It’s Movie Monday! I’ve got two reviews lined up for you today and they are miles apart in genre. I actually watched four movies this weekend but since two were in prep for the next recording session I can’t go into them quite yet. Suffice it to say that both Krampus and Sausage Party will be interesting episodes to tune in to.
On with the show! First up is Bad Moms. Mila Kunis plays a mom who’s had enough with the life she’s been living. Her husband is useless and her job is awful. Christina Applegate plays the lunatic PTA president that plots against her. The plot is utterly predictable and unoriginal. The director relies entirely too much on the use of slow motion for anything involving action. While it’s moderately annoying, it also helps the direction of the film. Without it, you wouldn’t find anything these women are doing remotely funny. Between the party scene and the grocery store scene, I find myself wondering why people found this movie funny. Even with that ringing endorsement, I will say that the actresses put in decent performances. They did the best they could with what they were given. I wouldn’t recommend bothering with this movie unless you’re a die-hard fan of any of the main actresses. I also went to see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. One thing you should know about me is that I don’t deal with 3D. Aside from the extra cost, my astigmatism and I disagree throughout the movie and I always just end up with a headache when it’s all said and done. 3D also always looks too dark to me. All that to tell you that I saw the plain ol’ 2D version. Eddie Redmayne is a perfect edition to the Harry Potter world. He blends into the quirks of the Wizarding World so well that one wonders why he was never in the original movies. The answer of course is that the universe was waiting for him for THIS movie. For once, I had not read the book prior to attending the movie. I was happy to have an expansion of the Harry Potter Universe. The New York version of the Ministry is exactly what you would expect when it comes to the look and feel of it. Dan Fogler was an excellent addition to the cast, with his straight man “muggle/non-mage” portrayal. His character was a stand-in for the audience as he discovered the world of wizardry. I found it interesting that this is meant to be set in the 1940's considering that the original movies have the same old-timey vibe to them. Both Colin Firth and Ezra Miller put in solid performances. You’re never quite sure which side they are on up until the very end. There are some predictable parts scattered throughout but overall the plot was well paced and nuanced. My only real “complaint” is the same one I have about the majority of CGI cityscapes and action scenes. Each time they make a movie like this, where there are scenes in which you are “flying” over the city or through the streets…everything is so blurry that you can’t actually appreciate the work that went in to creating them. I will say that the resolutions and the ending were surprising. I am definitely excited for the next movie, whenever that may be. What did you watch this weekend?
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