Movie Review Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom

Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom (2023) 

Directed by James Wan 

Written by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, Will Beall

Starring Jason Mamoa, Patrick Wilson, Nicole Kidman, Amber Heard, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II 

Release Date December 21st, 2023 

Published December 29th, 2023 

Wow! Aquaman 2 The Lost Kingdom is quite bad. I truly did not care for this DCEU sequel to what wasn't a bad first film. The sequel is lazy and dimwitted, ponderous and often quite ugly to look at. It's everything we've come to dislike about modern comic book blockbusters. The worst element is the CGI, a rubbery mess of indecipherable visuals and some of the worst fight scenes since Michael Bay assaulted our senses in the Transformers franchise. The biggest disappointment, however, is director James Wan, a supremely talented director who appears to be on complete autopilot in this lazy sequel. 

The film begins with a hacky sitcom monologue which sets up the new dynamic of the Aquaman movie universe. Aquaman, AKA, Arthur Curry (Jason Samoa), delivers a monologue that appears to break the fourth wall except that it is couched as a dialogue with his new baby, Arthur Jr. He's bringing the baby up to speed on where we stand now with Arthur as the King of Atlantis, hating the restrictions of being King and finding ways to be the Arthur of old, a superhero who fights evil and protects the good. His wife, Hera (Amber Heard), is also around... somewhere. 

Much of the early portion of the film is Arthur with his baby and sharing beers with his dad, Tom (Temeura Morrison). That is until, David Kane, AKA, Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) makes his presence felt. He's somewhere in Antarctica searching for The Lost Kingdom. With the aid of a genius scientist, Dr. Stephen Shin (Randall Park), and the effects of Global Warming, he does find something, an ancient weapon called The Black Trident. The possessed weapon begins to infect Black Manta's mind, using his hatred for Aquaman to drive him to free the Lost Kingdom from a centuries long curse. 

In order to find Black Manta, Arthur must do the unthinkable, break his brother, Orm (Patrick Wilson), out of a desert prison where he's been held since the end of the last movie. Thanks to the power of lazy screenwriting, Orm knows where to find Black Manta, or the Star Wars cantina where someone else knows where Manta is. It is one of the most boring prison breaks in movie history. It's remarkably by the numbers, hampered by bad CGI, and wildly underwhelming villains guarding Orm. Same can be said for the visit to a pirate bar featuring rejected Star Wars aliens. 

Click here for my full length review. 

Movie Review Insidious Chapter 2

Insidious Chapter 2 (2013) 

Directed by James Wan 

Written by Leigh Whannell 

Starring Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye, Leigh Whannell, Ty Simpkins 

Release Date September 13th, 2023 

Published July 8th, 2023 

The first Insidious Chapter was an impressively creepy movie for a PG-13 rated horror movie. The film achieved a solid atmosphere and via tremendous production design, makeup and practical effects, the film became a smash hit. And it deserved to be a hit, James Wan and Leigh Whannell had managed to create a wholly original horror movie at a time when franchises and familiar I.P remakes were the norm in Hollywood. It was a no-brainer that there would be an Insidious sequel but what no one could expect is how much of an improvement the sequel would be over the terrific original. 

Insidious Chapter 2 picks up in the wake of the shock death of Lin Shaye's iconic and immediately beloved, Elise Rainer. The Lamber family is now living with Lorraine Lambert (Barbara Hershey), Josh's mom, in the wake of the horrors that led to their son, Dalton (Ty Simpkins), spending a year trapped in another realm called The Further. Josh (Patrick Wilson) had managed to save his son from this other realm but, as observed by Renai (Rose Byrne), Josh did not come back the same man he was. Instead, an unsteady, often volatile Josh stalks their home, only occasionally showing off the qualities that she loves about him. 

The plot of Insidious Chapter 2 kicks into gear quickly with Lorraine realizing that her son is not the man she knows. Knowing something is very wrong, Lorraine seeks out Elise's team, Specks (Leigh Whannell) and Tucker (Angus Sampson), who are now at Elise's home. They've found a key piece of evidence that shows Josh may be trapped in The Further. With Elise gone, they need a new medium and Lorraine calls on another old friend, Carl (Steve Coulter), the man who initially connected Lorraine with Elise when Josh was a child and traveling dangerously into the further. 

