Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them rated PG-13 for fantasy action violence

I was keen to see this movie because it looked good.  I was pleasantly surprised by how good it is.

This movie takes place in the Wizarding World created by J.K. Rowling.  Fans of Harry Potter may recall that, at one time during the course of their studies, Harry and his classmates have to use the textbook Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander.  Those two things are the only connections to Harry Potter.

In this film we meet Newt Scamander (played by Eddie Redmayne) who has traveled to America with a mysterious suitcase that appears to have something in it.  Prior to Newt's arrival, the audience sees that there appears to be a mysterious something attacking various places in New York City.  Whatever it is demolishes buildings and causes mayhem.  It has also gained the unwanted attention of Non-Majes (the American equivalent to Muggles).

Newt has no idea and no way to know that there is anything unusual happening in the city.  While he is moving through the city, he accidentally "loses" one of his creatures.  He accidentally gets the attention of an American witch named Tina (played by Katherine Waterston) while searching for his creature.  The creature is evidently attracted to shiny things like jewelry and coins and so Newt tracks his creature to a nearby bank.

While in the bank, Newt accidentally switches his magical suitcase with a Non-Maj named Kowalski (played by Dan Fogler) who has a very similar looking suitcase.   Tina is determined to seize Newt and his magical suitcase and turn him in to MACUSA, the American counterpart to the British Ministry of Magic.  After she is turned away, Newt seeks out Kowalski to retrieve his suitcase.

In the interim, Kowalski has been attacked by a frightened creature.  To Tina's dismay Newt tries to help Kowalski without wiping his memory.  To keep Kowalski safe and help heal him, Newt gently insists on keeping Kowalski close.  As such Tina is forced to take Kowalski and Newt with her back to her apartment.  While there, Kowalski and Newt meet Tina's charmingly sweet sister Queenie (played by Alison Sudol).  Queenie also happens to have the ability to read minds.

During the night, Newt reveals to Kowalski that he is carrying a wide array of magical creatures from tiny twig-like creatures to massive rhino-like creatures.  He is apparently passing through New York City on his way to Arizona to release a large eagle like creature who appears to be the inspiration behind the legend of the Thunder Bird.

It turns out that Newt is an unorthodox Wizard who is attempting to study, protect, and, if need be, collect magical creatures throughout the world to educate the Wizarding World.  He is writing a book about his studies that will eventually become Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

While Newt is preoccupied with tending to the creatures in his protection, Tina seizes her opportunity and takes the suitcase in to MACUSA.  MACUSA is in an uproar over a Non-Maj's death the previous evening that appears to be the attack from the mysterious creature that is terrorizing NYC.  After listening to Tina's testimony, then Newt's testimony, high-ranking member of MACUSA named Graves (played by Colin Farrell) determines that Newt and Tina are traitors and will be summarily executed.

After escaping Graves' clutches, Newt, Tina, Queenie, and Kowalski team up to find the last of Newt's missing creature's and to help find out what is causing the destruction in the city.

While Newt and the others have been dealing with their respective situations, it turns out that there is an anti-Witch movement in New York City that has gained steam with the death of the Non-Maj.  The person most responsible for the movement in New York City is Mary Lou Barebone (played by Samantha Morton).  She has involved her two children, her daughter Modesty and her troubled teenage son Credence (played by Ezra Miller) in the movement.

Although I expected to like this film, my expectations were exceeded.  I think that the story was very good considering the source for this movie is a fictional encyclopedia textbook.  The acting was great.  Katherine Waterston did a great job portraying a multi faceted character that to me started out as unlikeable but gradually won me over.  Alison Sudol as Queenie was adorable and added depth, warmth, and genuine sweetness to a character that could easily have been vapid and stupid.  Dan Kroger as Kowalski was hilarious.  I was very pleased to see him as I haven't seen him in many pictures and I find him to be entertaining in the few movies that I have seen. Ezra Miller did a good job as the pitifully troubled Credence. Eddie Redmayne also did a great job as the shy and quietly intelligent Newt Scamander.  

