Movie Reviews
- Thread starter JJ Husker
- Start date
I really enjoyed that movie but my experience watching it was kind of ruined.
My wife's parents had asked us last minute if we wanted to do dinner after my wife and I had been planning all day to do dinner at home and watch this movie. My wife caved and invited them over for dinner and the movie, but I warned her "you know this is not a movie they're going to enjoy." Throughout the whole movie, even though her parents were fairly quiet about it, I was acutely aware that they weren't really enjoying it. Have you ever experienced that? Watching a show/movie where you know some people don't like it and you're just constantly aware of it, almost like there's a heaviness in the air and a tense feeling that you can't get rid of?
Either way, good movie. Just wish I could've watched it under different circumstances.
RedSavage
Well-known member
Haha, I hate that. Except when it's your S.O. that you're forcing to watch it with you and you know she's scared s#!tless :lol:
Landlord
Banned
I went to go see the original Deadpool with a bunch of church friends. They had no idea it was even rated R or the nature of the film. It was wildly uncomfortable, and even moreso because I was loving it and then I felt a double dose of shame in the midst of these more righteous and holy individuals :lol:
Bohemian Rhapsody
While at times entertaining, it's largely a victim of its own story. It's almost an insurmountable task to wedge 20 years of information into two and a half hours, so much of the band's/characters' growth feels problematically rushed. The guy they got to play Freddie did OK. He improved as the movie became more serious.
The 'performances' and reenactments of their shows were pretty great though, especially as a Queen fan. The Live Aid reenactment was pretty cool.
While at times entertaining, it's largely a victim of its own story. It's almost an insurmountable task to wedge 20 years of information into two and a half hours, so much of the band's/characters' growth feels problematically rushed. The guy they got to play Freddie did OK. He improved as the movie became more serious.
The 'performances' and reenactments of their shows were pretty great though, especially as a Queen fan. The Live Aid reenactment was pretty cool.
Last edited by a moderator:
GSG
Well-known member
My gf and I both really liked this movie, but you're right about the story. It felt rushed at times and definitely skipped over some things. The performances were great though! We went home after the movie and watched a bunch of old performances on YouTube
knapplc
International Man of Mystery
We're Harry Potter fans, so we went to see The Crimes of Grindelwald the other day despite the poor reviews (RT: 38% critics/61% audience; Metacritic: 52).
I'm not sure what the critiques of the movie were, but we really liked it. I thought the story was compelling, believable (in that universe) and I liked the development of the characters from Fantastic Beasts. It's set up well for sequels and the story seems like something I want to see more of.
Did anyone else watch this? What were the criticisms?
I'm not sure what the critiques of the movie were, but we really liked it. I thought the story was compelling, believable (in that universe) and I liked the development of the characters from Fantastic Beasts. It's set up well for sequels and the story seems like something I want to see more of.
Did anyone else watch this? What were the criticisms?
Yes, my wife and I went to see it the week after it came out. I can explain some of the criticisms. (For the record, I enjoyed the movie quite a bit but it's tough for anything Harry Potter to be unlikeable to me).
First, and this isn't really a spoiler, but one of the biggest criticisms is that these movies appear to be taking far too many conveniences and prioritizing magic over all else. Harry Potter was not primarily about magic - it was about love, friendship and bravery, wrapped in an exquisitely detailed magical world. Sure, Hermione and the Time-Turner were certainly a bit of a B.S. flag, but the themes of the books/films always felt pretty clear. Magic was just the vessel for telling the story. Fantastic Beasts, conversely, feels like magic is now a crutch in which to explain everything. Magic has become the vessel. Magic feels like the story, not the people, and I think that's a thematic fault overall. 'Fantastic Beasts' also feels like an odd misnomer because it's quite clear this series is going to be about Dumbledore/Grindelwald.
Second,
the whole 'Credence is a Dumbledore' makes virtually no sense, but the movie doesn't make it clear that it's deception or truth, or provide us with any reason to believe it's true other than a Phoenix appearing (which could be a total trick on Grindelwald's part). If it's truth, the timelines and history as we know it don't add up, so why would JK manipulate canon? If it's deception, it feels incredibly anti-climatic and sort of insulting to the audience.
Still, just to be clear, I enjoyed the movie. I'd see it again and I thought it had a lot of enjoyable sequences. This is just the negative portion as I see it.
Last edited by a moderator:
knapplc
International Man of Mystery
The stuff in the spoiler seemed like, "We need a cliffhanger to bridge into the next movie, so... here's this." I wasn't too bothered by it.
I felt like the magic in the movie was how the wizarding world actually would be. There was less magic in Harry Potter because he grew up without it, and it was foreign to him (and to us, experiencing that world vicariously through him). Now that they've spent eight movies familiarizing the audience with that world, they (apparently?) feel like they can just go all magic, all the time.
I can understand those criticisms. I thought it was weird that the critics savaged the movie so much, though. I found nothing really objectionable about it.
I felt like the magic in the movie was how the wizarding world actually would be. There was less magic in Harry Potter because he grew up without it, and it was foreign to him (and to us, experiencing that world vicariously through him). Now that they've spent eight movies familiarizing the audience with that world, they (apparently?) feel like they can just go all magic, all the time.
I can understand those criticisms. I thought it was weird that the critics savaged the movie so much, though. I found nothing really objectionable about it.
Ulty
Well-known member
I took my wife to see Bohemian Rhapsody Friday night and we both enjoyed the hell out of it. We were listening to Queen with the kids all weekend long. Good stuff.
B.B. Hemingway
Well-known member
I went and seen the new Grinch with my kids....It was fine.
Yep, I think there's an air of that. I've seen people voice similar opinions so it certainly just comes down to perspective. I for one enjoyed some of the increased uses of magic, however, I simultaneously feel some things are just going a little too far or over the top (like the 'magic dust' scene after the carnival, if you remember that particular scene). I guess I don't feel passionately one way or the other.
I think Fantastic Beasts can be a victim of its own success, much like Star Wars. Both series have had significant cultural impacts and likely rank among the most popular fantasy series in the world. Everybody has their own view and opinion on how thing should be and it impacts their ability to watch/read any new material.
If I take my emotion/fandom out of it, I'd say it's 'OK' as a movie.
Landlord
Banned
I still have no idea why the Grindelwald movie exists other than to be a placeholder to 3 more franchise films. The story and the point of the story were pretty lost on me. What was it about? Who was it about? Certainly not fantastic beasts. Kind of about Grindelwald, but still not really? About Newt? Also not really. It also introduced SO many people and showed so much crazy spectacle without any real explanation or exposition that made it hard to keep up or keep track. But it had a lot of cool J.K. Rowling flexing her inventiveness muscles, so it makes sense a lot of people liked it.
Anyways, saw the new animated Spider-Man film over the weekend. Absolutely loved it. The art direction especially was so much fun.
Anyways, saw the new animated Spider-Man film over the weekend. Absolutely loved it. The art direction especially was so much fun.