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A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Thursday 13 december 2018
Jason Momoa swims but ‘Aquaman’ sinks

By JAKE COYLE have origin stories to map
Associated Press out, beginning with Atlan-
Superheroes who travel by na, the banished Atlantis
sea horse never get any re- princess (Nicole Kidman,
spect. a screen goddess with-
Since Paul Norris and Mort out the need to play an
Weisinger first dreamed aquatic one), washing up
him up in 1941, Aquaman’s on the rocky Maine shores
fate has largely been as of a lighthouse keeper
the Rodney Dangerfield (Temuera Morrison). They
of DC Comics — a regular fall in love and have a child
punchline for his not-so-po- named Arthur (our Aqua-
tent powers. Sure, he can man to be) before Atlanna
talk underwater and bran- is forced to return to the
dishes a big fork for weap- sea.
on. But like Luca Brasi, he As an adult, Arthur —
sleeps with the fishes. trained by Vulko as a kid
Yet Aquaman’s day has — moonlights as a hero in
finally arrived. And if there between happy-hour trips
was one inspired stroke This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Jason Momoa in a scene from “Aquaman.” to the bar. But he’s reluc-
behind the first solo movie tantly drawn into a struggle
for the Atlantis hero, it was says with a sly, over-the- the only movie around the uneven scales of re- for the throne of the seven
in casting Jason Momoa shoulder grin. where you can enjoy a cent DC films. To both the seas with his younger broth-
in the Justice League role, It’s a welcome arrival. As floating Willem Dafoe (as movie’s benefit and detri- er Orm, who’s plotting a
one he begun in 2016’s Momoa showed on his re- Vulko, royal counselor to ment, the seas here are battle with “surface dwell-
“Batman v Superman.” cent “Saturday Night Live” Atlantis ruler Orm, played choppier than in the pre- ers.” He regards Arthur as a
It’s almost a dare: Try tell- hosting gig, his charisma is by Patrick Wilson), see a dictably (and sometimes “half-breed” not fit for the
ing this guy your Aquaman as formidable as his brawn. gladiatorial showdown boringly) smooth sailing of underwater kingdom he
jokes. So why is “Aquaman” so sounded by an octopus on a Marvel movie. But the grew up outside of. The red-
In James Wan’s water- soggy with Atlantis mythol- drums and, in one of the bright spots (Momoa, that haired Xebel princess Mera
logged, fitfully entertaining ogy and drowning in spe- many scenes where wa- octopus) can be difficult (Amber Heard), herself a
“Aquaman,” a heavy met- cial effects when all it really ter is weaponized, witness to really relish amid the formidable fighter, joins
al guitar riff blares at our needs to do is let Momoa’s death by Chianti, in a tussle oceans of exposition and a with Arthur on a globe-trot-
first close-up of the long- Aquaman rock? that tumbles into a Sicilian typically pulverizing, over- ting mission to save Atlantis
haired, much-tattooed, There are pleasures in wine store. elaborate screenplay. and prevent war by finding
shirtless Momoa. “Permis- Wan’s extravagant under- “Aquaman” weighs in A war is brewing under- a sacred trident (oh, there
sion to come aboard?” he water pageant. It’s surely somewhere between water, but David Leslie is so very much trident ac-
the lugubrious “Justice Johnson-McGoldrick and tion), with occasional, half-
League” and the less lead- Will Beall’s script takes a hearted gestures of roman-
en “Wonder Woman” on while to get us there. They tic banter along the way.q

LP, diminutive singer with big voice, lays it out

By SCOTT STROUD
Associated Press
LP, “Heart to Mouth” (BMG/
Vagrant) There’s a refer-
ence to shape-shifting
tucked into the lyrics of
“When I’m Over You,” the
second song on LP’s new
album, “Heart to Mouth,”
and it didn’t get there by
accident. Over the course
of a dozen new songs, the
diminutive singer works in
enough different styles to
draw comparisons to some
of the world’s greats — and
yet she doesn’t sound quite
like any of them.
It works because LP is an
enormous talent. Her heart-
baring vulnerability makes
this a rock-solid follow-up to This cover image released by BMG/Vagrant shows “Heart to
the widely-praised “Lost on Mouth”, by LP.
You” — and arrives in time Associated Press
to earn best-of consider- Nicks. On “Girls Go Wild,” And the show-stopping
ation for 2018. the playfully bouncing bass heartbreak ballad, “Recov-
On “Dreamcatcher,” close line echoes early Madon- ery,” suggests Adele at her
your eyes and hear Stevie na, but with better singing. pour-it-on best.q