Via Carl we get the backstory of the person who has been stalking Josh all his life, The Black Bride, a vicious and very dangerous serial murderer. Is the Black Bride the entity who has possessed Josh? How will they find their way into The Further to find out? And how will Elise come back to help? These questions have solid answers that build brilliantly on what you already know from Insidious Chapter 1. Watching Insidious Chapter 2 it appears quite clear that James Wan and Leigh Whannell had a plan for a sequel all along as moments from the first film provide a perfect foundation for what we get in Chapter 2. 

It's almost like a fun little game, recalling things that happened in Insidious Chapter 1 and seeing how they happened via Insidious Chapter 2. The seamless integration of the two films gives a little kick to the proceedings of Chapter 2. For me, auteurs are filmmakers for whom details matter. Meticulousness is a strong trait among our best film storytellers and James Wan, along with Leigh Whannell, are an auteurist team who care deeply about the minutia of their storytelling. They recognize the joy that can from having lore and how discovering lore can bond and audience with a story. 

The Insidious movies are thick with lore but not so dense that they become incomprehensible to new audiences. It's a delicate balance, but one that Wan and Whannell achieve via studious attention to details that audiences can choose to follow closely or simply experience on a per thrill basis. You can either actively involve yourself in Insidious or simply enjoy the horror movie ride of the Insidious films without taking note of the layered and extensive lore. For me, I love the lore, I adore the attention to detail and the care with which the filmmakers take to build a community around the Insidious films. 

I also love, love, love the work of Lin Shaye. It was clear in the original Insidious that she was the star of the movie and perhaps the biggest failure of Insidious Chapter 1 was not pivoting away from her ending in that movie. Shaye was the breakout character and the filmmakers recognized that going foward when they bring her back here in Chapter 2 and go back to her in subsequent features, minus Wan but with Whannell firmly shaping the lore. 

Find my full length review at Horror.Media 

Movie Review Insidious

Insidious (2011) 

Directed by James Wan 

Written by Leigh Whannell

Starring Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Barbara Hershey, Lin Shaye 

Release Date April 1st, 2011

Published April 1st, 2011

The creators of "Saw" and "Paranormal Activity" have come together to create a PG-13 creep-fest that doesn't lose anything for its lack of gore and swear words. "Insidious" stars Rose Byrne as Renai and Patrick Wilson as her husband Josh. Together they have three kids and a brand new dream home.

Dream home becomes a nightmare

Unfortunately, that dream home quickly turns into a nightmare when Renai and Josh's son Dalton (Ty Simpkins) explores the house he ends up falling off a ladder. Soon after, Dalton falls into a coma and that's when things get weird. Dalton's doctor informs mom and dad that their son has no physical trauma from his fall and there is no medical reasoning for his coma.

Dalton is taken home and for a few months he simply seems to sleep. That's when the haunting begins. First, the whole family is taunted by some entity that sets off their security system. Then Renai begins seeing figures walking around the house. Finally the family is forced out of the house, assuming that it is the house that is haunted. I will stop the direct plot description there.

There's something about Elise

The fun of "Insidious" really begins after the family moves into their new home and the ghosts move with them and Lin Shaye, best remembered as the overly suntanned neighbor of Cameron Diaz in "There's Something About Mary" joins the cast as Elise, a psychic, paranormalist and expert in something called 'Astral Projection.' Shaye's performance is arguably the most entertaining in the film as she is both oddly sunny and believably strange.

Elise with her team, including "Insidious" screenwriter Lee Whannell, informs the family that Dalton is not in a coma. What's wrong with Dalton is one of the many fun secrets of "Insidious" that I will not spoil. Director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell prove with "Insidious" that they don't need the torture implements of the "Saw" films to earn screams from the audience.

If you thought Tiny Tim was creepy before...

