FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE SECRETS OF DUMBLEDORE

 Jude Law     Mads Mikkelsen     Eddie Redmayne    Dan Fogler

Ezra Miller     Alison Sudol     Callum Turner     Katherine Waterston

            This umpteenth version of the Fantastic Beasts series begins on a rather sinister note with Albus Dumbledore (Law) and Gellert Grindelwald (Mikkelsen) meeting for tea and revealing their significant history.  However, during the brief meeting they have major differences that will reverberate throughout the world of magic.  Dumbledore explains to Newt (Redmayne), Theseus (Turner), and Jacob Kowalski (Fogler) that they must exert their powers in thwarting Grindelwald’s plans for wizarding world domination.

            Mikkelsen is made up to bear a resemblance to Hitler and shows him rallying the people around him in ways reminiscent of the German Nazi of WWII.  Grindelwald has become power hungry and knows that Dumbledore will do everything he can to stand in his way, so he sends out resentful outcast Credence Dumbledore (Miller) to kill the older Dumbledore.  

            Most of the story is about these two factions trying to out-maneuver one another.  Unfortunately, there are few surprises (if any) in this production, and although there are a few pearls of wisdom cast (“Do what is right; not what is easy” and “Trying to make things right is more important than perfection”), real substance in terms of ethical and moral values is missing.

            The production is visually beautiful, and it is always fun to see magical powers rendered in CGI (the two major protagonists fight a brilliant battle with one another), but this plot is so thin and lacking any punch, the viewer is likely to question its 2+-hour length.

            Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, Mads Mikkelsen, and the rest of the supporting cast are skilled actors who are consistent in their performances.  Music by James Newton Howard and cinematography by George Richmond contribute to the entertainment value.  It seems that the script (J.K. Rowling, Steve Kloves) is the main drawback, although it’s also likely that the filmmakers have simply extended the series too long.

 

This latest production in the Fantastic Beasts series adds nothing new, especially given the length.

 

Grade:  C                              By Donna R. Copeland

OFFSEASON

 Jocelin Donahue     Joe Swanberg     Richard Brake     Melora Walters     Jeremy Gardner

            This is a finely crafted horror production by writer/director Mickey Keating that thankfully avoids almost all of the “impossibles” commonly seen in the genre.  Music by Shayfer James and the sound effects (Shawn Duffy) are as much a part of the drama as the plot.  The music is interesting in that it is often dance music playing during some of the scary scenes—the opposite of what one would expect.  Other times, the background usic is clearly narrating what is happening in a scene.  A myriad of weird sounds are heard throughout, from a creaking iron gate to voices and screams, to clack clacking, to sirens.  Mac Fisken’s cinematography is appropriately dark and spooky.  The movie opens on a darkened beach scene with howling winds and turbulent seas, followed by an obviously traumatized older woman trying to work through nightmarish experiences.

         Chapter titles like “Lone Pine”, “Sandtrap”, “Life’s a Dream”, “The Damned”, and “Last Man Out” are pregnant with meaning and suggestive of what is to come.  

        Maria (Donahue) is traveling southward from New York where she lives to where her mother is buried.  She is with her boyfriend George (Swanberg) and is reading a letter from the cemetery caretaker, who informs her that her mother’s grave has been vandalized and she should come at once.  Much is made of the grave being on an island that shuts down in the offseason and the bridge connecting it to the mainland is raised (i.e., closed).  The couple doesn’t find this out until they are almost there, and they are mindful that it would be wise to get back across before they’re trapped on the island.

            High drama ensues when they encounter all kinds of problems, not the least of which are that they can’t find the caretaker and the town is filled with bizarre people who can’t/won’t give them any information. Except for one creepy guy who is overly friendly toward Maria and offers his help, but he is shut up by someone taking him away from her.  

            Jocelin Donahue has appeared in a number of independent films and commercial ads, as well as some mainstream productions.  She is talented and easily carries the picture in the lead role.  Jeremy Gardner and Richard Brake (Bridge Man) both make your toes curl as insidious characters, one trying to be helpful, and the other truly crazed.

       The ending is well done with a twist you may not have expected and is altogether satisfying.  I would think that most horror fans will be pleased to see this.

 

Dark, sinister events are encountered by a New York couple who have gone south to manage the vandalism of Maria’s mother’s grave.  A horror movie well done.

 

Grade:  B                              By Donna R. Copeland

THE GREEN KNIGHT

Dev Patel     Alicia Vikander     Joel Edgerton     Ralph Ineson

Sarita Choudhury     Sean Harris     Kate Dickie

 

            Based on a poem written in the 14^th Century by an unknown author, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight has been an intriguing story ever since.  Writer/director David Lowery in the third retelling of it in film enhances its mysteriousness by making the screen very dark, by accompanying it with choral music rendered in Middle Ages verse (with accents of dissonant modern music) composed by frequent Lowery collaborator Daniel Hart; and by a heavy dose of symbolism.

            It helps in understanding this film if one has read the poem and is familiar with the story.  I had not, so was mystified during many scenes until afterwards, when a colleague referred me to the myth.

