Let's start this review off with a little confession:
I've never been that big into Harry
Potter. That's not to say I'm not a fan. Quite the opposite.
I've read the books, saw the movies, and I admire that it's opened an
entire generation to the world of reading. The world is a better
place because of JK Rowling's creation and she deserves every bit of
praise she gets and then some. It was just never an integral part of
shaping my adolescence like it was for so many people of my
generation. What can I say? The
Simpsons and Pokemon
got to me first. But franchise building and shared continuity is the
name of the game in Hollywood now (a trend that Harry
Potter is partially responsible for), and since Warner Bros
needs something to fall back on in case the DC Extended Universe
doesn't pan out, diving back into the Harry Potter universe
seems like a safe bet since it was basically money printing license
for a solid decade. Which brings us to Fantastic Beasts And Where
To Find Them. With a screenplay
by Rowling herself and longtime Potter director David Yates behind
the chair, this is the first installment where fans can
experience it with fresh eyes without obsessively nitpicking the
differences from the source material.
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Monday, November 21, 2016
Arrival - When Smart Sci-fi Makes First Contact
WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAIN SPOILERS!
Arrival is one of those movies that builds up to
a huge twist at the end, and how you felt about said twist is
ultimately how you felt about the movie. I for one think that this
movie is fantastic and everyone should see it regardless of whether
the twist works for them or not, but we can't really gauge that
without actually discussing it. So I'm going to discuss the movie as
a whole first, then put up a spoiler warning before I get into the
twist so you know where to stop. We good? Good. Now on with the
review.
Thursday, November 17, 2016
Hacksaw Ridge - Bloody Hell
It's so
easy to get distracted by Mel Gibson's public persona that forgetting
what a great talent he is as an actor and director can be easily
forgiven. He can be a bit, umm... eccentric, but to me that's what
makes him and his work so fascinating. When you get down to it, Mel
Gibson is a self loathing masochist with a martyr complex and
hyper-masculinity issues that can only be the result of a devout
religious upbringing. While these characteristics result in the
behavior that made him such a big tabloid magnet, they're also what
make him the perfect man to spearhead such films as Braveheart,
The Passion of the Christ and Apocalypto. And with
Hacksaw Ridge, he has found a new conduit to explore his
favorite subjects.
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