“It’s really funny…until it’s not.” Heads up if y’all go see The Book of Clarence. It takes a hard turn towards the end. Fortunately for us, Jeymes Samuel is good with comedy and with drama. And as a wise woman once says, “heartbreak feels good in a place like this”.
Legendary Pictures and TriStar's The Book of Clarence follows Clarence, a hustler wanting a better life for his family and to prove that he is not a nobody. When Jesus of Nazareth comes to Jerusalem, Clarence declares "I want to be like that now," referring to the Messiah's influence and power. "Captivated by the power and glory of the rising Messiah and His apostles, he risks everything to carve his own path to a divine life, a journey through which he finds redemption and faith, power and knowledge." (Sony Pictures)
The Book of Clarence stars LaKeith Stanfield, Omar Sy, Anna Diop, RJ Cyler, David Oyelowo, Michael Ward, Alfre Woodard, Teyana Taylor, Caleb McLaughlin, Eric Kofi-Abrefa, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, James McAvoy, and Benedict Cumberbatch. The film is written and directed by Jeymes Samuel. The film features new music from Samuel, JAY-Z, and more.
The Book of Clarence hits theaters on January 12, 2024.
This has huge How To Train Your Dragon vibes. A suped-up, better version of How To Train Your Dragon. I really hope it goes the way of How To Train Your Dragon as well. This clears a really high bar. Surprising, especially from Netflix. MUST WATCH!
The Sea Beast is a 2022 American computer-animated adventure film by Chris Williams in his solo directorial debut. The film stars the voices of Karl Urban, Zaris-Angel Hator, Jared Harris, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Dan Stevens, and Kathy Burke.
Plot: In an era when terrifying beasts roamed the seas, monster hunters were celebrated heroes and none were more beloved than the great Jacob Holland. But when young Maisie Brumble stows away on his fabled ship, he's saddled with an unexpected ally. Together they embark on an epic journey into uncharted waters and make history.
This new Netflix animation shoots itself in the foot a little due to having such a dull uninspiring title. The Sea Beast? I mean really? Sounds like a cheap straight-to-TV film that would be shown on Nickelodeon or the Disney Channel. It’s a shame really, as I feel due to said title this beautiful animation won’t get the attention it deserves and will get lost in the Netflix back catalogue. As The Sea Beast happens to compete against some of Pixar’s and DreamWorks’ best by telling an exciting swashbuckling tale of pirates, the high seas, beasts and even a cute little blue creature that looks like my fiancée's family’s French bulldog. It plays out like How To Train Your Dragon: Sea Edition with a bit of Pirates of the Caribbean mixed in there. And luckily it doesn’t just play out like a comedy with an endless non-stop jokes (no shade towards Thor: Love and Thunder, not that I’m sore about it). It is actually just a very enjoyable story, with interesting characters, cute creatures and some incredible animation.
Speaking of animation...this is one hell of an animated movie! Like the animators animated hard here. I’m talking they really squirted the paint of the paintbrush on this one. The way the water of the sea looks in this, I was half shocked it wasn’t real. Though to be fair the attention the detail was impeccable, as you can see the separate singular hairs on characters’ heads and the fabric texture sparkling off the clothes. This is a very good looking movie, and I feel like the only part that looked fake was the main sea monster that looks like the animators ran out of budget, so just quickly made the beast design on Microsoft Paint. Wait, is Microsoft Pain still a thing? Anyone who has Vista please answer me! Anyway, even though it looks fake, the sea monster itself still manages to be super cute.
There’s also a solid voice cast at bay here, with the likes of Jared Harris and Marianne Jean-Baptiste lending their vocal chords to the high seas, and also I was surprised to see in the end credits that Karl Urban voices the main hero Jacob Holland, which as a Lord of the Rings fan always warms my heart. This was overall such a wonderful animated adventure that really surprised me as it came out of nowhere, and with how Klaus was a pleasant treat a few years back, Netflix seems to really be putting an effort in their animated feature fare, so I look forward to seeing what they come up with next. As for The Sea Beast, cannot recommend it enough!