            We meet Sir Gawain as a modest, committed knight so unassuming that he has to be ordered by King Arthur to sit by him and the queen.  When King Arthur requests that he tell a tale about himself so the King will know him, Gawain forthrightly demures, saying that he has no tale.  Soon after, the King is visited by a mysterious figure (who looks like a tree dressed up as a man) who presents his challenge to any of King Arthur’s knights.  The knight, the Green Knight (Ineson) dares any of those present to strike the Green Knight with his own axe, with the agreement that one year and one day later, the knight must find the Green Knight and allow him to strike the same blow as he had dealt to the Green Knight the year before.  No one answers but Sir Gawain who takes up the challenge, with plans to revisit the Green Knight on Christmas Day the following year.

            Close to the appointed day, Gawain sets off on the journey to honor his pledge.  Of course, along the way, he will encounter many travails and tests of his strength and commitment.  Among them are bandits who steal his horse, his sword, and a sash his mother gave him to keep him safe, then they tied him up and left him to rot.  He encounters a woman who literally lost her head, which is at the bottom of a spring.  (This is only part of the magic sprinkled in throughout the story; that is, she is talking to him with her head attached, but still wants to retrieve her head).  He also meets a Lord (Edgerton) and his Lady (Vikander plays two roles, this one and the woman he is in love with at home).  The Lord proposes a bargain (a theme in the tale) wherein he will bring Gawain all the spoils of his daily hunts, and Gawain is to give to the Lord what he gained during the day.

            After much of what Gawain lost during his travails is restored, often magically, he finally arrives at the Green Knight’s home, ready to honor his pledge.

            Although well done in many respects, The Green Knight will appeal primarily to those interested in fantasy and in literature of days gone by.  I found the dark screen and often unintelligible dialog and choral words tedious, despite my interest in the story.  A confusing aspect added by Lowery is that Gawain’s mother gives him a sash for protection before he leaves on his journey, and his local love Esse gives him a ring.  On his journey when he meets the Lord’s lady (also played by Vikander) she as well gives him these two items.

Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander, Joel Edgerton, and Ralph Ineson are superb in their roles, always a joy to watch.

 

Better read some background on this story so as to derive full benefit of its entertainment value.

 

Grade:   B                                                  By Donna R. Copeland

MALEFICENT: MISTRESS OF EVIL

Angelina Jolie     Elle Fanning     Michelle Pfeiffer     Harris Dickinson    Chiwetel Ejiofor

Lesley Manville     Imelda Staunton     Juno Temple     Sam Riley

     Fairy tale land—one never knows what to expect as to what will come up.  In this version following on the previous Maleficent (2014) (both starring by Angelina Jolie in the title role), her goddaughter Aurora (Fanning) is grown up and falling in love with Prince Philip (Dickinson).  As expected, he has fallen in love with the son of the King and Queen of Ulstead, a human tribe with a history of conflict with the Moors, Maleficent’s land of the fairies.  An awkward dinner takes place initiated by Philip’s mother, Queen Ingrith.

     Maleficent is reluctant to go, but for the sake of Aurora, she agrees, and they all come together; but tensions abound, as happens when two very different cultures eat together.  Major conflicts ensue, with misunderstandings and subterfuge aplenty, and suddenly Maleficent disappears.  Where she goes propels the story forward and gives us insight into her origins and an explanation for what is to appear in the rest of the film.

     As before, Jolie embodies her character in all its dimensions and power, and Fanning provides balance in her tenderness and rationality.  Although she is a good actress, Michelle Pfeiffer as Queen Ingrith seems miscast in that she simply doesn’t come across strongly enough with the qualities called for by her character.  I can’t say any more so as not to spoil the plot.  Harris Dickinson as Prince Philip didn’t wow me as someone heroic, but I assume that is a function of the script, and the same goes for Robert Lindsay as King John.  Ed Skrein as Borra (one of Maleficent’s newly discovered tribe) is the only male who is a counterpart to Jolie’s and Pfeiffer’s female characters in strength.

     To me, the problems arising during this tale are related primarily to the unsuccessful attempt to insert actions that are clearly contemporary into a fairy tale. One example is Aurora coaching her mother on social manners.  Now, sophisticated Maleficent has been around the whole world and is familiar with such things as social graces, so having it seem as if she is being coached on what to do at a dinner party seems laughable.  I had the same impression when Aurora’s simple “woodsy” dress at one point is magically changed by Maleficent to one that looks like a contemporary Neiman Marcus creation.  Just as in the earlier film, the viewer is yanked back and forth between the fairy world and our reality-based one.

     As before in the 2014 version, the opening scenes in this sequel are so dark it’s impossible to know what is going on.  There is a battle, but who is who cannot be distinguished.  I still don’t know who the warring parties are.

     Finally, there is a disconnect between the ending of the earlier film and the beginning of this one in which Maleficent seems to have reverted to her previous maliciousness.  No explanation is given for this, or perhaps the viewers are just being led down a garden path. (More jerking around.)