Considering some aspects of the subject matter, the filmmakers did an excellent job of taking the heavier darker aspects of the film and softening them enough to not bring the movie down.  All in all, a very good movie definitely worth watching whether you are a Harry Potter fan or not.!

Exorcist: The Beginning rated R for strong violence and gore, disturbing images and rituals, and for language including some sexual dialogue

Even though the first Exorcist movie scared me pretty well, I was curious about this one both because of the premise of it being a prequel and because of Stellan Skarsgard being cast as Father Merrin.

In this prequel we find a younger Father Merrin (played by Stellan Skarsgard) who is struggling with his faith while participating in an archaeological dig in East Africa.  A church has been found completely buried in the sand. Father Merrin is assisted in the dig by a team including Father Francis (played by James D'Arcy) who is supposed to protect any religious artifacts that they come across and a doctor named Sarah (played by Izabella Scorupco).

Father Merrin is haunted by what he did in Holland as a young man and his helplessness in that situation.  He tries to push aside his nightmares and his struggles with his faith as he focuses on the dig.

Strangely enough, when Father Merrin shows up at the excavation site, there is an air of darkness at the site.  It seems that as more and more of the church is uncovered strange and frightening events start to happen to various members of the the dig including a child getting mauled by hyenas while his brother is left unmolested.

And so it is that Father Merrin has his first encounter with the demon Pazuzu.  Pazuzu is apparently the same demon that possesses Regan in The Exorcist.  Through his battle with Pazuzu Father Merrin works hard to regain his faith while trying to perform an exorcism on Sarah.

The film had some definitely frightening moments although there are other movies that are scarier.  The story for this film was very good.  The acting was great.

As I stated above I watched this movie partly because of Stellan Skarsgard.  I personally think that he is a great actor and is worthy of the critical acclaim that he has gained over the years.  He is great at subtly adding depth to characters.

I am a little confused by the similarities between this film and Dominion:  Prequel to the Exorcist that was released in 2005.  The two movies are so similar that it feels like Dominion was a remake of this picture.  I've heard that the difference is mainly in the styles of the respective directors.

The Exorcist rated R for disturbing images and strong language

I watched this movie with a group of friends when we were all teenagers.  I was glad that I watched it with them and with the lights on.

This movie is basically two movies in one with two intersecting stories.  At the beginning we meet the "tie that binds" the two stories in the form of Father Merrin (played by Max von Sydow) who is taking part in an archaeological dig somewhere in Northern Africa possibly the Middle East.  He comes across an artifact  that obviously makes him uneasy.

Off we go to Washington D.C. where an actress named Chris MacNeil (played by Ellen Burstyn) who is filming a movie.  She has brought her young daughter Regan (played by Linda Blair) along as well as the servants in her household.  While they are staying there Chris starts to observe strange behavior in her daughter.  After Chris takes Regan to the doctor for treatment, Regan's behavior rapidly becomes frightening rather than just strange.  When the doctors are unable to successfully treat Regan's condition, Chris turns to the church for help.

While Chris and Regan are going through their ordeal, another priest named Father Karras (played by Jason Miller) is dealing with the loss of his mother and the fact that he didn't make time to visit her before she died.  As a result, his faith is shaken.  It is at this time that Chris gets in touch with him.  After witnessing Regan's suffering, Father Karras reaches out to Father Merrin as Father Merrin is an official Church sanctioned exorcist.

And so Father Merrin and Father Karras struggle to free Regan from the possession of the demon.  While the exorcism is going on Father Karras struggles with his lack of faith.

In my opinion, this movie is simultaneously very scary and very boring.  I didn't finish the book because I got bored with the sequences involving Father Karras and him dealing with his mother's death and diminished faith.  The book didn't do a very good job of keeping me the reader orientated with what was going on.  The movie was kind of choppy to me going back and forth between Regan, Father Karras, and, to a smaller extent, Father Merrin.

The acting was great.  The special effects were great.  The story was good.  I can see why this movie is considered to be one of the scariest pictures of all time.  Worth watching if you are curious but I would recommend not watching alone.

