Film Clips: April 11, 2022

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Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (In Theaters April 15)

David Yates directs this third “Fantastic Beast” entry that regains a sure creature-footing. Humans fare less well with the scattershot plot and too many unfocused characters. Creature-wrangler Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), along with a few others wizards, joins Dumbledore’s group tasked with preventing dark conjurer Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen, taking over from Johnny Depp), from killing all muggles. Since Grindelwald foresees the future, Dumbledore and associates create alternate futures to confuse the enemy.

Set in the 1930s, the film’s backdrop includes gangs of Hitler’s thugs and graphic bloodshed prompting some critics to declare this fantasy too disturbing for young viewers. The story also debuts a tiny dragon/deer cross that proves central to the action. This Harry Potter universe film benefits from fantastic special effects and top-drawer performances from the film’s cast. (Lisa Miller)

Father Stu (In Theaters April 15)

Following a short prison stint during his teens, Mark Wahlberg became Roman Catholic. Years later, having heard Father Stu Long’s story from two priests, Wahlberg was determined to make a film based on Long’s story. Wahlberg appears as Stu Long, documenting the man’s journey from boxer to wanna-be actor to priest. Long struggles to overcome his self-destructive instincts, and when on the cusp of becoming a priest, learns he is suffering from a debilitating disease. His story resonates with Wahlberg who financed the film after several studios turned it down. Wahlberg enlisted Rosalind Ross (wife of fellow Catholic Mel Gibson), to write the screenplay and direct, along with securing Gibson to portray an important supporting role in this R-Rated docu-drama. (Lisa Miller)

“The Honeymooners Specials: The Complete Collection” (MPI Media DVD)

Among all the situation comedies of the 1950s, “The Honeymooners” presented the most unconventional depiction of American family life. Living far from the comfortable upper middle-class suburbia of the Cleavers or the urban comfort of the Ricardos, the Cramdens and Nortons were close to squalor. Ralph Cramden (Jackie Gleason) drove a bus and Ed Norton (Art Carney) worked in the sewers. Both families were childless. And the wives, Alice (Audrie Meadows) and Trixie (Joyce Randolph), were considerably smarter than their husbands. Maritial arguments were sharp and loud.

In the 1970s, Gleason returned to “The Honeymooners” for the last time, producing several one-hour specials for television collected here on DVD.

It’s clear from the setting that the upward mobility of the American middle class had left the couples behind. Ralph and Alice still lived in the same Early Depression two-room apartment with an Edward Hopper view through the kitchen window. Ralph and Ed are older but no wiser in the specials. Carney is spot on as the amiable fool and Gleason is brilliant as the bully with a soft underbelly, the swaggering braggart with clay feet. The scripts for the latter-day shows were consistently funny, but much of the humor shines from Gleason and Carney’s expressively comical body language. (David Luhrssen)