     This second Maleficent doesn’t measure up to the first one, which is too bad, since there was an opportunity here to tell a story like a fairy tale that speaks to contemporary concerns (e.g., war vs. peace). But the way war and peace are dealt with here is no different from…how many movies and actual events?

     In the end, it’s not clear whom this film was made for other than the pockets of those invested in it monetarily.  Much of the story as presented will go over the heads of most children; and it is likely to be simplistic (meaningless?) to many adults.

If you love a good fairy tale, stay away from this one.

Grade:  D                                    By Donna R. Copeland

DON'T LET GO

David Oyelowo     Storm Reid     Mykelti Williamson    Alfred Molina    Brian Tyree Henry     Byron Mann

     Don’t let yourself go to this movie.  It’s a hodgepodge of scenes going back and forth in time, which makes the action even more senseless than it would be if told in a conventional way.  We get from the beginning that there is a close connection between Jack Radcliffe (Oyelowo) and his niece Ashley (Reid). There are intimations that her father, Jack’s brother (Henry), has a history of drug problems and that Jack stands in for him for Ashley.  But little is provided in the way of background or character development of these or any of the characters.  For instance, we know absolutely nothing about Ashley’s mother.  

     Instead of there being a story for us to follow, scene after scene is presented with little or no context or a sense of what went before.  Early on, Jack stumbles across a triple murder of his family and their dog; but then, he gets mysterious calls on a phone he got from the murder scene, from a person who is supposed to be dead.  But in the end, there is absolutely no evidence in all these scenes how the culprit comes to do what he does or how the hero exerts his effect.

     David Oyelowo has done some fine work in Selma, The Butler, Queen of Katwe, and A United Kingdom—to name a few—and so why he and two other well-known actors, Brian Tyree Henry and Alfred Molina, agreed to be in this film is beyond me. His conversations with Ashley and others are a series of part-sentences that shed no light on what is going on. The script is so poorly written it is difficult to follow what little story is contained in it.  Jacob Estes co-wrote (with Drew Daywalt) and directed Don’t Let Go, but it takes a far more experienced and talented writer like Christopher Nolan (Memento) to pull off time bending sequences to prevent a future event that are convincing and not simply frustrating as seen in this film.

A movie with aspirations beyond its capabilities.

Grade:  F                                    By Donna R. Copeland

THE DEAD DON'T DIE

Bill Murray     Adam Driver     Steve Buscemi     Danny Glover     Selena Gomez

Rosie Perez     Iggy Pop     Chloe Sevigny     Tilda Swinton     Tom Waits     Carol Kane

     Normally, I love Jim Jarmusch films (Only Lovers Left Alive, Paterson, Coffee and Cigarettes, e.g.), but although The Dead Don’t Die starts out rather interesting—primarily because of the characters introduced and the wry humor—but when the zombies arrive…and stay on and on…the script becomes repetitive and surprisingly boring, even though the low-key humor is still sprinkled liberally throughout.

     The most entertaining part of the movie is the group of small-town Centerville characters that include Chief of Police Robertson (Murray), his deputy Ronnie Peterson (Driver), hermit Bob (Waits), farmer Miller (Buscemi), and hardware store owner Hank (Glover); but the standout is Zelda Winston (Swinton), the Samurai sword wielding funeral director of the Ever After Funeral Home and computer expert.  

     All is quiet and the usual peaceful in Centerville until strange things start happening.  It stays light more than usual, electronics don’t work like they’re supposed to, the same song keeps playing on the radio…and then zombies start appearing and proliferating, doing their thing. 

     It seems to be a well-known fact of zombie lore that to rid yourself of a zombie, you must “kill the head.”  Zelda has nothing to fear when she goes outside because of her unfailing aim. Ronnie is the only other one to have had some training in the past, but he can also wield a sword effectively. Robertson is good at blasting heads with a shotgun.  So how will it all turn out when zombies—even those recently departed—start appearing everywhere?  To quote Ronnie, “This is all gonna end badly”, but is he right?  Will everything turn out OK?  With some prompting, Robertson reassures dispatcher Mindy Morrison (Sevigny) of just that.

     Writer/director Jarmusch’s intention may be to highlight the narrator, who happens to be the hermit Bob.  From his comments on what he observes through his binoculars, we get the impression that Bob is fully informed about what is going on in the world—including in nature—and comes to certain conclusions.  He makes pronouncements from time to time that could be seen as a commentary about contemporary society, with its penchant for material acquisitions at the expense of environmental and humane values.  

     Which prompts us to ask,  “Are we the people the zombies of today who have the potential to kill off whole species—including our own—because of misplaced desires?  If so, does Jarmusch mean that “the head” must be dealt with for us to save ourselves?

     This is a film that doesn’t seem to amount to much on the surface, but thoughtful reflection may turn up seeds of wisdom.

Not your usual zombie move, but one that provides food for thought.

