Fantastic Beasts And Where to Find Them Review

The world of Harry Potter is a (pardon the pun) magical place. From the amazing book series to the film adaptations of said books, to the stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child that premiered during the summer, each new item released only further's to widen the scope of what fans already have. And this new film certainly widen's the scope in a major way.

So far, all media related to Harry Potter has taken place in England, but this film takes place in 1920's New York City, and brings a member of the British magical community across the sea to the swinging Big Apple.

Eddie Redmayne plays Newt Scamander, British wizard and magizoologist who is on a mission in New York, to find magical creatures and chronicle them for his book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. He gets more then what he has bargained for when he is drawn into an adventure of epic proportions.

Throughout the film, audiences are introduced to new aspects of the magical world, specifically, how things are done over here in the USA with regards to how things are done in terms of magical governance and law, the American version of the Statute of Secrecy, and even a brief mention of the top school of witchcraft and wizardry for American witches and wizards.

But the best part (for me at least) was the different magical creatures that are brought to life on the big screen. Nifflers, Bowtruckles, an Erumpent etc. Creatures fans of J. K. Rowling had only ever read about and now, they get to see them come to life.

This film, is a wonderful story adding more layers to the world the Harry Potter films built, and whatever films come after it, will only serve to add more depth, give us more wonderful characters for us to love and be excited about, and above all, it gives us more story to cherish. 

Hacksaw Ridge Review: Holding Fast to God During War

World War II, one of the bloodiest conflicts in the history of the modern world, was a time of testing for many men, young and old, who felt the urge to take up arms and defend the ideals of freedom and democracy.

Hacksaw Ridge is Mel Gibson's latest movie, and while I love all of his projects, this one stands out because of the fact that it is a film being made by such a big name Hollywood director, with a all-star cast to boot (with Spider-Man actor Andrew Garfield playing Desmond Doss, Hugo Weaving as his father and Vince Vaughn and Sam Worthington as Doss's commanding officers (and his greatest detractors because of his faith in God being Doss's reason for not picking up a weapon).

Everyone who joined up with the knowledge that they would be taking up arms and have to take human life in order to make the world a safer place. But for Desmond Doss, the urge was to join up as a medic and to save lives, not take them. Doss was a Christian, specifically a Seventh-Day Adventist, and while I could go into reams of detail about his choosing to be an Adventist, what matters more then anything, was that he held fast to the 6th Commandment "Thou Shalt Not Kill", despite receiving massive negativity from not only his fellow soldiers, but his commanding officers, as shown in the movie. And in holding fast to his tenant of not taking life, he persevered and went on to save 75 soldiers during The Battle of Okinawa, earning the respect of many members of his company, his commanding officers and being the first conscientious objector to receive the Medal of Honor for his military service.

I urge everyone who see's this film, be prepared for violence and intensity in a way that will not glorify war as most films about the subject do. Movie-goers, Christians especially, should be prepared for the joy that I felt at seeing (even a fictional portrayal of real events) a story about how faith in God should not be ridiculed or looked down on, even in a time of war.

However, with this urging to see the film, there is also caution, because while many films glorify war and combat, Mel Gibson does not hold back in depicting how bloody and violent the conflict on Hacksaw Ridge was for both the American's and Japanese soldiers.

Hacksaw Ridge has been praised by critics and movie-goers, and I am adding my praise to those voices, and I am awarding this movie four out of four stars, for its story, casting, and above all, for showing that having faith in God and holding fast to one's beliefs and values no matter what, can make a huge difference in a person's life, and in the lives of those who interact with said person. 

Doctor Strange Review

A few days ago, I saw "Doctor Strange" with my girlfriend, brother and a dear friend of ours for my birthday. We had all been waiting for this movie to come out for a while now, and as we all sat there for almost two hours, watching Benedict Cumberbatch go from being an arrogant jerk of a man to a humbled and wholly enlightened man, one word (as cliche as it may be) ran through my brain "magic".

I could spend time doing my usual thing about talking about how each member of the cast did a spectacular job (which they all did), but I want to write about a major theme in this movie. And I will be using a quote from the film to help me talk about said theme.

The Ancient One: Arrogance and fear still keep you from learning the simplest and most significant lesson of all.
Dr. Stephen Strange: Which is?
The Ancient One: It's not about you.

That bit of dialogue, right there, blew my mind. It summed up so much about the character of Doctor Strange in his time before he chooses to actively learn the mystic arts and become Earth's Sorcerer Supreme (though in the film universe attaining this title will take time it seems). Stephen Strange is an arrogant, brilliant and utterly self-absorbed neurosurgeon, a man whose medical skills have made him very wealthy and successful, but also inflated his ego to titanic proportions.

So when he wrecks his car, and his hands suffer the most severe nerve damage possible, his career is over, and his life seems to become utterly meaningless to him. All he cares about is finding some way to heal his hands so he can get back to his old life, a life of saving lives and receiving money and accolades. In many ways, humanity is so much like Stephen Strange at the film's start. People go throughout their lives, sometimes almost mechanically in nature, thinking that everything they do is important and everything in their life is more important then everyone else's and that their world, the tiny planet they live on, is the only thing that matters.

But then something comes along, something big or small, that is utterly unexpected and can throw one's lives into sheer and utter chaos. How people react to it, is the defining factor of how we move forward. People can be like Stephen Strange, and blindly cling to faint hopes that if they try every solution available, they can go back to that old life, not even aware that the rest of the world has just kept on going, and they are the one's stuck.

This is a major turning point in the movie for Stephen Strange, when he realizes that it truly ISN'T about him, and that he must accept this sad but real truth and move forward. And so he does, working hard to learn the mystic arts and take his place as one of the many sorcerer's who are tasked with protecting the world from threats of the mystical kind (this is hardly spoiler's for those who have no seen the film yet, I'm sorry but the plot is somewhat obvious from the trailers at time).

When people open their minds, hearts and souls to the fact that they are a part of something bigger, and can choose to be more active in serving that bigger purpose (for me, as a Christian, it is serving God each day through my work, no matter what I do, big or small at my job, I do it not for my glory, but for his glory).

There is a verse in the New Testament that applies to this theme, of accepting that we are not the most singular thing in the universe and that we are people who are called to be a part of something bigger; 1 Peter 4:10 reads "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in it's various forms."

To apply this verse to the theme in "Doctor Strange" that I've written about, I'll sum it up. We as people before finding the truth of God go through our lives like Stephen Strange, absorbed, and focused only on ourselves. It is only when we stop staring blindly ahead and look around and see the world and see what we can do to help make it a better place by serving God using our gifts and abilities, that we can begin to do work that will truly make a difference.

In closing, "Doctor Strange" hit the mark very highly as the latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I am giving it four out of four stars for its stellar casting, a superb plot that introduced non-comic book fans to Marvel's Sorcerer Supreme, and for a special effects that will make any comic fan weep tears of joy.