Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)

The movie has two things going for it. The visuals are cool. And the cast is fun. Johnny Depp plays the villain like only Johnny Depp could. That's about it cause the plot is all over the place full of holes and exposition with no payoff. We are introduced to a slew of new characters with familiar names for no apparent nor believable reason.  Remember the name Lestrange? Like Bellatrix? Well the central conflict centers around whether there are more of them. The opening scene is a prison transport gone wrong. But who would be so stupid as to hand over a wizard's wand for prison transport? And you expect me to believe that wizard transportation is so primitive as to be using carriages? Dumbledore has a seen at the mirror of erised, showing his utmost heart's desire...spoiler alert it's Grindelwald. Is this the homosexuality that Rowling has alluded to in interviews? Also what's the deal with Nicolas Flamel? There's a few too many needless references to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

I did not really know what to expect going in, and coming out I was not quite sure what I had just seen, completely at a loss for words. For starters, the movie is not about plot.  Imagine a post apocalyptic desert wasteland world that is short on resources.  That's really all you need to know.  There is a society that is run by a disgusting (yet imaginative) looking villain that controls all of the water.  And then the chase ensues, a chase that lasts for two glorious hours.

The movie is literally nonstop, crazy, intense action.  The chase takes place in juiced up monster vehicles that are made up of parts of other cars. Every vehicle is unique and they make the chase all the more exciting.  The violence is brutal and graphic but the sound effects and the ridiculousness of the entire movie slightly mitigate the effect on the viewer.  The production design is incredible, from the cars, to the Citadel, to the variations on barren wasteland that they drive through.  The costumes and makeup too are fantastic.  Due to a lack of water, everyone has this awful dirty look and the War Boys are all bald and pure white with black around their eyes.  They are so devilishly creepy.  And the movie overall is an over-the-top explosion of insane style.