Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom: Comic Timing and Epic Action

Aquaman is ready to ride...the seahorse! Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.

When I saw Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, it was similar to other adventure films, e.g. Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Avatar, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, you get the idea. But what really astounded me was how it helped the main man Arthur Curry become more than his usual reckless, happy hour-loving self, and brought out his true heroic nature.

In The Lost Kingdom, Aquaman, played by Jason Momoa, is trying to be a responsible king of Atlantis and have a life on land. But his hands, or should I say "fins", are about to get fuller when Black Manta/David Kane, played by Yahya Abdul-Mateem II, seeks revenge and tries to destroy Atlantis and its multiple kingdoms. To save his loved ones and the sea, Aquaman has to turn to his least favorite person: his half-brother, Orm, played by Patrick Wilson.

It started off with Aquaman telling a literal hard rock tale of his battling pirates with Steppenwolf in the background music, and gets more humorous as he gets exhausted keeping the kingdom balanced and loosening the uptight Orm. I said he didn't seem like a true hero to me, but Aquaman proved himself when it came to protecting his loved ones, even if it meant knocking down a statue with his head on purpose to get to some ancient temple.

Orm was like Loki and Thor in having a trickster and traitorous side (Loki), but still wanted to be strategic and keep truces at bay (Thor). In the end, Orm came through and helped save the day. It is funny how he tries some unorthodox stuff to fit in with the human world.

Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and Orm (Patrick Wilson), half brothers-in-arms. Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

Though Mera, played by Amber Heard, had shorter screen time this film, she still fought hard by Arthur's side, and I was glad Temuera Morrison's character of his father Thomas Curry reminded him that not every superhero has to have powers as long as they protect their loved ones.

Abdul-Mateem as Black Manta was still like Killmonger from Black Panther with the whole malevolent conquering behavior. He was a pretty determined and convincing antagonist. The different sea creatures from Arthur and Orm's ventures had some vibes of the cantina at Mos Eisley from Star Wars or Harry Potter/Avatar/Pirates of the Caribbean, in both funny and terrifying ways.

Black Manta (Yayha Abdul-Mateem II) has the face of a man you don't want to mess with, Aquaman. Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

Character evolvement and crazy sea world aside, there was also the great scoring by Rupert Gregson-Williams. With the synthesizers highlighting Black Manta's treachery and all the other action, it was reminiscent of Ludwig Göransson's Black Panther scoring or that of Hans Zimmer from his previous superhero films, and it worked well. And let's just say the talks about climate problems around the world seem like reflections of our real life problems with wildfires or polar ice caps melting. Hope that puts a reminder to keep our environments safe.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was an 8/10 for bringing a more human Aquaman, strengthening his bond with Orm and his family, and cool music in the background. It may have been the last DC movie before they reboot, but I think it sent them off on a decent note. Thank you, cast and crew of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.

P.S. Some of the filming was done in Jersey City! #JerseyPride!!!

Trolls Band Together: True Pop-and-Lock Awesomeness

 On Black Friday 2023, I saw Trolls: Band Together!

I could really dig it with the whole boy band primadonna drama between Branch and BroZone, and I have a lot of pop music to learn thanks to them.

BroZone, from DreamWorks’ Trolls Band Together. Photo courtesy of DreamWorks

In Trolls Band Together, Branch (voiced by Justin Timberlake) is forced to confront his past when one of his long-lost brothers is in danger. It’ll take him, Poppy (voiced by Anna Kendrick), and the power of upbeat music to save the day.

I appreciate how the film shifted from focusing on Poppy to helping Branch get out of his shell, especially with the wild hair and frosted tips. It was great to see that he wasn’t always a cynical survivalist and that the film exposed his human side.

I also enjoyed Kenan Thompson’s character of Tiny Diamond stealing the show a couple times.

Tiny Diamond, voiced by Kenan Thompson, in charge of the road trip; do not sass him. Photo courtesy of DreamWorks.

Even though it’s more about Branch’s side now, I did appreciate Poppy’s geeking out over BroZone, particularly with Branch’s role, and her undying devotion to helping the latter.

