The newest offering into JK Rowling’s wizarding world is lots of fun! Set in 1926, seventy years before Harry Potter reads his book at Hogwarts, we meet Newt Scamander, endearingly played by Eddie Redmayne, arriving in NYC with a suitcase of full of fantastic beasts. Some escape, hijinks ensue, and a dark plot is revealed.
Box Office Bottom Line: A charming and fun addition to the the Harry Potter-verse.
If you always wished those Bennett daughters to be even more spunky & empowered, look no further. Not only do they excel at music, poetry, and needlepoint, but also the fine art of zombie slaying. Furthermore, Elizabeth and D’Arcy’s cantankerous relationship is so much more satisfying as they spar not only with their wits, but also their sword-fighting.
Box Office Bottom Line: This is good silly fun! I liked it even more than Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (and I loved that one!)
This review contains one major spoiler! Age of Ultron is entertaining fluff. I mostly enjoyed it while I watched it, although I thought the opening cgi looked pretty fake and got bored with extended fighting scenes, especially Iron Man vs. Hulk. I did manage to mostly avoid spoilers prior to seeing the film. I was aware of the criticism of Joss Whedon (writer/director) regarding Black Widow, but not specifically what it was about. As a feminist movie blogger and enormous Joss Whedon fan, I do feel the need to weigh in on this. I believe that Whedon was trying to develop each character emotionally so that the film wasn’t just action. Unfortunately, he failed with Black Widow. She needs/deserves her own film like the others (Iron Man, Captain America, Thor). As she’s been depicted on screen, her clear strength (because she doesn’t have superpowers) is her ability to con, manipulate, persuade those around her and not let her emotions cloud her ability to get the job done. She’s surprisingly effective (her scene with Loki in the first Avengers was awesome!). The biggest disappointment regarding Black Widow was that this crucial and compelling skill of hers was utterly missing. She kicks ass when she fights, sure, but her true strength was neglected in this film. The romance between her and Bruce Banner felt forced and awkward. They have ZERO chemistry. Then, their weird conversation about infertility – just had no place in this film and really isn’t something to base a friendship on, let alone a romance. That infertility scene should have been cut (would have made a shorter film, too!).
Do I think Joss Whedon let women down and is no longer a feminist because of this? No, I don’t. I don’t think it took anything away from Black Widow, or made her weak. I think he tried to humanize his heroes. It just didn’t work. Beloved filmmakers can make mistakes too.
Box Office Bottom Line: Entertaining fluff. If you are a Marvel fan, it’s worth seeing because the next generation of Avengers are introduced – and they seem pretty interesting!
In a depressed industrial town in Iran, drug dealers, pimps, and other ne’er-do-wells come out at night and ruin lives. A skateboarding vampire in a chador provides vengeance. And, then she meets a boy… This is a moody, atmospheric film reminiscent of early Jim Jarmusch films.
Box Office Bottom Line: I liked it – a nice twist on the “helpless muslim girl” trope. It is a little slow-paced, but intriguing enough to keep one’s attention.
Norwegian film students pursue a story on bear killings only to discover that it might not be bears at all… The poacher they’ve been tracking claims, in fact, to be a troll hunter! They team up with the him, travel all over Norway chasing trolls, and document it Blair Witch style.
Box Office Bottom Line: I loved this movie so much more than it probably warrants! After a bit of a slow start, it’s earnestness makes it hilarious, and the horror level is fairly mild (which I prefer), but still suspenseful. Recommended for fantasy/mild-horror fans.
The conclusion to Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings – Hobbit series is an adventurous, action-packed film. It’s entertaining and provides a nice wrap-up to the series. As with the other films, I got bored during the battle scenes (which are many in each film), but other than that, the sets are fantastic and the cast is compelling and enjoyable to watch. I even sat through the credits, because there are beautiful sketches of the sets and cast – worth it!
Box Office Bottom Line: If you’ve seen the other films, then you may as well see it through to the series’ conclusion. I found it entertaining and forgettable.
This new X-Men film has a LOT of characters! Yet, despite all the characters, it just focuses on Wolverine, old and young Professor X, and old and young Magneto (oh yes, there is time travel!), and Raven/Mystique. I was hoping for more from Storm, who was so poorly developed in other X-Men films, but she has a small role here. Wolverine has to travel back to the 1970s from a near future time in order to get Professor X and Magneto to work together to stop Raven from doing something that will cause the violent murder of mutants in the future. No easy task since at that time Magneto and Xavier were foes. The plot was kind of convoluted, and I think we were supposed to care about Raven, but she was so underdeveloped that I don’t feel I know her any better. Why none of the X-Men movies can develop the female X-Men characters is baffling and disappointing. I don’t care that much for Raven/Mystique (from the comics), but she is a complex and interesting character, and she gets short shrift here despite being the key plot turning point. The best part of the whole movie was the Quicksilver scene breaking Magneto out of prison. The movie is worth that one scene!
Box office Bottom Line: It was entertaining while watching it, but 2 weeks later it’s fairly forgettable in my mind.
This is a fabulous, character-driven film. It’s a slice of life view of vampire couple Adam and Eve. They’ve been married for over a century, living on different continents, but still each other’s rock. When Eve realizes how depressed Adam is, she comes to his side. The characters are vampires, but it’s not really a vampire film. It’s a commentary on the ennui of life, the disillusionment of what mankind is doing to itself and the planet, and how relationships are what really sustain us. Jim Jarmusch has given us another interesting, discussion-worthy film. There are many interesting details that aren’t explained (why do they live apart? Why do they wear gloves and ask permission to remove them in each other’s homes?), but these details set a tone, and we don’t need the answers. Tilda Swinton anchors the film as Eve, and Tom Hiddleston portrays ennui perfectly. They are amazingly suited as a pair.
Box office bottom line: I loved it. Highly recommended!
This sequel was equally as entertaining as the original film. Captain America gets caught between dueling factions of SHIELD, and Nick Fury advises him to “trust no one.” So, can he trust Fury? Black Widow? The Robert Redford character? I particularly enjoyed the introduction of a new character, The Falcon. I look forward to seeing more of him in future Marvel films! The Winter Soldier character was less interesting to me, unfortunately. The film works fabulously to move the whole Avengers/SHIELD story forward. Especially fab was the tie-in with the Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD TV show between episodes 16 and 17 (the show works much better if you see this movie in between those episodes, but you don’t need to watch the show to enjoy the film). And, as always, stay through the credits.
Box Office Bottom Line: It’s a must-see for Avengers/SHIELD fans!
The second Hobbit film is a fun time. There’s plenty of creative action and humor. I enjoyed the return of Legolas (swoon), and the addition of Trauriel, the she-elf. She kicked ass! Bilbo and the dwarves trek to the mountain which was their former kingdom, encountering lots of obstacles on the way. Once there they face Smaug, the dragon who defeated them decades ago. We are left with a cliffhanger (don’t want to spoil it!) eagerly awaiting the last installment.
Box Office Bottom Line: A must see for Tolkien fans.
Box Office Bombshells 