of my time. 

5/10

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Netflix And Chill: Strays (2023)

A comedy so memorable that I actually watched it about a year ago and couldn't bring myself, at that time, to write a full review for it, Strays is a fun concept that I'm sure will amuse many. It didn't work for me though, at least not as well as I hoped it would.

Will Ferrell voices Reggie, a cute little dog who finds himself a stray when he's abandoned by his loser of a human owner, Doug (Will Forte). Reggie soon meets Bug (Jamie Foxx), Maggie (Isla Fisher), and Hunter (Randall Park), other strays who help him adapt to life on the streets. It takes him some time to realise just how awful his owner was though, but eventually he gains some clarity. That's when he comes up with a plan to get home and, well, bite Doug's dick off.

If you like some of the cast members here then you're bound to find a few laughs. Will Ferrell plays Reggie with the kind of comedic innocence that he's done before, and it works well. Foxx is tough, but a very good friend, while Fisher and Park grow close to one another in a way that is obvious to everyone but themselves. Other voices come from Rob Riggle, Josh Gad, Sofia Vergara, Jamie Demetriou, Jimmy Tatro, and a few other fun performers. Forte is enjoyably loathsome, making his apparent destiny something that viewers will really look forward to, and there's a random and very amusing cameo from Dennis Quaid just being a version of Dennis Quaid.

Writer Dan Perrault throws in a lot of obvious gags (things revolving around peeing, pooping, or humping whatever looks humpable), and there's an entertaining sequence that has the dogs tripping after eating the wrong kind of mushrooms, but I will give him kudos for committing to a couple of the darker punchlines in ways that were slightly unexpected.

Josh Greenbaum has about three features under his belt by now. This is the least of them. While not inept or absolutely awful, it's disappointingly . . . basic. That might be down to the fact that this was done in live-action, because it would be a much better fit for some kind of animation, but it's also obvious that Greenbaum consistently makes the most obvious and uninspired choices for source material that is middling, at best.

I laughed a few times, and I was grossed out by one sequence that led to an inevitable poop-centric set-piece, but, overall, this feels like a film made about 30-40 years too late. Oh, dogs pee on things to claim them, hahaha, dogs hump lots of things, hehehe, dogs do poop a lot sometimes, hohoho. If you're going to fill your film with old standards then you need to find new or interesting ways to frame them. This doesn't.

4/10

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Netflix And Chill: Always Be My Maybe (2019)

You pick a rom-com to watch when you want something comforting and familiar. Always Be My Maybe provides you with all of those familiar comforts. The two leads (Sasha, played by Ali Wong, and Marcus, played by Randall Park) seem destined to be together, various obstacles get in the way of their happiness, and the finale allows for some last-minute reveals and earnest speeches. I am sure that cynical viewers will either avoid this entirely or watch it and then criticise it for everything that it gets absolutely right. Everyone else can have a fine time.

That's not to say that this film does everything in ways that you've seen before. Let me get the basics out of the way and I'll highlight a couple of key differences that put this in the upper echelons of the modern rom-com arena.

We first meet Sasha and Marcus as kids, fast becoming firm friends. Things keep going well until a tragedy leads to a moment in which they have sex. And it starts to unravel from there. Fast forwarding to the present day, we now see that Sasha is a very successful celebrity chef, while Marcus still living at home with his father (James Saito). Fate brings Sasha and Marcus together, of course, and then looks as if it is determined to keep them apart.

There was very little point in me even writing that briefest of plot summaries. This is about as predictable as they come, in some ways. There are other elements that add to the simple pleasures. A plot strand about Marcus still being part of the band that he's been with since his youth, and how he doesn't take the step needed to try and get them more exposure, works well as both an amusing "b-plot" and also a display of the main character flaw that affects his relationship potential. There's also a cameo from Keanu Reeves that sees him playing an exaggerated version of himself, pretty consistently hilarious in a scene which has him as the fourth person at a dinner table quartet.