Scrooged rated PG-13 for brief nudity, some violence/gore, language, thematic material, and some drug use

As stated in an earlier post, there are many variations on the classic story of A Christmas Carol.  Although this film takes place in the 1980s, this version is the first of the more contemporary takes on the story.  There is more emphasis on humor in this picture which is probably what makes it one of the more preferred variations on Dickens' Christmas story.

In this version the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge is portrayed instead as TV producer Frank Cross (played by Bill Murray).  Frank is attempting to successfully film a live production of A Christmas Carol on Christmas Eve no less.  He has no consideration for the fact that he is making people work on Christmas Eve.  His focus is on excellent ratings. He is so focused on ratings that, when he is told by a worker named Eliot Loudermilk (played by Bobcat Goldthwait)  that his tv promo caused a woman to die of a heart attack, he is pleased because he considers that to be a case of any press is good press.  Eliot gets fired on Christmas Eve after he tries to gently and respectfully suggest that the tv promo doesn't promote the spirit of Christmas.

After Frank gets frustrated from dealing with various snafus including having trouble with the censors,  trying to keep his smarmy rival Brice Cummings (played by John Glover) at bay, etc. Frank retreats to his office for a breather.  While in his office, the "Jacob Marley" of this picture,  Frank's former mentor Lew Hayward (played by John Forsythe) visits Frank and tells him that he will be visited by three spirits this night.  Frank initially scoffs just like the original Ebenezer.  Like the original Jacob Marley does to Ebenezer Scrooge,  Lew scares Frank into taking him seriously.  When Frank comes to, he is alone and convinces himself that it was just a dream.

Frank rejoins the production crew.  After getting fed up with the cast and crew, he retreats from the building.  At this time he meets the first spirit, the Spirit of Christmas Past in the form of a gruff taxi driver (played by David Johansen).  After his time with the Ghost of Christmas Past is finished, Frank finds himself back at the studio disrupting the production as it were.

And so it goes.  Frank has encounters with the subsequent Spirits and always finds himself back at the studio, usually disrupting the production.  Like the original Ebenezer, Frank learns about the Spirit of Christmas and determines to change.  The differences that were incorporated in this picture made sense and were all nice touches that added their own flair without taking away from the story.

All of the cast was excellent.  Robert Mitchum performs a brief role in the form of Frank's boss Preston Rhinelander.  Karen Allen is her usual adorably charming self as Frank's love interest Claire Phillips.  Finally,  Carol Kane is my personal favorite Christmas Spirit as the hilarious Ghost of Christmas Present.

There are some unexpectedly gory moments particularly revolving around Frank's mentor Lew.  Also, the Ghost of Christmas Future is at its most frightening in this version I think.

A Christmas Carol aka Scrooge (1951) Not Rated

Christmas isn't the same in my opinion without watching at least one film version of Charles Dickens's classic A Christmas Carol.  Fortunately there are many to choose from depending on personal preference.  In my opinion, this version is the best.

It's a bitterly cold Christmas Eve in Victorian London.  Scrooge (played by Alastair Sim) goes about his usual business.  Anyone who tries to share Christmas Spirit with him or even remind him that it is Christmas Eve is treated with scorn and annoyance.  For anyone who actually dares to say "Merry Christmas!" to him, he promptly replies with a resounding "Bah!  Humbug!"

 His unfortunate clerk Bob Cratchit (played by Mervyn Johns) works while struggling to fend off the cold in his office and keep his own Christmas Spirit in the face of his boss's seeming hatred of Christmas and all things associated with Christmas.  At the day's end, Scrooge begrudgingly gives Bob Christmas off but demands Bob come in "all the earlier" the following day.  Afterwards Scrooge leaves for home.  

While Scrooge gets ready for bed that evening, he is visited by the ghost of his old similarly miserly partner Jacob Marley (played by Michael Hordern).  In the years since his untimely passing, Marley has been suffering both because he was such a miser in his lifetime but also because he has apparently been trying to reach out to humanity help.  He has been specifically reaching out to Scrooge to try to help Scrooge not meet the same fate as himself.  In his efforts to help Scrooge, Marley has managed to make it so that Scrooge will be visited by three spirits.  

