Monthly Archives: April 2022

04.15.22
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Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

Newt Scamander and crew join Albus Dumbledore in a quest to stop the evil Gellert Grindelwald from taking control of the entire Wizarding World and starting a war between wizards and Muggles.

Though the Harry Potter films have a fanbase that will stay strong for generations to come, the Fantastic Beasts films yet again fail to capture that same magic, and by now it feels like they’re not even trying to. The strengths still come in its production value and cast — the production design is very impressive and the musical score is top-notch. The cast is sufficient, especially Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander who was perfectly cast in the role. His bond with the titular beasts is very touching and gives the films an arc of compassion and heart. Jude Law also gives lots of nuance to the younger Dumbledore as his conflict with Grindelwald is explored deeper. Mads Mikkelsen also gives his fair share of menace and is much better than Johnny Depp, who came off as annoying in the last film. However, this is Jessica Williams’s first time as a lead in this film and she steals her scenes. Her charisma and energy are on another level and she’s going to be recognized by more audiences after this role, hopefully. However, Ezra Miller’s performance is still irritating, and feels rather deadpan and directionless. I don’t appreciate them giving Miller’s character so much screen time when they instead could’ve emphasized Katherine Waterson or Zoe Kravitz as main characters in this series (though Waterson still appears in a minor role).

The first one, though not amazing, still had its fair share of charm and excitement, but the following two installments became needlessly slow and gloomy when the Wizarding World thrives on being touching and cheerful; even in the darker Potter installments, the story is rooted in friendships and themes of goodness and courage. Thematically, these films suffer from a lack of direction in comparison. Though The Secrets of Dumbledore is a big improvement over The Crimes of Grindelwald, it still suffers from the same tonal issues, like feeling too much like a slow-burn drama for its own good and lacking thrills. The movie’s climactic battle is fairly thrilling but the buildup isn’t strong enough to give us much payoff. Where Warner Bros. really messed up here is writing this as a series of five films instead of a trilogy. The last 2 movies in the franchise were very dragged out and unrewarding from a story perspective and this way of pacing the story is costing the films a lot of excitement and coherence. The Harry Potter films were 8 movies and even the less eventful installments are memorable because of the nuances and world-building, but times have changed and having the same story and villain for five movies isn’t something audiences are looking for, as blockbuster films need to feel like a rewarding event when people buy a ticket — and here it’s once again evident that they should’ve stuck to the original plan and kept it at three films.

Though the potential for an exciting story and conflict are there, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore suffers from pacing and tonal issues that Wizarding World fans may be able to ignore for fantastical visuals and some strong performances, but it can’t bring the stakes and direction to the level such an epic-scale story needs to hit home.

04.01.22
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Morbius

Biochemist Michael Morbius tries to cure himself of a rare blood disease that has rendered him handicapped his entire life, but he inadvertently infects himself with a form of vampirism instead and must fight for control of himself.

After lots of delays and unconvincing trailers, Morbius pulls off the impossible — it’s even worse than expected. It’s one of the worst superhero films to date and one of the worst films I’ve ever seen in a movie theater. Academy Award winner Jared Leto continues a streak of subpar acting choices with a miscast, creepy turn as Michael Morbius, who’s supposed to be a social outcast doctor turned hero the way Benedict Cumberbatch so convincingly was in Doctor Strange, but Leto brings forth no charm or charisma and actually comes off as an unlikable hero who’s distant from the audience for the whole runtime. Matt Smith also delivers a horrible performance with a character you can’t stand and whose every move is predictable. Adria Arjona and Jared Harris try their best but are stuck with poor writing that doesn’t serve their skills or characters any well. Speaking of which, the characters’ morals, decisions, and conflicts feel so hollow they’re almost non-existent and simply there to check off boxes on the list of superhero origin clichés.

The movie attempts to be darker than the Marvel Cinematic Universe films in the main Tom Holland Spider-Man continuity, but unlike The Batman, another dark superhero film this year, Morbius has no energy, tone or clear objective to exist. The CGI makes the fights hard to watch, especially the vampire look and powers which look like images from a video game. The action is done in a way where it’s impossible to tell what’s going on and the lighting and score are dark and gloomy, sucking any life out of this sad movie that feels more like a first-draft concept idea than an actual movie made for an audience’s entertainment. But it’s not only embarrassingly bad to watch — it commits the unforgivable sin of being boring. Although at 1 hour and 44 minutes, it’s one of Marvel’s shortest movies ever, it feels so much slower than any other superhero film and I was begging for it to end. There comes a point where even when you find yourself drifting off and the movie has become beyond saving, it still finds a way to outdo itself and become simply unbearable and laughable in the final act. Even the bland Venom movies (which are set in the same universe as Morbius) have had aspects to offer some fans of the source material, but to any fans of comic-book movies, vampire movies, or just good movies, please spare yourself — the only thing you’ll get out of this movie is the desire to forget it immediately after you watch it.