Grade:  C+                                    By Donna R. Copeland

AVENGERS: ENDGAME

Robert Downey, Jr.    Chris Evans    Chris Hemsworth    Paul Rudd    Jeremy Renner

Scarlett Johansson     Mark Ruffalo     Brie Larson   Bradley Cooper    Tilda Swinton    

Don Cheadle     Karen Gillan     Zoe Saldana     Tilda Swinton     Gyneth Paltrow

Chadwick Boseman     Danai Gurira     Letitia Wright     Elizabeth Olsen

     Endgame is quite the finale to Marvel Comics’ Avengers series.  The creators (Anthony and Joe Russo, directors) manage to reprise almost all the roles in previous films, and there are reunions as touching and significant as the beginning of this last season of HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” The film starts with an eerie reminder of Thanos’ (Brolin) intentions in Infinity Wars (to destroy half the people on earth to deal with over-population) by showing Hawkeye (Renner) training a young woman in shooting arrows while his wife calls on family members for a picnic lunch.  Suddenly, everyone but Hawkeye disappears.

     Five years later, some of the Avengers are congregating to come up with a solution. But part of the problem is that some have become content; for instance, Tony Stark (Downey) is basking in family life with Pepper Potts (Paltrow) and their young daughter Morgan.  When some of the others—specifically Banner/Hulk (Ruffalo)—think they have the solution:  A time machine that will take them back to the time before Thanos stole the stones, retrieve them, and use them to get back the people destroyed and create a different world.

     They have a difficult time rousing Stark/Iron Man from his contentment and risk losing those he holds most dear; but, of course, the whiff of a challenge and an adventure reels him in.  From then on, a full contingent of the Avengers [Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America (Evans), Thor (Hemsworth), Black Widow (Johansson), Ant-Man (Rudd), and Hawkeye] test and use their knowledge of time travel to reverse Thanos’ delusional plan.  

     They are indeed able to travel back in time, but it won’t be as simple as they expect. There will be many reunions, but the Avengers will encounter some of the same challenges they thought were over. The special effects for time travel will be a highlight of this story.  The viewer experiences just exactly what we imagine it would be like if we were so privileged.  

     Then, when you get to what looks like the last big battle (and it goes go on and on), don’t settle back in your chair or get ready to leave; much more is coming to create a satisfying conclusion in terms of closure—not necessarily satisfaction with what does occur.

     As with most Marvel Comics movies, this one is overly long, bloated by the obligatory fight scene toward the end, and of course a fistfight scene is required as always.  But in its favor, the story is exciting and suspenseful; the special effects outstanding; and the humor almost always really  funny.  Also, women have stronger roles than in the past.

Endgame is a worthy conclusion to the Avengers series.

Grade:  B                                    By Donna R. Copeland

LITTLE

Regina Hall     Issa Rae     Tracee Ellis Ross     Marley Taylor

     Little follows the premise that traits you had as a child follow you into adulthood.  I don’t know exactly why the filmmakers (writers/director Tina Gordon and Tracy Oliver) came to the conclusion that we needed a black version of Freaky Friday, because, as said in the trailer, “We don’t have time for that.”  Yet, here we are with another adult-child transformation as a means of promoting insight in an adult who has become narcissistic and demanding.

     Jordan Sanders (Hall) has become a successful businesswoman after suffering humiliations as a teenager.  She thinks she has succeeded by devaluing everyone around her, even those who clearly care about her—especially her loyal assistant April (Rae)—so that she always ends up on top.   

     In a clever twist of fate, she encounters a young “magician” (Taylor) who, after Jordan is rude to her, dismissing her as a child (e.g., nonsignificant), waves her wand and proclaims that Jordan will be little again.  Which actually does happen at a critical time in Jordan’s company when its major sponsor is threatening to withdraw.

     It throws the company into chaos—now in April’s hands to restore, since Jordan is reduced to being a child and must attend school.  We see April diffidently taking up the reins, Jordan trying to guide her as a child behind the scenes (literally, in her ear).  This becomes one of the best depictions in a movie of a talented assistant desperately trying to function as a prototype of a boss rather than using her own voice.

     The film resolves all the troublesome situations in a fairly typical way, with those who need it developing insight and those deserving recognition getting it—all with a few laughs about human foibles along the way.  

     The stars Regina Hall and Issa Rae are outstanding in this production. Your eyes are on them the whole time, not just in what they are saying, but their capturing your complete attention.  They are the movie. It seems to me that the writing is simply not up to their star power.  It’s a script that hits the bases, but doesn’t inspire or amaze. 

The stars are the reason to see this film.

Grade:  C                                          By Donna R. Copeland

ISN'T IT ROMANTIC

Rebel Wilson     Priyanka Chopra      Liam Hemsworth     Adam Devine     Betty Gilpin

     How long has it been since you saw a creative, really romantic rom-com with new ideas?  I daresay not since the 1990’s and maybe early 2000 (e.g., When Harry Met Sally, You’ve Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle, High Fidelity).   Isn’t It Romantic is predictable based on all these earlier films and it, unfortunately, borrows from Melissa McCarthy’s playbook in having the heroine blunder, stumble, and tumble time and again.  But hey!, these antics are always good for a laugh in the audience somewhere.  