If there is a next one, I’d like to see Branch permanently back to his old light blue hair color from the end of the original Trolls (spoiler alert for those who didn’t watch it), and know more of Poppy’s family background. But otherwise, I give the film an 8/10 for good energy and drama mixing in, cast and crew of Trolls. As for the audience, I’d recommend Trolls Band Together if you want a current movie that’s not all moody and heavy, and want to catch up on good catchy gold-school and new-school pop music.

Gareth Edwards' The Creator: Harrowing, Yet Heartwarming

 

Theatrical poster of The Creator, now in theaters. Courtesy of 20th Century Studios.

So, on October 10, 2023, me and my friend saw The Creator. I detected a little Star Wars vibe in the trailer. With the final result, I saw vibes of Star Wars, and the likes of Blade Runner, Avatar, Elysium, even Armageddon. It was harrowing in the struggle for humanity to survive with and without artificial intelligence, heartbreaking towards the end, yet heartwarming with that chosen one kid trope.

John David Washington leads The Creator as U.S. Army Sgt. Joshua Taylor, here to literally save the world from the worst of Artificial Intelligence. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios.

In The Creator, in 2065, John David Washington played a U.S. Army Sergeant trying to protect a girl with artificial intelligence capabilities from rogue Army forces as part of a bigger issue of keeping humanity from extinction. Between the battle against all odds and trying to keep a calm kid from living a Lethal Weapon­-esque nightmare, Washington’s character of Joshua Taylor came off as a reluctant guardian similar to Hugh Jackman’s original last appearance as Logan in the X-Men films and today’s more bitter Indiana Jones with Short Round tagging along. Regardless, Washington’s professional football repertoire sure came in handy on the war zone, so I give him points for taking the blows.

There were small moments of enjoyment from Washington’s character’s rude demeanor towards other government operatives and Madeline Yuna Voyles as the girl hero Alphie imitating said demeanor, like an innocent kid with a bad mouth and comic timing.

Small moments of funny inappropriateness aside, the overall Creator was heavy to me with its repeats of old science fiction survival thriller stories such as 2006’s Children of Men. I felt some references to James Cameron’s Avatar with the mighty tanks bulldozing over a different nation’s villages. Speaking of “mighty”,  that’s one word to describe Allison Janney as Col. Howell, who recruited Taylor. She came off as sadistic and relentless in making sure Alphie was in the Army’s hands to help them defeat an antagonistic AI that’s bringing the world to its last legs. I’ve usually seen Janney in comic motherly roles, but this was like watching a gender-swapped Kent Mansley from The Iron Giant, and she played it well.  And I won’t specify the heartbreaking parts; let’s just say you could get thrown off deciding who’s on the bad side and who will just otherwise be a backstabber.

You can't tell yet, but Allison Janney's quick on the trigger as U.S. Army Col. Howell in The Creator. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios.

I was way off when I learned it was Ralph Ineson who played General Andrews who also recruited Taylor. Between the dim lighting, possibly heavy makeup, and Ineson shifting his Yorkshire accent for a gruff American one, I thought he was either Andy Serkis, Bobby Cannavale, or Tim Roth. Similar to Janney as Howell, Ineson’s character was relentless in his pursuit of Taylor and Alphie, even though he just barked orders at his subordinates most of the time instead of sprinting around the danger areas.

I would say the best part about the film was Alphie closing her hands in a prayer-like position, and her AI powers keeping her and her loved ones out of harm’s way. I guess it was director Gareth Edwards’ way of showing that against all odds, if you pray and let go of your troubled mind, through darkness comes light. Some may have found some faithful ideals from Star Wars­-type media before, but this tops it off.

Madeline Yuna Voyles as Alphie from The Creator is no ordinary little girl, unless you think the magic touch to stop a rogue robot is ordinary. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios.

Despite it copying other dark tone/heartbreaking moments, The Creator was not without some greatness in the form of Denzel Washington’s fast and oldest kid and the unlikely friendship between him and an unassuming young girl chosen as the key to save the world. I hope that going forward, media can show how AI won't go rogue but will actually work with humanity for the better. I opened my horizon to find some good in this heavy work, now I challenge you to do the same.

Marvel Cinematic Universe Has a Twisted Family Dynamic

Gamora starts off as a lethal weapon. Photo courtesy of Reddit.

