Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

It feels as though the Potterheads have been waiting years for this movie (myself included) so its safe to say the anticipation for us has been incredibly high. That being said, lets not delay this review any longer.

In 1926, Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), a young Magizoologist, arrives in New York City for the first time, carrying with him a briefcase containing a menagerie of magical creatures that he cares for. Unfortunately, Mr Scamander could not have chosen a worse time to arrive in New York: the city is being plagued by an undetermined creature whose powers are beyond any the magical community have seen. Fearing a widespread panic leading to war between Wizards and No-Mages (the American term for ‘Muggles’), the MACUSA (The Magical Congress of the United States of America) begin a hunt for the creature, lead by Percival Graves (Colin Farrell). When some of Scamander’s creatures accidentally escape during an altercation with ‘No-Maj’ Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler), Porpentina ‘Tina’ Goldstein (an ex-auror played by Catherine Waterston) believes that Scamander might be behind it all, and becomes determined to bring him in and prove her worth to her superiors. Joined by her sister Queenie (Alison Sudol) the group must band together and take back the city before its too late. 

The positives: The acting in this film has to be one of the main standouts. Eddie Redmaynes’ Scamander manages to be both awkward and sufficiently charming enough to immediately begin liking him, and its clear that Redmayne had fun playing this character because it translates to the screen. But the best moments have to be those between Scamander and Jacob. Their chemistry and personalities balance each other out well, and becomes the tale of unlikely friendship by happenstance. This is especially entertaining as it’s the first time we’ve seen proper wizard/muggle interaction that wasn’t negative (after all that time we spent with the Dursleys), but rather get a glimpse at how muggle/wizard communities interact, which for diehard fans will be something to look forward to. Also, Farrell’s Percival Graves was another standout whose character really shone in the (relatively few) scenes he was in. The visuals in this film were also stunning, bringing to life creatures that could only exist in imagination in all shapes and sizes. In short, its one of those epic films that continuously catches your eye and also makes you hope that the merch for this film includes plushies because damn, some of those creatures are really cute!

The negatives: As much as I enjoyed this film, it’s a classic case of a film that cannot make up its mind. As always tends to be the case in Hollywood, the pacing in this film tends to be a let down, as well as the ways that different sections of the story connect to each other. In some points the film seems to be leading one way, only to suddenly take a turn into something completely different. While there are moments where you are able to catch up, I felt that the film seemed somewhat haphazardly pieced together, meaning that too much time was spent in some parts and not enough in others and that ultimately it threw off the flow of the film. Because of this, some of the characters were not given enough time to be properly introduced, the most noteworthy being Tina. Her motivations seem sketchy and don’t really become clear until much later, which leaves the audience questioning her actions rather than jumping on board with her character which is a bit of a let down. In most films these would be only minor flaws, but because this film is such a money-maker, its disappointing to see that more care and effort wasn’t taken in teasing out these aspects. It’s understandable that this is just a setup film for what looks to be a very long running franchise, but that doesn’t excuse the need for coherence just because there is an assumption of a guaranteed audience. 

All in all, this film is definitely going to be a good time for families and fans of the Harry Potter universe. Its got great characters, entertaining creatures and above all, a new setting and new rules for the audience to discover. Although it was enjoyable, it was definitely in need of readjustments, either in the scriptwriting or editing stage, which would’ve dealt with many of the issues described above. On the whole the film was entertaining and certainly going to get audiences excited for the rest of the franchise, which will hopefully only keep getting better from here!

Steve Jobs

Apple founder Steve Jobs has become a rather scrutinised figure in both documentary and film after his death in 2011. This latest biopic however, comes at the hands of both director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, both of whom are known for their rather honest depictions of the world as it is and portrayals of famous people in not so flattering terms. This already fixating combination of talents is made complete with a subtle but powerful performance by leading man Michael Fassbender.

Steve Jobs is split into three acts, each covering a specific period in the life of the man, taking place prior to a product launch that was important in his life. The first takes place in 1984 at the launch of Jobs' (Michael Fassbender) latest dream product, the Macintosh. He is supported by his marketing manager and confidant Johanna Hoffman (Kate Winslet) as he contends with the mother of his daughter Chrisann (Katherine Waterston) and technical problems with the launch that he blames on Andy Hertzfeld (Michael Stuhlbarg). In 1988, Jobs has left Apple and is working on a new project NeXT, which he thinks will be an important educational tool despite its high price. He also clashes with Apple CEO John Sculley (Jeff Daniels) about leaving Apple and Steve Wozniak (Seth Rogen) over comments made during an interview. Finally in 1998, Jobs is back at Apple and is about to launch the iMac G3, the product that revitalised the company.

