Holiday movie roundup: 'Aquaman,' 'Mary Poppins,' 'Vice'

Superhero movies don’t get much cheesier than “Aquaman,” a movie about a burly dude-bro who talks to fish and fights off sea monsters. In a strange way, it’s exactly the movie you want about a guy named Aquaman.

Jason Momoa showed some swagger in his first (speaking) appearance as Arthur Curry in the otherwise forgettable “Justice League” movie. In “Aquaman,” directed with flash and reckless abandon by “Furious 7” helmer James Wan, the actor gets a bigger stage to strut the star power. Teamed with Amber Heard as the fire-haired water warrior Mera, the movie jumps from one insane action sequence to the next.

There’s a villain who calls himself Ocean Master (Patrick Wilson), and another guy who chooses an oversized laser-helmet as his primary weapon (Yahya Abdul-Mateen as Black Manta). Throw in Dolph Lundgren, Willem Dafoe (often seen with a hilariously awful “de-aged” CGI face) and, oh what the heck, Oscar winner Nicole Kidman as Arthur’s mom.

“Aquaman” feels like seven different kinds of movies slapped together, alternating from buddy cop banter to Shakespearean games of thrones to tidal wave destruction to battles with giant crab people. It’s absolutely ridiculous … but never boring.

With the exception of “Wonder Woman,” the recent DC Comics movies have been overserious slogs. “Aquaman” takes the tone in a totally different direction. It’s actually trying to entertain its audience. Mileage will vary, depending on one’s tolerance for cheese (and human waterpeople riding giant armored sea horses).

Those familiar with the original “Mary Poppins” will recognize most of the effective beats of “Mary Poppins Returns,” a sequel of sorts that casts Emily Blunt in the iconic Julie Andrews role. The new movie contains bouncy musical numbers, live-action characters interacting with animated sequences and a heartwarming story of a family in need of a little magical guidance.

Ben Whishaw and Emily Mortimer play older versions of the Banks children from the original film, though they don’t remember the more whimsical aspects of their former nanny’s skill sets. “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda plays Jack the lamplighter (sound familiar?), and he’s got a cockney accent you will find either delightful or repulsive.

Blunt is terrific in the role, even as the movie’s plot pushes her to the side in the back half to focus on the Banks family. Whishaw is the quiet standout of the movie, playing the widowed Michael Banks as a kindhearted man pushed to his emotional capacity.

Director Rob Marshall (“Into the Woods,” “Chicago”) does an admirable job leading the energetic musical numbers, and “Mary Poppins Returns” is a pleasant homage to a classic movie. It never manages to break out of the shadow of the original, but then again, it never really wants to anyway.

A couple of excellent performances will keep “Vice” in the awards-conversation this month. Christian Bale and Amy Adams continue to prove they can disappear into roles, and their performances as Dick and Lynne Cheney linger beyond the film’s unfocused narrative.

With 2015’s “The Big Short,” writer/director Adam McKay (a longtime comedic collaborator with Will Ferrell) managed to craft an equally soleful and hilarious narrative out of the 2008 housing market crash. “Vice” takes a similar approach, utilizing on-screen text, out-of-the-box narration and non-linear storytelling and editing techniques to explain how a political “nobody” became the most powerful vice-president in American history.

It would be inaccurate to characterize the first half of “Vice” as a sympathetic portrayal of Dick Cheney, but McKay does attempt to humanize him somewhat, and the movie works best when it pushes past the cheap shots and tries to understand Cheney’s worldview. However, once the film focuses on the vice-presidency, and specifically the Iraq war, McKay appears less interested in the character and more interested in underlining well-worn criticisms of the Bush administration.

Yes, Sam Rockwell is a hoot as George W. Bush, though he only appears in a few scenes, and there are some laughs mined from Steve Carell playing Donald Rumsfeld as an old-man version of Michael Scott. But the second half plays more like a “Saturday Night Live” skit before McKay tries to make a more damning connection between the machinations of Dick Cheney and the current political climate. It’s a drastic tonal shift that never reconciles with the film’s more character-focused first half.

Ultimately, I don’t know the audience for “Vice.” It’s obviously pitched toward those who already consider themselves Cheney detractors, and those people won’t find anything new here. On the flipside, the film’s flippant tone isn’t likely to win over any sympathizers. Ah, you really gotta love these divisive times.

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Tyler Wilson can be reached at twilson@cdapress.com