Then Gamora fooled around and fell in love with Star-Lord. Photo courtesy of Fandom.

I enjoy Volume 1 of the Guardians of the Galaxy films. It's like Brooklyn Nine-Nine in the case of combining action on the job with comic and dramatic elements. Gamora is like Black Widow in that she seems to be a bewitching lethal weapon at first, but she has more human elements than meets the eye. 

Nebula got tortured into becoming a cybernetic warrior. Photo courtesy of Comic Basics.

By the end of GOTG Vol. 2, she got warrior skills, and a true sister. Photo courtesy of The Mary Sue.

The same goes for her sister Nebula and her teammate Rocket Raccoon, in that they both just want to be loved and act all psychotic and macho because no one wants to give them that love, until Peter Quill dances in like Kevin Bacon to stop the bigots with polls up their butts.

At first, Rocket Raccoon lived for how much this was gonna hurt. Photo courtesy of Sideshow.

Then Rocket began to live for family. Photo courtesy of IMDB.

That seems to be a recurring pattern for the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. From Tony Stark to their mainstream Peter Parker, everyone has lost some kind of family member and there are people in the world that barely give them the time of day unless they release some brutal nature or something. No matter how twisted it gets, in the end, these heroes prove their worth and find love, for themselves, if not from others. I await to see what crazy girl power and family dynamic gets portrayed in The Marvels, and what other things the MCU plans to do.

‘Bottoms’-Not My Cup of Tea, but Not Without Potential

Photo courtesy of MGM.

Last night, I saw Bottoms. There were few enjoyable moments, emphasis on few, but with all due respect, it just reminded me of more tired high school drama that I don’t want people to see. 

For starters, two high school lesbians, played by Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri, start a fight club just to hook up with cheerleaders. Havana Rose Liu’s character of Isabel said to Ayo Edebiri’s character of Josie that she didn’t have to go along with this just to start a relationship with her, and Liu was right. The whole idea that just because parts of high school don’t think you’re popular and you have to lie and go to extreme lengths to prove them wrong is not a good message to send to people today. 

Mostly because I’m not a fan of hot-tempered vulgar language amongst kids today, fictional or otherwise, I didn’t find it all very enjoyable. One part I did was when Hazel, played by Ruby Cruz, stuck it to the man and blew up quarterback Jeff’s, played by Nicholas Galitzine, car in revenge for a long list of things. This all happened while he was mouthing to Bonnie Tyler. Classic. Another good thing to like about Hazel was how she actually thought the fight club through and got the girls to open up, and realize that they are more than the corrupt hierarchy makes them out to be. 

Another good moment was when Brittney, played by Kaia Gerber, reminded me of Emily Ratajkowski, off-screen and in I Feel Pretty, in that she wanted to prove she has more than just beauty, and wants to run her own business. 

As for Rachel Sennott’s character of PJ, I didn’t find her very likable throughout the movie. It’s because she wanted sex and nothing more, and was willing to get herself and others injured, and she didn’t seem very human like the other girls. However, when it came down to the final fight, I’m glad PJ finally set the record that she has more worth, and maybe found someone less shallow to be in her life. 

I’m also not a fan of the whole football being the one thing everyone should care about in school. But I did appreciate the slow motion when the girls took down their school’s rival and indirectly saved the day. I certainly wasn’t expecting one of them to actually impale a rival with a plastic sword, but still, enjoyed some of the energy. 

Having said all this, in a very misguided way, this film teaches that no matter what label society gives you, you can still accept yourself, find others who will, and if need be, fight back to prove others wrong. That’s a great final message for people on the LGBTQIA spectrum or not.  

All in all, Bottoms was not my cup of tea, but not without potential. 

'Blue Beetle'-Adrenaline-Filled Latinx Superhero Awesomeness

 

DC's Blue Beetle. Photo courtesy of DC Comics. 

In DC Comics’ latest cinematic venture, they’ve hit their own Beetlemania in the case of the lead superhero being Jaime Reyes in Blue Beetle. Xolo Maridueña was able to shed and share some of his Cobra Kai skin playing Reyes in an adrenaline-filled, high-flying superhero escapade, with a doting, embarrassing family behind him.

