Migration

With the waning days of 2023 at hand, I ventured to my local movie theater one last time to see the latest family film from Illumination: Migration.  Migration took five years to bring to the big screen due to COVID delays and all the voice actors recorded their lines separately, never meeting.  A practice that became the new norm during the pandemic (Luca, Raya and the Last Dragon).

I’ve taken a few extra days to ponder on this one trying to figure out how I feel.  I’m pretty much drawing blanks. 

For me, Migration is just okay at best and largely forgettable.

The film’s animation is spectacular, with fantastic colors and textures that leap off the screen.  Yet most everything else about it rolled over me like the proverbial water off a duck's back.

The story isn’t new by any means (Finding Nemo). The majority of the characters aren’t engaging and come off as flat and even annoying with the exception of Carole Kane’s Erin. The hour twenty-three-minute runtime felt much longer.  The “cuteness” and “humor” didn’t land.  

Much like the minion short prior to the film, Migration is bland, uninspired, and standard fare at best. Three fourths of the way through the film there are moments which had some life and interest in them, but it was much too little, far too late.  

There’s little beyond the animation to hook adults.  Only the youngest audience members seemed engaged with let alone enjoyed the film in the showing I took in.  Older kids and the vast majority of parents were restless.  

I opted to utilize my time deciding what I was going to have for dinner. FYI, I went with a creamy tomato basil soup and a three-cheese grilled cheese sandwich. Comfort food.

Migration is the animation equivalent of an eye-popping meal that readies your tastebuds for a culinary delight only to leave you disappointed and unsatisfied with each bite.  A lot of empty calories with little enjoyment. 

Save yourself some time and money and wait until this one is available on one of your streaming services.  

Shouldn’t take long.

Migration gets a 4 from me.

#migration

 

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom

 

Once again, I emerge from the darkened movie theater to share my thoughts on my latest film viewing: Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom.  

First let me apologize for keeping this one short, it’s a cold rainy day and my desire to curl up with a hot mug of tea, cuddle under a blanket, and watch one of my annual Christmas movie films supersedes spending too much time on this review.  Second, it should be noted that any and all desire to see this film evaporated months ago. Too many controversies plaguing it for too long and the trailers weren’t exactly screaming “must see”. 

So why go?

Umm, Jason Momoa and curiosity of course.

Yes, there was a fair amount of dread going into this one for sure, but I admit it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. Nice surprise there. However, when it comes down to it, I didn’t find ATLK as good as it could or should have been.

Momoa does his best to bring the fun and joy from the first film and does a pretty decent job, but it still feels flat and forced overall.  Pretty much the case for the entire film actually. 

Everything about Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom is a very hit and miss proposition.  

Returning cast of Momoa, Wilson, Abdul-Mateen II, Kidman, Morrison, Lundgren and more? Great.  The elephant in the room? Not so much. Clearly not in the film as much as originally intended, but more than should be with cringe worthy results.

Humor throughout? 

Yes. Sadly, it falls flat as often as it lands. 

CGI eye-popping or downright gawd awful depending on the scene. 

Great action sequences interspersed with pure silliness. 

A plodding “been there seen that got the t-shirt plot” that’s both simplistic yet overly convoluted, somehow managing to do too little and too much simultaneously.  

Dialogue that offers up a few tasty morsels but is arguably mostly trash. 

There’s a weird boring energy that persists throughout the film and a sense of laziness from all the things you’ve definitely seen before in other films which did it better.

While more watchable than I expected, Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom suffers from all the delays, numerous studio recuts, and an identity crisis surrounding what kind of film this wants to be.  All which hang over the end product like the sword of Damocles and you never get past that feeling of dread/doom while viewing. 

Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom has its moments, they are definitely few and far between. I enjoyed the music, a lot of the back and forth between Orm and Arthur and, seeing other returning characters, and various other bits and bobs that pop up. But I never found myself fully engaged with the film. I didn’t hate it, but I’m far from clamoring for more.  ATLK is leftover DCEU fair, and it shows. No one involved seems invested in the end product and I left the theater feeling the same way.  

Still, I’m going to give Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom an overly generous 6, largely based on my fondness for Momoa and several other cast members alone. The snacks were also particularly tasty too. 

In actuality Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom is more of a 4.

BTW, there’s one credit scene.

#Aquaman2

Wonka

 

Seasons’s greetings!

I once again emerge from my darkened, local movie theater to share my thoughts on the latest family fare offered up by writer/director Paul King, Wonka.  Being a huge fan of Gene Wilder's 1971 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory I couldn’t wait to see what King (Paddington) came up with for this companion piece to the original.  This go around, the story is an origin story focused on the young, idealistic, and naive Willy Wonka as he pursues his dream of becoming a chocolatier and the friends he makes along his journey. 

As an origin story, Wonka is a fresh and interesting take which is simultaneously original and familiar. A combination that makes for an overall pleasant and enjoyable movie experience. 

The cast, peppered with frequent collaborators of other King films bring the energy, laughs, and whimsy.  Well-acted and cast across the board. Once I got out of my own head (as a fan of The Good Place Timothée Chalamet takes me a minute to get behind) I enjoyed Timothée Chalamet's portrayal of Wonka. The chemistry with Calah Lane’s Noodle is great. Olivia Colman continues to live her best life onscreen. Paterson Joseph makes villainy fun. Hugh Grant as the Oompa Loompa is a long time making an appearance, but well worth the wait. And Jim Carter is a delight and possess some serious pipes. 

The new musical score fits this new take while having a couple of callbacks to Pure Imagination theme from the original tying the films together.  However, while well done and catchy, these songs and their accompanying dance routines aren’t nearly as memorable.  

Overproduced perhaps? 

Don't get me wrong. I definitely enjoyed them during the movie but didn’t leave the theater singing any of them.

Visually the film is eye-catching and leaps off the screen.  The costumes and sets are vibrant and whimsical bringing the "magic" of the film to life. Yet somehow the use of visual effects over practical definitely undercuts the impact in some places toning down the “wow” factor.  The awe and wonder become noticeably flat.

When all is said and done, Wonka delivers what it sets out to do.  Namely gives the audience an hour fifty-six minutes of entertaining escapism the entire family can enjoy.  Can’t complain about that. So, I'm not going to. I will say while I did have a good time watching Wonka, I was left with a sense of being underwhelmed.  

Why?

My take? Wonka is a solid, entertaining piece of work, but it’s safe.  

Too safe.  

There’s no edginess or darkness lying below the surface. I missed that in this version. It's a little too sweet. For me it keeps Wonka in the good category, not great.

Wonka gets a 7.5 from me.

Yes, there’s some credit sequence action that you need to hang around for.

#Wonka