Tim joined Tom Barnard and the Morning Show crew on the “The KQ Morning Show” on KQRS-FM Thursday to review the new video on demand releases “City of Lies” and “Willy’s Wonderland.” On Friday, Tim reviewed the films with Kelly Cordes on “It Matters with Kelly Cordes” on WJON-AM, and Paul Douglas and Jordana Greene on the “Paul and Jordana” show on WCCO-AM. Click to listen everything below, including Tim’s appearance to review the films Thursday on “The BS Show.” All of the segments are brought to you by Michael Bryant and Bradshaw & Bryant.
Click above to listen to Tim’s reviews of “City of Lies” and “Willy’s Wonderland” with Kelly Cordes on WJON-AM.
— Bob “The BS Show” Sansevere (@bobsansevere) April 15, 2021
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for “The KQ92 Morning Show” with Tom Barnard on KQRS-FM, “Paul and Jordana” with Paul Douglas and Jordana Green on WCCO Radio, “It Matters with Kelly Cordes” on WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “Let’s Talk Movies with Tim Lammers” with Tim Matthews on KRWC-AM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere, and reviews streaming programming on WCCO Radio’s “Paul and Jordana” as well. On TV, Tim has made hundreds of guest appearances on NBC affiliate KARE on the news program “KARE 11 News at 11”.
“Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” (PG-13)
After a wild and entertaining start to author-turned-screenwriter J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” prequel “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise has tamed considerably with “The Crimes of Grindelwald,” a lukewarm follow-up to the 2016 blockbuster.
Eddie Redmayne is back as magizoologist New Scamander, whose new mission is to track down a gifted wizard Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller, in a surprisingly muted turn) and save him from the grasps of the evil wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) who is hell-bent on recruiting other magic folks to rule to the world.
Depp, who was introduced in the last scene of “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” is not the only notable face to join franchise. Looking to establish back stories for some of her Harry Potter favorites in an effort to keep her Wizarding World empire alive, Rowling decided to employ the talents of the always-great Jude Law to play the young Albus Dumbledore in “The Crimes of Grindelwald,” a move that might have work had she featured him more.
Instead, the movie spreads the narrative way too thin by employing one-off stories for each Newt, Dumbledore, Grindelwald, Credence, Queenie (Allison Sudol) and Jacob (Dan Folger – who stole the first movie and only has a handful of bright moments here), Queenie’s sister, Tina (Katherine Waterston – whose role is greatly diminished from the first film) and Leta Lestrange (Zoe Kravitz), who has role that most closely resembles a lead. The problem is, the more spread out the narrative of “The Crimes of Grindelwald” becomes, the more confusing the movie gets.
After a spectacular opening sequence where Grindelwald escapes from confinement, the new “Fantastic Beasts” movie surprisingly shows franchise fatigue early on, even to the point of boredom. Only in the second half does the movie come alive thanks to some whiz-bang visual effects and Depp’s commanding performance as the title character. Despite having that opportunity to showcase his talents in the film’s most pivotal scene, Depp isn’t featured nearly as much as he should be in “The Crimes of Grindelwald,” and Law appears even less. It just seems like a tremendous waste of an opportunity, especially for a movie that’s 2 hours and 14 minutes long.
Naturally “The Crimes of Grindelwald” sets up another “Fantastic Beasts” chapter, trying somehow to capture the cliffhanger feeling established by such film classics like “The Empire Strikes Back.” Perhaps the biggest issue plaguing the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise is unlike the “Harry Potter” movies, it doesn’t have the benefit of sourcing worldwide best-selling novels to draw inspiration from.
And even though Rowling wrote the screenplays for the “Fantastic Beasts” movies, she is no doubt finding huge limitations to create original works for the film medium. As far as “The Crimes of Grindelwald” is concerned, it simply lacks the wondrous magic of the eight-film series that created the chance for it to be made in the first place.
Lammometer: 5 (out of 10)
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for The KQ92 Morning Show,” “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC), WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere.
VIDEO: See Tim’s review of “Murder on the Orient Express” with Zachary Lashway on KARE-TV (NBC)
“Murder on the Orient Express” (PG-13)
Don’t hesitate to climb aboard “Murder on the Orient Express,” filmmaker Kenneth Branagh’s lavishly produced and expertly directed adaptation of legendary author Agatha Christie’s classic novel. Loaded with a brilliant ensemble cast, lush set pieces, inventive cinematography and gorgeous settings, “Murder on the Orient Express” is a welcome throwback to the classic whodunnit murder mysteries of yesteryear, told passionately though the Branagh’s lens.