In "Insidious" Wan and Whannell use clever imagery to get the big scares. Watch the windows; in nearly every window frame in "Insidious" there is a frightening glimpse of something creepy. Wan and Whannell don't stop at pictures however and when the spooks and demons begin coming into the room things get really creepy. Wan and Whannell even turn Tiny Tim's ukulele anthem "Tiptoe through the Tulips" into an eerie set piece.

"Insidious" is a smart combination of Wan and Whannell's talent for fright imagery with the concept of the "Paranormal Activity" movies with their endless numbers of cameras, doors that shut by themselves and ghastly ghostly possessions. It's a surprisingly good mix that somehow works even with the restrictive PG-13 rating.

Movie Review: Aquaman

Aquaman (2018) 

Directed by James Wan 

Written by David Leslie Johnson, Will Beal

Starring Jason Mamoa, Patrick Wilson, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul Mateen, Nicole Kidman

Release Date December 21st, 2018 

Published December 20th, 2018 

Aquaman stars Jason Mamoa as Arthur Curry, the one true King of Atlantis, though he doesn’t see it that way. Having been born to Queen Atlanna of Atlantis and a lighthouse keeper named Thomas (Temeura Morrison), Arthur doesn’t feel fully at home on either land or at sea. Despite having grown up under the tutelage of Vulko Willem Dafoe), his mother’s top advisor, and trained for royal combat, Arthur’s human side keeps him from embracing his Atlantean heritage. 

Arthur, known to many as Aquaman following the events of Justice League, will soon have to make a decision about Atlantis, whether to become its King or unwilling subject. Arthur’s brother, Ohrm (Patrick Wilson) has risen to the throne in the absence of Atlanna and he has plans to bring destruction to land-dwellers for the pollution and violence that human beings have brought to the oceans around Atlantis. 

To do this however, Ohrm must convince the seven kingdoms of the sea to get behind him as the Ocean Master, and allow him to take their armies into battle. All that stands in his way is Arthur who is guided by Mera (Amber Heard), the object of Ohrm’s affections and the daughter of one of the kings of the sea, King Nereus (Dolph Lundgren). Mera wants to prevent a war and believes that Arthur ascending to the throne is the only way to prevent it. 

It is Mera who drives the plot, convincing Arthur to seek the legendary Trident of Atlan, the weapon belonging to the very first King of Atlantis. The journey takes them from the deserts of the Sahara to the oceans around Sicily and eventually to the very center of the Earth where deadly combat awaits around every corner. All the while, Ohrm is raising an army and plotting to destroy all life on land unless Aquaman can stop him. 

Writing all of that out comes off even goofier than watching it unfold did. That said, it’s a good kind of goofy. Aquaman is a completely unpretentious comic book adventure that is both comic book nerdy and action movie macho. The film threads the needle of being just geeky enough and just enough of a macho action flick to satisfy audiences of both kinds. Jason Mamoa is the key to that tone. He’s a clever actor who gets the role he’s playing and does well to under-play the silliness to make room for his muscles. 

Director James Wan, though best known for the gruesome Saw franchise and the spooky The Conjuring universe, is proving to be a director who can do just about anything. It helps that he transitioned from horror movies to The Fast and the Furious franchise to Aquaman. Aquaman takes the self-seriousness of Wan’s horror work and combines it with the whacked out nonsense of the Furious franchise to create something that is incredibly silly but seriously well made. 

It’s a tricky tone that Aquaman has to pull off in order to not be laughed off the screen and James Wan nails it. Aquaman is silly in the way the Fast and Furious franchise is but it has the competence and chops of Wan's lower budget horror work. It’s a rather masterful piece of direction which manages to make great use of monstrous CGI without losing sight of the compelling characters at the heart of the story. 

Aquaman is not anything to be taken seriously but Wan is not careless, he takes pains to create a believable, dramatic world for Aquaman to exist within. This lends a context of believability to Aquaman, I believe in the universe that Aquaman exists in. It has a lived-in quality even as it is at times slick and stylized to an almost ludicrous degree. Mamoa’s earthy approach to Arthur, that includes some genuine vulnerability and humor, keeps Aquaman, the character and the movie, human and sympathetic. 

