THE CURRENT WAR (2019) – My rating 7/10

The Current War is a historical drama inspired by the 19th-century competition between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse over which electric power delivery system would be used in the United States (often referred to as the “war of the currents”). Directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon and written by Michael Mitnick. Martin Scorsese and Steven Zaillian also serve as executive producers. Not a lot of action but very informative and very interesting.

“The Current War” opens in the year 1880, with Thomas Edison (Benedict Cumberbatch), revealing his electric lightbulb. He has decided on Direct Current (DC), which is cheaper, cleaner and safer than gaslight but it is limited in range and very expensive. George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon), a successful businessman and inventor himself would like to learn more, so he invites Edison to dinner. Edison snubs Westinghouse who then sets out to prove Alternating Current (AC) is the better technology as it can work over greater distances and at a significantly lower cost. Edison and Westinghouse compete to get cities across the United States to use their system. Meanwhile, a brilliant inventor Nikola Tesla (Nicholas Hoult) arrives in the United States and begins working with Edison, but is disappointed by Edison’s unwillingness to reconsider his ideas and to fulfill what Tesla thought was a financial promise, which Edison passes off as a joke. Edison struggles to find ways to make DC more affordable, while Westinghouse attempts to get the high-voltage AC system to work with motors. And so, the fight for power gets more fierce and much longer.  Of course, the plot has many pockets of interesting discoveries as well as showing the depths at which desperate men will go.

The Current War, A period in time when life was less complicated and people were apprehensive about everything.  Electricity was a huge move forward.  Before it could get off the ground, a simple matter needed to be clarified.  AC vs DC.  This movie was made and due for release in 2017 but because of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, which halted all things Harvey Weinstein, including The Current War, was never released until now.  If you’re not a history buff or have a thirst for historic events, you may want to skip this one. I found this true story interesting but more of a history lesson than a work of entertainment.  After two weeks released, “The Current War” has grossed $4,948,935 and has a 60% Rotten Tomatoes rating. I don’t think this box office flop will be around for another week.  Don’t get me wrong, I liked the movie but not many other people were anxious to see it.  If you like history, Check It Out!

 

FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD (2018) – My rating: 8/10

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is a fantasy film directed by David Yates and written by J. K. Rowling. A joint British and American production, it is the sequel to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016). It is the second installment in the Fantastic Beasts film series, and the tenth overall in the Wizarding World franchise, which began with the Harry Potter film series.  The plot follows Newt Scamander and a young Albus Dumbledore as they attempt to take down the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald, while facing new threats in a more divided wizarding world. If you’re a Harry Potter fan, you’ll love this sequel.

**** SOME SPOILERS BELOW ****

Fantastic Beast: The Crimes of Grindelwald is set in 1927 with the Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA) transferring the powerful dark wizard, Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) from their maximum security prison to London to be tried for his crimes in Europe. While departing New York City, Grindelwald is freed by his follower and MACUSA employee, Abernathy (Kevin Guthrie). Grindelwald kills the guards and escapes.

Three months after Grindelwald’s escape, Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) appeals to the British Ministry of Magic to restore his international travel rights, lost during his visit to New York City. While at the Ministry, he meets with Leta Lestrange (Zo Kravitz), an old Hogwarts friend who is now engaged to his Auror [a position equivalent to a cop against magic] brother, Theseus Scamander (Callum Turner). The Ministry of Magic offers to restore Newt’s travel rights if he agrees to work for them, alongside Theseus, in locating the Obscurial Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller), who has resurfaced in Paris. Many suspect that Credence is Leta’s long-lost brother, Corvus Lestrange, the last of a long pure-blood line of wizards. Grindelwald believes Credence is the only person who can kill his living equal, Hogwarts Professor Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law). When Newt declines, not wanting to choose a side, the Auror Grimmson (Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson) is dispatched in his place. After leaving the Ministry, Newt is summoned by Dumbledore, who also asks Newt to locate Credence in Paris.

When Newt returns home, his American friends, Queenie Goldstein (Alison Sudol) and Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) have unexpectedly arrived. Jacob has retained most of his memories from the 1926 events in New York City because MACUSA’s city-wide Obliviating order only erased memories from people who had bad ones.  Jacob’s memories stayed in tact since his were mostly good.  Queenie tells Newt that her sister, Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston), is in Paris searching for Credence and she and Jacob have followed her to Europe. Queenie also reveals that Tina believes Newt is betrothed to Leta Lestrange after reading a newspaper article announcing their engagement.  Newt explains that the paper confused him with Theseus. After Jacob and Queenie quarrel about the marriage ban between wizards and Muggles, Queenie, upset, leaves to find Tina. Hoping to reconcile with the women, Newt and Jacob follow them to Paris.

While the plot is fairly simple, Crimes of Grindelwald gets pretty involved with complicated subplots.  From the search for Credence in Paris to accidentally freeing animals and Credence’s birth mother search, it’s hard to keep up.  Many characters, join the film making it slightly more complicated.  There are strange animals and ruthless murderers also adding to the twists and turns of this movie. You really have to be a fan in order to fully enjoy Crimes of Grindelwald.  While I thought I was a fan, I was unable to make complete sense of all that was happening.  I did enjoy the cinematography and the fashions and most of the plot, despite the abundance of cast and over the top story twists.  The action was plentiful as was the special effects.  The acting was brilliant and many of the characters were British.  If you’re taking your youngster(s) to see Crimes of Grindelwald, you may have some explaining to do, or they may be explaining the movie to you — Overall, I think Crimes of Grindelwald is a pretty good flick, –Check it out!