Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)
Genre: Fantasy
Certification: N/A
Duration: 133 minutes
Directed by: David Yates
Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, Ron Perlman, Samantha Morton, Jon Voight, Dan Fogler, Carmen Ejogo
KRS Releasing Ltd

The much-awaited film adaptation of  J.K. Rowling’s fantasy novel is opening in cinemas worldwide this Friday.

The spin-off of the Harry Potter films (the title is borrowed from one of the textbooks the boy wizard studied at Hogwarts) boasts a script by the author herself in her screenwriting debut.

Dan Folger (left) accompanies Eddie Redmayne on his journey of discovery in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

The plot is set in 1926, when Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) has just completed a tour around the world to find and document an extraordinary array of magical creatures.  Arriving in New York for a brief stopover, he comes across a No-Maj (American for Muggle) named Jacob (Dan Fogler), a misplaced magical case and the escape of some of his fantastic beasts.

Other cast members include Katherine Waterston as Porpentina ‘Tina’ Goldstein, a down-to-earth and grounded witch working for the Magical Congress of the United States of America (Macusa); Alison Sudol as Queenie Goldstein, Porpentina’s younger sister and roommate; Colin Farrell as Percival Graves, a director of magical security at Macusa;  Carmen Ejogo as president of Macusa; and Johnny Depp as Gellert Grindelwald, the most dangerous wizard of all-time (second only to Harry Potter’s Voldemort).

The film, directed by David Yates, who was behind a number of Potter films, received mixed early reviews, with some critics saying that it might be “too dark” for a family audience.

One of these is Peter Debruge of Variety who found the film to be “a deeply troubled commentary on tolerance, fear and bigotry in the world today”. Others found the plot and its multiple characters overstuffed.

Among the more negative comments, Joe Dziemianowicz of New York Daily News said: “Fancy phony special effects aren’t enough to make a fantasy flick click.”

However, the film won over a good number of other critics, including Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian, who gave the film five out of five stars and described it as “a rich, baroque, intricately detailed entertainment”.

Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a full score of 100 per cent – a very rare rating – and the critics consensus reads: “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them draws on Harry Potter's rich mythology to deliver a spin-off that dazzles with franchise-building magic all its own.”

In fact, without knowing how the film will fare at the box office, it has already been confirmed that Fantastic Beasts will have another four sequels, with Rowling writing the scripts and Yates directing all of them.

Ratings
IMDB: N/A
Rotten Tomatoes: 100%
Empire: 3 stars

Nocturnal Animals (2016)
Genre: Thriller
Certification: 15
Duration: 117 minutes
Directed by: Tom Ford
Starring: Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, Isla Fisher, Armie Hammer, Ellie Bamber, Aaron Taylor-Johnson
KRS Releasing Ltd

After the success of his first film, A Single Man (2009), designer-turned-film-maker Tom Ford delivers a neo-noir psychological thriller.

Nocturnal Animals is based on the 1993 novel Tony and Susan by Austin Wright. The plot follows a successful Los Angeles art gallery owner (Amy Adams) whose idyllic life is marred by the constant travelling of her handsome second husband (Armie Hammer).

Amy Adams has to confront some dark truths in Nocturnal Animals.

While he is away, she is shaken by the arrival of a manuscript written by her first husband (Jake Gyllenhaal), who she has not seen in years. The manuscript tells the story of a teacher who finds a trip with his family turning into a nightmare. As Susan reads the book, it forces her to examine her past and confront some dark truths.

The film won the Grand Jury Prize at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival and earned very good reviews from critics.

Mark Kermode of The Guardian showers Ford with praise and  compares his skills to those of some legendary directors.

He wrote: “This stylish psychodrama is a skilful synthesis of the mood of Hitchcock, the skewed reality of Lynch and Kubrick’s obsessive attention to detail.”

What else could a director ask for?

Stephanie Zacharek of Time was so impressed that she said: “Nocturnal Animals barely feels like a film made by a human being. You could just dub it a ‘stylish exercise’ and call it a day.”

Will Lawrence of Empire agreed with his fellow critics as he penned: “Ford’s artfully composed and emotionally clever noir is well-paced and, in stark contrast to the naked flesh that opens the film, never, ever sags.”

The $22.5 million budget film opens in Malta today but is set to be released worldwide on Friday.

Ratings
IMDB: 8.0/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 76%
Empire: 4 stars

The Light Between Oceans (2016)
Genre: Drama
Certification: 12A
Duration: 133 minutes
Directed by: Derek Cianfrance
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, Rachel Weisz, Jack Thompson, Thomas Unger, Anthony Hayes
KRS Releasing Ltd

Real-life couple Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander star in this romantic period drama based on the 2012 novel of the same name by M.L. Stedman.

Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander have some tough decisions to make in The Light Between Oceans.

Written and directed by Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine, The Place Beyond the Pines), the film tells the story of World War I veteran Tom (Fassbender) who maintains a lighthouse off the shore of Australia with his wife Isabel (Vikander), a woman desperate to have a baby. Her prayers are answered when an infant washes up on shore in a rowboat. Tom thinks they should notify the authorities but ultimately gives in to Isabel’s wish to keep the girl. When the couple meets the child’s biological mother (Rachel Weisz) on the mainland, they must make a decision that could forever affect the lives of four people.

The international co-production (US, Australia, UK, New Zealand) had its world premiere at the Venice film festival where it competed for the Golden Lion but went home empty-handed and received mixed reviews.

Among others, critics praised the cinematography but called the film “emotionally fraught” and a “Bergmanesque soap opera”.

Wendy Ide of The Guardian said that despite the protagonist’s efforts, they could not save this “poorly-paced version” of the source material.

The $20 million budget film has so far earned $19 million in box office receipts worldwide.

Ratings
IMDB: 7.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 59%
Empire: 3 stars