Today I have three very different movies to review. I will be reviewing "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald" which is the sequel to the very successful "Harry Potter" prequel that same out 2 years ago, "Overlord" which is a horror-war thriller, and "Boy Erased" which is based on the true story of Garrard Conley and his experiences going through the horrific practice of gay conversion therapy. Before I get started, I'd like to give a shoutout to the Free Gamer's Alliance YouTube channel. Their videos cover everything from walkthroughs, glitches, easter eggs, and various amusing video game related content, all of which is delivered with some colorful commentary while they have buckets of fun doing it. Here is the link:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC03E6K3QHRMp7Vs0S6wHm6Q
Lets start with "Boy Erased." Here is the trailer:
- The cast is absolutely perfect. Everyone embodies their character so well. I could see potential award nominations for both Lucas Hedges and Nicole Kidman. Both Hedges and Kidman portray characters going through a whole range of emotions and they are portrayed with such fantastic authenticity.
- The soundtrack of this movie really fits well with the scenes.
- This movie is written very well. It doesn't use a linear narrative structure which many movies manage to get lost in but this one manages to edit the story together in a cohesive yet interesting way. It also manages to write dialogue that feels authentic. This is probably partially due to this being based off the real life memoirs of the man who went through this.
- The pacing is very good. Movies of this nature have a tendency to drag on longer than they should and this one manages to keep things flowing nicely.
- There are some really good emotional scenes that will have you feeling various things from anger to sadness to hope to everything in between.
- This movie manages to effectively tell the story of someone who went through these conversion "therapy" camps effectively. By that I mean it shows off the horrors of this atrocious (and shockingly legal in a lot of North America) practice and the trauma it inflicts on those subjected to it without pointing fingers. I think it is probably the best way for it to make its point.
- I got nothing.
"Boy Erased" is easily one of the best movies of the year. It is an important movie that has a lot to say and it does so through some incredible performances and some very skillful writing and direction. I absolutely recommend this movie.
Lets move on to "Overlord." Here is the trailer:
- There are some really fun and truly extra action scenes that are a lot of fun to watch. The one in the beginning is particularly grandiose.
- The soundtrack is absolutely fantastic! It really pumps up the adrenaline of the audience which is appropriate for a movie like this.
- The cast in this movie is clearly having a good time in this movie which makes it really fun for the audience to watch.
- The thing that really works for this movie is that it is so over the top and gratuitous that it becomes so much fun to watch.
- The film is bogged down by some pacing issues. There is a good portion of the film that drag on a lot more than they should.
- Also this movie isn't the type where we need a lot of depth in characters but it would have been nice if they had been developed a bit more.
"Overlord" is the perfect example of what an over the top B-movie should be. It is silly and excessive in every sense of the word but it becomes a joy to watch. If you are looking for a future cult classic type of movie where you check your mind at the door and shove popcorn in your face, I would recommend this as it is a lot of fun. I would advised staying away if you are looking for a well told story and a technically well made movie.
Finally, lets break down "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald." Here is the trailer:
- The cast is mostly excellent. Eddie Redmayne once again comes off as super charming and likeable and I love Jude Law as a younger version of Dumbledore.
- The ending of this movie is quite exciting. It kind of pulls a "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" in that the ending was far more interesting than the rest of the movie but it has me interested in what is coming next.
- Visually this movie is stunning.
- Finally, the action scenes are a big improvement on the first movie.
- This movie does suffer from some pacing issues and it ends up feeling longer than it really is.
- There are a lot of major jumps in logic and plot holes that may make you roll your eyes.
- Finally, this movie focuses way too much on world building at the expense of the actual story that is being told. This results in a lot of things that feel undercooked. It gets to the point where the main cast almost feels sidelined for the sake of connecting this to the other "Harry Potter" movies.
"Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald" does a lot of things right but it ends up being underwhelming due to some pretty poor writing which is the source of just about all of the issues with it. I would say that it is a good time if you are super invested in the "Harry Potter"/"Wizarding World" universe. If not, this movie may not do much for you.
Thanks for reading everyone!! As usual, feel free to leave a comment but please be advised that if you read any potential comments that spoilers may be present.