derk144

This is one of the best films I've seen this year & left the theatre with the same feelings toward the political system as I did after BlacKkKlansmen (2018) & Sorry To Bother You (2018). A pseudo-documentary/dramedy biopic that tells the story of Cheney's political career while skewering the Republican Party & Washington DC politics in general, from the Nixon administration to today. It brings to light how politicians will sell-out everything in the pursuit for power, just how much sway one person can hold in politics, how media was forever changed under the Bush administration, & how all of this is still effecting us today. It's a film that has as many laughs as it does moments of bitter truth, many of them bleeding into each other. Again putting his body through a drastic change for a role, Christian Bale is absolutely incredible as Dick Cheney with his mannerism & glare down perfectly. I'm just as impressed with Amy Adams, Steve Carell, & Sam Rockwell. The editing is fantastic & the narrator was an interesting touch, especially once it's revealed who he is in relation to Cheney. And the mid-credits scene perfectly expresses what the reactions to this film will be.

If Steve Carell doesn't get an Oscar nomination for this role I will be shocked. A fantasy drama that brings to life a lot of Zemeckis' strengths as a film maker, including the heart of Forrest Gump (1994), the hope of Cast Away (2000), the drama of Flight (2012), & the wonder of The Polar Express (2004). It explores loss, recovery, & love through the reality of PTSD, substance abuse, & escapism. The woman of Marwen are a group of strong individuals who represent different aspects of what Mark needs to recover from his attack & to ultimately face his attackers. The cast does a great job, especially when you take into account that they are playing animated doll versions of themselves for most of the film & you still feel for them. My biggest complaint is that I feel like the emotional punch of the courtroom scene was stolen from me from having seen the trailer several times. That being said there are plenty of heart wrenching & heart warming scenes throughout.

While not perfect, I would put this one at the top of the DCEU alongside Wonder Woman (2017). An underwater story of King Arthur, borrowing elements from Thor (2011) & Black Panther (2018), that brings us an entertaining adaptation of the New 52 Aquaman storyline by Geoff Johns & Ivan Reis. It's impressive how much Atlantean history they were able to include without bogging down the narrative. The underwater sequences are really impressive with the scale of this aquatic world brought to life, with nearly every bit of the film shot in IMAX. The acting was fine, although the stiff & expository dialogue made it obvious how much they are banking on the foreign market for this film. The CGI is well done, but it still suffers from some shoddy green screen work that seem to plague the DCEU. The score by Rupert Gregson-Williams stands shoulder to shoulder with his work on Wonder Woman, but some of the soundtrack choices are distracting. All in all, an impressive entry from DC Films & a fun super hero flick.