New in Theaters: “Aquaman”, “Bumblebee”, and “Welcome to Marwen”
1. “Aquaman“ (PG-13) Trailer 1, Trailer 2, and Trailer 3
“Aquaman” is the sixth movie in the DC Extended Universe, and it’s Jason Momoa’s third time in the role. You got to see him very briefly in “Batman vs Superman” before he was recruited to join the “Justice League” last year.
As for Aquaman’s mythology, he grew up as Arthur Curry, the son of a lighthouse keeper who learns that he’s the heir to the underwater kingdom of Atlantis. He’s also the only one who can stop a war brewing between Atlanteans and the surface world.
Amber Heard is his love interest, Mera, and Nicole Kidman plays his mom.
The main bad guy is Patrick Wilson, Arthur’s half-brother Orm . . . who nerdy comic book fans might know as Ocean Master. In the movie, he’s trying to provoke the seven underwater kingdoms into attacking the surface dwellers.
To do that, he gets a mercenary to hijack a nuclear submarine and equips him with advanced Atlantean weaponry that turns him into Aquaman’s archenemy Black Manta.
Dolph Lundgren is also in it as Mera’s father, Willem Dafoe is the guy who trains Arthur to use his powers, and Julie Andrews is the voice of the creature guarding an ancient trident he’ll need to find in order to claim the throne and stop the war.
The next movie in the DCEU is “Shazam!”, which hits theaters in April 2019. After that they’ve got movies lined up for Harley Quinn, Cyborg, the Green Lantern Corps, Flash, and Batman. And you can look forward to “Wonder Woman 1984” in 2020.
2. “Bumblebee“ (PG-13) Trailer
This is the sixth “Transformers” movie.
It’s a prequel set in 1987, two decades before Bumblebee appeared as the Camaro that Shia LaBeouf bought in the first movie.
In this one, he’s badly damaged in a brutal fight that wipes his memory and destroys his voice box, so he hides by turning into a VW Beetle right before collapsing into stasis. Hailee Steinfeld is his first human friend.
She finds him in her uncle’s junkyard, and repairs him. She nicknames him Bumblebee because of the buzzing sounds he makes when he first tries to talk, until they learn to communicate by using his radio.
Peter Cullen is back as the voice of Optimus Prime, and Angela Bassett and Justin Theroux are the main villains, Shatterand Dropkick. They’re Decepticons manipulating government agent John Cena into helping them hunt Bumblebee down.
This origin story is getting good reviews from critics for being more character-driven and less focused on over the top special effects. And part of the reason is it’s the first “Transformers” movie that isn’t directed by “Bumblebee’s” producer Michael Bay.
3. “Welcome to Marwen“ (PG-13) Trailer 1 and Trailer 2
Steve Carell stars in the true story of Mark Hogencamp, an artist who was the victim of a violent hate crime. He’s attacked by neo-Nazis outside a bar, then wakes from his coma as a broken man who’s lost all of his confidence and most of his memories.
As he struggles to find the courage to face his attackers in court, he retreats into the therapuetic fantasy world of Marwen, a World War II village where all of the dolls represent people in his life. There he fights Nazi versions of his attackers and draws strength from the doll versions of his friends as he works through his trauma.
Janelle Monae is his one-legged physical therapist, Gwendoline Christie is a nurse who delivers his meds, “Godless” star Merritt Wever works at the hobby shop where he gets his art supplies, and Eiza Gonzalez works at the bar where he’s beaten.
There are dolls for each of them in Marwen, along with one for his new neighbor Leslie Mann.
It’s directed by Robert Zemeckis. He’s most famous for the “Back to the Future” movies. Zemeckis also did “Forest Gump”, “Cast Away”, and “The Polar Express”.
4. “Second Act“ (PG-13) Trailer
Jennifer Lopez lands her dream job as a cosmetic company consultant, thanks to a fake resume created by her godson. But then she has to pretend to live up to all the lies from her resume to prove that her street smarts are as valuable as book smarts.
Milo Ventimiglia plays her boyfriend, Leah Remini is her best friend, and Vanessa Hudgens is her rival at the office. It’s directed by the guy who did “50 First Dates”, “Tommy Boy”, and the Steve Carell version of “Get Smart”.
5. “Mary Poppins Returns“ (PG) Trailer (Opened Wednesday)
Emily Blunt is your new Mary Poppins and Lin-Manuel Miranda plays her friend, a lamp lighter named Jack. Dick Van Dyke is also back as the old man who runs the bank. He basically played the same role in the first movie.
Ben Whishaw and Emily Mortimer are the grown-up version of the kids from the first movie, Jane and Michael Banks. He plays Q in the Bond movies, and she’s agent Holley Shiftwell in “Cars 2”. You also know her as Mac on HBO’s “The Newsroom”.
In this one, Michael’s a single father of three. He’s in danger of losing the family home because he’s been consumed with grief since his wife died. That’s when Mary flies in to help him reconnect with his kids, just like she did for his dad in the first movie.
Meryl Streep, Angela Lansbury, and Colin Firth are also in it.
It’s directed by a guy named Rob Marshall. His other work includes “Into the Woods” and “Chicago”.
