ACCIO REMOTE!
Potterverse and Netflix dominate week with new releases, Chris Lackner writes.
MOVIES
Big releases on Nov. 16:
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald; Instant Family
Big picture: The big reveal in the first Fantastic Beasts film was no surprise, really. The odds were always stacked in favour of Johnny Depp being an evil wizard.
After showing his true face, Depp (also known in the Potterverse as Gellert Grindelwald) isn’t busy collecting magical horcruxes or rings of power. His goals are more Muggle: world domination (albeit in the hands of pure-blood wizards).
Albus Dumbledore (Jude
Law) recruits his former protégé Newt Scamander to stop Depp/grindelwald on behalf of the Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA).
Instant Family is a comedy about Pete (Mark Wahlberg) and Ellie (Rose Byrne) stumbling into an adoption of three siblings — going from carefree to triple parenting duties overnight. Really, Ellie? You want the man who raised the bear Ted handling real children?
Forecast: You’ll take joy in watching the world of wizardry unleashed in our Muggle world — in seeing mythical beasties soaring, swimming and sauntering among us.
You’ll also wonder whether the world would be better off with wizards in charge. (Can we at least put MACUSA in charge south of the border?) Big events: She-ra and the Princesses of Power (Netflix, Nov. 13); Origin (Youtube Premium,
Nov. 14); The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (Netflix, Nov. 16); The Kominsky Method (Netflix, |
Nov. 16); Narcos: Mexico (Netflix, Nov.16)
Big picture: The warrior princess She-ra gets a reboot and origin story in this sassy take on the classic ’80s cartoon. Meanwhile, Origin is hardly original. Stop me if you’ve heard this before: A group of strangers go to sleep on a ship destined for a new space colony only to wake up mid-journey when — you guessed it — the mission has gone horribly wrong. The tag line is “They wanted a new life, now they just want to live.” This one is Alien meets Dark Matter meets Passengers.
Next up, the Coen brothers direct a western that’s, in fact, six different stories that happen to include the titular sharpshooter Buster Scruggs. You had us at “Coen brothers” and “western.” As a bonus, the cast is littered with gems like James Franco, Liam Neeson and Tom Waits. This one was meant to be series but was turned into a long film. Finally, The Kominsky Method finds Michael Douglas as a venerable Hollywood acting coach chumming around with his grumpy, old agent-friend (Alan Arkin). Expect a lot of jokes about being old, death, declining health, Hollywood’s golden years, etc. On a final note, Narcos moves to a new country for season 3; let’s hope Trump doesn’t have a Netflix account.
Forecast: Netflix is the only real game in town for new series this week. On a side note, Kominsky sounds suspiciously like a good wizard’s name. I predict The Kominsky Method will have an unexpected crossover in the Potterverse.
Speaking of, I also predict Douglas will one day out himself as warlock. (C’mon, how else can you explain Catherine Zetajones?)
MUSIC
Big releases on Nov. 16: Mariah Carey (Caution); Mumford & Sons (Delta); Smashing Pumpkins (Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun)
Big picture: Mariah is trying to remain relevant in an industry dominated by a new generation of sirens. What’s a clear sign you’re desperate to be hip? Your album’s guest stars are named Ty Dolla $ign, Gunna and Blood Orange.
Mumford & Sons made banjo rock famous. Then they abandoned the banjo in their 2015 effort. Now they’ve brought it back on album number four, but toyed with the sound in production to make it nearly unrecognizable. (They should have named this album Duelling Banjos.)
Finally, Billy Corgan has reunited with the original Pumpkins to smash out some new hits. Forecast: It doesn’t matter whether there are strings attached — Mumford & Sons are worth a listen.