For a film that Scarlett Johansson wanted to play the lead in back in 2006, but decided to drop, “Mary Queen of Scots” ended up being a project of a mess for the last twelve years. I foud “Mary Queen of Scots'” to be like I was watching the old series on Showtime, “The Tudors” (2007-2010). Not because, of the premise being similar to that TV show, but because the story seemed like it was lacking. If I were to go with some movie math, here is how I would describe the film: take “The Other Boleyn Girl” (2008) mixed with a little bit of “The Lover” (1992), and add some of “Brooklyn” (Which also had Saoirse Ronan and was brilliant) and end up being confused about what the focus is. Is it either battle for love or revenge. That is why I felt “Mary Queen of Scots” was somewhat difficult to follow.

The plot of the film is Mary Stuart (Ronan) wants to try to put an end to her cousin Elizabeth I (played by Margot Robbie) who is the Queen of England. However, this puts Stuart in a tough situation. She begins to realize that the queen has much more power and authority than she had thought. The film starts to become a poorly done cat and mouse game in terms of marriage and independence. I found that there was a decent amount of dialogue to somewhat help understand what was going on in the movie, but not enough factors were brought into the background to understand the historic value of the film. I found the script focused more on moments of jealousy, revenge, and power over helping viewers see what the historic conflicts are.

Generally, I do all I can to not be very negative about movies, so I am going to give “Mary Queen of Scots” some credit. Ronan and Robbie were both stellar. I loved Ronan in last years Lady Bird (2017), and Robbie in “I, Tonya” (2017). Both have the voices to play the roles of these historic figures. Also, I was fond of the cinematography because the views and sights were just breathtaking. The costumes had value in the film. I felt like there were moments where the costumes played suspense in the movie. That is because the clothing back then was quite complex to deal with and in those moments of complexity due to that, it created suspense.

One of the writers, Beau Willimon, did the writing for Netflix’s “House of Cards” (2013) and George Clooney’s, “The Ides of March (2011). I find given he has done writing in terms of politics, that is why revenge and such in terms of having power played a big role in “Mary Queen of Scots.”

Now, this is not a horrible movie, or a great movie, it is just slightly mediocre. I find now when it comes to historic films and TV shows (where now we have had plenty), lots of people nowadays care more about the action and dramatic situations over the actual historic backgrounds of what actually happened back then .Therefore, I will say two and a half stars for this movie.

For Willem Dafoe, “At Eternity’s Gate is definitely a performance he will be remembered by. Dafoe is Vincent van Gogh, and he does an excellent job portraying the role. Even though Dafoe is 25 years older than the real-life Vincent Van Gogh, he still plays the role of a young artist well. He has the quietness, the patience, and the artistic trait. I felt that the movie was visually moving with oblique camera angles in a variety of moments that made me feel like I was part of the life of Vincent Van Gogh. For director Julian Schnabel, he did the writing for the film with Jean-Claude Carriere and Louise Kugelberg. While “At Eternity’s Gate” is Kugelberg’s first film to have a writing credit, Carriere has got multiple writing credits since the 1960s. Those written credits were mainly Foreign films. However, “At Eternity’s Gate” I will say is his most notable writing credit to have co-written with Schnabel.

The plot of the film takes place in Arles and Auvers-Sur-Oise, France. It is the time of a banishment. During this time, Vincent van Gogh builds his craft with his particular painting style. However, he may be purely artistic, but he begins to battle with various issues ranging from religion and mental health problems along with struggling to hold down a friendship with artist Paul Gauguin (Oscar Isaac). Another character that starts be concerned is the priest (Mads Mikkelsen). With all of these conflicts, this leads van Gogh to be extremely worried how he relates to eternity over his paintings. It is a breathtaking and visualizing depiction of what stories have told about van Gogh. The person in charge of the art direction, Loic Chavanon was the art department coordinator for Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk (2017). The artistic concepts Chavanon uses sets a dark tone where they feel the emotions of Dafoe’s performance. The cinemtographer (Benoit Delhomme) did the cinematography for James Marsh’s “The Theory of Everything” (2014). With “At Eternity’s Gate” he has the color faded quite well as he did with “The Theory Of Everything.” The colors faded to a point where the scenery looks like the actual time period.

At moments, the film lacked with some dialogue, I believe though that is because in van Gogh’s life he did not speak french very well and there are moments where van Gogh was taunted by french people, in those moments of the film, the lack of dialogue somewhat heightens the climatic moments. Also, the film solely cares about the visual emotions in the eyes of Dafoe’s performance.

“At Eternity’s Gate” is a moving film. I felt like it was the type of movie that I could get lost in for its running length of one hour and fifty-one minutes. The opening tends to be slow and stale, but the film builds up emotionally as the thirty minutes kicks in. Three and a half stars.

“Aquaman” is not like any of the other recent DC films. James Wan’s “Aquaman” is an fantasy and action-packed film that does not try to connect to the other DC superheroes at all. Its focus is our hero Arthur aka “Aquaman” (Jason Momoa). Wan gears the focus solely on “Aquaman.” The storyline, the cinematography, and the visual effects all do so well to make the viewers want to follow the story. I felt “Justice League” (2017) last year was somewhat stepping up its game, but nowhere close to “Aquaman.”

“Aquaman” is not a superhero movie where the plot is the good hero defeats the bad guy. The film goes in depth with how “Aquaman” came into the world, who taught him who to be who he was, and where his homeland is. However, after being out of the loop within the world, he comes back to realize he can be a hero. To do so, he realizes he is the head of the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, and that he has the chance to step up and be a hero. To do so, he travels with his side kick Mera (Amber Heard), and takes in the skills that his former teacher Vulko (Willem Dafoe) has taught him.

Wan definitely helps us understand the importance that each character plays into the movie. Especially with the hero’s mother, Atlanna (Nicole Kidman). Arthur wants to figure out why his mother has vanished, and with that there is many elements in the film that take place in different portions. More around different moments of different story lines or conflicts. Wan helps us care about the hero’s background, and creates a dramatic, yet suspenseful tone. When I saw this film in IMAX, the technology, the surround sound, and and the projection I felt brought me deeper into the emotions of “Aquaman.”

The film is visually captivating. There were multiple underwater and desert sequences, and with that suspenseful fighting was included with that element. Filming locations ranged from Australia, Canda, and Morocco. Viewers will wonder based on the scenery, how the film jumps to multiple lands. That is why “Aquaman” is deep with its story because it is focusing on our hero but also following him to different locations that serve an important purpose in the movie.

In terms of the antagonist in the film, that person is King Orm (Patrick Wilson). This is what I believe to be Wilson’s second superhero movie. He has not done one in almost a decade after playing Night Owl in “Watchmen” (2009). This was definitely a good come back for him. “Watchmen” was a superhero movie for grown-ups, and Wilson returns to do one that is for the whole family. Also, his mellow-toned dramatic acting style as being the antagonist adds to the suspense that “Aquaman” faces.

For Momoa, he has been stepping up his game quite well. He went from doing small roles to being on the hit HBO series “Game Of Thrones” (from 2011 to 2012), “Conan the Barbarian” (2011 and not one of my favorites), and playing “Aquaman” in “Batman Vs Superman” (2016), and “Justice League” (2017). However both those DC movies did not really make “Aquaman” a huge focus, but this one really does and this is Momoa’s role. He is the true “Aquaman.”

I will say, this movie has to be seen in IMAX. That is because, viewers will be immersed in an underwater thrill ride for two and a half hours of action and adventure. I saw it in 2D IMAX. Some locations have it in 3D IMAX but only at certain times, however I do not see 3D necessary, the giant IMAX screen is already the experience.