     The set-up here is that Natalie—apparently a very good architect—is filled with cynicism about love and romance, belittling her assistant for watching rom-coms—not because it’s at work, but because she is disdainful of such stories—and being oblivious of every admiring glance, compliment, or invitation that comes her way.  The basic concept is introduced realistically by having Natalie’s mother delivering rather constant skepticism about anything touching on the romantic, especially where Natalie is concerned because she is heavy-set.  (“Give up those dreams, girl; that will never happen to you!”) The story also brings home the resulting lack of self-worth that Natalie has developed, as in “Sure, I’ll take your trash and dispose of it”, “Sure, I’ll call the printer repairman”, etc.

     What transpires in an expected way is that Natalie has experiences that finally bring home to her—that is, she gets—what she has been missing; that despite the feedback from all her friends, not only does she miss the denigrations, she misses the positives coming her way.

     The journey it takes to get to insight for Natalie involves encounters with doctors, a suave charmer (Hemsworth) at the office, and her best-friend office mate (Devine).  

     The film ends up modeling basically good principles that highlight the value of substantive human connections, but it essentially repeats what its predecessors have already portrayed.  So I have to ask about the reason for the film.  Is it meant to titillate viewers with the high life (private planes, yachts, extravagant parties), and then expect to pull them in with heartfelt values?

     Rebel Wilson is a gifted actress who, like McCarthy in her movies, is using slapstick to make light of being heavy, which overshadows their acting ability. How I wish both of them would find/pick  scripts that portray them as normal people with interesting problems that ignore their physical appearance.  It seems to me that the Europeans are much better than Americans at casting actresses based on their ability to portray all kinds of characters irrespective of their physical appearance.  This movie runs the risk of promoting a stereotype when it’s trying to do just the opposite.

     It’s the acting that will save this film—if anything will—not the hackneyed story.

Rom-com about a heavy-set woman having dreams that are fulfilled—just not in the way she expects.

Grade:  D+                        By Donna R. Copeland

THE KID WHO WOULD BE KING

Louis Ashbourne     Dean Chaumoo     Tom Taylor     Rhianna Dorris

Rebecca Ferguson     Patrick Stewart     Angus Imrie

     Written and directed by Joe Cornish (Attack the Block, Ant-Man, Hot Fuzz), the film is an entertaining mix of fantasy and reality, weaving together tales from King Arthur’s Court and contemporary life at Dungate Academy, where the main four young characters attend school.  It starts out with two fast friends, Alex (Ashbourne) and Bedders (Chaumoo) being bullied by two older students, Lance (Taylor) and Kay (Dorris). Alex and Bedders are nerdy kids who are interested in magic, and are derided by Lance and Kay.  Lance promotes himself as “king” of the school, and uses every opportunity to show it, backed up by his sidekick, Kay. 

     Alex is brave and fights back, especially in defense of his friend.  And one day, when he is running from Lance he ends up at a construction site, briefly assuming himself safe.  But in a confrontation with Lance, he falls over backwards off a fence onto a pile of dirt.  Lance and Kay leave him for dead, but when Alex comes to he sees a huge sword stuck in stone. Curious, he pulls it out with some effort, and runs home with it.

     This is where his and Bedders’ nerdiness comes in handy.  They notice an inscription on the sword written in Latin, and in an example of Cornish’s exquisite blending of history and modern technology, they look up the inscription on Google Translate and find that it says that the sword belongs to King Arthur, son of Tintagel (not a person, but an island).  Putting that together with a book Alex’s missing dad gave him with the message, “to the once and future king”, they begin to wonder mildly if it is Alex who is that “once and future king.”  

     This actually gets corroborated by a strange new student at school who does amazing things, simply with some kind of ritual he performs with his hands and arms.  Merton/Merlin (Imrie and Stewart) informs Alex that he is indeed “the king”, and that he is charged with preparing for a major battle with someone evil for ownership of the sword.  This is Morgana (Ferguson), King Arthur’s half-sister, who has been chained up in vines against a rock for centuries, struggling to get free. She is convinced she is the rightful heir to the throne, and knows that her success requires that she possess the sword (Excalibur).  

     Alex and his three friends/enemies (he needs the aggressive qualities of the bullies in his quest), whom he has knighted, set off to Tintagel Island to locate the entrance to the underworld and wage battle with Morgana.  Along the way, Merlin in his younger and older forms will guide and sometimes rescue them on their quest.  Their journey is engaging; it’s only at the very end the movie starts falling apart.  It would have been better if the last half-hour had been edited out.

     Production design (Marcus Rowland), cinematography (Bill Pope), and special and visual effects make this an enchanting journey that will keep children and adults raptly engaged.  The dragons that appear in the night-time with their brilliantly lit swords trying to catch up with and attack the seekers are truly terrifying, and the way old trees uproot themselves to train the king and knights in fighting is cleverly done and humorous at the same time.