Blue Beetle tells their version of In the Heights with Reyes returning to Palmera City after college graduation. Family problems arise that Reyes is determined to take care of, even if he ends up in a collision course with an alien scarab and the ruthless Victoria Kord, played by Susan Sarandon, on his tail. But when all hope seems lost, Reyes takes up the mantle of Blue Beetle, armed with wings, gauntlets, and swords.

As I said, Maridueña’s character of Jaime Reyes was similar to his role as Miguel Diaz in Cobra Kai. They are both undaunted at wanting to make a better life in this world, and becoming an excellent fighter and a hit with the ladies. Unfortunately, with his future lady being Victoria’s niece Jenny Kord, played by Bruna Marquezine, Reyes’ awkward attempts at wooing her are exacerbated by his no-boundaries-established family, including his wisecracking Uncle Rudy, played by George Lopez. Regardless of those setbacks, and that the Blue Beetle scarab drove him crazy and around the city and space, when the time came, Jaime was ready to step up and take down psychotic cyborg assassins.

The film was similar to In the Heights in that so many Latinx people are struggling to make a living, and no help is coming from some corrupt rich people, such as Victoria Kord. Even though Sarandon didn’t do much combat, I found her character similar to Lex Luthor, with the whole belief in profiting from alien resources and no humanity. I hadn’t seen her this cruel since Rugrats in Paris.

Jenny was not the bad type of ruthless like her aunt. Actually, she was like Nakia from the Black Panther films, wanting to give others of her race the hope and finances to get better in life. As for the rest of the Reyes family, Lopez as Rudy was a wisecracking eccentric like Doc Brown from Back to the Future. He was pretty silly and childish, but you’d be amazed to see him piloting a warplane. And just like in Cobra Kai, Marideuna’s grandmother, this time played by Adrianna Barraza, was another wisecrack, and it was unbelievable how well she could hold her own in the final battle with some heavy machine artillery.

Other than the characters and the acting, there were the beautiful parts of Palmera City. From the Wakanda-type metropolitan buildings to the humble neighborhood of the Reyes family, it showed a beautiful landscape. Though it showed some Latinx stereotypes of auto garage owners or cooks, for example, it did show that these people were relentless at making a great place in this world, even if the rich overlook them. Most of the film reminded me of Marvel Cinematic Universe stories and landscapes, but it was still well-executed. I haven’t seen many people of color get to be the good guy in the DC Universe as of late, so I’m glad they went with this one.

If Cobra Kai can kick villain butt and show that love and family can get you far in life, there’s hope for other great colored heroes in the DC world. Overall, Blue Beetle was a fierce, humorous, and astonishing DC move. I look forward to whatever is next for Blue Beetle and similar superheroes.

GOTG3: Wholesome Fun for You and Me

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Poster. Think of it like The Breakfast Club. Photo taken by William Edward Beavers, V 

 

Despite having some tough-to-watch in-depth moments for most of the titular heroes and soundtrack, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was wholesome superhero fun. 

In the third GOTG film, we discover the origins behind Rocket, voiced by Bradley Cooper and motion-captured by Sean Gunn, along with the aftermath of the Peter/Gamora (Chris Pratt/Zoë Saldaña) dynamic after Endgame and future of the MCU space-based protagonists, namely Drax, Nebula, and Mantis (played by Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, and Pom Klementieff).

From seeing Rocket and Quill so bitter in the beginning over their respective tragic pasts, I thought the film would be just as sad as most of the MCU post-Endgame in general. But humor came back in the form of issues such as Kraglin (played by Sean Gunn) struggling to use Yondu’s arrow, Quill trying to go from Han Solo to Swayze, and Adam Warlock’s (played by Will Poulter, who I first saw in We're the Millers) bumbling. It was also funny seeing Warlock take down the might of Drax.

Most of the Guardians had tense moments individually and together, some that may question their fate going forward. But at least they went out with cool music from Quill's Zune.

While it bugs me that people of color have been playing the bad guy a lot lately, the High Evolutionary, played by Chukwudi Iwuji, was a pretty competent villain. His perfectionist vibe and fixed mindset on making the perfect being reminded me of Thanos, and as of today, Dr. Doom. Maybe he could be a close second to Thanos. He was certainly more intimidating than Kang the Conqueror in Quantumania.