Mamoa isn’t going to win an Oscar anytime soon but he’s shown remarkable growth from Justice League to here with Aquaman. The all swaggering macho nonsense of Justice League is here shattered in favor of a lovable lug persona who happens to have super-strength, speed, agility and will. I was concerned that Mamoa would be the weakest part of Aquaman, given his lackluster and limited filmic track record but he’s far better than what I imagined.  

For Mamoa and for James Wan’s remarkable direction that manages to keep this unwieldy, untidy monstrosity in a human and relatable place, I feel comfortable recommending Aquaman to anyone who has been curious about this character. If you liked Jason Mamoa from Game of Thrones or Justice League, you will very much enjoy him in Aquaman where he delivers a superstar performance filled with good humor, charisma and machismo. 

Movie Review: Death Sentence

Death Sentence (2007) 

Directed by James Wan

Written by Ian MacKenzie Jeffers

Starring Kevin Bacon, Kelly Preston, Garrett Hedlund, Aisha Tyler, John Goodman

Release Date August 31st, 2007

Published August 30th, 2007

Death Wish is the Citizen Kane of revenge movies. That 1974 film starring taciturn tough guy Charles Bronson is too revenge what Julia Roberts is too romantic comedy. The writer of the book Death Wish, Brian Garfield is said to have liked the movie but subsequent sequels that deviated from his best selling book series had turned him off to Hollywood.

Now, more than 30 years later, one of Garfield's Death Wish follow ups, Death Sentence, has been turned into a Hollywood feature and while the author is said to be satisfied with the final product, audience expectations will be left unfulfilled.

Kevin Bacon stars in Death Sentence as Nick Hume a father of two with a great wife (Kelly Preston) and a great job that has given his family security. That security is shattered in the blink of an eye when, after taking his oldest son Brenden (Stuart Lafferty) to a hockey game, Brenden is gunned down at a gas station as Nick looked on.

The murder was committed by a teenager as a gang initiation ritual. Nick saw the kid who did it but when he is told that prosecutors will seek a plea bargain rather than a trial, he decides to take matters into his own hands. Nick tracks down the kid and reaps his vengeance. Actions have consequences however and when it turns out that the kid is the little brother of a ruthless gang leader named Billy Darley (Garrett Hedlund), Nick finds himself at war to protect what is left of his family.

Directed by James Wan, Death Sentence is a complicated revenge fantasy that becomes more and more outlandish as it goes on. Though grounded by a serious star performance by Kevin Bacon, Death Sentence paints an increasingly loony series of deaths and reprisals into its plot, so many that you may have a hard time keeping track of who's dead and who's alive.

That said, James Wan is a pro director. He was the progenitor of the Saw series with co-writer Leigh Whannell and invented the complicated aethetics and plotting of that terrific series. His follow up directing gig, Dead Silence was a twilight zone influenced mindfuck that worked cheap thrills into a grand guignol plot. With Death Sentence he makes an uncomfortable transition out of the horror genre.

In tact is Wan's talent for tight, quick visuals and snaky storytelling. What is missing however is depth and perspective. Where Saw is an intricate morality play covered in blood and Dead Silence was a twisty Twilight Zone homage, Death Sentence is mostly about its violence with only a passing glance at the merits of revenge.

Death Sentence wants to ask the question 'what would you do if someone killed your child'. Unfortunately, the script from first time writer Ian Jeffers becomes distracted with the battle of wills between Kevin Bacon's everyman and Garrett Hedlund's ruthless villain. The battle is kind of compelling but as the violence becomes more and more over the top; the perspective goes missing and it becomes little more than a series of staged gun battles.

It's a shame because there is a good deal of potential in this movie. One big missed opportunity comes in the character of Bones played by John Goodman. Introduced as a gun dealer, Bones' connection to one of the two main protagonists is a sly inclusion that should have had a more interesting payoff. As it is, the potential for this character is unrealized after just one terrific scene between Goodman and Bacon.

Death Sentence is a movie that should be better than it is. With Kevin Bacon's exceptional lead performance and director James Wan's skilled direction, it should be more satisfying than it is. As it is, Death Sentence is a modest disappointment. Not a bad film, just not a good enough film for me to recommend.