         Alex(played by Director Serkis’ son)is a surprised but charming hero who wins you over with his wonder, valor, and smartness, which Ashbourne gracefully captures.  Chaumoo as Bedders portrays an interesting kid whose loyalty and whose interest and devotion to magic is admirable, as well as providing welcome levity at times.  Tom Taylor gives us a picture of an overly entitled, spoiled rich kid who needs to have his ears pinned back from time to time, but is one who finally learns from it.  Rhianna Dorris evinces the loyal follower who is not quite ready to stand on her own.  Imrie and Stewart playing the young and old Merlin grab your attention and keep you fascinated.  Finally, Rebecca Ferguson convincingly shows us a ferocious, hag-like figure whose greediness for power is unmatched. 

     With all its fantastical, other-world glamour, The Kid Who Would be King contains teaching moments for children (and adults in these modern times) about the necessity for cooperation in overcoming adversity, on the values in the chivalric code (honoring those we love, not being wanton, speaking truth at all times, and persevering to the end in any enterprise), overcoming disillusionment, and the value of diversity in any endeavor.  

If only the chivalric code would be applied in our troubled times!

Grade:  B+                                    By Donna R. Copeland

AQUAMAN

Jason Momoa     Amber Heard     Willem Dafoe     Patrick Wilson     Nicole Kidman     Dolph Lundgren     

Ttmuera Morrison     Tainu and Tamor Kirkwood

     This is a spectacle—not in a good way.  It’s a series of showy special effects glorifying fighting and wars, although the filmmakers attempted to relate it to some kind of mythology.  The grandeur of the sights and conversations, however, are regrettably punctuated by modern idioms such as, “or screw you!”, or f-words, or corny comeback jokes that jerk you back to reality a la Hollywood.

     The story from DC Comics rests on who will be king of Atlantis, the underwater kingdom—the legitimate son or the illegitimate “half-breed.”  Earlier, the princess of Atlantis, Atlanna (Kidman) got into a storm that deposited her into a lighthouse off the coast of Maine, where she was rescued and revived by the lighthouse keeper (Morrison).  They fell in love and had a child, Arthur (Kirkwood as the child, Momoa as the grown-up), the half-breed.  The bad part is that she was betrothed to the son of the King of Atlantis, and what she did was treason.  They were coming for her, so to save her child and his father, she returned home and was thought to have been killed at some point.

     We see Arthur after that as an odd child who gets teased by his classmates; however, when he shows he has special powers at the aquarium, they back off.  

     When Arthur is a young man, he gets pulled into the struggle for a new king of Atlantis. (Keep in mind, he neverwantsthe job, but is drawn into it, presumably by destiny.)  The legitimate son (also the son of the queen) has already been installed as King Orm (Wilson), but not everyone is happy with his rule, which continues his father’s belief that land and sea are two separate realms that he wishes to rule over as “Oceanmaster.”  

     Despite his reluctance, Arthur is pulled into the struggle, but he will be aided by Vulko (Dafoe), Atlanna’s trusted advisor who has been charged with his instruction in military arts.  He will also be aided by the daughter of one of the underwater kings, King Nereus, Mera (Heard), who is betrothed to King Orm.  Yes, it gets complicated if one is not already familiar with DC Comics.

     Many, many battles with spectacular feats will ensue until your brain is numb.  And the script is so thin it is of little use to the actors and holds no surprises for the viewer.

The amazing feats of Aquaman in his struggle for leadership of land and sea.

      

 Grade:  D                           By Donna R. Copeland

MORTAL ENGINES

Hera Hilmer     Hugo Weaving     Jihae     Robert Sheehan     Leila George     Stephen Lang

     How often has someone’s pursuit of absolute power been the downfall of mortals? Far too many times in fiction and history.  In Mortal Engines, this drama is played out on the screen once again.  The film seems to have been made primarily as a special effects spectacle—and indeed these are impressive, along with production design by Dan Hennah.  I especially took to the red transport resembling an elegantly designed flying insect that belongs to Anna Fang.  But the “mortal engines”, cities, and terrain as a whole are wonderfully constructed to look like an amalgam of the ancient world and some kind of futuristic scientific technology. These set the stage for the story; with resources scarce all over the world, larger cities are gobbling up smaller ones for their resources, and enslave their populations. Director Christian Rivers’ background is in storyboard art and visual and special effects, which is surely likely to have influenced the making of the film.

     Drama is secondary, although this film is better than most in the genre to portray three-dimensional human beings wrapped up in a fairly complex story.  I especially hooted/cheered about historians playing heroic as well as demonic roles.

     Major players include Hester Shaw (Hilmer) who covers her face with a red scarf and has more than one person chasing after her for either good or ill.  She’s got an ongoing score to settle with Thaddeus Valentine (Weaving) having to do with her deceased mother, an archeologist who made a significant discovery.  He is head of the Guild of Historians, but has a secret major project he is determined to see come into fruition.  Tom Natsworthy (Sheehan) is a distractible historian and something of an outcast who works for Valentine, but his skills in “old technology” (“old” means prior to the “Sixty Minute War” that destroyed much of the earth—including America—and its technology) are valuable because the city of London is dying from lack of natural resources and it needs a miracle solution.  

