Fantastic Beasts shows there's still some magic left in the Potter-verse

I'm not a fan of the growing trend where every film property needs to have a cinematic universe.  It feels contrived and the source material doesn't always warrant the expansion.  For instance, the recent Ghostbusters film was meant to be the opening of a larger universe, but it felt more of a retread of the original classic than a launching pad of a ghost busting world.  Every film that comes out now feels like it's trying to be the gateway to a larger series of interconnected films.  I get why studios are doing it.  Every executive around the world looks at Marvel and licks their chops.  BUT the one thing they fail to do is properly build their source material.  The Marvel Cinematic Universe because of its deep bench of superheroes and the fact that they can all appear together or separately depending on the film.  Not all franchises has this in their arsenals... which leads me to Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them.  When Harry & Co. finished their fantastic run with the 8th and final film, it was a crowning achievement... it also felt like a finishing point to a wonderful story.  I am a huge fan of of Harry Potter (both book & film form), and am glad that they are expanding the Potter-verse to more films while resisting the urge to reboot the franchise (for now).

The Potter-verse doesn't end with Harry.  There was an entire world of magic for thousands of years before the boy who lived began his journey.  JK Rowling (making her screen writing debut) sprinkled little bread crumbs throughout the books, as well as the films.  This is where Beasts starts.  Set 70 years before The Sorcerer's Stone, Beasts tells the story of a wayward wizard (played delightfully weird by the always reliable Eddie Redmayne), who brings a suitcase full of magical creatures to New York City and proceeds to let them loose by accident.

Beasts is not a perfect film.  In fact, the first act feels like a bad comedy.  Beast gets loose.  Hilarity ensues.  Rinse and repeat.  However, about a third of the way in, the film picks up.  There is a darker subplot that brings this film out of comedic doldrums and makes it into an appealing film.  There is a group of anti-magic people (called the New Salem group), who are hellbent on exposing (and destroying) the magical world.  Our heroes get caught up in trying to stop a dark power that's unleashed upon the city that is somehow tied to this group.  There are some genuinely exciting moments in this film, but it often feels like a franchise starter film first and a movie second.  The Fantastic Beasts themselves almost feel like an afterthought at times, and some plot lines are introduced that will be resolved in future installments.  However, the excellent cast (especially "non-Mag," the American term for Muggles, lead played by Dan Fogler & and a wicked Colin Farrell) and the closing action sequence keep this film entertaining enough that you can forgive some of the lesser fleshed out portions of it.

If you are a fan of the Potter films, I would definitely recommend it for you.  You'll enjoy being back in this world and will look forward to future installments.

2.5 stars out of 4.

Arrival is a beautiful film

A lot of people are comparing Denis Villenueva's latest gem, Arrival, with Stephen Spielberg's 80s "aliens have arrived" film Close Encounters Of The Third Kind.  A lot of people love that film.  I am not one of them.  I always found it to be a rather lackluster entry in the Spielberg film canon.  I can't quite put my finger on it, but the film never really resonated with me.

Going in to Arrival, I did not know what to expect.  It had been getting stellar reviews, but I couldn't quite shake the feeling that it would be Encounters 2.0.  After viewing the film, I can happily report that my fears were completely misguided.  Arrival is a fantastic film that fully cements Vellenueva's status atop the Hollywood directing totem pole.  Both his last two films (2013's Prisoners & last year's Sicario) made my top ten list of the year, and both were criminally under watched and underappreciated.  This film appears to already be doing decent at the box office, so I hope more and more people come to appreciate his talents.

It's hard to discuss this film without giving away some of its secrets, so I'll have to be as generic as possible.  The basic premise of the film is that aliens have arrived and are trying to communicate with us through 12 different space crafts.  The US government hires a world renowned linguist (played superbly by the always great Amy Adams) and a physicist (the always reliable Jeremy Renner) to decode their language as quickly as possible in an effort to decipher whether these new out-of-world beings are friend or foe.  That's about as much as I can go into the plot without spoiling the big reveal in the film.

I loved this film because it resonates so well in today's toxic world.  It's about hope.  About the toxicity of "Us vs Them."  About understanding and compassion.  And, most importantly, about the importance of not rushing to judge those that we deem "other."

The cast is phenomenal.  The directing is superb.  I can't say enough about Villenueva.  It's not a flashy guns and explosions alien movie, but the amount of tension that he's able to generate with camera movement and music is incredible.  It's a thinking person's movie, and a welcome respite from the flood of horrible news coming across our screens daily.  I can't recommend this movie enough.  Arrival is the best movie I've seen this year.

4 stars out of 4!  Go see it.

Doctor Strange is another win for Marvel.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) gets knocked for being an assembly line whose only goal is to promote the next film down the line.  To a certain extent, I would agree with that statement.  However, the most recent entrees to the MCU (Guardians Of The Galaxy, Ant-Man, and now Doctor Strange) have all felt fresh and exciting.  I think it's perhaps because they are so far down the totem pole of superhero hierarchy, these movies can afford to experiment.  From the quirkiness of Guardians, to the humor of Ant-Man, each of the recent MCU films have a distinct voice while still fitting into the larger storyline.

Doctor Strange is no different.  Aside from a brief reference to The Avengers early in the film (and during the required post-credit scenes), you don't even think about the larger MCU during this film, which is quite refreshing.

Doctor Strange tells the story of how a brilliant surgeon (Strange) becomes the earth's mightiest sorcerer.  Stephen Strange is a surgeon without equal.  He's also a hot shot that believes his own hype, and picks and chooses his patients in order to keep his surgical record perfect.  Shortly after he rescues a patient from a bullet to the brain he loses the ability to use his hand in a car crash (don't text and drive kiddos!).  It is at this moment that Strange seeks a miracle cure that leads him to a far away land.  Here, he meets the Sorcerer Supreme (controversially played by Tilda Swinton) and learns the power of mysticism.  I highly enjoyed his training sequences, which were filled with humor stunning visuals.

Doctor Strange is at its strongest when it flexes its visual muscle.  That is not to say that the film only succeeds because of its visuals.  Quite the opposite, actually.  Benedict Cumberbatch is equal parts wit and (spiritual) muscle.  He shines with the most charisma this side of Tony Stark.  But, at the end of the day, this is a big blockbuster and the visuals do not disappoint.  By playing in different realms and spaces, Doctor Strange's visuals have to be seen to be believed.  I would describe parts of this movie as Inception meets Labyrinth.  It's like an M.C. Escher painting on steroids.  It does struggle with plot at times, but I was always glad that I was along for the ride.  Hopefully, future MCU films are allowed to have as much creative freedom as Doctor Strange... especially with these individual films.

There are some flaws in this movie.  The talented Rachel McAdams is pretty much cast to the side as a former flame of Stephen Strange, and the plot tends to get a little convoluted at times while the characters are talking about mysticism and alternate reality.  I do hope that McAdams gets more screen time in future Strange films because the chemistry between her character and Cumberbatch's was quite strong.  The few scenes they shared were some of the strongest in the film.  The final, and most controversial, flaw in this film was the decision to cast Tilda Swinton as the Sorcerer Supreme.  This isn't a knock on her performance, as it was quite strong, but rather it's Hollywood's umpteenth example of unnecessary whitewashing.  The director has lived up to it in recent statements, but it's still an unfortunate blemish on an otherwise superb entry into the MCU.

Overall, I would give Doctor Strange 3 out of 4 stars.  It's another excellent addition to the MCU, and opens the door for fun and exciting sequels.  Benedict Cumberbatch is excellent in the title role, and the supporting cast (whitewashing controversy aside) is excellent.