As Marley promised, Scrooge is visited by The Ghost of Christmas Past, The Ghost of Christmas Present, and the terrifying Ghost of Christmas Future.  Through the visions that the respective ghosts show to Scrooge it is hoped that he will turn from his current path and become a better person who has Christmas Spirit throughout the year.  In other words, a person who focuses more on helping people instead of being a miser in all ways.   

All of the cast is wonderful but Alastair Sim does a particularly excellent job bringing to life the miserly Scrooge.  It seems that he set the bar with this performance for the subsequent Scrooges that followed.  

If you haven't seen this version yet, I would strongly advise seeing it.  Fortunately it is such a beloved classic that it is usually shown on cable tv networks at least once during the Christmas season.  

Christmas Land rated G ***spoilers***

As I stated in a previous post, I like that Hallmark Channel does Christmas movies every year.  I enjoy many of the movies and generally give many of the movies a chance.  Some movies are hit or miss.  Others, like this one, fall somewhere in the middle in my opinion.

Successful New York businesswoman Jules (played by Nikki Deloach) inherits a successful Christmas tree farm complete with Christmas-themed shops/town from her Aunt Glinda (played by Maureen McCormick).  Even though Jules had happy childhood memories associated with her time at Christmas Land, Jules decides to sell the property as soon as she can find a buyer.  She starts to have second thoughts after she spends some time in Christmas Land and spends time with Tucker (Luke Macfarlane).  After being presented with a generous offer from a guy named Mason (played by Richard Karn) and feeling the pressure from her boyfriend Mitchell (played by Jason-Shane Scott) Jules makes a decision that could potentially have devastating consequences for Christmas Land and the people who love and work at Christmas Land.  Can Jules somehow fix the mess that she created?  Will she choose Tucker or Mitchell?  Will Jules keep Christmas Land?

This movie was all right and worth watching if you are curious.  It fell a bit short in the chemistry between the two leads and in my caring for Jules and what happens to Jules and Christmas Land.

The Legend of Hell House rated PG

This was a film that I came across while flipping channels.  The first time that I came across it, the movie was about halfway through so I saw no point in picking up in the middle.  The second time I was able to watch the whole movie all the way through.

This film tells of a team consisting of a physicist named Dr. Lionel Barrett (played by Clive Revill), his wife Ann Barrett (played by Gayle Hunnicutt), a "non-physical" medium named Florence Tanner (played by Pamela Franklin) and a "physical" medium named Benjamin Fischer (played by Roddy McDowall) who are going to a large estate in the English countryside infamously referred to as  "Hell House" to investigate the possibility of life after death.  They have been selected by a Mr. Deutsch (played by Roland Culver) to spend a week at "Hell House" to find and bring back proof that there is either life after death or not.

The estate is referred to as "Hell House" because of the events that have taken place at the estate including many deaths, acts of debauchery, witchcraft, etc.  The last team that tried to investigate the house had only one survivor, Benjamin Fischer and he is said to have become unbalanced as a result of his experiences.

Things start out ok but from the moment the group enters the house there is an apparent "atmosphere" of unease and darkness that rapidly progresses to horror.  The two women are the ones who are initially the most afflicted by whatever seems to be haunting the house.

Dr. Barrett is determined that there is no actual haunting but rather that the "atmosphere" is due to energy caused by the events of that occurred inside of the house.  Florence is adamant that there is a haunting.  Benjamin seems closed off.  Ann is conflicted.  When mysterious events start happening and the events take on more frightening aspects, everyone's ideas and perceptions are put to the test.

This is an excellent atmospheric horror movie.  There is almost no blood and very little violence.  The "scares" aren't the typical "jump scares" that we see quite frequently in many recent horror pictures.  The acting is all around very good.  The story was well thought out and well executed.  While this is an older picture, I think that it has stood the test of time well.  I liked that they tried to add a scientific aspect to this horror movie as opposed to just pure horror.  It is interesting to note that this is probably one of the first scary movies that featured science in it.  There was an interesting level of respect shown to the mediums in this picture and it felt like the filmmakers were portraying mediums with emphasis on the scientific side rather than the "metaphysical" side which is different.