Star-Lord’s charm failures provided a good laugh here and there, and some of the settings in the film reminded me of Tomorrowland, Zootopia, and 1950s picket fence neighborhoods. And though the music was bluesy in the beginning, songs by Beastie Boys, Earth Wind and Fire, and The The lightened the mood later on in the fight scenes.

In summary, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was an excellent combination of humor, violence, romance, and intergalactic fun. I am hungry for more adventure, as I’m sure it will make you feel, as well. Great job to the cast and crew. Thank you for making me fool around and fall in love with Guardians of the Galaxy.

Fury of the Gods: Needs Less Drama, More Fun

 

Shazam/Captain Marvel and family are in a deity duel. Photo courtesy of IGN and Warner Bros. Pictures.

Shazam!: Fury of the Gods did a good job in showing family empowerment, female empowerment, and growth in some of the characters. I enjoyed Rachel Zegler's performance as Anthea and chemistry with Freddy Freeman (played by Jack Dylan Grazer) and occasional goofy humor from the titular superhero (played by Zachary Levi), but it was more mature than the last film, in a good and bad way. For example, while still learning his powers, Billy Batson had to think about his future once he aged out of the foster care system, and he's still dealing with abandonment issues while struggling to find wisdom and lead his team. Good for character development, but it has to show more light than blue moments.

And the film had more dark tone with the dark magic compared to the first film, angry goddess parts, and fantasy monsters. Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu were truly fired up in their roles, Hespera and Kalypso,  respectively, given how they were brutal in combat against the Shazam family. On the other upsides, the film showed more details as to what made Shazam!/Captain Marvel who he is today. Funny cameos, good score by Christophe Beck highlighting the peril and tributing to John Williams' Superman music (possibly), cool songs from artists such as Elvis or Beastie Boys, and hilarious sitcom-style problems with the Shazamily.

If you can find them for inexpensive prices, I recommend the classic Shazam comics and the modern ones to see how faithful the film tries to be to them. I get that there are issues the family needs to overcome in personal life to become better superheroes. But if there's another one coming up, they need to find a way to make the adult life fun, as well as offering a slice of life on the drama. It had some funny parts, mostly in young Freddy's case, but not as fun as the kid who outsmarted cops one time in the first film or spoofed "Eye of the Tiger" with his lightning powers. In summary, Fury of the Gods was more mature, not as fun as the first film, yet worth a shot.

Creed III: Great Direction and Great Fighting

Michael Bakari Jordan's directorial debut of Creed III. Photo courtesy of MGM Studios.

Creed III was able to stand strong on its own as Adonis Creed forges his own legacy. Michael B. Jordan did a great job directing and acting, and it felt great to see him confront his past away from being Apollo Creed's son and figuring out what it truly means to have a family. Jonathan Major's character of Damian was much better than him as Kang the Conqueror a month prior. Tessa Thompson as Bianca had some fiery beats in the soundtrack and was a good black homage to Adrian from the past Rocky films and proved to be a proud black mom on her own. 

It didn't feel good to see more struggles of being a black person in rough parts of South Central Los Angeles, but I guess the idea was to show that outside the boxing ring, the struggle to make it big in the world is still real, black or not. Either way, it showed a more in-depth look at Adonis Creed away from the usual boxing franchise, and it did an empowering way to show it. I wish the cast and crew well and I hope it brings out the best fighters in the audience. #creediii

Quantumania: Not as Fun as the First Two Ant-Man Films

 

Ant-Man's back to his own franchise for the third time. Photo courtesy of Disney.

Between some stunning (and some not) visual effects and CGI, more dark tone than humor, and lack of depth for the overall story and character of Kang the Conqueror, played by Jonathan Majors, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was not a great third edition of the franchise that showed a more heroic side for Passaic-native Paul Rudd.

Kang was like a black Thanos, Darth Vader, and Loki all rolled into one, but the film didn't explain what made him a villain in the first place. There also wasn't much explanation as to how Bill Murray fit into the narrative. Compared to previous films, Michael Douglas as Hank Pym played a smaller role albeit with a little comic relief, but still came out like Han Solo in the end. Speaking of which, a lot of the landscape in the film looked like Star Wars' original trilogy from the 70s-80s. 