Movie Review: Dead Silence

Dead Silence (2007) 

Directed by James Wan

Written by Leigh Whannell

Starring Ryan Kwanten, Amber Valletta, Donnie Wahlberg, Bob Gunton

Release Date March 16th, 2007 

Published March 15th, 2007 

James Wan and Leigh Whannell shot to fame as the team behind the Saw movies. Wan directed and Whannell wrote the script for the original Saw and their originality and clever twists kept audiences reeling all the way to over 100 million dollars worldwide. Since then James Wan has consulted as producer on Saw 2 & 3 while Whanell wrote the screenplays and kept their vision and guidance on the films intact.

Now, Wan and Whannell are out with their first post-Jigsaw horror film, a creepy puppet flick called Dead Silence. And thankfully, once again, Wan and Whannell hit another home run. Dead Silence is skin crawlingly creepy, ironic and smart with great twists and inventive gore.

There was a woman named Mary Shaw who, in 1941, in the town of Ravens Fair, was murdered. Her tongue was ripped out, an ironic means of death as Shaw was a ventriloquist. Unfortunately, for her killers, Mary Shaw did not stay dead. Year after year the people of Ravens Fair have turned up dead in a similar fashion to Mary Shaw.

Ryan Kwanten plays Jamie, a newlywed whose family was born and bred and Ravens Fair; though he himself left years ago. One night as he and his wife Lisa (Lauren Regan) are pondering take out food, a package arrives and inside is a reminder of the legend of Mary Shaw. Inside is Billy, a creepy looking ventriloquists dummy with frighteningly realistic eyes and an air of menace that is inexplicable.

When Jamie runs out to get food he returns to a true horror scene, the doll is on his bedroom floor and his wife is in bed dead, her tongue ripped out. Taken in by the cops, Jamie tells detective Jim Lipton (Donnie Wahlberg) all about the legend of Mary Shaw and why he must go to Ravens Fair to find whoever killed his wife. The detective is convinced that Jamie is the killer but without evidence all he can do is tail Jamie to Ravens Fair and hope he gives himself away.

To reveal much more about the plot of Dead Silence would be to reveal to much. The twists and turns of this plot are not quite as intricate as director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell's debut picture Saw, but as far as scares go, Dead Silence is everything you would hope for from the guys who invented Jigsaw. Creepy, gory, atmospheric, Dead Silence is an honest to goodness scary movie that you will take home with you in your nightmares.

So what makes Dead Silence more creepy and clever than the dozens of horror films that have preceded it in this decade? It comes directly from the talents of director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell. The scenarios they set in motion combine logical storytelling with strong suspense filmmaking and keep us in the audience in a constant state of alert, sitting on the edge of our seat, unable to predict what is going to happen next.

Wan and Whannell never retreat to the typical horror cliches to achieve their scares. There are no unnecessary shock cuts, no red herrings and no abuse of bombastic musical scoring to tell audiences when to be scared. Where so many modern horror films are utterly predictable, the Saw pictures, all written by Whannell with producer credits for Wan on Saw 2 and 3, and now Dead Silence avoid predictibility by employing great staging and scene setting. The audience is so busy covering their eyes in anticipation of the next scare, they simply don't have time tp predict what comes next.

Dead Silence isn't completely unpredictable, near the end; the film falls victim to Roger Ebert's legendary law of economy of characters. That law states that there are no extraneous characters and Dead Silence has one character that you have no doubt will be important later; whose plot isn't wrapped up when the rest of the movie seems to be. This oversight by Wan and Whannell is forgiven because the ending delivers big time on the fate of this extraneous character.

Dead Silence is a visceral horror experience with real scares and edge of your seat thrills. James Wan and Leigh Whannell prove once again why they are the pre-eminant artists of this genre. Combining the talents of Wes Craven and Clive Barker with a dash of Alfred Hitchcock and Rod Serling, Wan and Whannell bridge the gap between gory, blood-soaked horror and intellectual, atmospheric horror.

And, of course, they have creepy puppets. What more could you ask of a horror movie.