Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald PG-13
Set in 1927, in the second installment of the five-part series, Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) recruits former student Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) to stop the evil Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) from turning wizards into rulers over muggles. Introducing new characters like Newt’s straight-laced elder brother, Theseus (Callum Turner), this chapter becomes overly complicated. Loose and unnecessary plot threads make it tough to enjoy Rowland’s imaginative beasts and locations. Redmayne has yet to make Scamander his own. As the film’s central character, he’s rather more distracting than satisfying.
Instant Family PG-13
Having teamed with Mark Wahlberg on Daddy’s Home, director Sean Anders looks to his bankable star to bring home another cute family movie. Pete (Wahlberg) and Ellie (Rose Byrne) are captivated by a little girl needing foster care. When they learn she has two older siblings, the childless couple decides to take them all in. Too bad the jokes and heartfelt moments are strictly canned. Films by Anders are consistently panned, but his Daddy’s Home flicks made nearly $300 million. When Anders and Wahlberg claimed Instant Family was made for a good cause, we have to wonder whether they meant for foster care or profit.
Widows R
When their husbands are killed during a robbery gone wrong, four widows are harassed by a crime lord for the stolen $2 million that went missing. Adapted from a 1980s British TV series, rather than four white women, here, the widows are African American (Viola Davis and Cynthia Erivo), Latina (Michelle Rodriguez) and white (Elizabeth Debicki). With their lives on the line, Veronica (Davis) finds detailed plans for her husband’s (Liam Neeson) next heist, sharing it with the other widows in hopes that they can pull off the robbery themselves. Set in Chicago under the thumb of corrupt politicians, the widows seek revenge as well as secure financial futures. The film’s action sequences are superb, the characters are relatable, and director Steve McQueen finds groundbreaking ways to shoot what might otherwise be mundane.