Michelle Pfeiffer did a good job with her stunt and grunt work when her character of Janet Van Dyne came to fight. Can't argue with a mother's warrior spirit. Kathryn Newton did a great job of encouraging freedom fighters and showing her warrior nature and genius self as Scott Lang's daughter Cassie. And Rudd, as usual, did a good job of being a superdad.

Less dark tone, less dark music, less confusing stories and character backgrounds, and less confusing multiverse stuff, and more humor and thrills are what this film needed. Just because of what happened in Avengers: Endgame, doesn't mean there has to be so much darkness and heartbreak. In conclusion, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was zany, in a good and bad way.

'Scott Pilgrim' Adds Zest to Typical Rom-Coms

 

Scott Pilgrim vs the World poster. Courtesy of Catchplay

After two months of catching up on the original (and colored) books, I finally watched Scott Pilgrim vs the World on Netflix tonight. It adds zest to the typical rom-com film by incorporating video game-style action, slapstick and visual effects and showed that even though the titular character is a slacker going nowhere, he can be better when it comes to fighting for his own self-respect and loved ones.

Based on the graphic novels by Bryan Lee O'Malley, the titular character, a Canadian slacker bass player played by Michael Cera from Superbad, Juno and The Lego Batman Movie, must fight off 7 evil ex-lovers of his current love interest, American delivery girl Ramona Flowers, played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead from 10 Cloverfield Lane and Live Free or Die Hard. While trying to figure out how to defeat said evil exes, Scott must also help his lackluster rock band, which plays better music here than in the books, win a Battle of the Bands competition to get a record deal.

It was fanatical and amazing how the film combined video game and comic book-style animation and choreography with live-action performances. And as for the exes, Chris Evans and Brandon Routh's characters were far removed from their superhero performances, playing troublesome men who will beat Scott to a pulp to prove he's a nobody. And it was a dark, mature role for Mae Whitman compared to her usual children's TV stuff I've seen her in. But it was full of laughs amidst the awkwardness and cool rock music by Scott's band, Sex Bob-Omb. And phenomenal visual effects when it came to the Battle of the Bands.

I recommend reading the books (colored volumes specifically) before watching the film, and aside from not going in order with the chapters, as far as my expertise, it was very faithful to the original material. Good job to the cast and crew. Thanks for lighting up my Friday night!

Avatar and The Way of Water: Heavy and Bold

Photo of the protagonists from the original Avatar (2009) film. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoë Saldaña) are a fortress. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios.

 

Having finished streaming the original Avatar on Disney+ and watching the sequel today, I am a lot mixed on the two films, and it’s not just because they’re both practically three hours. The bad side is that the first film shows hostility to indigenous people with military gold digging for their powerful resources. On a side note, another form of hostility for the 2009 film came towards protagonist Jake Sully, played by Sam Worthington, for his paraplegia and human nature. As for the sequel, it was like Aquaman and Black Panther in showing phobias against people of different races, colored or not.

However, the film and its sequel made up for it with beautiful portrayals of Pandora and other worlds, from scintillating lights at night on Pandora to the breathtaking sea world in The Way of Water. And differences and stubbornness aside, Jake and a few of the humans, Neytiri (played by Passaic-born Zoë Saldaña), and beyond come together when it matters most. And killing of good family members aside, as well, in the end, the films show the importance of family. And in both films, there was great musical scoring by James Horner and tributes to his score in the sequel to highlight the might of the alien worlds and the people.

Avatar seemed like a video game to me, but given how Hollywood is too computer-based lately, there didn’t seem to be much groundbreaking stuff in The Way of Water. Though the lacking in radical visuals and similarities to other James Cameron or 20^th Century Studios films, The Way of Water did have some fun moments in kid adventures, alien powers, and family pride in the midst of darkness. We can’t overlook the racial prejudice issues and whatnot, but we can at least see that different races can come together when they see they have common issues that can be resolved.

Overall, I give Avatar (2009) and The Way of Water a “C”. The timing and indigenous mistreatments need to be changed, but I give points for good exotic locations, colors, and music. If you’re reading this, I hope you understand I’m recommending you see the film for both its good and bad parts, then see its worth for yourself.