Director Nahnatchka Khan impresses with her feature directorial debut (after a good bit of time spent working as a producer on TV shows, most notably on Fresh Off The Boat, which also stars Randall Park), helped by the sharp script, co-written by Park, Wong, and Michael Golamco. It may seem light and easy enough, simplistic even, but there's care taken to lift the material at every opportunity. First of all, and arguably key to the whole thing, is the Asian-American cultural filter that changes everything slightly. Although many have been quick to cite Crazy Rich Asians as the closest comparison, the differences are just as important as the similarities, with this film showing the experience of integrating into America rather than the experience of reintegrating into the traditions held dear by families who may resent some of the trappings of modern America. There's also the fact that this is a rom-com based on both leads feeling as if they missed a major opportunity. That may not seem like a big deal but, trust me, it really changes the feeling of the whole thing, especially when compared to movies that have a guy moping over his lost love as he tries to better his life, or a woman making big eyes at someone she has yet to confess her feelings to.

Wong and Park are brilliant in their lead roles, very easy to like even while showing their character flaws. Saito is very sweet and likeable, Vivian Bang is wonderfully offbeat as Park's girlfriend, and Michelle Buteau is the good friend to Wong who helps her and comments honestly when it's needed. Daniel Dae Kim does well in his small role, and I cannot even mention Reeves again without getting a big grin on my face.

Sharp, cute, sometimes very funny, Always Be My Maybe is perfect entertainment for those who are seeking something that will keep you smiling and give you a sweet love story without ever feeling too sickly.

9/10

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The Interview (2014)

You would have to be very isolated indeed to not have heard of The Interview by now, the latest comedy movie involving Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen and James Franco. Oh, and Kim Jong-un. Yes, THAT Kin Jong-un. It's the film that seemingly sparked off an international incident, involving threats of terrorism and a release that was halted and then put back on the cards. Some starts to smell a rat, wondering whether or not a lot of publicity had simply been drummed up by Sony for a film that otherwise wouldn't have done great business. I'm not sure what the figures will be when the dust settles, but I am sure that more people heard more about The Interview in the past two weeks than they ever heard about previous Rogen-Franco collaborations.

Franco plays Dave Skylark, a TV chat show host who always tries to get the juiciest morsels of celebrity gossip to work with. Rogen is Aaron Rapaport, his producer and BFF. The two men are approached by government agents (led by Agent Lacey, played by the lovely Lizzy Caplan) when the opportunity arises for them to head to North Korea and interview Kim Jong-un. This has all come about due to the fact that Jong-un is, it turns out, a big fan of "Skylark Tonight". The US government sees this as a chance to pull off a fine piece of assassination work, which is all well and good if only a) Skylark and Rapaport weren't such idiots and b) Skylark didn't have the potential to see a new close friend in the disarmingly charming Jong-un.

There are some laughs to be had here, not least from Franco as he once again shows how perfectly he can play the vapid idiot. The friendship that develops between his character and Jong-un (played by Randall Park) is very funny, especially in the way it puts Rogen's character out of sorts. And a few individual lines of dialogue made me laugh aloud.

Unfortunately, it's all overly familiar to fans by this point. That's not bad in itself, but it is bad when the familiarity removes most of the potential for big laughs. Rogen and Goldberg co-direct with a near-slavish adherence to their usual bag of tricks (celebrity cameos - check, hard party montage - check, Rogen and Franco having the potential to be hetero life partners - check, use of the word "shart" - check). Some of the fault may lie with writer Dan Sterling, but I'm willing to pass the buck along to Goldberg, Rogen and Franco.

Park is a lot of fun as the dictator, Diana Bang is also great (playing Sook, a woman who is overseeing the technical aspects of the interview), and Caplan does well with a fairly small role. This is all about Rogen and Franco, and it plays out as you'd expect, with both leads using personas that they've used at least a dozen times now in the past decade. Which is a great shame, because this vehicle should have been more willing to take some major risks. The central premise isn't that daring as it wants you to think it is, and the political points scored aren't really that worth bothering about. The most interesting aspect of the movie is the discussion it has raised regarding the social responsibility of those with a global platform for their comedy/art. Personally, I don't think that this film should have ever been threatened with a non-release, yet I also think that it could have been just as funny if minor changes were made to fictionalise the main area and character.

I DID laugh. I enjoyed myself, for the most part. But this isn't a great comedy, by any stretch of the imagination. It certainly isn't worthy of the attention it has received in recent weeks. In fact, such controversy and debate deserves a better movie at the heart of it.

6/10

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