     Two ancillary characters are important:  Anna Fang (Jihae), although now an outlaw, knew Hester’s mother and is bound to look after Hester if she can just locate her.  Shrike (Lang), a creature made by a group that literally deposited their own negative traits into beings they created for that purpose, wants to find Hester to force her to keep a promise she made to him.

From the opening scenes when the cities on giant wheels lumber across the countryside—one chasing the other—through the awkward romance, and to the climactic final battle, Mortal Engines seems to follow the usual script of “little” people going after the big players who have no heart and exploit everyone they can in the interest of achieving some self-serving goal.  The actors, especially Hera Hilmer as Hester, make their characters come alive and pull for your emotional reaction to them.  

     Mortal Engines is not a groundbreaking movie, but it will appeal to fans who like stories based on fantasy loosely tied to history and science, especially if it has glorious special effects.

Mortal Engines is like tripping the light fantastic.

Grade:  C+                                    By Donna R. Copeland

FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD

Eddie Redmayne    Katherine Waterston     Dan Fogler     Jude Law     Johnny Depp

Zoe Kravitz     Allison Sudol          Ezra Miller     Credence Baregone     Carmen Ejogo

     The second installment of the Fantastic Beasts series tells about the renewed threat from the dark wizard Grindelwald, who has escaped from the custody of the MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States of America) and has a devious plan to create a new world wherein non-magical beings will be subservient to the wizards who have pledged loyalty to him.  In this framework, one is either for or against him, and he demands a declaration of loyalty.

     The alarm goes out in the wizard world about this new threat, and Dumbledore (Law) charges Newt Scamander (Redmayne) with joining forces to stop him.  Newt is handicapped a bit by MACUSA’s forbidding him to travel internationally, but he is managing to get around that in his and friend Jacob’s (Fogler) journey searching for their loves, sisters Tina (Waterston) and Queenie (Sudol)

     One of the drawbacks of the film is in the script with its multiple plot lines involving so many people it’s hard to keep track of everyone and all the sub-plots involved.  There are the relationships between Jacob and Queenie, Newt and Tina, and Credence and Leta; there is the historical relationship between Dumbledore and Grindelwald; there is the relationship between Newt and his beloved beasts (quote:  “Newt has never met a beast he didn’t love”); there is the question of the true identity of Credence (Miller); and, finally, there is a question of who among all these characters will take up with Grindlewald and help him in his master plan.

     Director David Yates has collaborated with J. K. Rowling (author of the books on which all the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films are based) on the last six productions, and she has written the screenplays for the two Fantastic Beasts films.  This partnership, along with other consistent members of the team (Cinematographer Philippe Rousselot, Production Designer Stuart Craig), returning actors Redmayne, Waterston, Fogler, Sudol, Miller, and Depp, and the visual and special effects artists contribute a kind of consistency in quality that make the series popular with general audiences.  However, many viewers—possibly more discerning—are picking up on the repetitiousness and “tent-pole” characteristics of these creations.

     Eddie Redmayne’s talented acting is a plus in the Fantastic Beasts series, although whether it can endure the number of upcoming productions remains to be seen.  It’s been agreed that he will remain in his role.  In this film, he, Waterston, Fogler, Law, Kravitz, and Sudol pull off their roles admirably.  

This latest offshoot of the Harry Potter series is attempting to hold onto its popularity with the general public.

Grade:  C+                                    By Donna R. Copeland

THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS

Keira Knightley    Mackenzie Foy    Morgan Freeman    Helen Mirren

Misty Copeland     Matthew MacFadyen     Jayden Fowora-Knight

     The Nutcracker and the Four Realms is just as enchanting as it should be, and involves a twist.  In this case, the traditional hero’s journey is undertaken by a girl named Clara, the girl in Tchaikovsky’s popular “Nutcracker” ballet.  The script is based on E. T. A. Hoffman’s 1816 story (“The Nutcracker and the Mouse King”), in which the young girl Clara has a very special Christmas.

     The film opens with the Stahlbaum family preparing to go to the grandfather’s for their annual Christmas party.  The mother, Maria, has died, but has left presents for each of the three children.  Mr. Stahlbaum (MacFadyen) is clearly grieving, but is trying to make the best of it.  Louise and Fritz are thrilled with their gifts, but Clara (Foy) is puzzled by hers.  It’s some kind of egg, and as pretty as it is, Clara, a very smart inventive girl like her mother, sees that it requires a key, which she doesn’t have.  Enigmatically, there is a note from her mother, noting, “Everything you need is inside.”  Then Clara brightens; her grandfather very likely made it and gave it to her mother.  He should have the key.  Now, the socially shy girl is excited about going to the party.

     It’s after that the adventures start.  First, when Clara runs to her grandfather (Freeman) looking for the key, she solves a problem for him and presents him with hers.  He lets her know that she must search, saying, “Some locks are harder to pick than others.”  That will be an understatement!  As she is wont to do, Clara begins wandering around, and comes upon a whole new world, snowy and beautiful, and a certain tree that is lit up like no other.  She spies a key, but then…pesky mouse!

