“What ‘Fantastic Beasts’ Lost by Leaving ‘Harry Potter’ Behind”

You may remember that two years ago, I had very unflattering things to say about Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, allegedly a “spin-off” from and “prequel” to the Harry Potter films, but more honestly an attempt at squeezing a few bajillion more dimes out of J.K. Rowling’s now-classic YA series. To paraphrase Sarah Silverman in Popstar: … Continue reading →

Review: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, 2016, dir. David Yates

I didn’t like The Legend of Tarzan, the first of two movies on David Yates’ slate in 2016. I also didn’t like Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, his second movie, but I liked it much more even if its failures left me feeling aggrieved more than Tarzan‘s did; it’s perhaps the 2016 franchise film that is … Continue reading →

“How ‘Twilight’ Sparked A YA Craze It Then Helped Destroy”

I wonder if I’m being overly critical of Twilight here, suggesting that it’s Twilight‘s fault YA has apparently moved on from genre to more reality-based material; I do very much loathe Twilight, because I love hewing to popular opinion, but at the same time I’m grateful for it as a basis for the careers of Robert Pattinson … Continue reading →

Review: Drinking Buddies, 2013, dir. Joe Swanberg

With fifteen directing credits under his belt since 2005, and almost twice that number of acting gigs, Joe Swanberg is nothing if not prolific. He’s also intensely divisive, having long ago earned the dubious honor of serving as a lightning rod for the critical community; as one of the mumblecore film movement’s most prominent non-Duplass … Continue reading →

Review: Monsters, 2010, dir. Gareth Edwards

In Monsters, the debut picture of newcomer Gareth Edwards, colossal alien beasts roam the lands south of the US/Mexico border after landing on Earth six years ago. The territory they inhabit, stretching south from the border through much of northern Mexico, has been deemed the “infected zone” and is considered hostile for human beings to … Continue reading →

The Cinematic Decade: My Top 25 of the 2000s (pt 5)

Coming down the home stretch of this series. For those just tuning in: Part one, part two, part three, and part four for your reading pleasure. 5. Knocked Up: Ben is a lovable stoner loser with no direction or genuine ambition; Alison is a career-oriented young woman who recently received an on-air promotion at E! … Continue reading →