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The Christmas holiday brought a lot of new releases. Below is my take on the new movies I saw this week. You can always keep up with all the films I’m watching by following me on Letterboxd @knighthawk7734.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (Theaters)
Starring: Jason Momoa, Patrick Wilson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Amber Heard, Nicole Kidman, and Randall Park
Synopsis: The DC Extended Universe, sometimes known as The Snyderverse, came to a close with this film. James Gunn has taken over, and DC films is going in a new direction. But before it does, as we’ve seen others in 2023, we ended with a last gasp. Aquaman, both the character and the 2018 film, have never been my favorite. They’ve tried to use the Marvel playbook, crafting Momoa’s aquatic hero as something of Thor in this world. His brother, played by Wilson, would then be the Loki of the world. Neither mantle fits, and even the on-the-nose joke about it in this film feels out of place. Still, I was curious to see how this film would go. Much was also made of Heard, and how much she’d appear. Her character is integral to the story in a lot of ways, but her presence on screen is a distraction at best. Still, that was far from the biggest issue with this flaccid production. I wasn’t a fan of the first standalone film for Aquaman. This one is a touch better, but still one of the lesser DCEU entries. Momoa is fine in this role, but the rest of the cast feels like they’re trapped in half-baked characters. That combined with the fact most of the film is loaded with tepid CGI makes for a flaccid film experience. It’s mediocre, slow and unintentionally comical. In that way, this iteration of DC goes out not with a bang but with a whimper.
Rating: Rated PG-13 for sci-fi violence and some language.
Verdict: One and a half stars out of five

Migration (Theaters)
Starring: Kumail Nanjiani, Elizabeth Banks, Awkwafina, Keegan-Michael Key, Carol Kane, and Danny DeVito
Synopsis: For the holidays we get our final wide release animated film of the year in Universal’s Migration. In the film, a family of ducks are used to playing it safe and spending the winter on their home pond. When Pam (Banks) challenges her husband Mack (Nanjiani) to find his sense of adventure, he decides to take his family South toward Jamaica. Things don’t go as planned. But with the help of a friendly Pidgeon (Awkwafina) and a rescued parrot (Key), the family might get back on track. This is a simple, straight-forward family tale. I enjoyed the voice work, the settings and the basic story. It runs under 90 minutes, making for a quick holiday watch that works for the whole family. It’s not a complex or deep film, and it doesn’t do a lot new for the format, but it’s a fun watch. This is simple, light holiday entertainment.
Rating: Rated PG for action/peril and mild rude humor.
Verdict: Two and a half stars out of five.

Rebel Moon: Part One, A Child of Fire (Netflix)
Starring: Sofia Boutella, Djimon Hounsou, Ed Skrein, Anthony Hopkins, Ray Fisher, Michiel Huisman, Staz Nair, and Charlie Hunnam
Synopsis: Zack Snyder has moved to Netflix, where his next project is making his own Star Wars-like series. The first installment, Rebel Moon, dropped just in time for the long holiday weekend. There’s a lot to this film, which has to build the world, they mythology and provide an origin for a rag-tag group of heroes. In fact, most of the 135-minute run time is spent recruiting the team that will presumably factor into future installments. We have a few big action set pieces along the way. Much of this first film, however, is about setting a mood. For fans of Snyder’s work this will feel familiar. There’s a lot of CGI built into the action set pieces, but we also get some creative world-building and aliens. There’s some to like and I’m curious to see where this is all leading, even if this first installment is under-whelming at best. The acting is OK, but there’s not much character development. Additionally, a lot of the story here feels like some cliches strung together. Perhaps better is coming, but this first bite at the apple pales in comparison to its lofty aspirations.
Rating: Rated PG-13 for sequences of strong violence, sexual assault, bloody images, language, sexual material and partial nudity.
Verdict: Two stars out of five

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