November 2018 Movie Reviews
3 stars
The Harry Potter franchise is an amazing accomplishment. The scope and scale of the world they built on it's own is an impressive feat. With each movie the tension grew and the stakes got bigger and the acting got better. All in all, they came out with 8 pretty solid films in 10 years without people being completely burnt out on the magical world. Comparatively the fantastic beasts movies seem much more forced. While the characters are enjoyable and visuals are stunning, the story feels choppy in. I wasn't totally sold on the weird Ezra Miller/Obscurial twist from the first film in the series and unfortunately that focus on the obscurus carries over to this one as well. The plot for this film seems a convoluted, but also that not that much happens. I was wondering if I was watching the film like people who were unfamiliar with Harry Potter watched the original franchise. I was able to enjoy the visuals and spells but unable to really connect with the characters or engage with the plot. My favorite character from the last Fantastic Beast, Dan Fogler as the American muggle, doesn't have a lot to do in this one and I kind of wondered why he was there. I did like rest of the major characters but felt like they were underused. Overall I did like the expansion of the magical world but found most of the film unremarkable.
4 stars
Powerful and moving, this impactful true story about a Christian boy attending a conversion therapy program features beautiful performances by it's cast. Lucas Hedges proves that he can be more than just an angry teenager and really kills it in this role. You feel his desire follow his parent's faith and to be righteous. You see his conflict between who he knows himself to be and what the program wants him to be. A very powerful movie into this unfortunate part of Christian culture.
Halloween
3 stars
The original Halloween defined what the modern slasher movie is. It's also slow and a little boring in parts. Most of the movie involves high school girls calling each other on the phone. It's a slow burn and Michael Myers kills maybe 4 people. This reboot/sequel borrows a lot of the imagery and plot points from the original, but then injects it with some fast-paced fright-fest fun. The result is kind of a dumb by-the-numbers slasher flick within a smarter and more mature film. Jamie Lee Curtis is terrific as the girl that lived but never got over what happened that night from 40 years ago. But then the movie gets pretty wacky with Michael Myers leveling up as he quintuples his body count from the original. So if you're looking for some bloody fun and you don't want to think too much, this will do.
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