     As she continues her journey through this strange world, she comes upon Phillip (Fowora-Knight), a guard who warns her about going to the fourth world, which is very dangerous.  She’s still curious, and wants to forge on, and the guard is skeptical, but goes with her, more willingly when he discerns that she is a princess.  She knows nothing about that, but along the way, they meet the heads of the three realms:  Lands of Snowflakes, Flowers, and Sweets, and are entertained with a ballet that explains the realms, the fourth being one that belongs to Mother Ginger (Mirren) who has mice attending her and a reputation for being fearsome.
     A ballet is performed to tell the story of the four realms, with New York City American Ballet Theater's Misty Copeland making her debut in a movie as the lead dancer.  She was able to bring in the ABT choreographer, Liam Scarlett, and Director Lasse Hallstrom welcomed their input into which dances from the traditional Tchaikovsky Nutcracker Ballet to include and supplement them with more contemporary choreography.

     The bulk of the story is told by the Sugarplum Fairy (Knightley), from the Land of Sweets.  Whereupon, Clara—who is feeling more and more like a princess and even a queen—decides it is her duty to solve a mystery and do what she can to unite the four realms.  It’s exciting to see Clara come into her own, figuring out what is going on in the four realms, showing bravery in overcoming obstacles and betrayals, and achieving her goal and reuniting with her family as a changed person.

     Disney is often criticized for its shallowness in productions, but I think their story here should inspire young girls while it entertains with enough intrigue, captivating graphics and special effects to please its audience.

An inspiring story with a superb model for young girls.

Grade:  A                                        By Donna R. Copeland

SUSPIRIA

Dakota Johnson     Tilda Swinton     Chloe Grace Moretz

Angela Winkler     Elena Fokina     Mia Goth     Jessica Harper

     Cumulative symbolism throughout this film overshadows the potentially interesting narrative.  Early on, we get scenes from 1977 Berlin when the Baader-Meinhof group is clashing with police in robberies, kidnapping, and assassinations; and Lufthansa flight 181 is highjacked to secure the release of Red Army Faction prisoners.  

     Soon after, we observe a young woman desperate to see her therapist banging on his door and incoherently reporting on strange events she has observed at her ballet academy.  He regards her as delusional, but later learns that she has been found missing, which is troubling to him, a man grieving for his wife, who has also disappeared during the political conflict.

     The connection between these events and the subsequent story about a coven of witches within the ballet academy will be puzzling to most viewers, although in broad terms, they all seem to relate to the film’s title, Suspiria, a Latin term meaning “sighs from the depths.”  Perhaps it all has to do with the suffering that occurs among lower figures in a hierarchy as a function of the struggles for power among leaders, something that can occur at state levels on down to performance academies. Importantly, sacrifice always seems to be involved.

     Within the ballet academy, the primary setting for the drama, lead dancers are getting freaked out by suspicious events occurring behind the rooms that are open to the dancers.  It’s surprising when a newcomer arrives for her audition and so impresses the academy staff, she is immediately awarded a lead role.  This is Susie (Johnson) who, despite being warned about dangers, maintains an air of self-assurance and aplomb.  The horror aspect of the film is gradually ramped up as it becomes more and more evident that the occult with violent manifestations is involved.

      The numerous dance scenes in general are very exciting (beautifully choreographed by Damien Jalet), the most artistic and dramatically successfully being when a soloist’s percussive, aggressive movements are cross-cut with scenes of another dancer being mutilated and killed by actions and movements that mirror the soloist’s.  On the other hand, as good as the final dance performance is, it is extended far too long in an agonizing way.

     Luca Guadagnino’s transition from last year’s romantic Call Me By Your Name to the political horror story of Suspiria is taking many by surprise.  It’s receiving mixed reviews and reactions, partly because of its artsy, intellectual nature, I think.  It would perhaps have been much better if Guadagnino had omitted the political references in the beginning, and focused only on the intrigues at the ballet academy.  That would also trim the film down from its lengthy 2½ hours. It’s much too long, especially as the final dance scene seems to go on forever.  

     This is probably Dakota Johnson’s best performance and biggest role in her career.  She is especially to be praised for executing all her dance scenes, using a double only about 10 percent of the time.  But beyond this, she captures the complex personality of Susie, a Mennonite from Ohio whose confidence in herself is up to that of a seasoned ballet student from New York, and yet she’s able to earn the goodwill and respect of her fellow dancers and teachers.  

     Tilda Swinton inevitably stuns with her ability to become any character in a drama, whether male or female, young or old.  Here, she is well suited for the role of the high-minded artistic director of the academy, the compassionate older male psychiatrist, and the hideously formed leader of the coven, Helena Markos.  

        Filmed by Guadagnino’s cinematographer for Call Me By Your Name, Suspiria is likewise a cinematic work of art.  

Heavy symbolism overshadows the plot about strange happenings in a ballet company.

Grade:  B-                               By Donna R. Copeland