BLOWING IT OUT OF THE WATER

 

MOVIE
Avatar: The Way of Water (3-D)
Director James Cameron
Review Ray Chan

It’s been so long since the first instalment that viewers could be forgiven for having trouble remembering anything about the parables on planetoid Pandora.
    So, a quick recap. In the year 2154, the celestial satellite – inhabited by blue-skinned, sapient humanoids that live in harmony with nature – is coveted by Earthlings whose own planet’s resources have been depleted.
    To explore Pandora’s box, genetically-matched human scientists use Na'vi-human hybrids called "avatars". Paraplegic marine Jake Scully (Sam Worthington) is one such recruit sent on a scouting mission but ends up driving his own race of invaders away, ultimately settling down and living happily as a Na’vi with his native wife and family. 
    A new threat duly arrives, as Pandora is threatened once again when the Earthmen return, with a much bigger army. Through Sully’s family (which includes an irritating human boy named Spider), we get a sense of the stakes and why the inhabitants revere a whale-like creature named the tulkan. 
    To keep out of harm’s way, they find shelter with the Metkayina reef people, whose physical features have adapted to their water wonderlands, and who are also leery of the “sky people”.
    Clocking in at three hours and 12 minutes in full, the story takes too long to get going, sure to cause impatient viewers to twitch in their seats. When it does, we realise it’s basically an extension of the first, with its overt themes of familial love and loss, along with impassioned indictments of military colonialism and climate destruction.
    But then we get the payoff. Where the movie really comes into its own is the ambitious animation used throughout, reaching almost preposterously realistic dimensions hitherto unseen. 
    The major part of the film takes place in the wet, with director Cameron using it as an excuse to show off the latest in visual effects wizardry as he satisfies his well-documented penchant for aquatic adventures.
    Of course, the 2009 movie had been one of the first in the industry to utilise 3-D effects. However, in the time since then, trends have changed so quickly that the technology now seems to have been regarded more ancient than avant-garde. 
    This sequel is shot in that same style, requiring the donning of visual-enhancing glasses that were once a requisite at theatres. And it’s so much worth it. Way of Water looks like a billion bucks. And certainly cost as much to produce.
    Right from the first dive into Pandora’s oceans, the lushly luminescent undersea settings and richly chromatic floras and faunas combine to sweep the audience away and immerse it in its vast and vivid, silky smooth water world, creating pure cinematic magic. 
    Cameron unleashes more than a decade of technological advancements on the viewer, resulting in possibly the most immersive film ever experienced, exploding with brilliant hues and fast-moving otherworldly images that rarely fail to dazzle the eyes for any lengthy stretch of this epic. 
    And the action, when it arrives, is thunderingly entertaining. On one side there is the Na’vi navy, astride majestic flying fish dragons, ululating and bristling with spears. On the other, the squad of Earth marines, plus a swaggering, dickish Australian seadog named Scoresby (Brendan Cowell, near-stealing the show with his salty jargon) and an armada of incredible military tech (scuttling crab-submarines, for example).
    What ensues is a sea battle for the ages, a blisteringly exciting meld of live-action elements and visuals, which boggles the brain in all their crystal-sharp, hyper-real resolution. 
    Many of the cast had been given special scuba training for the scenes, such as breath techniques. But given the calibre of the actors (including Sigourney Weaver, Kate Winslet and Michelle Yeoh), it is disappointing at how little opportunity is granted them to fully develop their respective characters. 
    There’s no doubt his production is ultimately more style than substance.
    Way of Water is a timely reminder of what cinema is capable of when it dares to dream big. And that means this is a sequel that truly deserves to be seen, not from the comfort of the couch, but on the biggest screen available. 
    If ever a movie were to be perfectly suited for virtual realities, this is it. Its success might even herald a comeback for those disposable 3-D specs. 

#avatarwayofwater

SANTA ON A SLAY RIDE

 

MOVIE
Violent Night
Director Tommy Wirkola
Review Ray Chan

If you know nothing about the movie, Violent Night sounds to be nothing more than just another lightweight comedy offering to cash in on the annual seasonal demand for yuletide yarns.
    But that really cannot be further from the truth. So far removed from a soppy Hallmark special, this gory, edgy, and sarcastic action flick deserves to be afforded instant cult classic status.
    The man in red is the central character, and we mean the real Father Christmas. Burnt out after having to deliver toys to kids every year, he prefers whisky instead of milk with his cookies, and finds that the magic is gone after so many years of the same old routine.
    Soured old Saint Nick eventually finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time when he visits a wealthy family’s compound on Christmas Eve, stuffing his face with cookies and milk while stumbling through like some thief in the night, only to be accidentally deserted by his herd of reindeer.
    Santa meets Trudy, a young girl in the wealthy Lightstone family, who fully believes in him and the spirit of Noel, even if the others in her family are spoiled and entitled. Her parents, Jason and Linda, are estranged and all Trudy wants is for them to be together again. Her grandmother Gertrude leads the clan with an iron fist, making her kids fight not only for her love but for a piece of their wealthy corporation.
    A gang of mercenaries duly breaks in and takes the Lightstones hostage. Armed with safecracking technology and an armoury of weapons, the bad guys plan to steal money stashed away in the family vaults.
    But there’s a Christmas cracker in the works. Well-planned as they are, the crooks don’t envisage coping with a cross Kriss Kringle in the house, who, with his sack of tricks and encouraged by Trudy, is ready to put up a fight to save the day. He’s got a naughty list full of bad guys and they’re all due for lumps of coal in their stockings.
    The screenplay, by Josh Miller and Patrick Casey, is a cheeky premise that works perfectly as a dark comedy, and director Tommy Wirkola successfully blends conventional festive movie clichés with straight-up action scenes.
    There are obvious homages to other holiday classics like Home Alone, which is executed perhaps even better than the original as Trudy gets the better of a couple of pursuers.
    While the supporting cast all have a natural talent for comedy, it truly is David Harbour who shines as bright as the Star of Bethlehem as he fully embraces the titular role.
    He’s what makes the movie such a pleasure to watch, as he delivers corny catchphrases in his dulcet drawl. And while he doesn’t look like the archetypal jolly fat man, he still exudes an avuncular aura in his bearish physique, albeit more of a grizzly than a teddy.
    The film earns its R-rating with plenty of bloody, creative kills that utilise everything from pointed decorations and tinsel to ice skates. And the film is replete with references to Christmas and puns aplenty (“Season’s beatings”). Even the names of the villains are on brand: the leader is named Scrooge, and some his minions are named Peppermint, Frosty, and Krampus.
    Slightly holding back the manic momentum is the Lightstone family’s squabbling. The members are so unlikeable that there’s no reason to care about them and the danger they’re in, even if it’s all meant to underline how pure of heart Trudy is compared to them.  Better are the moments when we learn more about Santa, his struggles with Mrs Claus, and Ragnarok-esque flashbacks to his past as a legendary Norse warrior.
    Violent Night is a hoot for the adults, but certainly not suited for the youngsters. It’s packed with wanton murder, naughty language, and grisly shenanigans that won’t appeal to everyone, and there is a questionable conclusion in which most of the loathsome victims appear to escape unpunished for their acts of dishonesty.
    This shouldn’t be the last we see of Harbour in this role. It’s a premise built for multiple sequels that could explore Santa’s dark past.
    Hopefully, they make these an annual tradition and give us all something fresh to look forward to amid the jaded seasonal offerings.

#violentnight #universal