Filvies144

Originality is nearly non-existent in the movie industry now a days since sequels, spin-offs, prequels, and Remakes dominate. But I do usually see them because the originals are good. Checking this out in theaters for me didn't require any trailers, because its based on the Harry Potter universe. What's not to like about that?

This film is set in the same universe as Harry Potter, except in 1926, in New York. It is centered on the wizard Newt Scamander, who brings magical a suitcase containing Magical Creatures to New York, but when the creatures come loose, its up to him and his friends to get them back to avoid getting exposed to non magical people. The movie mostly has a good pace, and is fun. It also introduces interesting ideas to the universe, which really got me intrigued. However, it can be confusing, and hard to get into at first. When I watched it, it took me 10-15 minutes to understand it. But those little nitpicks don't take away the good writing this film has.

For the characters of this film, they are a pretty enjoyable cast. The main character Newt (I'm just going to be honest) is a moron. Seriously why would anyone think that bringing a suitcase of magical creatures that isn't 100% secure to a city of non magical people is a wonderful idea? However, he is a fun character with a goofy personality and if great to follow. Also joining the adventure, is the auror Tina and her sister Queenie, who are likable and contribute to the adventure. But my favorite character is Jacob, who is a no-maj(non magical person) who gets involved in the adventure and helps Newt. I liked how he has a goofy personality and is very funny. The fantastic beasts in the movie are also really funny, and cute as well. I only mentioned those because the rest of the cast involves spoilers, but the characters are overall pleasant additions to the Harry Potter universe.

The visual effects in this movie are better than shown in the other 8 Harry Potter movies. The budget is 180 million and it shows. The design of the animals are brilliant, (just to avoid the "fantastic" pun)with unique abilities, and they all stand out rather than simply having dragons. Other magic in the film is unique (like the suitcase). I like how this film used many more of these ideas to bring to life and doesn't make it stand out as much in the action scenes or use gimmicks (unlike the other Harry Potter films). So overall, brilliant visual effects to add to this film.

After the Harry Potter films, I didn't expect this spin-off to be this good, but I was wrong. The movie is overall a holiday treat with a Fun story and characters, interesting ideas, and awesome effects. It is a recommendation from me indeed, and after this, we'll see if the next spin-off coming to theaters near us, Rouge One: A Star Wars Story, can top this.

Look guys, I appreciate stop motion. I've seen some shorts that feature it, mostly Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep. I even saw The Oscar nominated Shaun the Sheep movie while traveling to Paris. But I haven't seen any of Laika's movies. Not even Coraline. But when the trailers made it intriguing, I knew I was going to miss something big if I didn't go. I'm glad I did go (Note: this review will be spoiler free).

The story is about Kubo, a storyteller with the ability to use two strings to animate his storytelling, who must go on a quest to find his fathers magical armor to fight his grandfather, the Moon king. Going into it, I thought it would be too similar to other action packed animated films, but I was incorrect. The story is sometimes unique, yes action packed, and entertaining. I do have one nitpick to give out, but I won't say it do to spoilers.

Along with the great writing, we are brought a cast of memorable and charming characters. Kubo is a likable main character that is bright, funny, and brave. What is more interesting about him and the journey is that the journey he goes through is similar to the story he tells. The monkey (who came to life from a money charm) starts out as the impatient guardian of Kubo through his journey, but then becomes less harsh on Kubo and more caring. She was my personal favorite character due to bringing humor in her impatience and sarcasm. Bettle, who was formerly trained by Kubo's samurai father and then cursed to become a beetle, is the more dim-witted one, but is very funny and charming as well and serves some purpose to the plot. Kubo's two aunts (who are on his grandfathers side) are CREEPY beyond belief, and those two characters make it more suitable for audiences older than 6. There's a few others I won't spoil, but they bare importance to the plot as well.

The animation in this movie is unbelievable. The animators took years of effort to create figures and animate them, and the effects and character movements came out so great that has just as good animation as the lego movie. It looks realistic and beautiful, and the credits are similar to Hotel Translvania where they have traditional animation. Also, the humor in the movie is really funny, and makes the movie even more enjoyable.

Kubo and the two strings is a movie that I highly recommend to 8 or over. The writing is solid, the animation is beautiful, and the characters are memorable. So all I can say is go watch it. Just do it. It's a movie for kids and adults alike, and it gives Zootopia a run for its money (No pun intended, it's not getting even close to what Zootopia got in the US and Canada).

9.5/10

In 2015, after the spectacular Inside Out by Pixar, I was looking forward to this film that would mark the first time Pixar has ever released 2 films in the same year rather than one at a time. However, I did not see it in theaters but saw it on a plane in February along with Hotel Transylvania 2 (I never get tired of movies on a plane since they are free, have you ever been on one of those flights?). But that's not the point. So once I saw this movie, I could understand how critical people were of this movie.

First things first, the writing is complete garbage. It doesn't give us any new ideas by ripping off The Lion king, with Arlo's dad dying. It is also fascinatingly predictable since we already know from the trailers what's ahead for Arlo and Spot. There is only a little heart, and you don't feel for the relationship between Arlo and Spot because the story is so rushed. Because of this, the journey is underwhelming and the lack of length and many slow moments makes the ending too sudden. A good example of a film that has good pacing is Inside Out, not making it too fast for the ending to be this sudden and not too slow to make it boring (some may disagree though). I expect better writing from Pixar because this horribly paced, predictable, unoriginal, and fascinatingly underwhelming story makes DreamWorks writing look like Finding Nemo.

For the characters, there is Arlo, who probably has the least development of a Pixar protagonist. Despite making friends with Spot, I don't feel for this annoying, foolish, and enamoring kid. The father is basically the caring father who is bland and we don't care about him very much. The same apply's to the rest of Arlo's family pretty much. Spot however is a fun and likable character who cares for Arlo. Thunderclap and his gang are the bland antagonists who have no other motives other than attack and kill Arlo and Spot. However I did like the caring and friendly T-Rex family. They were very good characters that cared deeply for our 2 protagonists, however they were wasted since they get very little screen time. So these are basically Pixar's weakest characters since Cars 2.

The animation in the movie is nothing short of spectacular. The backgrounds look awesome and believable, the sound is great, and the characters are well designed. The only problem is the inconsistency, with Spot looking realistic, and the dinosaurs looking very cartoony. But overall, Pixar is better than ever in terms of animation.

There may be some things done right, but this is not Pixar. Despite Great animation, the movie has awful writing, and a weak cast of characters. I even consider it on par with Dreamworks projects due to this. That is saying a lot because I think Pixar is the best animation company, not DreamWorks animation. Despite intense scenes Kids 7-10 will likely get a kick out of this. If you are curious and is older than that age range, I would recommend skipping it and checking out Inside Out, or renting it for just one night if you are very curious. It may not be a total waste of time due to the animation and a few good characters, but it really misses my expectations.