Ty Watches "Aquaman"

Last night my wife and I went on a movie date to see "Aquaman".

Going into this movie I had very, very little expectations. I'm a Marvel fan. I have made that abundantly clear many times. I am not a big fan of the DC series, with the exceptions being the Christopher Nolan "Batman" movies and the "Wonder Woman" movie that came out a few years back. Most other DC movies are not good. "Batman V Superman" was mad dull. "Justice League" was too dark and boring. The "Superman" movies with Henry Cavill are just flat out bad. So I wasn't too high on "Aquaman". But, my wife wanted to go to the movies, and she wanted to see "Aquaman". Also, I like Jason Momoa, so I was in.

Now, as I get deeper into my review, I am going to be as spoiler free as possible. So, first things first, this movie is visually stunning. It was a delight to look at for 2 and a half hours. It was bright and vibrant and just plain cool. Whoever concocted this universe with this color palette totally nailed it. Then we have the star of the movie, Jason Momoa. Honestly, I would watch this dude read a phone book and he'd make it enjoyable. He is also a very attractive guy. It's the truth. Part of where he got to where he is today is his looks. As we were watching the movie I told my wife that he is what Taylor Lautner wishes he could be. Momoa is charismatic and funny and I bought him as this half bred fish/human being. He seems like a genuinely cool dude, and that came across on the screen. I also enjoyed the jokey nature of the movie. It didn't take itself too seriously. Sure, the bad guys did their villainous things, and some of the dialogue was corny, more on that later, but all in all, it was a fast moving movie with some jokes sprinkled in and out. Also, as I just mentioned before, the movie did not feel like it was 2 and a half hours. The flow was nice and the battle scene after battle scene made its pace that much more fun. I was never bored, and I found myself enjoying the movie.

Now for the picky side of me to come out. I love Nicole Kidman. I think she is a wonderful actress, and I usually enjoy her in the many movies I have seen her in. That being said, she was not great in "Aquaman". She seemed almost tacked on. I think she took this part because she passed on "Wonder Woman", and her role felt hollow. Patrick Wilson, as King Orm, was too cliché of a villain. He yelled and stalked and did all the things that typical cartoon villains do. While I think he is a solid actor, he does not play a good bad guy. Amber Heard is the female Taylor Lautner. That's right, I have 2 Lautner references in this post. She is in movies because she is unfairly beautiful. But her performance was very meh, and she had no chemistry with Momoa. That was one of my wife's biggest criticisms. Heard felt out of place. Willem Dafoe was also pretty useless in the movie. He helped a young Aquaman learn his powers, but he was just kind of there. He didn't bring much of anything to this movie.

My biggest problem with this movie, and this goes for all DC movies for that matter, whenever the hero is getting ready for a big battle scene, there is some cheesy 80's guitar riffs played over and over again. It is so dumb and sometimes it totally takes me out of the moment. That music drives me nuts.

All this being said, I enjoyed "Aquaman". If it just had the battle scenes and the stuff with his dad, it would have easily gotten an A from me. But, the people writing the movie had to fill the time, and they added some stuff that wasn't necessary. That is the case with most super hero movies. All in all, I liked it. If I did have to give it a letter grade I would give it a solid B-. This is definitely the second best recent DC movie, far, far behind "Wonder Woman". But, I would recommend this to everyone. It is family friendly, not bloody, not too violent and fun. It is also visually stunning. "Aquaman" is a perfect popcorn movie. That's the best compliment I can give it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He thoguht Vinnie Chase was the only man that could play Aquaman. He is happy to be wrong in his ignorance of real life.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Better Late Than Never on the Great Movie "The Founder"

Yesterday I finally got a chance to see the movie "The Founder". I know that I am very late to this movie, but I have 2 young kids, and as I have said many times, it is hard to get out to the theaters. So, I have to wait to see most movies when they get released On Demand or via DVD/Blu Ray.

That being said, I had heard some pretty good things about the movie, and I am always interested in historical stories about how famous businesses came to be so famous. And, there is no business more famous, and I will debate anyone on this, than McDonald's Restaurants. They are literally everywhere. I can't drive down the main drag of my street without seeing, at the very least, 3 McDonald's within 15 miles of each other. So, when "The Founder" was released, my interest was piqued.

The story was great. How the McDonald brothers and Ray Kroc came to be friends, business partners and enemies, was very well told. Nick Offerman and John Carroll Lynch as Dick(Offerman) and Mac(Lynch) McDonald, were wonderful. Lynch played the soft spoken, big dreaming brother so well. He had grand ideas and he would do anything to keep them alive. He also suffered from diabetes and had other health issues that would become a major hindrance in his life. Offerman was exceptional as the more focused, business educated brother. He had a system, he kept it in place, and he'd be damned if anyone wanted to change what his vision for what a successful restaurant could be.

Michael Keaton though, as Ray Kroc, was the unquestioned star of this movie. He was so evil, so crass, so rude, so cutthroat, so singularly focused on his vision. He was amazing. When the movie started he was a lowly milk shake machine salesman, and, the more evil he got, the more successful he became. The movie was based on a true story, and I don't know much of anything about Ray Kroc, but if this movie was a proper representation of Kroc, he was a total asshole. Keaton pulled this off perfectly. I felt bad for him at first, got excited when he teamed up with the McDonald brothers, got even more amped when he started to franchise the business and then started to hate him, and I don't like that word but it is needed here, when he started to branch out and do things on his own, going against the contract that he signed at the beginning of his partnership. He became a ruthless businessman that started to take way too much credit than he deserved, and he became way, way too big for his britches. He even went as far as to claim that he had the first McDonald's in Des Plaines, Illinois, calling it McDonald's 1. What an asshole move to make. Prior to all that though, I enjoyed hearing Mac McDonald tell Kroc about how he and his brother finally landed on a good business after many failed attempts. I enjoyed watching Kroc struggle as a salesman trying to sell his milkshake making machine.

Outside of Keaton's performance, everything else in "The Founder" is equally awesome. I loved watching the scene where Dick McDonald explained how they managed to be the most efficient restaurant in the US at the time. I loved the time period. I like most movies that take place in the 50's. I enjoyed Laura Dern's performance as Kroc's wife. She was not loved and given the attention she deserved, but since it was the 50's, she stayed with him until he wanted to get divorced. I felt horrible for her. Linda Cardenllini was great as the wife of a restaurant owner, played by Patrick Wilson, who falls for Kroc, helps him with his acquisition of McDonald's and eventually marries him. Patrick Wilson was decent in his small role as the fancy restaurant owner who buys a McDonald's franchise. BJ Novak had a very good role as the guy that convinced Kroc to become a real estate agent as opposed to a franchise manager because that was where the money was to be made. Kroc was broke before he got into the real estate business. Real estate was also his way of getting out of his contract with the McDonald brothers. Of course Novak's character and Kroc stopped their partnership because Kroc is an ass.

This was a very well made movie with an excellent performance from Keaton. Michael Keaton is kind of having a "renaissance" of sorts. Ever since "Birdman", he has been in some good stuff. He has "The Founder", and coming out this week, he plays the villain in "Spiderman: Homecoming". I am a Keaton fan, so I'm glad he is showing up in some really good movies lately. I'm surprised he wasn't recognized by the Academy for this movie. That is how good I thought he was.

If you watch "The Founder" for anything, watch it for Keaton's performance. He is electric. But, I say watch the movie anyway because it is made very well. The story flows with ease and you really get to know the three main characters very well. I enjoyed "The Founder", and I think you will too. Check it out.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is ready for the biopic telling the story of how Whataburger was started. Get on it Hollywood.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.