‘Nocturnal Animals’ gets you your visual storytelling fix

Posted on November 24, 2016 by reelentropy

Images courtesy Focus Features.

Steven James
@StevenLeeJames

If you are not just a fan of great acting and writing, but also appreciate the use of lighting and color to produce top-notch visuals — the kind that should be the norm and not the exception — Nocturnal Animals is the movie for you.

Art gallery owner and insomniac Susan Morrow (Amy Adams) receives the manuscript of an upcoming novel written by her ex-husband, Edward Sheffield (Jake Gyllenhaal), which is titled Nocturnal Animals after his nickname for her. One evening, she begins reading the novel, which gives her flashbacks of her time with Sheffield, as well as her overbearing mother, Anne Sutton (Laura Linney). She reads the novel on-again, off-again, continuing to have flashbacks. She is impressed with his writing, and tries to meet with him.

The movie itself, though, is actually about reflections.

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The Open Bar Review – Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Posted on November 21, 2016 by reelentropy

Paul and I discuss our issues with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them — its length, its myriad plots and its problematic ending. Detailed spoiler warning.

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The Open Bar Review – Arrival

Posted on November 19, 2016 by reelentropy

Paul and I talk about how much we loved Arrival and the high perch on which director Denis Villeneuve sits.

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‘Fantastic Beasts’ brings magic back to the big screen

Posted on November 18, 2016 by reelentropy

Images courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures.

 

Christina Ulsh
@stina_ulsh

Harry Potter fans rejoice! Now you can enjoy the magical world of Harry Potter without sacrificing your favorite book scenes and details by watching Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. This is a rare moment in J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World history, where the movie is better than the book.

Based on the idea of a textbook present in the curriculum at Hogwarts — Rowling did end up publishing the text for charity in 2001, but the screenplay is very loosely taken from it — Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), a seemingly aloof yet surprisingly adept wizard who studies and cares for magical creatures, arrives in 1920s New York with a suitcase filled with said creatures. At this time in Wizarding America, magical beasts are deemed dangerous, and their breeding is banned. There are tighter regulations on fantastic creatures in the U.S. than in the U.K. as they may expose the wizarding community to No-Majs, the Western word for Muggle or non-magical persons.

In the process of losing, chasing and catching a mischievous niffler, Scamander also catches the attention of ex-Auror Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston) and wrangles loan-seeking No-Maj Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) into the mayhem. Goldstein arrests Scamander after he exposes his magical prowess to the No-Maj without wiping his memory. Scamander’s suitcase is eventually opened, releasing a handful of magical and misunderstood beasts on the area. For the beasts’ safety, Scamander sets out to recollect his creatures. After the Magical Congress of the United States, or the MACUSA, catch whiff of what his baggage contains, Scamander, Goldstein and Kowalski face serious consequences.

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‘I’m done with Harry Potter:’ J.K. Rowling’s journey away from and then back to her iconic franchise

Posted on November 16, 2016 by reelentropy

Steven James
@StevenLeeJames

Harry Potter prequel and spin-off Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will be the first in a five-movie series.

Fantastic Beasts is based on the 2001 book of the same name by J.K. Rowling about the magical creatures in the Harry Potter universe. Rowling wrote the book, a field guide of 75 beasts, with the pen name Newt Scamander for the U.K. charity Comic Relief. The book is common in wizarding households and required for first-year Hogwarts students. You learn more about why these creatures are important to the magical world, and it’s cool to just have this book in your personal library to occasionally read.

The seven core Harry Potter books were phenomenal. Even with all of the magic, action and epic adventures, the true heart of the story was always love triumphing over evil, no matter how dark things got. Rowling gave us a solid seven-part story that was about the good guys vs. the bad guys, and challenged what tolerance meant to audiences, especially for those who were growing up while the books were being released. From an artistic point of view, there was no need for a prequel or a sequel, whether that be a book, a movie or a play.

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