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Showing posts with label Dan Fogler. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dan Fogler. Show all posts

Sunday, November 18, 2018

MOVIE REVIEW: FANTASTIC BEAST: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD







































In an effort to thwart Grindelwald's plans of raising pure-blood wizards to rule over all non-magical beings, Albus Dumbledore enlists his former student Newt Scamander, who agrees to help, unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. Lines are drawn as love and loyalty are tested, even among the truest friends and family, in an increasingly divided wizarding world.

Director: David Yates

Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Zoë Kravitz, Callum Turner, Claudia Kim, William Nadylam, Kevin Guthrie, Jude Law, Johnny Depp

Release Date: November 16, 2018

Genres: Adventure , Family , Fantasy

Rated PG-13 for some sequences of fantasy action

Runtime: 2h 14 min

Review:

I’ll start with a disclaimer; I’ve never been a die hard Harry Potter fan.  It’s a series that I warmed up too as the stories got more mature but I’d be lying if I said I loved them.  I appreciate them on multiple levels but if I never saw another film in the universe I’d be ok.  I enjoyed the first Fantastic Beast film because it was an enjoyable jaunt with some likeable characters starting with Eddie Redmayne’s Newt Scamander.  In this entry, Redmayne has clearly nailed the character and he’s even more likeable this go around even though he’s not the primary focus.  A large cast of returning faces and new faces, like Johnny Depp’s titular Grindelwald and Jude Law’s Albus Dumbledore, make this film feel much larger and busier than the first entry.  The movie is never uninteresting but it does feel like there are multiple story lines jammed into this entry with a hefty amount of exposition setting up future entries.  David Yates film clearly suffers from being a middle entry in a much larger story which leaves this feeling incomplete by design.  Still there is a lot to like and fans of the series will find plenty to like.

B-

Monday, July 1, 2013

MOVIE REVIEW: EUROPA REPORT



Director Sebastian Cordero (Rage, Pescador) follows a team of intrepid space explorers to one of Jupiter's moons on a mission to investigate evidence of a subterranean ocean that could contain single-celled life in this ambitious sci-fi thriller produced in collaboration with NASA. Determined to explore the possibility that the oceans of Europa could harbor primitive life, a privately funded firm called Europa Ventures assembles six of planet Earth's best astronauts, and sends them deeper into the stars than any human has ever traveled. Sharlto Copley, Michael Nyqvist, and Christian Camargo star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: Sebastian Cordero

Cast: Sharlto Copley, Michael Nyqvist, Christian Camargo, Embeth Davidtz, Dan Fogler

Release Date: Aug 02, 2013

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action and peril

Runtime: 1 hr. 30 min.

Genres: Action/Adventure, Documentary, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Review:

The trailer for Europa Report sold it as a straight up found footage sci-fi / horror film, something akin to the disappointing Apollo 18. The trailer really doesn’t do the film justice. Director Sebastian Cordero delivers an elegant looking, if emotionally detached sci-fi film. Cordero’s direction and handling of the story is all grounded firmly in reality. All the action progresses in a believable manner with the science being discussed ringing true. Its documentary feel adds to the authenticity of the whole thing but we never really connect with the characters. It’s a shame because there’s a solid cast assembled with Sharlto Copley and Michael Nyqvist being the most recognizable. Those expecting Copley to be front and center will be left disappointed as his role is rather limited. Additionally, those expecting a plus pounding thrill ride, like the trailer hints at, will be left just as disappointed. Europa Report is slow burn throughout, feeling more akin to Danny Boyles’s underrated Sunshine (first 2/3rds at least), Kubrick’s 2001 or Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris. The final reveal might leave some people disappointed because it not the big moment you’d expect. Eurpoa Report is far more pensive and grounded about itself, opting for a more realistic ending.

B


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