Aquaman [2018]

Language - English
Director - James Wan
Run Time - 2 hours, 24 minutes
Genre - Superhero/Action
Starring - Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Nicole Kidman, Patrick Wilson and Willem Dafoe

Aquaman is a highly entertaining movie. It's not at the level of most MCU films or Nolan trilogy, but it is somewhere in the middle, and is definitely much better than Zack Snyder's earlier films such as Man of Steel, Batman vs Superman and Justice League.

Though the movie is a tad bit predictable and follows a cliched storyline, its stunning visuals and Lord of the Rings proportionate battle scenes make it a highly enjoyable film.

This movie comes in after the events of Justice League, so the world and Atlantis already know of Aquaman and hence; the entire origin story is portrayed via flashbacks. One thing I wanted to comment on was that the CGI-editing of characters to de-age them for the flashback was quite lousy and could have been done better.

The plot of the film goes as following - Arthur Curry's half-brother Orm is tired of hiding 'Atlantis' from the world and wants to attack the surface before they get a chance to attack Atlantis. Arthur and Mera, go on an epic adventure to find a weapon that can stop Orm.

The movie is such a treat for the eyes, all kudos to James Wan and his team for giving us such a spectacle, especially the trench scene which gave me literal chills. The fight scenes are huge and well shot too. There's hardly a dull moment. Also, the chemistry between Momoa and Heard is crazy, and Momoa's great comedic timing which brings a lighter side to the movies, unlike the earlier DC Films.

I did not love the movie, nor did I dislike it.

But a must watch for those seeking epic battles, and amazing action and colours.

My Rating - 7.8/10

Bohemian Rhapsody [2018]

Language - English
Director - Bryan Singer
Run Time - 2 hours, 14 minutes
Genre - Biopic/Music
Starring - Rami Malek

Bohemian Rhapsody is loud, gritty, crazy and it keeps the audience involved, just like 'Queen' did. This is the story of Farrokh Bulsara a.k.a. Freddie Mercury, the avant-grande frontman of 'Queen', which is one of the all-time greatest rock bands right up there with Pink Floyd, Led Zep and The Beatles.

Bryan Singer has made crime mysteries like The Usual Suspects and created the X-Men franchise for Sony but had never made a biopic up until now. Historical accuracies notwithstanding, he has done a wonderful job here and has managed to captivate the audience for the better part of 2 hours.

Bohemian Rhapsody follows the career of Freddie Mercury, from when he was a baggage handler to performing one of the greatest concerts of all time showcasing all of his exemplary talents, radical dressing options and wacky antics. I have to say, since I know a lot about Queen and rock music as a whole, there are many many inconsistencies with what actually happened and what was actually portrayed on-screen, such as Queen never broke up, Freddie contracted AIDS much after Live-Aid concert and the likes; but I have to accept the filmmaker needed a certain drama to emotionally connect with the audience and thus, the film works.

Rami Malek is a beast of an actor. He's amongst my favourite actors on TV in lieu of his performances on 'Mr. Robot (if you haven't seen, please start watching) and his portrayal of Freddie is so spot-on, be it the looks or the persona as a whole. The rest of the cast is also pretty talented but sidelined to the background, so not much thought goes to them.

An amazing homage to the queen of rock and roll, though I believe the film rushed through many aspects of his life. His sexuality, his loneliness was skipped over and merited much more than shown. But, Rami Malek takes us away from all of that and gives us the Freddie we deserve.

I'd watch it again, just for the acting.

My Rating - 8.5/10