Branagh does double duty by playing famed literary detective Hercule Poirot, one of world’s best investigators who thinks he’s in for a three-day break for on a train trip across 1930s Europe when the locomotive is waylaid on a mountainside by an avalanche. The train is occupied by people of all different backgrounds, including Edward Ratchett (Johnny Depp), a notorious mobster whose “occupation” as art dealer has made him a lot of enemies.
On the first night aboard the stranded train, Ratchett is violently murdered, and with no one else in the proximity of the crime scene for miles, Poirot quickly concludes that one of 13 passengers is responsible for Ratchett’s death. Through his meticulous investigation, Poirot tries to whittle down a suspect, leading to a stunning conclusion that people new to the story simply won’t see coming.
While many people are fond of Christie’s original novel or the 1974 adaptation directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Albert Finney as Poirot, perhaps the film fans who will enjoy “Murder on the Express” the most are the people who come into the film cold. Yes, there are slight character changes in the film, but there is virtually no wiggle room for the film’s meticulously-constructed narrative.
That’s a big plus for newbies, yet leaves potential room for disappointment for fans who already know how the story ends . Luckily, the film’s sprawling, fascinating narrative, stunning vistas and first-class performances by the likes of Branagh, Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Judi Dench, Derek Jacobi, Daisy Ridley, Penelope Cruz, Olivia Colman, Leslie Odom Jr., Josh Gad and Willem Dafoe make the ride well-worthwhile.
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” (PG-13)
The ship has definitely sailed on Johnny Depp’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise with “Dead Men Tell No Tales,” the fifth and hopefully last film in series. There’s no question that the first two films in the series — “The Curse of the Black Pearl” and “Dead Man’s Chest” were entertaining, but Depp’s schtick as the drunken, bumbling Capt. Jack Sparrow became old hat after that.
Basically “Dead Men Tell No Tales” feels like all the films that proceed it, a mishmash of high seas action and slapstick comedy of Depp’s Capt. Jack, who you just know will weasel his way out of any situation he encounters no matter how perilous it is. There’s no question the special effects are spectacular — especially with the crafting of the ghostly nemesis, Capt. Salazar (the always great Javier Bardem), who seeks revenge on Capt. Jack, but the story is dull and predictable, and like the previous films, feels overlong.
While the story brings to a conclusion a subplot from a couple of films ago, there’s nothing really new to talk about here, with the exception of a wonderfully inventive scene involving Capt. Jack’s head and neck on a guillotine.
Lammometer: 4.5 (out of 10)
Hear Tim’s review of “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” and “Baywatch” with Tom Barnard on KQRS.
“Baywatch” (R)
After a string of hits including “Moana” and “The Fate of the Furious” star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson sinks big-time with “Baywatch,” a hapless remake of David Hasselhoff’s syndicated TV smash from the 1990s.
The plot is paper-thin: Johnson leads a group of lifeguards who are trying to keep a drug-dealing villain from taking over the beautiful coastline they protect, even though none have any real law enforcement experience. Johnson assumes Hasselhoff’s role of Mitch Buchanon, who along with fellow lifeguards C.J. Parker (Kelly Rohrback) and Stephanie Holden (Ilfenesh Hadera) take on three new recruits for the summer, including Matt Brody (a very ripped Zac Efron), a Ryan Lochte-like lunkhead whose fallen out of favor with the Olympics because of his wild ways.
Baywatch is a failure on all fronts. The acting is terrible, the dialogue is uninspired (how many times can Johnson rib Efron about looking like a member of a boy band? Apparently not enough), and unlike the big-screen remake of the very self-aware 21 Jump Street, the cast mostly plays it straight like Hasselhoff, Pamela Anderson and company did in the TV series.
In fact, the only time the film is funny is when Hasselhoff appears as himself in moments of self-parody, like he’s the only person in the entire movie that gets the joke that its OK to poke fun at yourself. The problem is, the actor’s two scenes are about a minute apiece. The rest of the movie is an embarrassment.
Lammometer: 2.5 (out of 10)
Watch Tim’s review of “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” and “Baywatch” with Adrienne Broadus on KARE 11.
Original Interviews, Reviews & More By Tim Lammers