Where this film succeds that past films have failed (particulary 2013's Jobs) is that is not an ambitious film in its scope. Instead of covering every aspect of Jobs' life, the film covers three important moments in his career. That's not to say that the film is lacking for details about Jobs' personality or where he came from. We learn a lot from brief flashbacks where characters discuss his background. Despite Sorkin's snappy writing, the film does have a certain level of predictability when it comes to each of the segments. It seems that Sorkin just had a formula for each one and just changed certain details. Somehow this dragged out the movie for me and made the film less riveting than it should have been.

Which was a lot, considering Fassbender's remarkable performance is completely riveting. He plays Jobs as a sociopathic egomaniac who just wants to make the world of his genius. And you do believe that he believes he is the smartest human ever because Fassbender plays him with the right amount of charm, Kate Winslet's role I found difficult to categorise. I was trying to figure out whether she was a lead character orm a supporting one, but I suppose they all are next to who the movie is about. She really was the emotional core of the movie. Seth Rogen's boyish lovability comes in handy as Steve Wozniak and Jeff Daniels plays a more depressing version of the CEO he played in The Martian. Newcomer Perla Haney-Jardine is a strong presence as Jobs' daughter Lisa in the older sequences.

Boyle's biopic is convincing at times and peters out at others and this has to do with a shaky script from the usually strong Sorkin. Fassbender's performance I think will be strong enough for him to take home the big prize at the Oscars.

First look at Harry Potter spinoff

Entertainment Weekly has released a series of promotional and set photos of the upcoming Harry Potter spinoff Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them. Starring Eddie Redmayne, it follows the story of wizard author Newt Scamander who wrote the book of which the film takes its title. The film is directed by Potter veteran David Yates and also stars Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol and Dan Fogler.

Inherent Vice

Reading Thomas Pynchon's 2009 novel before seeing this film really gave me a better understanding of the forces that are in play in the story. That doesn't mean that Paul Thomas Anderson's latest undertaking is at all confusing, rather it is a much more streamlined comprehensible adaptation of the novel that cuts through a lot of confusing tangents that are cut straight from a drugged up hippie's head.

Doc Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix) is a private investigator operating out of Gordita Beach in LA. One night, his ex-girlfriend Shasta (Katherine Waterston) appears out of nowhere to tell him of a plot to kidnap her current boyfriend, millionaire real estate developer Mickey Wolfmann (Eric Roberts). Doc is soon drawn into a complex web of conspiracies that involve a supposedly dead saxophone player Coy Harlingen (Owen Wilson), a rough police lieutenant Bigfoot Bjornsen (Josh Brolin) and the mysterious Golden Fang.

Paul Thomas Anderson is really a master with his camera work and all his usuals come into play. He is not one to shy away from long shots, but the one in this one is different. Normally his long takes rely on big choreographed movements as the camera flows from room to room and follows various characters. In Inherent Vice, he instead has a quite static long take that includes an eight minute monologue from Katherine Waterston that ends a little abruptly. There is one scene that stood out for me in particular that was a dialogue between Doc and a client that is done entirely in low angle close-ups with no establishing shot.

This film is littered with some great comedic moments, whether this be Doc's propensity to throw himself around like a rag doll or the fact that Denis (pronounced Dee-nis) can't drive. Being set in the early 70s, there are a lot of jokes about hippie culture and paranoia. Martin Short's dentist character Dr Rudy Blatnoyd is great fun for this, as he openly condemns hippies whilst partaking in illicit substances at the same time and getting everybody paranoid in the process.

Joaquin Phoenix is super fun as Doc. He seems to be channeling the character from the book with a dash of The Dude thrown for good measure. His love for Shasta knows no bounds, despite it being a very destructive relationship. Johanna Newsom plays his spirit guide Sortilège, although it's not quite clear if she exists in the physical world. Josh Brolin gives incredible depth to Bigfoot, a scary pancake loving giant. Owen Wilson acts as the whole lynchpin to the story and has an immense presence, despite appearing in a handful of scenes. Katherine Waterston is just amazing as Shasta and you will grow to love her as Doc does. I think everyone will agree that the movie does need more Benecio Del Toro, playing Doc's attorney Sauncho Smilax, Esq., and a crazy Eric Roberts whose couple of mumbled lines are just hilarious.

This hippy comedy/mystery is masterfully shot and acted. Anderson has been faithful to the source material and made what I like to call a pure adaptation; capturing the essence of the source without using everything that is there. Some great acting all round, particularly from Phoenix and Brolin. Beware the Golden Fang.